6th June 2022

Smart money weekly; ‘Overlooked’ tax deductions, money hacks for winter, ASX bounce back and market update

Ben Nash

Hey team,

Happy Monday.

There has been a lot going on within the markets this week as well as the broader Australian landscape. House prices in both the Sydney and Melbourne areas have experienced their first decline in over 20 months, but the Adelaide and Brisbane markets still continue to grow. The price of energy is continuing to climb causing inflation to follow. This has had an impact on energy stocks with Origin Energy being highly impacted. However, overall the Australian share market has been experiencing positive growth in contrast to the rest of the world.

The Australian economy grew 0.8 per cent in the March quarter and 3.3 over the past year, according to official GDP figures from the ABS. This growth has been better than expected. There is fear the US could be heading into a recession, which will have a global impact. Keep an eye out for more news on this.

In the news: ‘Overlooked’ $2000 tax deduction Aussies miss on tax return.
There’s a common expense that Aussies don’t realise they can add to their tax return – losing them an average deduction of $1936.  Click here to read more

Upcoming events:
Winter has kicked off with a bang. As a cold snap sets in from Tasmania to Brisbane, most of the country is beginning to rug up and make snow travel plans. However, this doesn’t mean you should put a freeze on your wealth creation. Check out our upcoming events below to help you maintain that money momentum through the colder winter months. Register through the links.

Event schedule and links to book here:

Share market wrap
The Australian share market is trading up, despite the ongoing global and domestic concerns about inflation, rate hikes and energy prices. Both Wall Street and European markets have seen a recent decline whereas the ASX 200 has seen a slight increase.

Key sharemarket numbers:  

  • The ASX ‘All Ords’ (top 500 shares in Australia) finished the week 0.70% higher than last Friday, at 7,387.90 points.
  • The US ‘S&P 500’ (Top 500 shares in America) finished the week 4.35% higher than last week, at 4,101.23 points.
  • The US ‘Nasdaq’ (Top 2500+ mainly tech shares in America) finished the week 6.8 % higher than last week, at 11,994.46 points.
  • The Global FTSE ‘All World’ index (largest 3100 companies in the world) finished the week 0.09% lower than last week (Friday AEDT) at 7,532.95
  • The S&P Cryptocurrency ‘Mega Cap’ Index (tracking market value of Bitcoin and Ethereum) is currently at 3,121.29 for the month, down -5.07% for the month to date

Investment story of the week: BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company, better known as BHP will be paying a special dividend this week. BHP has been a core Australian organisation for over a century with shares in the company forming a component of many Australians’ investment portfolios, in particular, superannuation funds. This week they provided a special dividend in the form of shares. BHP shareholders will be receiving shares in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. (ASX: WDS) following a demerger of their assets. Eligible shareholders will receive WDS shares at a rate of 1 to 5.534 for every BHP share owned. This means if you own 50 BHP shares, you will receive 9 WDS shares as a special dividend payment. Some analysts have put a target price on WDS at approximately $32.90 per share. WDS is trading at $29.59 at the time of writing.

Smart Money upside #72
Because people don’t often talk about the full ins and outs of their money, it’s hard to learn lessons from hearing what good and bad choices other people make. This story is from one of our clients to help you take your money game to the next level.

Numbers/Background
Individual; early 30’s with income of approximately $150k. Total assets of approximately $300k and saving about $5K annually

Frustrations
Not having the confidence or structure in place to be able to ‘spend freely.’ Working a job with irregular commission income, reducing the confidence to plan or forecast. Wanted to also make cash surplus work harder.

What they wanted from us / the advice process
Plan on when and how to buy a home as well as put a structure in place to provide confidence now and into the future.

What success looks like for them
Living in a new home that compliments their desired lifestyle. Feeling more confident about spending limits and budgeting.

What money strategy they were following before we went through the planning process
No banking structure but several accounts for expenses. Purchasing single stocks irregularly with no clear game plan.

What money strategy they choose to pursue from our planning work
Clear banking structure set up. Implement a plan on how to arrange for all the upfront costs of the property. Better aligning investments with overall goals whilst reducing risk through diversification.

Key benefits of going through the process
A clear banking structure that makes it easy to track and save. Transforming existing investments into a lower risk, more diversified portfolio that meets both short-term and long-term goals whilst allowing for cost savings.

Value of advice after all advice fees year one: – $4k (negative due to home purchase and lifestyle choice)
Year 20 upside after advice fees: $1.6m

If this story resonates and you want to chat about how to get these sorts of results, you can book an intro call here.

Giving update of the week
Last week we started working with an amazing business owner kicking a heap of goals and doing some great things in the community at the same time. Our conversations have reminded me of the power of business to change the lives of not only the people that work with any given business but also the broader community and the world at large. So to celebrate, we’ve provided one year of business training and an attached microloan for 20 women in Malawi. This is part of our ongoing commitment to make a difference in the lives of our clients and simultaneously make an impact on our world through our partnership with B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1). You can check out more information about our giving here.

Money hack of the week: Formulating your ideal ethical portfolio
Stop for just a second. What environmental or social issues do you ACTUALLY care about? We sat down with ethical investor, Paul Garner, to discuss his formula for creating the ideal ethical portfolio for each of his clients. It comes down to assessing the issues you want to support, avoid, analyse further or ignore. Check out our full chat here.

Money mistake of the week: Why timing the market is a myth
True or false? You need a lot of money to start investing. Bow-bow, FALSE. I had a great chat with Alex Barrat from Stake about the biggest myths around investing in the stock market. We chatted about getting started in investing with as little as $50 and why it’s better to simply start rather than wait for the “right” time. Check out our full chat here.

Jargon Buster of the Week: Day Trading (via Canstar)
The process of buying and selling stocks within the same trading day. This process is often, though not always, carried out by professional traders.

Podcast from last week:  #172 How to set smart money goals [Live event w. General Assembly]
This podcast is a recording of a live session I did with the legends at the General Assembly on how to set smart goals with your money, create an action plan, and how to get started. Essentially, I talked through some of the key things for you to be aware of, so goal setting or not having clear goals doesn’t become a barrier to getting the results you want.

I also talk about the key mistakes that people make when it comes to setting goals and planning with their money, as well as a step, through an exercise that I’ve used with literally hundreds of people to get them crystal clear on the next steps that they can take to get.

Be awesome,

Ben

PS: If you want a hand to get on the front foot with your money in 2021, check out our 45-minute one-on-one sessions here. We’re donating 100% of the money raised to charity, so you can up your money game and do something good on the planet at the same time.

Disclaimer:
I know you’re smarter than someone that would need me to write the words that come next, but our compliance peeps are real hard-asses so here we go… This information is not personal advice, poetry, or a map to where Jimmy Hoffa is buried. It may only be regarded as general advice, and definitely shouldn’t be considered something worthy of inclusion for Donna Hay’s next cookbook or the Archibald prize. This is actually just an email communication that has been sent to a bunch of people and doesn’t even have your name on it. Your personal objectives, needs or financial situation have not been considered when preparing this email, but I want you to know that I have spent a lot of time thinking about the Venn diagram intersection of poetry, landscaping, and essential oils – if you’re fascinated by this same phenomenon please reply so we can compare notes. You should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and if necessary, seek advice before acting on it. You should also consider other people when getting on and off public transport, smiling more, eating healthy, and listening to your mum when she tells you that you’ve been working too hard. Where the information relates to a financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product. Where the information relates to a hilarious joke I’ve made, you should consider belly laughing deeply. Worth noting also that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance when it comes to investments, and definitely not when it comes to the Wallabies. Financial services guide. All jokes aside and just to be clear, this information may only be regarded as general advice. That is, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not considered when preparing it.  You should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and if necessary, seek advice before acting on it. Where the information relates to a financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.