Get going!

Life is not a breakfast cereal
– there is no ‘just right’ time
for anything. Ask anyone
and they will surely tell
you that you are too old
or too young. Ignore them
and get going.

What you never start you will surely never finish. The saddest
of all emotions is regret.

So now that you have yourself organised with some direction you
can ask, “Where shall I go?” knowing that you can do something
about it! The important thing in all these MUST DO NOWs
(MDNs) is not the completeness with which you address them in
the first instance. Rather you must set your mind to understanding
exactly where you are up to currently with each of them.

What you want is an advisor who will assist you through these
MDNs and will help you gain understanding before taking the
substantial steps of finalising positions.

What we do with clients is exactly that: early on we want to make
sure they have thought through and are starting to understand the
necessity of addressing these issues in a complete manner rather
than part done here and not done there.

Our experience is that something never started, never gets
finished. And that most successful people are in the habit of
finishing what they start. So the sooner you start the better.

According to Einstein “The most powerful force in the universe is
compound interest!” In my view, he could have gone further and
explained that perhaps that means getting started with whatever
you are doing as soon as possible and sticking at it for a long time!

If you invest $1000 a year for 40 years then you would have
$161,924 in your super account at the end of that period, assuming
7 per cent earning and 15 per cent earnings tax.

If you delay contributing for 20 years and then choose to double
the contribution to $2000 a year, you end up with $77,531.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS): “Currently
government pensions are the main source of income for most
older Australians. The ability of Australians to provide financially
for their own retirement, particularly through superannuation,
has emerged as a prominent issue in government policy in recent
years.”

No wonder it is a concern – for those with some superannuation,
the median total amount is approximately $13,400 for males, more
than double the amount for females ($6,400) (ABS 2004–2006
survey data).

In 2003–2004, according to the ABS, over half (56 per cent) of
retired people aged less than 70 years had a total cash income of
less than $10,000 a year. However, 82 per cent of those who were
receiving income from superannuation received $10,000 or more
a year (ABS 2003–2004 statistics).

In 2004 (latest relevant ABS figures), the average household had
gross assets worth $537,000 and liabilities of $69,000, giving it a
“net worth” of $468,000.

Owner-occupied homes accounted for 46 per cent of gross assets,
with other property 13 per cent, superannuation savings 12 per
cent, home contents and vehicles 12 per cent, bank accounts 4 per
cent and shares 3 per cent.

Of Australia’s 7.6 million households, the richest 20 per cent
owned 59 per cent of the total net wealth, whereas the poorest
20 per cent owned only 1 per cent.

Wealth is distributed more unequally than income, with the top
20 per cent of households receiving 45 per cent of total gross
household income (before tax), and the bottom 20 per cent
receiving 5 per cent.

Using income wisely can make an enormous difference over the
years, and the sooner we start the more significant the end result.

QUESTIONS

ASK YOURSELF :

• Am I “fair dinkum” about moving myself forward in the area of my personal finances?
• What time and energy am I really prepared to commit to making some progress in my financial universe on an ongoing basis?

ASK ACCOUNTANT:

• Can you assist me to swiftly address each of the Top 20 MDNs to gain understanding and put in place at least a rudimentary temporary situation while a complete solution is developed?
• Have you a team of experts to assist in each of the areas required?
• What are the qualifications and experience of each of these experts and what do they think makes them qualified to advise me?

This post is taken from the book "YOUR MONEY, YOUR CHOICE".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brett Kelly is the founder and CEO of Kelly+Partners Chartered Accountants.

Since 2006 he and his team have built the firm from scratch to be the 38th largest Accounting Firm in Australia (of more than 13,000 firms). The firm is a multi award winner:

? BRW Fastest Growing Accounting Firm 2011
? BRW 4th Fastest Growing Accounting Firm 2009
? Business Fitness Australia's Most Efficient Accounting Firm 2007

He is the best-selling author of two books, 'Collective Wisdom' Prominent Australians on Success and the Future and 'Universal Wisdom', Finding Answers to Life's Ultimate Questions. You can find and purchase them here: https://brettkelly.com.au/books.php.

Inspirational and insightful, Brett has presented to over 200 audiences ranging from the National Press Club in Canberra, to youth, business, community, sales and corporate groups. Brett's ability to captivate such a wide range of audiences and take a boring topic, make it interesting, relevant and practical makes him an excellent keynote speaker. You may reach him at [email protected].