Author Archive

There has often been a debate regarding the benefits of negative gearing, and the negative consequences of being positively geared! Ok, this debate might not have involved too many people – many of us would prefer to debate what colour shoe matches which outfit – however, entertain me! Humour me! Pretend…. (more…)

Here is a topic that I write on with a great deal of trepidation! I do not claim to be an expert. In fact, I am rather flabbergasted and confused by the fact that a company can have continual price corrections in one day with no real change to the physical company… strange, but true… This is the share trading world. (more…)

If you have read any of my previous articles, you probably hold the mistaken belief that I am sensible with my money. Well, not so apparently. Even as I write this article, I am on a lavish holiday in Margaret River on a secluded property on a lake. The down side is that on returning to reality (read: Perth) both my partner and I will be on severely tightened budgets. Whilst such restrictions may have been avoided by waiting a few months until we both saved the money for the holiday, I insisted on a holiday NOW! And not just a holiday, but a holiday where no expense was spared. Don’t get me wrong it was fantastic; however, on returning to the aforementioned ‘REALITY’ my savings will be drastically depleted! And so, I must confess to a massive hypocrisy in my management of finances. I have, in the past broken most of my rules. I know… shame on me…. (more…)

At a recent dinner party I was discussing tax record systems, as one does.  A friend of mine at the dinner party is amazing at everything she does, well, everything except record keeping it seems. Her idea was to place every receipt and tax invoice into a shoe box. To her and many others, this sounds like a great idea. After all, you keep everything in one place. However, from my experience I can assure you that a system without a chronological or alphabetical ordering system (colour coding optional) is literally unworkable to manage at a later date. (more…)

OUTinPerth’s financial whiz kid, JM tells how to fix that budgeting stutter.

My father always said, ‘If you watch your pennies, the pounds look after themselves…’ This lore was repeated whenever I wished to purchase trinkets of little value. However, this advice would be the basis of what I consider to be a significant key to gaining control of one’s finances. That is to set a b… b…. b… BUDGET! I know… I almost choke on the word. Nevertheless, budgeting is one of the most practical ways of identifying where money is going and how it is being spent. By identifying your spending behaviour and the locations and objects your money is being spent on, one can then (theoretically) cut back! (more…)

Exploring the world of money and investing with OUTinPerth’s new columnist JM.

First let me issue a disclaimer: I am not, nor do I claim to be, a financial genius. My successes and failures within the area of finance are based on: budgeting, advice from friends and family; and - of course - good luck. I have amassed three houses in two different states and an average amount of shares. Through my experiences, I have gained powerful insights into how money can be made and managed simply and with little headache. This, however, does not make me an expert, just someone who impulse shops on a large scale… after all I am 26 and gay! While to some my modest portfolio may sound impressive, it has been gained through hard work and planning. I have two jobs and routinely trick myself into saving to ensure I have enough reserve money to afford my impulsive shopping, which can include anything from clothes to a kayak to a ’sulking holiday’ (you know the ones where something annoys you so much you have to take off overseas, or interstate?). (more…)