[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text]Is paying your mortgage off quicker really the best option? Not so long ago one of the most effective, low risk wealth creation strategies was to use spare savings to pay down a mortgage, either directly or via the well-disciplined use of an offset account. If your mortgage interest rate was 8% per annum, that’s the effective, after tax investment return this strategy delivered, substantially reducing the term of the loan and delivering big savings on interest.  But what about now? With home loans being offered at interest rates of less than 4% pa,...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text]Life can change in an instant Paul T was a fit and active 45-year-old who drowned while swimming in the surf on a family holiday. Witnessing this tragic event unfold from the beach were Paul’s wife, Sue, their 15-year-old daughter Sophie and 12-year-old son Zac. Relatives and friends were a great support during the following days, but soon after the funeral, and still, in a state of profound grief, Sue had to assess the state of the family finances. Until that point in time, she was unaware they were amongst the 95% of Australian...