Introduction

Saving for a house? You know how it goes; cut back on dinners out and weekends away, and as for that overseas holiday – forget it! Getting a deposit together while paying rent basically means putting your life on hold.

Or does it?

Imagine travelling the world without accommodation costs. Now, imagine living in Scotland! Outback Queensland! Upstate New York!
Welcome to the world of house-sitting.

Introduction

Caring for a loved one can be deeply fulfilling but brings its fair share of challenges too – as Laura discovered.

When her mother Shelly had a stroke, she didn’t require a nursing facility, but could no longer live alone.

Laura was working part-time while studying a Bachelor of Dental Surgery and dreaming of one day opening her own boutique dental practice. She assumed that moving home to care for Shelly wouldn’t greatly affect her career plans, and, in fact, giving up her rental accommodation would save money.

Introduction

Dolly Parton once said, 'Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life'…

And we couldn't imagine a sentence that more perfectly sums up the importance of work-life balance.

While we will likely never learn the true meaning of life, a great place to start might be to take guidance from those who've lived.

Introduction

Money, finances, investments… it is easy to see why, logically, financial success could be considered a numbers game. However, real financial success requires much more than just numbers that work.

It also requires passion, interest, determination, commitment, perseverance, optimism, resilience and more. This is why mindset is such a critical ingredient to the financial success equation.

Here are five steps you can take to improve your mindset and create a more successful relationship with your money today:

Introduction

Ignoring all of the politicising of climate change and carbon emissions, have you ever actually wondered what a carbon footprint is?

A simple explanation

Human activity is increasing atmospheric levels of known greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These form a blanket around the earth trapping heat, a process known as the ‘greenhouse effect’, which experts believe is linked to global warming and climate change.

Introduction

A growing number of Australians are choosing to return to study as mature-age students. Perhaps caught in the hamster-wheel of mortgage and family, furthering their education wasn’t an option when they were younger.
But that was then.

Introduction

A simple guide from an earlier era suggested eight hours for sleeping, eight hours for work and eight hours for leisure. Nowadays work seems to take up more than its fair share and many people might be seeking a way to maintain or increase their income without increasing their working hours. Creating passive income is one way of achieving this goal.

What is ‘passive income’?

Introduction

The increase in home-based businesses has been monumental in the past decade with now almost one million Australians earning an income from home.

The types of businesses that can be operated from home are only limited by imagination, just as the reasons for this growing trend are varied. Some people whose jobs are made redundant will be tempted to take the plunge into self-employment; others find it appropriate when children arrive; and there are those who do it to improve their lifestyle.

But can running a legitimate business from home really be a smart lifestyle choice?

Introduction

Many Australians are choosing to retire by the age of 60, or even earlier, ready to do all the things they could only dream about during their working years. However, with improved health services and medical technology the chance of living to 90 years or beyond could be more realistic than many think. Retirement could comprise 40% or more of a person’s adult life!

If you wish to remain happy and healthy during this next phase of life, planning is critically important. Although much of the focus for retirement is on financial wellbeing, good physical and mental health is equally crucial at this time of life.

It’s imperative to stay active – so what will you do with all this spare time?