Uncategorized Archives - Page 48 of 53 - Raiz Invest

By Michael
Gilbert, co-founder of Cubbi

Congratulations!

You’ve
scrimped, saved, got the cash in hand and you’re just about to buy your first
investment property.

Unfortunately,
the work doesn’t stop here. In fact, it’s only just beginning.

Whether
you’re going to be renting or living in it yourself, buying an investment
property always comes with additional expenses that you need to be aware of
ahead of time.

The
Raiz community is very familiar with the concept of how small amounts can add
up over time and the same can be said for the seemingly innocuous extra costs
of owning a house (only in a slightly less enjoyable way).

Here’s
a breakdown of exactly what some of those expenses are and how you can prepare
for them.

Stamp
duty

Scratch
this, if you’re a first home buyer with a purchase under $600,000 in Victoria
or New South Wales (conditions apply in NSW) where state governments have
ditched stamp duty altogether.

For
everybody else, chances are you’re going to pay some stamp duty and this is
generally the biggest additional cost you’ll have to fork out for. For example,
an established home worth $500,000 purchased as a rental property in Queensland
will cost a first-time buyer no less than $15,925 in stamp duty.

Another
key factor you need to keep in mind is that in some cases lenders won’t allow
you to lump your stamp duty in with your mortgage and you’ll need to ensure you
have that cash upfront. Always speak to your lender in advance about stamp duty
to know where you stand.

Registration
and conveyancing fees

Registration
fees are paid to the Land Titles Office when you submit documentation for
processing and can range up to $3605 in Victoria for properties over $500,000.

They
are also usually lumped in with your conveyancing fees, the cost of hiring a
solicitor to review all the contracts of sale and ensure the it follows the
right legal process. Conveyancing fees are not standardised but are generally
close to $1000, if not more.

Council
rates

It’s
amazing how many people don’t take council rates into consideration. You’re
going to end up paying at least $1200 per year and it could be more depending
on where you live.

Many
councils also charge late fees so to avoid paying even more than necessary find
out what your rates will be and set up a direct debit as soon as you’ve settled
so you’re never late.

Preparing
the property for tenants

When
you buy a property there are no clear cut rules that say the seller must have
the property in pristine condition when it’s time to hand over the keys.

However,
when renting out your property there are more stringent standards for the
condition it needs to be in and thus you need to factor in the likelihood of
having to carry out some maintenance tasks such as: mowing, hard rubbish
clearing, painting, carpet cleaning and replacing old or broken fittings such
as old blinds and shower screens.

Getting
this stuff done while it’s vacant will help attract better tenants (which in
itself can save you money) as well as reducing the cost associated with last
minute repairs.

Vacancies

As
a landlord your first goal is to get some tenants but have you prepared for the
fact you might have a month or two without any? As a rule of thumb, you’ll need
to budget for about four weeks of vacancy per year.

In
between tenants you’ll likely need to spend more money on maintenance and
repairs, such as painting, fixing a wobbly towel rack or extra cleaning costs.
Things that just didn’t get done or reported by your tenants.

Engaging
a real estate agent might help you find tenants faster but that brings us to
our next point…

Agency
fees

A
lot of people underestimate just how much real estate agents cost. They can plug you for between 5-10%
of the rent, depending on location and other factors. If you’re renting a
property for $450 a week with an agent charging 7%, that’s $1600 gone a year!

General
maintenance

Things
happen. They aren’t usually anyone’s fault but they happen. A shower starts
leaking, a tenant scrapes a piece of furniture against the wall and leaves a
mark, a skirting board comes loose.

These
are all perfectly normal things that are inexpensive, in and of themselves, but
can quickly add up. If you’re a landlord then you need to have cash on hand to
make sure maintenance issues get repaired quickly, especially if they involve
critical things like hot water systems or electrical issues – two things that
can throw your budget out really quickly.

To
be on the safe side, you should set aside 5% of the rent amount in a separate
savings account to make sure you’re covered for maintenance emergencies. You
don’t want to be wacking those on the credit card and racking up 20% interest
on top!

Unfortunately,
the supplementary costs of buying a house are – for the most part –
unavoidable. The smartest thing you can do is know what they are, when they
apply and be prepared for them. Hopefully, this brief guide gives you a bit of
an idea of what you need to keep in mind before you start raising your hand at
auction.

———————————————————————————————————-

Author,
Michael Gilbert, co-founder of Cubbi

Cubbi
is an online property management platform – for the purpose of cutting out the
expensive (and often underperforming) middleman and replacing him with
technology. For example, when you accept your tenant, you can create your own
lease agreement right then and there online instead of waiting for your agent
to get round to it.

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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By Clayton Daniels, author of Fund Your Ideal Lifestyle

I
remember when I first started trading stocks. Before the likes of Raiz came
around, the only way to access the market was through a broker. These brokers
had minimums of $500. As a uni student a decade ago at 23 years of age, that
$500 minimum was a confronting minimum.

My
emotional investment was high. If the stocks went up, I was elated. If the
stocks went down, I was devastated. It was only at the end of a few years of
this type of investing – which of course didn’t end up all too profitable – did
I learn how unbeneficial it was to be emotionally invested in my investments.

Because
when investments go down, it doesn’t automatically equal a bad result. It’s a
bad result if you need the money straight away, but if you don’t, all it means
is you now get to purchase more of the asset at a discount.

This
is counter intuitive I know, but it is how the ultra rich get richer. When the
GFC happened, there was a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to
the upper class because the middle class sold down at the exact time they
should have been buying.

At
the end of the day, if you are investing, you are accepting that what you are
buying is a fair price. If your investments temporarily go down, then you
should be buying in these moments. This very simple investment strategy is
called ‘buying in the dips’.

If
you are emotionally investing, this does not make sense. But this is why being
in control of your emotions during your investment career is so important. When
the roller coaster happens – as it will every year of your investment career –
take the opportunity to buy more. If you ultimately believe the world will
continue to produce value, and continue to earn a profit, then ultimately the
stock market will go up again, and so will your investments. Especially if they
are invested across indices such as with the Raiz portfolio. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

If
your only response to a falling market is ‘sell sell sell’, then perhaps you
shouldn’t be in the market. Again, I know this is counter-intuitive, but your
investment goals should be to control your emotion, and buy more when the stock
market goes down, not the other way around.

We
all need reminders of this every now and again, and as we have seen some
roller-coaster action as of late, I figured this was a timely reminder.

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Read Post

By Clayton Daniel

Do
you know what I like most about technology? It’s that I can do less boring
things, and focus more on the things I like. I’m not the only one, this has
been happening for thousands of years.

Years
ago as hunter-gatherers, one of the more lazy villagers looked at everyone else
and said ‘why don’t we have the plants and animals we want to eat here instead
of looking for them every day?’ And just like that, farming was born.

Then
we started riding the animals rather than simply eating them. This turned into
the horse and cart. A bit more tinkering created the steam engine, and finally
the car. Technology solved the problem of transportation.

Daily
annoyances to keep a tidy house have taken the same journey. Electricity and
plumbing have solved many of the smaller day to day requirements we need to
keep our homes clean.

As
you can see, the roll of technology has been to remove us from performing grunt
work. Free our time and resources up. Allow us to get more out of less.

But
the interesting thing about technology these days is that it’s focus is no
longer about solving physical menial work. It’s actually starting to solve
cognitive problems. Being helpful in ways to help us maximise what we want to
do with the free time we now have.

For
example, I can simply say the words ‘hey Siri’ and my phone lights up, waiting
to answer my questions. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s getting better. Raiz in
a similar way have been helping us invest simply by rounding up purchases and
investing the spare change. As you can see, technology is solving more than
simply physical exertion.

And
now, Raiz is stepping it up a notch. The suite of financial services is
extending to help you get the most out of your day to day cash flow. This new
update more closely resembles your own financial concierge, all from the inside
of your phone.

So
what does it do? Well to put simply, it takes the cognitive grunt work out of
getting the best result from your day to day cash flow. And how does technology
do this? Well it uses machine learning to understand your usual spending
patterns. From there, it can tell you a lot.

It
can tell you if your overspending compared to your normal spending patterns. It
can tell you if you are overspending compared to other people your age and on
your salary. If you miss a regular bill it will remind you, and it can give you
insights such as where you are spending most of your money, and what days you
spend the most.

It
gives you useful information in the moments you need the information. It
removes you from having to know everything, and outsources it to automation. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

As
a finance guy, my main message over the last few years has been to outsource to
automation. And I’ve seen remarkable results from everyday people who reduced
the amount of things they monitor and measure, and simply focused on what they
want out of life instead.

Technology
in the past has helped us reduce grunt work so we have more time. Technology of
the future on the other hand will help us make the most of our new found time.
The Raiz financial concierge is one of the first apps to help you do just that.

Clayton Daniel, author of Fund Your Ideal Lifestyle

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Read Post

By Craig Joslin, the founder of The Australian Expat Investor

When
travelling abroad, one of your key considerations will likely be costs and
budgets. The smart traveler knows the best way to limit cash risks, make the
most of money-saving opportunities, and most importantly how to make the right
decisions on spending. Many “old hands” will offer country-specific advice, but
there are some simple tips to save money when travelling abroad.

You
can divide your “battle-plan” into three sections; long range planning,
before you go, and hitting the ground running. In this article we’ll look
at the key tips to making your travel a success.

1.
Purchasing Your Tickets

There
are certain times of the year when it is cheaper to travel, and there are
figures available to give you a guide on exactly how far in advance you should
be purchasing. Both Cheapair and CNtraveler provide great information. As a rough
range, anywhere between 21 days and 50 days in advance is optimal, but don’t
book from Friday through Sunday. Studies suggest that if you follow this,
you’re likely to save up to 30% on average.

2.
Sorting Out Accommodation

The
days of staying in a run-down hotel near the airport just to save money are
long gone.   The sheer range of options available to the consummate
traveler is now huge, and if you have the time you can compare options such as
hotel rooms, AirBnB, or short-term apartment rentals.   Set a realistic
accommodation budget and start looking on sites like booking.com or  Airbnb.com for a great comparative search engine.

Figure
out your length of stay, estimated budget and most importantly, how far you’re
willing to travel on a daily basis. Add the data set to the search function and
see how many good options are available.

3.
Travel Light

Depending
on your choice of carrier and destination, you’re likely to have between 20 and
40 kg of luggage allowance. Try to prioritise your luggage into “must haves”
and “nice to haves”.  Consider what you will need when you land and what
things you can either do without entirely or can do without for a few weeks.

Should
you be planning on taking heavier items such as a golf bag, surfboard, or a
musical instrument, it can not only be cumbersome, but you are likely to be
charged per kilo over your luggage allowance. Evaluate sending them separately
as unaccompanied air freight instead, and you might save a considerable amount
of money.

4.
Travel Insurance

Although
the cost of travel insurance can be high, it is guaranteed to give you peace of
mind and work out cheaper than running into any out-of-pocket expenses.
Insurance will in many cases also entitle you to a higher standard of care if
you are not going to a less developed country.

One
of the key considerations with insurance is to “get only what you need”. Many
companies that offer travel insurance begin consultations with a global package
which will include the United States. Because of the high medical costs in the
US, if you also include America on your insurance, you’ll pay a much higher
premium. Be specific about where you are going and what you’re likely to be
doing, this will get you a better quote. And don’t be afraid to shop around,
either.

5.
How Do You Intend To Spend?

Undoubtedly,
the easiest option for spending money overseas is to use your credit or debit
card; you can do big purchases on the card, or get cash from a range of ATMs.
But just because it is the easiest way, this doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest.
Bank charges (in particular foreign currency transaction fees) can be
extremely high. There are several alternatives worth considering:

Travel
Cards: They work almost exactly like credit/debit cards but are set-up for
international use. They have the added advantage of not ruining your life if it
becomes lost or stolen. Check out the reviews at choice.com.au.

Get
Currency in advance: When most people land, the first thing they do is go to
the airport ATM or Money Exchange desk. The rates are based on the idea of a
captive crowd that needs local currency before they can catch a taxi or a bus,
so the exchange rate is not as good as you could otherwise receive. Having
local cash already in your hand will save time, effort and money. Try buying
your currency in advance. Places like Travelex.com or Travel Money Oz can get
you better rates as they are seeking out customers as opposed to relying on
desperate need. For more information on advance currency buying, check
out this article.

If
you’ve ever gotten off a plane and seen other people “floating around” the
airport, it’s because they don’t have a plan. And those that don’t have a plan
are likely to end up spending a lot of money for no good reason. If you know
exactly what you’re going to do and where you’re heading, you can ensure that
the cheapest/best options are available to you. Here’re a couple of tips to be
the “best-prepared on arrival”.

6.
Get a Local SIM

Most
phones today come with International capabilities; which is great, but
expensive. Ask around the airport for a place to buy a local SIM card. It
doesn’t have to be your main/permanent SIM, but it will cut costs on calls and
especially internet usage whilst you are travelling abroad.

If
you don’t buy a local SIM card and just want to rely on free local wifi
networks, at least don’t forget to switch off mobile data on your smart phone.
You don’t want to return home to get the nasty surprise of the high cost
of international data downloads whilst you have been on holiday.

7.
Immediate Transport

There
will be several counters in the arrival hall offering various modes of
transport either into the city or to your hotel. There will also be a lot of
people offering taxi services. Don’t feel pressured into choosing one straight
away. “Informal taxis” or “private cars” can end up costing you a lot more (and
may be a lot less safe) than what you need to spend (depending on the location)

Wherever
you’re going and whatever you intend to do when you get there, being prepared
is never a bad idea. Proper research will allow you to set a realistic budget
and stick to your spending goals. The more cash you save on unnecessary
expenditure, the more money you’ll have for fun.

By Craig Joslin, the founder of The Australian Expat Investor

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Read Post

By Clayton Daniel.

I’m
sure you heard the news. Snapchat listed on the US stock exchange this month.

This
was a pretty big deal. A company which built itself on a scandalous premise has
just turned it’s founder and CEO Evan Spiegel into the world’s youngest
self-made billionaire.

This
nineties kid has shown the world that eyes are what matters the most. Not early
sales, not the barriers to entry – but simply attention. And if you can pull it
off, riches and super model fiancés await.

Things
couldn’t be better for Evan. But what about the investors since Snapchat listed?

Well
we’ve seen a lot of volatility. In March alone the stock price has bounced
around between $19 and $30. This isn’t completely out of the ordinary for such
a high profile IPO, but I’m sure the market is still deciding on whether
Snapchat is the next Myspace or the next Facebook.

But
imagine all those people who waited patiently for this stock to list, bought at
the top, freaked out and sold when it bottomed out, and sat there looking at
their bank account with 30% in it only a few days later.

I
promise you this happened.

Do
you know why? Because unless you are an investment expert, unless
investments are your day to day job, investing is controlled by emotion. The
old Wallstreet adage is still true “financial markets are driven by two
powerful emotions – greed and fear.”

And
I’m not slamming those who did it. More than likely it was those hoping to
learn more about investing, were aware of Snapchat, so took the plunge.
Emotions would have completely driven the entire experience.

I’ve
been there. All investors have. Controlling your emotions while investing is
one of the hardest – yet most pivotal things to master. The problem is, unless
you want to spend many hours trading for either yourself or a large
institution, you’re always going to be emotionally involved.

Another
option is an investment strategy that has been outrageously popular since the
GFC, outsourcing your investment decisions to an algorithm. This
trading algorithm doesn’t suffer from emotional involvement, isn’t swept up in
the latest craze, or sell at the worst time possible.

It
is simply designed to follow investment instructions. It’s called an ETF. There
are many different types, but the most popular simply hold a tiny piece of the
biggest companies in the world. For example, if you had owned an S&P500
ETF, you would have automatically invested around 0.2% of your portfolio in
Snapchat regardless.

No
effort. No research. No getting swept up in the emotion of the trade.
However now Snapchat will play a roll in your overall performance. Not a
massive roll, but an appropriate sized roll. It would sit relatively equally
among 500 other large and profitable businesses.

And
this is the beauty of ETF investing. It is emotionless investing, the best
kind of investing. And unless you become a full time investor, it will be the
best way to unemotionally invest over many years. So unless you are a
professional investor, any head-space you put towards investing is simply going
to create decision fatigue. And the best way to
invest without emotion, without the effort, and without the need to become an
investment expert – invest in ETFs. Luckily for you, that’s all Raiz
uses. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

By Clayton Daniel of Fund Your Ideal Lifestyle

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Read Post

By Clayton Daniel Fund Your Ideal Lifestyle

I
hate working out.

I
still do it.

Sometimes.

But
mostly I hate it.

The
reason I hate it, is I have to do it repeatedly. If I go to the gym four times
a week for six months – great. Things are getting ahead. But if I drop down to
once a week for six months. It’s all gone again.

I’m
sure you know my frustration. Health is a constant battle.

There
is yet to be a piece of technology to take care of this for us. At the moment,
we all still have to use self control, self discipline and sweat to reach our
health plans. None of this is automatic. Every push, pull, grunt, squat, sit up
– it’s all based on us. There is zero work around.

But
the awesome thing about technology, is the basics of money management can now
be taken care of for us. Without us doing anything.

It’s
like having a personal trainer that does the working out for us. Every single
day.

What
I like about automated investments is that I don’t have to rely on my self
control and self discipline to succeed. I don’t even need to learn how to
invest any longer.

That
massive change has only come about in the last decade. Over ten years ago when
I started getting into investing, I had to learn about everything. From
clearing days, to stock brokers, to investment philosophies. I can go on and
on.

But
you don’t have to. While you still have to learn how to do a pull up correctly,
you don’t need to learn about ‘speculative mining stocks’. And in order to
avoid getting hurt you should learn how to warm up correctly, but you don’t
have to learn about ‘active fund management’.

These
days, technology and automation can take of most of the hassle with investing.
I don’t need to worry about what my investments are, or even how regularly I am
investing. All I know is that this is now being taken care of for me.

With
the world changing so rapidly, it’s not worth waiting for it to change back
again. Instead, leverage technology where possible to create shortcuts for
yourself. Money management is a rabbit hole you can explore for many years. But
is it the best use of your time? Probably not. So while I’m all for learning,
I’m not a big fan of inefficiency.

These
days you need to be selective on where you spend your time and attention.

As
such, an app like Raiz can’t replicate an entire career in the personal finance
space, but it can take care of the basics extremely well. And unless you plan
to head down the path of becoming a personal finance expert, the basics are
more than enough.

Outsource
your investments to automation.

Get
results without the sweat.

Check out the exclusive Acorns offer for Clayton Daniel’s new book Fund Your Ideal Lifestyle.

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

Read Post