Collins Financial Group

Cash sitting in the bank feels safe. It's quietly costing you.

Yes, the interest looks decent right now. But there's an opportunity cost. The Australian share market has done around 10.5% annualised over the long run, property similar. And any interest you earn gets taxed at your full marginal rate.

Compare that to a franked income stream from shares, the leverage and deductibility of property, or super taxed at just 15%. Far more attractive. Think a bit more strategically about where that money sits. Don't just leave it in cash.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

The signs you've outgrown DIY finances and need a strategy.

You've got the fundamentals down. Money flows into a cash hub, you've read the Barefoot Investor, the basics are working. Then you hit a ceiling. You don't know what comes next.

That's the moment. You're earning well and managing fine, but you're not actually building real future value. True wealth is being at a point down the track where money no longer limits your choices. A strategist takes the complexity off your plate and builds the system on top of the foundation you've already laid. The property and shares come last, not first.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

Dollar cost averaging takes all the stress out of investing.

Instead of trying to pick the perfect moment to buy, you invest a fixed amount every single month into a diversified portfolio. When the market's up you buy in, when it's down you buy in. You stop trying to time it.

Yes, the best time to buy is at the bottom and sell at the peak. Nobody can pick those moments reliably, so why try? Time in the market beats timing the market. Simplify it, automate it, and invest every month.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

The most common regret I hear from people in their 50s, looking back at their 40s: I should have started this sooner.

They thought they could do it themselves. A decade goes by, and now they're behind the eight ball with less time on the clock. Time and dollars are everything, and they're short on both, which means taking more risk and working harder to catch up.

You can't get the time back. So start as early as you can. Don't delay.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

How would I structure the bank accounts for a family earning over $300k? Like a business.

A well-run business lives by its profit and loss and balance sheet, and reviews it every 30 days. Do the same personally. Money comes in, tax comes out, lifestyle expenses are your P&L, the mortgage is your liability.

Most people stop at super. The strategic move is to untap some of that home equity, put it to work through an investment debt facility, and build assets that generate passive income, the kind that isn't tied to you turning up to work. Build that over time and you eventually replace the need to work at all.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

If you run your finances like a business, you need KPIs. Most people fly blind on theirs.

Every 30 days we want to see how the plan's tracking. Where the private debt is, how the assets and super are building, whether the lifestyle goals are funded, the $20k family holiday, the school fees. It all sits in the CFG Wealth Portal and the monthly track-to-plan report.

So you're never more than 30 days behind on knowing how you're going. Complete transparency on the benchmarks you agreed to.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

An integrated wealth plan sounds complicated. The whole point is to make your life simpler.

Mortgage, investing, kids' education, the holidays, all of it gets its own bucket and gets planned for in advance. You're not lying awake thinking I need to save for the school fees. They're already handled.

Think with the end in mind, work back to today, map the yearly commitments. Then all you have to focus on is what's coming in and what's going out. Everything else runs in the background.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

My one goal for 2026 is a sub three-hour marathon at the Gold Coast in July.

Hit that, and it opens a qualification spot for Boston in 2027. My background's in triathlon, that's always been my thing, but this year it's all about the sub three.

Same principle I bang on about with money. Pick the goal, work back from it, and put the training in.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

Sitting on surplus cash in a high-interest account while you've still got a mortgage? Worth running the numbers on that.

Say the account pays 6%. At the top tax bracket you lose 47% of that return to tax straight away. Now say your mortgage costs 6%. Direct that same surplus onto the mortgage and you save yourself the full 6%, completely tax-free, because you're offsetting a debt rather than earning income.

Same money. One version is taxed, one isn't. The second keeps more in your pocket.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]

The top five habits of the truly wealthy.

One, they're private debt free, so they have cash flow freedom. Two, they've got control of their time. Three, they've got clarity, a plan and clear goals they're working toward. Four, strong relationships, personally and professionally. Five, they look after their physical and mental health.

Notice how little of that list is actually about money. The wealth is what lets the rest of it happen.

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Disclaimer:
This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision. You should seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any strategies mentioned in this communication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Matrix Planning Solutions nor its related entities, employees or representatives accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Collins Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN [52 101 436 2020] Corporate Authorised Representative No. [244269] Matrix Planning Solutions AFSL No. [238256] ABN [45 087 470 200]