Bounce Financial

What’s the best financial thing to do?

I get asked this question a lot. Often, it's actually the wrong question.

When we work with clients, we’ll map out several different scenarios based on their goals. We look at what’s possible, what isn’t, the trade-offs involved and what each option could mean financially over time.

Usually, there will be one option that produces the best financial outcome on paper.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right option for you.

Because financial decisions aren’t made in a spreadsheet.

You also need to consider your lifestyle, your stage of life, your personal timelines and what you’re willing to give up now in exchange for something bigger in the future.

And just as importantly, what you’re not willing to give up.

There are usually several ways to get where you want to go. Our job isn’t simply to tell you which one is “best”.
It’s to show you the options, explain the trade-offs and help you understand what each path looks like financially and personally.

The best financial decision isn’t necessarily the one that makes you the most money. It’s the one that best balances your financial goals with the life you want to live.

Cara

We love that we get to work with clients ALL over Australia.

New on the Money Chats podcast: How to salary sacrifice into super.

There is more than 1 way.
For the full episode, check out Spotify

A lot of new clients I talk to essentially have the same basic question “are we doing ok?”

They have usually done all the obvious things to set themselves up.

They have good jobs. They have bought a house. They have had a family.

Things are going well and life is feeling good.

But they can’t shake the feeling that they might be missing something.

That maybe they aren’t putting enough money aside for those school fees, or retirement. Or that maybe the mortgage is going to end up being a bigger issue than they thought. Or that maybe they aren’t investing enough for the future.

The benefit of financial advice is we can work through all of these things to answer the question.

We do this by loosely mapping out your financial life and working backwards to make sure we are taking all the right steps now.

Good financial planning isn’t about getting crazy rich or flexing possessions. Instead it’s about living a life that aligns with your values in every stage of life.

When you move into your late 40s/early 50s, there is one of two things that will happen to your life insurance in your superannuation.

It will either get significantly more expensive… or … the benefits will reduce substantially.

Depending on your situation, either one of these may be a major issue for you.

This is such an important period in your life to update your financial plan. By ignoring these changes, you really run the risk of losing a lot of money or alternatively, not having sufficient cover.

If you’re in your late 40s/ early 50s and wondering what to do about your financial plan (including your life insurance), then please reach out.

We work with clients all over Australia and would love to hear from you.

Ben

New podcast drop: The difference between an ETF and a Managed Fund.

For the full episode - check out Spotify.

We’re incredibly proud to share that our Director, Cara Brett, has been shortlisted for the FS Power50 - Financial Standard’s annual list recognising the 50 most influential financial advisers in Australia. 🎉

For us, this recognition is a reflection of the impact Cara has made through her work with clients, her commitment to making financial advice more accessible and relatable, and the education she shares through our content and podcast.

At Bounce Financial, we believe good financial advice is about more than numbers. It’s about helping people understand their options, make confident decisions and create a financial plan that supports the life they actually want to live.

We’d love to see Cara make the final list and we need your help!

If you’ve found Cara’s advice, content or conversations helpful, we’d really appreciate you taking a minute to cast your vote.

👉 Vote here: https://www.financialstandard.com.au/fspower50

Thank you for supporting Cara and the Bounce Financial team. ❤️

Short and Sweat

One thing I am a big fan of is the concept of dollar cost averaging.

Dollar cost averaging is the concept of investing the same amount into your investment portfolio every period, regardless of how the investment is doing.

This means when the investment is hitting ‘all-time highs', I’m putting in my same monthly contribution as when the investment is down.

Why do I do this?

Because trying to time the market is hard.

Trying to decide if the market is ‘good value’ or 'not good value’ is nearly impossible even for the experts.

The benefit of dollar cost averaging is it means you are likely to get the average return as it smooths out the ups and downs.

Cara

The other day I did a financial analysis for a client which they admitted ‘shocked them’.

This client was looking at two different strategies.

One was turning their existing home into an investment property and buying a new home to live in.

The other was selling their home, buying a new property to live and also buying an investment property.

I mapped out both strategies including the sales costs, stamp duty costs and tax payable.

The difference between the two was shocking.

In this person’s case, the second option of selling their house and buying a new one meant they were $30k a year better off. Over the next 10 years, this could be greater than $300k in savings.

Their response, ‘Ben, we never would have known how different these strategies were without going through this’.

Sometimes you need to do the numbers to truly understand if you’re making the right call.

Ben