Pivot Wealth

My kids check the chart, not me

My daughters have investment accounts and they pester me to look at the line going up, which means I get to talk to them about the times it goes down too. I had no concept of any of this as a kid, or for most of my misspent early adult life. There are now more than 70,000 kids' accounts on one Australian platform alone.

General information only, not financial advice.

The years after divorce decide recovery

Closing joint access, updating super nominations and the will, and rebuilding a buffer come before any investing restarts. Carry forward super contributions using up to five years of unused caps can close the super gap that settlements typically leave one side carrying. A fresh plan at the new numbers stops the drift.

General information only, not financial advice.

Yes, posting is a bit of showing off

Matt doesn't argue the objection, he concedes it in three words, then makes the case anyway. If you're writing something you actually believe and someone reads it and gets value from it, you're doing them a service while being a bit selfish. Both things can be true at once.

General information only, not financial advice.

Over 60% tax for doing the normal thing

Under the May budget rules, $1,000,000 of business profit run through a trust into a company left the owner with $371,000 after the trustee tax, the company tax and the top-up to 47%. Paying yourself the same million as salary left you with $530,000, so the structure built for wealth would have cost you $159,000 for using it. The election in the draft legislation removes the first layer, which is why this got walked back.

General information only, not financial advice.

The trust tax savings door shuts on 1 July 2028

Any discretionary trust in existence at 1 July 2028 can make a one-time election that takes it outside the new 30% minimum tax, and a trust set up after that date can never elect. By then the trust has to exist, any company you want to nominate has to exist, everyone you want to nominate has to be able to benefit, and the percentages have to be chosen. None of it helps if your income is a salary, because you can’t run a salary through a trust.

General information only, not financial advice.

They're going to bag you either way

Matt's view is that people will have a go at you the moment you post, and they were probably doing it anyway, so that is not a reason to stay quiet. His two rules are simple, which are never post anything written by AI, and never share anything you wouldn't say at a dinner table of twelve people. He says people genuinely need to be told the second one.

General information only, not financial advice.

SMSFs are sold to the wrong people

Fixed running costs of $3,000 to $5,000 a year typically need a balance past $500,000 before an SMSF beats a large fund on fees. Direct property, business premises or genuine control needs are the real reasons, and the new tax on balances above $3m from July 2026 weakens the old pitch further. Most people pitched one were never asked why.

General information only, not financial advice.

Why are you donating to the ATO every payday?
The reframe that landed for Toni: every dollar of tax you don't have to pay but do anyway is a donation to the ATO. Earning good money means nothing if it's not working for you. Her commitment now? No more donations. And the first move was concrete, switching her investment property loan to interest only because it made more sense short and long term. Small mechanism, big mindset shift. Catch the full episode, 'How Toni stopped overpaying tax & started building wealth', featuring our client on the podcast with , via the link in bio, YouTube or your favourite platform.
General information only, not financial advice.

The property she decided against buying

On a single income, Amanda wanted to keep buying property and worried she was stretching past what she could handle. Her adviser turned it into a better question, which was whether buying another one was the right move rather than whether the bank would let her. Staying inside her cash flow meant she still had money to actually live on.

General information only, not financial advice.

The six month rule costs you money

An emergency fund sized on fixed costs, adjusted for income security, typically comes in far smaller than the standard rule suggests. The excess $60k many high earners hold in savings could be earning around $5,900 a year invested instead. Safety is worth paying for, just know the price.

General information only, not financial advice.