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October 21, 2012 - 10:27 pm

Sounds very risky for the returns quoted

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October 20, 2012 - 6:51 am

"The key consideration in determining the in which an individual savings account is handled in a divorce case is when and how the money in the account was obtained. If the money in the account consists of wages earned by the spouse who opened the account during the course of the marriage, this money is considered marital property and is subject to division. However, if one of the spouses brought the money into the marriage and placed it in a segregated, individual account, the cash is not likely considered a marital asset and will be set aside for the spouse who earned the money before the start of the marriage."

Livestrong.com

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October 15, 2012 - 1:25 pm

that's hilarious!

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October 15, 2012 - 1:22 pm

Haha…

Thanks for the elaboration Engelo, and good on you for stepping out of your comfort zone to venture into another continent

Please keep us updated on how you progress with your adventure

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October 14, 2012 - 8:10 am

What made you decide to head to the US out of the blue, and why now and not earlier?

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October 6, 2012 - 10:46 am

Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom

Here is an audio file that Steve shared with us a few months ago:

The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale

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October 5, 2012 - 1:29 pm

Intrigue wrote:

Hello all and thank you for your comments.

Sadly I don't know how to do the quoting thing. Xdrew I understand what you say with respect to the AUD being a safe haven. You mention 'it remains at an abnormal high'. Are you saying you dont expect the AUD to drop anytime soon or rather it is abnormal and thus should return to normal?

Freckle thank you for trying to help me with the $ question. Think I've almost got it. Today Silver is AUD 34.14  or 35.07US. lets say the price of silver was the same as it is today but the AUD was 50c to the US dollar. The silver is US would be worth the same $35.07 but in AUD it would be $70.14…. Am I right.

Thank you to DWolf and Kong, I had hoped you would partake in the discussion.

So with the debate on the strength and value of silver continuing. Would it be fair to say that one should only invest in such commodities when they have cash to invest with. I.e. the person that took money out of their offset to purchase silver, would find it hard to win as the price would need to rise at least 7% per annum to be in front?

It seems from what you are saying such a speculator would be better to play the rise and fall, or not at all?

No worries mate

Just to clarify something though…

It is not Gold or Silver that changes value, but it is the currency in which the are measured in that fluctuate

An ounce of Gold will still retain its value 100 years from now, but a US$100 bill will most likely be worthless

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October 4, 2012 - 2:48 pm

xdrew wrote:

Why assume that silver is any better than any other traded commodity?

I believe Silver is better than other traded commodities because of its unique properties that make it hard to substitute:

• Most reflective metal
• Greatest conductor of heat and electricity
• Strongly resists corrosion and oxidation
• Second most malleable and ductile metal
• Recently found to be an effective anti-microbial

These characteristics make Silver very difficult to substitute, and means Silver does not have the self correcting mechanism that other commodities have

xdrew wrote:

Its more affordable than gold, but it also lacks the one thing that gold does have ..  a very small supply base. Silver also decomposes over time ..

Various sources seem to suggest that the amount of above ground available Silver is lower than Gold, due to industrial consumption of Silver and hoarding of gold over the past few decades.

Back in the 1950s there was 10 billion ounces of above ground available Silver and 1 billion ounces of gold, whereas today it is estimated there is less than 0.5 billion ounces of above ground available Silver, and over 7 billion ounces of gold

xdrew wrote:

Its no longer used in photography .. (the use of silver nitrate in film development is now nearly non-existant), it is no longer used as a form of metal for currency .. (and hasnt been used as such for over 50 years), and thanks to the ease of mining procedures in the actual capture and extraction of the metal .. its no longer really either as rare as it used to be or as sought after as it used to be.

Next to Oil, silver is the most widely used commodity and has more than 10,000 uses, with more uses being discovered as technology advances. It is used in computers, cell phones, satellites, high tech weaponry, solar cells, jewelry, medicine, clothing, water purification etc… Demand for Silver for Solar energy is likely to increase drastically over the next decade.

xdrew wrote:

Diversify into silver when its low .. and again .. sell when its high. But dont treat it as being stuff for under the mattress .. or a higher value commodity than what it actually is. It remains a readily saleable commodity at most times. That doesnt mean that buying high and expecting it to go higher has ever been a solid investment strategy.

Agree with you there. Although Silver could be on the verge of breaking out of the 200 day moving average, and resuming its bull run, the optimal time to have bought was about a month or two ago at the $26-$28 price range.

xdrew wrote:

In each market there has been a time when a particular item or set of items is significantly undervalued. And that is either based on rarity .. percieved rarity .. consumer demand  .. or hype. At that time .. its always been worth buying in. And on the other side .. the hype .. percieved rarity .. continues until the item is OVERVALUED. And at that point .. i make my judgement call and sellout.

I relate this .. because this is the same thing you need to be aware of when selling a property into the market. There will be a price you will be prepared to accept .. based on what you paid .. and there will be overpaying .. and realising a loss. And each of these is based on recognising your market correctly.

Good advice.

xdrew wrote:

Treat silver as the commodity it is .. rather than allocating it as a safety net for troubled times. Diversify your safety net .. so that there is less chance of you losing out on a single commodity.

I strongly believe that physical metals should be a core component of any well balanced portfolio, and investors should consider holding at least 5-10% into Gold and Silver

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October 2, 2012 - 12:47 pm

lol

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October 1, 2012 - 11:28 pm

Hi Possumpal,

What is your annual passive income goal, and how long before you are 40 years of age?

From what you've stated it seems that you still have plenty of time left, and a fair bit of equity to play around with

Finished school in 2003 at 18 years of age?  Now 27 years of age? With $200,000 equity? And 13 years left?

Seems like a pretty good position to be in

Have you considered setting up a business in a field you are passionate about?

My last preceptor mentioned that starting up his own business was one of the best decisions he has ever made, and he is getting +30% ROI

Imagine what your $200,000 would look like in 13 years if you could get those kind of returns (or even a fraction of those returns)

$200,000 x 1.3^13 = $6,057,502.132!

[kong71286Participant@kong71286Join Date: 2009Post Count: 261]

October 1, 2012 - 10:55 pm

From what you've stated above it looks like you want to improve cashflow by reducing your debt, and are unsure about which debt to pay off

According to the ATO website, you are able to claim interest expenses from investment properties, but not from your PPOR

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/00113233.htm

For this reason, it may be better for you to opt to reduce the interest associated with your PPOR loan

This could be done by simply paying off the loan, or by having an offset account against this loan

Hope that helps

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September 23, 2012 - 9:56 pm

A more efficient way of opening up a new window is to hold onto 'CRTL' and the left click on the link you want to go to

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September 22, 2012 - 11:37 pm

The information you have provided alone is insufficient to determine the best structure to use, and based on what you are seeking to accomplish it might be best to consult both a lawyer and an accountant.

Amongst one of the most important pieces of information required to determine the best structure to use, is what you aim to achieve from purchasing the property. Will this be a property that you buy, renovate and sell for a quick profit? Or will it be more of a long term buy and hold property? Will it be positively geared, or negatively geared? etc

In general trusts offer the most flexibility out of all the other structures, but it would be best for you and your friends to discuss this with an accountant.

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September 20, 2012 - 7:48 am

For those just starting out, opening a 'First Home Saver Account' may be a good option to save up some money for their first home.

One of the best benefits of opening up a FHSA is the 17% Government contribution… i.e. if you contribute $5,000 (About $100/week) into the account for the financial year, the government will contribute $850 into the account

To find out more click here

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September 20, 2012 - 7:34 am

You have a good point there

I have noticed a lot of people's signatures are not always exactly the same

And over many years may look significantly different from the initial signature

Thanks for the clarification

[kong71286Participant@kong71286Join Date: 2009Post Count: 261]

September 17, 2012 - 12:53 am

Katrina Maes Sells a course on How to Stage a Property and sell your property faster and for more

Might be well worth the investment considering the costs (E.g. Marketing, Interest on loan) involved for having your property sit on the market for long periods of time

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September 15, 2012 - 8:04 am

Click here to find out Uncle Knacker's secret to getting paint to stick to almost anything

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September 14, 2012 - 9:52 pm

Terryw wrote:

I am going to start up a newsletter soon covering 4 areas of interest – law, loans, financial planning and taxation.

Sounds awesome Terry!

Can't wait to be able to sign up to your newsletter

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September 14, 2012 - 12:01 pm

propertyinvesting.com

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September 12, 2012 - 11:41 am

Wow

Your daughter is quite talented for a 12yr old

You must be quite proud of her