Avsnitt
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Every parent wants to give their child the best possible start, but between school fees, uniforms, laptops, camps, sport, music, tutoring and uni, the cost of "giving them options" can add up fast and cause financial stress.
In this episode of Wealth Builder, Nick is joined by Marie Lazar from Futurity Investment Group to unpack how families can plan for education costs before they become a major cash flow stress. Because choosing the school is only part of the decision, the bigger question is how you are going to fund it in a way that still works for the rest of your financial life.
They talk through the real cost of education in Australia, why the extras are often what catch families off guard, and how different funding options compare, from savings accounts and offset accounts to share portfolios, family gifts and education bonds. You'll also hear how education bonds work, who they may suit, and why they can be worth considering as part of a broader wealth-building plan.
In this episode:
How much education could really cost from primary school through to year 12
The hidden extras many families forget to plan for
Why planning early can give parents and grandparents more options later
How education bonds work and what makes them different
The key trade-offs between savings, offsets, investments and education bonds
What to think about before choosing the right strategy for your family
This episode is for parents and grandparents who want to help fund a child's future without the last-minute scramble to make it work financially
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You were told an investment property was one of the safest ways to build wealth. But what happens when one of the key tax benefits that made the numbers work is taken away?
In this episode, we look at the impact of the changes to negative gearing rules and what they could mean for Australians who have been relying on property as part of their wealth-building strategy. We also look at 5 different options investors have now, and what to consider before deciding where your money should go next.
Because building wealth is still absolutely possible, but the best path forward may look different to the one many Australians expected.
In this episode:
Why some investment properties may be harder to justify under the new rules
The 5 wealth-building options investors may need to look at next
Hidden risks in simply swapping one strategy for another
Why superannuation could become one of the biggest winners from the change
What to understand before you make your next big investment decision
WANT PERSONALISED FINANCIAL ADVICE:
If the negative gearing changes have you rethinking investment property, super, shares or where to build wealth next, personalised advice can help you work out what makes sense for your situation.
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Think financial advice is something you get when you're older, wealthier, or closer to retirement? That mindset could be costing you far more than you realise.
Because when it comes to building wealth, when you start can matter more than how much you start with.
In this episode, Nick is joined by Paul Benson to unpack why your 30s and 40s can be such a powerful window for getting advice. It's the time to make decisions that can compound, course correct, and create more choice later.
But this is not just one for younger listeners. If you are in your 50s, 60s or beyond, there are still valuable takeaways here, especially if you are wondering whether your super, investments, insurance, structures or old money habits still make sense for where you are now.
Inside the episode:How to know whether your money is actually working hard enough
Why "I'll sort it out later" can become one of your most expensive financial habits
Why getting advice early could make a six-figure difference by retirement
Why earning good money does not always mean you are building wealth
One setting that could turbocharge your superannuation
What to review now if you feel like you started too late
WANT PERSONALISED FINANCIAL ADVICE?:
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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Retirement should feel like freedom, not a series of expensive surprises you wish you had seen coming.
Before you finish work, you want to know the plan is ready for real life. Where will your income come from? Is your budget still enough? What happens if markets fall? And have your goals changed since you first started planning?
In this episode, Paul walks through the final checks to make before you retire, so you can step into the next chapter with more confidence, less second-guessing, and a plan that is built for what life actually looks like after work
In this episode:
What needs to be clear before your pay cheque stops
Why your retirement budget might not survive real life
How to avoid selling investments when markets are down
The plan you may need to update before it is too late
What to organise before work stops structuring your week
The retirement regret you want to catch while there is still time
FOR PERSONALISED RETIREMENT PLANNING ADVICE:
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.
GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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June 30 is one of those dates that creeps up, and suddenly everyone is asking the same thing.
Have I missed something?
Could I have done something smarter with my super? Is there a tax deduction I should know about? Did I leave it too late? And why does EOFY always make your money feel more complicated than it needs to be?
In this episode, financial adviser Nick Donato is joined by Brendan from the Guidance team to talk through the EOFY checks that are actually worth your attention before the deadline hits.
Because the only thing worse than dealing with EOFY admin is realising in July that there was something useful you could have done. So, this episode gives you a clear list of what to check, what to ask about, and what might still be worth looking at before June 30.
Inside this episode:
• The super rules people often misunderstand
• The tax deduction opportunity that is not just salary sacrifice
• Why June 30 can be too late if your fund does not receive the money in time
• How catch up contributions may help if you have had a bigger tax year
• The spouse contribution and co contribution rules worth knowing
• The SMSF checks you do not want to leave too late
• Why EOFY is a smart time to review your portfolio, insurance and beneficiaries
• What family trust holders and business owners should be asking their accountantWANT ADVICE ON HOW THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR FINANCES?
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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The retirement mistakes that cost people most are often made before they leave work, when there is still time to fix them, and have real consequences if they don't.
Because this is not just about whether you can afford to retire. It is about whether you can afford the retirement you have been picturing; the travel, the flexibility, the choice to help your kids, stay in your home, or stop worrying every time markets fall.
In this episode, Paul breaks down the five things to get clear on before you retire, so you can spot the gaps while there is still time to act, make the decisions that could strengthen your position, and avoid walking into retirement only to realise the plan was shakier than you thought
In this episode:
How to know whether your retirement plan actually stacks up, before it's too late
The financial shock that can hit harder close to retirement
Why the last few working years could be some of the most valuable of your life
The super opportunity you might not want to waste
How your home could shape your retirement income, whether you stay or downsize
The big question to get clear on before you retire
FOR PERSONALISED RETIREMENT PLANNING ADVICE:
Book an appointment with Paul here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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The 2026 Federal Budget could change the way many Australians invest, buy property and reduce tax.
The big headline isn't the $250 tax offset. It's the proposed reforms to capital gains tax, negative gearing and family trusts. If they become law, they could mean a higher tax bill when you sell an investment, fewer tax benefits for future property investors, and a major shake up for people using trusts to manage family wealth.
In this episode, Nick breaks down the biggest tax changes announced in the Budget, explains who they could affect, and walks through the details that matter before the commentary and political noise take over.
Inside this episode:
The tax break for workers, and when you'd actually see it
The proposed capital gains tax change that could affect property, shares and ETFs
Why selling an investment in a low income year may no longer work the same way
What the Budget could mean for negative gearing and future property purchases
The family trust change that some households and business owners need to pay attention to
The key dates, grey areas and unanswered questions still hanging over these proposals
If you invest, own property, use a trust, or are planning your next money move, you need to listen to this episode.
WANT ADVICE ON HOW THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR FINANCES?
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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The most expensive retirement mistakes often happen 10 years before you actually retire. You still have time to make meaningful changes, but every choice starts to carry more weight.
So, where should you put your money to put yourself in the best position for retirement? Into your mortgage, so you can retire debt free? Into super, so you can take advantage of the tax benefits? Into investments outside super, so you still have flexibility if work ends earlier than planned?
In the first episode of this three-part retirement planning series, Paul breaks down what to focus on when retirement is around a decade away. He covers the decisions that can have the biggest impact on your final position, including how much you want to spend, whether your home still makes sense, why getting too conservative too early can be expensive, and how to review insurance before it quietly eats into your retirement savings.
Inside this episode:
• The mortgage versus super decision, and why the answer is rarely one size fits all
• Why getting too conservative too early could cost you hundreds of thousands
• How to work out what kind of retirement you are actually trying to fund
• Why being debt free before retirement is usually the goal
• How to balance super's tax benefits with access and flexibility
• The insurance costs that may be quietly dragging on your super
• What to focus on now so you are not scrambling laterWANT TO KNOW IF YOU'RE RETIREMENT READY?|
Book an appointment with Paul here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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Buying a property is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make… and most people don't realise they've made a bad one until after they've signed the contract.
They've done their research, they've checked the suburb, spoken to a broker, maybe even run the numbers. But the things that actually cost people are the things they never knew to think about. Like the structure they didn't think through, the conditions they didn't question, and the small details that turn into expensive problems later.
In this episode, Nick is joined by buyer's agent Mel Dennis to break down the full property buying checklist, that helps you spot issues before you commit, understand what you're really buying, and avoid getting caught out after the fact.You'll walk away knowing what to check at each stage of the process, what most buyers miss, and how to approach your next purchase with a lot more clarity and a lot less guesswork.
Inside this episode:
Why most property mistakes happen before you even start looking
The financial and structural decisions that shape everything that follows
What people forget to factor in beyond the purchase price
The non negotiables you need to define before inspecting properties
How to assess a property properly beyond first impressions
The due diligence checks that can save you from expensive surprises
What to look for in contracts, conditions, and key dates
How negotiation is about more than just price
What you need to know before bidding at auction
Why your pre settlement inspection is more important than you think
DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST:
Click here to get the checklistREADY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:
Book an appointment here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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You hear inflation talked about like it's the villain of the economy all the time.... but what is inflation actually doing to your own money?
Well, it's reducing what your savings can buy.
It's eating into your investment returns.
And it can leave you years behind where you thought you'd be, without you realising it's happening.So, in this episode, Paul breaks down exactly how inflation impacts your wealth, where it shows up in your financial life, and how to tell if your current strategy is keeping pace or falling short.
Because if your money isn't growing faster than inflation, you're actually going backwards.In this episode:
• Why your money can be growing and you're still falling behind
• The reason your returns don't feel like they're getting you ahead
• What inflation is quietly taking from your savings every year
• How "playing it safe" could be costing you more than you realise
• Why your retirement number might be wrong (and what's throwing it off)
• What inflation is really doing to interest rates, markets, and your plan
• The quick check to see if your current strategy is actually working
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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How many times have you had an idea and thought, this could make me millions… and then watched someone else do something similar and actually make money from it?
Because having the idea is never the hard part. The hard part is turning it into something people will pay for, before you run out of time, energy, or motivation.
So what do you actually do next? How do you start figuring out if it's worth backing before you sink months into it? How do you get something in front of people when you don't have a brand, an audience, or a finished product? And how do you avoid becoming the person who's still talking about the same idea a year from now?
That's what this episode breaks down. What it actually looks like to move from "this could be big" to something that's out in the world, gaining traction, and starting to make money, without spending months building blindly.
Inside this episode:
• The ways you can start figuring out if your idea could actually make money
• What it looked like to go from idea to first paying customer
• How to approach your first version so you're not stuck trying to perfect it
• What actually helps you build momentum when no one knows who you are yet
• The point most people stall and what it takes to move past it
• The early decisions that had the biggest impact on getting traction
• Where time can easily get wasted in the early stages and what to be more mindful of
• What actually goes into turning an idea into something profitable over timeIf you've got an idea sitting there that you haven't acted on, or you've started something and feel like it's going nowhere, this will give you a much clearer picture of what to focus on next and what actually moves things forward.
READY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:
Book an appointment with us here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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Most people are doing everything right with their money... saving, investing, planning for retirement... and still end up building a life they don't actually want. What if the reason had nothing to do with your portfolio, and everything to do with 3 questions you've never been asked?
In this episode, Paul walks you through all three. They take 10 minutes to answer but could change the next 30 years of your life. Because once you're clear on them, every financial decision becomes easier to make.
In this episode:
The question that exposes the gap between the life you're funding and the life you actually want
Why most people answer the first question too fast (and completely miss the point)
How to prioritise when you can't have everything at once
The test that reveals your real non-negotiables in life
A quick sense-check for whether your current financial path still makes sense
The warning sign that your money and your life have gone in different directions
One question that makes your next big financial decision obvious
READY TO SORT YOUR FINANCES?:
Book an appointment with Paul here.
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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Buying property is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll ever make… and most people are just kind of winging it.
You're going to inspections, watching prices, trying to read between the lines on listings, and still not sure if something's actually good value or if you're about to overpay.
So this week, Nick sits down with buyer's advocate Mel Dennis to break down what actually matters when you're buying property. They unpack how to work out what a property is really worth, the mistakes buyers don't realise they're making until it's too late, and how to handle the negotiation so you don't end up paying more than you needed to.
If you're in the market, or even just starting to think about it, this gives you a clear approach so you can make the call and buy with confidence.
Inside this episode:
Why doing your research still doesn't guarantee you won't overpay
The three things you're always balancing when you buy, and how to prioritise them
How to actually work out what a property is worth (not just what it's listed for)
The due diligence most buyers think they've done… but haven't
What experienced buyers look at that others don't
How negotiations really work (and where people end up paying more)
Why some properties grow in value... and others don't
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.General advice disclaimer
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War is escalating, oil prices are rising and markets are reacting.
So what does that actually mean for your investments and retirement?
In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to unpack what's really happening, and
answer the big question investors are asking right now: do I need to act?
Inside this episode:
• What war and rising oil prices are actually doing to markets
• Why volatility makes even experienced investors second-guess themselves
• The common mistake people make when reacting to headlines
• How to think about your investments when things feel uncertain
• The one question to ask before making any move
WANT TO STAY ACROSS WHAT'S MOVING THE MARKETS?:
Subscribe to GainingCHOICE, our weekly email unpacking the key headlines and
what to pay attention to.
GOT A FINANCE QUESTION FOR PAUL?:
Send it to [email protected], and it could be featured in his Ask an
Expert column each Sunday in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
General advice disclaimer -
This week on the Wealth Builder podcast Nick talks to accountant David Markovski about franking credits and how to get the most out of them.
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Divorce often requires a major financial reset, and knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. In this episode, we outline a practical roadmap to help rebuild financial stability after separation. We cover redefining your goals, understanding your remaining working years, and making smart housing decisions. We also discuss rebuilding cashflow clarity, updating estate planning, and reviewing insurance needs. If you're navigating life after divorce, this episode offers a clear framework to help you move forward with confidence.
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This week on the Wealth Builder podcast Nick talks to James Brannan from BlockByte Capital about mitigating risks when investing in cryptocurrencies in an ever-evolving market.
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In this episode, we explore what it means to invest with a time frame that stretches beyond your own lifespan. When personal financial security is already assured, the conversation can evolve from lifestyle funding to building capital designed to support generations to come. We unpack why inflation becomes the greatest risk, why growth assets like shares and property take priority, and how approaches such as index investing align with ultra-long horizons. Beyond strategy, we discuss the human side of legacy — financial literacy, shared purpose, and open conversations — and the deeper question of why building wealth for future generations truly matters.
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This week on the Wealth Builder podcast Nick talks to Financial Autonomy host Paul Benson about what to consider before retiring early
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Gold rose 74% last year and silver surged 185%, but do those eye-catching returns actually justify investing in precious metals? In this episode, we explore what's driving current market anxiety, the case for and against gold as a safe haven, and whether it truly protects against inflation. We break down diversification benefits, long-term return realities, behavioural risks, and the pros and cons of physical gold, ETFs, and mining shares—before answering the real question: do precious metals belong in a disciplined investment portfolio, and if so, how much?
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- Visa fler
