And while paying tax is something that most of us just grin and bear, it’s one of those necessary inconveniences that help ensure we continue to enjoy the quality of life we often take for granted living in this great country.

Super is made up of employer contributions, your own personal contributions and sometimes additional Government contributions. Money deposited into your super fund is invested by the fund’s trustee, who aims to grow your account balance while you are still working.

Our high-level investment view for this year is that a combination of improving global growth boosting profits and still easy monetary conditions will help drive reasonable investment returns, albeit more modest than the very strong gains of 2019. This note revisits five charts we see as critical to the outlook.

Most major global share markets had a strong end to 2019 consistent with the normal Santa rally seen around the Christmas/New Year period but also reflecting optimism about stronger global growth in 2020 on the back of monetary easing and a de-escalation in US/China trade tensions.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions, overshadowed by the US-China trade war and Brexit, are expected to stunt global economic growth in 2020. Weaker global growth will have a flow-on to investment markets, fuelling further periodic bouts of volatility, and investors should factor in the likelihood of subdued returns.

A few of the dynamics that played out around the globe in 2019 give us strong indications of what 2020 might look like. Here are five of the themes that I think will dominate the economic and investment landscape over the next twelve months

Questions To Ask New & Old Friends: These are great for dinner parties with old friends, new friends, partners, children, anyone you want to have a conversation with - happy holidays!!

Buy now pay later payment services allow you to delay payment or pay by installments (often fortnightly) over a period of time. Here we explain how these payment services work, what fees you'll pay and how to avoid getting into financial trouble if you're using these services.

As an employer, you have to select a default super fund to make super guarantee payments for your employees who have not chosen their own fund. Here we explain how to choose a super fund for your employees. What the super fund you choose must offer

Smart investors don’t rely on good luck; they plan, research and understand their investments and how these fit with their financial goals.

The rationale for rate cuts early in 2020 appears clear at this point. Growth remains very weak, and were it not for government spending, trade and inventory it’s likely that the economy would be stalling or even going backwards.

Australia’s ageing population is in the spotlight, and dealing with the financial fallout is high on the government’s agenda as a retirement income review gets under way.

A voluntary super contribution can now be made for a member, over age 65 but under age 75, in the first income year after retirement.

There is no denying concerns about global debt, seemingly never ending QE, more debt trading on negative interest rates, inequality & geopolitical threats.

Life insurance protects you or your family from financial difficulty after an unexpected event, like an illness, injury or death.

With thousands of charities and projects competing for your support, it’s important to do some research to make sure your money will go where you want it to.

The past week saw US shares push to new record highs helped by good earnings results and Fed easing, but other share markets were soft not helped by mixed news on US/China trade talks and still soft global economic data.