February magazine

COVER STORY

Top 50 Shares and Property

With real estate prices falling over the last year and share values taking a hammering two years in a row, it’s no wonder we’re sitting on our hands waiting for some good news. But could this actually be the time to start thinking about buying some undervalued shares or property in potential hotspots? With the help our experts, Money identifies 50 stocks that are below their true worth. Plus we take a look at the top 50 locations for 2012. Our property expert says ignore the doom and gloom forecasts – the omens are good for residential property, particularly in areas buoyed by the resources boom.

GREENSAVER

The Buy Nothing New Movement

Story Susan Hely

How often have you bought something and asked yourself, “Do I really need this?” Probably far too often….. The ‘Buy nothing new’ movement challenges you to put new purchases on hold and reassess what you need – saving you large sums of money. One family took up the ‘Buy nothing new’ challenge for a year and saved about $10,000. Instead of buying brand new items, why not consider second-hand, recycled or vintage. More and more women are having “swish” parties where they swap clothes, jewellery, shoes and accessories. Are you up for the challenge to save yourself a bit of dough?

IN YOUR INTEREST

Spending to save misses the boat

Story Paul Clitheroe

Paul recently had two contrasting boat trips. On Boxing Day, he steered his yacht, Balance, over the start line in Sydney Harbour and headed down to Hobart. In contrast to the four day Tasman Sea adventure, Paul also describes his experiences on board a large cruise ship around the Hawaiian Islands. What Paul did observe during the Hawaiian cruise was the propensity for cruisers to spend money in order to ‘save’ money. Paul explains why this philosophy doesn’t necessarily stand.

How to use our $3000 a month savings

Story Paul Clitheroe

Peter and Carmel recently paid off their mortgage and can afford to save around $3000 a month. They have a share portfolio valued at $40,000 funded with $30,000 redrawn on their home loan. They also plan to go on two big trips overseas with their two children, budgeting between $30-40K per trip. They ask Paul the best way to use their $3000 a month. Should they grow their share portfolio? Pay down their share loan? Paul delivers his verdict.

Sitting Pretty

Story Peter Freeman

Now that the silly season is well and truly over, it’s back to reality and probably not a bad time to get up to speed with the new superannuation rules. With 1.2 trillion dollars invested in Australian super, it’s up there as being the single biggest asset for a lot of Australians, so it’s worth understanding the new rules. You may have briefly heard about the changes, but not completely au fait with them. So in order to avoid any costly mistakes and to stay on top of your super, Money will give you a quick run-down of the six vital changes to super rules and how they affect you.

PUT CASH IN YOUR POCKET

Story Pam Walkely

Many negatively geared property investors often find they are short of cash because rental income from their investments falls well short of the cost of owning them. As a property investor, how can you go about improving your cash-flow? There is a way, and there is paperwork involved, but it can be well worth the effort. Pam Walkley has the solution.

Turn your unwanted gifts into cash

Story Emi Berry

Are you one of the 16.7 million Australians left with a Christmas gift that wasn’t really to your liking for whatever reason? Is it now sitting in the garage or on a shelf, in a room, far, far away, only to gather dust until your next spring clean out? Although we all know it’s the thought that counts, Australians were left with $500 million worth of unwanted Christmas gifts. So what will become of these dust collectors? Some will be thrown away, re-gifted, donated or sold – the average sale price of an unwanted gift fetching $64. Check out our tips on how to turn your unwanted gifts and gift-cards/vouchers into cash to pay off some of your own Christmas debt.

Judging rate decisions is a tough task

Story Ross Greenwood

One of the greatest guessing games this year will be interest rates, the overriding view being that they will keep falling for at least the first six months of this year. Yet at the same time wealth continues to be created in Australia and prices continue to be firm because of shortages. It seems the RBA is also grappling with Australia’s multi-speed economy and the consequences for asset prices.

Interview with Vas Kolesnikoff

Story Deborah Light

Deborah Light interviews Vas Kolesnikoff, CEO of the Australian Shareholders Association. He is a former accountant, financial consultant and investment broker. He concedes that the roiling undercurrent of shareholder disquiet is finally being addressed. Introduced in July, companies recording two consecutive protest votes of more than 25% about executive remuneration will see all board members out of a job. Kolesnikoff, in his first AGM season, has picked his marks, starting with the Foster’s board.

The merits of full-service broking

Story Chris Walker

Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy or sell shares, there was just about only one way to do it – by phoning or visiting your stockbroker. Now there’s another and far cheaper way – doing it all online. But this doesn’t mean full-service brokers have gone the way of the dinosaur. Chris explains.

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