Book Review > Your Money Guide

The complex issues of one's own individual financial planning is tackled headlong in this book at the outset. Kevin Bailey writes in a straightforward and concise manner.

You are taken step-by-step through the procedure of sourcing the right individual financial planner or company, how to check them out and how to check if it is right for your particular situation. This is indeed advice to heed, considering that this is coming from the 'inside'.

Self-education is the theme right throughout. Also helpful is the concise advise on almost every second page, in large parenthesis making it easy to see, such at that on page 15 and 16 as follows:-

"Be careful when comparing fees on differing superannuation products. Always ensure you have accounted for all the charges, regardless of how they are described and remember that price alone is not a true reflection of value."

And

"Make sure your active fund manager is adding value, especially after fees. Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions to ensure that you are getting unbiased professional advice and remember to spend time on the issue of asset allocation."

Understandably, Kevin delivers gentle little plugs for himself and his organization, but that just proves the confidence he has in his own ability. Sound advice is given on saving, budgeting, and insurance, plus excellent help to do with strategy of property investment and home ownership, with once again stress made on self education as a high percentage of people do not understand or have a plan. Although there is a mass of information 'out there' many people still do not fully understand, and this makes them highly susceptible to 'scamming'.

"Read one book a year on investment and finance if you're serious about creating or preserving wealth. Don't speculate with your life savings, have an investment philosophy and stick to it. Start saving early and take the golden road of compounding to achieve your riches."

It would be well to type the valuable quotations and insert inside one's diary! Another good one follows:-

"Ensure you know whether your capital is at risk or not before making an investment. Having the right balance or capital risk and return via good portfolio design can offer shelter from major market meltdowns."

If you have been confused and unsure about superannuation, Kevin Bailey clears the air on the subject and says: - "It is little wonder some people are suffering "legislative anxiety" after the raft of ongoing tax and superannuation changes." and "Superannuation remains a cornerstone of most people's retirement plans and is still an extremely tax-effective investment vehicle, even after the changes of the past decade." He explains why superannuation is not an investment in its own right, and that it is a government-approved tax shelter that can invest in shares, property, bonds and such like. How to use superannuation to your advantage and many other aspects in regard to financial planning of super are covered in this section.

In regard to taxation, "Tax is a vital factor to consider when weighing up the risk and return of any investment." And "Many people are confused about what risk is and fail to appreciate that just like a chameleon, risk changes its colours with time."

Kevin says "Coming to grips with Australia's tax laws is essential if investors are to be rewarded for the risks they bear…" and "Successful tax planning is a year long process, not a last minute panic."

The rest of the book is devoted to basic, sound, down to earth logical advice on risk, retirement, estate planning,

This is another essential handbook interestingly written and easy to read, for all those who are serious about managing their money wisely and responsibly.