Pop that balloon� or let it go
A balloon payment (also called a residual value) is quite simply an amount of money that is still due after you�ve finished paying your monthly instalments. The goal of structuring a loan with a balloon payment is to make it more affordable on your current cash flow, making it very attractive.� They are ideal for […]
Visualisation and stress
Not all stress is bad. But, if left unmanaged and unchecked, stress can become quite unhealthy for us. We all know many causes of stress, but we don�t always slow down enough to think about the specifics that are causing stress in our own lives. Money, health, family, friends, work, safety and security – are […]
How to avoid Trust issues
Trusts are not only for the rich and famous – they can offer valuable protection for your family wealth. As vehicles of wealth preservation, trusts have had some important regulatory changes over the past few years as authorities have attempted to shift them away from tax evasion and more towards a true, family-minded way to […]
Seeing the light.
There are many reasons for our increased stress levels – the use of technology and how it has changed our communication with each other and the world around us is complex and deeply integrated with our wellbeing. But where we used to follow seasons and the flow of the natural world around us, we have […]
Divorce and de-will
The top five most stressful events in life are often cited as the death of a loved one, divorce, moving, major illness or injury and the loss of work. When one of these happens to us, our emotions overwhelm us and make it tricky to think lucidly. In recent years, particularly since the global pandemic […]
Inflation & Interest Rates
Typically, inflation and interest rates are in an �inverse� relationship: When rates are low, inflation tends to rise. And when rates are high, inflation tends to fall. Moneyweb recently wrote �increasing the cost of credit will reduce the demand for it and therefore slow down the pace of �new money� entering the economy via credit […]
Coming to terms with�
� the jargon in your Will! One of the reasons so many of us veer far away from finalising our Wills is because the terminology can be overwhelming! But, the proper language can help us bring clarity to our final wishes – and help our loved ones come to terms with our passing. At Victus […]
Recognise. Interrupt. Change.
�We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.� – Sheryl Sandberg The foundation of most of our ongoing frustrations can be traced back to our habits, and the challenge with habits is we often aren�t even aware of them. When the world went into […]
Rewriting retirement rules of thumb
At the end of any retirement planning conversation, we should always end with how our plan is unique to our own situations. But at the beginning, during the exploratory stage, it�s helpful to have some basic guidelines for where we can begin, or how we can craft our own benchmarks. In the same way that […]
Finding the healthy positive
Everything we know, believe, and feel is based on our internal thoughts. Positive thinking gives us extraordinary power over our thinking and ourselves (Strycharczyk & Clough, 2015). Some people are exceptional; they always seem to remain positive regardless of what lemons are tossed their way. You know the type, the every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining, glass-half-full, things-will-get-better type of […]