Darren Titmus

Start financial planning early because Australians are living longer. According to the World Health Organization, we enjoy the fourth best life expectancy in the world behind Japan, Switzerland and Singapore. Great news for Millennials! Your life expectancy has been tabled at 80 for men and 84 for women. Astounding advances in medical technology could mean you will live much longer! With all that living to be done, how on earth will you fund it? How will you fund it? Well…

Like the idea of owning your own small part of some of the world’s largest and fastest growing companies? Maybe you want to tap into the growth potential of emerging economies, or get in early on the next big thing in technology. To achieve these investment goals you’ll need to look beyond Australia’s shores to access a wide range of investment opportunities that are simply not available on the local market. It starts with investing in overseas shares. Why invest…

Climbing the career ladder, perhaps buying a home and starting a family – the 30s are an exciting stage of life. However, the decisions made now can make a big difference to future financial wellbeing, and with so much going on it is understandable, even inevitable, that the best decisions won’t always be made. So what are the common financial mistakes that 30-somethings should be alert to? Buying an expensive car New cars plummet in value when driven off the…

If you’re a freelancer or contractor or maybe even a consultant then you’re part of the “gig economy”. Gone is the job for life, or even a job in the normal, employed meaning of the word. For you, work consists of short-term contracts or a series of one-off jobs. “Gigs” as the band down at the pub might put it. For some, gig work is a liberating choice that allows them to work their own hours, holiday when they like…

By the end of 2018 Australia had, relative to the size of its overall economy, one of the highest levels of household debt in the world. At 127% of gross domestic product (GDP), our household debt, as a percentage of GDP, had nearly doubled over the last 20 years. So are Australian households groaning under the weight of oppressive levels of debt? Is household debt consuming you? For the most part the answer is no. A major reason for the…

Peer to Peer, or ‘P2P’, lending. Also commonly known as ‘marketplace lending’, is a method of bringing borrowers and lenders together without a traditional financial institution acting as an intermediary. This increasingly popular form of lending takes advantage of the internet to connect individuals who have money to lend with those who require funding for any reputable need. It’s not an entirely new process. The first P2P lending portal was Zopa, founded in the UK in February 2005. In the…

The name John Biggins may not sound familiar, but the banking industry has much to thank him for. Mr Biggins, a Brooklyn banker, was the brains behind the very first credit card in 1946. Known as the Charg-It card, it led to Diners Club membership cards and store cards, revolutionising the way everyday people shopped. Australia began with store cards, Diners Club and American Express, but in 1974 when the Bankcard was launched, we really jumped on board. Today we…