Money Australia - August 2019

OVERVIEW

DARRENSNYDER

L

astmonthMoneyturned 20

andasa partofitscelebration

themagazinerana seriesof

socialmediapostsaboutthe

varyingpricesofgoodssince

1999.Inessence,thesocialpostsremind

usthedollardoesn’tstretchasfarasit

oncedid.A quickcheckoftheReserve

Bank’sinflationcalculatorsuggestsa $1

bagoflolliesin 1999 wouldhavecostyou

$1.66in 2018 – a 65.6%increasein 19 years.Wouldmy

12-year-oldselfin 1999 haveboughtthesamelolly

bagin 2018 at itsnewprice?That’sa toughquestion,

butI’msure,likeanygoodconsumer,I wouldhave

weighedupmyoptions.

Forthepurposesofthisstory,a $10,000basketof

goodsandservicesin 1999 wasvaluedat $16,558in

2018 (basedoninflationonly).

Dialtheclockback 50 yearsto 1968 andyoucould

buya homeinanAustraliancapitalcityfor$10,000

orless.Nowadaysthisis barelythebeginningsofa

homedeposit.However,theinflationcalculatortells

usthatsame$10,000in 1968 wouldnowbeequiv-

alentto$123,825– andpossiblyenoughfora home

depositdependingwhereyoubuy.

Soif you’reinthefortunatepositiontohavea

spare$10,000in2019,whereshouldyouinvest?

ThisannualMoneymagazinecoverstoryis a

questionthatalwayschallengeseventhemostexpe-

riencedfinancialprofessionalsandonceagainwe’ve

approachedeightexpertstogivetheirviews.

It'snotquitelike winningthelottery,but$10,000investedwiselycan

makea bigdifferencetoyourfinancesorfuturelifestyle.Butwhereto

invest?Ourexpertspointyouintherightdirection.

GEORGE LUCAS

MICRO-INVESTING

GOFRAN CHOWDHURY

AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES

KRISTIAN WALESBY

GOLD

ALEX JOINER

ECONOMY

From investing in exchange traded funds to

paying down credit card and other personal

debt; from contributing extra to superannu-

ation to having a property buying agent help

find you that perfect home, there are many ways

to approach this perennial question.

For yours truly, it’s a question I’ve been

grappling with since the summer break as

the family has managed to save some extra

money and we want to see it work better

for us. Given current term deposit rates, we know

we’re not alone in thinking there are better investment

opportunities on the horizon.

Three editions ago, in May, we asked three financial

experts whether readers should pay off their mortgage

or invest. It made me consider the question – where to

invest $10,000? – more closely. Right now I’d say it is

a toss of the coin: do we use $10k to pay down some of

our mortgage, or do we attempt to grow it by investing

in an ETF or other managed fund.

Either way, when we eventually hit the “go” button

there will have been some careful consideration. It’s

likely we would have taken a look at the MoneySmart

website as a guide. It answers this same question –

where to invest $10k? – and explains that the first thing

you need is a solid set of financial goals. It suggests

to first pay off debt, then look at an emergency fund

and, finally, to explore ETFs and index funds or boost

your super. Any of those options are good ones and

it’s an investment that should carry you well into

your financial future.