Help, I Have Too Much Money!

Hi Scott,

I’m in my mid-40s and making $600k a year (with bonuses). We have a house worth over $2 million fully paid off, about $850k in cash and $250k in super. I’m now trying to get organised and have engaged a financial advisor for our super and investments. I just cannot get to the bottom of what is a reasonable cost: he is charging me $16,000 a year for my SMSF and family trust, plus $11,000 a year in advice fees. In addition we are being charged about 1 per cent advisory fee on our investments. What is ‘okay’?

Brendan

Brendan,

You’re obviously a smart guy. So you’ll no doubt understand that your financial advisor looks at your assets in pretty much the same way a horny teenage boy looks at Kate Upton’s … err ... assets. In both cases they dream of getting their hands on them, and never letting go.

Back of the envelope: they’re charging you $37,000 a year in fees ... which will grow in line with your investments. How did they come up with that figure? Basically it’s a ‘rich bastard tax’. They know you can afford it.

Personally, I’d pay $25,000 to have a coordinated team of lawyers, financial advisors and accountants design and implement your asset structuring, and importantly your asset protection. Then I’d pay them $5,000 a year for a full annual review of your tax situation, with them advising on what loopholes they can exploit (at your income level, and wealth, there are always loopholes). Finally, I’d invest most of the money into my favourite rock-bottom-cost share funds, sign up for the dividend reinvestment plans, and focus on enjoying life.

Scott

What Would Scott Pape Do?

Hi Scott

What would Scott Pape do? This year I will receive an inheritance, around $400k, and I want to be sure I make the most of it. I am 37 and single, and that is unlikely to change (I can send photos!). I earn $77k a year and have a $250k mortgage on an unrenovated flat worth maybe $300k, $3k in credit card debt, $75k in super, $2k in shares, and exactly $0 in savings. My two sisters and I will be financially assisting my mum in the future. Please tell me: WWSPD?Thanks,

Leonie

Hi Leonie,

I’ve been told that my advice is like a comfy pair of undies: it may not be sexy, but it’s reliable, faithful, and it never changes. With that in mind, here’s what I’d do:

First, I’d do nothing for three months. You’re single. You have no dependants. You now have $400,000. There are very few people who get the chance to hit ‘reset’ on their adult lives -- you do. You don’t want to have regrets in 20 years’ time.

If you decide you want to stay in your flat long term, I’d do the following: pay off the mortgage, set aside $30,000 for renovations (less if you can), clear your credit card, and deposit $10,000 in a high-interest online savings account (Mojo). If it were me, I’d also donate some money -- remembering that ultimately the best way to honour the person who gave you this money is to manage their money well.

That’ll leave you with roughly $100,000. You then have the option of buying an investment property, investing in shares in your own name, putting money into super, or marrying a moron. The most tax-effective thing you could do is to make a voluntary contribution into an ultra-low-cost growth-orientated super fund. If you do, you’ll be on track to retiring with $2 million. That’s what I’d do. Finally, I’d save up your wage and take outrageously good holidays each year.

Scott

Liar, Liar

Hi Scott,

We’re married, aged 28 and 31. We earn a combined income of $192k, have $44k in savings, and want to build our first home. We intend on borrowing $550k and getting a guarantor option to avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Our initial plan was to pay off as much as we could as fast as we could. However, we had a meeting with our mortgage broker and he advised us to have it as an investment property for five years, and therefore get a bigger loan for the tax benefits. As we plan to start a family in about five years, we could make it our home at that time, and still have all the tax benefits along the way.

Prue

Hi Prue,

Let’s recreate that meeting with your mortgage broker, but without the bulldust. I’ll play the role of the broker, who I’ll base on Jim Carrey’s character in Liar Liar (that is, he has a magic spell cast on him and has to tell the truth for 24 hours):

Prue: “We’d like to own our first home. We’re thinking of a loan of around $550k.”

Broker: “Look, the more you borrow, the more commission I make. So how about you borrow more, so I can pay for my daughter’s braces?”

Prue: “Why would I want to do that?”

Broker: “Well, if you borrow more money, and turn it into a rental property for five years, you’ll be able to claim your losses against your taxable income. You’ll still be out of pocket, and I can’t imagine whoever you’ve roped into being your guarantor won’t be very happy about it either. But again, this isn’t about you, it’s about me.”

Prue: “Is there another way?”

Broker: “Well, you’re on decent money. If you save hard for another five years, you’ll get to a 20 per cent deposit, and you’ll be able to avoid a potentially disastrous family situation with your guarantor. Or else you’ll avoid paying $14,000 in LMI. But there’s no commission for me, so that is not what I would advise. Here is a photo of my daughter’s dentist. He drives a Mercedes.”

Scott

How to Be a Lifestyle Entrepreneur

Hi Scott,

I really enjoyed your last piece on starting your own business. I’m 35, married with a son (three), and a mortgage of $660k. I’m an account exec at an advertising agency, earning $115k plus super. It is hard work, long hours, and totally unfulfilling. I know I have more to offer the world. Specifically, I am planning on creating a virtual coaching business for executives in the connected economy. Other lifestyle entrepreneurs in this niche earn amazing money, can work around family commitments, and even find time to travel. Financially, what do I need before I quit my job?

Chris

Hey Chris,

A couple of observations.

Firstly, I’ve met many a lifestyle entrepreneur -- including quite a few who’ve been written up in magazines with headlines like ‘I stumbled onto a million-dollar business and now live on my own island!’ Experience has shown me that it’s all coconuts.

The people who really make it to the top of their field in small business are, in most cases, total workaholics, absolutely ruthless, and often a little unhinged.

It makes total sense when you think about it. They’re willing to throw in the security and benefits of a full-time job to go into battle with established players who have more experience and more money than they do. It’s not an easy path, or everyone would follow it. Most people are not cut out for it.

Second observation. Reading The 4-Hour Workweek a few times will not prepare you for business.

The only way you can work out whether you’ve got the ticker is to go out on your own while still working full time. If you’re doing 40 hours a week at the advertising agency, do another 4 hours each night after the anklebiter is in bed (oh, and work all weekend) for a few years until you’re earning at least $115k a year from the business.

I call it the ‘trapeze strategy’: don’t let go of the bar (your secure paycheque) until you’re safely holding the next one (your successful business). Enjoy the lifestyle!

Scott

Scam Me Two Times, Baby!

Hi Scott,

Your article on land banking hit me between the eyes. You really try and protect people. I wish I had listened to your advice! I invested about $100k in a land banking deal, which I paid for with an SMSF they set up for me (just like you said). The company is now in liquidation, and lawyers are trying to get some money back for us investors. At the age of 53 I am left with only $30k in super and a huge mortgage to pay. I want to close my SMSF down, but the lawyers say that if they get some money it has to be paid back to the same super fund. It’s costing me $2,000 a year to keep it open. What should I do?

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Most people get robbed with a gun -- you got robbed with a pen.Here’s the thing that frustrates me about white-collar crime: if they’d used a gun instead of a pen, these crooks would be (rightly) rotting in jail, and you’d have some recourse to your money through the ‘Victims of Crime’ compensation system.

Yet this scam is aided and abetted by lawyers, and is designed with the end game in mind -- making off with your loot, no matter how long it takes them. (At the very least, when a scumbag sticks you up in a dark alley you know what the outcome will be -- and that it’ll be over quickly.)

For all these reasons it’s doubtful they’ll ever get you any money -- that was never part of the plan. However, I can understand you live in hope that they’ll get some back for you, and if so it’s true they can only pay the trustees of your current super fund.

So you’ll have to keep it open. However, with only $30,000 in your account it’ll be eaten up if you live in hope for too long. My recommendation is to switch your fund over to an outfit like esuperfund, which will run an SMSF for $799 (it will still be the same fund, just managed by a different outfit). If at the end of the two years there’s no money, close it down.

Scott

All that Glitters is ... Silver?

Scott,

Why would you tell Mark (27th March) to get rid of his silver? If you were to do some deeper research on gold and silver, you would find they are likely to multiply many times. This will be due to the inflated world money supply producing a Ponzi-like bubble on world stock markets, and then crashing, making for a rush to silver and gold, even with a high AU dollar. Look ahead a bit!

Doug

Hi Doug,

Let’s do some ‘deeper research’.

First, I appreciate and totally agree with you that central bankers have put the world in uncharted territory. I also share your hunch that, when our day of reckoning comes, gold and silver and cans of tinned baked beans will all move higher, albeit temporarily, which could make you a trading profit.

The question is when this will happen. You don’t know. I don’t know. The doom and gloom newsletter publishers who make millions of dollars a year selling subscriptions don’t know either. A 20-year study by academic Philip Tetlock from the University of Pennsylvania tracked 82,361 economic and political predictions from academics, experts and gurus, and found they were about as reliable as a dart-throwing monkey.

So while you wait for the world to crash, you’ll be stuck with an investment that misses the secret source of wealth: compound interest. See, the problem with trying to predict the future price of silver, gold, or my grandma’s prized Victorian teapot is that none of them have any practical utility (other than looking pretty). They’re not like a company that generates profits and pays dividends, nor a home that can be rented out. You can only make money by trading it -- selling a lump of metal with no intrinsic use to someone who believes the same story that you do.

Finally, if you do some ‘deeper research’, you’ll see that over the past 100 years gold and silver have barely managed to keep up with inflation. Over the same time period, the US share market has risen a staggering 18,520-fold.

Scott

Monopoly Money

My name is Tom.

I’m 33 and married, with a four-year-old daughter. We have a $530k mortgage on a house valued at $670k which we bought 20 months ago. We also own a piece of land valued at $125k. With living expenses, we are a little cash poor at the moment. So my question is: should I buy a commercial property (a factory) as an investment with the land as equity? My company (which I own 50 per cent of) could lease it, and I would be the landlord and the tenant. Would love your advice!

Tom

You’re considering taking the Bruce Willis Die Hard approach to financial planning: Bruce would buy the commercial property -- cobbled together from a series of credit cards -- and then flip it to Mark Zuckerberg for $20 million by the time the credits roll.

You, on the other hand, have a young family, a young mortgage, a young business, and (understandably) no spare dough at the moment.

Now is not the time to be buying a commercial property. If I were in your shoes, I’d sell the zero-income-producing piece of land and create a six-month Mojo account (usually it’s three months, but as you’re in business it would be smart to have another three months buffer).

With the leftover money I’d either invest it into the business (but only if you can generate a good return) or pay it off the mortgage.

That being said, if your business is tied to a physical location that you don’t own -- like a restaurant, a shop or a dental clinic -- it can be a smart idea to buy that property in your self-managed super fund (SMSF).

However, I don’t think your factory is in that league, and I know you’re not ready. Instead, screw down a good rental deal on a factory with a long lease, and pour your money into expanding your business.

Scott

Hide the Silverware

I invested $10,000 in silver bars a few years ago when gold and silver prices were on a run. Their value has since declined by 25 percent or so. I guess a foolish decision on my part. Should I hold on in hope of regaining value, or cash in and perhaps reinvest?

Mark

Have you ever been in a relationship that you knew wasn’t going to last? Sure you have. We all have. But instead of biting the bullet and breaking up, you let it drag out. When you eventually break up, all you’ve done is wasted a lot of time. And time is money.

Scott

How to Earn 12% a Month

One of my friends cannot stop raving about the money he is making from FxUnited, which promises a 12 percent return a month on investment. All we need to do is invest a minimum $1,000 (actually we could afford to invest around $10,000) and we will get 12 percent return monthly. It sounds too good to be true. When I search the web there are mixed reviews, to which the company has recently posted a response on their site. I have told my friend that I will check with my finance guru (you).

Sheree

Just for kicks, I had a look at their website. It has a mid-90s, spray-on-hair-in-a-can feel to it. Let me do the maths for you: a 12 percent monthly return represents a stunning 289 percent annual return. To put that return in perspective, the greatest investor on the planet, Warren Buffett, has achieved a 20.8 percent annual return over his 50-year career. It’s a scam.

Scott

The Destitute Father

My father passed away and I am finalising his affairs. In fact, I am the executor of his will. The thing is, he was of no fixed address, living in boarding houses and hospitals -- basically destitute. How would I track down lost super, shares and bank accounts? I would appreciate any assistance.

Kim

You’ll need to wait until probate is granted, because you need a copy of the probate, and the death certificate, to be able to effectively chase down and transfer his assets. You can start your search online: to find shares, bank accounts or life insurance policies do a free search on ASIC’s MoneySmart website.

To locate any super he may hold, do a search with the ATO’s SuperSeeker website. Finally, search the relevant State Revenue Office website, which may uncover unclaimed bond money and the like. It’s also worth talking to his former employers to see if he had any group insurance or any other benefits as well. Good luck.

Scott

Selling the Bolthole

We are five years off retirement. We live mostly out of town, but for the last seven years we have owned a well-located Melbourne city apartment that we use from time to time. It has grown very little in value (and with all the new apartments coming on to the market I can’t see it increasing any time soon), and we no longer need to use it. So should we sell it and invest in the stock market, or rent it and work like crazy to pay off the mortgage? At that point, of course, the apartment would be about 20 years old and in need of a refit! What to do?

Leslie

Sell it. Sell it. Sell it. Seriously, sell it.And to be clear, I’m talking against my own interests: I’m an owner of a Melbourne CBD apartment myself (though I’m at an earlier phase of my life than you and am looking to hold on for decades).

The market is oversupplied -- approvals are running at about 23,000 apartments each year, which is about 75 per cent higher than the long-run average. This is going to flow through and affect vacancies, rental yields and prices.

At your stage of life I’d suggest you sell and make a post-tax contribution to an ultra-low-cost super fund, then focus on building up your nest egg over the next five years.

Scott

The $2 Million Question

I’m 41, married, with three kids under five.I’m a 50 percent owner in a successful business that pays me $290k a year. My net worth is approximately $430,000, plus my share in the business, which is worth about $2 million.In four years’ time I’ll have to find $2.5 million to buy my business partner out, or else find a new business partner. What are your thoughts? 

Clinton

You’re doing very well! But there are two ways you could still screw it up.

First, you could get a new business partner in four years’ time. In all the years I’ve been Barefoot I can count on one hand the really successful long-term business partnerships I’ve seen (hello, John Farnham and Glenn Wheatley).

Second, you could borrow a heap of money and put yourself under a lot of stress. I wouldn’t do that either. You’re already wealthy -- why risk it?

Here are the two choices that I’d make:

I’d either sell the business when your partner leaves, bank a bloody big cheque, and enjoy watching your kids grow up.Or I’d talk to your business partner in the next few months about structuring an ‘earn-out’.

That is, instead of being paid $290,000 a year, you make an agreement to earn a smaller amount each year and gradually buy him out. Why would your partner agree to this? Possibly for sentimental reasons, but primarily because you’ll pay him more over time -- they’ll share in the upside.

That’s what I’d do. Up to you.

Scott

How to Get a Cheap Work Car

My husband runs his own painting business. He is driving an old heap that is on its last legs and needs a new business vehicle. Our accountant has suggested a ‘chattel mortgage’, which sounds like a good deal at 6 percent interest for $20,000 over five years. We have a lot of debt to pay off and want the most cost-effective option.

Lorraine

The most cost-effective option is to pay cash for a second-hand van. However, if you don’t have the coin, and can’t buy it out of savings, your accountant is giving you decent advice. Remember that, as long as the price of the van is under $20,000, you’ll also be able to claim the Government’s accelerated depreciation allowance, which will potentially reduce your tax by $6,000.

Scott

What to do When You’re too Successful

I am 48, and over many years my wife and I have built a company. It keeps growing and we have good long-term employees (15 employees and 10 subbies), and I feel responsible for their ability to pay their mortgages. I love what I do but I am burning out -- and drinking too much. We earn a lot of money and take great holidays, but both my wife and I are fed up working 14-hour days. How do I find a new boss to keep this going?

Matt

Hi Matt,

You sound burnt out. (I know because I’ve been there myself.)That’s what happens when you feel you have a duty to provide for 25 families. And that’s also why you rightfully deserve the big bucks -- it’s people like you who drive the economy forward.

Here’s the thing: like most small business owners, you’re walking the self-employment tightrope because you want your freedom. The only problem is that you end up working for the worst boss in the world: yourself. Fact is, most small business owners have less freedom than the people they employ!

There’s no cookie-cutter answer to any of this -- only the obvious: you’re not in the building game, you’re in the bringing-money-in-the-door game. You’re a salesman. Everything else you do in your 14-hour day should be outsourced to someone better (and cheaper) than you.

Scott

The Million Dollar Idea

I’ve written to you a number of times but never heard back. But I will keep trying! I have stumbled upon a game-changing idea in the education space -- no-one is doing it. Right now I am part way through registering all my intellectual property, but I have spoken to some successful businesspeople and they agree it has the potential to be huge. I’d like to talk to you about it confidentially if you are willing to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Looking forward to talking to you -- it’s potentially HIGHLY lucrative.

Brad

Dude, unless you’ve invented a way to stop U2’s Songs of Innocence album from playing randomly on my iPhone, I’d respectfully argue that your ‘game-changing’ idea isn’t worth a bunch of Bono’s sunnies.

New ideas are too risky.

You have to create a brand new market. That’s expensive. What’s more, why haven’t the established players done it already? And what’s stopping them from doing it once you show up?

Better to be like Apple -- knock off an idea, or merge a couple of existing ideas.

Successful business is all about business models: profitable business models. Where are businesses that are already making money? Follow the money -- just do it just a little better.

Scott

Thank-you Barefoot!

Hey Scott,

This isn't a question, it's a thank you. I just turned 30 and after spending my 20's in debt with no financial clue, I am now in the green after Mum got me your book two years ago. I made a spreadsheet, put $2k in a high interest account, paid off my credit card and threw it in the blender, paid off my car loan, and smoked cigars with friends to celebrate, then paid out my interest free laptop. Future is bright.

Matt

Hey Matt,

Thanks for your kind words, you made my grandmothers day.

Scott

Setting up a Family Trust on the Cheap

Hi Scott,

Do I need to pay my accountant to set-up a Family Trust and a Bucket Company (fees circa $500), or is it relatively easy to do myself? If you suggest doing it myself, what are the pitfalls?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

You could do surgery on your dog by watching a few Youtube videos, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m joking of course (but not about the dog). I’d want good asset structuring advice from an experienced accountant. As part of the conversation, tell them you can set up simple bucket company and family trust via a website. Quote the fees, and ask them how much they charge to do the same thing.

Scott

Should I ditch Comminsure?

Hi Scott,

I'm a single self-employed professional. I took out income protection insurance (and the full suite including trauma, total and permanent disability and life insurance) when I bought my first house, with CommInsure. With all the recent media coverage I'm feeling unsure that my premiums are good value for money and I will get a payout if I ever need to claim. Please advise.

Kath

Hi Kath,

The 4 Corners story on CommInsure (the insurance business of the CBA), uncovered serious cultural flaws in Australia’s biggest bank. The bank’s CEO, Ian Narev came across as a complete and utter banker.

The truth is that a lot of CommInsure policies are sold in much the same way that Maccas sells it fries: as a juicy upsell on another transaction: in your case, you got a side serve of insurance your mortgage.

I’d talk to a financial advisor to insure that you have adequate cover, and have them review your policies to ensure that in the event of a claim, you’ll be covered.

What the 4 Corners investigation showed, was that you can’t trust the CBA to do the right thing.

Scott

Negotiating with the big boys

Hi Scott,

Can you help me negotiate for a better deal with my superannuation provider? I've already asked them to reduce my fees twice, but they seem reluctant. Surely the whole industry cannot be sewn up like this? It seems incredible that they won't work a little harder to keep my business. Please help.

Brendan

Hi Brendan,

I like the way you think.

A US-study by Morningstar found that the best predictor of success didn’t come from a funds past returns, or their investment style, or even Morningstar’s own ‘star ratings’: it all came down to fees.

Over the long-term, the funds with the lowest fees earned the best returns.

However, there’s a better chance of the Reserve Bank Governor rapping his next interest rate announcement “yo, we’re keep’n the cash rate at 2 point ohhh!”, than you do getting your super fund to change their asset based fee. That’s just not how their system are set up.

You have two choices: if you have $500,000, you can open an SMSF, and invest directly in shares, Listed Investment Companies and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). Or, you can hunt around and find an ultra low cost industry fund.

Scott

What’s the Go with Kidman & Co?

Hi Barefoot,

We've been looking for a small australian based investment to have a dabble and came across the sale of S. Kidman & Co Ltd. Any advice?

Peter

Hi Peter,

I love the idea of owning a part of one of Australia’s most iconic cattle companies.

As a kid from the country, the Kidman empire -- which spans 100,000 square kilometers -- is the equivalent of the Playboy Mansion for me (okay, just with different heifers).

Would I invest my own money in it?

No.

History shows that investing in agriculture businesses are essentially commodity plays with very little pricing power. And, the commodity in question, beef, is at record highs right now. A very good time to be selling Australia’s biggest capital empire.

My view is that there are better quality investment opportunities to be had owning businesses that are operating higher up the economic food chain.

Scott