The Government has announced that it will bring forward stage two of the previously legislated tax cuts that were due

to take effect from 1 July 2022 by two years.

Not all financial goals are achievable or can be done in the timeframe you have set for yourself. Don’t trip yourself up before you start by being over ambitious or impractical.

If you would like to know more about how to improve your financial wellbeing, talk to a financial adviser.

End of the financial year is usually a good time to think about making extra contributions to take advantage of
the lower rates of taxation on super.

If your super is invested in the Australian and/or international share markets, it’s likely you would have been affected by this.

There is no other time when professional advice is more valuable than it is now. So if you have a financial planner, talk to them.

If you are concerned about your own mental health, or if you are worried about the mental wellbeing of someone you care for, support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Retirement is about enjoying life without the obligation to work. For your investments retirement is also about considering your own personal appetite and capacity for risk, the cost of suffering large portfolio losses, and the impact of not earning sufficient return. It’s a balancing act, but with the right help, entirely achievable.

While negative headlines about the stock market can be off-putting, investors should be grateful for them. Every dollar invested today could buy considerably more shares than it would have done at the start of the year.

Key message: investor emotion plays a huge role in magnifying the swings in investment markets. The key for investors is not to get sucked into this emotional roller coaster. Of course, doing this is easier said than done which is why many investors end up getting wrong footed by the investment cycle.