Ex employer has not given me my PAYG summary for the last financial year and currently 4 weeks worth of wages are outstanding, some dating back to May/June and my last week in August. The ATO have requested my PAYG summary because the ex employers have not updated their STR so are now also withholding my tax return until correct documentation has been submitted (completely understand this). What are my best realistic options?

29F from Australia. I currently have around $100k invested across the following:
VGS – $60k
NDQ – $22k
BHP – $7.2k
GDX – $2.7k
QAN – $2.5k
CCG – $2.3k
MVF – $1.9k
GMG – $1k
RIO – $900

I also have a mortgage, but have a decent amount sitting in my offset, so I’m comfortable investing the additional $10k rather than putting it towards the loan.

I’m investing for the long term (10+ years) and am comfortable with some volatility. I’m particularly interested in AI/technology, but don’t necessarily want to become overly concentrated in tech given my existing NDQ exposure.

I’m considering putting the next $10k into something like an ASX-listed AI ETF adding more VGS, or potentially buying an individual stock.

Sounds like Vaneck's research believes semiconductors have long term growth potential. Not sure how different its methodology is from SEMI but it has cheaper MER.

From the link:

What makes this trend so compelling is its durability. Semiconductor demand is not tied to one product cycle or hype phase. It's a foundational requirement for digital transformation in nearly every domain. Whether training trillion-parameter AI models, simulating protein folding, or delivering real-time cloud services, the need for semiconductors is only deepening.

I think this post is a bit embarrassing because I do study finance (granted I’m only first year) but I lack the critical knowledge associated with investments, index funds, super and basic financial literacy. Understanding theorems and excel is very different to putting said things into practice. I was just wondering what is the easiest way to get into such things and learn from hands on experience.

Recently I had an eye opening experience when my uni partnered with Jane street to host a recruitment event and I realised I truly know nothing. High-school was very rudimentary and getting good grades became quite irrelevant in uni when u realised everyone also met the same requirements but were doing 100000x more than you up until this point 🥲

I'm 38, high tax margin. I have a super with Unisuper.

Since I wouldn't be able to access my super in at least 20y it's better to invest in high growth profiles. Unisuper has one but they also have International shares profile which seems to give a bit more growth. Is it worth to invest in them rather than high growth? I'm also debt recycling in 100% VGS. I'm concerned if I'm concentrating all investments in international high growth options only and ignoring others

Just wondering if the Australian Age pension is a staple of people planning to retire early? I'm guessing it would be a floor that you'd want to know is there for you if the super balance starts to run low in the years after 67. I added a calculator to my tool kit to help me understand how the means testing works so sharing it here in case anyone else is interested: https://www.retirewiz.com.au/learn/age-pension-calculator

I'm thinking of adding small caps to a GHHF:GGBL (70:30) SMSF portfolio (the split is to dilute the Aussie portion). This is a gap with those funds and although unlikely to really move the dial that much it would add some diversification away from USA big tech and some different risks (Potential target ratio of 65:25:10).

So I came up with VISM, QSML, DGSM and AVSV as options. I think going with the factor tilt ETFs here is probably worthwhile and DGSM and AVSV are more diversified than QSML (~4400, ~1700 and ~150 companies respectively) . So it is down to those two. MER of 0.49% vs 0.55%, and AVSV appears to distribute a bit less. So I think AVSV is top of the list but does anyone have another take or another fund I've not listed as an option? Also any opinions on whether adding ~10% small caps is really worth it here?

Hi all,

I’m currently in year 12 and about to finish high-school, planning on going into university to become a physiotherapist. I have no clue about anything financial, but i’ve recently realised that i want to make sure that i’m able to retire early and be financially independent at a younger age or generally as soon as i can. I was wondering about what all of your first steps were in this journey? I’m unsure as to whether or not i should start investing money into stocks and if so, i’m not sure where to start or gain the knowledge required to start. If possible and if it’s not a bother, i was wondering if you could all give me a general idea of where i can start my journey, whether it be investing or just making sure im saving consistently at a young age, i appreciate any help and/or responses. Thank you!

Hi all,

I recently bought some Gold and Semiconductor ETFs in individual name which I now want to own under joint ownership with my partner. I have invested about $35k all under 12 months under ny personal name and its position is in slight loss by about $2.5k.

From tax and simplicity perspective, is it better to sell my ETFs from personal account and then rebuy under joint account or transfer them to joint account? As I understand both will trigger CGT but given both my ETFs are trading at slight loss, not sure which approach is better. Thank you.

The new CGT changes are being grandfathered. This, I believe, includes the 50% discount on 12 month holdings.

In light of this, have you considered locking in the current tax rate, liquidating your assets, and moving overseas to a lower tax jurisdiction, at least temporarily?

My understanding is that some countries, such as New Zealand, do not tax new residents on foreign-sourced capital gains, at least not initially.

It's true that, as per the deemed disposal rules, Australians are subject to an "exit tax" on losing their tax residency. So I guess paying tax on existing assets is unavoidable. But maybe it's better to pay the tax now, on gains made so far, under the grandfathering of the previous scheme. Rather than wait until they have compounded a lot and then try to exit, only to pay higher capital gains.

What do you think? Will you consider relocating to a different tax jurisdiction to lock in the current (relatively) low CGT?

Currently with Macquarie:

• Owner occupier home loan with offset
• Approx $500k remaining
• 6.14% interest rate
• ~29 years remaining (purchased Oct 2025)
• Around 80% LVR
• Annual package/offset fee: $248

I've been approached by NAB offering:

• 6.03% interest rate for offset home loan
• Monthly account keeping fee: $12 ($144 p.a.)
• No establishment fees
• No valuation fees
• NAB will cover applicable government refinance fees

On paper, I'd save 0.11% interest. Gemini estimated roughly $10k savings over the remaining 29-year term, assuming discharge fee of $400 and other costs $120

My questions:

1. Is a 0.11% rate reduction generally worth refinancing for?
2. What costs am I likely to face from the Macquarie side (discharge fees, settlement fees, etc.)?
3. Are there any other refinance costs I'm missing?
4. Given the loan balance is around $500k, would you bother moving lenders for this difference or hold out for a bigger discount?

EDIT: Reached out to Macquarie to see if they can match. But politely declined saying
"Unfortunately we aren't able to reduce your rate any further at this time, you are on the best rate which we can offer you. We are very sorry about this and we do understand that you need to do what is financially best for you, given the options which are available."

I'm trying to built a comparison of the recommended % people 'should' have in each asset class depending on their net worth. There's obviously factors like age, location, income rate etc that will affect things but let's try and ignore these. Just % in each asset by net worth.

E.g. in Australia if you're lucky enough to own your own home then most people's net worth is tied up in the Principal Place of Residence (PPR) and that's fine. And given the median property prices are north of $1M AUD then let's start there. Meaning someone with a net worth of $1M probably has like 50%-70% equity in their $1M home and then savings and super making up the remaining $300k-$500k.

But what about if they have a net worth of $2M? $5M? $10M? $20M? $50M? What % do people have equities vs real estate vs cash etc.

Now, when you look at wealth reports like Knight Frank's they are of course skewed (IMO) to saying property is high(er) than what is really accurate. But their asset categories are a good breakdown I think at least? From their latest reports we have the descending order (rough %) from their family office survey (average of $1B AUM) of;

1. Equities (25%)
2. Direct real estate (19%)
3. Private equity (18%)
4. Cash (14%)
5. Fixed income (10%)
6. Private debt (5%)
7. Indirect real estate (3%)
8. Hedge funds (3%)
9. Art/collectibles (2%)
10. Gold/precious metals (<1%)
11. Commodities (<1%)
12. Crypto/digital assets (<1%)

So we can assume that's the TOP end breakdown. $500M+. Yikes.

But what is it for $1M to $50M?

I’m currently doing VGS and IOZ 80/20, I’m wondering if I should add any more ETFs to diversify 🤔

Hi guys, I just wanted a bit of a sanity check on my portfolio allocation. Here’s my situation:

I’m currently a third year engineering student
I make around 1000/wk from two casual jobs
I split that income as
250/wk savings
250/wk investing
100/wk into a bank account for my car (rego insurance etc.
50/wk into an emergency fund.

I currently have around $23k in investments
21k in IVV
2k in VEU

My target portfolio allocation is:
45% IVV
40% VEU
15% A200
Is it better off selling my portfolio and just putting it into DHHF?

Cheers

Was talking with some friends that are UK based and they moved to Wales and have retired in their early 40s. They have 2 kids but they downsized from a place in London to a house in the countryside and with the million pounds difference invested they're living off like 30k GBP a year no problem. Schooling is free. Is that sort of option even available in Australia? Like moving to a regional town here?

This feels slightly sacrilegious for an FI sub.

But the closer I get to understanding financial independence, the more I wonder whether the real prize isn't retirement at all. Maybe it's being able to tell a terrible employer to get stuffed. Working three days a week.

Doing work you actually like without caring whether it pays particularly well. Taking six months off. Helping your kids.

Or simply knowing that if everything went pear-shaped tomorrow, you'd be fine. Has anyone started pursuing FIRE and eventually realised they wanted the FI but not particularly the RE? What does “enough” look like for you now?

Hey all. Successfully Fired last Sept. Now with changes to my ANZ plat the rewards are no longer value for the annual fee. Finding it hard to change cards as no work income, only passive. Anyone had any success with providers who will include passive investment income in their approval process?

When I hit 60, I will likely have a chunk of ETF money outside super, and maybe around $1m in today's dollar's in super. My understanding is when I hit 60 I convert the super to account based pension and all the withdrawals and earnings are tax free. Each year, I'm forced to withdraw some minimum % which rises as I get older.

The outside super ETFs will likely last me say 5 years selling those down progressively without having to spend any of the super money.

Does it make more sense to sell those down first and re-contribute the super draw downs back to the super fund which is taxed at nothing? Or should I spend the super draw downs/take out more from super since its tax free and keep the ETFs unsold as long as possible (spending the super month first since its all tax free withdrawals Vs the ETFs that are going to have CGT as I sell them down)?

40 years old, two kids primary school aged, working full-time earning ~$155k. Partner earns ~$100k.

PPOR mortgage of $265k at 4.99% with 10 years to go, no other debts.

Super $115k in Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation set to aggressive growth to which I don't contribute but can't roll over into another fund (ex-ADF).

Also $325k in Emergency Services & State Super defined benefit, contributing maximum salary sacrifice rate of 11.8%.

I've had the benefit of being in the housing market since I was aged 21 and have been financially cautious but never got into investing, until a recent epiphany.

I've binged a bunch of podcasts and books and I'm keen on an ETF core and possibly some satellite stocks of companies I'm interested in down the track.

My current small portfolio (about $4k) with a plan to invest about $150 per fortnight.

BGBL 40%

VAS 25%

EXUS 15%

AFI 20%

Kids portfolio

Vanguard Kids Growth Index Fund ~$6k with $50 per fortnight auto-invested.

Planning to hold and purchase no more AFI and to make shuffle things to get the BGBL to 55% and VAS 20% with around EXUS around 15%, leaving room for the held AFI and some satellite stocks for fun/interest.

Please share with me your wisdom, tips, tricks!

I, 40F, have $147K in savings earning 5.10%, $111K in super and $61K in VGS. I don't own any property but I would like to. I have a partner without savings though so if I were to buy, I'd need to buy a 2-bedder and I'd want it to be in Sydney, which feels quite impossible.

My work is freelance so it's hard for me to get a loan. A good year for me might be $150K but this can fluctuate wildly down to $70K, or less. For this reason I feel like I will have to wait for inheritance before I can buy.

is there something smarter I could be doing with my money? More in shares? Bigger super contributions? Get a mortgage on a small studio that I wouldn't necessarily live in?

My partner and I have a 922K aud mortgage against our 2.25M house. We earn 250k+ per year (150K me and 100k her). We have about 209K saved in an offset account. We also have investment property worth 550K with a loan of 357K on it left. The rent fully covers the loan so we don’t pay anything. We don’t have any other debt like hecs or car.

We have both been employed by the same employer for over 4 years, with a full time permanent contract.

Despite that we have been rejected by BOQ and Amex for a credit card that we want to use to leave more money in the offset.

I’m worried about a third application somewhere else. Does anyone have any recommendations? People with a mortgage can’t get a cc? Our main mortgage repayment is 5621 aud per month and we don’t have any issue to pay for it as we bring home over 15K net.

Wanted to take a separate loan on the equity on my apartment.

Nab have stated there is roughly 180k equity if they were to bring the LVR to 90%.

I plan to chuck all of that on some safe etf i.e DHHF or IVV or something, then to pay back this amount with principal and interest.

Am I right in thinking the interest portion of this can be negatively geared? Make about 220-250k/ year, loan on apartment is bout 495k. Can make more if needed if I pick up weekends etc.

Is this a wise idea?

Also what should I tell NAB in the reason for the loan?

Cheers for the help

Hey guys, just wondering what's the thoughts on Scott's paper. I'm still invested 100% in stocks but I heard the paper was picked apart in the rational reminder community forums which I don't have access too.

I was thinking of just copying vanguard allocation of 60/40 at retirement and just keeping it at that since inflation might erode the true asset base.

What's everyone's thoughts and has there been any serious discussion around the stock/bond allocation for retirements. Thanks guys

This was my post from about this time last year (I just changed the 2025 numbers with the 2026 numbers). In 2021 we started thinking about some form of early retirement and this year we will have all of our kids out of high school and one out of university as well.

2021 Figures:
Age: 48 and 51with 3 teenage kids
PPOR: Own outright
Super combined: $650k
Managed Funds: $880k
Shares: $330k
Managed Funds for kids: $180k
Cash: 50-100k

2026 Figures:
Age: 53 and 56 with 3 kids (all 3 just about out of high school)
PPOR: Own outright
Super combined: $1265k
Managed Funds: $950k
Shares: $360k
Managed Funds for kids: $160k
Cash: 50-100k

I may continue working into jan/feb/mar next year depending on how I feel but also may finish at the end of the year.

I have already started to look at volunteer opportunities and also potential further study, maybe free tafe.

I think our numbers work out ok if we are drawing down 90-100k a year. We are also moving money from managed funds to super with non-concessional contributions. This does attract a higher tax bill but it has to be done to get that money into tax free super for later on. I think we likely can still make any big ticket purchases without serious impact on our planning if we want to, but I sometimes think a few extra dollars would help. I don't think I am stuck in the one more year category but I have to admit it does sneak into your thoughts every now and again.

Feeling a bit more free as we get into the back half of the year. It is nice to know that I can stop work really now when I want to. I may work again but I would hope it would be in a different capacity than a standard corporate role.