Hashtag: #CarlaSeelyColumns

Carla Seely Column: No Fixed Address?

Carla Seely Column: No Fixed Address?

[Written by Carla Seely] For a lot of people, gone are the days of being chained to a desk in a nine-to-five job, punching a time card in Monday through to Friday and dreading peak-hour traffic on a daily basis. Over the last ten years there has been a lot of talk about “flexible hours”, “remote access” and “hot-desking”. There has also... Read more of this article

Carla Seely Column: Hoping For A Century?

Carla Seely Column: Hoping For A Century?

[Written by Carla Seely] It’s funny, sometimes I run into people in the street who ask me how my grandfather is doing – not because they know him, but because I quite often write about him and how his advice has had such an influence on me. I recently returned from Australia where I visited my grandfather each day in his nursing home. It was hard... Read more of this article

Column: Managing A Financial Windfall

Column: Managing A Financial Windfall

[Written by Carla Seely] At some point in their lives, most people have thought about what they would do if they had a sudden positive change in their finances – maybe quit their job, travel the world, buy a house or pay off their mortgage. I certainly have played the game with my husband, dreaming about what we would do if we inherited or won a... Read more of this article

Column: Planning Finances As A Single Parent

Column: Planning Finances As A Single Parent

[Written by Carla Seely] Organising and planning for your family’s financial well-being can be challenging at the best of times. However, there are many challenges involved in managing and maintaining a household as a single parent. Being a single parent means you have less money to spare, and there is a pressing need to have a solid long-term financial... Read more of this article

Column: Looking At ‘Generational Money Habits’

Column: Looking At ‘Generational Money Habits’

[Written by Carla Seely] Generational money habits – How did my grandparents manage their money? One thing that has changed significantly over the past century is people’s attitude towards money and how they manage it. Do we learn these habits from our parents, or do we recognise their bad habits and implement change to ensure we don’t do the... Read more of this article

What Happens To Your Pension When You Die?

What Happens To Your Pension When You Die?

[Written by Carla Seely] What happens to your pension when you die? Anyone who knows me will know one subject I skirt around and immensely dislike talking about is death; I don’t even like using the word – it is just so final. For me personally, I am not sure whether I am afraid of dying, or if I am more afraid about being told I am going to die... Read more of this article

Column: Credit Card Debt Getting Out Of Control?

Column: Credit Card Debt Getting Out Of Control?

[Written by Carla Seely] I think I speak for most people when I say that at some point in our life we put something on our credit card and didn’t pay it off in full, leading to a vicious circle of recurring payments and mounting interest on the balance! Most of us get “stung” once and learn the lesson of how to use a credit card sensibly, but... Read more of this article

Carla Seely Column: Halfway Through The Year

Carla Seely Column: Halfway Through The Year

[Written by Carla Seely] In our home, July marks our ‘check-in’ chats: discussions on any travel plans for the remainder of the year, whether we should upgrade any furniture or get a newer car, and so on. But our biggest and sometimes most ‘heated’ chat is regarding the semi-annual review of our finances and update of our ‘net worth statement’. Let’s... Read more of this article

Column: Planning For Your Child’s Education

Column: Planning For Your Child’s Education

[Written by Carla Seely] As parents, you want to make sure your children have the best education possible, yet the cost of schooling and university can be extremely high. The money that you spend on your children’s education can be one of your largest lifetime expenses, so saving early is key. Starting to save early will enable you and your child... Read more of this article

Column: Can You Ever Plan For Unexpected?

Column: Can You Ever Plan For Unexpected?

[Written by Carla Seely] Murphy’s Law – can you ever really plan for the unexpected? I am not superstitious but I certainly take note of patterns and trends, whether it is “Things always happen in threes” or “It’s Murphy’s Law” – meaning anything that can go wrong will go wrong. One thing I have discovered over the course of my life... Read more of this article

Column: What Is Your Behavioural Finance?

Column: What Is Your Behavioural Finance?

[Written by Carla Seely] One thing I have learned during the course of my eighteen years in the financial industry is that a person’s view on money is like a fingerprint; no two views are exactly the same. They may have similar values, they may invest using similar methods but everyone treats money slightly differently from the next person. The question... Read more of this article

Column: Deciphering Investment Risk & Reward

Column: Deciphering Investment Risk & Reward

[Written by Carla Seely] Over the course of my 18-year career in the financial services industry I have met many investors and based on our conversations, I can confidently state that only about half of them actually know what they have invested in. However, what is even more alarming is, their incomplete understanding of the risks associated with... Read more of this article

Carla Seely Column: Think Before You Give

Carla Seely Column: Think Before You Give

[Written by Carla Seely] Think before you give: Four situations where you may not want to split everything evenly among children During my childhood, the holiday season was the main time my relatives gathered together, both immediate and extended family. Most times it was at my nanna’s house with all my cousins – sixteen of us squeezed around two... Read more of this article

Column: Eight Habits Of A Wealthy Person

Column: Eight Habits Of A Wealthy Person

[Written by Carla Seely] Lots of articles are being written that clearly show the rich are getting richer. They also describe how the middle class [meaning the majority of us] are working harder and longer than we did a decade ago but, ironically, have less disposable monthly income. There is an ever-expanding gap between the wealthy and the middle... Read more of this article

Carla Seely Column: CFO Of Home Operations

Carla Seely Column: CFO Of Home Operations

[Written by Carla Seely] In every family, one of the most important discussions is to appoint someone to take charge of the family finances. Whether it is yourself or your partner doesn’t really matter – whoever takes on the role recognizes that the financial stress will be a constant challenge and they have to take responsibility for navigating... Read more of this article

Carla Seely Column: Are You A Risk Taker?

Carla Seely Column: Are You A Risk Taker?

[Written by Carla Seely] Speak to anyone who has decided to go it alone and open a business, and you’ll discover that they understand the term “risk”. My 98-year-old grandfather is one of those people. During his thirties, he opened a business from his backyard, and whenever I have spoken to him about it, he has always been honest: there... Read more of this article