Ask Leon
Ask Leon is where I answer your financial planning and money questions.
Check out our latest articles where I answer your questions or if I have not covered a topic you are interested in, be sure to ask a question from my form below.
Spending squeeze on home ownership dream
The road to owning your own home used to be a relatively straightforward one. However with recent changes to the way banks assess a borrower’s ability to service home loan repayments, your borrowing capacity may have dropped by up to 40%.
This one thing could save you from financial ruin
How can you go from earning $150 million in 15 years, to being millions of dollars in debt? Quite easily it seems if you’re American actor Nicolas Cage, whose extravagant lifestyle and eccentric investments left his finances looking more like a horror story than a heroic Hollywood adventure.
This tax hack could boost your super before June 30
It’s that time of year again when everyone and their accountant start suggesting the best ways to supersize your tax return. Did you know, for instance, that extra payments towards your retirement nest egg can actually help send more cash your way now?
ABC Interview with Garth Russell
I was recently interviewed by Garth Russell on 1233 ABC Radio Newcastle about my thoughts on housing affordability in Australia.
5 reasons I’m keeping my private health insurance
I recently had an experience with the private health system that left me thousands of dollars out of pocket. It got me thinking … is private health insurance worth it?
Is it time to re-think the Great Australian Dream?
A new report from the Grattan Institute has highlighted how rapidly rising house prices have created a housing affordability headache that is playing havoc with the financial futures of many Australians.
Out of time
A few years ago I made the decision to pay someone to mow my lawn. To be honest, I never enjoyed doing it myself but as our family started to grow (from one child, then two, followed by a third) I had less and less time to spend.
FOMO as an investment strategy
Fear of missing out (FOMO) can also be a fear of regret or missed opportunity – a fact I’ve been reminded of this summer with the continued rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The royal commission we had to have
The Federal Government will be opening the vault on banking practices across the country as part of a Royal Commission into the sector announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month.
How many super funds do you have?
I’m guessing it’s more than one. Once upon a time, it wasn’t unusual for a person to stay in a job for life. These days, however, the story is not so simple.