$80k A Year

Tax-effective investments that won’t strain your vital cash resources should be at the top of the list

- Jason Petersen

A 30-year-old earning $80,000 has similar challenges to those on other incomes: a substantial tax bill ($20,000pa), a barrage of information about where to invest and, above all else, a desire to live life on their own terms. With little in the way of surplus funds – and possibly a sizeable HELP debt – it’s easy to feel financially stuck. And without a hefty deposit or high income, getting a home loan can be tough, especially with banks under pressure to lend more responsibly. This means you need to think about other ways to grow your wealth.

As a young person, superannuation is unlikely to be top of mind. Nonetheless, it’s smart to take control of your super early to get it working harder for you sooner. First, with most funds charging 1%-2% in fees, make sure your choice is cost effective, with total costs of not much more than 0.5%. An extra 1% in super fees over 30 years reduces your super balance by about $160,000, or $60,000 in present value. There are a few funds (Macquarie and Net wealth, for example) that offer very low fees and also enable a key strategy to be adopted: the use of self-funding instalment warrants (SFIs).