MA

We read this concept from the school newsletter recently & love the concept.

In Japanese aesthetics, there is the most beautiful concept, known so simply, as ‘ma’. Translated to ‘negative space’, ‘ma’ is that space between the walls of a building, the white between the lines of a drawing, the silence between the sounds in music.

It is not form, yet form cannot exist without ‘ma’; it is almost a philosophical statement—what is darkness, but the absence of light? It is what the person in the building, the person admiring the picture or the person listening to music experiences, and without it, there would be chaos.

Read more: Ma

There are  a number of things working against him.

The loss on the investment property, the standard living expenses for a family for 6 and the lowish income for the 2 bread winners (80k).

There simply isn't enough cash in the pot to services the debts with the investment property there especially the way that the  lenders have  increase considered living expenses.

Read more: Is this what they wanted or was promised??

Hi John,

Just to let you know that I have received my payout from ***.

They were just excellent. I am delighted with their service They were efficient and prompt. I cannot believe it has only taken them 10 days or so to process my claim. I received more than I would have thought.

This was my first such claim and after all those years of paying premiums, it finally paid off.

Read more: Just to let you know that I have received my payout from ***.

It has been a  full week of very active top sports watching on the screen.

Of course on Wednesday we had the State of Origin with a home ground win & Billy a Queenslander taking out the man of the series.

It’s the last game & result that counts & let’s not forget Kevin Walters the coach.

Read more: Coaches

If you are going to ‘retire’ someday then yes you do need an income to live on.

According to ASFA 9/17 for a comfortable retirement then you as a couple need 60,457+ to live on and that, depending on your life expectancy ,can mean you outlive your money.

As we all know saving a million dollars takes usually a very long time, it depends on what you invest in & what the rate of return is.

And is a million enough to retire on?

Not today as interest rates are historically as low as they have ever been.

A million invested today in a term deposit might earn 2.6% or 26K p.a.

So for you the arbitrary 1.6 million each that the government decrees allows you 41,600 p.a.

If you can handle some ‘risk’ then you might invest in equities or other investments to earn a higher income. Let’s not forget Government risk.

So is there a better & easier way as most when they realise this are running out of time?

Many are out there looking for a business but that usually requires start-up capital from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand.

As we have known for 20 years there is an easier alternative.

If it brings in 26K p.a. or 500p.w permanently then that is equivalent to 1,000,000 in capital.

Goals kicked.

1 million.

Is it easy?

 Is that doable?

It’s easier than the alternatives.

How long does it take to learn a trade or do a degree?

Do I need employees?

Yes,’ you want only two good workers who have skin in the game & others

Do you really want a hand out from the government when you retire but subject to income & asset testing?

Do you want a healthy income when you retire?

Yes Sir.

Birthdays come & regulations change  & it is now the next incremental step in the independence journey.

The drivers license!

I’m not going to enjoy this but ‘can we just do a little before ‘ we seek out a driving instructor.

Yes that makes sense.

Let’s take  the smaller car as easier to maneuver.

Practice where the brake & accelerator are.

Ok now let’s swap & no ‘yes I know responses because you don’t know.

Yes Dad.

Take off.

Trepidation.

First corner &  with arms tangled like spaghetti  we are up the curb.

Twice!!.

Take off again & around a block reaching 20Km/h.

Trepidation & stick to the middle to not hit those car side windows.

Around the block a few times.

Ok that’s enough stress for the moment.

Let’s do a little again tomorrow.

We need to do 100 L Plate hours & driving instructors are 50 or 60 p.h.

From 1^st July new licenses require 200 logged hours before the P license.

The driving instructor will be worth it because we are NOT doing those hours in the passenger seat.

Definitely too much stress for us.

It is frequently said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a trade.

Or is it 20,000 hours?

Has Travis the high performance tennis coach or Therese the piano teacher with her PhD. completed 10,000 hours?

Almost certainly.

We will continue in our financial instructing which is easier after 34 years as a  financial navigator.

How many hours is that?

Each to their own trade.

Yes sir.

‘

As I had to deliver the car today to the garage we observed our mechanic George* limping.

I asked why & he has to have a hip replacement in December.

George* further explains that he will have his wife covering him for the 3 weeks he is recuperating.

Read more: Alignment

We met David for the first time this week & he mentioned that 12 years ago  he had had a worker’s compensation claim.

The accident occurred at work whilst sharing an 80Kg load with one other.

 As he was the taller of the two & they went some distance then the following day the back pain started.

After that all the financial pain started.  The very brief outline that David gave us was that he went to some big firm in  town & he ‘won’ 150,000 as compensation. 

The big firm he then paid 50,000.

This enabled him to pay off a mortgage but then he had to move to a cheaper suburb & have 6 years of it appears depression.

His partner left him.

David in fact is a refuge & now a proud Australian & he has his grandmother & parents down in Sydney.

Now we recall way back when Colonial agents were found selling policies to those who could hardly read.

Changes were made then  & continue to be in financial services.

We wonder if these big No win & we fight  fair & all those ****should have the same scrutiny.

Others might call it unconscionable conduct.

Of course Workers compensation only covers accidents at work & not illness or lifting a weight at home or elsewhere.

So Bruce who we just spoke to who has just had biopsy of lymph nodes would Not  be covered.

Bill* an arborist who asked for a claim form on Monday this week is self employed & has his own income protection.

That covers accidents & illness & 24 hours & worldwide & taxx deductible.

Now that makes sense.

David need not from what we can gather have paid out 50,000 to *****.

It probably was a simple workers compensation claim or a TPD claim under his superannuation.

We are very pleased to observe that David accepts all & has a purpose to help others through similar events.

He did comment that he wished he knew of us 12 years ago.

David just told us today that he went to the Law Council to complain & it we reduced to 36,000.

As others would say “yeah Right!!

We have just driven the family for the written driver’s license test.

We observed & commented  driving there on the smash repairs, on the ambulance that we allowed through & the police outside the room.

All too relevant.

Yes sir.

1.Hey John

Sorry for the delay – still here.

Having problems dredging through the Centrelink quagmire. Can you help?

Be happy to come out sometime – not too early in the day 😊

Cheers

Read more: Can you help?

What Joanne,  a GP who spoke about ‘wellness’ followed up with us..

‘Dear John ,

 It was lovely to meet you last week at the Aged Care Steps Master Class.

I am about to send through to you your scan result and am now following up as promised with some information about the scan and what it means.

The BioPhotonic Scanner has been developed using Nobel Award winning scientific principles.

It uses what is called Raman Spectrometry to measure the carotenoid antioxidants in the skin.

Carotenoid s are found in coloured fruits and vegetables and the level of them in your skin correlates directly with your general nutritional status.

 Levels are lowered by:

 * Poor diet * Excessive exercise * Stress * Illness * High or very low BMI (being overweight or very underweight) * Excessive sunlight * Cigarettes * Alcohol and * Poor absorption of nutrients.

 Levels are increased by

 * High intake of quality fruit and vegetables, * Balanced, high quality, nutritional supplements, * Improving digestion and absorption * Managing stress * Limiting exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants

 Scan scores range from 0 to 100,000. This image shows you the range and what influences your score more graphically. Your score is neither diagnostic nor predictive but it is very accurate.

It will vary at different times depending upon your lifestyle and the factors mentioned above

And then

Dear John

Congratulations on taking the first step towards a healthier lifestyle!

On 03/15/2016, you had your palm scanned with the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner.

Your scan returned a Skin Carotenoid Score of 63,000.

This score represents the current carotenoid antioxidant level of your skin.

The higher the score, the better carotenoid antioxidant protection your body is building.

This in fact was ‘top of the class’ of about 30 & why are we so ‘well’?

What Joanne  then wrote

‘Before reading further, I ask you to ask yourself this question... if I keep doing what I have been doing, how do I expect my health to improve without changing anything?

And .... how much am I prepared to invest in MY health and wellbeing for the future of myself and my loved ones? If you realise that your health is less than optimal, and that it IS valuable, then maybe it is time to do something about it....

In my practice, I like to see scores above 45,000 as much as possible. This IS achievable with dietary modification, weight management and supplementation particularly.’

So, I leave you with all this information to digest.

 When Joanne read our 63,000 score she told the remaining attendees waiting to be tested to not bother.

When we told her what we used she replied ‘of course.’

63,000 is off the scale  for wellness.

We must add that in the relevant comparative guide ‘ours’ scored 97.8 compared to ‘hers’ = 28.1

We also were advised recently that our health insurance premiums are increasing from 233p.m. to 259p.m.   that is a 11.6% increase

the rule of 72 indicates that 72 / 11.6 means that our health insurance premiums will be double in 6 years            

Will our income double in 6 years? NOT when we are retired.

As health has EVERYTHING to do with our wealth then to be ‘top of your wellness’

 contact us today before you forget on 07 3848 1088 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or through our websites

John McAuliffe