ask paul

Q. I am a 56-year-old engineer who has a $400,000 mortgage via an interest-only loan and $70,000 in credit card debt. My 49-year-old wife works part-time on $20,000pa and we have two children, six and eight. My credit card debt accumulated via repeated ... More

Q. I am a 25-year-old South Australian planning to go backpacking overseas for at least a year from April 2020. Before I leave I intend to reserve about $10,000 to help get me back on my feet for when I return to Australia in mid-2021. I am considering ... More

Q. We're hoping to retire in our early 50s - my wife is 46 and I'm 47. We both work full time with a combined income of $200,000 before tax, and hope to save at least $30,000 each year. We still have a few more years of private school fees to ... More

Q. Hi Paul, My wife and I are 44 and 45, both working full time with a combined income of about $220,000pa. We have a mortgage with an offset account, which is incurring 0% interest as our savings of about $60,000 are equal to the outstanding mortgage. ... More

Q. I am a 48-year-old relief teacher who works only one or two days a week, and I'm on Centrelink benefits. I own my own home outright and have only about $85,000 super in a growth fund and little in savings. My father recently passed away and I ... More

I am a 41-year-old recently divorced woman. I have returned home to Australia after living overseas for many years . I have $50,000 to invest (50% of a retirement annuity received in the divorce settlement) and $50,000 in child support maintenance ... More

My wife (28) and I (30) are recently married and looking at investment options. I own the property we are living in, which I bought it as an investment three years ago and was negatively gearing until we moved in earlier this year. I owe about $220,000 ... More

We have recently had a baby boy and would like to set up some form of investment or account where we will deposit money on a regular basis. Our intention is that he will access it later in life. What do you suggest would be a suitable course of action ... More

Q. My husband and I earn a combined $130,000pa and we owe $70,000 on our home loan. We have no other loans and no children. We also have no foreseeable big costs coming up, apart from maybe another car in the next year or two. We are hoping to travel ... More

Q. I am 64, my wife is 63 and we intend to retire in two years. We own our house and have two investment properties yielding $750 a week. We have combined super of $630,000 and do not have any outstanding debts. We have $50,000 in shares and $50,000 ... More