Super Freedom

Trish Power is an author and journalist who lived a former life as a superannuation tech-head. Trish describes much of her financial writing as educative journalism. She is passionately committed to raising the level of financial literacy in Australia and empowering individuals to improve their financial circumstances. Trish has worked on member communication campaigns for some of the largest superannuation funds in Australia, and spent several years educating and advising the community and industry on super while employed with the industry regulator. She regularly contributes to newspapers, magazines and newsletters such as The Age, Superfunds, and Investing Times. Trish has both a law degree and an economics/commerce degree from the University of Melbourne, and holds a professional writing and editing qualification from RMIT University. Trish is the author of many books including Superannuation For Dummies. Trish has launched www.superguide.com.au>, the only independent website for consumers on superannuation in Australia. The site contains plenty of superannuation information and has a monthly newsletter.

About the author vii Acknowledgements ix

Introduction: Financial freedom is possible xi

Part I It's never too late or too early to create a super future 1

1 Unlocking the super secrets to a wealthy life 3

2 Getting the monkeys off your back: what’s stopping you from taking super control? 11

3 Investing for super beginners 27

4 Your Six-Step Wealth Check: how much money is enough? 43

5 Case study — I'm 52. Is it too late to start saving? 63

Part II You’re on your way to a super plan 75

6 A short course in super: the basics and the best bits 77

7 Doing a little: turn $4500 into $300 000 the easy way 95

8 Doing a lot: making $1 million is possible, but it takes a super plan 113

9 Case studies — four women create $1 million nest eggs 125

Part III The good life beckons — a few more important things to think about 149

10 Boost your super: 15 tips to help you create a worry-free fi nancial future 151

11 What happens when I retire? Super benefi ts, the Age Pension, tax and other stuff 175

12 Next step — fi nancial freedom! 195

Appendix: A short guide to the free calculators, table assumptions and tax rates 199

Glossary 219

Index 229