Smart Money Strategy

Be your own financial planner and create a winning strategy to achieve your money goals

Do you want to learn and apply the strategies that experts use to grow and protect wealth? In Smart Money Strategy, popular financial planner Luke Smith comprehensively reveals the principles, methods and tactics that real financial planners use with their clients. Every person’s—and every family’s—financial journey is different. There’s no silver bullet or one-size-fits-all approach. But there are financial strategies that can be applied, no matter what stage you’re at in life, to get your money working harder for you with less stress.

Smart Money Strategy will help you to define your priorities and create a personalised, actionable plan to achieve your goals. You’ll learn effective strategies to manage your income, reduce your debts, and maximise your investment, superannuation and retirement outcomes. Even better, you’ll learn how different strategies can be stacked together for maximum benefit. In other words, you’ll learn how you can stack the financial odds in your favour!

You’ll discover:

• The basics: 5 truths about money and the 5 foundations you need to get started
• The actual strategies used by financial planners when it comes to cash flow, risk assessment, investing, protecting wealth, retirement, and estate planning
• How smart planning can minimise fees and taxes on your investments
• How to combine your money strategies and put together your own detailed financial plan

From adopting a money mindset to protecting your assets, with Smart Money Strategy you’ll uncover the secrets to achieving your financial goals. Whether you want a hands-on DIY approach, or you’re looking for the essentials you need to talk more confidently with your own financial planner, this book will help you create a tailored plan for growing your wealth.

Acknowledgements ix

About the Author xi

How to Use This Book xiii

Introduction ix

Part I: The Foundations 1

1 Five Truths about Money 3

2 Your Adult Financial Life Starts and Ends with ‘Why?’ 13

3 Setting Strong Foundations 19

Part II: Strategy Stacking 35

4 Understanding the Strategy Stacking Philosophy 37

5 Strategy Stacking around Significant Life Events 53

6 Getting Started: Assessing Your Starting Position 61

7 Making a Plan: The Strategy Stacking Calendar 81

8 Strategy Stacking Scenarios 85

Part III: The Strategies 119

9 The Framing Strategies 121

10 The Investment Strategies 143

11 The Superannuation Strategies 191

12 The Retirement Strategies 245

13 The Wealth Protection Strategies 291

14 The Estate Planning Strategies 321

Part IV: Putting Your Financial Plan into Action 339

15 Why Seek Personal Financial Advice? 341

16 What to Expect from the Financial Planning Process 349

Endings and New Beginnings 359

Index 363

LUKE SMITH is a licensed financial planner and the founder of an award-winning financial planning business based in Canberra. He hosts a weekly program on 2CC Talking Canberra and is host of The Strategy Stacker, a personal finance podcast.

DISCOVER WINNING STRATEGIES AND TAKE YOUR MONEY TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Are you ready to take the next step in your personal finance journey? Do you want to learn and apply the strategies that experts use to grow and protect wealth? In Smart Money Strategy, popular financial planner Luke Smith reveals the principles, methods and tactics that expert financial planners use with their clients to achieve results, amplify growth and create peace of mind for the future.

Every person’s—and every family’s—financial journey is different. There’s no silver bullet or one-size-fits-all approach. But there are financial strategies that can be applied to get your money working harder for you, no matter what stage you’re at in life. With Smart Money Strategy you’ll discover how to define your priorities and create a personalised, actionable plan to achieve your goals.

Inside you’ll find strategies for tackling all things money—budgeting, investing, superannuation, estate management, and more. Even better, you’ll discover how these different strategies can be stacked together to meet your specific goals, faster. Learn how to:

• set strong foundations in young adulthood
• understand the basics of personal finance
• implement new behaviours and create a bespoke financial strategy
• maximise your retirement strategy’s efficiency
• protect your wealth against the unexpected.

Whether you want a hands-on DIY approach, or you’d like to talk more confidently with your own financial planner, Smart Money Strategy is your down-to-earth guide to growing your wealth and protecting your financial future.