Editor’s letter
Debt is like chocolate. It’s good in moderation but disastrous in excess. The problem is that many of us don’t know when we’ve had too much: three in 10 Australians are over-indebted; two in five can barely cover their home loan repayments; more than 1.5 million Australians are caught in a credit card trap. In short, we are becoming a nation of debt-aholics. That’s why our cover story this month is about debt management (page 36). Before you can build your retirement nest egg, you’d need to knock down your mounting debts first.
The impact of good debt management is not limited to personal finance. Companies that borrow money only if they really have to stand to do better in the market. Check out our book extract (page 72) from Martin Roth’s Top Stocks 2020, where he singles out five companies worth investing in, particularly because they have relatively low debt.
Just as important as debt management, although it barely gets media coverage, is cyber security. We spend so much time on our mobile phones that it’s become a treasure trove of data on who we are, what we do and how we spend. And yet our concept of cyber security is so poor that the annual cost of cyber attacks on Australia exceeds $1 billion. Meet the man – Matthew Wilson – who is one of our homegrown heroes battling this global crime (page 20).
In this issue, we are continuing with our #SuperBooster campaign, encouraging more Australians to top up their super. Women are particularly vulnerable given their interrupted work patterns and the gender wage gap. Annette Sampson writes about how to address this, through additional contributions or by transferring the proceeds of a property sale into a super account (page 46).
Ultimately, there are many ways to make or lose money. This issue is packed with articles on how to do the former and avoid the latter. That’s what we are here for. We hope our cover story, in particular, helps you tackle your debt worries head on.