Some people genuinely enjoy tracking their spending. They carefully categorise expenses, balance the numbers, and colour-code everything in a spreadsheet. And then there’s the rest of us. Maybe you’ve tried budgeting before, and it felt restrictive and time-consuming. Maybe it didn’t stick and that’s okay.

Here’s the thing: you don’t necessarily need a budget to be good with money. You can still save, still feel on top of things, and still plan for the future without ever opening a spreadsheet or managing every single dollar you spend. It’s just a matter of picking an approach (or a combination of approaches!) that works for you.

Pay yourself first and separate your savings

The first thing you should do is move your money before you even see it. This simple shift can make a surprisingly big difference. Set up an automatic transfer right after payday so a portion of your income goes directly into a savings account. Don’t overthink the amount. It doesn’t have to be large or ambitious. Even a small, consistent transfer builds over time. What matters is that it happens first, before your brain has a chance to decide it needs that money for something else.

You can even take it a step further by keeping your savings in a separate bank account that’s harder to access. No debit card. No app that shows your balance every time you open it. The more friction between you and your savings, the more likely it is to stick around.

Clear the path of temptation

Once your savings is in motion, work out what’s pulling you into spending money unnecessarily. The sale emails, the apps you open when you’re bored, the brands that pop up when you’re trying not to shop. These tiny nudges are more powerful than they seem.

You don’t need to delete everything or cut yourself off completely, but even unsubscribing from a few promotional emails or hiding shopping apps in a folder you rarely open can create just enough space to think twice. When you’re not constantly being invited to spend, you’re far less likely to do it on autopilot.

Try a soft delay instead of a hard no

That extra space you’ve created helps with impulse spending too. Not by banning every fun purchase, but by adding a small pause. Try giving yourself a 24-hour buffer before buying anything over a certain amount. It gives you time to decide if you actually want or need the item or if it just caught you at the right (or wrong) moment. This gentle pause often results in walking away from things that seemed urgent but weren’t.

Let saving feel good

As your balance starts to look a little healthier, saving can even become satisfying. Not in a charts-and-goals kind of way, but in the quiet moments of progress. Maybe it’s a day where you don’t spend anything and feel oddly proud. Or maybe it’s realising you didn’t make any impulse purchases this week and still felt fine.

Try turning this into a habit by choosing one day a week to avoid all non-essential spending. Call it whatever you like. It’s not about being strict or punishing yourself. It’s about pressing pause, resetting your habits, and noticing how little effort it can take to save when you give yourself a break from the constant flow of spending.

These small changes tend to build on each other, even if you’re not consciously tracking them.

Use tools that save without asking

Some of the best saving happens without effort. Many banks and apps now offer round-up features that add a few cents to your savings every time you make a purchase. Buy a $5.20 coffee, and 80 cents goes into your savings account automatically. It’s like a digital jar where your spare change quietly collects, without requiring you to do anything.

Cash to help save

If you like having some limits but don’t want to track every detail, try using cash for small, everyday spending. Withdraw a set amount each week for things like coffee, snacks, or takeout. When it’s gone, it’s gone. You’re still free to enjoy your day-to-day treats, but now there’s a built-in stopping point.

None of this is traditional budgeting. But it works. And the best part? You didn’t have to give up your coffee or your peace of mind to get there. You just gave your money a chance to grow.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.

Click here to view our update.

Please get in touch on 03 9723 0522 if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

About SMSF investment restrictions

SMSFs are complex, here we have outlined some of the restrictions to help you before you make any decisions on self-managed super fund (SMSF) investment. You must ensure you understand any restrictions on SMSF investments to avoid any penalties.

There are some exceptions, however, generally your SMSF must not:

• lend or provide financial assistance to members or related parties
• acquire assets from members or related parties
• use collectables and personal use assets in a way that provides a present-day benefit
• allow trust distributions owing to the SMSF to remain unpaid
• breach the in-house asset rules
• borrow money.

No one associated with your SMSF should get a present-day benefit from its investments.

If you don’t comply with the investment restrictions, the ATO may take a range of actions, including:

• imposing penalties
• making the fund non-complying
• disqualifying you as a trustee
• prosecution of trustees.

Who are related parties?

A related party of your SMSF includes:

• all members of your fund
• associates of fund members, which include
  • the relatives of each member
  • the business partners of each member
  • any spouse or child of those business partners
  • any company or trust the member or their associates control or influence
• standard employer-sponsors (employers who contribute to your SMSF for the benefit of a member under an arrangement between the employer and a trustee of your fund)
• associates of standard employer-sponsors, which include
  • business partners and companies or trusts the employer controls (either alone or with their other associates)
  • companies and trusts that control the employer
  • relatives of an employer sponsor.

A relative is any of the following:

• a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal descendant or adopted child of the member or their spouse
• a spouse of the member and any individual specified above.

Loans and financial assistance

Your SMSF can’t provide loans, or direct or indirect financial assistance, to a member or a member’s relative. For example, you can’t use your SMSF as guarantor for a loan for a member or a member’s relative.

Loans must:

• be in the best interests of the members
• comply with the SMSF’s investment strategy
• be conducted on a commercial arm’s length basis.

If you run a business through your SMSF, you also can’t overpay a member or relative of a member for their services. If you employ a member or a relative of a member, their salary or wage must not be higher than the standard salary for that type of role.

Acquiring assets

Your SMSF can’t acquire an asset from a related party unless the price reflects the market value and is:

• a listed security (for example, shares, units or bonds listed on an approved stock exchange)
• business real property
• an asset specifically excluded from being an in-house asset.

You must also ensure the market value of your fund’s in-house assets doesn’t exceed 5% of the total market value of your fund’s assets.

Crypto assets and private company shares are not listed securities and can’t be acquired from a related party.

If an asset is not acquired or sold at arm’s length, all or part of any income from the transaction may be non-arm’s length income and taxed at the highest marginal rate.

To help you comply with the requirements, use the valuation guidelines for self-managed super funds.

Collectables and personal use assets

Where your fund invests in collectables and personal use assets, this must be for genuine retirement purposes, not to provide any present-day benefit.

Assets such as artwork, boats, jewellery, vintage cars and wine are described as collectables and personal use assets.

Natural diamonds (including pink diamonds), when held in loose form, are not considered collectable or personal use assets. As such, they do not have specific storage and insurance requirements. However, for these types of assets it is recommended trustees:

• hold adequate insurance
• consider storage arrangements.

‘Diamonds held in loose form’ means they cannot be mounted, integrated into or used as an item for adornment or other purposes which would be inconsistent with the holding of the diamond in loose form for investment purposes.

Collectables and personal use assets can’t be:

• used by or leased to a related party (if leased to an unrelated party it must be at arm’s length)
• stored or displayed in the private residence of a related party (this includes all parts of the land the residence is situated on and all buildings on that land, such as garages or sheds)
• displayed in any other premises owned by a related party (they can be stored there provided they’re not visible to clients and employees).

You must keep a written record of the reason for deciding where to store the assets.

Collectables and personal use assets must be insured. You should consider the availability and cost of insurance before investing in them. Items must be insured within 7 days of the fund acquiring them and the fund must be listed as the owner and beneficiary of the policy.

These assets can be sold to related parties provided the sale is at market value as determined by a qualified, independent valuer.

Unpaid trust distributions

If your SMSF is entitled to a distribution from a related trust but you allow it to remain unpaid, you may contravene the:

• in-house asset rules
• arm’s length rule
• sole purpose test.

In-house assets

You are restricted from having in-house assets that comprise more than 5% of the market value of the SMSF’s total assets.

An in-house asset is any of the following:

• a loan to a related party of your fund
• an investment in a related party of your fund
• an asset of your fund that is leased to a related party, such as business equipment or machinery.

Any lease must be made on an arm’s length basis and reflect the market value.

If at the end of the financial year your SMSF’s in-house assets exceed 5%, you must prepare a written plan to reduce in-house assets to 5% or below. This plan must be prepared before the end of the following financial year. Trustees must also ensure the plan is carried out.

There are some exceptions to in-house assets, including:

• business real property that is leased between your fund and a related party of your fund
• some investments in related non-geared trusts or companies.

The in-house asset rules for assets owned before 11 August 1999 were defined differently. If your SMSF owns assets that were acquired before this date, you should review your fund’s investments to ensure you are complying with the current rules.

Decrease in asset values due to COVID-19

Some SMSFs may have experienced a decrease in asset values due to the economic impact of COVID-19. If this resulted in a breach of the in-house asset rules as at 30 June 2020, or the in-house assets being more than 5% of the total assets, the fund was required to prepare and implement a rectification plan by 30 June 2021.

Business real property

Business real property generally means land and buildings used wholly and exclusively in a business. It’s an exception to the in-house asset and related party acquisition rules.

If business real property contains a dwelling for private or domestic purposes such as a farm, it can still meet the requirements of being used wholly and exclusively in a business if:

• any dwelling used for private or domestic purposes is in an area of land no more than 2 hectares, and
• the main use of the whole property is not for domestic or private purposes.

Running a business in an SMSF

If running a business through an SMSF, it must be:

• allowed under the trust deed
• operated for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits for fund members.

The rules governing SMSFs prohibit or limit some activities available to other businesses, such as entering into credit arrangements or having overdrafts.

You should get professional advice before running a business through your SMSF.

It is important to ensure the sole purpose test is not breached. Issues that attract our attention include those where:

• the trustee employs a family member (we look at things like the stated rationale for employing the family member and the salary or wages paid)
• the ‘business’ is an activity commonly performed as a hobby or pastime
• the business run by the fund has links to associated trading entities
• there are indications the fund’s business assets are available for the private use and benefit of the trustee or related parties.

Contact us if you have any questions regarding your SMSF, we’re here to help.

Source: ato.gov.au April 2025
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/self-managed-super-funds-smsf/smsf-investing/restrictions-on-smsf-investments/what-are-the-smsf-investment-restrictions.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is pushing to limit negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts to just one investment property.

So who stands to win or lose the most if it happens? And is the Albanese government likely to act on the proposal, given Labor has been burnt on the issue before?

Research on Australian housing finance shows negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were not designed with rental housing in mind – yet this is where they’ve had their greatest impact.

How do the tax breaks work now – and what might change?

Under current negative gearing rules, investors are able to deduct losses incurred from an investment property (such as interest payments and other expenses) against their own taxable income. These can be claimed on an unlimited number of investment properties.

High-income earners tend to have greater incomes to buy properties, and larger tax bills to make deductions against.

With the 50% capital gains tax discount, only half the increase in price of an asset is taxed when it is sold. High-income earners also tend to benefit more from this than low-income earners.

Under the ACTU’s proposal, the current negative gearing and capital gains tax discount arrangements would stay the same for the next five years.

That would give investors time to adjust their property portfolios before a change to only getting tax breaks on a single investment property.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus put forward the idea at the national economic reform roundtable. She warns continuing to give investors tax discounts to own multiple properties is making home ownership “nearly unimaginable for young people”.

Who would win and lose under the proposal?

According to analysis of the most recent Australian Tax Office statistics from 2022-23 by RMIT researcher Liam Davies, there were 2,261,080 individuals with an “interest in property” – meaning they have an investment in at least one rental property.

Of those investors, 1,117,175 (49.4%) were negatively geared. And of those who were negatively geared, 810,875 have an interest in one property, and 306,300 have an interest in two or more properties.

1 in 7 property investors would be affected by the ACTU’s proposal

Source: ATO Taxation Statistics 2022-23, Table 27

So yes, there would be some losers under the ACTU proposal. About 306,300 out of 2,261,080 investors – 13.5%, or roughly one in seven property investors – would be affected by the new proposed limits. That’s just over 1% of all Australians.

But for the majority of other investors who negatively gear now – 810,875 people at last count – they would continue on with the same tax breaks as before.

What tax breaks cost now – and what they could fund

It’s also worth noting that negatively geared investors “lost” (or claimed deductions for) a total of A$10.4 billion in 2022-23, with $4.8 billion being “lost” by investors with an interest in two or more properties.

The ACTU estimates its change would raise about $1.5 billion in tax revenue each year.

That money could go towards housing in other areas – such as the government’s Housing Accord target of helping finance 40,000 social and affordable homes over the next five years.

We’ve known for years that a tiny fraction of investors actually get the vast majority of these tax breaks.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has reported around 80% of the benefits of the capital gains tax discount go to the top 10% of Australian income earners, while 60% of the benefits of negative gearing go to the top 20% of income earners.

Over the past decade, foregone revenue from negative gearing and capital gains taxation has totalled more than A$80 billion.

Tax breaks that were never meant to work this way

Neither negative gearing nor the capital gains tax discount were initially targeted at rental housing.

Negative gearing provisions actually date back to an unclear loophole in the 1936 Income Tax Assessment Act.

And until as recently the mid-1980s – just two generations ago – there was no capital gains taxation in Australia. Back then, it was much harder for investors to get finance to buy rental properties.

The big change came in 1999, when then-prime minister John Howard acted on a Treasury recommendation and applied a blanket 50% discount to all assets held for a year or more.

At the time, the stated aim was to get more people investing in Australian businesses, such as through the share market. Instead, many people ploughed money into housing and have bid up house prices ever since.

What are the prospects of change?

Within the past year, Labor has repeatedly ruled out changing negative gearing or the capital gains tax discount.

Labor has been cautious about it ever since Bill Shorten’s failed 2019 election campaign, which proposed limiting negative gearing to newly-built dwellings and reducing the capital gains tax discount from 50% to 25%.

But the simplicity of the ACTU’s proposal – and the fact that it would leave the majority of property investors untouched – may make it simpler to implement and also easier to win over voters.

The Greens have already said they back the ACTU’s proposal. So if the Albanese government chose to act, it would have enough support in parliament to pass it.

Public support for limits on how many properties investors can own has also grown in recent years. Gen Z and Millennial voters now comprise almost half the electorate – and their most pressing concern is housing (un)affordability.

Source: https://theconversation.com/how-many-of-australias-2-2-million-property-investors-would-lose-out-under-a-new-plan-to-curb-negative-gearing-262595

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.

Consumer sentiment continues to rise after the latest interest rate cut.

A higher-than-expected jump in inflation figures may prompt the RBA to keep interest rates on hold at this month’s meeting

Click here to view our update.

Please get in touch on 03 9723 0522 if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd

Investing isn’t just a numbers game. It’s an activity that stirs various emotions from hope and optimism to fear and anxiety.

Whether the ASX is surging or stumbling, emotional responses to market movements can shape outcomes just as much as economic fundamentals. Understanding those responses is crucial to building resilience, especially in unpredictable times.

These patterns underscore the importance of long-term perspective, especially in a market shaped by both global sentiment and uniquely local factors.

How emotions enter the equation

We like to think our financial decisions are rational, but the truth is more complex. Investors aren’t robots crunching numbers in isolation. We are influenced by news cycles, cultural values and personal stories from friends, family and colleagues.

When markets rise, euphoria and FOMO can drive hasty buying decisions. During downturns, anxiety and regret can push investors to sell at a loss, despite having sound long-term strategies.

This pattern has played out across decades, from the dot-com bubble to the COVID recovery. And remember that emotional investing isn’t just a beginner’s problem. Even seasoned investors can be swept up by sentiment if safeguards aren’t in place.

Psychologists have long observed how financial stress activates similar responses to physical threats, triggering fight-or-flight instincts rather than thoughtful analysis. That’s why even well-informed investors may react defensively when facing market instability.

The good, the bad and the balancing act

Emotional investing isn’t all risk. In the right conditions, it reflects conviction, clarity and purpose. For example, values like patience and belief in the future can help investors stay committed during market dips.

Life changes such as home ownership, welcoming a child or retirement can bring useful emotional clarity to financial decisions. And ethical investing often stems from emotions such as care and connection to community.

When used with discipline, emotions can reinforce sound decisions rather than undermine them. Investors who use emotional clarity to establish long-term goals tend to feel more confident, even when short-term volatility strikes.

That said, emotions can also derail strategy. Panic selling during downturns, overconfidence after gains and herd mentality all pose risks.

The 2022 market correction saw many Australians pull out of super investments prematurely, missing the rebound that followed. These reactions stem not just from fear but also from a desire to act, even when patience may be more effective.

Learning from behavioural finance

Behavioural finance gives us tools to interpret emotional reactions. Biases like loss aversion, recency bias and anchoring affect decision-making in subtle but powerful ways.

These include:

• Loss aversion – People often feel the sting of losses more intensely than the joy of equivalent gains, which can lead to overly cautious or reactive choices.
• Recency bias – Recent events weigh heavily on perceptions, leading investors to expect trends will continue simply because they’ve just occurred.
• Anchoring – Fixating on a past portfolio value or arbitrary benchmark can skew rational assessment.

Recognising these tendencies helps investors avoid knee-jerk decisions and design portfolios that stay aligned with goals over time. It’s not about eliminating emotion; it’s about becoming aware of how it operates and mitigating its effects through smart responses.

After all, markets are always shifting. Emotions will always emerge. The goal isn’t to shut them out, but to understand them and develop structures to keep emotions from steering the ship. When investors learn to pause, reflect and act with intent, they not only improve outcomes but feel more confident in their journey.

If you’d like to explore strategies to build emotional resilience in your portfolio, or tools to help remove bias from investment decisions, please give us a call.

Integrity One Wealth Advisers  Pty Ltd