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If you like writing or receiving cheques, your days might be numbered. Last week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a plan to phase out the use of personal cheques by 2030. To be honest, it is amazing cheques have lasted this long.

June 30 is sneaking up on us and there are only three more weeks until the end of the year. Time to really make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Here is our year end ‘to-do’ list for all things superannuation.

Covid saw an increase in ‘seachangers, as 50,000 people left Australia’s cities for the regions. This was the first time this had happened for decades. So, did it work?

Last week we looked at the recent Budget’s ‘big picture’ – the unexpected surplus of $4 billion. This week, we take a closer look at some of the specific announcements. There were no really ‘big’ announcements (other than the surplus); rather there were a suite of smaller changes.

The Commonwealth Government handed down it’s Budget on Tuesday night. One of the most striking things about the Budget is that the Government will be in surplus for the 2022/2023 year.

Last week you may have seen the release of a review into the Reserve Bank of Australia. The review calls for a number of changes, none of which are particularly earth-shattering or will change how monetary policy operates in Australia. But that begs a bigger question: what is monetary policy anyway?

There is a basic human principle that we should always remember: financial competition is usually bad news for the competitors. Avoid if possible!

If you have been travelling overseas for any length of time, you will have noticed how easy it has become to transfer Australian dollars into the currency of whichever country you are in. But, what actually happens when money is ‘transferred’ overseas?