“The interest will always be there for the old school tie!”

Seven decades after his own outing on the Astley Cup sporting field, former Orange High School Captain, Leigh Knight, still feels that ‘Cup’ spirit.

A retired school principal, Leigh, 92, was the Orange High School captain in his graduating year of 1947.

“In the old high school up, on the March and Sales street corner, Gwynn George and myself were school captains,” recalls Leigh.

“Astely Cup was always big back in those days,” he says of the eight-sport inter-school competition which runs into its hundredth year in 2023, making it one of Australia’s longest-running sporting fixtures.

“Rivalry, friendly rivalry, was very important to us, although all centres have their own strengths.

“Dubbo for example,” continues Leigh, “were always strong in tennis; we could never beat them… Orange was always strong in hockey and basketball, which my Dad coached for 20 years.”

The school was much smaller then, of course, says Leigh, and perhaps more tightknit as a result. But there was always plenty of school spirit at Astley Cup time.

“My part in it, I played in the 1947 football team, Astely Cup, lock forward... I was useless,” Leigh confesses with a chuckle. Rugby Union has now been replaced by Rugby League in the competition.

“I was pretty useless, but it was what we did in those days, we participated and we did our best… and we did take home the cup that year!”

While Leigh’s career took him away from Orange to schools all over the state, he’s always kept an interest in the results of the Astley Cup.

“Although being aged, I’m 92 now… I can’t get to see a lot of the things that I would like to go and see, but the interest will always be there for the old school tie.”

Your 5 Minute Financial Health Check

As we near the halfway mark of another year, now’s a great time to do a quick fiveminute financial health check.

And if you need a little bit of motivation to do so, have a think about this:

How many years have you already been working?

How many years until you’d like to retire?

Just imagine how much money has already passed through your fingers. Do you feel like you have enough to show for all your hard work? Does this make you think seriously about what you need to do to make the most of the working years you have left to set yourself up for when you hope to stop working?

Here are a few quick questions to answer to get a handle on where some of the gaps may be in your financial plan…

Q 1: Do you have clear financial goals? Statistics show that you could potentially create NINE TIMES more wealth by formulating clear goals, writing them down and reviewing them on a regular basis.

Q 2: Do you know your net worth?

Your net worth is your assets minus your liabilities, and gives you a clear picture of what you have achieved financially. It helps you see where you are now and see the path required to where you need to get to.

Q 3: Do you have a system for tracking your spending?

Most of us have a pretty good sense of what money’s coming in, but it’s common these days for people to not have great oversight over where their money goes. This is perhaps the greatest difference between those who do well with money and those who don’t.

Q 4: Do you know your debt trajectory?

Debt is almost unavoidable for anyone who wants to own a home. However, how much you borrow, what interest rate you pay and how long it takes to pay it back, can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars difference in the long run.

Q 5: Are you maximising your super?

Super is so poorly understood, but it needn’t be that way. It’s actually pretty simple… it’s just a tax-effective way to own investments that will help pay for your retirement. And you have enormous control over it. Use it to your advantage and you will likely retire well. Ignore it at your peril!

Q 6: Are you investing wisely?

Many people invest on gut feel or follow what others they know do. Or, these days, are guided by social media. Others just never get around to investing. Like with super, investing is easier than you probably think. Invest wisely and you can take advantage of the power of compound returns.

Q 7: Are you properly protected?

Insurance is one of those things none of us love paying for. But some are more important than others. . If you have a partner and/or dependent kids, and if you have an income that you couldn’t live without, then not being properly insured leaves you exposed to financial ruin in the event something goes wrong. Get protected!

Q 8: Do you have a will?

Statistics suggest that around half of all adults in Australia die without a will. What a mess that leaves! None of us want to think about dying, but getting a proper will (and some other estate planning measures in place) is thinking about those we leave behind.

HHHHH

If you can’t categorically answer “Yes” to all of these questions, then that would suggest you have some important things that need to be addressed. Then the question becomes: how long will it be before you take action?

A five-minute financial health check… It could be the most important five minutes of your life. If you think your financial health could use some help, reach out for a free initial appointment.