February 2022 Newsletter

It’s February and what a summer it’s been with success on the tennis court and the cricket pitch. Now that the kids are returning to school and we settle back into our ‘’new normal’’ routines, the new year begins in earnest.

January is normally a quiet month on the economic scene, but not this year. Inflation and speculation about rising interest rates dominated the month, sending global shares tumbling. US stocks fell 6% in January while Australian shares fell 7%. After US inflation hit a 40-year high of 7%, the US Federal Reserve is tipped to start lifting rates as early as March. Our Wealth Management Advisor, Bruce Dyason, emailed his clients a brilliant, informative and concise market update. We have shared this as an article in month’s newsletter. If you have any doubts about your existing investments, or would like a second opinion, please feel free to reach out and contact our Director of Wealth Management (Bruce.Dyason@kingandwhittle.com.au) who would be happy to provide you with an obligation-free comprehensive review.

In Australia, inflation is sitting at 3.5%, while underlying inflation (which excludes volatile items) is at a 7-year high of 2.6%, within the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-3%. The Reserve has said it won’t lift rates until 2024, or unemployment is near 4% (it fell to a 13-year low of 4.2% in December) and annual wages growth is close to 3% (currently 2.2%). While wages are going backwards in real terms, one third of a panel of 23 economists interviewed by The Conversation expect the Reserve to start lifting rates this year.

One of the big influences on inflation is oil prices, with crude oil near 7-year highs. Brent Crude jumped 15% in January and 65% over the year to US$90.94 a barrel. Aussie motorists paid record prices for unleaded petrol in January, with a national average price of 170.4c a litre.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index fell 8 points to 100.1 points in January, while the NAB business confidence survey fell to a 19-month low of -12.4 points in December on the back of COVID-induces supply chain issues and labour shortages.

The Aussie dollar fell US2.5c in January to close at US70c as the greenback strengthened on rate rise speculation.

On the King & Whittle home front, we are back and rearing to head into the new calendar year (albeit mostly from home), however as COVID cases decline, we will be returning to more face to face appointments and cannot wait to see you then!

Until next month,
Your King & Whittle Team

Tips to help you achieve your professional goals in 2022

As we ring in the New Year, you’ve probably set yourself a few personal new year resolutions. What is the likelihood of you sticking to them long-term? Interestingly, most of us will have failed to achieve these resolutions within a few months (if not sooner).

They’ve either become so onerous that we don’t care anymore, or we simply don’t have the time – life and work often get in the way.

How about professional targets, do you set yourself professional goals as well as personal? Do you consider how you’re going to work smarter this year, is work-life balance something you want to improve upon in 2022, or is your objective to spend more time focusing on your clients and less time doing admin?

Goal setting to achieve an objective

To be successful at setting goals and actually achieving them, you must be clear on what your objective is. Goals cannot be put in place until you’ve set your objective. Once this has been decided, only then can you put steps in place to achieve it.

For example, your main objective for 2022 might be to spend more face-to-face time with clients. Ask yourself the right questions – how you currently spend your day versus how you would like to spend your day. Look at areas where you could potentially create efficiencies within the business to free up your time.

Are you spending more time managing the business's finances or working on the administration side of things as well as trying to market to your existing clients or reach potential clients each month?

That is a lot to juggle on any given day, so you should consider whether any of these tasks could be outsourced to people who can do it in half the time. Obviously, there will be costs associated with outsourcing these jobs, but you must weigh up the benefit to the business as well as your clients.

How to set attainable goals

The key to success here is to break down your goals so they are achievable. You could begin with a monthly goal, which is broken down to a weekly target and then into a daily task – what individual steps do you need to take to achieve your overall goal.

By breaking it down into individual tasks, you’ll take the pressure off, especially if you don’t manage to tick something off your daily ‘to do’ list. You can just move it to the following day.

Tips for success in 2022

• Understand your overall objective (what does success look like?)


• Develop a strategy


• What tasks can be outsourced/delegated/or automated


• Create a monthly and weekly schedule


• Break it down and create a daily ‘To Do’ list


• Stop multi-tasking – pay full attention to the task at hand


• Exercise and a good night’s sleep are also important!!

Another strategy you could implement is the SMART strategy. You must ensure the goals you set are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.

Accomplishment

Imagine finishing your workday with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that you’ve been productive and ticked everything off your ‘to do’ list as well as continually working towards your main goal.

There will be occasions where something unexpected will pop up and interfere with your day, so you must allocate time in your day to be able to deal with these situations.

Here are some useful productivity apps to help with your ‘to do’ list:
 

• Trello: Collaborate and manage projects in a very visual way.


• Evernote: Record and remember everything to tackle projects with your notes, tasks and schedule all in one place.


• Friday: Plan your day, communicate as a team and to keep all your most important work together in one place.

We can help

If your objective is to work smarter this year, then we’re here to help. One of our objectives is to help our clients with their finances so they’re able to continue to do what they do best. Call us today to see if we can free up some of your time and assist you in achieving your goals in 2022.