In this Q&A, Campbell tackles four big themes that trip up otherwise savvy investors: structure, borrowing capacity, super strategies, and sequencing. We start with a couple weighing up whether to extract equity from two Newcastle homes to fund an ~$800k investment purchase before kids. Campbell maps the trade-offs: why structure beats rate-shopping, the role of offsets and interest-only, how to protect borrowing capacity for a future PPOR upgrade, and when a buyer’s agent adds real value versus waiting and dollar-cost averaging into ETFs.

Next, we zoom out to a simple roadmap for late starters: build surplus first, automate investing, prioritise asset quality over activity, and use structures (trusts, only when justified) to solve clear tax or estate problems, not to manufacture returns.

On super, he explains capital-loss “harvesting” before starting pension phase, when realising gains to absorb losses makes sense, and what changes once tax on earnings drops to 0% in retirement phase. Finally, he clarifies the two-fund super tactic: separating concessional inflows from future non-concessional contributions to make recontribution strategies cleaner later, plus the frictions and admin worth considering.

The through-line: get the foundations right (cash flow, buffers, structure), buy only investment-grade assets, and sequence decisions so flexibility and optionality stay on your side.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

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Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

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Most investors rush into property with tactics, not strategy, and pay for it in mistakes that are costly to buy, hold, and unwind. This guide lays out a clear, repeatable framework so you can make property decisions that compound for decades. Start by defining a single objective: long-term growth drives wealth; yield only supports holding costs. Next, build the finance structure first, smart loan splits, offsets, IO vs P&I, no cross-collateralisation, so your cash flow and future capacity are protected. Then buy only investment-grade assets: scarce, land-heavy homes in established, supply-constrained suburbs with deep owner-occupier demand and long growth histories.

Model cash flow conservatively (30% expense allowance, 6.5% rates +1% stress) to avoid both over- and under-investing. Choose the city with the best 10-year prospects, then narrow to the top suburbs. Don’t trade quality for a cheaper price point. Manage risk on purpose: maintain buffers, insure properly, avoid excess leverage, preserve capacity, and diversify gradually. Review every 3–5 years for equity, borrowing power, cash-flow optimisations (including value-add), and asset quality, then scale only when foundations are strong.

Follow this process, and the property becomes a disciplined wealth engine. Ignore it, and you’ll battle avoidable costs, fragile cash flow, and disappointing results.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Stuart runs a strategy clinic on three big crossroads for investors: small-scale development, rent-vesting vs. holding the home, and using debt-recycling into shares when an investment-grade property is out of reach. He breaks down subdivision options (sell land now, build-and-sell, or build-and-hold), explains why GST applies to an “enterprise,” when the 50% CGT discount disappears, and which ownership structures (discretionary trust with bucket company vs. company) suit repeat projects. He also covers feasibility rules of thumb (contingency, funding, pre-sales risk), and whether you can pay yourself for project management.

Next, he tackles rent-investing trade-offs: freeing borrowing capacity, concentration risk, and how to preserve deductible debt with splits and offsets. For households that can’t afford an investment-grade IP today, he maps a debt-recycling pathway P&I on the home, a clean, interest-only investment split, disciplined DCA into broad ETFs, and guardrails (buffers, LVR caps, rebalancing, no margin loans).

Finally, a Sydney case study stress-tests a high-debt, high-income family: IO vs P&I sequencing, daycare-era cash-flow management, super vs. taxable investing, and planning an eventual PPOR upgrade without painting yourself into a DTI corner. Core takeaways: buy only unequivocally investment-grade assets, separate security to avoid cross-collateralisation, keep buffers, and choose the structure and debt settings that protect flexibility while compounding for 10+ years.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Read Full Blog Here

Stuart opens with Wealth First Principles, explaining how real fortunes are built through three key inputs: a durable cash-flow surplus, investment efficiency (quality assets, low costs, smart tax structures, and few behavioral errors), and time (the compounding decade that does most of the work). He separates process from prediction, shows why speculation usually fails, and explains where leverage helps (sensible gearing on high-quality property with buffers) versus where it can harm (aggressive equity leverage). The mindset shift: ignore stories, automate saving, and let compounding do the heavy lifting.

Then he applies the framework to a detailed 10–15-year property plan: upgrading into an Adelaide family home later while renting it first, managing an existing regional PPOR, and deciding whether to sell or hold an inner-metro investment. Stuart stress-tests IO vs P&I for a decade, preserving deductible debt with offsets, optimal ownership splits for tax, and DTI/borrowing-capacity risks. He covers sequencing (buy vs renovate vs super), cash-flow resilience, buffers, and the realities of market timing in Adelaide. Practical guardrails include de-linking securities (avoiding cross-collateralization), structuring loans to maintain flexibility, and using evidence-based criteria to ensure each new asset is unequivocally investment-grade. The takeaway: anchor decisions to surplus, efficiency, and time, and design the debt so your future choices stay open.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

In this Q&A, Stuart unpacks two meaty, real-world dilemmas that many high-earning families face. First: should you prioritise concessional super contributions (carry-forward caps, Div 293 awareness, and long-term compounding) or keep capital outside super for flexibility and early semi-retirement? We explore building a liquid “bridge” portfolio, how to structure debt so renovation and investment loans stay deductible, and why borrowing to fund improvements paired with offset cash preserves future options.

Next, we stress-test a fast-growing portfolio: a dream PPOR on acreage, a premium Geelong West IP, and an impending second purchase in inner-west Melbourne. Stuart tackles sequencing (buy vs renovate vs super), risk concentration at 80% LVR, cash-flow resilience through cycles, and the hidden traps of cross-collateralisation. We also cover trust distributions to a high-income household, return-on-payroll for a construction business, and the checklist for green-lighting IP #2 without jeopardising the 4–5 year, $1–1.5m renovation.

The through-line: optimise for flexibility and durability, use super where it clearly wins on tax and compounding, keep enough liquidity to sleep at night, and make each new asset unquestionably investment-grade.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Read Full Blog Here

In this episode, Stuart makes the case for becoming a value-add property investor when budgets are tight. Rather than stretching for a bigger dwelling in a weaker location, he argues for prioritising high land value in an A-grade area and accepting a tired home you can improve. He outlines the highest-ROI upgrades (kitchens, bathrooms, paint, flooring, efficient heating/cooling; and, where sensible, adding a third bedroom), how these boost rent and reduce vacancy, and the smart way to fund works by borrowing the renovation cost and park cash in an offset to preserve flexibility and deductions. He clarifies the distinction between repairs and improvements (immediate deduction vs. depreciation), why a depreciation schedule is important, and the role of a seasoned local buyer’s agent in avoiding costly missteps.

In the Q&A, Stuart tackles two big listener themes. First: simplifying a messy mix of assets to maximise retirement income, define required spending, prioritise tax-free super income streams, rebalance from low-yield positions to diversified income, and set a clear drawdown plan with adequate cash buffers. Second: navigating a rezoning/subdivision opportunity on a large primary residence, how main-residence CGT rules interact with a prior rental period, when profits can be taxed on revenue account, GST considerations, timing if purchasing another home, and choosing between an outright sale to a developer or a JV. He also lists the advisory bench needed: property accountant, tax lawyer, town planner, valuer, and development project manager.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

In this Q&A episode, Stuart works through a series of nuanced listener questions that all sit at the intersection of tax, structure, and long-term decision making. While the scenarios vary, the common thread is the cost of getting the structure wrong early, and the difficulty of undoing it later.

We begin with a Melbourne couple in their 30s navigating a generous but complex proposal from ageing parents: the potential transfer of an investment property that may become a future family home. Stuart unpacks the trade-offs between gifting now versus inheriting later, the often-overlooked capital gains and stamp duty consequences, and why emotional intent does not override tax law. The discussion highlights how building, ownership, and funding decisions interact over decades, not just at the point of transfer.

Next, Stuart addresses a listener holding a legacy agreed-value income protection policy. With premiums rising sharply, the focus turns to how to think about policy add-ons, what actually protects long-term earning capacity, and why some features feel comforting but deliver little real value relative to their cost.

The episode then shifts to a detailed portfolio question from a high-income family weighing multiple competing uses of surplus cash flow: renovating the family home, upgrading, buying more property, investing in shares, or accelerating super contributions. Stuart reframes the decision away from “which option is best” and towards understanding opportunity cost, borrowing constraints, and the difference between emotional returns and financial ones. Inflation, real versus nominal returns, and the illusion of certainty in long-term projections are all addressed.

We also explore whether recycling equity from investment properties to pay down a principal place of residence actually works in practice. Stuart explains the tax mechanics, where investors commonly trip up, and why some popular strategies sound elegant in theory but are messy or counterproductive in reality.

As always, the episode is less about definitive answers and more about building a framework for making better decisions when the stakes are high, the numbers are large, and the consequences are long-lasting.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Read Full Blog Here

In this episode, Stuart pulls apart the perennial “REITs vs direct property” debate and shows why they’re not substitutes but tools for different jobs. He explains how A-REITs work (structures, stapled securities, payout rules, typical 30–40% gearing) and why their liquidity and ~5% income appeal can be offset by equity-like volatility and index concentration (think one or two giants driving returns). He contrasts this with direct residential property: full control, the ability to gear up to 100%, negative-gearing benefits while working, lower observed volatility, and returns dominated by capital growth, making it a more potent long-term wealth builder when you buy true investment-grade assets. Stuart compares long-run numbers: REITs ~6–8% p.a. with higher year-to-year swings versus quality residential property targeting ~8%+ with smarter selection and sensible leverage. He then reframes their roles: REITs can be an income sleeve (especially when rates are low), while direct property is fundamentally a growth engine. In the listener Q&A, Stuart clarifies tax treatment for “informal trust” share portfolios for minors who are taxed on income, the pitfalls of penal child tax rates, and what actually triggers CGT when transferring to an adult at 18 cutting through conflicting internet guidance so parents don’t make costly ownership-structure mistakes.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

In this Q&A episode, Stuart tackles a wide mix of real-world scenarios that highlight a consistent theme: asset quality and long-term strategy matter far more than short-term market noise. We start with a listener holding an underperforming one-bedroom apartment and work through why some assets simply never recover, regardless of broader market conditions. From there, we explore whether trading two good properties for a single premium home makes sense, and why “levelling up” often outperforms spreading capital thinly. 

Stuart also digs into the trap of using precious borrowing capacity on mediocre assets (including a candid warning about Geelong’s Corio), the risks of delaying a future move to Melbourne or Sydney, and how to make high-stakes decisions when the path is unclear. Questions from younger investors round out the episode, including whether to buy early or wait for a better asset, plus a deeper discussion about gearing into shares versus property and super strategy for a couple approaching retirement. 

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.

Read Full Blog Here

In this episode, Stuart tackles the perennial question: should you fix your mortgage rate—if not now, when? He reframes “normal” using the RBA’s neutral rate (roughly 3–3.5%) and shows why today’s home loan ranges of ~5–6% (P&I) and ~5.5–6.5% (IO) are sustainable. Drawing on three decades of data, he explains why fixing has left borrowers worse off about two-thirds of the time, and why flexibility (offsets, extra repayments, refinancing, equity access) usually beats chasing a small rate win. He outlines the two defensible reasons to fix when a deal is clearly in your favour (think 2021-style anomalies) and when cash-flow protection matters more than optimisation, and why “right now” doesn’t meet that bar. In the Q&A, Stuart helps “Sam” frame a conversation with his dad about super “inheritance tax” on benefits to non-dependants, covering death-benefit tax, nominations, liquidity, and practical ways to reduce the taxable component over time. He then maps a blueprint for Lauren, who’s inheriting $3 million: building a safety bucket, buying a live-in home near Melbourne, and deploying the remainder via low-cost, rules-based investing and smart ownership structures to target ~$100k p.a. income. A grounded, evidence-first guide to rates, risk, and real-world decisions.

Read Stuart's latest book? He's only got 19 reviews on Amazon so far, if Wealth by Design helped you, leaving one would mean a lot: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?asin=192318654X

Run your own business? 

Check out Business by Design, Stuart and Mena's show on starting, growing and exiting a business, at https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/

Our most popular free guides:

Over the years we've written hundreds of articles. These three bring our best thinking together on the topics that matter most right now: choosing a super fund, debt recycling, and navigating the new tax changes.

Download them here

Got a question for the podcast?

Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to my weekly blog:

Stay connected here

Important

This podcast provides general information about finance, tax and credit. It doesn't take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs, so you need to assess whether it's relevant to your circumstances before acting on it. If you're not sure, speak to a licensed, trustworthy professional.