Good year for personal wealth growth to lead into a positive 2014

Another year has flown by, and looking back over 2013 there have been lots of opportunities to grow personal wealth.

One of the big pluses of the year has been historically low interest rates.

Following two cuts in May and August, the official cash rate is down to 2.50 per cent Remarkably, fixed rates are as low as 3.99 per cent with the likes of IMB, or around 4.49 per cent (variable) through providers like loans.com.au.

Even better, Australians are taking advantage of wafer thin rates to get ahead with their mortgage.

Comparison site RateCity says as many as 84 per cent of home owners are paying more off their loan, and it’s a smart strategy.

Making extra repayments — no matter how small, will cut time and money from your mortgage.

It’s been a great year for our superannuation savings too.

According to research group SuperRatings, “balanced” super funds — the option chosen by the majority of workers — have delivered median returns of 16.9 per cent in the 12 months to October 31, 2013.

Of course, there are areas where, as a nation, we could improve our financial wellbeing.

Credit card debt remains high and card rates have barely budged despite falls in the official cash rate.

Government figures also show over 800,000 Australians fall victim to scams and fraud each year, with almost $1 billion being siphoned off by crooks.

The key message is that we can’t afford to be complacent.

More broadly though, I reckon the outlook for our financial wellbeing is pretty good.

We continue to benefit from competition in the banking industry, and that means a better deal for consumers.

Thanks to the internet it’s never been easier to shop around and compare prices.

And increasing values in the share market and property market have boosted the wealth of many ordinary Australians.

Only time will tell, but I’m looking forward to a positive 2014.

Paul Clitheroe is chief commentator for Money Magazine.