Investing, in plain English
Most investing content is trying to sell you something — a platform, a fund, a course. This page isn't. plainmoney is an independent daily brief with one rule: explain the numbers, cite the source, never predict prices.
The straight answer
Nothing here is for sale — no picks, no ratings, no forecasts. Four calculators, four guides, and a sensible order to use them: buffer first, then super, then the mortgage-or-invest fork.
Our ground rules for every tool and guide
Below is every investing tool and guide on the site. The calculators run in your browser, and any growth or return figure in them is an assumption you control — not a forecast, because nobody knows future returns, including us. The guides explain how things work. No product picks, no “best ETF” lists, no ratings.
Tools
Run your own numbers
Guides
Understand how it works
Where to start
A sensible order to do things
- Build an emergency buffer cash first.
- Understand your super employers pay 12% in.
- Face the mortgage-or-invest fork the big decision.
- Learn the ETF basics know what you'd own.
- Get tax time right franking, CGT, marginal rate.
All five steps in full
- Build an emergency buffer. Cash first. A few months of expenses in savings means you'll never be forced to sell investments at a bad time. The compound interest & savings goal calculator shows how long that takes.
- Understand your super. You're already an investor: employers must pay 12% of your ordinary-time earnings into super (ATO, from 1 July 2025). See what adding pre-tax dollars does with the salary sacrifice calculator — concessional (before-tax) contributions are capped at $32,500 a year (ATO, FY2026-27).
- Face the mortgage-or-invest fork. If you have a home loan, this is the big decision. Run the mortgage vs invest tool, then read the guide on the trade-off. Related: mortgage repayments and equity over time.
- Learn the ETF basics. Before buying anything, know what you'd own. Our ETF guide covers how exchange-traded funds work, fees, and CHESS versus custodial ownership — mechanics only, no brands.
- Get tax time right. Dividends can carry franking credits (check yours with the calculator), and individuals get a 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount on assets held over 12 months (ATO). Your marginal rate drives both — see the income tax calculator.
Buying a home instead? Start with What can I afford? or the full calculator hub.
Your call
The order does the heavy lifting: buffer, super, then the mortgage fork — each step only makes sense once the one before it holds. On the numbers, the first "investment" that pays is usually the boring one: a few months of expenses in the offset is a guaranteed cushion at your mortgage rate, and everything further down the page quietly assumes it exists. Where you start is your call.
From the daily brief
Investing isn't a one-off decision — it helps to follow the backdrop.
- The plainmoney brief — markets, rates and property in plain English, each weekday morning.
- The glossary — every term defined.
- The learn page — more explainers.
General information only — nothing here is financial, tax, credit or legal advice, and past performance is not a guide to future returns. Consider your own situation or speak to a licensed adviser before acting.
Sources
- ATO — Super guarantee rate (12% of ordinary-time earnings from 1 July 2025; the final legislated rate).
- ATO — Contributions caps (concessional cap $32,500 for FY2026-27, indexed from $30,000 in FY2025-26).
- ATO — CGT discount (50% for resident individuals on assets held at least 12 months).
- ATO — Company tax rates (30% general rate; 25% for base-rate entities — the rate behind franking credits).
Figures checked against the ATO on 2 July 2026.