The end of Stamp Duty… and the beginning of a new tax // Motley Fool Australia

I have a finance question for you:

Would you rather pay a large, upfront fee for something, or a smaller annual one?

Your answer, I hope, is ‘it depends’.

Because, well, it does.

It depends on a lot of things, but primarily: the two amounts in question, and the length of time over which the annual amount is paid.

I reckon paying $100 upfront for something is meaningfully worse than paying $1 per year, on the reasonable assumption I won’t be around in 2120.

Equally, if I have to pay for more than 5 years, I’d take the upfront option if the yearly payment was $20.

In between those two scenarios, though, the numbers get very fuzzy, very quickly.

And a lot of other considerations should be added in, too.

I’d rather pay a gym…