First Home Saver Account

While the drop in house prices has been bad news for a lot of our parents, some economists are starting to suggests it’s merely a case of a market balancing in the wake of overvaluing property. In other words, it’s a great moment to buy a first apartment or house at what is a realistic price, as opposed to the skyrocketing rates of previous times.
To help with this, no small task irregardless, the government initiated a program called the First Home Saver Account in 2007. It was remarkably unsuccessful, considering the benefits available from the account. Currently, of the big four banks, ANZ is the only one to still offer the account, the rest of the providers are mostly credit unions. This account could be a useful tool in saving to make your first plunge into the housing market. Here are some of the ins and outs of the account and why you should consider opening one up.

What Is The First Home Saver Account?

A First Home Saver Account is more like a term deposit than a savings account, as it has a set time limit before you can access the money. It also comes with certain conditions; the money can be used only for a house deposit, or some other essential aspect of home-buying. It can’t be withdrawn before the time limit. Also, it’s stipulated that you contribute a minimum of $1,000 over a minimum of 4 years. Otherwise, you are judged ineligible and your money goes into your super.

Setting Up The First Home Saver Account

Once you’ve set up an account, you can contribute, your family can contribute and the government will contribute 17% of your contributions for the year, up to a limit of $6,000. Once you’ve reached the cap on the account which, this year is $90,000, you can’t contribute any more, although interest and government contributions can still be entered into the account. Your home saver account interest is only taxed at 15%, mak
ing it an appealing alternative.

Where Can I Get A First Home Saver Account?

Banks, building societies, credit unions all offer first home saver accounts. They provide interest on your account balance. A full list is at the Australian Prudential Regulator Association. The ANZ, as mentioned, is the only one to offer a home saver account of the Big Four, with a variable interest rate and no fees. The highest rate is offered by Members Equity, with a cool 5% and no fees.

What Questions Should I Ask When Signing Up?

Ask to see a Product Disclosure Statement before signing up to any account. There’s a full list of registered providers at the Australian Prudential Regulation Association, so be sure to check the list for your account. There’s also a 14 day cooling off period, where you are allowed to change your mind and collect your balance. You will still be fully capable to opening another first home saver account.

Benefits Of Using A First Home Saver Account (FHSA)

Not only does a first home saver account offer a structured, relatively easy approach to saving your first house deposit, it provides a couple of opportunities. First, the co-contribution of the government is a helpful addition, at up to 17% of your contributions. Then, there’s the interest on the account. A first home saver account also doesn’t restrict your from receiving the first home owner grant, which can be extra money with which to purchase your dream home.

5 Investment Mistakes To Avoid

On a TV show, a young child is watching the news. The sharemarket profile came on, with it’s big dips and occasional highs, and the character remarked “It’s always going up and down. Why don’t we go back to olden times and just trade in chickens?”. Surprisingly wise words from a television character.

Yes, the sharemarket is always going up and down and our job, as investors, is to make some predictions on that movement and aim to capitalise on them. Anyone who tells you it’s easy is trying to sell you something. Whether you’re a dab hand or completely new to the game, Louise Bedford at Yahoo! Personal Finance wrote last week on some of the sins of investing, inspiring the list below.

 

5 Basics For Your Investment Strategy

Solid and sustainable personal finance is a mix of several key ingredients: low exposure to debt, a solid saving schedule, a well-balanced budget. A lot of personal finance experts would suggest that investment comprises an essential part of that mix. Everyone is different when it comes to investment. My grandfather swore by property. His mother swore by the money she had in her mattress. However you are investing- property, shares, a managed fund, bonds, term deposits- you need to have a solid investment strategy. Here are the 5 pillars of the strategy.

 

How To Choose A High Interest Savings Account

Choosing a high interest savings account to house our savings should be quite straight forward. Unfortunately however it isn’t as simple as one would lead you to believe. To hunt down the best deal and ensure your money has the best possible rate/chance to grow, you need to be aware of a few things.

Here is how to select the best high interest savings account for your needs.

 

5 ways to get free entertainment in Sydney

The weather has turned hot and all of a sudden your days are full of the beach, the park and backyard barbeques, usually for little more than the cost of a train ticket, a few bread rolls and an Icypole if you’re especially good.

Surveys always rank Sydney as one of the most expensive cities to live in. While this is true of the cost of an apartment or a cappuccino, Sydney is also one of the best cities to be in if you like having fun for free.

Here are a few fun things to do for free over the coming months:

 

Cheap low cost day trips in Australia

No one wants to be stuck in the city in perfect summer weather like we’ve been having. Days like these make me gaze out the window and think of where I’d rather be. But these thoughts don’t have to be daydreams only, and you don’t need to be rolling in money to get out of town for a day.

Australia is a unique place when it comes to day trips. It’s not like Europe, where a day trip can easily involve another country.

We can’t just hitch a train to New Zealand and be back in a couple of hours.

But there are some benefits to being an island and largely uninhabited- namely, that getting away from it all is very easy. After all, the Blue Mountains are a day trip from Sydney, the Great Ocean Road is a drive away from Melbourne, Phillip Island a short jaunt from Adelaide and the Daintree readily accessible from Cairns.

There is so much to do and see in Australia, and lots of activities you can do cheaply.

 

Saving money on travel – Cheap holidays & deals

You’re working hard, you’re saving and paying off your debts- maybe it’s time for a holiday. A bit of sun, some new horizons, an opportunity for time with your loved ones free of the everyday niggles and anxieties. A chance to sit by the waterside and re-read War and Peace, or catch up on the gossip mags. But is it possible to take a trip without totally throwing all your savings into jeopardy?

Travel is an expense. There’s no way you can save money by travelling. That said, it is also a wonderful experience, and worth investing some of your savings in if it appeals to you. There are two approaches to travelling- it can be done ad hoc and without much thought, which might cost you more money than you were anticipating. Or you can do your research, think it through and exercise a bit of frugality, and you might be able to stay longer or come back sooner because you’ve done it cheaply.

Here are some tips from readers of Yahoo! Travel on how to do it cheaply, and in style.

 

Is University A Bad Financial Decision?

University is a path to some well-paid jobs. It is often necessary to obtain work in the professional sector. But in the age of expensive living costs, huge HECS (or whatever they’ve changed the name to this month) debt and very long degrees, is it necessarily a smart financial decision?

 

Tips And Tricks For The Recently Graduated

Uni was great. I hung out with my friends all day and all weekend. I worked 12 hours a week, and had practically nothing left over when the rent was due. Bliss. Post-uni, things aren’t quite so easy. Bills to pay, career decisions to make, the spectre of HECS. Here are some tips and tricks I wish someone had told me. Inspired by the incomparable Globe and Mail.

 

HECS/Help Debt – Pay In Full Before Jan 2012 For 10% Discount

If you have completed University, you will likely be aware that you have a HECs debt (now known as a HELP debt).

Did you know that if you voluntarily pay off your entire debt directly with the ATO, you will get a discount of 10%? This means that if you were to owe $7,000 in outstanding HECS/HELP debt – if you were to agree to pay this in full, you would get a 10% discount – a saving of $700, revising your total you owe to only $6,300.

This discount may not sound like a lot, though we at Savings Guide will take whatever discounts the ATO wish to hand out as great news. It isn’t often you hear of hands outs like this. This is the equivalent of the ATO giving you $700 in cash.

The 10% discount ends as of 1st January 2012

That’s right. This 10% discount has been reduced to 5% as a result of recent Government legislation changes. On 1st January 2012, you would only get a 5% saving if you paid in full. This means a saving of $350 instead of $700 in the scenario above.

Are you a future thinker?

The majority of people will ignore this hand out. This is understandable if your debt is quite large as quite frankly it would be very hard to cough up that amount of money by December 2011.
In saying that, if your debt is quite small and on its last legs – you would be a very wise and future thinking saver to take advantage of the 10% offer while it was still available.

Benefits of paying off your HECS/HELP debt

Each pay cheque you receive you pay a little towards your HECs/HELP debt. Paying it off means more money in your pocket each pay day and the ability to use that money wisely for other more exciting things.

How To: Not Go Broke At Uni

You’ve moved out, you’ve got your own little pad and so what if it’s falling around your ears? You’ve got a shiny new class timetable, a whole new set of dazzlingly interesting people to hang around with no one to chastise you for coming home late, eating salt and vinegar chips for breakfast or wearing the same shirt three days in a row. Except perhaps the person next to you on the bus. It’s a great feeling. And can, at times, be somewhat overwhelming on the senses and the hip pocket. Here’s how to avoid getting immersed in debt while at uni, and still have a great time.

 

How To Shop Like A Man And Save Money

I don’t like to cast judgements about people, but I’m going to assume if you’re reading this article, you’re a woman. If you’re not a woman, chances are, you probably already shop like a man so this particular article might not be especially helpful to you but, in the interest of open-mindedness, I accept there may be men who shop like women too, so if you fall in to any of these feminised shopping afflicted categories, read on.

Being a woman is expensive. There’s makeup, jewellery and waxing, hair-colour, handbags and heels. Even the most sensible spenders among us can’t avoid things like costly haircuts and overpriced footwear. Sure you can buy the cheapest heels in the shop, but they will inevitably give you blisters and arch spasms and don’t even get me started on discount haircuts… ouch.

But being a woman needn’t always be more costly, the secret is so glaringly obvious you won’t believe you didn’t think of it before: don’t buy women’s products, buy men’s.

 

Cheap Travel Tips

With the dollar as it is, surely everyone is considering a sneaky trip somewhere pretty, to take advantage of the record exchange. Even if you don’t have lots of spare money, travel is without a doubt one of the best ways to broaden our horizons, grab some new life experiences and just get out there. Here are some ideas on how to do it on the cheap, inspired by Yahoo! Finance.

 

How to avoid fees and charges when travelling abroad

This post is proudly supported by the Commonwealth Bank’s Travel Money Card.

Travelling overseas is a chance to have fun, experience new things and really soak up the atmosphere of another culture. The trick to ensuring all of the above, is limiting the number of things you have to worry about, both back home and while abroad.

One of the biggest challenges is always how to handle the money situation. You require the ability to pay for hotels, hire cars, shopping sprees and more. You also need access to local cash for the occasions where a card just won’t cut it. Fees and charges when doing the above can really eat into your spending money, especially if you are using an everyday credit or debit card.

By using a prepaid travel money card, you are able to limit the fees and charges associated with overseas spending – however, it definitely pays to be smart in how you use your card to ensure maximum return.

Here is how to avoid fees and charges when using your travel money card abroad.

 

Top tips for money smart travellers

This post is proudly supported by the Commonwealth Bank’s Travel Money Card.

Managing your money while travelling can be tricky. Everything comes at a cost – from paying for your nightly accommodation to buying daily meals, you will often find that money gets spent faster while travelling than just about any other time.

As a result of this heightened spending, it pays to be money smart while abroad. You need to be proactive with your personal finances to maximise the money you do have.

Here are some top tips for been a money smart traveller.

 

The rapid growth of travel money cards

This post is proudly supported by the Commonwealth Bank’s Travel Money Card.

Thousands of Australians are preparing to visit London for the 2012 Olympic Games over the coming months, taking the opportunity to see some better weather (hopefully) and catch a glimpse of our athletes in action while enjoying a small break away.

As Australians begin their travel, prepaid travel cards are proving to be a popular payment choice for many travellers, as they provide a convenient, cost effective and secure way of spending and accessing money overseas.

Heating Your Home: A Frugal Review

The first bite of winter is certainly being felt, time for everyone to start pulling out scarves, overdose on tea and walk quickly from heated venue to heated venue. It’s also a time when the way you heat your home starts to become an all-consuming issue. Last winter was brutal, and with the rising cost of electricity and gas, heating costs can become a big financial pressure. So here are some thoughts on keeping your costs down this winter, drawn from an article on Choice.

 

Saving Money On A Renovation

With a slower housing market, a lot of people are staying out and looking at ways of increasing value on their assets. Those that suggested the Age Of The Renovation were perhaps blowing the horn somewhat prematurely, as it’s still a topic to dominate dinner parties, suburban streets and our mindsets. If you’re considering a renovation, here’s how to keep it to a budget.

 

Guide To Clothing Fabrics & How They Can Save You Money

I get a little thrill when people tell me my outfit looks good and it’s not because I’m an image obsessed narcissist. Rather, it’s the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t spend a lot to get my look. I rarely spend much money on clothing these days in fact many things I wear cost less than $10! No-one would ever know though because they look expensive. So how do I do it?

There are a lot of things, dear reader, you must know about me. One is that I’m a recovering shopaholic, another is that I originally left high school to study fashion at TAFE. I didn’t end up pursuing a career in the rag-trade but while I was there I learnt an awful lot about clothing manufacture and how to spot a shoddy garment from a mile off, regardless of the label.

Many people think if you buy an expensive piece it will be good quality and vice versa, all cheap clothes will fall apart. But this is simply not true! In the age of globalisation, as manufacturing increasingly moves off-shore, many previously Aussie made clothing brands are now having their collections made in China, India or South East Asia. Further, since the impact of the Global Financial Crisis, many labels have resorted to using cheaper fabrics and narrower cuts to keep costs down. A friend of mine noticed recently when she had purchased a dress from her favourite designer, that the new collection was made from acetate whereas previously, they had only used silk. Had the designer passed on the savings to the customer? Oh no, they were still charging the same exorbitant costs as before.

 

5 Frugal (And Delicious) Dinners

Feeding a family takes up enough mental space as it is, but trying to feed a family dinner each night that is healthy, ticks all the boxes nutritionally, and comes within a budget is close on miraculous. The organisation and creativity required to keep every belly full, on a budget, is immense. So lets take out some of the hard work. Here are 5 tried and true dinners for the health-conscious family on a budget.

 

4 Kitchen Appliances That Waste Your Money

I often harp on about the merits of cooking your own meals to save money. In fact, for many people, learning to cook is one of the single greatest things you can do for your budget. However, if you’re anything like me, a newfound passion is but a mere step away from obsession and it’s all too easy to become enthralled with the excitement of it all. I’m talking about gourmandism, a total fascination with trying all the finest foods from around the world. I admit it, I’m hooked and it costs a pretty penny. I know, I know… it’s such a first world problems.

Nonetheless, I know there are plenty of you out there, my fellow Masterchef watchers, but we need not break the bank in order to tantalise our tastes. Most foods developed in “the olden days” before any of the mod cons were invented so it logically follows that we don’t really need them in order to have good food. Here are a bunch of appliances you could spend a whole lot of money on, but you really don’t need.

 

5 Mistakes Of New Renters

Whether you’ve just moved out of home or acknowledged that the housing market is a little too tricky for you right now, there are thousands of new renters on the market and it’s a landlords’ market if ever there was one. Sydney has a 2% vacancy rate, so small it’s barely worth mentioning, so the pickings can be quite slim. If you’ve managed to score yourself a place, that doesn’t mean you have to be compliant with everything your landlords wants. Here are 5 classic new renter mistakes to avoid in order to maintain your renter record and your finances, inspired by an article on MSN Money.

 

5 Cheap And Gourmet Desserts

If you’ve truly upped the frugal stakes, chances are dinners out at expensive restaurants where you order three courses and the cheese plate are not so common any more. I like to sneak the occasional outing (and more than the occasional cheese plate) but eating out is an easy cost to save money on, so a lot of people are making the shift. But does that mean you have to lose out on the quality of food you eat? Not in the slightest. You can be eating gourmet desserts made cheaply and healthily at home. Here are 5 of my favourites.

How To Stop Fighting Over Money

If you’re standing in the kitchen at 11pm, shouting at your partner over this month’s bills, there’s no need to consider yourself alone in this. Money is the major cause of disagreement in relationships and the major reason cited for divorce. Making it one of the most important things to get straight, sooner rather then later. Here’s how to stop fighting about dollar bills.

 

Keeping Pets On A Budget (How To Save Money)

Companion animals are the family members we choose and in Australia, we love them so much we spend over $6 billion on them a year. They say the best things in life are free but when it comes to having healthy, happy pets it’s just not true. As the daughter of a vet and an avid animal lover, here are my top tips for keeping your Mr Bigglesworths and Beethovens pleased.

 

How To Grow Vegetables To Save Money

Gardening is in. I should have thought so when Jamie Durie came on the scene, all biceps and easy chatter, but now I’m sure of it. While not everyone is throwing off the evening dress and grabbing the trowel, there seems to be a rather significant swing in interest towards all things green.

And not without good reason. For a lot of people, it’s a major source of relaxation. Others, it’s an interest they can share with others. And, for a lot of people, it’s a frugal decision. Planting a vegetable garden in particular has become incredibly popular, both as a reaction towards skyrocketing costs of fresh produce and quality concerns. An article in the Huffington Post suggested that starting a vegetable garden, purely for financial return, was not wise due to the time investment. Yet, the writer mentioned the benefits of fresh vegetables, the reduced need for other ingredients, the improved landscape from the house and the importance to be outside and active.

There are, of course, initial set up costs for the start-up gardener but there’s no need for the costs to put too much strain on your wallet. I am the queen of the New Hobby Purchase (before I had ever baked one loaf of bread, I was equipped with a bread stone and dough scraper) but a veggie garden can be set up with little more than some seeds, good will and hard work. Here’s how to do it cheaply and save big money.

 

Old Clothes That Come Back Into Fashion

Something a little bit exciting happened to me the other day. I saw that pastels and citrus colours are making their way back in to fashion this Spring! No, I’m not a weird pastel-obsessed person with a wardrobe full of icy blue suiting separates, rather I happen to have one very cute lemon yellow cardigan. “So what?”, I hear you say. Well, that means I don’t actually need to buy anything to be in fashion this season and that, dear reader, appeals to inner cheapskate as much as my inner fashionista.

If you’re not interested in fashion, good for you! No doubt you’re already saving plenty of money on unnecessary clothes. For hopeless garb-junkies like me who find the allure of Vogue irresistible however, shopping is a non-stop occupation. Once a new season heralds its colours and styles, I am on the prowl to find one key piece that will tie all my existing clothes together in a stylish capsule wardrobe that says, “I’m cool, classy and I know what’s going on”. I scour the internet daily and walking around town, looking at all the new designs is my favourite weekend activity.

Fashion has a devious way of releasing obscure things (embellished shoulders anyone?) to ensure the contents of your cupboards can’t be recycled, but just like mum used to say, if you hang on to it for long enough, it’ll come back into fashion. And that’s just what’s happened to my cardi.

It’s a joy to discover you don’t need to buy something because you already have it, which is why I am all in a tizz over my new favourite past-time, shopping in my own wardrobe. Here are the principles:

 

Cook At Home And Save Money

Clearly, eating healthily while on a budget is one of my bugbears. Which would explain my shock, when reading the Sydney Morning Herald this week, to discover that takeaway and restaurant meals are the “highest weekly food item for Australian households, in all income groups” (from an article, ‘It’s Official: We Eat Too Much). With high-income households spending 18% of their budget on food, slightly tailing low-income households who spend 20%, clearly how and what we eat is as much a financial issue as it is a health concern. Which also means a diet that is consciously organised has far greater potential to save money. Here’s how.

Invest More Money In The Kitchen To Save Money

I could quite easily spend all of my money on kitchen gadgets. There’s this store in my hometown, full to bursting with dough hooks, bread trays and piping sets. I’ve had to develop strict rules about how frequently I am allowed in there, else my budget would be in tatters.

Buying new gadgets for the kitchen is appealing, but it can be a huge drain of money. If you’re looking at revamping your kitchen, or setting one up for the first time, what’s worth investing money in and what can you save money on?

 

DIY Disasters: When Doing It Yourself Won’t Save You Money

Doing things yourself can be a big money saver. Why pay a cleaner to vacuum your house (and rifle through your drawers) when you can do it yourself for free? DIY renovation shows are all the rage and smart savers are learning to cook at home rather than go to restaurants but is DIY always the best choice? Some situations are best left to the professionals, lest they turn into disasters. Here are but a few DIY disasters I’ve encountered.

 

Turning Leftovers Into Gourmet Meals

If you’re looking for some extra space in your budget, you’ll often find that eating out and grocery expenses are the obvious candidates for some careful pruning. While we can often think there is little room to move on our grocery budget, it’s worthwhile thinking about how much food we waste. If we can use all the food we purchase, the benefit to our wallets will be significant. Here are some ideas for keeping food wastage to a minimum, complete with tasty recipes.

 

How To Save Money On Laundry Costs

Women are always talking to me about the ongoing expense of buying clothes, but no-one ever really mentions the cost of maintaining them. The water, the detergents, the drying, the dry-cleaning… it all adds up. Here are a few hot tips to keep your laundry bill down (so you can afford to buy more clothes, of course!).

 

5 ways to save money on parking costs

Everything associated with parking upsets me. Firstly, there’s the hassle of finding a park. In city streets, this becomes a matter of divine intervention and brutal disregard of your fellow humans. In parking lots, it’s a question of being able to overcome the confusion and terror that seems inherent in the carpark layout.

Then there’s the matter of actually parking. Having successfully achieved my full license having made only one reverse park in my life (that of the actual driving test), some spots prove too much for my parallel abilities. On top of that, I seem to have some kind of spatial awareness problem, resulting in scratches, dents and many tears in several different carparks.

If that wasn’t enough, they want to make you pay for the privilege of this horrible experience. If it were a couple of dollars here and there, I could overlook the insult but parking fees (and fines when I choose to ignore the fees) end up a huge amount of money, especially if you need to park for several hours.

So how can you save money on parking?

 

Savings you can make on your car right away

Your car is unfortunately an almost entirely necessary, very expensive asset. Factoring in petrol, servicing, expenses associated with purchase, repairs and cleaning, your car can be one of the most expensive things you own.

There are a few things you can do to minimise the ongoing costs of your car.

 

Why you should consider not owning a car

I’ve always wanted my own car. I would pack it ready for any adventure, at any time. In the back would be a tent or maybe a hammock, with a yoga mat for comfort and thermals for the cold. I would also have a permanent Car Bikini and Towel bag should the sudden urge to jump in the ocean overcome me. I spend hours dreaming about the variety of car artifacts I would collate, which does nothing to change the fact that I have never owned my own car.

That said, before I join the throng of Kerouacs and Hunter S. Thompsons wannabes on the road, maybe I should think about my finances. After all my dark thoughts about the cost of public transport, the thought of the expenditure on a car is frightening.

This was all inspired by an article on the benefits of car-free living by Orien Kriegman on Alternet. The article centred on intangible benefits, as well as the ones you can feel in your pockets. So, what reasons are there for not having a car?

 

5 things you MUST know to save on cars

A look at the five things you have to know about cars to save money. Previously we have discussed saving money on running your car, today we look at the five priority items that will help you save money on your car.

 

Your Car VS Your Money Saving Desires

I bought my first car this year. I owned for about three weeks, before sending it on. A brief love affair, it was a sobering experience of ownership and the testy relationship between humans and vehicles.

As one friend said, “Cars. They break your heart”. They also have the tendency to break your bank account. Here are some of the bigger money pitfalls in dealing with the dealings of our four-wheeled friends, and how to avoid them. Thanks to MSN Money for inspiration.

 

7 Ways To Save On Petrol

Petrol is an ongoing cost that is not going to get better. It’s part of our lives that is expensive and will continue to be so. So finding ways to save on petrol is now an imperative for the financially savvy. Here are some tips, inspired by the readers of MSN Money- clever folk that they are.

 

Affording A New Car

I don’t own a car, and whenever it rains, I curse to the high heavens about this particular lack of asset. The cost aside, there are some big benefits to car ownership. For instance, you can get somewhere without being subjected to a deluge. You can transport goods without pulling several back muscles. If you are in the market for a new car, or a first car, here are some tips and tricks drawn from the MoneySmart website.

 

Buying New Cars Doesn’t Help You Save Money

That’s a big call but I mean it. Buying a new car is the single stupidest thing I have done twice now. Each time I enjoy the fact I am getting a brand new car that is mine, only to find my hard earned money quickly disappear come time for resale.

The moment you buy a new car – the value of that car drops. That means you could have literally sat in a $40K car just once and as a result, it is now worth $38K – a loss of $2000 as quick as Hugh Jackman on a flying fox.

 

How To Save Money On Car Parking

The other night, I got taken out to dinner. You’d think I’d be happy about having a meal bought for me, it would have to save me money, right? Well, no actually, in fact it cost me $30… on parking. If you live in or frequent a capital city, you too will know the pain that is parking. For a long time, I had my “favourite” carpark facility, and would park there habitually. Until, that is, unbeknownst to me, they changed the rates and I got stung.

Which brings me to my first point.

 

5 Tips To Help Get A Small Business Loan

Working for yourself can be a great thing. You can finally get a chance to chase down that long-term dream. But the finances of kick-starting and maintaining a small business can be tricky at best and a quagmire at worst. So, if you’re looking at getting a small business loan, what are some tips that might improve your chances? This article is drawn from the stellar work on Yahoo! Personal Finance.

 

How Your Job Might Be Hurting Your Health And Productivity, Part II?

The second part on how workplace issues can be costing you, in terms of productivity and health. What really resonated with me in reading the Yahoo! Personal Finance article was that the cost of bad workplace situations doesn’t rest with the individual alone, it can cost the business huge amounts of money. So the following instances are ones a business would do well to address, as well as individual employees.

 

5 Ways Your Salary Is Far Less Than You Think

While I was out of town recently, I started thinking about the true value of the money I earn. Although most of us know our annual salary, how much of that salary is wasted by simple expenses that occur as a result of working that job?

Everything we do in life seems to have a cost implication. By not knowing our daily, monthly and yearly expenses that arise from working, how can we truly be sure of our actual annual salary?

Let’s take a look at the costs that arise from our daily job and look to find ways to reduce them in order to boost up the money in hand we have each month and in turn year.

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume we are talking about a salary of $40,000 + super. Taxes on this salary amount to $5,550 – meaning we have $34,450 as a starting salary.

 

Social Media For Small Business

As a small business operator- especially one trying to deal proactively with the current financial climate- new and effective ways of promotion are a matter of constant research. So, for our Friday reflection, a bit of a think about social media and business, inspired by a great article on Yahoo! Personal Finance.

 

Ways To Earn An Income As A Stay-At-Home Parent

Staying home to look after your kids must be an amazing experience- you get to spend lots of time with them when they’re young, and save the hip pocket as well by saving on childcare costs. It’s a decision a lot of people make, but reverting to a one income household can sometimes be a strain. So what ways might you supplement your income, while staying at home, looking after the little ‘uns. Inspired by Wise Bread.

 

The Finances Of Changing Jobs

Some people love the adventure of a new job. Other people have slightly obsessive tendencies, like yours truly, and the period until they know where everything is and can remember everyone’s name is a certain form of purgatory. But what effect does a job change have on our personal finances, and how can we best navigate the period and come out financially on top?

Higher Salary

People often change jobs in order to bag a higher salary, and that’s a great feeling. But a good job is about a lot more than salary, and deciding to move on solely on that criteria might not be the best financial decision. For instance, if the job pays more but has fewer advancement options, then it could be a short-sighted move. Similarly, if you’re happy in your current employment, I would be loath to mess with it. The grass might be greener, but a job you don’t mind showing up to every morning is nothing short of a blessing. There are a lot of considerations; location, hours, additional training or skill development, how it fits into your long-term career plans. Weigh all these up before moving on.

 

Getting The Most Out Of Work

I’ve been struck in the past week by the discussion in Australia around penalty rates and the government’s changes to Fair Work Australia. The argument goes that if businesses are forced to pay workers the proper rates, they’ll go under. There will be less jobs, less full-time work and kaboom! There’s the end of the Australian economy as we know it. But consider the whole picture. A hospitality worker, working full time, is probably still only earning around $35,000 a year with a minimum rate of super.

They have finite years in the industry before the work gets to much, and trying to save money, pay off a mortgage, raise kids on that kind of money is not an easy ask. And, in my experience and flying in the face of the practice of many employers, properly paid staff are a business’ best asset. A staff member who is paid award wages, feels appreciated and can see long-term benefits of their job will work harder, be more willing to help out when needed and will be less likely to find a new job.

Times like these, with European credit ratings being slashed, America tipping towards some pretty serious times financially, and our own retail slumping, is often a time when the tension between employers and employees becomes more obvious, more keenly felt.

Tighter times can have serious consequences, for businesses and for workers. So how can we find jobs, or negotiate working conditions, that fulfill all those criteria? How can we get the most of out of our work, financially, emotionally and beneficially for the long-term?

 

From Education To Employment

I was your typical graduate. Good marks, decent university and some experience in my chosen field, I thought that landing a graduate position would be a piece of cake. Imagine the shock when, after months of searching, I was still without a job.

Recent research has shown that the period after university can be a pretty tough one for young adults, especially those (like me) who have never before experienced a slack job market. Youth unemployment is now at 17.3% nationally, a fact smoothed over by the general national rate of unemployment at 5.2%.

That’s a significant proportion of our population, and a fact that needs some serious attention at a government level. But what advice can we give to recent graduates, experiencing unemployment for the first time? Here are some thoughts.

 

5 Job-Hunting Mistakes

Looking for work isn’t just about sending in resumes and polishing up our spin; for a lot of us, looking for work is really putting ourselves on the line. It’s a time of re-evaluating, sometimes of soul-searching and, if you’re like most of us, a time when self-esteem is definitely in the line of sight. Here are five job-seeking habits that can do with an update; avoid these and your path to better employment will be easier. It’s not about appearing old-fashioned; old-fashioned manners, for instance, should be more in style than ever. It’s about appearing unengaged in the changing world around us. Inspired by an article on Yahoo! Finance.

Keep It Simple

You don’t need a nice paper to impress your new employer. It’s not the way you want to stand out. You want to stand out because of your experience, your familiarity with the industry or your evident interest in learning new skills. Generally, you’ll be emailing your resume anyway. Don’t go crazy with formatting; as anyone who works across a range of computers will know, formatting is not universally set. What looks grand on your PC might be a dog’s breakfast on a Mac. Keep it simple, keep it clean and clear.

 

Small Business Superannuation – Are You Neglecting Your Super?

Self-employed people sometimes fall into the trap of not having much super saved for retirement because they miss out on superannuation contributions paid by an employer that regularly pays on their behalf.

A study performed in 2008 by the Australian Super Funds Association (ASFA) discovered that 25% of Australians who are self-employed did not have any superannuation at all.

Selling your business doesn’t guarantee retirement money

Selling a business in order to raise money for retirement is not always an easy task. Your business may not be worth as much as you think when you are no longer involved in the day to day management. Some business types are more difficult to sell than others which means relying on the sale price of your business to fund your lack of super contributions is risky.

 

Saving Tax Money For A Small Business

Most small businesses fail to adequately save money for their yearly tax return. This poses a huge problem as quickly a business can become behind on taxes and in turn be chasing their own tails for years on end.

The owners are usually busy running the business and trying to stay afloat that they neglect the tax issue until it is too late.

Paying in quarterly instalments

Eventually the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will expect the business to pay taxes on a quarterly basis. The idea is that it is easier for the business to stay up with the small business income tax if this is done.

Many small businesses fail at this as well because it takes every bit of money that comes in to keep the business going and especially hard for business operators that have income that fluctuates.

Fines and penalties for late payment or non payment of tax

The owner needs to be disciplined and plan ahead for their small business tax payments. It is better to stay current because of interest penalties and fines associated with late payments (further making business owners get behind).

Start a separate account for small business tax savings

Having a special bank account where money is set aside for taxes may help. Every time money is collected a certain percentage could be set aside helping work towards having enough cash on hand to pay any tax bills.

It is fairly easy to determine the amount needed in terms of a percentage. Let’s say 30% is needed for taxes (company rate), then $30 out of every $100 collected should be set aside for tax.

If this is done the business will never fall behind and in the long run the owners will have more money for themselves should they get a reduction in tax payable (working as a forced way of saving money as such).

Starting A Business – Location Is Critical (1/5)

There’s nothing that upsets me more when walking up the high street in my neighbourhood than seeing businesses that have gone to the wall.

The thought of that hard-saved, borrowed or even windfall money being lost because someone didn’t do their research thoroughly before opening, saddens me greatly.

There are basic questions which every journalist seeks to answer when writing an article – it gives the fullest picture of events. These questions are where, when, what, why, who and how. For anyone ready to open their own business, the questions should be the same.

Where – this is probably the most important question to answer. Are you opening in the right location? Have you researched? Have you loitered around the location at all times of day – opening hours and outside? Do the locals come during business hours? Or is there a thriving after-hours shopping culture? Do you have competition too close – and competition which is ingrained into the local area?

I’ve seen many Indian restaurants open near a particularly successful one in my neighbourhood. They think they will simply get the overflow from the popular one. They haven’t and they have gone broke. Their research has been scant at best.

Starting A Business – When Is The Right Time? (2/5)

There are two different ways of approaching the “when” question about opening your own business.

Is now the right time to open – meaning, is this the right time of year, the right economic climate, the right time in terms of changing ways of business?

And also, what hours are you going to keep. This is a very important aspect in the running of your business. If you don’t get it right – such a simple decision could end up costing you the business.

But firstly – look around you. Is now a good time to be starting a business? Retailers across the country are in trouble. They are finding the strength of the Australian dollar is inhibiting profits for imports and that consumer trends are to go online and buy imported goods directly.

There is also a trend for people to spend less and save more which could impact a business that relies on discretionary spending.

Of course, it’s important to look at the particular business and the trends affecting that business. A photo developing shop is probably not going to be an ongoing concern unless it is willing to adapt as the market changes and more is being able to be done online.

If you’re borrowing money – perhaps the economic climate is more important as your costs will include any interest rate rises and this will affect your bottom line and profits.

If you’re opening an ice-cream shop or gelataria perhaps winter isn’t the best time for this. Nor is it the right time to open a coat shop in summer.

Starting A Business – Be Really Clear With What Your Business Provides (3/5)

What are you going to provide – what are the goods or service your business is about?

This is the most important decision of all in your business.

Do you know about the product or service you are providing? Do you know more than your potential customers? Or your competition?

If you don’t – this is perhaps not the business for you. Don’t think about opening a bookshop or video shop if you don’t know about books and literature or movies and television.

How will you know what sells and the nuances of different products if you have no personal knowledge of your product?

It seems basic, but I’ve often walked into a shop and felt that they weren’t selling the best items they could for the market they were aiming at. I have felt, I know there are cheaper/better versions of these products just up the street.

Starting A Business – Why Will Your Business Work? (4/5)

Why do you think your business will work? If you can’t tell your mum or best friend in simple words what the concept is for your business you will find it hard to succeed.

The idea – I want to sell maternity clothes – isn’t enough. You need to have a statement which talks about your business. I want to sell maternity clothes because there are none around that I would want to wear at prices I would want to pay is something closer to a business idea.

However, it is still lacking.

You need to provide an idea, and a value to the buyer, and to yourself.

I want to fill the gap in the market for affordable and trendy maternity wear. I know how I can make/source maternity clothes for a lot less money than the shops are currently charging for them. And I know that by targeting mothers’ and specialist websites I could create a market that would give me a sustainable business.

It’s important that in the big idea of the business that you find some way of telling the market. It’s no good to have the best business without anyone knowing about it. Think about advertising – whether it be large signs outside the business, local newspaper ads, website ads, mentions in magazines, newspapers.

Make the idea something compelling. Why should the consumer shop in your business? What’s in it for them? Are you providing something they can’t get elsewhere? Are you providing better quality than they currently enjoy? Are your goods/services cheaper? Do you offer a brand of cool other businesses don’t? Will they feel better doing business with you?

Even if it is a perceived value only, as long as you can sustain that perception – you will win the business.

Read part five: Who will run the show at your business?

Starting A Business – Who Is Running The Show?

Who will be working in the business is an important consideration that many people don’t think about before things start to get busy.

If you can run the business well and good but if you need help you have to figure out the estimated cost of employing others into your business. How will you structure the pay? How will you make sure that you have help when you most need it?

Can family members help until you have started to make money from your enterprise? If you need childcare, can family members help so that your outgoings are minimised at least until you are earning an income?

It’s important that you have people who are aligned with your business. Make sure that anyone you employ or who is working with you sees the same value in your product/service as you do. You don’t want someone who doesn’t like children working for you if you are making children’s clothes, or you don’t want to have someone who is stuffy and formal if you are producing an alternative health spa.

If you are using family in the business – make sure that the lines are clear of what is work? What is payment? A and what will happen in the event the business takes off into stratospheric success. Don’t risk family or friendships by being unclear about the business.

You might think you know how it’s going to work but if you are working with others they have a right to be considered a part of the business also – especially if they are not working for market rates.

And also, if it’s family and a family event comes up – who is going to be free to go? Who will be expected to help whom when?

If you are running the business with a partner – spouse or friend, make sure you are clear on purpose and the way the business will be run. Does one of you want to build the business while the other wants to reap the profits? If you are not united your business will not survive.

Maximise Your Raise

Most people live to their income. As much as we swear we won’t, whenever we get a pay raise, we tend to accumulate that money into our lifestyle as opposed to making some big financial advances with it. Our lifestyles becomes more expensive as our income increases. So why not buck the trend this year and make the most of your pay raise. It’ll save you money in the long run. Here’s how, inspired by Five Cent Nickel.

Pay Off The High Interest Card

If you’ve got a couple of credit cards and are finding it hard to stay on top of the repayments, use your pay raise exclusively to knock off the highest interest card. It’s a concrete goal and will not only help you save actual money, in the form of interest, but has a motivating effect when it comes to your other cards. It’s a great financial move and will save you significant money over the course of the repayment.

Get An Emergency Fund

Emergency funds are as unsexy as things get. They’re the completely no-fun option when it comes to personal finance, and I can understand the feeling that they’re the last thing you want to do with your hard-earned raise. Unfortunately, no one likes an emergency fund until they have an emergency. Save yourself the heartache and put your pay raise into an emergency fund. It won’t earn you any money, but it could save you a huge outlay in the coming years, whether a health concern, job loss or major accommodation issue. Try and live on your previous income and put the raise into your emergency fund.

 

5 Tips For Job Protection

5 Tips For Job Protection

This current job environment is a whole new ballgame for us of the Generation Y grouping. No more storming out of poorly paying jobs or figuring the job would be waiting for us when we felt like returning; this is a time of holding onto what we have and not rocking the boat too much. It’s been a steep learning curve, but Nicola Pederson-McKinnon with the Sydney Morning Herald has some good tips on how protect your income and employment in tough economic times.

 

Improving Your Work Life

It’s Friday, people, and I wonder if some of you who are reading this are counting down the hours. You’ll be free from the prison in eight, seven, six hours. Or maybe this is the middle of the working week for some of you. Or, there’s no such thing as a weekend in your line of business. All of these things have significant consequences for your personal finance. If you sometimes wonder how work and career can be a personal finance issue, consider this. We spend one-third of our time in our jobs, for over half of our lifetimes. The quality of life we have at work spills out into the quality of life we have outside of it, along with providing the means for good personal finance. I’m surely not alone in thinking, also, that unhappiness at work can often lead to other personal finance issues, such as binge spending or frequent job changes, causing a loss of income. Getting your work life right can have significant personal finance benefits. Here’s how to improve your work life.

 

Interview Mistakes To Avoid

Interviews and first dates; scenarios where almost no one feels comfortable, and almost no one can properly communicate their true, non-nervous self. Yet learning to be confident, calm and collected in a job interview is an essential skill for our careers. Here are some garden variety mistakes to avoid.

Turning Up Late

Get there half an hour early, check out where you have to head and then grab a cup of coffee. Take ten minutes to sit in the sun and go over what you want to say in the interview, think about your key points and key questions. Take the time to relax and turn up for your interview chilled and happy.

 

The End Of Nine To Five

As a member of Generation Y, the professional world I entered was a very different one to that of my parents’ generation. In mid-twenties, I have only ever worked in one job where I was entitled to benefits. If I want to catch up with all my friends, afternoon tea on a Tuesday afternoon is a completely feasible option. Most of us are working on weekends, at night, split shifts, part-time. Or we’re working all the time. Only a couple of people I know are actually working full-time and leaving the office around 5.

Fragmentation, or the increasing trend for work to leak into hours outside of those traditionally associated with the office, appeared to affect 1 in 5 working Australians according to a recent study. In my experience, the trend is more far-reaching than that. Emails come to our phones, so we can theoretically shoot off a response at any hour. Text messaging means that workplaces can informally get in touch far more often. We work on the train in the morning, get a bit extra done on the presentation on our weekends, get up before the rest of the fam to get a head start on the work for the week.

Part of the issue is our own making. We want flexibility. We want to telecommute, are addicted to our iPhones and iPads, would prefer to work 6 hours a day 6 days a week. or 10 hour days but have a three day weekend. There have to be some compromises if we want those kinds of benefits. But before we go charging off and dismantle a system that people fought so hard for, consider this. One in three relationships in the UK are stated to be adversely affected by fragmentation. It’s also easy to do extra work that we aren’t paid for, and for it to become an expected part of our job. While compromise is important, and a good worker-boss relationship takes both sides to be flexible, if fragmentation is having a negative effect on your life, it’s important to look at ways to improve the scenario. I don’t think it counts as a day off if you’re fielding calls from work. When’s the last time you had a weekend, where you actually didn’t look at an email? Here are some simple steps to rebalance your personal life, free from work distraction.

 

What’s Your Ideal Work Lifestyle?

When we’re at school and at university, I would guess most of us have some idea about how our lives would turn out. For instance, I was at a dinner party on the weekend, and we were all talking about how our work lives are structured, what we would change, what we didn’t expect. One woman was talking about working at a law firm, pulling 14 hour days, how little per hour she actually made when you included overtime. It was an effort she was putting in in order to advance in the workforce. My work life is structured completely differently; part salaried work, part work in the creative industries. My hours are my own, but there’s no obvious career path. It lead me to wonder: what are some common lifestyle choices we make, and what are the pros and cons of each?

 

The Best Work-From-Home Jobs

There are tonnes of reasons people are increasingly working from home. For starters, with changes and advances in technology, it’s now increasingly possible to work from home as efficiently and effectively as in the office (and, if you’ve spent years crowded into cubicles, sometimes more effectively than in the office). With technology came opportunity for big sectors of society- people wanting to spend more time with their kids, full-time carers, people with disabilities, spouses who travel due to their partner’s career- to work from home. So what kind of work is out there, and can you grab some and start making your working-from-home dream a reality?

 

8 Ways To Improve Your Work Life

If you think your happiness at work isn’t a personal finance issue, consider this. While research shows that 2 out of three Australians is generally happy with their management, a significant proportion is unhappy with the amount of hours they work, with the affect it has on activities outside of work, unhappy with job market tensions and the stress cost of living has put on employment. Happiness at work is increasingly pointed to as a significant marker in productivity. The equation is simple. Happy at work= works better= greater benefit to yourself and employer. So here’s how to improve your nine-to-five, not just for sanity’s sake, but to bolster your personal finance. Inspired by an article on the Oprah website, a woman who knows a lot about making work work for her.

 

Turning The Downturn Into A Positive For Your Business

Numbers released this week point towards a slowdown in growth by the end of the year. Before we all put boards over our windows and start living by candlelight, it’s worth remembering that even the direst of predictions don’t put Australia in a recession. Growth is suggested- by a private survey no less- to slow from 2.6% to 0.2%. Dramatic, yes, if it comes to pass but not a recession.

If a downturn does occur, there is still hope for businesses. Research quoted in an article on this topic on Yahoo! Personal Finance suggests that businesses in the middle range can shoot to industry leaders during a downturn. There are so many examples of downturns being accompanied by great art and innovation in business. A business expert quoted in the Yahoo! article suggests that some businesses can use the downturn to their advantage, while others flounder. Here’s how to make your business part of the former, not treading water as part of the latter.

 

Applying For A Small Business Loan

A friend of mine and I used to go dancing. We took flamenco classes, while her daughter carved up the room in ballet shoes. The problem for all of us was that finding clothes to wear meant an hour’s drive down the mountain, to an immense plaza and the nearest Bloch.

Seeing a need for it, my friend got a small business loan and opened a dancewear store. It was a gamble, calculated, but a gamble nonetheless. Luckily, with a young population, there are plenty of school-age dancers in desperate need for a tutu and some ballet flats. Ten years on, and the business is a success. She was a mum who wanted to work for herself and in a field she was interested in. It’s an inspirational story for you and I, so often looking for the perfect place to invest our energies. So, if you’re chasing the dream for a small business, what are some essentials when applying for a small business loan?

 

Assistance For Small Businesses

Running a small business isn’t easy and, if yours is anything like mine, then liquidity is often the problem. My business takes a fair amount of capital upfront, invested in products and some equipment, leaving very little for running costs or, you know, food. The problem arises when you’re overinvested in capital or there is a delay in a repayment from a customer (don’t even ask me about the $110 that could have made all the difference in March 2011), you can be forced to make some tough financial decisions.

Before selling equipment, using up a personal emergency fund or declaring to your family en masse that you can’t do it anymore, look at some of these options for assistance. Inspired by an article on AFR Investor.