From the category archives:

Finance & Money

How Big A Mortgage Is Too Big in Australia?

So you’ve saved up a deposit for your first house, you want to take advantage of the government’s first home owner grant while you still can, and the bank is actually prepared to lend you money. But how much should you borrow?

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

While Australia has not had the same problems with “sub-prime” borrowers [...]

3 comments

Too Much Stuff: Consumption Is Not A Way of Life

Compared to most people I don’t buy or own much stuff but I still have too much stuff so I am slowly giving away, selling or throwing away all my excess stuff (clothes, gadgets, shoes, books etc etc etc)

“too much stuff” photo credit: joemad

I need don’t need all this stuff, I don’t even use [...]

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The Philosophy of Pocket Money for Children

GUEST ARTICLE: “Why give your kids pocket money? Are you using it for discipline or to encourage involvement at home? Do your kids simply need to practice handling money? Keeping up with their friends at school? Perhaps you want to share the family’s income? This article examines some philosophies of pocket money.”

Eventually you are going [...]

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How Ive Paid No Bank ATM Fees Zero Dollars $0 For Years

photo credit: thetruthabout

For most people there’s a completely free alternative to withdraw money from your Australian bank transaction account. I’ve used this method for years – which is why I Pay Nothing Nada Zip $0 In Bank ATM Fees
Which is why i’m always surprised when I hear Australian’s complaining about how much bank ATM [...]

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4 Money Boxes Pocket Money System For Kids

GUEST ARTICLE: “At a loss to begin showing your kids how to handle money? I was too which lead me to this easy system of four money boxes. By dividing their pocket money, my kids understand how to apply their income to multiple goals. Our four money boxes are: invest, save, crazy and give.”

As a [...]

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Goal Based Savings Account – Interview with SmartyPig Co-Founder Jon Gaskell

Anyone who knows me should be aware that I’m a fan of encouraging people to save money: both for keeping a good sized stash of money untouched for emergency expenses and for a specific goals like buying a car.

This article is based on an interview with Smartypig co-founder Jon Gaskell. Originally launched in the USA [...]

6 comments

Australian Tax Tips: Are Gifts Taxable?

EDITOR: For some reason the most popular questions asked in the comments of my Australian Personal Tax FAQ are in relation to gifts and whether or not they are taxable. As I am not knowledgeable about this area I asked my accountant friend Andrew from Aussie Tax Time to provide some general guidance on the [...]

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Is Property Investment Really As Safe As Houses?

I just watched a fascinating series on ABC TV based on the book “The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World” by Professor Niall Ferguson.
Episode 5 of the “Ascent of Money” series focuses on the housing/property market and explains why the idea of your family home as a pension/insurance policy is really flawed [...]

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Basic Tax Tips Anyone Can Follow: Save Money, Pay Less Tax

Tax Tips For Everyone

Make sure you prepay membership fees for unions & professional associations and make any charitable donations just before the end of the financial year (June 30) so you can claim a tax deduction.
Non-business taxpayers (such as employees or rental property owners) are entitled to an immediate deduction for depreciating assets which [...]

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Donate to Charity = Lower Tax Bill and Help Your Favourite Cause

Looking for a quick and easy way to reduce your tax bill?
Australian tax payers can reduce the amount of tax they owe by giving a gift of more than $2 to an approved charity (deductible gift recipient). There is no upper limit on the amount of donations you can claim a tax deduction for [...]

11 comments

Is First Home Buyers Grant Really A Sellers Grant?

I recently interviewed Financial Literacy advisor and News Ltd columnist Scott Pape about the Federal Government’s First Home Buyers Grant (FHBG)
My discussion with Scott centred around this question: “is the FHBG really a Sellers Grant setting up buyers for a fall, for the temporary benefit of propping up house prices and providing work for the [...]

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10 Tips to Avoid Credit Card Fraud

These are tough financial times we are living in. People are struggling and so are the banks. Regrettably, this has seen an increase in credit card fraud and these numbers are growing year on year with no sign of a slow down. It is time to take credit card fraud seriously, because criminal gangs certainly [...]

9 comments

Super Co Contributions Give Guaranteed 150% Return

If you earn less than $31,920 and pay $1000 cash to your Australian super fund before the last week of June 2010 than the federal government will deposit an extra $1500 in your super account
For several years the government contributed up to $1.50 for every dollar of personal contributions, up to a maximum [...]

12 comments

No Foreign Currency Bank Fees Travelling – Wizard Clear Advantage Creditcard (review)

This article explains why I chose the Wizard Clear Advantage Mastercard for use as travel money while on holidays and to buy things from overseas websites eg: books, dvds etc.
I was making a budget for travelling on holiday to New Zealand when I realised there was a big hidden expense – everything I bought on [...]

99 comments

Find Your Lost Super Fund $$ (Superannuation)

Unfortunately many Australians lose track of their superannuation accounts because they don’t treat them as seriously as bank savings.

When they change their name, change their job and their address, they forget to tell the super fund that there has been a change of circumstances and unfortunately that means that there are a lot of people [...]