New financial year health check

Give your budget a fine tune …

The beginning of the new financial year can be a great time to give it fine tune a budget. Having a budget isn’t about watching every cent; rather it’s about getting a realistic idea as to how much money is spent compared to what’s coming in. A budget may help give a good overview of the current situation and could help future decision making.

Find ways to reduce your spending

A good budget isn’t just about knowing what money you have coming in and what expenses you’ve got going out; it can also be used as a springboard to review where you could cut back on spending or find potential savings. 

Another good way to track where your money is going is to keep a spending diary for a few weeks. Whenever you spend money (right down to your morning coffee) make a note of it. You might be surprised at where your money goes.

Start saving (or give them a boost)

Here are some general savings ideas: 

 

• Give yourself a clear savings goal – it’s likely to be easier to stay committed when you realise what the end-game is.
• Set up a savings plan – have a figure in mind that you need to save to reach your milestone
• Consider choosing a bank account that could reward you with bonus interest when you meet certain conditions. For example, a Westpac Life account offers both a competitive base rate as well as bonus interest at the end of each month when you make a deposit into the account and the account balance has grown by the end of the month.
• Pay yourself first – schedule an automatic payment into your savings account to coincide with your payday.
• If you already have savings, you could think about a term deposit - not only will a term deposit give you the certainty of knowing exactly what the return on your savings will be, it can also remove the temptation of dipping into your savings as your money will be locked away for the length of the term you’ve chosen.

Sort out your tax return

Getting your tax return sorted at the beginning of the financial year can have its rewards if you get a tax return. It’s also a good time to do it as you’re likely to have your paperwork in order.¹

Track down any lost super

There’s a lot of lost and ATO-held super out there, around $20.8 billion in fact^#. Do you know where all of yours is? If you’ve ever changed jobs, moved house, or changed your name, there’s a good chance you may not have kept tabs on all your super. 

To find lost super, visit the myGov website.