I know from working in an office environment for the past 11 years that once the lunchtime luxury has passed, and heading into the home stretch toward the full time bell, there is that ‘in-between’ part which hits you like Tyson right hook and leaves you drowsy for the rest of the afternoon. This little number usually appears around 2:30-3pm and just doesn’t go away.

As an employer, I am always looking for ways to keep the staff’s energy levels up and it’s always an effort. I found this program helpful from Nine’s ‘What’s good for you’.

Do you have ways that you use to increase yours or your staff’s productivity?

The ATO will target sales representatives, sales and marketing managers, truck drivers and electricians this year. If you fit into these categories, what can you do to help your situation if they come along for an audit (apart form locking your door and putting the hose on them).

Don’t put your records through a shredder just yet! Many people bin their records in July each year, but the ATO may still need those documents for quite a while. The best bet is to keep them for at least 5 years for individuals, and 7 for a company structure.

Things like depreciation records and dividend reinvestment information may need to be kept until a number of years after the asset is sold, so CGT can be calculated properly. These are the things that should be kept for an audit are:

* Payments received, including salary, pensions, share dividends or bank interest.
* Expenses related to income received, such as work-related expenses or repairs made to a rental property.
* Buying or selling assets such as shares or a rental property paperwork.
* Tax-deductible gifts or donation receipts.
* Medical expense receipts.

Car expenses are one of the most common tax deductions, and the ATO says record keeping is vital. If you travel at all for work, make sure you keep a log book. Even if you don’t completely fill it in ALL the time, it doesn’t really matter. As long as you’ve got one. Especially if you have recently bought a new car.

Do you have any other things that the ATO has given you a hard time on this year? I would love to hear about it.

PD

You’ll need to be clear about your options and comfortable with your decisions, but how do you know when to ask for help, where to get it and whether to trust it?

Everyone’s financial situation is different and it’s important to decide what’s right for you. This is where you need to decide whether to take George’s advice over the fence, or your friend’s experience from work as a given to what will happen to you. Or you can choose to look at your options for paying for a professional financial planner to look at your scenario.

There will be times when it pays to get professional financial advice. You may have saved up or received a windfall that makes investing an option, or you might be thinking about putting a retirement savings plan into action. If you’re nearing retirement, it can be even more important to make sure your finances are in the best possible shape so you’ve got a better chance of having the kind of retirement you’d like.

You go to a professional when you are sick or not sure of what is wrong with you, then why wouldn’t you go to a professional to get your money healthy? It’s like an old cliché, but it’s true! So many people seek advice from friends and family, who, in many cases, have gone through major issues to get their money where it is today! Save yourself a lot of time and effort, and at least pick up the phone and call your nearest financial planner just to have a chat.

Generally, it wont cost anything to just sit down and talk to someone, so what have you got to lose? But how do you choose which financial planner will suit you? This article will hopefully help you.

When we decided to change our accountant again a few years ago, I was determined not to make the same mistake as the last accountants had put us through. We were going through a different transition in the business and personally, with more children and an expanding business, we needed more technical advice than what we were receiving. So, basically, we outgrew our old accountant. They were unable to give us the most efficient tax advice that we needed.

So, we set out to talk to friends and family (not about our circumstance, but about their experiences) about their accountant. The best possible way to get an idea of a service, whether it’s an accountant, or a gardener, is to ask friends first, and then interview them yourself!

So, we found someone who was strongly recommended by someone in a similar situation to us (always a good thing to compare apples with apples) and interviewed them. Within the first 20 minutes, I knew these guys were the ones for us. Young, vibrant, smart and freely gave simple advice on direction and asked many questions. That showed me they were interested in ME, not their own bottom line.

I found that I related well to them, and felt incredibly comfortable. I also asked many questions, such as the obvious like fees and experience, which all answers were returned with confidence and satisfied my criteria.

The same goes for financial planners. I am a financial planner, but I specialise in personal insurance. However, I know how the industry works. I’ll cover off more about that in the next post tomorrow.

1)    You need to feel comfortable.
2)    You need to ask questions that are answered, not talked around
3)    Do they give you an idea of what you get for your fees? (reviews & resources available)
4)    Do they offer advice outside of managed funds? (This will also depend on how much money you have.
5)    Do they charge commission and/or fee for service? (A choice is good if you don’t want to fork out large amounts upfront)
6)    Do they have a network of advisers in all the areas you are interested in? (Eg; shares, property, etc)
7)    Ask for testimonials

If they tick all of these boxes, then you should be on your way to developing a strong relationship with your financial planner.

But how much do you pay for a financial planner?
It all depends on how much work they are going to do and how much you are willing to accept for the work they are going to do. If there is a lot of messing around with super funds and tax advice, then the cost could be as much as 3-4% of your total investment. However, if you have funds over $150,000 - $200,000, then I wouldn’t pay that much. Try to keep the fees around 3% if possible. This is always negotiable with your planner.

I firmly believe everyone should at least talk to an adviser or planner just to see what they can do. One good thing is they can set up a plan for you to follow. If you don’t already have one, this is a start.

PD

What makes interest rates go up and down?

Interest rates, as we all know, are what determines the cost of our mortgages, loans and sometimes, credit cards. But what makes them go up and down? What is the determining factors that make those grey haired men in corporate government palaces change the amount I pay on my mortgage each month?

I’ll try to help you easily understand why this happens in this post.

The Federal Reserve can manipulate interest rates by buying
and selling bonds in the bond markets. During economic times the Fed wants to
stimulate the market, the Fed buys bonds on the open market, and pays for the
bonds with cash. If the Fed continues buy bonds, the market becomes flooded with
cash. This excess cash in turn makes money more available for people who want to
borrow. The result is interest rates will naturally come down as different
lenders compete for a limited pool of borrowers.

The interest rate to borrow this excess money begins a bidding battle between different lenders each competing for the loan funds (so they can then lend to borrowers like you and me). Just like the most of us, borrowers go for the lowest price.

Interest Rates and A Growing Economy

When the economy is growing, consumers gain confidence, as their confidence
grows people start spending money. What do they buy? Everything under the sun
but consumer goods are the term you will hear most often. People buy items like
cars, computers, appliances like stainless steel refrigerators, etc.

This is the cycle of inflation, which in turn leads to increased interest rates:
1)    As demand for products increase, or more people buy stuff they don’t need, companies can begin to charge more for their products.
2)    When people want more stuff, companies make more money.
3)    As companies begin to make more profits it is not long before workers begin asking for more benefits and more money in their paychecks.
4)    As companies meet worker demands, the company experiences increased cost and expenses
5)    Then inflation begins.

Inflation is the prime cause of interest rate movement. To slow down any inflation, the government (Federal Reserve) starts selling those bonds they were buying before. Considering that the market was awash with cash when they were buying bonds, what do you think happens when they start selling?

That’s right! Money floods OUT of the market, and it makes it harder for lenders to get hold of money, hence the increase in costs to borrow. This then slows down everyone’s mad spending and slows down the economy.

PD

To read more about bonds and how they work, see this post

I get many articles passed along my desk form a variety of different fund managers and insurance companies. This article is taken from a news release from Vanguard Investments that I’m sure you will find interesting as I did.

Lessons learned from a tough year

After a financial year that most investors would want to forget, a worthwhile exercise is to ask what has been learned.

Perhaps most crucially, investors have been unequivocally reminded during 2008-09 about why some of the most basic principles of sound investment practice make a lot of sense.

When the economy is strong and sharemarkets are rising, some of these straightforward principles are overlooked. And it can take a bear market and economic woes to bring them back into stark focus.

Here are just a few of the principles to be truly reinforced over the past 12 months:

Keep it simple. Many investors lost a lot of money in 2008-09 by being involved with complex investments that they could not really understand. If an investor can’t comprehend how an investment operates, the message often repeated by the likes of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) is clear: stay away from it.

Keep investment and personal debts under careful control. We have heard scores of extremely sad stories over the past year of older couples borrowing against the equity in their homes to invest in shares that were, in turn, heavily geared. This double-jeopardy approach to gearing truly exposed these investors to the full impact of the bear market. It provides an extreme lesson to all of us about the dangers of excessive debt.

Gearing works both ways. This ever-green lesson is linked to the previous point. The fallout from the bear market has been a telling reminder that while gearing can magnify gains in a rising market, it can do the opposite in a falling market.

Act your age. Many older and inexperienced investors were among the numerous investors who had become caught up with the euphoria of once-rising share prices and overlooked the need for the most-appropriate diversification of their overall investment portfolios. As good financial planners often remind their clients, the diversification of a portfolio should reflect an investor’s personal circumstances which include such factors as personal tolerance to risk, investment horizon, age, and expected years until retirement.
Look to the longer term. Particularly when the sharemarket becomes highly volatile, investors are vulnerable to over-reacting to day-to-day news and market commentary. Investors who concentrate on the longer term usually try to block out much of this daily “market noise”.

The 12 months ahead will set particular challenges for investors. Some cashed-up investors, who may be more optimistic about the prospects for share prices, may attempt to time their way back into the market – by trying to pick the best time to buy. Market timing is something that even seasoned investors rarely get right.

Financial planners often recommend that their clients “drip-feed” large amounts into the market progressively over an extended period rather than investing a large amount at one time. This is a form of dollar-cost-averaging.

Another challenge will be how investors react to the cutting back of the caps on concessional superannuation contributions – which include salary-sacrificed contributions as well as personally-deductible contributions by the self-employed and eligible investors without employer super support. The reduction in the caps may encourage some investors to increase their gearing of non-super investments without fully acknowledging the extra risks involved.

So, like I always say, make sure you know as much as you can about where your money is invested and research, research, research.

PD

A MAJORITY of Australians say they know the exact fees on their main credit card but almost half have still been stung with late payment fees and a quarter have been hit with with fees for not paying enough of their monthly bill, a survey reveals.

This contradiction between knowledge and behaviour is further illustrated by almost a third of the respondents to the news.com.au credit card survey saying they knew the interest rate on their card.

This is concerning because the amount of money people put on their cards, and ‘kind of’ budget to pay it off, is huge. I know when I pay on my credit card, I tend to think about it later, then forget and have to pay the interest at the end of the month. It’s annoying, but my fault entirely. But at least I know what my interest rate is. I don’t think about it, because it seems incomprehensible that they are even allowed to charge that amount on a card.

The good news, it seems, is 44.8 per cent of respondents said they paid their credit card debt in full and only 12.8 per cent said they only made the minimum monthly repayment.

The survey also found that more than half of all respondents - 55.2 per cent - had been asked to pay a surcharge when using their credit card to make a purchase at a business or in a shop.

The respondents to the survey were most male - 68.6 per cent - and more than half of had a gross household income above $75,000 per annum.

Pay off your monthly bill

It seems like an obvious one, but the amount of people who never pay off their monthly debt is staggering.

Ignoring the minimum monthly payments on your plastic is the sure way down the rocky road to insolvency, says entrepreneur and author Tony Melvin.

“Killer debt must be paid off as soon as possible.”

By accumulating credit card debt, you are ripping yourself off in the future, because it’s the future you that has to pay off this debt, he said.

“Money management is more of a time game than anything else. To avoid debt, you need to make sure you set aside money for the present and the future.

“People’s problem is that they spend their future money - that’s what using credit is.

“By doing this, you are really ripping yourself off as it’s the older, tireder, harder working you that has to pay that off.”

Credit card tips:

You hear this all the time, and it might almost seem like a cliché, but if you have a substantial credit card debt, you should look at finding a lower interest rate, and tht will help with paying off the debt quicker. There are many different cards that provide this. One such website, which allows you to look for the best credit card is Credit Card finder. You can find them at www.creditcardfinder.com.au

What is your financial goal?

One goal should be having a ‘profitable’ personal balance sheet. All financial institutions have Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets to show how profitable or behind they are.

Have you done a Personal Balance Sheet? Would it be pretty? Probably not. But this is a sure fire way of starting you on the right track and keep you ‘profitable. I’ll explain what I mean about being personally profitable in another post.

Set aside 10 to 20 per cent for future needs, no matter how much debt you are in. If you have killer debt (debt against things not going up in value such as cars or televisions) you need to pay this off as soon as possible.

Have a future investment fund of 10 per cent.

Live off about 60 per cent of your income. With that discipline in place, you will pay off your killer debt.

Put aside 5 per cent for education needs (business, investment) and 5 per cent for emergencies.

People who get rid of their killer debt move into a position of control. This is the principle of how to become solvent – which simply means you have more asset than debt, a positive net worth.

For more information on becoming solvent in your financial life, visit www.solvencymakers.com

PD

Just when you thought Google has invented everything to do with search, and online activity, they add some more things to their Google Maps application. Now property investors can quickly check out a property’s location, rent, property type and real estate agent.

All these criteria can be searched through a filter of these criteria to help you find the perfect investment property or your new home.

As always, you can also check the street view to have a look at the actual house or street. This is especially handy if you are buying properties interstate or overseas, as many people are doing now.

By clicking on a marker (circle) provides all the information you will need, such as the agent and their details and website.

If you are a Real Estate Agent, it can also be used to link on your website for people to look at, which can be a valuable marketing tool, and of course, helpful with your SEO.

Good luck finding that new property!
PD

A survey by the Royal Automobile Association (based in Adelaide) has conducted recently to look into the most cost effective cars to run on our roads. If you are going to look at purchasing a new car in the coming months, you may want to consider looking at this research.

The survey assumes that the average driving distance is 15,000 kilometres year. It also factored in depreciation, and used costs from the service infustry instead of the car manufacturers. This will no doubt give a more accurate report than some of the other surveys out there.

The survey also takes into account the purchase costs, interest, service costs, insurance, registration, tyres, day to day running costs and depreciation calculated over a 5 year period.

“This approach gives us the full story, because how much you pay to purchase a car is just part of the picture,” said RAA technical manager Mark Borlace.

Mr Borlace said while costs were down overall, most of last year’s survey winners in the various car categories came out on top again this year.

They included the Hyundai i30 as the cheapest small car, the Kia Carnival as the cheapest people mover and the Nissan Patrol as the cheapest large four-wheel-drive.

They surveyed 75 cars and found costs were down about seven per cent over the past year with the downturn leading to ultra-competitive market conditions, lower interest rates and cheaper petrol prices.

The most expensive car was the Mummy mover, the Toyota Landcruiser Diesel at an average of $371.10 per week.

Compared to the cheapest car, Hyundai Getz at $122.18, it makes you wonder whether it’s worthwhile buying that big tanker to transport all the kiddies around in.

Among the locally-made cars, the Ford Falcon XT running on LPG was the best at $221.73 ahead of the Holden Commodore at $227.47 and the Toyota Aurion at $229.02.

PD

After the headache of getting all of your payments in on time for end of financial year, now comes the headache of getting all of your deductions together to find out what exactly can you claim.

One such area is investment properties. This form of investment has proved very popular over the past 5-10 years with property prices on the up, so the majority of readers will have some form of property investment. One thing that many of us miss out on, is legitimate claims on items such as depreciation (but this is generally due to a lack of a depreciation schedule prepared by a professional) and smaller items.

Defence Housing of NSW has put together a great article which outlines the important aspects of generating the most from your deductions, with the help of the ATO, so it ‘must’ be true (until they change the rules again). So if you have an investment property, take note as this will be valuable information straight from the horses big mouth.

The Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) Assistant Commissioner, Megan Yong, provides an overview for rental property owners of the “do’s and dont’s” of claiming deductions.

‘Last year more than 1.4 million people claimed over $25 billion in rental deductions in their tax return. Over 200,000 of these people were claiming deductions for the first time,’ Ms Yong said.

With so many people claiming deductions the ATO is continuing its focus in this area to ensure property investors get their claim right.

‘This year the ATO will write to around 110,000 people who have purchased rental properties in the past 12 months with advice on claiming rental property deductions,’ she said.

Here are a few things Defence Housing Australia (DHA) investors should think about when claiming deductions in their 2008-09 tax return.

What you can claim as an immediate deduction

‘There are a number of rental property expenses that can be claimed as an immediate deduction,’ Ms Yong said.

These include:

• interest on a loan to:
  - purchase a rental property or purchase land to build a rental property
  - purchase a depreciating asset for the property like an air conditioner
  - finance renovations like a deck
  - make maintenance repairs or repair damage to the property.

What needs to be claimed over a number of years

‘Expenses that are deductible over a number of years include most borrowing costs and the cost of depreciating assets and structural improvements,’ Ms Yong said.

Borrowing costs can include:

• stamp duty charged on the mortgage
• loan establishment fees, fees for a valuation required for loan approval and lender’s mortgage insurance
• title search fees charged by your lender, costs of preparing and filing mortgage documents and mortgage broker fees.

If these amounts are less than $100 in total they can be deducted immediately, otherwise they are generally deductible over five years or over the term of the loan, whichever is less.

‘Major renovation costs and costs to repair damage, defects or deterioration upon purchasing a property can’t be claimed as an immediate deduction.

‘These costs generally must be claimed as either a deduction for decline in value over the asset’s effective life, or as a capital works deduction over 25 or 40 years,’ Ms Yong said.

What you can’t claim: avoiding common mistakes

According to the ATO website, there have been a number of common mistakes identified in the income tax returns of rental property owners. Below is a list the ATO has compiled of common mistakes to avoid.

Construction costs

Certain types of construction – including extensions, alterations and structural improvements – can be claimed as capital works deductions. However, the land on which a rental property is constructed cannot be claimed. Instead, the land forms part of the cost for capital gains tax purposes.

Deductions can be claimed for the decline in value of some types of depreciating assets in residential rental properties (for example, curtains, blinds, dishwashers, refrigerators, stoves, television sets and hot water systems). However, construction costs are not depreciating assets.

For more information on deprecation, click here to read this month’s Industry insight from quantity surveying firm, Turner & Townsend.

Common depreciation claim mistakes include:

• claiming the cost of the land component as part of the cost of constructing the rental property,
• claiming construction costs as a decline in value of depreciating assets deduction instead of a capital works deduction.

Refer to Rental properties for a comprehensive list of residential property items and whether they are depreciating assets or capital works.

Interest

Taxpayers sometimes use their loan facility for both investing and private purposes—for example, to purchase or renovate a rental property and to buy a motor boat.

The interest expense on the private portion of the loan (the motor boat) is not deductible.

A common mistake is to claim a deduction for interest on the private portion of the loan.

Travel expensesWhere travel related to your rental property is combined with a holiday or other private activities, you may need to apportion the expenses. You may be able to claim local expenses that are directly related to the property inspection and a proportion of accommodation expenses.

A common mistake is to claim a deduction for the cost of travel when the main purpose of the trip is to have a holiday and the inspection of the property is incidental to that.

Deductible borrowing expenses

The correct way to claim borrowing expenses of more than $100 is to spread the deduction over five years or over the term of the loan, whichever is less. If your borrowing expenses are $100 or less, you can claim the full amount in the income year they are incurred.

A common mistake is to claim all deductible borrowing expenses in the first year they are incurred.

Ownership interests

If you purchase a rental property as a co-owner and are not carrying on a rental property business, you must divide the income and expenses for the rental property in line with your legal interest in the property. This is despite any written or oral agreement between co-owners stating otherwise.

A common mistake occurs when a property is purchased by a husband and wife (as co-owners) and the income and expenses are not split in line with their legal interest in the property.

Refer to Rental properties for more information on how rental income and expenses should be split between co-owners.

What records do you need to keep?

You need to keep proper records in order to make a claim, regardless of whether you use a tax agent to prepare your tax return or you do it yourself. You must keep records of:

• the rental income you receive and the deductible expenses you pay - keep these records for five years from 31 October or, if you lodge later, for five years from the date your tax return is lodged.
• your ownership of the property and all the costs of purchasing/acquiring it and selling/disposing of it - keep these records for five years from the date you sell/dispose of your rental property.

More information

The ATO website has detailed fact sheets outlining what expenses you can and can’t claim for your rental property,’ Ms Yong said.

These include:

Rental properties – avoiding common mistakes
Rental properties – claiming borrowing expenses
Rental properties – claiming interest expenses
Rental properties – claiming repairs and maintenance expenses
Rental properties – claiming capital works deductions

If you would like to talk to someone at the ATO about tax deductions for rental properties call 13 28 61.

Disclaimer: This information has been sourced from the Australian Taxation Office via the Defence Housing of NSW website, which contains some great information at www.dha.gov.au  DHA property investment is subject to the terms of the lease. DHA investors retain some responsibilities and risks. Investors should seek professional and independent advice.

At the moment, everyone is watching their ‘pennies’, and I’ve tried to find as many ‘tips’ as possible for simple money savings for you. Many of these you might already do, but I’d love to know of any tips that you use and work, especially for small business.

Personal finances tips:

1. Before you can start to save you should always work out your spending habits and how much money you have left at the end of each month. Click here to help you create a realistic budget that could save you thousands!
2. If starting a budget is too difficult or daunting, start by keeping a diary. Commit to carrying around a notepad in which you record all your purchases. This should include everything from your insurance bills to your morning coffee. Each entry only needs a date, a description and a dollar value. After a month, review your records and this can form the basis of your budget. Once you can see exactly where you are spending all your money, it will be easy for you to identify which purchases you could easily trim off to save a little every month.

Paying off your bills, loans and credit cards:

3. Do a credit card check - Go to www.infochoice.com.au or www.canstar.com.au to find out if there are better offers.
4. Avoid late fees and penalties when you forget to pay your bills on time by setting up a direct debit through your bank account.
5. If you make fortnightly mortgage repayments instead of monthly repayments you can make an extra monthly payment each year. With one extra annual payment, you could dramatically reduce the repayment time of your mortgage!
6. Given variable interest rates have fallen considerably in the past year, if you keep paying the higher repayment you’ll wipe years off your loan.
7. Check out an offset account in conjunction with your mortgage repayment and use that account to pay bills instead of your every day savings account which only earns a minimal interest rate. Talk to your mortgage adviser to work out how you can pay additional funds into your mortgage.

Make the most of tax time:

8. Organise all your receipts (in a shoe box) so you can claim your full allowable deductions during tax time.
9. If you have school-age children, keep all your receipts as you may be able to claim the Education Tax Refund.
10. If you add to your super from before-tax money (ie. make a concessional contribution) you could reduce your annual tax bill!

Insurance and superannuation tips:

11. Go to www.iselect.com.au to choose the best health fund for you and your family.

12. Email Me to find out how you can save on Life & Income insurance or visit www.protectmywealth.com.au
12. Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils the land your house sits on, is not.
13. Stop smoking today. Besides the cost and it being bad for your health, smoking accidents account for more than 23,000 residential fires every year and you will pay higher premiums on your insurance as well. In addition, some insurers offer reduced premiums if no-one in the home smokes.
14. Life insurance can be cheaper through your super fund.
15. If your total income is less than $60,342, and you make a $1,000 after-tax contribution to super by 30 June this year, the government could give you up to $1,500. This amount will soon reduce to $1,000 after 30 June this year, so it’s worth considering!

Household related savings tips:

16. Sign up to Skype and get free phone and video calls over the internet.
17. Check out www.partykids.com.au for kids party ideas.
18. Find a bulk-billing doctor.
19. Check out the Chemist Warehouse at www.chemistwarehouse.com.au.
20. Porridge is cheaper and more filling than cereal. It’s also more comforting during winter!
21. Plan meals for the week.
22. Don’t buy lunch at work – take your own. You can save hundreds of dollars doing this.

Gas, electricity and water savings tips:

23. Switch off your hot water and all electrical appliances when on holidays.
24. A fan-forced oven uses less energy than a conventional oven.
25. Just before you go to bed or when you go out, turn off all lights and any power points for unnecessary appliances eg. TV, stereo units.
26. Use energy-saving light bulbs.
27. Front-loading washing machines use less energy and water than top-loading automatics.
28. A half-filled dishwasher uses the same amount of energy as a full load, so fill it to capacity before each wash cycle.
29. Fit an AAA-rated low-flow showerhead.
30. Keep a bucket in your bathroom and use it to collect the water while waiting for the shower to warm up. You can then use the water collected to water your garden.
31. Take four-minute showers or less.
32. Fix leaking taps straight away. If you have to wait for a plumber, place a pot plant under it to reduce water wastage.

Transport and auto savings tips:

34. Use supermarket petrol discount coupons.
35. Fill up on Tuesday or early Wednesday.
36. Avoid hard acceleration and braking when driving. Slower speeds give better fuel economy and also save lives!
37. If you regularly use public transport, buy a weekly, monthly or quarterly ticket.

General shopping tips:

38. Write a grocery list before shopping and stick to it.
39. Over-60s, where possible, ask for a seniors discount and call Senior Shopper offers on 1300 366 265 to find the best deals.
40. Buy in bulk from the growers or farmers markets.
41. Buy birthday and Christmas presents early. Mid-season, end of financial year and mid-year clearance sales are now on.

Holidays and travel tips:

42. Camping is the best budget holiday.
43. For $1 a day, you can get a bargain one-way driving holiday at www.standbycars.com.au.
44. Book discounted flights with Jetstar on their Friday Frenzy between 4-8pm. Virgin Blue also have “red-hot” deals.
45. Online booking sites like www.wotif.com.au and www.lastminute.com.au are perfect for spur-of-the-moment deals.

Entertainment and lifestyle tips:

46. Go to the movies on “cheap Tuesdays”.
47. Cut-back on your alcohol intake. A month of not drinking any alcohol will save money and can also improve your health.
48. You can buy discounted wines and other alcoholic drinks at www.langtons.com.au, Wine Makers or Wine Makers Choice
49. Shave your head and save hundreds a year on haircutting fees. You can also raise much needed funds for the Leukaemia Foundation by signing up to the World’s Greatest Shave campaign! Or find a bald man with a combover and convince him to come out of the caveman years!

I would like to add number 50, but I thought I would leave that up to the readers, so if you have a money saving tip, let me know in the comments bar below and I’ll put the best one in the list.

Paul