Five money goals for the new financial year

Sam Marsh13/09/2021

Financial goals to help you better manage your money.

If you were disappointed by your recent tax return and you feel like all you do is spend money on bills instead of pleasure, chances are you aren’t properly managing your finances.

A new financial year is upon us, so why not try these five money goals to take charge of your finances.

1. Create a financial calendar

At the beginning of each financial year create a financial calendar which marks significant expenses. These may include:

Home and contents insurance
Car insurance
Health insurance
Travel insurance
Car registration fees
Car services and maintenance
Roadside assistance
Pet registration fees
Body corporate or strata fees
Council rates
Electricity
Phone/mobile plans
Television subscription fees e.g. Netflix, Stan, Foxtel
Holidays e.g. Easter and Christmas
School holidays
Events e.g. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, weddings, birthdays
Retail sales e.g. Boxing Day sales, Black Friday, end of financial year sales

By marking these big expenses in your calendar you’ll be able to budget in advance and there will be no surprise expenses.

2. Take control of your spending habits

A great way to assess your spending habits is to sit down and highlight the unnecessary purchases you make each day on your bank account statement. This will help you to determine what your spending triggers are. It could be a morning coffee at the café across from work, a guilty food purchase from the service station when you fuel up or a retail store you pass on your commute home. By recognising what your spending habits are you will be able to implement changes.

3. Plan for a better tax return

Tax time can come around quickly and involves sorting through historical work-related payments for the previous 12-month period. To experience a less stressful tax return, join the digital revolution and try these tax apps. These apps can maximise your tax deductions and reimbursements by recording travel mileage, storing photos of work-related tax receipts and email expense reports. Some even allow you to submit your tax return on-the-go to the Australian Tax Office.

4. Pre-book holidays

In order to create a better work/life balance it’s important to book in a holiday. Assess how much annual leave you have accrued and plan when you will be taking leave. This will give you time to speak to a travel agent and research the best travel deals. You’ll also have more time to save extra spending money so you can splurge a little while on vacation. Consider what other expenses may be involved with travel including passports, travel insurance or driving permits.

5. Create an emergency fund

July is the perfect time of year to start saving for an emergency fund as it’s just before Queensland’s notorious storm season, which strikes between November and April. It’s also helpful to have some extra savings in your account for the unexpected including redundancy, injury, illness or a death in the family. Having a savings buffer means you won’t need to borrow money in a time of crisis, which can alleviate a lot of stress and allow you to focus on what’s important.

The information in this article has been prepared for general information purposes only and not as specific advice to any particular person. Any advice contained in the document is general advice and does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on anything based on this advice you should consider its appropriateness to you, having regard to your objectives, financial situations and needs.