April has been a funny month and I certainly feel like I’m treading water.
Something that has helped me feel slightly more in control of my own world at the moment is making small changes in my life that I know will be beneficial to me down the track. Some of those for me have been focused on my fitness and nutrition, but since you’re hardly here to read about that, I’ve broken down five financially focused tasks you can tick off during April, to give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done something to help your future self.
I’ve also included the video from our most recent Australian Finance Podcast episode. Click here to subscribe for free updates and stories.
1. Cancel Your Direct Debits
There are no excuses now to go through your cards and accounts and cancel any recurring subscriptions and memberships that aren’t essential right now (don’t forget those pesky in-app subscriptions). You can always resubscribe if you realise you can’t live your life without a certain subscription. If you’ve recently had a subscription renew and haven’t been using the service, it’s always worth contacting the company to see if you can get a refund.
2. Starting Preparing For Tax Time
Sorting out my taxes is probably one of my least enjoyable tasks, quite possibly due to my haphazard record-keeping during the year. However, this year I’m taking the time to sort of my Google Sheets so I can record everything properly and make my life easier. Start gathering your receipts and digitizing them and put together a record-keeping system that will make tax time a piece of cake moving forwards. It may also be a good time to do some research and find a good accountant if that’s something you’ve been putting off (I hope I take my own advice here).
3. Pick One Financial Topic to Learn About
On the Australian Finance Podcast, Owen and I have talked about everything from insurance to ETFs. I challenge you to select one topic that we’ve discussed on the podcast over the last year and take a deep dive. Alternatively, check out the great range of free courses on Rask Education and work through the content.
4. Set Up and Automate Your Accounts
Take some time to work out the perfect financial system for your own circumstances, maybe you like separate savings accounts for each goal or you want you discretionary spending money to slowly drip into your spending account.
Automate as much of your financial plan as possible by setting up automatic transactions in your bank account when your paycheck comes into specific savings accounts (maybe even try labelling your savings accounts with the goals that you’re trying to achieve). Another good idea is to create a monthly event in your calendar to purchase check your super/purchase that next ETF/review your budget etc.
“By setting up a bulletproof personal finance system, you can start to dominate your finances by having your system passively do the right thing for you, leaving you to focus on the things that really matter.” – Ramit Sethi
5. Sort Out Your Super
One of the biggest issues with a compulsory super system is that Australians lose track of all their different super accounts, created as they move between jobs and change their contact details. So much so that in 2018 the ATO announced that the total amount of lost and unclaimed super in Australia was around $17.5 billion. The good thing is that if you create a myGov account and link your ATO details, you’ll be able to keep track of your super funds and find any money that has slipped through the cracks.
I’d love to hear about the money moves you’re making during April – so flick me a message on Twitter or Instagram @HowToMoneyAUS.
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