The cost of living is on the rise. Filling your car with fuel is enough to make your eyes water, let alone how much it costs to keep your fridge full of fresh fruit and veggies for a family of four. The pandemic followed by the Queensland floods has done nothing for our pockets, but there are some simple steps you can take to start getting ahead financially, even if you feel like you’re currently living from week to week.
Create a budget
Creating a budget seems like one of the first things you would do if struggling to make means end, yet one in ten don’t know what their outgoings are, let alone have $20D0 set aside in case of an emergency. If you’re not sure how to budget, you can seek help from a financial specialist. Generally, you may be eligible for the cost of consulting a financial expert as a tax deduction.
The first step is to make sure you know what your incoming wages are vs your outgoing bills. This includes all the secret credit cards, streaming services and sneaky coffees. If you’re not budget-minded you can apply the 50/30/20 rule. 50% of your wages goes towards mortgages/rent and other essentials like fuel, public transport or gas. 30% is used to cover your wants—things like gym memberships, hobbies etc. And the final 20% goes towards your emergency buffer fund or saving for a family holiday.
Salary sacrificing
This is one sure way to avoid paying more tax. You don’t have to sacrifice your salary to grow your super fund. There are a number of different ways salary sacrificing can be used such as paying off child support, a new car or even a loan or investment property. This is an agreement set up with your employer, so whatever your salary package includes comes out of your wages before you pay tax. You get less money, but you’re also paying less tax. We highly recommend discussing this option with a financial advisor so the agreement is set up correctly to avoid being liable for fringe benefit taxes.
Reassess your outgoing expenses
With the cost of power and insurance going up, it pays to reconcile what you’re paying for your utilities and bills such as contents and car insurance. These days there are few rewards for being loyal. It’s not until you threaten to leave your current electricity provider or shop around for better deals that you may find your utility provider suddenly finds you a better plan. Don’t just assume because you’ve been with your supplier for years that you’re getting the best deal. They count on you being too lazy to change things over because it’s just easier to stay put.
Download apps that help you save money
There are a number of money-saving apps that are guaranteed to help you get ahead financially. Forbes Magazine recently did a round of the best money-saving and investment apps. There are a number of apps like Raiz that rounds up your purchases and invests the spare change into a diversified portfolio. There are also apps that round up your purchases and deposit the spare change into your saving accounts, Not to mention sales apps that help you track down where you can purchase items you want for the cheapest available price.
Call Wealth Advisory
At National Wealth Advisory, we don’t lecture you on the state of your finances, we simply assess what you need and connect you with the right person to help you out, be it a mortgage broker, a financial advisor, or even someone who knows a lot more about budgeting. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, everybody needs a little helping hand.
If the state of inflation is worrying and you need to get some additional help on how to get ahead financially, then pick up the phone. One of our operators is ready to chat with you now.