New Financial Year Checklist

Welcome to the new tax year.

The new tax year provides an opportunity to give our finances a spring clean, with rising inflation putting more strains on our spending, I’ve put together a few simple things to consider implementing:

1.      Review Debts and Mortgages

The bank rate is expected to climb still further this year. If you have a fixed mortgage due to expire in the next few months, it’s time to start thinking about this now. Some places may be able to lock in a new rate before your old one expires.

If you’re on a variable (and wish to stay so) then there is a range of standard variable rates.

First port of call is your own bank – give them a ring and tell them you want a better rate or you’ll look elsewhere. Most will cut your rate over the phone – they’d rather do that than lose you.

Once that’s done, it’s worth checking with a mortgage broker if you could do any better.

I work with a couple of great mortgage brokers, so if you’d like an introduction, let me know and I can do part of the leg work for you, to give them some basic info on the situation.

2.      Check your local garage is giving you the best fuel price.

Petrol prices are flying up and with the Government temporary cut on fuel excise soon to end, will trend higher still. I use www.petrolspy.com.au to quickly check the stations around me before a big fill up.

3.      Review your gas and electricity costs

The Government’s Energy Made Easy Site https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/ allows you to compare gas and electric charges after answering a couple of questions on your usage.

Pretty much all providers have hiked their prices on 1st July. A switch should be fairly easy to implement – but check reviews – sometimes the cheapest provider can have a string of customer service complaints following them around.

4.      Increase your regular savings

This may sound counterintuitive but bear with me. If you’re making regular contributions to a savings or investment account you should be looking to increase it each year anyway. Small increments to a regular saver are far easier for our brain to accept than one off lump sums.

By increasing now, you’ll benefit from buying shares at lower prices and also build up more of a war chest should this money be needs to support your expenses in the future.

Pay yourself first – cover your expenses with the remainder.

5.       Increased accessibility to Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

If you’ve reached age pension age, it is now extremely likely you’ll qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Qualification is based on an income assessment which has been significantly increased from 1st July 2022.

A couple can now have income up to $144,000 per annum and still qualify. As well as cheaper prescriptions, you’ll also find an entitlement to savings on:

·        electricity and gas bills

·        property and water rates

·        health care costs, including ambulance, dental and eye care

·        public transport fare.

These benefits vary by state so check your local homepage for details.

If you’d like me to check your entitlement to this card, drop me an email - martin@metricwealth.com