Money

The Australian Government recognises that things are tough when you don’t have a job. That’s why they invented the big fun company that is Centrelink! Centrelink is there to help you financially when you’re having difficulties getting a job or while you are studying. There are strict eligibility requirements obviously, so you’ll need to contact Centrelink directly.
Centrelink is staffed by humans and so you know there's the possibility they may not always get it right. Sometimes you may be told something which turns out to be incorrect, in these situations, if you can’t prove that you were misinformed, you may find yourself having to pay back money that you don’t have. Given this, you need to take a few steps to protect yourself when speaking to Centrelink either on the phone or in person.

-  Be polite to the Centrelink representative. (Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!) If you are
   nice to people they are normally nice back!

-  Record the representative’s name who you speak with, and the date and time of the    conversation.

-  Double and even triple-check information that is given to you.

-  Ask the representative for a reference number at the end of the conversation. This    references a log of the conversation on your record, and any changes that were made to    your information.

Remember that Centrelink is there to provide an invaluable service (money!!) to you. It is against the law and there are harsh penalties for providing misleading or false information to Centrelink.
To contact Centrelink, click here

Employment Services – 132 850

Youth Services – 132 490

Budgeting is vital for anyone that isn’t Paris Hilton or the Brangelinas, because most of us don’t get paid squillions! Learning how to budget means you have a better idea of how far your money will go, how much you can afford to spend on things like rent and groceries, and how much is left over to either spend on yourself or save! Saving money for a big purchase, a nest egg or just for a rainy day is great and you’ll soon see how much you can save by putting just a small amount away weekly.
It can be a bit tricky to get your head around the idea of a budget. The best way to think of it is a plan for how to spend your money. The idea is that your expenses are less than your income; otherwise you will be spending beyond your means which is bad news for you and bad news for your budget. Think of savings as a fixed expense that must be paid regularly – no excuses! This makes sense because saving is a way of paying yourself in the future, for the work you’ve done now.

Remember not to be too harsh on yourself. If you don’t allow a realistic amount for the things you enjoy then soon you’ll be pretty sick of your budget, and you’ll stop using it.

For some handy tips on budgeting, try the following websites:

-  Savings Guide
Easy to understand information in a no-nonsense format. It also provides advice on many other personal finance issues as well such as HECS debts and reducing debt.

-  Nolo
Fantastic step-by-step guide to setting up your own budget using a good ol’ fashioned pen and paper!

-  Vertex42
Contains excellent information on setting up your budget, great budget rules and a comprehensive personal budget sheet available as a free download. Follow the links to either the articles or templates on budgeting.

Life is expensive there’s no doubt about that, but if you have access to a little inside information, are willing to go the extra mile and are street-savvy, there’s lots of ways to stretch that dollar further. Avoid obvious money sinkholes and be smart. It’ll make you that little bit richer!

Some people think that by saving money you are being a ‘tightarse’ or stingy. This makes some people feel embarrassed about saving!!! This is poppycock, savers are the real winners! Remember, if you save money by not buying things you don’t need, and your friend wastes all their money on frivolous items, you’re going to be laughing when you’re able to buy that something special (a new car or a holiday) with the money you’ve saved, while your friend is going to feel like an absolute turkey for buying all those things they didn’t need!!

Here are some simple ways to make your money go further everyday. Use as many or as few as you like. Pretty soon you’ll be wondering why you were throwing all that money away before!!

TIPS

-   Schedule your bills so that you never pay them late. Overdue fees can be ridiculously huge and your billing companies don’t deserve that money, you do!! Consider a $25 late fee on top of a $60 bill, that’s almost half again of the bill!! So pay things on time and never have to make a compulsory donation to your electricity company again.

-  Write a shopping list and stick to it!! Grocery stores are designed by special marketing gurus so that you leave with far more than you needed to. Being focussed on what you do need will prevent you from overspending on surplus items you don’t need and so will eating before you go. If you are hungry your eyes will be bigger than your belly and you’ll buys lots more and you can bet you’ll end up throwing some of it out!

-  Another option is on-line grocery shopping! You can make a list of your ‘regular items’ to make it quicker, and you avoid the sales and marketing instore so you’ll find it easier to stick to your list of needed items. Delivery charges are usually quite cheap, depending on your area.

-  For fresh fruit and vegetables, you won’t find better than at your local farmer’s markets. There are a few great ones around Brisbane that specialise in different produce. For more information click here.

-   Bulk buying can be a good way of saving money, but make sure you aren’t tricked by clever advertising and actually check that the bulk buy deal is what it says it is. Also check that the amount you buy will be able to be used within its expiry or before it spoils.

-  Instead of going out to dinner with your friends, why not ask if you can make it lunch instead, or even just a coffee? Dinner is the most expensive meal of the day ($15-35), so having lunch is a good meal alternative ($5-15), and having a coffee is an alternative to eating out at all ($3)!!

-  Cook for yourself. Eating out is HORRENDOUSLY expensive compared to smart home cooking. Cook a large amount for dinner so that it can be used for lunches the next day, or take the time to make a sandwich for lunch instead of paying $10-15 for a toastie and some water in a café.

-  Buy a reusable water bottle (between $5-20) and fill from the tap instead of buying countless plastic water bottles ($4 EACH) which are not only stupidly expensive but also very, VERY bad for the earth.

-   If you are crafty, green-thumbed, handy or just really keen, consider making something for a special person next time rather than buying it. It’s the thought that counts as they say and it’s obviously a bit more special to make a home-cooked box of cookies or a home-made magazine rack or a big bunch of hand-picked flowers from your garden rather than just buy them. You’ll save money and score some big brownie points!

-  Got lots of debts? Consider consolidating them into one. You get one loan at a lower interest to pay back all of your outstanding debts which are at high rates. This not only makes it easier as its only one payment, but also helps reduce the amount you will pay back, and therefore make your debt more manageable.

-   Don’t drive! In this day and age we’re pretty used to the convenience of having a car, but we’ve forgotten how much cheaper it is not to! Before driving to pick up some small grocery items, consider whether you really need to make the trip at all, can it wait for a few more days when you have more things to get? Can you walk, cycle or get public transport instead? Is there someone else going as well so you can carpool?

-   Keep your car healthy. Change the oil and check your tyre pressures regularly and get scheduled services. This will help reduce petrol consumption, prolong the life of the car’s engine and be friendlier to the environment.

-   Have a ‘Giant Swap’ with your mates. Get a group of your friends together, ask everyone to look at home for things they don’t want or need anymore, then everyone gather round and go rummaging! Voila! New things for everybody and new space at home to put it in!! Anything that’s left over can either be sold online, at a garage sale, or donated to your local charity.

Well they were just a few to get you started, below are some more websites which have some handy tips on how to save a buck. There are hundreds more out there, just keep looking!!

-   Simple Savings A brilliant Australian website which has many free resources and tips, and for the very serious penny saver, a not-too-expensive subscription with access to 1000’s more great tips.

-   Lending Tree

-   Girl.com (Don’t let the name put you off, boys can use the tips too.)

-   MSN MoneyCentral

-   Lower My Bills