So far I’ve told you where to go and how much things cost in Ko Tao.

Now for a couple of guerrilla tactics I learnt from backpackers.

You might recall me being unimpressed by the cost of my flight from Bangkok out to the island ($140) – then of course I had the random night of accommodation with nil preparation.

Just a couple of days before I left I got talking to a 6 foot tall Dutch woman over breakfast (omelette, cinnamon bun, mixed fruit shake, small bottle of water = $8).

She said she got a 6 hours bus from Bangkok to a place called Chumphon, from which she got a ferry to Ko Tao. The bus went through the night and cost just $15 bucks instead of the $140 I paid for the flight.

But here’s the kicker…

Because the bus went through the night, she slept on it so she also saved on a night’s accom.

I spent $150 (flight) + $18 (accom) = $168

She spent only $15, so she had $153 more to show. Not bad.

With that being the case, she could have been a little more less intense when the waitress got our bills mixed up. She was scrutinising the fact that my 0.60c bottle of water was accidentally bundled in with her docket.

Sometimes these backpackers almost take it too far really, but I guess they are travelling for months on very little.

Aside from that I spent my week riding my bike around and sussing little beaches, reading my book and doing yoga.

Mango Bay - Ko Tao - Thailand - A Tight Arts Travellers dream come true

Check out Mango Bay shown here.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Having accomplished my mission of proving that Thailand is indeed cheap, relaxing, doing yoga, eating like a king and reading lots, it was time to buy some presents for my friends and head back to Australia.

There was too much other fun stuff to do besides shopping around, so I grabbed 5 pairs of fake raybans for $35.

And a few pairs of spiritual pants to wear when in need of enlightenment. $6 bucks each. Just don’t wash them with your other clothes.

So there we have it. I was probably away for 12 days for a total of $1600-$1700 and the living was very, very good. If you wanted to really tighten it up you could carve a couple of hundred bucks off that.

So now that I’m all loose and relaxed, it’s time to get back into helping the guys run Cash Doctors.

With a new exciting product to launch soon, there’s lots to do.

Amazing. A $3 kick-arts curry to die for – not die from.

This may well be one of the best budget travel destinations in Asia.

I’m in Ko Tao.

It’s a tiny island in Thailand that has been talked up by people I tend to take advice from.

But is it a good place to hang? Is it really that cheap? Will I die from bad food?

Because ‘cheap’ is only cheap when you can obtain what I call a high quality travel quotient. i.e total price divided by the total number of bad experiences equals??

The first thing I do is check out of my night one accom right next to the ferry terminal and rent a bicycle. I walk into the bike rental place and see that machine guns are for rent too. The guy is decked out in camo gear but he seems ok.

I haggle him down to 80 baht ($3ish) a day for an elegant lady’s bike – the only one left. I politely decline his generous machine gun offer and away I go.

I cruise it to Sairee Beach, the main little town on Ko Tao and get talking to a yank dude over breakfast (omelette, mango shake, banana pancakes for $7). He recommends a little area just 1km out from the town. That way you can hang in town if you like yet get total solitude.

I rode up the very steep hill with my pack, and dropped like a stone down the other side.

After looking at 3 places, I nail it.

Water lapping on rocks right beneath me and a view into the sun setting over the water for just 900 baht or $32 bucks a night.

This is the view.Check it out. >>>>>>>

If you want to go super tight, you can get decent places for half that. I was also amazed I was getting free wireless even though I was really in the middle of nowhere.

So in a couple of hours I was set up. Transport. Accom.

But what about living expenses?

Well…

*Laundry done on demand – $1.50

*Fruit shakes  - $1

*An amazing curry – $3. A three course meal $10ish.

*Large beers – $3. Spirits – $3. G&T’s went down very well.

*2 hour Yoga session – $8. I got super bendy and enlightened.

But sunscreen was expensive. A tube of Banana Boat cost about the same as Australia. I also did a lot of reading and second hand books weren’t cheap either.

So bring your own sunscreen and reading material and you’ll have it nailed. Seriously.

In a few days I’ll show you how to buy presents your friends will love plus I’ll share some extreme Tight Arts tips from some backpackers I met.

These guys take it to new levels.

La-gon.

I’d heard that holidaying in Asia was super-cheap – but I’d never been there before.

Last year I debunked the myth that Northern Europe is prohibitively expensive.

But is it also a myth that Asia is mega cheap?

I decided to book a trip to Thailand, a renowned cheap Asian destination, to find out.

The first thing I did was decide against getting the recommended needles. Last time a bunch of needles cost me about $300. This time I decided to save a bit of cash and take the risk. Because maybe it’s all just scaremongering and hype – maybe we don’t really need those needles?

(This is in no way a ‘don’t get those needles’ recommendation – just a Tight Artist’s tale of survival – a way to save $300 if you’re budget’s super-tight.)

Next thing – flights. $723 on Royal-Brunei to Bangkok booked just a few weeks out http://www.bruneiair.com/.

That’s another budget travel myth debunked – you don’t always have to book your overseas flights 10 years in advance to get a cheap deal.

Reasonable flights and accom somewhere in Australia would probably be more expensive – without the cultural experience.

You’d be drinking VB’s and sucking back chicko rolls instead of papaya shakes and green mango salad.

Anyway…

I’m a nervous flyer so I popped sleeping pills the second I got onboard. Next thing I know I’m waking up on the runway in Bangkok, Thailand with dribble down my face. Nice.

Then I step into the soupy, Asian air and suss the exchange rates like any good Tight Artist. I like to fly by the seat of my pants a little. Excessive planning is stifling. I don’t read travel guides and I only listen to certain people. What a bad ass.

It turns out that 1000Baht is around $35 – but how far will it go?

$140 bucks gets me a flight from Bangkok to Ko Samui. It’s an island outpost for English lager louts, sleazy old men and heinous over-development.

From there I jump on a ferry for $18 bucks and head to my final destination, Ko Tao – a very small island just 8km long and 2-3 wide. The rock.

So far the flight and ferry were ok but certainly not super cheap?

Is this another myth? Who makes this stuff up?

It’s 9 at night by the time I arrive and it’s pretty quiet. I wander into a little travel agency place and he throws me on the back of his motorbike and takes me to a little resort his friend has.

It’s pitch dark. I’m underprepared, but I roll with it. I brace myself to be stitched up. How much I ask?

500 Baht ($18 bucks) – it’s not amazing but ok, and I’m glad I made it to my destination in time. Any later and I could have been curled up in the foetal position on the beach with scorpions and ladyboys crawling all over me.

I nail a quick curry for $6 and go to sleep – happy that Thailand will be more than affordable - cheap, decent accommodation and street food to die for – not die from.

The next day will be about acting fast, getting my bearings, transport and finding somewhere nice but cheap to stay for a week.

A “Thai-t” Artist’s economical adventure awaits me…:)

Greg Ellis – A travelling Tight Artist

It’s been a year since I had a holiday.

Last year I ventured to the northern hemisphere on a successful overseas Tight Arts mission.

Firstly, in Scotland I discovered who founded the Tight Arts movement. I traced its roots right back to Calvinism and Adam Smith, the father of modern economics. I also explored the difference between true Tight Artistry, (the type our society stands for) and just being a plain, mean tight arse.

It’s a real eye opener. Check it out –  http://blog.cashdoctors.com.au/the-origins-of-the-tight-arts-part-2

Then I travelled to Scandinavia to explore the myth that Northern Europe was ridiculously expensive. I found that with application of some clever Tight Artistry I could live there a few weeks and have fun without coming home to a ten grand credit card bill.

So the myth is bollocks. Here’s proof –  http://blog.cashdoctors.com.au/the-origins-of-the-tight-arts-part-4

Now, a year later I’m faced with a new challenge – proving I can have a great overseas holiday in a semi-obscure location for cheap.

• Can I go to an idyllic remote island for over a week and do it cheaper than staying in a cheesy Australian hotel at the beach?
• Can I meet people from all over the world?
• Eat crazy food?
• Get away from McDonalds?
• Swim in crystal clear water with schools of fish?
• Get a haircut for $4.50?
• Yoga for $8 a session?
• Away from lots of Aussie backpackers?
• All for cheaper than in Australia?

I’ll show you how it’s done in a few days.

It’s easier than you think – just a matter of having some Tight Arts tricks up your sleeve.

See you then…

MY TOP 10 GARAGE SALE TIPS (PLUS AN EXTRA ONE!) – CLEAN OUT AND CLEAN UP!

It’s not exactly a glamourous way to shop.

But, with the guise of  ‘doing good’ for the environment through recycling stuff, garage sales have suddenly become super-cool.

Still, skulking around like a vulture waiting for garage doors to open at the same time a sparrow produces his art, doesn’t seem like fun to me.

And although I’m a trained tight artist, negotiating that .20c chipped plate price down to .5c isn’t quite the thrill I’m after on the weekends.

I’ve never been a fan.

But last weekend, a mindless drive past a house in the street just behind where I live, changed all that.

I spotted it by chance out of the corner of my eye – just leaning up against the side fence – the remainder of an old, neglected bike.

A depressing, skeletal sight to most, but all I could see was a soon-to-be piece of peddling gold.

Because bikes to me are like dresses are to women.

I want one for every occasion.

I also like vintage stuff – a bit of a sentimental bloke, I am. A bit of history gives an item more charm.

So there you have it – my piece of garage sale gold revealed.

I’ve been working on it a bit. Here it is to the right…

Yeah. You’re probably thinking it’s just a bunch of old scrap metal.

But check out the curves on this cool cruiser. After I’ve worked on it some more it’ll be an envied machine.  You just wait and see

So after my purchase (only $5!) my new respect for garage sales has made me want to research them more.

And I’m amazed.

Garage sales are an obsession for some people.  Websites galore. Even blogs dedicated to them.

The best part is, they’re an easy way to make money out of unwanted goods.

So I’ve picked out my favourite garage sale tips and rolled them into the list below…

I’ve also included some pretty cool resources and websites that will help you get the most money out of all your old possessions.

______________________________________________________________

Ten Tips (plus an extra one) Guaranteed To Make Your Garage Sale A Success…

1. DON’T LEAVE IT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. PLAN A FEW WEEKS AHEAD.

Give yourself a good few weeks to organise things. On the day of your garage sale, when people start rolling in, you’ll be  glad you did. Some websites even suggest a lead time of up to 6 weeks just to make sure you’ve given yourself enough time to get things in order.

It will give you enough time to do the following….

2. TALK YOUR NEIGHBOURS INTO HAVING A GARAGE SALE AS WELL, OR AT LEAST SEND THEM AN INVITE TO YOURS.

People are more inclined to make the drive to your street if there are two or more garage sales happening on the same day. Make the most out of it and call it the “Street on Sale” garage sale or similar. Your neighbours will probably have heaps of different things to sell so you don’t have to worry about the threat of competition. Failing that, send them out a Garage sale invitation – the more people milling around your house the better it’ll look!

3. MAKE SOME GROOVY GARAGE SALE SIGNS. GET NOTICED.

Advertise your garage sale well. Make sure you make your garage sale signage as appealing as possible.  Ensure your signs are colourful, easy to read and contain all the relevant information – date, time, address. List 2 of your big ticket items you’ll have for sale or other items of interest. Below, you’ll find a link to a free word template you can manipulate to suit your needs.

4. SET A START AND FINISH TIME – CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY.

Create a sense of urgency with a set window of time. Seasoned garage sale shoppers normally make a priority list of garage sales they will attend. If you’ve stated you’ll only be set up for a certain period, chances are you’ll end up being at the top of their list, as they won’t want to miss your sale. AdditIonally, it means you won’t have to hang around all day wondering if people are going to show up.  Realistically, 6am to 12 pm should be plenty of time to sell all your stuff.

5. TAKE A TRIP TO THE BANK. GRAB A BUNCH COINS AND NOTES IN SMALL DENOMINATIONS. ENSURE YOU CAN GIVE CORRECT CHANGE.

This saves you having to price down to the nearest dollar in order to give someone the right change.

6. START SAVING HEAPS OF NEWSPAPER WEEKS BEFORE. MAKE LAST MINUTE SALES.

It’s a courtesy to wrap breakables in paper for your buyers. Have a wrapping table set up as your ‘check out’.  Place other small sale items on that table. While people are waiting for you to wrap their purchases chances are they’ll grab a last minute purchase as well.

7. USE COLOURED “DOT” STICKERS TO MAKE PRICING CLEAR AND OBVIOUS.

Set your pricing and use coloured stickers to demarcate. Obviously, there will be big ticket items that won’t apply here. However, it is far easier to place stickers on a whole bunch of your garage sale items than write up differing price tags. Have a big sign up explaining the colour coding e.g. yellow sticker = $10 and so on.

8. MAKE IT FEEL LIKE A CARNIVAL. ADVERTISE A “SAUSAGE SIZZLE”.

Throw up a few balloons and cheap party decorations to welcome your buyers  to your garage sale. Set up the BBQ and sell sausages on a stick for a $1 or coffee for .50c for those early morning arrivals. More often than not, they’ll appreciate the effort you’ve gone to and reciprocate with a purchase.

9. ALLOW FOR BARTERING. MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY’RE MAKING A STEAL.

Have prices set a little higher than the lowest amount you’d accept. This gives a bit of room for haggling. Most garage sale attendees know sellers traditionally do this so they’ll expect it anyway and will try to haggle.

10. DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR HOME SECURITY.

On the day, you’ll be super busy. It’s awful to think visitors to your garage sale might have ulterior motives, but remember they are strangers. Keep your change purse close to you and make sure you lock your house.

AND THAT EXTRA TIP I PROMISED…

11. MAKE IT FUN FOR KIDS SO THE ADULTS CAN CONCENTRATE ON YOUR GARAGE SALE ITEMS.

The kids are playing up. So the parent/s leave frustrated. You can avoid this by having a ‘play area’ on the ground (throw an old tarp. down) packed with old toys. If you’ve priced the toys cheaply, chances are they will get sold too.

SOME LINKS TO GREAT GARAGE SALE RESOURCES….

FREE Garage Sale Checklist – This is from a great website that covers everything you’d ever want to know about a garage sale. Website: egaragesales.com.au

FREE Garage Sale Sign – A word document template that you can easily manipulate.

Pricing Garage Sale Items – Tips on how to price your items to ensure they sell.

WEBSITES TO ADVERTISE YOUR GARAGE SALE

egaragesales.com.au

garagesales.com.au

whatgaragesale.com.au

______________________________________________________________

Now you’ve got all the tips you need for a successful garage sale, it’s time to clean out and clean up.

Good luck. Let me know how you go

Cheers,

GREG ELLIS

Funny.

Until last weekend, the only five second rule I knew about was the food one – the rule that says it’s OK to eat a dropped hamburger just so long as you pick it up from that e.coli-covered floor within five seconds.

It’s the socially acceptable time limit that gives you license to still indulge without looking like an unhygienic scumbag that has a tendency to eat off dirty floors.

But this weekend, I learnt another.

I had a mate stay with me from Dubai. He’s normally a shocker with his money. No discipline whatsoever – always paying off credit card debt for stuff he can’t even remember purchasing. This visit, however, he acted like a true Tight Arts Master.

Like me, he loves his golf.  And due to an irrational golf psyche, we both admit to believing that having the latest gear will mean we’ll hit the ball better.

So when it comes to purchasing anything that offers a slight possibility of improving our game, even knitted vests with deer patterns, it’s hard not to be impulsive.

On Sunday we finished a round and made our way to the clubhouse. To get entry you have to walk through the Pro shop – the lolly shop for golfers.

Golf isn’t a cheap game. You’re looking at over $100 for even the most modest of purchases. So when you walk in there you really have to have your wits about you.

In these sorts of environments my mate would normally whack a whole bunch of stuff on the counter..and then onto his credit card. Even with three sets of clubs at home, he’d still be able to justify another stick or two.

I’m not as bad as that but I do find it hard to resist game-improving purchases. I persuade myself that if I just buy one pair of those $40 Nike Dri fit performance socks with the ‘super-stabilise’ cushioning my stance is bound to improve.

But this time, my mate surprised me. He looked at stuff for a bit  - I could see he was tempted – but then he just went “Nahhh” and walked out of the shop empty handed.

I was shocked.

Keen to understand this liberating break from normal debt-causing behaviour I quizzed him over a beer.

“Man, how did you say no to those golf shoes you were looking at?”

That’s when he spilled out his new money-saving tactic called the five second delay rule.

He’s been using this rule for a good six months, prompted by a big, bad credit card debt that wasn’t going away…and a big, bad talking to from his girlfriend.

He swears by it.

It works like this: any time you’re about to spend money, you count to five slowly. Use that time to ask yourself if you REALLY need what you’re about to buy.

Pretty simple. But I was amazed at the power it gave him.

He explained that even when he’s at a cafe and he grabs a bottle of water that costs $3.50 he thinks about it for five seconds now. The internal dialogue goes something like this…

”Do I really need this water when I could ask for a glass of tap water that would cost me nothing…I could even run back to the car and grab my own?”

Impulse buying is a thing of the past for him. Something so simple has completely transformed his very bad spending habits.

Count to five. Think about it. Do you REALLY need it?

I bet you most times you’ll put whatever you’re looking at back on the shelf and walk out a richer person with no post-purchase regrets.

I was so impressed with the simplicity of this rule I wanted to celebrate.

But I needed another beer.

So I thought about it for five seconds.

Thankfully, my internal dialogue concluded that it was truly needed on this fine occasion.

Cheers!

Greg Ellis

This Best Deals Diva has been on a mission.

I was asked by one of our Cash Doctors members to compare the prices of Coles and Woolworths.

They wanted to know, once and for all, which supermarket was truly the cheapest.

It’s a good question. I’ve always wondered myself. But how could I make a fair comparison?

I decided to shop once a week for four weeks for exactly the same stuff – essentials like milk, bread, cheese, rice, pasta and loo paper. (My cupboard is bursting now!)

I wanted to compare items with brand names at each and also each Supermarket’s homebrand range.

I shopped with two different baskets, the same stuff in each, one branded and one generic. I think the checkout staff thought I was a little weird.

Anyway, over four weeks, with one weekly shop on the same day (Thursday), here’s the average price per basket: -

So after a month of skipping along the aisles comparing milk and bread prices, I’ve come to a pretty boring conclusion.

Woolworths is only SLIGHTLY cheaper by about $1. There really isn’t much difference.

(Shame – I was hoping for a big scandalous story.)

So, when it comes to price it really makes little difference if you shop at Woolworths or Coles. It’s strictly up to personal preference.

BUT…

What you will notice from the table above is how much money you can save if you choose home-brand goodies over branded goodies. Pretty staggering.

Yes – there’s a quality issue here with home brand stuff but listen to this. I bought a packet of home brand Violet Crumble at Coles once. The lady at the checkout used to work in the packaging plant at Coles. She told me it’s EXACTLY THE SAME product that simply goes into home-brand packaging.

True or not, I’ve been devouring home-brand Violet Crumble ever since.  No wonder the jeans are getting tighter.

OK.

Back to shopping.

As part of my research I also looked briefly into online grocery shopping as well.

The Catie Cash conclusion is that it’s a great, convenient way to shop for the following reasons…

• The stores are never closed.
• You save on petrol.
• There is no dress code.
• There are no parking problems.
• You can escape from pushy sales people and long check out queues.
• And you’re less likely to spend money on treats if you’re in front of a computer.

PLUS if you’re on a strict budget, you can tailor your ‘shopping cart’ to suit the amount you want to spend. This means no more embarrassing moments at the checkout when you’ve grabbed way more stuff than the money in your wallet can handle.

Now, a word of warning: buying fruit and vegetables online can be risky. The trick is to buy a lot of your necessities online, and buy the BEST fresh fruit and vegetables from your local farmers market, which makes for an even cheaper weekly shopping bill.

So, in light of all of the above, in terms of price, Coles and Woolies are on a par. Both supermarkets are comparable in price (only a $1 difference here and there) and both offer you the convenience and ease of shopping online. So no more wondering who’s the cheapest.

The conclusion is, if you want to make some great savings, don’t stress about where you should shop – just buy home brand goods and do it all online.

If you want to give online shopping a go, here are the online shopping links for both supermarkets…

Coles online shopping

Woolworths online shopping

Don’t forget to throw in the home brand Violet Crumble.

Bye for now,

Catie Cash – Best Deals Diva

P.S. And hey, when it comes to saving money, if there’s anything you’d like me to research, or a company you’d like to hit up to get a great deal from, let me know.  I’ll get onto it.

Top Ten Tax Tips to help you survive tax time

Bahhh. Tax time. I hate it.

I bet you’re the same.

Rummaging through a bucketload of fiddly bits of faded paper to find that $10 sandwich receipt isn’t fun.

Do you even need a receipt to claim that $10 sandwich?

There are always questions at tax time. So I wanted to come up with a really useful list of tax tips that would answer a few questions and help you get the biggest tax return possible.

After a few confusing hours trawling through the ATO government site and other “expert” sites, I came across Tracey Collins.

What a relief.

She’s a personal tax specialist. I really liked her company’s no nonsense website and free advice.

I also think it’s pretty cool they base themselves in a place called “Ulladulla” with a population of 9500 – not some swanky building in the city where you end up paying heaps more for your tax return just for the privilege of walking on their marble floors.

I asked her if she’d give me a few tips I could pass on to you.

Talk about generous.

She’s given me the following 2010 Top Ten Tax Tips PLUS if you’re one of the first 50 to send her an email , she’ll throw in a free personalised electronic “Tax Deduction Calculator” – it’s a handy little tool to record all of your work expenses during the year.

Check it out below.

Cheers,

Greg Ellis

CASHDOCTORS.COM.AU

Tracey’s Top Tax Tips for 2010

While the Government might be talking about simplifying, and even removing, individual tax returns in the future, this year’s return is longer and more complicated than ever.

1. Know the allowable tax deductions for your occupation – the average amount claimed in personal tax returns for work related expenses in Australia is $1,920 per year. Find out what you are allowed to claim for your occupation and then keep the right records so that the Tax Office can’t disallow your claims.

The Personal Tax Specialists’ website lists specific tax deductions for over 30 occupations:  http://personaltaxspecialists.com.au/what-deductions-can-you-claim.

In 2010 the Tax Office auditors are targeting Engineers, Mechanics and Teachers and anyone who makes large or unusual claims for their occupation, so make sure you have the right records to prove your claims before lodging your return.

2. No receipts are needed for items costing less than $10 – you don’t need to keep receipts when you buy items for work costing less than $10 to be able to make a claim on your tax return. You can claim up to $200 for these small expenses, provided you keep a diary record with the information that would normally be shown on a receipt (date, business name, item purchased, price)

3. Claim for internet, phone and pay TV use – most people would use one or more of these services during the year for their work. To be able to claim a deduction in your tax return you will need to keep receipts confirming how much you have paid and also keep a diary record to work out what proportion of the expense is work related.

Your diary should be kept for one month of the year and needs to identify how much of the service is used for work and personal use.

4. Claim for using your car for work – the simplest way to claim for car expenses is to estimate the number of kilometres you travel for work purposes during the year (you can claim up to a maximum of 5,000km per vehicle). Trips could relate to attending meetings, conferences or training courses, travelling to pick up supplies, equipment or tools, or travelling between job sites or office locations.

You will need to be able to show the Tax Office how you have calculated the number of kilometres you claim for, but you don’t need to keep any receipts for petrol, car repairs or other running costs.

5. Beware of using a line of credit or redraw facility – the Tax Office is looking closely at interest claimed by investors and rental property owners. Investors who have a redraw facility on their loan are particularly at risk. Banks often promote lines of credit as a simple way to save on interest, but you can get into trouble if you redraw money from your loan for personal (or non-investment related expenses). This redraw will be classed as a personal expense and, therefore, you can’t claim interest on that part of your loan.

Make sure any investment related loans are kept separate from personal loans and don’t use any redraw facility unless it is to pay for expenses that specifically relate to your investments.

6. Maximise your refund on children’s education expenses – here are a few tips to make sure you maximise your refund:

• You must receive FTB Part A for each child or they must receive Youth Allowance (or similar payment)
• There is no need to deduct the private use of an expense when claiming for education expenses, so if you purchase a new computer for your children and they use it for school work and for playing games or surfing the internet, you can claim 100% of the cost (unless you claim a tax deduction for any part of the cost, then that part can’t be included)
• Education expenses can be split between children to maximise your claim, provided all children have access to the item purchased
• Where a child goes from primary school to secondary school during a tax year, you are able to claim the maximum allowed for a secondary school student for the whole year
• If you spent more than the maximum allowed in the 2009 year, make sure you carry forward the excess to be used in this year’s return
• This year the maximum refund you can claim is $390 for each primary school child and $779 for each secondary school child.

7. Same sex couples finally treated as partners for tax – from this year, many couples (not just same sex couples) will have to show a lot more information about their spouse’s income in their tax returns. In addition to their taxable income, you may also need to provide details of any fringe benefits they receive, super contributions they have made, tax free government pensions they receive, losses from investments or rental properties and any child support payments they have made.

All of this information will be required to determine your ability to claim for certain offsets and to calculate your liability for some taxes (eg medicare levy surcharge) as well as work out if you are elibigle for the superannuation co-contribution.

8. Beware of E-Tax – the Tax Office is encouraging individuals to lodge their returns using E-Tax, but unless you really understand the tax system and know what you can claim then you will probably be worse off than if you use a Tax Agent to prepare your return for you. E-Tax won’t tell you if you have forgotten to claim for something or if you have filled in a box incorrectly and this could result in you being penalised if you are audited.

Even though you will have to pay a fee to your Tax Agent for lodging your tax return, their skill and knowledge can save you much more than it costs (in time, stress and in dollars).

9. Organise to salary sacrifice and reduce your tax each week – ask your employer to salary sacrifice some of your work expenses, overcoming the need to keep any receipts and giveing you more money in your pocket each week (rather than waiting until the end of the year to lodge your tax return).

Examples to salary sacrifice:

• Extra super contributions
• Laptop computers (one per year)
• Mobile phones or PDA’s
• Tools or work equipment
• Subscriptions
• Meals at work (breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon tea, dinner – as long as it is provided at work and not at a restaurant or coffee shop)

When you salary sacrifice, your employer pays for the expense for you and deducts the GST exclusive cost from your gross pay. You pay less for the item (because your employer can claim back the GST) and the tax deducted from your pay is less.

10. Reduce your tax during the year – if you own a rental property, have other investments which are negatively geared or high work related expenses, you may want to apply for a tax variation which will reduce the amount of tax your employer has to deduct from your pay each week.

Rather than waiting until the end of the year to get a large tax refund, the tax variation will give you the benefit of extra cash each payday. In times of increasing interest rates, this can be a great option to make your investments or work expeneses more affordable.

For more information about any of these tips contact a Tax Agent such as Personal Tax Specialists.

To make tax time a bit easier, Personal Tax Specialists provides clients with a personalised electronic ‘Tax Deduction Calculator’ to record all of their work expenses during the year. Rather than sorting through piles of receipts (or the dreaded shoebox) at tax time, they send in the calculator and their return can be completed quickly and painlessly.

As a special offer for Cash Doctors members, Personal Tax Specialists will send a free personalised ‘Tax Deduction Calculator’ to the first 50 members to email admin@personaltaxspecialists.com.au. Don’t forget to mention your occupation and the Cash Doctors to receive this special offer.

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$5000.

It felt like a lotto win.

I had in my hands a bright, shiny letter from the bank.

Apparently I’d been a good customer so they decided to offer me a credit card with a $5000 limit.

Woo hoo. Those golf clubs were ripe for the picking.

The fact I never made the conscious decision to apply for a card with a $4000 limit didn’t seem to matter.

The bottom line was I had $5000 of credit to use on whatever I liked – even if I didn’t need it.

Man.

The temptation to spend was so overwhelming.

Like a baby holding on to a blanket, I held on to that letter for a good week.

I almost succumbed and accepted this ‘gift’ from the bank. Then I came to my senses.

I remembered just ONE SIMPLE RULE.

It’s boring and obvious but so hard to live by.

“NEVER borrow more than you need.”

Simple.

Did I really need access to $5000?

I ripped that letter into tiny little pieces.

I’ll admit there was a slight tinge of regret gnawing at me while I did it.

But afterwards, I really felt in control.

I didn’t get to buy new golf clubs, but hey, I felt free.

You’re probably thinking “Why is this guy who runs a cash advance company saying all this?”

Well, that’s simple too.

Cash Doctors is about small, affordable cash advances with very short-term repayment times.

Long-term, compounding debt is agonising – we’ll never put you through that.

Our cash advances are great. They help you jump over a small financial hurdle quickly and easily and then you can get on with your life debt-free.

Here’s a perfect example.

Paul D., one of our valued clients, wrote to me earlier this week about a possible visit to his dentist. He needed some urgent work done…

“I rang the Dentist and they said I could get a loan from XX XXXXX. Well that prompted me to suggest that Cash Doctors could offer the same sort of service…a short term solution to seek urgent Dental work when you just don’t have the money to do so…CD would overall be a more reasonable solution.” (Thanks for the plug BTW Paul!)

Out of interest, I went online to XX XXXXX, a company that offered personal loans.

The minimum amount you could borrow was $3000!

It’s not as if Paul needed a full set of dentures AND a holiday to Bali.

But hey, when your tooth is causing you excruciating pain and you think you have no other option, it’s easy to borrow way more than you need.

Imagine how long a $3000 loan would take to pay off. That’s a feasable amount to borrow if you’re going to get a car – but to pay a dentist bill?

The pain from that one toothache could go on forever and ever.

It’s so easy for large amounts to throw your budget off balance and leave you with debt that spirals out of control.

So if you want to stay in control, always remember this ONE SIMPLE RULE.

No matter how tempting, NEVER borrow more than you truly need.

Take care.

Greg Ellis

CASHDOCTORS.COM.AU

Helping Kevin.

What a proud moment that would be.

Imagine. The (previously) top dude in Australia gets a Cash Doctors cash advance.

There’s no reason why he wouldn’t? It’s a smart choice. He’s a smart man.

Maybe that’s what we need to do. Get someone like Kevin Rudd to endorse us.

Considering yesterday’s turn of events he might have a bit of time on his hands and be up for a new challenge.

Cash advances are still relatively new in Australia. In most cases they’re a smarter option than using a credit card or getting a bank loan (comparison table) but some people are still a little unsure whether it’s the right option for them.

Why?

Perception. It’s a strange thing.

Apparently it hurts our heads way too much to completely change the way we view things. So it’s easier for our brains just to believe in and trust traditional ways of thinking and ‘doing’.

I’m sure Australians are smarter than that. We’re not sheep.

But would it help change perceptions if we had someone famous endorse our cash advances?

What about Pink? Or Jerry Seinfield? (I like Jerry – but I bet he didn’t do all those adverts for The Greater Building Society for free just because he loved their product.)

Nahhhh… I’m just not into paid endorsements. – it’s like paying for your reputation instead of earning it.

All we can do is continue to try hard to build positive awareness through facts, service and trust – and doing what we say we’re going to do.

It’s slower, but it’s more credible in the long run.

So Kevin, if you’re running a bit short you don’t have to ask Lindsay Tanner for a few tenners anymore.

Apply online and take Therese away this weekend. After the past couple of days, you both deserve it. (Man – those big man tears were a bit heavy dude.)

Cheers!

Greg Ellis