Education Tax Refund from the Australian government.
 Australian money |
This year we have another bonus coming our way. An Education tax refund for items that we purchase for our children’s education. This education tax refund lets you claim up to 50% of eligible education expenses for school children. Who is eligible for this education tax refund?
Here are some more links with detailed information. |
What can you claim on the education tax refund?
- laptop computers and home computers
- computer-related equipment such as printers, USB flash drives, as well as disability aids to assist in the use of computer equipment for students with special needs
- computer repairs
- home internet connections
- computer software for educational use
- school textbooks and other printed learning material, including prescribed textbooks, associated learning materials, study guides and stationery, and
- prescribed trade tools for secondary school trade courses.
More information below..
http://www.educationtaxrefund.gov.au/what-can-i-claim/#EligibleEducationExpense
School uniforms are not included.
Examples of what you can buy to get up to 50% back on the education tax refund:
- You can buy your child a laptop or a desktop computer.
- You can buy a printer, usb stick, printer paper, printer ink.
- Prescribe school books.
- Educational software.
What can you claim for a primary school student?
You can claim up to $375 for a primary school student.
What can you claim for a secondary school student?
You can claim up to $750 for a secondary school student…Therefore in order to claim up to $750 you will need at least $1500 worth of buying receipts.
Make sure you keep all of your educational reciepts. Even if you replace a pencil case, rubbers, books, keep them all…
Money saving tips for the worldwide 2009 recession
My mother kept warning me about the great depression, and how it could happen again. But I don’t think we expected a recession in 2009. Anyway now all those people that used to waste money are trying to actually be careful now.
Some serial money wasters are now tightening their belts to prepare for what might be ahead.
Grow your own vege patch. Don’t be lazy and say you have no time. Join the club. Wake up to yourself, who has got time these days? Just get off your bum and do it!!! Even if you only grow a few things to swap with your friends. You could grow spinach and swap it with a friend that has eggs…
Start using the bartering system. If you get something cheap, share it with your friends and hopefully they will reciprocate. I have a group of friends that are into bartering and they are great, but do not get involved with people that just take take take…
Cut your grocery bill down. Stop buying those expensive brands. Flour is flour in a different package. Sugar is sugar, and so on. If you think people are looking in your trolley to see what you are buying, you are being paranoid. Maybe you should see a phyciatrist. Check out 50 Fantastic Tips for Grocery Shopping and Why is everyone keeping up with the Jones’s
Make sure you have freezer. I know this sounds stupid but having a decent sized freezer can save you hundreds of dollars. See What food and drink can you freeze to save money. Buy bulk foods when they are on special and also freeze unused food before its used by date.
Don’t buy what you don’t need. That’s pretty obvious but people still do it anyway. If you have towels with a few tears in them, who cares? They will still dry you. If you have no towels at all, them buy some because you NEED them. See Do you have a shopping and spending money problem? and Things that make entice you to spend more money
Should first home buyers buy a house now or wait for the federal budget?
What is the First home buyers grant?
There was already a first home owners grant (FHOG) in place which is a $7,000.00 grant for eligable first home buyers.
What is the First home owners boost?
- an extra $7 000 to first home buyers who purchase an established home; and
- an extra $14 000 to first home buyers who build a new home or purchase a newly constructed home.
First home buyers will be eligible for the Boost on contracts entered into between 14 October 2008 to 30 June 2009 (inclusive).
This means the FHOG is now $14,000.00 and but if you purchase a newly constructed home you will get $21,000.00.
Should first home buyers buy a house now or wait for the budget?
I was watching Sunrise with Mel & Koshie this morning and they were interviewing Kevin Rudd’s federal leader of government business Anthony Albanese. The government will not confirm if the first home buyers grant is going to be continuing or not. At the moment the first home owners grant is available Until June 30. This raises the question: Should first home buyers rush out and buy a house now or wait for the budget and risk missing out altogether?
Buying your first home is no doubt a hard decision to make, with new uncertainties arising every day. Considering that it has been confirmed by a number of souces that Australia is facing a recession, how could they put this kind of pressure on the first home buyers. Its like saying “buy now or miss out!”.
Watch the full interview http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=1341467&cl=13132107&src=y7lifestyle&ch=
Is the government $8,000.00 solar power rebate finished?
If you didn’t know about the $8,000.00 rebate for a solar power unit for home owners, you must be living under a rock. It is an amazing offer but is it at risk of finishing up early.
To qualify applicants must:
- Be the homeowner or mortgagee of the house (or townhouse / villa / retirement villa) in which they reside, no rentals or apartments.
- Have approximately 5.4m (along the gutter) x 1.5m (up to ridge line) of unshaded rooftop space available that is facing as close as possible to North (NE or NW ok). Clear capping and edges by 200mm.
- Have a combined household taxable income below $100, 000 pa.
- Live within South East Queensland (from Coolangatta to Toowoomba to Bundaberg, including all of SE Queensland)
- Be connected to the mains electricity grid and have an electricity account.
- Be the rate payer for the address at which they reside.
- Sign the $8000 Federal Government Rebate and the RECs to Free Solar Pty Ltd.
- Have a metal or tiled roof, no asbestos or fibro roofs please.
- Fill out the online “Register now” form on this website.
- Pay the fully refundable $1499 deposit to Free Solar.
This information was gathered from the http://freesolar.com.au website, however when I revisited the site today it has a notice saying that applications have closed for this month. I am hoping they re-open it soon because I have told so many people about this.
How could you not go for this…You pay a deposit of $1499 and you get it back when the grant has been paid to the company. After that you own the entire solar power unit that will save you big dollars on your household expenses…
Kevin Rud encourages spending the $1000 Christmas bonus for families and pensioners?
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s recently elected Prime Minister has delt out a Christmas bonus for families with children and pensioners. Families will recieve $1000 per dependant child and pensioner get $1400 if they are single and $2100 for a couple.
This sounds great, however now he is encouraging everyone to go out and spend it all on xmas. Apparantly this may keep our economy afloat if this money is injected back into the system, keeping jobs secure and businesses booming as usual at christmas time. But is spending this bonus going to help the actual individual people in the long run. What happens when the money runs out and the bills start pilling up.
It makes me wonder if this is good advice coming from Kevin Rudd, the suposed leader of this country. Isn’t it better to save the money for what could happen in the future?
What can you do with leftover Shampoo, Conditioner and Soap
- Leave in Conditioner and hair detangler – Mix your leftover Conditioner with water and put it in a spray bottle. Probably one part conditioner to 4 parts water. Maybe even less conditioner if it is a high quality one. Now you can spray it on your kids hair when you are brushing it to detangle and condition at the same time. If you make it a bit stronger it works as a leave in conditioner. Both a hair detangler and a leave in conditioner are very expensive luxuries that you will not need after you have tried this.
- Hand Wash – Make your own antibacterial hand wash with your leftover shampoo and conditioner by adding water and dash of detol or even eucalyptus oil to the mix. Put it in a spare soap pump bottle and save a truck load of money. Its better to have more shampoo than conditioner. And when you mix it there will be bubbles but they will soon disappear.
- Stain Remover – Use shampoo to get rid of blood stains from clothing, carpets, and almost any fabric. You can also mix a bit of shampoo with some bicarb soda for those tough stains on clothes. It is also a great degreaser.
- Fabric softener – Put leftover conditioner into your washing machine and use as a fabric softener. You can also add a bit of eucalyptus oil to the mix to make it smell nice. I have also been known to put strawberry scented oil with conditioner for a fabric softener for my kids clothes.
50 Fantastic Tips for Grocery Shopping
As you might already know, I’ve got a big family — the wife and I plus six rugrats. Plus a cat and a dog. We can go through an awful lot of food. Groceries (along with the rent and car and gas) are one of our biggest expenses. I allocate as much in our budget as I can to groceries, simply because I want to make sure we’re never short on food. Also, cooking our own food is just so much less expensive than eating out.
And as I figure that most of my readers, whether they have big families or not, go grocery shopping now and then, I thought I’d pass along some of my favorite tips. These are not all my original tips — I’ve picked up dozens over the years from magazines, books and websites. But these are the best of them, plus some I’ve figured out on my own.
So pick and choose from among these tips, which I hope will be of use to you and your family:
Always go with a list. If you go without a list, you may as well just throw your money away. Better yet, donate it to me — I probably need it more than you. 
Seriously, though, you need to prepare a list of everything you need, pulling from your weekly menu (next tip) and checking to make sure you don’t have it in your pantry, fridge or freezer. Make sure you’re not forgetting anything. Now stick to that list.
- Plan out a weekly menu. This is the best way to ensure that your list is complete, and that you have enough to serve your family dinner for the week. I often plan a weekly menu and then duplicate it for the next week — this way I can shop for two weeks at once. Be sure to plan a leftovers night.
- Don’t go when you’re hungry. This is a common tip, but it’s true: when you’re hungry, you want to buy all kinds of junk. You’ll end up spending a lot more. Eat a good meal first, and you’ll be more likely to stick to your list.
- Have a budget. When I go to the store, I know exactly how much I can spend. Then I try my best to stick within that limit. If you don’t know how much you can spend, you’ll certainly spend too much.
- Do a rough running tally. Related to the above tip, if you want to stay within your budget, it’s best to know where you’re at. Then, when you can see you’re going to go above it, you can decide whether you really need that 10-lb. box of bon bons. I keep a running tally on my grocery list, just rounding off so I can do some quick math. An item costs $1.85? I say $2. Then I don’t need a calculator or all those complicated math skills.
- Keep a list on your fridge, and write things down immediately. When you run out of something, don’t leave it to your memory. Jot it down immediately, and you’ll never have to run back to the store because you don’t have eggs.
- Make a pantry checklist. Make a checklist of everything you normally stock in your pantry. Keep it posted on the pantry. Put a slash next to each item for the number of items you have (if you have two cans of stewed tomatoes, put two slashes). Then, when you use something, turn the slash into an x. This makes it much easier when it comes time to make your list.
- Keep things stocked for quick-n-easy meals. Easy meals for us might be spaghetti or mac-n-cheese or a quick stir-fry. We’ve always got the ingredients on hand, so we can whip something up fast when we’re feeling lazy.
- Buy in bulk when it makes sense. If you can save money, over the course of a month or two, by buying in bulk, plan to do so. But be sure that you’re going to use all of it before it gets bad — it isn’t cheaper to buy in bulk if you don’t use it.
- Keep your receipts, then enter into a spreadsheet. This will be your price list. Use it so you know when bulk or sale items are a good deal. It’s also a great way to comparison shop between stores — buy your baking goods in Store A but your fresh fruits in Store B. The spreadsheet can also serve as a checklist to use when you’re compiling your shopping list.
- Buy frozen veggies. While fresh veggies are a little better, frozen veggies are almost as good, and much better than nothing. And since you can keep them in the freezer, they rarely go bad.
- When you’re running low, write it down. Don’t wait until you run out. when you see there’s only three toilet paper rolls left, put it on your list. Because when you run out, it will be too late.
- Cut back on meat. Meat is expensive. We have vegetarian meals several times a week (think pasta or chili) and for other meals, you could just use a little meat as a kind of seasoning instead of the main ingredient — think Asian, Indian and other such cultural food. Actually, I eat vegetarian all the time, but the wife and kids do a little of each.
- Pack your own lunch snacks. Buying pre-made snacks is convenient, but a big waste of money. Buy little baggies and buy the snacks in bulk, then it will take just a few minutes to pack some snacks for lunch each day.
- Make leftovers for lunch. Plan to cook a bit extra for each dinner, so that you’ll have leftovers for your lunch and for the kids’ lunches. Pack it right away, after dinner, so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning.
- Cook a lot, then freeze. Alternatively, you can cook a whole mess of spaghetti (for example) and freeze it for multiple dinners. A great idea is to use one Sunday and cook a week’s (or even a month’s) worth of dinners. Plan 5-6 freezable dinners and cook them all at once.
- Always have batteries, toilet tissue and light bulbs. And other necessities that you always seem to run out of — buy a whole bunch when they’re on sale, or buy in bulk. Be sure to check to see if you have these items before you go to the store.
- Try crock pot dinners. We discovered these in the last year, and they are easy and cheap and tasty. Cut up a bunch of ingredients, throw them in the pot in the morning, and have dinner ready for you when you get home. Can anything be more perfect than that? I submit that it cannot.
- Clip coupons. I know, sometimes they seem like too much trouble. But it’s not really that hard to clip a few coupons and toss them in a coupon envelop to take on your grocery shopping trip. And you can save 10-20% of your bottom line with coupons. Check store entrances, newspaper and flyers for coupons.
- Only use coupons for items you were already planning to buy. Don’t let them trick you into buying something that’s not on your list, just to “save” money.
- Look for specials. Every store has specials. Be sure to look for them in the newspaper, or when you get to the store (they often have unadvertised specials — look on the higher and lower shelves for deals). Don’t buy them unless they’re things you always use.
- Try the store brands. Brand names are often no better than generic, and you’re paying for all the advertising they do to have a brand name. Give the store brand a try, and often you won’t notice a difference. Especially if it’s an ingredient in a dish where you can’t taste the quality of that individual ingredient.
- Cut back on your “one-item” trips. They waste gas, and almost inevitably, you buy more than that one item. If you plan ahead, make a weekly menu, and shop with a list, this should drastically reduce the number of trips you make for a small number of items. But if you still find yourself running out for a few items, analyze the reason — are you not making a good list, are you forgetting some items from your list? Stock up on the things you frequently go out for.
- Sugar cereals are a bad buy. Lots of money for no nutrition. Look for whole grain cereals with low sugar. Add fruit for better flavor.
- Be watchful at the register. Keep an eye on the scanner — you’ll keep the cashier on his toes, and catch any mis-priced items.
- When there’s a sale, stock up. Sale items can be a great deal. If it’s an item you normally use, buy a bunch of them.
- Comparison shop. Look at the different brands for a certain type of product, including store brands. Sometimes there will be a significant difference. Be sure you’re comparing apples to apples — you need to divide the price by the amount (ounces, pounds, etc.) in order to get the comparable unit price.
- Go during slow times. One of my favorite times to shop is late at night. But during working hours or other non-peak times is good too. Avoid right after 5 p.m., on paydays and near major holidays.
- Know when the store stocks its fresh fruits and veggies. In my area, that makes a big difference. Fruits and veggies can go bad quickly, because they have to be shipped. So I know that the store re-stocks on Thursdays, and so I usually go on Thursdays or Fridays, otherwise I’ll be getting old items.
- Plan one big trip a month for bulk staples. You can get fresh items at another store on other weeks, but doing a big bulk trip will cut back on the expense and amount you have to carry for the other three weeks. Avoid buying on impulse at the bulk store too — just because they sell a lot of it doesn’t mean you’re saving, if you weren’t planning on buying it in the first place.
- Avoid trips to the corner store. Or the gas station! These are some of the most expensive stores. (Ranking right up there with airport stores.)
- Try co-ops. You can often save a lot of money at these types of places for staples.
- Consider shopping at two stores. There’s no store with a monopoly on savings. Each has savings on different items on different weeks. You might switch between two stores on alternate weeks.
- Think deep freeze. If you really want to save, you’ll need a big freezer. Ask around — someone you know might have a relatively new model they don’t need anymore. You can use freezers to stock up on meat, frozen veggies, and similar staples, and to freeze big batches of pasta, casseroles, and other dinners you prepare ahead of time.
- Use everything possible. Got a bunch of leftover ingredients (half an onion, a bit of tomato, some pasta, a few other veggies?) … combine them for a quick meal, so that these don’t go to waste before your next grocery trip. The more you can stretch the food, and the less you waste, the less you’ll spend in the long run.
- Don’t waste leftovers. Have a list on your fridge of what leftovers are in there, so you don’t forget about them. Plan a leftover night or two, so you’re sure to eat them all. Pack them immediately for lunch, so they’re ready to take the next morning.
- Don’t buy junk food (or buy as little as possible). Junk food not only costs a lot of money for about zero nutrition, but it makes you and your family fat and kills you. Talk about a bad deal! Opt for fruits and veggies instead.
- Rain check. If an item is on sale but the store has run out of stock, ask for a rain check.
- Go when the kids are in school. When you bring kids, they will pester you and pester you until you buy some kind of junk food. Even if you’re able to stick to your guns, it’s not pleasant saying no 10 million times. In most cases, you’ll save money shopping without the kids.
- Go for whole foods. The processed kind is lacking in nutrition and will make you fat. Look for things in their least processed form — whole grain instead of white or wheat bread, fresh fruit instead of canned or juice, whole grain cereal or oatmeal instead of all other kinds of cereal. You get the idea.
- Read labels. Look for trans fat, hydrogenated oils, high amounts of sugar, saturated fat, lots of sodium, cholesterol. Then avoid them like the plague. Look instead for fiber, good fats, protein, vitamins, calcium.
- Clean out your fridge. You’ve got stuff growing in there and turning from solids to liquids.
- The leftovers have begun to organize their own political party. Toss em out and make room for the new.
- Stick to your list. Avoid impulse buys. They are almost always bad, and even if it’s just a couple dollars, they will add up to $50-100 for a trip. Over the course of a year, that can mean thousands. Tell yourself you will not buy anything that’s not on your list unless it’s an absolute necessity (why isn’t toilet paper on my darn list?).
- Use store savings cards. These can add up to big savings over the long run.
- Cut back on your restaurant eating. It’s never cheaper or more nutritious than eating at home. Plan your dinners (see above tip) and bring your lunches to work and save a ton of money.
- Avoid frozen dinners or prepared entrees. Again, these cost way more and are usually much less nutritious.
- Drink water. If you regularly drink iced tea, Tang, sodas or other types of drinks, cut those out completely and just drink water. It’s much better for you, and much cheaper.
- Prepare your grocery list by aisle. If you regularly shop at the same stores, organize your list so that you can easily find and check off items as you walk down the aisle. We always shop from right to left, so we’re not constantly running back and forth in the store.
- Get cloth grocery bags. You’ll save tons of plastic over time, and help the environment tremendously.
- Pack healthy snacks for the kids. Whole wheat crackers, popcorn, cut-up fruit, raisins, and other kid-friendly snacks are much better than the junk you often see in kids’ lunches. And cheaper.
http://zenhabits.net/2007/04/50-tips-for-grocery-shopping/
Make banana muffins with your rotten bananas!
Don’t throw out your old bananas! You can freeze them to make smoothies with or make banana muffins with your rotten bananas!
Banana Muffins
2 cups Self raising flour
2 large bananas (ripened) 3 small
1/2 cup brown sugar (less if you like)
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted( if unsalted add 1/4 tsp salt)
A few drops of Vanilla
Preheat oven to 400F or 180C. Add dry ingredients together. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Mix the eggs, bananas, and butter; add to dry ingredients, stirring only until the all ingredients are combined. Spoon into well-greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes.
- I usually touch the top of the muffin to see if it is ready. If it is it will spring back.
- The less you stir the mixture the softer the muffin
- You can add choc chips, walnuts, or coconut to the mixture.
- I like throwing nuts on the top for decoration.
You can use other fruits besides the bananas but they may not have as much liquid and you will have to add a bit of milk to compensate.
For example I would use two apples sliced up and maybe a 1/4 of a cup of milk. I would also add some cinamon and walnuts… Yummm
What food and drink can you freeze to save money
What can you use baking soda for?
- Clean your bathroom. This is my favorite use for Bicarb soda. You can make it into a paste and use it for stubborn stains on basins or tiles. I also use an old toothbrush with this paste to clean around the taps. You can also put a bit on a wet cloth and wipe on and rinse off.. Everything comes up so sparkly clean.
- Clean drains. Keep your drains clean and clear by putting some bicarb soda powder in them, then pour some white vinegar in. It will bubble and fizz and clean your drains. Then rinse with water.
- Deodorise your Fridge. Put some Baking soda in your fridge to absorb odours. You can also use it for kitty litter, ash trays, cars, shoes, and probably a hundred other things.
- Stain Remover. Make a paste with bicarb soda, water, and dishwashing liquid. Rub stain with this paste, let dry for stubborn stains, and then throw in the wash.
- Clean your dishwasher. Run your dishwasher through its cycle with baking soda in it instead of soap to give it a good cleaning.
- Clean your teeth. Sprinkle some baking soda onto your toothpaste on your toothbrush. You will be shocked at how good your teeth will feel. If your really game you can ditch the toothpaste and just use baking soda.