Aside from the family home, for many of us, super is the biggest investment we'll ever have, so it's important to do some simple things to make sure it's in good shape.
Consolidate your super
We tend to work for a number of different employers over our working lives, and as a result, we often accumulate more than one super account. But having multiple accounts can mean paying multiple yearly fees, and can make it difficult to keep track of our super.
By consolidating your super:
It can be easier to keep track of your super investment, simply by having it all in one place, and you'll have less paperwork to deal with each year;
You may be able to reduce the amount you pay in administration fees;
It can be easier to ensure that your entire super investment is invested according to your chosen investment strategy.
Consolidating is usually done by rolling the money from your other super funds into the fund that you wish to retain - talk to that super fund to find out how, and to obtain the appropriate forms.
Aside from the family home, for many of us, super is the biggest investment we'll ever have, so it's important to do some simple things to make sure it's in good shape.
Locate your lost super
Just as we can accumulate different super funds as we change jobs, at some time or another, many of us may also 'lose' a super account. That is, we might change jobs or address without notifying the super fund we are with, and the fund might then lose track of us.
It's relatively easy to be reunited with your lost super, and you can usually do so with a free online search:
visit the Australian Tax Office website at www.ato.gov.au/super and follow the links to the "SuperSeeker"; or
visit the AUSfund website at www.unclaimedsuper.com.au and follow the links to the "Lost super search".
In most cases, all you'll need is your name, Tax File Number, birth date and some basic information about your previous employers to determine whether you have any lost super waiting for you to claim it.
Make sure your fund has your current details
Last but not least, make sure your super fund always has your current details. That means keeping them informed of any name changes and any changes to your contact details.
Is your wallet looking a little cluttered when it comes to credit cards? Is your credit limit higher than you really need, and does it sometimes encourage you to spend just because you can? Do you ever find it hard to repay your credit card debt? If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then you might benefit from these credit card spring cleaning tips.
Consolidate your credit cards into just one card
If you've got more than one credit card, it might be time to think about cutting back to just one. Fewer credit cards generally mean fewer annual fees, fewer interest rates to keep track of (and possibly a lower interest rate overall), and fewer bills to think about. In addition, having fewer cards can help you to keep your overall credit limit lower, rather than simply increasing your overall limit every time you acquire a new card.
If you've got more credit than you really need (or can't afford to repay each month), you might benefit from reducing your credit limit. By reducing the amount of credit available to you, you can also reduce the temptation and the opportunity to spend more than you need to, and the likelihood that you'll overextend yourself. In most cases, all it takes is a phone call to your credit provider to have your limit reduced.
Reduce your credit card debt
Have you been making minimum repayments on your credit cards for months, but rarely make an impact on your overall credit card debt? Do you keep opening new credit cards to pay off your existing credit cards? Ideally, your credit card debt should be paid off in full every month if you are to avoid costly interest, but if you are unable to do that, it might be time to try and tackle that debt once and for all, and then take action to keep it manageable in future. Consider these tips...
Contact your financial institution and ask if you qualify for a lower interest rate - it doesn't hurt to ask, and you might be surprised by their response.
Allow for credit card debt repayments in your budget and stick to the commitments you make to repay the debt. In order to pay off the debt sooner rather than later, you will need to pay considerably more than the minimum repayment.
Look into consolidating your credit card debt onto just one card. The aim is to:
lower the overall interest rate you pay on your credit card debt;
cut down annual card fees to just one (or none, depending on the card you choose); and
make it easier to keep your credit card debt under control in future by shutting down any extra credit cards once your debt is consolidated.
Note: a word of warning! If you are consolidating, tread carefully with cards that offer to take on your existing credit card debts for low or no interest. A much higher interest rate after just a few months can sometimes be the sting in the tail with some of these deals, so always read the fine print very carefully and make sure you are getting a deal that will ultimately help you reduce the amount of interest you pay for the period of time you think it will take you to pay off your credit card debt.
Of course, as with any debt or bill, if you don't think you can make the repayment, contact the provider sooner rather than later. If you notify them early, and before you get into real difficulty with the debt, they may be able to help you make a more realistic repayment arrangement.
Hmm, your budget - remember that? You might be sticking to it like glue, or, alternatively, you might vaguely recall jotting down a few numbers on a piece of paper a while back, but despite your best intentions, you promptly put it in the top drawer and in no time it was buried beneath school notices, takeaway menus and car key...
Is your budget still working for you?
Personal budgets are terrific tools to help you stay organised and disciplined with your finances, and to work towards your financial goals, so why not dust off that budget and ask yourself the following questions:
Are you still saving what you set out to save?
Are you still managing to make your scheduled debt repayments?
Have any of your regular expenses changed since you last checked your budget?
Have you acquired any new debts that need to be taken into account?
Have you experienced a change in income since you initially prepared the budget?
Have your financial goals - either short or long term - changed since you prepared the budget?
Budgets need to be flexible in order to accommodate the changing circumstances and needs in our lives, and that means you need to give your budget a check-up every now and then to make sure it's still doing what it was intended to do. The factors listed above can all be cause for a budget to be tweaked, so have a fresh look at your budget and make sure it's still working for you and your current situation.
