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What young adults need to know about debt

Back when Bank Managers roamed bank branches, finance was far less complicated. (yes, it’s true, there were these people who you could meet IRL at the local bank!) You would have visited your bank branch to apply for your home loan or credit card or to open a new savings account. There wasn’t too much more to think about and often people banked with the same bank for their entire working life (I know, a crazy concept!). Now, we have to deal with student loans, “buy now pay later” options, whether we want tap and pay through our watch, should we have a credit card with a low rate or rewards points, how to get bonus interest on our savings every month and everything can be done online without ever talking to a person. And that’s before we even think about superannuation (don’t worry, I won’t go down that rabbit hole – I know we don’t have time!)

Last week we talked about young adults and tax. This week we take a look at finance and more specifically, debt and loans. Continue reading “What young adults need to know about debt”

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Tips for managing your debtors

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had conversations with several clients about what to do with customers who don’t pay their bills either on time or at all. No one likes doing all the work and not getting paid. In small business, keeping a good cash flow is absolutely critical. If you have significant funds tied up in your accounts receivables, you have less working capital to fund the business, more stress, sleepless nights and less time to do the good stuff. And the longer debts remain outstanding, the harder they are to collect. So, what can you do to stay on top of your debtors, maximise your cash reserves and minimise the risk of not getting paid. Continue reading “Tips for managing your debtors”

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Personal Services Income – Are you affected?

This week I was asked a fairly straightforward question – I am a sole trader, operating with an ABN, can I claim travel to client premises? What’s the big deal you say, of course she can! But as is always the case with tax, the devil is in the detail. The other part of the email gave me some more facts. There is only one client, payment is made on an hourly rate and the travel involves a three hour round trip by car. Suddenly Personal Services Income (PSI) alarm bells were ringing and the answer becomes much more complex. Continue reading “Personal Services Income – Are you affected?”