Tag: Money

Categories
Family

Teaching Kids about Tax and Superannuation

Many perceive tax to be a bad or horrible thing. It is money that gets deducted from your earnings and it goes to the government to spend where it is needed.

In fact, taxes are not bad, they help people and the country. Find out more about why you pay tax and super from the ATO (Australian Taxation Office)

Taxes help Australians have a good school system, great recreation areas, a wonderful well-functioning health care system and much more.

If it wasn’t for taxes these things would not be able to be paid for. Roads and bridges would not be able to be built, public schools would not be as good as they are, and our public funded health care would not be able to keep going.

I would not want to live in a world where I could not afford medical treatment or have reliable transport and roads.

Taxes help provide for all and therefore it is an essential item that everyone needs to help pay towards.

Taxes help everyone. Infrastructure, public schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, health care and much more.
Taxes help everyone. Infrastructure, public schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, health care and much more.

Did you know:

“Your tax funds the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) which provides a substantial reduction in the cost of over 208 million prescriptions per year.

For example, the cost of an ovarian cancer drug fell from over $2,000 to $38 per month when recently funded by the PBS.”

 

Do your kids understand what tax is? What about superannuation?

I asked my girls the following:

  • What do you think tax is?

They told me that it is a charge that you pay the government.

The kids were close, but I told them it is not really a charge. I explained that everyone pays tax. It is calculated on how much someone earns so that it is fair for all.  If all people pay a little bit each then the country has a lot so they can build a new road, or say fix a park.

The kids liked the idea of fixing parks. They wish that their local park would get an upgrade. Maybe we could write a letter to see what can be done.

 

 

  • Do you know what superannuation is?

No, the girls said.

I then explained about superannuation. It is when you save for your old age. When you no longer have a job. I told the twins that when they no longer work anymore they will need money to live off, so superannuation is a big savings account for you when you are older.

The sooner you start saving the better off you will be. It works on compound interest which means the longer you squirrel away your money the better off you will be. I told the girls that as soon as they start work they need to start saving for their old age.

 

It is sad that women still often have less super available when they retire. I, like other women, have taken a break from the work to care for children and therefore don’t have the funds to put into my super account. I just hope that it is not being eaten away with fees.

 

  • One thing that can be done to help women with superannuation savings is if their partner also contributes. This way women can boost their savings.
  • Another tip to increase women’s super is to have an auto payment setup, just put a little in each week or fortnight.
  • I need to do both to boost my earnings for old age.

 

Did you know:

“In 2013-14, Australian women aged 60-64 had on average $138,150 in super savings which was less than half of the average male.”

The twins asked why women tended to have lower savings when they retire? I told them that most of the time women look after kids and become carers for family members. This means less paid work and less savings. They looked angry about this and annoyed. I told them it is not good and it means they must be clever and start saving early. (I thought it was good that my girls are angry about this. I hope that they use their anger to save and have enough money put away for when they are not working.)

The kids have savings accounts that we regularly contribute to. I hope this helps them with their future and shows that saving money is helpful. You don’t need to be rich but money does help. Money gives you choices, money gives you the freedom and the ability to choose what you do or don’t do. 

Schools can only teach kids so much. Parents need to have the conversation about money, tax, and superannuation at home. If you start good money habits when young it will help you for the rest of your life.

Organising more money to go your superannuation account. Save now for later.
Organising more money to go to your superannuation account, Save now for later.

Did you know:

“Most young people do not check their accounts regularly or change investment options, and only one third read their periodic statements.”

It is best to keep one superannuation account and have all payments put into this. If you have multiple funds, if you do indeed have multiple funds it is best to consolidate into one fund. This will mean that you are not paying multiple fees and insurance.

The Money Smart Website has wonderful advice and calculators for savings and superannuation. The website also has great information on how to teach kids about money and great cost-effective after school activities.

Tax, Super, and You Worksheet for Years 7-10. Although this worksheet is for high school kids, some ideas are still able to be discussed with younger kids. Have a look at the worksheet and start the conversation with your kids today.

The ATO also assists new businesses to get up and running. The ATO also can help small businesses with grants and assistance.

Have you chatted with your kids about tax, money or even superannuation?

If you have what did your kids think it was all about before they really understood it?

I hope this helps starts the conversation with your kids about money. I have always chatted with the kids about money, savings, and the fact that they will need to save once they start working.

The sooner you have the chat the better things will be, the kids will know more, be empowered and you never know might save a fortune to look after their parents. (You never know, right?)

 

Happy Saving!

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Categories
5 years and beyond

Super Savers

My little girls are super savers. Yes you read that right. Their piggy banks were over flowing and since we had their new school saver account, why not deposit the money into that. Who knew that each child would have nearly a $100 each in their new school bank account (some was from birthday money).  I was amazed and floored when I found the amounts, very proud of each of my girls. They have done a super job to save and put all their money into their piggy bank.

One downside was I accidentally broke Lillian’s much loved piggy bank. I do have the pieces so I can glue it back together, but it might never be the same again. She was so upset. Tears and crying at the bank. I felt miserable. I had taken such great care with it, had it all protected and then taking it out it got bumped and then it smashed.

After we deposited the money into the accounts I asked the teller if we could get piggy banks for the girls. I explained that one broke and I needed to replace it and get one for the other child also. We got the new piggy banks and kids are very pleased with them. Thank goodness for that. 🙂

I have shown each kid their account on the computer with the amount and their name. Each girl brimmed from ear to ear and looked very pleased with themselves. Wonder how much they will have in the account when they are 18? If mummy and daddy need a loan I think we know who to ask.

We now need to contribute to the account and when kids are at school next year they will do so as well. Maybe kids each week can go in and make a $5.00 deposit each? We will see. At least the accounts are off to a good start.

Are your kids super savers?

Categories
3 years and beyond Katoomba Hospital Swimming lessons

The extreme cost of activities for kids

Why is it that extra activities for kids are so expensive, swimming, tumbling, gym, dancing and much more. I would like to have the girls continue with their swimming lessons and also to be able to do tumbling lessons. This is not going to happen due to the cost.  Just to give you an example of the cost:

  • Swimming lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) – $140
  • Tumbling lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) –  $125 plus $32.50 annual gymnastic NSW membership fee

The price above for each activity is for 1 child. So as I have 2 children, I would need to double it. So the costs would be:

  • Swimming lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) – $280.00
  • Tumbling lessons for 10 weeks ( a school term) –  $315.00

My question is, how does the average family give their children exposure to these sort of activities? With the girls going to pre-school 3 days per week, there is no way we will be able to cough up extra money for anything else. Last year we were able to give the girls about 3 sets of swimming lessons, but I don’t think that will happen this year.

Lillian turns her left foot in a bit when she walks and trips over more, especially when she is tried. Nothing that strengthening the ankle or more sports would help. To do the sports and training you have to pay. I cannot just put one child into sport, I would like to put both in for the experience as well. The physiotherapist at Katoomba Hospital said tumbling classes would really help Lillian, but how do I do this when they are so expensive.

One of my other questions is why is the council pool charging so much to teach kids and babies to swim. This is a skill that can save your life, swimming is essential in Australia as we are surrounded by water and nearly everyone has a pool, goes to the pool or the beach. I believe that swimming allows you to have the ability to exercise, be safe and to participate in a great lifestyle.  Why does the council charge so much? Why cannot the fee be a token to the centre, say $20 or $50 for swimming for your children to learn. It should not be $280 to teach your kids to swim for only 10 weeks. Then after the first 10 weeks you have to pay it all again. How many school terms are there in Australia, well there is 4 terms per year. So that would mean that I would need to pay Katoomba Pool, $1120.00 for a year of tutuion for swimming lessons.

Learning to swim should be free or nearly free. From my conversations in the Blue Mountains, NSW, there are a lot of people and kids that don’t know how to swim. What happens when these kids go to their swimming carnival at school? Is it then the schools job to teach kids to swim? Do schools have a learn to swim programme? I am not sure and have not found out, so if someone knows please let me know.

I grew up in North Queensland, Hervey Bay to be precise and I swam at a young age. We were close to a beach at all times, always on a boat and had to swim.  I think everyone has a right to save their lives and others by knowing how to swim. I love swimming and really enjoy it, I cannot imagine not knowing how.

So this year, I think we will take the kids swimming ourselves and teach them swimming techniques. We also cannot take them to tumbling classes no matter how much I would hope to do it. Julia and Lillian’s balance and ability are so great, that I would like to build on it, and have them do something active that is also healthy. For a society that is worried about weight gain, overweight and obese kids they are definitely not doing anything to help families with easily accessible activities.

Why is it now a matter of how much money you have, if you can learn to swim or not. Money is not the issue, it is making sure that the government/council makes this available at all levels. Learning to swim is something everyone needs to know how to do, rich or poor.

Do you have the same concerns over costs for children’s activities? Do we need to get like minded people together to see if we can lower costs? Should we have an online petition for the council to do something about this? Let me know your thoughts.