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Five on Friday (the financial edition)

  • Apparently we can expect our bills and utilities to increase pretty dramatically with the ETS coming into force. NOT happy! I’ll be keeping a close eye on this and reporting on how much this ends up affecting us. So far, my electricity provider advises that  prices will increase by 0.77 cents per kilowatt hour. For an average residential customer using 8000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year this would mean an increase of $5.20  (including GST and after a 10% prompt payment discount).
  • I’m not sure why I only recently started hearing about this, but payroll giving is officially in force. Basically, you can donate straight from your paycheck and get the tax credit there and then. So if you donate $3, you get a credit of $1 (33 per cent). The charity gets the full amount, but it only costs you $2. My accountant mother thinks this is a huge pain in the ass for payroll, but from my POV, this is awesome! The only thing is, I don’t have a cause close to my heart; I like to give to a range of charities.
  • I’ve finally put a buffer in our checking account – $100 seemed a nice round number. My graduate overdraft won’t last forever, and I need to pretend it doesn’t exist and stop using it as a fallback.
  • I am seriously considering paying off the Visa and having T just pay me back when he can. It’ll save me a lot of peace of mind, and to the tune of $20 in interest. Now, following the PF rule that you shouldn’t lend what you can’t give – in the worst case scenario, yes, I would be able to forfeit $1300.
  • According to Sorted, I should be saving nearly $200 a month for retirement. I’m clocking in at around $185 (plus a 50% employer match). The calculation was based on my current income, though, which is IMO inflated due to the shifts I work.

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2 thoughts on “Five on Friday (the financial edition)

  • Reply Sense June 25, 2010 at 20:48

    1) Uuuuuuugggghhhhh. I think I pay too much for groceries, electricity, and ‘stuff’ in general, already. Why don’t they require salaries to be raised along with these ‘cost of living’ increases?

    2) payroll giving sounds awesome!! I am going to look into it.

  • Reply Five on Friday (bits and pieces) « Musings of an Abstract Aucklander July 2, 2010 at 02:08

    […] remember the last time there wasn’t a balance on the card. It feels GREAT. As I said last week, even if things somehow go pearshaped, I can afford to write this off. Otherwise, it brings me peace […]

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