Tax-Time Treats

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It’s that time again. The time when we approach Mr Taxman with hand outstretched pleading for some of our hard earned money back. We’re all hoping for a little something back.

I like to buy myself a nice little something to reward myself for sticking it out at my job for another 12 months. Just a little incentive to keep at that grindstone and what better way than to do this by maximising your return in order to maximise your spending! Now the smart thing to do would be to invest your money and ‘watch it grow’, which I don’t discourage at all, but if you’re like me and you just spent $105 paying an accountant to tell you you’re only getting $150 back this year, then it becomes a challenge to double the value of that $150.

Remember, retailers know tax time is the one time of the year we may all have a little extra to spend and they target their marketing campaigns competitively to ensure they get a piece of the pie. Take advantage of this. You can do this by purchasing items at sales prices. I can’t emphasise this enough, DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE because it’s pretty much guaranteed that whatever you want can be found cheaper elsewhere, especially at this time of year.

My top 10 tips to save money while shopping are listed below:

1. Only shop during the sales (stocktake, end of financial year, liquidation, mid-year clearances, closing down sales… Keep your eyes open, they’re everywhere!
2. Look for auctions when shopping for furniture/jewellery. You can bag incredible bargains by doing a little research. Sometimes even a little road trip is worth the end result. I once bought a huge mahogany entertainment unit for the bargain price of $175!
3. Make friends with sales people. They know all the good bargains, when sales start and occasionally they may even find you a little something not yet out on the shop floor!
4. Be indecisive! Depending on where you shop, this strategy may work for you. If you find yourself at a market stall adoring an object of affection that you must have, be indecisive. I accidently stumbled upon this little gem of advice while shopping at a market in London. I found two rings I REALLY liked, but as I was on a budget, I was undecided about which to buy. I deliberated for awhile before the salesperson said ‘Look, you can have them both for £11’. This was a saving of £9 or approx A$21. I’m sure he wanted me to leave so others could admire his wares, but whatever works I say!
5. Do a little research and venture out of your comfort zone. I once stumbled upon a designer outlet in a street I had frequented many times. It was at the opposite end of where I usually shopped and all I had to do was walk about 500 metres out of my way. The store stocked items I had seen in other shops for twice the price, as well as unique items only sold in major cities. I also found an Alex Perry dress for $60 reduced from $799. Sadly it didn’t fit me… You can’t win all the time!
6. Ebay. It’s accessible. It’s easy and it has everything.
7. Travel: My partner regularly buys parts for his road bike over the internet from a store overseas. Even with postage included, it’s cheaper than buying the same item here.
8. Become a member. Some stores offer loyalty cards to those who become members of their organisation. One excellent one I came across recently is the ‘Fusion’ card. It’s free and can be used at Colorado, Diana Ferrari, Williams, Jag and Mathers to secure discounts off already reduced items. I bought a pair of shoes originally priced at $99 for only $65 after getting an additional discount off the already reduced price at sale time. Ie. Double bargain! Other cards I recommend use points based systems for items purchased thus allowing you to redeem vouchers for use at a later stage. These include the original Fly Buys card, Myer One, Woolworths Everyday Rewards and Priceline. Others which have alternative benefit systems include Boost Juice, Cine Buzz (Greater Union cinemas) and Gloria Jeans which all provide a free item after several purchases. Also worth a mention are Saba, David Lawrence and Oroton cards which provide various member benefits.
9. Subscribe to e-alerts from the stores you love. They’ll probably send you some emails you’re not interested in, but every now and then, a gem of a sale may be emailed to you, and often before the general public are even aware of it!
10. Holiday in other states at times when there is a public holiday in your home state but not in theirs ie. Labour Day is 5 October in NSW, but Queensland observes it at a different time of year. This way you maximise your savings by avoiding paying public holiday surcharges. You also minimise any leave from work required for the holiday. If your company allows you to take leave at half pay, you could potentially have a 9 day holiday by officially reducing your annual leave by only 2 days! You could also utilise flex leave if you’re lucky enough to have an employer that lets you accumulate and take it.

Article written by Sherrie F

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