Online shopping is available 24/7, making it easy to indulge in retail therapy whenever you’re feeling low. With many consumers using PayPal or saving their credit card details on Google, spending money is so easy that it may not feel like a big deal when clicking the ‘order’ button. While treating yourself every once in a while is normal, making poor and impulsive spending decisions often occurs when you’re in a bad frame of mind.
Here are some ways you can deal with comfort spending:
- Get into the habit of doing a different activity when you’re bored or stressed. There are many hobbies that would benefit your mental and physical health more than shopping, such as taking a walk or talking to a friend.
- Give yourself some financial freedom. If you immediately implement an over-restrictive budget, you might be tempted to splurge after feeling deprived. Try to find a balance between treating yourself every now and comfort spending as a habit.
- Recognise your comfort spending behaviour and set a budget for it, instead of eating into your savings
- Avoid using a credit card, or if you do, make sure you pay the balance off in full each month.
Posted on 30 October '19, under money. No Comments.
This 2019-20 income year, the government introduced a new research and development (R&D) Tax Incentive that businesses can apply for. The government aims to encourage innovative businesses and a more productive economy by raising R&D expenditure to 2% of New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027.
The scheme offers a credit rate of 15% on any eligible research and development practices, with a $120 million cap on eligible expenditure. The incentive includes state-owned enterprises, industry research cooperatives, levy bodies, and minority-owned subsidiaries of select crown entities.
To be eligible for the new R&D Tax incentive, the following requirements must be met:
- A core R&D activity must be intended to create new knowledge, or improved processes, services or goods.
- The R&D is trying to resolve a scientific or technological uncertainty, where experts in the area do not know the answers or possibilities.
- A minimum spend of $50,000 on R&D. However, to ensure that even small businesses can qualify for the R&D tax credit, there is no minimum spend if the business uses an approved research provider. A list of approved research providers can be found on the Inland Revenue website.
- A systematic approach is used to undertake R&D. This involves a methodical approach that is planned, structured and documented, which could involve prototyping, experimentation or analysis that tests and evaluates possible solutions.
- The activities being undertaken in R&D are predominantly taking place in New Zealand. Overseas expenditure is limited to 10% of your total R&D expenditure.
- You own the results of the undertaken R&D or are able to use the results at no extra cost.
Posted on 30 October '19, under tax. No Comments.
If shopping centres aren’t even putting up their Christmas decorations yet, then the holiday period may seem to be a concern of the distant future. However, the season has a tendency to creep up on people and can often come with financial burdens. Planning your holiday expenses early can cut out one of the biggest stresses of the season and allow you to focus on enjoying the festivities and spending time with your loved ones.
If you’re worried you’re going to be tempted to dip into your savings, it can be a good idea to set up a Christmas saver account. This is typically done at the start of the year and is offered by some banks. You can make deposits throughout the year, but can only withdraw from the account when the festive season arrives, usually around 1 December. While interest is offered on these account savings, it should be noted that you can generally find better interest rates with other savings accounts such as a bonus saver or online savings account.
Alternatively, you can manually set aside an amount weekly or fortnightly in the months leading up to the holiday period. Setting up an excel sheet can help keep track of this, and can also be used to categorise different budgets for various needs (gifts, travel, food etc.). This can help you plan ahead and estimate how much you will need to cover the cost of the holidays, saving you from the bite of unexpected expenses and keeping you in control of your finances.
If you’ve left things a little late, it can help to cut out a few luxuries to save some extra money. Whether it’s having a cheap night in, or skipping a coffee run every now and then, a little can go a long way.
Posted on 16 October '19, under money. No Comments.
Businesses looking to improve their profitability may need to consider cutting under-performing products and services that are unnecessarily draining resources. It might be time to discontinue if a product fits the following scenarios:
- Low profitability.
- Stagnant or declining sales volume or market share.
- Maintaining your market share is too costly.
- Risk of technological elimination.
- Poor fit with business’s strengths or declared mission.
When deciding whether to discontinue a product, there are a few ways you can examine your services and make the decision that is best for your business.
80/20 rule:
This rule states that businesses should focus their attention on the 20% of the products that generate 80% of revenue. Using this principle, companies should compile a shortlist of the products and services that bring in the most profit and scrutinise the products that fall short of this mark.
Trial run:
Try going a week to a month (no longer) removing all promotion and marketing for a product. This can help the business to visualise what it would look like without that service and see if there are any clients who miss it.
Harvesting:
Cutting the costs associated with the business or increasing the price of the product without increasing production or operation costs allows the business to continue generating revenue on a failing service. Once the product ceases to provide a positive cash-flow, it can then be discontinued.
Posted on 16 October '19, under business. No Comments.
At the end of July this year, KiwiSaver announced that savings accessibility will be changed for people with shortened life expectancies due to congenital health conditions.
Under previous rules, savings could not be accessed before the age of 65, however people with life-shortening congenital conditions can have a life-expectancy below this age. As a result, people with such conditions were not joining KiwiSaver, as it was a redundant retirement option for them, or had joined KiwiSaver and were not able to withdraw their savings when needed.
The change allows people with life-shortening conditions to withdraw their savings at whatever age they choose to retire, and enable them to support a comfortable retirement with the benefits associated with KiwiSaver. While part of KiwiSaver’s success as a retirement savings scheme has been credited to only being able to access funds after you turn 65, this system does not take into account different health and retirement situations. The update acknowledges citizens’ different living circumstances and aims to make the system fairer for people who may otherwise be at a disadvantage.
The new withdrawal policy has a set list of conditions outlined that would automatically qualify certain users to be able to access their savings early. People can qualify for withdrawal by providing a medical certificate or other related evidence to certify early access.
Posted on 9 October '19, under super. No Comments.
In an increasingly technologically dependent age, it can be useful to keep up with new forms of currencies in the digital space. Cryptocurrency is internet-based, digital money that is not controlled by any central authority. Currently, the most prominent cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, which has a market capitalization of over 155 billion U.S. dollars.
How do you buy cryptocurrencies?
Ensure a cryptocurrency is legitimate and trustworthy by researching before you buy. Most of the time, it is a good idea to choose a popular one that is already widely used and trusted by other crypto users, such as Bitcoin. There are a number of popular websites and apps that simplify the process of buying cryptocurrencies. Once you have purchased cryptocurrencies, you can store them in a digital crypto wallet for security and easy accessibility.
Benefits:
- Fast: Transaction speeds are usually fast, making things like paying bills and shopping online easier.
- Low Fees: There are generally minimal to no transaction fees in crypto exchanges, so using cryptocurrencies can be a good way to avoid online banking fees and charges.
- Anonymity: Making transactions online with traditional banking methods generally requires information such as your name, credit card number, phone number and address. However, cryptocurrencies allow you to be anonymous in these transactions by only showing your crypto ID or a nickname of your choosing.
Drawbacks:
- Security risks: While it is harder and more technical to steal digital money as opposed to physical cash, cryptocurrencies are still susceptible to skilled hackers and scams. Because cryptocurrencies are decentralised with no authoritative control, any loss of cryptocurrency due to theft or scams cannot be recovered.
- Value instability: Cryptocurrencies tend to fluctuate in price and value, which can reduce their reliability as you can never be certain how much they will be worth the next day.
- Lack of merchants: Many companies have not taken the step to adopt cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, so it can lack usefulness in everyday transactions.
Posted on 30 September '19, under money. No Comments.
Promoting your business can seem tricky to navigate and expensive, especially when there are budget and staff restrictions to think about. However, there are a number of ways to promote your business easily and cost-effectively.
Blog content:
Posting well-written and relevant blog content on your website can help boost website traffic while capturing the trust and engagement of potential customers. Regular content that aligns with the interests and needs of your audience will generally work best in gaining profile views.
Social Media:
While social media may seem like an obvious channel to keep running on as a background form of promotion, it can be worthwhile to invest more time and resources to get the most out of your business’s social media presence. Keeping the aesthetics and content of your social media pages regularly updated and relevant can be a great way to establish a brand image and gain attention from your target audience.
Email Marketing:
Growing your mailing list can be a great way to establish customer loyalty and to encourage customers to remember your business and revisit your website. Websites like Mailchimp and Benchmark are free email marketing services that are easy to use with predesigned templates.
Posted on 30 September '19, under business. No Comments.
In August this year, the government released an updated tax policy work programme for 2019-2020. The updated version is aimed to encourage productive investment and maintain the quality and efficiency of the tax system. Some of the key workstreams covered in the programme include:
Land:
The current land protocols will be reviewed in an aim to improve the efficient use of land and the taxation of land is fair and supports productive investment. This includes clarifying holding costs for taxable land, facilitating compliance with existing land rules, and taking measures to improve revenue collection by improving information flows.
Business:
The government aims to focus on prioritising economic performance and minimising the impact of the tax system on businesses by reducing compliance costs. The programme deals with increasing the integrity and neutrality of the system and improving the economic achievements of small businesses and firms.
Environment/Sustainable Economy:
This workstream will look at how different tax regimes could make positive environmental impacts, noting where greater environmental taxation could change behaviour and raise money for environmental purposes. This includes a review of the Emissions Trading Scheme and revising the Waste Disposal Levy.
Posted on 30 September '19, under tax. No Comments.
Bad days can happen to the best of us, but that doesn’t stop work from needing to get done. Whilst working when you’re feeling down is the last thing you want to do, here are a few ways to pick yourself up and carry on with tasks you need to do.
Take a break:
Stepping away from the office to think can drastically improve your mood and help you look at the day more clearly. Going for a walk or sitting in the park on your lunch break can help you feel relaxed and better energised to go back to work. Even stepping out of the office for a moment to the bathroom can help remove yourself from a stressful situation. Don’t let yourself think about what has gotten you into a slump, think instead of what you can proactively do once you return to the office.
Express emotions appropriately:
Expressing your emotions is ok and necessary to feel better. It can be very easy to rant to colleagues or friends when you are feeling rough but there is a line between venting and gossip. Strong emotions such as anger can see you act out instead of thinking a problem through. Try to observe the problem through an objective lens before discussing it with colleagues or management and keep it strictly professional. This can help you to communicate better and avoid getting caught up in office politics.
Learn from the day:
Problems or unforeseen circumstances are opportunities to learn and grow. After a particularly trying day, take a moment to reflect on what didn’t go so great and possible reasons why. Evaluating what went wrong can help you to better understand how to avoid doing the same thing in the future, teaching you to be proactive, rather than reactive.
Posted on 24 September '19, under business. No Comments.
The Taxation (KiwiSaver, Student Loans, and Remedial Matters) Bill contains proposals to simplify and modernise the administration of KiwiSaver. The Bill proposes a number of changes to improve the administration of the KiwiSaver scheme, facilitating faster transfers of funds, improving the administrative efficiency and enhance members’ experience with the scheme.
The implementation of a new information technology project known as Business Transformation (BT) has allowed Inland Revenue (IRD) to detect more clearly what rate of tax that people should be paying on their KiwiSaver accounts and other investment savings.
Though the New Zealand tax system has a broad-base, low-rate framework, the IRD has identified that approximately 1.5 million people have been paying the wrong prescribed investor rate (PIR) on their KiwiSaver accounts and other managed funds.
Currently, KiwiSaver investors and others with savings in Portfolio Investment Entities must be the ones to notify savings providers of their appropriate PIR tax rate. As many individuals do not do this step, they are charged the default rate of 28%. The tax paid is final and any overpayment cannot be refunded.
The proposed law will allow for the IRD to notify the provider to correct the PIR from 1 April 2020. The IRD has also announced that from mid-July it will begin contacting taxpayers who are on the wrong rate.
Posted on 10 September '19, under super. No Comments.
