From today, and every Monday, we're going to pick 3 things to do this week. It might be something for all of us; and it might be local; and it could be related to any of the subjects we write about on Motherpedia - money, education, health, fitness, food, beauty and, of course, kids.
1. Get your tax done
The Tax Office gives you until 31st October to submit a tax return – but why wait that long if they owe you money?
Most people would rather do anything than get out the calculator and complete their tax return. But with the financial year 2012-13 ending yesterday, now is the time to get it done and it's really so much better to get it out of the way.
It’s also a good time to plan how to deal with the refund, as well as draw-up a budget for the new financial year.
If you’ve got credit card debt, the best thing you can do is pay it all on the credit card. If you really need something, then pay it in cash – but not until you’ve paid off that credit card and you’re able to manage paying it off each month.
The good thing about tax time is you’ve got so much financial information in front of you, so use it to prepare a monthly budget of incomings and outgoings. It helps to understand how much money is needed at certain times of the year and when the large expenditures are due, such as car registration and insurance, quarterly utility bills and school expenses. There’s a few household budget templates online to assist. Here’s a few so you can decide which suits you best.
Google Docs (many to choose from)
2. Enrol to vote
It probably doesn’t take Einstein to figure out there will be an election sooner rather than later.
We know it won’t be 28th September as that’s the Aussie Rules Grand Final. But it could be any date from the end of August up until the end of September which is the date to which Greens Leader, Christine Milne, said her party would guarantee ‘confidence’ in the Government.
If you have a teenager who’s turned 18 since the last election in 2010, or if you’ve moved house since then, make sure you’re enrolled to vote in the right electorate. Voting in Australia is compulsory – but it’s also a great privilege and responsibility to have the right to determine who runs our nation.
If you’re not sure of what electorate you’re in, you can check here:
Australian Electoral Commission - electorate search
You can enrol or change your address online also.
Australian Electoral Commission - enrol
Australian Electoral Commission - change address
3. Row a boat (or pretend boat at least)
Have you been rowing? Either on the water or in the gym? If not, try it!
It’s a highly effective workout which is highly underrated, working your arms, legs, back and delivering a high intensity cardio workout. There’s also very little risk of injury.
If you haven’t tried it before, take it easy to begin with. It’s not as easy as it looks. Start with 5 minutes of 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds steady; and slowly work up to 15 minutes. Then you can get into time trials, such as how long does it take to row 1,000 metres or longer.
You’ll soon get an appreciation for just how fit the ‘oarsome foursome’ and their women counterparts (known as 'rowing chicks') are in the rowing regattas.
Have a great week!
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