Author Archives: Lily Sophia Madden

Online shopping has plenty of advantages: it’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s convenient. When you think of something you need or want at midnight, you can click a few buttons and buy it instantly – no relying on yourself to remember when you wake up the next morning!

But the things that make online shopping so good are the same things that make it dangerous. Online shopping addiction is just as prevalent as in-person shopping addiction, affecting roughly 5-8% of people. In some ways, online shopping can become compulsive even more easily than physical retail therapy, because we:

• Get to stay anonymous (fewer shame triggers)
• Can make purchases 24/7 (including at times when we naturally have less willpower)
• Have access to a massive variety of stores and products at our fingertips.

So, is it OK to keep adding to your cart? Maybe – as long as you’re staying within your budget and you know how to save money online shopping.

These online shopping tips to save money could help you keep your internet spending under control.

Cashback Websites and Coupons

The eCommerce space is highly competitive, which is why many retailers go to extreme lengths to earn your purchases. One way some sites do this is with cashback schemes, where they get a commission from your purchase (from the actual seller) and share part of that commission with you.

You essentially get the same product you were going to buy anyway, but you purchase it through a third party that refunds a percentage of the price (anywhere from 1% to 30% but usually around 5%) back to you (sometimes as a gift card or coupon).

Some of the top cashback sites in Australia, as ranked by Aussie Money Mum, include:

• CASHREWARDS
• ShopBack Australia
• CashBack Club
• Honey
• Swagbucks.

The Shopping Cart Trick

Have you ever abandoned your shopping cart after loading it with items, only to be hit with an email offering a discount on those products? Plenty of retailers use this tactic to close the deal, so you can turn the tables by intentionally leaving sites without completing your transactions.

If they don’t try this strategy to get you back within a day or two, just jump back in and complete your order anyway – no harm in trying!

Seasonal Sales

Unless you need a product urgently, it’s usually a smart idea to wait until a seasonal sale to snag it at the best possible price. If EOFY, Boxing Day, Cyber Monday or a Click Frenzy date is approaching, hold off a bit to avoid missing out on a bargain.

The same mentality can also be applied to seasonal products. Get a great deal on warm clothes when winter is wrapping up, or pick up some cheap beach toys and towels at the end of summer. This is a great way to save money online shopping as well as when shopping in stores.

Sign Up for Email Newsletters

This is one of our simplest online shopping tips to save money. Some online stores will give you an introductory discount just for subscribing with your email address, so keep an eye out for this offer.

They might follow up with exclusive offers via email, too. If they don’t, or if you find the email marketing tempts you to indulge a little too much, simply scroll to the bottom and unsubscribe.

Get Tech-Savvy

Websites often use “cookies”. These aren’t the delicious, chocolate-chip sort. No, these cookies are digital trails you leave that reveal your online browsing and purchasing behaviour.

With this information, some sites might raise prices on items you frequently browse and/or buy. You can negate this risk by regularly clearing your browsing data, ensuring every website treats you as a fresh customer.

Do Your Research

Just like shopping in person, it never hurts to compare prices before committing to a purchase. In fact, comparison shopping is nice and easy online – no walking or driving required. Just Google the item you’re after, then open the top few results in their own tabs to see their prices side by side.

Don’t forget to take varying delivery costs into account when comparing costs online.

Shop at Home, Pick Up in Store

Unless you get free shipping from a retailer, delivery costs can quickly add up when you’re shopping online. When you have the option and the ability to do so, consider choosing Click & Collect instead to save on costs while still enjoying the convenience of browsing online.

We hope these online shopping tips for saving money have given you some fresh ideas to keep your internet spending sprees within reason. If you need urgent money to buy something online, a quick cash loan up to $1,000 might be helpful – and you can apply with us 100% online as well.

Plenty of people are doing it tough during the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate hit a 21-year high of 7.4% in June 2020, with the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasting it could reach up to 10% by December.

Many of us will continue to struggle even when the world is recovering from the aftermath. So, as restrictions tentatively lift, now is a great time to think about how to make extra money from home.

If you’ve lost your job or had your hours cut due to COVID-19, here are some ideas for how to earn extra money to help you get by until things turn around.

Become a Virtual Assistant

If you’ve got the experience and/or administrative talents to pull it off, a virtual assistant role could be right up your alley during the pandemic. The demand for virtual assistants was already on the rise before COVID-19 struck, due to the increasing trend of people working remotely and with flexible schedules.

Prior to the pandemic, some experts were already predicting the number of virtual assistants to grow in 2020. Now, as all businesses are forced to reconsider their status quo, virtual assistants are almost guaranteed to become essential components of more organisations.

If you’ve got secretarial skills or experience as a PA or receptionist, freelancing as a virtual assistant could be a great temporary role to help you make extra cash. You may even like it so much that you decide to make it a permanent career change!

Download Some Money-Making Apps

Yes, there are apps out there that will pay you for your time, opinions, and efforts. We covered some of Australia’s best money-making apps in this article, where we looked at:

• Pureprofile (get paid to complete surveys, watch videos and visit websites)
• Cashrewards (get cash back when you shop at over 1,200 retailers including Woolworths)
• Twenty20 (submit photos and get paid whenever a subscriber licenses your pics)
• Field Agent (take on jobs like mystery shopping and comparing grocery prices)
• Receipt Hog (upload receipt photos to earn coins and turn them into gift cards).

Depending on the apps you choose, you might discover how to make money on the side without even leaving your couch!

Start a Blog

Blogging has been around for a while as an alternate way of making money. But in recent years, this pursuit has become more mainstream (and more lucrative) for Australians.

One of the more popular blogging niches is travel, but this isn’t a particularly viable direction in today’s climate. However, if you have expert knowledge, experience or passion in a specific area, you may be able to turn that into a thriving blog. Here are just a few of the 101 niches that Blogging Explorer nominates as potentially profitable:

• Nutrition and supplements
• Mindfulness (very important in today’s socially disconnected world)
• Gardening
• Arts and crafts
• Exotic cuisine (imagine a guide on making different countries’ signature dishes at home)
• Video game tutorials
• Frugal living (pertinent right now as many people are unemployed or on reduced salaries)
• Relationship advice
• Pregnancy and parenting
• Home-schooling (especially relevant at the moment).

Become a Delivery Driver

When you’re thinking about how to make extra cash during the coronavirus pandemic, the answer might be right in front of you – literally on your doorstep once a week (or more often for some of us!).

You’ve probably noticed that Uber Eats and Deliveroo drivers own the streets at night right now. If you’ve got a bicycle, motorbike or moped and free time during the day or evening, delivering food around town could be a tidy way to pad your pockets with extra money.

Alternatively, if you’ve got the qualifications/confidence to drive a truck, you may even consider becoming a driver for larger deliveries. With people turning to online shopping for their groceries and household items in unprecedented numbers, the demand for delivery drivers is high.

Sell Stuff Online

Feeling a bit cramped at home now that you’re stuck there more often? Wondering how to earn extra money? Take care of two birds with one stone by selling some of your non-essentials online.

While physical garage sales may not be a great option thanks to COVID-19, selling some things on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree could be a great way to clear some space and make some extra dough during the pandemic.

As you can see, there are quite a few routes to consider when choosing how to make extra money from home during the coronavirus pandemic. If you need a quick cash boost to help you get by while exploring one of these ideas, a fast $1,000 loan might be the solution.

For many of us, tax time is an exciting chance to get some money back and maybe splurge on something we’ve been wanting all year. But if you fall into one of these tax traps and get caught, your financial relief can rapidly spiral into money troubles.

Here are 8 examples of mistakes and things you cannot claim money for on your tax return. Take note and take care to avoid them.

#1: Double Dipping

You cannot claim expenses that your employer has reimbursed you for. Whether you’ve travelled for interstate meetings or picked up some extra stationery for the office, if your employer paid you back, it shouldn’t appear on your tax return.

#2: Claiming Rent or Mortgage

If you’re one of the many people who have been working at home a lot in 2020, you might think you can claim a portion of your rent or mortgage repayments. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Occupancy expenses are not claimable for employees.

#3: Not Making Any Deduction Claims

The biggest mistake you can make with your tax return is to not claim any deductions at all. With few exceptions, everyone accumulates at least some claimable expenses throughout the financial year. Don’t miss out by neglecting this section of your tax return.

#4: Travelling to and from Work

This one can be a little confusing at first. If your work includes travelling (e.g. between offices or to clients), you can usually claim a portion of your travel expenses. However, your transport directly between home and work is not eligible to be claimed.

#5: Proof of Expenses

If your tax return includes expense claims totalling over $300, you need to make sure you have written evidence to verify your expenses. Keep this proof for at least 5 years.

#6: Work Expenses That Aren’t Really Work Expenses

Any work expenses you claim need to be exactly that – related to your work. A gaming laptop shouldn’t appear on your tax return, for example, unless you happen to also use it for working at home. Similarly, a portable speaker wouldn’t be a claimable expense unless you’ve bought it to play music in the office.

When you’re considering claiming an expense, think about whether you could justify to an authority figure that it’s a work-related expense. If you’re unsure, it’s usually best to lean towards caution – or ask your accountant.

#7: Rushing Your Return

You might think getting your tax return in ASAP and completing it quickly is a good idea. But this can lead to mistakes that end up costing you in the end. Take your time to ensure you don’t miss any deductions or miscalculate any of your expenses. Also, make sure your bank details are up to date.

#8: “My Tax Agent Is Responsible”

Whether you prepare your own return or go through an agent, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring all the information in your claim is correct and accurate. If you make false claims – intentional or accidental – you’re the one who will face the consequences. So, take your time, calculate your expenses carefully, and always report honestly.

Tax time can be a great relief, but not if you fall into a tax trap. Keep these mistakes in mind while preparing your return to ensure you don’t get caught out.