Finding things to do for the kids over the Christmas break is sometimes difficult. Particularly if your budget is low.
Most advertised or popular activities come with a cost. Supervised activities will understandably come with an appropriate price tag and even traditional days out such as taking the family to the Zoo can quite simply be out of some people’s reach. At around $90 for a family of four some would say that if you’re there all day it can be considered quite reasonable but its really one of those activities most families need to budget for and work into the overall costs of their holiday spending. Just make sure to bring your own lunch as the extra costs with just a round of hot chips can quickly add up.
Like most things in life, holiday activities require an investment of either money or time. Even money for petrol for travelling to see the relatives over Christmas can come as a surprise if it’s not part of your financial plan.
Doing family activities such as planting a vegetable garden or a treasure hunt in the backyard requires the investment of your time but its time well spent. Daylight saving means that outdoor activities or even dinner picnics on the beach are possible for working parents and can be quite a stress reliever after a busy day. Getting fit with the kids may involve events such as Parkrun, which is a free weekend activity across many parts of the South Australia.
It is well worth checking out your local Library for holiday activities, depending on the age of your kids, as well as the Community Centres or even Church groups if you have a little faith. Finding things that are budget friendly generally means turning to a good old-fashioned smattering of public institutions such as museums and galleries or a visit to the various playgrounds. There are some amazing playgrounds such as in St Kilda and Noarlunga that can help wear the kids out well before nightfall and with a picnic lunch the best value. Make sure to pack the sunscreen.
There are also many sites online where you can get some great school holiday ideas such as:
whatsonforadelaidefamilies or playandgoadelaide
As you would expect most of these sites have rather an Adelaide focus with little in the country areas listed but promised for the future. That’s where the local community groups are the best bet. Even ASIC's Money Smart has tips for cheap school holiday ideas but limited as you can imagine to mostly riding a bike or reading or walking on the beach or the local playground.
Mixing up your holiday fun between low cost activities and some budgeted extravagances can make for great all round Christmas breaks that are memorable. No matter how you look at it, it’s a time invested in your kids and you're family well-being. Getting to know the games they love the best and helped by budgeting in order to make those special one off events you can all share, more affordable and possible.
This week Telstra in working with the Salvation Army has announced that once again they will provide a Christmas opportunity for you to connect with your family for free.
Between the 24-26 of December you will be able to use some Telstra services to talk to your loved ones for free. It is estimated that last year over a quarter of a million Australians spoke to their families for free using the payphone network. This year the Australian Telco icon will make available their landlines and WIFI hotspots to let you send out your Christmas greetings across Australia. (The offer does not include International, Mobile and other premium services such as 13 numbers).
Most people would be surprised that there are still almost 17000 payphones still in use around the country. The closet like, street corner wood and glass booth where you could hide from the weather are a distant memory now with the modern stylised payphone open to the elements already a relic from the past. But there are still many Australians who rely on these services. There are many who simply cannot afford to keep increasing their communication costs year after year and many who are homeless and have no way of "staying in touch".
The Salvation Army says that this Telstra offering is a great opportunity for those wanting to reach out to those they love without worrying about the cost.
“A phone call can go a long way in combating those feelings of isolation but many people find themselves without the technology or financial means to get in touch with their loved ones.’’
Some media have been a little snotty that the Telecommunications giant is not offering this to their mobile network or premium services. They sound more like Christmas Grinch editorial gripes rather than real criticism. Yes it’s a good promotion for Telstra and yes they’ll probably sell more phones as a result of the extra publicity but Telstra like many large companies don’t just give over the Christmas period. They provide real hardship programs for people needing financial assistance and work with Financial Counselors to write off unmanageable debts or provide payment plans that are realistic whilst others are very quiet on the frontline of assisting people with financial problems.
Telstra also provides mobile phones to people in need, as part of the work it does with The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Anglicare Australia and The Smith Family.
Many businesses will be giving, and receiving publicity this Christmas. So it may have the markings of an easy news story and good publicity for telstra but it doesn’t detract from the fact that it will bring a whole lot of joy to a whole lot of people this Christmas by connecting Australians with their loved ones.
On average there are two to three young carers in every classroom.
Young carers provide support for a parent, partner, child, sibling, relative or friend who has a disability, is elderly or frail, or who has a severe mental or physical illness. Carers SA has a special program to assist Carers under the age of 25 to help balance caring, study, work, and having a social life too.
Many young carers find it difficult to balance education with caring. Making it hard to concentrate at school or to have time to finish homework. Carers SA has a team who are experienced in speaking to carers under 25 and can provide support, information and referrals specific to your situation.
Does your teacher understand about your caring role? Carers SA Young Carer Workers can help in raising awareness of young carers in schools. In some areas Carers SA might also be able to help with tutoring outside of school hours, or assist with the cost of school uniforms and textbooks, and also help with getting you ready for the world of work – if they cannot help directly they can put you in touch with other support services who may be able to.
Carers SA will help you to reach your potential.
Doing the facebook rounds is the “Checkout 4 Schools”. The Checkout is a program on the ABC that uses comedy to reveal the scams and marketing tricks whilst highlighting your rights as a consumer. Between this program and “Gruen”, also on the ABC, you can get a reasonable insight into the way people are manipulated and perhaps why we have such a large personal debt issue in Australia. As well as being entertained.
This new Checkout schools show is similar to how the wiggles started their career visiting schools and building a following one school at a time. I can’t quite see a million dollar empire being created from a Consumer law program but considering the law backgrounds of many of the presenters on the program it is probably a good way for them to pay off some of their Law Degree Hex debts during the programs off season.
You wont find it on the ABC’s site as it is a commercial enterprise valued at $899, lets call it $900, for a one-hour show. Considering a school can have up to 240 students attending the show that’s $3.75 per child. If it manages to get kids thinking about their rights, that’s not bad value.
The need for a program like this does demonstrate that the world is a very “scammy” place. There are many people and companies looking to take advantage wherever they can and rip you off. Government funded watchdogs are increasingly being given more power to deal with anyone trying to take an unfair advantage and people are not as aware of their rights as they should be. Even the big Banks have in more recent times been reined in and dealt hefty fines with forced changes to their work practices to better protect disadvantaged people.
It is a buyer beware world and getting the message to kids early may stop a lot of marketing induced spending dependencies that may plague them for a lifetime. In particular the issues with fast money and dodgy payment schemes, that encourage us to enjoy now and pay later, and later, and later.
It may be for schools but parents will be the ones asked to fit the bill for this program. Unfortunately like art, music and sport the education system tends to push these categories into a user pays model as an extra curriculum activity requiring parental pockets for sustainability.
Perhaps the ABC will record the project and make it available for free to remote schools.
Ever felt stung by a retailer adding a transaction surcharge because you use a card?
Most people have just accepted this surcharge as a minor annoyance however some businesses have been charging a lot more than the actual costs they pay for these services. These businesses have been scalping even more profit from you and pretending it is an imposed fee on them.
Early last year, after complaints from consumers, changes were proposed to the laws that Govern the Credit, debit and prepaid card surcharge. In September changes to the laws came into effect and the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) after a bit of a razz up from the Government took aim at those blatantly gouging profit by adding more than the surcharge.
The real cost for these transactions should be between 0.5 to 1 per cent for payment by debit card, 1 to 1.5 per cent by MasterCard and Visa credit cards and 2 to 3 per cent for American Express.
On their website, the ACCC use the airlines charging a flat fee for flight bookings as an example. These charges on some flights clearly exceed the actual costs imposed by the transaction with many domestic flights working out to be 5 or 10 per cent.
The new rules are designed to make sure business only charge what should be the true cost of the transaction and not to use the charge to cheat consumers and gain extra profit.
The ACCC has recently claimed its first scalp with a large merchant being issued with four infringement notices and $43,200 in penalties. The government understandably is keen to promote this crackdown and says there will be more business exposed and fined in the lead up to Christmas. Sending a clear message to unscrupulous businesses trying to rip off consumers over the festive season.
The ACCC recommends that if you are not happy with a payment surcharge first discuss the matter with the business. Remember, businesses are allowed to charge a payment surcharge, as long as it does not exceed their costs of accepting that payment type.
Consider paying using a cheaper payment method. If a business charges a payment surcharge, you may be able to avoid it by paying in a different way. Different payment types have different costs of acceptance, so some payment types may attract a smaller surcharge, or no surcharge at all.
If you believe you are being charged an excessive payment surcharge contact the ACCC on 1300 302 502.
Another recommendation from the Financial Counsellors highlighting services available on the Affordable SA App and website that have greatly assisted their clients to get their financial situation back on track or that have helped to improve the outcome of the counselling.
Today's Counsellor recommendation is the Positive Lifestyle Program.
The program has been specifically designed to enhance your self-awareness, and to enable you to gain a better understanding of your personal life strengths. A more positive and improved self awareness can greatly help you to focus on the important financial aspects of your life.
Financial stress can impact on your self esteem and many aspects of your daily life. A financial Counsellor can help you to get control of your finances, this program can help you regain your inner strength and many other aspects of self esteem and future directions.
Download the App or check the website for more information about this program and other services that can help you regain control.
We often get recommendations from our Helpline or from Financial Counsellors about the services they recommend on the Affordable SA App that have greatly assisted their clients. Services that have in some part helped clients to get back on track or that have helped to improve the outcome of the counselling.
Today's Counsellor pick is SMART Australia.
Self Management and Recovery Training is a free, group program assisting people with any problematic behaviour, including addiction to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, food, shopping, internet and other scenarios that can impact on a person's well being, family environment or financial situation. Free weekly meetings are available Australia wide with meetings in South Australia in Murray Bridge, Elizabeth, Christies Beach, Mount Gambier, Moorak, Port Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Kingscote, Berri and Cadel. Check the locator to find your nearest.
Download the App, check the website for more information about this program and other programs that can help with similar issues.
The Affordable SA suite of services can help you to discover opportunities, support services as well as a range of information, practical tips and tools to assist your household to manage the Cost of Living.
The App and associated Website is not just a listing but a mobile guide providing information which uses plain language to make it easier to decide if you are eligible for a particular service or if it is worth pursuing for assistance in your circumstance.
South Australia is consistently recognised as an affordable place to live in comparison to other states. But even with careful budgeting, many households can face difficulties making ends meet. Rising costs such as power, water and the increase to the Emergency Services Levy, which are particular to the state, combined with stagnant salaries and Centrelink payments have meant many families are struggling and finding it even harder to make ends. The changing face on industry in South Australia shows some opportunity but creates issues for others.
The Affordable SA facebook page responds to current issues and shout outs for organisations represented on the service that are free or at low cost or can help with the cost of living. No service pays to be listed and the entries are not just limited to large organisations but includes the smaller community groups and not for profit programs that are rarely listed.
If you know of a group or such a service and do not find it listed on the App please let us know via the contacts or enquiries pages.
Ask any financial counsellor about Payday lenders and you will most likely be met with a shaking head of despair. ASIC has just raised an action against two companies and borrowers may receive a refund.
A payday loan is a high-cost short-term loan. Payday loans include small amount loans (loans of up to $2,000 that must be repaid between 16 days and 1 year) as well as loans borrowed over longer periods. Considering the amount of information and advice warning us about the associated problems with this style of lending you can be left wondering why this part of the industry seems to be thriving.
What most financial councillors are finding is that people just don’t have ANY money for emergencies. We are now paying for so many extras and its not just low-income earners caught with the cupboard bare. Outrageous power bills, unsustainable housing costs and even increased Government charges such as the Emergency Services Levy have eaten up any small savings people were able to make in the past. Savings they could draw upon for emergencies or normal credit card debt cycles.
These bills as well as the increased cost of living pressures are hitting people really hard and despite the warnings, the promise of so called easy money, without the hassle or at the click of a button, dressed in smart marketing sees many turn to Pay Day Lenders to deal with their emergency and set themselves on a track to a financial train wreck.
Looking through the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) website you can see a long list of issues involving Payday lenders. The most recent actions are against Good2Go and Web Money Line with both having received enforceable actions against them for not complying with the responsible lending obligations in the National Credit Code.
If you currently have a payday loan from these companies or have used these companies in the past it will be worthwhile checking to see if you could be in line for a refund. Contact the Financial Ombudsman Service or speak to a Financial Counsellor.
Financial Councillors are free, independent and confidential. 1800 007 007 to book an appointment or call the Affordable SA Helpline to access information, support, or referrals 1800 025 539
It is great that a body such as ASIC is helping to make sure people have some protection but these sorts of actions take time and many decisions or outcomes are too late to prevent this sort of bad deal debt impacting on people’s future financial stability. If you are looking at schemes ask yourself about the longer term aspects of the promised short-term financial relief.
See ASICS release on these Payday lenders
http://asic.gov.au/about-asic/media-centre/find-a-media-release/2017-releases/17-343mr-asic-concerns-see-good-to-go-loans-pty-ltd-stop-offering-loan-product/
http://asic.gov.au/about-asic/media-centre/find-a-media-release/2017-releases/17-344mr-asic-concerns-see-web-moneyline-pty-ltd-stop-offering-loan-product/
See more news about pay-day lenders from ABC news
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-22/dark-truth-about-payday-lenders-interest-rates-opinion/8828462