The next financial year could be a tough one. Here’s my plan for it

July 4, 2026 — 3:01am

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This new financial year – more so than for a long time – requires a whole new financial strategy. If you’ve heard the internet, Instagram and TikTok lingo, you need to get ‘moneymaxxing’ – or you’ll find it a lot more taxing.

Here are the steps I am taking.

Step 1: I’m not falling for the automatic $1000 deduction. Bundled into the mega-bill that included the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax (we’ll come back to that) was a gifted $1000 tax deduction for every Aussie, every year from now.

But the thing is: that might end up costing you money. I started carefully keeping all receipts for employment/business spend and anything deductible from July 1, so I know if works out better to simply claim it.

Step 2: I’m revising my bill-smoothing and bill-moving. Each year I add up all big, infrequent bills that don’t come out via direct debit (I never pay periodically if there’s a loading or penalty for doing so) and establish a new required savings figure from each pay.

This is called bill smoothing. But to make it work properly – it’s still possible to face a big cost when there’s not enough in the coffers – you might need to get bill moving.

There are two super giveaways and freebies of which everyone eligible should be availing themselves, every year.

The bills you can shift to a less expensive time of year by paying, say, six months instead of 12, include registration and insurances. And note that rates can mostly be by monthly instalment........

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