“Sign here. Three coins have been deposited into your new bank account.

Here is your BSB number, your account number, your debit card number, your telephone banking telephone number, your temporary PIN and your online banking temporary customer access number. You need to think of a strong password that includes letters, symbols and numbers.

If you have any trouble, you can call this number.”

“Uh, OK. Thank you bank.”

That’s pretty much all there is to it with banks!      … REALLY!?

Having a bank account for the first time is exciting, it gives you the freedom and responsibility to choose what to do with your own money!

But banks are not only where we can safely deposit or withdraw money, they are also giant complex companies known as “financial institutions”. The millions of bank transactions occurring every day actually keep the entire Australian economy working like a big machine. Together with all our contributions (however small or large), banks manage money, loaning it out to borrowers. The banking system is so big, in fact, that the government also loans money to banks. This keeps the banks buffered with enough funds to be able to lend to thousands of customers at any time.

People save money in the bank for many reasons; because of their budgeting requirements and living expenses, or to have a financial plan for life events in the future. People borrow money from the bank for many reasons; buying a car or a house are among some of the most common.

Banks also offer a range of other services like credit cards, direct debiting, PayID, insurance, instalment payment options (like buy now pay later), and large loans called ‘mortgages’ for buying a house over a long period of time. A bank can also invest your money in other companies and grow your wealth on your behalf.

We’ll now go into some of the ways that you’re most likely to interact with a bank.

• An everyday transaction account is a general type of account for making deposits and withdrawals for everyday reasons. The account has a linked plastic card to use at the ATM, or to make EFTPOS purchases in shops. If you don’t have any money in the account, you won’t be able to make the purchase. Everyday accounts should be free from bank fees, and easy to use. If you get a job, your pay, or ‘wages’ can be deposited into this account.

• Credit cards allow us to borrow money from the bank to buy things, without actually having the cash ready to do so. It’s not uncommon for your bank to encourage you to apply for a credit card, either by sending you letters or emails, or through notifications made in your online banking app. However, before issuing a plastic credit card, the bank really should take into consideration your current circumstances, and your ability to make the minimum repayments that you have signed up for. The bank will charge you interest on your purchases that haven’t been paid back in full. (for more information, check out the Credit cards asteroid in the Moneyverse!) Banks make a lot of money from credit card interest, so it works in their favour when you only pay the minimum amount, but not the full balance. It’s not really very responsible for banks to allow young people to have large credit card debt, but they do it anyway. If you have a credit card, you can ask your bank to reduce your credit card limit, so that you don’t get into a large debt.

• Bank statements are a record of all the activity, withdrawals and deposits impacting your account. The result of this activity is called the ‘closing balance’, which is usually calculated at the end of a month. Checking your bank statement regularly means you will notice if there is any unusual activity (in which case you need to phone the bank straight away!). It also shows you exactly where your money is going. Do you need to think about your spending habits? Review your savings plan for emergencies? Adjust your budget to reflect an amount that is actually being spent? Reviewing your account activity regularly helps you to manage your money as best you can.

• Bank branches (buildings) used to be on every main street. Now we rely more on ATMs and online banking, rather than going into the branch. But bank branches are still important to visit if you have questions, when starting a business, or want to talk about a loan. Being familiar with the people at your bank branch can really help when you need advice or assistance. (Your BSB number identifies a bank branch!)

Useful things to know

Make sure you are getting the best experience possible when you do banking:

• Banks rely on the authenticity of your personal identification. From the moment you take your identity documents to open your first account, write your signature, or use your fingerprint to open the banking app, you are proving your identity to the bank. To ensure the integrity of every transaction, and to prevent fraud, banks perform identity (I.D.) checks by matching your written signature, requiring strong passwords, requesting your secret personal identification number (PIN) to be used with the plastic card, or by two- factor authentication (for example, a text message is sent to your phone with a code number in it). You are required to keep passwords and PIN numbers secret at all times.

• To avoid paying account fees, ask the bank to help you open a basic account that has no fees for everyday transactions.

• Once you have one account, you can choose to open more. Give each account a nickname for example; Expenses, Savings, or My Holiday, so you can decide how much you want to deposit into each, and which one should not be touched! This is a great way to manage your money, and have a backup savings plan for unexpected expenses.

• Direct debits (automatic payment you set up to happen regularly) can be useful but be careful setting them up if you don’t have a regular income. Fees are charged when the direct debit is rejected because there weren’t enough funds in your account.

• Does your bank send you promotions about getting a credit card? Be aware that banks will promote credit products. You don’t have to sign up to a credit card contract. If you have an everyday debit card linked to your account, it means you’re only spending the money you have in your account, and not borrowing more money (‘using credit’) you don’t actually have. Having a debit-only card is the best way to stay on top of your money and avoid getting into credit card debt.

• How will my bank help me if I get into difficulty? Find out what they can do to help:
  • If I have my wallet stolen
  • For safe banking while overseas
  • When alerting the bank to an unusual transaction

• How do you choose which bank to use? Is it the same as your family or friends, or is it your personal choice?

What does my bank do to help others?

Some banks give a lot back to the local community through programs for sports facilities or by awarding grants (money) to small organisations.

Do you think it’s important to see your bank helping others?

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You probably already know a bit about your household bills
They’re a record of what we need to pay to a company because we have been using what they’ve supplied us. Gas, electricity and water bills are some of the most common, and these are known as utilities, so you might have heard the term ‘utility bills’.
You need to pay the bill by the due date, to avoid extra charges or any interruption to the supply.

Utility bills may have a small extra charge if you receive a printed paper bill delivered in the post. There may be a discount applied if you paid on time, or have a Centrelink concession card linked to the bill. It’s a good idea to locate these added items printed on your bill. If you are paying any extra charges, the company may provide a way to reduce them, like paying early, or getting an electronic bill instead of paper.

Have you ever read your electricity bill with a magnifying glass!? There is a lot of information on a utility bill and some of the most useful info is actually in the tiniest print.

Look out for:

• The number to call to ask about a cheaper rate – note! – the retailer must tell you if they have a better deal for your household, so it’s worth asking!
• The number to call if you need to explain that you’re having trouble paying. You can ask about paying in smaller amounts, or by a later date, or about reducing your overdue bill with a ‘utility relief grant’
• How to add a concession card number for discounted rates
• How to pay over the phone if you don’t have access to a computer or online banking
• The number to call if you need an interpreter to help you talk about getting a better deal from the company

Don’t forget that the utility retailer will also have lots of useful information on their website about reading and understanding your bill. There are also great tips on how to reduce your usage, especially in very hot or cold weather.

Even if your name is not on the bill, you can do things to help reduce the usage and lower the bill; every bit helps.

Useful things to know

Tips to help you manage your bills:

• Be aware that you may not be the account holder named on the bill, which means you are not authorised to speak to the retailer about the bill
• Having your name on the bill means you are responsible for paying on time, or making arrangements to pay. It also means that, if you have one, it’s your concession card that can be used to get a lower rate
• You can make a difference to the size of the bill by reducing your usage
• Not paying your bill risks disconnection of the service. Always make contact with the retailer even if you know you are unable to pay. It may be expensive to reconnect services so finding a solution is always the best option before a disconnection happens. A financial counsellor can also help
• Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 to speak to a financial counsellor if you have received a Disconnection notice

If you are unable to pay the whole bill by the due date in one lump, you can ask your retailer about paying in smaller, more regular amounts. This is called bill smoothing. The water or energy retailer may look at your costs over a full year and work out a payment plan for you, which could be an amount due each fortnight or each month.

If you have your bills on file, you could work this out yourself!

Take the total of a whole year of bills (check your billing period dates – for example, a whole year would be four quarterly electricity bills!) Divide your grand yearly total by 26 to see what your electricity costs are on average each fortnight. Arrange to pay that amount fortnightly, or simply keep putting it aside in a separate account, ready and saved up.

What is an ombudsman?

An ombudsman is a bit like your friend’s mum, or your favourite umpire – totally cool, calm and collected, and really good at getting things sorted out peacefully when the kids get into an argument.

If you are the account holder, and you have a problem with your water, gas or electricity retailer, or an ongoing problem with your bill, you first need to speak to your utility retailer. However, if the problem is just not getting fixed in the way that you thought, you can speak to the energy and water ombudsman.

They listen to your problem, and then go to the retailer and listen to them too. The ombudsman will make an assessment and tell you how they are going to sort out the issue efficiently and fairly for everyone.

There are ombudsman organisations for energy and water, telecommunications (TIO) and even banks (AFCA). It’s good to know how to contact the energy and water ombudsman in your state.

There are a range of concessions and discounts available to people, depending on your circumstances and where you live. Call the utility company first, however if you are having difficulty in obtaining utilities concessions or grants, and believe you are eligible, a financial counsellor may be able to help you.

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Have you ever made it to an online checkout only to be bombarded with payment choices? Options like Afterpay and  Klarna, promising ‘no upfront payments’ and ‘4 easy payments of $10’.

What they’re promising seems too good to be true – can you really buy a new mobile phone cover but pay nothing at all at the checkout? And if you do choose to use these services, is it really safe to commit to making payments in the future?

All of these payment options are known as ‘buy now pay later’ (sometimes called BNPL) services, which, as their name suggests, are a way of allowing you to buy something without paying anything upfront – instead, you can delay payment while still taking the item home on the day!

When you choose to use BNPL, you are making an agreement with a credit provider (that’s what we call the BNPL service you are using), locking yourself in to making repayments to them for the item over a set time. It’s important to remember that you have made a contract with the service, which obliges you to make repayments of the agreed amount at the agreed time.

If you have committed to a BNPL purchase, the service may direct debit payments from your account on the day that they’re due – taking money that you might have earmarked for rent, bills or other necessities!

BNPL services do not charge interest, which means you won’t pay more for your purchase because you’re putting off payment (this is often what happens when you use a credit card). However, if you don’t make a repayment on time, your BNPL service may charge you a late fee that can be as high, if not higher, than the instalment you should have paid.

BNPL isn’t a scam, and is perfectly safe to use – as long as you have made sure you will be able to make the repayments at the times outlined by the BNPL service. It can be a fantastic way of purchasing essential items that you can’t afford upfront – but it’s wise to be careful because a single late payment can lead to you paying almost double the amount you had initially planned!

Useful things to know

If you’re thinking of using BNPL, here are some important questions to consider:

• Can I afford the extra repayments in my monthly budget?
• When will I finish the repayments?
• Is my financial situation likely to change in the next few months? If it
  does, will I still be able to afford the repayments?
• How much are the fees if I am late to make a payment? How likely is it
  that I won’t be able to make a payment?

Some other important things to consider:

• Each BNPL provider may have different fees. Check what you are signing up for – fees can include establishment and monthly fees, late fees, and different payment amounts and lengths of payment plans.
• Delaying payment for any purchase can be a risk! It’s important to remember that whatever we don’t pay now we will pay in the future – and we can’t always anticipate what the future will look like! Our financial situation may change – our employer may reduce our shifts, or we may need to reduce work to focus on our studies – and these sorts of changes can have a huge impact on whether or not we will be able to make our repayments.
• Where can I get advice or help? Unfortunately, BNPL providers are not banks, and do not need to comply with banking regulations. Consumers have limited rights to complain about difficulties and poor conduct. This means that there is little that can be done if you think you have entered an unreasonable or unrealistic credit contract. But some helpful steps for you:

1. Tell a trusted family member or friend
2. Cancel your arrangement with the BNPL provider
3. Seek free advice from the National Debt Helpline

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I want to buy a car!

Getting your licence is a rite of passage – and having access to a car can mean freedom and independence.

If we can’t borrow a family member or friend’s car to get around when we need to, it might be time to get our own. Buying a car of our own is one of the bigger purchases we make – perhaps second only to buying a house!

But if you’re thinking about buying a car, it’s worth doing your research. I don’t mean just working out what model you want to buy, but also working out the total cost of buying and running a car, and the best way of buying a car to make sure you get a good deal and reliable vehicle (spoiler alert – there are lots of lemons out there!).

When you’re looking at a car you’re interested in buying, it’s a good idea to take someone, like a friend or family member, along with you. They can be a non-emotionally involved ‘sounding board’ for you. It’s even better if they know a bit about cars (or if you do!), so they know what to look out for before you commit to the purchase.

Useful things to know

Buying and running a car costs a lot more than simply the cost of the car and petrol.

If you live near public transport, and have other options for getting around, you might want to consider whether buying a car is your most cost-effective transport option. For example, a full-fare public transport pass might cost you as much as $1800 a year, which does sound like a lot of money. But, when you add up the yearly costs of a car, including registration, insurance, petrol, services, toll fares and parking, you’ll find that a car is substantially more expensive.

Here are the costs that you need to factor in when you’re thinking about buying a car (you might like to do a budget to make sure you can afford everything – see the About my money rocket! section in the Moneyverse for more information on budgeting)…

Did you know?

Electric vehicles are fast becoming an affordable option for young drivers. If you want to move away from petrol cars for environmental reasons, the growing range of electric cars being sold in Australia means that you now have a choice when buying an efficient small car.

It’s also becoming cheaper and easier to run an electric car: charging stations are being installed in very large numbers across towns and regional areas, which means that a charger is never far away. Car mechanics are also being trained to service and repair electric vehicles.

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There are all sorts of reasons why someone might not be able to earn enough money to live in our society. In order to cover basic living costs, they may need to access a government welfare payment from Centrelink.

Centrelink is a system, run by the Australian Government, that organises and provides financial help to Australians who are not earning enough money to live. This system is based on the idea that our government should provide assistance to those in our society who are experiencing disadvantage. Centrelink is a part of Services Australia, an Australian Government department that also oversees Medicare and other systems designed to help us. There are lots of reasons why someone might be eligible for a Centrelink payment – but not everyone is eligible all the time.

Centrelink is a complex system, and it can be hard to work out if you or someone you know may be eligible for a Centrelink payment. This quick list will give you a sense of who Centrelink can help – and the kind of payments that exist.

Many recipients of the Centrelink payments listed above are also eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card, or LIHCC. Having a LIHCC gives you access to discounted healthcare and medicines, a concession discount on your electricity and gas bills, concession price concerts and film tickets, eligibility for a public transport concession card, and many other discounts that depend on which state or territory you live in.

While Centrelink is designed to be a safety net, it doesn’t provide assistance to everyone who is struggling to earn enough money to live. And for those who do receive money from Centrelink, they may not always receive enough money to pay for everything they need. Centrelink can be a divisive issue – many Australian taxpayers are unhappy with the way it works, and the amount of help that Centrelink gives others. Some think Centrelink gives people too much assistance – and others too little. However, it’s important to remember that the core principle is that Centrelink exists to help Australians – so, while it’s an imperfect system, it’s still worth exploring if it can help you!

Useful things to know

If you think you might be eligible for one of the Centrelink payments listed above, you should apply! Centrelink exists to help Australians, and can help you if you are in one of the situations outlined.

If you are thinking of applying for Centrelink, here are some questions to ask yourself first:

1. Am I eligible? What am I eligible for?
2. How much will I receive per fortnight?
3. Where is the nearest Centrelink Service Centre?
4. How will my Centrelink payment interact with any other money I earn?

The application process can often be long and drawn out – you might need to call or visit a Centrelink Service Centre more than once. But it’s worth getting on to it as soon as you can – while your first payment will be delayed until your application is approved, you will be paid for the entire time between the date you applied and the date your application was successful.

In most instances (but not all), Centrelink will require an income and assets test to determine whether an applicant really does need Centrelink support. Centrelink also often requires that you lodge your fortnightly work history and income prior to receiving a payment – this ensures that your payment is adjusted to reflect any income you received during that pay cycle. It’s important to make sure your records are correct when you lodge your income, because you may be penalised for inaccurate records, and forced to return some of your Centrelink payment.

If you are currently connected with Centrelink, and either applying for or receiving a Centrelink payment, here are some guidelines to help you when you are contacting someone at Centrelink:

• Record who you speak with at Centrelink
• Make notes of what is said in the conversation with staff
• Ask for a receipt number every time you communicate with Centrelink
• Make copies of all documents you provide to Centrelink

If you or someone you know are receiving Centrelink payments, but you think there has been a mistake, help is available. Depending on where you live, your state may have a community legal centre that specialises in providing legal advice about Centrelink (in Victoria, this is Social Security Rights Victoria, and in New South Wales, this is the Welfare Rights Centre). If you are over 18, you can also speak to a financial counsellor. You can call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

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A credit card allows us to buy things without having the cash actually with us.

People often pay for things online, just by entering the credit card numbers and expiry date to complete a purchase. We need to be aware that when we pay using a Visa or Mastercard, we are also borrowing the money from the bank. We can have the item straight away and the credit card payment happens later. For allowing access to money on the credit card, the bank charges an interest rate, on top, which may be small, but compounds over time increasing the cost of your purchases. The monthly credit card bill details what has been bought and how much interest is accruing. It also tells you how much the minimum amount is that you need to pay.

Getting a fridge and couch ‘on finance’ directly from a big department store comes with similar credit card interest charges, and a repayment plan over many months.

Credit cards are a great way of making easy purchases, but it is important to understand that we are paying for items, later on. We need to be careful not to spiral deeper into credit card debt, which can happen because there isn’t enough money to pay the credit card off in full, or back to zero, and interest has accrued beyond our capacity to pay. All over Australia, there are people who find themselves in need of help with their credit card debt – in total, we owe billions! Yikes!!

You can calculate the interest payable on the link below.

Useful things to know

• We get to spend money on items at shops or online by simply tapping the card. You don’t need cash
• We can use the card to pay for phone bills, subscription services and utilities
• We can avoid the bank’s interest charges by paying back the money by the due date. This is called an ‘interest-free period’
• We can set a credit limit amount on the card to avoid overspending
• An alternative worth considering is a debit card. A debit card links directly to your bank account and only lets you spend money that you have
• We enter into a credit contract with the bank with every purchase; therefore how much you can afford for an item needs to be carefully considered
• There may be annual card fees and interest charges that make purchases more expensive than you first thought
• The bank makes you pay interest for the use of the money you have borrowed. It’s usually a percentage of the total amount owed – this percentage is known as the rate of interest
• We risk not being able to pay the bank’s monthly repayment amount. This could be for several reasons: your work shifts get cut, other expenses occur unexpectedly, or a friend borrows money from you
• If we can only afford to pay the minimum amount required by the bank each month, it can take years to pay off the item we bought!
• Losing your credit card, having it stolen or skimmed, means we could be hit with credit card debt from a thief’s unauthorised purchases
• We need to keep a regular portion of income aside for paying off credit card debt each month
• Have a think about your own ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. Taking time, an hour or even overnight, to consider whether you need to buy items can help to prevent overspending online (splurging!).

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Almost every single person in the world will need to earn money to live. Employment is the word we use to mean having a job and earning money.

While making money is likely the primary reason to get a job, it isn’t the only reason – employment can bring your life meaning and purpose, can stimulate you intellectually, and can help you build connections with your broader community.

Many young people work a few hours a week while they are still at high school or uni. Part-time work can be a fantastic way to gradually get work experience, while also learning new skills and increasing your confidence in the workplace. The earlier you get a job, the quicker you’ll start earning money and developing financial independence.

Although we must work, we don’t have to dislike working – remember the saying: ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’. We can factor in our sense of enjoyment and fulfillment when we’re choosing what we want to do as a job – it’s not all about money!

Kinds of work

In Australia, there are rules about how much someone should be paid. The minimum amount someone can be paid depends on the person’s age, experience, the kind of work they are doing, and the industry they are working in. In each industry, the amount someone should be paid is outlined in that industry’s ‘award’ – this is a legal document that outlines rates of pay. However, some workplaces may also have an ‘enterprise agreement’, which outlines rates of pay and conditions of employment for that particular workplace – if you work somewhere with an enterprise agreement, it is the rates outlined in the agreement, rather than the industry’s award, that should be followed. To find out how much you should be paid in your job, you can use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay calculator (link below).

Employment is also categorised into different types: the most common types are full-time, part-time and casual. If you are about to start your first job, it’s important to understand what kind of employment you have, as this will impact your job security, and the financial consequences of taking a day off when you are sick or have caring responsibilities.

Full-time employees work an average of 38 hours each week, and are usually employed on a permanent basis or fixed term contract (this means their work is relatively secure). They are entitled to annual leave (a holiday!), sick leave, and carer’s leave. Part-time employees work less than full-time employees (that is, less than 38 hours each week), but have many of the same working conditions. This means their hours are fixed, their work is relatively secure, and they are also entitled to annual leave, sick leave and carer’s leave (on a ‘pro rata’ basis). Casual employment is a bit different: casual employees don’t have job security – instead, they accept a job offer knowing that there is no promise of regular and ongoing work. Casual employees are also not entitled to annual leave, sick leave, and carer’s leave (when they take leave, they typically do so without pay). Because of these uncertainties, casual employees are paid more than their full- and part-time counterparts.

Rights at work

If you have just started your first job – or are thinking about getting a job – it’s important to know about your rights and responsibilities as an employee. This will help you to have a positive work experience, and to feel respected in the workplace.

Everyone has the right to earn a living through work that they have freely chosen. As an employee, you have the right to:

• Fair and equal wages
• Safe and healthy working conditions
• Equal opportunity for promotion
• Rest, leisure and the reasonable limitation of working hours
• Form and join trade unions.

Useful things to know

Having a job and earning money means financial independence! Employment should mean that we have money coming into our rocket, ready to be spent or saved as necessary.

To make sure that this is happening properly, there are a few things we should ask ourselves:

1. What records should I keep and what should I communicate with my employer about?

You should keep a copy of your employment contract (this should tell you your award or agreement, and your employment type). You should also keep each payslip you receive from your employer.

Your payslip is a record of what you have been paid in a single pay cycle, including what tax (if any) you have paid, what superannuation your employer has contributed, and what leave you have accrued (you can find out more about Tax and Superannuation by visiting their planets in the Moneyverse!). If you aren’t receiving payslips, you should ask your employer to start giving them to you every time you are paid.

2. Am I being paid correctly?

Keeping records of your contract and payslips will help you make sure you’re being paid correctly. Have a look at each payslip and ask yourself:

• Have all the hours I’ve worked been recorded?
• Have all my penalty rates been recorded? (Penalty rates may apply when you are working on a Sunday, a public holiday, or after normal working hours.)
• Has my superannuation contribution been recorded?

You can also use your payslip to make sure you’re being paid the award rate.

If you’re not being paid correctly (or your pay slip is incorrect):

• Speak to your employer
• Keep a written record of the hours and days you work – it may be helpful to email or text your employer with your hours each pay period
• Use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s letter template tool (link below) to help you draft a letter to your employer.

3. Can I get Centrelink if I also already earn money?

The amount of money you are eligible to receive from Centrelink will likely decrease once you start earning money. There are helpful calculators on the Services Australia website to help you work out how your work will impact your Centrelink payment. You can also find out more by visiting the Centrelink planet.

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Regardless of how we are traveling with our money, there can be unexpected expenses or life events that cause us to ‘wobble’ off course. When this happens, a financial counsellor can help us understand the issues, get back on track and move towards our goals.

So who are financial counsellors? Put simply, they are professionals who will listen to your story to understand your debts or issues with money, explain your options and help you to get back on track. They don’t judge your situation and they will always respect your choices. Even though the financial counsellor will find out and explain your options, you make the decisions and you are always in charge of what happens with your money.

Just some of the more common issues that financial counsellors deal with:

• Debts related to credit cards, for example when circumstances have changed and you can’t afford to make repayments anymore
• When your ‘buy now pay later’ payments build up and you can’t afford all the direct debits from your account
• When you can’t afford to pay your bank loan repayments
• When you have taken out a payday loan (fast cash loan) and the fees and charges have made it impossible to pay back
• When you have current utility (gas, water or electricity) debt, or old utility debt from previous places you’ve lived
• When you have debts or fines that were caused by someone else, but are in your name.

Financial hardship (being unable to pay for everyday expenses) is a different experience for everyone, and can happen totally unexpectedly. If you were to get sick and be unable to work, or if you suddenly had to take care of someone else, bills and expenses could build up very quickly. Dealing with your money concerns on your own can be isolating and overwhelming, especially if you have to juggle or prioritise one debt over another.
Sharing your story with a financial counsellor and working with them can really help to get you back on course.

Financial counsellors can also speak on your behalf (another word for this is ‘advocate’) if you aren’t sure how to talk about your issue with the bank or the company. It can be really hard to know what to say, or to know what your rights are when something has gone wrong. A financial counsellor can help by doing the talking and negotiating to try to get the outcome you’ve chosen. Options may include an affordable payment plan, a temporary pause on payments, a waiver, or a fair outcome that you agree to.

An added bonus is that you get to experience the financial counsellor working with you to prioritise the issues and take action. You will start to see how you can take action too! Being able to speak up, ask questions, and take back control of your money situation is very empowering. Learning about your money and your rights from a financial counsellor is like building your own money repair kit for the future.

There are some useful numbers below if you think you would like to contact a financial counsellor.

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A fine, also called an ‘infringement notice’, is issued if we are caught breaking the law.

The most common examples are:

• Parking for too long where the parking signs display a time limit
• Travelling on public transport without a valid travel pass or concession card
• Not obeying a traffic signal while driving.

Depending on the type of fine, there are different ways we might receive the notice. It could be:

• ‘On the spot’ – a good example of this is on the train, issued to you by a transport officer
• Attached to your vehicle if you overstay, or park in the wrong spot
• In the post – for example, if your car was photographed by a roadside camera, and the infringement notice has been mailed to the address where the car is registered.

Unfortunately, fines have to be paid. They don’t go away, even if you move house. If you just ignore it, it will become more serious and additional costs may be added.

It’s good to know that sometimes we can question whether we really are liable for paying the fine. For example, if you were not the driver of the car when it was speeding, or you had special circumstances for parking where you did (like an emergency). If you believe you have been unfairly issued with a fine or that there is a valid reason your fine should be withdrawn, you may be able to ask for the decision to fine you to be reviewed.

Although incurring a fine can be a bit of a shock, there is help to deal with them, or appeal in special circumstances. But we do need to act, as a fine will not go away! If you’re over 18, you can see your local financial counsellor to help you through the process. You can also phone the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

Where the fine has become a court matter, the financial counsellor may refer you to a community legal centre for free legal advice.

Useful things to know

If you have incurred a fine and you are able to pay, you must do so by the due date.

If you can’t pay, it’s important to contact the issuer of the fine straight away.

Ask about your options, such as:

• an extension to pay
• paying in instalments
• Centrelink payment deductions via the Centrepay facility
• doing unpaid community service, or personal development e.g. a ‘work and development permit’
• getting a caution (for example, if you have a mental illness or an intellectual disability or are homeless).

Remember, there are also avenues to appeal if you do not think that the fine was valid. If you are in this situation, ask the issuer of the fine about appeal processes.

Did you know?

NASA was fined 400 dollars for littering in 1979, when a disused American space station called Skylab crashed to earth. Large pieces of metal debris landed around the town of Esperance in Western Australia, littering a large area. There was shock around the world at the news of all that mess! You can see the fine, and pieces of Skylab in the Esperance Museum. NASA didn’t pay the fine.

Do you think the fine of 400 dollars was enough!? How much do you think NASA would owe today, if we added all those years of late fees and charges!?

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If you or someone you know is in financial hardship, then you may have noticed they are feeling stressed, and are saying something like:

‘I just can’t make ends meet!’, ‘I’m stuck in the red!’ or ‘I’m in it up to the eyebrows!’

Money is mixed up in our lives in so many ways, so when something impacts us in life, it will likely impact our money situation.

The great news is that in our community, there are systems and structures already set up to recognise that people experiencing hardship need to be supported to get back on track.

By definition, financial hardship means you are having trouble paying bills or loan repayments when they are due. Financial hardship can also impact your ability to pay for everyday essentials like your home or rent payments, food, your essential bills, and health needs. It can happen to anyone, and often quite unexpectedly.

So even if you are having trouble, you still have rights and you can access help – just like anyone else. There are also laws in place to protect you, and to make sure that banks, and other companies you may owe money to, treat you respectfully and help you to find a way forward.

An example of a system designed to help is the bank hardship assistance department. Did you know that every bank has a hardship assistance team who are there to help you if you are falling behind with payments? You just have to ask, and you can be connected to a helpful team member. Read below to find out more about other examples of assistance.

I am in financial hardship, what rights do I have with my bank?

• All banks have a special team called a ‘financial hardship assistance team’, who are there to help you. You have the right to ask about your options, like extra time to pay, or a repayment plan. The bank’s team will treat you respectfully, and help you find ways to manage and meet your obligations.

I am in financial hardship, what rights do I have with a debt collection agency?

• If you didn’t pay your bill for a long time, the company you owe may have sent the debt to a debt collection agency. You have the right to be treated respectfully by debt collection agencies – this includes the right to speak to their hardship assistance department. There are also rules around how often a debt collector can text, phone, email or write to you.

I am in financial hardship, what rights do I have with my utility company?

• If you owe money to a gas, electricity or water company, they also have a ‘financial hardship assistance team’. You just have to state that you are in hardship and need to speak to them about your options. They can make an arrangement with you to pay off the debt in instalments, make sure you are on the best deal and receive any concessions you are eligible for, and can help you to keep up with paying for your current usage.

If you think you may be in financial hardship, or if you are having trouble with banks, debt collectors or other companies, a financial counsellor can help you.

Check out our Moneyverse astronaut Financial counsellors to read about what they do!

If you need more urgent support for food or other daily essentials, check out our Moneyverse doggy astronaut Support for emergencies

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You may have considered that if you continue on from school to higher education, you are going to have to pay expensive course fees.

It is impossible to expect a young person to have many thousands of dollars ready to pay for their education. What can you do? To help young people pay for their study journey, the Australian Government has developed financial schemes, like HECS-HELP, to assist you.

Without any government assistance, you can be billed around $22,000 per year for a TAFE course, and an undergraduate university degree could be around $33,000! Most courses are three years of study!

Getting government assistance with your study fees means that many students have a HECS-HELP debt after their course is finished. This debt is carried through your study journey into working life.

Depending on the type of financial scheme and the course you want to enrol in, the government may pay for some or all of your course fees. Fees left for you to pay may be allotted to a long-term interest-free loan, where you are only obliged to start paying money back once you earn over a certain amount.

Glossary

The words for government financial support schemes, and how they work, can be confusing at first. Here are some words to get to know:

With any decision about committing to study, it’s important to know what you may have to pay for your other living expenses. Finding out what equipment you are going to need or how you will attend classes before you enrol is a great way to work out how much money you’re going to need during your studies.

Depending on which state you live in, there may be other state government supports that are available to you. And once you have enrolled, your new uni or TAFE will have lots of support services for new students. Ask about what they can offer you. Often there are grants of money and scholarship payments, especially for students in particular circumstances.

Useful things to know

• Are you eligible for a HECS-HELP loan? Refer to the information in the links below

• HECS-HELP loans are interest free and, if you don’t earn above the repayment threshold amount, you don’t make any repayments

• Once you earn over the threshold amount, currently about $48,000 per year, a compulsory repayment from your work wages begins. The amount increases as you earn more.

• There are other daily living expenses to consider when becoming a tertiary student. Find out as much as you can before you enrol. Working too much to pay for essentials while you’re trying to study can be very overwhelming for a student.

• If you are studying something that you find interesting and engaging, that will assist you in finding a job in the field you would like to work in. You might feel that your HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP debt is totally ‘worth it’. If you don’t think your course is assisting to achieve your goals, it may not be worth the debt you are accumulating.

• Are there any student scholarships or bursaries available for the course you want to complete?

• Are you eligible for any Centrelink benefits while you study? These benefits include: Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY. Find out if these are available to you. Students with complex circumstances (including those who study remotely, must travel from a remote location, have a disability, have carer responsibilities, or are from a culturally or linguistically diverse background) may also be eligible for other financial support, such as travel allowances and respite care

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What does it mean to ‘help someone to manage’?

When you care about someone, it’s natural to want to help them when they have a problem. This might mean making them a pot of soup if they’re feeling unwell, or giving them a lift to school if they’re running late.

But things can be trickier when money is involved. If a family member or friend finds themself in a tight spot – they lose their job, they’re struggling to pay off a debt, they receive an unexpected fine – they might come to you for help – or you might feel tempted to reach out.

Of course you’ll want to help someone in a difficult situation, but the solution doesn’t have to be just loaning them money! There are other ways to support someone you love who is experiencing a money problem. In fact, giving someone the ability to help themselves out of a tight spot can be empowering.

Other ways to help

If someone you know has a money problem, you can provide them with information to help them find appropriate assistance. This might involve:

• directing them to other safe ways of accessing the money they need
• giving them resources to help them learn more about their situation
• giving them the contact details of a professional who might be able to help.

The astronauts in the Moneyverse have information about all these support services – any support service listed that is useful for you will also be useful for everyone you know! Check out the astronauts Support for emergencies and Financial counsellors to find information that may help your friend or family member.

Informal lending

But what if someone does ask you for money? Or you’re considering offering a loan to someone in a tight spot? Is it wrong to lend money to someone you know?

Of course not! But a word to the wise – loans between friends can lead to tension if both people are not on the same page…

People can have very different approaches to money and borrowing – and it’s completely normal that these differences exist! The way people have been brought up to view money can vary greatly – for example, some families might give weekly pocket money in exchange for chores, others may give pocket money for no chores, and others may give no pocket money at all! So, before you lend someone money, it’s important to have an open conversation about what your expectations for repayment are – and to see if they match the other party’s expectations.

Even if everyone is on the same page, there can still be emotional challenges when money is owed between friends and family – like feelings of guilt, shame and judgment. Bad feelings can also grow if someone comes to feel disrespected by the other party. Lending money can strain a relationship to the point of damage – and sometimes that damage can be beyond repair.

And even if everyone has the best intentions, it’s still possible that the person you lent money to won’t pay it back. To protect your relationship, it’s worth preparing for the worst-case scenario – what would happen if the money wasn’t returned? Ultimately, when you’re deciding whether to loan money to a friend or a family member, you should ask yourself ‘Can I afford it if I never see the money again?’ And then, perhaps, a follow-up question – ‘Can I accept it if I never see the money again?’ If you don’t think you’ll be able to move on in the event that your friend of family member does not pay you back, perhaps it’s safer not to loan the money in the first place.

Useful things to know

So what should you do when someone you care about needs money? Should you loan them the money they need?

These steps can help you think through a tricky situation:

• Assess your financial situation: Before agreeing to lend money, it’s important to understand your own financial situation. Take a look at your current expenses and determine whether you have enough money to lend. If you don’t, it’s okay to say no. If you do but still don’t feel comfortable lending the money, it’s okay to say no.
• Consider alternative options: If you don’t think that lending money is the right choice, either for you or your friend/family member, there are alternative options you can suggest – check out the Moneyverse astronauts for more information.
• Set clear boundaries: If you do decide to lend money, it’s important to set clear boundaries upfront. Discuss the terms of the loan, including the amount and repayment schedule. Put everything in writing to avoid misunderstandings later.
• Don’t let guilt or pressure sway your decision: It’s natural to feel guilty or pressured when a loved one asks to borrow money, but it’s important to remember that it’s ultimately your decision. Don’t let guilt or pressure sway you into making a decision you’re not comfortable with.

Lending money to someone you care about can be a complicated situation, but by setting clear boundaries, being honest, and not letting guilt or pressure sway your decision, you can navigate the situation more confidently.

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If someone you know is experiencing a money problem, help is out there! As a starting point, have a look at the astronauts in the Moneyverse Support for emergencies and Financial counsellors. They contain information about support services – any support service listed that is useful for you will also be useful for everyone you know!

Moving out of home is a huge step for everyone.

Sometimes, it might feel that there’s just so much you have to know, and that it’s impossible to get your foot in the door (literally!) – particularly when all we seem to hear about are ‘rent crises’ and ‘interest rate rises’ (I mean – what even are those, anyway?)!

In this section, we take you through how the system works and what you need to know if you’re thinking of moving out of home.

In Australia, people typically live in homes that they either own or rent. Most young people moving out of their parents’ homes for the first time will move into a rental property – that’s because buying a house is extremely expensive (we’ll talk about that briefly below).

Renting a home

‘Renting’ means living in a house or apartment you do not own, for a period agreed upon by both you and the person who owns the property (known as the landlord). Those living in the property (known as tenants) will pay rent to the landlord – usually in monthly instalments. While you are renting, you can’t make changes to the house or apartment, and you have to follow the rules laid out by the landlord (there are laws about what rules are reasonable and unreasonable to ask of tenants). In return, you, as the tenant, have the right to peace and privacy from the landlord for the duration of your tenancy.

Buying a home

For most people, buying a house is the most expensive purchase they’ll ever make. It’s not likely to be something you’re thinking about doing now. However, the housing market makes up a big piece of Australia’s financial system – and you’ve likely heard about parts of it in the news – so it’s worth explaining how it works.

Useful things to know

If you want to start looking for a house to rent, there are a few things you need to think about before you start applying:

• Renting is expensive, so, if you’re thinking about moving out of home, it’s important that you have a steady income and a secure job. You will also need to know how much you can afford to spend on rent each month so you can look at rental houses within your budget. Check out the About my money rocket! section in the Moneyverse if you want to learn more about doing a budget.

• You will need at least two months’ rent saved before you start looking for a rental property – when you sign a lease, you need to be able to pay one month’s rent in advance and the bond – all in one go.

• Renting costs more than just your rent – you’ll also need to pay for household bills (electricity, gas, water usage and internet). It might be useful to develop a budget to see how much these will cost on top of your rent. If you are living with other people, remember that the person whose name is on each of the bills is liable for 100% of the bill even if it is the other housemates who don’t pay their share – so be careful! For more information about sharing expenses with housemates, check out the Sharing fairly satellite in the Moneyverse!

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Insurance is a way of protecting ourselves from the full financial impact of something going wrong.

It works something like this: if we want to protect ourselves from having to pay everything to fix a situation after an unlikely (but possible) event or disaster, we can purchase insurance from an insurance company. Paying a yearly amount for the insurance means that, if the event ever occurs, the insurance company will protect us (or ‘cover’ us) financially from having to pay the entire cost of fixing things up.

When deciding whether to take out insurance, we are also considering the likelihood that a particular event (that is, a bad event!) will occur. Some young people think nothing bad will ever happen to them, so getting insurance might feel like a strange decision – but the possibility that something could happen to you, like an accident or injury, is quite real.

People make choices about how much insurance they need based on all sorts of reasons. Decisions may be influenced by the actual value of the item that we want to be able to replace, like a car. They may also be influenced by an event, or real experience, or the experience of someone we know.

Our decisions might also be informed by location and living situation; for example, a person living in a remote forest area may have very different insurance to someone living by the sea. Someone who cleans windows on skyscraper buildings may have different insurance cover compared to someone who manages a stable of horses. A person renting their home may have different insurance cover compared to someone who has a family to support and a large home loan to pay.

In all cases, insurance cover protects us from incurring enormous costs if something happens that changes our living circumstances, or prevents us from being able to work. Another way to describe it would be that we are putting the financial load of an incident onto the insurance company, while we pay a much lower price. The price we pay is called the premium.

Insurance companies can also add an extra payment that you pay at the time of the incident called an excess. Paying a higher excess means the premium is lower, but you’ll be lumped with the excess at the time of the incident when you make a claim. The details, terms and conditions of the insurance product is known as the policy.

There are different types of insurance, and although some are more relevant to people who already have a car and a home, it’s worthwhile knowing a bit about the insurance that is available:

Useful things to know

Insurance premiums are usually paid once each year, so while paying the insurance premium is important, it can easily be forgotten. Make sure you have any yearly insurance expenses listed on your budget, and divided into monthly or fortnightly amounts that you can save for, so the bill doesn’t come as a shock! If you are having trouble paying important insurance premiums, ask the insurance company about paying in smaller amounts more often.

You probably don’t have to have a lot of insurance as a young person, unless you have particular complex health needs. It is important though to think about the sorts of things that could happen, like falling off your bike or getting injured playing sport, where you may need an ambulance to get you to hospital.

If you don’t think you need any insurance yet, perhaps just consider ambulance insurance – we hope that we never need it, but we want to be covered so we’re not billed for thousands of dollars if an ambulance is called to take us to hospital.

Do you have ambulance cover?

Check carefully to see whether you are covered for ambulance trips in your state.

In some states, like Victoria, you need a health care card, or ambulance membership, to be covered for short trips (the ambulance insurance cover is known as the ‘membership fee’). Paying a small yearly amount is well worth it because, without ambulance cover, you could be billed $1200 or more for your trip!

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Once we’re earning money, we start making decisions about what we’re going to do with that money.

We will use some of it to purchase the things we need to live, like food and housing, but we also need to decide what to do with the money we don’t spend.

Many of us will put the money we save in a bank account, where it will be safe until we need to access it. But others may instead decide to invest the money they haven’t yet spent.

Investment is the act of putting money into something with the expectation of making a profit in the future. People invest money with the hope that the original amount they invested will increase as the thing they have invested in increases in value. However, investing is a risk – if the thing that someone has invested in loses value, they may lose all or some of the original investment.

How investing works

People invest because there is the potential to earn a higher return on their money than they would get from simply keeping it in a savings account. For example, if we invest $100 in shares that increase in value by 10%, we would earn $10 in profit. Over time, those small gains can add up.

However, investments can also fail to grow and provide the benefits we hoped for. For example, if we invest $100 in shares that decrease in value by 10%, we would lose $10. To combat this risk, people often ‘diversify’ their investments, which means investing widely in many different things, rather than putting all their eggs in one basket.

Another important concept to understand when it comes to investing is the concept of compounding. This is when we earn interest on our initial investment, as well as on any interest that we’ve already earned. Over time, this can lead to exponential growth in our investment. For example, let’s say we invest $1,000 in a mutual fund that earns an average return of 8% per year. After the first year, our investment would be worth $1,080. In the second year, we would earn 8% on that $1,080, bringing our total investment to $1,166.40. Over time, those small gains can compound to a significant amount of wealth.

What sort of things can we invest in?

There are many different types of investments that people can make, but some of the most common include term deposits, shares, and real estate. Each of these investments comes with its own set of risks, hidden costs and potential benefits. Sometimes, people choose to invest in someone else’s business venture, which provides the business with some initial money to help get it off the ground, although this is more risky again.

We’ll now go through some of the more common kinds of investment.

• Term deposits are a comparatively low risk investment, and are not dissimilar to a savings account you might have with your bank. However, unlike a savings account, when you invest in a term deposit, you lock your money away for a certain amount of time (the ‘term’), and cannot withdraw or access it before the end of that term. In return, you get a fixed interest rate, which is higher than most bank accounts. The longer the term, and the more money you invest, the higher the interest rate. However, you need to be sure you won’t need to access the money you put in a term deposit before the end of the term.

• Shares are higher risk investments, which means that, while the return may be greater, the potential for loss is greater too. When we buy shares, we are buying a small share of a much bigger company. When the company is performing well, our small share of the business becomes worth more than we paid for it. However, when the business performs poorly, our share of the business may be worth less than we paid for it. As you may have noticed if you’ve ever looked at the ‘business’ section of the news, companies are constantly changing in value – every day, the value of a company changes slightly from its value the day before. Ultimately, when we invest in shares, the aim is to sell them for more than we paid for them, but this means they’re often a longer term investment – meaningful changes in value happen over a long period of time, so we will likely have to ride the highs and lows of fluctuating share prices in the meantime.

Many people also choose to invest in real estate. This means buying property, like a house, either to live in or to rent out. Of course, this sort of investing can only happen when you have already saved a substantial amount of money. Visit the Housing planet to find out more about how buying a house works.

There are also a few other, less common investments you might have heard of, including cryptocurrency, racehorses, paintings, gold, jewellery and watches.

Useful things to know

If you’re thinking about investing some of your money, it’s important to remember that investing always involves risk. Although not all investments involve the same amount of risk, there is no such thing as a risk-free investment. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the expected return, the higher the risk of losing money.

If you are in a precarious financial situation and considering investing some of your money, it is worth thinking about whether you can afford a bad return on that investment. Can you afford to never see the money you have invested ever again?

If you are planning to invest, here are some golden rules, borrowed from the MoneySmart website, that will help you remain financially safe and secure:

• Pay off your debts first — pay off any loans, like a credit card or personal loan, before you invest
• Have emergency savings — aim to have enough set aside to cover three months’ expenses, so you won’t have to sell an investment if you need cash quickly
• Develop an investing plan — define your financial goals, risk tolerance and investment time frame
• Diversify your investments — spread your money across and within asset classes to lower your portfolio’s risk
• Keep track of your investments — review them regularly and make sure you’re on track

And remember, past performance is no indication of future performance – an investment may have made good returns one year, but this is no guarantee that it will continue to make good returns in the future.

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What’s the deal with mobile phones? There are so many ways to pay for them!

Having a mobile phone is an essential part of being an adult – it’s a way to keep in touch with your work, family and friends, and also a tool to help you navigate the world. Phones are often expensive, but there are lots of different ways to pay for them, depending on the kind of phone you’re looking for – and the budget you have.

Aside from choosing which phone you want, the biggest choice you’ll make is whether you want a prepaid or postpaid mobile phone plan. If you opt for a prepaid mobile phone plan, you will pay for your phone calls and data before you make them, which means you will only use what you can afford to pay for. If you opt for a postpaid mobile phone plan, you can use your phone as much as you like – and you will then be sent a bill for your usage at the end of each month. This bill also often includes a monthly instalment for the phone itself – particularly if the phone is the newest (and most expensive!) model. If you are postpaying your phone usage, you will have to sign a contract that locks you into paying for what you use.

So what is a contract?

For lots of young people, a mobile phone purchase might be the first contract they’re asked to sign. But when you sign that contract at the Telstra shop, what is it that you’re really signing? What’s all that fine print about? Did you just unknowingly sign away your soul?

Sometimes we need – or want – to buy something that we can’t afford. When this happens, we might decide to purchase the item ‘on credit’, which means we pay some of the cost upfront, and agree to pay the money we owe in future instalments. A credit contract is a verbal or written agreement between a consumer (the person buying the item) and a provider (that’s the shop or seller). It outlines the amount the consumer has borrowed from the provider, the repayments that are due and the interest rate and fees. When you sign a contract, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions laid out in it – and these become your obligations upon signing.

But what does all of that mean? Let’s go through some of those key terms now.

• The terms and conditions in a contract outline all the rights and responsibilities that both parties (that is, the consumer and the provider) have once the contract is signed. The consumer will need to indicate that they have read and understood these terms before they are allowed to sign the contract – most often, you can do this by ticking a box. Remember: it’s important that you understand what the terms and conditions of a contract are before you tick that box!

• Repayments are payments that the consumer is required to pay back to the lender at regular intervals in order to settle the debt they owe. The contract will outline how big these repayments are – and how often they are due. Make sure you can afford the payment schedule as it is outlined in the contract.

• Interest is the cost the consumer pays in order to borrow money (this is a cost on top of the amount of money they have borrowed). Interest is usually expressed as a percentage of the amount of money lent. The consumer most often pays this interest gradually, paying off a little bit with each repayment – but the overall cost of this interest can be fixed or variable. Fixed interest is determined in the contract and will not fluctuate over the term of the loan. In contrast, variable interest rates can go up and down over the term of the loan. If you’re thinking of signing a mobile phone contract, you actually don’t need to worry about interest – mobile phone contracts with telephone providers charge 0% interest. This means that we won’t have to pay an additional amount because we have borrowed from the phone company for the phone.

Useful things to know

Entering into a credit contract allows us to take home an item that we would not have been able to afford upfront. While this is incredibly useful for expensive purchases that are essential for school or work – like a computer, for example – there can be risks too:

• If we sign a contract, we commit ourselves to making regular payments for a number of months or years. It can be hard to anticipate how our financial situations may change over that time, so it can be risky to commit to large monthly repayments.
• If our payments are late, we may be charged a fee (these are outlined in the terms and conditions), and these additional costs can get out of control quite quickly.

If we enter a two year mobile plan contract but then lose our job, we will still need to find another way to continue our repayments for the remaining two years. While it is possible to cancel a contract, this is accompanied by a large (and often unaffordable) early cancellation fee.

So when you’re choosing your phone, and how you want to pay for it, here are some questions you can ask yourself to help work out what phone is right for you:

1. What do you need your phone to do?

Think about the calls and texts you make, and the amount of data and kind of coverage that you need.

2. What is your budget? How can you afford to get a phone that does what you need it to do?

Depending on both your budget and your needs, you may prefer a prepaid phone over a plan. Simple handsets can be purchased using the prepaid option (for example, $30 per month) – this option is safer if your financial situation changes frequently, or if you don’t want to commit to paying off your phone for the next two years.

3. Do you really need all the features you think you do?

If you don’t think you can afford the phone you’d like, it might be useful to consider whether any of your mobile phone ‘needs’ may instead be wants – this can help you choose a more affordable phone and plan, which will reduce the risk of money trouble down the line.

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A scam is a deceptive act that is designed to cheat someone out of something. Most of the time, scams are designed to trick someone into giving their money away. Someone who scams others is known as a ‘scammer’.

Scams can happen in many different contexts – in person, on the phone, at school, within families – and especially on the internet. Just as the internet makes it easier for us to do lots of everyday activities, it has also made it much easier for scammers to find victims and to hide their own identities while carrying out their crime.

Scams can be incredibly clever and convincing – for example, it’s not unusual to receive a scam text informing you that you have a package at a local post office exactly when you are expecting a package! Well-planned scams are often designed to catch us off guard when we’re busy or distracted, or to tap into an existing feeling or obligation that we have.

The trickiest thing about scams is that they’re constantly evolving, and scammers always seem to be one step ahead of the rest of us, looking for new ways to make their scams more realistic and effective. By the time we identify a new scam and work out how it works, you can bet that scammers are already developing an even newer scam that uses techniques we’ve never even heard of. This means that it can be hard to distinguish a scam from something real, because scams are becoming more and more lifelike.

Scammers contact people via all kinds of communication and social media channels, including phone, text, email, and online messaging platforms. Some of the common scams that you might encounter include:

• ‘Hi mum’ or family impersonation scams – in these scams, a scammer convincingly impersonates a member of our family in a text message, and pretends that this family member has an emergency and is in need of a quick bank transfer.

• Online shopping scams – these kinds of scams include fake billing or false invoicing, which is where a website claims there was an urgent problem with our payment and asks us to pay again. We should be careful buying online, particularly when using websites we’re not familiar with, and should look out for fake offers of discounts or prizes.

• False parcel delivery – a common scam involves text messages that claim to be from Australia Post (or other delivery services) – be careful when opening links in texts like these.

• Gaming and gambling scams – scammers may make contact with us through gaming platforms, gaining our trust, before they indirectly steal both our identity and our funds. So, we should be careful when making contact with gaming partners online.

But these are just a few examples – there are so many more!

Useful things to know

Although scams can be scary, there’s no need to panic. Knowing about scams and the techniques that scammers use can help us to protect ourselves. There are also some ‘golden rules’, outlined in the ACCC’s Little Black Book of Scams (which you can access via the link below), that we can use to help protect ourselves:

• Be alert to the fact that scams exist. This awareness will help you to navigate the internet with caution, and to recognise suspicious activity
• Know who you’re dealing with
• Do not open suspicious texts, pop-up windows or emails – delete them
• Keep your personal details secure. Do not share your passwords or credit card details with anyone, and be very careful about how much personal information you share on social media sites
• Beware of unusual payment methods. These include payment by wire transfers, preloaded cards and even Google Play, Steam, iTunes cards and Bitcoin
• Keep your mobile devices and computers secure. Use password protection on your devices, don’t share access with others, back up your content and avoid using public computers or WiFi hotspots to access online banking or provide personal information
• Choose your passwords carefully. Make a password that would be difficult for others to guess – or, even better, use computer generated passwords and two-factor authentication
• Beware of any requests for your details or money. Never send money, online account details or copies of personal documents to anyone you don’t know or trust
• Be careful when shopping online. Beware of offers that seem too good to be true, and always use an online shopping service that you know and trust.

Sometimes you might have been incredibly careful, and have followed all the guidelines outlined above, and you might still fall victim to a scam. Falling for a scam often has nothing to do with how much you know – or how smart you are – instead, it can happen to anybody! If you think you might have been scammed, here are some easy steps to help:

• Tell family or a friend
• Change your passwords
• Block the sender. If you suspect you have been scammed, do not reply to the scammer and block them – this will stop more emails or messages
• Call your bank. Remember that if money is taken from you, your bank may pay you the amount that has been stolen – however, if you have transferred money to someone willingly (even under fraudulent circumstances) it is much more difficult to get that money back
• Report the scam to IDcare, a charity that assists Australians and New Zealanders whose identities have been stolen
• See a financial counsellor (if you are over 18) to help recover money you have lost.

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What does it mean to ‘share fairly’?

Sharing fairly recognises that owing money to others is an important responsibility. Not acting responsibly impacts on our relationships. Sharing fairly also recognises that we may sometimes be generous and pay for others, but that that can also impact our own ability to afford things we need.

Getting together for snacks after a swim once meant having a few coins to share. Now we hardly ever have cash, but we still need to ‘play fair’ when it comes to sharing.

Some people think that another event will come along soon enough to ‘even up the score’; they might say ‘swings and roundabouts!’, or ‘it’ll all come out in the wash!’ Being a responsible adult and good friend acknowledges that casual arrangements like that can sometimes leave people feeling uncertain. Your friend may not be able to afford to wait until life ‘swings back’ to you, when it’s your turn to pay.

There are always going to be money transactions in life that require us to share or split money. Sometimes we’re paying others, and sometimes we’re collecting our fair share from others. Sometimes the two amounts might cancel each other out. In any case, we need to be responsible for our part in the transaction.

When sharing fairly, you may need to keep track of both who you owe, and who owes you. Keeping records may not only be helpful, but also the right thing to do. This is especially true when you encounter formal expenses like rent, and household bills, or even as friends going camping for two whole weeks.

Communicating with each other clearly and honestly when we have to talk about money helps our friendships and relationships. Everyone knows what’s expected of each other.

This is particularly true when you are living in a sharehouse. Click below to read more tips about sharing expenses between housemates.

Useful things to know

Considering my impact on others:

What if there’s someone always paying for my meal, and I’m not really able to pay them back. Should I budget and grow my savings before I go out for dinner with them again, so I can offer to pay for both of us?

What if I am the one who keeps paying for everyone else? How will I start to feel when I can’t pay for my own expenses, while I wait for others to pay me back? How will I talk to my friend when I need to have a conversation about being paid back?

Sharing life, like a total legend

Mum lets you borrow her car – legend, mum!

• Always putting petrol back in it when you’re done – total legend!

Mary agrees to let you drink some of her oat milk – legend, Mary!

• Buying her a bottle when you next go shopping – total legend!

Sam lets everybody know the due date for the rent is on the 12^th of every month – legend, Sam!

• You arrange to pay your share of the rent a bit early on the 9^th – total legend!

Gareth has a party with music blaring – legend, Gareth!

• Everyone brings bluetooth headphones for a late-night silent disco – total legend!
• Gareth cleans up after the party the next morning – Wow, where can we find this guy!?

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Superannuation is a way to save money for retirement. You might think ‘Retirement?! That’s a whole lifetime away!’, but the truth is that it’s important to start saving for retirement early so that we can retire comfortably.

Luckily, in Australia we have a system that starts saving money for us: once we start working, it is compulsory for our employers to put some money away for our retirement each time they pay us. This money is called ‘superannuation’ and it goes into our ‘super fund’, where it is kept until we retire (or are given special permission to use it for an emergency). Our super fund should look after our superannuation, maintaining or growing its value by investing it.

The way that superannuation works means that we don’t have a choice about saving money for our retirement – the saving happens before we even receive our fortnightly pay! What’s more, the money we save early in our careers will increase in value over time because of compound interest – so the super we earn when we are 18 will have a greater value than the super we earn in our 50s. It can be hard to think so far into the future – and to make decisions that will benefit a version of ourselves that seems impossibly far away – which is why compulsory superannuation exists!

However, it’s worth noting that Australia’s superannuation system is not perfect. The amount of super we accrue is tied to the amount that we earn, which means that those who earn more – or who have been working for longer – will accrue more super over their lifetime. While on first glance that may seem fair, it also means that people who are unable to work due to illness, or parents (most often women) who take time off to look after children, will not be earning superannuation for the time that they are out of the workforce. Ultimately, this means that, on average, women have less superannuation than men (which means fewer options when they retire), while people who have been unable to work due to circumstance or illness have far less again.

Useful things to know

When we get a new job, our employers ask what superannuation fund we want our super to be paid into – we can either nominate a super fund we want to use, or agree to use the default super fund suggested by our employer. It’s not at all unusual for a young person starting their first job to use the super fund their employer suggests. If someone has had multiple jobs, they might even have multiple superannuation funds.

Each super fund is different, charging different fees and making different choices about how to invest your money. As you become more familiar with superannuation, you may wish to investigate whether your current super fund is the best fund for you. It’s easy to change your super fund if you find one you prefer.

If you have a job, here are some important questions to ask yourself about your superannuation:

• Is my employer contributing at least 10.5% of my income to my super fund? You can find this out by looking at your payslip.

• How much am I paying in super fund fees? Depending on your super fund provider, your monthly fees may be eating away at the amount of super you have.

• How many super funds do I currently have? If you have more than one, perhaps because you have had a number of jobs, you should consider consolidating your super to a single account. This will reduce what you pay in fees, and will make your super easier to manage.

• Is my super fund aligned with my goals, values and line of work? There are a range of different factors to consider when choosing a super fund, including performance (how well a super fund is managing its clients’ money) and fees. Some industries also have industry-specific super funds. You may also wish to consider the kinds of investments your super fund makes – super funds invest in all kinds of companies, including those whose work harms the environment, and industries including armaments, tobacco and alcohol. If any – or all – of these investments don’t sit right with you, you may like to consider changing your super fund. To compare super funds in order to find one that suits your needs, check out the YourSuper comparison tool.

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Do you look after someone? It may be your parents, your child with a disability, a sibling with mental health support needs or a relative or partner with a chronic health issue or age-related condition. If you do, you are a carer.

Around 11% of Australians provide unpaid care – including family members, friends and neighbours – that’s more than 2.65 million people. More than one third have been assisting someone close to them for more than a decade. It would cost Australia around $80 billion to pay for services to deliver the same amount of care. That’s a lot of zeros – ten, to be precise.

In many situations, care is provided by a number of people. The primary carer is usually the person with the main responsibility for the caring tasks. However, caring is often shared amongst a number of people, for example, parents, children, grandparents, and sometimes aunts, uncles and cousins as well. Anyone providing unpaid care is recognized by our community as a carer.

Being a carer can be challenging as well as rewarding. It takes time that might otherwise be spent on study, working or just having fun! Money can be tight, and being home all the time means the household bills are higher, and visits to doctors, hospitals and so on often involve quite high parking fees. Carers may find it difficult to juggle extra responsibilities along with their own needs, and may need extra money to make everything work. A visit to the dentist, an Uber trip to get home in time to take over… all of this costs money. And, at the same time, there is less time available for that part-time job.

If you are an unpaid carer of a family member or friend, you may often overlook your own wellbeing while putting the needs of the person you care for first. Support is available for you.

Recognising the value of unpaid care and the challenges that come with it, our community organises some carer supports. It’s not everything, but it may help – and if you are a carer, you deserve the assistance that is available.

Many people with a caring role do not identify as carers, and so do not benefit from the information, services, and supports they should have.

It’s worth getting in touch

• Little Dreamers: A wonderful organisation that supports young carers aged 4 to 25 with programs focussing on respite, health and wellbeing, social connection, education and employment and financial literacy.

• Satellite Foundation: An organisation that provides support for children and young people where a parent has a mental illness or mental health challenge.

• Carers Victoria: Carers Victoria is the peak body that represents all unpaid carers in Victoria.

• Carers Victoria’s Carer Advisory Service is a free and confidential phone line that provides information, advice, and help accessing the range of carer specific services available to all Victorian carers and supporters. Call the Carer Advisory Service on 1800 514 845. This includes information regarding the Support for Carers program, funded by the Victorian government with local organisations providing respite and supports to Victorian carers.

• Carer Gateway: This is an Australia-wide network of Carer Gateway service providers. Available to talk through what you need and help you to find services and support to help you. You can also call the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.

Putting money aside for emergencies helps keep us afloat – some people call it having a ‘rainy day’ account. But saving for a rainy day is not always an option.

When something unexpected happens, there can often be unplanned expenses involved – and it’s not unusual for more than one thing to go wrong at once! Fortunately, there are immediate supports for you or your family to access.

Before we get on to the help available, here is a massive meteor-sized warning: when you are thinking ‘It’s an emergency! I need quick cash!’ STOP and THINK before you rush into applying for a quick loan.

Under pressure, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that quick cash is the only option. Believe me, you may actually make things worse by borrowing money you don’t have.

Quick loans may be quick, but they hang around like a bad smell, with excessive fees, and expensive penalties for late payments. Get help from safe sources instead – and avoid adding to your money stresses!

Safe options to choose in an emergency

• No interest loans (NILs) – As the name suggests, a NIL scheme is a program that can provide an interest-free loan to individuals and families on a low income. They are designed to help with emergency expenses, such as repair or replacement of essential household appliances, urgent car repairs, some medical costs and more. Community organisations across Australia offer NILs, which means there is a good chance that there is a provider near you. Some of the bigger organisations include Good Shepherd and the Salvation Army.

• Utility relief grants – Depending on what state or territory you live in, you may be eligible for a utility relief grant. In this arrangement, the government pays an amount towards what you owe on gas, electricity and/or water bills. These grants are available to people on low incomes, or with a concession card, who are dealing with an unexpected event, such as losing a job or something breaking down.

• Centrelink advance payment – If you are already receiving a Centrelink payment, you have the option of receiving some of your payment in advance. The total amount you can receive in one advance payment depends on the kind of payment you are currently receiving. Once you have been paid the advance, you will begin paying it back over the course of your next 13 fortnightly Centrelink payments – Centrelink will automatically reduce the amount of your payment to cover the repayments. For more information about advance payments via Centrelink, click here.

• Food banks – Food banks are places where you can be given a free meal or food pack. If you or your family are having trouble paying for essentials such as food, bills, medication, you can visit a local emergency relief centre. Community organisations across Australia offer various forms of emergency relief; churches or other religious centres may also be able to assist you with meals.
  • Anglicare emergency relief locations – click here to see a map
  • The Salvation Army emergency relief program for immediate assistance – for more information, click here
  • Foodbank arranges food delivery to relief centres. Click here to look up the Foodbank directory of relief centres near you
  • St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) emergency relief locations and other assistance – click here.

• Your local council office, Neighborhood House, or library is also a great place to start if you are looking for immediate assistance locally. They may ask you a few simple questions to determine the right service for you.

If your changed financial circumstances have put you at risk of becoming homeless, or you are in need of mental health support, here are some more resources that can help:

• Ask Izzy – This is a directory that is easy to use to locate services like housing, a meal, counselling and much more – it’s a really good website to save in case you need to look for other support in the future.

• Moneysmart – This is a fabulous resource produced by the Australian government, which provides all sorts of information. Moneysmart has a useful section for getting urgent help not only for money but also mental health, housing and emotional support. Click on this page for information and links.

Build your financial capability

Once the initial emergency has eased and you feel back on track, you may like to learn about ways to manage your money, including building up your savings buffer for any future unexpected emergencies.

Here are some good places to start:

Have you ever wondered why people can get so worked up about tax?

Tax is money collected by the government from the money we earn. It is used to pay for services and facilities that the whole community benefits from, like:

• a hospital that is built in your area
• financial assistance for people who can’t work
• a rescue helicopter
• upgraded classrooms at your local school

This may not mean much to you personally, but all around us are examples of taxes being used to improve the lives of people in our community.

So why do people get worked up?

Put simply, the government decides how much of our income will be taken out as tax, and also decides how to spend it.

People want to know that the money they’re giving to the government is going to impact them directly, but the way the government chooses to spend our tax will impact different people in different ways.

Michael, who lives in the country, needs to travel over an hour every time he needs to see his doctor – so he would love to see his taxes spent on a medical centre in his town. Elizabeth would love to see her taxes spent on a solar battery for her whole street to share.

Read on!

The amount of tax a person pays is dependent on how much money they earn – so the more money someone earns, the more tax they pay. We can earn a little bit of money at first without paying any tax, but by starting a part-time job (with our tax file number!), soon enough we’re likely to start having tax taken out of our pay.

As an employee, our employer will deduct tax from each pay and send it to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on our behalf.

In Australia, if we are aged over 18 and earn over $18,200 per year, tax will be charged on our earnings. The rate of tax increases once you start earning over certain amounts. Tax rates begin at 19 cents out of each dollar we earn, and then jump to about 32 cents if you earn over $45,000 per year, 37 cents if you earn over $120,000 and finally to 45 cents out of each dollar earned, for those on $180,000 per year and above.

The Australian tax system is a big beast and can be complicated, even for experts! If you need more information, always go to the Australian Tax Office website and click on the ‘Individuals’ tab to find out more about personal tax.

Other tips for starting out:

• Have a tax file number (TFN) ready, or an application for one submitted when you start a job. Employees without a TFN pay a much higher rate of tax.

• You also need a myGov account that is ‘linked’ to the ATO (you might already have myGov linked with Medicare or Services Australia – in this case, you just need to link the ATO to your myGov as well)

• You must lodge an income tax assessment (also known as a tax return) each year to record your income and the tax you have paid. You can do this once you have a ‘payment summary’ from your employer, which shows both your income and the tax they withheld over the year. Employers produce payment summaries for their employees in July, after the end of the financial year on June 30th.

• After you’ve lodged your tax return, you might receive a tax refund. That means the ATO has determined that you have paid too much tax. Tax refund money is deposited back into your bank account by the ATO.

• You may be able to claim tax deductions at tax time. A tax deduction reduces the income that can be taxed, if you can prove that you paid for expenses that you needed to do your job, according to what’s allowed by the ATO. You need to keep receipts in a folder, paper, or on the ATO app in readiness for tax time. Some of the allowable deductions related to your work expenses include car expenses, travel expenses, clothing, uniforms and self-education. For more information, head to the ATO’s website.

A further note of caution, now that you’re totally into tax:

There is a lot of tax ‘advice’, articles and clips on social media, but the advice may not be legally accurate for your circumstances. Always head directly to the ATO’s website, or download the ATO app.

Useful things to know

Tax is something we all pay at some stage. It’s important to know the basics about the correct amount you need to be paid for the job you do, and the correct amount of tax you need to pay.

• Check your pay slip to see how much tax has been withheld. You can access a handy online calculator from the government website Moneysmart to check that the right amount is being withheld
• Create a myGov account and link to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Find out if you are eligible to deduct any work-related expenses from the ATO website

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You know a relationship between family members or friends is ‘healthy’ when you always feel respected and safe.

What if you don’t always feel respected and safe? What if you have been saving for an important purchase only to find money missing from your account? What if someone else makes all the money decisions and you don’t get a say, but instead you just have to go along with it. Are you ever expected to rescue someone from a tight spot again and again? You may really want to keep things smooth, and avoid confrontation, but in fact these experiences are not OK!

Have you ever felt unsettled about money events or money decisions happening in your relationships? What was your ‘gut feeling’ at the time? It’s easy to ‘share fairly’ when everyone involved respects each other. But what if someone’s idea of ‘sharing’ is simply that you help them out all the time? Maybe they don’t ask or consider your situation, they just expect or even demand your help. Some people even go as far as to suggest that something bad may happen if you don’t go along with what they want. Perhaps the person does ask for help, but in a way that makes you feel like you can’t say ‘no’.

It’s important to take notice of how you feel, and acknowledge when things don’t feel right.

Being able to listen to yourself and trust your instincts is a healthy and important skill.

As captain of your money rocket, you should take sensible steps to protect your money and make sure all the decisions about it are yours – you have the final say.

Captain! – Conduct your rocket safety check!

• Am I doing my own banking?
• Do I check my statements regularly?
• Am I confident using an ATM and EFTPOS?
• Am I able to use internet banking or the banking app?
• Are my passwords secret and safe?
• Am I in control of online purchases?
• Do I know where to go to get trusted advice or help?

You need to stay on top of things – it’s important to pick up any problems early! If someone else knows your password, or even if you suspect they might, then change it! Check your accounts regularly so you can pick up any withdrawals you don’t recognize or haven’t made yourself.

If someone wants you to borrow money for them to use, or to sign something, or to go along with a decision you haven’t been able to think about properly for yourself – STOP! You have the right to take some time to think. Seek out advice – you could call the National Debt Helpline 1800 007 007 or use the chat on their website. Their guidance is free, confidential and without conflict.

Useful things to know

You need your money rocket to be in good order to take you all the places you want to go. Be aware that you may come across tricky instances that need investigation or expert repairs!

This may happen when someone disregards you and your needs, and makes decisions about your money. This can happen very quietly and slowly – so that little by little you find yourself losing control of your money rocket.

Regular safety checks are imperative! Captain, you must stay in control!

If you are conducting regular safety checks by asking yourself the questions listed above and things still don’t feel right, you may be experiencing financial abuse. If another person’s behaviour continues to make you feel disrespected and unsafe then you should take action. And remember, this can happen to anyone (and unfortunately, it does happen to many people). Remember the problem lies with their behaviour, not yours.

Financial abuse can include many things, like controlling and preventing your access to money, stopping you from getting a job, or forcing you to get loans you don’t want or don’t understand. Sometimes you might not even be aware that it is happening to you. This is because people who control others financially can often convince you that their way of “managing” money is for the best, They may also try to convince you that you don’t know how to manage money – and obviously, Captain, that is not true!

Remember – everyone has a right to feel safe and respected.

If you are ever concerned for your immediate safety or that of someone else please call 000.

Your community cares about you and your rights, and help is available.

Financial abuse

• National Debt Helpline: Call on 1800 007 007 or chat with them on their website.

Domestic and family violence (which includes financial abuse)

• 1800 RESPECT: You can call on 1800 737 732 or chat online on their website.

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Adults fear me but banks seem to love me! If you’ve ever heard a grown-up talking about me, you’ll have heard the quiver in their voice – is there anything scarier than those four little letters?

D – E – B – T!

But what is debt? What am I?

‘Debt’ refers to money that is owed and must be paid back. When you have your finances under control, debt can be manageable – you can work the repayments into your weekly or monthly budget.

But debt becomes scary when it becomes too big and you owe too much, or when something in your financial situation changes and you find you’re struggling to pay back your debt in the time you’ve been given to do so.

If debt is so scary, why do people get themselves into it?

We often borrow money just because it feels so convenient. When we want to buy something but can’t afford to pay for it upfront, borrowing seems like a way of getting what we want without compromising. However, every time we borrow, we are actually getting into debt.

If you look throughout the Moneyverse, you’ll see that debt features across many planets and asteroids. Sometimes it forms part of a system that allows us access to something essential – like housing, a mobile phone, or even a university education! Other times, it is more dangerous, rearing its ugly head in precarious buy now pay later arrangements, or credit cards we’ve been sent that we can’t afford to use.

As you explore in your rocket, notice all the ways that borrowing and debt feature in our financial system. But remember – just because debt is normalised within our financial system, doesn’t mean that it’s ever without risk!

You’ll see debt pop up at each of the following destinations in the Moneyverse:

• Banks
• Bills
• Buying and running a car
• Buy now pay later
• Credit cards
• Hardship
• Helping others to manage
• HECS-HELP
• Housing
• Mobile phone plans and contracts

But what happens when debt becomes a problem?

Borrowing and debt may be common elements of our financial system – but this doesn’t mean that borrowing money isn’t risky! If you, or someone you know, have a problem debt, a financial counsellor can help – check out the financial counsellor astronaut for more information, or call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

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Am I a young carer?

Let’s find out! Add a mental ‘check’ to the boxes that apply to you:

If you ticked the first two boxes and any/all of the other boxes, you are likely a Young Carer!

What support is available to me?

• Fun school holiday programs and overnight camps
• Help with your schoolwork
• Group sessions to connect with other Young Carers
• Leadership and personal development workshops and opportunities
• One-on-one support and guidance for any life challenges you might be facing
• An online community called the Dreamers Hub

How can I access support?

There are lots of free programs you can access as a Young Carer!

Head to www.littledreamers.org.au to find out how we can help!