I wasn’t sure about the following post but every
time I doubt about sharing something personal I remember that this is my diary
and that usually the stuff I am most hesitant about sharing is the stuff that
strikes a chord with you lot. This post was inspired by a friend who was very open
about her money troubles. this helped me to accept and take responsibility for my own so I thought too would tell my story. After all in a society
where possessions are everything, don't we all struggle? Well this post will
show that even when you chose to live a life where experience not possessions
is the goal money can still cause you problems if you don't keep your eye on
it.
I always thought that nothing could stop me from going to my best friend’s wedding however I didn't account for her timing, the Australian tax system, and my terrible money management. It had cost me to go back for my brother wedding. I was fortunate that my family heavily subsidised my attendance and treated me to hotel stays and meals out but I do like to pay my own way and I knew I had tax owing to me from Oz. The tax and super annotation refund when you leave Oz is something I have heard many wonderful things about and was much looking forward to. Between these 'facts' I decided that it was safe and right to give the credit card a bit of a battering so I could get the most from my month at home. I can't say I regret my actions though I think I would more if I hadn't had an extremely generous gift later on but I get ahead of myself. So my trip home had left my credit card a bit more battered that was comfortable but I had money coming so it was fine except that now I needed a return plane ticket to London ASAP and that wasn’t going to come cheap. Now I could just about put it on my much maligned credit card but by this point I was in dispute with the Australian government. They said I owed them the best part of $4000 and I believed that they should owe be the best part of $3000. This meant that my promise to not miss my best friend’s wedding was in serious peril. I have to say she was being very understanding about my hesitation to promise to be there. As well as my money troubles I had just started a new job, which was a relief on the money front but I had promised them I'd stay at least 6 months. Life was looking less than sunny in more ways than one. At this point I did wonder how on earth I could have let this happen again??? It seems when it comes to money I just never learn. This time though I was determined. I would sort it out myself.
Two things happened at this stage to make life a little sunnier. A chat with the tax people in Oz determined that if I filled out a form explaining that I had filled out my e-tax incorrectly and how they would reassess me and I should then no longer owe them money. This was a huge relief. The second was the offer of a loan so I could afford to buy the much desire plane ticket to London and back. Now there is not much that would have made me accept such a thing at this point but there was no way I could continue my friendship with my best friend knowing that I had the chance to attend her wedding but had refused it out of pride. The loan was accepted, the plane tickets bought oh and the tax people, they agreed that they owed me not I them Though it turned out to be less than I had thought I decided to quit when I was ahead. As for the super whilst I knew exactly what was in there and whilst it was all returned to me I also failed to account for the fact the Australian tax people would take almost half of it.
The lesson here was never to trust what other people say and to check out these things for myself. Also, don't spend money you haven't actually got not matter how sure you are that it's coming your way. Since I am writing this even more in retrospect than usual I can assure my friends and family that this is an issue which in now fully under control and is no longer giving me sleepless nights. In fact I currently have more money saved than I ever have in my life and am extremely proud of myself. Not only to I ahve enough to fully clear all my debt I’m on track to have a very comfortable budget for my future travels. I won’t say I didn’t have some help but mostly I managed this on my own and I honestly think it was a long overdue lesson that I have finally (hopefully!) learned.
I always thought that nothing could stop me from going to my best friend’s wedding however I didn't account for her timing, the Australian tax system, and my terrible money management. It had cost me to go back for my brother wedding. I was fortunate that my family heavily subsidised my attendance and treated me to hotel stays and meals out but I do like to pay my own way and I knew I had tax owing to me from Oz. The tax and super annotation refund when you leave Oz is something I have heard many wonderful things about and was much looking forward to. Between these 'facts' I decided that it was safe and right to give the credit card a bit of a battering so I could get the most from my month at home. I can't say I regret my actions though I think I would more if I hadn't had an extremely generous gift later on but I get ahead of myself. So my trip home had left my credit card a bit more battered that was comfortable but I had money coming so it was fine except that now I needed a return plane ticket to London ASAP and that wasn’t going to come cheap. Now I could just about put it on my much maligned credit card but by this point I was in dispute with the Australian government. They said I owed them the best part of $4000 and I believed that they should owe be the best part of $3000. This meant that my promise to not miss my best friend’s wedding was in serious peril. I have to say she was being very understanding about my hesitation to promise to be there. As well as my money troubles I had just started a new job, which was a relief on the money front but I had promised them I'd stay at least 6 months. Life was looking less than sunny in more ways than one. At this point I did wonder how on earth I could have let this happen again??? It seems when it comes to money I just never learn. This time though I was determined. I would sort it out myself.
Two things happened at this stage to make life a little sunnier. A chat with the tax people in Oz determined that if I filled out a form explaining that I had filled out my e-tax incorrectly and how they would reassess me and I should then no longer owe them money. This was a huge relief. The second was the offer of a loan so I could afford to buy the much desire plane ticket to London and back. Now there is not much that would have made me accept such a thing at this point but there was no way I could continue my friendship with my best friend knowing that I had the chance to attend her wedding but had refused it out of pride. The loan was accepted, the plane tickets bought oh and the tax people, they agreed that they owed me not I them Though it turned out to be less than I had thought I decided to quit when I was ahead. As for the super whilst I knew exactly what was in there and whilst it was all returned to me I also failed to account for the fact the Australian tax people would take almost half of it.
The lesson here was never to trust what other people say and to check out these things for myself. Also, don't spend money you haven't actually got not matter how sure you are that it's coming your way. Since I am writing this even more in retrospect than usual I can assure my friends and family that this is an issue which in now fully under control and is no longer giving me sleepless nights. In fact I currently have more money saved than I ever have in my life and am extremely proud of myself. Not only to I ahve enough to fully clear all my debt I’m on track to have a very comfortable budget for my future travels. I won’t say I didn’t have some help but mostly I managed this on my own and I honestly think it was a long overdue lesson that I have finally (hopefully!) learned.
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