TWFT: Help Japan

These last few days have no doubt felt like a nightmare for millions around the world - the devastation of Japan's earthquake and tsunami are heartbreaking.

It was only 3 weeks ago that I was holidaying in Japan, my third wonderful trip there. And now I've spent the weekend glued to news reports of this beautiful country's tragedy.

My fiance and I will be married in a little over 40 days - our best man is on his own 1st wedding anniversary in Hiroshima (fortunately well out of harm's way). And if I wasn't worried enough, my father is on a cruise - currently stopping in Japan!

OK, that's enough from me and my insignificant issues. The agony of Japan's millions is so much greater and more important.

This week's finance tip is - be generous. Be generous with your time, be generous with your love, be generous with your ideas and be generous with your money - especially for those in need.

Click on the links below to donate and find out more about the wonderful organisations doing all they can for Japan:

American Red Cross ~ deploying to the region to assist the local Japan Red Cross
Salvation Army ~ in Japan since 1895, providing emergency shelter
Shelter Box ~ providing 'emergency shelter, warmth & dignity' to people affected by disaster worldwide
Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors without borders)  ~ Medical teams on their way to the worst affected areas

Image: Reuters 12/03/2011

TWFT: Everyone loves a bargain!

There are some great emailing lists to get yourself on if you like a bargain - and seriously, who doesn't like to save a few $$!

While getting on more emailing lists does mean the inbox gets a little overwhelmed at times buuuut the big savings can be worth it. It's our generation's version of cutting out coupons.

Sorry lads - most of the bargains are aimed at women (perhaps a reflection of our shopping habits?) but at least you know where to look for pressie ideas (Valentine's Day hint hint).

For Hong Kongers make sure you check out the following:

Groupon
Twango
Butterboom (join the VIP list to get Perfume samples and exclusive early news of Sales)
DimSum and then Sum
Kelly England

Happy (Shopping) Saving!

no-spend January

In January 2010 I placed myself under a self-imposed shopping ban - no purchasing clothes, shoes, makeup, magazines, toiletries or accessories. And rather than being the hell I thought it would be, I secretly got a massive kick out of the mental 'I've saved this much!' calc I did everytime I DIDN'T buy something.

So to prove it wasn't a fluke, guess what I'm doing again this January. And surprise surprise, almost half the month is over already and the world hasn't stopped turning because I can't shop. In fact, my soapbox chest-beating has influenced a few spend-weary gf's to get on the bandwagon too. So proud! It's heaps more fun when your buddies join it; you can all be tight-Sallys together. We're looking at organising a DVD-swap party and maybe even a clothes-swap party too - that way everyone gets something new without spending any $.

Another trick is simply to avoid hitting the shops altogether - don't wave temptation under your nose, it's cruel. Instead of window-shopping I'm heading to the gym, cooking dinner and spending more time with the h2b. And you know what? There's at least 30 half-read magazines stacked up in my spare room ready to be dug out and properly read - no need to buy new ones at all. Fashion's pretty cyclical - keep magazines for long enough and they're bang on trend again away ;)

Shop your wardrobe, this trick's an oldie but a goodie. Go through all your clothes to rediscover forgotten items and create new outfits. Perhaps get a gf to help - she might come up with an awesome combination you've never even thought of.

And finally - get your jewels out on display. If you can see all your accessories easily, you'll remember what's in your collection and be able to resist adding to it unneccesarily (plus it saves heaps of time co-ordinating in the morning and keeps everything in better condition if it's not all tangled).

That's my tip for January - leave the credit card at home and put yourself on a money diet. Come at it from a positive fun attitude though, wow I'm saving $$$, don't see it as a chore - otherwise you'll be binging like mad come February.

my organised 'jewels'

TWFT: Singapore GST

Saving on Singapore GST

Great news for tourists to Singapore - thanks to their Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) you can receive a refund of the GST you paid while shopping during your stay.

Not all stores in Singapore participate, and you need to spend a minimum of S$100 per day at that store, and the goods can't be consumable within Singapore (i.e. your hotel or a meal) to be eligible, but it's a great scheme regardless.

Here's the details:

~ carry your passport when shopping as the store clerk will need to sight it when you make your purchases

~ once eligible (spent enough) the participating store will give you your TRS receipt in an envelop (it's REALLY long and will be separate to your normal purchase receipt)

~ when you fly out of Singapore you have 2 opportunities to claim at the airport
1. For goods packed in you Check-in luggage, take your TRS receipt + the goods you purchased to the GST Customs table in the departure hall, or
2. Once checked in take your TRS receipt + the purchased goods to the GST Customs table near the departure gates (it's near the Duty Free shops)

I got a little confused at this point so learn from my bumblings...

~ Show the Customs officer your

• passport
• flight ticket
• goods
• purchase receipt 
• TRS receipt

They'll then stamp the TRS

~ Now you have a choice of 2 counters - look at the envelop your TRS receipt came in, it'll have a company logo (i.e Global Refund OR Premier Tax Free) [I didn't notice this and went to the wrong counter...opps]

~ The clerk at the counter will just need to see your stamped TRS receipt and will then give you the option to have your GST reimbursed as Cash or direct to your Credit Card

And you're done! If there's not to big a queue you should be in and out in 15 minutes - with enough time to spend your change at Duty Free before departure :) [I stocked up on some Bombay Gin, tasty]

TWFT: Kindle

I have bought a Kindle!

What's a Kindle? A Kindle is an electronic book reader - you download books directly from Amazon.com and then store and read them on the Kindle. Its not an ipad, you can't check your email, it's for people who just really love their books. You can type notes, look up unknown words in a dictionary or wikipedia - lots of fun booky stuff.

So how can spending USD$180 be a money saving tip?! To be honest, this post could really just be my way of justifying my purchase (all the other girls in book group have one. And they love theirs...funnily enough I bought mine right after the last book group hehe). Anyway, here's my rationale.

Each book you purchase on the Kindle is about 30% cheaper than buying the physical book. This is probably because the publisher is saving on paper, printing, transport...all those things.

So let's say you read one book per month and each book is USD$20 - you spend $240 per year on books. If you bought those books on a Kindle you would spend only $168, which means you save $72 per year. OK, given I've just bought the Kindle, if we include the purchase cost it'll take me almost 16 months before I'm ahead, but after that I'll save save save!

The financial downside of a Kindle is - you can't borrow someone else's 'book' (which would be free) and you can't sell a read book.

Plus, as the Kindle is hooked up to your credit card the danger to go 'shopping' at Amazon is always there. I've made myself promise - no new book can be bought until the current one is read. Two weeks in and the promise has been kept (ask me in 6 months...).

Fine, so maybe the Kindle isn't the most awesome money saving tip, but you are saving the planet from producing books each year. This alone has to be a HUGE saving of global resources!

image from www.amazon.com

TWFT: Argh! Lost Wallet!!

Hmmm this week's finance tip is a very practical one, with lessons learnt first-hand.

My boyfriend staggered home at 3am this morning after celebrating his new promotion, only to arrive by taxi at our building and discover he'd lost his wallet.

I awoke to his distraught phone call from the taxi, threw on a robe and trotted downstairs to pay the worried taxi driver.

The next 30 minutes were spent on the phone helping him cancel his credit cards and Octopus card (HK travel card - like the UK Oyster). Let's just say he wasn't very sober and needed help pressing the phone buttons...which explains how he lost his wallet!

What did I learn from this? Keep a list of your important finance details on hand for emergencies.

Something that has:
~ Account numbers
~ Emergency phone numbers (i.e. for lost cards)
~ Your ID numbers (i.e. passport, HK ID card)

Just the basics, nothing extensive.

And another tip - don't keep ALL of your credit cards in your wallet. If you don't use all of them all the time, keep one home for emergencies like this!

Hope you had a better week than this.

TWFT: CGT issues for expat's buying Hong Kong property

Each week (or thereabouts) I'm going to post the most interesting piece of financial advice I've come across for expats during the past 7 days.

To kick it off, my inaugural expat finance tip is regarding Hong Kong property and capital gains tax.

It's true that one of the many expat-friendly tax rules in Hong Kong is that there's no CGT on the sale of property. And given its not uncommon for HK property to rise 30% in one year, that's a massive tax saving and a bulging purse!

But one thing to note as expat - when you return home, if you still own the HK property and decide to sell...uh oh...you could be stung with CGT! So for those Aussies and Brits who land back in Sydney or London, with their Mid-levels property still in the portfolio - sorry, but you'll now be taxed at your marginal rate on any gain made since the day you resumed tax residency.

E.G.

I'm an Aussie expat living in HK. In 2000 I purchase a HK property for HKD$6,500,000. In 2008 I return to Sydney, at which time my property is worth HKD$8,000,000. The value on my day of repatriation is the new Cost Base for Australian tax purposes. 

In 2010 my property is worth HKD$10,000,000 and I decide to sell it; my capital gain is HKD$10m - HKD$8m = HKD$2m. This is converted to AUD and included as taxable income in my Aussie tax return. Ouch!

Some ways I could manage this:

~ Sell the HK property before I return to Australia

~ If I sell the property when back in Australia, 

a. sell in a year I'm not earning anything (or low earnings) so on a lower tax bracket

b. make a concessional super contribution and claim a tax deduction (maximum is either AUD25k or AUD50k depending on my age AND can only make a concessional contribution if self-employed or satisfying the 10% rule)

c. offset the gain with any other losses I've accumulated

~ Don't sell!

It's potentially a tricky situation so think ahead before returning home.