Review, Reflect and Prepare for the New Financial Year

The new financial year is the perfect time to sit back and review where you’re at with your personal, professional, and financial life; to set new goals and make plans to achieve them. But where do you start?

Just as an established company will have an off-site meeting, perhaps it’s a good time to book a room in a not too exciting city or region so you can remove yourself from the day-to-day and focus on this process.

Start with your personal life

Are you achieving the balance of work and leisure you want – if you’re working more than you feel you’d like, or you’re not enjoying the work you’re doing, perhaps it’s time to cull a few contracts? Choose the ones that give you the most reward, financially and professionally. Dispense with any extraneous contracts that cause you undue stress or don’t return on your investment in time and expertise.

Now, with a bit more time up your sleeve, consider other interests you want to pursue – these could be activities that increase your level of professional expertise and capacity. Alternatively, they could be totally unrelated to work – and that’s fine too because looking after your mental well-being will put you in a better space to manage your everyday work commitments to the best of your ability.

Check in on your finances

With the chaos of life, we often forget to do this, so take the time now to review where you’ve been spending your money, taking note of any areas where you’ve wasted your hard-earned cash. Set some financial goals – for everyday living, savings and super, then make a plan for how you’re going to achieve them. Check back every month to see how you’re tracking and to determine any opportunities to finesse your plan.

Tidy up your paperwork

In the rush towards the end of the financial year, you may be too focussed on pulling your financial statements etc. together to worry about anything else. Now that’s done, take time to go through your in tray and your inbox, work out what needs to be actioned, filed, or trashed and set about doing this. Consider ways that you can better keep on top of your paperwork over the next 12 months, including managing your accounts so you don’t have the added stress of pulling together financials at the end of next financial year. This may include setting an hour aside each week, investing in software, or engaging experts to help you manage your day-to-day contractual obligations.

 

The Ayers Group Can Help

There’s no doubt that when life gets busy, our affairs get out of control. At the Ayers Group we’ve developed online solutions to help contractors manage their work commitments – from preparing contracts, timesheets, invoices, and expense forms to lodging tax returns. We’ve also nurtured relationships with trusted specialists in financial planning, novated leasing and more. As a client of the Ayers Group, we’re here to extend the benefits of these solutions and contacts to you. Contact us today to find out how we can help you reduce your administrative burden and grow your wealth.