APRIL NZ GIRL Sneak Peak!

New Zealand Girl Magazine are re-launching their 'Super Kitty' advice column! Sneak peak here for some of the questions and answers before they are launched at http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/

Q: SuperKitty, it's all gone horribly wrong!I have been dating this guy since 2000 exclusively, or so I thought. As it turns out he's been seeing me and another girl the whole time. I just want things to go back the way they were and I think it's crazy for me to even want to be with him. What is wrong with me?

A: Okay hon, lets start with the most important thing…THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU! Nothing, zip, ziltch….yet. Unfortunately, we girls are, as you say, very forgiving, often to our own detriment. Allow me to evoke the famous George W Bush-ism last words before he invaded Iraq, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” This guy, to put it mildly, sounds like a creep. You wouldn’t let your best friend or little sister date someone like this, so why let yourself?
Think about it, you’ve said you can’t get over him but you will have to eventually. Why wait to do it later when you can do it now and possibly meet a fantastic doctor, working with underprivileged children, whom can cook, with a huge trust fund, great body and whom WON’T cheat?
Good luck! And remember. You deserve to be happy, rip that bandaid off quickly, not slowly and don’t dip your foot slowly into the pool, JUMP!

Q: My problem is that I wish I was rich SuperKitty, but I'm not. The job I have at the moment is great. The people are awesome, the job itself is fine, everything's great- except the pay. I need to find a way of bringing in some more money, but I'm not sure how?

A: I hear you sister, I often throw my hands up after the third parking ticket of the month and exclaim, ‘I wish I was rich…that would solve all my life problems!’
All jobs work on a basic supply and demand system with the added hassle of personal agendas, egos and hierarchies. Surprise surprise, the business world was established by men and therefore to get ahead you often need to be a man or behave a bit like one. So for us NZ girls, we can get the best education, be a great team worker, be great at our jobs, flirt a bit but we also need to know how to negotiate and stare down the barrel of a scary testosterone driven money game.
One good way to prepare yourself is to do your research. Arm yourself with industry standards of pay, speak to the institution or association in the field you work in and ask them how the pay scale works. Find out where the industry skill shortages are, how you can fulfil them? Maybe you need to get another qualification, move interstate or maybe you already have the skills and working in the high demand sector! Use this information to give yourself confidence when you approach your boss or to realise it’s time to find a new job!

Read the full articles and questions at www.nzgirl.co.nz SOON! And while you're there sign up and check out their great fashion, travel and useful girl power advice!

NUMBER CRUNCH

How will all this affect you?

Your rent

New tenancy agreements will be more expensive

Ongoing tenancy agreements are restricted under law regarding often they can increase and by how much

Your mortgage

National cash interest rates at 7.25%, the highest since December 1994

Victorian house prices remaining the same or increasing (depending on location)

A tough time to enter the property market

Job opportunities

Domestic consumer services roles may decrease e.g. hospitality, retails

Exportable skills may be under greater demand e.g. niche manufacturing, financial services

Unions and employees campaign for pay increases to meet increased cost of living

Traveling

Australian $0.90 (and over) = American $1.00

Great time to go overseas!

Cost of living

Petrol prices continue to rise, $1.50 to $3.00 a liter in the next 12 months

Basic goods will increase as transport and other costs increase

Stock Market

Funds move away from America and into emerging markets or the more ‘secure’ minerals oil and gold

Australian Recession?

The buzz word of this month is ‘recession’. But what does it mean? How do we know when we are in one and how will it change your life?

What is a recession?

In the purist of economics lingo a recession is either, a decline in a country's total gross domestic product (The total amount of value produced by the country in traded goods and services) or a negative real economic growth. These trends must continue for two or more consecutive quarters of a year.

The colloquial understanding is that the economy slows and consumers feel they have less money to spend on increasingly expensive things.

There are many reasons people are scared of recessions. A recession could mean interest rates go up as the reserve bank tries to control consumer spending, people are spending less money therefore businesses make less money, leading to a reduction in staff and job loses. House prices may drop as less people are buying houses causing an over supply and people may be less likely to invest funds in shares or business to grow for fear of an uncertain market.

BUT I prefer to look at a recession as we do the current drought.

The amount of water in the world remains constant. Whether it is in the form of ice, rain, sea or clouds there is always the same amount. If you follow the analogy that money is like water the value of money may change from assets to cash to options etc. but it can still be found. Therefore, just because Australia is going through a drought or a recession does not mean it is not raining somewhere and someone is getting rich. Do you like my little analogy? Yes? So let’s continue with it.

If there is less money coming into or being produced by our economy, businesses and individuals tend to be more conservative with the money they do have. If people are worried about the value of their house and security of their jobs they are less likely in invest in risky shares or buy the newest biggest LCD TV screen they picked out at Dick Smiths. Most will say, ‘Honey, let’s wait until next year to get that swimming pool installed’. Times this by 20 million people and we have ‘low consumer confidence’ and a further weakening of the economy.

Is Australia heading to a recession?

Most economists are waiting to see which will affect Australia more, Americas’ economic cold or Chinas’ economic growth steroids! Traditionally, America would have won but our location to China and other rapidly growing Asian and emerging countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and India could mean our business and services sectors will continue to grow supporting our economy during this period.

Some experts have reminded us that it will probably still FEEL like a recession even if we don’t meet the textbook definitions BECAUSE Australian consumers/individuals are currently in HUGE personal debt. The mortgage ‘stress’ felt by this months twelfth consecutive interest rate rise has delivered the lowest consumer confidence figures in fourteen years demonstrating the everyday persons’ concerns!

But maybe the conservative tightening of the proverbial ‘consumer spending belt’ will actually be the painful step we have to take to whip our personal debt into shape. The treadmill work out that will prevent the recession heart attack? Australians have been buying up LCD screens, holidays, new cars at an amazing rate for decades – like candy! The halcyon spending spree must slow or come to an end before Australia can build a foundation of sound, across the board economic security.

BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH!

‘The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement’, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt published in 1984.
A business book that is easy to read! AND extremely useful! Goldratt writes many of his books as a piece of fiction with main characters, stories and love stories while explaining interesting business ideas.

This book delves into Goldratt’s ‘Theory of Constraints’, a model to manage business processes he developed as a business consultant.

The main protagonist, Alex Rogo, the manager of a failing metalwork plant, learns how to manage bottlenecks (constraints) in a manufacturing process, project management and the art of negotiation.

Set in America the concepts can be easily transferred into any business whether it is small, large, in manufacturing or service orientated. If you want to run your own business or get a promotion this book is a MUST READ. Other books in the series include ‘It’s not luck’ (I’m onto this one now!) and ‘The Haystack Syndrome’.

Starting a New Tenancy in the New Year!

December through to March are said to be the busiest times of the year for starting new tenancies. Particularly for students whom are preparing to commence a year of study. This can lead to high demands for available properties and strong competition between applicants!

Once you have chosen your desired location, picked a price range and number of bedrooms you require etc. follow these tips to help you secure your desired property.

Be sure to send in a great application!
To be good it must be COMPLETE with all names, phone numbers and 100 points of identification (eg. A passport, current visa, Medicare card, drivers licence and a bill equals 100 points) also, make sure you sign where necessary and include important details of lease commencement dates and tenancy length.

Make sure you can afford the property
If you have a healthy salary show it with pay slips, (Rule of thumb should be, your after tax weekly earnings are double the weekly rent.) If you are a student without such an income try to show a healthy bank statement (eg minimum of 3- 6 months rent in savings) and look at having a parent join you on the lease. Overseas students may even be able to have parents sign parental rental guarantees for them.

Present yourself well
Be polite and well dressed when you go to see properties and talk on the phone. Often receptionists will be the ones checking your application and recommending you to the property managers. Landlords will be looking for responsible/neat people, so don’t stand around smoking or be late to an inspection! Most agencies when you borrow keys to inspect properties require a $50 cash deposit and photo ID.

Know the availability
Ring the agent and ask when the property is available to inspect and when they want someone moved in by. Ask if it you can apply before inspecting the property. Often if your application is then not successful the agent may find you another property. Most landlords will not be flexible on the move in date by more then 1-2 weeks and require a 12 month lease at the beginning of the year.

Overseas Students Visas
Be sure to include copies of current visas that remain valid though out the length of the lease (e.g. if you are signing a lease until January 2009, make sure your visa does not expire in 2008!)

For further advice and information you can download the Victorian Consumer Affairs booklet which is really easy to understand and very helpful from http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/. Read the Business Person review of the Minister for Consumer Affairs.

Good luck!

Business Nerd of the Month! MP Robinson

Born 9th May 1962 in Melbourne, Robinson is the Mitcham member of the Australian Labor Party in the Legislative Assembly. As well as looking after the portfolio of Consumer Affairs he also manages the Gaming portfolio and holds the position as Assistant to the Premier on Veterans' Affairs! This busy guy is also married with two children and has been serving Victoria for over 10 years.

Having carried out his schooling first at St Leo’s Box Hill and then a Bachelor and Masters in Business Administration at Monash University. Robinson lists his interests as including Horse racing, fishing, home brewing and blood donor. What a nice guy?

Robinson describes his role as Minister for Consumer Affairs as being ‘Committed to protecting and promoting the interests of consumers, particularly those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. I am also committed to helping make markets work better for consumers.’

One of Robinson’s larger contributions to the Fair Trading Act includes the introduction of 'Lemon Laws' for motor vehicles and other major purchases.

Any suggestions or queries about this portfolio? Contact him directly, that’s what they’re there for! tony.robinson@parliament.vic.gov.au

Number Crunch!

Calculating Monthly Rentals
Take advertised weekly rent e.g. $350 per week.
Multiply by 52 (Weeks per year) e.g. $350 x 52 = $18,200
Divide by 12 (Months per year) e.g. $18,200 ÷ 12 = $1516.66
$1516.66 is rental per calendar month

Bonds
If rent if under $350 a week bond is usually 4 weeks rent
If rent if over $350 a week bond is usually 6 weeks rent

Average Rental Price Range
Rental per week in Melbourne inner city

Bed-Sitter
Fully Furnished $200-350
Un-Furnished $150-300

One Bedroom
Fully Furnished $310-450
Un-Furnished $280-390

Two Bedrooms
Fully Furnished $400-$600
Un-Furnished $350-$500

Three Bedrooms
Fully Furnished $550-750
Un-Furnished $500-$680

Car Park $30-80

Business Nerd of the Month! David ‘Kochie’

Business Nerd of the Month! David ‘Kochie’ Koch, is best known as an Australian television personality, and financial commentator. He currently presents 7's Sunrise morning program each weekday and Where Are They Now. Koch hosts Australia's top-rated small business show, My Business, which airs on Sunday mornings on 7.Koch founded Personal Investment magazine and My Business magazine, the largest-circulation small business magazine in Australia. He also provides business and financial commentary for several publications, including Pacific Magazines and AFR Investor. Koch was a director of the NSW Small Business Development Corporation for eight years and as the current director of Pinstripe Media Pty Ltd, he speaks regularly at corporate events about small business, finance and investment issues.He was nominated for a Silver Logie in 2004 and 2005 for Best TV Presenter. The Money Management newspaper recognised Koch as one of the 10 most influential people of all time in the financial services industry and he has written several practical books on family and business financial management. Reader's Digest listed him in the top 50 Most Trusted Australians and he was recently named 2007 Australian Father of The Year by the Australian Father's Day Council. Yeah, we love successful nerds!