Home » 7 MoneySmart Tools for Enhancing Your Financial Literacy

7 MoneySmart Tools for Enhancing Your Financial Literacy

November 12th, 2019

Want help managing your finances? The MoneySmart website is run by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to help people make the most of their money. It’s a website for all Australians – young or old, rich or poor, investing or paying off debt. 

The MoneySmart website is your ticket to free, independent guidance. If you find yourself in a time of financial stress, it can be the boat that will help you ride the storm. Here, we break down some of the best online tools found on the MoneySmart website.

Budget planner

The Budget Planner lets you work out where your money is going. You can complete basic items such as:

• Income 
• Home and utilities
• Insurance and financial
• Groceries
• Personal and medical
• Entertainment
• Transport and auto
• Children

Alternatively, you can create your own custom items. You can even change the currency, save your results online, or download an Excel budget spreadsheet. 

The estimated time for using the budget planner is 20 minutes. 

Mortgage calculator

The Mortgage Calculator lets you determine how much you can borrow, how much your mortgage repayments will be and how you can pay your home loan off sooner. The tool is a model and not an accurate prediction, however, the estimates provided can be a helpful tool when planning to buy a home or apply for a home loan. 

The estimated time for completing the mortgage calculator is five minutes. 

Income tax calculator

The income tax calculator lets you see how much Australian income tax you should be paying and what your take home salary will be when the tax and Medicare levy are removed. Remember that the Medicare levy is based on individual rates and does not take into account family income or dependent children. 

The income tax calculator can help you budget accurately, knowing the ‘actual’ money you receive as income. The estimated time to complete the income tax calculator is 10 seconds. 

Compound interest calculator

The compound interest calculator helps you to work out what money you’ll have if you save a regular amount and how compounding will increase your savings interest. You can also determine the difference between saving now and saving later. 

The estimated time for completing the compound interest calculator is five minutes. 

Personal loan calculator

The personal loan calculator lets you work out how much you can borrow, how much your repayments will be and how you can pay your personal loan off sooner. The tool gives you an estimated amount, so bear in mind that the actual amounts may be higher or lower depending on your lender. The calculation does not include extras such as establishment or account fees.

The estimated time for completing the personal loan calculator is five minutes. 

Retirement planner

The retirement planner helps you to work out what income you are likely to have from super and the age pension when you retire. It looks at how your contributions, investment options, fees and retirement age affects your retirement income from super. It also helps you see what the impact would be on retirement if you took a break from work or dropped back to part-time. 

The estimated time to complete the retirement planner is five minutes. 

Superannuation calculator

The superannuation calculator helps you see how much super you will have when you retire and the impact your fees will have on your estimated final payout. This can help you shop around to find the right superannuation fund for you. Bear in mind that the calculator cannot predict your final superannuation benefit with certainty because this will depend on your personal circumstances, including unexpected events in your life and external factors such as investment earnings, tax and inflation. 

The superannuation calculator assumes that you can make steady, predictable contributions and that all assumptions including these external factors will operate at set, steady rates for as long as you remain in the fund.

The estimated time for completing the superannuation calculator is five minutes. 

 

Making the most of MoneySmart tools

Since July 2008, ASIC has been the government agency with overall responsibility for financial literacy. Effective programs and strategies to build financial literacy are informed by research and analysis and utilise best practice and lessons learnt from experts in the field. 

Financial literacy is important because it equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to manage money effectively. Without financial literacy, your decisions and the actions you take (or don’t take) lack an informed foundation to maximise success. 

Financial literacy matters on many levels, and that’s why MoneySmart is continually updating its online tools. The tools are easy-to-use, time-efficient and a great baseline for understanding your financial decision. 

Thinking about taking out a loan with Nimble? Why not make the most of the tools available on the MoneySmart website and get to know your money before you apply. 

Disclaimer: Please note this content is provided as general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situations or needs. For advice tailored to your financial situation, it is advised that you seek guidance from an accountant or financial advisor. The above post refers to application software (“App, Apps”) that is not affiliated or associated with Nimble. We do not have any control or responsibility over the content of the Apps. Use of the Apps may be subject to further terms and conditions imposed by the App provider, the owner of the mobile operating system and/or other related parties. The above links belong to a variety of websites and not Nimble, so clicking on, and using them, will take you away from Nimble’s website meaning we’ve got no control or responsibility over the content. Nimble does not endorse and is not affiliated or associated in any way whatsoever to the businesses named in this blog post. The information contained in this article is correct at the date of publication.