Tech Tax Time - Its Tax Time Again. Part 1

Well its that time again...wow!!!!!! has it been a year.....It seams like we just submitted our tax returns for 2007 - 2008....

So how was 2008 - 2009 for you?

Did you earn more or less? Did you spend more or less? Do you know how you spent and how you earned?

Although to most of us tax is as exciting as watching paint dry!!!!

Its is here to stay..I mean thanks to taxes and optical fibre technology,

we are getting a high speed broadband service around Australia.... so lets work with it and get the most we can out of the situation...

There are some great technical tools to help us throughout the year, to make tax time easier and help us keep an eye on our finances.

Lets start with what we can do throughout the year personally.

There are a lot of software packages and online tools that can help us budget, plan and spend our money a lot smarter.

I was always a fan of Microsoft Money but unfortunately Microsoft have stop producing this software package.

So I did some research. I checked out a few software packages, websites and banks...I decided not to review the websites and banks as these facilities although readily available and economical leave all your finance details in the 1 basket and as you get to know me you will find that I am not a fan of the whole all eggs in 1 basket routine.

So out of all the software packages I believe Quicken Personal 2009 was the better choice: It has...and I quote "All the necessary tools to manage finances, prepare for tax time and plan for the future. Personal is for those who want to play an active role in the management of their personal finances". (From http://home.quicken.com.au).....

Now the non salesman explanation!!!!!!

Quicken Personal 2009 was reasonably price at a RRP of $95.00. It was easy to install and setup...It does take a little time to get used too working out where to put your information but you will quickly get up to speed. Before you know it you will be incontrol and completely aware of your financial situation, budget, bank balances and tax time.

Even though we have busy lives we should take the time to keep a check on our finances through out the year. You will be amazed to see where, what and how much we spend!!!!!

For those who have Vista there are now gadgets within Quicken that tells us vital information on our desktop...without having to keep Quicken open.

So checkout Quicken Personal 2009 at http://home.quicken.com.au/Pages/Product.aspx?catid=7 its well worth downloading and checking out the trial version.

In part 2 of Tech Tax Time we will discuss lodging our tax online.

Remember to always have Fun!!!!

The Technologist