Independent Business Network inc.

Spring 2013

Your business growth and support system

Spring iS in the air & So are wedding bellS

7 tipS to afford a family Spring break

10 eaSy StepS to bring Spring into your home

Spring clean for the allergy SeaSon

Spring iS the time for new beginningS

makeover your child’S room thiS Spring! Photo courtesy of Brad Mitchell

Meet our M

embers

ContentsdeSign

Bringing the Outside In Kalene Cassie 410 Easy Steps to bring Spring into Your Home Robyn Hawke 6File Extensions De-mystified Angela Mitchell 8Makeover Your Child’s Room this Spring! Lesley Davies 10

education

The BIG 5 of Beginning Reading & How it Relates to Your Child Sharleen Newcombe 11

healthSpring is the Time for New Beginnings Pamela Hoy 13Renovate your Health Gary England 14

lifeStyle

Spring Clean for the Allergy Season Margaret King 15

marriageSpring is in the Air - So are Wedding Bells! 16 Pamela Hoy

taxationDon’t Spring Clean Janice Pavey 17

travel7 Tips to Afford a Family Spring Break Julie Warner 18

Property Investing, Is it for You?What is Lender’s Mortgage Insurance? courtesy TIC & Robyn Atkins 21

wealth

Zone

Exploring the Future for Local Government courtesy Castle Hill Council 22

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Welcome to the inaugural e-magazine of Independent Business Network Inc (IBNInc) - Your business growth and support system. This publication is an exciting extension to our monthly group meetings which allows us to share the experience, knowledge and expertise of our members who are all micro to small business owners in the Hills District of Sydney.

IBNInc commenced in October 2008 with the support of The Hills Shire council after three local women decided to have a regular monthly catch up to provide support to each other with their businesses. These monthly catch up sessions were so valuable in providing support, motivation and accountability to assist with the growth of their businesses; they decided to launch IBNInc to support others in business.

We strive to provide our members with a forum for open discussion on business related topics, issues and ideas along with education and the support to enable them to reach their personal and business goals.

As you browse through the magazine, you will gain insights into the broad range of talented local business owners here in the Hills. We hope the articles inspire and enlighten you as our members share their extensive knowledge in their respective fields.Until next edition – happy reading!

PresidentIndependent Business Network Inc

www.independentbusinessnetworkinc.com

editor’S letter

The weather is warming up, we’re slowly thawing out from the winter chill, and allowing thoughts of summer barbeques, ice cream and swimming pools to creep into our minds.Summer is the best time for entertaining, and now is the time to get your home summer-ready.

Tip 1

Create focal points- Look out of each window of your house and think about the view that the window is framing. The view from the window is a “picture” on the wall. Would a carefully placed pot plant or two bring that view to life? Would you prefer the view of your neighbour’s roof to be blocked by somethingDoes the space outside the window seem to be a “nothing” space? A side corridor or walkway? Turn it into a little courtyard. Hanging gardens/ wall-mounted greenery/ screens are perfect for defining a little space.

Define entertainment areas-Just like rooms inside your house, the outdoor areas also need to bedefined. Break up long decks and patios according to the use of the spaces, i.e. seating, food preparation or dining areas. This way your furniture will have “a place”, rather than looking lost or cluttered in the expanse of the deck/patio/garden. Consider covering outdoor entertainment areas with a roof, so that it creates a comfortable weatherproof and shaded area. This will also allow you to leave furniture outside so that it is readily available for casual everyday use, as well as make preparation for guests less of a chore.There are various ways to create a new roof, separate to your house, without major work to your existing roof. Roofs that are independent of the house or “floating” can sometimes work really well for outdoor entertainment areas.If you’re building new roofs, pergolas, balustrades or floors, this is the opportunity to integrate the design and type of materials to consolidate the space.Harsh west afternoon sun is best

5 tips to bring the good times to your house over and over:

From Pinterest user Samuel Kahlil pinned on Board: Courtyards

Tip 2

dealt with by the use of vertical screens or greenery to filter or block out the west light.

Let the outdoors flow into your house- This is as simple as opening windows and doors to the outdoors. Make the deck/ patio/ courtyards easily accessible. A really useful change to your kitchen is a servery with bi-fold or stacking windows from the kitchen benchtops out to the entertainment area.If insects are bothering you, you won’t open those windows or doors, so fly screens may be the only items you need to add to your house to make it more convenient to open it up to the outdoors.

www.facebook.com/homebeautifulmag

Bringing the Outside In

deSign

Tip 3

Author’s own house

4

Make your house live and breathe- Before you reach for the aircon button, open doors and windows for airflow. Be aware of the shady spots inside your house, and open those windows for cool air to flow in. You need to open windows on opposite sides of the room to get the air to flow through. Fans will help if this is not possible. High level windows and operable skylights are great for getting air flowing. As the hot air rises and is released through the higher windows, cool air is drawn through the house from open windows elsewhere. This chimney effect can also be created with stairwells. Open some windows upstairs and see how the air starts flowing through the lower part of your house as well.

Tip 4Kellyville House. Design by Craig and Kalene Cassie. Photo: author’s own

Tip 5And lastly, water features are not only calming and lovely to look at, but placed near a doorway, they cool the air down, further benefiting your airflow into the house.

Craig and Kalene Cassie have been working together since 2011 combining over 25 years experience gained in both international and

local architectural practices.Specialising in residential design, they each bring their own particular strengths and knowledge to provide simple, creative and cost effective solutions in response to Client-specific needs. They strive to encompass sustainable design and construction practices in all their projects.They are currently working on some exciting residential projects including unique new homes, dual occupancy homes, refurbishments, and alterations & additions to existing houses.

Pool pavilion at Castle Hill. Design by Craig and Kalene Cassie. Built by DJ Constructions. Photograph: Darren Chung

Duffy’s Forest Garden by Joanne Green Landscape Designs

By Becci Harris on Houzz.com

Nikau House - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Archithetics/499682926755073 www.cassieandcassie.com

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10 Easy Steps to put Spring into YOUR Home

With spring quickly approaching it is time to start thinking about introducing freshness and colour to your home. To give your home a spring clean, means you are cleaning out the cobwebs of winter and introducing a freshness to your place. So where to start? Easy, look to nature for your inspiration. Check out the colours in flowers and leaves and use them as your starting point for colour muse.

The colours of spring and summer are very different from those of the snuggling, cocooning ones of winter. Yes, lots of magazines will tell you to repaint and great if you have the budget to do so but not everyone is inclined to paint with the change of seasons, in fact I have never met anyone who does.So if you decide that repainting is out of the question there are a number of simple cost effective ways of achieving this without breaking the bank and taking up all your spare time.

1. Declutter your space, store all items in their correct place,

wash down walls and have windows sparkling, yes literally spring clean

2. Introduce vases of freshly cut flowers or decorative leaves, you can use quirky ideas such as old bottles

3. Change bedcovers from the warm hues to those of white, turquoise, blues and greens. Teaming colour with white is a fantastic way of creating a fresh look.

4. If you wish to use yellow, a word of warning, do not put in bedrooms except as an accent as yellow stimulates the brain and will keep poor sleepers awake.

5. In the lounge room/living areas change rugs and scatter cushions to the hues indicated above

6. If you use throws, remove the fur or highly textured ones to smooth ones to remove the psychological effect of warmth

7. If you only use artwork as source of colour in a room than change these over to more spring feel, obviously ignore this piece of advice if you have investment pieces

8. Accessorise with lighter pieces

such as lampshades, glassware, bowls etc. This is where the more budget type shops come into their own as you can pick up decorating items such as coloured balls, stones, candles etc which can then be placed in a beautiful glass bowl

9. Arrange a collection of white frames in an interesting arrangement and fill with coloured papers, fabric, and even just attach an empty decorative frame to your walls and let the colour behind shine, especially if you have a feature wall

10. Use fabrics such as linen, cotton and seagrass. They all empower the feeling of spring.

Photo by Brabourne Farm via Bella Vista Flower Merchants.

www.inspiredspaces.com.au

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Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg) - Named after the committee that developed this format: This is the ext usually used for photographs or multi coloured images. A .jpg can be compressed down to a size that can be downloaded or uploaded to the Internet quickly. You can reduce the size of a .jpg by cropping or reducing the dpi (dots per inch) For instance if you wanted to print a photograph, for your own use, then the more dpi the better the clarity. You can also reduce the height and width of the image, but do this after you have reduced the dpi and cropped.Copyright is another reason you may wish to compress your images before sharing them on line. If you are concerned about people using your images for commercial purposes and therefore making income from your intellectual property, the smaller the image the better! The maximum size recommended would be 500 pixels in width

Tip: You can reduce or enlarge any picture, without distortion if you hold down the ‘shift key’ while dragging on the corner.

Graphics Interchange Format (.gif): Usually reserved for solid colours i.e. clip art or cartoons and perhaps logos that consists of 2 or 3 colours. One advantage with using a .gif on a website is that it can have a transparent background, meaning that you can place it anywhere on any background and it won’t have a border. Portable Network Graphic (.png):Kind of the middle man, between .jpgs and .gifs. These are for images that involve the use of more colours. They can have a transparent background, the files produced will be larger and therefore a bit slower for downloading but they are usually a better quality than .gif. and very versatile

Tagged Image File Format(.tif): Scanners used to save images with this file ext. most scanners now give you format choices. A .tif can be suitable for print, if the artwork is created with CMYK (this is the colour regime used by printers)

File Extensions De-MystifiedUnderstanding extensions (and I am not talking about adding on to your house!) and their correct usage can cause much angst amongst many of us. When you are asked to provide images to your graphic or website designer does this send you into a panic and leave you with so many questions?In order to explain file extensions, and how to understand what they mean, it’s necessary to give a little bit of the history of file extensions. What is a file extension? Well, it’s those extra characters, normally 3 of them, that come at the very end of a file name, after the period (.) e.g. FileExtension.jpgHere are a few of the more common file extensions and their uses that you may comeacross when developing your on-line and printed business materials:

Extensions Used for On Line

www.meamdesign.com.au

8

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Postcard_for_print_Lily.pdf 1 31/07/13 9:39 AM

Portable Document Format (.pdf): Adobe’s native file format that is read by Adobe Acrobat which is a free down loadable program if it is not already installed on your system. The .pdf format is used for exchange of information and allows people using different systems and versions of software to open and view a single document.The .pdf has a wide variety of uses, for the web or interactive forms. The Adobe software gives a designer the ability to choose if the document is for print, it also shows the printer crop marks and document information including: instructions, bleeds etc.Some printers are happy if you provide them with a .pdf, just keep in mind that any images or articles should use the CMYK colour profile!Encapsulated PostScript (.eps): This is very powerful and perfect for print. If you want an excellent outcome for your print needs: posters, magazine ads etc, then your large format photo’s need to be converted to an .eps. This is not a simple “save as” selection but your designer should know how to do this, or – if you are up for a challenge and have Photoshop, you can Google “how to ready photo’s for print”.When working on your next business project selecting the correct file format should no longer be a mystery!

sample.png

sample.pdf

The above photo was prepared for print, in photoshop, for use on a postcard.

Below: the original file supplied, can you spot the difference?

9

Makeover Your Child’s Room this Spring!Spring is the perfect time to throw out excess ‘stuff’, wash the curtains, re-decorate and generally freshen up a room or your whole home.

Why not give your child a fresh start to the warmer season by doing a mini makeover for their bedroom or playroom. Here are some easy, affordable ideas for turning a drab room into a fab room!Sort through toy boxes - Kids accumulate a lot of toys that they no longer play with, the toys and games at the bottom of the toy box are usually broken, missing parts, have been outgrown or just plain forgotten about. Get three boxes marked KEEP, DONATE & THROW and sort the toys into these boxes. You can then give the toy box a thorough clean and neatly stack the toys from the KEEP box back in.

Next is the wardrobe and drawers – pull out all the shoes and clothes, sort through them again throw them into your three boxes. When you have the ones you would like to

keep you can then neatly arrange them in the wardrobe in order of season, so everything is easy to find. Go through any cupboards – these can fill up fast! They are great hiding places when you do a quick clean up so they are usually full of DVD’s, CD’s and odds and ends of toys. Again sort them into the three boxes and only put back what you know your child will use. The aim here is to clear the clutter!! Donate anything that is still in good working order, or clothes that are in reasonable condition, there is always someone out there that will be able to use it. Now that everything is cleared out, choose a colour scheme or a theme for your room. You can then purchase some key items for the room, such as a new quilt cover and sheets, a bedside lamp and if needed repaint the walls to reflect the theme you have decided on. To add that extra element of design and creativity, choose some removable decals (stickers) to apply to the walls. They look fantastic, are easy to apply and there are some very affordable ones on the market.

Some can be removed multiple times without damaging the wall surface, so they are great for kids who can fast outgrow a particular theme. They are also the perfect decorating tool for those who rent, as there is no need to put holes in the walls to hang things.Follow these simple steps and your child’s room will become not only a great place to sleep, but a space that will encourage imagination, creativity and most of all FUN!

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www.2beecreative.com.au

The BIG 5 Of Beginning Reading and How It Relates To Your Child.

There are five critical skills that support a child, or any person, in learning to read. These include: Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters of the alphabet and use these sounds to form words, also taught through phonics. Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to communicate effectively.Fluency: The ability to read a passage of words quickly and accurately.Comprehension: The ability to process what text and make meaning from it. It is essentially the reason for reading.

How to help your child develop the Big 5 skills

Ask children what sound is the same in a verbal list of 3 words. Q: what sound is the same in ran, red, rub. A: The first sound /r/ is the same.Ask which is the odd one out e.g. toss, top, pop, which one doesn’t belong? A: pop doesn’t belong it doesn’t begin with /t/.Alphabetic principle is all about phonics and understanding that there are predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Knowing how letters correspond to sounds is essential for sounding out segments of words and blending these to form ‘recognisable’ words. There are a variety of programs and methods to teach phonics used in Kindergarten classrooms across Australia.You can reinforce phonics through flashcards of letters and asking your child to give the sound/s each letter makes. There are many websites, and songs available on YouTube, to reinforce each sound. Starfall is a free website that covers each sounds and a search for Jolly Phonics or Ants in the Apple on YouTube will get you started.Vocabulary i s a l l about understanding words heard, spoken and read. Reading a recognisable

word is much easier than trying to decode an unfamiliar word. A child’s oral vocabulary is a vital tool in making sense of words in print. A child must also know what words mean before they can make any meaning or comprehension from what they are reading. Vocabulary can be developed incidentally when a child listens to an adult read, engages in conversations and begins to read on their own. Extend your child’s vocabulary by introducing new words each day, when they see a dog discuss what type or breed of dog it is. Talk about feelings, smells, likes and dislikes. Anticipated unfamiliar words can be discussed and explained prior to reading to support success in reading.

Fluency is all about the automaticity of reading. Once a child can read fluently their cognitive efforts previously used for decoding words is freed to understand what they read.

Fluency can be promoted in the home by reading aloud to model the tone, and pace of how to read then let the child repeat what was read. One minute reading is effective

Phonemic awareness is all about the sounds that letters make in words. Talking about and saying rhymes, clapping syllables in words, and using onset in games like I spy something beginning with the sound /sh/ for an item such as shoe are easy and fun ways to develop phonemic awareness for pre-schoolers. These games don’t require any letter recognition and are great for playing in the car or whilst out walking or in the park.Other activities include Asking children to identify what the first sound is in a given word e.g. sun, the first sound is /s/;

education

image courtesy of ‘Hyena reality’ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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just for fluency, model reading for a minute, then allow your child to read the same passage for a minute. Make it a game each day see how much further they can get when reading the same passage for 1 minute. Busy parents can involve the whole family in reading aloud and together or invest in CD books for children to read along. Alternatively see what is available on line.Comprehension is all about understanding what is being read. To be able to read the words on a page but not understand it is not really reading at all. Good readers have a purpose for reading, this may be for entertainment, instructions, or to find information.Once a child can read the words ask him, or her, to retell what was read. Ask questions about who did what and consider why? During reading stop and guess what might happen next or discuss what would you do if that was you. All this discussion gets the child thinking about what they are reading and helps to sharpen their comprehension skills. It’s okay to go back to the text to find answers show a child how this is done. Remember to think about the hidden messages in a

story, sometimes the answers are not found directly in the text. These hidden meanings are often what children find the most challenging so expose your child to thinking beyond what’s on the page and have some fun reading between the lines.

AcknowledgementsThe above article was based on research and findings in “Put Reading First: Kindergarten through Grade 3” published by The Partnership for Reading: U.S and the National Reading Panel, “Teaching Children to Read:…”.

Article supplied courtesy of Advanced Education SolutionsSolving your home tutoring needswww.aestutors.com02 8660 9660

image courtesy of Robert Cochrane, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Alphabet by Dan, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

image courtesy of DDPavumbaFreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Spring is the Time for New Beginnings!

Hypnotherapy and Counselling may assist you reduce and even remove unsatisfactory thoughts, feelings and behaviours in a safe and comfortable manner. When both therapy techniques are utilized, you receive the benefit of your conscious and your subconscious participating in the sessions. This increases the opportunity for you to achieve your personal gaols. Counselling encourages you to discuss your challenges in a cognitive (conscious) manner. Talking openly about your problems to a trained practitioner who is non-judgmental, empathetic, and who will also retain your confidentiality can be extremely uplifting. You will be guided to recognise your negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours and how they impact on all aspects of your daily life. You then decide if you are ready to make the changes necessary for a more empowering lifestyle. The therapist has the expertise to assist you using many different modalities, so together you can develop strategies that are tailored for you individually to overcome your challenges.

In the same session relaxation therapy is introduced. There is no pressure for you to be completely relaxed, just enjoy feeling a little calmer emotionally and less tense physically. During this part of the session, you may rest in a comfortable position, while the therapist speaks in a calming voice. You choose whether to leave your eyes open, or close them. Deep breathing exercises are explained, muscular tension and release is practiced followed by visualisation. Most clients feel tranquil at this stage and yet are still very aware of their surroundings.Hypnotherapy completes the session. With the therapist`s assistance, you can safely access your subconscious to explore your challenges further, letting go of your self defeating beliefs, feelings and reactions to painful events. Once the negative emotions have been removed, you are then gently directed how to incorporate positive, realistic beliefs. Thus creating appropriate and helpful methods of reacting to future challenges in an empowering manner.There are a huge number of issues

Spring Clean your Mind and Lifestyle hypnotherapy and counselling may assist clients to overcome. Issues may include:

* Anger management* Anxiety reduction * Bed wetting* Child birth fears* Grief and loss* Infertility * Insomnia * Pain management* Phobias * Pregnancy* Relationship resolution* Stop smoking* Weight Reduction. Now may be the right time for you to improve your daily life, so consider making an appointment with a qualified, registered clinical hypnotherapist and/or counsellor. You may be surprised how quickly you achieve your goals and enjoy a happier and healthier life style.

Phone: 9634 6262

health

www.hypnotherapyandcounselling.com

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Renovate Your Health

Most people are keen to improve themselves, but are less keen to change in order to do it. Against this backdrop, the best remedy for success is not to deprive yourself of what you enjoy, but to switch to a better alternative.Coffee is the world’s most consumed drink, next to water and the most traded product next to oil. It has many benefits to all, but can have undesirable side effects for some people’s constitutions. Despite this, billions of people drink an average of three cups a day and millions pay up to $5 per cup.HotBeverageHealth offers the Organo Gold range of drinks as a significant weapon in the fight against ailments and in combating the cons of coffee, whilst simultaneously rewarding consumers through best gourmet quality, taste and potential recognition through availing the products to others.Our productsOrgano Gold has scientifically developed a healthy alternative to regular coffee that not only offers

the Gourmet taste, but makes people feel great by infusing the coffee with the power of the Ganoderma Lucidum. Some of our products include: gourmet black coffee, cafe mocha, cafe latte, hot chocolate and green tea.* Organo Gold’s Gourmet

Black Coffee is sure to attract and awaken your senses. Its dark smooth taste and deep aroma infused with authentic Ganoderma introduces coffee lovers to a new and delicious alternative. With OG’s Black Coffee you can instantly enjoy the taste of freshly brewed coffee. It’s 100% Arabica coffee with no fillers added.

* Our aromatic coffee combined with the finest cocoa brings about our guilt-free “Dessert in a Cup”. OG’s Gourmet Café Mocha combines a sweet rich coffee taste and authentic Ganoderma Lucidum for the perfect energizing after-dinner drink.

* A House Favourite, OG Gourmet Café Latte blends high quality aromatic Arabica coffee beans with authentic Ganoderma. Perfect for breakfast or as a

relaxing drink, the coffee’s light, sweet and creamy taste makes it the ideal start for any morning.

* A unique blend of smooth rich hot chocolate taste and authentic Ganoderma warms your body during cold days. Highly requested, OG is proud to present a great tasting Gourmet Hot Chocolate that everyone can enjoy.

* The exceptionally soothing and flavourful character of Organic Green Tea combines the best organic green tea leaves with our renowned Organic Ganoderma.

Ganoderma Lucidum is a herb which has traditionally been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years to enhance longevity. It is extremely alkaline and is believed to lower the acidity of coffee and thereby make it easier on the human digestive system. The health benefits of Ganoderma Lucidum are reported to be widespread and a quick search of the internet produces a number of studies which promote the many and varied benefits of regular consumption of the product. We continue to be rewarded with personal testimonials from consumers as to a large variety of health benefits being experienced.To know more about the different package benefits and how our team can support you, please contact us at

contact@hotbeveragehealth.com

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Microfiber systems are faster, easier and better for you, your family and the environment. These cloths are designed to last two to three years with regular use. They will save you time, money and your health. With no cleaning products to purchase you will save money at the grocery store every time you shop. Think also about saving the landfill from disposable products, the increasing costs of electricity or gas as you only need to use a small amount of cold water to clean. No more overpowering chemical fumes in your home, no chemicals going down the drain to the waterways, no more scrubbing and best of all, no more rinsing.

You can’t put a price on your time so why waste hours of your free time cleaning, when it can be done in less than half the time with a microfibre system.And, you certainly can’t put a price on your health, so with the allergy season fast approaching, now is the time to rid your home of all those nasty chemicals once and for all.Take a look at the before and after photos. Can you imagine cleaning your stove with just water on a glove? You can clean the whole kitchen including the oven with cold water and microfibres.Personally I had over 30 years of dermatitis on my hands and

was a fanatical cleaner using every chemical I could to rid my home of bacteria and protect my family. As soon as I changed to microfibre cleaning I didn’t need gloves, disposable cloths, masks or scrubbing brushes. I didn’t even need “bleach clothes”.Ergonomically designed to keep you upright and no more scrubbing my back and elbows have improved out of sight. I no longer need to have a lie down after cleaning!How would it feel to have a chore turned into a joy and give back

Did you know it is possible to clean your shower, fully dressed in 3 minutes flat? It is! Using a system of microfiber cleaning cloths and water, you can eliminate chemicals from your cleaning regime inside and outside the home.

Spring Clean for theAllergy Season

lifeStyle

Margaret KingENJOpreneur GoldPh: 9862 9966Mob: 0418 166 016

valuable time to do the things you love? Call me for an in-home demonstration on how cleaning can actually be fun. You will see and feel the difference.

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You may have chosen your wedding date, the venue, who will be in the bridal party and even your wedding dress. However choosing a Marriage Celebrant is best done with plenty of time prior to your wedding date so you have the opportunity of building a rapport with the celebrant. You are also legally required to complete the” Notice Of Intended Marriage” form with the celebrant at least a month prior to your special day.When searching for just the right celebrant it may be helpful to consider, availability on your proposed wedding date as well as the actual time. The celebrants proximity to either where you live, or to the wedding venue. Whether the celebrant is experienced. If you have any special requirements such as cultural rituals, language variations, is the celebrant able to assist with these requirements?Recommendations of celebrants from friends and family is a great way of sourcing who may be suited

to you. Observing celebrants officiate marriage ceremonies that you attend may be helpful in determining if that celebrant meets your requirements. Surfing the net is perhaps the most widely used method of finding celebrants in your location. Your marriage ceremony is all about you, so ask as many celebrants, as many questions as you wish. You may feel more comfortable if you explain that you are just making inquiries at this stage when you contact them. When you feel you have chosen the right celebrant for you, make an appointment for the initial meeting. Most celebrants offer 2 or 3 meetings during the planning stage. At the first meeting, if you decide this celebrant is definitely the person for you, you will be asked to complete the “Notice of Intended Marriage” form and possibly pay a non-refundable deposit which secures the celebrants services for the scheduled date and time of your wedding. At this meeting your wishes and needs will be discussed and documented, the celebrant may offer to lend you the resources he/she has available in order for you to select the style of ceremony, any

readings, poems and vows that you may like to include.The second meeting may incorporate additional information and any changes you make like to make. Some couples choose to have a wedding rehearsal. It may be conducted during this meeting or at some other stage. However you are not obligated to have a rehearsal.The celebrant usually drafts the schedule of your service for your perusal. You edit it as you wish and return the draft to the celebrant.If a 3rd meeting is required it may be to finalise any details from the draft, or to have the rehearsal at that time.

Authorised Civil Celebrants are usually happy for the bridal couple to phone or email them as often as they need to update information or to ask questions, and this can be very reassuring. Celebrants enjoy the opportunity of providing the wedding ceremony of your dreams, and are happy to comply with the couples wishes. However it is necessary for the legally required wording to be incorporated during your ceremony. Your chosen celebrant will have all relevant information and legally required paperwork available for you.

Your celebrant will offer you and your guests a relaxed ceremony which may create lifelong happy memories.

All legally required documentation will be sent to the necessary department to register your marriage by your celebrant.

Spring is in the Air

Congratulations on yourforthcoming marriage.

So are Wedding Bells!

marriage celebrant

www.pamelahoymarriagecelebrant.com

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Don’t Spring Clean!

Income tax: record keeping - electronic records.

What records do you need to keep?Under tax law, you must keep records:

* that specify and explain all transactions. This includes any documents that are relevant for the purpose of working out your tax liabilities. You should make records of transactions as soon as they occur or as soon as possible afterwards.

* relating to all taxes for which you are liable. This may include income tax, goods and services tax, pay as you go taxes, capital gains tax, and fringe benefits tax

* relating to any election, choice, determination or calculation made under a tax law, including the basis on which any were made.

These records must generally be kept for a minimum of five years.The Australian Tax Office provides a booklet for further information: Record keeping for small business (NAT 3029, 702KB). You can order this from the tax office or ask your tax agent.On the Tax office website there is also the Record keeping evaluation tool. This helps you understand what records you need to keep and evaluates whether your record keeping practices are adequate. It provides a list of records tailored for your business, a report on how well your business is keeping its records, and suggested improvements where appropriate.You can download the Record keeping evaluation tool from

the Australian Taxation Office website.Managing invoices, payments and record keepingInvoicing customers, paying creditors and keeping records are essential parts of running your business. You need to keep a range of records, the most common being about your income, expenses, assets, trading stock, employees, debtors, creditors and banking.Using your informationAs you run your business,your records to prepare reports for the Tax office, to monitor your business health, make better business decisions and to plan for your business future.Visits and adviceThe tax office can conduct advisory visits to help you set up and maintain your invoicing, payments and records systems. More advice is also available from tax professionals or organizations, specializing in assisting business. If you need more information – ask your tax agent.Lost or destroyed recordsIf your records are lost or destroyed, the tax office can help – just talk to them or your tax agent.This information is available on the Australian Taxation Office, I have used this content with some additions and comments of my own.

What I mean is be very careful about spring cleaning your tax records.Did you know the tax office can impose penalties if you haven’t kept proper records? Or you may not claim everything you are entitled to because you don’t have records.Do you know how long you need to keep records for tax purposes?Do you know what records you should be keeping?

Following is an extract from the Australian Tax Office website detailing their view on the subject of Record keeping and retention;

By law, you must keep business records:

Now that I have your attention.

* generally for five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transaction is completed, whichever occurs latest

* in English or in a form that can be accessed and understood in order to work out the tax you are liable to pay.

Some records may need to be kept for longer periods, such as records relating to capital gains tax events – purchase and sale of equipment or property for example.

You can issue and store records in either paper or electronic format.For more information about:

* what types of records you must keep in relation to income tax and other taxes, refer to taxation ruling TR 96/7: Income tax: record keeping - section 262A - general principles

* electronic records, refer to taxation ruling TR 2005/9:

taxation

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www.sydneytaxationservices.com.au

7 Tips to Afford a Family Spring Break!

travel

How to cut the cost of your holiday in a few easy steps:

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With people concerned about the credit crunch, rising fuel costs, increases in the costs of food, housing and transport this has led to holidaymakers becoming savvier when booking their Spring break.

With Aussies reluctant to give up their annual break away, holidaymakers have been forced into finding new ways to stretch their dollars further.

Travellers these days have so many options available when planning and booking their getaways and this all adds up to tons of ways that money can be saved. For the really savvy traveller, if you have the time to invest in researching your destination, the ways to get there and travel around after you have arrived, then there are money saving opportunities at every step.

Research on-line and at travel agencies, the prices do vary greatly and on-line is not always the most economical. Don’t get caught by clever marketing “Sales” adverts – always compare two to three providers so you know you are getting the best deal and true value for your money. Booking separate airfares and hotels yourself, direct with the company is often cheaper than packaged deal prices being offered.

Ask questions, think of all the ways your itinerary can be constructed, sometimes by changing the order of your itinerary this can result in a lower cost fare

Book off-peak and mid-week if possible. Generally Friday, Saturday and Sunday attract additional supplements. Try and travel outside the holiday and peak periods, even a few days either side of these can vary the price significantly.

Transfers – now this is where you can really save some dollars. Instead of booking transfers through

your travel agent, research other independent options available such as shuttles, buses, trains or taxi. This can save you money as well as getting you amongst the locals and soaking up the atmosphere as soon as you arrive,

Shop around for currency deals. If you are using hard currency or travellers cheques, it is important to look for the best rates. Check with your bank as to what they can offer in terms of currency and also for accessing your funds whilst away. Travel money cards are proving the most affordable and convenient way to both take and access your money overseas. These are easy to use and you can lock in the best exchange rate before you depart as you load currencies at their peak rates.

Research your travel insurance! Travellers often mistakenly add hundreds of dollars a year onto the cost of their trip by not taking out the best value policy. A quick search on the internet will throw up several insurance comparison sites. Also, check with your credit

www.juliewarnertravelplans.com

Happy Travels

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card company or consider obtaining quotes from companies that you have existing insurance policies with, such as; home and contents, car or private health insurance companies. You will often receive significant savings when you take out multiple policies with the one company.

Pre purchase attraction tickets and travel passes. Research available tickets and passes to attractions you want to visit whilst on your trip. A quick search on the internet will show a number of sites that will offer these at discounted prices if bought in advance.

Travelling is seen as a luxury item when we are going through hard times financially and as something that the average person feels they can’t afford. It really doesn’t have to be such a big expense. There are many ways that a holiday can be constructed to be cost effective and family friendly, yes – even to international destinations!

PROPERTY INVESTING, Is it for You?

50+ Year lows for cash rate; the lowest of our generation!

What interest rates are doing has become a very hot topic!

I can tell you what they are doing to the property market and that is exciting homeowners immensely!

With news like:

House prices in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne have led rises in most of the capitals with buyer confidence surging to its highest level since 2007, according to separate reports released yesterday this

Sydney is on the verge of a huge spring property surge, as the stars align to create perfect conditions for house price growth

Perth house prices are climbing at their fastest rate in three years, new figures show, with the Reserve Bank set to make it even easier to buy into the property market this

AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker, processed over $3.4 billion of mortgages last month - an increase of 25% over July 2012!

July is traditionally a quieter month for mortgages than August, and last month’s strong figure reflects reports of active property markets over the winter

GFC gloom forgotten as city house prices surge ahead

Real estate price surge for Sydney property market

Perth leads house price revival

wealth

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What is Lenders Mortgage Insurance??

Depending on your lender ’s requirements, Lenders Mortgage Insurance allows you to borrow up to 95% of the purchase price of your home, with a lower deposit than is usually required.Traditionally, lenders require borrowers to have at least a 20% deposit. However by using Lenders Mortgage Insurance, lenders are able to offer lower deposit home loans. Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender if a borrower is unable to meet their mortgage repayments and the property has to be sold.If the proceeds from the sale of the property are insufficient to cover the outstanding loan balance and other costs incurred by your lender in relation to enforcing the mortgage, the lender is able to claim any shortfall from the insurer calculated in accordance with the terms of the insurance policy.Lenders Mortgage Insurance can either be paid upfront or capitalised into the loanIt depends on the circumstances – your lender can advise whether a partial refund of the insurance premium is applicable in your case.

A partial refund is available in the first one to two years depending on your lender and the Lenders Mortgage Insurance provider.Note: Lenders Mortgage Insurance should not be mistaken for Mortgage Protection Insurance, which covers your mortgage repayments in the event of death, sickness, unemployment or disability.As the largest mortgage insurer in the country, Genworth therefore definitely has their proverbial finger on the pulse, with regards to the current state of home buyer confidence.

In their July 2013 report, they covered:

* The Genworth Homebuyer Confidence Index ( HCI ) increased by 7.2% between March 2013 and July 2013, from 93.4 to 100.1, the highest increase the Genworth HCI has seen to date, a 5.1% decrease between September 2012 and March 2013. This is back to the highest level, from 6 years ago, from before the GFC!

Is the premium refundable if the loan is repaid early?* In July 2013, FHB confidence

increased to the highest recorded level at 99.9, up from 85.9 in March 2013. While the July figure reflects a marked increase of 16.3%, it also reflects a return in the Index to its long-term level and mirrors the overall rebound in confidence regarding future repayments.

All in all, very positive conditions for housing in general!

And finally, it is always worth remembering, that there are always many others less fortunate than us in the world. If we all did a little to help others we would make an amazing difference

If you have any questions about this article, require further information or if you require extra income we are looking for Property Consultants contact:

Robyn Atkins 0418 447 815

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In 2013, the Minister for Local Government appointed an ‘Independent Review Panel’ to look at improving the strength and effectiveness of Local Government in New South Wales.Since then, The Panel has been investigating options for governance models, structural arrangements and boundary changes for Local Government in NSW, taking into consideration the terms of reference of the review including:The ability to support the current and future needs of local communitiesThe ability to deliver services and infrastructure efficientlyThe financial sustainability of each Local Government area* The ability for local

representation and decision making; and

* Barriers and incentives to encourage voluntary boundary changes.

Recently, The Panel released a number of recommendations, including the suggestion that Councils should consider merging or realigning boundaries to achieve greater sustainability. The panel recommends only the consideration of slight boundary adjustments with neighbouring Councils for The Hills Shire Council, and potentially a future merger with Hawkesbury Council. However, Council has unanimously supported a plan that would result in larger yet fewer Councils in Sydney’s North West.Under the plan, Council’s boundaries would be altered to include parts of Hawkesbury, Hornsby and Parramatta Local Government Areas (LGAs), while the suburb of Oatlands would come under the full control of Parramatta.

This proposal forms part of Council’s submission to the Independent Local Government Review Panel’s 20 Essential Steps report, and outlines what Council considers to be logical adjustments reflecting natural boundaries, communities of interest, planning relationships and strategic positioning. This suggested significant boundary realignment will not only result in a greater degree of financial sustainability and service delivery, but will greatly enhance representation in terms of communities of interest, growth,

Exploring the Future for Local Government

More information about the Independent Local Government Review, what it means for communities and the next steps for The Panel, can be found at

www.localgovernmentreview.nsw.gov.au

planning, infrastructure delivery and relations with other State Government departments.

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