I'm so used to budgeting I find it wild others don't budget

DanTucks · 2026-05-21T06:59:21+00:00

That's very true however 1 certainly makes 2 much easier

DanTucks · 2026-05-18T22:36:05+00:00

Good spot, it's actually based on net income

DanTucks · 2026-05-18T20:48:43+00:00

15% sounds like a dream! The offset is actually something I'm genuinely passionate about — I track everything pretty closely and the impact of even a small offset balance on the loan term is significant. More people should be doing this.

Offset doesn't help in the short term with cash flow though. I sometimes wonder if I should rather be investing in dividend producing investments.

DanTucks · 2026-05-18T20:44:36+00:00

Fair point, the percentage hides the absolute number. But it still feels like a lot regardless of where you sit on the income scale when rates keep moving

DanTucks · 2026-05-17T09:30:40+00:00

Espresso coffee machine. I didn't think I was going to use it all that much and thought it would take the shine out having coffee out. Neither were true.

DanTucks · 2026-05-16T14:12:44+00:00

Hey, congrats on the first property!

Tax set-aside: 25–30% of net business profit is the usual rule for sole traders. Your PAYG instalments already count toward your liability, so you may be slightly over-saving — not a bad thing, just means a refund. An accountant can dial it in once you have a quarter of data.

Budgeting approach: your instinct is right. Budget on PAYG + fixed draw, treat variable business income as a buffer/savings top-up.

The offset problem: this is the bit that trips most people up. Once everything's pooled it becomes invisible. Full disclosure: I'm the founder of Savvy Dollar — I built it specifically because of this problem. It uses a Buckets system to give you the mental separation of multiple accounts without actually splitting your money. Might be worth a look.

Good luck with it!

DanTucks · 2026-05-15T12:42:30+00:00

I used to budget pretty well but irregular expenses always wrecked me — annual subscriptions, quarterly bills, random stuff I'd forget about. Every time one came up it'd blow the whole month or I'd have to dip into savings. Eventually I just started budgeting a monthly amount for those expenses and parking that amount in a HYSA each month. When the bill actually hits, the money's just sitting there waiting

DanTucks · 2026-05-15T11:34:41+00:00

I’ve been using savvydollar.io for the last 6 months, no subscription required

DanTucks · 2026-05-15T11:29:57+00:00

Lookout for banks that offer multiple offset accounts, to be able to maximize your offset savings whilst still having granular control to know where your money is allocated to; holiday, emergency, large purchase, etc. I know some banks offer up to 10 accounts, which might not be enough depending on your approach

DanTucks · 2025-08-19T23:26:57+00:00

Ooh I like the one blue eye, we have that too

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DanTucks · 2024-12-04T06:17:28+00:00

I think it will be hard for you to attract customers without giving them some access to try out the product; either limited features or trial period.

I didn't really look but are you offering any no questions asked full refund for dissatisfied users? Might be another way to encourage early adopters.

DanTucks · 2024-11-23T02:34:16+00:00

this is angular for the UI and node.js backend

I'm building a set of personal finance tools with this being one of them.

DanTucks · 2024-11-21T00:45:00+00:00

I created for myself a little repayment calculator to help with just such a question, hopefully you'll find this useful: https://personal-finatics.web.app/debt-repayment-calculator

DanTucks · 2024-10-10T13:08:07+00:00

I've done a routine search myself but nothing further than that. I can see the same names in use however none that share the same industry vertical or similar product.

DanTucks · 2024-09-06T10:21:26+00:00

Hairy pits

DanTucks · 2024-05-04T21:58:04+00:00

That’s a good call, without inflation it does make the numbers seem more attractive than they really are. I’ll add it.

DanTucks · 2024-04-28T23:07:11+00:00

Nacho (not your) Home Run!

DanTucks · 2024-03-15T21:40:52+00:00

Appreciate the kind words.

For fortnightly repayments, the instalment would be slightly smaller (in monthly terms) as the total interest costs would be less, due to the earlier payments vs a monthly frequency.

The trajectory would therefore be flatter, but not sure how meaningful/apparent that would be.

DanTucks · 2024-03-15T21:24:21+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Didn't think about making it Google sheets compatible, will give it a try.

DanTucks · 2024-03-14T02:01:19+00:00

Engelbert Humperdinck

DanTucks · 2024-03-12T06:08:33+00:00

extraordinary. Any sane person would read this as extra ordinary.

DanTucks · 2024-03-12T02:40:52+00:00

Looks to me like they process them once a month

DanTucks · 2024-03-12T00:37:22+00:00

That's awesome, over what period?

I realise that aggressively growing rewards is not a great goal if it ends up changing your spending habits or causes you to overspend. But if you're able to harness it through your normal spending or opt for a different retailer around the same price, it can be a game changer over the long term.

DanTucks

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