Your EOFY money tune-up

There’s a reason people kick off healthier habits in January. You’re more likely to adopt a new behaviour or start pursuing a goal if it’s attached to a significant point in time, such as a new year, your birthday or starting a new job, according to researcher and author of How to Change, Katy Milkman. She calls it the “fresh-start effect”.

With that in mind, the end of financial year (EOFY) can be a useful moment to do more than plan your tax return. It’s also a chance to review your budget, rethink your savings strategy and set yourself up for the year ahead. 

Tip: If you’re starting from scratch, it can help to revisit how to build a budget that works for you.

 “Think of it as a self-care practice,” says money coach Betsy Westcott. “Checking in with your money should not be a punitive chore. You want your money working for you, supporting you to live the life that you aspire to.”

Here are six ways to get started..

1. Start with your savings "why"

Want to cache more cash this financial year? Success comes easier if you have a goal in mind. “Try to avoid saving just for saving’s sake,” says Westcott. “Our brains are not really wired to delay gratification unless there’s something better on offer in the future than what we can indulge in now. It’s important to have clear goals with a strong ‘why’ that means something to you.”

If you’re a visual person, a mood board can be a tangible reminder of what you’re saving for. “Keep it on your desk or somewhere you can see it daily; this will help you make the micro decisions that affect your fiscal future.”

2. Build or refresh your emergency buffer

In addition to savings and investments, you’ll need a buffer if you don’t have one already. “A buffer is your ride-or-die – it can get you out of a tight spot when the unexpected strikes, such as unemployment,” says Westcott. “This is commonly three-to-six months’ worth of living expenses.”

Already got one? Great. EOFY is the perfect time to recalculate your buffer. “The financial buffer you had in your 20s, for example, might look quite different to the buffer you’ll need in the later seasons of life, potentially when a mortgage, kids and businesses add to the squeeze.”

Look for new ways to grow your gains, too, such as opening a savings account that offers bonus interest.

“You want your money working for you, supporting you to live the life that you aspire to.”

3. Celebrate your money wins

Pause and reflect on the past financial year and what went right. Research shows that celebrating even small wins fires up the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine and reinforcing positive behaviour. This boosts motivation, self-efficacy and self-esteem, begetting more success.

“Often we move onto the next task or goal and don’t stop to realise that we have many of the things that we hoped and dreamed for in the past,” says Westcott. “It’s important to acknowledge what’s going well.” People who don’t are more likely to suffer stress and burnout, say Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter, psychologists and authors of The Burnout Challenge.

4. Review your everyday spending

Take a look at your discretionary spending and separate “need” from “want”, urges financial planner Luke Smith. “The majority of people don’t have a budget and underestimate their expenses,” he says. For example two $5 coffees per day may not seem like much but that’s $3650 per year.

Meanwhile, subscribing to multiple streaming services, Substacks and apps can chip away at your savings. The average monthly spend on media subscriptions is $78, according to Deloitte’s 2025 Media & Entertainment Consumer Insights Report, but gen Z households pay a whopping $101 per month, on average.

Use this EOFY to plan how you’ll invest what you save over the next 12 months, offers Smith. “Redirect your usual discretionary spending into something you can grow and compound, such as a share portfolio or an ETF [exchange traded fund].” Ditto for any dollars you used to pay into a mortgage or personal loan once they’re paid off. “Don’t be tempted to spend that now-available money on sneakers,” warns Smith.

“Redirect your usual discretionary spending into something you can grow and compound.”

5. Shop around on big bills 

Since they’re big expenses, it’s important to review your home loan, insurance policies and utility providers regularly. Dissect your health insurance – ditch any cover you no longer need, such as maternity care if you’re done having children. Use comparison sites like Finder and Canstar to research plans and contact your providers to see if they can give you a discount.

“Recently I spent one day researching and renegotiating for better deals and it saved me $6800 per annum,” says Westcott. “It was a fruitful day.”

Want free power? Take advantage of the Government’s new Solar Sharer scheme, which will kick in on 1 July in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. Energy retailers will be required to offer free electricity to all customers for at least three hours in the middle of the day, during peak solar generation.

Need motivation to overhaul your budget or file a tax return? Jump on the viral “admin party” trend: invite friends to come over with their laptop and paperwork and tick off administrative tasks together.

6. Get organised for tax time

From highlighters to office chairs, the list of eligible work-related or income-generating expenses you may be able to deduct from your taxable income is long. To really move the needle, use the EOFY to find out whether you can claim costs incurred from managing your share portfolio, financial advice fees and income protection.

“You could potentially prepay income protection premiums in June and claim 12 months’ worth of deductions in your tax return when you lodge it in July,” says Smith. You may also be able to claim a deduction for personal contributions to your super. Learn more about how [extra contributions can give your super a boost and the caps that may apply.

The EOFY often marks policy tweaks to tax rates, super and more so read up on any changes that may affect your bottom line. On 1 July this year, for example, the lowest marginal tax rate ($18,201 to $45,000) will drop from 16 per cent to 15 per cent, says Westcott. “It’s not huge but we’ll take it.”

Get appy and use the Money Plan tool in the CommBank app to track your spending, set category budgets, manage bills and subscriptions and get a clear snapshot of your cash flow.

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