Nicole Conquers Her Taxes With PocketSmith

Read how Nicole uses PocketSmith to make sure she stays in the black and keep tax time as painless as possible.

Tell us a little about yourself?

My husband and I have lived in a gold mining town in Western Australia for the last 25 years. Coming from Ireland, I just can’t get enough of the sunny days here! I work for myself in the area of Infant Mental Health, supporting and guiding families to develop secure attachments with their infants. This can be challenging in the world of FIFO (fly in, fly out) and long hours in the mining industry but it’s very rewarding work.

How would you describe your role in your household?

Given our kids have flown the coop, we run an Airbnb space upstairs and have met many interesting characters over the years.

What drew you to PocketSmith?

My son! He told me about his experience and how much it was helping him at the time so I gave it a go and never looked back. I really value the fact that if I have made an error on the calendar (which has happened several times!), PocketSmith’s support team has helped me out each time to work it out or reset my page back to pre-error. Having this real person support has made me feel more comfortable using an online budget.

How long have you been with us?

Nearly 11 years.

What do you primarily use PocketSmith for?

I use PocketSmith primarily to forecast whether I will become overdrawn or not! It is invaluable to see all income, direct debits and regular expenses for the month and to know at a glance if I have any money to spare or not. This also allows me to work out how much I can save on any given month. 

How has PocketSmith changed the way you do money?

It has helped me to avoid any unpleasant surprises before payday and adjust accordingly. It also helps me to see where my money is being spent each month which has led me to review some of my insurance expenses.  

What are your favorite features?

Most features come into play at tax time. I pay for all my tax-deductible professional development/conferences/etc from one account, making it very easy to identify and work out my tax deductions. I can also identify my rental income and expenses from investment properties which makes tax time easier too.

Got any tips?

As soon as I get emailed a bill, I pop it into PocketSmith on the due date and I look at PocketSmith every morning to remind me if there is a bill to pay that day. This helps so much to avoid late fees! I’m aware there are many features in PocketSmith that I have not used yet and I look forward to using them in different ways in the future.

What’s the best money decision you made in the past 12 months?

Probably deciding to work out approximately how much tax I need to pay fortnightly (as I work privately) and being able to save that amount so I don’t have a huge tax bill to pay!