HECS, Tax, and Head-hunting
Finally paid off my HECS bill last night, 5 years after graduating. Fortunately it was still fairly cheap when I went through so my bill ended up being about $16,000 for six years of study, compared to the $38,000 a six year medical degree would cost today (which is still cheap compared to the price you’d pay overseas, like the US) Even so, it’s nice to have it paid off. Still have to pay off my student supplement loan though which helped cover the cost of living while in my final years of study - hopefully I can tick that one off next year.
The reason I paid my HECS off last night is that I’ve finally got around to doing my tax (a week before the deadline, I know - don’t say anything Matthew if you’re reading this!) and it worked out I’d save about $300 by paying off the HECS bill before submitting my tax return. And that little bit of money will help - I think I’m going to break even this year on tax and not get much back at all (if any) despite having about $4000 worth of deductions. Normally I go see a tax accountant but I don’t have the time or inclination this year so I’ll do it myself. Plus this may be the last chance I get to do it myself as my finance structure may get a lot more complicated next year, depending on who I work for.
And even that’s not 100% clear now. I had spoken to a practice months ago and told them I would come and work there next year, but now this other practice is chasing me to get me to work there instead. It’s a strange feeling, being “head-hunted” (and that’s the exact term the doctor from that practice used when she spoke to me about it yesterday). It would probably be an easy decision except for the fact that I’ve told the first practice I’m going to work there and would feel incredibly guilty and awkward backing out. We’ll see what happens I guess…
Categories : Personal | 0 Comments
