10 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

So, you’re one of the lucky people to have got a decent tax return and you’ve probably spent it all in your head already. No! You don’t need to go out and blow it all on a few heavy nights out or go on a shopping spree. You don’t know if you’ll get a tax return like that any time soon, so think smart when considering what to do with your money.

If you haven’t already claimed for your tax refund and you earn less than your £10,000 Personal Allowance, you’ll be getting a full tax return because you’ll be lucky enough to not earn enough to be slapped with Income Tax. Yep, students we’re looking at you! Now, once you’ve got that money, you’ll need some tips on how to spend it and you can’t go wrong with a trip to Australia. Here are some ideas on how you can really enjoy your spending in Oz or back in the UK!

1. The Ghan with Great Southern Rail

One train, three days, a million sights. Adelaide to Alice Springs to Darwin or vice versa. The train’s name originally ‘The Afghan Express’ honours the Afghan camel drivers who travelled to Australia at the end of the 19th century and searched the unforgiving and untouched red centre of Australia.

On board the Ghan is an activities desk which sells whistle-stop-tours, you can stop off at a number of Australia’s wonders including Kings Canyon and Uluru, or take part in activities like Canoeing down the Katherine river, helicopter rides through Katherine Town and views of the gorges by boat or chopper, flights over the Simpson gap, or even camel riding down the Pyndan camel track like the original Afghan traders.
This trip is one of Australia’s iconic journeys and the timetable fits in plenty of day travel so you have the chance to view the expanses of Australia’s beautiful scenery, with stops for you to explore and observe some of the most isolated and untouched areas of Australia, and witness the sunset and the stars in the magical outback. Book your rail ticket from www.greatsouthernrail.com.au.

2. TEFL

A Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) qualification is one of the best things you could invest in right now. With your tax refund, you’d be set for a new career and a new lifestyle. TEFL offers a variety of courses, at very affordable and fair prices including several where you can learn on the job. For instance, teaching kids in China and gaining a qualification at the same time. Once you’re qualified, you could start earning around $1800pm, and what’s more you have a global qualification, career progression and an enjoyable, flexible work environment.

3. Watch Your Country

We all love a bit of patriotic nationalism, especially when our country is good at something. Take sports; why not cheer your team on? Either at home, or make a trip of it and go to an away stadium to watch Australia compete in the football, cricket, or even next year’s Rugby World Cup in England!

4. See one of the Wonders

Take a trip and see one of the wonders of the world, or even one of the 10 natural wonders of Australia. The 25 Million year old Great Barrier Reef is a must, and is a worldwide phenomenon. It is the only living thing seen from space! Uluru/Ayers Rock is rich with cultural heritage and some of the most spectacular sights on the continent. Shark Bay is also a good one; home to some of the planets most endangered species, and boasting some very friendly marine life! There’s also Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island and a paradise of its own. Don’t forget Kings Canyon, MacKenzie falls, the Blue Mountains, Kakadu and the many more wonders of Australia, all needing to be seen before nature runs its course, and all on the continent.

5. Music Festivals

Australia has some great Musical festivals and events, some world renowned such as ‘Stereosonic’ or the ‘Falls’ festival. However, the rest of the world has some fantastic options too. You could check out the music scene in any other country. The biggest music festivals in the world include USA’s ‘Summerfest’ and Brazil’s ‘Rock in Rio’, but the biggest is actually ‘Donauinselfest’ in Vienna, Austria, where last year’s turnout was a staggering 3.2 Million and featured some of the biggest electro artists!

6. Extreme Sport

You’ve worked hard to earn that money, so why not let some steam off? Get an adrenaline rush and have a go at an extreme sport, wingsuit flying, skydiving, white water rafting or even freediving. Australia hosts a variety of extreme sports, and is the perfect place to do so if you haven’t tried one yet, cut yourself a break and give it a go, you might discover a new hobby!

7. Wild Side

One of Australia’s biggest attractions is its natural beauty and wildlife. This makes it ideal for a horse riding trip in the outback, or if you’re less inclined to be so close up, there’s safari trips for those who want to escape the city and view the true nature and raw beauty of this amazing country. There’s a whole host of safari operators who have experts ready to show you a side of Australia your colleagues will never see, they operate buses, coaches, or for a more intense trip, horseback riding, biking and 4X4’s.

Related to You; Fraser Island 4WD Tours and Fraser Island Adventure Tours

8. Wine Tasting

Australia has more than 2,400 wineries over 60 designated wine regions, and it’s world-renowned for the wines produced. See why for yourself, visit one of the wineries and take a tour. You can also learn something about one of Australia’s proudest drinks on a led tasting tour of a winery, plus a food and wine matching course, so you’ll be a real pro at those dinner parties.

9. Learn an Instrument

Always wanted to play guitar by the campfire? Spend the money on one. Go get yourself an instrument and start practicing. Lessons can be picked up pretty cheap if you need them, and you can teach yourself with a wealth of YouTube instructions and online materials. Just take the first steps, get yourself that drum kit, guitar or piano!

10. Learn a Language

Learning to speak another language has never been easier or more useful. Not only does it increase your job prospects and ability to travel, it makes you look ridiculously cool when ordering at a restaurant. Rosetta Stone currently offer courses you can do at home, and the learning is programmed so that it’s as natural as when you first learnt to speak English. If you don’t like the idea of paying to do it yourself, there are usually cheap lessons at your local colleges and Universities and if you need extra practice you can use free websites like conversationexchange.com to brush up with a native speaker.

By Jonathan Harris