I'm a long way from being a finance guru, but my frugalness means I keep an ear out. The Barefoot Investor and Alan Kohler are handy people to pay attention to. They speak plainly. So here are three things I've actually done as per general advice/advertising. Each one involved filling out a form.
Starting a First Home Saver Account. I ummed and ahhed for a year or two when they first started. I disliked the idea of being locked in for 4 years and then if I can never afford property the money is locked up forever. But they loosened the restrictions a bit, and I decided I'd wasted 2 years and could have been halfway through the time already so I might as well stop faffing around. So what if I never buy and it only ends up in my super, the return is still great. If you save $6000 in one financial year, the governments adds $1020. That is a LOT of free money. One year I forgot to put the whole amount in and I am still grumpy about it. So even if you don't think you're in the "first home buyer" category, I say take the plunge before the end of June. No term deposit will give you over 17%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_home_saver_account
Opening an ING Everyday account for the 5% cash back on paywaves. 5% doesn't look like much, dribbling in a couple of dollars at a time, but when the 6 months is up, I will count up what my 5% savings adds up to.
https://www.campaigns.ingdirect.com.au/everyday-banking?cid=dpy:Fairfax%20Digital%20AU:DRx:AU_INGD_OE_Q3_2013:7336405:9502877#!/CashbackSavings
Thirdly, I switched my super into a high-risk high-growth investment. Because that's what you are supposed to do when you are under 35, and as you get older it shifts into progressively safer investments. No short-term benefits there but it's the proper thing to do. Although in a few years I think it will be the default anyway.
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