Pollyana

Finally I think I am up for parole, hoping to leave early March

So I now have a list of my lists, and am wondering if any of you who have previously gone back from Aus have any tips, beyond the obvious stuff.

Shipping organised, just needs to be paid for. TOR has come through - it only took 2 days!
Withdrawal of super currently underway, so I can move it all to the UK before Ieave Australia.
UK bank account has survived and is still open and ready to use (thank heavens I did something right years ago in refusing to close it!)
Rental organised as long as the stupid computerised system understands the idea of moving Super and then living on it
Flight booked, excess baggage booked, resignation done, notice on current flat done clearance of junk organised.
Aus powerboards and adapters packed, UK simcard up and running (its done well, has been in use since 1999

Any hints or tips welcomed, I’m sure I’ve forgotten things.

Does anyone know if I can submit an Aus tax return early, or do I have to wait till July?
I assume I will need to submit a UK tax return? But as I am arriving almost at the end of the UK tax year and won’t be working until well into the new tax year, maybe I don’t need to do one?
Any thoughts on stuff like Nectar cards? In Aus I found flybuys a waste of time, but Woolies Rewards was ok as they could go towards Qantas FF. Qantas points obviously won’t be much use, but is it worth opening a BA account? I’ll be flying to Europe, mainly Spain, a fair bit, and as I’m in the”wheelchair/early boarding” bracket when flying, I’m wondering if joining the BA Executive Club is worthwhile? Can you rack up points shopping elsewhere, like Qantas FF?
Any thoughts on who is best for supermarket online shopping? As in who makes the least stupid replacements, turns up on time etc
Any thoughts on internet?My phone was Orange, so is now EE, but are they a good bet for unlimited internet? Not sure yetabout subscriptions to Sky etc, though I will be looking at whoever has Premier League games.

All help/comments welcome, both by me and I’m sure by anyone else planning the same move!

mikelincs

Only one I can help with is EE, I'm with them and have my internet through them, it's actually BT internet, so a good speed and reliable here. It is unlimited as well, I got my smart phone via EE and they threw in a tablet as well, which can be useful.

spouse of scouse

You should be able to lodge a tax return with the ATO early, but only via hard copy https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Y...ing-Australia/ This of course assumes no Oz income after you leave, including bank account interest.

You won't need to lodge a tax return with HMRC until the end of the 2023/2024 tax year.

Best of luck with the move Polly.

ianandhelena

Try this for internet info:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/

Shopping:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/

Pollyana

Sounds like I may be able to stick with EE then, thanks!

Thanks for that SoS, I’ll seehow close to July we are by the time work have sorted out everything they owe me. Biggest painis Translink, who do salary sacrificing on bus fares to and from work. They currently have $300 of mine and even though the card is cancelled they reckon up to 6 months to pay it back to me. Complicated by the fact it has to come back through my payroll and I finish work in 4 weeks. How difficult can it be to move it from one govt dept to another?!

Good to know I don’t have to worry about HMRC for a while

thanks! i’d forgotten all about that moneysavingexpert site

verystormy

Nectar cards are worthwhile as doesn't cost anything and you earn cash.

always worth signing up with airlines.

Best online shopping ping depends on where you live and budget. Ocado are good but not available in every area. Sainsburys is good and Morrisons.

Premier league football is a serious pain as it is split between providers. Getting access to all matches would cost £100 a month. There are loads of people who use a work around with fire sticks.

Pollyana

Be cheaper to keep using Optus and a VPN to Australia Ok thanks, I’ll have to do more work on this one then!

I was always a loyal Sainsburys shopper back in the day but its complicated now by them blocking non-UK access so I can’t do a proper shop to check the prices. Might have to be a case of trying them, Tesco, Asda and then giving marks out of 10! Never dealt with Morrisons or Ocado so I’ll check them out. Soooogood not to be trappedin the duopoly of Coles & Woolies any more, the idea of choice in supermarkets is heavenly!

Could be a goer with Nectar and BA.I’ll need a new Boots card -any others peoplecan recommend?

mikelincs

I use Morrisons, but that's because it's only a couple of hundred yards away. Tesco, their club cards don't AFAIK give points any more BUT if you are a holder some of the things you buy have an automatic lower price.

Pollyana

Ah that makes sense now, when I was home in October and shopping in Tesco some of the labels had two different prices on, quite a difference on some of them!

Anyone got recommendations for contents insurance? Was with Abbey National years ago, but clearly thats not going to do me any good now!

christmasoompa

I'd just do a price comparison and see what results you get, on something like Confused.com or GoCompare. I usually go with whoever is cheapest and 5* on the Defacto ranking.

In terms of loyalty cards etc, do check out TopCashback as well, I use them for everything I can and have had thousands of pounds in cash back over the years. I usually save it up throughout the year and then redeem it for Amazon vouchers for Xmas, it tends to pay for all my presents.

And don't forget you may not need to do a self assessment return at all. Only certain people have to do them (if you are self employed, if you get income from property or dividends, if you earn over a certain amount etc).

Good luck with the move, I hope it goes smoothly.

christmasoompa

Tesco Clubcard does still give points, can be redeemed in store but usually much better to save them up and redeem them with somebody else. We've had entire holidays paid for with Tesco Clubcard points before!

tdrinker

You've done very well to arrange a rental from overseas as it's difficult enough to do so in country.

Tesco Clubcard is necessary if you'll shop there, because as you've noticed they dual price on many products. It's not always that the Clubcard price is lower, but the non-Clubcard price is inflated.

Broadband - lots of deals (check the moneysavingexpert link), don't pay more than £20/month. Be ready to renegotiate or move suppliers at the end of the contract when the price jumps. Many companies do this, the so-called loyalty penalty so don't automatically re-new anything when it expires - TV streaming service, insurance, broadband, phone contract, etc.

NHS - check their website for local GP services and register with one once in the UK.

Bank accounts - check moneysavingexpert, lots of banks are offering incentives to get your custom. Even if you decide to stay with your current bank, there may be different bank accounts within the same bank offering varying benefits, so it's worth reviewing the options.

Update your address with your bank - the bank statement with your address on it can be used as proof of address as necessary. Update your address with other bodies / online services as required.

Use moneysavingexpert to cheat deals for phone, as your trusty sim might not be the best deal once you're back in the UK.

PL Football - Sky has most games, BT has some, and Amazon a few. BT also has the Champions League. You can get Sky from Sky (obviously) or via Now TV (a Sky subsidiary). Sky and BT can be year plus contracts (and if you take one, you can subscribe to the other via it), but you can also take monthly subscriptions so you can dip in and out. Sometimes there is the option for a 24 hour day pass. It's no longer necessary to have a satellite dish to get Sky. There was recent press coverage of a police plan to raid houses of people illegally streaming football. Unfortunately, by splitting the PL football rights into 3 packages and selling them to different streaming services, it's expensive to get full coverage, doubly so as sports streaming is more expensive then non-sports streaming services. You will also need a TV licence - you need this if you watch any live TV (e.g. football on Sky) even if you don't watch the BBC.

If you need to submit a UK tax return, the online deadline is 31 January (although you have to set up an online account some months earlier, so you might as well do this just if it's relevant, i.e. you're self employed or have income not from employment taxed under PAYE). But the return is submitted in arrears, so the 31 January 2023 deadline is for the 2021/22 tax return (i.e. period 6 April 2021-5 April 2022).

Council tax - you need to register with your council to pay council tax. if you're living alone, apply for a 25% reduction.

Consider how you're going to get home from the airport (with your luggage). Unless someone's meeting you, you may want to pre-book a minicab (obviously, with sufficient luggage space). It will be cheaper than an airport taxi.

scrubbedexpat142

Sorry, can't help but just want wish you the very best of luck with the move - & settling in!

Pollyana

Thanks heaps for all that, hadn't heard of TopCashback so I'll definitely investigate it, sounds similar to the Everyday Rewards here, which is wat I was after. Plus the Tesco card is now on my list!

Only reason I was thinking of a tax return in the UK is because I almost certainly wouldn't be working the full year, and I'm not sure if they calculate any overpayment automatically at the end of the year? If they do, I probably wouldn't need t do one, if they don't I might need to depending at what point I start working.

Pollyana

Thank you