 Money and budgeting. In Australia, you will have to manage your own money. This can be quite challenging. You will need to budget so you can pay for rent, food, bills, clothes, transport, medical expenses, and more. Central Link. Central Link can help you with some income until you earn enough money to support yourself and your family. In return, you will have to work towards finding a job. People are entitled to different payments or allowances depending on their circumstances. This includes people with families, people who are too old or sick to work, and people who are studying, looking for work, or caring for someone. There are a number of different types of concessions and services including childcare benefits, rent assistance, and healthcare cards. Central Link can also help you pay for your rent and bills by using Centre Pay, a free direct bill paying service. Paul Creedon works for Central Link. Everybody has to follow certain rules to receive a Central Link payment. If you don't follow those rules, your payment may stop. It's important you let us know if anything changes in your life, whether it be a change of address, whether they might have separated from a husband or wife. If their job has changed, if they're earning more money, you need to tell Central Link so that we pay you the correct amount. Central Link will probably send you a lot of letters. It is important that you respond to those letters as quickly as possible to make sure your payments are not stopped. If you are unable to speak English, you should call Central Link's multilingual call centre on 131-202 and ask for help from a staff member who can speak your language. Bills and expenses. Make sure that you pay for all of your living expenses before you spend money on extra things like entertainment, mobile phones, or sending money back to Africa. Everyone in the family should contribute to family expenses and everyone should try to find ways to save money. Your money needs to last until your next payment. Money-saving tips. Carlos and Alice have learned how to save money. There are many ways to make your money go further. For example, use public transport instead of a car. Cars cost a lot of money. Public transport doesn't. Make sure you buy and validate a ticket every time you jump on a train, bus, or tram. Otherwise, you will get a big fine. Mobile phones can be very expensive. If you need a mobile phone, buy a second-hand phone and buy prepaid credits. This means you won't spend money you don't have. Don't call Africa from your mobile phone. It can be very expensive. If you want to talk to your family and friends in Africa, buy a phone card and then use your home phone or a public phone. There are also many ways you can save money around the home. When you use your heater, you must keep in mind that we have to pay for the gas or the electricity used. So to save the heat inside, you have to put on your warm clothes but also close your windows and your doors. When you don't use an appliance, you should switch off all the electricity. Did you know? Did you know that in Australia, we don't have very much water? So use it sparingly. Shopping. In Australia, shopping might be a little different from what you are used to. The food might look different and the shops might sell lots of items you are not familiar with. You will find that some shops are much more expensive than others. Cheaper shops are a great way to save money. Many people go to secondhand stores to buy clothes. You can find great clothes this way. There are also discount stores where you can buy items at much lower prices. You can find household items, food, cosmetics and even furniture. Take a look around your local supermarket, fruit and vegetable market or butcher. Some areas also have African food shops and Middle Eastern supermarkets. And halal food is also available. You can also save a lot of money by comparing prices, especially for bigger items. Some stores have different brands of the same product. Some will be cheaper than others. Some advertising will help you to find cheaper products. But you should be careful not to spend money you don't have. You will see advertising everywhere, on television, in the mail, in magazines. Some salespeople will knock on your door and try to convince you to buy some things, even on credit. Credit can be dangerous because you will have to pay back more than you borrow, even if you can't afford to. It is also important to know what you are buying. If you can't read, you should ask for help to understand the labels. Fresh food, I think, is cheaper than takeaway food. Many people find it easy just to buy takeaway food, but it is costy. It is better to have the food you prepare at home yourself. Banking. You will need to open a bank account so you can receive your Centrelink payments or a wage if you are working. You might want to open a joint bank account for family expenses. Once you have an account, you will get a key card. You can use this card to get your money either from a bank or an automatic teller machine or ATM. Come on, give it a shot. I'll lend you through it if you get stuck. Well, where do you think the card goes in? There are so many slots. Oh look, there's a picture of the right where the card goes in. Well, you supplied this much. Now what do you do? Oh, I have absolutely no idea. You will get a personal identification number which is known as a PIN number with your key card. This number will help you access your money. It is important that you don't give your PIN number to anyone else. Now remember, I have to put my PIN number in. Don't look, it's a secret. I've memorized it. Okay, so first I select withdraw cash, then I select my account and then I put in the amount that I want. Couldn't be easier. Just don't forget your money or your card. And remember, if you use the ATM from your own bank, it will save you from paying extra fees. Managing your money can be challenging, but if you follow some simple savings advice, your money will last longer. If you have problems managing your money, accessing your bank account or understanding your Centrelink payments, ask for advice. Did you know that most shops will sell certain products at reduced prices? Look out for the sale, reduced or special signs.