6 financial lessons from the cartoons

Are you still reeling from the GFC? You could be forgiven for feeling a bit woozy after a hammering from the not-quite-recession and the head-spiining rebound to fiscal health (last week, the Aussie dollar exceeded parity with the US dollar).

These lessons from our favourite cartoon characters will help you take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar and grow your money.

1. Wile E. Coyote – mail order is good. eBay junkies rejoice. Imports are cheaper than ever. (But probably avoid ACME products – the devices invariably fail improbably and spectacularly causing you to be burnt to a crisp or squashed flat at the bottom of a canyon).

2. Bugs Bunny – ‘What's up, doc?’ Now’s the perfect time to give your finances a health check. Do you have ‘bad’ debt like credit cards you need to pay off? Are your investment choices right for your life stage? Do you have insurance to protect your financial assets? Give your savings a shot in the arm and trade your carrots for carats.

3. Dora the Explorer – Dora embarks on a trip in every episode. Take a leaf out of her book and travel, travel, travel – especially to the US or even Asia where the greenback is used as currency. In these places, you’ll get heaps more bang for your buck, right now.

While the Aussie dollar has firmed against the euro and the British pound, the rise is not as sharp, but your credit card might have a smaller meltdown over the price of a plate of paella in Spain.

And with about 70% of all overseas travel from Australia being to our neighbours, the good news is that the AUD has strengthened against the New Zealand dollar too.

4. Felix the Cat – get a bag of tricks together. Buy a reputable 'how to' book like Nice girls don't get rich, skim the finance pages or see a financial planner to collect strategies (like salary sacrificing or transition to retirement), entitlements you may be allowed and other easy-to-implement tricks of the financial trade.

5. The Grinch – In the end, Christmas rocks. Coming up to Christmas you may find goods like plasma TVs, computer gear and imported cars being sold cheaply. On the other hand, while many stores source their product overseas, many other companies such as JB HI-FI and David Jones deal with local companies who are subsidiaries of the manufacturers, so their prices are likely to be much more stable.

Nevertheless, now is a great time to bargain, as many retailers are enjoying bigger margins, so they have more room to manoeuvre on price.

6. Angelica Pickles – plot, plan and manipulate (your money, that is). Show your finances who's the boss and strategise to maximise.