It is a new year for the car dealerships and they are keen to kick off the new financial year with a high level of sales. As such, you will continue to find great deals on new and used cars at car dealerships. With pressure to continue to meet their budgets they will be eager to provide you with the car you require at a good price.

To ensure that you not only receive a great deal on your car but also your car finance, utilise the services of a car finance broker. A broker will be able to provide you with a wide range of car financing options to ensure that you are provided with the best possible car finance deal. With such a wide array of car finance products you will be able to find a car finance solution tailored to your needs, circumstances and budget.

The rules for child restraints was amended recently to protect our children from injuries sustained in the event of a car accident. Children are to remain in a form of restraint until they are 7 years of age. For infants under 6 months an approved a rearward facing restraint is to be used, and this must only be used in the back seat. For children aged 6 months to under 4 years they must use either an approved rearward or forward facing restraint with an inbuilt harness. Once your child reaches 6 months it doesn’t mean they can be placed in a forward facing restraint. A forward facing restraint can only be used once they meet the weight or length limit for their rearward facing restraint.

Once again children from 4 years to 7 years of age can only be restrained in the back seats. They can use either a forward facing restraint with inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat. Once your child reaches 4 years of age do not place them in a booster seat until they reach the weight limit of 18 kg. It is recommended that children over 7 years of age still travel in the back seat and continue to use their booster seat until they reach 26 kg and meet the height limit of 145cm. For more information on child restraints visit the vic roads website.

Having a car that is safe is vital. Most new cars these days are fitted with at least driver and passenger air bags. The more prestigous the car, the more air bags you would expect to have fitted. Airbags that you may now find installed include, side, curtain and knee. This provides extra safety to occupants of the vehicle provided that a seatbelt is still worn.

Aside from ensuring that you are driving a safe vehicle you should ensure that you have the necessities in the event of an emergency. Roadside assistance is worthwhile but make sure you have the phone number and your member number in the vehicle. Ensure that your jack is in working order. Carry a torch in case you need to look in the bonnet at night. You should always carry a first aid kit in the event of an injury, particularly given you may not be close to medical assistance. Most people carry a mobile phone these days but ensure that it is charged. Carrying a mobile phone car charger is wise. A hazard triangle is particularly useful if working on a broken down car at night.

Jumper cables are very useful in the event of a breakdown as you can use these to jumpstart your car provided another vehicle is available to lend a hand. Having spare notes and coins tucked away for emergencies only will come in handy if you need food, fuel or any other essential.

The jobs market is continuing to have a boom. An always reassuring set of numbers is the way the various new jobs surveys keep pointing to the regular improvement. The latest put last months number of new jobs advertised at around 3 percent better than the previous month, which also recorded a 3 percent lift. One interesting statistic is that new jobs in Australia are being created at the rate of one every 30 seconds. Unemployment has now dropped to just over 5 percent.

Retail sales continue to expand with the latest monthly figures showing a lift of under one percent over the previous month. This was the third increase in three months and comes at a time when consumer confidence is said to be declining due to higher interest rates. It means the total monthly retail market now exceeds $20 billion.

The vital building industry maintains its healthy overall picture with the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association saying its members are still expanding their work and enjoying healthy growth.

Australia is the fourth fastest growing property market in the developed world due to an average 20 percent increase in the past year. This puts us right up there behind the Asian tiger economies like China and Hong Kong.

Australia’s big debt is again becoming a problem. International financiers are signalling their worry about sufficient funds coming into Australia as our debts continue to mount. The biggest single worry is whether house prices will keep rising. Currently, RBA data shows overseas investors hold around $650 billion in our wholesale debt and our banks are getting around 30 percent of their funding from global markets.

This year’s KPMG Annual Private Companies Survey shows a big lift in confidence over 12 months ago. The research indicates that nearly 80 percent of businesses surveyed are preparing to expand, a huge increase over last year.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has held the cash rate at 4.5 percent for the second month running. It is believed this decision was made as a result of high inflation figures and volatility in overseas markets. This RBA is playing it safe by maintaining the currrent cash rate. This will prove favourable to those paying off a mortgage.

One of the members of the RBA Board, Jillian Broadbent, has stated in a speech to a stockbrokers conference that the outlook for our domestic economy is positive mainly due to the benefits from a boom in commodity exports. She criticised the way the overall benefits of our mineral exports are being down-played in many areas and said the RBA expects Australia’s terms of trade to improve around 20 percent this year.