During times of uncertainty protecting your cash flow is critical. For most of us that’s our job.

The income from our job pays the bills and, hopefully, provides a surplus to save and invest. Cut off that income and most Australians would be under extreme financial pressure.

Despite what appears to be a low unemployment rate, and big money being paid in the mining industry, there are definite signs the job market is softening.

The recent profit reporting season saw a number of our biggest companies announce redundancy programs while industries such as tourism, retail and hospitality have been either cutting staff numbers or their hours.

In Australia, you’re counted as unemployed if you’re over 15, looking for work but haven’t found anything. Work for one hour a week for pay, profit or commission and you are not officially unemployed.

So Australia’s unemployment rate masks the enormous number of underemployed people who have been cut back and working less than they want, or need, to.

All indications are that the job market is going to get a lot tougher so taking action now means you won’t be blindsided.

We have no problem with senior executives of successful Australian companies being paid the global market rate for organisations of comparative size. We live in a global market and companies need to pay the market rate to get the best.

But, like every other shareholder, we get annoyed with executive salaries above the market rate or where they continue to rise when a company is performing poorly.

How galling is it to see investors losing money in a poorly performing company and the chief executive’s remuneration package continues to skyrocket.

So just don’t whinge, do something about it. And we don’t mean joining the global “Occupy” protest movement which seems to be sweeping the world.

“Occupy” started as a protest against obscene chief executive remuneration packages of those Wall St banks which triggered the global financial crisis and were then bailed out by taxpayers. We can relate to their frustration.

Unfortunately the “Occupy” movement has now been hijacked to be a protest against success and wealth.

Your own protest against excessive executive remuneration can be just as effective if done the right way.

Like it or not the carbon tax passed the Federal Parliament. With the debate over (at least until the next Federal election) it’s worthwhile working out how it will affect you and to start planning for any financial consequences.

A good starting point is www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au which has some terrific calculators to give you an idea of the increased costs you’ll face and any financial assistance you could be eligible for.

Early planning will hopefully help avoid any of the nasties.

One of the greatest lessons you can pass on to your children is how to handle money wisely. It can make a huge difference to their future.

The earlier you start the better and we believe paying pocket money is a vital way to teaching your children good financial habits. It’s their first taste of managing an income and will help them develop the skills they’ll need to handle a regular wage as an adult.

When to start paying an allowance is an individual decision, as children’s maturity and understanding varies greatly.

We started paying our kids pocket money when they started school. By then they were ready to take on some household jobs in return for payment. Things like brushing the dog or helping fold the washing, with older kids being able to help mow lawns, sweep paths and wash cars.

The amount you pay should be based on the amount of work your child does and their age. As your children get older it will also depend on what expenses it’s meant to cover.

Work for real payment is a real life situation, don’t just give handouts with no strings attached, kids will always expect you to ‘pay’ them. And work doesn’t mean making your bed or washing up, those are family jobs that everyone has to do as part of the blessing of being in a family.