I love Australia Day. I love celebrating what this country is all about.

But you know what I hate about Australia Day.

I hate blonde haired blue eyed yobbos prancing about in the Australian Flag who intimidate people who don’t look like them.

I hate the drunk bloke who told me in Chinatown the other night that I had the personality of a rubber glove (fair enough, that’s his view) but then turns to my Sri Lankan born son-in-law and says the problem with this country is “the coloureds”.

You know how you can sometimes be haunted by your inaction. I have been ever since. Because I was so gobsmacked by the comment I said nothing as he walked away.

I wish I’d told this ignorant bastard that he was an arrogant prick and that if the truth be known we’re all migrants to this country. I wish I’d said that he should be grateful that by the Grace of God he was born in this country and not in Iran or Afghanistan or wherever.

One of the biggest problems that a small business can have doesn’t occur before or during the act of making a sale. It happens afterwards, when it’s time to collect money owed to the business.

It’s way too common to hear of a small business experiencing cash flow problems because they didn’t chase up their debts from clients as far back as 6 months or a year.

Many small business owners make the mistake of trying to strike a balance between pestering clients about outstanding debts and trying to maintain a good relationship with the client. But the bottom line is that there’s nothing more important that ensuring your business is paid what it is owed.

Collecting debts should not be something you ever feel uncomfortable doing. Anthony Igra of debt collecting firm Contractors Debt Recovery says that if you’re payment is even one day late, then chances are you’re not getting paid unless you take some action. There’s no room for being leniency when it comes to debts because the success of your business could depend upon the income it deserves.

If you find yourself in this situation where a client has seemingly forgotten about paying you, then there is a sequence of steps you should take which will get your business its money. Anthony Igra outlines the following steps as the surest way to retrieving your debts.

Firstly it’s a good idea to send a reminder to the client a few days before the due date of their payment. Many cases of outstanding debts occur when someone has simply forgotten to pay, and are solved easily.

Q: I've tried as many saving strategies as possible, but it's just not doing the job. How can I earn more money to help me with debt payments?

Yesterday I wrote about the steps to take to get out of debt problems. It essentially revolves around using money sparingly, getting rid of non-essential purchases and putting the extra money towards paying off debt.

Having a budget in place to control your spending is great, but sometimes the solution is simply to make more money. You can’t pump a dry well, and if you’re savings plan is getting a bit ridiculous then think about ways you can earn some extra income which can go straight into paying off the debt.

When Libby and I were starting a family, we decided that I would be the breadwinner and she’s take care of your most important investments: our kids. This was our decision, it’s not for everyone but that’s what we decided.

We soon realised it was tough to raise a family on one income and we had to find extra cash. Thankfully being a journalist gives some flexibility.

So while working for the Australian newspaper I was also the Australian columnist for the Economist magazine in London. While at BRW magazine I provided finance reports for radio breakfast shows and hosted a nightly radio investment program while working at Personal Investment magazine. I wrote books and did freelance work.

The extra income can be vital for managing the family budget and getting out of debt, but it also brings with it a lot of opportunities, for your career or for the possibility of starting a family business.

So there are three ways to earn more money: getting a pay rise, getting a second job, or starting a moonlight business.

After yesterday’s Treasurers Debate in Canberra, Bernard Keane from Crikey tweeted:

A dud debate makes an hour seem like an eternity. For a good one an hour is way too little.

I know what he means.

Elections are supposed to be covering all sorts of issues which affect our nation. They should about leadership and visions for the future. We should be inspired and enthralled with what we’re hearing.

In business it’s called the Wow factor. Delivering a product, or service or message which blows a customer away. I find it pretty sad we don’t have any Wow factor from the major parties in this election campaign.

It’s almost as if they’re too scared to Wow us.

I know I have an unusual passion for all things finance and economic. But that’s not it. When Wayne Swan and Joe Hockey stepped off the National Press Club stage yesterday after an hour long debate, I think most people would have been thinking: Hey these two blokes aren’t half bad.

I thought both of them performed very well. It was a good session with two very intelligent, very passionate and very good debaters.

When you look back at what was actually said, you realise that it wasn’t a whole lot more than the usual arguments we’ve heard over and over.