Saving money (Tips)

[Purple7x08_24]

Just wondering what your tips are for saving money.

I'm trying to lose weight and save money at the same time so I've worked out exactly how much food I need to eat for each meal and I'm keeping to a bland simple diet to give me everything I need. On gym days I'll adjust accordingly before and after workout. I'm also trying to build some discipline in all of this.

• I set up a money jar in which I started with a buffer of $50.
• Each week I'm putting in $70 for food and that doesn't leave much.
• I've got a lot of staple foods at home so I'm going through that first.
• I'll only buy bulk items when on special
• Meals consist of pasta, peas, spinach, chick peas, tuna, chicken when available. Every meal is about 1200KJ

First week doing I only bought soda water, and OJ but the guys at work put on pizzas so I took money out of the jar for that and I had to buy dad lunch for helping me out at home. So far this week I've only spent $50. A far cry from the $180 a week I was spending with all the "Healthy" soda drinks, previously energy drinks.

I'm about to head to Perth on a 2 day trip I'd pre booked so I'm making some compromises. I'm going to a nice Asian restaurant one night and the other nights, I'll cook up some cheap healthy meals for the rest of the trip.

Hoping to be +$20 after this week, +$40 the week after. I'm looking at using the surplus for a soda stream to do my own soda water.

I've currently adjusted my long term strategy to a more balanced strategy which focuses on living for today, being happy, being able to go on holidays several times a year but making sure I pay off my house prior to 60. I can't see the point in building a property portfolio while spending 20 years slaving away to reach that goal with tomorrow never promised.

I've dumped a lump sum on my mortgage, I'm paying off an extra $280 per week. If that's too aggressive I'll adjust. While I'm in surplus it's important to continue to balance the books and run a profit.

Cancelled subscription tv which is another $20 per week

What tips have you used in saving money?

 

[juss]

Figure out what you're spending where and then where you could be saving more. E.g. I was with Optus a while ago for $40 a month, realised I live in metro Melbourne and any mobile provider will give me good coverage, switched to a cheaper provider to pay $20 a month. That's $240 a year which doesn't seem like a lot, but find half a dozen similar things in your expenses and it all adds up.

Energy bills, rent, loan interrst rates, any subscription services, internet, the clothes you buy, the brands you eat, all of your insurance policies, etc.

You can probably find savings in a lot of things without sacrificing too much lifestyle.

Also another big one, take advantage of sales, by that I mean if toilet paper is half price, get 2, it doesn't matter if you don't need it at the time, you will eventually and you've just got 2 for the price of the usual cost. Obviously there is a common sense rule here, but you get the idea.

Secondly, buy s**t on sale or don't buy it unless you absolutely need it at that time. E.g. if you need a new pair of sneakers, wait til sneakers are on sale, otherwise don't buy them. Pretty much my entire wardrobe, household items, furniture, sports equipment, etc has been purchased at some sort of discount off RRP, because it's just not worth paying the RRP unless you're absolutely desperate for that item at that time.

 

[Teagueeee15]

Spending at the supermarket is one of my biggest expenditure items.

I do 99% of my shopping at Woolworths and a good saver for me is the everyday rewards plus membership. It is $59 for 12 months or $7 per month and entitles you to a 10% discount on one shop each month (pays for itself). You also get triple the rewards points, so for every 2000 points ($666) you spend there you get $10 off. usually they will have “weekly boosters” for certain items, so I similar to stocking up on toilet paper when it is half price, I will also stock up on stuff when it is one of the “weekly booster” items.

I also have a savings account with Macquarie bank, which gives me access to purchase gift cards via Macquarie Marketplace at a discount. 4% off at Woolworths, 3.5% at Coles, 3% at Kmart and 5% at Rebel Sport from memory. Every little bit helps

 

[rdhopkins2]

-Spend less than you earn.

-A key to this is knowing what you bring in (income) and what you spend (expenses). Once you know the figures, you can work out realistic savings goals.

-Limit the use of credit. Ask yourself if the purchase is a smart choice now? Will you reflect in 12 months and believe it is a smart decision? In 5yrs time? Why am I purchasing this on credit rather than cash (and saved for it)? A high interest rate on a poor purchase decision can be debilitating.

Not all debt is bad debt. Ie you save for a house deposit and take out a mortgage to finance the rest of the purchase. You find the right mortgage product and implement learnt strategies to pay down your home loan faster to save interest paid to the bank or build equity faster to perhaps assist in the purchase of an investment property.

-Get a free credit check report to double check you know exactly what credit facilities you have open in your name. It is possible (but rare) that fraud could have been committed against you. You should be able to get one every 12mths. For most this saves your peace of mind but for others the potential financial cost and time spent fighting the fraudulent credit product.

-Cash is king. That said, don’t go carrying around wads of it. Have some in your wallet, enough for expenses in your ATM transaction account and the rest (if you’re not investing) in the highest interest generating account you can get.

-Don’t try to keep up with the Jones’. Good on your neighbour for the new car / jet ski / boat / caravan etc but you probably don’t really need one too.

-Buy the cheapest your ego can afford.

-Learn what you can or can’t deduct on your tax return. Or get a good accountant.

-Teach your kids about money (or plan to). Hopefully your partner has similar financial values to you.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail!”

 

[La Dispute]

Load up when meat is discounted.

I primarily eat a carnivore diet and once a week I buy 4ish packs of wagyu burgers for $2 each, packs of salmon for $3, 500g mince for $2 etc for the prices are slashed and freeze it.

Eggs are another great bang for buck food.

 

[La Dispute]

Pro-top: sriracha costs $6 in the sauce aisle and $3 in the international aisle.

You’re welcome.

 

[Jordie_tackles]

I recently read the barefoot investor and I think it Is aimed largely at people with debt ect

what I do like is his budgeting, still putting in effect myself but basically covers putting % into certain aspects of your life. Eg I might be wrong but 60% on living/mortgage, 10% on things that make you happy week to week, 20% on paying down debts/saving for a house, 20% on future investing/safeguarding. I think for its money it is worth the read.

further it is automating these % so you know how much you need to cover bills and what you can spend without worrying.

 

[tangolikelama]

I set a realistic amount aside each pay - then live off the rest. When an unexpected expense pops up I dip into my savings and make it a priority to get it back to where it was asap. Its amazing how many people (myself included in the past) order ubereats 4-5x a week and complain that they can't save - not directed necessarily at you OP.

 

[nut]

ING account - have a “food account”, “Bills account” and fun account.

Excel spreadsheet of all you expenses, then start shopping around for better deals on internet, insurance, energy etc..Get solar panels

Homestar home loan currently 4.69%

Set up a manged fund …. I went Australian ethical… direct debit for the kids.

Put extra in super.

 

[nut]

ING account - have a “food account”, “Bills account” and fun account.

Excel spreadsheet of all you expenses, then start shopping around for better deals on internet, insurance, energy etc..Get solar panels

Homestar home loan currently 4.69%

Set up a manged fund …. I went Australian ethical… direct debit for the kids.

Put extra in super.

…. And make your own lunch for work

 

[ash_1050]

I've got 4 bank accounts and split off my pay accordingly when it comes in:

Rent and bills	36.25%
Fortnight spending (groceries, nights out)	24.90%
Fun savings (travel and toys)	10.90%
Savings (shares)	27.95%

In terms of saving money I try do a couple of days each week where I spend $0. Also taking my lunch to work, not owning a car, and cutting down on alcohol consumption all save me a decent amount of coin.

 

[sabre_ac]

Other than finding a way to make more money (upskill/change jobs/promotion) the best consistently correct savings tip I've experienced is to automate your savings. Work out an amount you can have to disappear from your account that makes you a little uncomfortable (just a little), set up the automatic transfer, and only revisit the accumulated savings balance a couple of times a year if you're going to invest the amount (Market-based EFT's).

 

[PoppedCorn]

If u get the option and are hourly paid, do most of the overtime u can.
It adds up quick

Use it to pay extra off any debt or top up the savings

 

[owen87]

Other than finding a way to make more money (upskill/change jobs/promotion) the best consistently correct savings tip I've experienced is to automate your savings. Work out an amount you can have to disappear from your account that makes you a little uncomfortable (just a little), set up the automatic transfer, and only revisit the accumulated savings balance a couple of times a year if you're going to invest the amount (Market-based EFT's).

There's a few investing options to automate this; Raiz for micro-investing $5 at a time, and I think Pearler gives you the option to auto-buy ETF's (or others) as you hit target amounts of money sent through.

The ideal is to automate saving and investing such that you forget it's going on, don't check it, and don't mess with it long-term.

 

[Kanga Commando]

Just wondering what your tips are for saving money.

I'm trying to lose weight and save money at the same time so I've worked out exactly how much food I need to eat for each meal and I'm keeping to a bland simple diet to give me everything I need. On gym days I'll adjust accordingly before and after workout. I'm also trying to build some discipline in all of this.

• I set up a money jar in which I started with a buffer of $50.
• Each week I'm putting in $70 for food and that doesn't leave much.
• I've got a lot of staple foods at home so I'm going through that first.
• I'll only buy bulk items when on special
• Meals consist of pasta, peas, spinach, chick peas, tuna, chicken when available. Every meal is about 1200KJ

First week doing I only bought soda water, and OJ but the guys at work put on pizzas so I took money out of the jar for that and I had to buy dad lunch for helping me out at home. So far this week I've only spent $50. A far cry from the $180 a week I was spending with all the "Healthy" soda drinks, previously energy drinks.

I'm about to head to Perth on a 2 day trip I'd pre booked so I'm making some compromises. I'm going to a nice Asian restaurant one night and the other nights, I'll cook up some cheap healthy meals for the rest of the trip.

Hoping to be +$20 after this week, +$40 the week after. I'm looking at using the surplus for a soda stream to do my own soda water.

I've currently adjusted my long term strategy to a more balanced strategy which focuses on living for today, being happy, being able to go on holidays several times a year but making sure I pay off my house prior to 60. I can't see the point in building a property portfolio while spending 20 years slaving away to reach that goal with tomorrow never promised.

I've dumped a lump sum on my mortgage, I'm paying off an extra $280 per week. If that's too aggressive I'll adjust. While I'm in surplus it's important to continue to balance the books and run a profit.

Cancelled subscription tv which is another $20 per week

What tips have you used in saving money?

Do you have a mortgage offset ?
Saved me huge amounts.

 

[Halloween Jack]

review your bills at least every 12 months. This is, insurance, electricity, water etc. I do a quick search to see what others are offering, and ring the company I am with to ask them to lower the cost, or I go to the new company. Often it works, and if not I leave anyway.

Do the same with your mortgage. There are a lot of lenders offering cash back and cheap rates to refinance. But worst case ring your bank every 12 months (or get your broker to) and threaten to leave if you don't get a cheaper rate. This works very often.

 

[The Sultan]

mention this in another thread... despite me and my partner both being on on low 6 figures each, we still try and live cheap

• furnished most of he house via FaceBook market place.
• Sell stuff on market place we don’t use anymore
• buy in bulk when pricey groceries are on special (i.e. coffee)
• buy and freeze the marked-down meat.
• do most of my clothes shopping at savers (got two pair of hugo boss jeans for $50 once) and kmart,
• both drive cars worth less than $10k
• shave my own hair
• Sneak booze into music festivals and concerts
• Grow my own “herbal medicine”
• Make coffee at home before leave for work, rarely buy takeaway coffee during the week

As other mention the less you spend the more you save

 

[sabre_ac]

mention this in another thread... despite me and my partner both being on on low 6 figures each, we still try and live cheap

• furnished most of he house via FaceBook market place.
• Sell stuff on market place we don’t use anymore

As other mention the less you spend the more you save

I've become a big fan of these two suggestions.

Assuming you can handle interacting with odd people and constant ghosting, there is a lot of money to be saved on the Facebook marketplace. I'm less of a fan of selling due to the small dollars I make and the hassle, but it has its merits.

 

[The Sultan]

I've become a big fan of these two suggestions.

Assuming you can handle interacting with odd people and constant ghosting, there is a lot of money to be saved on the Facebook marketplace. I'm less of a fan of selling due to the small dollars I make and the hassle, but it has its merits.

Yeah putting up with the general public is the price you pay…

don’t care too much about getting unders for stuff you sell.. half of it would prob get turfed next hard rubbish. even if I give it away for free it’s a very small small contribution to the recycling/environment effort.

 

[sammm]

Other than finding a way to make more money (upskill/change jobs/promotion) the best consistently correct savings tip I've experienced is to automate your savings. Work out an amount you can have to disappear from your account that makes you a little uncomfortable (just a little), set up the automatic transfer, and only revisit the accumulated savings balance a couple of times a year if you're going to invest the amount (Market-based EFT's).

i found, that once you automateyour savings, increase it by say $10 or or a bit more, every few months or so.

 

[sabre_ac]

i found, that once you automateyour savings, increase it by say $10 or or a bit more, every few months or so.

That's good advice to always be finding ways to increase the amount automatically transferred.

I usually increase by about 1/3 of whatever payrise I get after tax.

 

[sammm]

That's good advice to always be finding ways to increase the amount automatically transferred.

I usually increase by about 1/3 of whatever payrise I get after tax.

When ever I get a payrise I usually increase my mortgage payments and increase my savings. Eg If i get a payrise of eg $50 I put 10-20 more in savings same in mortgage and give myself an a bit as well

 

[bullish23]

The three things that really helped me were;

1) Live with your parents as long as you can. If you can still live at home whilst working Full Time in those initial years in the work force, you really get ahead by saving for an apartment deposit. Granted I know, not everyone’s circumstances allows this.
2) Don’t increase your spending at the same rate as your career earnings increase.
3) And as a bloke you really don’t need to be buying clothes every month.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

mention this in another thread... despite me and my partner both being on on low 6 figures each, we still try and live cheap

• furnished most of he house via FaceBook market place.
• Sell stuff on market place we don’t use anymore
• buy in bulk when pricey groceries are on special (i.e. coffee)
• buy and freeze the marked-down meat.
• do most of my clothes shopping at savers (got two pair of hugo boss jeans for $50 once) and kmart,
• both drive cars worth less than $10k
• shave my own hair
• Sneak booze into music festivals and concerts
• Grow my own “herbal medicine”
• Make coffee at home before leave for work, rarely buy takeaway coffee during the week

As other mention the less you spend the more you save

Definitely seeing the value of cheap furniture. Everyone wants the best. Even if you get a tatty old lounge you can clean it up and buy a leather or vinyl cover to go right over it. Tables and chairs can be bought for less than $100.

I'm about to move into a new house and If I cant bring my furniture with me, I'll be happy to plop down a few cinder blocks and ply wood for a tv stand, or for my records. Should be able to buy cabinets dirt cheap if even necessary. I'm over the whole needing to have everything so ******* neat and tidy and organized.

I'm happy to have a few knives, forks and spoons, bowls etc. Not like I ever have more than a few people over at any given time.

As for cars I'm happy to run my car into the ground for as long as possible. While it sucks having shitty little problems come up as did today when my key got stuck in the ignition, It's better than losing 3K minimum every year on depreciation of a more modern car.

I wear my work clothes whenever I do yard work or just go to the shops. I've got a good assortment of clothes to last quite a while.

Marketplace is so frustrating. I get ****ed around all the time.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

Do you have a mortgage offset ?
Saved me huge amounts.

I don't, but I overpay and can withdraw anytime. I'm on the lowest variable rate. Given the extra money I have in it's better for me to stay variable