Ways to save money everyday

OK, it had to happen, this is a spin off thread from photo Guys thread which started to become a "how to be a tightwad" discussion....

Here are some of my tips for saving money. I'd love to hear some other ideas.....c'mon Acey, let's have yours again, shall we?

1. When you go grocery shopping, take a written list and STICK TO IT!
2. If you shop weekly, try to shop every 8 days instead of every seven. By the end of the year, you will have saved 6 weeks worth of grocery money! YAY!!
3. If you have children, try to avoid taking them to the shops with you, they will always talk you into buying stuff you don't need
4. take your lunch to work from home, don't buy it at work
5. Try the "no frills" brands at the supermarket, they are often the same as the brand names, just with different packaging
6. Public transport is often cheaper, even if you have a car, can you walk or catch a lift with someone?
7. Never leave the house with money that is not already 'spent' ie: already allocated to something such as the phone bill you will pay this afternoon
8. Never read junk mail, or catalogues. You won't miss what you don't know about.
9. Don't smoke or drink alchohol. Your liver will thank you as well as your bank balance!
10. Check out St Vincent De Paul and other op shops for clothes. You have to go to the posh suburbs though! Vinnies at Mosman and Cremorne in Sydney often have designer labels for $5 and $10!

Hobbo

PS: Check out the sexy new avatar! Yep, that's really me :D
 
Nice avatar hobbo !

Here's another one...

Look at the big picture before making major changes attempting to save money. For example, moving to a cheaper suburb may save you $20pw in rent, but the extra cost in transport to and from work, tolls (especially in Sydney !!), wear and tear on the vehicle etc, may well actually INCREASE your costs !

It's not unusual these days for people to spend up to $50pw in road tolls alone in Sydney (it's getting ridiculous !)

Living close to the office (if possible), gives you the choice of walking to work - and that can save you a bundle.
 
Originally posted by hobgoblin
9. Don't smoke or drink alchohol. Your liver will thank you as well as your bank balance!
10. Check out St Vincent De Paul and other op shops for clothes. You have to go to the posh suburbs though! Vinnies at Mosman and Cremorne in Sydney often have designer labels for $5 and $10!
Hobbo


Uummmm NUP

Investor

PS. Instead of going to those lengths to save money how about focusing on ways to make more money !! ;)
 
Hi All

I agree that you need to budget and stick to it but all things in moderation, allow yourself some luxuries or enjoyment (movie dinner with friends, forum meeting at pub etc)

As far as your comment investor I can't agree more,

"PS. Instead of going to those lengths to save money how about focusing on ways to make more money !! "

My brother is a classic example of being a tight ass and is always talking as a gunna but will never do anything as his whole mental drive centers on saving money rather than identifying investment oppurtunities.

He is so tight that his work had to buy him a suit so that they could promote him to a new position where presentation matters.

I guess what it boils down to is you should save with an ultimate aim in mind if there is no aim that it is simply a miserly mentality which will just get worse the longer it is maintained.

Cheers
 
Right on Handy Andy,

Nobody has mentioned reducing 'impulse buying' !

I don't skimp on food & wine but try to make dinner at home as much as possible because it is healthier, often tastes better and I don't get charged corkage on the wine.

I have friends that skimp on 'everyday' items and are happy to drink my bottled wine rather than their cask wine.

I avoid buying 'big ticket' items like new furniture, electronic gadgets & new cars unless they are somewhat necessary.

I find having a budget with a couple of simple goals each year keeps me focussed on important things like holidays, investments and exiting the rat race.
 
Im with investor on this one. I decided a long time ago that i will earn more money rather than spend less. Life is for living and that includes enjoying the things that working hard and making money brings. My wife has an Italian background and you know the philosophy of "la dolce vita". I wouldnt have it any other way.

I remember a radio competition a while back where listeners rang in with their "tight arse" stories of people they know. Some were unbelievable but all were so funny i was driving and laughing out loud. Wish i could remember a couple.

I can see this thread becoming an interesting one :D
 
Originally posted by brains
I remember a radio competition a while back where listeners rang in with their "tight arse" stories of people they know. Some were unbelievable but all were so funny i was driving and laughing out loud. Wish i could remember a couple.

I can see this thread becoming an interesting one :D
I remember seeing one on TV some while back.

This guy would drive really slowly; not use his headlights until it was pitch black; not use windscreen wipers; would never buy a round of drinks. Even his mother was amazed at him.

I became a lot tighter with my spending just after I had to pay the ATO $53,000- and some of the non-spending patterns I still have now.
 
I have to agree with SIM Nice avatar hobbo!!

The most rediculous Tight arse stunt I've heard of is, when you buy items at the grocery store you pay for each item as you go therefore making use of the rounding down effect!!!

That's being a miser

Make more income is the only way, Isn't that he reason we are all buying property anyway? to eventually have more???


Mr Ed.
 
Thanks Fredo. I'd like to see some more real faces on avatars! :)

Well, you may be pleased to know that this morning whilst I was running around in my second hand clothes, not drinking and not smoking, with not a single credit card in my possession, I have secured an apartment for $2500 more than my original bargain basement offer which the agent said was "too low". I also have a new job with QANTAS!

So, yeah, it's all about balance. I just hate spending money. I love being tight. Is anyone else the same? I feel like every dollar I spend is one more dollar I don't have anymore. I can't even spend OTHER people's money. How's that?!

Of course, it's a personal choice, so if you love spending money, then go right ahead. I'm just offering suggestions to those who want them....those who don't can ignore this post, rather than slag it off :p

My dad is such a stinge he takes a calculator to the supermarket with him, so he NEVER goes over budget!

Cheers,
HG
 
We don't run to a strict budget more of a monitor of were it goes, but I can add one thing & that is...


Don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry, I have sometimes and find I fill the trolly up with nice cheezes ordy derves and all the stuff you don't eat mon - Fri.

Mr Ed.
 
But you are (or were) a student right HG ?

Thrift is a good quality to have when you are a poor student.

However, assuming you start to get some income, you need to learn to spend money at some stage - learn to be comfortable spending money on things that you have identified will MAKE you money.

For example, I shudder every time I get an accountants bill, but then I know he is extremely good at what he does, and he is providing me with excellent advice which is already helping me make more money... much more than I have spent on his services !!
 
Very true Sim, I am only as tight as I am because I HAVE to be. Austudy is only $310 per fortnight. I am going from full-time student, no job to part-time student, full-time job. Even though the unit is cash-flow positive, I wanna get rid of the debt ASAP!

Good point about spending money to make money. I keep my budget on an Excel spreadsheet which generates a graph of my 'good' versus 'bad' expenditure. 'Good' expenditure is books, loan repayments, seminar tickets...I LOVE to spend $$$ on that stuff! :D

Hobbles
 
HG,

That spreadsheet that you run sounds interesting, could I ask you if you could post a blank copy of it.

Just I monitor our spending via excel and I'm alway looking at updating it's features.

Mr Ed
 
Sure thing Ed - here it is!

It's pretty simple. It runs over three worksheets and I've put dummy figures in the budget so you can see what the pie chart looks like. Column G is positive/negative expenditure. To me positive expenditure is the stuff Sim was talking about, anythhing you spend to make more money or reduce your debts, but you can make up your own mind of course! I count food/rent as negative even though they are unavoidable expenses.

To insert a different type of graph, select 'insert' then 'chart'.

To calculate your positive vs negative expenditure, just add up the percentages on the graph. It might let you play with the colours on the graph, to make certain expenses certain colours, maybe it wil let you put your categories in groups I'm not sure. I'm not a total techno-whiz! I could find out though....

Regards,
Hobbly Gobbly
 

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I'm in total agreement with WillG..........Life's too short to drink bad wine!!

I'd also add some of my tips on being a tightarse.....

1. Don't shop at the supermarket......ever. If you have the time (and yest time is money) go to your local market, i.e. Victoria Market in Melb or Paddies Market in Sydney. You'll find amazingly fresh food sold at sometimes less than HALF what you'd pay in the supermarket and often its twice as good. Plus it's also good for a people watch and is entertaining.......if u are into that sort of thing, so you are killing 2 birds with one stone.

2. Keep track of how much you spend and what u spend it on. That way you will know when to stay home and eat peanut butter sandwiches instead of going out.

I agree with everyone else, you can't focus on scrimping and saving at the expense of spending money on assets or working out ways of making more money......however if you are a poor student like hobbo was......or will soon cease to be......then yes...necessity is the mother of invention.

Bottom line.......keep your spending to a minimum that you are comfortable with so you have additional $$$ to fund the purchase of assets.

Anyhow thats my $0.02.

PS - I like GeoffW also look "like" my avatar :D
 
Personally I hate "tightarseishness". A family member always worring about bills and how much things cost, eg phone bills etc. gosh you have to worry about making a local call from his house bla bla bla, its demeaning!

I hated being a student when I got Auststudy it was $68 or so a week...nothing noble about being poor, others went skiing I couldnt...I hated it!!!

Once you are earning money, the solution is simple and I bet everyone has read it hundreds of times; do your SAVINGS up front. When you get your paycheck put a fixed percentage (start with 10%) into another account. Then with what's left, spend it or blow it, enjoy it! If you enjoy wine, buy a few bottles of the good stuff and enjoy it with your friends and family.

But never touch your investment account unless it is for an investment. For example my company buys shares for me as a deduction of 10% of my salary per month, after a few years I now have $XX,000 worth of shares enough for the seeds of reasonable investment property.

Since I have been bitten and infected with the consumer virus I am always tempted to spend my investment money eg. I saw a very nice 3 year old E400 Benz with 8000Kms on the clock for sale in Japan just $45K...and then I starting thinking; well the little Honda Civic is getting too small for the 2 kids and my fat arse, that three pointed star would be very nice status symbol, a Benz V8 rumble sounds great, the power, sh.t I "deserve it" I work hard..bla bla bla => the temptations of a consumer society are always present. I really have to stop myself sometimes. I must admit I like "things", property is something real unlike dollars in the bank or shares so it is naturally attractive to me as an investment

Save upfront: I can recommend it, its so simple and it works and it takes the presure off each time you need to buy anything, particularly if you and your partner have different spending patterns.
 
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Tightarsedness?

It depends on where you are.

When you're a student, with limited income, you have to learn to do without income.

If you're going to a tertiary institution away from home, then you have to learn to do without a lot of things you might have had when you were at home.

After uni, I felt really guilty about even the luxury of watching TV (and TV was in the dormitory common room- with 50 people watching a B&W TV- but that WAS a few years ago).

I thought that a valuable part of uni, for me, was learning to survive on little.

I thought that was all many years behind me- when I got hit with a huge ATO bill ("Tax effective agricultural investments"). Then I had to learn to live like a student again- but with a family to support.

It was difficult- but we've pulled through it again. Just. The relationship came just SOOO close to breaking point.

But now, having gotten past the "new toy every week" syndrome- I see my 13 yo daughter picking up the same. I can't convince her. She has to learn in her own way. And it will be a very difficult path for her.
 
Ahhhh student days........and the lack of money that goes with it!

I can remember receiving 40-odd dollars a week from the Government to live on when I first came to Sydney(when some of the text books cost that......), sharing a room in a crazy, crazy boarding house and sometimes having a packet of Vita-something or other to survive on for the weekend while trying to work a part time job to cover the other expenses. Too right....you have to be very careful when there's no other input. No.....I didn't ride a horse 20 miles to school after milking 100 cows and thatching the roof though! God......I'm starting to sound like a parent aren't I????!!! :D

I'm in two minds whether I think all of this is necessarily 'character building' though.

I wouldn't necessarily want my daughter to go through all that crap. Yes I want her to learn the value of money.....but with an end in mind. Being careful, learning how to save(and more importantly......how to invest!) can be a great educational experience.......being financially desperate is another thing all together.

Now......I'm off to bed........I have an 18 hour day tomorrow in the coal mine............... :)



:)
 
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