This is a shout out to those of you who are good savers and non- spenders. I want your tips.
I know you're out there, I have long admired your abilities. AM, who can live so well on $12000p/a. Emzeegee who was devastated by her last years income statement- you lived somehow, didn't you? Well, how? Al, who always has a full bank account, somewhere in the world, and used bank interest to finance many of her escapades over the years. HELP.
Daily living, long term strategies, all of it. Because, actually, I'm really bad at thinking about this. I'm not really financially minded. No training in it, and I never allowed myself the time to learn to think about money. I always had enough to cover for my failings. I've paid the over-drawn fees, the late payment fees, the higher phone bills. I worked to pay for holidays and then worked to pay off the cards. I shop for brands and pay little attention to catalog specials. It's symptomatic of a spender. These habits have got to go.
A little help, please!
5 comments:
'currency' is listed under the very central and very first entry in roget's thesaurus: existence.
currency is an energy flow manifesting in what we know to be money, water, electrical charge...
we are electromagnetic entities and electromagnetism is one of the four forces that make up the fabric of reality in the universe as we know it.
our minds are electromagnetic generators. our thoughts are absolutely tangible, they exist in the quantum field. bell's theorem postulates that two particles can affect each other across vast distances of 'space' and 'time' instantaneously. ie faster than the speed of light.
according to quantum physicist john wheeler, this can only be possible if the fabric of the universe is information itself... and that all things manifest from this matrix of information. IT comes from BIT. in another terminology, the fabric of reality, as the buddhists and other ancient traditions have come to know, is consciousness itself.
if so, our thoughts from our electromagnetic minds travel faster than the speed of light through this 'mind of god', if you will.
if you can trust in this you will come to learn that providence is your co-creation with the universe, and the riches that comes from your own manifesting powers will be supreme, not necessarily by being opulent in nature but by being perfectly aligned with you and your path.
I would recommend that as part of this experimental year, make a list of goals, make little pictures on a vision board of exactly what you want. use the language of PRESENCE - 'I am', 'I do'.... 'I will' belongs in the future and you may never catch up with it: keep it present and affirmative. and read your list and see your goals and feel your enjoyment of successfully playing with the universe. empower your vision board like a shrine - fairy lights, patron saints, sacred geometry, whatever connects you to the cosmic!
presence is very important. if you are arrested by the contracting forces of fear of non-existent future, you may lack the presence to see an opportunity to make your dreams happen. presence is simple, it is the breath of life and the wonder of the life force that we respond to in children and animals and plants and all of the cosmos.
I've used these techniques since I was 14 and continue to pass into the thresholds of my aspirations.
and a message from nigel:
don't think you are rich, KNOW you are rich!
Anyway, firstly welcome to the blogging world. I am quietly excited that the moniker I saddled you with has now become the name of your blog. In a small way, I helped!
Here are a few things I can think of right off the bat, remembering that sometimes you need to SPEND money to SAVE it.
So:
1) Hire a financial advisor, even if only for an initial consult (often free!). They can often see tax savings and gaps where you can't...yes, even in your seemingly small income stream. They can also provide some information on how BEST to save...because even when you only have $1,000 saved, that $1,000 can earn you interest towards your goal.
2) Cash limitations. Decide what the minimum is you can live on, cash in hand that is. Decide on a day of the week when you need it the LEAST. Then take out that amount from the ATM, and DO NOT visit the ATM again that week. The next week, if you have money left over, take out ONLY what you need to get back to the pre-determined 'cash in pocket' level. Resist the urge to put stuff on a credit card or debit card which would otherwise be cash transactions. First this forces you to think about spending. Second this limits any bank fees associated with withdrawals. You would be AMAZED.
3) As much as possible, "automate" your food. If it's available to you, have your fruit/veg/milk/eggs delivered, especially by those companies which have free delivery. NOT "browsing" in food shops is a sure way to save money...we literally slashed our food budget in half. The not browsing thing is especially useful for us foodies out there.
4) Clothes for Baby Boy....if anyone at all EVER offers you second hand clothes, always say yes. Even if they give you ten bags and you only find ONE usable pair of pants, it's a pair of pants you don't need to buy. This is also true for essentials like socks and undies. I know there is an "eewww" factor with undies, but let's face it, they get washed. Use napi san if you must, LOL!
5) ALDI really is cheaper, I've price compared. Don't get sucked into the cool European stuff. If something is on special (even butter or eggs), buy up big and FREEZE it!
6) Find a friend who is in the food business and has a good meat supplier. Put together a pretty big order (esp for stuff like mince, etc which boy can eat) and put in an order. FREEZE it all in serving-sized portions. It'll be 20-30% cheaper than what you can buy at your local butcher, and it's probably pretty okay quality. (BTW, I thought the prices at Peninsula Bulk Meats were pretty good, they're in Rosebud.)
7) Never ever throw out food which you think is a bit 'soft' or 'off' - veggies are soup or casseroles, fruit is cake!
8) Do an automatic debit from your account into a savings account of some kind, then conveniently "forget" you have that money in your budget (even if it's like $50 or something a month.) We've done this since we were married and have saved a HEAP of money that way (I think about 30k over the last 11 years, although we do contribute more than $50). Honestly, DH and I forget it's even there so we know it's not ours to spend in the first place. As it's automatically taken out each month (and put in the managed funds account) it just rolls over without any effort from us, plus it earns interest.
9) If you get a managed fund of some kind, do a DRIP (Dividend Re-Investment Program) with it. This means whatever you earn in interest, rather than being paid out, it automatically returns to the fund and buys you more shares, thus increasing your earning power.
....okay that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure if I keep thinking I can come up with some more things. For us it was a bit 'easier' to cut corners because we had some real luxuries (like Foxtel) which could easily be cut out. It's also worth re-quoting some basic stuff in your life - are you getting the best deal on your energy bill? Could you be doing better with your internet access? (and so on and so forth.) A few phone calls can go a LOOONNG way to saving just a few dollars here and there. People don't often realise there are 'deals' to be had in things like utilities.
Anyway congrats on starting out your goal of saving!
I'll add you to my blog roll, too. :)
Michelle
thanks for stopping by. here is the link to the banana bread recipe:
http://port2port.visualblogging.com/archives/2308_1018582413/87407
also sach, some little tips on super cheap living that work for me:
1. use the local library - free newspapers! free magazines! free books! free DVD hire! - and if they haven't got it, they can find it in their networks. also, free internet! that's a lot of free stuff that all adds up - and there is probably a toy library too.
2. barter. find out who is growing food and what you can do for them.
3. get some chooks - very easy, they pay for their own wheat in no time. they eat your scraps, they give you eggs and provide manure for the vege patch. free range eggs are about $5 now? 60kg wheat only costs $20 and should feed 5 hens for at least 3 months. so for $7 a month you will get an average of 10 dozen eggs. and you can swap your amazing organic excess eggs for a box of veges (at a local market garden for example), bread from the local baker and you've got lots of food contacts. eggs are a staple, which makes them great currency and if you're really brave you can grow them to eat.
4. legumes. its very easy to grow them, dry them, sprout them, cook them, grind them. super cheap protein source.
5. grow your own vegies. surprisingly few plants will support a small family. three lettuces can feed you for a whole season if you pluck a few under leaves each day. 4 cherry tomato plants will feed you for months plus provide enough for relish. mix in some spinach and rocket and bok choy seeds and you will have enough mixed greens to keep you going for a whole season. silverbeet is robust and very easy to grow. so you've got mixed greens, full of life, for a few dollars outlay in seeds. (whereas a bag of greens costs about $4 now? ridiculous!) pumpkins and melons are very easy and well worth growing. a few pumpkin plants - given some space away from everything else will provide you with a year's supply of pumpkin which you can store in a dry, airated dark place like the shed, and as you know they are very filling and very versatile to cook with. chillies, capsicums, basil and spring onions are also very easy to grow and you probably use them all the time. when I buy a bunch of spring onions I cut the root ends off and plant them in the garden - they start regrowing within 24 hours.
5. milk. if you can find someone with a few dairy cows closeby you can get milk that is not only cheaper than pasturised supermarket milk but is also heavenly to drink.
6. asian grocers. whenever you are in the asian precincts fill up with cheap bulk rice and condiments that are ridiculously overpriced in supermarkets.
7. gifts. don't worry about gifts, no one needs them and no one will notice. just give them a hold of the baby and some eggs.
8. become a freelance food writer and eat out for free.
enjoy!
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