Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 22Aug 27, 2010 5:31 pm Great ideas everyone. I'll add:- Keep a diary of EVERYTHING you spend for 6 months. You'll be surprised how much those little things (coffees etc) add up. If you are going to buy something wait until the next day. If you really need it you'll go back and get it. You'll probably find it's an impulse buy and you won't get it. Go through your wardrobe at the beginning of the season to see what you REALLY need. Sometimes you forget some of the clothes you have when you haven't worn them for months. I bought a lovely red cardigan then found I have one similar already. OOPS! I pay my VISA out monthly so no interest but I get credits which I cash in for store cards. I get the caltex cards with my points. Most of my petrol is paid using the free cards. Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 23Aug 27, 2010 11:22 pm Hi, A good website that has interactive budgets and heaps of advice is http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html She has a show on pay TV called Till Debt Do Us Part and her site and also has books that may be available at the library. Michelle House - Lockup completed 23rd December 2011 - Painters are in!!! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37261&start=0&hilit=Blaxland Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 24Aug 28, 2010 12:07 am Do your clothes shopping at the Sammys. Mrs Manchu cleans up at that place. Brand new top label jeans for $5. Don't recall the brand but once she paid $2 for a $200 pair of jeans and they were new. Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 25Aug 28, 2010 12:13 am always cook double the portion needed for dinner, and have the same thing for lunch the next day - save heaps on making sandwiches. Trick is to set aside your portion for lunch so that you don't eat your share of lunch during dinner. Meals that can be re-heated for lunch - stir fries on rice, fried rice, fried noodles, pasta, lasagne, lentil soups, curries, quiches, stews. Top with canned tuna ($1 per can on special) if not enough. No no - steaks, seafood especially fish Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 26Aug 28, 2010 9:17 am travelbug If you are going to buy something wait until the next day. If you really need it you'll go back and get it. You'll probably find it's an impulse buy and you won't get it. I agree - especially when it comes to clothes. Sometimes I see something that my heart tells me I have to have, but my brain tells me I really shouldn't spend the money on. So I put it back on the rack and walk away and tell myself that if it's still there (in my size) on pay day, I'm meant to have it. By the time pay day rolls around, I've often realised that I don't really want it as badly as I first thought, and I don't go back. Sometimes though, I am so in love with that thing that I just have to go back, and you know what? I often find it on sale.... A few more ideas: Forget credit card purchases for more expensive items that you really do need and layby them instead. A small fee of $1 or less will be less than the interest you'd pay on your card over several months. Instead of spending money on gifts, create your own gift vouchers for services you can provide for family and friends. Give a friend who works long hours a day of house-cleaning and ironing, or babysit for a cash-strapped and stressed-out mum. I'm sure you can think of the perfect things for the people you know. Check out craigslist for freebies in your area. It's under-utilised as yet, but growing all the time and if you check regularly, you might find something you can really use for little or no cost. Look under the For Sale section - there's a Free link there. This is an example: Quote: Hi there, We've sold the house and will be clearing it of all contents over the weekend Aug. 27 - Aug. 29. Lots of good stuff we want to get rid of! Call us at XXXX XXXXXX to get the address and make a time to stop by. Our nearest cross streets are XXXXX Drive and XXXX Place. Here's a short list of things we want to find new homes for: Custom built three-seater couch and two arm chairs (fabric is worn, but it's extremely comfortable ... and very heavy - you'll need a big trailer) Extendable dining table with eight matching chairs, good condition except for a steam mark on top of table (again you'll need a truck or trailer - this originally cost $3,000) Moran beige leather two seater lounge plus two arm chairs (leather is pretty worn) Two king size single mattresses in excellent condition A round glass/cane/rattan kitchen table, plus three cane rattan chairs in good condition A pine two-seater couch and two matching arm chairs with cushions in good condition Timber executive desk with three drawers and coffee cup stains Blondewood sideboard/buffet (water stained at back, but a lovely piece of furniture) Assorted framed prints Kitchenware Older style microwave oven A bunch of older TV sets Some outdoor furniture - Acryllic table and three plastic chairs, white metal coffee table and two matching chairs Cane bookshelf with three glass shelves White wicker stool Large pink ceramic vase White metal towel storage rack Towels and linen Queen size bed and mattress Morantz stereo tuner and speakers Old suitcases COME GET IT! There are also items for sale for token prices. Oh - if you're looking for bargains in Melbourne, just watch out for the geographically-challenged Americans from Melbourne, Florida who've listed their stuff on "our" Melbourne site. Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 27Aug 28, 2010 12:05 pm Some of these are already mentioned, but still ... Lots of people tend to buy lunches at work every day . This is actually quite expensive. Bring your own. Also noticed that people use other banks' ATMs this is a well known no no Paying credit card bills in full on time Entertainment. Entertainment. Entertainment. . Big drain. Obvious ones - buying movies on DVDs ?? Going out to restaurants, and regularly? Magazines? Basically, focussing on how to amuse yourself and kill some time with a little help of your hard earned money Having the plasma TV on even when noone is watching (switch it off fully). Lights on randomly where noone needs them. Self-maintenance (cosmetics, beautician, nails , massage, tan, blah blah blah, even hairdressing). Taxing around, when you have the time and an/or alternative? Buying "pretty" things just because you like them? Sleep over it, they might not look as pretty tomorrow. Masses of various cleaning products Dry cleaning?! It must be something that's basically non-washable under any circumstances. I'm shocked to see that lots of pretty much normal stuff is actually labelled "dry clean only" . Clothes dryer?? Only in absolute emergencies or loooong lasting rains (unless the community/council spies into your yard/balcony for any low-hanging clothes lines and threatens to evict you if you use them ). Of course, this is only if you really want to cut on some of unnecessary spending. Otherwise, it's a pick and choose - you decide if you are happy to spend on some of those or not ... My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 28Aug 28, 2010 6:29 pm A budget is what I need Slightly off track but still relevant to the subject, what do people think about getting rid of the following... Union fees Private health insurance superannuation top ups Income protection All four can take a heavy wack on your monthly budget (although you do get a % back at tax time)These are really non essentials but essential in other ways. When you do a budget, are these the areas you would cut out completely or do you value them highly? Mrs B Re: Desperate for ideas on living cheaper 29Aug 28, 2010 6:50 pm Mrs B Slightly off track but still relevant to the subject, what do people think about getting rid of the following... Union fees Private health insurance superannuation top ups Income protection All four can take a heavy wack on your monthly budget (although you do get a % back at tax time)These are really non essentials but essential in other ways. When you do a budget, are these the areas you would cut out completely or do you value them highly? Mrs B I think it depends on your situation, Mrs B. Income protection is probably essential if you're self-employed, and union membership may be really important in some industries. Super top-ups can also be vital, especially if you're older and don't have much put away yet - but for someone who's struggling to make ends meet right now, that's probably something that needs to be shelved for a few months or years. As for private health cover, some of us really need it. I have multiple medical issues that mean regular stays in hospital and there's no way I'm playing the waiting list game. Here are a few things we did to save money when we were battling with a mortgage and rent: - Rang our phone provider and got them to give us a cheaper deal. We had the landline and my mobile with them, and we cut $50 a month off the bill. And got a new mobile thrown in for nothing. - Cancelled some life insurance policies we'd had for years. We kept one, and we have very good death cover on our super, so we decided we didn't need the extra policies. - Switched credit card providers - got a balance transfer at 1.99% for 12 months. Awesome. - Shopped for insurance - cars and house - when policies were due. Insurance companies will often give a good premium rate to get your business. Then swap again the next year. And the next. - Put a ban on takeaway and instead made our own pizzas, hamburgers and DFC (that's "Dad's Fried Chicken" ). The kids didn't complain once. - Cancelled pay TV. BIG waste of money. - Borrowed DVDs on Tight-arse Tuesday when we can get 2 new releases and 4 weeklies for some silly price.... - Asked for vouchers for movies or clothing for birthday and Christmas gifts - our budget was pretty tight and didn't really allow for any luxuries, so those things were a welcome treat. - Maintained a Christmas Club account with our credit union. I put away a set amount each pay and at the end of the year, my kids' birthdays and Christmas weren't a financial nightmare. There were a few other things we did, but I can't think of them now. Money isn't a huge issue now, but we're focusing on paying off the house, so we've just kept on doing all those things to save $$ and we don't mind a bit. I would be wary. Is you site demilished but nothing else done? Sounds like liquidity problems to me. Our builder did the same. Got hundreds of thousands of dollars of… 2 11967 3 3537 Can anyone suggest a house layout where the kitchen-dining - living runs the length across the rear of the house left to right where our best view will be we… 0 3018 |