Money Tips 1 to 10 Explained

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19 Responses

  1. Point 2 and 8 are by far some of the most impacting things we did. They require some work up front. Once in place, the results are amazing.

  2. Hey Tom, lots of nice tips there.

    We’ve got the emergency fund sorted.
    We don’t have a loan so that can’t help us yet. We’ll shop around when we do get one.
    We have been selling things recently, for a total of at least $500
    We’re renting as cheaply as we can in a place that’s about an commute each way for me to get to work.
    We LOVE bringing water bottles places (and frozen water/ice for a hot day)
    We’re sometimes guilty of shopping on an empty stomach, but we’re dedicated list makers and only buy what’s on the list.
    At the moment we have a sizeable fridge/freezer and do a weekly shop at Aldi, who don’t really do large-bulk items. The extra item + electricity probably wouldn’t be worth it for us at this point. Maybe when we have our IVF baby (who grows into a kid) it’ll be worth it 🙂
    We have our savings in high interest, the highest we can find that’s easy to use. (Ubank and ME bank offer slightly better rates but there’s a heap of hoops we need to jump through, so we don’t go for that.)
    I take public transport to get to work. We only have 1 car, it works for us.
    It’s definitely cheaper to buy food from a supermarket, or even in the airport, rather than on the plane.

    I enjoyed reading this, can’t wait for the next 10.

    Tristan

    • tom says:

      Glad you enjoyed it – the freezer one can be a tough balancing act. Two things kick started it for me. Firstly our neighbours gave us a deep freeze which saved a lot of money. Secondly we ate a log of chicken at the time, and found it cost around $10/kg at normal supermarket prices, but was $6/kg at a butcher in bulk (10kg+). When we found ourselves buying around 4 to 5kg the extra $10 to double the quantity was an easy sell. But you do have to look at up front cost and electricity.

      • Interesting – are you buying whole chickens or chicken meat? We consider whole chickens over shredded chicken or chicken breast/thigh meat but then you’re buying so much bone weight.

        if it’s just the meat, no bone, that may be worth it for us to look at (from a butcher) even if we don’t have freezer.

        Tristan

        • tom says:

          Chicken breast (sometimes thigh, but normally breast). We would often use them for things like BBQ’s with friends & make our own kebabs rather than buy them for $1.50 each (and get worse chicken)! We also now do it for things like roast’s, buy a few when they are on special and freeze for a few months.

  3. Jef says:

    Good to have you back here Tom! For me 3 months in an emergency account is important, rather than 2, although it really depends on how disciplined you are with money & it’s really a subjective # based on perspective..

    Love these tips though & I sense that this could be an E-Book down the track :)!

    • tom says:

      Yeah, 2 may be a little low for some people. We try and keep a minimum of 2 “normal” months because there are a number of things we can easily stop if things get tight (e.g. cutting our giving/donations would extend our 2 months to 3 months). In reality we currently have around 24 months but are actively moving that into either shares or holding it for our investment property deposit.
      Book… possibly. Although they will all be available free online so not sure people would pay for it. But it is an interesting idea, I think I would have to polish up some of the explanations.

      • Jef says:

        Well man the thing people love paying for is convenience & I’m sure you could come up with something unique and creative 🙂

        Agreed on the 2 months being too low although as you say it can be adjusted.. Keep posting & I’ll keep reading!

  4. #5 is a good one! So many people waste money by constantly buying bottled water when they could just use a $10 reuseable that is better for the environment as well!

    • tom says:

      Totally! I hate to think how much people spend on bottled water each year. The only times I have been on the bottled water train was when in places where the water was not safe to drink. An expense that I think was very much worth it (after hearing other people – thin walls in the bathroom).

  5. Kathleen says:

    A great alternative to #8 is an offset account if you have a mortgage. I like seeing how much interest I am saving each month & try to increase it .

    • tom says:

      Indeed – an offset account is a fantastic place to park money if you have a mortgage. It will defiantly save you more than a high interest savings account. I never actually had one as I just put the money straight into the loan, and had a loan with unlimited instant redraws. It looked just like another bank account (just with a negative sign).

  6. Great tips! We always bring our own food on road trips and flights. Cheaper and always, always healthier!

    • tom says:

      Oh… unfortunately I defiantly cant agree with that one! Always cheaper, but (at least in my case) not always healthier :(. Although that is why one of my new year goals for 2017 is to lose some weight.

  7. Peter says:

    I like the take public transport tip. I took that a step further and sold the car. I didn’t really need it in Sydney.

    The battery went flat from lack of use and that seemed a sign I didn’t actually need it.

    • Tom says:

      Good job! I have some friends who are carless, however we live too far out of the city for it to work for us (given the level of convenience I want and am willing to pay for). However we did move from 2 cars down to 1 car, or 50% of a car each?

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