Valura
mumma hen
Member #1939
Reged: 25/04/02
Loc: Brisbane, Australia
635634
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Saving Money hints and tips please  find similar
03/05/06 10:39 AM
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ok... we have just paid off a whole load of bills and will have more diposable income now which is great news... although our kombi is gone which is bad news!
To let you guys know we are saving to come to the Uk to see all our beautiful friends and family there (you guys are just like family ya know?) Its going to coat a minimum of 4 thousand dollars just for tickets.We would love to be there in the next year or so.
The thing is...I have no will power! I have already had to put my credit card in a cup.. fill it with water and freeze it in the freezer cause I buy something and think Ill pay for it later... which never happens.
so I was hoping that perhaps you guys may have suggestions as to how to save some dosh? I have gone to get some travel books so I can cut out the piccys of london and put them on a goal poster, yet that doesnt help when Im at the shops and reach for my eftpos card.... 
I also shocking at budgets...all our bills always get paid on time.. but then extra money gets chucked away at dumb things like food, fun stuff (movies and crap like that)and I ALWAYS seem to be buying things for other people to remind them how much they are loved~ which is nice and I dont want to stop doing, maybe I should start making things to remind them they are loved instead huh? (if I can find the time around my active lil ten month old!)
Any ideas guys?
HELP US WITH HINTS AND TIPS TO GET TO THE UK TO SEE YOU!!!!
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TAJ "boat mummy." VALURA "yes sweetie you went on a boat, was daddy there with you?" TAJ "no, but monkey on boat" VALURA "well then sweetie, Daddy WAS there with you"
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jaero
your new best enemy
Member #7969
Reged: 06/06/04
Loc: over the river, through the wo...
635644
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03/05/06 10:57 AM
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leave the credit cards at home, every time you find a twenty dollar bill (or the australian equivelent) in your pocket, leave that at home as well. make things for people instead of buying them, because if you put 20 minutes into creating something for someone, it means alot more than that 5 dollar gift. minimize your wants, stick to your needs. give yourself a daily budget, if you want something that would be more than the daily budget then let a few days budget accumalate and then get it. and most important, keep the UK on the mind 27 hours a day and 13 days a week. wish I could see you there but you'd have to come to america for that. good luck.
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I'll get there too late if I shorten my stride, I'll get there too soon if I find me a ride, I'll never move forward if I try to hide this path that I've troden one step at a time.
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Pogo69
hippie@heart, all around slacker and big post-wh*re
Member #32668
Reged: 06/04/06
Loc: limbo
635649
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03/05/06 11:00 AM
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hiya valura!!
YAY!! for the idea of heading off to the UK... that is a dream of mine also, but I'm looking @ least another couple years before I can do it.
I *LOVE* that credit card idea... I should do that... before my max'd credit card becomes my overdrawn credit card...!! Doesn't sound like I should be giving $$ advice, does it?
Perhaps to get the best of both worlds, you should allocate some of the surplus to movies/takeaway/gifts etc... at least then you know how much you're blowing. Controlled waste... 
Work backwards... figure out how much $$ you need @ the end, how long you have to save and you'll know how much you need to put away. Get an external savings account like ING or something and move the $$ when you pay the bills. If it's not there, you can't spend it.
OK... some of this is actually starting to sound like advice now... that's good. Even if it's wrong... definitely heading in the right direction. Hmmm... 9:00am on a wed morning and I'm rambling... not a good sign.
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--pogo (pat) [forever and always]
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polythene
The nice one.
Member #4685
Reged: 15/05/03
Loc: London/ Surrey
635652
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03/05/06 11:14 AM
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Set up a direct debit into a savings account just after payday.... if it's not there it's harder to spend it 
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The optimist claims that we are living in the best of all possible worlds.
The pessimist fears this is true.
Always make time to play in the snow.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of thumbs - Bugis
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spritie
keeper of useless knowledge
Member #606
Reged: 09/09/01
Loc: Galveston, TX
635654
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03/05/06 11:19 AM
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In the states, you can have money automatically withdrawn from a bank account once a month and put into a savings account...you might look into something like that if possible. If not, the best thing to do is to deposit x amount of money each paycheck into a savings account right when you get that paycheck. That way, your usual extra spending money will not be visable to you when you want to spend it. You might look to see if there are any special vacation savings accounts set up that restrict when you can withdraw money from them if you are tempted to just because.
Other ways to save are buying things at the grocery store that are on sale only. Stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale, buy the fruits, veggies, and meats that are on sale that week and plan your menus around those instead of what you may currently be doing. Don't eat out very often and make yourself a lunch to bring to work (or Arsn to bring to work). Look for ways to lower your electric bills (keeping the house colder in the winter and warmer in the summer by even a few degrees helps loads).
If you need more cost cutting tips, just ask. I lived on a graduate student budget for 7 years and know plenty of ways to save a buck here and there.
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Dr_Birgit
Doctor of Poisons
Member #16453
Reged: 27/01/05
Loc: Bristol
635675
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03/05/06 12:41 PM
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when you go shopping, make a list before (together so 1 person can always say "do we really need this?", and don't buy anything that's not on the list.
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"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
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roarfire
sitting, waiting, wishing...
Member #9476
Reged: 08/07/04
Loc: Melbourne
635680
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03/05/06 12:48 PM
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Put an amount away in a safe lil place (or a seperate account) every week or month, say start off with $20 a week, then work up to $50 a week and then up to $100 if you can. Buy only the foods that on special (yay for budget shopping!). It's good that you have an amazing goal to work towards. Just keep thinking of that and about all the lovely amazing friends you'll get to see again
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.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.
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Dentrassi
slightly perpelexed & ambigious
Member #4429
Reged: 09/04/03
Loc: Brisbane, Australia, Earth
635681
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03/05/06 12:57 PM
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perhaps someone you can trust (like a parent or something - someone really close!) can 'hold' some money for you. when i need to save badly - thats how i would do it and arrange it with my parents.
After payday, i would transfer the amount i want to save to my parents account - because if i previously tell them that im trying to save, and they are under no circumstance allowed to realease the money to me till a specified date - then they wont.
Do this straight after payday and youll have much less money being tempted to be spent on frivilous things.
Written by:
I ALWAYS seem to be buying things for other people to remind them how much they are loved
maybe downgrade to artfully decorated cards or something? im sure noone will think less of you or feel less loved
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"Here kitty kitty...." - Schroedinger.
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Eera
Cheap and nasty
Member #4761
Reged: 29/05/03
Loc: In a test pit, Mackay
635723
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03/05/06 02:54 PM
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Open up one of those accounts that you need to give notice to withdraw. At the end of the month stick all your unused money in it.
Every night, clear out your purse of all those gold coins and stick them in a opaque box, you'll have $300 in two months or less.
The hardest, but the most effective is to stop impulse buying. Walk away and tell yourself you'll come and get it tomorrow, by that time you'll have cooled off.
And go to Southampton for me. I miss it like crazy.
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There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.
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FoxInDocs
Flameyhead
Member #21869
Reged: 10/07/05
Loc: Adelaide, SA
635759
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03/05/06 04:22 PM
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yup, agreeances with everyone else... i'm not fantastic with money, and i've never earned heaps either, but in my last year and a half of employment i managed to save 16 grand (admittedly i had less outgoings than i do now, due to living at home).
I did it by having an account that i couldn't access through eftpos, or at just any atm, i had to go to a commonwealth atm to access that account... so on pay day, i walked down the street to the commonwelth bank at lunch time, and i'd put half of my pay in there, and i'd live off the rest...
i've always gone without some of the stuff i wanted, but didn't need, but at 20 years of age i had enough for a deposit on my own home. (i didn't end up getting my own home, due to other life circumstances, but it was there).
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"I have lots of first ones" - DA
"imnotaking your car to tafe.. 'sagirlscar.." - MiG
"Hey wow! I am wearing underware! ... ...Don't even think about putting that on HoP." - MiG
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Bird
now available in "advanced"
Member #5575
Reged: 25/08/03
Loc: Cornwall
635807
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03/05/06 07:11 PM
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Why not open a savings account at the bank, then put the money thet you were spending on bill each month into it?
It'll soon add up.
Good luck, I know how hard it is saving up for stuff!
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My state of mind is not yours to define!
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
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Medusa
Medusa
Member #6340
Reged: 25/11/03
Loc: 8 days at Golden Grove, 6 in P...
635819
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03/05/06 07:40 PM
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I had six months to save enough money to get a ticket and money behind me to apply for my visa (you need about $3000AU to get the Working Holiday Visa for the UK).
I ended up taking a small part time job some of the evenings of the week doing nightfill at a supermarket which helped immensely, even though it didn't pay too much.
I find emptying my pockets, bag, puse every day and putting the coins in a jar and not raiding it saves a fair amount.
Also, instead of buying expensive brands on all your foods figure out what you do need to buy but it would make no difference to buy it in home brand items like pasta, rice, milk etc etc...you will be surprised how much that will save.
If you are going out, only take a small amount with you and no cards...then you can only spend what you have on you, I am very guilty of going out with a small amount of cash but pulling more from my bank so I can keep partying through the night....quickest way to lose money I feel.
I know this is probably not going to help but selilng little things that you don't really need on eBay is also a great way to earn some extra cash. I had over 400 books which I sold most on ebay for more than what I bought them for!!! I made over $1000 just selling my books, stuffed toys and things like that. Of course you don't sell things that have sentimental value or that you need....
Ohhh and last but not least, open up an ING account, put away a hundred or so each pay and you will be surprised how much it will grow with interest (I have looked at other establishments but ING came out on top!)
Edited by Medusa (03/05/06 07:42 PM)
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Spanner
big ideas between little ears :)
Member #4171
Reged: 27/02/03
Loc: the port of Gos
635977
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03/05/06 11:22 PM
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Written by: Eera
And go to Southampton for me. I miss it like crazy.
Balance your money with your time.
It may be more convenient to shop at the nearby expensive convenience store or to have your shopping delivered for a fee, but if you have the time in which to catch the free bus to the supermarket or to buy your fruit and vegetables seperately - and usually cheaper! - at the grocers, you'll save your money instead. I know shops can be nightmare zones when accompanying children but being involved in the choice of what you buy can be educational and fun even for the very young. I'm very proud that my 5 year old son knows what an aubergine is 
(These are just examples based on my options as I don't know what's available to you in Australia).
Don't go shopping when you're hungry either
Have a link:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
It's a UK based site which could help you make the most of your budget when you're here - and you will get here ! - but the general advice should prove helpful to anyone wherever they are
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Rouge Dragon
Electronically Gnors
Member #5236
Reged: 21/07/03
Loc: without class distinction
635993
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03/05/06 11:40 PM
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do you have a market near you? my flatmate aves heaps on fruit and veggies by buying at the Vic Market towards the end of the day when they are selling it even cheaper!
But make sure you don't scrimp on food. I've made that mistake twice (once while travelling and once this year sice moving out) and I learnt that saving money is not worth my health.
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i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey
I saw a car run a red light today. Therefore all drivers are bad Motorist logic in reverse
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Tom_Shill
Teapots President, woo!
Member #28909
Reged: 19/12/05
Loc: Beverley/Sheffield
636100
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04/05/06 01:57 AM
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I put my wages straight into savings and then pay an alowance into my current account each week. It sounds like a fairly juvenile way of doing things but it's the only way I can stay in control!
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Will those capable of telekinesis please raise my hand?
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NYC
NYC
Member #552
Reged: 26/08/01
Loc: NYC, NY, USA
636147
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04/05/06 03:23 AM
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Oh, I'm really good at saving money.
I think it's actually a philosophy.
One suggestion would be to defer impulse buys. If there's something fun you really want to buy on January 1st, DON'T buy it yet. Tell yourself you'll buy it next month. This way, you wn't be able to buy anything else impulsey until Feb 1 when you buy your original item AND (and perhaps more importantly) you won't be bored with your original item and looking for your next impulse buy.
Once you tap into the general philosophy saving money it becomes easier. You also find out that you really DON'T need many of the things that your normally buy.
And absolutely STOP buying things for other people. I even raise an eyebrow at the manner in which you say it.
Like you said, MAKE them stuff. It takes time and effort and much less money.
I have many friends, family, and loved ones and very rarely use material gifts to show them my love. There are much better ways.
Most importantly, get introspective about WHY you are spending money and assess whether or not they are reasonable or disfunctional reasons. It sounds like there may be some guilt spending which is never useful.
You might also need to spend a week without spending anything (stock up on Pasta and Cereal before hand and then don't spend a dime.) Just to show yourself that it can be done.
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Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
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Mr Majestik
Kins likes teh yogurt
Member #6867
Reged: 09/03/04
Loc: home of the tiney toothy bear
636187
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04/05/06 04:32 AM
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Written by: NYC
You might also need to spend a week without spending anything (stock up on Pasta and Cereal before hand and then don't spend a dime.) Just to show yourself that it can be done.
hmm, i've suggested doing that in my house but its never happened yet. i think i could do it, as long as i bought a week long bus ticket so i could still travel!
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"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
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Spanner
big ideas between little ears :)
Member #4171
Reged: 27/02/03
Loc: the port of Gos
636214
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04/05/06 05:35 AM
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Written by:
You might also need to spend a week without spending anything (stock up on Pasta and Cereal before hand and then don't spend a dime.) Just to show yourself that it can be done.
Wouldn't someone who has fairly recently become a mother need more nutrients than pasta and cereal can provide even if she's not breastfeeding? I certainly agree that avoiding non essential food could help but to do so to the extreme sounds dangerous 
Your mention of the 1st of January has reminded me of another idea though If you see something in a sale you want, don't buy it unless it is also something you need and something you would have bought regardless of whether it was in a sale
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pricklyleaf
Now with added berries!
Member #17440
Reged: 07/03/05
Loc: Manchester
636245
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04/05/06 05:54 AM
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You could make food as presents for people. Then whilst making that nice cake\casserole or whatever for tea, make some spare as a present.
I find keeping my reciepts for everything I buy useful. It works in a couple of ways. For me I find it helps me to consider what I'm buying a bit more, and whether I really need it. It also helps because you can look through them, and see where you're spending needlessley. I was sceptical when my freind reccomended doing this to me, but it really does seem to make a difference somehow.
Also try saving up all your small change and pennies. It's amazing how quickly they add up, and you don't really notice them missing. It also means you don't have to lug a purse full of heavy money around with you.
Good luck, hope I get to meet you when you come
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Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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polarity
Drunken Poi Master
Member #19715
Reged: 16/05/05
Loc: on the wrong planet
636312
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04/05/06 07:23 AM
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I tend to use my credit card a lot, as I buy a lot of stuff online, and don't like hunting round towns for a cash machine that doesn't charge for withdrawals, so I've come up with a couple of ways of keeping the cost down.
I keep very good records. I use an excel spreadsheet to keep track of exactly what's in my bank account, and on my credit card. Every time I go shopping I get home and copy the dates and prices from the receipts to the spreadsheet, so I know exactly what's there for me to spend.
I don't trust my bank to keep me informed any more, as it can take a week for transactions to show up on their computers, by which time I could have got some nasty charges for being overdrawn, thinking I had money available. The values on the spreadsheet also include a £10 safety, that allows for the interest I may be charged on my credit card.
I have a very low credit limit, which is enough to buy most things, and gives me a pretty low interest rate.
As soon as I get any money, I put it straight onto the credit card. That way the costs of using the credit card are almost zero. I get charged the interest and another £20 if I miss a minimum payment, but nothing at all if I pay it then spend it I've been maxed out almost continually since I got the card, but only payed interest twice in the last 6 months. It's definately worth finding out how to exploit your credit card.
I also use the mozilla calendar to keep track of when regular payments come in, or bills have to be payed.
Freezing my card would be no use. I don't need to have it present to make online orders, as I can remember the numbers. Same for all my online banking.
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You aren't thinking or really existing unless you're willing to risk even your own sanity in the judgment of your existence.
Green peppers, lime pickle and whole-grain mustard = best sandwich filling.
Edited by polarity (04/05/06 07:31 AM)
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Valura
mumma hen
Member #1939
Reged: 25/04/02
Loc: Brisbane, Australia
636393
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04/05/06 10:01 AM
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Written by: NYC
And absolutely STOP buying things for other people. I even raise an eyebrow at the manner in which you say it.
Like you said, MAKE them stuff. It takes time and effort and much less money.
I have many friends, family, and loved ones and very rarely use material gifts to show them my love. There are much better ways.
Most importantly, get introspective about WHY you are spending money and assess whether or not they are reasonable or disfunctional reasons. It sounds like there may be some guilt spending which is never useful.
whoa NYC... you have just totally opened my eyes!
I DO guilt spend...BIG TIME.
I think I may have written the first post pretty badly in retrospect. I buy things for people, but only small things, and when rereading my post it sounds like I think thats dumb! When I really dont.. I see something that reminds me of a mate or a family member and buy it to make them smile... for example the day before yesterday I was shopping for Taj and saw a pair of pjs with chocolates all over them and thought of Moonpixie straight away..I instantly wanted to get them for her cause she LOVES choccie and its getting cold here so I thought she might like them...In saying that I didnt get them cause I didnt have the money. But I do also make presents for people, as often as I get the chance... I think spending money on things like movies and food is dumb... but not buying things for my friends and family...perhaps thats a subconcious thing I really need to look at! Thank you for that NYC, its made me think a whole lot
I do have issues about money..and seriously now you have said that I realise they ARE disfunctional.. quite often I think subconciously I think Im not worthy of having it, so I flit it away... Eg~ last night we got pizza. We didnt have to, but we did cause we had the money! *head desk*
Perhaps I could make a goal to get to your wedding?!
so after reading all your hints and Tips (thanks so much guys) I am going to do the following...
* buy home brand and bulk food if where I can, I do as much as I can already but could really do it more! Also going to a fruit and vege shop would save heaps. I do go to a butcher as I want the meat to be horomone free for Taj and he is great so that saves heaps.
* direct debit into a savings account what we would have previously been paying on extra petrol, insurance, and the loan on the kombi, into a savings account like ING. (thanks Medusa) That will build up.
*The credit card is cleared and frozen so I will not touch that becasue it was not used for so long as it was maxed out anyway, so that can be an emergency only card. We have cut up Arsns card also becasue the compnay that was with are thiefs anyway... they wore balaclavas every time they sent the bill Im sure!
* Make foody gifts for people, (thanks pricklyleaf) like my choccie afghans, (maybe moonpixie would like to eat choocie instead of wearing it!)
* since my license has been taken away I can save extra petrol by using the public transport so the extra money can go into the savings account.
* I have just been offered a job that I can work from home after Taj has gone to sleep at night so that extra money will go straight into the savings account and we can live off the one wage like we have been.
* I will cut the insurance cost by comparing the companys (thanks spanner for that website!) I have also downloaded the budget planner for excel from that website so will start to fill that out!
* Put all our spare change into a piggy bank and open an account for Taj and put that change into it... That way we can buy him things he may need or presents for birthdays etc! (plus save some for when he is older and can go travelling to the yookay or something...university? Im sure it will cost your first born for higher education by then)
*ebay! Heaps of baby things that Taj has grown out of we have been selling on Ebay and getting quite a lot for it! It also helps to declutter the house!
mmmm food for thought ... Thank you guys... My attitude to money is starting to change
--------------------
TAJ "boat mummy." VALURA "yes sweetie you went on a boat, was daddy there with you?" TAJ "no, but monkey on boat" VALURA "well then sweetie, Daddy WAS there with you"
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FoxInDocs
Flameyhead
Member #21869
Reged: 10/07/05
Loc: Adelaide, SA
636496
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04/05/06 02:16 PM
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YaY Valura! that sounds alot like a plan you've got going there! Good Luck!
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"I have lots of first ones" - DA
"imnotaking your car to tafe.. 'sagirlscar.." - MiG
"Hey wow! I am wearing underware! ... ...Don't even think about putting that on HoP." - MiG
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roarfire
sitting, waiting, wishing...
Member #9476
Reged: 08/07/04
Loc: Melbourne
636503
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04/05/06 02:45 PM
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Yay! Good plan chicken! Sounds like you're getting it under control! Good luck with it and all your travel plans
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.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.
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Rouge Dragon
Electronically Gnors
Member #5236
Reged: 21/07/03
Loc: without class distinction
636544
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04/05/06 06:35 PM
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I just spent a whole lot at uni today...maybe I need to take some of the adive here! Damn uni market and those terrible emi-impulse buys!
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i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey
I saw a car run a red light today. Therefore all drivers are bad Motorist logic in reverse
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Puk
Sweet talented crazy nutter
Member #2676
Reged: 03/08/02
Loc: Brisbane Oz
636588
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04/05/06 09:03 PM
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Have read the book by Anne bell she did the py your mortgauge off in 5 years book . There's a nother that i'll give/lend when we catch next month .
!. love and light Puk
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that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Good Fellow ; are you not he that is frighten of the maidens of the villagery - fairy
I am the merry wander of the night -puk
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