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Budgeting

Spending Questionnaire: Do You Have a Spending Problem?

Posted on February 20, 2022

People at a shopping mall scurrying around

Have you ever found yourself browsing the mall out of boredom and walking out with more bags than you can carry? You get home and soon cringe at the pile of stuff thrown across your bed. You hang everything up in your wardrobe or fold it neatly in your drawers with the best intentions, not realising that you might not ever wear any of it.

Maybe you just love a good sale and can’t resist a buy one get one free offer. You walk out with two pairs of whatever you just bought thinking to yourself how great a deal it was even if though you know you didn’t need either of them.

You reach for your credit card, and with a quick tap, you’ve bought a new lipstick to add to the 20 others you have at home in your bathroom drawers.

Your once new car is now seven years old and you might have finally paid it off. You have a spare $300 a month freed up to do whatever you want with it… Maybe you’ll save it up for a rainy day fund or put it towards that holiday you’ve been wanting to take the family on. But some of you will quickly go out and buy another new car with a new repayment to go with it. After all, you’ve grown used to having a car payment so what’s the difference right?

If you can relate to any of the above occasions these could indicate that you may be spending your money without intention.

Of course, when we are bombarded with advertisements wherever we look, it can be hard to recognise problem spending patterns until you stop and consider your spending habits and their impact on your finances and maybe even those close to you.

If you appreciate a new handbag or new camera lens, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We all work hard and deserve something we love or enjoy every now and then – of course, as long as we can afford it. That is, we can pay for it in cash or at least pay off the credit card in full when the payment is due.

But that’s usually not the case.

We can all so easily pull out our credit cards to get that must-have new item today rather than waiting until we save up for it. We justify our spending because we can afford the repayments, but this might not always be the case. Our unintentional spending can overtime blow up into much bigger financial problems.

A new subscription or pair of shoes here and there is manageable, but when spending becomes a regular, impulsive, and unintentional habit we can find ourselves in a financial situation that can be very difficult to get out of.

Take the Minimise With Me Spending Questionaire to see if you might need to get more intentional with your spending habits.

take the spending questionnaire

Budgeting

14 Reasons Why You Might be Broke

Posted on January 12, 2022

Have you ever looked at your financial happens to consider why you might be broke? Check out these 14 reasons you might be broke to get you started managing your personal finances now.

One of the reasons many of us are broke and don’t realise it, is because we’re all doing the same thing. We see friends, family and colleagues and those around us buying new cars, taking on large mortgages, buying the latest gadgets and accessories. When everyone else is doing it, it can be hard to admit the truth, that maybe you are broke?

Being broke will have a different definition for each person.

To me, being broke is not having enough money to pay for things in cash.

It’s the person with no Emergency Fund to cover unexpected emergencies like a car breakdown. It’s the person who spends every dollar they earn and saves none. It’s the person who has debt they can’t repay, or that they can only afford the minimum repayments. Or the person who is behind on their bills.

Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you aren’t broke – that’s as long as your car doesn’t break down. Or you don’t lose your job. Or have to fork out for an unexpected insurance excess.

Maybe it’s easier to believe you aren’t broke whilst the times are good, but with one unplanned financial emergency you might be faced with some harsh truths about your finances.

The important thing to remember is not to give up hope! Being broke doesn’t have to be permanent. Although your “brokeness” won’t disappear overnight, every little effort you make is a step in the right direction.

These 14 reasons why you might be broke below might help give you a new perspective on your finances and help you take the necessary steps you need to take to leave your broke days behind you.

**This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of a product from the links in this post I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to keep my blog advertisement free and support the running costs of my blog. I only recommend products I believe will add value to others and that I love myself.**

14 Reasons Why You Might Be Broke

You’re saddled with debt

You might be broke if you are snowed under by a large amount of debt. Are you the not-so-proud owner of a car loan, student debt & credit card with a balance? The repayments on those debts can quickly eat away a large chunk of your paycheck each pay period. Once you add a few subscriptions, dining out a few times, increasing grocery, utility & petrol bills and other expenses like child care you might find yourself struggling to keep your head above water.

It might be possible to afford the minimum repayments and use that as your justification to keep up current spending habits, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get to a point where it is going to be harder and harder to keep your head above water, financially speaking.

When you take into account interest rates increase, high cost of living, and stagnant wages if you haven’t curbed your excess spending and reliance on credit, that so-called manageable minimum repayment won’t stay manageable for long.

2. You have one or more car loans

When you see friends and family posting about their new wheels, it can be very tempting to get a new car and car loan to go with it. USA Today reports that Americans purchasing new cars in 2018 agreed to pay an average of $551 per month for 69 months according to car-buying advice site Edmunds. That is a lot of money going out the door not even taking into account food, utilities and housing costs!

Financial Expert Dave Ramsey’s ‘the car rule’ advises you should not invest more than half your household income into things with motors, that go down in value. If you are earning $60k and you have a vehicle that is worth $35k with a similar car repayment, it might be one of the reasons you might be broke and time to consider selling that car. If you are living above your means when it comes to your car, it might be time to consider selling your vehicle for a more affordable one. You can always buy that car of your dreams later on when you have the cash!

3. You still have cable

With subscription services like Netflix available and a vast array of digital channels coming onto the market, there is no need to keep paying expensive monthly cable bills. Swapping out the $50 a month Foxtel subscription for a $9.99 Netflix one will save you $480 annually or close to $5,000 over ten years! If you are paying for the top of the line Cable at $100 a month, double that figure! See what I mean? That’s some serious *cha-ching*!

Not to mention you will avoid wasting valuable time and attention listening to those never-ending ads that you don’t get with services like Netflix! (And here’s hoping it stays that way!)

So if you are still paying lots for your cable, why not cancel it and see if you even miss it? You can always get it back if you really feel it adds value to your life.

4. You try and keep up with the Jones’

If you constantly give in to pressure to buy the things that everyone else around you have, you are going to potentially end up living above your means.

Are you working in a high-paying field with other high earners and trying to keep up with the pressure to buy and drive only the best? And get every beauty treatment under the sun to “look as good” as everyone else?

Stop and think for a second before you rush out to buy the next ít’ thing. Consider:

Do you earn similar money to them? Are you trying to live the Kardashian lifestyle on an office assistants wage and making unreasonable expectations of your income?
Do you already have enough of what you are buying or something equivalent? Maybe you already have a sufficient makeup collection or wardrobe and you might need to shop more intentionally?
Is it possible, those around you are buying all their new awesome stuff with credit cards and are struggling to keep up with repayments?

Trying to keep up with the Jones’s is a race to the bottom and one of the reasons you might be broke. Consider spending your time and attention on people who make you feel good about yourself and accept you for who you are rather than making you feel inadequate based on what you can or can’t afford.

5. You don’t pay yourself first

You look forward to payday every week or month only to realise days later that you’ve spent all your money and have to scrounge what coins you can find in the bottom of your handbag or what notes you can locate your pants in the laundry hamper. If you don’t have a plan in place for your money from the moment it goes into your account, it is going to get frittered away before you even realise it’s all gone.

With one simple strategy, you can make living paycheck to paycheck a thing of the past.

By creating a Zero-based budget you can give your dollars a job before they are spent and make sure your spending is prioritised to not just your needs and wants, but your financial goals.

Setting up an automatic savings transfer to transfer your goal savings amount to a separate savings account each payday ensures you have funded your financial goals before the money is spent. Soon enough I promise, you won’t even miss it and will revel in watching it grow month to month!

6. Shopping is your hobby

One of the reasons you might be broke is if you use shopping as a hobby. If you shop when you are bored, sad, happy, for entertainment, or to be social, you might be heading for a life saddled with debt. Particularly if your shopping trips are happening more frequently. If you would describe shopping as your main hobby, it might be time for you to branch out and get some new ones.

One way to retrain your consumerist habits is to declutter your home so you know what you do and don’t have and create a Capsule Wardrobe of clothing you love to remove the temptation to be on the lookout for more clothes.

7. You don’t invest time to learn about finances

One of the reasons you might be broke is because you’ve never taken the time to learn about finances.

A common habit with millionaires is they read 1-2 books every month! And if you’re broke, reading the occasional finance book is a great place to start. Even just reading one is going to jump-start your financial knowledge. With apps like Audible you can easily listen to one on your morning commute to work.

You can read more about my favourite financial books here.

You might also consider investing in a financial coach to help your gain clarity around your finances and help you work towards your financial goals.

8. You don’t have a budget

One of the reasons you might be broke is if you don’t have a budget. This means that you can’t tell your money where to go and you’re probably going to spend more than you planned to, each pay. When you tell every dollar where to go, you can take back control of your money and make sure more of your hard-earned money is going where you want it to, whether that be to your retirement account, savings, investments, or even just spending your money more intentionally.

9. Your housing is unaffordable

Most financial experts suggest that you should keep your housing costs to 30-35% of your combined after-tax household income. If you are paying 30% or more of your after-tax household income to your rent or mortgage, it might be one of the reasons you are broke. It’s a term most refer to as ‘house poor’.

If you are living in a 4 bedroom home with rooms that are sitting unused most days of the week, and finding it hard to pay your mortgage or rent, it might be time to consider downsizing.

Even a $100 a week reduction in rent can add $5,000 to your annual savings total or could be used to help pay down your debts quicker. You may even need the extra space, but it might be time to consider temporarily downsizing for a year or so until you can get ahead financially.

If your home is pushing more than 30-35% of your after-tax household income, it might be time to at least consider your options when it comes to reducing your housing costs.

Selling a house comes with other costs such as stamp duty, so this might be more expensive and not so helpful. If that is the case, you could consider other options to save on housing costs such as renting out part of your home such as your garage or shed for storage, or your driveway, or even a spare room.

Check out these 13 benefits of a smaller home to help you understand how downsizing might not be such a bad thing.

10. You only pay the minimum repayment on your debts

If you are only paying the minimum repayments on your debts, it’s going to be hard to ever get on top of your debt. If you are roped into a 7-year car loan as well as credit cards that could take 10 years to pay off, that’s a lot of dollars that are not going to your financial future.

It can be easy to live in debt denial when you can meet the minimum repayments, but all it takes is a job loss, a medical emergency, or a car breakdown and it can throw a huge spanner into your finances and make it difficult to meet your repayments, even just the minimums.

Don’t live your life on the financial edge and try and convince yourself you are not broke. Break the debt cycle!

11. You surround yourself with other spenders

Do you spend the majority of time with people who encourage you to spend? Is there a friend that constantly wants you to go for expensive beauty days or to high-end restaurants? Or one that drags you shopping and then insists that you have to buy something because you can’t possibly leave empty-handed? Or maybe you just enjoy watching haul videos on YT?

Surrounding ourselves with people with different (or lacking) financial goals can impede the ability of your savings and keep you broke. It’s never fun being the one to say no to nights out, or a trip with friends, but it is a must if you are want to say goodbye to #thatbrokelife.

Be honest with your friends and let them know that you are trying to improve your finances and pay off debt and that you would love to come out and see them, but suggest some more frugal ideas that won’t hurt your budget. You might even find that some of them are happy to help you participate in more budget-friendly catch-ups and you might even inspire them to have a look into their finances.

12. You don’t have Financial Goals

If you are just coasting through life without giving any thought to your financial goals you might be broke. No one saves money, invests in their retirement funds, or pays off their debt by accident. These things all take thought, intention and action.

Start setting yourself some financial goals and take control of your finances and say no to being broke!

Some of your financial goals might be:

To review your retirement account performance
to create a budget
to sell your stuff to help you save up an Emergency Fund
to pay off your debt faster
pay off your mortgage or save up a house deposit
save for a holiday to be paid in cash
save up for your next semester of college

It doesn’t matter how big or small your financial goals, the key is deciding on them, writing them down, and making plans to achieve them within your chosen time frame.

13. You don’t have an Emergency Fund

If you don’t have a rainy day fund, you are opening yourself to unnecessary stress and financial hardship.

When you are going through a stressful event such as a car accident, injury, or another emergency, you don’t want to have that added stress of worrying about how you are going to pay for things. Emergencies are going to happen. Instead of just hoping for the best, take action and plan ahead. Put away an Emergency Fund of 3-6 months of expenses to give you peace of mind.

I guarantee you, at some point, it might not be next month or even this year, but you will feel a lot better knowing that you have that extra cash there ready to go to cover any unexpected emergencies.

14. You don’t earn enough

Sometimes you have to face the elephant in the room, that you don’t earn enough money to cover your lifestyle. But don’t feel defeated, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Here you have two options. You can earn more income or cut your expenditure.

Consider the following options if you are struggling to make ends meet:

Decrease expenses so the pressure to earn more is reduced I.e. sell the second car if you can do without it, cook more at home, cut the cable, tell your kids they can only choose one after school activity this year – you get the idea.
Pick up a Side Hustle, here is a list of 40 Side Hustles to get you started in addition to your current job
Ask for a raise. If you have been going above and beyond at work and your pay review period is coming up it might be a good time to try and request a raise.
Get a better paying job – if you are not earning much in your current job, it might be time to broaden your pay horizons and get a better paying job.
Do overtime at your current job – if possible, ask your current employer for overtime or extra hours so you can boost your income.

Minimise With Me Financial Coaching

If you want learn how to spend with intention and take the stress and anxiety out of your money, book in for a free Q&A call to see how financial coaching can help you gain clarity around your finances! You can learn more about Minimise With Me Financial Coaching here.

What does a debt-free future look like for you? Let me know in the comments how your future would change if you could pay off your debt?

[Photo by Michael Longmire @ Unsplash.com]

Budgeting

5 ways to simplify your finances in 2022

Posted on January 2, 2022

If you find your finances stressful or too time-consuming, there are ways that you can simplify your finances to save you time and eliminate stress and anxiety around your money. Your finances don’t need to be complicated and a little pre-planning and thought can go a long way to helping you simplify how you manage your money.

Here are 5 Ways to Simplify Your Finances in 2022.

5 Ways to Simplify Your Finances in 2022

1. Have An Emergency Fund

One of the most straightforward ways to simplify your finances is to save up an Emergency Fund. If you find yourself constantly reaching for your credit card to cover unexpected expenses, this can create a constant stream of guilt and stress, where you feel like you are failing with your budget or frustrated when you just can’t get ahead.

Avoid having a reactionary approach to your money and instead take a proactive approach and plan for financial emergencies with an Emergency Fund. A good place to start is with a starter Emergency Fund of $2,000 and ideally build that up to 3-6 months of expenses as soon as that is possible.

The next time a financial emergency comes up, you can feel a sense of relief knowing that you have at least $2,000 ready to go in your Emergency Fund which helps take the stress out of stressful situations.

2. Utilise a Sinking Funds Tracker

Utilising Sinking Fund Trackers like this can help you simplify your finances and stay on budget. Often banks will limit how many accounts you can open so options are limited when it comes to having separate accounts for different expenses.

Rather than having a separate account for each expense category you want to set money aside for (I.e. Holidays, Clothing, Christmas Fund), a Sinking Fund Tracker, let’s you use just a single bank account and track each expense within the worksheet. This tracker will let you keep track of how much you have sent aside for a particular expense throughout the year so you don’t end up overspending and eat into your Christmas fund for other expenses.

You can learn more about the benefits of setting up Sinking Funds here.

3. Give Yourself a Spending Allowance

Having boundaries for your finances is a great way to simplify your finances and keep your spending in check without any work on your part.

By setting up a separate ‘Spending’ account with a spending allowance you can easily see how much money you have left until payday to spend on discretionary purchases.

Set your budgeted spending allowance to transfer to your ‘Spending’ Account every payday. Once your account balance gets down towards zero, you know you’ve hit your spending limit for that period.

This is a super low effort budget boundary you can implement to simplify your finances and help keep you on budget!

4. Pay Your Bills by Direct Debit

If you want to simplify your finances, the best way to do that is to eliminate as many manual, non-value-adding tasks as possible. For me, one of those is manually paying my bills. I’m a busy gal, and although I love budgeting and all things finances, paying my bills is nowhere to be seen on my list of things that bring me joy!

It’s easier than ever to set up direct debit billing, simply call your service provider or log into your online account and set up direct debit billing. You only have to do this once (other than updating your credit or debit card details as necessary). Your service provider will email your invoice to you with the amount and due date so you will know ahead of time when the payment will be coming out. My utility company also sends me a text message a few days before they make the withdrawal which is also helpful as a reminder.

The key to making this work is to make sure you set aside enough money from each paycheck in a separate ‘Bills’ account to cover your bills. Having a Bill’s Buffer, which is a minimum you will let your bills account get to (such as one month of bills) will help you to ensure that you always have enough in your bills account to cover any direct debits as they fall due.

And another bonus, on top of saving me time (and my sanity) each month, I used to find I would forget to pay bills such as my credit card and I would be hit with hefty late fees. That is now a thing of the past. Not to mention I cash in on some nice pay-on-time discounts with my utility providers by making sure my bills are paid on time.

5. Automate Savings

As I mentioned earlier, if there is something I can automate when it comes to my finances, I will, and for me, one of my favourite time savers is to automate my savings. Simplify your finances by setting up automatic savings transfers to take the leg work out of saving your money.

Once you set up your budget, work out how much you want to go to your savings account and set up a bank transfer to automatically transfer that amount each payday.

The benefit of this is:

You have taken the manual work out of savings. When you automate your savings you don’t have to remember to do it – it just happens in the background. This removes a huge barrier to saving money and reaching your savings goals.
You pay yourself first. Have you ever noticed how little you have left to save when you spend your paycheck first and plan to save what is left? Don’t let your savings goals be an afterthought. Pay yourself first, then you can spend what is left after totally guilt-free!
You’ll feel amazing! When you see your savings balance you will feel a sense of pride in yourself for achieving that savings goal. As you watch your savings increase it’ll make you more motivated over time to keep saving and build your savings muscle.
How much does it hurt to go into your savings account and withdrawal money? It feels icky right? Once you have saved your money via your automated transfer, it creates a barrier to you mentally where you see two types of money: money that I can spend, and money that I can’t spend.

By separating your savings out into a separate account you now have that barrier in place, so if you wanted to spend money on something that wasn’t in your budget, you’d have to manually transfer that money out of your savings. This will help you stick to your budget and minimise any impulse spending you might have made had that money been sitting in your spending account waiting to be transferred to savings at the end of the month.

Want To Learn How To Spend Your Money With Intention?

You can learn more about Minimise With Me Financial Coaching services via the link below.

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Budgeting

11 Everyday Tips to Help You Save Money

Posted on December 23, 2021

Sometimes finding more ways to save money can seem too hard, especially with the rising cost of living, it seems like everything is going up!

You research tips and think to yourself how is saving $12 a month on bank fees or a few dollars on a coffee really going to have any impact on my savings? How will that help me get on top of my debt or save for a holiday?

It may all seems like too much effort with limited results, but it is important to stay focused on the bigger picture.

Savings can be found anywhere you spend your money.

In order to find savings, you need to look at where you currently spend your money and get creative about ways to reduce that expenditure.

It could be as simple as a phone call to ask for a better deal, or taking ten minutes to research something a little bit more before hitting the buy button.

Becoming complacent about spending can end up costing you more than you may realise. And with most expenses being something you fork out for each year, saving more money sooner than later really pays off!

Here are 11 Everyday Tips to Help You Save Money. Each one alone may only give you a small increase in your savings, but together they can make a big difference over the space of a year, and the less money that comes out of your pocket day to day – the better for your savings goals!

11 Everyday Tips to Help You Save Money

1. Review insurance annually

Shop around for all insurance bills annually. Insurance can increase significantly year to year and most companies will take advantage of loyal customers who don’t put the time in to compare what they are being charged.

Most insurance companies offer quick online quotes and allow you to adjust the market value and excess coverage in order to get a true comparison and potentially save on your premium. Within minutes you can have a few price comparisons for the insurance you are renewing and be well on your way to saving money. I’ve often saved hundreds of dollars each year reviewing my insurance before renewing it.

Do your best to review these insurance prices every year to save:

Car insurance
Greenslip (medical vehicle insurance)
Home and Contents Insurance
Health Insurance
Death and Permanent Disability Insurance
Income Protection Insurance
Mobile Insurance

Another option, once you have some online quotes for reference is to call your insurance provider to ask if they can make you a better deal on your insurance premium.

Whilst you are there, consider if you even need the insurance you are paying.

Insurance is highly recommended when it comes to things that can ‘change your life’ such as home insurance or health insurance. If you own a car that is only worth $1,000, you might save some money on insurance premiums by buying Third Party Fire and Theft insurance cover, rather than comprehensive insurance (so you are covered if you hit someone or something, but you aren’t paying to cover your car if it gets totaled).

If you are paying for insurance premiums like mobile insurance or extended warranties, you might be able to just cancel those as they aren’t going to “change your life” if they break. You are probably better off just setting some money in a savings account in the event that you need to replace those items.

2. Only shop when you have something specific in mind

Avoid going to the shops unless you specifically need something, particularly if the only reason you are shopping is that you are bored.

Make an ongoing list in your phone or planner of what you need as you think of it (I use Trello + it’s free! *Not sponsored just something I love) and take your list with you on your next trip to the shops.

Sticking to a list will allow you to limit your shopping to specific stores and aisles, helping you avoid the temptations of items not on your list. Not only will this help you save money but also save time, allowing you to use your time more wisely such as on a side hustle to help you pay off debt.

3. Shop around for mobile phone plans regularly

Phone bills can add a significant cost to your annual budget. To save money shop around for phone plans, particularly if you are on a no-lock-in contract arrangement and have the flexibility to move around.

Phone companies are always updating offers to attract new customers and if you haven’t researched in the past twelve months what offers are available to you, you may be losing out on some amazing savings.

By changing my phone provider, I was able to take up a phone plan for new customers that was half the price I was paying to my current provider for the same inclusions. This added up to a saving of $210 in the first year. It may not sound like a lot but that saving alone covers my gym membership for the next four months and that is definitely money better spent on my health.

4. Limit dining out

Limit eating out where possible. With food delivery options at our disposal, it can be very tempting to just order food out more often than we should when it comes to our budget.

If you do want to go out, buy the meal you most prefer to eat out whether that is breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. For me personally, I can easily make toast or pancakes at home so I would rather use my dining out budget to pay for dinner which is something much more time-consuming for me to create. I often opt for take away now, over dining in so I can drink my preferred drinks at home at a fraction of the cost (Coke’s are now $5 AUD at restaurants and I’m not loving it) and save more on dining out.

For dessert, often instead of paying $30 on top of our dinner bill at a restaurant, I’ll opt for ice cream at the movies or occasionally have some store-bought waffles on hand in the pantry which comes out much cheaper and certainly doesn’t seem like a sacrifice to me!

If you have a dinner outing that you don’t want to miss, opt for one of the cheaper menu items so you can socialise whilst avoiding blowing your budget. Alternatively, staying home and making dinner with friends or your partner is always a good compromise.

5. Start with reducing one of your regular expenses

What do you buy regularly? Is it coffee? Chocolate? A soft drink at lunch? Pick one expense you buy regularly and try and reduce your spending on that one item. If you love coffee, buy a good quality coffee to have at home and bring your reusable coffee cup out with you.

Can you bring in a bottle and have water at lunch instead of spending $4 daily on a coke? Or just bring a can from home at a cost of $0.50 saving you $3.50 for each drink.

Could you cut back on buying the pricey vending machine chocolate on your afternoon tea and just bring some from home? Even if you just cut back slightly, or even make small reductions to a regular expense that will give your savings a kick start. Once you have swapped out one, try adding another!

6. Create a wish list with a wait period

Sometimes we don’t even realise we are making impulse purchases and taking a step back, or waiting just 24 hours to think about a purchase can help us be more intentional with what we are buying and bringing into our homes.

Creating a wishlist is a great way to think about future purchases. When you come across something you want to buy, write it on your wishlist (again I use Trello for this!) and try and wait a period of time such as 30 days before buying the items you have listed. This will help you to avoid impulse purchases and make more informed decisions.

A wishlist allows you to truly assess whether this new purchase is a need or want if it will add value to your life and whether you want to part with your hard-earned cash in exchange for it. It also allows you time to consider other products, look into reviews, ask friends for recommendations and do price comparisons to make sure you are getting the best product for your needs at the best price.

Your wait period can start small and you can gradually increase it to what suits you. To begin with, set a goal to walk away from the shop, and say to yourself if I really want this I will come back to buy it before I leave. If you still want the item when you are ready to leave you’ll make the effort. I have saved so much from this method alone as it is a lot of effort to go back to a store.

Making educated purchases can help you avoid suffering any buyer’s remorse, having to go through the hassle of a return, and save you any disappointment in your purchase.

7. Review your utility plans

Have you been paying your utility bills on autopilot without reviewing what plan you are on? A quick call to your service provider or an online search for us Millenials who hate phone calls can save you hundreds in a matter of minutes. By contacting my utility provider I was able to switch to a new plan that offered a 16% discount for on-time or early payment. A quick ten-minute phone call has added up to hundreds of dollars of savings that have helped us to save money and significantly reduced our utility bills.

8. Unsubscribe from store mailing lists

We are constantly exposed to advertising whether it be on the radio, TV, Youtube, or when we are checking our email. I even get a little ad at the bottom of my new TV, these ads are unrelenting!

My inbox is constantly being populated with new sales and offers from stores and became an unnecessary distraction. Unsubscribe to your unwanted shopping email subscriptions as they come into your inbox. When you aren’t being informed on sales 24/7 you will reduce the desire to go shopping and buy unnecessary things as well as the fear of missing out. Instead of having advertisements telling you what you need to buy, you can be more intentional and only add to your wish list the things that you need.

No knowing about a holiday or store sale is so freeing and goes a long way to help you spend your money with intention.

9. Stop paying ATM and monthly bank fees

No one likes paying bank fees, there is no benefit to us for these costs which makes this expense a great place to start saving money. Learn where your bank’s local ATMs are and avoid withdrawing cash from other bank tellers.

Each withdrawal is at $2.50 or more which does add up, particularly if you are only withdrawing small amounts. Think ahead or pay by card where you can. Consider getting a card that gives a 100% ATM fee rebate. More and more banks are offering this now which is great to see!

I recently used my bank card overseas and saved $$$ on international transaction fees as they were reimbursed by my bank (do your research before travelling to see which bank card will be best for you when travelling).

Another expense that adds up is monthly bank fees. If you are being charged a monthly bank fee, contact your bank and ask them to waive fees on any bank account. Generally, they will if you deposit a certain amount or more into the account each month. If you are being charged monthly bank fees on your mortgage consider changing your home loan to a fee-free one (this always grinds my gears, I refuse to pay banks a fee for the privilege of paying them interest) or asking for those fees to be waived. These small banking fees add up month to month, year after year, and are much better in your bank account.

10. Review your super accounts

Do you have one superannuation account for every job you have had to date and have yet to consolidate them? Each superannuation account charges administration and investment fees, and insurance fees which you could be paying for twice, or more across multiple accounts. By having more than one superannuation account you are throwing away a large chunk of your retirement savings.

Consolidating your super is a lot easier than some might think. Most super funds just require you to fill in a Consolidate Your Super form and will contact your other superannuation fund to transfer your balance into your new account on your behalf. You can learn more about this process here. It may seem like your retirement is a lifetime away but every dollar you can save today is going to make your life a lot easier in the future.

11. Sign up to your local library

I recently joined my local library after hearing about the access to borrowing eBooks and audiobooks. I never go to the library, but could not pass up access to free ebooks and audiobooks on my phone. You only have to go to the library once to sign up and after downloading the OverDrive app you can borrow eBooks and audiobooks for free without having to leave your chair.

I’ve listened to and read countless audio and eBooks this way. If you aren’t too set on only reading physical copies this is a great way to read more and save money on buying books. They might not have every book you are after but you can go on a waitlist for your preferred one.

There you have it, 11 Everyday Tips to Help You Save Money. I hope these were helpful for you to save some extra cash this year.

Do You Want to Learn How to Spend Your Money With Intention?

If you want to learn how to spend your money with intention and in line with your values and take the stress and anxiety out of your money, book in for a free Q&A call to see how Minimise With Me financial coaching can help you gain clarity around your finances!

You can learn more about Minimise With Me Financial Coaching services via the link below.

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Which one of these are you going to take action on in the next 7 days? Comment below with your favourite you want to get started saving with!

Budgeting

How the Debt Snowball Can Get You Debt Free Faster

Posted on September 7, 2021

There is no faster ticket to financial freedom than being debt-free. Having debt can weigh us down and keeps us stuck, making it difficult to make the changes we want to in life for the better.

When we are in debt, more of our money goes to covering past decisions rather than funding future opportunities.

When you don’t carry debt, you free up your hard-earned money to put towards the things that truly add value to you such as, adding to your retirement savings, saving for a goal that is important to you or changing to a new career that you are passionate about but that involves taking a pay cut.

Several years ago, I came across the Debt Snowball Method for reducing your debts, being just one of numerous debt repayment methods.

I’d always considered focusing on the interest rate the smart way to go about debt repayment. It seemed more financially savvy to me to focus on the dollars involved and the interest saved.

But since discovering this method of debt repayment, I could also see the benefit in paying off debts from the lowest to highest balance over-focusing on the interest rate or dollars saved.

It is really a personal preference, personal finance is just that, personal!

Benefit of the Debt Snowball Method

The main benefit of the Debt Snowball, is that this debt repayment method is designed to give you ‘quick wins’ when it comes to your debt as you focus on paying as much as possible onto the lowest debt until it is paid off. This is a great debt repayment method for people who have a number of debts with different balances and who need that little extra reward when it comes to sticking out their financial goals.

Paying off debts is a hard slog. When you see how many years and repayment periods are left on your debt, it may seem like there is no light at the end of the tunnel and you may feel like you will be stuck paying those debts off indefinitely.

The key to the Debt Snowball is building momentum. Building new habits is tough and we often need instant rewards in order to keep us working towards our goals and that is why this debt repayment method can give us the small financial wins that we need to stay motivated when paying off debt!

When we want to lost weight we join a gym and closely watch the scales. It can be hard to stay motivated when those scales don’t budge in the beginning. When you finally lose that first kilo, it feels amazing! And all your effort starts to feel worth it. The small win, helps you stay focused and feel more determined on your weight loss journey.

Can you imagine trying to lose weight if you didn’t notice any benefits for 6 or 12 months? This is why the Debt Snowball can be so effective at helping you get on top of your debt. It focuses on knocking down the smallest and easiest debts to tackle first. With each debt repaid, you can see your progress a lot sooner than if you attempted to pay out a much larger debt.

There are no short-term solutions to paying off debt. It is likely going to be a slow and difficult journey but one that will be well worth it!

Imagine all the things you could be doing with your cash if you were debt-free:

Buying your first home, being able to finally take that dream holiday, starting your own business or investing for your retirement. These goals will be easier to fund once you get your lingering debt out of your life!

Keep these dreams at the forefront of your mind! If you have a partner, discuss what your dreams are together. Maybe you have the same dream, maybe they are different. But these dreams are going to be the motivation you need to keep going when things get hard.

>> If you like this post, you’ll love: “10 Easy Tips Save Money Groceries Budget“<<

But just before you dive into how to start your Debt Snowball I want to talk about something that is extremely important for your financial journal and a must before starting your Debt Snowball – the importance of building an Emergency Fund!

BUILDING AN EMERGENCY FUND

Before attempting to Snowball your debts you need to save an Emergency Fund. This will be a financial buffer for any financial emergencies that pop up whilst you are paying off your debt. It’s critical to have an Emergency Fund as you can’t pay off your debt whilst you are still living off your credit cards and adding to your debt. We don’t want to keep digging a hole for ourselves while we are trying to pay it off. You’re just going to end up back where you started and finding the whole process slowly destroying your original motivation to get on top of your debt.

Many finance experts recommend having an Emergency Fund between $2,000 and 3-6 months of expenses. I recommend having a starter Emergency Fund of at least $2,000 or ideally one month’s expenses set aside for financial emergencies at a minimum. This is a reasonable savings buffer to help you in times of emergency to put out any financial fires that come up whilst you are paying off your debt.

Of course, some of you may not feel comfortable with such a small Emergency Fund, so if that is you, you can certainly bump that up to 3-6 months’ expenses. But you do need to weigh up how much you want to set aside. It doesn’t make much financial sense to save a huge amount earning 1% in interest when you are paying 22% interest on your credit cards! That money is going to serve you better by paying down your high-interest debt!

Do what it takes to save up your Emergency Fund quickly so you can start paying down your debt as fast as possible. Ensure that your Emergency Fundis only used for emergencies. If you need to replace a tyre or you have a dental emergency, the money will be there for you. Just be sure to save up and top up your Emergency fund again as soon as possible!

Once you have saved your Emergency Fund you can move onto your Debt Snowball.

Check out these 40 Side Hustles to Help You Pay Off Your Debt Quicker!

THE DEBT SNOWBALL

With a small amount of planning, you can be well on your way to paying down your debt.

Please remember, this is just one of many debt elimination strategies so you don’t have to use this approach to pay off your debt if it doesn’t resonate with you.

Here are the four steps to use the Debt Snowball Method.

Step One:

Write down all your current Consumer Debt (Exclude your mortgage) in an Excel worksheet or on a piece of paper. Go back to your loan paperwork, online banking, or credit card statements and work out what your current debt balances are for all outstanding debts as of today.

Then, take note of what Interest Rate you’re paying and your monthly Minimum Repayment.

For the Australians out there, getting a current HELP loan debt statement is not possible as these are only sent out annually with your tax return. Instead, enter the HELP balance that was on your most recent Tax Assessment paperwork and make a note to update this when you get your next one.

Step Two:

Once you have written all your debts down, number them from 1, 2, 3 and so on from the smallest balance to the largest. Debt Number 1, the smallest debt balance will be the one that you are going to pay off first and attack with your Debt Snowball first. The last debt will be the highest debt balance.

Work out based on your budget, how much extra on top of the minimum repayments you can afford to put on your smallest debt for that month. If your lowest debt has a minimum monthly repayment of $25 and you can spare another $100 a month, start paying the $25 minimum repayment plus the additional $100 repayment, or whatever it is that you can afford.

Continue to pay Debt Number 2, 3 and so on as minimum repayments. Continue to do this until Debt Number 1 is fully paid off. Be sure to utilise any additional income, such as bonuses or tax refunds to go towards your debt. We want to make sure we are throwing every dollar we can at our debt! If you were under budget for the month, you can add that extra money as an additional top-up payment on your Number 1 debt to help you knock it down even faster.

Step Three:

Once your smallest debt is repaid, take the minimum payment for Debt Number 1, in the example above, that would be $25 a month, and add your additional repayments of $100 a month and add this to the minimum repayment for Debt Number 2 – your second lowest debt.

This means you will now be paying a much larger amount on your second debt – saving you significantly in interest and getting you to your debt-free goal much quicker. If your monthly repayments for Debt Number 2 were $40 you will now pay the minimum amount of $40 plus the $25 and $100 you were using to pay off debt number 1. In effect you are building a ‘snowball’ of your repaid debt repayments! Continue to do this until debt number two is paid.

Step Four:

Continue to do this for each of your debts in the snowball until the last one is paid off. For each new debt paid off, you will be taking the past minimum repayments plus your additional repayment and carrying it forward to the next debt in your snowball. Like a snowball, the repayment for each will grow and pay off a bigger chunk of each debt as it grows and moves to your next biggest balance.

Debt Snowball Worksheet

In order to help you keep track of your Debt Balance and Debt Snowball Repayments, I have created a Debt Snowball Worksheet so you can keep all your Snowball info: Current and Closing Balance, Interest Rates, Minimum Repayments and your Snowball Repayment in the one place.

It will help you to create a monthly budget so you can pre-plan how much you have to pay towards your Debt Balances and will calculate your Debt Free Date each month so you know when you will be debt-free!

Check out the Debt Snowball Worksheet to help you to track your Debt Free Journey and motivate you on your Debt Free Journey!

Your Debt Snowball Worksheet Will help you to Track Your Debt Free Journey

STOPPING THE DEBT CYCLE

Here are some tips to help you stay out of debt and to help you get to your debt-free journey sooner:

If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. This one may seem obvious, but in 2020 the 6 million active Buy Now Pay Later Users (Source: RBA) in Australia haven’t got this memo. If you are using credit cards, whatever you are buying you are likely paying 20% or more in interest each month whilst that amount remains unpaid. Does that sale price look so good now?
Cut up your credit cards. If you are the kind of person that can’t resist a good deal, you can’t pay your credit card off in full each month it might be time to cut those cards up or hide them away until you have got your finances under control, where you can afford to pay them off in full each month.
Start setting goals! It can be easier to part with your hard-earned cash when you have no plan or goals for your money. Having a goal can help you keep that goal top of mind and help you when making purchasing decisions. You can ask yourself, do I really want this extra pair of shoes I don’t need or do I want to keep that money for my holiday?
Learn to be content with what you have. Do you really need a brand new $35k car on finance when your current car works perfectly fine? Are you willing to pay x dollars every month for the next 60-plus months? In good times and bad – when you are unemployed, when you are trying to live on one income when you decide to cut back hours at work to study for a new career – that debt is going to still be there!
Avoid shopping! It’s surprising how little you spend when you avoid going to the shops unnecessarily. If you have endless emails from clothing shops or stores that tempt you unsubscribe from them as well. Instead of going shopping, meet a friend for coffee, read a book, watch a movie. There are plenty of hobbies that are much cheaper and more valuable uses of your time.

Minimise With Me Financial Coaching

If you are still struggling with paying off your debt and staying motivated on your debt-free journey, consider hiring a Financial Coach to help you achieve your financial goals. You can check out Minimise With Me Financial Coaching Services here for more information on how you can start spending your money with intention so you can spend your money with intention.

For tips on how you can save more money to help free up cash for your Debt Snowball check out 11 Everyday Tips to Save Money.

How would you feel if you were debt-free? How would it change your life? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

Budgeting

40 Side Hustles to Give Your Budget A Boost

Posted on August 30, 2021

What the current cost of living crisis, bringing in additional income can go a long way to helping you achieve your financial goals such as paying down your debt faster.

There are so many Side Hustle options available now that you can most likely turn your passion into some extra cash for your budget (and maybe even a new career!). Best of all, most Side Hustles can be done in just a few hours a week, some even from the comfort of your own home!

If you’ve got some talent or skills that you use for your day job, or a hobby you might be able to utilise those skills to bring in some extra cash which can go a long way in helping your budget.

**This post may contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of a product from the links in this post I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to keep my blog advertisement free and support the running costs of my blog. I only recommend products I believe will add value to others and that I love myself.**

Check out these 40 Side Hustles to give your budget a boost!

40 Side Hustles to Give Your Budget a Boost

Tutoring – Math’s, English, language or music lessons just to name a few. With Skype, Zoom and other Virtual options you can even teach from your own home.
Dog walking – a great way to earn a few bucks an hour spending time exercising with your favourite animals.
Babysitting – if you love kids and are good with them advertise your babysitting services. Most Babysitters command $18-30 an hour depending on their qualifications and experience. Check out sites like Find A Babysitter and Babysitters Now to advertise your services.
Drive for Uber or Lyft – if you have a car consider driving on the side or when you have some spare time (although be sure to do the math and make sure it is worth your while after car expenses and wear and tear!).
Resume writing/career coaching – If you’ve gone for a lot of interviews in a particular field, or are skilled at putting together winning resumes and cover letters, put those amazing skills to use for job seekers who need that extra help to get over the line.
Gardening services – Do you love gardening? Why not advertise your services and get paid money to mow, weed or maintain gardens. You’ve probably got all the tools you need already too!
Cleaning – Grab yourself $35 an hour minimum as a cleaner. If you’re an efficient cleaner and don’t mind cleaning too much, this might be a great way to bring in some extra cash and shouldn’t be too costly to start.
Car washing & detailing – If you are talented in keeping your car looking shiny AF, consider putting your talents into looking after other people’s cars. Detailing is expensive and if you can offer a good rate and a great service you can bring in some serious cash and be able to earn money doing something you love.
Offer your services – Airtasker is a great way to bring in extra cash doing odd jobs for people, like delivering bulk goods, grocery shopping, yard work etc. The possibilities are endless. You can also search listed jobs and see if any take your interest.
Start a blog – if you’ve got something to say why not start your own blog. It’s a great passion project and way to bring some extra cash in from affiliate income and advertising revenue. Sign up for Bluehost hosting and get started! You’ll need website hosting, a domain name, and a theme. Don’t forget to utilise Youtube, there are thousands of videos dedicated to starting your own blog.
Youtuber – if you have a passion for sharing your skills or knowledge with the world and know how to wield a phone camera and basic video editing, you can start making some advertising revenue from Youtube videos. And the great thing is you can earn money from those videos for a long time to come!
Sell your clutter– if you have unwanted clutter collecting dust, now is the time to sell it. You can sell unwanted items on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Buy, Swap, Sell Groups, Gumtree, Poshmark etc. Check out how I made over $5000 selling our excess stuff for tips on how to start and what to sell.
Ebay Reseller – if you have an eye for fashion, or antiques or any collectibles you can put your knowledge to good use by buying sought after items at hugely discounted prices and selling them on Ebay for a higher price.
Upcycle furniture – if you have an eye for furniture and love being creative and practical, then consider upcycling furniture. You might just pick up a piece of furniture on the side of the road or on the cheap from your local Buy, Swap and Sell group and put some elbow grease and a little bit of cash and walk away with a tidy profit. The more unique your talents are the better!
Carpentry – if you are skilled at making things from scratch, you could start a side hustle making custom products for customers such as dining tables, outdoor settings, firepit seating etc. I’ve seen same amazing work from ladies and men online that people would pay over $1,000 for if they knew you were offering carpentry services.
Make your own jewellery or other crafts – if jewellery or crafts is your go to hobby, consider selling some of your creations. Etsy offers a marketplace to sell items like earrings, necklaces, hand made cushions, knitted kids toys and so on.
Hairdressing – If you are a hairdresser, utilise your skills and bring in some extra cash on the side. If you work full-time, a few clients on a Saturday or Sunday morning or the occasional wedding will bring in some great funds.
Makeup Artist – If you talent is make up, advertise your makeup services for formals, weddings, Christmas parties and other special events.
Pet sitter – If you love pets, offer your pet sitting services. People are usually thrilled to save some cash on kennels and have someone who will be more attentive to their pets needs whilst they are away. Try Madpaws to advertise your services.
Delivery driver – Most locations have at least one pizza joint that you can deliver pizzas for. Or pick up some work from Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Menulog. Again be sure to weigh up the costs of car expenses vs income here to make sure you are getting bang for your buck.
Photographer – if you know your way around a camera and photo shoot offer your photography services. You can do photoshoots for businesses, kids, families or sell prints online, such as on Etsy Marketplace or get paid to take stock images for websites like Shutterstock.
Editor – If you are a grammar freak, offer your editing services to authors. Fiverr offers a platform to advertise your editing services.
Social Media Manager – if you know more than most about social media presence, advertising, branding and all things marketing offer your services to businesses. You could even locate small business with little to no online social media presence and offer to set up their online social media prescence. Great for anyone who loves social media!
Build websites – if you are gifted with tech skills, consider opening your own website building side gig. If you’ve done it enough times it’ll be some quick easy cash for you!
Personal stylist – if you have a passion for fashion, consider offering your services to those who are less fashion inclined. You could offer a fee for your personal shopping assistance and help others find a wardrobe they love.
Baker/Chef – if you are talented in the kitchen, you can have your own catering on the side. Maybe you make amazing cookies or macarons or cake pops. Whatever you love doing, there are always market stalls or events you can offer to work with.
Gift baskets/hampers – my cousin once earned money putting together gift hampers for her boss for staff. If you are good at organising gifts for large groups of people and know what people like (other than those really average hampers everywhere else seems to sell) consider making your own hampers and charging a premium for them.
Hire out unused space – if you’ve got a free room and bathroom in your home, or you travel a lot, a great way to earn some extra cash is on Airbnb by renting out your available space. It’s a great way to potentially meet new people and make some extra cash on unused space in your home, particularly if you travel a lot. There’s also websites that let you hire out unused storage space like your basement, garage or parking spaces!
Fivver – is a great platform for freelancers with a range of skills such as graphic design, music and audio, translation, website design etc . If you are talented at drawing, photoshop and the like it is a great way for people to find and hire you.
Get a Part time or casual job – have a look and see what jobs openings are available locally to bring in some extra cash. It might be filling shelves at your local supermarket, waiting tables, or data entry around tax season. Or do something you enjoy like DJing or MC’ing at events.
Create an online course – Sell an online course on Udemy or Teachable.
Write an eBook – if you’ve got knowledge on a particular topic, create an eBook in Word, export it to a PDF and sell it online. Amazon Direct Publishing offers great options to do this in a low cost way!
Online Surveys – these are a way to earn money from the comfort of your own home. Some only pay in gift vouchers, and they are not bang for your buck, but if you enjoy them and have the time they can make you some extra cash without too much effort.
Hire out party/wedding décor – A friend of mine used to work on weekends doing wedding ceremony set up as her side hustle. If you have some spare time on the weekends, have access to a trailer, space for 20 to 50 chairs, a rug and some decorations you can start you own wedding decor and set up business. When I was planning my wedding I realised the eye watering amounts these set ups costs so it is a fairly lucrative side hustle once you pay for your rental gear. Another popular option is hiring out picnic set ups.
Lolly bar – If you have some spare time on the weekends, grab some glass jars and a bunch of lollies and offer your lolly bar service. These charge around $1,000 a pop for a wedding so is some serious profit to be made, with not so much effort. Although it might be hard to resist eating all those sugary treats (or is it just my weakness ;))
Book Keeping – if you are an Accountant by day, you could pick up some extra clients after hours to add to your cash stash. You can also advertise your services to set up Accounting Software for new users.
Repairs – If you can repair things, why not make some cash from it. You might be great at repairing phones, PCs, guitars, fridges, DVD players, dishwashers, general home repairs etc.
Shirt printing – if you are artistic and can come up with some unique shirt designs, this can be a great side hustle. Red Bubble, Spreadshirt and Etsy, plus many more websites now let you sell on a per order basis, so skip the need for lots of stock to be stored in your home.
Performing – if you can play an instrument or sing look for gigs at weddings, parties and pubs or paid projects like recording on albums. These can be listed on Airtasker, or simply advertise your services locally.
Teach a class – if you’re talented and qualified to teach music, yoga, personal training, cooking or whatever your skills are, consider teaching in a class setting. It could be offering group PT for friends at the park, a virtual Italian cooking class or group music lessons for kids.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Question: What side hustles have you picked up to earn more cash? Share yours in the comments below!

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