Simple Ways To Spend Less

Rising mortgage costs and petrol prices have everyone looking seriously at the weekly family budget. This month we decided to put together some great ideas to have you saving money in no time!

• Plan when you will be going to shop. Work out what is the best day at your supermarket for “weekly specials” and take advantage of these offers. Then write a shopping list and stick to it.
• Research when your supermarket has “mark downs” on meat. Most supermarkets mark down their meat from the following day (generally early in the morning). This is great to purchase as you can sometimes save up to 50%. Use it on the same day, or freeze it for later.
• Ditch the fizz! Cut down on the cost of fizzy soft drinks and/ or juices by serving kids milk or water. If your child won’t drink water, water down the juice or cordial by 50% (an old Child Care health tip!) – Not only will you save money on the shopping, you will also be saving on future dental bills!
• Cook 2 night’s dinner at once and freeze the 2nd meal for later in the week. This not only saves time and electricity, but you can extend your meal with extra vegetables, beans or lentils, which helps your servings go further and makes it a great healthy option!
• Make lunch and take it to work with you – this can save you a whooping $2,600 per year per person if you spend $10 a day on lunch and a coffee. If you want to be really spend-thrift, put the money you would save each day into a holiday account and use it at the year’s end to finance a trip away!
• Make your own snack foods, cakes and biscuits. Not only will this save money, but you will know exactly what is contained in them. There is also great personal satisfaction when you can say “I made it myself”.
• Only purchase what you need. This applies to ALL purchases. Only shop in a “sale” if you know what you want and you are sure about the regular price of the article. Very often people will purchase clothes in a sale and then not wear them, or get excited that they saved $50 on an item they would not have normally bought – false economy. It is only a saving if you needed the item!
• Do your homework! If you are looking to purchase things for home, cars, gardening equipment, etc, make sure you do a little research and compare pricing first. Shopping online can be a great way to get an idea of market pricing, saving you money. Make sure you check postage costs before you agree to confirm your purchase.
• Budget for Christmas by buying 1 or 2 non-perishable articles each week. Find a cupboard to hide them in and watch your “stash” grow. This is excellent for people who have large families.
• Research recipes for making meals that use seasonal produce. If you can, go to your local market and buy your fruit and vegetables direct. It works out to be much cheaper. To really save money you might even consider starting your own ‘fruit and veg co-op’ by gathering a few friends and making bulk purchases between you. Everyone contributes some money and you then use the ‘kitty’ to buy what you need.
• Work out if you really need an item. Window shop first. Being impulsive is expensive. If you see an item in a shop, walk away, think about it, and then if you absolutely need it, then purchase. Very often when you walk away, you will change your mind.
• Buy petrol only with discount vouchers and on discount days. Our local discount day is Tuesday and people can save generally up to 4c per litre.
• Plan your outings. Popping out to the shops each day, soon uses up the petrol and you often buy more than you need simply because you are there.
• Instead of using the car – walk. It’s better for our environment and better for you and your family. Walking is also an excellent stress relief for tired mums and dads. Walking helps children use up excess energy, and gives you excellent opportunities to talk to your family while you are out.
• Plan family outings and activities that do not require entry fees. Picnics are wonderful at this time of the year. Get your family together and have them join you at a local park. Take along some bats and balls for some extra fun. Remember to take your own food to save money here too.
• When shopping, pop a homemade snack and drink into your bag for your child.
• Join a reputable babysitting club or start one yourself with reliable friends.
• Instead of meeting friends for dinner, get together for “coffee”. You can still keep in touch with friends without having the additional expense of a full meal. Alternatively, host dinner at home.
• Take advantage of visiting the movies on ½ price evening – a very cheap night out. For an extra special treat, source out restaurants who promote a meal and movie deal.
• Hold your own dinner party and have friends contribute by providing something towards the meal. If you are having the dinner party, cook the main meal at your house, and ask someone else to bring the entrée and someone prepare the dessert. This shares the cost and the workload of the preparation.
• Save money and water by only using the washing machine when you have a full load.
• Turn off all electric lights and appliances not being used. Remember to turn off your TV when not in use. Even electrical items on standby are still using power, so remember to turn off phone chargers, the microwave and your computer at the power point when not in use.
• Purchase less clothing. You will be surprised how little clothing you actually need. Children grow very quickly and often parents over purchase for what children actually require.
• Consider selling any items around the home that you haven’t used in 12 months. If you find that your cupboards and garage are getting cluttered, have a clean up. Garage sales and on-line trading are excellent sources of additional revenue.
• Don’t through things out – remember there are charities that are happy to pick up useable unwanted toys, clothes and appliances.
• Purchase goods on-line. There are excellent savings to be had by purchasing anything on-line. Ensure you deal with reputable traders.
• Ask your home lender if the interest rate you are receiving is the best rate they can give you. It is always worth asking the question, even if you only receive a small discount, it all adds up. Consider refinancing if you think you will get a better rate elsewhere.
• Review your insurance needs – get quotes from other companies on health, car and household insurance.
• Review household bills – again talk to your provider and see if they can do a better deal for you.
• Remember to use www.ourlittletreasure.com.au to help you with many educational activities, recipes and on-line shopping promotions – just another way to help you save money.

If you have some “money and time saving” tips or recipes that have worked for you, please email us at admin@ourlittletreasure.com.au and we will share them with our members.