Spending, we all have to do it. The whole reliance on food, shelter and human interaction doesn’t give us much choice. It is what makes saving difficult at times, but there are ways to ensure that you still get what you want but for a little cheaper. We’ll go through a couple of those ways now.
Food
One of the biggest costs we all suffer, but also one of the easiest to save some money on. Food shopping should be planned with the same level of care and detail as your fantasy AFL team.
Start by making a shopping list, and then plan what your meals will be throughout the week. Use the online stores to build your list - whilst you don’t need to use the delivery service, the running total this provides will ensure you stick to your budget.
Print this out and then head to the shops. Just be sure to avoid the Tim Tam aisle. Remember: you may not have the gym if you followed last week’s plan, so chocolate’s probably not the best idea right now.
Pack your work lunches - in the workforce, we don’t get the bonus of $1 cheesies from the school canteen. If you spend say $10 a day on lunches from the local café, you could save as much as $2,600 per year by cutting this out.
Shelter
It can be hard to make this cheaper, unless your parents weren’t in a rush to enjoy retirement and are still offering you to stay with them (which, in turn, will probably encourage you to save more so you can escape quickly. Good plan!).
If living with the folks isn’t a option for you, take comfort in the fact that rental prices in Perth are among the cheapest in Australia currently, so you are still one foot in front of our Eastern states counterparts!
The other cost that comes with shelter is utility bills. Unless you have a desire to live by candlelight and wash in the local creek, these costs are unavoidable. Taking some simple steps can greatly reduce these costs, however. Rather than having me blab on about the little changes that can mean big savings, you can read more about it here: https://www.synergy.net.au/Your-home/Energy-tips/Energy-saving-tips?tid=Energy-tips:side_nav:Energy%20saving%20tips
Human Interatcion
Humans by nature are social beings, but unfortunately this can often make us broke beings too. An average night out with friends in Perth once food, drinks and Ubers are all tallied may set us back up to $200. A lot of money for one night out and a headache the next day too! While I’m not suggesting to stop going out, I am suggesting maybe approaching it in a different manner.
Use cash when out - this will help you keep track of exactly what you are spending. While plastic takes up less room and may seem like the easier option on the night, your account won’t be so happy the next day.
Save on transport on the night. Plan your journey and look at car sharing with some friends to reduce the cost, or even start a rotating designated driver plan. I know, it may be met with puzzled looks or even hostility, but once your friends work out the savings, I’m sure they will be happy with the sacrifice one week too.
Another alternative to the expense of going out is to encourage catch ups at home with friends. Games night, movie nights and even dinner parties. It may sound like something your grandma would do, but hey, at least I didn’t suggest knitting parties (though if you do happen to vibe with that, I would love some woollen socks while you’re there!)
Let’s be clear - I am not suggesting you should buy 10 cats and never leave the house again - just maybe save those nights out for big events.
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At the end of the day, savings may unfortunately sometimes equal sacrifice. It may not be a positive mantra for your savings journey but a realistic one. Some weeks, you may find things won’t go to plan and the savings wont’ increase - be it unexpected responsible expenses or a surprise trip to the pub.
Don’t beat yourself up! As long as you jump back on the savings journey, that dream house will be yours. It is up to you how fast that happens.
Got the deposit together? Awesome work! Now let’s talk to a mortgage broker. What’s a broker, you say? Come back next week and I’ll be happy to tell you.