User Tips of the Week
Eugene has been reading the Barefoot Investor and has shared with us some of it's tips:
1. Ask yourselves what you really want.
2. Set some goals and work out how much you are spending on stuff you can do without.
3. Open a high interest on line account and have your pay put in there. What you do not see, you will not likely spend.
Posted by Eugene (01 Oct 2009, 11:05 PM)
Anna is able to reduce her mortgage by changing repayments from monthly to fortnightly. The saving occurs because some of the loan is repaid two weeks earlier than if monthly payments were made. This provides a saving over the long term, allowing for a reduction in the term of the loan.
Posted by Anna (01 Oct 2009, 10:49 PM)
As we are now in the new financial year, its time to think about doing your tax return. Ryan has used e-tax on the Australian Taxation Office website and says that it's pretty easy to use if your tax affairs are relatively simple.
Posted by Ryan (01 Oct 2009, 10:30 PM)
Greg found that his income seemed to disappear as soon as it was paid to him. He and his wife used a spreadsheet to record all expenditure for 3 months. The knowledge of where the money was going not only helped to minimising wastage, but helped him and his wife plan how much they could afford in mortgage repayments. This allowed them to purchase a new home that was within their means. Login to find useful tips on budgeting.
Posted by Stacey (01 Oct 2009, 10:29 PM)
Sam has recently started to cycle to work. He used to catch the train into the city but has during the summer he got himself organized and started cycle to and from work. He’s not only lost a few kilos but he is saving himself nearly $30 a week in train fares, takes less time to get to and from work and he certainly doesn’t miss playing sardines with all the other peak hour commuters on the train.
Ronald saves about 10 cents per litre on petrol by filling up the car on Tuesday evening. He finds that the price goes up around 10 cents per litre around noon each Wednesday. He also uses his supermarket docket to get the discounted price, saving another 4 cents a litre. These two tactics have helped Ronald contain the ballooning cost of road transportation.
Save money and help the environment at the same time. Replace your old shower heads with water saving shower heads and have your light bulbs replaced with energy efficient bulbs. You don't even have to do the work yourself - some companies will come to your home and do it for you for free - you can't ask for better than that! Visit http://www.envirosaver.com.au to register.
Posted by Louise (01 Oct 2009, 10:23 PM)
Sally says she curbs her spending by calculating how long she would have to work to earn enough money to pay for each purchase! So when the kids nag to go to McDonald's for dinner she calculates how may hours it would take to pay for it. Working for 2 hours to feed a family of five that is over in 20 minutes no longer seems appealing.