Be$t Way$ to $ave Money???

[Ondine]

Hi! I have just discovered (much to my horror) that our savings account has disappeared!!! We had heaps of money saved for when bubs arrived, so haven't really checked it for quite some time. The account was only ever used to buy groceries, fuel and pay for doctors appointments and scripts etc.

We have another account which we apparently still have a few small thousands saved, but I am too scared to even touch it!!!

Until 2 days ago I thought we were in a good financial situation! Now I am sooooo scared. Where is the best place to start saving money??? My partner work full time in truck sales and I start back full time on Monday in retail. I want to save as much as possible as soon as possible.

Please HELP!!!

Ondine

[ThomasMum]

We’ve been using INGDirect (http://www.ingdirect.com.au/) for our saving account for years and it’s fantastic! You can go wrong with them esp. with its interest (5.4%)!
We even open an account for Thomas as soon as he was born and 1/3 of his baby bonus goes there and we put some $$ every month into our accounts. Remember small $$ adds up :)

Perhaps you should also shop “wisely”, buy stuff during sale only for example. For our groceries shopping instead of Coles we’ve been getting our groceries from W’worth,we are thinking to fly with Jetstar for our domestic flights instead of Qantas, esp. we can still using the Qantas Lounge anyway, because its such HUGE saving if we fly with Jetstars (we are talking around $AUD500 differences!)

Hope these ideas help!

Good Luck and Happy Saving!

ML

[draught]

Hi Ondine
I had a similar experience of horror some months ago and couldn't understand where all our money had gone. I had visions of having to go back to work with no childcare for my kids, selling the house etc (drama queen here). I went through all the accounts in great detail and, to my relief, discovered that I had missed putting a decimal point in a payment I made over the internet (instead of paying $55 I paid $5500 :eek: ). Until I worked it out I was in such a panic I couldn't breath! Luckily i was able to get the money back and didn't have to go and sell my husband's body as I was planning (my own being not that great after 2 kids!!)

Having said that I am not a great saver (to my regret), but a few of the tips I try to use to stretch the dollar further include watching the junk mail catalogues for what is on special that week and when there are good prices I bulk buy e.g. washing powder at 50% off sees me buying about 6 boxes. Getting petrol mid-week instead of on the weekend normally sees a lower price per litre, and using shopper dockets for fuel can lead to some good savings. I also use shopper dockets for photo printing and have saved quite a bit that way. I buy my children's clothing in the end of season sales in the next size up, and do the same at outlet shops - I figure that they aren't going to care that it is last season's "look"! I find the Pumpkin Patch on-line sales quite good (e.g. leggings for $6 and sweatshirts for $7 in tough long lasting fabrics)

The only time I have been a successful saver was when we had money taken directly from our pay into a separate account that we didn't touch. If it is in the household account like yours is (and like ours is now) then savings never accumulate - the money just goes, bit by bit (or large bit by large bit when I make mistakes like that!)

[ThomasMum]

Luckily i was able to get the money back and didn't have to go and sell my husband's body as I was planning

He he Theresa! Nice idea! Never thought of that! :D

But you know deep down, come to worse I'd rather eat dirt than selling my Joshua lol! I'm sure you are the same too he he

*giggle*

[Chickadee]

Due to christmas bonuses paid out over the following 6 months, we have a healthy income for 6 months and then a pretty meager one. And a lot of big bills come due in Nov/Dec which we've had to dip into lines of credit for in past years. Like ThomasMum we opened an ING account this year which so far has been a great way to set savings aside out of temptations way.

This may seem small, but DH will never spend his coins. He just dumps it in a jar. Twice a year I bag it all up and find anywhere from $50 to $150. Almost free money. Setting a small amount aside a day can be a useful and relatively painless way. $2 a day is less than giving up a cup of coffee.

And my favorite saver: one of the city councils nearby has a stockpile of free mulch. To cover our current garden would have cost me between $50 and $100. But I did it free except for my own labour.

[Ondine]

Thanks ladies!!

I have NEVER been a good saver unless I have something I really want (e.g. a holiday etc). Going back to work full time I guess I will have less time to spend the money I will be earning (Other than the expense of full time day care).

I too shop for Kelsie in the end of season clearances - I find that once Kmart and Target (for example) mark down their stock, some times they have extra % off in catalogues and I have got some super cheap clothes that way (but then again I tend to go overboard and get more than she really needs - I can't help it they're so cute!!).

I can't bring myself to shop at Woolworths as just recently my store has announced its closure due to a legal battle with Woolworths ( I will be made redundant in about 2 or 3 months :( ) So Coles it is!!!!

Also, I heard a rumour that Woolworths has bought out Action supermarkets - doesn anyone know if there is any truth in that???

Ondine

[lizzymcfizzy]

Do you have an ALDI supermarket near you?

I haven't shopped there yet but I'm told they are super cheap - stuff is not on shelves and you have to bag it yourself. So if you don't mind a bit of labour its cheap.

I'm lazy and when I do have kids I can't imagine having the energy to do it but I might have to!

I also use coles and rack up the flybuys then use the petrol vouchers at Shell (though the week when its cheaper than thursday to monday)

As for other ways to save money.... I don't go into the shops unless I absouletly have to otherwise I buy stuff I don't need! Everything else I recycle absolutely anything I can and buy in bulk.

If I think if of anything specific I'll write it here.

[Shazbutt]

Draught...just read your post and am happy to see that i'm not the only one who makes funny (well...not so funny at the time i guess!) mistakes like that! I too paid a bill over the net, and it was supposed to be $18.31, and i paid $1831!! I didn't realise until a few days whe i saw our account was overdrawn! Funny how the recipients of the money don't let you know though, they just put your account in credit for such a ridiculous amount!! My DH said that 'only you could make a mistake like that!', but alas, i'm not! Thats's those 'mad mum moments' for ya!! :D

[lucky*me]

Hay,
From now till the end of September if you shop at Woolies and get your 4c fuel voucher, then when you buy your fuel at the Woolies servos using that voucher and pay using your VISA card, they will give you an additional 4c off per litre. Saving 8c per litre. To my knowledge its NSW and QLD only though. I dont know about petrol everywhere else but our local servo went from 89.9c to 124.9c in 4 weeks. Horrible, horrible! So every little saving counts.
Hope this tid bit helps out someone! :p
XX
P

[draught]

What a relief that I am not the only one - my husband is amazed that there is someone else who has made the same mistake. (he still can't believe that I did it!!)

And Thomasmum - don't worry - I wouldn't really sell my husband. Most of the time I quite like having him around!

[shinebrite]

I dont know if in every state there is ACTEW AGL but they have a deal on a the moment called 'bundle' and we did it we receive 5% off elec, gas and std phone bills we also get a privleges card which is used OZ wide and it gets us upto 25% off at most resturants we go to (not that we go much were TRYING to save :D )
Thats how I save and i make pressies instead of buying like cards and buying my friends $10 tops and putting beads and designs on them... which is a cheaper option.... GARAGE SALE? maybe you have heaps of crap you can get rid of? we also shop at fresh fruit markets we can get fruit and veg for over $40 at W'worths and spend under $25 at fresh market and get more than we can at W'worths + your supporting local farmers :D

[Mum2Tyla]

Hi,
I used to shop at woolworths and use the fuel vouchers but i no longer shop there ot buy there fuel as I recently found out that in the eastern states a community fouht them for 2 years and also raised 2 million dollars for them not to build there shop where platypus were breeding but they built it there anyway so i no longer shop there.. Which is a pain because they are just down the road, but being a vet nurse I cant in good concience shop there.
Kelly :mad:

[flower]

I recently found out that in the eastern states a community fouht them for 2 years and also raised 2 million dollars for them not to build there shop where platypus were breeding but they built it there anyway so i no longer shop there.. Which is a pain because they are just down the road, but being a vet nurse I can;t i good concience shop there.
Kelly :mad:


Hurrah!!!!!! Kelly!!!!

O's mom.

[LucyE]

A good place to start would be to make a list of what you are currently spending. Don't forget to include everything, even your occasional $2 coffee or whatever. Then you can make a budget for 'essential' items like mortgage, utilities, food, medical etc. What's left over you can decide with your DH whether they are really necessary or if you can cut back.

Once you start sticking to a budget (eg. set limit on groceries each week) you'll be surprised how addictive it is and how satisfied you feel after getting a bargain or coming in under that amount. Don't forget to set aside a small allowance for 'fun' stuff, even if it's the occassional movie because you need to indulge sometimes.

[Chinster]

I've discovered Aldi and the markets - and we're saving HEAPS on our grocery bills.

From Aldi I buy generic stuff like:
Jam, Cereal, Snacks (there are some really good Tim Tam rip-offs), pasta, fresh meat, yoghurt, butter, cheese, milk, juice, mineral water

From the fresh food markets I buy all my fruit and vegies for about 1/2 or even 1/3 of the price and they are MUCH nicer as well. I always thought it was daggy to go to the markets and thought 'who could be bothered' - but the atmosphere is cool and it's actually fun. :o

[Shelly68]

Now this is a hard one for me (the Woolworths debate). I guess you're talking about Maleny in Qld. I agree that they should not build where Platypus live but then again my husband works there they do keep the food on our table. I am caught between a rock and a hard place.

[Shelly68]

Yes Woolworths had just bought out Action Supermarkets (this is straight from DH's mouth), not sure if/when the re-signing of the stores signs will begin, maybe it will be like Coles/Bi-Lo and stay the same.

Shelly

[Ondine]

Oh well . . .

Guess I am shopping Coles from now on!!!

Ondine