It doesn't grow on trees

I've been thinking about money lately, financial matters; My reduced income due to the pandemic, outgoings, financial future and of course job security are all on the agenda.

In the uncertain times we currently face I think it is important to do so; A health-check of one's personal budgets and expenditure could go a long way towards mitigating potential strife down the road. For me, well it is a very important activity as I have a live now but plan ahead ethos and I'm not keen on financial destitution.; Life's too short.

I tend to make smart decisions although there was this one time in 2010 when I chose not to buy Bitcoin; That decision will haunt me for some time to come. However generally my financial decisions are quite sound, based on research and advice.

I met a fellow today, during my day-job, who has more money that he can count. He's a self-made millionaire, mainly through business-ownership and in the last several years commercial property which is what I was meeting him about. He's a smart guy who came from nothing, worked hard and took a few calculated risks.

We were chatting about the recession Australia is now officially in, the stock market, commercial property, superannuation funds and the affect the corona virus reactions has had, and will have moving forward; All part of my usual work-time conversations.

He started talking about belt-tightening though and said the smart people started to do so a year ago. Inwardly I smiled because eighteen months ago Faith and I began the process of finding areas in our financial scenario we could improve, a clip here and shave there and now it's rather streamlined; A good thing considering the onset of corona virus craziness.

The client and I spoke about going without, changing habits, looking for ways to reduce spending and making the things we buy go further...Now remember, this guy has oodles of money...And here he is telling me how Faith and I can make our weekly grocery bill smaller. It was kind of cool and all quite relevant.

Before we parted ways he said something to me that really hit home as relevant in a society that carries so much credit debt.

Spend less than you earn

I walked away mulling over the simplicity of this statement; It's almost laughably simple, but isn't this the essence of managing one's financial matters with responsibility? I think it is.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few things Faith and I have done to help us find and eliminate monetary wastage. Not all may work for you although most people should be able to implement a few and if done stringently over time those few elements could make a massive difference.

• Make a budget. Show income and expenditure in full. We work monthly, but over an annual period and itemise everything.
• Track spending. We don't do this super-strictly, but we know what goes where usually. This can be compared against the budget.
• Pay off credit cards. Paying 20-25% interest doesn't make a lot of sense. We pay for everything on our (one) credit card, then pay that off at the end of the month. Get the card paid off and if you can't trust yourself cut it up.
• Have a savings account. Move money directly into this account automatically so you don't get tempted not to pay it in manually.
• Investigate reoccurring expenses. Mortgage or chattel loans, insurances, household power, water and gas, fuel, phone and internet services, subscriptions...A little investigation can result in thousands in savings over a year.
• Avoid impulse purchases. Online shopping and credit cards make it easy to spend. Maybe having another pair of shoes will make you feel better now, but does it work for your budget? Need over want spending is the key.
• Investigate bill-smoothing. This is paying bills monthly, fortnightly or weekly rather than in a lump sum. I recently changed a small loan payment from monthly to weekly which saved me $100 a month, not a lot, but I pay in at the old amount still meaning I'll wipe the loan off earlier.
• Plan meals weekly. Sounds boring, but doesn't have to be. You'll avoid repeated visits to the shop and impulse purchases whilst there. Just this one thing can save a family thousands in a year and eliminate wastage.
• Avoid emotional brand-connection. Shop around, you'll probably find a like-for-like product cheaper...The logo you're buying on that expensive thing just isn't worth the money, nor does it make you a better person. Get over it.

That's just some of them; There's so many more but I think you get the idea.

Faith and I don't really go without the things we need. We have some really splendid things in our life, luxuries many would probably call them, however I can assure you we go without too. Sometimes we want something so badly however we weigh and measure it up and make the decision on a need over want basis. Not always mind you, but the times we go without, or make a logical financial decision, makes the times we don't easier to facilitate.

Spend less than you earn

Yeah, sounds so simple and really it is...Provided there's a plan, a strategy to bring it all together and, equally important, a degree of ownership, responsibility and effort...That will make it sustainable.

Now it's your turn...What expense-mitigating initiatives do you have? How do you balance your budget, drive your dollar further? Down 👇 there is where you comment goes. Money doesn't grow on trees, at least not in my neck of the woods, so I'd be happy to see any concepts that help you save money; They might help me too.

Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.

Be well
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