New Year - New Budget!
It’s that time of year when we sit down and check out our family budget so I thought I would share some of our tips with you!
Jump on Service NSW and see what vouchers you are eligible for. I have a 3 and a 6 year old so we get Active Kids and Creative kids at $100 each for her classes and First Lap swimming for my son. We also got 3 x $50 back to school vouchers which will pay for her new sport shoes! Plus you might be eligible for cheaper rego based on how many tolls you take etc.
Set up a spreadsheet and go through the last 3-6 months of every line of spending on your cards. Group expenses into buckets and work out where your money is going and if there is anything you can trim. You may also find old subscriptions you can cancel. If you are anything like me, you realise you buy too many coffees and should really make it at home and my coffee with me if I am not actually meeting someone for one!
Find lost money - I found this government website find unclaimed money, where you literally just put in your name and see if the government is holding onto any money for you! Now I didn’t find any I was missing but it did help someone else I know find a bunch so it’s worth checking out! They are literally holding $1.5B (Yes B for Billion!) of Aussies money that is unclaimed.
Haggle with your providers - The ones where things come out monthly! I just bumped down our extras cover on our health insurance saving us $60 per month, we are getting solar put on the house to help elec bills and then will change providers there to a better deal, car insurance I check every time I renew for a better deal (put your renewal dates in your calendar to help remember), ask for better deals on your savings accounts, swap credit cards to better interest rates etc.
Rewards programs can be awesome! Over Christmas I collected 3 x $50 Kmart vouchers from my fly buys card, I use my Woolworths rewards when I shop there and claim my rewards when they come up, we have various credit card point schemes that we collect on as well for various vouchers.
Switch to Aldi… by far the biggest saving we have made over the past year has been getting our grocery bill down. I have saved a TON by switching to Aldi and over time I have come to buy more and more of my essentials there. It does take some getting used to and finding the products you like and obviously the selection is lower but the value is huge! The meat and veg are fab and fresh and I can pack my trolley for under $400. I still go to Woolies every now and then for specific items im attached to but saving at least $200 per week is worth it!
Finally, is there a side hustle or a passion project that you want to do that could increase your income. Maybe you always wanted to make a product, or write a book or whatever it is, maybe this is the year to study and work on your project and see if it becomes a reality.
