Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try to get on top of your savings, you never really quite meet your goals? With inflation and rising interest rates, now more than ever is the time to reign in your spending and master financial habits that will guarantee you’re never living pay to pay.
In this blog post, I explore 10 simple and practical methods that I use myself to save more money and reach my financial goals faster.
10 easy ways to get on top of your finances
1. Plan your grocery shop ahead of time and use click-n-collect.
Set aside some time in your schedule on the same day each week to plan the following week’s meals and your grocery list before ordering your groceries online. You’re guaranteed to spend less by taking a good look at what you already have in the pantry; not to mention online grocery shopping gets rid of the temptation you would have had when taking a stroll down past the junk food.
2. Buy generic.
In most cases, the only thing better about name-brand products is the marketing. Generic brands of medicine, staple food items, cleaning suppliers, etc – work just as well at sometimes less than half their competitor’s prices.
3. Scrap your debt.
The quickest way to get rid of your debt is using the “debt snowball method.” Basically, this means paying off your debts in order of smallest to largest – the psychology behind it being that you’ll be more inclined to keep paying off your debts when you see that you have fewer loans/liabilities overall.
4. Eat at home.
If you’re tired, busy, disorganised, and stressed; it can be all too tempting to reach for that uber eats app. The key here is to plan in advance (see point 1) so that you’ve always got a variety of food options ready to roll. I always meal prep first thing in the morning so that in the evenings, getting dinner ready is never really a huge task. Once you’re in the habit of packing your lunch and cooking at home each day, it becomes a way of life entrenched in your daily routine, rather than a hassle. The bonus is, you’ll likely be putting healthier, lower-calorie food into your body and improving your cooking skills!
Tip: why not challenge yourself to see how many days or weeks in a row you can eat all your meals at home without ordering takeaway?
5. Cancel subscriptions that you don’t need or use!
Yes, it may sound like an obvious one, but I come across so many clients on a regular basis who complain that they need to take some time to review their direct debit subscriptions but never get around to doing so. I strongly suggest, setting aside some time to work through yours and you could well be astonished at how much you are paying for – that you don’t actually need to be! I recommend reviewing your PayPal, Apple ID (or similar) subscriptions, credit cards, and bank statements in order to make a list of everything that you’re paying for on a monthly basis. Once you’ve made this list, take some time to think – do I really need this? Can I achieve the same outcome in another way?
6. Stay across your tax obligations and keep up-to-date with your books.
Make sure you have (at least) a rough idea of what your next tax/superannuation/GST bill is going to be.
If you’re self-employed and hate maintaining your books, I highly recommend that you enquire about our affordable bookkeeping and virtual CFO service, in which we manage these aspects for you, ensuring that you set aside the right amounts each month towards your various liabilities.
7. Reduce your energy costs.
You’d be surprised at how a few tweaks on your habits at home can save you hundreds in power. Hang your clothes on the line or a clothes horse instead of using the dryer, take shorter showers, remember to switch lights off in rooms that you’ve left, wash your clothes in cold water, and put on a jumper before cranking the heater. If you do use the heater – close up spaces that you’re not using. All these small things really can add up to make so much more of a difference than you’d think.
8. Don’t rush to spend.
You’re at the shops and you pass a stunning dress/pair of shoes/piece of furniture – STOP! Sleep on the decision and give yourself AT LEAST 24 hours before you pull the trigger on that purchase. Do you really need this? Can it wait? Are there other things you need more urgently?
9. Review your margins.
The significant increase in costs across the board at the moment may well mean that you’re spending a lot more in order to achieve your sales. If your business running costs have increased, then you’ll need to review your margins in order to ensure that you can adequately cover your fixed and operating costs along with your required net profit and wage.
If your gross margin has lowered, then this means that your costs will likely have gone up which means you’ll either need to increase your fees or your volumes to achieve the same result. Should you need help with this analysis, don’t hesitate to enquire about our virtual CFO service, or book an appointment with our team.
10. Skip the coffee (ouch!).
Most people roll their eyes at this one, or call me boring – lol, but I swear by this. Rather than spend $5-$8 on your daily coffee from your local café, make it at home and save a fortune.
Or, if you want to go one step further, I highly recommend challenging yourself and cutting your coffee habit altogether. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee but I definitely find that it impacts my sleep, makes me anxious – and I tend to get addicted to it quickly. I quit coffee about four months ago now and I’ve not looked back. Not to mention, I’ve definitely noticed less of a dent out of my weekly wage!
