1. Use less of your utilities during the year.
Most gas, electricity and phone company's bills now show you how much of their product you used each quarter the previous year. How about if you dedicate this year to using less? Whether that be less phone calls, less mega joules or kilowatts. Turn off lights when you are not in the room, take shorter showers and talk to your friends via email and facebook instead of making that call. Make a conscious effort to bring down your bills.
2. Find savings from your bank.
We all have products with a bank; credit cards, debit cards, savings accounts, cheque accounts, home loans, personal loans and car loans. However this year you will wring out all the savings you can from these products. First call your bank and see if you can get a better deal; if not shop around for a great deal. Give your bank another opportunity to keep your business. If they won't budge, move to a new bank or deal. This can be quite time consuming but remember a little bit of time can save you a lot of money.
3. Find your money weakness.
We all have a money weakness. Some people like clothes. Some like takeaway food. Some people buy coffees each day. What is yours? Really think about what you just can't stop spending your money on. Once you have nailed it down, start thinking of ways you can get rid of this out of your life. Or at the very least, ways you can cut down on it. You might be surprised at just how much money your weakness is costing you a year.
4. Sort out your superannuation.
Sorting things out for your retirement sounds boring. However you like me have probably never really given your super statement a real once over. Take a portion of the day to look at your statement. Check the performance of your super over the last five years. Call up other super companies and check their performance over that time. If you feel you can do better somewhere else, look at changing. Also why not Google "lost super accounts"? There are heaps of websites that will look for old super accounts from previous jobs that you might have forgotton about. If you find any old ones you can now roll them over into the new ones.
5. Make a pledge to not buy big ticket items you don't need.
Plenty of people succumb to that new TV or kitchen. Not because they needed it but because they talk themselves into it. Do you really need a new TV? Sure your old one is not 3D or 50 inches. And it does go black and white in a thunderstorm, however if it still works, hang on to it. This year make do with what you have.
6. No more lotto tickets.
The odds of winning cross lotto are 45 million to one. There are only 22 million people in Australia. So if every Australian person purchased one line in the cross lotto there is a around a 50% chance that only one of us would win. You can't win; you won't win. This year give the tickets the flick and save the money.
7. Reduce your debts.
If you're reading this you are probably doing this already. However why not just make some quick goals on the debts you have. Just by adding a 12 month goal to certain debts you might find you concentrate harder on crushing, killing and destroying that debt. What debts have had a noose around your neck for a while? Make a true dollar goal figure to get them down by.
8. Look at your wage.
Are you underpaid and you know it? Has your boss/company been taking you for a ride for years? This is the year to do some research on wages. There are plenty of websites devoted to informing you what an average person in your job should be earning. This year make a firm decision to ask for a pay rise. One of the easiest ways to save more money is to make more. Get your research and grab your boss for a one on one chat. Good luck!
1. Use less of your utilities during the year.
Most gas, electricity and phone company's bills now show you how much of their product you used each quarter the previous year. How about if you dedicate this year to using less? Whether that be less phone calls, less mega joules or kilowatts. Turn off lights when you are not in the room, take shorter showers and talk to your friends via email and facebook instead of making that call. Make a conscious effort to bring down your bills.
2. Find savings from your bank.
We all have products with a bank; credit cards, debit cards, savings accounts, cheque accounts, home loans, personal loans and car loans. However this year you will wring out all the savings you can from these products. First call your bank and see if you can get a better deal; if not shop around for a great deal. Give your bank another opportunity to keep your business. If they won't budge, move to a new bank or deal. This can be quite time consuming but remember a little bit of time can save you a lot of money.
3. Find your money weakness.
We all have a money weakness. Some people like clothes. Some like takeaway food. Some people buy coffees each day. What is yours? Really think about what you just can't stop spending your money on. Once you have nailed it down, start thinking of ways you can get rid of this out of your life. Or at the very least, ways you can cut down on it. You might be surprised at just how much money your weakness is costing you a year.
4. Sort out your superannuation.
Sorting things out for your retirement sounds boring. However you like me have probably never really given your super statement a real once over. Take a portion of the day to look at your statement. Check the performance of your super over the last five years. Call up other super companies and check their performance over that time. If you feel you can do better somewhere else, look at changing. Also why not Google "lost super accounts"? There are heaps of websites that will look for old super accounts from previous jobs that you might have forgotton about. If you find any old ones you can now roll them over into the new ones.
5. Make a pledge to not buy big ticket items you don't need.
Plenty of people succumb to that new TV or kitchen. Not because they needed it but because they talk themselves into it. Do you really need a new TV? Sure your old one is not 3D or 50 inches. And it does go black and white in a thunderstorm, however if it still works, hang on to it. This year make do with what you have.
6. No more lotto tickets.
The odds of winning cross lotto are 45 million to one. There are only 22 million people in Australia. So if every Australian person purchased one line in the cross lotto there is a around a 50% chance that only one of us would win. You can't win; you won't win. This year give the tickets the flick and save the money.
7. Reduce your debts.
If you're reading this you are probably doing this already. However why not just make some quick goals on the debts you have. Just by adding a 12 month goal to certain debts you might find you concentrate harder on crushing, killing and destroying that debt. What debts have had a noose around your neck for a while? Make a true dollar goal figure to get them down by.
8. Look at your wage.
Are you underpaid and you know it? Has your boss/company been taking you for a ride for years? This is the year to do some research on wages. There are plenty of websites devoted to informing you what an average person in your job should be earning. This year make a firm decision to ask for a pay rise. One of the easiest ways to save more money is to make more. Get your research and grab your boss for a one on one chat. Good luck!
