Saving Money - Ideas?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Saving Money - Ideas?

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796 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#928702 7-Nov-2013 12:16

jpoc: How much money do you spend on beer and wine?

Consider making your own - wine from $3 a bottle even if you have to pay for all of the ingredients. Even bigger savings on beer.

+1 on the petrol savings, we go mad with that.
Dont drink beer or wine....well barely drink anymore.

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www.binarylimited.co.nz

jonb

1771 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#928704 7-Nov-2013 12:17

Klipspringer:
jonb:
Marry someone with good teeth so you don't have to pay for orthodontists for your children.
Don't go on holiday.

You are joking right?

Joking about the orthodontists..
We haven't been on a 'proper' holiday since emigrating to NZ though, six years ago. Trying to save for a family trip back to Europe but struggling, so we don't spend a $1000 here or there on a family holiday

. I know there are cheaper ways to have a holiday, camping etc but still need to get the gear.

jpoc: How much money do you spend on beer and wine?
Consider making your own - wine from $3 a bottle even if you have to pay for all of the ingredients. Even bigger savings on beer.

And just reducing your alcohol intake is also saving you money.

BinaryLimited

796 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#928707 7-Nov-2013 12:19

jonb:
Klipspringer:
jonb:
Marry someone with good teeth so you don't have to pay for orthodontists for your children.
Don't go on holiday.

You are joking right?

Joking about the orthodontists..
We haven't been on a 'proper' holiday since emigrating to NZ though, six years ago. Trying to save for a family trip back to Europe but struggling, so we don't spend a $1000 here or there on a family holiday . I know there are cheaper ways to have a holiday, camping etc but still need to get the gear.

jpoc: How much money do you spend on beer and wine?
Consider making your own - wine from $3 a bottle even if you have to pay for all of the ingredients. Even bigger savings on beer.

And just reducing your alcohol intake is also saving you money.

+12 on that.... alcohol saved me a lot!

Binary Limited - Safe. Secure. Simple. ™
www.binarylimited.co.nz

davidcole

6036 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#928710 7-Nov-2013 12:20

No HPs, personal loans, credit card purchases.....if you don't have the cash for it, don't buy it.

Exception for credit cards if you can be religious about paying the full balance each month to take advantage of any air points schemes and/or interest free periods.

Previously known as psycik

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andrewNZ

2487 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#928712 7-Nov-2013 12:23

jpoc: How much money do you spend on beer and wine?

Consider making your own - wine from $3 a bottle even if you have to pay for all of the ingredients. Even bigger savings on beer.

I make beer and spirits (both the "lazy" way), Beer for $30ish for 23litres (2 1/2 crates). My partner now prefers (or claims to) home brew.
Spirits worked out about $3-$4 a litre at 40%, then add flavour for $3-15 per litre. It's not going to compete with the expensive stuff, but you save a LOT of money.

Also, time brewing is time not shopping.

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#928713 7-Nov-2013 12:27

Take a hard look at your mobile phone expenses.

Are you on a monthly plan? Do you really need/use all those minutes, data and texts?

Pre-pay is often a lot cheaper for people.

If you are paying for mobile data, switch to the opera mini browser and save a ton. (That browser does all of its connections through a proxy with the Opera servers. The servers will compress the data that is sent to your phone - this reduces my bandwidth use by about 90%)

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#928714 7-Nov-2013 12:30

Make sure that all of your kitchen appliances are working efficiently.

Defrosting the fridge and freezer will save you electricity.

Ensuring that there is no limescale in the kettle, dishwasher and washing machine will also save money.

Only use the amount of detergent that you actually need in the dishwasher and washing machine.

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Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#928720 7-Nov-2013 12:41

Save water.

Get in the habit of turning the tap off while you brush your teeth.

Shave with the plug in the sink so you do not need to have the tap running the whole time.

Get a low flow showerhead. It will feel weird at first but in a few weeks you will get used to it and find that it is normal.

Don't leave the shower running while you are rubbing soap all over you and your partner.

Don't shower alone. (Oh, said that already but this tip bears repeating.)

Use the economy settings on the washing machine and dishwasher, only use the settings that take longer and use more water when you really need to for heavily soiled items.

Always make sure that the dishwasher and washing machine are full. If you need to, buy an extra set of cheap plates or cutlery from the warehouse so that you never have to switch the machine on unless it is full.

BlueShift

1692 posts

Uber Geek

#928721 7-Nov-2013 12:41

andrewNZ:
jpoc: How much money do you spend on beer and wine?

Consider making your own - wine from $3 a bottle even if you have to pay for all of the ingredients. Even bigger savings on beer.

I make beer and spirits (both the "lazy" way), Beer for $30ish for 23litres (2 1/2 crates). My partner now prefers (or claims to) home brew.
Spirits worked out about $3-$4 a litre at 40%, then add flavour for $3-15 per litre. It's not going to compete with the expensive stuff, but you save a LOT of money.

Also, time brewing is time not shopping.

Do me a favour, and pop over the the 'Bro,wanna brew?' discussion and let us know a bit about your homebrew spirits? I've been brewing my own beer for almost a year now, and I'm investigating getting some sort of still for spirits.

dickytim

2514 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#928725 7-Nov-2013 12:45

Groceries: Shop at Pac n' save, mad butcher, local fruit and vege shop.

Make a weekly menu of what you are going to eat and create your shopping list to that, this alone saved me a fortune.

Buy meat when it is on special and freeze it, buy lots of mince, you can do so much with it.

With pasta sauce buy the cheap cans and add your own spices to suit.

Plan a take away night once a week and go for fish n chips (locally we get a $15 pack that feeds 2 + the dogs!) or Domino's always has cheap pizzas.

Don't buy lunch/coffee at work everyday, make a sandwich and drink instant, I spend $60 a week on this myself.

Pams makes some surprisingly good products, some I even prefer to name brands.

Vehicle: Drive conservatively, I have a v8 commodore and get the same mileage as my FTO used to just by driving it lighter. Also you would be amazed at the consumption difference between 100km/h and 90km/h on the motorway.

Service your car regularly with the correct grade of oil, this is actually a good money saver. I saved around $150 per 10,000km in fuel by changing the oil when it was required.

With your investment property, are you gaining as much as you are putting in? Is it in fact a good investment when you come time to sell it?

Do you have cash tied up in useless crap that you could sell on trade me?

When I go thru my crap I usually find around $200-1000 worth of crap I haven't used in years, remember one mans trash is another's treasure, something you don't have a high value on someone might.

dickytim

2514 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#928726 7-Nov-2013 12:46

jpoc: Save water.

Get in the habit of turning the tap off while you brush your teeth.

Shave with the plug in the sink so you do not need to have the tap running the whole time.

Get a low flow showerhead. It will feel weird at first but in a few weeks you will get used to it and find that it is normal.

Don't leave the shower running while you are rubbing soap all over you and your partner.

Don't shower alone. (Oh, said that already but this tip bears repeating.)

Use the economy settings on the washing machine and dishwasher, only use the settings that take longer and use more water when you really need to for heavily soiled items.

Always make sure that the dishwasher and washing machine are full. If you need to, buy an extra set of cheap plates or cutlery from the warehouse so that you never have to switch the machine on unless it is full.

Don't use the dishwasher!

trig42

5814 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#928732 7-Nov-2013 12:53

Klipspringer:
KiwiNZ: I have just been doing the Power price check, we are with Genesis and the consumer page thingy tells me that they are the best price. I have been considering Trustpower as I could combine Power/Phone/Internet on one account.

I would not put all my faith in those power price check websites

I was with contact energy and was already getting the lowest rate around.

Then we had a doorknocker from meridian coming around. I spun the usual story, you wasting your time etc ... Besides, I really cant handle these guys because they always seem to come at the wrong time. Anyway. Long story short, he managed to save us about $250 per annum on our bill, and fix it on the same rate for 2 years. Not a huge saving, but at least Im assured of no increases for the next 2 years.

So next time one of these guys come knocking maybe invite him in for a cuppa. It seems some of them are able to do real good deals.

Dont switch to powershop. I was with them a while back and they really not cheaper.

I think a $250 per annum saving on power is huge. Good score.

BinaryLimited

796 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#928735 7-Nov-2013 12:54

dickytim: Groceries: Shop at Pac n' save, mad butcher, local fruit and vege shop.

Make a weekly menu of what you are going to eat and create your shopping list to that, this alone saved me a fortune.

Buy meat when it is on special and freeze it, buy lots of mince, you can do so much with it.

With pasta sauce buy the cheap cans and add your own spices to suit.

Plan a take away night once a week and go for fish n chips (locally we get a $15 pack that feeds 2 + the dogs!) or Domino's always has cheap pizzas.

Don't buy lunch/coffee at work everyday, make a sandwich and drink instant, I spend $60 a week on this myself.

Pams makes some surprisingly good products, some I even prefer to name brands.

Vehicle: Drive conservatively, I have a v8 commodore and get the same mileage as my FTO used to just by driving it lighter. Also you would be amazed at the consumption difference between 100km/h and 90km/h on the motorway.

Service your car regularly with the correct grade of oil, this is actually a good money saver. I saved around $150 per 10,000km in fuel by changing the oil when it was required.

With your investment property, are you gaining as much as you are putting in? Is it in fact a good investment when you come time to sell it?

Do you have cash tied up in useless crap that you could sell on trade me?

When I go thru my crap I usually find around $200-1000 worth of crap I haven't used in years, remember one mans trash is another's treasure, something you don't have a high value on someone might.

Definitely do pack n save
Mince is also a common thing on our list.like u said, it can do alot!
Havent done the fish and chips things, but KFC and burger king do the Family Dinner deals for $20....works out great with lots of food!
The investment properties is longterm investments for Capital gain, been watching the market for a long time and my past property experience and knowledge goes hand in hand.
I have lots of crap everywhere! an idea, like 4 or 5 Blackberry's laying around...some even still new and never been used.
trademe lands up being very annoying and useless, dont think iv ever managed to sell anything on trademe.
i buy the 12 ( i think its 12 or 16r 24, just know theres alot ) pack of rolls from pak n save, works out great $3.99 i think :)

Binary Limited - Safe. Secure. Simple. ™
www.binarylimited.co.nz

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek

#928745 7-Nov-2013 13:02

Analyze and manage the heat budget for your house.

In the summer time, closing the curtains on the sunny side of the house, and opening the windows on the shady side will help to cool things down and minimize your need to use aircon or fans.

In the wintertime, doing the opposite will maximise your solar gain and reduce heating bills.

Byrned

455 posts

Ultimate Geek

#928746 7-Nov-2013 13:03

Don't cancel your insurances! I see so many people doing this as the the first thing, especially their income cover, and then something happens and they're off work sick for an extended period of time, get made redundant etc. Then they're in a world of hurt!

Shop around definitely, but don't cancel. And make sure you compare the policies! Cheapest isn't always best.

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