See what things you might have at home that could deliver you cost savings later on.
In my household my partner is always trying to work out ways to save money or make more. Me, I'm not as worried about it, I think things just have away of working themselves out. Working in the financial planning world you'd think I should know better and be watching every penny, however not all our brains work in this fashion. The key for me is to understand that my brain thinks differently and be conscience of financial decisions that affect my family & my future. All of this new found awareness got me thinking of what I have changed in my spending habits and in most cases it is to avoid the nagging questions of my partner about what I have bought or spent money on.
Internet Grocery Shopping
My brain doesn't add up numbers easily in my head and I'm often confused by all the specials tags at the supermarket. When I used to go into the grocery store to buy our families weekly shop, I'd spend hundreds of dollars and yet it felt the trolley (and cupboards) were never full. My partner would go at times with my same list and spend half the amount of money with twice the produce. I figured he had a knack for spotting specials and working out which were the best bulk buys.
When my second son was born, I didn't have the energy to go to the shops every single week and cart around a huge trolley with two kids not to mention load and unload the car so I tried the online ordering/delivery from my local grocery store. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to find the items I love using the search function but more importantly I could sort the items from lowest to highest price per unit. This was a relevalation for me, no longer did I have to attempt calculations in my head about which item of different brands and sizes was the best value. I was able to do the whole weeks shop at nearly half the price with this new found technology and the tip of my fingers.
The delivery fee was nominal so I questioned whether the price online was more than at the physical shop, however after going back to the shop to pick up some odd items here and there, I soon realised that in fact some items online were much cheaper than in the shop. Online shopping has specials just like a catelogue, better still they supermarket email me of specials for items I regularly purchase. I saved 30% off baby formula for several weeks in a row because of this! This was an item that was crucial for my family, yet oh so expensive so I was extremely happy to be given the heads up of the special. I ordered five tins because I didn't have to carry them, they were delivered with all my other items straight to my kitchen bench.
Hit the post Christmas sales for my work wardrobe
This one suits me to the ground, because even though I'm female, I don't enjoy shopping in the slightest. I am the type to go in with a list buy the key items, quickly and get the hell out of there. For this reason I started to buy all my work clothes in one hit during the post Christmas sales. The beauty with my situation is we spend our Christmas in Victoria each year so I travel to Melbourne city (with the Grandparents watching the kids), spend the morning buying up on mix & match outfits for work. I might spend a little extra during the trip top up my wardrobe, make sure I only do this once a year during the sales.
Get help around the home
For anyone who is self-employed or who earns an hourly rate, this one is for you. We decided to spend some money to make some money. We worked out my partner hates mowing the lawn and spends far too long procrastinating over it and then time trying to get it right. We were stuck one time with a broken down mower and had a professional lawn mowing company come to do it and it was so much more affordable than I thought and it was immaculate. We now spend a small amount per fortnight to have the lawns manicured and my partner now uses the spare time to do an extra job where he can potentially earn more or at a minimum spend some quality time with the kids which is priceless.
These are only three out of many other examples we have changed in our household so I can avoid my worrying partner's questions and I can honestly say it makes a difference both our pockets and in the quality of our family relationship.
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