How You Can Keep Buying What You Love

Foreign hey there, I'm Rachel Corbett and welcome to Small Change, the podcast that's all about the small changes you can make that'll make a big difference to your finances. Now if I asked you what you spend most of your money on each month, would you be able to tell me? Or would you be one of those.

People like me who goes through their.

Bank account and thinks I did what now? Well, lucky for you, director of Investors Choice Mortgages and founder of your Property Success Online Education, Jane Slack Smith has some tips on how monitor your spending and how to save money on the things you really, really really really don't.

Want to give up when it comes to your spending habits. Just like Santa, make a list and check it twice and then double check it. So what is it that you love spending money on? I encourage you to find out where you are spending your money. Maybe it's a daily newspaper, the monthly woman's weekly page. Possibly you buy a cup of coffee every day. It could even be that you drop your loose change into the pokies at the pub once a week. Take a moment and think of all the things you spend your money on. Now for those who are extra vigilant, grab yourself a small notebook and just pull out the notebook and jot down whenever you spend your money. When I did this for two weeks, I was shocked. A bunch of flowers here once a week, a magazine there every couple of weeks I'd buy a book. It really added up fast with this horrifying glimpse into my spending history. I took this a whole extra step and downloaded a year's worth of all of my debit card and credit card statements. I printed them out, grabbed a highlighter and started marking off the little extra purchases I made. Wow, it was mind blowing. So many little things added up to a lot. So I got my thinking gear on and wondered how could I still have everything I wanted but at a fraction of the cost? Or even free? Obviously there were some things that were not needed and now I was aware of them. I could cut them out. Bunning, sausage sandwich, anyone. But others like the flowers, the latest release books and the magazines I just wanted. I work hard and these were my few rewards. You will be surprised just how you can have everything you want and the many ways you can have them for less. And no, I'm not talking about hanging out in doctor's rooms reading two year old magazines or even in the foyers of fancy hotels reading the daily papers. Mind you, that could be a good idea. These are legitimate, tangible ways to get what you want, and I'm keen to share those ways with you. There are many ways we can save money. We all know we should be taking our lunch to work and skipping the morning cafe latte. But robbing yourself of what you really want is really just setting yourself up for fail. After a while, you just want to indulge yourself. I know I do. So here's the thing. If you don't know where you are spending your money, you can not only not plug that leak, but you can have relinquished control of your finances. So here's the thing. If you don't know where you are spending your money, you can not only not plug that leak, but you have relinquished control of your finances. So the very first thing to do is find out where you're spending your money, grab a notebook and for two weeks track what you spent. Now be honest. Write every little thing down for the super vigilant download and print off all your credit card and debit card statements and do an audit. Highlight every nice to have I deserve it, I work hard kind of expense. Now you know where you're spending your money. Decide what you want to keep and what to delete. I know there are things that just make you happy and you want them. So I'm going to share some of the ways that I have found that I can have what I want at a fraction of the cost. Now, I love having flowers in my house. So once a week I'd pass the florist and outlay 10, 20 bucks for a nice bunch. Wow, that really added up super fast with over $500 a year on flowers. So instead of doing that, I got myself a pot plant. Nothing fancy, a nice pot for all of the things that I wanted to be able to put into it. And you know, with my green thumb, maybe changing over the pot plant every two or three months or for under $50. Now the good news is even if you are not a green thumb, you can, like me, replace the plant when you need to and you can still save over $400 a year. And if you are particular about the special type of flowers that you like the then I encourage you to head to Ikea and grab one of their $20 orchids. Yes, a real live orchid for 20 bucks. And they make a great zoom room background as well. Now what about that latest book? Now I just love reading but $20 to $30 a novel every other week. Wow. There's another $500 a year for a while. I started buying my books at Big W with the 20 to 40% off that they had. But you know, then I stumbled upon my local library. Now before you tune out, hang with me. I found that if I went to the librarian and said, hey, there's a new book coming out by my favourite author, they would buy the book and put my name at the top of the list. Bingo. Not only do I get to read the book as new, but to no cost to me. And in fact, recently, when I was having trouble locating the June series of books for my teenage son to read, the librarian jumped straight onto their EP portal and bought the ebook and sent it access to me straight away. Winning. So as you can see, the local library has a wealth of information for you. And if like me, you like reading a magazine, then settle in. This is an absolute humdinger of a way to save money. Now I like a good magazine and you know, I enjoyed Fast Company Entrepreneur magazine and yes, a good healthy dose of Women's Weekly. Murray, Claire who? And New Idea as well. But hello, other than going by the airport and getting those great deals, I found that these magazines can really add up. And that's when I found Magstar. Now for about $50 a year, I have access to all of those magazines. But here's the kick. I also get four free subscriptions to share with my friends and family. These make the perfect Christmas gift. Hello, hubby. He gets his history magazine. The mother in law, home and beautif. You get the picture. I look like an absolute star. I get all the magazines that I want to read online and they do too. Generous gift giver and I'm satisfied. Win, win. So what else do I like to do and don't really want to give up on? How about a good movie? Now I have to be honest, I haven't been to the movie theater for a very long period of time. But hey, you know, life is getting back to normal. And you might recall it's very rare that you can get out of a movie, popcorn, ice cream and the family for less than $100, let alone if you want to go on a date and then have to pay a babysitter. Gee, it's nothing less than $200. So why not set yourself up with your own home theatre? Now I'm not talking anything fancy here. Grab a couple of beanbags, hook the laptop up to the monitor that you have because you're now working from home, throw some popcorn into the microwave, grab a box of drumsticks and rent the latest box office release for six bucks. You have not just created a cheaper experience but one that is repeatable and even one that you can bring the whole family together with. Why not try to make your own pizzas as well and have a picnic in your lounge room? And then there is the little temptations that just pop up. Now if you have done this annual statement review, you'll know what I'm talking about. That innocent link online that results in a shopping cart full of things you just don't need. If this is you, stop and think. Just recognise what you're doing and stop. Maybe wait three days on pushing that. Yes, I want to buy in the shopping cart and put it in your diary to reconsider the shopping cart. Now we all have a little bit of impulse buying, but just taking some time and recognizing when you're about to go shopping or you've gone down that rabbit warren of all of the things that you can just take a step back, take some time and reconsider. Saving money can still be enjoyable and especially when you're doing the things that you like and the things you love. You don't have to sacrifice to save money and I hope these little tips have helped you too recognise that you can save some money and have what you want as well.

We are all about more money and less sacrifice here because saving money, let's be honest, should not be a punish all the time. That's it for today. And if you have any questions for our experts or topics you would like to Hear on the pod, make sure you email us@smallchangeovapodcast.com and we will see you for another episode on Monday.