The 'Envelope Technique'

I developed this technique of saving money when I was a very poor university student. Basically I had just over $100 a week (I know - it was a while ago!) and this had to cover a nominal amount of board paid to parents, car expenses, bus fares, health insurance, clothes, books etc.

I realised that if such a small amount of money had to go so far it required special measures and hence the envelope technique was born.

Basically I made a list of all expenses and worked out how much per week was needed to cover these. Then I wrote the category on the front of each envelope and also the weekly amount required to cover this.

Then each week I would go to my bank and draw out the $100 and carefully put each little amount in each envelope. I even had an envelope for spending money!! (Probably $5). Sometimes I had to do 'high-finance' between envelopes but generally this kept me up with my bills and I never had to borrow from my parents. I admit that I did give each envelope a $20 head start.

Anyway I know this sounds a very corny suggestion but believe me I used to fuss over those envelopes like a clucky mother but like I said I managed to keep up with all my bills.

For an excellent resource I have come across on how to escape debt, live cheaply, saving money etc Click Here!

Happy saving money!

Reducing utilities costs

There are quite a few things that you can do to reduce your utilities costs and help you to save money at home. Some companies offer free energy audits and will come into your house and offer suggestions on how to cut your energy bills. Find a free one and book!

By utilities I mean gas, electricity, water and phone charges.

Electricity

• Turn off all appliances at the wall, do not leave on standby.
• Hang out your washing (or use clothes rack) and only use clothes dryer in an emergency.
• Check seals on oven and refrigerator - check optimum seal
• Lower temperature on hot water heater to between 110-120 degrees.
• Only run dishwasher and washing machine when the loads are full.
• Use microwave before oven when can - save 50% in energy costs in cooking.
• If using the oven make it worthwhile - cook several things at the same time.
• Put the lids on saucepans when cooking - steam cooks quicker.
• When boiling kettle, only boil the amount you need - not the whole kettle full each time.
• Buy appliances with good energy ratings.
• As you are reading this, how many appliances (particularly lights) are on at your house? Turn some lights off!!
• Use long-life light bulbs as they are more energy efficient.

Heating

• Check doors, windows, fireplaces etc for drafts and re-seal if necessary.
• Only use bathroom fans and kitchen hoods for the shortest time necessary (they suck warm air out very quickly - e.g. bathroom fan can suck out whole house in an hour!)
• Heat only the areas you need. Shut off the others.
• Maintain heating systems - regularly!
• Insulate the outside of the water heater to prevent heat loss.
• Shorter showers can save up to 33% on the water water heating costs
• In winter - open blinds to let sun shine DIRECTLY in and as soon as sun is gone, shut blinds.
• Curtains (thick, insulating ones) are great for keeping heat in and cold out.
• If 'coolish' inside, put another layer of clothes on before automatically turning heater on.

Cooling

• Awnings are a great help on the outside of a house.
• Plant shady trees and shrubs on the side facing direct sun - can decrease cooling costs by 30%.
• Use your ceiling fan before you go for the airconditioning.
• 30% of the heat is absorbed by the roof - therefore make sure attics are ventilated and you have vents in eaves. (obviously shut these in winter)
• Consider reflective tint on windows.
• Close off rooms when not using.
• Keep airconditioning ducts clear of furniture and curtains.
• Turn off equipment - e.g. computer - as they generate a lot of heat.
• Close blinds/curtains to direct sun.
  

Water

• Take shorter showers - 4 minutes should be plenty. (meditate elsewhere!) Can save up to 33% on hot water heating costs.
• Use half flush for 'wee' (sorry)
• Change shower head for a more environmentally friendly water saver one.
• If you have the ability - save water from washing machine and re-use for the next load.
• Use the correct level of water for each load - small amount of clothes - small amount of water.
• Put grey-water (washing machine water at least) on the garden.
• Front loading washing machines use 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of water - decreases both heating and water consumption.
• Re-route drainpipe water back onto garden.
• Don't rinse dishes before putting into dishwasher - use a plate scraper to remove food scraps.
• If you really do need to rinse - put some water in sink, don't use running water.

Check junk mail/Internet/newspapers for deals on lower priced utilities.
Telephone deals are prolific.
Some utilities offer cheaper rates if used 'off peak' i.e. cheaper to do washing after 7.00pm and even cheaper after 9.00pm.

For an excellent resource I have come across on how to escape debt, live cheaply, saving money etc Click Here!

Well, I hope that this helps. As soon as I sign off and post I will think of more!

Lunches - Saving bucket loads

It always stuns me when I hear people saying how difficult it is to make ends meet and then they go out and buy their lunch at work. Some people buy it every day!! If you are one of the people that usually buy their lunch just take time out to sit down and work out per year how much money this costs you. It will be a frightening amount!

It takes only a small amount of planning to buy in the weekly grocery shop the things necessary for work lunches. If you can, make a bulk amount and freeze some sandwiches (obviously depending on the ingredients). This will help in the morning rush. Maybe, get your lunch together the night before and leave a note on the kitchen table to get your lunch out of the fridge before you shoot out of the door in the morning.

Teach your children to prepare their own lunches. My 6 year old has been doing this for a year now and loves it. I have a stack of cakes/slice and sandwiches in the freezer and then fruit in the fridge. Her school has lunch day once a term when she can buy her own lunch and this obviously is a great day!

Another huge expense is buying coffee during the day. Have a cup before you leave home. Get up earlier if you don't have time. Put $2 each time you do this in a tin and see how quickly it mounts up!

If you are not a sandwich fan (like me), I often take left-overs to work for lunch and heat them up there.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of being too late/nothing in the fridge/easier to buy it and look how much money you waste!

For an excellent resource I have come across on how to escape debt, live cheaply, saving money etc Click Here!

Car & House Expenses

In regards to saving money on car and house expenses - some money saving ideas:-

• use public transport when you can or even walk
• use shop-a-dockets when getting fuel and get to know the fuel discount cycles and only fill up on the 'cheap' days.
• plan your trips in the car and be economical i.e one circular trip to do many things rather than 3 separate trips.
• don't just renew your car insurance without doing a bit of ringing around for a better deal - this also applies to household insurance. Often linking these two insurance policies will get an added discount. Insurance Brokers can often do all of this ringing around for you and source the best deal and cover at no added cost to you.
• maintenance on house an car can be expensive. Ask around amongst your friends for a good and honest motor mechanic. Keep your car maintained as this is less expensive in the long run.
• often local tradespeople are cheaper to do household repairs than big companies

For an excellent resource I have come across on how to escape debt, live cheaply, saving money etc Click Here!

PS sorry to not have posted for a while - computer dramas! :(

Budgeting

It is getting harder and harder each week to balance the family budget, let alone save money at home. Interest rates are rising, fuel is getting more expensive and with the drought (for those in Australia) the price of food is going up and up … Financial hardship is becoming more common.

With some careful planning you can save money at home. None of this will be rocket science. Just plain common sense from someone who has had to live on a shoe-string budget for a few years now. People’s situations will differ – one parent, no income, two parents and one income, kids, no kids etc. Whatever the combination, it is fair to say, that nearly all are feeling the pinch.

My first foray into blog writing about saving money at home has to be about BUDGETING. Before any money-saving can begin you must see ON PAPER the amount of money coming in each week and where it is going. This is not a simple 5 minute job – it will probably take one whole evening but is absolutely VITAL. Once this has been done then you can start to target areas of over-spending and start to save money at home.

I like to keep things simple. Get a big piece of paper and list down one side all the expenses you can think of. Make sure to include all those pesky once-a-year bills. Allow for slight increases in electricity, gas, water etc. You will need to get out your accounts from last year. Sit down and write the amounts for each service – gas etc. Don’t use the first gas bill you come across as this won’t be accurate, get the a year's worth. E.g. I have gas heating – obviously my summer bills for gas are much lower than in winter.

I do estimate some bills. My food bill each week varies, so this one will have to be a realistic ‘guesstimate’. Add the bills for each category and then divide by 52 to get a weekly cost. I find this easier to get my head around.

I’ll list some of the things that you should consider putting in – you may think of more.

Car insurance, car maintenance, car registration, fuel, driver's licence, automobile association membership, house insurance, home maintenance, food, school fees, school uniforms, education plan for kids, clothes, kid's clothes, vet bills, haircuts, phone/internet, mobile phone, council rates, health insurance, money for out of pocket medical expenses, collection money for Church, presents, gas, electricity, water, entertainment, holidays, professional memberships, alcohol, cigarettes, mortgage, income protection insurance, spending money, music lessons, swimming lessons, miscellaneous.

This list may sound confronting but try and include absolutely everything and allow a little extra in the budget for increases in fees/prices.

Now look at the weekly total versus your weekly income. Hopefully your income exceeds expenditure. If not you obviously need to cut back and listing the amounts on paper will certainly highlight where your money disappears. We can all cut back in areas with simple things and in coming posts I will give some ideas about this.

For an excellent resource I have come across on how to escape debt, live cheaply, saving money etc Click Here!

I’ll write again later with more ideas on how we can save money at home whilst still managing to eat, live and stay sane!