Since this is the first time, I have given myself some leeway but I really wanted to document all of our expenses to see where we have to work on. We're lucky as we're in a financial stable situation with the mortgage being our only debt. Steve is retired, so he doesn't have any income, however as I'm working there's no need to touch his Super and so it can continue to grow. I work fulltime as a FIFO worker in the oil & gas industry. Also I earn good money, I only do project work and once a project is finished I move onto the next. However, at the moment there is a big resources downturn and it probably will not get better in the next 2 years. Therefore I don't know if I still have a job in 18 months time. And for that I need to learn how to budget well.
Some simple things which have decreased our budget significantly are:
1. Buying in bulk/Stockpiling
Once a year, Steve and I go for a mid-week overnight trip to Bargara, where we enjoy some time on the beach and on the way back, we stop at Aldi and do one big shop - normally about 3 trolley loads. Aldi is significantly cheaper than any other supermarket, so we stock up on dry goods such as can food, rice, pasta and household items (toilet paper, toothpaste and -brushes, dishwashing detergent ect).
We buy our meat from the Farm Butcher, so we normally buy half a cow, a pig, some lambs and chicken - all of this will lasts us well over a year with me working away for 6 months of the year.
I also have discovered some places where I can buy other items in bulk such as washing and bicarb soda for making cleaning products as well as grain for baking bread.
2. Installing Solar Power
Our power bill has reduced by over 50% and now where we have the new shed installed, we will install more solar panels and reduce the bill even more. But we're also trying to reduce consumption. A new fridge is on the card as we currently have 2 old fridges which are unlikely to have a high star rating in terms of electricity consumption. The water system also consumes a lot of power since a pump has to turn as soon as water flows out of the tap and another pump goes to discharge the water. Then we have third pump for irrigation. In the next few year we will install a new wastewater system and later this year we're looking at better irrigation, so we don't have to have the pump running that much.
This year I have spend a fair bit of money on craft. I bought a sewing/embroidery machine in January and therefore had to get some stock such as yarn, fabric and tools (scissors, cutting mats and the likes). All of this is pricey but I hope in the long run I will be able to save some money as I can make items such as decorations and presents myself rather than buying them.
My inspiration to write about this topic today came from a look on my credit card statement which charged me a credit card fee while I actually have a package which comes with a free credit card. So I called the bank and enquired and they apologised and refunded me the money. If I would have not noticed or called, this would have cost me $395! While I was speaking to the consultant, he said I would be eligible for a Diamond Award Card instead of the Platinum Award Card I'm using currently. There will be no card fee as this will be covered by the current package. Interest rates ect remain the same but the award system is better and the travel insurance is higher. Since I travel to and from work by plane and having to stay in hotels on the way in ect, a credit card which offered higher protection sounds better. You see I use my credit card for everything and then each month when I get paid, the credit card gets paid off and the balance is back to zero. My credit card limit is lower than my monthly income and I make sure I never owe anything on it.
So I agreed to the card update. The consultant than went through the typical questions and I asked what will happen to my point accumulation. He said they should roll over. That didn't convince me, so I thought off I go and get some money back. I wasn't interested in buying anything. I was either interested in cash or giftcards. I put a few giftcards in my cart and then wanted to transfer the rest of the point balance into cashback. However, when I checked my shopping cart I noticed that I used much more points for $100 cashback than I did for a $100 giftcard. Therefore I deleted the cashback and 'bought' 2 more giftcards instead. I ended up with $600 worth in giftcards! My giftcards were for supermarkets and service stations, so useful indeed!
Control in financial hire is very important that you see in your article. Important it is to keep the survey. I am happy for you that you could save money. I write on all spending, to see where I can still save money.
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