Cutting Christmas Costs

I love Christmas. The only thing I don’t like about Australia is that we don’t have white Christmas’. However, with a large family (I’m one of four children) and extended family, it can definitely get expensive.

Even though it’s six months away, I think it’s never too early to start planning for Christmas. So here are some small tips for saving money at Christmas time!

- Secret Santa. My family tried this for the first time last year. It didn't save an enormous amount of money (we set a high limit) but it certainly can if you want it to. We also all made a list so we were getting gifts that we wanted. My list had a mixture of wants and needs, saving me money in the future.

- Start saving at New Years. Some banks have Christmas accounts. If yours doesn’t, all you need to do is start an online savings account and put money into it each week. It could be as little as $10 a week but come Christmas time, you will have a nice stash of cash to use for gifts, food and decorations.

- Buy gifts early. I like to buy my Christmas (and birthday for that matter) throughout the year, particularly when I see something on sale! I don’t like the stress of shopping right before Christmas, I prefer to do it slowly and pragmatically. And by either catching things on sale or lay buying them, I end up saving a lot of money.

- Make use of boxing day sales. If you’re not seeing family or friends until after Christmas, put their presents at the Boxing Day Sales. This can save you a lot of money.

Remember, even if you only save $50, that money is better in your pocket than someone else’s.

What are your tips for saving money at Christmas time?

Lending a Hand

I didn't keep to my new posting schedule this week because I was away on business. I thought I'd have a lot of free time but I was flat out. I shall return to my regular posting schedule this week :)

Yesterday I sat down with my older brother to discuss finances. He bought a house around five months ago and is having some trouble affording it. So we sat down and went through things. It seems that he bought more than he could comfortably afford. He is stripped down as bare as he can go so I decided it was now a matter of ensuring he spends wisely with the little money he does have.

I explained to him menu planning and a shopping lists. He was completely taken by it. My brother is very fit and active and thus has a huge appetite. Therefore, unless he is careful, he can end up spending an awful lot of money on food each week.

It was quite funny how excited he got upon hearing these ideas. He actually just called me to tell me what he had put on his menu plan. He's writing his list and then hitting the grocery store.

It actually feels really good to get someone else into frugality! That is what this blog is meant to do but I didn't anticipate the whole lack of readers thing. So this will do in the meantime :)

Money while on business

I am on a business trip this week. I usually come away from such trips having made money. This one will be no different.

Where many people go to the hotel restaurant and spend $20 0n breakfast every day, I buy milk and cereal from the supermarket for around $5 and it lasts me all week.

This trip will cost me a little more than usual, but I will still come out in front. I am on business in the city I went to university in so I have friends here who I'll be catching up with for one or two dinners out. But I will still be frugal in my choices and make the most of being away from home.

The Price of Health

I have recently been diagnosed with lactose intolerance. This is a mighty inconvenient condition to have, as dairy features in so much. Also, as I'm not used to it, I find I forget an awful lot of the time and accidentally eat something I shouldn't.

Australia recently had a price war on milk and we can now get out milk for $1 a litre, every day at the supermarket. Do you know how much lactose free milk is for one litre?

$2.54.

Needless to say, this is the part I am most annoyed with!

A Change of Scenery, Perhaps

Today I found out that I may be transferred to another city at the end of this year. It isn't confirmed and I have no idea where to.

I am both excited and disappointed. It will be good for my career and I'll enjoy the change of scenery, as I don't really like the city I currently live in (really don't like it, actually). However, my house is here and I'll miss it!

Even though nothing is definite, my personal finance brain is going into overload. I am already contemplating the financial implications of a move and what I plan to do financially in my new phase.

Bittersweet really.

Grocery Update

I did try and carry out my scheduled post last night, but for some reason could not log in. I think Blogger was down. Apologies for being a bit late.

On Thursday, I went grocery shopping. As I said in my last post, I decided to do a fortnights worth of shopping. I came around $25 under budget. I have no idea if this is because I did the fortnight shop or because prices were good this week or because I didn't need as much. But I enjoyed the convenience of only needing to shop once a fortnight.

I actually have a day of cooking planned, all stuff that I can freeze and use throughout the week as I am not a fan of cooking after work.

How do you manage your grocery budget and menu plan? Would love to hear your stories.

Groceries

I live quite frugally but am always looking for ways to live more so. I get paid fortnightly (or bi-weekly) and thus budget my money that way. I usually do my grocery shopping once a week, occasionally picking up milk as needed.

I have decided though, to give fortnightly shopping a go. Again, I will probably still need to make one extra stop for milk, but I think everything else can be purchased once a fortnight.

Does anyone else shop this way? Can you offer any tips? I am off to plan my menu for the fortnight so I know what I need to buy!

Paying Down My Mortgage

In November of last year, I refinanced my mortgage in order to take advantage of a great deal I could get through the company I work for. At the time of refinancing, my mortgage was $302 000.

Now, five months later, my mortgage is at $278 000. I am most excited about this. I have been working hard to minimize my mortgage as much as I can.

I am travelling to France in September and am still saving up for that. But aside from that, every spare cent has been put onto my mortgage. I still have a $9000 emergency fund, so I am feeling good about where I’m sitting.

I do want to buy another property, hopefully soon. However, I want my current mortgage to be as low as possible before I take the plunge and buy another property. I am constantly racking my brain and researching ways to save money in order to put it onto my mortgage.

I haven’t eaten out very much the past five months. I have barely bought any new clothes and I spend most weekends being a homebody. I get a lot of comments on this choice of lifestyle, as people tell me this is the time in my life I should be enjoying myself. I wholeheartedly agree. Travelling is what I enjoy doing, which is why I am going to France in September. I am not willing to sacrifice that, as that is what is most enjoyable to me. So I still put money away diligently for my travel plans, but choose to put much of the rest on my mortgage as eating out and buying clothes is just not as important to me.

And besides, who cares what people think. I know that I am making good financial choices and that is really all that matters!

I Hath Returned

I apologise to any loyal readers I have for my long hiatus. It wasn't planned, life just seemed to get in the way.

However, I have had a realisation recently that life is always going to happen. Life doesn't stop for anything. If I want to have a blog, I have to make a commitment to it and work on it regularly.

So, my dear readers (if I have any), I am pledging to you now that I am going to be a better blogger! I am committing to three posts a week. I plan to post Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Australian time). Hopefully this will increase my readership and also keep all those faithfuls around!

So if there are any readers out there, I'd love to hear from you. Do you have any suggestions on how I could improve the blog? What will make you want to stick around? Any topic suggestions? This is foremost meant to be a personal finance blog, but I am open to branching into other topics.

First post of the new blog will be tomorrow, be sure to tune in!