2023 Financial health overhaul
It's a new year and for a lot of people this means renewing their insurance or paying your annual fees on services. That is why its always in January of a new year that I do a full financial overhaul. This means going over your bank statements and working out every single transaction and how much things are costing you.
Get the best deal on your insurance
Before letting your insurance auto renew go online and use a comparison service to see if there is a better deal. I have found that often, by cancelling then signing up again the next day I save about $100 a year of a single insurance premium. Why? Because a lot of companies offer deals to make people sign on with them but they are only introductory so at the end of your 12months you go back to the standard plan. Sounds weird right, wouldn't they reward you for staying with them. Not at all! I have never found a company that has lowered my plan for renewing with them. They will also not tell you if there is a cheaper plan available because they want you to pay them more. So always always hunt around for a better deal before renewing.
I recommend: Compare the market, if you are in Australia. They don't have every company but it makes it easier to compare several deals at one time.
Check for hidden subscriptions
I realised that I had recurring subscriptions for several things that I hadn't even realised I was using. I had both an icloud and onedrive subscription coming out monthly and didn't realise I had a onedrive. I also had two xbox subscriptions for different services I wasn't using as well as an Audible one that auto rolled over after a free trial. These add up! Why would you pay for things you don't use? They rely on people forgetting to cancel after free trials. If you call them and say this they will refund you the amount but you have to be firm with them as they will try and get you to stay.
Microsoft store was the sneakiest one. When I went to my account subscription page it only showed one subscription and that was for icloud at $4.95 a month. But when I opened view previous orders I could see that I actually had 4 active subscriptions! I immediately cancelled two and will re assess the other after the school holidays. By cancelling those and Audible I have already saved nearly $30 a month.
I had a number of subscriptions to watch on demand services also, Netflix, prime, binge, stan and Disney+. really though I only got them to watch one show, it isn't worth paying every month. So if you want to watch something, wait until the whole season is out, pay for a month, then cancel it. I am now down to just Netflix saving $40 a month.
How much are you actually spending?
I budget for all of my variable bills like petrol, parking and food. How much I actually spend in a month however is vastly different. Take the time to go through your monthly statement (I use scroll through the app on my phone) and calculate how much you spend on each thing. The number will shock you. All of those little trips to the shops to pick up one thing or a trip out to grab lunch really ads up.
I budget $80 a fortnight for fuel. Depending on where I drive I may have to fill up twice in that time. Depending on fuel prices again that number can change. I know that I can usually fill up my car for $60-$70 and this will last me the fortnight. If I go out of state or drive around visiting people though this can mean I need to fill up again.
Likewise I budget $200 a fortnight for food. This includes the grocery shop and takeaway. I usually try to stick to under $150 for groceries, this allows for one takeout for both of us, or a few lunches for me at work or my son at school. I make a rule that we can only eat out once in the fortnight for health and cost reasons but little treats are ok. Last month (keeping in mind it was Christmas which meant more eating out with friends and a big family lunch) I spent over $1,200 in a month! That's nearly 3x my budget. This was done with several small costs of $8 lunch here, a $12 cafe there or $35 for a quick top up at the supermarket. But they all add up.
Working out where your money is going is the first step in plugging that leak.
- How much of that money was spent on actual meals?
- How much was eating out, how much was avoidable?
- Planning ahead for the days you just don't feel like cooking or cant decide what's for lunch can save money in the long run.
- For example at work I stock my desk with cans of soup and instant noodles. Not the healthiest but they are only $2 or so and mean that I don't need to pay for lunch at the shops which averages $15.
- Having a stash of frozen pizza or meals in the freezer means you can just grab and go when you can't decide what to eat.
- Or if you are eating out with friends, drink water, it's free and drinks cost on average $5-$8 at a cafe.
- Think about how much you actually want to eat, don't get a big pasta dish if you only really wanted a some chips.
- If you are ordering takeaway again think about how much you can eat. I grew up with one pizza per person. We never ate more than a few slices each. Find a flavour you all like and order one. Does anyone actually want garlic bread?
- Choose cheaper options when eating out. Subway charges $9 for a 6in. Or a small fried rice with meat at an Asian place will be around $14.
On a final note
The home delivery trap
Delivery apps always charge more even if you go to the store to collect. Ordering directly with the store saves them and you money.
My local Chinese charges $20 for a laksa on menulog with a delivery min of $30 I end out ordering a rice $9, and a meat dish as well $24, which comes too $57 with delivery when all I wanted was the laksa. Had I ordered over the phone that same laksa would be $18.
Again Wok in a box ordering in the app only allows to order a full meal for $20 (even though they claim you can order just the noodles). If I went to the store I could have just gotten the noodles for $12.50.
Ultimately learning to cook these recipes at home will save the most money. Nothing wrong with eating at home before going out, or whipping up a batch of steamed or fried rice to accompany your dish rather than paying for it.
