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What Is The Real Cost Of Coffee, Snacks And Lunch To You?

By on January 15, 2013 in Checklists, Featured, Quick Money Saving Tips

What Is The Real Cost Of A Coffee

Here is a Free Calculator that will instantly show you how much a cup of coffee really costs – over time.

Did you know that a cup of coffee each day can cost you over $93,000?

As we start a New Year we usually do so with a commitment to make some positive changes in our lives and saving more money is often on the list.

You can use the calculator as ‘motivation’ to start saving small, because you will see that a small change can make a massive difference to your future financial security.

In the calculator (spreadsheet) below, we have shown the cost of each small item and expanded it over several time frames. There is the assumption that you will invest this ‘loose’ change instead of buying all the items.

The last column ‘Cost Over Years Projected’ can be adjusted to suit your selected time-frame.

How to operate the Calculator

  • Only Enter information into the GREY sections
  • You can alter each Item, Unit Cost and Units Per Week
  • To adjust the Years Projected, (your time frame) and the Earning Rate (what you might expect to earn if it was invested), you enter the new information at B20 and B21 (also in grey)
  • As you enter the new information the calculator will automatically adjust the totals
  • If you refresh the page in your browser, the calculator will re-set to the default details.

Points To Note

What surprises people is the massive amount of money saved in the later years – This is a result of ‘Compound Interest’. Investing over time acts like a snowball, it starts small but as you keep at it, it accelerates.  You can read more about compound interest at the popular post:

Your savings results can be greater than what is shown here – To buy these items you need to use after tax money. If you invested the money required to buy the items before being fully taxed, say in a retirement plan, the savings benefit would be greater.

The effect of inflation has not been taken into account.

These earlier Posts will also help you:

photo credit: Espresso Hobbyist via photopin cc

 

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How Does Your Financial Institution Rate?

By on October 12, 2012 in Checklists, Professional Posts

The 2012 Mozo People’s Choice Awards Infographic

The Big Four Australian Banks – ANZ, NAB, CBA and Westpac all struggle against their smaller counterparts – Time for a change?

The Mozo People’s Choice Awards are Australia’s most comprehensive customer-voted finance awards. Over 12 months a massive 25,000 votes were cast by Australia’s money-loving public. We crunched the numbers and tallied up the scores to give voice to the people’s choice!

 

Mozo People's choice awards infographic 2012

Made by Mozo. Designed by Shaun Leung - mozo.com.au

This is a professional post – If you would like to see your blog posts published at humble savers, please review our Professional Posts page – Thank you.

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Investment Words That Should Scare You

By on September 6, 2012 in Checklists, Five Ways To Invest, Quick Money Saving Tips

Investment Words that should scare YOUInvesting has always been a tricky affair for most people and it hasn’t been helped by the creative marketing and ‘sales’ tactics of many  financial institution’s and their advisers.

If you start coming across these words, it’s time to be worried. You’ll need to do more research and this includes checking the fine print.

1.    It’s different this time

When these words are uttered, you know what’s coming up. A series of charts and numbers designed to butter you up so you hand over your cash. 

The investment world is always changing and nobody knows what’s coming up next. Focus on finding quality investments and not the ‘timing’.

2.   Make money when the markets are going up or down 

Now, wouldn’t that be great! You’ll see this advertised by many of the currency foreign exchange trading websites who make it sound all so simple. Just login in, read our helpful tutorials and start making money. 

A quote from an email just received:

‘Watch these videos and see how some traders make money from anywhere, anytime, around the world’

If it was only that easy. Trading of this nature means betting against another trader. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you always pay fees. Also, the losses can be much higher than you first thought – read the fine print several times.

3.    Now’s a good time to invest in property

Okay, this is not new but it is more prominent that ever after several years of the property market being in the doldrums. Property boomed as banks gave away money to anyone and everyone and this of course led to the global financial crisis. Banks are now more conservative with their lending and so should you be when looking to buy a home.

When buying a property, focus on what you can afford, make allowances and safeguards for when things go wrong (and they will). And if the property goes up in value, see that as a bonus.

4.    It’s free of charge

Authorities have been cracking down on investment advertisements using the words  ’free of charge’. As we all know, there is no such thing as a free lunch, everyone needs to make some money.

A common ‘free of charge’ service is a free financial plan. A financial plan should take a long time to create and they need to be completed by qualified (well paid) professionals. If the financial plan is free there is a strong chance that the recommended investments will carry large fees – year in and year out and eating away at your investments.

Good personal financial advice should cost so seek advice from a reputable financial planner.

5.    It’s Guaranteed

With investment markets so unpredictable, investment product manufacturers have been busy trying to build products that can be shown as a safe and secure investment. To issue a guarantee against investments that traditionally fluctuate, for example, shares, the cost of that guarantee will be high and you will pay for it.

The other issue with guarantees linked to fluctuating investments is that they are complicated. Read the fine print very carefully and you’ll probably find that you need to jump through a few hoops, be locked in for a long period of time and be restricted with your investments to get that illusive guarantee.

 

As we often say here at humble savers, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’. Be careful out there – seek good advice, do your own research and if you don’t understand it, don’t invest in it.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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More Ways to Save on Electricty

By on July 3, 2012 in Checklists, Quick Money Saving Tips

Following on from a previous post – How To Save On Electricity – Quick Money Saving Tips Here is a selection of more tips from the web

 

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Frequent Flyers Credit Card Checklist

By on March 22, 2012 in Checklists, Credit Cards, Debt

Compare Credit Cards for Frequent Flyer Miles Rewards

A Frequent Flyer’s Credit Card Checklist – Guest Post, David Boyd of Credit Card Compare

Choosing a frequent flyer credit card does not have to be difficult when you know what to look for in a card and what to avoid. Consumers who want to get the most for their money and accumulate frequent flyer miles (points) quickly should use the following checklist when applying for a frequent flyer credit card.

Bonuses and Frequent Flyer Mileage Rate

When choosing a frequent flyer card it is important to choose a card that is going to give you bonuses and the largest number of frequent flyer miles each year. To select the best card, flyers must review the overall package and fine print very carefully. Cards that offer bonus mileage are definitely worth considering, but should not be the only thing that motivates a frequently flyer to apply for the card.

No matter how many bonus points frequent flyers receive, consumers should always take the time to find out how many miles they will accumulate for each dollar they spend. By choosing a card that offers the most frequent flyer miles, consumers will be on their way to accumulating as many frequent flyer miles as quickly as possible.

Interest Rates

Before applying for a frequent flyer credit card, applicants must find a card that offers the lowest interest rate. Some credit card companies offer 0% interest rates and others offer very low interest rates. When considering which card to apply for, consumers should determine if there is an introductory period and how long the introductory period will last. Consumers should also determine what the interest rate will be after the introductory period is over. By choosing a card that offers the lowest interest rates, consumers will make sure they will save money each month.

To get the most out of a frequent flyer credit card, frequent flyers should choose a card that offers the lowest interest rate. This is especially true for flyers who do not maintain a zero balance on their card each month. Even though higher interest rates do not have an impact on how many frequent flyer miles consumers earn, consumers still want to keep how much they pay in interest to a minimum.

Frequently Flyer Credit Card Annual Fees

In addition to interest rates, another important item that frequent flyers should consider when choosing a frequent flyer credit card are the annual fees. Over the years, annual fees will add up so consumers may want to search for a frequent flyer credit card that offers no annual fees or low annual fees.

How Frequent Flyer Miles  Can be Used

Another factor to take into consideration when choosing a frequent flyer credit card is how and when the frequent flyer miles can be used. Many frequently flyer credit cards allow flyers to use their points on one specific airline and other companies allow flyers to pick and choose the airline.

When Frequent Flyer Miles Can be Redeemed

Different companies offer different terms when it comes to how quickly frequent flyer miles can be redeemed. Consumers should check how often they can use their miles and how hard it is to book a flight when redeeming frequent flyer miles. In addition, consumers also want to check to see if the company offers a points plus pay benefit option, which allows travellers to use a portion of their miles towards the purchase price of a ticket.

Expiration Dates and Blackout Dates

In addition, frequent flyers should also check when their frequent flyer miles will expire. By choosing a card that offers a no expiration option, consumers will not have to worry about losing miles or having to redeem their miles by a specific date. By taking the time to check the frequent flyer miles expiration term, consumers will have more flexibility when it comes to planning trips.

In addition to expiration dates, consumers should also find out if the airline has any blackout dates. Sometimes airlines put restrictions on when frequent flyers can travel, so it is always important to ask about blackout dates when applying for a frequently flyer credit card.

By using this frequently flyer credit card checklist before deciding which card to apply for, consumers can save a tremendous amount of money and accumulate frequent flyer miles quickly.

David is a Qantas Frequent Flyer member who has written about his ideal frequent flyer card, as well as how to earn and redeem points, for The Credit Letter blog.

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