Tag Archives: budget

Divorce And Your Finances – 5 Steps To Get Back On Track

By on October 22, 2012 in Debt, Divorce, Five Ways to Save, Professional Posts, Quick Money Saving Tips

Divorce And Your FinancesDivorce is not only emotionally traumatic but financially it can leave you starting all over again. There are some key issues I’d like to share that we address when working clients.

If you have been through a divorce here are five steps steps you can take to get your finances back on track:

1.    Reassess your financial goals

This may take some time but sit down and think about what is important to you. Write them down, they may change but at least get them down on paper.

2.    Budget – Know what your expenses are

When you are back to one income budgeting becomes more important, you need to know exactly what money is coming in and what is going out. Look to see what savings you can make. It is a great idea to keep a ‘spending’ diary that you can analyse each week.

3.    Your property

Decide what type of property is right for you now – unit, house, townhouse. Maybe you should rent until you decide what suits you best given the high entry and exit costs. How much can you borrow and how does that affect your other goals e.g. retirement.

4.    Your Superannuation (Retirement Planning)

Review your super contributions and make sure you understand what it is likely to be worth once you can access it. If you only have a small super balance or have just lost part of your balance in a settlement you may need to increase your contributions.

5.   Protect what you have

Protect your income – if you get sick or injured and can’t work, how will you pay the mortgage and other living expenses. Income protection insurance is critical.

If you can’t do this on your own – seek some help. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be back on track financially.

Written by Dave Rae

More about Dave Rae –  I am a financial planner and adviser based in Canberra but working with clients all over Australia. Over the past 15 years I’ve gained a wealth of experience across investing, personal insurance, superannuation and most importantly guiding clients on their financial journey. Contact Dave Rae

 

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.

General Advice Warning

The Information on this page has not taken into account your financial situation, needs or objectives. Before acting upon any advice, you should consider whether it is appropriate for you.

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Cut Down on Car Expenses: Five Guaranteed Ways to Save

By on September 24, 2012 in Professional Posts, Quick Money Saving Tips

This is a sponsored post

Everyone is searching for ways to cut expenses during these trying economic times. One major expense for many people is their car. Though most people are not able to completely forgo the auto for other means of transportation, you can significantly cut down on car expenses with these five guaranteed ways to save.

 

1    Try car pooling to save money

Though car pooling is not available to everyone, many people can car pool to save the cost of fuel and reduce wear and tear on their car. If your children attend the same school as the neighborhood children, discuss a possible car pool with the other neighborhood parents. If the children belong to after school clubs or stay late for activities, pair up with other parents in the neighborhood and alternate drop-offs and pickups.

Car pooling to work is a bit trickier. However, you can be creative and find solutions to save gas. For example, if you live far away from the workplace, find a co-worker who lives about 1/2 way to the workplace. Arrange to drive to the co-worker’s home and ride the rest of the way into work with them. Offer to cover part of the cost of gas. As fuel prices continue to rise, every little bit of savings helps.

2    Arrange to work from home one or more days per week

Although not everyone is able to perform their job duties from home, many office workers can do it. As the workforce becomes more mobile, offices are more likely to offer VPN or other form of secured access to those who must connect to the office from a remote location.

If you are able to remotely access your office network from home, half the battle is won. Next, you simply need to remember to bring everything you need for the day home with you the night before your work-from-home day.

3    Have your car regularly tuned up and keep your tires inflated

If you simply must drive your car most days, you can take steps to increase your gas mileage by making sure your car is tuned up and the tires are inflated to their proper level. Check your car’s owners manual for the proper inflation level for your make and model. For example, Ford Falcon tires will likely require a different level of inflation pressure than a Chevy Volt. Making sure your tires are properly inflated will have a positive impact on your gas mileage. A tuned engine will also increase your gas mileage. If you have no choice but to drive your car, take steps to get the most out of your fuel.

4    Hold onto your car instead of upgrading every few years

Take care of your car and hold onto the car to save money on car payments and insurance. If you can hold onto your car for 15 years, studies show that you can save more than $20,000 in car payments and other auto-related expenses. If you purchase a new car, the car drastically depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot. Though many people favor the idea of getting a new car every three to five years, you will save a considerable amount of money by keeping your older car.

5    Raise your insurance deductible (excess)

One way to experience near immediate savings on the cost of having a car is to increase your insurance deductible (excess amount). Many insurance policies automatically set the deductible for their customers at $500. Raise your deductible to $1000 to save a considerable amount on your insurance premiums. However, keep in mind that your deductible is the amount of money that you will be responsible for covering should you ever need to file an insurance claim. Make sure that you can afford to pay the first $1000 if your car is totaled or stolen. If you can afford the cost, increase your deductible and save money on the cost of driving your car.

Every bit of savings helps during these trying economic times. These tips are just a few ways you can cut car expenses. However, if you brainstorm, you will likely find several more ways to save on car and fuel expenses.

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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Five Ways To Save Money – In Retirement

By on April 10, 2012 in Five Ways to Save, Retirement

How to save money in retirement

Entering retirement should be exciting as it gives you the opportunity to enjoy the extra free time after a long working career.  However, for many Australian retirees, irrespective of their financial situation, there will be some financial stress and anxiety when entering the retirement years.

You have received your last pay cheque and now you have to ensure that your available and limited funds will go the distance. Much of what happens in retirement will be out of your control but you can plan and control most of your spending.

These five tips are designed to lessen the burden on your spending while still allowing you to have a great time during your retirement.

And remember, ‘A penny saved, is a penny earned’ still applies today just as it did all those years ago when uttered by Benjamin Franklin.

1.    Claim what you are entitled to receive

The social security system can be complex but that shouldn’t put you off from discovering what you are entitled to receive. Make an appointment with your local social security (Centrelink) office and make sure you claim for what is available given your individual circumstances.

Entitlements are also available from a range of state governments and semi government organisations. Ensure you review what entitlements and discounts are available to you from your local council, transport and utility providers such as gas and electric.  These entitlements all add up to large saving of money in the long run.

2.    Protect what you have

It is more vital than ever to protect what assets you already have. With no income coming in replacing an asset such as your home and contents be would extraordinarily difficult and may well financially ruin your retirement.

Make sure you have your insurance for the house as well as your car, caravan and boat.  Being retired you can often receive a discount for insurance so you need to shop around to get the best deal and save your money!

3.    Don’t get scammed

Retirees have always been a prime target for every scammer in town. These days the scammers can catch you out very easily without even talking to you, by using the power of the internet. Some simple tips include:

  • If an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Leave it alone
  • Regularly change your passwords on your PC
  • Only make payments over the internet to people and companies you know and never give out your bank account details upon a request from an email
  • Be very wary of door to door sales people. Always ask for proof of identification and never sign for anything.  Research any offer and particularly the company making the offer before committing pen to paper.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) have complied a comprehensive list of tips to protect yourself against scammers. Here is the link – ASIC Scam Watch

4.    Join local clubs

Local clubs can be a great environment for sharing money saving ideas. As you get to know the members, you will soon discover that they too have searched for ways to save a little more to stretch the retirement dollar.

By sharing ideas, tips and tactics in no time at all you’ll soon find out a host of local money saving opportunities ranging from; the best place to have a haircut, discounts on transport, the best time to go shopping for the specials and much more.

5.    Find a good Financial Planner (Financial Adviser)

While friends and family can help with a range of savings tips and ideas, a professional financial planner can give you specific advice. The rules governing Australian superannuation, tax and government entitlements are all intertwined, complex and forever changing.

A good financial planner will sift through the rules and point you in the right direction. The financial planner will also help you plan the biggest financial decisions that will arise during retirement such as:

  • To downsize the house or not
  • Securing your investments
  • Planning a budget
  • Setting up an emergency fund
  • Estate planning

To help you find the right financial planner, please review our past and very popular article:

And lastly don’t forget to enjoy yourself, you deserve it after your significant time in the workforce paying your taxes!

Most people spend less in retirement than what they did when they were working. By socialising and getting some great advice you’ll soon find some effective ways to enjoy retirement without putting pressure on your finances.

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Budgeting – How It Can Make It Easier To Pay Off Debt

By on January 2, 2012 in Quick Money Saving Tips

Budgeting out of debtGuest Post from Myrina Stein who is a regular writer for various finance related communities including Oak View Law Group. She is well equipped to write articles on debt relief, debt consolidation , debt settlement, bankruptcy and other credit issues.

Incurring debt is easy but getting out of debt is not. Many individuals are falling into difficulty with their debt for various reasons, such as regularly overspending, huge unexpected medical bills, credit cards out of control, wage reduction and losing a job. But whatever the reason is for falling into debt it is essential to come out of it as soon as possible.  There are several ways to achieve debt relief, one being budgeting. Appropriate budgeting can give your life a fresh start and can make it easier for you to come out of the debt.

So let us have a close look at some important tips and tactics of budgeting.

The initial step of budgeting is to keep a track on your income and expenses. Make a list of all the sources of your income and expenses, no matter how small (or large) it is. Categorise your expenses, like house rent, food, clothing, entertainment and of course, the cost of debt.

Now equate your expenses against your income to find out your net cash-flow position. Your goal should be to get this into a positive situation, that is, your income is greater than your expenses after allocating funds to bring down the debt.

Where to make some savings to improve your cash-flow? Start with the luxurious expenses, like cable TV, eating out, magazines and non-work related travels. Reducing the luxuries will always be the best place to start for you to make some real savings with the least impact on your lifestyle.

Prioritize your expenses and make monthly payments accordingly. Top priorities on any expenses list are food and shelter. Shelter includes your rent, mortgage payment, or real estate taxes. Next in line are essential utilities like heat, electricity, and water services.

Where to make more savings? Consider buying used items rather than brand new ones. If you buy one year used car rather than a brand new one, you will get 95% of its value for about 75% (or less) of its price.  Similarly used books are a fraction of what a new book costs but you still get a good read.

Now, revist your expenses after allocating for your new approach to spending and you should be able to start saving a considerable amount of money. Now, it’s time to start paying off the debt.

For paying off your debt a great option to consider is the Debt Snowball method. The Debt Snowball method is a debt reduction strategy whereby you start paying off your smaller debts first while paying minimum on the larger balances. Once the smallest balance is paid off, proceed to the next slightly larger balance of debt and so on.  

This snowball method will not only help you paying off the debt but will also boost your moral.

Proper budgeting will enable you to pay off  your essential bills on time and save some money, with which you can pay off your debt.

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Five Ways To Save Money – In Your First Job

By on December 11, 2011 in Five Ways to Save

How to save money in your first job - humble saversStarting your first job is a big step for all young people as you are now ‘making money’. Everyone remembers their first day and their first payslip, but how to you take good care of your new found wealth?

The Five Core Tips

  1. Start saving 
  2. Avoid getting into debt for purchases that fall in value 
  3. Challenge yourself – Set some ambitious saving and investment goals 
  4. Education – Don’t stop learning 
  5. Protect your most important asset

Now, let’s investigate each one in some more detail.

1.    Start saving

Kind of obvious but you’ll be surprised how many don’t start saving because spending seems a whole lot more fun.  Best way to start saving is ‘Save First, Spend Later’. Effectively, make sure you deposit a part of your pay into a savings account before you get a chance to spend it. If you remember nothing else, this tip will get you off to a great start.

2.    Avoid getting into debt for purchases that fall in value

Taking out loans for material things like cars, gadgets and the latest fashions is a sure way of digging a financial hole for yourself.  A car will lose money from the day you buy it, adding the cost of interest repayments to the purchase just makes it worse. Same goes for fashions and gadgets and what makes these even worse than cars, is they are often bough on credit cards with interest rates up around 20%.

The best option is to save for your purchases.  This way you’ll have time to consider your purchase and it won’t come with a ridiculous interest rate charge.

3.    Challenge yourself – Set ambitious saving and investment goals

Set some ambitious yet realistic saving targets and have a real go in achieving them. Three key steps for financial goals

  • Start with the end goal in mind –  You need and end goal but also have a few smaller goals (milestones) to celebrate along the way. The Savings Goal Calculator is the first place to start.
  • Know where you are today – Understand what you expenses are, work out what expenses you can cut out, and the expenses can be reduced
  • Start a plan of action – Starting is the difficult step; the easiest way to overcome this difficulty is just start! The plan will include reviewing your progress, finding new ways to save and progressing your opportunities to earn and make more money.

4.    Education – Don’t stop learning

Become a savvy saver and investor.  Take a very active interest in the finance news, become a creature of research when you decide to invest. Learn from others who have been successful and not successful (learn about the financial traps so you don’t get caught). And don’t be afraid to seek professional personal advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser.

5.    Protect your most important asset

Most people will look to protect their bigger purchases such as a car and house and this is good practice, but many people forget protecting the means of affording the purchases in the first place. This is of course your ability to earn an income. This ability to work and generate an income is your biggest asset. Protect yourself through a good insurance plan will give you peace of mind and secondly, it is usually easier to obtain insurance when you are young.

 

You could also like – Five Ways To Save Money – The Golden Rules and If you are feeling ambitious, also see Five Ways To Save Money – To Be A Millionaire

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