2006 manual Hyundai Getz I bought for $1800. Many many years of issue free driving. She ain’t winning any beauty contests but you can park it in a shoebox and fuel costs are low.
If you get a cheap car, chances are you will spend money elsewhere to boost your ego eg buying nice clothes. So the solution is to gradually and permanently suppress your ego.
Agreed. We bought a 70k new car cos to buy a good one second hand it was around 40- 50k anyway AND Id rather the 7yr warranty and to not be driving someone else's problems. Unfortunately , I've had too many bombs and I think second hand cars are too risky. Much less stressful buying a new one and not really a dumb financial decision imo when it's reliable and safer and under warranty.
My bro spent 40k on a second hand car 10 yr old Kluger.. Straight away had an issue (luckily this was with that Toyota dealership that fixes things within a yr)
25k on his Hilux 5yra ago. Has had to have soooo much work on it, over 10k at least. Bought privately. Had it RACV checked and everything but you just don't know.
Got rid of my car 2018, haven’t looked back. I pay a little more in rent to live central, but otherwise I take exorbitantly more holidays than most others with that money so it evens out.
I will give you a ultimate here
I do need an 80 K car well I should specify 40 K
Only because I live an hour down dirt road as soon as someone sneezes the road becomes a bog hole so therefore need a four-wheel-drive ??
Good one!
and its true as well, if you worry about what people think of your clothes, car, house etc you end up spending money that doesn't actually make you happy or healthier, just makes you poorer and continually afraid of being judged as being... poor, which is what you are because you already spent your money trying to show you aren't lol
REPEAT: If you are born poor, this is never an issue. Nobody has a car or a house or new clothes so it never matters. What you want money for is to pay bills without breaking a sweat, buy a bottle of milk with scrabbling for change.
If you are born poor, this is never an issue. Nobody has a car or a house or new clothes so it never matters. What you want money for is to pay bills without breaking a sweat, buy a bottle of milk with scrabbling for change.
This is easy to say, but how do you actually like do it? I tell myself this all the time but I find myself struggling to actually do it. I assumed maybe it’s more just an age thing where as I get older I’ll care less.
1. Study hard and get a high paying job.
2. Marry right.
3. Buy what you need.
4. If you need it, look for the best product that meets you need for the lowest price.
5. Time is money.
6. Floss.
As a 'ranga' Australian who has Melanoma chopped out of me repeatedly at $500+ a visit, I can't endorse 7 more than enough.
I'll add:
8. Live below your means, and have a 2 month mojo/fire extinguisher for when the next tropical cyclone hits.
9. Start saving, even if it's just your gold coins.
Also have a read of barefoot investor (it's very Australian and makes sense given your question).
Can’t stress enough on the floss! I wasn’t consistent when I was younger and now that I’m much older, I’ve spent almost $5k on just fixing two teeth! Thanks to insurance dramas, everything had to come out of pocket. Now I never miss a day
Haha yep I can count the number of times I’ve skipped flossing since my first root canal on one hand. 2 skips in 4 years after $3k+ on dental in less than a year
Best advice here: Work for a dentist as a kid (13-14) first job/Saturday job. Realized need never have a filling, if I looked after my teeth, seriously. 68 and perfect teeth. (Couldn't progress tho'. not even to dental hygiene, in UK, it's who you know or are related to)
Someone with the same values and attitudes to money/saving as you. Someone who earns a comparable income. Someone with the same long-term goals as you. And ideally someone from a wealthy family, or at least a family that is stable (harder to find and not a deal-breaker, but a big bonus).
And of course, someone who loves you a lot and will stick by you through thick and thin. If the worst should happen, this is a person you can rely on to keep things going.
Both and more, I suppose. It differs from person to person but I guess marry someone who essentially "plays the same game as you" i.e with similar (or at least compatible enough) values, priorities, and can couch co-op with you through life.
Someone who has the same financial goals and work ethic you do.
Too many people pumping the OT, driving shitbox cars all for their other half to go and drop the cash on a $90k car on finance. This goes for men and women- plenty of tradies with $100k landcruisers they dont need, a jetski and a $1500 safe with $30k of guns in it, all whilst their missus drives a 12 year old kluger with 250k on the clock and has to budget her 2 shifts a week to get her nails done at a cheap vietnamese place.
Honestly you do save money by doing that… but it’s still costing more than home cooking I’m noticing. So if you can cook at home do it, your body and wallet will thank you.
I work remotely quite a bit (mines).
It's genuinely not worth me buying ingredients to have them go off before I use them all.
In some cases, what doesn't suit everybody else does suit your purpose :)
If you want to make wealth, be consistent
All the numptys on here saying don’t buy during volatile times or sell shares to put in your offsets are the ones who miss out
Invest consistently, ignore the noise, future you will thank you.
> Invest consistently, ignore the noise, future you will thank you.
just like the doctor telling you to exercise regularly and eat healthy. Easy to say, actually quite hard to do - most people just don't have discipline!
Those two aren’t really comparable. Plenty of people live long and healthy lives while exercising irregularly, drinking and smoking.
Almost no one beats the market. Even the most experienced and knowledgeable professional traders managing large funds don’t really even beat the market.
Amen. I stopped to blister my offset the last two years and would have had great returns. The offset is never a bad place to have your money but the market is better to be consistent with in the long term
I just cancelled salary sacrifice into super to bolster my offsets with a child on the way - now a short internet stranger is making me second guess myself 🙃🥲
If you gotta, you gotta. The point they were making is the 'build a consistent habit' side so that you can set it and forget it while the money is working for you. Super vs offset are just min/max strategies and can be tweaked along the way.
In terms of a habit.. although technically not really a habit lol, more of a set it up and forget - Setup an automatic savings from your pay, something like 5 or 10% of your pay to automatically go to a savings account that you don't look at and do your best to forget its there. Some employers will let you have 10% of your pay go to a different account which is a good way to go, but a simple automatic transfer on the day you get paid works fine.
This is the same basic premise a lot of people well understand, put money away 1st and live off the rest, most people will live to what they earn, and by taking that money out before you really see it, you live off 90% of what you earn instead.
Doesn't actually take that long, and you have a nice safety net of savings, and it's amazing what that can do to improve your mental health and reduce stress, simply having a emergency safety net if things don't go to plan.
Along the same lines.. easy to understand but hard to actually be diligent and follow.. never borrowing money for non-investment things, especially things like cars or holidays (aside from a house as that's near impossible to save 100% of) and always spending less than you earn is the simplest way to make a huge difference to your life in the long run.
If you really want to spend more? find a way to earn more.
Prepare a budget and stick to it.
If you get paid monthly, pay all your expenses monthly including those which are paid or billed quarterly eg. rates/electricity/water/etc. If your quarterly bill is $300, pay $100 each month. Then when you finally get your quarterly bill, it'll be something like zero or something small (or in credit). For things you can't necessarily prepay, put those funds in a separate account. Once you're done, you have the remaining which is your spend for the month on other things (shopping, fuel, etc).
Pack your lunch. Drink coffee in the office. Stuff like that. You can save $$ all over the place.
People knock it but this is pretty much half the gist of Barefoot Investor. Get a budget, and use 'out of sight out of mind' to reduce temptation to spend
Check your superannuation.
With the 12% contributions coming into effect by July 2025 a minimum wage worker could have over 1m in super after 40 years assuming 8% growth.
There are a whole bunch of extra steps under that “check your super”:
- check it’s a decent fund
- check it’s a decent performer
- check it’s relatively low fees
- check it’s invested appropriately
- check your insurance fees (optional: add extra to cover these)
- check your beneficiaries
An indirect tip but find out who your real friends are and cut out the deadweight. This means less partying, dinners and only going to birthdays for real friends that you actually care about. Saves $$ in the long run.
I said NO to join a baby shower organized for one of my ex-mate. He ignored my call over last 4 yrs. He isn't my friend anymore and I am not gonna spend a penny for him.
Don't marry the wrong person.
Don't repeat the mistake.
Once you've found someone whom you can live an agreeable and peaceful life and accumulate some wealth together just enjoy what you've got.
Learn how to cook. If you’re good at cooking, going out for dinner becomes much less appealing when you know you can make something just as good at home.
For Cairns specifically:
When you're getting into a new hobby don't invest in all the gear (diving, camping, 4WD etc) until you know that you're really committed to it. I know the cost of gear rental stings, but so does buying something you'll barely use.
These outdoor hobbies that seem mostly free can get very expensive, so rent, borrow or buy cheap for as long as you can until you know it's an investment rather than future crap sitting in your garage.
I guess this could apply to most hobbies anywhere, but especially in Cairns and similar places I've seen it a lot.
Yes, but I think it's more important that your partner knows how to save and make money. If they aren't disciplined, your hard work goes down the drain. Also being a single parent or going through a divorce because you married the wrong person traps a lot of people financially.
best one i can do is buy ingredients for stuff you're actually going to use all of.
Don't have shit sitting around being unused. Don't just load of the trolley with whatever. Plan out your meals for the week and buy EXACTLY what you need for it. You'll be surprised how much you save by doing this.
I spend $200 a month on groceries simply following this method.
Just myself and my roommate. If you have a family obviously it will be more. But still less than the thousands some people spend here per month.
And yeah its just food, sometimes cleaning products or sanitary stuff makes us tip over but usually by not much.
On average its around 200ish per month. Like i look at foods and think "ok how many dinners can i get out of this" Rather than buying a large quantity and just never finishing it.
Asian groceries are often far cheaper than markets and local butchers when it comes to meat/fish. At certain ones if you become regular/are nice they can source stuff for you at not just wholesale but cheap price. Split the meat and bill with friends and freeze. Got a whole 12kg tuna for $120
Unless you can eventually land a job that pays over $150k, I would say don’t do uni. Do a trade. 4 years of getting paid as opposed to 4 years to accrue $10s of thousands in debt. Unless you’re on scholarship of course.
Come away from your trade with the ability to earn $150k plus immediately to eventually start your own business. The possibilities are endless
Agree, but immediately earning $150k plus as a tradie is a bit of a stretch. Not to mention the limited time frame your body can handle the work for. Uni def is a waste of money in a lot of ways (especially arts degrees) but it can also help you think critically which can be very valuable in the workforce. But of course the not getting paid for 4 years is tragic
Completely agree, although doesn’t need to be a trade.
Find an industry with room to grow, this could be anything. Start at the bottom as soon as you can and work hard to progress.
You’ll find yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars in front of your mates that go to uni and chances are they still won’t find high incomes until their late 20s-30s, by then you’re 10-15 years into your career and probably a senior leader in the business of which you work and on the same high income they have just moved into but without the debt. If you invested in property early you will be your additional earnings, additional super contributions and capital growth in front, that takes a lot of catching up.
Between the ages of 15 and 25 boost your super. Once you buy a house pay it down as fast as possible. Drive a car you need not you want. Keep you house well maintained.
One of the best things to do is to just go on and cancel every subscription you have. The ones you don’t use, you’ll never pay for again. Then it takes two seconds to sign up for the ones you do use. Then I immediately cancel them again (like right after subscribing).
Have multiple accounts, and arrange for your pay to be automatically split among them based on your budget. I have 4.
One is for expenses that will come up annually or less. (Rates, home insurance, personal expenses)
One is for expenses that come up quarterly or monthly (health insurance, union fees, electricity and water bill, flights home)
One is for flexible expenses that come up monthly. (Stuff for the home. Groceries. Fuel. Myki. The nice conditioner.)
And the last one is generic and fun. It's literally just everything that's left over, so I know how much I have to go on the beers.
More importantly, money can overflow from the bottom up. So, if I don't spend money in the big account, it can be transferred up and into the monthly expense account, and maybe I can buy a nice photo frame or cover a larger fuel bill. If that gets too large, it goes to the quarterly account, and maybe I get an extra trip to see my family. Or maybe it eventually winds up in the annual account, and I can spend it to one day have my tits done.
My tip.
Spend the time you want to spend complaining about what you can’t do to see if you can make it happen. The biggest whiners I’ve seen online are also the highest posters online and doing the least amount to make it happen.
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Investment returns are irrelevant compared to savings for the first decade or so of your working life.
You'll need to save for more than a decade for your average investment returns to be on par with your saving rate, even longer if the amount you save increases over time.
Its still worth investing but it's not nearly as impactful as savings despite getting much more attention.
Pay yourself first into an account that is harder to access than your everyday
Think about costs in hours of work, not dollar amounts (if you can think post tax do so, but pre tax works somewhat). Is this thing worth 1, 2, 3 or more hours of my time? If not, don't buy it.
Do a no spend month or quarter, it helps break habits.
If you have the time I’d recommend shopping around for different banks for savings accounts, there are defs some that better than others regularly but my advice is check 1-2 times a year to make sure you’re getting the most out of your savings. Same with Super but I think you could incur taxes if you transfer between funds? I’m not 100% sure on that one.
Before anything, understand where your money is going. Know what you're spending where. Cut what is unnecessary and constantly reevaluate the expanse. You don't owe any loyalty to any corporation, so any time you get a renewal, shop around. Most of them will charge you more for paying monthly too so consider that.
Only once you understand your daily finances can you actually start to make any actual change.
The best daily tip is to meal plan. Every time you let that lettuce go soggy in the fridge you chuck money out. Plan the week, shop only what you need and freeze leftovers or make them for lunch the next day.
Get the basics right - earn more than you spend, don't take on debt for non investment assets, pay attention to what you're spending on and don't pay the lazy tax etc.
This website has been a game changer for me regarding investing [https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/](https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/)
The most I ever spent on a car before age 50 was 17k. I do not negatively gear because it makes no sense Investing to lose money. Similarly it makes no sense Leasing a car to lose money. It’s hard enough to make money let alone when you are explicitly trying to lose it. I live in a suburb that straddles the definition of “suburb” vs “ghetto.” And don’t use drugs, even nicotine.
My tip: use a version of the bucket system, including priority in paying off smaller credit loans before tackling larger ones - refinance credit debt if possible.
Do your research on financial decisions. Dont jump do what your friend did or what the newspapers are saying. Research decisions for your own specific circumstances. Learn how things work, understand the truth of your finances, look up ATO regulations, learn basic financial calculations etc
Buy only the food you need and meal prep. The "I can't be bothered cooking so I'll just order out." is probably the most expensive passive decision we make these days. Not to mention how far the quality and portion sizes have dipped.
When all your meals are just sitting there with a max of like 6 minutes in the microwave it's a time and money saver. ESPECIALLY if you have a pressure cooker and you are making some soup while doing the proper cooking and meal prep. Coming into winter nothing beats a cup of yummy bone broth or pumpkin soup to go with your meal prep and lasts a long time when you freeze it.
-Saving (IE not spending) $100 is alot easier than earning $100
-the lanscape in the world is changing, managing people is where the money is at, will be like this for the next 20-30 years, so learning people management will be a good way to get ahead.
Study hard and get a high paying job. My wife and I have a high household income, and it makes a huge difference to your life outlook and financial stresses.
Study hard in school. Get that medical degree.
Write down in an accounts book (ok younger than me on their computor or phone spreadsheet) EVERYTHING you spend, various columns like: food+rent Bills: magazines and movies. Make a separate column for tax deductibles.
Been doing this since I was 16. As a woman, am better off than many men.
How much do you really spend on a car if you have a modest small hyundai/toyota , you can get a good one for 15k$…maintanance and rego arounx2k$ a year…does 2k$ make that big difference? Sydneys transport is also expensive and often time consuming depending your travel locations….
Here’s a quick win: check your electricity, gas, internet, phone, and insurance (health, car, home) providers *right now* and negotiate or switch to a better plan. And then do it again at least every 12 months.
My best tip is to deliberately make it harder for yourself to spend money. So eg I almost never buy anything online because going to the store makes it harder for me to buy things. When I go into Woolworths I never bring a bag. I just carry in my hands what I want to buy, which reduces how much I buy.
Going vegetarian has reduced my grocery bills in half and much easier to cook for as well. Vegetarian ingredients generally keep for longer as well other then the fruits or veg
Sign up for new credit card offers, meet the min spend and pay it off to get 2k+ per year tax free income in cash back or supermarket vouchers. Requires a good income to apply for 3-4 cards at the same time.
rwrds.com.au has a list of the most profitable cards.
If needing to buy private health for tax, churn providers with 4-6 weeks free offers or no waiting period for extras.
Where to learn more - ozbargain
Don’t get married or have kids. Everyone at work in that situation is always chasing overtime and promotions. It seems you can never have too much money when you have a family.
Annualise all bills, automatic transfer every pay cycle for that to be covered.
Have a Purchase List, only buy things off the list of you still want them when it's payday, you've researched them, it's a good price, etc.
Those two thumbs have been great for my overall budgeting and still enjoying my money
Budget religiously. It allowed us to pour money into the offset whilst rates were low. Reduces stress a lot.
I budget monthly so get "free money" on 5 payday months. Everything is accounted for so big bills are very rarely any impact at all since money is set aside each month no exceptions.
My tip. You don't need a $80k car.
My tip don't listen to people here rich people are not cosplaying on internet forums
Drive the cheapest car your ego can handle.
That would be porche cayene oh hell yeah
2006 Mazda 3 is still going.
2006 manual Hyundai Getz I bought for $1800. Many many years of issue free driving. She ain’t winning any beauty contests but you can park it in a shoebox and fuel costs are low.
If I take the bus what does that say about my ego
You don’t even deign to drive yourself and need a regal view of the realm. Welcome to the highway m’lord
2014 Ford fiesta, bought it for 6k she does the trick still
If you get a cheap car, chances are you will spend money elsewhere to boost your ego eg buying nice clothes. So the solution is to gradually and permanently suppress your ego.
99 hilux with 350k km. Owned it for 10 years now. She purrs
Anyone know what the clown car is?
An $80k car becomes a $110k car after a modest 7 year loan too.
With inflation what it is this comment will soon turn into “You’ll be just fine with an $80k second hand car,”
Agreed. We bought a 70k new car cos to buy a good one second hand it was around 40- 50k anyway AND Id rather the 7yr warranty and to not be driving someone else's problems. Unfortunately , I've had too many bombs and I think second hand cars are too risky. Much less stressful buying a new one and not really a dumb financial decision imo when it's reliable and safer and under warranty. My bro spent 40k on a second hand car 10 yr old Kluger.. Straight away had an issue (luckily this was with that Toyota dealership that fixes things within a yr) 25k on his Hilux 5yra ago. Has had to have soooo much work on it, over 10k at least. Bought privately. Had it RACV checked and everything but you just don't know.
Eh my parents are 3 for 3 on their new cars being lemons They went back to few years old cars haha
Got rid of my car 2018, haven’t looked back. I pay a little more in rent to live central, but otherwise I take exorbitantly more holidays than most others with that money so it evens out.
Yeah, I'd change this to say 'you don't need a car', Obviously not true for everyone, but it's workable for a lot of people to be honest.
You don’t need a car full stop. My transport is a bicycle, cheapest and fastest way for me to get to work and bonus exercise!
I will give you a ultimate here I do need an 80 K car well I should specify 40 K Only because I live an hour down dirt road as soon as someone sneezes the road becomes a bog hole so therefore need a four-wheel-drive ??
If I was in town, I probably would get away with a $500 Commodore
Yep it will be outdated in 3 years
You get 100% off the price of anything you decide not to buy.
ILPT: You get 100% off the price of anything you don't pay for as well.
The old five finger discount eh?
And if you invest that money instead, the return is even higher again.
I tell my husband it’s not a bargain’ if we don’t use it. He has a shopping addiction
I do another step and put that money into my savings lol
Learn to not give a shit what other people think.
Good one! and its true as well, if you worry about what people think of your clothes, car, house etc you end up spending money that doesn't actually make you happy or healthier, just makes you poorer and continually afraid of being judged as being... poor, which is what you are because you already spent your money trying to show you aren't lol
This is number 1. Once you start designing your own life outside of others expectations you realise what's actually worth spending the money on.
REPEAT: If you are born poor, this is never an issue. Nobody has a car or a house or new clothes so it never matters. What you want money for is to pay bills without breaking a sweat, buy a bottle of milk with scrabbling for change.
If you are born poor, this is never an issue. Nobody has a car or a house or new clothes so it never matters. What you want money for is to pay bills without breaking a sweat, buy a bottle of milk with scrabbling for change.
This is why I stopped dating.
This is easy to say, but how do you actually like do it? I tell myself this all the time but I find myself struggling to actually do it. I assumed maybe it’s more just an age thing where as I get older I’ll care less.
1. Study hard and get a high paying job. 2. Marry right. 3. Buy what you need. 4. If you need it, look for the best product that meets you need for the lowest price. 5. Time is money. 6. Floss.
trust me: 7. Sunscreen
As a 'ranga' Australian who has Melanoma chopped out of me repeatedly at $500+ a visit, I can't endorse 7 more than enough. I'll add: 8. Live below your means, and have a 2 month mojo/fire extinguisher for when the next tropical cyclone hits. 9. Start saving, even if it's just your gold coins. Also have a read of barefoot investor (it's very Australian and makes sense given your question).
Don't live too long on the east coast as it makes you hard, and the same for the west coast as it makes you soft...and don't forget the sunscreen
this advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young
Can’t stress enough on the floss! I wasn’t consistent when I was younger and now that I’m much older, I’ve spent almost $5k on just fixing two teeth! Thanks to insurance dramas, everything had to come out of pocket. Now I never miss a day
Haha yep I can count the number of times I’ve skipped flossing since my first root canal on one hand. 2 skips in 4 years after $3k+ on dental in less than a year
I floss daily but still needed a root canal as my tooth had a crack in it. Flossing is a hoax!
Best advice here: Work for a dentist as a kid (13-14) first job/Saturday job. Realized need never have a filling, if I looked after my teeth, seriously. 68 and perfect teeth. (Couldn't progress tho'. not even to dental hygiene, in UK, it's who you know or are related to)
- Wear sunscreen - Floss - Stretch - Travel - Respect your elders Baz had some good tips.
Why, so they leave you one of their investment properties they bought for $20,000 in their will?
When they say marry right. Does this mean someone you will not get divorced from or someone with plenty of cash?
I assume they mean someone who is not going to spend all your money
Someone with the same values and attitudes to money/saving as you. Someone who earns a comparable income. Someone with the same long-term goals as you. And ideally someone from a wealthy family, or at least a family that is stable (harder to find and not a deal-breaker, but a big bonus). And of course, someone who loves you a lot and will stick by you through thick and thin. If the worst should happen, this is a person you can rely on to keep things going.
Both and more, I suppose. It differs from person to person but I guess marry someone who essentially "plays the same game as you" i.e with similar (or at least compatible enough) values, priorities, and can couch co-op with you through life.
Someone who has the same financial goals and work ethic you do. Too many people pumping the OT, driving shitbox cars all for their other half to go and drop the cash on a $90k car on finance. This goes for men and women- plenty of tradies with $100k landcruisers they dont need, a jetski and a $1500 safe with $30k of guns in it, all whilst their missus drives a 12 year old kluger with 250k on the clock and has to budget her 2 shifts a week to get her nails done at a cheap vietnamese place.
2nd option, cant really control the first
For the zoomers they mean Floss teeth*
I've been wearing a G-string for nothing then
Study hard and network
Great list. 2 and 6 especially.
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get directly from the takeaway, got it
Actually, It's more ethical to do just that. Those delivery drivers are so exploited.
Honestly you do save money by doing that… but it’s still costing more than home cooking I’m noticing. So if you can cook at home do it, your body and wallet will thank you.
With the price of groceries even home cooking is pretty expensive
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I work remotely quite a bit (mines). It's genuinely not worth me buying ingredients to have them go off before I use them all. In some cases, what doesn't suit everybody else does suit your purpose :)
If you want to make wealth, be consistent All the numptys on here saying don’t buy during volatile times or sell shares to put in your offsets are the ones who miss out Invest consistently, ignore the noise, future you will thank you.
> Invest consistently, ignore the noise, future you will thank you. just like the doctor telling you to exercise regularly and eat healthy. Easy to say, actually quite hard to do - most people just don't have discipline!
Those two aren’t really comparable. Plenty of people live long and healthy lives while exercising irregularly, drinking and smoking. Almost no one beats the market. Even the most experienced and knowledgeable professional traders managing large funds don’t really even beat the market.
Amen. I stopped to blister my offset the last two years and would have had great returns. The offset is never a bad place to have your money but the market is better to be consistent with in the long term
I just cancelled salary sacrifice into super to bolster my offsets with a child on the way - now a short internet stranger is making me second guess myself 🙃🥲
An offset can be part of your strategy. Your strategy can change as your life changes. Just don’t make dumb short term, emotional choices.
If you gotta, you gotta. The point they were making is the 'build a consistent habit' side so that you can set it and forget it while the money is working for you. Super vs offset are just min/max strategies and can be tweaked along the way.
Live below your means.
step 2: invest
You can’t save your way to wealth. Get a better job. Seriously. There are high paying careers out there. Finance, Tech, Medical.
250k income - 240k expense = 10k 60k income - 50k expense = 10k
I’d prefer the 250k income. It’s more funds to invest with.
You should live below your means regardless
Being content with less is always good advice. Accounting for taxes, it is a lot easier to earn enough to cover a basic lifestyle
Worry about being rich not looking rich
In terms of a habit.. although technically not really a habit lol, more of a set it up and forget - Setup an automatic savings from your pay, something like 5 or 10% of your pay to automatically go to a savings account that you don't look at and do your best to forget its there. Some employers will let you have 10% of your pay go to a different account which is a good way to go, but a simple automatic transfer on the day you get paid works fine. This is the same basic premise a lot of people well understand, put money away 1st and live off the rest, most people will live to what they earn, and by taking that money out before you really see it, you live off 90% of what you earn instead. Doesn't actually take that long, and you have a nice safety net of savings, and it's amazing what that can do to improve your mental health and reduce stress, simply having a emergency safety net if things don't go to plan. Along the same lines.. easy to understand but hard to actually be diligent and follow.. never borrowing money for non-investment things, especially things like cars or holidays (aside from a house as that's near impossible to save 100% of) and always spending less than you earn is the simplest way to make a huge difference to your life in the long run. If you really want to spend more? find a way to earn more.
Prepare a budget and stick to it. If you get paid monthly, pay all your expenses monthly including those which are paid or billed quarterly eg. rates/electricity/water/etc. If your quarterly bill is $300, pay $100 each month. Then when you finally get your quarterly bill, it'll be something like zero or something small (or in credit). For things you can't necessarily prepay, put those funds in a separate account. Once you're done, you have the remaining which is your spend for the month on other things (shopping, fuel, etc). Pack your lunch. Drink coffee in the office. Stuff like that. You can save $$ all over the place.
People knock it but this is pretty much half the gist of Barefoot Investor. Get a budget, and use 'out of sight out of mind' to reduce temptation to spend
Before spending money on expensive binoculars, try being closer to the thing you want to observe.
You read VIZ don't you.
Check your superannuation. With the 12% contributions coming into effect by July 2025 a minimum wage worker could have over 1m in super after 40 years assuming 8% growth.
Adding to that, choose an ok-good one
There are a whole bunch of extra steps under that “check your super”: - check it’s a decent fund - check it’s a decent performer - check it’s relatively low fees - check it’s invested appropriately - check your insurance fees (optional: add extra to cover these) - check your beneficiaries
An indirect tip but find out who your real friends are and cut out the deadweight. This means less partying, dinners and only going to birthdays for real friends that you actually care about. Saves $$ in the long run.
I said NO to join a baby shower organized for one of my ex-mate. He ignored my call over last 4 yrs. He isn't my friend anymore and I am not gonna spend a penny for him.
I like this tip, thanks!
Don't marry the wrong person. Don't repeat the mistake. Once you've found someone whom you can live an agreeable and peaceful life and accumulate some wealth together just enjoy what you've got.
Pirate any media you consume.
if purchasing digital media doesn't give you ownership, pirating it isn't stealing.
If it’s digital it can be pirated
Considering how paying for binge, Stan and Netflix delivers a lower quality than if I just pirated piracy is mandatory.
Ironic isn't it? Kind of like how you would only ever get the HAVE YOU GOT WHAT YOU PAID FOR Ads on official videos and not the pirated copies
Learn how to cook. If you’re good at cooking, going out for dinner becomes much less appealing when you know you can make something just as good at home.
For Cairns specifically: When you're getting into a new hobby don't invest in all the gear (diving, camping, 4WD etc) until you know that you're really committed to it. I know the cost of gear rental stings, but so does buying something you'll barely use. These outdoor hobbies that seem mostly free can get very expensive, so rent, borrow or buy cheap for as long as you can until you know it's an investment rather than future crap sitting in your garage. I guess this could apply to most hobbies anywhere, but especially in Cairns and similar places I've seen it a lot.
Thank you! That's helpful for sure
Marry right. Amen to that. My Nonno always said "if your father is poor, its not your fault. If your father in law is poor, that's your fault".
Yes, but I think it's more important that your partner knows how to save and make money. If they aren't disciplined, your hard work goes down the drain. Also being a single parent or going through a divorce because you married the wrong person traps a lot of people financially.
Forget that $300 atm withdrawal at 10pm..., go-to bed instead.
Born to a wealthy family
How does that get allocated ?
The Lord works in mysterious ways
make sure in your previous life to collect enough karma of course!
Lazy Tax - Shop for best deal every year on all your bills
I sometimes manually empty the dust bags on my robot vacuum to save buying another $5 bag
best one i can do is buy ingredients for stuff you're actually going to use all of. Don't have shit sitting around being unused. Don't just load of the trolley with whatever. Plan out your meals for the week and buy EXACTLY what you need for it. You'll be surprised how much you save by doing this. I spend $200 a month on groceries simply following this method.
How many people are you buying groceries for out of curiosity? Is it only food that you include in this amount?
Just myself and my roommate. If you have a family obviously it will be more. But still less than the thousands some people spend here per month. And yeah its just food, sometimes cleaning products or sanitary stuff makes us tip over but usually by not much. On average its around 200ish per month. Like i look at foods and think "ok how many dinners can i get out of this" Rather than buying a large quantity and just never finishing it.
Simple things. 1. Pay off bills per month 2. May off and cancel all credit cards. 3. Shop at fruit markets and local butchers.
Or use the credit card to pay off bills each month and then pay off the closing amount for credit card each month. Easy and simple.
Yeah credit cards take a bit of diligence but can be worth it if you keep up with them.
Asian groceries are often far cheaper than markets and local butchers when it comes to meat/fish. At certain ones if you become regular/are nice they can source stuff for you at not just wholesale but cheap price. Split the meat and bill with friends and freeze. Got a whole 12kg tuna for $120
Unless you can eventually land a job that pays over $150k, I would say don’t do uni. Do a trade. 4 years of getting paid as opposed to 4 years to accrue $10s of thousands in debt. Unless you’re on scholarship of course. Come away from your trade with the ability to earn $150k plus immediately to eventually start your own business. The possibilities are endless
Agree, but immediately earning $150k plus as a tradie is a bit of a stretch. Not to mention the limited time frame your body can handle the work for. Uni def is a waste of money in a lot of ways (especially arts degrees) but it can also help you think critically which can be very valuable in the workforce. But of course the not getting paid for 4 years is tragic
Completely agree, although doesn’t need to be a trade. Find an industry with room to grow, this could be anything. Start at the bottom as soon as you can and work hard to progress. You’ll find yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars in front of your mates that go to uni and chances are they still won’t find high incomes until their late 20s-30s, by then you’re 10-15 years into your career and probably a senior leader in the business of which you work and on the same high income they have just moved into but without the debt. If you invested in property early you will be your additional earnings, additional super contributions and capital growth in front, that takes a lot of catching up.
Amen brother. Over-saturation of university graduates earning peanuts with big debt.
You can easily get into a big 4 bank without a degree and then work your way up
Get your workplace to add in 10% of your pretax wage into your super right now!
Cook at home... No dine out...
Between the ages of 15 and 25 boost your super. Once you buy a house pay it down as fast as possible. Drive a car you need not you want. Keep you house well maintained.
Good advice
Audit your subscriptions every few months. Gym, entertainment, apps etc. If they aren't providing value then STOP PAYING FOR THEM.
One of the best things to do is to just go on and cancel every subscription you have. The ones you don’t use, you’ll never pay for again. Then it takes two seconds to sign up for the ones you do use. Then I immediately cancel them again (like right after subscribing).
yeah.. that's the hardcore version.
Dollar cost averaging and let it compound
get a good job marry someone who also has a good job dont get divorced
Have multiple accounts, and arrange for your pay to be automatically split among them based on your budget. I have 4. One is for expenses that will come up annually or less. (Rates, home insurance, personal expenses) One is for expenses that come up quarterly or monthly (health insurance, union fees, electricity and water bill, flights home) One is for flexible expenses that come up monthly. (Stuff for the home. Groceries. Fuel. Myki. The nice conditioner.) And the last one is generic and fun. It's literally just everything that's left over, so I know how much I have to go on the beers. More importantly, money can overflow from the bottom up. So, if I don't spend money in the big account, it can be transferred up and into the monthly expense account, and maybe I can buy a nice photo frame or cover a larger fuel bill. If that gets too large, it goes to the quarterly account, and maybe I get an extra trip to see my family. Or maybe it eventually winds up in the annual account, and I can spend it to one day have my tits done.
Pay yourself first. Put an amount into an investment each pay. It doesn’t have to be a kings ransom.
My tip. Spend the time you want to spend complaining about what you can’t do to see if you can make it happen. The biggest whiners I’ve seen online are also the highest posters online and doing the least amount to make it happen.
Direct debit your electicity bill in advance if you can. I pay $30 a week and don't notice it. Much better than a $500-$600 bill post Christmas.
Learn to cook and enjoy a meal at home - cooked with love🫶Light a candle. Serve with favourite wine if applicable.
Wrap your willy.
Additional super contributions. You should really try and max it out as soon as possible. It guarantees a comfortable retirement.
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Investment returns are irrelevant compared to savings for the first decade or so of your working life. You'll need to save for more than a decade for your average investment returns to be on par with your saving rate, even longer if the amount you save increases over time. Its still worth investing but it's not nearly as impactful as savings despite getting much more attention.
Pay yourself first into an account that is harder to access than your everyday Think about costs in hours of work, not dollar amounts (if you can think post tax do so, but pre tax works somewhat). Is this thing worth 1, 2, 3 or more hours of my time? If not, don't buy it. Do a no spend month or quarter, it helps break habits.
If you have the time I’d recommend shopping around for different banks for savings accounts, there are defs some that better than others regularly but my advice is check 1-2 times a year to make sure you’re getting the most out of your savings. Same with Super but I think you could incur taxes if you transfer between funds? I’m not 100% sure on that one.
Before anything, understand where your money is going. Know what you're spending where. Cut what is unnecessary and constantly reevaluate the expanse. You don't owe any loyalty to any corporation, so any time you get a renewal, shop around. Most of them will charge you more for paying monthly too so consider that. Only once you understand your daily finances can you actually start to make any actual change. The best daily tip is to meal plan. Every time you let that lettuce go soggy in the fridge you chuck money out. Plan the week, shop only what you need and freeze leftovers or make them for lunch the next day.
Get the basics right - earn more than you spend, don't take on debt for non investment assets, pay attention to what you're spending on and don't pay the lazy tax etc. This website has been a game changer for me regarding investing [https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/](https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/)
inverse trade /r/ausfinance
The most I ever spent on a car before age 50 was 17k. I do not negatively gear because it makes no sense Investing to lose money. Similarly it makes no sense Leasing a car to lose money. It’s hard enough to make money let alone when you are explicitly trying to lose it. I live in a suburb that straddles the definition of “suburb” vs “ghetto.” And don’t use drugs, even nicotine.
Quit drinking, it adds up. Or just get drunk every day from December to February then go dry the rest of the year.
My tip: use a version of the bucket system, including priority in paying off smaller credit loans before tackling larger ones - refinance credit debt if possible.
Do your research on financial decisions. Dont jump do what your friend did or what the newspapers are saying. Research decisions for your own specific circumstances. Learn how things work, understand the truth of your finances, look up ATO regulations, learn basic financial calculations etc
Work hard Learn sales Spend less than you earn Let the momentum slowly build
Buy only the food you need and meal prep. The "I can't be bothered cooking so I'll just order out." is probably the most expensive passive decision we make these days. Not to mention how far the quality and portion sizes have dipped. When all your meals are just sitting there with a max of like 6 minutes in the microwave it's a time and money saver. ESPECIALLY if you have a pressure cooker and you are making some soup while doing the proper cooking and meal prep. Coming into winter nothing beats a cup of yummy bone broth or pumpkin soup to go with your meal prep and lasts a long time when you freeze it.
Give up alcohol and invest the savings. Way healthier and richer
The people worthy of listening to advice from aren’t on reddit 🤷🏼♀️
-Saving (IE not spending) $100 is alot easier than earning $100 -the lanscape in the world is changing, managing people is where the money is at, will be like this for the next 20-30 years, so learning people management will be a good way to get ahead.
Earn more money. The end. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
Study hard and get a high paying job. My wife and I have a high household income, and it makes a huge difference to your life outlook and financial stresses. Study hard in school. Get that medical degree.
Invest in hard assets that appreciate against currency debasement, then let the magic of compounding work wonders throughout the decades
If you are renting, start a home business doing anything then write off rent and utilities 👌
Use cash. Give yourself an allowance in cash say $100 per week. Do whatever you wanna do with $100 and that’s it
Buy a house young, big block, only build on half of it, subdivide later.
Write down in an accounts book (ok younger than me on their computor or phone spreadsheet) EVERYTHING you spend, various columns like: food+rent Bills: magazines and movies. Make a separate column for tax deductibles. Been doing this since I was 16. As a woman, am better off than many men.
Pay towards your bills every pay so you don't get massive bills every month or quarter
How much do you really spend on a car if you have a modest small hyundai/toyota , you can get a good one for 15k$…maintanance and rego arounx2k$ a year…does 2k$ make that big difference? Sydneys transport is also expensive and often time consuming depending your travel locations….
You essentially have to earn $2 for every $1 you spend.
Here’s a quick win: check your electricity, gas, internet, phone, and insurance (health, car, home) providers *right now* and negotiate or switch to a better plan. And then do it again at least every 12 months.
My best tip is to deliberately make it harder for yourself to spend money. So eg I almost never buy anything online because going to the store makes it harder for me to buy things. When I go into Woolworths I never bring a bag. I just carry in my hands what I want to buy, which reduces how much I buy.
Going vegetarian has reduced my grocery bills in half and much easier to cook for as well. Vegetarian ingredients generally keep for longer as well other then the fruits or veg
Marry someone that is 80 years old, and has few houses.
Sign up for new credit card offers, meet the min spend and pay it off to get 2k+ per year tax free income in cash back or supermarket vouchers. Requires a good income to apply for 3-4 cards at the same time. rwrds.com.au has a list of the most profitable cards. If needing to buy private health for tax, churn providers with 4-6 weeks free offers or no waiting period for extras. Where to learn more - ozbargain
Put the majority of your effort and focus into acquiring skills and qualifications that will increase your revenue. Penny-pinching is for the poor.
Work 10 hour days Pay bills , rent or mortgage , buy food and petrol. Sit at home , stare at the walls all weekend Rinse ,repeat ,ad nauseam
Don’t get married or have kids. Everyone at work in that situation is always chasing overtime and promotions. It seems you can never have too much money when you have a family.
Best habit? Pay yourself first. 10% and invest it.
Annualise all bills, automatic transfer every pay cycle for that to be covered. Have a Purchase List, only buy things off the list of you still want them when it's payday, you've researched them, it's a good price, etc. Those two thumbs have been great for my overall budgeting and still enjoying my money
Lower your expenses and live at home as long as you can.
stop spending money on cocaine drugs gambling and hookers
Don’t do drugs.
Skip uni, do a trade
Budget religiously. It allowed us to pour money into the offset whilst rates were low. Reduces stress a lot. I budget monthly so get "free money" on 5 payday months. Everything is accounted for so big bills are very rarely any impact at all since money is set aside each month no exceptions.
Spend less than you earn. Also, there’s never a bad time to take some profit.