Ten quick wins

Here are 10 quick ways to save a few dollars:

1. Turn off everything. Don't leave an appliances on Standby. Turn off the following things at the wall when not in use:
   - Microwave
   - TV, Video, Amp, DVD
   - Digital radio clock in the spare room
   - The bar fridge
   Also turn off lights, ceiling fans, air con units etc when you're not in the room. Do all that and you will see a difference in your electricity bill!
2. Re-use plastic shopping bags to line bins rather than spending money on bin liners.
3. Don't buy bottled water. Use tap water - it's perfectly safe, but if you're still not sure invest in a Brita waters filter bottle.
4. Only use you credit card to buy things you can actually afford. Don't use your credit card like a 'never, never' loan.
5. Always pay your credit card off in full. This goes back to point 4.
6. Get Flybuys. Use it whenever asked. It's free and you will earn rewards over time.
7. Don't go food shopping when you are hungry - you'll end up buying more than you need.
8. Go food shopping when you don't have much time. That way you will not be tempted to browse too much and buy things you don't need.
9. Shop around and use the web - if you are buying any consumer good or services shop around and make sure you have a look on the Web as well. Don't be afraid to play retailers off against each other. Tell them about the best price you've seen down the road and chances are that they will beat it.
10. Be prepared to haggle in shops. If you are buying anything in a shop that is advertising any interest free deals or pay nothing for 2 years etc, you can generally negotiate up to 20% off the marked price if you're paying cash. This is because all the offers are factored into the ticket prices. Retailers are not stupid, they mark up items enough to still give themselves a margin when offering interest free deals. If you don't need the deal - make sure you get your 15% - 20% off the ticket price!

Save money at the movies!

Greater Union Birch Carroll & Coyle run Cinebuzz - a rewards program that could save you heaps on movies.

All you need to do is join (for free) and you start saving straight away.

Every time you use your card to buy a movie ticket you earn point. For every 10 movie tickets you buy you get 1 free - not a bad return, but it gets better.

If you buy on line as a CineBuzz member you can save up to $7.50 per ticket - that's a 48% saving of a full price ticket.

This is how much you could save if you go to the movies just once per month:

• If you go to the movies once per month and buy a full price ticket it will cost you $186 over the year
• As a CineBuzz member it will cost you just $99

That's a saving of $87 per year - that's almost half price!

http://www.greaterunion.com.au/cinebuzz

Latest e-mail scam

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/754660/crooks-set-sights-on-rudds-bonus-payment

Internet crooks are using hoax emails to swindle people out of their slice of Kevin Rudd's $42 billion economic rescue package.

Federal Police are investigating emails purporting to be from Centrelink and the Tax Office which tell people they need to provide their bank account details to receive the government's one-off $900 bonus payment, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The scammers tell recipients they need to fill out an attached form to receive the payments, Federal Human Services Minister Joe Ludwig said.

As well as bank accounts details, people are asked to give their name, address and date of birth.
"Anything that suggests you need to submit an application form to get the household stimulus package one-off bonus payments should set off alarm bells," Senator Ludwig was quoted as saying.

"Centrelink already has the information it needs to process these payments."
The payments will automatically be paid into accounts from March 11.

Anyone who has received the email should delete it and contact Centrelink on 1800 050 004.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/754660/crooks-set-sights-on-rudds-bonus-payment

Shop around for Credit Cards

Over time we all get comfortable with our credit cards thinking that it’s not worth changing providers – well it is.

By shopping around you can pick up some great deals from Credit Card providers desperate for your business.

Incentives include:

• Low introductory interest rates
• Low interest for balance transfers
• Interest free days
• No annual fee for the first year
• No annual fees ever
• Rewards – Points, Cash Back etc.

The first 3 are great for normal credit card users who have a balance left over at the end of each month and who do not pay off their card in full.

No annual fees – benefits everyone.

Now, if you are credit card savvy and pay the entire balance off at the end of each month, firstly – well done! Secondly, consider rewards programs as a way to make something more out of your credit card.

Let’s look at some of the rewards on offer:

• Frequent Flyer points
• Velocity Rewards points
• Fly Buys points
• On-going fuel discount vouchers
• Cash back

There are also other ‘ad hoc’ and ‘one off’ rewards like:

• Entertainment rewards - tickets to a show or the cinema
• Food and beverage rewards - restaurant voucher
• Merchandise - a free stereo or camera

Ultimately it’s the on-going longer term rewards that you really want as over time these will give you the best return.

Make sure you get the card that suits your rewards program and your sending habits. For example if you are already a Frequent Flyer member consider boosting your FF points.

If you always shop at Coles, think about the Cole Source card, which give you Fly Buys and monthly fuel discounts.

If you are a regular Virgin Blue flyer – think about a Credit Card linked to the Velocity program.

BUT….watch out for annual fees and weigh up the overall cost -v- reward.

Shop around and do your homework and you could be richly rewarded.

Check your statements

Again it sounds obvious, but how many of us now have on-line banking and don’t really check bank or credit statements in detail?

There are 2 good reasons for checking your statements – firstly to make sure that there are no mistakes or rogue transactions…..but the second one is where you could really save the money.

With technology the way it is now it is rare for rogue transactions or mistakes to occur -sure they still happen, but it’s not very common.

What is becoming more common and the second reason for checking statements is old Direct Debits and Subscriptions that have not been cancelled.

Check your statement now for:

• Gym membership that you no longer use
• Old magazine subscriptions
• Software license subscriptions
• Monthly charity donations that you forgot about

The list goes on. Fact is, a lot of us will overlook these things as we are used to seeing them on our statements and we do not question it. Check your statement now and make sure you stop and cancel an direct debits that should not be there.

Use your ATM

There has been a lot of talk recently about ATM charges and up coming changes to the fee structures for being ‘Disloyal’ to your bank and using another bank’s ATM or an independent ATM.

The fact is that we have always been charged additional fees for using other banks’ ATMs.

The easy way to avoid paying the fees and avoid all the current drama is to only use your banks ATMs. It could not be simpler!

Now – as always let’s put the savings into real dollar terms……

If you cannot be bothered to walk a bit further and find your bank’s ATM you could end up paying $2.50 per withdrawal – possibly even more if get check your balance first.

If you were to regularly use another banks ATM – say once per week you would end up paying $130 in charges.

Sure occasionally there is no option and you have to go with what is around, but if you make it a habit to always look for your bank’s ATMs you will save heaps!

Slow down and save money

What would you think if I said to you that you could save approximately $1.20 for just 3 minutes of your life?

Well you can. Using a fuel consumption monitor at the weekend I checked the fuel consumption of my car at 110 km per hour and then at 105 km per hour.

The difference was bigger than I expected. By travelling just 5 km per hour slower I would save around 1.8 litres of fuel over a 100km trip. All cars are different, but let's be conservative and say the average difference is 1 litre of 100km.

That's a saving of around $1.20 per 100km! (based on average cost of unleaded)

An the extra time that it would take you to complete your 100km journey if you slowed up by 5 km per hour - a little over 3 minutes!

Is the saving worth it? You decide.

Beware of scams

Within he current economic climate there are a lot of people out there happy to take advantage.

Promises of making Thousands, or even Millions of dollars on the web, free holidays, on-line investment seminars, working part-time.... blah, blah, blah.

Things have moved on since the very simple 'Nigerian Bank Scams' e-mails. More sophisticated methods are now used to suck you in - such as website that appear genuine, banner adverts on reputable websites, paid advertising on google and facebook - it's all designed to make you think you're doing the right thing and that you can get something for nothing. Well guess what - at the end of the day - It's all crap!

Sorry to be so blunt, but if it sounds too good to be true it generally is.

A lot of these things require some sort of up-front financial commitment from you.

Consider this - if it free and easy and you can make millions out of it, why are people selling it on to you? Surely they have already made millions out of the very same idea they are trying to push on you. That being the case why are they so desperate to get our money so they can share the idea...... simple! Because it's a scam!

Simple advise - if you're not sure, say 'no'. If they don't take no for an answer - hang up or block their e-mail address!

You could save heaps!

Half is better than one.......

Leading on from Empty your car, here another thought.

Fuel weighs almost the same as water - in fact it's a little less at approx 0.75kg per litre.

So riding around with a full 60l tank means that you are carrying around 45kg of fuel and obviously needing to use more power, torque and fuel to carry that weight.

Think about only putting in 30l at a time - only half fill your tank. That way you will only be carrying 22.50kg.

Less weight in the car = less power required = less fuel used = money saved.

Something to think about next time you're at the petrol station.

Empty your car - save petrol!!

It may not seem that big a deal, but carrying unnecessary things around in your car will cost you money. It may only be a handful dollars worth of petrol each year, but it all adds up.

So – don’t carry things in your boot that you don’t need. Don’t be lazy – empty your car boot, clear out the back seat – remove everything you don’t need.

By carrying less weight in your car you will save money on petrol, as well as helping reduce the strain on your car engine, tires, suspension etc and you will also be helping to reduce your carbon footprint.

Everyone’s a winner!

Consolidate debt - save on interest payments

Again – we have all heard it all before............consolidate debt! But what does it actually mean and how much could you save.

Well the first thing to work out is what debt you have.

• Home Loan
• Personal Loan
• Store Card
• Credit Card
• Car Loan

Now – let’s think about interest rates on each of those. Generally speaking, a Home Loan will offer the lowest rate of interest – currently you could secure a rate of 5% - 6%. At the opposite end are Store Cards and Credit cards which can charge around 20%.

Personal and Car loans sit somewhere in the middle at around 10%-15%.

So – what next?

Talk to you Accountant and Financial Planner and work out if there is an option for you to consolidate all your debt into your Home Loan. You will need to have sufficient equity in your home and obviously there is a question of affordability, but your advisor will be able to work through those things with you in more detail.

The key to getting consolidation to work is not to fall back into the same trap – so if you are serious about reducing your debt, the first thing to do is cut up the credit cards!

Now lets do a few sums.

Assuming you have:

• 10,000 on a credit card at 20% - interest of $2,000 per year
• Personal Loan of $5000 at 10% - interest of $500 per year
• Car Loan of $20,000 at 9% - interest of $1,800 per year

Consolidate all that into a Home Loan at 6% interest and you’ll pay $2,100 annual interest.

That’s an annual saving of $2,200.

These are very simplistic examples and there are lots of factor to consider when consolidation debt, so make sure you talk to your Accountant and Financial Planner about the best options for you to save heaps on interest!

Top up your Super

With the current state of the financial markets and the world economy, there is a temptation to:

• Stop investing in Super
• Reduce your Super investment
• Change your Super investment options to Cash

This may not be a good idea! Before you do anything with your Super - make sure you speak to a financial advisor. Believe it or not, now may be the best time to invest a little more in your Super either through salary sacrifice or personal contributions.

Here is the "lay person's" view..... The Super funds linked to markets are not performing too well at the moment and most of us have seen our Super funds reduce dramatically over the last 12 months. Well as with all market investments - buy low is the name of the game. Adding a little more into Super now - when the markets are low - may lead to much better returns in years to come as markets recover.

Obviously this is a long-term strategy, but it's worth thinking about and worth discussing with your financial advisor.

Make sure you ask your planner about the advantages associated with Salary Sacrifice or Personal Contributions. If you are a low income earner you may be eligible for Government Co-contributions or by using Salary Sacrifice you could reduce your overall tax liability. Your planner or accountant will be able to advise you on the best options for you.

Buying extra Super units now could be a winning formula when you retire.

Coffee rewards

We've all done it. ....

...said 'No' at our local coffee shop when asked if we had a rewards card. Well it's time to stop saying 'No' and say 'Yes' to free coffee.

Coffee shop rewards are great with probably one of the best returns of any loyalty program. The main thing to remember is that the rewards cards generally never expire, so even if you visit a particular cafe once per month, after 7 visits you will still get a free coffee!

Why wouldn't you join!?!

I personally have 4 different cafe rewards cards in my wallet. The most generous gives me 1 free coffee for every 5 I buy - this means that for every $20 I spend I get $24 worth of coffee.

Cafe rewards really are "something for nothing". So stop saying 'No' to them. Get your cafe reward card today and start saving money on coffee.

We'll assume that you have reduced your coffee intake as suggested in Save up to $1000 on Coffee. Let's say to drink 4 cups per week, and your cafe runs a 'less generous' program giving you 1 free coffee out of 8 purchased. That's 1 free coffee every 2 weeks. That's a saving of over $100 during the year.

Worth carrying a card around for $100 per year isn't it!

Reward yourself with loyalty programs!

How many times have you said 'No' when asked if you have

• Flybuys
• Coffee rewards card
• Frequent shopper card

If you say 'No' at least once a week - it's time you started to say 'Yes'.

As long as you understand how rewards programs work you should benefit from them. Basically rewards programs are design to influence your shopping decision, but if you already shop at places that offer a rewards program - take advantage of it. Almost all rewards programs are free and we will examine how beneficial different programs are in more detail.

Simply put, though - if it's free and you're shopping there anyway - join up and get some rewards!

Keep tuned for more on loyalty programs......

$20 extra to your home loan

We've heard it all before - pay extra off your home loan and you'll pay it off quicker and save heaps of money on interest.

As with a lot of things, we don't really think about it too much until the cold hard facts are presented in dollar terms.

So here we go.....
Assuming $300,00 home loan over 25 years
Repayment frequency - Fortnightly
Interest rate of 6%

By adding as little as $10 per fortnight to your repayments you could save almost $8,300 in interest over the term of the loan.

Let push the boat out and make is $20 per fortnight - that's $10 per week - would you miss $10 per week?

If you pay an extra $20 per fortnight back on your home loan you could say a whopping $16,050 in interest [payments over the term of the loan. And instead of taking 25 years to pay it off you could pay it off in less than 24 years!

Lets convert that to an annual saving - that's another $642!

More fuel

Using fuel saver dockets from supermarkets can also save you heaps.

That additional 4c per litre could save you another $125 per year assuming you use a 4c docket each time you fill up - based on usage of 60 litres per week.

Reduce your fuel costs

The cost of petrol is an ever growing concern. A lot of us drive cars as we do not have an alternative option.

Everyone knows that filling up on a Wednesday is the cheapest, yet we still forget or don't bother. so just how much is this costing you.

Let's put into dollars that are easy to understand.

Generally - Wednesdays are the cheapest day and Friday and Saturday are the most expensive days to buy petrol.

The difference in cost per litre between Wednesday and Friday could be as much as $0.20.

Let's assume you use an average tank per week - that's around 60 litres of petrol per week.

That's $12 per week that you could save - that's $624 per year! It could be more....

Coffee - save up to $1000 per year

Cut out 1 takeaway coffee per day.

If you are a regular takeaway coffee drinker, by cutting out just 1 takeaway per day you could save almost $1000 per year.

On average a takeaway coffee will cost you around $4. That's $20 per week. That's $80 per month. That's almost $1000 per year.

What could you do with an extra $1000?