Saving money
Simplified ways to do so
So what?
ICYMI: Whether you’re saving money on big-ticket items or avoiding small everyday purchases, any money you spend adds up. Making incremental changes and taking quick steps to cut your costs on small and big life outgoings will have the following outcomes:
- Be prepared for job loss, disability, injury, a sick child, a car breakdown and other emergencies;
- Go on adventures, take holidays and spend time with your loved ones;
- Give you peace of mind and lead to a stress-less life; and
- Plans for and achieve short and long term goals.
This series of blog posts provides you with short and sharp ways to cut costs on a range of life outgoings that we regularly spend our hard-earned money on.
Mobile plans
There are two simple ways that you can save on mobile plans which are as follows:
- Choosing the right plan: Whether you are with the big telcos (i.e. Telstra, Vodafone or Optus) or resellers (i.e. ALDI, Kogan, Belong), being on the right plan for your average monthly usage will save you hundreds of dollars annually. The key is to have a look at your average monthly usage and choose a plan that is just above to utilise the inclusions whilst avoiding overages.
- Signing up to discount telcos: If you don’t mind not being with the big telcos and not having the perks that they offer, discount telcos are a great way to save heaps of money. These telcos are service providers, mobile virtual network operators, resellers and dealers. I won’t bore you with the technical details of what each of them are. Think ALDI, Kogan, Belong, Boost Mobile and Catch Connect. There are literally dozens of mobile phone providers that you can choose from. Use websites like WhistleOut and Canstar Blue to find and compare plans.
Physical wellness
Do you have a gym membership or a monthly pass to a yoga studio or pilates classes? Unless you have a strong desire to take classes with a bunch of sweaty strangers or can’t motivate yourself to work out without spending a ridiculous amount of money, consider subscribing to popular YouTube channels or paying for apps for tailored, workout plans. You could end up saving hundreds over a given year.
My experience
When the big telcos used to provide subsidised phone plans, we would sign up to two year plans with them and get a new phone. Ever since they stopped offering them, we’ve been using discount telcos. My wife has had good experience with Belong which uses the Telstra network and pay $15 a month. I tend to swap between Amaysim and Kogan as coverage matters less for me since I work from home more.
Whilst I still have my membership at Anytime Fitness, I’m an everyday gym goer so I can justify the cost (I think).
What now?
- As this is our last post on saving money on life outgoings unless I think of more practical examples, have a look at all four of the posts and see where you can take quick actions to save money.
- An afternoon here and there will end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year at least.