Nearly 9,000 women signed up for the Febusave 2010 campaign, for example: 2,307 pledged to give up buying lunch 1,118 pledged to give up treats 162 pledged to give up taxis These might not seem like much; but little changes like this can make a real difference to your finances. My pledge was to stop using the car to drive to work every day. The … Continue reading #febusave update – nearly 9,000 women signed up
For the month of February I decided to give up driving to work and bank the savings. It’s been surprisingly easy to catch the train each day, even if it does mean I need to plan ahead a bit more. The savings have been a real eye-opener, especially when one of my friends mentioned how much that adds up to over a full year. Putting … Continue reading Progress report on my #febusave pledge
As part of the ANZ Bank’s Febusave campaign I’ve been following up on my pledge to catch public transport as much as possible during February, especially for the commute to the office. I’m finding the daily train trip gives me a few unexpected benefits in addition to saving money: more time to work on projects rather than concentrating on driving in the crazy Sydney traffic … Continue reading Savings plan progressing nicely for #febusave
We do not often share stories about our personal finances (except perhaps to boast of some great success?) but here are some hard won lessons I have learned. My parents were not great savers, subsisting from pay to pay in the way that many workers do. Thus I did not learn much about saving as a child. By the time I was 21 both parents … Continue reading Savings and managing credit – a hard lesson to learn #febusave
This fine institution – shanks’ pony – has been a vital part of human transport for generations. It is an old-fashioned term that means travelling by foot. I’ve been experimenting with this novel concept all week. Walking between appointments in the city during the business day (rather than catching a taxi). Some benefits of walking like this include: getting some exercise it’s cheap (in fact … Continue reading Shanks’ Pony (a.k.a. taking a walk)
Dr. Saul Griffith shares on Pop Tech! how we can reduce our lifetime energy usage. One key idea is making things last longer. He also shows Wattzon.com, a free online tool anyone can use to gain a deep understanding of their total energy footprint – and how to reduce their role in climate change. @ Yahoo! Video [HT: @maverickwoman for the link] Continue reading How you can reduce your lifetime energy footprint
One thing I realised recently is that my tendency to procrastinate can be useful tool in deferring expenditure. There were several days after Christmas when I meant to go to the shops and buy some things but never got around to it. And then, on thinking about it realised I did not need those things at all. So procrastination can be a good thing to … Continue reading Is Procrastination a Useful Tool in Frugalism?
Thinking about things in my financial life that can be simplified or reduced: credit cards bank accounts superannuation fund accounts shopping insurance Off to work out an action plan to simplify each of these – the goal is to make them simpler, cheaper and/or better value for money. Continue reading List of things to simplify – finance
I’ve never really bothered to plan my shopping & have traditionally just bought whatever appealed to me on the day. But that is all about to change. I’m going to be planning my shopping from now on – checking labels and looking for good value. Any frugal shopping tips are most welcome. Continue reading Shopping plans
This week my goal is to take public transport to the city on at least 3 business days. Just been checking out the NSW government 131500 website to plan my trips. Now I just need to find a carbon reduction tracker so I can work out progress due to not using the car so much. Continue reading Time for some public transport
Aide Mémoire 