frugal living

I’m always willing to try “home brand” products and many offer a true saving for a product equal to brand names. You do however have to be selective and be aware of certain pros and cons. Here is an example:
I recently bought “home brand” liquid soap. We go through a lot of liquid soap with young children in the house there is a lot of handwashing to be done. After it was all used up I bought a brand name soap to compare. I found I can use about a quarter of a squirt of the brand name, as opposed to 1 – 2 squirts of the “home brand”. Therefore, I’ll keep buying the brand name soap.
Another example is toilet paper. I buy middle to high range quality paper as the cheap paper disintegrates on contact with moisture, therefore you have to use about 3 times as much.
There are some “home brand” products I’ve used for a long time that are just as good as others, such as flour.
So, try all products but be aware that “cheap” products won’t always save you money.

I’ve never owned a credit card. The only time I would like to use one is to simplify online purchases, but there are ways around that. I do not know anyone who does not have at least one credit card, and I do not know anyone who does not have credit card debt. Here is a very simple way to save money. Cut up your credit card/s.
Interest rates for mortgage loans may be falling to an all time low, but credit interest rates don’t change. How do you think the banks make all their money?
If you don’t want to give up the luxury/ headache of a credit card, focus on paying it off. Make more than the minimum repayments. Once you have paid it off ensure that it stays paid off.
Perhaps I sound a bit harsh in this post, but I really think it is up to the individual to be responsible with money. Part of that is not spending more than you earn and not spending money you don’t have (credit). Think about how much more that purchase is going to cost by the time you pay it off on your card. Is it worth it? Could you wait a bit longer and save the money, hence paying no interest?
I know that if I did get a credit card I would be constantly tempted to use it – its a temptation I don’t need.

WANTS and NEEDS are 2 very separate things, but in an affluent society we often become confused. If you are going to take your family finances seriously you will need to decide which category the majority of your purchases fall under and start to prioritise.
Here is an example:
It is 45 degrees celsius here today (again). We have looked at all of our air conditioning options and decided the cost is too great for us at this point. I hate the heat, it is awful. However, I get through the hot days using strategies, as do the rest of my family. None of us have health conditions that will be adversely affected by the heat, and none of us are yet elderly. Air conditioning is a WANT not a NEED. Millions of people in the world get along just fine without it, so can we.
When you have done your spending analysis it is very obvious what you have to do. If you’re overspending, cut back on or eliminate the WANTS. Once all of the NEEDS are payed for, then you can see what is leftover for the WANTS.
This also helps to simplify your life and organise your home. Consider every purchase carefully so that you don’t end up with useless clutter or things that are hardly used.

The first thing I did to begin getting our finances in order was to purchase a small, lined exercise book. Over a period of 6 months I would write down every cent we spent, every day. Its not as hard as it sounds, once you have been doing it for a couple of weeks its just part of the routine.
At the end of each week write down the total. Then at the end of 4 weeks you can see what you spent over the month. I would also do separate totals for regular expenditure eg. bills, groceries, to note fluctuations.
Writing down every expense has a couple of benefits.
1. You find out exactly where all your money goes. If you need to make changes to save money, it is all there for you to make a start cutting back.
2. There is nowhere to hide! You must be completely honest in your recordings, therefore, I often re – thought purchases before they were made, knowing it would have to go in the book. I guess its like writing down everything you eat when trying to lose weight, the truth is there in writing.