Originally posted in 2020
I’ve always been a money-conscious person, raised by entrepreneurs and learning early how to work to budgets.
The local Nun used to sit with me in mum’s café from age three – we’d work out quantities and pricing for a pancake day, calculating everything from egg costs to profit margins.
A few years ago, I was in a pretty terrible workplace that made me incredibly unhappy. I knew I needed an exit strategy, but I had no safety net to land on and plenty of bills to pay.
I delved into my budgeting and found as many ways as I could to make my money last longer, and eventually saved enough to leave, knowing I could pay rent and bills for long enough to find something more fulfilling.
I wanted to share some of my methods for folks who are trying to make their own budgets stretch further, whether they’re saving for a goal, a security buffer, or working with a little bit less.
These tips aren’t just intended for folks with full time jobs – these are useful for stretching any budget at least a little bit more.
Disclaimer: This is just what I do and what works for me. It is not personalised financial advice – you should talk to a pro for that!
Level 1: Low effort/regular habit building
Budgeting apps:
I’ve been using this app for years. I love that I can change monthly outgoing and incoming, use categories, distribute costs over a period of time (thanks Afterpay!) and start fresh each month. I also think twice about purchases because I know I’ll have to do a little admin to log it in. It also lets you add one-off incomes, like selling stuff or doing freelance work.
I have multiple bank accounts (as you’ll see further down) and tend to pay for dinner/activities while friends transfer their share, so something like Pocketbook isn’t right for me. If you’re looking for a hands-off method and have simpler bank habits, it may be worth a look though!
Petrol Apps
If you drive, check apps like Petrol Spy and Arevo before you fill up. Another option is to use the 7-Eleven app to lock in a low price for up to a week – I’ve had times where this has saved me $20+ a tank.
I also make sure to use extra discounts where I can too – you can get discounted fuel cards for some brands on member sites like RACV (or NRMA, currently a 3% discounted gift card) and also Shopback for some others.
Honestly, deciding when to make the jump to fill up a whole tank is the closest I get to gambling.
Half-price grocery basics:
Wednesday mornings, I have a squiz through Coles and Woolworths online and see what’s on their half-price list for the week. There’s also a great app called Half Price (iOS, Android) that collates everything – cos Coles have a terrible website and make it as hard as possible to see their specials.
I know there are things I will always need, and most things go on sale roughly once a month. A lot of the time I’ll use sale items as the base for my weekly menu, and it lets me get all my groceries in one go, and for less.
When Bonsoy goes on sale, you best believe I’m getting at least a month’s worth so I can have my bougie lattes.
I’m equidistant from both supermarkets so I don’t really have a preference, but of course if one is closer then they’re likely to win you over – doesn’t mean they need to nab full price from you though!
Another tip is to look at the cost per 100g/kg. It’s mandatory in Australia and can help you figure out if something is actually cheaper or just in a bottle 85% the size of its competitors.
I’ve been surprised at the number of people who don’t already do this – it’s a game-changer!
Rewards programs:
I am one of those terrible people who is perfectly happy to give up my data in return for free things.
- Grocery shopping
I use Woolworths Rewards and Flybuys for everything, and also have Qantas and Virgin Frequent Flyer accounts.
Woolworths and Flybuys do the good old 2000 points = $10 deal, and both often send bonus point deals via email and through their app.
- Frequent flyers points
With the frequent flyer programs, there are often discounts and bonus points for shopping at partners through their links – if I know I want something from a particular place, I’ll often do a quick check through their portals to see if I can get some extra points by buying what I was going to buy anyway.
- Money back apps
I am a recent convert to ShopBack, and it’s my first port of call when I need to buy anything online. I always check the T&C’s first though, but most of the time you can get extra money back, and it all adds up!
As always, don’t use it as your motivator to buy the thing, but if you’re going to buy it anyway, get a few bucks back! Each store will have different percentages, and normally you have to wait a few months to withdraw the cash, but I look at it as forced savings!
Recurring purchases:
Think of all the things you regularly use, such as hair care, toiletries, cleaning products, etc. Most people have brand or product loyalty, with a favourite they’re unlikely to stray from. Think of the products on this list for you, and have a look into buying them in bulk.
Most cleaning and hair care products can be purchased online in larger quantities – it doesn’t necessarily need to be a 200 pack of body soap, but you can sometimes get a 1.5l salon-quality brand for less per millilitre than the smaller bottles you get at the supermarket, and even less if it’s on sale!
Often it’s also more eco-friendly – I bought Happi Earth washing liquid over a year ago and I’m not even halfway through, and same story for my bulk dishwashing liquid from EcoStore.
I also bulk bought some top-notch merlot when it was half price during EOFY. It means a bit more output initially, but when you realise you’re not having to go to the bottle-o and pay $20 a bottle it is completely worth it.
Second hand is a-ok
My first port of call for most purchases is to look on Facebook Marketplace, especially when it comes to homewares and the like. Things lose value as soon as they leave the shop when they’re bought retail, and the internet is a treasure trove of people offloading their extras.
Level 2: A little more effort, but for more reward
Regular expenses/bills:
- Gas/electric/hot water etc.
Twice a year I call my suppliers and just straight-up ask if I’m getting the best rate or if they can offer a better one. Majority of the time, there is at least a little wiggle room. Sometimes it’s worth researching competitors to have an idea of the rate you want them to match or beat.
I have mandatory suppliers for my apartment, but was still able to ask them for better rates.
- Internet
I used Finder to find the most competitive fixed-price internet provider, and took advantage of an introductory discount. ISP’s won’t necessarily keep discounting further after this, but if a better deal appears it may be worth swapping over
- Phone
I use a pre-paid phone, and have always had a tendency to jump around providers to get the best deal, but have been with Telstra for a while now because of their data bank plan and decent rates. I bought the phone on sale (yay!), and sporadically check Telstra and Finder to make sure I’m on the best deal.
High-interest bank account for savings:
I use Westpac, ING, and UBank.
I do research at EOFY and in January to check my interest rates are still the best for my savings account. I get paid into my Westpac (which is connected to my PayPal), move all except my “PayPal allowance” to my ING, and then move all except my fortnightly budget to my UBank. This means I don’t pay any fees because each gets the ‘minimum deposit’ each month.
UBank used to have good interest, but has gone down significantly – I still keep my emergency fund in here so I can access it if needed, and move all my regular direct debit funds into here too so they can earn a little interest before they go out each month.
ING are also my faves because of the $0 ATM fees and $0 international fees – it saved me a decent amount last time I travelled after years of using a Westpac Global card overseas.
Westpac recently opened Westpac Life for under 30’s with up to a 3% interest rate on savings of up to $30k, so I keep most of my savings in there too.
I also use Commonwealth Bank, but only for my investments – see further down for more info!
Afterpay
The trouble with Afterpay is when it’s used for ‘oh no I can’t afford this until next payday’ purchases. That’s when people get hit with the fees and surcharges and debt. Debt is bad and scary and if I have a choice, I don’t wanna touch that stuff with a ten foot pole.
I use Afterpay to help me boost my interest each month. If I want to spend $100 on something, I’ll put it on Afterpay so I have $75 more in my account for interest than I would otherwise. Then, on the first of each month I will go into the app and pay everything coming up until my next payday.
You have to be smart with programs like this that profit off you slipping up. They want you to fail so they can have their extra dollars.
Note: Afterpay also links to Qantas FF!
Level 3: Pro tips worth the effort
This is where things get serious. This is mainly for the non-essentials, or at least the things you’re not in a rush to buy now-right-now.
I have a list of things that I would really like to own, but no way in heck am I going to pay full price on them.
#1: Give a little get a little
My first strategy is to add them to a cart online, and then… do nothing but wait. If I don’t get any targeted ads with discount code CTA’s in the next 24 hours, I’ll do the next step and give them my email to check shipping costs.
This usually gives the goods of a discount code, especially if it’s your first order with them.
#2: Discount codes
Buying something off ASOS? Google ASOS Discount code. That’s it. There are other add-ons that check if there are active codes, but I’ve honestly never had luck with them other than Honey.
#3: Investing
I’m pretty new to the micro-investing world, and have used the expertise of folks like She’s on the Money to learn a bit more about the lingo/how it all works.
I use Raiz, Commsec, and Commsec pocket, each with different goals/priorities.
Raiz is for roundups and also so I can get the little dopamine hit – when I want to buy something for the sake of spending money, I just add some money into my investments on here. I’m pretty new to it and I’m only a few months in, so haven’t seen any real growth yet.
Commsec Pocket is an ETF microinvestment platform – I have invested in 3 different ETF’s on here and just kind of leave them be, and buy more when the market is down. This is definitely my long term one, so I’m just leaving it be!
My other long term one is Commsec, my first foray into non-micro investing in a single asset. I have only bought shares in one organisation so far, but it also paid dividends which was great, and I then reinvested them into Raiz.
#4: Wait it out
Everyone knows there’s some golden times for sales, especially in the online world.
My top times are:
- EOFY
- Black Friday/Cyber Monday
- Boxing Day
They’re pretty well-balanced, so with consumables I’m often ready to restock in December after buying the ‘thing’ reduced in June.
The hard part is resisting the urge to impulse buy random crap – knowing what you actually really want or need versus what is shiny and just there is key.
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Remember, everything here is just what I’ve found to work for me. Everyone’s budget/lifestyles/priorities are different, but this is the way I’ve found that lets me have the nice-quality things I like for less.
There are still things I will absolutely pay full price for, especially when it comes to supporting small businesses and artists, choosing ethical options, and paying the rent.