We have a very fast growing team here at Up Loans, and we’re all at different stages of our property journey, and to be honest, in life. Our youngest team member is 18 and our oldest won’t say how old she is, so as you can imagine we have a very wide and varied wealth of experience, especially when it comes to savings tips! ‘Buy less smashed avocado’ was definitely not a savings tip when most of us older Up peeps were younger, so it was great to get our whole team to chime in on this blog. See some of our teams awesome savings tips below:
Georgia
For any major purchases, master the 30-day rule. This means if you’re about to make a really big purchase that isn’t absolutely necessary, wait 30 days before you buy. Stick that item on a wishlist somewhere, and come back to it in 30 days. If you still want it, and can afford it, go for it! If you don’t want it any more, then you’ll have saved yourself a lot of cash on something you didn’t even really want!
Keisha
Have a savings account at a separate bank to your main one (one with no fees!) so that you don’t see it every day. I like to use a bank that doesn’t have Osko, so if I want to take money out of the account, I have to wait approximately 24 hours before I can get it. It makes you really think about whether or not you need to buy the thing, when you can’t get the instant gratification of getting it right now.
Ella
My savings tip is to have a look over your bank statements once a month. Some bank apps allow you to search certain store names to see how much you are spending at the one place. This way you can see where you can cut back and this extra money can go into your savings. It is also a good time to see what subscriptions you no longer need that you may have forgotten about.
Bel
When you’re saving up for something big (like a house deposit) try and reuse things that you already have, and shop for second hand items, instead of always buying everything new. You can save literally hundreds, even thousands of dollars, just by seeing if you can find what you need this way first. Looking on second hand websites like Gumtree and Marketplace, visiting op-shops, and asking around your friends and family is a great place to start.
Bel is too shy to say here that she has her own gorgeous business helping people repurpose and reuse. Be sure to check out Ramble Folk – From Kirsty.
Sophie
Take out your spending money as cash weekly and once it’s gone it’s gone. Helps you to realise how much you are spending on incidentals that you don’t really think about when you just tap to pay.
Isabel
My savings tip is try and save the money you would otherwise spend on fuel. There are a number of ways you can do this such as carpooling, taking public transportation, walking places or even riding a bike. This also means less wear on your car which in the long run can save lots of money.
Tameeka
Have your employer pay an amount of your salary directly to a savings account and don’t have that account linked to internet banking so you can’t immediately transfer funds from that account. You won’t miss the funds because you’re not getting them with your pay and you won’t feel tempted to transfer the funds as you’ll need to go to the branch to do it which means no impulse transfers.
Georgie
Carrie
Meal Plan! Working out your meals for the week and doing one big shop, rather than popping to the shops a few times a week. Also, doing a cook up over the weekend and putting meals in the freezer can be a big money saver.
Lucy
For more of a day-to-day saving, I like using an investment app to put a small amount of money into stocks every week (I do $10, and don’t notice it’s gone). This not only builds you a stock portfolio, but it also squirrels away rainy-day money you might need, and is a great pigeonhole for those savings you want to put in your term deposits. Plus, dividends!
Dave
My savings tip is to divide your income into percentages (prioritise savings). For myself, after receiving my pay, I always set aside my 20% savings FIRST. Then I will budget the remainder of my income. I also allow around 10% of my income as a play fund. I can use this fund in anything I like without having any guilt!
Eliza
I like to round up my owner occupied mortgage repayments to the nearest $100 – that way I’m saving but don’t notice the money is gone because it’s just my standard mortgage repayment every month.
Kirsty
A client once told me a tip I love, and that is that every time she makes a discretionary purchase (ie: an item of clothing, a movie to stream, take away dinner) she transfers over the same amount of money into her saving account. It effectively means that if she doesn’t’ have double what she’s spending on the item she can’t do it (as she doesn’t use credit for those items) and it makes her think twice about what she’s spending so she’s cutting back on impulse buys!
Karl
I normally budget my bills for the month each fortnight and set aside the money in a different bank so when the monthly bill comes, it’s all saved up and untouched. Then I set aside money to my savings account which is separate from my bills account. This way I can trick myself to only spending the money left in my daily account for essentials (no buying stuff that I don’t need… otherwise I’ll starve! Haha)
Sally
Always have a budget and a savings goal (and stick to it!) . Put aside regular amounts, no matter how small, as it can grow pretty quickly. Make sure the savings amount is realistic as there is nothing more disheartening than having to break into savings when you work so hard to get there.
Julie
Saving money needs to become a good habit- just like brushing your teeth every day! It will help you get the things you want now and will help you afford the things you want and need later. If you get into a good habit of saving, you can start thinking about setting a savings goal for yourself. Start with something small and work up to the big items.
Evan
My savings tip is an oldie but a goodie. STOP PAYING FOR COFFEE!!! Buy yourself a coffee machine and make it at home $5 per day = $1820 per year!! And as an added bonus you don’t have to wait in line in the coffee shop (which I personally don’t enjoy).
Ivy
I set a specific amount to be put automatically into my savings account every time I get my pay. This helps me make sure that I will not use it, and I can adjust to spending less (unless there is an emergency or something really important comes us!) This helps to avoid buying things you don’t need.