Tag Archives: impatience

25 ways you can save money

Posted on June 20, 2014 | 6 comments

A while ago, I wrote a post, Not Spending A Cent For A Day, because I believe in saving. Of course, everyone wants to earn more money and it might not always be possible to get more. However, it is possible to have more on your account by saving more. Here are some more simple steps I am taking to get more value out of my money. Hope it will be helpful for you guys too.

  1. Switch off light and power point whenever not required.
  2. Use energy saving blues (CFL or LED) and water efficient appliances to save money on electricity. They may be a bit expensive to buy but will save money over the long run.
  3. Choose a credit card with a low interest rate, especially if you are paying interest. Over years, you will save heaps of money on interest.
  4. If you have many credit cards, consolidate and you will save in annual fees and other administrative fees.
  5. Buy a car at the end of the financial and calendar years and do not forget to ask for discounts.
  6. Make a list of what you want to buy before going grocery shopping and stick to only those items stop impulse buying.
  7. Try the 30 days list idea and stick to it. It will save you heaps of money.
  8. Double the quantity of recipe when cooking which saves you time and money. I cook for lunch and dinner.
  9. Reuse the 3D glasses in cinema. It costs $1 every time you buy them.
  10. Always use discount pharmacy and generic medicine. They are always cheaper and have the same active ingredient.
  11. If you are thinking about a holiday, try to go away outside the school holidays if possible. You will get cheaper deals on flights and accommodations.
  12. If you are flying, try to fly midweek as Fridays and weekends are more expensive. In addition, mornings and evening flights are expensive than afternoon flights.
  13. Premier cuts of meats are very expensive like a kilo of lamb cutlets are $40/kg while if you buy secondary cuts; they are cheaper and taste the same.
  14. Always buy seasonal fruits and vegetables, as they are cheaper and tastier.
  15. When getting insurance, shop round and if you see the cheaper options, tell your insurance company. As the market is so competitive, there is a higher change that they will match the price otherwise you can always switch to the cheaper ones. Do make sure that you are getting the same level of coverage though; or you may end up paying more money later.
  16. Always open an offset account for your home loan and it will save you lots of money on interest saved over the lifetime of the loan.
  17. If you use certain brands/ shop more, subscribe to their newsletter and keep an eye on the specials. I have saved heaps buying things on discount.
  18. If you are going to dine in expensive restaurants for special occasions, check their website for early menus or fixed menu rather than á la carte. They are cheaper and you can enjoy the same food and quality.
  19. If you use your mobile a lot, look for plan options like cheaper calls or data only plans depending on what you use a lot and it will make a difference on your monthly bills. Avoid plans if possible and stick with prepaid, as you will have control on how much you are spending.
  20. Use cold water for the washing machine and it helps your clothes last longer and also save money on electricity.
  21. If you live in a country where tap water is good for drinking, stop paying for expensive-bottled water.
  22. If you have cable, check how often you watch it. As all of us are so busy, it might be worth buying the movies/ series online rather than subscription for the cable.
  23. Exercise is very important but you don’t have to pay for a gym subscription instead run in the park, practice yoga in front of the TV or pay as you go for swimming.
  24. Skip the delivery and pick up your meals. For us we save $8 every time we order pizza if we choose to pick up rather than get it delivered.
  25. If you have a big family, shop in bulk and save.

I am sure some of you already do most of these but of course you could always do more. If you google, you will find lots more tips and tricks online to help you save. My logica is if I can’t make more money, I will cut my spending and as a result the savings in my bank will increase. Be money wise and good luck.

Friday afternoon already so looking forward to the weekend.Have a great weekend and Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Not Spending A Cent For A Day

Posted on March 15, 2014 | 8 comments

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in March 2014 issue.

blog 977

Many times I have had people ask me how I manage to save money to travel, to do various activates and go to concerts. Most of them are in the same boat as me with big mortgage, ever-rising cost of living in Sydney and working average paying jobs. I hadn’t given it a thought until recently so here is my answer.

First and foremost you need to have the willingness to save money. Everyone wants to win a 50 million lotto and take their life from there but that is not going to happen with most of us so one must mentally prepare oneself to save money. It is easy to spend it but very hard to save it.

Second thing is willingness to do things. In Nepali there is a proverb, “Ta aat ma puraunchhu” which translates to you try and I will make sure you succeed. Unless and until you try to do something how will you know if you can or can’t do that. It is better to fail after trying than never attempting at all.

After that it’s all about being disciplined and sticking to the plan. Here are some simple tips I follow to get my saving in line:

  • Make a list of things you want to do in writing and pin that somewhere visible. Seeing something in writing everyday will encourage to reach your goal.
  • Make a note of every spending, even for 20 cents and put that in an excel spreadsheet.  Look at the incomes and expenses and see where you can cut down. This will give you a clear idea of your finance rather than just assumptions. Do this for at least a month.
  • Looking at the excel sheet, you will realise that food/grocery is one of the biggest spender apart from rent/mortgage so be smart while buying groceries. Plan your meals ahead and make a list so nothing goes to waste. Never waste food and never comprise on food quality. You won’t enjoy your saving if you have poor health.
  • Takeaway lunches are quick but they are not healthy and they make a big hole in your wallet. Try to take lunches from home and treat yourself with takeaway occasionally.
  • If you are a heavy coffee or soft drink drinker, check how much you are spending a day on your drinks. You will be surprised how much that amounts to in a year. If you can’t live without your drinks look for cheaper alternative like making your own espresso or buying cold drinks in bulk.
  • It is tempting to buy on impulse when shopping so make a budget and stick to it while you are in malls. It is easy to ignore the budget when you fall in love with the perfect dress that you have been looking for months but remember that dress you loved so much will still be around next week. And what are you going to do with the dress if you can’t afford your next planned holiday.
  • If you are saving for holiday, house, wedding, kids’ education, put aside a certain amount each month/ paycheck in a separate account and never touch this money.
  • Always have emergency money and never use it unless it is a real emergency. Staying so far from our family, you never know when you will need that.
  • Try to experiment just once for a whole day not spending a cent. Take lunch and snacks from home to work and do not buy anything. At the end of the day think about it and realise that you just made XX amount working whole day and not even a cent was spent. Isn’t that a great feeling? Don’t you want to have that feeling more often? I do. 🙂
  • By following these tips, you are not becoming a miser but being money smart. 

The most important thing to remember is: don’t stop living your life because you want to save money. You live only once so no point having millions in your bank account when you die. At the same time, you don’t want to be careless with your money that you have to struggle when you retire.

Good luck and HAPPY SAVING!!!

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Patience is a virtue

Posted on October 21, 2013 | 4 comments

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in September 2013 issue.

977 blog

I am sure all of you have heard this phrase many times in your life. A wise man once proclaimed, “All good things come to those who wait.” This is taught to us from a very young age at home by our parents as well as in school by our teachers. The ability to wait for something or someone without being angry or upset is a good and valuable quality.

In the modern world, it feels like everything moves at a million miles per hour and patience is the first thing thrown out of the window. And living in this modern world, I hated waiting for things too. I was like most people who wanted thing done now and moved on to the next task.

The troubling thing about impatience is that it caused me a lot of stress.  I constantly felt like I was left behind, and that I should have accomplished so much more.  This feeling led me to becoming upset with myself, and I acted out by not getting anything done.  The impatience that had kept me going throughout my life was failing me and I was miserable about it.

Then things changed when I got married. It’s no surprise to anyone that getting married will change a person and for me it changed me to be a better person.

My husband is super patient man and being married to him and knowing him better taught me that patience could be blessing. Seeing him less stressed in same situation we both are in and at the end accomplishing the same result, I wondered why was I so stressed. We are still working to come to middle ground so we both are in the same pace but he has definitely taught me how not to get too stressed. I know that being patient will make me happier and I am learning to be patient with people and situations I care about. Slowly but surely I am getting there. I began to have more time to spend in the moment that I was in.  I had less of a worry about the next step and I was able to focus more on the task at hand than I ever had been able to before.

Definitely, Patience is a skill that we all must learn.

Honestly, all of us have become really impatient because of the advances in technology. People now can get access to information much faster than people in previous generations could and still they are impatient when they have to wait even a few minutes.

How many times do you refresh your inbox when you are waiting for an email? We live in a society of instant gratification these days and we want everything thing now. We are not willing to have the patience to wait for those things that we desire. Imagine the olden days when communication was done using carrier pigeon or using our favorite postman. Then we were OK to wait months or days for a message while we can’t even wait a few minutes these days without getting annoyed.

How many of us get annoyed waiting more than a few seconds for a website to load? We have already forgotten in the last few years that, internet used to be dial up once and we had to wait for minutes in some cases for webpages to load. Moreover, we were OK with that then.

I am very frustrated by the drivers in Sydney for sure. They are so impatient and really think they own the road so they drive without thinking. The worst part is that they are not only endangering their own life but also people around them.

I also don’t understand the impatience of parents pushing prams or holding hands of young kids while jaywalking, and not using the pedestrian crossing to cross the road. Seriously, what kinds of parents expose their child to such a danger just to save few minutes? In addition, what kind of education they are giving their young children? I am sure walking a few minutes further to a proper pedestrian crossing would have cost them nothing.

We all have encountered people who have no patience at all and ruin the day for everyone around them. I had such an encounter the other day.

I went to subway to buy my lunch. I was behind a woman in the queue. There were two people before her in the queue and two girls serving. Normally the lines in subway are pretty organised as you start ordering at one end and you just follow the flow. So when the customer service girl asked the woman in front of me what she liked, as she was next in line suddenly, the guy on the other side just burst and said,” What the F*** is this? I am in line before her?” All of us were a bit surprise because he just raised his voice and started swearing and he was not even standing in the proper queue.

The poor girl behind the counter had no idea that he was waiting. He could have said the same words in a polite manner instead of shouting. Seriously, his sudden outburst didn’t make him a hero instead we all thought he was a looser to be taking out his anger on a poor girl just doing her job. I am sure nothing in this world would have changed if he was served after that lady. That was definitely one impatient man.

With the fast pace of life, it is easy to see why so many people are impatient. I know many will argue that many people are impatient because they are just born that way. But as with any bad habit, we need to work on it so we change it to be a better person. Each person is responsible for their actions. So please take a second and think about this next time you run out of patience.

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