Saving Money for The Future

• 

  onetwothreefour on 16/04/2019 - 16:35

  +13

  Sell your expensive car and get something cheaper.

  Also you earn $46800 a year and your expenses are $20934 but your savings are less than $1000, where does the rest of your money go?

  • 

    FiDad on 16/04/2019 - 17:12

    I am guessing he/she forgot to include rent.

• 

  SBOB on 16/04/2019 - 16:40

  +7

  Salary per what? Week, fortnight, month, year?

• 

  arkie0 on 16/04/2019 - 16:42

  +24

  I am not a giant lavish spender

  Car repayment = $445 per fortnight
  Car Insurance = $147 per month
  Phone/NBN bundle = $200 per month

  lol

• 

  cypher67 on 16/04/2019 - 16:51

  +10

  1/4 of your income is on your car …. That doesn't even include fuel and insurance or wear and tear. That is crazy & your issue right there

• 

  Diji1 on 16/04/2019 - 16:52

  +1

  I know a credit card can be a little bit scary if you have no self control, however I find that I am pretty good with these things

  Doesn't stop your behavior being altered.

  And losing money to earn it is nonsensical and has nothing to do with saving.

• 

  AdamFury on 16/04/2019 - 16:57

  +1

  I'd be looking to cut down on any expense you have.

  Your car repayments with insurance is costing nearly $260 a week. Not factoring in fuel or servicing costs.

  Phone and NBN bundle at $200 a month seems very high? Have you investigated what you actually need and if you can cut this down? Are you paying off devices in that price?

  Small things add up. For example have you investigated the Netflix "deal"?.

• 

  Tightpocket on 16/04/2019 - 16:57

  +1

  Sell your car when it's not upside down in finance, no point selling the car now if you still on the negative.

  Get cheaper car and runs well, as long as the car is roadworthy you won't have to spend much on it in terms of rego, insurance, etc.

  NBN don't have to be that expensive - TPG is sub $100 per month.

  Don't just cook a meal for the night or for the day, try and cook something in bulk that can last 2 or more days, save groceries trips and time efficient.

  Lots of ways to save but you just have to willing to make the sacrifice or downgrade your lifestyle.

• 

  altomic on 16/04/2019 - 17:02

  Car Insurance = $147 per month

  are you 18 years old and driving a Bentley?

  wait - is it the Hyundai 2015 1.8L Auto Active X ?

  my comprehensive insurance on my 2014 outlander is $267 a year. - ok, a fluke getting it that cheap. but you are paying $1764 a year for car insurance. !!!!!

  • 

    dcep on 16/04/2019 - 17:05

    comprehensive insurance on my 2014 outlander is $267 a year.

    That's almost what i paid for 3rd party property only.

    1.7k comprehensive is normal for 20yo driving camry even

  • 

    ihbh on 16/04/2019 - 18:45

    a fluke getting it that cheap

    The proof is when it comes to claims time.

    • 

      altomic on 16/04/2019 - 21:29

      Its been around that amount for 3 years. It was more expensive and then i moved to a better neighbour and it dropped an extra $50

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 19/04/2019 - 13:31

        it was more expensive and then i moved to a better neighbour

        Please do tell us more :P

• 

  yolo123456789 on 16/04/2019 - 17:18

  +1

  Pretty much what others already pointed out.

  car repayment. if you can't buy the car outright, the it's probably too expensive for you at this stage.

  phone/internet bill is also too high, but you probably can't do too much about this now.

  A good place to start is looking at your current outgoings individually, it might take a bit of effort but you can get apps (or however you want to do) record all the expense you have, no matter how small (ie a bottle of water, take-away meal etc) then afterwards you can come back and look at the things that you have spend on, and think if there are expenses that you can actually avoid or reduce in the future. if your saving is less than 1000 surely it's gone somewhere but you just don't recall. Like others have said, everything adds up

• 

  EightImmortals on 16/04/2019 - 17:37

  +1

  Get out of debt!

  Either work hard to pay off the car or, as others have said, sell it, pay out the loan and buy something you can afford. (Unless the car is deductible?)

  Also, $200 on phone/internet? My $40 telstra plan gets me unlimited calls/sms and you can get unlimited NBN though ABB for $80 PM. That's a saving of $960 PA right there.

• 

  prisonmike on 16/04/2019 - 17:42

  +1

  Btw what are you driving ?

  • 

    spiff on 16/04/2019 - 17:44

    +1

    Hyundai Kona 2018 per previous post

• 

  Randxyz123 on 16/04/2019 - 17:57

  +2

  Ah so you’re this guy
  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/413859

  Did you end up quitting Maccas ?

  Is that $900 a week? Working for your dad or another job? (I’m going off your other thread here)

  I would be ditching your car and getting something cheaper. The car insurance probably comes with the car finance, that is comprehensive is mandatory for the loan.

  Phone/NBN bundle = $200 per month

  Presumably you have moved out of home or are you paying your family’s NBN bill in lieu of rent ? It seems very expensive unless the majority is your phone repayment on a contract

  I will generally make 1 or 2 big purchases a year (laptop or tv)

  Why are you buying a laptop or TV every year ? Granted I go overseas so it isn’t that different but it’s something you could cut.

  Netflix - go on a family plan. Unlike Spotify you don’t need to be at the same address, just find a couple of mates and set it up.

• 

  ericb on 16/04/2019 - 21:58

  +2

  I’d re-read the barefoot investor. I’m pretty sure that Scott Pape recommends against car loans and credit cards.

• 

  onlinepred on 17/04/2019 - 09:14

  What the hell are you doing spending that much on a car ROFL. If you want to start saving properly, be smart with purchases, especially recurring ones like your car. 23 and buying a really expensive car like that seems crazy.

  Buying a laptop or tv every year is stupid - buy smart and buy a good tv or laptop, these will last you a lot longer than a year or two. It's like you are throwing money away.

  I have bought all my cars without credit, I never earned much until late 20's yet still was able to buy cars out right and also save for a house deposit. Just save, and spend wisely.

• 

  wannagrababargain on 17/04/2019 - 11:10

  I will try to give some advice based on some things I have learned over time

  -Start a saving plan. Open a high interest online saving account. Decide a fixed amount, say $50 per fornight, that you'll put into that account from each pay and pay that FIRST before any other bill. Keep that habit of consistent saving contribution going.
  -Review your car insurance provider and make a habit of doing that every year. Should be able to get comprehensive for less then $100pm.
  -Review your monthly phone providers and look for a better deal. Do you own your phone outright or is that included in the bundle? Unless you need international calls or are out in the bush a Kogan yearly prepaid (often 40% off) is sufficient. NBN shouldn't be more than $80pm.
  -If you are paying off the phone on a contract, get off the contract as soon as it is up, keep the phone (don't upgrade) and get a good Aldi/Kogan prepaid sim as mentioned above.
  -Look at other monthly subscriptions and reconsider if you really need that constant "tax." Even though I can comfortably afford it I recently cancelled my Netflix as I wasn't using it that often.

  I would avoid making drastic changes like selling your car. What I am saying is make a plan to get away from the "rent seekers." Phone contracts, Netflix, Car repayments are all forms of "rent seeking" where you are paying a huge premium in order to pay it off over time. So make long term plans. For example once you 'pay off' your car or phone, keep it and don't be tempted to get a newer shinier model and entering the rent-seeker cycle again. Meanwhile you're slowly building up that little cash reserve in your savings account. There's no quick fix, you need to develop habits over time.

• 

  wannagrababargain on 17/04/2019 - 11:26

  +1

  PS. I notice Surface and Macbook mentioned. I agree that these are beautiful machines and I am always "window shopping" for the latest ultra-book type laptop myself. However I have never taken the plunge because I think they are overpriced for what they do, plus I always seem to drop my laptops. I have resisted the temptation though and end up buying old second hand laptops that get the job done and I don't care when I drop them. Learn to resist these temptations!

  Playing around with credit card points should only come after you've mastered how to resist temptation.