Febusave Initiative: Women and Saving

Febusave is an ANZ initiative to encourage women to save money and develop a habit of saving regularly.

ANZ revealed the results of "Women and Money Confidence" research study in January 2010. The results were alarming to say the least.

* 58 per cent of women have less than $5,000 in savings and 33 per cent have less than $1,000.

* 56 per cent of Australian women do not save money on a regular basis or regularly dip into savings for living expenses

* 29 per cent of women are discussing financial matters with friends and family more often than they did 12 months ago.



To set the example, I will delve into some detail about my savings habits.

* I have more than $5,000 in savings.

* I have a credit card debt of $0.00
If any money is spent on my credit card, it is paid back immediately.

* I save at least $25 to $50 per week.

Some people are surprised at how much I save and how much I avoid debt. They want to know my secret or philosophy for saving. Only the other day I spoke to bank about another new savings account I was starting up.

I was asked "So, you think it's better to save rather than use debt?"

Um.... yeah!! But it surprises me that a re-education is needed.

So I will share the methods I use to save money in the hope that other women will join the Febusave program and create their own savings goals.


Top Five Tips on Saving

1. Don't get a loan - whatever it is, a car, a house, a holiday. The truth is, if you need a loan, you can't afford it. If you must get a loan, try to save up a large amount of the principal amount and make sure your loan allows you to pay back lump sums to cut down on interest.

2. Get the lowest % rate credit card available. Forget frequent flyer, reward points, bonuses etc. If you have a low interest rate credit card and you pay it back immediately every time you use it, you will be in a great position to reach your savings goals. It is preferable to live without a credit card but for many of us, this just isn't practical.

3. Save an amount each week - be it $5, $10, $15 or $100 - just make sure you put away SOMETHING each week. It will get you into the habit of saving for the sake of it. Once you are used to saving, it will feel strange when you miss a week. If you make your own lunch every day, you can save anything from $50 to $100 each week. Look at your spending and see if there is one small area in which you can cut back.

4. Start a separate savings account. If you try to save in your normal everyday account, you can end up spending rather than conserving. Start up a separate savings account, preferably one that will penalise you for withdrawals and reward you with bonus interest each time you make a new deposit.

5. Don't just save towards a goal. I bet this one is a surprise. Why, you ask? Because when you save towards a goal, you reach the goal and then you spend the money. Which brings you back to square one. No savings! So, you also need to get into the habit of saving for no reason whatsoever. Or pick a reason such as "I like to watch the interest go up".

I hope this helps to convince you that saving is easier than you think. To participate in Febusave, set a savings goal for February and track your progress. By participating you can also win a $5,000 ANZ savings account of your choice.

So why not give it a try? Join up on the Febusave website and start saving!!

Bargain Online Shopping

During my online shopping exploits, I have created a large number of collections, be it cookware, DVDs, clothing or gadgets.

I am proud to announce: My cookware collection is almost complete (say in Darth Vader voice!)

Regular readers of my blog are aware of my Baccarat cookware obsession. There is something about stainless steel with a copper base that makes cooking that much easier. After hunting around many online shopping outlets, I discovered OO.com.au

I ran a search for cookware on the site to see if I could get some kind of deal:


My prayers were answered rather quickly as I spied an 18cm Baccarat pot normally priced at $70 selling for $44.95. Without hesitating I pressed the "buy" button and filled out my details. I was able to pay with paypal, making it even easier for me to... SHOP!!! (insert crazed PayPal convenience induced frenzy here)

The pot arrived in mint condition. The speedy delivery was facilitated by a reputable courier service and the item was vaccuum wrapped very carefully. I really couldn't fault the service and would buy from OO.com.au again.

Other bargains I have bagged from this site:

High Definition Set Top Box with HDMI and DVI - $149 (this was at a time when HD set top boxes were around $399!)

I have never had a problem with this unit. It was a bargain at the time and it is still up to date in 2010.


Baccarat Pinnacle Stockpot with lid (5.4L) - I told you I was obsessed with Baccarat! Normal retail price was somewhere around $120 but I nabbed it for $34.95. And I got a special delivery discount during a half-price delivery promotion period, saving another five dollars in the process.

Be sure to look out for the slam dunk 24 hour deal - a heavily discounted sale item that only lasts for - you guessed it - 24 hours!


I must say that my shopping expeditions are going extremely well and I am saving a heap of money. I will be returning to OO.com.au shortly to search for HD recorders.

Searching is simple - for example you can type in "Hard Drive recorder" to see the results:



You can then reorder the listings by lowest price, highest price and popularity.


This allows you to search within your budget and get the best possible deal. I desperately need to get a hard drive recorder to catch up on all the tennis and golf events that are screened at 3am. And that would be past my bedtime (tee hee!)... But that's another story....

Maggi "Extra Delicious" 2 Minute Noodles - Repent!!!!

Rant time.

The old 2 minute noodles had a tangy flavour - a kind of salty, zingy hit. Apparently Maggi have taken it upon themselves to do some sort of focus group study.

You know the kind where the "consultant" guy gets paid $750 per hour to talk, well... bollocks.

"Okaaay. You know what 2 minute noodles need? Let's ask a random selection of bland-palated people and see what they think."

"Okay, now they have chosen the cardboard tasteless ones, we need a name"

"We'll brand them as 'EXTRA DELICIOUS' - they'll love it!"


Yeah.

Extra delicious to who? People with a cold?

Thanks to this treachery, we now have 2 minute noodles with very little flavour and barely-recognisable rehydrated vegetables. Vegetables that are still crunchy when the noodles are cooked!! Mmmm....

But you know what? They are now 14 grams lower in fat!! And "ovenbaked"...


Whoopeee.

You know what I want? I want those 14 grams of fat re-absorbed into those noodles so I can have the taste back.

What happened to my ridiculously wrong munchy snack that tastes like real (pardon the pun) 2 minute noodles!?!?

Grrrr!!! ARgh!!!

~End Rant.

technorati tags: maggi, 2 minute noodles, extra delicious, oven baked, new 2 minute noodles,maggi noodles

Holiday Time Warp

There is something about being on holidays that messes with the space-time continuum.

1. Time goes waaay to quickly.

2. Alarm clocks become increasingly redundant because for some reason I decided that 3pm was a good time to wake up, and 3am was a sensible time to go to sleep.

3. Calories do not count because I tend to get more exercise on holiday. Being out and about and walking all the time, those chocolate mint sticks have negative calories. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

4. Time is taken up by difficult matters such as whether to play golf or go to the park and go for a walk with hand weights.

5. After 2 days of being outdoors my Neapolitan tan (red, white and brown) indicated that I might benefit from the use of sunscreen.

6. Exactly three days before holidays end, I remember that I really wanted to do this or that and I have officially run out of time.

7. Exactly 1 hour after holidays end, I am planning for my next holiday.

technorati tags: holiday, tan, travel, golf, sunscreen, leisure

Make Cheap International Calls From Your Mobile

Skype To Go - How You Can Make a 9c International Call

How does Skype to Go Work? I was a little confused about this so I had to do a little research. I wanted to make international calls from my mobile as I have a growing need to talk to overseas contacts. I tried calling using normal Skype and although it was cheap and convenient, at times my microphone has managed to cut out at inopportune moments. This can make it difficult to carry on a trans-Atlantic conversation without worrying about the quality of the line.

I wanted the freedom to call internationally from my mobile, and it just so happens Skype to Go does just that.

I found Skype to Go on the main Skype website and decided to give it a try - I used my existing account with Skype (it's free to sign up) and I decided since I was going to be calling overseas frequently, I would buy around $16 credit. I have called the US around 10 times using this service and the calls are ridiculously cheap. My balance has hardly budged at all and it will probably take me a few years to fully run it down.

How it works:

You are assigned your own Skype to Go number - I have mine programmed into my mobile phone.

On the Skype site you can set up a kind of speed dial phonebook - the great thing about setting up the numbers through Skype is that it automatically puts in the country code - all you need to do is nominate the country you are calling.

From your mobile, you can now call your Skype to Go number and the menu gives you the option of calling a number manually or selecting any one of your speed dial contacts.

Skype to Go will now put you through to the international number and you pay around 9c per call, which is an amazing deal considering most mobile phone rates for international calls.

The brilliant thing is that with $16 credit, I can call Australia to the US over 150 times before I even need to think about recharging.

technorati tags: skype, free call, cheap international call, cheap overseas call, cheap calling, skypeto go