Budget Tips For The Increased Cost Of Living

Australians are bracing themselves to see what Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in store for the nation’s finances on October 25.

He has flagged the Federal Budget will offer cost of living relief not handouts, with measures likely to target childcare affordability, the cost of upskilling, and medicines. If the upcoming Federal Budget and rising interest rates inspire you to budget better here are 10 things you could tackle.

Cut out automatic insurance renewals Things change in your life and automatically renewing your car, house, or health insurance can mean paying a higher premium than is necessary. Failing to review your cover could also mean it’s no longer a good fit for your needs.

Resist snacks at petrol stations Buying food on the run is likely to lead to you paying more for your snack attack. Those small impulse buys add up.

Call time on drinking and shopping Pouring a glass of wine or two and going window-shopping at a few of your favourite online stores is often a recipe for an unplanned splurge.

Farewell late fees Getting caught out paying bills late? Everything from the unpaid road toll to a missed mobile phone bill comes with a late fee. Bid farewell to late fees by automating bill payments.

Reduce cleaning costs There can be a high price attached to having clean clothes. Do you regularly go to a dry cleaner or pay for a bag wash? Even if you’re washing at home there’s ways to curb your energy costs. Use cold water and a clothesline or a drying rack instead of a dryer, and only wash when you have a full load.

Build an emergency stash Having a buffer means you’re less likely to pay interest on your credit card or rely on other expensive forms of credit if the unexpected happens.

Slash subscription costs Whether you’ve joined a gym and slacked off after a couple of months or added Stan to your Netflix to your Amazon Prime, there’s good reason to get ruthless with your ever-expanding list of subscriptions.

Save first, spend second If you spend first and save second, you’ll probably find there’s less stashed away in your savings than you might like.

Set an amount of money to save and automatically send it to your savings or investment kitty. Then make the rest of your spending fit in around it.

Ignore the bargain Who doesn’t love feeling like you’ve got a good deal? But if you’re spending beyond your means because you can’t resist a bargain it doesn’t necessarily stack up. It’s not only big-ticket items that can woo us with discounts, in the supermarket we can easily fall for the two for the price of one deals or product promotions.

Compare prices and rates With so much comparison information online there’s no excuse for not shopping around when you want to buy something. So compare prices and rates when shopping for anything from whitegoods to a home loan.