Personal finances tips:

1. Before you can start to save you should always work out your spending habits and how much money you have left at the end of each month. Click here to help you create a realistic budget that could save you thousands!
2. If starting a budget is too difficult or daunting, start by keeping a diary. Commit to carrying around a notepad in which you record all your purchases. This should include everything from your insurance bills to your morning coffee. Each entry only needs a date, a description and a dollar value. After a month, review your records and this can form the basis of your budget. Once you can see exactly where you are spending all your money, it will be easy for you to identify which purchases you could easily trim off to save a little every month.

Paying off your bills, loans and credit cards:

3. Do a credit card check - Go to www.creditcardfinder.com.au to find out if there are better offers.
4. Avoid late fees and penalties when you forget to pay your bills on time by setting up a direct debit through your bank account.
5. If you make fortnightly mortgage repayments instead of monthly repayments you can make an extra monthly payment each year. With one extra annual payment, you could dramatically reduce the repayment time of your mortgage!
6. Given variable interest rates have fallen considerably in the past year, if you keep paying the higher repayment you’ll wipe years off your loan.
7. Check out an offset account in conjunction with your mortgage repayment and use that account to pay bills instead of your every day savings account which only earns a minimal interest rate. Talk to your mortgage adviser to work out how you can pay additional funds into your mortgage.

Make the most of tax time:

8. Organise all your receipts (in a shoe box) so you can claim your full allowable deductions during tax time.
9. If you have school-age children, keep all your receipts as you may be able to claim the Education Tax Refund.
10. If you add to your super from before-tax money (ie. make a concessional contribution) you could reduce your annual tax bill!

Insurance and superannuation tips:

11. Go to www.iselect.com.au to choose the best health fund for you and your family.
12. Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils the land your house sits on, is not.
13. Stop smoking today. Besides the cost and it being bad for your health, smoking accidents account for more than 23,000 residential fires every year and you will pay higher premiums on your insurance as well. In addition, some insurers offer reduced premiums if no-one in the home smokes.
14. Life insurance can be cheaper through your super fund.
15. If your total income is less than $60,342, and you make a $1,000 after-tax contribution to super by 30 June this year, the government could give you up to $1,500. This amount will soon reduce to $1,000 after 30 June this year, so it’s worth considering!

Household related savings tips:

16. Sign up to Skype and get free phone and video calls over the internet.
17. Check out www.partykids.com.au for kids party ideas.
18. Find a bulk-billing doctor.
19. For supplements and medicines, check out www.esupplements.com.au
20. Porridge is cheaper and more filling than cereal. It’s also more comforting during winter!
21. Plan meals for the week.
22. Don’t buy lunch at work – take your own. You can save hundreds of dollars doing this.

Gas, electricity and water savings tips:

23. Switch off your hot water and all electrical appliances when on holidays.
24. A fan-forced oven uses less energy than a conventional oven.
25. Just before you go to bed or when you go out, turn off all lights and any power points for unnecessary appliances eg. TV, stereo units.
26. Use energy-saving light bulbs or use a utility broker at www.goswitch.com.au
27. Front-loading washing machines use less energy and water than top-loading automatics.
28. A half-filled dishwasher uses the same amount of energy as a full load, so fill it to capacity before each wash cycle.
29. Fit an AAA-rated low-flow showerhead.
30. Keep a bucket in your bathroom and use it to collect the water while waiting for the shower to warm up. You can then use the water collected to water your garden.
31. Take four-minute showers or less.
32. Fix leaking taps straight away. If you have to wait for a plumber, place a pot plant under it to reduce water wastage.

Transport and auto savings tips:

34. Use supermarket petrol discount coupons.
35. Fill up on Tuesday or early Wednesday.
36. Avoid hard acceleration and braking when driving. Slower speeds give better fuel economy and also save lives!
37. If you regularly use public transport, buy a weekly, monthly or quarterly ticket.

General shopping tips:

38. Write a grocery list before shopping and stick to it.
39. Over-60s, where possible, ask for a seniors discount and call Senior Shopper offers on 1300 366 265 to find the best deals.
40. Buy in bulk from the growers or farmers markets.
41. Buy birthday and Christmas presents early. Mid-season, end of financial year and mid-year clearance sales are now on.

Holidays and travel tips:

42. Camping is the best budget holiday.
43. For $1 a day, you can get a bargain one-way driving holiday at www.drivenow.com.au.
44. Book discounted flights with Jetstar on their Friday Frenzy between 4-8pm. Virgin Blue also have “red-hot” deals.
45. Online booking sites like www.bestflights.com.au and www.lastminute.com.au are perfect for spur-of-the-moment deals.

Entertainment and lifestyle tips:

46. Go to the movies on “cheap Tuesdays”.
47. Cut-back on your alcohol intake. A month of not drinking any alcohol will save money and can also improve your health.
48. You can buy discounted wines and other alcoholic drinks at www.winemakers.com.au, www.graysonline.com.au, www.charitywineservice.com.au or www.winemarket.com.au
49. Shave your head and save hundreds a year on haircutting fees. You can also raise much needed funds for the Leukaemia Foundation by signing up to the World’s Greatest Shave campaign!