When people think about saving money to buy a home, they’re usually focused solely on putting away a percentage of their pay packet.
But there are easy ways to squirrel money away without even realising you’re doing it.
And while they might seem like trivial amounts, add them all together over months and years and you’re talking about thousands of dollars in savings, which you can then add to your house deposit or use to help pay off your home loan.
Check your bank statements
This one could be called “How to spend money without even noticing it”.
Ever checked your bank statement and noticed charges for subscriptions, apps or other recurring items that you’d completely forgotten you were paying for?
Do you have recurring subscriptions you aren’t aware of or have forgotten about? Picture: Getty
A $5 weekly payment here and a $10 monthly payment there all adds up to hundreds of dollars each year that you could be saving if you took a couple of minutes to cancel them, according to RBK Advisory director Jason Robinson.
“I actually found one recently where iTunes was charging me $10 a month for a Techwise subscription that I signed up for two years ago. It was effectively $240 I’d paid and I’d never even read one magazine of it,” Robinson says.
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Use tech to round up your purchases
Some banks are now using new technology to help you put away small amounts of money as part of your everyday purchases.
If you buy something with your bank or debit card, some banks can now round up the price to the nearest dollar (or whatever parameter you set) and put that extra amount straight into your savings account.
“If you go and buy your $4.20 coffee, you can set it to round-up to the nearest dollar, and that extra 80 cents or however much it is goes straight across to your savings account,” Robinson says.
“That’s definitely a tech savvy, new age way of moving some money around without even noticing it.”
Renegotiate your bills and insurance
Every time you turn on a light, switch on the heater or get in your car, you’re paying for the privilege.
You only notice it when your bills arrive in the mail, of course, but what you might not realise is that you can almost certainly get a better deal than what you’re currently paying.
Spending an hour or two reviewing your home loan interest rates, credit card interest rates and your utility rates and then demanding a better deal from your providers might not be the most inspiring way to spend an afternoon, but those providers will almost always come to the party, and you can then enjoy years of cheaper bills and savings without giving it a second thought.
Buy and cook in bulk
We’re all busy, and sometimes it’s hard to think more than a day or two ahead, but buying ingredients and prepping your meals in one fell swoop each week is a surefire way to save you both time and plenty of money.
Preparing and cooking meals in bulk can become an enjoyable routine that could save your family hundreds each year. Picture: Getty
“We cook in bulk,” Robinson says, “and do a lot of meal prep on a Sunday so that for the whole week we’ve got our meals planned and we’re not buying takeaway meals during the week.”
“When you’re buying lunch every day, before you know it you’re dropping $10 or $20 and spending more money than you realise by the end of the week.”
Change your change habits
No one likes lugging around spare change in their purse or wallet. So make a habit of emptying your coins and small notes into a jar or tin, and you’ll be stunned at how quickly it adds up.
“We don’t spend coins or small amounts. Basically any time there are coins, they go into the coin tin, and whenever that fills up it gets taken to the bank and deposited into our rainy day savings account,” Robinson says.
