Debt free and cashed up - rediscover your money in 2007

Cashed Up Habits

2008 is the year to rediscover your money and one way to do that is with cashed up habits ï¿½ those habits that save your money for you. Cashed up habits are the little things that you unconsciously do the Cheapskates way.

Throughout this year I will be sharing cashed up habits with you, a new one every 21 days. These are the little things that on their own, once, don't add up to much. But together, done repeatedly, they will help you to rediscover your money.

Every 21 days there is a brand new cashed up habit for you to develop. You may like to add these cashed up habits to your life or develop your own. Either way, by the end of 2008 you will have 17 brand new cashed up habits working for you. Automatically. Without you having to think about them.

One way to make something concrete and stick in our minds is to write it down so we have produced a Cashed Up Habits goal sheet where you can write your new habits down. Remember, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit so repetition is the key.

Make yourself a promise now to work on your cashed up habits in 2008. To make this easier for you we have created the Cashed Up Habits goal sheet. Get your free Cashed Up Habits goal sheet here and start your cashed up habits today.

Cashed Up Habit No. 17 – December 4 - 24

The time has finally arrived! I've been getting emails and phone calls for weeks now about the 50 box and what we are going to do with it.

Well today we are going to count it. I've cheated, I counted ours last night, so I could tell you how much was in it. Woo hoo, we have saved a grand total of $147.50 in our 50 box! Go and count yours now and tell me how much you've saved, I'm dying to know. I'll make it easy for you, send me a quick email here, I can't wait to here from you.

I asked you to save your 50 cent coins for a couple of reasons. Firstly to get into the habit of consciously putting money, even if it is just 50 cents, aside and saving it. I can honestly say that when I put each 50 cent into the box I didn't miss it and it didn't mean that I was deprived of anything and I'm pretty sure you didn't miss them either.

Secondly having a cash "bonus" at Christmastime is a real help. The gifts have been bought and wrapped and food and goodies are stashed in the pantry, fridge and freezer and because we planned for a cash Christmas (back in June) our budget is intact and looking good. Now, because of faithfully saving just 50 cent coins, we have the money to splurge on extra treats.

It may be the movies on Boxing Day (I hear it's the biggest day of the year for Cinemas) or an extra special meal out. I may mean that you can give the kids extra treats during the holidays, in fact it may mean that you can actually have a holiday.

I would like you to take this money and do something special with it. You have faithfully developed a brand new way of looking at money during this year and you deserve a reward.

Next year we'll be saving for something else.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Cashed Up Habit No. 13 – September 11 – October 1

No more stinkin’ thinkin’

The biggest downfall we face when we choose to live the Cheapskates way is our attitude. Don’t think of being frugal as being cheap. It isn’t. Living the Cheapskates way is empowering. The peace of mind and sense of security you have of knowing that you are debt free or are well on the way to being debt free and that you have an emergency fund and savings cannot be bought.

A Cheapskate lifestyle isn’t one of deprivation or mean-spiritedness. Cheapskates are generous and give of their money, time and energy with wisdom.

For the next three weeks, every single day I would like you to focus on your goals: building your emergency fund, adding to your savings, staying within the grocery budget, paying cash for purchases or not adding any more debt, whatever goals you have. Make a list of your goals and then next to each one put one thing you can do that will help you accomplish that particular goal.

Wear your title of Cheapskate as a badge of honour and be proud of your aims and plans for the future. Remember that there is a greater reason for not spending the money.

Cashed Up Habit No. 12 – August 21 – September 10

Have you ever added up just how much you spend on entertainment? Not just a movie or the occasional meal out, but the magazines, movie hire, snacks and drinks when you’re out, coffee with friends, shopping?

We are going to work on developing a habit of looking for free entertainment. Yes free! You can do the obvious things like go to the park and borrow books and DVDs from your library but what about the less obvious things?

I challenge you to not spend a cent on entertainment for the next 21 days.

Ring the girls and have coffee at your place rather than the local coffee shop. Only shop for the things you need, no wandering around shopping centres browsing. Window shopping invariably leads to spending even if it’s just $1.60 for a bottle of water.

Instead of going out to eat, invite friends or family to bring their dinner to your home and have a potluck. Make it more exciting by making it a progressive dinner, with one course at each home.

Aim to replace costly entertainment with free family activities or nature outings. Being together is the key, not how fancy or expensive the outing is.

Cashed Up Habit No. 11 – July 31 – August 20

For the next three weeks we are going to review our utility expenses and then shop around for better deals. Loyalty should be two-way, if you are loyal to a particular service provided they in turn should be loyal to you, their customer and do their very best for you.

You are not locked in to any service provider. You can shop around for the best deals on electricity, gas, phone, Internet, mobile phone, insurances (all of them – health, car, house, contents, life), lawn mowing, window washing – in fact any service you are paying for.

I recently spent just 20 minutes on the phone to our Internet service provider and not only boosted our plan but reduced the monthly cost by $23 ($276 a year). I had found a better deal with another company and rang them to find out if they could equal it. Instead, after talking to the customer service rep for a few minutes they gave me an ever better deal. As we have never had any problems with this company I was more than happy to stay.

Shopping around for your insurances can also pay off. Consider bundling them together, you may get a better deal. Health insurance can also be a big expense. Shop around for the plan that is best suited to you and your family circumstances. Try iselect.com.au to find a product tailored to suit your needs and your pocket.

Don’t just blindly accept the charges from your service providers; be prepared to spend some time on the phone asking a few questions. It could save you hundreds of dollars during the coming year. It’s well worth the time and effort and it’s a habit we should all develop.

Cashed Up Habit No. 10 – July 10 - July 30
Take 10% off

This habit is going to save you some real money. Ten percent in fact. Ten percent of your grocery bill. We are going to aim to get our grocery bill down by ten percent next time we shop. If you normally spend $200 on groceries you'll have $20 in your hot little hand at the end of the shop. At the end of a year you will have $1040 dollars in your bank account simply because you developed a new habit – cutting your grocery bill by ten percent.

So how do you do this? Here are some ideas to get you started:
*Menu plan – if you know what you're going to eat you won't be buying without a plan
*Make a shopping list – use your menu and then go through the fridge, freezer and pantry and only buy what you need
*Stick to the list – if it's not on your list you don't buy it
*Cut back on the treats and junk food – do some baking rather than buying biscuits and cakes, make your own dips, use Lebanese bread instead of chips and crackers
*Don't buy fizzy drinks – make your own cordial or ginger beer, or try some homemade lemonade
*Try cheaper brands – if you don't like them you can always go back to your usual brand
*Put a small basket in the seat of the shopping trolley – any impulse buys go into the small basket, not the trolley. When you get to the checkout you can decide if you really need or want them, before they get swallowed up in the real shopping.

Cashed Up Habit No. 9 – June 18 – July 9
Well we are halfway through our Cashed Up Habits year. How are you going? Have you been working on your Cashed Up habits?

We have been faithfully putting our change in the box we made each night and it's almost full and very heavy. The kids are looking forward to opening it and counting how much we have saved. And this is real savings, not imaginary. The money in this box will be going straight into the bank for a purpose (remember I told you earlier that the money would be used for something in particular).

Cashed Up Habit No. 9 is going to take some imagination, thought and perhaps a little creativity. For the next 21 days we are going to be thinking of a cashed up Christmas.

Now is the time to make your gift list, set your budget and start looking at how you can come in under budget.

Click here to get your Christmas Gift List

I suggest you make a list of everyone you would like to give a gift to, including teachers, lollipop ladies (or men), sports instructors, family, friends, colleagues, the garbage man if you are so inclined.

Then next to each name put down the amount you are prepared to spend. Now you may need to go back over these figures because what you are prepared to spend and what you will be able to spend may well be very different. Don't worry you have options.

Part of the fun of this habit is setting your budget and then working out how you can get the gifts you've chosen under budget.

Think about making them (start now - they may not get done otherwise), growing them, shopping at alternative places (markets, op shops, factory outlets, swapmeets, fetes, garage sales, even organizing your own swap party), and taking advantage of mid-year sales and lay-by.

Get your Christmas Gift List here

Cashed Up Habit No. 8 – May 28 – June 17
Target Takeaway

This may be a hard habit to develop, especially if you have developed a habit for takeaway meals.

Over the next three weeks, limit the number of takeaway meals you have and put the money you would have spent straight into your coin box.

It really doesn't take any longer to prepare a meal at home than it does to order it over the phone and have it delivered or get in the car, wait in the queue and bring it home.

You can prepare takeaway style meals at home:

Fish and chips – use frozen fish and chips or wedges and serve with salad
Pizza – use pita bread or a scone dough as a base if you don't want to make a yeast one (but it's really easy). Spread with tomato sauce or pasta sauce, sprinkle with herbs and add your toppings. Grated cheese, sliced onion, pineapple and sliced tomato is easy to prepare, use left over meats with tomato sauce and cheese. Bake them in a hot oven for 20 minutes and you have dinner ready.
Hamburgers – a good hamburger is hard to find and they are definitely better homemade.
Fried rice, stir-fry, Singapore noodles are all quick and easy to prepare.
Toasted sandwiches and foccacias are good standbys for easy meals too

Cashed Up Habit No. 7 May 7 - 27
For the next 21 days we are going to only buy what we need. Before you buy anything at all ask yourself if you are going to use it, either yourself or as a gift to someone else. Do you really need that particular bargain, even if it is 50% off? If the answer is no put it back on the shelf.

This will be great practice for our next Cashed Up Habit.

Cashed Up Habit No. 6 April 15 - May 6
Cash Only!

Shop only with cash - for petrol, milk, lunches, groceries, bills - for 21 days and see what a difference it makes to your life. It will take some getting used to, but you can do it. And if you are worried about emergencies 'hide' $50 in the zipper compartment of your handbag or wallet. But don't spend it - it's emergency money only.

Force yourself to actually walk into a bank (of course you have time - you must get a lunch break and if you don't then use the ATM) and withdraw the cash you will need to get through the week. Then leave the plastic at home in a safe place.

Good luck for the next 21 days of your cash only diet - send me an email and let me know how you go! I may not be able to answer your emails, but be sure that I will read them all.

Cashed Up Habit No. 5 March 26 - April 15
The $100/24 Hour Rule:

The $100/24 Hour rule is so good if you're tempted to buy something: if it's more than $100, wait 24 hours before buying it. Then, if you still need it or really want it, think about how you can afford to get it. Do you have the cash on hand? Will you need to borrow from the budget? Will you have to go into debt to buy it (credit cards, store loans etc)? Can you raise the money to buy it (overtime, garage sale, use birthday money etc)?

Most of the time you've changed your mind, realized you don't really even like it or just plain can't be bothered going back to the shop to get it! You've just saved yourself a couple year worth of debt re-payments!

And I bet you don't feel deprived either!

Cashed Up Habit No. 4 March 5 - 25
The 3 R's Can Save You Money!

REDUCE, RE-USE AND RECYCLE means more than putting out the recycling bin. If you can reduce, we have less non-recyclable waste and less resources will be used in the process of recycling.

This applies to re-using. And by re-using instead of buying something new, you are saving the resources that would have gone into that new product and saving money!

And recycling, well, that should be considered the second-to-last resort in the terms of putting an item in your recycling bin. It's great that some wastes are being recycled rather than going to landfill, but the recycling process itself uses a lot of energy and resources. Try to avoid landfill waste and keep as much as possible out of the recycling box too.

Cashed Up Habit No. 3 February 12 - March 4
For the next 21 days we are going to cut back on bought lunches and treats to go in those lunches. Packing a lunch at home can cost as little as $0 - yes, that's right absolutely nothing. Taking leftovers gives you a free meal. You've already paid for the meal, the leftovers are free. Even packing a sandwich, drink and fruit can be thrifty - from as little as $1.23 (see Lunchbox 101). Each day record the cost (a quick calculation will do) of your lunch and then deduct that amount from what you would normally spend for lunch. There's your savings. Now be quick and put it in an envelope. At the end of our 21days how much extra cash will you have to put towards your savings or to add to a debt repayment? And I bet you haven't even been hungry.

Cashed Up Habit No. 2 January 22 - February 11
What do you do with your change? Cashed Up Habit No. 2 will help you to save your change. You'll be surprised at just how quickly you can save considerable sums of money, without even noticing.

For the next 21 days you are going to empty your pockets, purses and wallets of 50 cent coins. I don't really mind where you put them, but you are not going to use them. You can put them in an empty jam jar or a lunchbox or you can make a special 50 box just for this purpose.

You can make a great 50 box from an empty flip top soap powder box. We covered ours with a scrap of left over contact so it's completely sealed and then cut a slit in the top to drop the coins through. Everyone knows this is the 50 box and it's not to be touched.

Try this for the next 21 days and see just how much money you haven't spent.

And don't be tempted to dip into, there are plans for this money, just wait and see.

Cashed Up Habit No. 1 January 1 - 21
This month you are going to start tracking your spending. By writing down every cent you spend, either in cash or plastic, you will know exactly where your money is going and rediscover some that may be lost throughout the year by frittering it away. Making this simple change and recording your spending will create a healthy cashed up habit in just 21 days. Use our handy Cashed Up Habits goal sheet to get you going.

You can do it!