Increase your savings while maintaining your lifestyle

Category

Author

Paul Kusli

Date

March 11, 2022

Increase your savings while maintaining your lifestyle

Throughout your lifetime it is inevitable that your income and savings will fluctuate depending on your circumstances. This means it is important to remain flexible in your spending and saving habits. During this uncertain time, many Australians are experiencing job insecurity and even those that aren�t are still overtly aware of their spending. As a result, we�re all actively looking for ways we can save our hard-earned money. While you�ve got extra time on your hands, why not put it to good use and get on top of your outgoing funds.

Review your automated payments and subscriptions

While these �set and forget� payments are convenient for those who forget to make payments or simply prefer an easier set up when paying bills that prevent overdue charges or cut off�s, sometimes they don�t necessarily work in our favour. Direct debits take control away from you and can mean you lose track of what you�re actually paying for.

Are you still even using that fitness app membership or streaming service? Maybe you previously signed up to a free trial that at completion automatically looped you into paying a monthly subscription fee you haven�t noticed coming out. Do an audit of your credit card and bank statements every 6-12 months to get on top of where your money is going and cancel those money-draining direct debits that are no longer of value to you.

Revise your bills

Over the past year, while your electricity, gas, internet and phone bills have been automating themselves, has pricing changed and you haven�t noticed? Perhaps a competitor now has a cheaper plan that offers exactly what you have now at half the cost. Keep an eye out for cheaper options you can easily make the switch to!

For example, it is quite common for pre and postpaid mobile phone plans to change in price, but many disregard the thought of making the switch to a new option. Because of this, Australians collectively spend $770 million a month on phone bills! Oblivious to the money they could be saving.

We experienced this first hand when reviewing a current plan only to find a new one had been introduced. This plan offered MORE data for LESS than what we were paying on our current subscription. Checking in on these changes took less than 5 minutes and saved us 50% on our future phone bills.

Get on top of your budget


If you don�t have a household budget now is the best time to make one! Create or revisit your budget to get your funds in order and decipher where your money is going, where you�d like it to go and give yourself a savings goal or investment to work towards.

If finances are currently a stressful topic for you, having a budget offers some structure and a plan that can make you feel more in control. A clear budget can also keep you on track for any savings goals and help you visualise upcoming expenses so that you�re prepared and not surprised.

Talk to your loans broker to get on top of your personal, home or business loans and revise your repayment plan. You can be assured that they are staying up to date with the current resources available and can continue to work with you to ensure your loan structure aligns with your future goals and needs.

Taking these steps might seem like tedious work, which is probably why many people don�t consider them! But they�re actually quite simple, essential tasks to consider if you�re looking for ways to reel in your hard-earned money. Implementing check-ins on your outgoing spending, direct debits and bill changes every couple of months can save you thousands of dollars a year- well worth the effort if you ask us! If you�re still feeling lost, SFE loans is always here for a chat. We can assess your current and potential loan options, offering advice on your financial future.