As parents, we want to nail it when it comes to teaching our kids the important lessons in life. We want them to be well behaved and polite so we teach them their manners. We want them to become decent individuals so we teach them values like honesty and respect. We want them to grow up to lead a healthy lifestyle so we teach them healthy eating … [Read more...]
Living on one income without the stress
Welcoming a new baby is such an exciting and wonderful time, but so often there is also the financial uncertainty of going from two incomes to one. Living on one income not two can leave you wondering how you'll make ends meet. Sometimes this period is short lived, but this doesn’t make it any less daunting – our financial commitments roll on … [Read more...]
Christmas on a budget – 30 ways to plan and save
Christmas is sneaky. It happens at the same time every year - but we're always surprised at how quickly it arrived. We're often never as prepared as we'd like to be, and it's therefore easy to spend more than we'd like to as the overwhelm and sheer lack of time to get organised hits home. With just under 30 days to go till the big day, … [Read more...]
A beginners guide to Qantas Frequent Flyer points
So much information, so little time to sit down and work it out and no idea where to start. Does this sound like you? This is how I felt when it came to the serious business of rewards points and frequent flyer miles. You hear the stories of your brothers, wife’s, friends, uncle taking their whole family to Europe for 4 weeks FREE on … [Read more...]
Living beyond your means – a 5 step action plan to curb out of control expenses
Are you living beyond your means? No judgement – we’ve all been there at one point or another. We all know the story. You get busy with family, kids and the general day to day juggle and demands of life and work. You forget about the budget and the savings goals you have in place in order to afford the lifestyle choices you make like … [Read more...]
How to organise your finances in 9 steps
Are you financially well organised? Financial organisation has different meanings for different people which is understandable given we all have different financial circumstances. For some of us it might mean having a budget in place and ensuring we pay our bills on time. For others it might mean we’ve hunted down the best mortgage rate and … [Read more...]
Am I eligible for the childcare rebate if I’m self-emloyed?
If you’ve ever worked from home with a toddler in tow, you’ll understand my desire to get the low down on this one. There are days when I hear her happily chatting away to herself in the background and I forget all about the need to schedule some time exclusively for me to work. It’s those days when she’s screaming, shaking the baby gate … [Read more...]
3 things a budget and diet have in common: how to succeed at both
When we think about budgeting and dieting most of us conjure up images of limitation, going without, even deprivation maybe. But neither necessarily deserves such a bad wrap! We create a budget so that we have a spending plan for our money, we can keep track of where it is going and as part of that process we are taking control of our … [Read more...]
How to improve your money management skills in 4 simple steps
In a recent survey conducted by St George Bank, 75% of Aussie mum’s considered themselves to be the CFO of the household. As CFO’s at home we are taking the reigns more and more when it comes to paying the bills, balancing the budget and general day to day management and spending of said money. Just another ‘hat’ we wear when … [Read more...]