With the summer months and post-Christmas Sales fast approaching, often the temptation is to splurge on new clothes, dinners out or expensive holidays.
Whilst these activities might seem like a lot of fun right now, they can be very dangerous to your bank balance especially if you are paying off a mortgage.
There are plenty of ways to have a great time without blowing your budget.
Make use of your home
For starters, spend more time enjoying the home you’ve been working so hard to pay off.
Skip those expensive restaurant meals by inviting friends around for dinner.
You might even find, they may start returning the favour!
Get creative in the kitchen
Try making your lunch the night before rather than buying it at work.
You’ll save the money you would have spent buying lunch, and skill keep those extra precious minutes in bed on those early weekday mornings.
Curb that shopping habit
Cast a critical eye over last year’s wardrobe. With op-shopping all the rage, you might find the best vintage look is already hanging in your closet.
You can always hit up Ebay and sell anything you really don’t want online.
Get in shape the old-fashioned way
You don’t need to join a gym to stay in shape, take advantage of the warmer weather and venture outdoors!
Go for a jog before or after work or take your running gear to work and hit the pavement at lunch time.
Save on utilities
You could find savings in those monthly or quarterly bills that keep on stacking up.
Talk to your gas, electricity and telephone providers and compare rates to see if you can get a better deal.
If you live in Victoria, use the Victorian Governments Energy Compare website to see how much you can save.
Put those savings into your mortgage
You’ll find the extra money you save could be put to good use in paying off your mortgage.
Pretend that interest rates are higher and make larger repayments – not only will you pay the loan off sooner, but you’ll be better placed to cope should rates eventually rise.
If you want to find out more, contact us to see how we can help.