Everyone thinks of “saving” money as “spending less” but the best place to start is with the money you already spend!

Below I’ve put together my top list of places to start looking when wanting to start your savings journey. This will also help you get into a more frugal mind frame of living long term and help you reach your goals not just now but always!

Check All Your Direct Debits & Subscriptions

You’d be really shocked at how many things you might have coming out of your account that you didn’t even realise. Small debit amounts for gyms, online subscriptions and apps!!

I was paying for a lot of cloud-based items like storage and premium apps that I thought I cancelled or hadn’t even realised I signed up too at one stage. These amounts all add up over the months!

Even our daughter’s swimming was still coming out when I changed centres and cancelled (they didn’t do it). So I had to follow it up and get back paid.

A great way to check also is to go into your subscriptions in iTunes and see what is active.

Another great way is to check your PayPal account and see what is active there, you might have a recurring payment authorised you don’t want or need.

Automate Your Savings

Depending on how and where you save your money, set up a manageable amount you can part with each week/fortnight/month so it’s building up without you even seeing it.

We save via our home loan, so I have a manual direct debit each week to pay this PLUS a set amount on top that goes with this weekly. This means we are building our savings against our home loan which is also offsetting our loan.

I find this is a great way for us as it’s out of arm’s reach to access the money (we need to go into a branch to get it out as we didn’t set up online banking for it).

Even if you just had $20 a week automatically going into an account on payday, you just become used to it and don’t see it happen so you’re unlikely to touch it!

Get a Better Credit Card

If you use a credit card like me, then making sure you have the best card for your circumstances is critical!

We use our card to pay for everything, then pay it off each month (never paying interest). We also use it to collect Qantas Frequent Flyer Points. So having a card with the best points was a big thing for us.

Look at annual fees versus the interest rates to see what it’s really costing you each year. Compared to the value of the points you collect as well.

Collect Points

Going on from my last point, you should be making every dollar you spend work for you. So if there is a reward system for the places you shop, then use it!!

Even something as little as your Priceline card. You could be getting hundreds each year back in rewards! Just to spend on MORE makeup, since you’re already buying it so much 😉

As mentioned, we collect Qantas points and so it’s dictating where we shop for groceries (Woolworths for Everyday Rewards/Qantas Points), petrol, who we fly with and what type of credit cards we have to maximise this!

It also means we shop largely with a credit card so every dollar we spend earns us points. I do however only recommend this if you can afford it. If you are paying interest on a credit card then it’s never going to be worth it.

Always consult your banking institution or an independent financial advisor if you want to know if this is right for you.

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Use Cash Back Websites

I’ve talked about these a lot lately as I’m a recent convert myself. I know it seems too good to be true, but if you think about it, it makes sense.

Retailers are on these sites to incentivise people to shop with their particular store over a competitor. Because they are offering a discount/offer.

For example, I use ShopBack because Woolworths is on there. I also have the Chrome Extension on my laptop. So when I go to any site listed with ShopBack the offer loads automatically, making it basically effortless.

The amount then goes in your ShopBack account and you can transfer to your PayPal or bank account when it builds up! I try not to touch mine until I have a few hundred dollars, then transfer straight to my savings!

Constantly Check In On Your Utilities & Banking

I’m sure everyone knows this one, but it’s the actual doing that I think most people get caught up on!

It would be fair to say you should be checking these each quarter. Just making sure you have the best rates and offers possible.

These are the items you should be looking at:

• Your bank accounts
• Home loans (and other loans)
• Water/Gas/Electricity Providers
• Phone Bill
• Insurances (Car/Home/Health/Travel)

Superannuation

Another one I’ve spoken about a lot is your SUPER! This is the biggest savings account you will ever have over your life most likely, so DO NOT IGNORE IT.

Check in what your rates are, what offers they have during your maternity leave or when you’re not working. Make contributions where you can and shop around and don’t be afraid to move it when better offers come around.