Taking Care With My Money
Money Management-
Having a job and working as a as a nurse can be rewarding at times, but one way we are rewarded for our work is that we receive payment through financial income. Money is ‘something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment’
(https://www.merriam-webster.com).
About a year ago, I realised that at times my money management was a bit off and I had to look at where my money was going. Then I had an honest realisation that I had bad habits with money generally, it was going out but I was blind to how much and where my money was going. This was mainly due to the set up of automatic payments directly coming out of my bank account.
Over the years, I just let the amounts come out of my account, I never reviewed what I could have saved by finding better prices.
Overall, I didn’t want to calculate how much I was losing over that time period, as that would have been too painful for me. It was time to make some changes.
Here are 5 Financial Changes I’ve made to take care of my money –
1. Health insurance-
For years with my health insurance policy was on a corporate plan, I left that job years ago but I didn’t change the plan and it was costing me heaps. I then changed the health insurance to a more suitable plan and now I’m paying half of what I was previously paying.
2. Food-
Tips, like not buying coffee, but brewing coffee at home, doesn’t always work especially when I’m out and about for the whole day. But I do try to make a batch of my own meals and freeze them on a weekly basis, as it saves me buying meals at a cafe. Cafe food is deliciously tempting but I enjoy creating meals of my own, the feeling of achievement is great, especially if the meals work out, hehe.
3. Maximised my salary packaging-
As a nurse, salary packaging is a tax effective way to save some money through your employer, with your salary packaging amount taken out pre-tax from your salary each time you are paid.
Benefits you can salary package- rent/mortgage payments, car novated lease, holiday accommodation & venue hire, work related expenses, professional development education and more.
4. Shopped around and got cheaper energy bills-
Comparing energy suppliers and plans can save you quite a bit, visit the Australian Government’s Energy Made Easy website, the Victorian Energy Compare website if you live in Victoria, or Energy Switch if you live in New South Wales.
5.Credit carD-
I switched my credit card to a card with a low rate of interest, this allowed me to pay off what was outstanding and after that period I reviewed whether I really needed a few credit cards, so I cancelled some of them and have only one credit card now.
Let’s make time to see the world – “Wherever you go, go with all your heart”
– Confucius
Impact of these changes –
These are only a few examples, of course there are other ways to saving money, but what I’ve learnt is my habits had a huge impact, I should have been reviewing and comparing different financial products at least yearly.
It’s all baby steps but the impact is positive as these small changes have momentum and have accumulated to build up some extra spare change in my back pocket. Having a little extra money has allowed me to have some breathing space as my worries have reduced too, as a whole any financial issues are quite a burden for a person to carry.
I’ve realised I have to be mindful and intentional with my financial habits, maybe having healthy finances is part of well being as well.
Let me know in the comments below if you use any strategies to manage your money.
Mindful about money, Thanks for reading
Useful Websites –
Comparison websites-
www.finder.com.au
www.canstar.com.au
Check out a budget planner on-
www.moneysmart.gov.au
Disclaimer-
Aussie Nurse does not provide financial advice, please do your own research and gain advice from appropriate financial professionals, as to tailor to your personal circumstances.
[Photo by lucas Favre]
‘The world is your oyster’
– William Shakespeare