How to

Time for Change

When redecorating your spaces, doing it yourself is a fun and money saving technique. Don’t be discouraged by your assumed lack of creativity. Online you can find ideas, tips, and even step-by-step directions for many DIY projects. Purchasing new decorations, or hiring someone can be costly. Save your pocket change by choosing to do it yourself.

DIY projects are also fun for families to work on together. To get the family to spend more time together and create a space everyone will enjoy, have the members of your family create a space in your home that represents your style. Aim for a common goal by using similar colors and materials.

Jazzing it Up a Bit

In my case, my walls were completely bare.  I couldn’t afford to buy art, or decorations from the local shops.  However, I could afford paint and canvases. Keep in mind; painting is absolutely NOT my forte.  But with the tools and idea’s I found online, I was confidant that I could come up with something good. With the help of a couple of friends, my space went from boring and dull to fun and artsy. To finish up, I rearranged my furniture a bit to really give the room a change.

Reduce & Reuse

In order to save a bit more you could paint over old wall art. Recycling canvases reduces your waste and can also create really cool textures in your new decorations. Plants and mirrors make cozy additions to any space, bringing in life and light. (Not to mention they are reasonably cheap, you could even grow your own plants). Remember to have fun, and use your resources!

What types of projects have you done yourself in order to save money?

If you find yourself walking into the kitchen and and have over-ripe bananas (I have a couple bananas in the kitchen that are over-ripe_ there is actually a better thing to do with them rather than throwing them out. You can always make healthy and delicious banana nut bread. So here is a little recipe to make one loaf of banana nut bread.

Even I can make this bread and I don’t bake or cook or make any kind of food besides cereal. So I hope that you will enjoy this recipe.

The ingredients you’ll need:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of soda
2 cups of flour
3 bananas
1/2 cup of nuts

I left the last ingredient as just nuts rather than a specific one which means you can choose whatever kind you prefer. I personally love almonds (I can munch on a handfuls at a time) however, pecans are traditionally usually used.

Mash the bananas and chop the nuts; leave them aside as you will add them to the rest of your ingredients.

Cream together the butter or margarine and the sugar in a bowl. Add each of the eggs one by one and stir in after each addition.

Add all your dry ingredients into the cream mixture. Then add in the bananas and the nuts and continue stirring.

Pour the mixture into a well-greased bread pan and bake in an oven of 160C (325F) for about an hour and fifteen minutes or until ready. Use the toothpick test to test if it is ready (insert a toothpick into the loaf and it should come out clean).

You can always make more if you have more bananas. And if you find yourself having only one or two over-ripe bananas, then go out there and buy only the amount that you need to complete the recipe.

Given two individuals: Al Dente and Summer Greene. Al and Summer have been friends since university and live about a five minute walk from each other. They both have full time jobs that allow them to live a relatively comfortable life, able to pay for basic necessities such as rent, groceries, transport, and an occasional night on the town.

Needing a Holiday

Al and Summer have both been thinking about vacation. Al wants to spend two weeks in Japan, while Summer would rather spend those two weeks in Iceland. Although they can’t seem to agree where to go for a holiday, they do agree that it would be a lot more fun if they got to go together. So they decided it would be best to start saving up for the holiday regardless of where they are going, and they would decide on a location later.

Control Urges

But if they are going to start saving, they are going to need a little help to control themselves. Summer knows that Al Dente’s weakness is food, if he could he would probably go out to eat every night. Al on the other hand knows that Summer’s weakness is clothes. Summer would have no problem spending a whole weeks’ worth of money on a full day of shopping for shoes, tops and little dresses.

Because of both of their weaknesses, they decided they would have to persuade each other into not spending as much as they usually do. Summer would have to persuade Al to pack his lunches and limit himself from eating out every night. Al would need to go shopping with Summer so she does not buy the whole store on impulse.

This little story does have its purpose. It is to show that it is ok to ask others for help in limiting yourself to spending so much money. Think of it as going to the gym. you are so much more likely to succeed in achieving your desired body if you have someone to work out with. The same goes with your finances as well. It is always good to have that support with you along the way to your goals (holiday in this example).

Propel Persuade Prevail

Know your weakness and ask your friend, spouse, or whoever to always give you that extra motivation. And it is always good to find that someone who will exercise good spending habits with you.

Al did not want to go to Summer’s Iceland and Summer did not want to go to Al’s Japan, so they decided to compromise. After about three months of packing lunches, making dinner at home, and avoiding those extra pair of boots, Al and Summer decided to spend their holiday in Italy where Summer will indulge in great food and Al will enjoy the lovely weather.

So go out there and find yourself an Al or a Summer who will push you towards funding for your goals.  This is not to say to avoid splurging friends (I have friends who are not afraid of blowing all their money on alcohol), but maybe you can come with a little compromise as a start.

Do you surround yourself with people who are more likely to splurge on food, clothes and entertainment, or does your circle of friends consist of people who live a more frugal lifestyle?

Millennial Money

The millennial generation has more access to technology than all previous generations, more than likely to have an email address, a facebook/bebo/friendster page and would rather use text messaging rather than make a phone call. What also makes generation Y different is that they are now less likely to buy a house and more likely to end up high in debt at a much earlier age.

Financial literacy rates are not nearly as high as they should be. instead of needing the cash to go forth with a purchase, they are able to just put it on credit and supposedly not have to worry about it for a while. Students at a young age should be exposed to their personal finances and learn how to make spending plans and track expenses before leaving secondary school.

Financial Responsibility and Independence

More debt is only a result of less financial responsibility of course.  Students are now able to apply for credit cards, taking out a mortgage no longer has to be the traditional 30 year  no longer requires a 20% down payment as well as a 30 year pay off rate. Now there is a greater variety of mortgages that people can take out.

Considering how we are now a credit card world, people are now able to purchase more than they earn. And unfortunately, education and housing prices have increased at a much faster rate than income. It is now harder than ever to purchase a house and to fund for an education.

Unfortunately, due to the high cost of living and sky rocketing education expenses, more young adults entering the ‘real world’ are still financially dependent on their parents. Newly graduated students still need help in paying off debts, purchasing provisions and the like.

Credit Card Convenience

I myself use a credit card for most of my purchases, from food and clothes to books and flights. This is mostly because using a credit card is so convenient. There is no need to haul around cash and to worry about whether or not you have enough in your wallet. The worst part is probably that you don’t actually see money leaving your wallet, leaving you to forget how much you have spent across the day, week, or month.

So what we can do for the future of our children is raise them differently. Financial responsibility is priceless and can not be disposed of. Purchasing goods on cash rather than credit is an excellent practice. This even goes with mortgages. Putting down 2% for a down payment calls for much higher interest rates.

Have you been exposed to any type of financial literacy education? How do you feel about how students are taught financial responsibility? And will conditions only be worse for future generations or is there some hope out there for our children to get out and remain out of debt?

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I Couldn’t Handle It

The responsibility of a stay at home mum is greater than anything I could ever handle and I often wonder how countless mothers (including my own mother) have been able to go through such a role. Women like Talia Tuhakaraina (whose video you see below about how her family manages to budget) have the responsibility of raising and taking care of their children, look after their homes, worry about groceries, doctor/dentist appointments, school work, playtime, and the list goes on.

Divide and Conquer

As daunting as it may be, mums’ responsibilities can be split, a ‘divide and conquer’ tactic if you will. Having a clear picture of household finances is very important so bills and groceries can be paid more efficiently and with casualness. A certain budget and a practice of tracking expenses can eliminate any mystery in spendings.

My own mother would take careful practice of how much she would spend on everything – food, clothes, coffee, petrol, you name it. And she would do this on a daily basis (every other day at the least). This has been a practice that my mother adopted rather recently and she exclaims that it does make things a lot easier for her in a sense that she knows where money is flowing to.

Family Involved Spending Plan

Making a spending plan is perhaps most important for families that do include stay at home mums because there is typically only one salary coming in. Having a plan eliminates the fear of not having enough money for a certain necessity in the future.

One practice that has worked is to deposit cash into separate labelled envelopes (petrol, food, clothes and the like) and to try to only use that amount. Make sure there is still income going into savings for emergencies, and debts are being paid for.

Keep Options Open

So besides the well-being of the children, the upkeep of the house, and all the other responsibilities that comes with being a stay at home mum, there are the financial responsibilities as well. And always remember that you can keep options open. Would it be worth-while financially and time-wise to have a part time job? Or would it not be worth hiring a babysitter to take care of the children? My own mother has had a couple part-time jobs in the past years (albeit only after my siblings and I were old enough to take care of ourselves).

Are there ways in which you stick to spending plans in your particular family? Are spending plans something shared with the entire family or the responsibility generally given to one person only?