Tracking your expenses is the first step to getting a handle on your spending habits. The second step is to reduce your spending foibles so that there is more money in the kitty for things that really matter to you. To do this you need a plan of attack.

Takeaway food is our biggest spending issue. Yours might be clothing, or work lunches, or movies, or drinks out with friends. Whatever the area of spending is that you want to reduce, the same strategy applies.

1. Understand the underlying reasons for spending

Firstly, you need to understand why you’re spending when you are and on what. What is your spending trigger. For example, we buy takeaway when I’m tired and I don’t feel like cooking (or washing up) and there isn’t an easier option in the cupboard.

If work lunches is an expense you want to reduce, are you not taking your own because you don’t have time in the mornings to prepare them, you’re not sure of tasty bring-from-home alternatives, or you don’t have anything in the cupboard to take with you?

If you buy too many clothes, is it because you’re bored, or does it give you a confidence boost?

Being aware of why you spend money on things help you to avoid those situations in the first place and to devise a contingency plan for when temptation strikes.

2. The backup plan

Unless you’re in dire straits or you have amazing willpower, you won’t be able to just stop your spending foibles cold turkey. After all, as you have considered above, you have good reasons for spending money when you do and on the things that you do. Instead you need to replace your spending habits with alternatives that are just as good if not better. Enter the backup plan.

For us, the backup plan for avoiding takeaway is would be to always have something easy on hand that my husband can cook and that doesn’t involve a heap of washing up. Like oven bake fish.

If work lunches are your downfall, then a backup plan may be to cook extra for dinner and take leftovers to work, or to prepare lunch the night before, or to keep a few easy lunch options at work like tinned soup or tuna and cruskits.

Maybe an alternative to outings with friends might be ‘innings’ with friends. Drinks at home, lunch in the backyard or video night. Instead of coffee and cake, maybe a flask of coffee and homemade cake in the park.

The key to the backup plan is to be prepared. Advanced planning is essential, so you are ready when the spending bug bites. Bickies in the park sounds great, but if your friend rings up and says, ‘coffee in an hour,’ you will need to have a few bickies stashed in the back of the cupboard for just these occasions. So once you’ve recognised your spending triggers, put the backup plan into place ASAP, so that it’s in play for next time KFC (or whatever your temptation is) comes a-callin’.

Have you read these articles?:

1. how to give your savings plan a quick boost
2. Our Current Fortnightly Menu Plan
3. 10 ways to save money TODAY

We don’t have too many spending foibles, but our biggest one is takeaway food. We eat it as an “I couldn’t be bothered to cook” option, but really it is overprice, unsatisfying crap that is taking money away from things that we truly value or actually need. So it is our takeaway food expenditure that I’ve been looking at lately and I thought I would share the results to show how graphing your data can be quite revealing.

There is only one way to really get a hold of your finances, and that is to track your expenditure by writing down every cent spent and organising it into specific categories. Once you have written down all expenses for a month, you can then plot the total on a graph and get an immediate visual impression of your spending patterns and overall trend over time.

I’ve been keeping a budget for quite some time, so I have a fair bit of data to graph. I’ve kept a budget since 2005, but it was only since 2007 that I actually starting categorising our expenses more specifically. Below is a graph of our actual takeaway expenditure since the beginning of 2007 to the present day.

The graph clearly shows the good months and the not so good. Purge and splurge isn’t an unusual pattern of spending. We swear we’ll do better this month, and then make up for it by going on a bender the next. Looking at the graph, it took a while to remember what happened in July 2007 as it is so obviously higher than every other month. It was the month we moved house, so I assume there was more packing and unpacking and less cooking.

In 2010 it seems we have come off the purge and splurge rollercoaster somewhat. Our chart shows higher lows, but also lower highs. In fact, the monthly takeaway bill is sitting fairly steadily between $100 and $150. Maybe we are reaching a plateau for takeaway spending, although I still think we have a little way to go before I’m happy with our takeaway spending level.

You will notice that I’ve added a trend line to the graph, which cuts through the monthly ups and downs to show that we are gradually reducing our takeaway expenditure overall. Despite the bad months, we are still reducing our overall yearly expenditure on takeaway. This is supported by the following graph which charts yearly takeaway expenditure.

The 2010 amount is projected. I’ve take the amount we’ve spent in the first 6 months and doubled it to get a projected figure for the year.

As the graph shows, we had a big drop in takeaway expenditure in 2008 followed by a more gradual reduction in expenditure for 2009 and (all things being equal) 2010.

If I had to guess before I did this little exercise whether or not we were spending less on takeaway, I would have said that it was my impression that we were, but I wouldn’t be sure. The above graphs are gratifying. We may not have reached our target yet, but at least I can see clearly that we’re heading in the right direction.

What is your spending foible? Have a go at tracking your expenditure (if you don’t already) and create a graph of the data. It will not only provide insight into your spending patterns, it will also give you motivation to continue working towards your financial goals.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Charting Your Progress – Creating Graphs In Excel
2. Preparing The Household Budget For 2010
3. Gaining Control Of Your Finances Part Two

I admit that the photo doesn’t look all that appetising, but this recipe is actually quite tasty. And as a bonus it is healthy and quick to make. I would say it is also quite inexpensive, but as someone has poisoned the winter crops up north, tomatoes and eggplants are going to get a little pricey for a while.

Use this as a dip with some toasted Turkish bread or as a sandwich spread. In the photo above, I have spread it on toast with some cream cheese, a nice combo. The recipe makes about 2 cups.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
2. Cut all vegetables into chunks. Place in a large baking dish, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and bake for 45 minutes or until soft (the time will depend on the size of the vegetable chunks. If they are really small, it may take less than 45 minutes).
3. Cool and process in a blender or use a stick blender until just smooth. Add lemon juice and extra salt to taste. I used about 3 Tbsp. Just keep tasting and adding until it tastes good.
4. Store in the fridge, but this pate tastes better at room temperature.

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2. Easy Chinese Style Lemon Chicken
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Life in the 21st Century. Full of the blessings of modern conveniences. Cars, dishwashers, remote controls, SMS, microwave meals. Live life with more time, more energy. Get things done with less effort. Or at least that’s the promise. And yet all these conveniences represent the paradox of modern times.

Modern conveniences are meant to save time. Yet we have less leisure time than ever before.

Modern conveniences are meant to save us energy, yet result in us consuming more energy from the environment. And we are more tired than ever.

The standard of living in the western world has never been higher. Yet we have never been less happy that we are today.

In an attempt to make life easier, we have become detached from our physicality and by extension the physical world around us.

We are disconnected, disengaged, disillusioned, dissatisfied and living in disharmony with ourselves, with others and with our natural environment.

I’m not advocating that we surrender all modern technology for a ascetic life reminiscent of the middle ages. Just that we need to pause for a moment and reconnect on a physical level.

There is only one way to connect with our physical selves, and that is to be physical: to work and to play and to use our muscles. And by connecting to ourselves on a physical, in the moment level, we are also connecting with our minds and the natural world.

So let’s get sweaty. Enjoy the feeling of not being in climate controlled comfort. Savour the effort. To truly feel relaxed, to appreciate the rest a comfortable bed brings, we must first feel tired after a busy day. But busyness in itself isn’t satisfying, the satisfaction comes from accomplishing something meaningful that you can be proud of.

Put away the modern conveniences every now and then. Knead bread. Use the stairs. Walk to the shops. Hang out the washing. Dig the garden.

When employing time saving devices, make the most of the time saved. Don’t fill it with minutiae. Make the most of your energy saved. Do something meaningful. And if, despite all these modern conveniences, you have neither time nor energy, maybe it’s time to ask: ‘are you happy about that?’

Appreciate the value of repetitive, boring tasks every now and then. They can be meditative, allowing for quiet contemplation. Have you enjoyed quiet contemplation lately? The mundane, everyday tasks allows the mind to be still. In the stillness, our intuition and creativity unfold. It is often at these times we have our best insights and ideas. Many of my ideas for this blog come when I’m washing the dishes or doing the ironing.

Doing things for ourselves, with our own hands is also a source of pride and satisfaction. In the attempt to satisfy every want with stuff, we have stolen from ourselves the very thing that makes us happy. ‘Retail therapy’ can never replace the joy of eating your own produce, wearing your own creations with pride, or giving a gift to a delighted recipient and declaring ‘I made it myself.’

And yes, as the picture suggests, our modern conveniences are costing us not only our health but our hard earned wages as we attempt to replace our lack of physicality at the gym. Everyday activity equates to incidental exercise – easier and cheaper than slogging it out on the treadmill.

Have you read these articles?:

1. what is the simple life?

When it comes to work related costs that are potentially tax deductible, the best scenario is one where your employer pays all or most of your work related costs. Why? Because even though these costs may be 100% tax deductible, that doesn’t equate to you getting 100% of the cost back. And after all, these expenses are incurred in employment, so the employer should be covering them (that’s the unionist in me talking).

Let’s work through an example to demonstrate.

Joe earned $45,000 this year. This puts him in the 30% income tax bracket. The following shows how much tax he will have to pay.

Net taxable income	$45,000
Tax due	$7,350
Medicare levy (1.5% of taxable income)	$675
Total tax due	$8,025

Now let’s assume Joe has taken some training to improve his work performance at a cost to him of $500, which he claims as a deduction on his tax return. The following shows the difference in the amount of tax that Joe has to pay and how much he is still out of pocket for his training costs.

Ignoring Medicare for a moment, the amount that Joe is getting back is 30% of the original $500 expense despite the fact that he is claiming 100% of the cost. If he were in the 38% tax bracket, he would get 38% of the original cost back at tax time. The amount your receive back on your work related deductions is proportionate to the income tax bracket you fall in according to your net taxable income.

Joe is still out of pocket $342. If his employer had paid the training cost, Joe would be out of pocket $0.

I realise that employers may not, will not (and in some cases should not) pay all deductible employment expenses. In this case, at least you can get some money back on work expenses as a deduction in tax. If you can though, get your employer to pay for work place expenses, you will be better off financially if you do.

On the other hand, you may take on extra training or incur other expenses for your own benefit (without regard to your employer). Assuming that you can show how these expenses are related to your current employment, then you will be able to receive a portion of these expenses back at tax time.

For more information on tax rates or on workplace deductions may be available to you, check out the ATO website. Don’t forget to keep all receipts or a record of expenses so that you are able to claim all available deductions.

Have you read these articles?:

1. calculating your real hourly wage
2. How To Avoid Credit Card Fraud
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This is one of our favourite dishes. Mushrooms, paprika, mustard, wine and sour cream – these are a few of my favourite things. This dish is so quick, easy and tasty and most of the ingredients are pantry staples, I don’t know why anyone would want to make this with a packet mix.

Method

1. Toss beef strips with flour, salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil to medium hot and brown the beef in small batches. Remove from pan.
3. Add a little more oil and cook the onion for a couple of minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the wine and scrape up any flour from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add paprika, tomato paste, mustard and stock and simmer for a couple of minutes.
6. Return the meat and the juices to the pan and simmer for another minute, then add in the sour cream and parsley and stir until just heated through.
7. Serve on rice or pasta.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Creamy “Chicken Tonight” Takeoff With Rice
2. spaghetti bolognaise
3. Cheap Cheap Chicken Pie

I’ve been thinking about what aspect of frugality I could write about today.

I could write about 101 ways to reuse dryer sheets, how to save money by feeding your family beans and lentils, I could calculate the savings of squeezing that extra morsel of toothpaste out of the tube.

But…

…sometimes what we don’t do is just as important as what we do.

So today to be frugal: do nothing.

Don’t buy crap. In fact, today avoid the shops altogether.

Leave the car at home if you can.

Leave the TV and the computer, the Playstation and the iPod switched off. Instead, spend time talking with your family, reading a book, or savouring the silence.

Relax, regenerate, reengage, revive, regroup.

People talk about having ‘frugal fatigue’. This frugal tip won’t tire you out. It won’t take any extra effort, drain your energy or use any concentration. If you’re used to a fast paced, burn out, over consumed world

then today

do nothing.

Have you read these articles?:

1. 10 skills for a frugal life
2. you know you’re frugal when…
3. What does it mean to be frugal?

What are your fond memories of childhood?

Most of your favourite childhood memories won’t be about things. Your most poignant memories will be the most simple. A single smell will transport you back to a moment that makes you stop and smile. The most sentimental memories won’t be about perfection: they will involve flaws, mess, calamity and fun. Your childhood memories will reflect your unique family environment and the adult you grew into.

Our homes are the heart of our family. Today, there is a lot of emphasis on creating the ‘perfect’ environment for our families. Entire magazines are dedicated to having designer looking houses. There are TV programmes with the premise that life will be better when we make-over our lounge rooms. And once we’ve established the perfect look, we have all sorts of  machines and concoctions to maintain it, clean it, tidy it and ensure it is germ free.

There’s nothing wrong with having a comfortable home to live in. In fact, it is the job of the ‘homemaker’ to make a house a home. I wonder though, if in our attempt to recreate perfect, cookie-cutter lifestyles we are robbing ourselves and our families of our own uniqueness and personality at the same time.

In our attempt to cushion our lives, insulate ourselves from experiencing the true nature of life: feeling hot or cold, feeling pain occasionally and the sweet, satisfying fatigue that comes after a day of productive toil; in our attempt to avoid any feeling of ‘deprivation’ from not having what we want when we want it, from not having what the Jones’ have, I wonder: are we stealing away the very challenges that build character, that provide opportunities for growth, that mould us into independent, responsible adults?

When I think about my childhood, I think about times I laughed, times I cried, conversations with friends and family, the games we played, the new skills we learned like fixing punctures in bike tyres, baking cakes and learning to sew. And then I think about what kind of childhood memories I hope my children will have. I don’t want their childhood to pass by in a monotonous blur of XBox games and TV. When they think about the home they grew up in, I hope they remember the quirks and characteristics that make our family unique.

As parents we want to give our children as much as we can. Our children may not grow up in a designer home, have all the latest mod-cons, toys and games, they may not have all the things that their friends have. But in the absence of perfection, in the space that is left when not filled with things, there will be a gift more precious than anything tangible we can give them: character, strength and memories that shape and reflect their own individual identity.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Branded. Capitalising On Our Children
2. how to give your savings plan a quick boost

Why make bolognaise from scratch when you can get it pretty cheap and easy from a bottle? That’s what I thought anyway until I didn’t have any in the cupboard and decided to make it myself. I have never gone back to the store bought bottled pasta sauce.

This makes a very rich, tasty bolognaise. And it’s not that much harder or more time consuming than the bottled variety. It is a foundation recipe, though. You can add anything you like: olives, sun dried tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, corn, kidney beans, extra garlic, fresh herbs, spices… endless possibilities. Or you could remove ingredients that you don’t like or don’t have on hand like the capsicum or mushrooms. A tasty variation is adding a couple of crushed cloves to the sauce. It adds a subtle but lovely aroma to your bolognaise.

Of course, instead of serving this over spaghetti, you could make a simple white sauce, layer with a few sheets of pasta, grate some cheese over the top and have lasagne instead.

Method

1. Brown mince over medium heat, breaking up lumps with a spoon. Remove and drain in a colander.
2. Sauté onion until soft, add in the capsicum and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes then the mushrooms and cook for a minute more.
3. Add in the tomato paste and herbs and cook for half a minute or so to caramelise the paste a little, then add in the mince, stirring.
4. Add the tomatoes, wine if using (use the wine to rinse out the tomato tin), sugar, salt and pepper.
5. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 – 20 minutes while the pasta cooks so that the sauce reduces, thickens and the flavours intensify.
6. Serve over pasta with a generous scattering of freshly grated parmesan.

Have you read these articles?:

1. beef stroganoff
2. mince bake
3. Sausage Stew

Despite the fact that I take care of all aspects of our household budget, I assumed that DH also knew about the important aspects of our finances. I was wrong.

We recently decided to make a few changes to our home loan. As it is a joint account, both DH and I had to answer a few questions for identification purposes. Questions like: What financial products do you have with us? Have you recently made any transfers to your account? As DH doesn’t handle our finances he couldn’t answer the questions, failed the identification test and we were not allowed to make changes to our loan as a result. While I’m glad that the bank doesn’t let any old person have access to our banking details, it was also very annoying.

It made me realise that if, heaven forbid, something happened to me, DH wouldn’t be able to access our savings, would have trouble making changes to our mortgage and wouldn’t know where our financial and other personal information is filed.

It was exactly this type of situation my mother found herself in when my father passed away a couple of months ago. My father had a habit of hiding important and valuable things when they travelled, in case the house got broken into. It took mum weeks to find the things that dad had hidden.

There are a few things that you can do to keep your partner in the loop and ensure that should anything happen to you, your other half will be able to take over the household finances with minimal difficulty.

• Take time to discuss your finances on a regular basis. Things like upcoming expenses, financial goals and financial health.
• Organise your financial documents and information well. Have a place for important papers and ensure that everyone knows where they are filed. Clearly mark them so that they are easy to search through if necessary. I know that it may be a security concern, but have a safe place for bank account details so that everyone knows how to access the household accounts if necessary.
• Inform your other half. I’m not suggesting that you prepare an entire PowerPoint presentation for your spouse (although you could if you wanted to) but if you’re the one tracking the bills, watching the debts and the savings accounts and keeping a budget, it’s a good idea to sit with your spouse and go through some key points on a regular basis.

One person taking on the financial responsibility in a marriage can ensure bills don’t get forgotten or double paid and the household finances run smoothly. If you do have sole responsibility of the household budget, ensure that your spouse is kept in the loop so that they are able to help make financial decisions and if something should happen to you, they don’t find themselves at sea with the household finances.

The Ultimate Family Organiser

The ultimate family organiser is available for PDF download. Everything you need to be completely organised at home including:

• 18 month diary
• Month to a page calendar
• Week to a page calendar including to do list and bills to pay list
• Year planner
• Shopping list
• Cleaning checklists
• Yearly gardening planting guide
• Children’s chore and reward chart
• Tradespeople contact numbers
• Meal planners
• Budgets
• Family health records
• Exercise and weight loss chart
• Contacts
• Activities and Appointments
• Plus lots, lots more

This organiser is flexible, you print out only the pages you need. It also allows for lots of lists or your info condensed into a single page as part of your daily diary, the choice is yours. Click here for more information.

Have you read these articles?:

1. Evaluating Your Financial Position
2. Surviving A Financial Crisis
3. Review: Quicken Personal 2009 – Personal Financial Software