spending Archives - Page 2 of 2

Are you off your trolley? You could be, with our sneaky tricks to save money on your groceries

2 April 2018

Are you off your trolley? You could be if your supermarket bill is creeping over $50 per person for a family. There are so many sneaky tricks to save money on food. You might even find that you’re healthier and happier when you buy more basic food. Don’t say it can’t be done. If your bill is out of control, try some of these tips. Budget. Start with a figure that you want to spend on food each week and…

Young woman looking astonished at her growing nose

Are your finances suffering from ‘excusitis’? Beat it, now

By: Credit Simple

24 July 2017

Liar, liar, pants on fire. We Kiwis are masters at coming up with excuses for our spending and debt. I’ve heard it called “excusitis”. We convince ourselves that “we’re different” or that “we need it”, or “everyone else does it”. It’s that six inches of grey stuff between your ears that’s at fault. And it’s getting worse. According to Payments New Zealand the average Kiwi made 58 credit card transactions in 2014, 86 in 2015 and 103 in 2016. Ouch.…

We road-test a financial personal trainer. It’s just like the gym, only with less active wear

By: Credit Simple

3 May 2017

Question time: do you flash, or do you stash, your cash? Or do you mix it up and go both ways? Although we’re trying to save, we realised recently the dollars aren’t mounting up like we’d like them to be. So, in what might appear to be a counterintuitive move, we decided to pay to get financially fit. Yes, that’s right. We got a financial personal trainer from enableMe. It’s just like the gym! But with less active wear. Show…

Worried about the retirement age going up? Here’s how to kick your finances into shape before you hit 50

By: Credit Simple

12 April 2017

Hey Gen X! Here’s what you need to know about your money and finances before you turn the big 5-0. The next decade and a half is going to tick away fast and some of us need to grow up and get serious about our finances. You don’t want to be stuck at home eating baked beans whilst your friends post their fabulous post retirement travels on social media do you? Home truths about your finances as you get older…

Parents behaving badly: How parents’ money habits can rub off on the next generation

By: Credit Simple

8 March 2017

The concept of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ is alive and well in Kiwi families, and that includes when it comes to our parents’ habits with money. When parents behave badly with money, guess what their children do? As a parent, your role modelling is one of the most powerful indicators of how well your children will survive financially. Whether your children are two or 20 you can set them a better example. Don’t see money and spend it Do you see…

Young, single, and on a budget? Skip the mistakes that others make

By: Credit Simple

7 February 2017

You’re young, single and on a budget. It’s hard being a ‘yadult’ sometimes. But life’s a lot more fun if you’re not stressing about the power being cut off. Take some tips from others’ mistakes and skip the ‘shoulda known better’ stage of your financial future. Here’s how: Have a spending plan. That’s a budget, but if you think of it as spending plan it doesn’t feel like a torture device. The idea is that you get a pen and…

Are you a victim of lifestyle inflation? Our 10 (very honest) principles will help you beat the disease

By: Credit Simple

6 February 2017

Once upon a time I used to head to the nearest bakery or fruit shop for cheap lunch. A 50c bread roll or banana was sustenance enough to keep me going until I got home to have a decent balanced meal. Bit by bit over the years my bun and fruit habit evolved into buying $10 packs of sushi when I’m caught short without a packed lunch. Why? Because like virtually every person alive I can fall into ‘lifestyle inflation’.…

Regrets, I have a few – mostly related to my holiday spending

By: Credit Simple

20 January 2017

Do you find yourself wallowing in post-holiday financial regret each January? Wonder how you managed to spend so much money yet have so little to show for it? Maybe you’ve gone so far as to regret buying gifts for family members you don’t even like. Excellent! Me too. Let’s fix it. Fear not, I’m not going to tell you to just set a budget in 11 months and stick to it. I know that’s not how the festive season works.…