Hello, my friends and welcome to my page,   many thanks for the terrific feedback after my earlier articles. 

This time its all about how to manage our finances! 

                         The best advice my parents ever gave me about preparing for my life away from home was quite simple, "dont spend more than you earn"!!  And as really great advice often is, the truth is in the simplicity. When you commit to a budget in your early years you really are taking control of your future and building sound saving foundations. If you find the regime all too difficult to imagine, then simply note all your incoming finances and tally it up, then over an average week, list all your expenditures (and dont cheat,be honest with yourself) If there is a vast discrepency in the figures, then its time to start planning some ways to trim down before things really get out of hand.  Yes, it does take a little bit of effort, but truly well worth it in the long run.

Life can be tricky sometimes, and its wise to be prepared for those unexpected events, because they can and do happen to everyone.

Here are some of my top tips for saving:

*Cook from scratch: buying pre-packaged or pre-made food can add $2000 to your annual food bill (not to mention how much healthier fresh food is)

*Plan menus ahead, and buy fresh fruit and vegies when they are in season & plentiful, shop with a list and never shop when you are hungry, being prepared can save you up to $7000 a year ( i kid you not)

*Whenever you are shopping for clothes, try op shops first,  look for well made classic items, and team them with current scarves or jewellery for an up to the minute look (can save you thousands over a year- I know this on a personal level as I am a true convert)

*You can save up to $1300 a year, by taking leftovers from last nights dinner  to work for your lunch, not to mention that by not buying a take away coffee every day will save you $1460 over a year. (maybe you can cut down to every second day)

*Limit your takeaway meals to once a week or fortnight (better still) Two large family take-away pizzas can cost $40 , average saving per year $2500.

*Give up smoking, its not only destroying your health (dont kid yourself, its a proven fact) and it also puts a big hole in your wallet, average yearly saving $4000.  (what a nice holiday you could have with that)!

*Cut down on alcohol, if you spend $50 a week, its a total annual cost of $2600 (do your sums)

*Instead of having a facial (at a salon) every month for $80,  cut them back to every second month, (saving of $480) and have fun with your girlfriends with DIY home treatments, for a fraction of the cost.

*Have a garage sale (either on your own or with friends) and de-clutter your life. (I made $1000 when I moved house) it came in handy to reduce my credit card bill.

*See if you can come up with some ideas,

               cheers, elise