Tip #6 - Keep track of what you spend

Ouch!

Are you feeling the pinch now that 1 July has rolled around?
Water and electricity rates have gone up, bank fees, interest rates - where is the relief?
How can we save money and keep the dollars in our pockets?

It seems we are all in need of being a bit more frugal with our money and knowing where we spend every cent of it.

Whenever I sit down to do a budget, I spend one week keeping tabs on where and what I spend every single dollar on. This includes that sneaky coffee and cake mid week to celebrate hump day!

At the end of the week, I sit down and figure out where my money is going. You'd be surprised at the small and incidental spends you make that eat away at your hip pocket. Aim to curb these spending habits and you could save yourself hundreds every year.

You could also find that you are spending money buying smaller quantities of something, when you could save money buying a larger quantity and divvying up. A great example of this is my love for Ice Tea; the Peach variety. Mmm. So good. I often find when I go into pay for petrol, I'll grab a bottle of Ice Tea on my way to the register. It seems harmless. Often times, $3.50 doesn't break the bank. But if I spend $3.50 every other day, I've spent almost $15 on 2L of Ice Tea.

I could save myself over $10 if I was a bit more organised. Bickfords do a fantastic Ice Tea concentrate which you can mix with water. It tastes pretty much on par with the brand I love getting and with all the empty bottles I have around the place (from water or those spontaenous Ice Tea purchases) I can keep them in the fridge and grab one for on the go.

A 2L bottle of Bickfords Ice Tea Concerntrate will make around 15 500ml bottles. Over time, this will save me about $50!

This is why it is so important to figure out where you are spending your money. Because you could find that buying in bulk or changing your habits could save you money in the long run.