How to save money: non-essential expenses

by Anthony on October 9, 2007

Everyone needs to have a bit of fun every now and then but non-essential expenses need to be prioritised. Below are some helpful hints on how to minimise these expenses.

  • Fun doesn’t have to be expensive –your local community resources such as newspapers, youth centres and libraries have information on many free or low cost activities such as exhibitions.

  • Make your own fun – go to the park, play sport with friends or play card games. Don’t forget to bring drink and snack or lunch packs for you and your family.

  • Rent movies instead of seeing them at the cinema.

  • When inviting friends around for dinner and ask them to bring a food or drink item to share.

  • If you smoke, try to cut down or quit smoking. If you smoke a pack a day at $12 a pack that’s $84 a week and $4380 a year. That could be a second-hand car!

  • Alcohol and gambling can consume a large amount of income. If they are, try and cut down, if you have a problem please refer to section on places that can help

  • Make your own cards and gifts

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

1 Andrew 07.09.08 at 5:56 pm

Does anyone else have any insight into how to minimise the expense of smoking? I quit recently and have never been happier, so I have a method that worked very well for me but I’m not sure what other peoples experiences are. Cutting down just seems to be a form of torture that reinforces the percieved “need” to smoke.
BTW I save about $120 a week by not smoking which means the first 5 and a half hours I work every week now go towards something I want instead of being smoked away into nothing.

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