The Top Ender Magazine June July 2023 Edition

COST OF LIVING
As the cost of living increases, our wallets can
certainly feel the pinch. When it comes to
personal finance we can look at two main
actions; increase our income or decrease our
expenses. If increasing your income is not an
option, then it is certainly time to review your
expenses.
Here are some basic budgeting tips that may help:
• Review your budget: look at all of your accounts
for the past quarter (3 months) and categorise
your budget into main areas, remember to factor in
annual expenses, such as:
• Home and Utility costs: this includes all regular
expenses such as mobile, internet, subscriptions,
virus protection software, cloud storage accounts
etc
• Insurance & Financials: this includes all insurances
from the house or contents, vehicle or boat
insurance, personal health insurance and debt
repayments
• Groceries: those quick trips to the shop add up,
don’t guesstimate here, do the sums and you may
find this is an area of increase.
• Personal & Medical: Toiletries, pharmacy trips, hair
or beauty expenses, hobbies, glasses or other
miscellaneous expenses
• Entertainment & dining out: add up all take-away
foods, nights out, dining, babysitting expenses (if you
have kids).
• Transport & Auto: Think anything vehicle or travel
related. A great tip here is too factor in your annual
expenses such as vehicle registration and license
expenses, have that money factored into your
budget to help stop the scramble each year to pay.
• Children: Baby products, toys, educational items,
subscriptions, school fees, sports, excursions etc.
Once you have reviewed your expenses you will see
clearly the areas that may need to be altered to create
space within the budget for other financial goals.
Set goals - most of us need motivation to save funds,
so it may be a smart strategy to create a vision board
and set milestones for your goals;
1. Immediate goals – within 12months
2. Short term goals – 1-3 years
3. Medium-term goals – 3-10 years
4. Long term goals - +10 years
Grocery bills can be reduced with some forward
planning. We may not have Aldi in the NT but we do
have markets for fresh produce and you can plan to
shop with seasonal produce.
Meal Plan, Food Prep, Pre-cook - these three
options can take time to organise, but it can be
financially beneficial for some big savings!
Identify Needs Versus Wants - when shopping,
consider whether you want or need an item. Look at
other methods to purchase ‘wants’, such as layby
with smaller regular payments. Avoid buy now, pay
later schemes or high interest credit options.
Reduce waste, reuse when suitable - make the most
of sites like Gumtree, Ebay and Facebook
marketplace.
Declutter and sell what you can. You may find your
behaviours around spending start to change! Watch
“Space Invaders” on Channel 9 (9now) for tips on
decluttering.
Focus on reducing debt or savings - once your
expenses are lowered you can focus on paying off
debts quickly or increasing your savings.
Entitlements - know and understand your
entitlements and allowances, including the
implications for your taxable income – you could
also book an appointment with the ADF Financial
Services Consumer Centre.
Entertainment - give yourself a challenging
entertainment budget and see if you can get
creative with having fun on a budget.
Some inexpensive entertainment ideas include;
Board game nights
Shared picnic or
dinner with friends
Movie night
Free entry into
Museum or gallery
Try new recipes
Written by Amanda Letcher
Community Contributor
The Top Ender Magazine
Bushwalking or bike
riding
Volunteering for an
animal shelter
Free community
events and activities
Reduce alcohol
consumption
Resources:
https://moneysmart.gov.au/saving/simple-ways-to-save-money
https://adfconsumer.gov.au/
https://pay-conditions.defence.gov.au/pacman
48 The Top Ender | Tri-Services Magazine Incorporated