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Browsing tag: money

  • February 22, 2012

    Should the student allowance be enough to live on?

    <via>

    Eavesdropping is one of my guilty pleasures. I like listening in to others’ conversations on the bus, in the office, wherever. (And most certainly on Twitter, where jumping into the stream is what it’s all about.)

    Sometimes, though, these conversations only serve to rark you up.

    Recent case in point: a discussion about the student allowance, and specifically how it’s not enough to live on.

    Right now, student allowance runs to a maximum of $167 a week, from what I can tell. If you’re in Australia, you can get another $40 in accommodation allowance for a total of $207. (If you don’t qualify for the student allowance, you can borrow $169 a week in living costs. This is never a good idea, because your loan balance will balloon like you cannot believe. But it’s an option.) And if you’re over 24 – a personal bugbear for me; why should you get more simply for being over an arbitrary age? – you qualify for up to $201 a week.

    You can’t live on that alone, I grant you. But it’s not so hard to get a job for 10 or 15 hours a week, and with that additional income, it’s certainly more than enough to eke out a reasonable standard of living. Your income in any one week can be up to $203.13 before tax before your allowance payments are affected.

    When I was studying, I received a total of $185 a week (the maximum back then). I was making maybe another $150 between my various hustles (I’ve always worked multiple jobs, although now my second gig consists of the very occasional mystery shop or essay editing gig).

    My basic expenses were $100 rent (I was living three stages out on the bus route), $30 for transport (an unlimited monthly pass), $50 or so on groceries (a princely sum compared to the $25/30 I spent during the last year of high school in which I lived on my own) and utilities worked out to around $30 a week.

    But I don’t want to live out in the burbs!!!

    Well, you could live closer to town, or in town, and cut out transport for a corresponding gain in rent (probably $150 or more but you might find a cheap room for around $120). Still doable.

    Yes, it’s an austere existence, but we don’t pay taxes so you can live it up while at uni.

    And if you can’t find a job (or can’t work one because you’re a medical student, etc), then living at home it is. Such is life.

    Worst case scenario, you left a small town in order to attend university and your parents can’t or won’t provide any financial help. That’s rough, and kind of leaves with little choice aside from racking up more debt. But as a student, you do at least have access to cheap loans and overdrafts (and potentially cheap credit cards; I can’t remember what the banks were offering in my day).

    Let’s face it, nobody ever promised that student allowance would provide for all your needs. As a nation we simply cannot afford such a luxury. It’d be nice to have $15 minimum wage and free medical and dental care for all. But these things just aren’t realistic for this (any?) country.

    What do you reckon? Classic entitlement attitude? Something worthy of tax dollars? Something in between?

  • February 21, 2012

    The cost of convenience

    We’ve been living at our current place for three months. And yet my recent visit to our local dairy, two minutes away at the corner shops, was my first.

    Here’s what I picked up – a Primo, two Time Outs and two ice blocks. Total cost: $10.20. (Paid for by T. He wanted snacks, and didn’t want to wait till we did our grocery shop.)

    There really is no quicker way to bust the budget than through frequent stops to pick up stuff at dairies and petrol stations. The markup on everything from milk to tampons is out of this world – the cost of convenience.

    We pick up treats during the weekly supermarket shop, and those have to last us the week. As you can guess, they usually get devoured in the first couple of days. T also isn’t a fan of tap water, so the shop usually includes juice and fizzy – and he spends his own money on more snacks during the week.

    In fact, the vast majority of his spending money goes on consumables. I used to pack his lunches, but while sometimes he devoured them, most of the time he didn’t eat them at all  (whether because he really didn’t feel like whatever food it was, or because he simply didn’t eat at all that day. He has a terrible lack of routine) so they went to waste. Now he’s responsible for buying his own lunches, and while the cost makes me grit my teeth a little, it’s also a relief – honestly, making my own lunches is enough of a chore.

    I’m a total cheapskate, on the other hand. I drink water when we go out to eat, and do my level best to avoid being forced into food purchases on the run. For example, I ate an early dinner before the Incubus gig last month while everybody else headed to the nearby McDonalds straight after, and if I’m out at an event after work that doesn’t feed a full dinner, rather than stopping somewhere for a bite I’ll hold on till I can get home and whip up something quick that’s both cheaper and healthier.

    That said, sometimes I’m willing to pay for convenience – packs of frozen hash browns, the occasional pack of pre-cut stir fry beef, the odd soup from the local takeaway when I’m sick and cannot face standing over the stove to make my own dinner (ahem, too many times this week).

    When do you pay for convenience?

  • February 16, 2012

    A dance with Powershop

    Three years ago I penned my first story as a journalism major. I was pretty proud of myself – it was an entirely original idea, stemming from the ads Powershop broadcast around its launch. The final piece wound up being somewhat negative, which I felt bad about – although I got slammed for not making it even more negative or more extreme – and even worse when my tutor told me that my story was referenced on the radio. Crikey.

    Anyway, three years on Powershop is still going strong, and five years on, I’m finally getting around to trying it out.

    By way of explanation, it’s a subsidiary of Meridian Energy, one of the big providers. However, it’s possibly the single biggest innovation in electricity ever. It’s all about choice and empowerment (ha ha) – and transparency.

    The key differences:

    • Upfront, low unit charges. No additional daily fees.
    • You can buy power “on sale”, locking in special prices to score a bargain

    Let’s take a walk through the system.

    Here’s the landing page. Check out your daily use and how much you’ve got left, or enter a meter read. It’s easy to monitor your use reeeally closely, if you’re so inclined.

    The next tab over is where we go shopping. This is the part I like best. Power sales! There are, of course, all the normal products available for purchase at any time. In the middle, packs for the colder season ahead that you can buy now to lock in a good price; Powershop exposes you to the full cycle of unit prices, which are invariably more expensive in winter. Down the bottom, though, are special offers. Click through for more details on each – how much it costs, how many units you get, and when the pack needs to be used by. Deals I’ve scored to date include a special Christmas pack, a cricket win pack, back to work and Friday the 13th discounts at just 18.87, 20.63, 20.12 and 20.18 cents a unit respectively.

    Now, I’m not a fan of prepaying for stuff. However, if it means I can get a significant discount, I’ll do it. And more importantly, Powershop will refund unused units from purchased packs. (Caveat: Certain special deals do NOT offer a refund guarantee, so check the details on those).

    You don’t have to prepay, however. If you can’t be bothered to proactively seek out deals yourself, then just set a default product and Powershop will keep your account topped up for you as needed (mine is set to the lowest-available price, but you could choose a certain power product, for example, renewable energy, and that’s what will be bought on your behalf). You can pay by credit card if you like (hurrah)!

    Onto the My Account tab. Here’s where you can see at a glance what you’ve bought, track your usage more in depth and review trends in prices.

    Plus every month, you’ll get an email with a breakdown of your usage, purchases and the like.

    Now the kicker: Am I saving money?

    I went back to try and figure out exactly what I was paying for power previously.

    Look at this for only a small sample of my previous energy provider’s overcomplicated pricing chart #headdesk

    From what I can tell, I would have been paying 20.62 cents per unit, including online and prompt payment discounts. Plus a daily charge of 92.48 cents.

    Based on a 31-day month and 250kW used overall, I calculate I would have paid $51.55 in usage and  $28.67 in daily charges for a total of $80.22.

    Running equivalent factors for Powershop with an average price paid per unit of a flat 20.68 cents (only slightly higher than the other price AFTER its two-tier discount) I come up with a total of $51.72.

    Meanwhile, our last two bills were both under $100 – not very different from the bills we would get at our old, much smaller place – despite our usage having increased by what I estimate as much as a third.

    For all Powershop’s low pricing, for all the removal of daily charges, I am missing out on the 22 percent online and prompt payment discounts I was getting with Contact. It’s true. But I’m still coming out ahead. Those daily charges wipe out the benefit of the discounts.

    This may not be the case so much when it comes to winter and prices increase a little. But I will still know I’m supporting innovation and disruption and consumer choice. It’s a no-brainer.

  • February 9, 2012

    Things I don’t (and won’t) pay for

    Books

    English: Cinema 4 at HOYTS, Forest Hill Shoppi...

    Image via Wikipedia

    I could not live without books. But I don’t care to own them, and even free ones are just clutter to me – they get passed on or donated. I’m a lifelong library lover, myself, and I can think of only a tiny handful of books I might actually want to possess (none of which I do).

    Movies at the cinema

    Perhaps it’s cheating, but I pretty much only go to movies on reward dollars earned from using my CC. (But I’m not *spending* anything in doing so!) I also get to go to the odd free screening through work. With regular tickets now costing something like $16, prices are just insane.

    Hair removal

    I have to admit I am lucky in that I’m pretty hairless (especially as I’m dark-haired). I use T’s cast-off razors (which sounds disgusting, I know, but he only uses them once or twice each) and plain old soap. Wouldn’t work for everyone, though.

    Conditioner

    I have the greasiest mane in the world. It really doesn’t need it. I rotate shampoos a lot and sometimes get two in one shampoo/conditioner; otherwise, if the ends really are dry, a spot of oil (coconut or olive) rubbed into the ends suffices.

    Lunchboxes and ziplock bags

    We do have a few proper tupperware type lunchboxes, but otherwise I rely on plastic takeaway containers and ice cream cartons. Ziplock bags, I wash out when we use them to get nuts or lollies from the supermarket bulk bins.

    Glass and oven cleaner

    The things you can do with vinegar and baking soda are boundless.

    Bank fees

    My account is entirely free because I no longer receive paper statements. I rarely use ATMs, and if I do, I hunt out ones that belong to my bank in particular (T does generally run on cash though, and unfortunately isn’t as nutty as I am about only sticking to own-bank ATMs). Credit card fees are a given, but more than paid for through the rebates I earn just for using it.

    Delivery charges

    It’s almost always cheaper to get in the car and drive out yourself to pick up food. (Maybe it’s different overseas.)

    And there are plenty of other things I won’t pay full price for – DVD rentals, facials/massages, skincare. There’s just no reason to, between daily deal sites, discount sales, coupons and mystery shops.

    What things do you refuse to fork out for?

  • February 4, 2012

    What we spent: January 2012

    ** Click here for more info on my monthly spending roundups.**

    Some notes:

    Car maintenance – oil and stuff. Or maybe it was just oil. Can’t quite recall. Let’s just say fluids and be done with it.

    Clothes and grooming – shirts and singlets for T, and a lipstick for me ahead of my no-beauty spend year. I also just got given a big jar of Elizabeth Arden cream, so am well and truly set.

    Dining – $17 over budget. Hmm.

    Donations – I know it’s not much, but it’s the most I’ve donated in a month yet. This was a cause I’ve long been meaning to patron and this was the minimum donation. In Aussie bucks, no less.

    Entertainment– $30 for a hosted family lunch, $20 ice skating, $10 at the arcade, and $80 for Incubus. I know said no concerts this year unless the Chilis come, but decided at last minute (two days before) to do it. Why? I had a $100 Ticketmaster voucher I originally planned to use it to tick off my goal of going to the theatre but there are no good shows coming up and it expires in five months. This way, we only paid $80 for two. (Though if the RHCP do tour this way, I am not entirely sure I really care to see a post-Frusciante band.)

    Groceries – We came back from our holiday on the 2nd, so really it was a five-week month. Not too shabby.

    Holidays – $64 deposit for a campervan for our South Island trip (post coming up on that), and the rest was food and petrol toward the end of our trip over NYE.

    Insurance – contents for the quarter.

    Medical – doctor’s appointment for T.

    T fun – An expensive boys’ birthday outing. Paintball.

    Utilities – are high. T’s phone bill was $64 as he accidentally made some phone calls unwittingly. We went over our data limit with Orcon (this rarely happens), so that was $99. I locked in $81 of winter power (post coming up on our new provider) and spent $135 on electricity.

    A few updates…

    T was off work all month injured (really, he only went back in twice since last year, and only lasted about an hour on each of those days). We’ve received one week of payment from ACC, which pays out 80 percent of wages, and are hoping the other two weeks will be covered.

    I’ve started a subaccount called Wedding. It’s sitting at $360 and will be funded by T’s repayments to me (I have fronted him money previously for his bike, for the costs of his car accidents and some other things). This makes it much easier than me putting the money into my main savings account and having to keep track of his repayments in a spreadsheet.

    And our South Island road trip fund is sitting at just over $1000. Granted, we just booked flights to Christchurch where we’ll pick up the campervan, so this will go down once I make the payment to the Visa.

    I’ve also decided I would really like to start investing a bit of cash into international index funds outside of Kiwisaver, and in NZ stocks that pay dividends. not sure if this will be possible this year alongside our other savings, goals, though.

    How was your January? Spendy? Frugal?

  • January 29, 2012

    Link love (Powered by houseguests and popcorn)

    Three totally random thoughts on money:

    • Funny how you stop taking notice of minimum wage once you’re past that threshold. How you stop caring. In fact, maybe you would like it to stay that way because the higher it gets, the less your rate seems.
    • Gangs are the corporates of the underworld. Those at the top are untouchable and keep their hands clean while their worker bees are not that different from cogs in the corporate machine.
    • It feels like I’ve been tracking my spending for ages, but it’s only been two years. Thinking back to when I started tracking my spending religiously, I wonder what I would do today if ASB (one of the most forward thinking banks in the country, IMO, along with BNZ) had not introduced the Track My Spending tool at just the right time. I remember the first time I decided to sit down and calculate our spending in late 2007; I literally printed out statements, marked them up and busted out a calculator. 2008 brought on time of struggle as T was laid off; a household consisting of one student and one unemployed person does not make for financial stability or comfort. Then tracking came along just as I graduated, started working and really started getting ahead.

    MONEY

    Two very personal money stories, shared by Adam at Man vs Debt.

    Krystal explains why a line of credit shouldn’t be your emergency fund.

    What is the most amazing thing you’ve done with money? Fabulous Broke wants to know.

    Little Miss Moneybags lists money habits that make her feel either frugal or broke.

    Katie Going Global explains how she financed her career break.

    At Cracked, five stupid habits that growing up poor engenders (echoes my post here).

    WORK

    Three reasons not to go back to university, by She Bloggs.

    Tips for being a great mentor, at Intuit.

    Financial Samurai says even millionaires find it tough to quit their jobs, and at Untemplater, argues that you shouldn’t be in a rush to join the real world.

    One teacher wonders what’s become of her past students, at Red Lips and Academics.

    Girl with the Red Balloon has a potential new job in the works – but it’s not a clearcut decision.

    At Grow, why every job seeker should be blogging.

    Ms Career Girl asks if you’ve been depositing into your ‘social bank account‘ lately.

    LIFE

    Thoughts on living life and leaving a legacy, at Stratejoy.

    Are you backing up your blog, self-hosted types? If not, Geek in Heels has some tips.

    Untemplater walks us through what to do when you’ve lost your wallet.

    Cordelia reminds us to take things as they come and not play the result a moment too soon.

    And lastly, a beautiful post by Andrea on the things her son has taught her.

  • January 27, 2012

    Dreaming of cheaper credit

    Ever since I started reading personal finance blogs, I’ve come to realise that credit is never going to be as cheap in New Zealand as it is elsewhere. (As with food, cars, clothes, technology and pretty much anything else you can think of.)

    Default credit card interest rates hover around 20%. You might see balance transfer offers around 5%. Car and personal loans around 10%.

    You bloggers in the States, though (and that’s most of you)? I hear tales of 0% loans. 0% balance transfer rates. Cards without annual fees. Plus of course, you have access to so many more kinds of cards, and it’s easy to compare credit cards online.

    Interest rates don’t overly fuss me, because I’m not in debt. What would be nice, though, is if there were local cards without annual fees.

    I currently have one plain old Visa, and it’s with the bank I’ve banked with all my life. Luckily, it’s a pretty awesome bank with accounts that suit my needs and the single best online banking system available, IMO. It’s ridiculously easy to make instant payments onto it (because I like to pay off purchases right after making them) and the six-monthly fee of $12 is one of the lowest out there.

    Recently I was tempted by Air NZ offering no joining fee on its Airpoints programme. (You know travel is number one on my list.) I could sign up for a credit card linked to Airpoints, and earn points on everyday spending.

    Thing is, the fee is more than double what I currently pay – $25 every six months. And based on our annual spending, we would be lucky to rack up enough points in a year for a single domestic flight.

    Maybe it’s worth it for frequent flyers, who also earn points when they book flights, but for those who are trying to save for travel, it doesn’t sound like such a hot deal.

    Tell me, how many credit cards do you have? Anyone out there an Airpoints member?

  • January 20, 2012

    Traditional trappings I care not a whit for

    English: Cliff House from Ocean Beach

    Image via Wikipedia

    Pets.

    Not an animal person, never have been. My ex’s mother once said “a home doesn’t feel like a home without pets”. I grew up in a human-only household, so anything else would feel strange.

    T really wants a dog (or dogs, plural), so we can fight that out when we start thinking about buying a house. (And that will apparently be just the first of 2000 arguments over it.)

    Bach.

    I don’t have any stats to draw on, but holiday house ownership seems reeeeally high among Kiwis.

    Now, I love me a holiday and I love staying in a proper house. In my adult life I have only been camping once, overnight. (I think about all the Coro Gold campers who only had a tent to return to after jumping around in mud for hours and shudder) . And there’s nothing better than a free stay at a friend’s parents’ bach.

    But a bach is only used for a tiny fraction of the year (and you certainly can’t rent it out all the rest of the time). And do you really want to keep returning to the same spot? (Maybe. But maybe not). I wouldn’t say no to a free bach (Lotto Powerball anyone? Not that I play, so moot point)  but I wouldn’t mortgage one and I’m not sure I’d tie up cash in one either.

    Boat.

    As much as I hate sand, I really do like the beach. I find being around water really relaxing, and there’s nothing better than a spot of sunbathing with a good book, interspersed with ventures out into the waves to splash around. But actually being out on the water at any depth doesn’t really appeal. Aside from fishing for T, I can’t see how owning a boat would add anything to my quality of life. I would need to be well off to the point where I was seriously stumped as to what best to do with my money.

  • January 14, 2012

    Financial independence is sexy

    When T got his tax refund last year, he told me he thought about going out and buying something straight away.

    But he didn’t. He could get something better later on if he saved that cash, he said.

    Hearing that? Best present ever. Bugger jewellery and don’t even think about buying me flowers. Having your finances in check? That’s hot.

    Our joint finances have taken an interesting journey of twists and turns. He didn’t have his own bank account when we first moved in together, but hastily starting a new job meant he needed to put down an account number for payroll, so mine it was. Wholly merged finances eventually evolved into a separate account for him, but all the money still flowing to me to handle. Then he started independently dealing to his own spending funds out of his account before taking over full control, giving me a set amount for household expenses every week.

    Now, we’re back to him handling his own fun money, with me taking care of the rest. And this is how it’s going to stay. He’s not one to micromanage, and doesn’t really like to think about money at all. Me, I’m happy to spend a few hours a month running numbers and shifting funds around. And let’s be honest: me pulling the purse strings can only be a good thing on the savings front.

    How long did it take you to settle into a joint financial groove (whether you have merged, separate or in-between)? Was it painful?

  • January 11, 2012

    What we spent: December 2011

    ** Click here for more info on my monthly spending roundups.**

    Some notes…

    Clothes: Yowza. A same-day shopping run for this wedding was pricey, but necessary – a suit, tie, shoes and a new dress shirt for T. He works in logistics  and was previously in trades, so there’s generally not much need for him to dress up (the last time was probably my Year 13 ball, for which he rented a suit). This was our first peer wedding, and we have more to come, so at least this won’t go to waste. Plus a haircut for me and sunnies for him.

    Dining: Seriously? We killed this. To be fair, our anniversary dinner was free, and then we were out of town for the last week of the month. Perhaps not so impressive? But $99 for three weeks ain’t bad.

    Entertainment: $20 at the driving range, $5 for parking…and $160 on food and beer for our housewarming/engagement party.

    Groceries: Pretty stoked with coming in under budget, especially as I spent lots on fruit in my clean eating week, and this included holiday groceries as well.

    Gifts: All gifts, no donation. Slack.

    Holidays: Petrol, snacks, etc. Will likely end up being more as we’ll chip in some cash to go toward the bach we crashed at.

    Home expenses: We bought a wooden outdoor set off TradeMe. Plus a free table and small TV cabinet from my mum, and we are officially in fully-furnished biz.

    Motorbike: $33 for its warrant, the rest on petrol.

    Rent: A five-week month :/

    Savings: I funnelled a measly $10 extra into savings this month thanks to a quick mystery shop. Definitely didn’t hit 40 percent – probably more like 20 what with gifts and wedding clothes. Plus I still have to put some money toward the bach…so I won’t tally the total up yet.

    T fun: This really is too much, especially as he’s supposed to be managing his own spending money from his own account. Apart from renewing his Xbox membership, this is just a ton of small transactions – an HDMI cable here, McDonalds there, a multitude of apps $1.29 at a time.

    Utilities: Extra high because Orcon billing ended up in two payments this month. We also switched to Powershop (review coming soon), and in addition to our final electric bill with Contact, I bought some power packs at a ridiculously low price per unit. Sky bill was higher than usual, too, thanks to getting in billing sync post-move.

    Uncoded: One big sticky transaction. $75 of this was lent out – waiting on that to come back. $40 was spent on a replacement car part for a friend (T was asked to try and fix the driver’s window, but managed to break it worse) and the rest was spent at NYE.

    This also seems as good a time as any to review our annual spending.…

    We spent less in quite a few categories last year compared to 2010:

    Eating out: $2227 vs $2171 – a negligible difference, really

    Entertainment: $2454 vs $1685 – last year included an Xbox, seven concert tickets (plus two more onsold), while this year was just four concert tickets, passes to two food shows, the Easter show, an Entertainment book and our engagement party. Plus miscellaneous extras

    Groceries: $7486 vs $6594 – prices certainly haven’t gone down, so I can only commend us for shopping smarter. What’s more, we’re eating better. That rings up at about $20 saved a week.

    Utilities: $3446 vs $3172 – I am surprised by this.

    And more in others, understandably:

    Clothes/beauty/grooming: $945 vs $1577 – I bought more clothes for work, T bought a suit and electric shaver/haircut kit.

    Holidays and events: $1844 vs $4996 – There was pretty much no travelling in 2010 – I can think of two weekend trips offhand. In 2011 there was Rarotonga, two Wellington trips, two Coromandel trips, passports, sleeping bags

    Insurance: $1440 vs $1854 – added motorbike insurance to this in 2011. This year I’ll downgrade our full car insurance to third party, fire and theft, I think.

    Rent: $12120 vs $13440 – Rent increased, then we moved to a bigger place and it went up again.

    Transport: $5361 vs $7508 – This includes about $350 on registration, $2300ish on major repairs, and the rest on minor maintenance and petrol (mostly). I can’t remember what petrol cost in 2010, but now it’s at $2.10 and was higher at times throughout the year. No surprises here. What’s worse is that in 2010 I counted my bus costs in here, but I pulled them out separately for 2011. *shudder*.

    2012 really wants to be the year of frugality. Yes, you do. No concerts (unless the Chilis come). No clothing purchases except in dire straits. Watching food spending on all fronts, turning switches off at the wall. Travel will be where it’s at – a few domestic trips, potentially an Aussie trip to visit a good friend once she moves over in April, probably our South Island road trip, maybe a Hong Kong trip with family if a deal turns up.

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