Author: Femme Finance

Welcome back to The Declutter Challenge by Femme Finance. It’s Weekend Two and we are looking at one of the messier places in the house – the Kitchen and Pantry.

Again, this is your journey. If this area of your house is neater than a pin, choose a different space to focus on. Or, if you are like us here at Femme Finance, and have just realised that most of the stuff at the back of your fridge has expired (and is somewhat furry?!) then there is no time like right now to get this situation situated.

First let’s make a plan…if you don’t plan, you plan to fail right?!

To do that, we need to break down different areas to focus on. We have broken it up like this, as tackling a small bit of the larger goal is less overwhelming and feels more achievable. These areas could be:

Pantry

Fridge

Cupboards

As with the previous weekends challenge, we have outlined a plan below. The steps for each one of these areas are relatively the same so the plans below are similar. Either follow what we have below or write out your own.

Pantry

1. Pull everything out
2. Using an eco-friendly spray wipe down all the surfaces top to bottom
3. Mop or vacuum the floor of the pantry
4. Sort through all the food items you have removed and dispose of those that are expired / no longer wanted
5. Place all the remaining food into categories so you can see what you have

Think about what you can decant and what you want to decant into?

Do you need any containers or additional shelving?

Fridge

1. Pull everything out
2. Using an eco-friendly spray wipe down all the surfaces top to bottom
3. Pull out any shelves or tubs and give them a good clean and put them back
4. Sort through all the food items you have removed and dispose of those that are expired / no longer wanted
5. Place all the remaining food into categories so you can see what you have

• Think about what you can decant and what you want to decant into?
• Do you need any containers or additional shelving?

Cupboards

1. Pull everything out
2. Using an eco-friendly spray wipe down all the surfaces top to bottom
3. Pull out any shelves or containers and give them a good clean and put them back

• Is there anything that you’ve pulled out that needs to be washed? No point putting it back into a clean cupboard or shelf if its dirty.
• Is there are any equipment that you just don’t use any longer and could sell or donate?
• Is there any equipment that requires repairs or has lost pieces? Write a list of these things so that you can do some research into getting repairs done or finding a lost piece.
• Do you need any containers or additional storage?

Please remember to declutter with thoughtful purpose and those things you no longer need could you donate, drop of at the charity shop? Is there somewhere you can donate the non-expired food to?

Storage Solutions

Now that you have covered your kitchen floor in food, kitchen equipment, pots and pans and crockery, let’s think of ways we can put it all back so that the cupboards remain decluttered, easily accessible and where you can actually see what you have in each.

We will continue with suggesting eco-friendly options and remember, hold off on buying anything storage wise until you have minimalised your space and decluttered. That way you can really see what it is you need. These are also just some ideas out of the plethora that is out there – there is also the budget to consider. If there is a storage idea you love but can’t afford quite yet, add it to the budget and make that purchase when you can afford it!

Pantry / Fridge

Glass jars!! They don’t all have to match, but glass is the way to go for Pantry storage to be friendly to our environment, see the levels of what we have in one glance, moths can’t eat through glass to get into our food, nor does it leach any toxins into what we have stored. It’s a no brainer! Top it off with a metal, bamboo or food grade silicone lid and your sorted.

For the fridge, large jars may not work if you have a small fridge or lots to put into your big one. The alternative here could be you can find glass containers with bamboo or silicone lids (they freeze well to) or use reusable silicone stretch lids (an excellent alterative to using glad wrap / cling film). They are also easy to wash/store and can be used with multiple sized containers.

To label your new collection of glass storage, you can use chalk marker or write up some labels. If you have some moolah set aside, you can buy or pay for custom labels – otherwise get creative…and the kids involved, that way they might just put things back in the right place if they have ownership over labelling the contents of the fridge and pantry.

Wire or woven baskets are a great alternative to plastic bins. They maintain air flow around fruit or vege and they also look a bit spiffy. Silicon zip lock bags are another resourceful way to contain any food that requires an airtight seal, especially for in the fridge and can be stacked side by side.

Don’t underestimate a good lazy Susan (or turntable as they are sometimes categorised) in the pantry for sauces and dressings that don’t need refrigerating. This storage solution also works well in the fridge where space is at a premium. With a quick spin you can grab the item you want with ease. Kmart have introduced a bamboo one as an alternative to the plastic ones that are already on the market.

Kitchen

Some of us are not blessed with newly renovated kitchens with wonderful pull-out shelving or turntables in corner cupboards, we have to make do with whatever we have. This means that we need to make sure we prioritise the space we have to the things that are used often.

Have you been able to cull anything that is no longer of service to you? Hopefully just seeing what you have when it’s out of the cupboards has given you some clarity on what you use often and what you use rarely.

When setting up your counter tops, think about the way you use your kitchen. What is the flow of daily life? Are having the kettle and toaster next to each the best way to arrange things?

Grouping things can create more space so have a look at what you own and see if there are any ways to group what you have. Lids and containers come to mind as do any attachments for mixers and food processors. These can be put together in a wire or woven basket or you can repurpose boxes as was suggested in our previous challenge Weekend One: Narnia and other bedtime stories – (femmefinance.co.nz). Give the box a coat of paint and a label and you have a cheap storage solution. Over the door organisers are useful racks to incorporate into your kitchen. Baking trays, cutting boards and cleaning equipment can be kept here giving up much needed counter or cupboard space.

I think we would all agree that the corner shelved cupboard is the hardest to reach into the depths of. We would suggest putting your larger pots and any equipment that you rarely use in this space. Keep these cupboards simple and clutter free so when you do have to delve in, things are easier to get to.

Hopefully our plans and ideas have helped as you venture into challenge two. Have you come across any ingenious storage ideas for the Kitchen spaces? We would love to know about these so that we can share them with our Femme Finance followers, so get in touch!

Good luck as you wade the depths of what for most may be a big job this weekend. We are there with you, stepping over the plates and bags of rice to get to the fridge, to throw out what was once a bag of spinach.

We will see you for the next Declutter Challenge next week which will be the Garage and Bathroom…

It’s Weekend One for The Declutter Challenge by Femme Finance and we are focusing on… Wardrobes and Bedrooms.

Remember, you decide how your decluttering challenge goes and you decide what you want to tackle first – the wardrobe or the bedroom.

Some of you may keep pretty tidy and decluttered wardrobes already, so if you are one of those amazing people, who I aspire to be, have a look about your bedroom space unless you feel like an overhaul of your wardrobe wouldn’t go amiss. Is there too much tabletop clutter? (Table top as in any surface area, bedside tables, tops of dressers, bedheads etc.) Are there piles on these surfaces, drawers where clothes are stuffed in rather than folded or put away in the Marie Kondo style? Paper in stacks (I don’t know why but there is so much paper in my bedroom)? Jewellry scattered along with makeup or perfume?

For those of us who need to battle the Wardrobes as well as their bedrooms, don’t feel overwhelmed as this is probably most of us!! It is definitely us here at Femme Finance!

Step 1 Make the bed!

This can be with clean sheets, fresh duvet cover and pillowcases (matching or not matching) or just a straightening of what is already there. This is an old trick of my nanas – with the bed made you are halfway there.

Step 2 Take a couple of photos

This is MANDATORY as nothing feels better or more motivating than when you look at the before and after photos, demonstrating your hard work.

Step 3 Get paper and pen

Sit on your bed or pick a spot you can observe your soon to be clutter free space. Write down what your plan of attack is.

Here’s my list as an example:

1. Pull all clothes out of wardrobe and drawers
2. Sort clothes into categories – donate, repair, sell, chuck, or limbo (I’ll come back to limbo in a moment)
3. Decide what can be hung on hangers and what can be folded, with priority to what I wear most and put that selection in a place with easy access (front of the wardrobe or in dresser drawers, having a drawer dedicated to work clothes only)
4. Remove all items from all surfaces – bedside tables, dresser tops, the bedhead (*glares at husband* why is this coffee cup here?)
5. Wipe down with an ecofriendly spray or a damp cloth, depending on the needs of the surface
6. Decide what really needs to be out on the tabletops. What purpose does it serve? Does it create a cluttered look?
7. Wipe down all items that are staying with damp cloth
8. Display
9. Clean any cobwebs from the corners of the room and ceiling, wipe down windowsills and skirting
10. Vacuum the floor
11. Do I need containers for anything in my wardrobe or drawers? What would work in my space?

As you can see, I’m going the full hog and doing a clean as well – I have spotted a few Charlotte Webs that need addressing and bless my husband, but that coffee mug has left rings! You do not need to be this intense, unless you are in the mind set of ‘while I’m here, I may as well’.

Step 4 Send us your before and after’s and comment on our posts showing your own hard work – we want to know how you did!!

Lastly … get rid of the boxes and bags. Do it! Do it now before you procrastinate!!

So, there’s your plan – if you choose to use it that is.

What to Ditch

Now let’s talk about the in’s and out’s of these categories and what the heck a Limbo Box is.

Donate – clothes and other items that are in relatively good nick, that someone in need could use

Repair – you don’t wear or use it as it needs fixing / mending. Once you have separated this item from everything else, you can make a plan to get it sorted. Take it to an alterations place to repaired or gain a new skill in sewing. Most of my repair items are things that need rehemming, or a button sewed back on.

Sell – this is obvious. Stuff you don’t want or need any more and in a good enough state to sell. Trade Me and Facebook Market place are good places to begin here, but don’t forget about the local auction houses as well. Most towns and cities have auctions houses that can sell things on your behalf, but make sure you check into the % that the auction house will take off the sell price, to see if its worth it for you

Chuck – broken beyond repair, not good enough to donate or sell. Please ensure you check into the most ecofriendly way to dispose of this item. Look back at our introduction Blog Post around this THE DECLUTTER CHALLENGE – (femmefinance.co.nz)

Limbo – If you are like me and have gained a bit of weight over the lockdowns or just in general, and have beautiful clothes in good nick and you are aiming to fit them again so therefore you don’t want to get rid of them,  resulting in having two wardrobes taking up space. One you can fit right now and one you would like to fit in again. Let me introduce you to The Limbo Box! The Limbo Box is where you store the clothes you can’t fit right now but want to fit again. You must be really honest with yourself here. Make sure what you put in Limbo are things you will definitely wear again.

Storage solutions

So, you have decluttered, and you are looking about your new minimalized space with shiny pride. Congratulations!!! Things are hung up on hangers, shoes in neat little rows and drawers in such order you open them just to stare at how wonderful it looks. You feel mentally clear and as if you can put your mind to anything! You have however realized in your decluttering that you do actually need a few bins, or containers for things like scarves, belts etc.

Before you spend any cash try a few DIY options using things you may already have or can purchase cheaply.

Enter Stage Left…Pinterest.

This app has a million and one ideas to create your own storage. Have a scroll and see if anything resonates with you and fits in with your skill level …and let’s face it, patience level.

One thing I do with any smaller boxes or old shoe boxes I have, is repurpose them by buying a paint test pot in a colour I like or which is complimentary to the interior décor scheme (…if you have one. I am thinking of those who are like me and have to live with scary swirly wallpaper). I paint the box that suits the situation, and voila, you have boxes that hold your items, is ecofriendly, and may I say, sustainable. This option saves you spending too much of your hard earned moolah and it goes with your interior design. (I’ll post some photos on Instagram of some examples) Win win!

If you have a bit of cash you can put to purchasing some storage items, there’s the likes of Kmart, The Warehouse and Briscoes, if you are living in New Zealand, that offer some cost-effective solutions. Jjust be mindful that plastic options do leak toxins into your environment, which you can then inhale (read more about this on Kathryn Nelson’s Instagram account @plasticfreemermaid or her website wwwiquitplastics.com) and the plastic options are not that ecofriendly in the long run. If you have a bit more to spend and want to reimage what you have seen on Pinterest or Instagram accounts, Hannah Stickland Co-founder of @simplifymyhome have some great storage options. Spend wisely!

If you are a keeper of shopping bags – you know the nice ones especially if they are of spendy brands. I’m talking Dior, Chanel, Prada. Why not turn that clutter into works of art? Buy a suitable sized frame from Briscoes or similar retailer, arrange the bag flat with the handles as you want them, and you can keep a reminder of that shopping trip for as long as you like along with creating a piece of artwork that has a story attached.

Wow that was a lot of reading for you! Thank you if you made it to the end without going cross eyed. We hope what we have suggested helps with your decluttering. Good luck with it all, remember it’s your process, own it and relish in getting back to the necessities.

The blog for Weekend Two will go up next week where we will be tackling the Pantry & Kitchen… see you then!

Does it spark joy? A question put out to the world via Netflix’s 2019 series ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’ and 2021 series ‘Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo’. It resulted in thousands of New Zealanders decluttering their homes, wardrobes, garages kitchens and bathrooms inundating charity shops, clothing bins and refuse sites with the castoff items that no longer sparked jubilance.

Decluttering one’s surroundings does have a profound effect on a person’s wellbeing. Psychologists have coined the term “clutter effect” where clutter- both physical and mental- can even cloud your ability to think. The decluttering mania has become a popular side hustle for many an Instagrammer, as has becoming a Minimalist.

Minimalism is about having only the essentials and not allowing possessions define you – capsule wardrobes come to mind (there are such pretty infographics on Pinterest!). Applying this to your finances and lifestyle can be pretty daunting, especially if you have moved from a large home into a smaller one or one without much storage as in my case. We have moved into a home built in 1938 and the wardrobes are single sized. Super single sized. Like can’t even fit in a normal sized suitcase sized. So, I am finding I am having to get creative with storage ideas.

But first I need to declutter and minimalise what I own otherwise I’m just storing stuff I don’t need, that’s broken, that could be sold (cha-ching) or that doesn’t fit. 

Like with all challenges, starting off with creating a plan creates purpose and focus. It turns the insurmountable situation ahead into bite sized steps that can be easily accomplished. Like with any goal (see our blog post titled An Om Moment – Femme Finance ) keep in mind the failure result, if you don’t achieve the level of decluttering you want, you will still be living up to your ear lobes in dust collectors, cluttered bench tops and mountains of clothes that don’t fit into wardrobes and drawers. It sounds tiring and stressful just thinking about to be honest.

So, I put to you dear Femme Finance followers join us in a challenge this March. Let’s practise Minimalism and declutter everything from our cars to our homes to our friendships to our finances.

Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook page as each Friday we will post what space we are decluttering that weekend. You can take part as intensely as you like and we will do the hard work of putting a plan into place for you, so all you have to do, is show up with a ‘Can Do and Declutter’ attitude.

The Declutter Challenge by Femme Finance

Weekend One – Wardrobes & Bedrooms

Weekend Two – Pantry & Kitchen

Weekend Three – Garage & Bathroom

Weekend Four – Interiors

Weekend Five – Finances & Friendships …and let’s make you work extra hard and throw in your car too!

We will take you through ways to store what you still want to keep and ways of moving on that which you don’t want to keep. We will be keeping the environment and sustainability in mind as we would not be able to sleep well at night knowing we are adding to an increasing problem regarding our planet and its health. We will give you options to choose from for each weeks challenge so you can do both or just one of the areas we have chosen.

So … are you with us??? Yes?! Excellent!

Before the challenge begins, there’s a few things to think on, so let’s start here first.

Do Not Buy anything!

I know it is tempting to scroll through Kmart, the Warehouse, Briscoes and other home storage places and look at their storage solutions but you don’t know what you need yet. Plus, the aim of this exercise is too not break the bank with purchasing things we can perhaps get creative with.

Get Everyone on Board

You may be single with a flatmate. You may be a couple or a couple or someone with children.

Have a conversation with them now about what you are planning on doing get them on board if you can. Flatmates can be tricky as can teenagers so here’s something to try.

Have a meeting and let those awesome people in your life know that you need a change. You’re going to look at every item the family owns and you – as a family – will decide what to do with it. If you are living with Flatties different story. Obviously you aren’t going to go into their personal space and start biffing stuff so ask if they want to join in and declutter with you. A Flat Challenge if you will …oooo could we make that into a drinking game? Opps sorry off topic! Tell the flatmates / family how the build-up of possessions in your home makes you feel. Ask how they feel as well. You could be surprised!

The Three “layers” of Clutter in your home

As mentioned previously in this blog post we will give you an area to declutter each week but just be wary of these layers of clutter when you get stuck in.

1. Top layer – Clear out the “top layer” first this is trash and other items that are easy to discard
2. Middle layer – items you assess but don’t ponder over for too long before making a decision to declutter or not
3. Bottom layer – generally sentimental items and other items that are hard to let go of

The top layer is the easiest to discard when you get started decluttering. You might fill many bags and boxes with trash and other items you know you no longer need. When you see the amount of items you have discarded, excitement may push you to the middle layer and then the bottom layer.

The Aftermath also known as The Pile Up

Bags and boxes of unwanted items are great, but what do you do with them?

First let’s talk about what we are putting all the decluttered clutter into. Preferably it will be a used box that can be recycled. So before you set into the challenge gather the boxes up that are floating about in the garage the neighbours garage friends place, supermarket etc. Be mindful of how many rubbish bags you are using that are not able to be recycled.

Take thyself to Google and research what charity chops are in your area. Make a list and give them a call to ensure they will take donations and what it is that they won’t take. Call Centres that help the homeless, those in poverty and places like Women’s Refuge. They are always screaming out for donations so give them a call and ask what they are willing to take.

Donations should be dropped off as soon as you can get to the places on your list charity shops, and other centres. This could be a weekly ritual that turns into a monthly trip and eventually an annual donation. The longer something sits in your home (bagged up) the more likely it is to stay that way.

If you plan to have a garage sale, set a firm date first. If you keep putting the sale off, just donate the items. There is no use in them just sitting there.

Items promised to friends and family should be dealt with the same way. If they cannot pick up the item or if you are unable to schedule a meet-up, then let them know the item is going to be donated.

Make sure you check into recycling centres in your area beforehand so that you are ready to go once you have that pile of clutter that cannot be fixed or mended.

Get straight on to posting stuff you are wanting to sell onto Facebook Market Place and Trade Me. The sooner its up the sooner its sold and the sooner you will have extra cash to add to your savings.

Don’t compare yourself to anyone

Comparing your life to someone else’s is a toxic habit. That is not the mindset we want to create here. There’s no competition as to who has decluttered the most or if you have not decluttered enough. So if you are reading any comments on the posts we will be sharing during this challenge that make you feel a bit meh, just remember they are doing them and you are doing you and that each person is at their own pace, on their own timeline….and that you are freaking fabulous!

Motivation

This can come from looking at pictures on Pinterest, Instagram or watching the Marie Kondo series on Netflix. But don’t think that your life can be just like their life. You and your situation / family are unique, as will your decluttering journey be.

Whatever your version of clutter-free is, embrace it. Embrace the feeling of a weight lifted off your shoulders. It feels good.

The start of the year is generally one of reflection for most people so let’s lasso this energy and take a look at what’s important to you. With the never-ending stampede that is Covid we have had to take a long hard look at how we are living out our one and precious life. Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Are you at work more than you are at home? Anxiety becoming a daily thing? Feeling like a slug most days all spongy and slow? Do you get to stop to smell the roses or are they a blur of colour as you rapidly pass by?

When it comes to reflection and goal setting, we must consider our values and what makes us excited to make changes in our lives otherwise our goals are like gluten to the gluten intolerant, it just won’t sit right.

There are multiple areas to contemplate:

Body

Mind

Soul

Relationships

Wealth

Career

Each goal you set, must add value to your life and you don’t have to set a goal for each one of these areas. Take it at your own pace, there is no timeline but your own. If you want to take on one goal at a time – more power to ya! If you want to take on the world all at the same time – do it! If you want to don sparkly stiletto heels and a feather boa and dance about the dining room singing and dancing to the Spice Girls – invite us over cos same!

Having a goal can be that ‘something’ you look forward to in the future since life has become so much smaller for a lot of people the usual things to look forward to, like travel, have been taken off the table. For Goals to be successful visualise success from the outset. Pace them out in little chunks. Approaching what you want to achieve in small steps make things less scary, easy to stay accountable and as you complete each step that sense of accomplishment can help propel you forward towards your main goal. Another tip to helping you stay on track, which is based in science, but seems counterintuitive, is visualise failure and its consequences. This is typically what we are not encouraged to do so I can imagine there are many screwed up faces with you all thinking ‘What the hey?!’ but research has shown that foreshadowing failure of what could happen if you take Action A instead of Action B can almost double the probability of you reaching and achieving your goals. If your Goal is Money related, what will happen if the Emergency Fund you have been working hard on increasing you decide on a whim to suddenly spend. You will look back at that point and realise you could have had so much more in that account by this time if you had not spent it, the realization you now are going to have to push your goal timeframe out further to achieve the amount you wanted, and you can’t free up that amount of money you are putting towards creating a healthy Emergency fund until much later on. If you goal is Fitness focused, what will happen if you don’t go to your cardio class, cancel your personal trainer appointment, or blow of your Walking Date with your friend? There will be negative health outcomes, the ‘look good and feeling great’ component of this type of goal won’t come to fruition and there’s the inevitable disappointment in yourself. If you have at the front of your mind how bad its going to feel if you fail and the not so great consequences, the more motivated you become in the pursuit of your goals.

We wish you luck with your reflections and grab our free downloadable for Goal Setting if you think it would help channel your thoughts and keep you accountable.

Did you overspend and overindulge this silly season? Don’t worry we did too! Now we have hit 2021 its time to take back our spending and start to control what we are doing with it again. The average New Zealander spends roughly $645 per Christmas period whether that be gifts, food travel etc. 32% of people use credit cards to pay for this period compared to 58% who will be using a debit card or savings. Unless you are budgeting for this expenditure (which I would recommend) this can be a huge cost to any person come Christmas time. We have put together a few tips and tricks on how we overcome the overspend period to get back on track.  

Firstly, its good to know where you are. Take a look at your bank statements, credit card statements and so on, have a look at how much you have in there and how much you are owing. Consider your upcoming bills and expenditure and prepare yourself for those to be coming out shortly. Once you have an idea of where you are sitting (take a break or sit down if its anything like mine!) now we can move on to how to redeem ourselves.  

Create a plan to redeem yourself. Now we know where we are sitting let’s take a moment to create a plan. Do not be hard on yourself, the silly season can be costly and now is the time to get back on track! Write down your “budget” or expenses for the upcoming month. Add into this budget any amounts you are owing from this silly season. Note you always need to pay back the monthly minimum amounts with a credit card or hire purchase but if you have the capacity up those amounts in this budget. Make a plan to pay off those pesky debts you have clocked up even faster! (download our budgeting freebie to help you with this)

Try to stop spending in January/February. Once you have your so-called budget in place for the next month, take control by limiting any extra expenditure these next few months. This will allow you to get back on track. Rather than dining out one night, use that money wisely and put it towards paying down that credit card or afterpay amounts.  

Start saving for next year now! If you total up how much you spent this year on the silly season, start aiming for that amount in savings now! Total over the next 11 or so months how much you need to put aside each pay. Take this into consideration as you would a normal expense. You will thank yourself come next year having this money handy! It will also help you avoid any debt and clocking up any interest on credit cards, hire purchases etc. 

Now you have a plan in place for knowing what expenses are coming out, using that extra spending money to pay down those debts you have clocked up and preparing for the next year. All of these tasks will help you to get back on track with your finances and also avoid the same mistake next year! 

If you were tuning into your More FM radio station on the way to work this morning, you would have heard Lana one of the announcers discuss her unwilling participation in an online bank account scam. A call out to listeners in the community to make contact with the radio station to see if this was a common experience, had More FM receive a huge influx of calls saying this very thing has happened to them!

One women caller, who at that very particular moment was going through the experience of this scam, had her husband on the phone to the bank, while she was on the phone to the radio station telling her extremely fresh experience of how she had spotted small amounts being withdrawn from her bank accounts over a period of several months resulting in hundreds being taken. Another caller had discovered these mystery withdrawals a week ago, and was in the midst of communications with her bank to see if she can get her money back – a total of around $2,000 had been taken from her accounts without her knowledge.

During Covid, online scams have increased dramatically and have become quite sophisticated. This one in particular has a pattern of small withdrawals of around $50 to $150 being made where the money is going is over to the forensics but its seems that it was for purchases to pay for things via online retail sites or could it possibly be funneled into scammers accounts? The withdrawals are so sporadic that the victims mentioned that they went easily unnoticed in the daily account activity. Over a period of months if not longer if a person does not monitor their account conduct thousands could be taken.

This is a timely to reminder to all of us that times have most definitely changed and the once easy to spot scams, are now more sophisticated and harder to detect. This is where new habits need to come into play.

If something seems amiss – check into it – is it your husband using the wrong card to purchase his lunch or is ‘Sushi King’ a fake name for an account hacker? Were you in that store that weekend or was that $90.00 purchase not your own? Even if you are one of the lucky ones and have never had someone tapping into your hard-earned cash, it is a good practice to get into as with closer monitoring it is easier to see where perhaps you have spent a bit much on takeaways recently or hitting the shops a bit hard. Be it at the end of the day or at the end of the week, run your eye over your accounts and get into a new habit that can only be beneficial to your bank balance, as well as fighting the invisible fight against online scammers.

The moral of this tale is, have some accountability of your account activity!

With only seven Mondays left until Christmas, yes seven, the silly season is on everyone’s mind! This time of year, can make people anxious to be able to find the funds to pay for all the gifts, food, travel etc. With the silly season comes planning and in regards to your finances it should be a well thought out plan, so you are not leaving yourself short for the new year! Read below our tips on how we prepare for the silly season!

Tip one:

Plan for Christmas in your monthly budgets. This is a good tip to include in your New Year’s Resolutions perhaps and factor in gift giving into the monthly budget and start to put that money aside throughout the year. This then saves you stressing when it gets to Christmas to find that money.

Tip two:

If you cannot afford to put the money aside every week, start a list of everyone you must buy for and how much you need to spend. If you start now, this will save you stressing come December when you must buy gifts for everyone. Start with the smaller gifts maybe mum is $50, put aside $25 this week and next, and then you can buy her present already.

Tip three:

Look for the sales now! Resubscribe to certain websites at this time of year to make sure you are getting notifications when they have a sale. There are long weekends, Black Friday and ‘just because’ sales happening all before Christmas. You don’t need to wait until December to start buying products on sale.

Tip four:

Use your vouchers you haven’t used yet! We know some people like to use their vouchers as soon as they receive them however if you are one of those people who pops them in your wallet only to forget their existence, go and use them on your family and friends at Christmas. This way you are saving yourself money and not letting that voucher go to waste!

Tip five:

Get your family to set a limit for gifts that is suitable for everyone. We used to spend $150 on family alone at Christmas and this year we decided it was just too much! Christmas is about spending time with your family and friends not always about how big the limit is. Try and make the limit reasonable to what everyone can afford.

Tip six:

Avoid afterpay and laybuy. We know this is how some people fund Christmas however if you put that money aside now you wouldn’t have to fall into the trap of these schemes. If you are only doing one gift at a time and the payments are reasonable, and you can pay one off before setting up another, then go for it if it works for you. Just be aware that loading up all the presents onto these schemes can sometimes mean you are paying a rather large sum per week.

Tip seven:

Make your own gifts. If you have a special talent maybe you can knit or do woodworking, look to make your gifts rather than buying them. A thoughtfully made gift can go a long way as people tend to appreciate the time and effort that went into them.

Tip eight:

Buy second hand. Trade Me and Marketplace are your friend, and don’t forget the Opp Shops! If you know you can get something second hand at half the price, why wouldn’t you? We can promise you your family wouldn’t even know if you didn’t tell them. People are selling brand new items all the time. Have a look at these sites first before you buy brand new.

Tip nine:

Withdraw the cash. If you like to spend money, withdraw the money for each gift on your Christmas List and put it into an envelope. This can be a good way to make sure you have all the funds for when that sale comes up and it can also be good to limit yourself to the amount you have withdrawn. If the limit is $50 another $20 won’t make a difference, right? It does make a difference! You haven’t budgeted for it! So, by having the cash, in that hot little envelope, tucked under your mattress, in the spare room, this limits you to only that amount to spend.

Tip ten:

Start now! Starting early may led to some people laughing at you but the joke is on them when you have finished your Christmas shopping by the end of November and don’t have to stress about the money or the crowds of people. Perhaps buying a gift a week from October would work for you? On the note of buying early, start a stockpile of the ingredients that are not fresh for that Christmas day banquet you have been roped into.

Tip eleven:

Skip Christmas gift giving and head out early for the Boxing Day sales. Yes, this may be the craziest tip of all the tips we have suggested so far but boy you can get bang for buck and extend on that Christmas feeling of celebration a little longer. You’ll just have to tough out the crowds!

Christmas is a great time of year to be enjoyed, not to be stressed over. If you have a plan in place and start sooner rather than later, this can avoid the use of schemes which can get you into a hole which can be tricky to climb out of. Wouldn’t you rather pay for the funds this year rather than being in financial stress next year?

If you find you are stressing over Christmas, our money coaching could be for you. Send us an email to schedule your free consultation.

What is mindfulness:

It is the basic and innate human ability to be self-aware at the physical, emotional and mental levels; and remain detached from what we experience at these levels.

What are the benefits of mindfulness:

• Self-awareness
• Enhanced wellbeing
• We become more effective
• Assists with behaviour and attitude changes
• Reduced stress
• Improves focus
• Improves the ability to be non-reactive

Being mindful has so many benefits and these include being kinder to ourselves, which ultimately leads to better self-talk, improved positivity and gives us more sense of choice rather than defaulting to our habitual patterns. When we replace habits that no longer serve us with positive habits, we have the power to change our patterns, behaviours, attitude and ultimately our life.

Mindfulness can be applied to absolutely any area of your life so why would we not use its benefits to improve our financial position. We have the ability to view our finances more positively and this in turn provides the opportunity to improve our relationship to money and improve our management of it. Having a great relationship with money is something to aspire to, as just like your relationship to yourself, it will be long lasting. It’s a relationship that will last your lifetime so if you can reduce the stress associated with money and put you in a space of confidence so that you feel supported by your money it will without a doubt, improve your overall feeling of wellbeing.

Applying mindfulness principles to money management

The first step to creating a great relationship with your money is to develop some awareness of how you currently feel, act and respond to managing your money. I would encourage you to know your money, be intimate with your money, be grateful and appreciate of your money.

Becoming mindful of your behaviours and patterns around money will lead you to understand how and why you feel the way you do about money. There are going to be some ways in which you interact with your money that make you feel good and others that make you feel less so.  Embrace the positive stuff and feel good about it. Acknowledge your strengths and give yourself credit for all that you do well with your money.

Being kind to yourself whilst also acknowledging the things that make you feel a bit funky in relation to money is important. Where you can identify ways in which you would like to change some of your behaviours and patterns, just notice and acknowledge it. There is absolutely no point in criticising, shaming, or guilting yourself for these patterns. A key point to being mindful around money is being gentle with your approach and simply looking for opportunities to develop new strategies, habits and patterns that are going to make you feel good about your relationship to money.

Directed thinking is a key skill derived from mindfulness which gives you the ability to be aware of a thought that doesn’t serve you positively and to redirect that thought. For example, if you catch yourself thinking “I’m terrible with money” you could change this to something more empowering such as “I’m learning and developing new skills, that make it easier to manage my money”. The ability to catch yourself as you think a negative thought, observe it (don’t judge yourself) and redirect your thought to something more supportive, this is what mindfulness is all about. The result of this is the ability to respond rather than react. Many of us, operate on autopilot and we react to certain stimulus based on our previous history, so our reaction may be extreme or exaggerated. Whereas, if we are choosing our thoughts and are consciously responding, rather than reacting, we are making a choice rather than letting our mental patterns dictate our responses.

Mindfulness tools for everyday use

There is undoubtedly a connection between mind and body. If your finances have you in a state of worry and doubt this is going to translate to stress and anxiety in your body. Mindfulness as a practice offers an array of tools to add to the kit. All are valuable but you might find that you have some personal favourites. Here are a few ideas:

Gratitude journal – show appreciation for all that your money currently buys you. Review your bank statements and write down all the wonderful things that your money has afforded you. It could have been a meal out with your loved ones, or simply paying the power bill which provided a home and cozy home for you.

Breathwork – if you are feeling a little wound up about your finances (or any other situation) don’t forget to breathe. Taking long, slow breaths through the nose and out of the mouth is known to have a positive physiological impact on you, your mind and body.

Movement – taking a walk in nature or even just around the block to clear the mind and lift the mood is always worthwhile. Focusing on the positives in life is a gift of mindfulness.

Meditation – developing a meditation practice is known to improve the ability to quieten the mind not only whilst on the mat but also in everyday life which will only assist in responding, rather than reacting.

Money Mantras (affirmations) – why not make some bold and positive statements that lift your spirits during the day. Saying “I am supported by money” feels a lot more positive than many of the other thoughts that sometimes run through our heads.

Having the ability to manage your mindset around money is a skill to work on but given the lifelong relationship you have with your money, it’s worth investing the time and energy in developing these skills so that you can live a life of gratitude, enjoyment, wellness, and positivity when it comes to money matters.

Listen to our Short Term Debt podcast episode here.

Debt, as we all know, is so easy to get into but extremely difficult to get out of. Having multiple different short term debts can make it confusing to manage and, when only paying the minimum repayments it is hard to get them paid off.

Everyone is different when it comes to paying off debt. You tend to either use the emotional, snowball or avalanche method, depending on your motivation. Your motivation and mindset is key in what drives you in achieving your money goals. Whichever method incentivizes you and gives you the motivation to keep going, is the winner.

In this article, we break down the 3 debt repayment methods and what to do once you know your chosen method. We also explain other options that may be available to help pay your short-term debt off faster.

SHORT TERM DEBT REPAYMENT METHODS

Emotional Method

Motivation: Psychological
Removing the debts with the most emotional baggage

This debt is also known as the tsunami method. This method has you paying off the debt in order of emotional impact, focusing on the ones that cause you the most pain points.

Whether it’s because of a high interest rate, it’s a loan from a friend or family, or simply one you’ve had for a long time and you just want to smash it out. This approach you are basing your decision on your emotions, getting rid of the debts that carried the most emotional baggage.

Its mentally rewarding when you pay off a debt that you have had for a long time or that’s been causing stress.

Debt Snowball Method

Motivation: Psychological
Seeing the rewards, small victories early on and throughout, helping drive you.

The Debt Snowball method involves paying off your debt in order of smallest to largest, focusing on the smallest debts first. When the smallest debt is paid in full, you roll that minimum repayment you were paying to the next smallest debt.

This method can be psychologically rewarding as you eliminate entire debt balances rather quicky and see immediate progress. By the time you get to the last debt, you’re able to pay large amounts towards it because you have no other debt to pay off!

Debt Avalanche Method

Motivation: Financial
Paying it off as fast as possible with the least amount of interest, for those with high interest debt.

This method is where you pay off the debt in order of interest rate, focusing on the highest interest earning first. You make the minimum repayments on all debt, then use any extra funds to pay off the highest interest rate debt first.

By focusing on the highest interest rate debt first, like credit cards, you’re going to save in interest costs over the long term. You’ll also reduce the time it will take to you to pay the loan balance in full.

ANALYSE YOUR SHORT TERM DEBT AND FINANCES

Once you’ve determined the way you want to pay your debt off, you need to sit down and analyse your debt and finances.

Step One: Itemise your debt
Write down all of your debt, what they are and their outstanding balances and structure them in order of priority. For debt snowball method, this would be in order of smallest to largest. If you are using the debt avalanche method, the order would highest to lowest interest rate. And for the emotional method, you’d order it by your emotional priority.

Step Two: Analyse your expenses.
If you are really determined to smash out your short-term debt, it’s important to review and analyse your expenses / finances. You may find there are opportunities to minimise some expenses (extra money to go toward debt!) and it will help to avoid having to use short-term debt again in the future.

OTHER WAYS TO PAY OFF YOUR SHORT-TERM DEBT FASTER

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation is where you take out a single loan to pay off multiple debts (credit/store cards, finance loans etc.). Often when you have multiple debts, there are different payment terms, interest rates, payment frequencies and it can become a bit of a mind bubble. A debt consolidation loan is a good opportunity to pull all of the debts together with one set rate and one lot of repayments coming out.

The key point is to be financially better off by doing this. The whole point is to end up with extra money in your pocket, or to reduce the repayments / interest rates, so over time you’re not paying as much.

Balance Transfers

A balance transfer is where you move debt from one credit card to another. You can’t do a balance transfer with the same bank as your current credit card, so you would be taking a credit card with a different bank. You will find that most banks will offer a 0% interest rate for the first 6 months (note there is a small transfer fee of around 1-2%), so this is a great opportunity to knuckle down and pay off as much as you can while there is no interest being charged. It’s even better if you can transfer to a bank with lower interest rates than your current provider, as this way you will still be saving on interest after the interest free period!

You’ve probably heard a lot about short and long term debt, but do you understand the difference between the two?

There are long term debts which (as the name suggests) are over a long period of time and 99% of the time is an investment and therefore you are likely to gain from it – think mortgages where your home is the asset and is likely to grow in value, or student loans which provide a means to gaining a better education and therefore a higher paying (or more satisfying) job.

Then there are short term debts which, again, are just like the name suggests and should be for a short time period. They often have very high interest rates and for purchases that you aren’t necessarily going to gain from.

Below we have outlined the different types of short term debts and how they can each have an affect on your lifestyle. While some types of debt have a place, if you are learning to take control of your finances it would really pay to avoid them wherever possible.

Credit Cards

Data from the Reserve Bank shows credit card debt is becoming increasingly unpopular with total credit card billing dropping 1.9% in February. However, it is certainly still there – with these stats relating to New Zealanders and credit cards:

• we owe approx. $6 billion in credit card debt
• 17% of us couldn’t manage their budget or finances without one
• 1 in 5 of generation Gen X relying on a credit card to get by.

As credit cards are unsecured debt, they have high interest rates attached to them (usually around 25%), and the minimum repayment amounts are set extremely low, often unreasonably low. This can lead to a credit card balance that you can’t seem to make a dent in and becomes longer term that you had originally planned.

An example of this is;

You have a $1,000 credit card balance, making only the minimum repayment amounts, you could be paying this debt off for 9 years, with a total interest cost of $1,024 – higher than the initial debt amount!

So be very careful! A simple way of looking at it is – if you don’t have the money for this, and it’s not an emergency, should you be using a credit card to pay for it?

Store Cards / Gem Visas / Q Cards

If you have ever gone to buy a new phone or furniture from the likes of Harvey Norman, it’s likely you were asked if you would like to pay for it using finance through a store card such as a Gem Visa or Q Card.

These store cards are much like credit cards however they can only be used at store ‘partners’ (each one has different store partners). There are usually some incentives such as interest free terms or no-repayment terms on offer as well to sweeten the deal. If you are disciplined with your finances, the interest free periods can make these cards an easy way to purchase something when you don’t have the funds to pay for it (or, in some cases, they can be used as a smart alternative to using funds you may already have, but we’ll save getting into that for another blog!).

However, because these cards also have very high interest rates, you could find yourself in a situation where you’ve come to the end of the interest free / no repayment period, you haven’t really paid much off and now all of a sudden you’ve got a debt that you’re struggling to pay off.

There are also some confusing processes that are followed when applying your payments to the outstanding balances that can mean what you think you are paying off isn’t always the case (this applies when you have multiple purchases on the one card / statement). More info around these processes can be found on the Money Hub website, a super helpful resource for all things money!

Personal Loans and Car Loans

Personal and car loans are usually managed through a bank, credit union, other money lenders or directly through a car dealer (and unfortunately finance options through car dealers are often not the best deal so ensure you do your research).

Interest rates across these lenders vary wildly but sometimes things like your credit score and credit history can have an impact on the interest rate and other factors you’re offered.

The most common reasons people get personal loans include debt consolidation, big one-time expenses such as weddings as well as urgent or unexpected costs like a car or medical bill. If you find yourself needing to apply for a personal loan, shop around for the best offer and borrow as little as you need so you can repay it as quickly as possible and limit the interest you will pay.

Both car and personal loans can be secured or unsecured – unsecured is a higher risk for the lender therefore you’ll usually have a higher interest rate. If it’s secured, and you fail to repay the loan, the lender can take the security to gain some of the loan back (such as the car).

In the case of personal and car loans, you really need to determine what the true cost of the purchase will be, by the time you pay the loan back adding on the interest you will pay.

Laybuys, Afterpays etc.

Yes, these are classed as debt (especially in the banks eyes), and although they are more short term than credit cards (4-6 weeks), if you don’t keep in control of these and end up with multiple at one time, they can become very hard to manage and you may find yourself in financial trouble.

When you have multiple AfterPays/LayBuys you’ll often end up with different payment dates and amounts. This is an easy way to lose track of what the total amount actually is, and end up with more than you can afford.

The bonus to these payments types is they are very short term and there is no interest being charged, so you never pay more than the original purchase price. Your success with Afterpays or Laybuys depends on you and how you manage them. If you can limit your spending and manage one at a time it’s a great alternative to a credit card.

So, as you can see, there are a number of different short term debt types, all with differing purposes and ways of working. As mentioned a lot throughout this blog, if you are good with your finances and money management you may be able to avoid falling into the trap of having too much short term debt and struggling to pay it back.

However, some good rules to follow before ticking that next item up is:

• Always think twice and ensure you can afford the repayments.
• Ask yourself – do you really need to borrow the money / have short term debt for this?
• Could you wait and save some money instead?
• Give yourself a 24 hour stand down period – you’ll often find the consumer itch will disappear.