5 Things To Stop Paying For, Right Now!
Boost your budget and save a stack of cash by ditching these payments today.
- ATM fees
Seriously, paying for the privilege of withdrawing your own money? It’s crazy when you think about it. But when you withdraw money from an ATM that belongs to a bank other than the one where your account is held, you’re charged a fee of $2 or even higher. Do this a couple of times a week, and these fees can add up to hundreds of dollars a year! All up, Aussies paid about $630 million in ATM fees in the year to July 2014. Although the government is currently investigating these fees, arguing they’re unfair and don’t reflect the cost the banks face in providing ATMs, they’re here for now. But the good news is, avoiding them is easy – you just need to think ahead.
- Grab your cash out when you’re passing an ATM that belongs to your own bank
- Withdraw extra cash when you pay by EFTPOS
- Withdraw cash at the supermarket. At the big chains like Woolworths and Coles you can withdraw cash without even buying anything, and they don’t charge you a cent.
- Use an app like ATM Hunter or Find my ATM to find the nearest ATM belonging to your bank.
- Fitness Fads
Aussies spend more than $8.5 billion a year on gym memberships, sports equipment and the latest fitness trends. Yet 60% of Aussie adults are overweight – so many of us seem to be throwing our money down the drain! Getting and staying fit needn’t cost you a cent.
- Go for a walk or a run. Grab the dog, the kids, and get moving!
- Got a bike? Grab it out of the garage and go for a cycle, you’ll feel like a kid again!
- Want a gym-style workout for free? Find a local park that has an exercise equipment area. You can jump online to find one near you in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, or contact your local council for locations.
- Eating out for lunch
Sure, it’s nice to treat yourself to a meal out every once in a while. But many of us grab our lunch on the run every single day – the average Aussie spends $750 a year on takeaway lunches alone. Add a daily coffee or drink to that, and you’ll spend another $1000 a year. By making your own lunch and coffee at home, you could save more than $2000 a year. Think of the holiday you could have with that extra cash in your pocket!
- Need some inspiration? Here’s some great lunch recipe ideas.
- Grab yourself a funky lunchbox and have fun filling it with something different each day!
- If you need your daily coffee fix, get yourself a reusable keep cup and make your coffee at home. You’ll help the environment as well as your hip pocket.
- Magazines and newspapers
Buying a daily paper will cost you over $500 a year. Add a magazine or two a week to that, and you could be spending over $1000 a year on newspapers and magazines. But the good news is, you don’t have to miss out on your news or fashion fix!
- Most newspapers and magazines have a website where you can read lots of news and articles for free.
- Try a digital newsstand app like Zinio, where you can access more than 6000 magazines from around the world, for free!
- Head to your local library – most have all the daily newspapers and many magazines available to read for free. Better still, you’ll be able to do it in peace and quiet!
- Bottled water
We all know we should aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. The experts tell us that the quality of the water in our taps is just as good as the bottled stuff – and yet Aussies spend half a billion dollars a year on bottled water! The mark-up on bottled water means it costs about 2000 times more than tap water. Save yourself a small fortune by drinking your 2 litres of water a day from the tap – this will cost you a grand total of just $2 a year!
- Grab yourself a reusable water bottle and carry it around with you.
- By refilling your own bottle throughout the day, you’ll find yourself drinking more water, so you’re helping your health as well as the environment while saving loads of cash!
By ditching these 5 unnecessary expenses from your weekly spending now, you could save yourself thousands of dollars a year. How will you use your extra cash?
