Embrace the Recession!

Embrace the Recession!

Its official, the recession is here.

Throw in a case of winter blues and a splash of negative media sentiment and you could be in for a long four months. But fear not dear readers, this month we try something a little different - we give you actual savings... that you can use right now!

Some of these ideas won't be new to you, some of them will, but because you know this advice could actually make a difference to your daily expenses, why not actually put some of this into practise? Even if it's just for a month. Then write to us and tell us about it. Better yet, offer some suggestions of your own.

Socialising

Just because the recession is official it doesn't mean that you need to cut down on your social ties completely, it's just time to become a little more savvy on where you go and when you do it. Looking for a drink? Why not socialise during happy hours when you can literally save 50% on everything you buy!

You know when your local has its happy hour, but it is usually a few hours earlier than you would normally go and have a drink, so why not start festivities a little earlier this weekend a take advantage of some lower prices.

Movies

Keep your movie nights to those specially chosen as "half price" nights and try not to splurge on a dinner beforehand or cough up exorbitant prices for popcorn and a drink - rather have something to eat at home beforehand.

Example:

We've used Ster Kinekor in this example, but Nu Metro Movies are half price every Wednesday too...

Saturday Night Movie:

2 x Movie tickets: R90.00

Regular popcorn, regular coke, dairy milk chocolate: R40.50

Total R130.50

Movie special night: 2 x tickets to any show R44.00

Total Saving R86.50

Grocery Shopping

When purchasing basic household goods try to stick to no name brands which offer standardised packaging and no brand name all of which you would usually be paying for.

Example: We compared branded goods to the no name brands offered from Pick n pay....

Branded Goods		No Name Goods
Five Roses Tea-bags	R10.99	No name tagless teabags	R10.95
Parmalat Fresh Cream	R9.99	PnP fresh cream	R7.99
Mccain Country crop frozen veg	R17.99	PnP organic frozen veg	R12.99
Handy Andy all purpose cleaner	R11.95	No-name all purpose cleaner	R8.39
Omo washing powder	R29.99	No name washing powder	R23.99
Bakers choice assorted biscuits	R66.99	PnP assorted biscuits	R44.95
Safari Choice mixed dried fruit	R29.99	No name mixed dried fruit	R15.99
Dettol Soap	R3.95	No name beauty bath soap	R3.29
Elastoplast clear plasters	R12.99	PnP clear plasters	R7.99
Total cost	R194.83	Total Cost	R136.43

Total Saving: R58.40

Shopping for Clothes

This one isn't rocket science, but just in case you need a reminder...

The most obvious piece of advice is to buy quality brands that don't charge a premium for the label, but if you simply MUST have designer brands, then try to buy your seasonal items in advance or at the end of the season you are buying for. Buying in season or just before the season starts means you are most likely paying a premium price for those clothes, so if the finances are in need of some trimming, but you aren't prepared to cut out the chic, time your shopping sprees correctly.

Travelling

With petrol on the increase it is time for South Africans to embrace a custom used all over the rest of the world - car pooling. If you take public transport to work, then there is little you can do to change the cost of your commuting. If you drive a car however, the time to cut down on petrol is now. Find work colleagues who live close to you and arrange a car pool system to cut down on all your travel expenses. One day at a time or one week at a time - any time you aren't driving your car you are saving on petrol costs.

By the way, you are not only saving yourself money, but contributing to decreasing traffic on the roads and pollution in the air.

Dining

Our favourite way to cut down dining costs? Bring your own lunch to work! You know you should, we know you should, and the guy who sells you fast food for lunch everyday know s you should. R35 rand a day on lunch - not when you are trying to cut back on expenses - your mom made you sandwiches for school for more than 10 years - why not return to the past?

R30/day on lunch = R150 a week on lunch = R600 a month on lunch alone. Buy a loaf of bread, some cheese and sandwich toppings and suddenly you can afford the insurance on the car. Makes you think...

If youhave to eat out for dinner, winter is the time to do it. We've all seen how many restaurants ave winter specials, so if you are in need of some spoiling, make sure you take advantage of your local restaurants winter special. Chances are that these will only apply to week night, so do your homework carefully and you could end up eating and drink for two for well under R100. Live in Cape Town? Mail us and we'll send you a list of all the half price specials for this Winter!

General Expenses

It wouldn't be a Justmoney story without us reminding you that youare more than likely paying too much money on a range of financial services you use. Our latest poll revealed that most of our users are spending more than R200 a month on bank Charges - that is unbelievably high in these tough times.

The bank accounts below will charge you less than R100/month and give you virtually everything you need to bank the way you do at present.

Things to remember:

Dont draw money from another bank's ATM - ATM withdrawal charges are avoidable. Draw from your own bank. Always.

Review you insurance

Any idea what your car insurance would cost under a different insurer?
Why not find out immediately here.
Plug in your vehicle details and get real time quotes from a number of South Africa's top insurers.

Heard it all before? Probably. Ever actually put it into practise? Probably not...

For the sake of your sanity why not actually put these ideas into practise? Suddenly you'll find the sun just around the corner and the balance in the bank looking all the more healthy. We'd love to hear your own money saving tips, so why not drop us a mail at info@justmoney.co.za and make some suggestions.