Hello!

My husband and I have two beautiful children, and we would like to buy a house of our own, but we need to save enough for a deposit first. What are some ways we can save money each week? Thanks.


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  • Keep clothing longer and buy groceries when they’re on special.


  • Buying generic brands at the supermarket and keeping an eye out for markdowns can save you a lot of money. Also, I find that meat costs a lot, so we only have red meat once a week and have meat-free nights or more chicken and fish.


  • If you have a chance watch on Utube : “Australia’s Tightest Family ” which was shown on A urrent Affair . You will find it so entertaining as the lady of the house even makes her own laundry detergent . I got a laugh as she dilutes all her shampoo /conditioners ( which I won’t ever do ) and she uses shower gels as handwashes as well, which was handy to know . They breed chickens to make fresh eggs , and go to various supermarkets to compare and make bulk purchases and so many other tips etc. I have watched it over and over and still find it great entertaining .


  • Make and stick to a budget, it is the best way to stay on task and reach your savings goals.


  • It’s definitely not easy,no take away and coffees,no eating out,make your own lunch for the family,shop smart ie check the specials,review your various insurance,phone,power etc(don’t pay for what you don’t need) and best of all good luck!


  • yeah just try to live minimal and practise self control/ also try to just withdraw what you need and maybe curb the urge to spend. keep that goal in sight and work out the best path to take to acheive it


  • become a freegan! lol maybe not that extreme but work out where you can cost cut and draw up a budget. learn to make food and art etc yourself if you don’t already. change your mentality and think of this time as a challenge –like this week i am only going to spend $100 on food–but because you have shopped for a few months and have lots of pantry food left etc


  • this is what we do
    buy what we need, not what we want
    cook more often at home
    shop with catalogue and buy in bulk for non perishable goods on great sale- toilet paper
    free activities for the kids- parks, beaches- rather than paid- movies, zoo etc

    This is what we do most of the time, but you also have to treat yourself and the family to something every once in a while


  • Try and reduce your grocery bill
    Reduce shower time to save water
    Turn off lights and power points that aren’t being used
    Sell things you don’t need
    Do online surveys to earn some extra cash


  • Pack a lunch for work and make your own coffee at work rather than buy it. Cut out non essential grocery items in your weekly budget such as high processed, junk and snack foods. Reduce your meat consumption to 4 times a week and substituting with quiches, tuna pasta bakes, etc. You could also try online surveys to reduce your grocery bill.


  • Another way of saving money is if you have to do family activities do it on a budget. Go to the movies when it is cheap tickets. They are not always on Tuesdays a lot of the cinemas have promotions on on weekends too, look on their websites. Go for picnics, go to the beach and see it there are community activities or events. Oh….search your local library for DVD’s. Have your movie night in….make your own popcorn.


  • Sell things from around the housebound don’t need. Aim to sell one item each week such as a piece of clothing or children’s toy that never gets used. It feels great to receive extra cash and you never miss things once they are gone.


  • I do a shop for the week making sure there is something there for dinner every night and only use whats in the house until the end of the week otherwise i end up buying extra things i don’t need if i go during the week. We used to get take away alot so every time we think oh Chinese would be nice for tea we will put the money we would have spent into savings or off credit cards etc, so hard to save with the cost of things today thanks everyone for your tips some for us all to use!


  • Set a budget and stick to it. Have an allowance each for gifts or little treats. Work out how much your bills are and put that amount away in an envelope towards each bill – eg power, phone, fuel, insurance, misc, haircuts, gifts, clothes, then when bill comes in there will be cash in the envelope to pay it. I started this a few years ago and it works well managed to save several thousand dollars because I was consciously spending. Also use credit card only for emergencies – it’s too easy to charge things to credit. Cash all the way till you have control. It’s really different spending cash than plastic – very psychological reasons why banks & shops & casinos want people to use credit cards, efpos cards, chips in casinos, PayPal etc.


  • The best thing I ever did while saving for our home loans was stopping take out and eating out…. Generally tho I’d recommend ensuring you have a comprehensive budget and list everything you spend money on then cull it and remove anything that isn’t essential that you can forsake for the goal of buying a house! (It’s a fantastic time to build and buy new/first homes) good luck!!!!


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