How Outsourcing can Increase your Income: Step 10 in Doubling my Money
How and What to Outsource to Make More Money
One of the biggest obstacles financially for me has been time. Not enough time, no childcare, and everything falling back on me to manage. With moving house, setting the teens up in new schools, having a toddler and baby etc. It’s a lot.
A few years ago, I made great money, travelled and had a super flexible lifestyle. My teens and I loved it. Then the world changed drastically in 2020, we had some major hurdles with bushfires, a double family death in Vanuatu, getting locked down in the Solomon Islands and needing to set up a home there, hit by a cyclone, repatriated and needing to set up a home again and buy a car.
That was just the first few months of 2020 for us. Then, then 2 back to back complicated pregnancies, a residency visa and studying for Mr Aspiring Millionaire in another state. As I said, everything fell back on me. This greatly impacts my earning capacity and motivation.
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We Can’t Do It All On Our Own
With so much going on, I neglected myself, my career/business, my life, and everything. We had agreed once we moved, the kids would go into childcare, and I’d be able to complete my studies and work.
No childcare was available, no nannies, and no options for months. The waitlist for childcare is 18+ months!
This greatly reduced my capacity to do anything and set me back mentally and emotionally as well. Doing it all on my own was slowly killing me. Plus, it meant I couldn’t do anything about my $2 to $1,000,000 challenge.
Finally, I have made an arrangement and now get time to work, do self-care etc. It wasn’t easy to set up but is essential.
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As much as we like to think we can do it all, we can’t. I get called superwoman or supermum a lot. People are amazed at all I do and wonder how I do it.
Yet often, I feel stressed out and like I’m failing because there is too much to do and I feel I am always behind. My goals, needs and wants don’t happen.
Being so busy, having so much on, trying to do everything perfectly myself is no way to live. Something had to give so I made the decision to outsource more.
How Much Can Outsourcing Make You?
How often do we waste our time on things that would be better outsourced? If you can make $50hr doing something you are great at and outsource the little stuff for $25hr, aren’t you better off outsourcing those things so you can focus on income?
The amount you make from outsourcing depends on what you outsource, how you do it and how much you or they make for you during that same time.
Outsourcing has been a struggle for me over the years even though I know I could make more money if I did it more. The desire to be in control of everything as it impacts my reputation is strong. I know if I have a good team, I can make a lot more though.
So both not being able to outsource childcare and being reluctant to outsource too much in business was costing me money.
How to Know What to Outsource in Business
When it comes to business, outsourcing should be easy but for many small business owners, it’s tricky. You have specific skills people are paying for and that is where you make your money. So your time should be spent on those tasks and admin outsourced, right?
How many business owners do you know who waste a lot of their time and energy on the small stuff? I’ve been guilty of this many times.
Write a list of all the tasks involved in your business. Next, you’ll divide the list into tasks that absolutely have to be done by you vs tasks you can outsource.
Then, place them in order of tasks that make you the most money to tasks that make you the least. How much time do you waste on those things that need to be done but don’t need to be done by you? When you could put that time into money-making pursuits only you can do?
Looking at this list can make it easier to know what to outsource first. The more you outsource the more time you can dedicate to those things only you can do and that earn you the most money.
Some tasks you might consider first are bookkeeping, emails, social media, marketing, all the administration tasks, bookings etc. Sometimes when business owners do this, they find the professionals streamline a lot of these processes for them saving even more time and money.
Take the plunge and outsource.
How to Know What to Outsource in your Personal Life
Outsourcing your personal life might sound weird but it is amazing how common it is and how much time it can free up. You already outsource somewhat.
Think about it, you outsource car repairs and maintenance to the mechanic and most families have to outsource some childcare.
Cleaning, gardening, ironing and even booking appointments are common things people outsource. There are personal concierges that will take care of picking up dry cleaning, arranging gifts, booking flights etc.
Decide what you want to outsource and make it happen.
If you want to grow your business or career, consider time vs money when it comes to outsourcing parts of your personal life. It might be quicker, cheaper and easier to have someone clean the house, do the ironing, mow the lawn etc.
How is Outsourcing Quicker, Cheaper and Easier?
Once you have the right people in place to do the tasks you’ve chosen to outsource, it flows easily. You don’t have to think about those tasks anymore. Those parts of your business or personal life get sorted without your effort.
It is often quicker because professionals usually do things faster and better than we do. That’s why they are the professionals getting paid for it. Outsourcing them is often cheaper because if you can do something that earns $50 to $100 an hour (as an example) at the same time you’re paying someone $25 to $45hr to do those tasks, you’re in front. You can earn more in that time than it costs to pay someone to do those tasks.
How to Know What to Outsource First
I outlined one way to decide how to outsource for business above. Write down all the tasks you have to do, split them into groups of things you have to do vs what someone else could do. Then order them from highest earning to lowest earning then choose things to outsource.
When it comes to personal or business, I tend to outsource based on what I hate doing or what I need help with first. Previously, this has been gardening first. I hated mowing the lawns, weeding etc. So it was worth it to me to pay someone to do that.
Childcare is one I have had to do at times but I do try to be there as much as possible for my kids instead of having them in full-time care.
Work out what can be outsourced and what would free up the most time or provide the most value to you if you outsourced it. Not everyone will start with the same things, it is up to you what you outsource, how and when.
What I Outsourced to Increase my Money
Having 2 babies close together (January 2021 and February 2022) meant I did not have the headspace to outsource. During that time we were also focused on getting Mr Aspiring Millionaire his residency visa and commercial diving qualifications so he could work. Then the focus was on moving house and healing from the pregnancies.
Once settled in the new house I did a full evaluation of where my time was getting wasted, costing me money. I also reviewed what was costing me mentally and physically. Too much has been left to me to do by the whole family and I was exhausted in every sense of the word which impacted my capacity to earn an income.
1. Insourcing
My first step was to sort out the chores and things in our home. I want my kids to have all the life skills I have and more. As such, they’re involved in cooking, cleaning, repairs etc. Once this was more organised (read What is Insourcing and Why You Need to do it to understand it).
2. Childcare
Next, I had to outsource childcare a little but that was difficult. Waitlists for childcare centres are 18 months, there are virtually no nannies and even getting a babysitter has proven difficult. I finally got 2 days of care starting February 2023 for my then 2 year old but I still have my almost 1 year old at home.
As such, I had to get creative about childcare. A mix of nannies, seeking out an au pair or even getting a cousin to come over were all considered.
Paying someone I trust to look after my kids so I can work has been huge. It was hard for me to deal with it at first but it needed to be done. Without it, I was never going to progress in my career or achieve the goals we wanted as a family.
Plus, while I do spend most of my time with my kids and they are my priority, I needed the break mentally.
Originally, Mr Aspiring Millionaire was going to be with the kids in the afternoon so I could work. Commercial diving varies a lot though and even though his finish time is 3pm, he rarely finishes then. It’s not like an office job where you can up and leave, it’s underwater welding, construction, repairs etc.
Weekend work is common too, making time for me to work difficult. I have no guaranteed time I can work without finding alternative childcare.
So I worked out a plan with some help at specific times that should free up about 20 hours a week for me. I’ll try it until the end of April and see if it can continue.
This is where I spent the money from my $2 to $1,000,000 challenge. I needed to spend money on childcare to free up my time. I anticipate I’ll double my $3,849 within 1 month with the time I have to focus and do things such as reselling.
3. Admin Tasks
The next step was outsourcing more of my websites. They’ve been my ‘babies’ and I was reluctant to let go as my identity was so entwined. As a result, they have barely been touched the past 2 years while I was off having kids.
Setting up a larger team to do various tasks them has saved me significant time to earn more.
Reviewing my business and seeing where I make the most money and how I can increase that was crucial for this. Once I saw where the bulk of my income is coming from and the things that can only be done by me, I set to outsourcing everything else.
This step alone is set to double my income within a month and freed up so much headspace for me. In fact, I can work less and earn more overall.
4. Some Meals
My kids are more than happy to cook 2 nights a week each and are keen to learn more recipes from me, which we are working on. It was a bit of a juggle, me writing out and teaching recipes to my kids so they could do more, but it was worth it.
They also loved learning from and following HelloFresh recipes. We used HelloFresh a lot when I was pregnant. It was great as they could select the recipes they wanted to cook and hardly needed any instruction or help from me. If you want to try HelloFresh, get a free box here.
Why Didn’t I Outsource Cleaning, Gardening etc.
I want my kids to be good at all these chores so right now, cleaning, gardening and similar tasks are not outsourced in our home. Eventually, they will be or they might be occasionally but overall, I want my kids to still do some chores.
All the kids I grew up with who didn’t have to do any chores were fairly entitled and struggled in adulthood. My aim is to raise confident, intelligent, capable and compassionate adults. To do that, I have to teach them now.
How Did This Increase My Money?
Spending thousands on outsourcing feels weird at first but it was worth it. Outsourcing made me money by enabling me to spend time on the tasks that make me more. Plus, outsourcing to the right people means they increased the business income due to their expertise.
I was able to earn 2 to 3 times what I was paying someone else. Meaning, for every hour of any service I paid for, I was able to earn 3 times what I paid them.
For the things I outsourced in my business, they made double what it cost them to do what they were paid to do. Plus some of my time was freed up not having to do those tasks.
You can’t do everything and trying to do it all costs you time, money and your health. Do a review of your life and business to see what you can outsource to make time for what matters to you.
What Have you or Would you Outsource?
How to Review Goals and Cultural Obligations
This past year was a mess. That is putting it mildly. We achieved some great things but so much of my life was on hold. No childcare, moving house twice, high achieving kids requiring a lot of my time to get them to and from events etc.
I had no time for myself or for my $2 to $1,000,000 project. With 4 kids here and doing most things on my own, I can barely think.
On top of that, there have been some big changes and issues with some cultural matters. I’ve written before about how we manage our cultural obligations (including sending money back to Vanuatu, planning to support the parents there in retirement etc).
This means it is time to review my goals and cultural obligations.
3 of the kids playing where we were living in Noosa. How to Review Goals
If the goals you set aren’t working for you, it’s ok to change them. It’s also ok to take a break if you need to so you can reset and decide if those goals will truly get you the outcome you want.
My $2 to $1,000,000 goal is mainly a hobby and bit of fun for me. As such, I do it when I can but haven’t focused on it as much as I would have liked.
Some opportunities were suggested that would have worked great with that goal. However, it’s been months and those things still have not happened, so I am moving in another direction with it to ensure I can keep doubling my money.
Making these decisions wasn’t easy. Here is how I reviewed my goals.
1. Look at the Past, Compare the Good and the Bad
Maybe you set a goal and it isn’t moving ahead as fast as you thought or it’s not providing the result you wanted. Look at what has been happening with it, both the good and the bad.
Have you dedicated proper time and resources to the goal to ensure it happens? Was it a realistic goal to begin with? Did you have a proper plan?
What success have you seen on the journey with this goal?
Thoroughly review what you have done and can do to achieve this goal. Be honest with yourself. We often overestimate what we can do in some stages of life and at times we need to adjust our own expectations.
For me, with a baby, a toddler, two teens, doing it pretty much on my own, dealing with other issues in the background plus needing to move house twice this year and having severe health issues due to a traumatic birth means realistically, I couldn’t do my goals.
I achieved numerous other things but in this stage of life, with no childcare or help, I need to be realistic and accept I cannot do the things I wanted to, yet.
2. What End Result do I Want?
While we do need to be resilient and persist so we can grow, it’s also ok to ask yourself if this goal will get the end result you want? When life changes, sometimes goals we set are no longer relevant.
If a goal won’t get you the life and end result you want anymore, and you are being honest with yourself that it truly won’t, it’s ok to change tactics.
How is This Impacting my Family?
Family is my everything so this is something I ask with every decision I make. If my goals detract from my family, cause stress or anything along those lines, it is not worth it to me.
Due to all the other issues this year, my goals needed to take a backseat while I supported my family. Now, moving into 2023 and beyond, I can focus more on myself.
3. How is This Impacting my Mental Health?
If you set goals then beat yourself up because you didn’t achieve them or you feel awful because you can’t achieve what you set out to do, it might be time to re-evaluate your goals and choices.
At times my mental health has suffered because the goals I set were too extreme. This impacts my family as well so is something I need to constantly check.
4. Make Changes
If a goal will still provide an end result that you want but it isn’t working for other reasons, work out what changes you can make so you still achieve it. Sometimes a few tweaks is all that is needed to make it easier or better.
How to Change Cultural Obligations
Let me start by saying, it wasn’t me that lead the decisions on this. Being Caucasian means I haven’t grown up with these expectations placed on me. We tried to make them work but due to various lies and other issues, we are stepping back.
Put Your Oxygen Mask on First
You cannot help others if you are struggling or barely breathing. As with emergencies on a plane where you fit the mask on yourself first and then help others, the same can be applied to cultural obligations.
A lot of pressure was put on us to provide financially, for the parents to retire, for us to buy a new car for the family there (we did pay to repair theirs and then a family member messed around with it and completely destroyed the engine).
We keep getting asked to buy a boat and so many other things.
Yet, in the past few years we had to repatriate, set up our home, get residency, a commercial diving course, move states etc. All up, it’s been about $100,000 to get set up here with all of that. On top of regular living expenses.
We did send money back, paid for house repairs, car repairs, new phones, education and more. But we have goals here that aren’t happening because of the pressure and expectations from Vanuatu.
It is ok to put yourself first.
How much more could you do and how much better off would everyone be if you got your own life sorted first? One thing I noticed, with the financial expectations from family is how they expected us to improve their life before even being set up here.
Getting a house here, a second car, childcare and other things mean we can then develop more in Vanuatu. So we have started to say no and set proper boundaries.
Let Them Know
This was hard. Letting them know we won’t buy them a boat, a car, pay for retirement right now or anything else as we have other things we are focusing on was tough.
Not everyone handled it well and there were some things said and done that showed true colours. That also helped solidify our decision though.
Decide how you will let family know things are changing. You don’t need to go into a lot of detail. Set a time to call or if you are going to see them in person, it might be better to do it then.
Outline the changes. Make it clear these boundaries are firm. Then stick to it.
Stand Firm
Family will push back and try to guilt you into doing what they want. Stand firm on your boundaries. If you let them keep pushing you around, you will never achieve your financial goals.
As hard as it can be, if they behave this way, you might need to step back for a while. Don’t let them suck you into drama.
Be clear on the life you want, the plan you have for your finances and stick to it.
What tips do you have for reviewing goals and financial obligations?
How to Afford Cultural and Family Expectations
4 Tips to Afford Cultural Obligations
We shared the difference in finances when it comes to cultures and how we manage it before. Now, we are faced with a big decision due to numerous issues – how to afford cultural and family expectations.
Last year there were funerals and other expenses, the family car in Vanuatu (which is also income) needed significant repairs and we had strong pressure for new phones and other things for the family.
Since we live in Australia, the view from Vanuatu is we are super rich and can afford everything. In some ways, we are a lot wealthier, have higher incomes etc.
But we also have high expenses and it cost us around $100,000 the past few years to repatriate, set up a house, buy a car, retrain for a new job, move to another state etc.
Yet we have been constantly pressured to buy a new bus/van for the family which is about $40,000AUD or $27,000USD. Buy a boat, pay for education, retirement and more.
We have been happy to do what we can but the demands have grown and we have to make some tough decisions. It is at the point where the expectations exceed what we can do and things need to change.
Bells Beach, Australia on a work trip How to Afford Cultural and Family Expectations
For many of you reading this, I assume you are in a position where you have extra expenses due to culture. Or you are in a relationship where the cultures are clashing with money and expectations. Or something came up suddenly and you now need the cash, fast.
Here are our tips on managing these unexpected expenses and cultural expectations in general.
1. Determine If It Is Essential
Being Caucasian (I, Ms Aspiring Millionaire, am) means so many things can be dismissed. The cultural expectations are not as strong and it is easier in some ways to decline demands.
Mr Aspiring Millionaire is from a rich culture in Vanuatu where certain things CANNOT be ignored or dismissed without causing more issues. Many cultures around the world will understand this.
There have been some things we could ease off on but others need to be adhered to. If you are facing cultural financial expenses, determine if it is truly essential, what the pros and cons are of adhering to it and what you can do.
As an example, we paid for car repairs last year as, without it, his father couldn’t work. But the phones were not essential, we gifted them for Mother’s Day.
The car we have fixed many times on a block of family-owned land in Vanuatu 2. Decide on Your Budget
What the family says you need to spend or send doesn’t matter. How much you contribute is up to you. As an example, recently, family requested $10,000 Vatu (about $120AUD) for a funeral. We sent that immediately, without hesitation.
However, the constant demand for a new bus is not in our budget and not something we are willing to do at this time.
For 2023 and the next few years, we have decided to send a set amount each month. That is it. We won’t be paying for anything extra on top of that.
If we don’t set this boundary, we will never get ahead here. Buying a house and some educational expenses for the oldest two children are top priority instead.
It is ok to set a boundary around the budget and say no to everything else! They might push and try to guilt you but the reality is you cannot help if you aren’t set up.
Set yourself up, follow your own goals and path, while continuing cultural obligations within a budget you determine.
3. Plan It Out
Realistically, everyone needs an emergency fund for unexpected and unavoidable expenses. Those in interracial relationships should also add a category for cultural expenses. We all know they will happen.
Set aside a small part of your budget now so when things come up you have some money at least to manage things. This might be for you to fly back to the country for a funeral or something else. You decide what an emergency covers and how that money will be spent.
Do not let the family know you have this account. Otherwise, there will be an endless stream of ’emergencies’ and you still won’t get ahead.
Create a plan for this account, how you will fund it, how much will go into it and what it will be used for.
A plan is essential because it is too easy to get into debt or take on too much due to cultural pressure. Know your limits, put your immediate family first and plan out what you can and can’t do.
Our neighbours in the Solomon Islands where our kids spent every day until we repatriated mid 2020. 4. Make Money
Chances are you haven’t set aside money up until this point and you are reading this because you are disagreeing over money and cultural matters or you suddenly need to find $10,000 or more.
Be honest with the family, if you don’t have it don’t say you do and don’t go into debt for it. Look at ways to make money but do it quietly. If you happen to make enough and want to send it, you can.
There are many ways you can make money fast. Here are a few we have done:
Reselling
Buying things to resell has been great for me. Especially rockabilly clothing and collectables. Know what things are worth, where to sell them and be consistent. Check out How to Make Over $10,000 a Month Reselling for exact tips on this.
Renting A Room
If you have a spare room, rent it out. For those renting, check with your landlord first otherwise you might breach your lease and that would leave you homeless. This won’t get you heaps immediately but if you have a month or so to get the money together, you might save $1,000+
Odd Jobs
Delivering flyers, cleaning, yard work, deliveries etc. There are so many odd jobs available through Facebook groups, apps such as Airtasker and delivery apps too.
If you have the time you might be able to generate an extra $1,000 or more a week with this.
Overtime or a Second Job
Again, this requires time and isn’t always feasible. If you can get overtime at work or you are eligible for a second job, it might be a good option. The consistent income will also help you budget but it can be exhausting juggling two jobs.
How We Afford Cultural and Family Expectations
Previously, we sent money and paid for things as they came up. As of now, that is not happening anymore.
We have decided to focus on our goals here in Australia. Mr Aspiring Millionaire will send a set amount each month to his parents. That’s it.
If we don’t have it here, we aren’t providing it there. By this, I mean we don’t own a house in Australia, so we are not paying for his parents retirement yet. We don’t own new cars so we are not buying them a new car. A boat would be amazing for our lifestyle here and until we have one here, we are not buying one for over there.
Did this ruffle some feathers among family? Absolutely. Do we feel better about our finances and direction? 100%!
Making these changes will see us achieve our goals here faster. This means in the long term, we will be able to provide better over there as well.
How do you manage cultural and family obligations?
How to Upgrade Your Life on a Budget
10 Ways to Upgrade Your Life when you have no Money
Currently, we need to find a new home to live in, buy a larger car (a Corolla does not fit 2 adults and 4 kids), and visit Vanuatu to sort real estate/business/family matters at the end of the year. With moving to where we are, the kids have the opportunity to be involved in some incredible programs, so there are costs for that as well.
Aside from the needs, we want to set up a home gym, do more camping and other trips. Basically, after having a few years kind of stuck, focused on 2 pregnancies, Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s residency visa and commercial diving qualification, we are ready to upgrade our life again.
How can you Upgrade Your Life on a Budget?
Knowing what you need and want to have your ideal life is part of it. The next part is making it happen. In our experience, there are a few components to upgrading your life.
1. A Mindset Shift
Visualise and know the reality you want. Work on removing any scarcity mindset, money blocks, negative views around money or ‘rich people’ etc. Doing this work makes a huge difference. Read Rich As F*ck and Lucky Bitch for more on mindset. The Psychology of Money is another recommended book. It takes a more factual, science based approach for money and our minds.
You will need to continually work on your mindset to level up. Spend time with people you admire and want to be like, who have the mindset and life you aspire to. Read their books, follow their channels, look for motivation, nor for comparison.
Still spend time with your friends, family and others in your life, be aware of how you spend your time though and how it makes you feel. 4000 Weeks and Die With Zero are good reads for spending your time wisely.
2. Take Action
You don’t need to know exactly how everything will work out but you do need to be taking action to create the life you want. Knowing what you want and focusing on your goals makes it easier for your subconscious to scan your life and everything you do and connect opportunities for you to get what you want.
The list below will show some ways to take action.
3. Acceptance and Gratitude
Acceptance plays a huge part in our life in various ways. By accepting and being grateful for where we are in life and what we have, while still striving for more, we are happier and find opportunities easier.
It isn’t just about accepting life as is. You also need to accept and feel comfortable with the upgrades you want to make in life. Too often we self-sabotage because we aren’t comfortable with wealth or happy relationships or whatever it is we want.
Being comfortable can be good but not when it is connected to unhealthy life patterns. Just because something feels comfortable, doesn’t mean it’s right. It generally means that is what we are used to. If you want life to change, you have to get uncomfortable.
What Steps or Action can you Take to Upgrade Life?
Action to upgrade your life depends on what you want your life to look like and how you want to spend your time. The steps below are suggestions but tailor them to suit your life goals.
1. Champagne Life
How to have a champagne life on a beer budget wage is where I shared a few tips to have a fancier lifestyle. If you know what you want, there are many ways to make it happen.
As an example, we love travel and experiences so I went into tourism marketing as a side gig. This enabled us to get paid to travel and do some incredible things we might not otherwise have done.
More recently, I wanted more of my time back and help from the kids. The day after I decided this, I was offered a promotion with some meal kits. Now the meals are planned out for us each week, delivered on Monday, my family take turns cooking and it has definitely upgraded my life.
2. Time Management
What do you want to spend your time doing? How can you make that happen?
We spend a lot of our lives doing stuff we don’t want to do or being so busy and stressed out, we miss out on a lot.
Recently, I read and implemented the tips in Life Admin Hacks. It is all about streamlining everything from paying bills to getting a will.
As a result, we’ve changed quite a few things our home. Instead of going to the shops, we have a running shopping list that we add to and order when it reaches a certain amount. This is saving us time and money.
The family calendar got updated, we are using meal kits (check out over $600 worth of discounts for meal kits to get save you time and money), we are more conscious of how we do things and when. Tasks in our home are proper organised and it doesn’t all fall on me, the mum.
Plus, we are buying a larger car and planning travel again.
Spend your time in a way you’d be happy with so you can look back on life with joy instead of regret.
3. Know When to Say Yes and When to Say No
Many people I know say yes even when they don’t want to do something. Learn the power of saying “No.”
It is a complete sentence, you don’t need to explain yourself and there are many ways to say no so you can take back control of your time and life.
In general, if it won’t add value to our lives or isn’t something that absolutely has to be done, I say no. Too much of my life was spent pleasing others. Knowing when to say no to things I don’t want to do but say yes to things I want to do even if I don’t know how I can make them happen has upgraded my life drastically.
4. Read and Educate Yourself
Knowledge is power. The application of knowledge is what will change your life. Learning can be free, depending on what you want to learn and how.
Borrow books from the library, listen to podcasts, join groups relevant to what you want to learn, sign up for cheap classes through places such as Udemy or Coursera. Then put what you learn into practice.
Doing things to upgrade your knowledge and skills can often lead to promotions, increased incomes, side gigs, a wider network and more opportunities in general.
5. Grow Your Network/Community
Expand your circles whether they be career circles, friendship circles, community connections or any other aspect of life. Go to networking events, join a gym or do some classes, volunteer and get connected.
During the past few years, we have not been able to do that as much and it has greatly impacted our mental health. Humans need connection.
Get out of your usual circles if you want to change your life. Connect more with others, get involved in projects you have always wanted to and do the things you want but haven’t made time for yet.
Doing this can often result in new opportunities for career, travel, relationships, health and all areas of your life.
6. Get Out In Nature
Numerous studies show the benefits of getting out in nature, yet most of us still don’t do it enough. This doesn’t even have to cost anything but can have a profound impact on your mental and physical health.
Take up a hobby such as hiking, diving, beach volleyball, yoga in the park or similar. Use websites or apps such as Meetup and Facebook to find similar events in your area.
Getting outside has benefits such as vitamin D, being active with these sort of hobbies will improve your overall health and if you do it with others, you will strengthen your relationships.
7. Plan Your Retirement
Those within the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) have their retirement planned out. The average person does not. Most people have compulsory contributions done and that’s it.
Few think about what they want to do in retirement, when they want to retire and how they will fund their lifestyle. While superannuation or retirement funds in general are great, they won’t cover everything and the pension options get changed, so you can’t rely on that.
We plan have a plan but probably won’t fully retire since our lifestyle is fairly flexible already and our focus is helping others, especially in Vanuatu. Helping the whole family progress and have opportunities is important to us.
8. Focus On Health
Without your health, life can be severely limited. In 2015, I was paralysed on and off for 7 months. My last 2 pregnancies in 2020 and 2021 came with numerous health issues. At those times, my life basically stopped.
Get control of your health, make it a focus and your life will drastically improve. Whether that is slimming down, getting fitter, more flexible or stronger, it all helps. As does ensuring you look after your mental health too.
When you are clear on the life you want, health will play a part. While we aim for body positivity and acceptance, the reality is, health impacts our life. There are some things that simply cannot be done if we are not in good health.
One year, I did a lot of diving, international travel and even got offered a place on a once in a lifetime hike through Slovenia. If I had not been focused on my health, getting in shape, increasing my stamina and flexibility, I could not have said yes to those opportunities.
On top of physical health, focus on your mental health. When our mental health is good we are more resilient, patient, better parents and friends etc. Mental health needs to be a priority, get any help you need to optimise it.
9. Improve by 1%
You don’t need to overhaul your entire life drastically all at once. Aim at improving by even 1% and increasing it by 1% regularly. Changes will compound and you will eventually have made significant change over time.
You’re living life, why not live it with a 1% improvement? Doing this will ensure you are living the life you want. The time passes anyway so do it with your ideal life in mind.
For example, if you want to focus on health, start with a 20 minute daily walk or 10 minute yoga session. Going to the gym for 2 hours a day is not typically sustainable. If you can walk or do yoga or similar daily, you are more likely to stick to the habit and can expand on it.
Another example is money. Transfer 1% of your income into savings every time you get paid. Increase it to 2% the next month and so on. You learn to adjust your spending to these small amounts and before you know it, you will be saving 10% or more.
Choose an area of your life you want to change and look at a way you can do it starting small. Check out 10 Small Habit Changes to Drastically Change Your Life.
10. Upgrade in Areas that Matter to You!
Just because your neighbour bought a new car, doesn’t mean that is what you need. Same goes for their clothes, gym membership or anything else. Someone else having it or suggesting it doesn’t mean it is right for you.
This is your life, you know how you want to life it and you are in control. Make decisions based on your values and what you want in life.
Choose an area of life you want to improve, create a plan of action then make it happen.
How to Streamline Your Finances
5 Lessons From Numerous Bank Errors
Recently, $15,400 landed in my account unexpectedly with no description except ‘admin’. I had no idea what this money was for, where it came from or what to do with it.
At the same time, I was waiting on the payment of a much smaller invoice. After some follow-up, it turned out that invoice was paid into an old account.
On top of that, I was having issues with the tax department over my tax return. My return needed to have an amendment done as I forgot to add one thing (the rest was prefilled). Issues with this went on for months.
The $15,400 happened on Friday, and then on Monday, I found out what it was for and it was not mine. That same Monday, the $700 happened and I finally got a call about the tax issues. Only for me to have to teach and show the person on the phone what tax was payable and why etc. Luckily, I knew my stuff and had the proof.
All 3 of these took time and energy away from my work and personal life. I felt stuck.
When the $15,400 hit my account I actually froze. It was unexpected and suddenly, I didn’t know what to do with my money, despite being all over it normally.
I realised with all these money issues, something has to change. I need to get serious about my money, streamline it and get more organised than I ever have before.
1. Know All Your Accounts and the Details
Often, people sign up for bank account bonuses then end up with an account they don’t need or use. Check your banking, know what money is doing, where it’s going and then close any unnecessary accounts.
That old account the $700 went into really should have been closed by now. Due to my work and referral bonuses from banks, I have too many accounts.
These bank errors were the push I needed to close the accounts I don’t need and streamline the rest. Essentially, I need the business accounts, a personal account, we have a joint account for expenses with the kids etc and a joint savings account for Vanuatu and things we agree to save for together.
Yet, I have accounts with 6 banks right now, 3 I get referral bonuses through so don’t want to close them. The rest are unnecessary now.
What I need to do is edit a few payments to go into and out of another account then close them. It’s not hard, I’ve just been lazy about it which costs time, money and energy. (Note, none of these accounts have extra fees, they are fee free. It would be worse if I was accruing monthly fees on top.)
2. Work Out Your Goals
What are your money goals? Do your bank accounts and how you manage money reflect that?
Having my money managed through different accounts instead of one is a pain. There is more to check, more to juggle and when applying for rentals, I had to send across so much paperwork.
None of that aligns with my money goals. These banking errors brought to light just how far away from my goals I am with how I manage my money.
How can I expect money to flow to me quickly and easily when my financial process is such a mess?
3. Decide on the Accounts you Need
In general, the following is used or recommended:
Daily expenses account
Savings account
Sanity/Splurge/Fun money account
Larger expenses accountAn emergency fund
If you are partnered, a joint account and joint savings account are good as well as having your own.
Some people prefer to have multiple accounts for various large bills such as car registration, insurances, medical expenses etc. I have them in one account, the larger expenses account and pay for them as they come up.
The bank errors made me look at the accounts, what I want to use them for and change their names to match my goals. Plus, with Up Bank I can set an emoji for the account so the joint account for Vanuatu has the Vanuatu flag.
4. Cancel, Close and Open Anything you Need to
I have already mentioned it but will again, get rid of what you don’t need. If it isn’t being used, close it. There are rare exceptions to this rule but in general, if you aren’t using it, it’s a waste of time and energy to have it.
If you are paying fees on any banking products, look for fee free options or how you can get those reduced. Also, check the interest rates on anything you have, even call and ask for a better deal.
It’s your money. Make it work for you instead of wasting it on fees.
5. Automate
Look at your money and work out what you can automate. Most of our bills are paid by direct debit. I have a reminder set in my calendar for when things are due. Investing is mostly automated, as is savings.
The less I have to manage my money, the easier it is. In general, I prefer to have enough sitting in the expenses account to cover anything that comes up instead of having to transfer money as needed.
Doing it this way, late fees aren’t an issue, discounts are usually offered for direct debit and pay on time so I save money too.
6. Get On Track: Money Meetings
Our finances (well, the bank accounts) are reviewed on a daily basis. This is to ensure no scamming or similar happens and if it does, we can resolve it quickly.
Money meetings happen weekly in our house and cover what was spent, upcoming expenses, goals and tracking where we are at. Money wins can also be celebrated.
Being open with the kids about money has enabled them to learn and as a result, my eldest is better at saving than I ever was.
Money Manage Books I Recommend
Sometimes, getting on top of finances is a little trickier so reading a book that outlines what to do can help. Here are a few I recommend.
Profit First
Essential reading for any business owner, Profit First shows you how to implement a system and guarantee you actually have profit sitting in your account at the end of the financial year.
Money With Jess
Jess writes a regular money column and her book, Money With Jess is a great way to set up your finances. She also shares numerous tips for all areas of the budget to save money.
The Automatic Millionaire
If you want to know more about automating your finances, how and why you should, The Automatic Millionaire is a wonderful read.
Life Admin Hacks
Not only for your finances but your life in general. Life Admin Hacks will share all the ways to destress your life by streamlining all the general admin tasks that build up.
How do you streamline your finances?
What is Insourcing and Why You Need to do it aka How to get Everyone to Help at Home
Too often everything in the home falls on the shoulders of the mother. The mental load is huge and expectations are high. Mothers now are expected to work as if they don’t have kids and raise kids as if they don’t work.
Research shows a woman’s workload increases when she gets married. Even more once kids are involved. The amount of us that are doing almost everything at home, working full time, doing most of the child things plus all the paperwork and mental load things is huge. Burn out is real and this is why.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
What is Insourcing?
Insourcing is getting others who live with you to do things. In our home, we are of the view that we all live here so we all need to pitch in. This means we take turns cooking dinner, my kids pack their own lunches, whoever cooks dinner doesn’t have to clean, laundry is alternated etc.
Although there have been many times where it slips, for the most part, having this approach means the actual chores within the home are shared. The mental load is another thing though.
How do you get Everyone Else at Home to Help More?
The younger you start, the easier it is. As soon as my kids show any interest in any house chore I was doing, I involved them, even though it meant the task took longer.
Some examples, as soon as my son could walk, he wanted to help his older siblings take the rubbish out, he wanted to help load the washing machine and push the buttons. By encouraging this, I know he will turn out the same as his older siblings.
His older siblings are 13 and 15, they each cook 2 nights a week, clean the kitchen after dinner, take the rubbish and recycling out. Once a week other chores such as the bathrooms, floors etc are rotated and they do these. We all live here so we all help and they don’t complain, they just do it.
Involve your kids! It can be a pain in the beginning, messier and slower but it is worth it. My kids have been capable of everything including cooking dinner since age 7. My nieces and nephews are the same.
Fair Play
At one point, things slacked off at home. My son was a few months old, I was the only one providing financially, we were trying to get a residency visa, did a 3 week road trip in the middle of Covid to get all our stuff from another state (Noosa to Melbourne and back) and so people could meet my son.
I ended up doing everything and I was exhausted. So much paperwork for the birth of our son, registering Mr Aspiring Millionaire, the visa, Medicare, tax, stuff with the teens. It broke me.
Enter Fair Play, a deck of cards that really helps show just how much each person is doing, the mental load we carry etc. There is a book and cards. Both are so useful in visually showing and getting everyone in the family to see what the reality is when it comes to who does what and how much needs to be done.
Life Admin Hacks
If there was ever a book that would save you time and money by helping you organise everything from doctor appointments to tax, this is it. Life Admin Hacks covers every aspect of your life and budget, and provides you with resources and systems to streamline it and make your life easier.
It is a must-read book for everyone.
Family Calendar
This was a game-changer in our house. While my family has been pretty good with splitting chores, no one really understood how much was required to run the home and our lives efficiently.
Once I set up a family calendar and started putting things in, time blocking and allocating what needs to be done, they realised how much I did. Every appointment and task from car maintenance to the dentist was put in.
A family calendar also helps everyone see if there is time to go to a friends or accept an invitation etc. We know what we are all doing and when so nothing is double booked or forgotten.
Meal Plan
We shop once a week and plan our meals around what is in season and on sale at the market. Before we shop, I cook what we have left or organise it into things so nothing gets wasted. For example, any vegetables that are too soft will be used in a soup or spaghetti bolognese or similar.
The foods made from what’s left at the end of the week are typically meals we can freeze to use on a night we don’t feel like cooking. It prevents us from getting takeaway on those nights and prevents general waste.
A meal plan makes it easy for the kids to know what they are cooking and when. It also enables us to teach them more recipes and for them to make decisions about what they want to cook or learn to cook.
Childcare
This one is still a juggle and a work in progress. As most of my work has always been done around the kids, it was taken for granted that I would do the bulk of the childcare. However, with a toddler and a baby, Mr Aspiring Millionaire working long hours and sometimes away overnight, it got tricky.
With no childcare available, we had to work out options and routines to make this work better until the youngest two get into childcare or we get a nanny. Otherwise, I won’t be able to work much at all and all our goals will be on hold.
The way we’ve ‘insourced’ childcare, for now, is the kids all play together at times. Our toddler thinks he is one of the teens anyway and they love teaching him things. Then on weekends or if Mr Aspiring Millionaire finishes early, he looks after them for set times then so I can work.
Our main reasons for doing it this way until we can get childcare is so I can still have an income, the kids are all close and the older ones do not feel like permanent babysitters. It’s important to us that it is play, not constant childcare when they are with their younger siblings.
Chores
With the rest of the chores such as washing, sweeping, mopping, the bathrooms, ironining etc. I do some during the week, around the younger two. The older two chose their chores and we aim to do all the big chores on one day so it doesn’t feel like constant work.
Since we all live here, we all help. By having that attitude and the kids being raised that way, insourcing this has been relatively easy.
What and How do you Insource?
How to Achieve BIG Financial Goals
Whether that goal is a new car, saving for a house or maybe something smaller such as dental work or a PlayStation, what you need to do to achieve it is similar.
1. Set an Achievable Goal
One of the biggest mistakes people make is setting unrealistic goals. If your goal is a new car, decide the type of car you want and can afford, work out the budget and whether you will save or get a loan for it.
We might want a brand new Landcruiser but if you’re on the average Australian wage, a brand new one is probably unrealistic for now. A more realistic goal would be either an older model or a different type of car.
As an example, we need a 7 seater car. After reviewing our options we’ve decided on a Hyundai Sante Fe. Our budget is up to $30,000.
Knowing what we want in a car made it easy to eliminate many others and not get distracted by others, as well as makes it easy to set a realistic goal.
2. Create a Realistic Plan
Once you decide what you want, how will you make it happen?
For the car example above, we were considering finance but instead have challenged ourselves to make and save as much extra cash as possible by the end of the year. We’ve done this before with huge success, resulting in $30,000 within a few months for Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s commercial diving course.
Maybe you are saving for a house deposit? If so, you need to work out how much you need, create a budget and saving plan then look at ways to make more to achieve what you want.
3. Break your Goal into Easy Steps
The simpler you make your goal and plan to achieve it, the more likely you are to make it happen.
As mentioned, with the house deposit, you need your budget and a saving plan but you can make even smaller steps. Save bundles e.g. $1,000 as your steps. Get a graph to colour in to keep it visual and to keep you motivated then work out how you can make it happen.
I like to start with breaking it into small steps and setting it as a savings goal, then I take it a step further by looking at every possible way to make more money to put towards the goal too. Check out 22 ways to make money in 2022 for ideas.
4. Look for Opportunities
You’ve got your goal and a plan but that doesn’t mean things will go smoothly or that it’s the only way to achieve your goal.
For example, I needed a new MacBook and had started saving for it while using my eldest child’s laptop. I planned on having it by the end of September.
Well, as I had made this known to a few people, recently, someone surprised me by giving me a brand new MacBook! My goal was achieved in a completely different way from what I expected.
Another example, I wanted a holiday and was offered one in exchange for doing some social media for a tourism company.
Be open to opportunities and think outside the box. Your plan is definitely what you should do but be open to opportunities.
Ms Aspiring Millionaire getting paid to holiday in Fiji! 5. Work on it Daily
Small, consistent changes will make a huge difference over time. Too often we view our big goals as unachievable or we pin our hopes on winning the lotto instead of taking small steps every day.
I wrote about how small changes can make a big difference, including 10 examples of habits to change. By actively working on your goal a little bit every day, you are making progress. That daily action takes you one step closer to your goal.
6. Make It Visual
Create a vision board of your goals, write them in permanent marker on your mirrors, add inspirational quotes. Change your passwords to be connected to your goal so when you use them you get reminded.
Make digital images related to your goal to use as screensavers and backdrops. Do what you can to make your goal front and centre. Doing this will make your subconscious brain work towards achieving it even faster and often in ways you might not have considered.
When my goals are right in front of me and I am working on them daily, they become much easier.
What Big Goals are you Working on?
Ms Aspiring Millionaire reading poolside in the Solomon Islands while Mr Aspiring Millionaire (not pictured) is with friends, while both being paid to be there. Life Admin Hacks: Book Review
How to Save Time, Money and Energy Simplifying Life Admin
Most families are overwhelmed with the amount of life admin we all have. Bills, appointments, activities, birthdays, car maintenance and so on. The list of what needs to be done and when is long. This is where Life Admin Hacks can help.
Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links.
While deciding on books to read to improve my life, I saw Life Admin Hacks and was curious how much time, money and mental headspace it could save me. Reading it, I already did some things but there was definitely room for improvement in our home.
Life Admin Hacks Overview
A step by step guide to save time and money, reduce the mental load and streamline your life, Life Admin Hacks is a great read for anyone. Each chapter outlines steps to take to drastically change your life admin.
What is Life Admin?
All those tasks that have to be done from booking the dentist to doing your tax. Our lives are full of tasks and many of these we try to squeeze in between everything or we expect to be able to remember it all, which simply is not possible.
Sometimes a calendar will be up in the house but most of us don’t use it properly plus that relies on the whole family reading it. More often than not, all these little tasks get dumped on mum.
Random reminder emails, text messages, mail, all of it has to be sorted, paid for, booked in and remembered. With so much happening, it can be easy to miss things which can cost you money. Trying to juggle it all is stressful and costs us time.
What Does Life Admin Hacks Cover?
I was genuinely amazed at how thorough they are in Life Admin Hacks covering everything from doctors appointments through to Christmas. Every area of your budget, every area of your life you have to make a decision for, it is all covered.
Each chapter covers a section, outlines what to do and has a guide about how much time/money etc it will save you. Plus at the end of the chapter there is a handy SOS list with the steps of what to do in a short format.
Life Admin Hacks is the sort of book that is easy to read and easy to implement. Make sure you take the time to do each thing as you read about it or you will forget.
As such, this is the sort of book you need to dedicate time for. Even 10 minutes at a time will often be enough to read the chapter and implement at least some of the tips immediately to make your life run smoother.
What did I Implement from Life Admin Hacks?
With 4 kids, our life can be hectic and it is always left to me to book everything, do the budget, organise our lives etc. It gets exhausting especially as I also do the bulk of the childcare, run a business and do other things.
As I said, some of it I already did but it was good to get a reminder and the other tips were great to implement.
Digital Calendar
I semi did this for a few years but no one else used it properly and I didn’t always remember to add everything in. By scheduling things in properly and reminding the family to use it, admin tasks got a lost easier.
Form Data List
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. All those details we get asked for forms in one place makes forms so much easier to do. When I was processing Mr Aspiring Millionaire’s residency visa I had a few files like this as there was so much we had to do that felt repetitive.
It was fantastic having a file with all the details from our passports, licences and qualifications through to tax file numbers and more. Every time I had to complete a form or do a call it was all easy to find.
For some reason, even though I did it for the visa, I didn’t think to apply it to the rest of my life. Now I have, it has reduced a lot of the time I wasted looking for these details.
Book Everything In Advance
I used to do this for everything from my standing beautician appointment to my car service. Every time I did one appointment, I booked the next. In the case of monthly appointments such as my beautician, I’d book the year in advance because I liked my beautician. Occasionally I had to reschedule but that was rare.
With the car service, I’d book for 6 months so I knew it would be taken care of. Also, with my driving, road trips and things, I usually did 10,000kms in that time.
Having these appointments locked in made it easy to budget and I didn’t have to remember to book them as they were done ahead of time.
Time Blocking
Years ago, when it was my older two kids and I, time blocking was my friend. Monday to Friday when they were at school, I had coffee with a friend every morning then worked the rest of the day. Saturdays was cleaning, yardwork etc. Sundays I cooked, a lot. I made muffins for school lunches and used up whatever we had to make things such as soup for the freezer on those nights I didn’t want to cook.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday I had gym or dance class. Once a month I went to the beautician. Every morning I had 2 hours blocked to meditate, journal, get ready etc. Basically, do my billionaire morning routine with 1 hour of it being yoga and meditation.
Once we started travelling full time then when I got pregnant with my son and soon after another daughter, things changed. My time blocking disappeared completely.
Bringing it back has been amazing. Sunday nights we have an abundance meeting (budget meeting), Monday mornings I dedicate an hour to any and all paperwork, phone calls, booking appointments etc.
These two changes alone have been amazing. Everything else, such as my work, beauty routine etc has to be juggled around the kids, their activities and nap time right now. That will change once I have a 7 seater car and some childcare.
Is Life Admin Hacks Worth it?
Honestly, I didn’t think I would learn much but now, I think everyone needs to read and apply all of it. It’s THE best guide you can find to streamline your life, gain back hours of your time and be more organised. Reduce your mental load and spend more time focused on things you enjoy by reading and applying Life Admin Hacks.
Not a lot of books make my “must read” list. Life Admin Hacks is one I will be recommending to everyone.
$2 to Millionaire: Step 9 Turning $1,920 into $3,840
How to Double Your Money
I have been slow with doubling my money lately due to having my fourth child in February, birth complications then moving house. It’s been at the back of my mind though, as have a few opportunities that have come up.
To recap, I started with reselling things and still do that a little. I’ve also done an eBook, crypto, invested in myself, sold a website and trialled a business overseas. You can find all the things I have done with my $2 to millionaire journey here.
How I Turned $1,920 into $3,840
I did this a while back but hadn’t posted about it yet. In our family there are a few cultures and different expectations with money. Because of this, one side expects money to be sent home and help with money as needed.
Earlier this year, a car used for work for a family member in Vanuatu broke down and a few other things needed replacing. Because of this challenge, we sent the money immediately along with some other items they needed.
With this and some other things we were doing over there, we were able to increase the family income back in Vanuatu, thus reducing what we need/are asked to send. Half of the money coming in from one of the things we contributed to is being put into an account there for us to use to develop some land later.
Plus, during this process, our family were getting one of our properties surveyed for development and we were offered the opportunity to secure more land next to it.
This is a huge opportunity as it is extremely cheap for us compared to others (cultural reasons) but it doubles our development potential for this block. We are so excited to be going forward with this.
Breaking It Down
This might be a little confusing so I will try to break it down into steps to make it easier to understand.
- $1,920 in money and goods was sent back to Vanuatu.
- We have not had to send money in months, their income has increase and we have secured the option to buy more land for an extremely low price.
- The money saved we did not need to send and money set aside for us is the $3,840. While the increased income and cheap land is a bonus.
- Being able to do this, pay for things as needed and secure more land has a flow on effect of adding credibility to our future plans and land opportunities too. Meaning, this is the first step in a much bigger plan.
Once all the paperwork is finalised, this land is another long term stream of income for us as a result of this challenge. The payment for the land and the rent from that will be included in a future step once it is finalised as the payment is separate to this.
Some of our family and their cars on beachfront land owned by family in Vanuatu How Can Others Replicate This
This step in my doubling my money challenge is different to most and might not feel like something anyone can do. The point of the challenge is to find opportunities and creating multiple income streams.
Anyone can keep their eyes open for opportunities and act when they arrive. Look around you, join business groups and be open to opportunities. It isn’t always as straight forward as you might think.
Think outside the box. Too often we look in our local area only but there are properties and opportunities everywhere. Most of what we do for side income and opportunities to make money aside from our salaries is not local.
Also, in my experience, whenever I help others, it comes back to me in many ways. I’ve had incredible opportunities, made significant money and wonderful connections through charity work and other things I’ve done. It’s not the reason I did charity work or help others when I can though. Always be kind and help where you can because you want to not because you want benefits.
What’s Next?
We are making the arrangements to finalise the purchase of the extra land and will be going over once we get our kids passports. During this trip there could be some more opportunities so we are being open minded about things that come up.
You can see more when we share it on Facebook and Instagram.
Why we Moved to a Bigger House When the Cost of Living is Going up
For many, moving to a larger, more expensive home when the cost of living is constantly increasing might not seem smart. Here is why we did it and how we made the move easier.
Moving With 4 Kids
Firstly, moving with 4 kids is full on. Fortunately, the older two are teenagers so can pack their own rooms and help a little. However, with this move, Mr Aspiring Millionaire was working in another state so Ms Aspiring Millionaire (me) did it all.
Cleaning, sorting, listing things for sale, packing the house while juggling work and the 4 kids including the toddler (18months) and baby (4months) with their check ups and vaccinations thrown in. Plus assisting the older kids still with sports, music, engineering, jobs and all the other things they do and represent the school in.
It was intense, exhausting, overwhelming and not something we’d do again. In fact, the hope is we do not move until we buy here in Australia (properties we own are overseas).
Why Move to a Bigger House Right Now?
Living with 4 kids in a tiny loft style townhouse is not doable for long. The home we were in was in our ideal location, perfect for the time we needed it but it has no backyard and the toddler has taken to daredevil stunts everywhere.
It was no longer safe with him and we couldn’t make suitable adjustments. Our lease was up and we always knew at the end of this lease, we would be moving.
We spent 2 years in that home, had 2 babies there, Mr Aspiring Millionaire finished his commercial diving qualifications after getting residency etc. By living in a tiny place with super cheap rent for the area we were able top achieve other goals.
With those things achieved, it was time to move.
Our Home Requirements
When looking, we had a list of what we wanted including a minimum of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large backyard, under a specific amount per week and within 1km of the school, shops etc.
After months of looking, we secured the home we really wanted. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was the right one for us and we were approved the day after we applied.
Given the current rental market, we were shocked since so many get rejected repeatedly, for months before securing a property. For us, we had applied for a few others and did get a few rejections, some were for sale at the same time and sold hence the rejection. Overall, we felt confident we would secure the right property at the right time and we did.
We Need an Office
One of the biggest needs was an office. With studying and working from home, having a space where we can go to focus has been on the list of requirements for a while.
Previously, having an office made work a lot easier, faster and more lucrative for me. We did what we needed to recently but now the time has come for a proper home office set up again and we know it will have a significant impact on our income.
Moving and Setting up on a Budget
It is amazing what you can get for free or super cheap. Our home came with the type of fridge we wanted, already plumbed in. Plus a spare fridge, chest freezer, lawn mower and a pool table.
Since we are moving from such a small home to a large one, we needed to move some of our belongings and buy more. We sold off probably half our items because when we looked on Facebook Martketplace, they were easy and often free to replace instead of move.
The main things we wanted to keep were our mattresses, memory items, all the kids things and a few items of furniture. After getting a few quotes from removalists, the price for moving our belongings was about the price of one of our mattresses, so completely worth it.
Buying/picking up things on Facebook means we have almost everything we want for next to nothing. The only thing I was adamant about buying new was the washing machine. I had such issues with the one we had that was second hand, I wanted a new one. Plus a bigger one due to the size of the family now.
Tips for Moving Frugally
Get quotes from removalists. You might be surprised how cheap it can be. Take into account the cost of your time to pack a truck, drive it to the location, unpack etc. Not just the cost of hiring the truck or trailer to move your things.
Consider if you really need to move everything you own. Sell off anything you can, especially those things you have not used in ages.
Take the time to compare all your services when connecting and disconnecting. Some companies offer amazing sign up deals, others will offer bonuses to stay with them when you move.
Budget for more than you think you need to. Connection and disconnection fees, food because you are likely to spend more while doing this, insurance, bond cleaners etc. The list is long
Clean yourself if you can. Not all real estates allow this, however, my cleaning has always been better than any bond clean I have paid for. This time I had to pay for a bond cleaner and used one with excellent reviews. However, they didn’t do it properly so had to go back which is the first time I have ever had that issue.
