A sound family budget?

[HK2008]

Big thank you to you all!

Hello ladies. I really couldn't thank you enough for sharing your great saving ideas. The main reason that I started this thread is I now realised that I'm doing all the wrong things and would like to have an overhaul to my spending behaviour. It's been almost four months for us here in HK but we absolutely got almost nothing left at the end of each month. Hubby will be kind enough to turn a blind eye on that because I'm always complaning of being bored and need to go out, etc...

I've seriously learned a lot of great lessons today. Here I solemnly promise you, I'll print out all your advice and stick them onto our walls. I will make up a plan to thoroughly review and modify my spending behaviour.

It's so encouraging to see that there are so many sensible ladies out there who are running a household so efficiently. I have to admit I stepped out on the wrong foot at the beginning that expats should spend like a king/queen. Now I know at the end of the day, what matters to me the most is to take home as much money as possible if we do decide to move back; or be able to save enough money and buy our own property here if we decide to stay.

Thank you to all from the bottom of my heart...

 

[aussiegal]

I love this subject. I think that it doesn't matter how high or low your income is, it's something that should be on everyone's minds. Good financial management allows you to live the life you want to live and even the highest earners find themselves in trouble without a plan.

The best thing we ever did was to start recording every purchase we made to see where the money was going. We're here (in HK) to do well, save money and leave. It makes no sense to spend everything we earn. The minute we started recording what we were spending it changed our thinking, or rather my thinking (hubbie has always been good with money). If you want to lose weight they tell you the first thing to do is write down everything you eat. It holds you accountable and you can't pretend the endless pieces of chocolate throughout the day didn't exist! It's the same with writing down what you spend. Now when i shop i can easily say no to all the little things i used to buy without thinking that add up over time. It's actually a good feeling to deny oneself occasionally!

It also helps to actually look at your bills and take in the numbers. Sounds obvious but we have been paying over $4000 a month for electricity and only thought twice about it last month. We realised our helper is constantly running the dryer and it's costing us almost more than she does!

We pay everything on credit card but pay our balances off every month. The points come in handy for travel etc. It just takes a little discipline.

Save money every single month. It should be on a direct debit payment if you're not disciplined enough to do it yourself, taken out right after pay day. We move money off shore every month without fail and it adds up quickly.

And last few tips. 1) just don't walk into shops! Seriously, if you don't walk in you won't know what you're missing out on. it's not as hard as it sounds.

2) find something that makes you happy and do it. Spend time with friends, go for a walk, work, whatever. It's a lot easier to say no to shopping if you're not depressed and in need of a quick pick me up.

3) work out what your goals in life are? If you want to be part of the rat race forever keep spending away. If you want options in life, early retirement, financial security then you need to put money away and stop the spending. Helps to know what you're working towards.

A really good book to read is 'the millionaire next door'. Shows how people of all incomes can be financially secure and how often it is the most showy people that have the biggest debt/lowest net worth etc.

In this day and age it's kind of cool to be thrifty. At least, that's what i tell myself :haha:

 

[snagito]

I agree..it's very cool to be thrifty and topical too - what a great post!

One way of stopping the clothes shopping habit is to accept hand-me-downs from friends (don't be shy, just ask - they will probably be happy to have an excuse for a good clear-out of stuff anyway given the size of HK flats!) - or borrow the clothes while they are 'on hold' for the next baby. Once you have a wide selection at home then you may not feel the need to add to it! Also, limit shopping to once a week - or find out when the sales are and then plan ahead and that's something to look forward to? And if you're done with some of your kids' clothes - ie the brand new ones with tags that you mentioned - then maybe sell them? Sure, you won't get what you paid for them but hey, you'll get something back right? And you could also have a little piggy bank where you put all the money that you save - great incentive - for then doing something really fun with it later on.

On the food front, if you are used to going out a lot, just pick one day - say saturday that you'll dine out if you must - and then eat home the rest of the time - i find that menu planning has really helped to cut down our food costs as we do not have so many leftovers or things that need to be thrown away that have gone bad..So make a list of dishes that you all like/can make etc and then just put it down for the days of the week that you'll be eating in. And yes, carry a bottle of water wherever you go as all those drinks are so ridiculously priced and tempting..

You've definitely taken the first step in trying to save money and that's really great - well done!:yeah2

 

[carang]

my mum and a group of close friends used to get together once per month. everyone chipped in $20 CAD. that money went to one of the women who then used it to buy an article of clothing.

at the next month's "meeting" she wore the article and showed everyone. then someone else got the $.

they had a great time, felt like they could splurge (if there are 10 of them, that's a fair chunk of change in canada!).

 

[carang]

as for the credit cards, it doesn't work for US because we never know how much is coming in. it can be VERY difficult to pay it off in it's entirety at the end of the month.... hence why we're working our butts off now to pay them off! LOL!

 

[aussiegal]

Carang, I agree that if two people are self employed in the household things change dramatically. Planning is a lot harder. I'm self employed and never know how much I'll have coming in. It's a scary prospect to think that both bread winners in the family might be in that boat! Takes a lot of guts.

 

[MilkMonster]

as for the credit cards, it doesn't work for US because we never know how much is coming in. it can be VERY difficult to pay it off in it's entirety at the end of the month.... hence why we're working our butts off now to pay them off! LOL!

That is tough! Hubby and I used to both be self-employed but that was before we had kids. It must be hard not to be able to plan and know how much income will come in with a family to support.

 

[HK2008]

Hello ladies again, what you have said here so deeply touched my heart. I'd be completely a fool if I didn't take them all in and make changes from TODAY. This morning when I looked at my DD's wardrobe, I felt like crying because I had accumulated so much clothes for her that even she does three changes a day, she won't be able to go through them all by the end of the season...What have I done??? And there I was-still pushing hubby(who's on business trip in Sydney) to buy more dresses for her!

I had thought a lot last night and here is a list of things I'd like to do('with immediate effect'):

First of all I'll stop going into the shops. I know I don't need ANYTHING but most of the times I just feel like going in and saying hello to the staff there, who are always so friendly and helpful then I'll end up buying as if the kids had no clothes yet for the new season;

I'll buy cookbooks and plan our menu ahead. This way I don't have to wait and do nothing till hubby gets home then there is nothing on the table so we have to go out to eat. I'm aiming at eating out only once a week for now(Gee it's gonna be hard);

Grocery shopping: I'll limit the consumption of imported stuff especially if they are not good to health, eg. aussie bacon, margarine, cheese, Demark cookies, all brands of chocolate etc. Aussie milk is still a daily necessity so I cannot compomise on the quality for the kids' sake; I'll spend some time getting a few tips on how to shop in a wet market from the girl working in the concierge;

Credit cards: we do pay off the balance each month; but it's always a pretty big amount to pay. I'll set up a family budget for each category(food, travel, dining out, clothes, holidaying, gifts, fixed assets like camera) and stick to the budgeted amount;

And aussiegal, I want everything you'd mentioned in your post. Early retirement, finacial security...Actually I was initally planning to pay off the home loan back in Australia. Now I'll put aside a set amount and transfer it back home at the end of each month;

I'll also set up some goals too. One can feel lost here in this busy city! I'll start doing something meaningful...and stop being purely a consumer.

Carang, you are such a role model to me. I'd be so much better off if only I could achieve 1/3 of what you said...

I am very grateful to all of you ladies who cared enough to help me out. I don't feel so lonely any more and also swear that I won't let you down!:thanks

 

[MilkMonster]

When we first started budgeting, we found it helpful to collect all our receipts and write down exactly where and how we were spending our money for 3 months first. We then had a very realistic picture of our spending habits and worked out a budget with the information we collected that would actually work for us. budgeting is hard to stick to sometimes, best be sure to make a realistic one that also helps you reach your financial goals. Good luck!!

 

[aussiegal]

HK2008, i also wanted to say that I can completely understand the being new to HK, feeling a bit lost and bored and using shopping as an activity. I did it for awhile but thankfully realised what I was doing. I think it's important to invest some time in getting to meet people. I have made some good friends from this forum so don't be shy when people suggest meeting up etc.

It also helps if you hang out with people who are here for the same reasons. (financial freedom etc) I know some people who just spend and spend and only want to go shopping. That's not for me. I'm happy to spend money but on the things that are important to me. Am a sucker for luxury holidays! I just can't stay in budget hotels.

HK is such a consumer society. I think it can take some effort to remove yourself from that mentality. When we first arrived we spent two months at Four Seasons place. I remember going to the IFC mall and thinking, oh my god, i'm going to have to start wearing designer t-shirts to fit into this world! When we moved out we were relieved to realise that not everyone lives in luxury stores...