Speaker 1: Good morning everyone, and welcome back to another episode of
Speaker 1: Sugar Mamma's Fireplay. I am your host, financial planner Cannah Campbell,
Speaker 1: and today we're diving into a topic that is more
Speaker 1: relevant than ever. That is how to save money, how
Speaker 1: to stretch every dollar as the cost of living continues
Speaker 1: to rise. I am thrilled to have a very special
Speaker 1: guest with us today, Stacy from Budget Save Spend. Stacy's
Speaker 1: actually been a brilliant go to resource for me and
Speaker 1: I highly recommend her account for every Australian household right now.
Speaker 1: She offers practical tips, budget friendly fines, and savvy strategies
Speaker 1: to help everyone simply spend a lot less and save
Speaker 1: so much more. So, whether you're looking to cut down
Speaker 1: on your grocery bills, find hidden bargains, or simply get
Speaker 1: way more bang for your buck, this episode is packed
Speaker 1: with actionable advice, just what we all need right now.
Speaker 1: Good morning, Stacy. Thank you so much for coming in
Speaker 1: today and letting me pick your brain. I'm so excited,
Speaker 1: and I've been following you for quite a few years.
Speaker 1: You've got brilliant content and brilliant ideas Like I don't
Speaker 1: know how you mind it all. But I want to,
Speaker 1: first of all, go back to the beginning, ask about you,
Speaker 1: you know, Stacy behind the you know all your tips
Speaker 1: and trips, like had you always had a passion for
Speaker 1: saving money or is this something that kind of was
Speaker 1: catapulted out of something that happened in your life, like
Speaker 1: tell me, I'm so intrigued.
Speaker 2: Well, growing up it was a necessity. My father's quite
Speaker 2: financially savvy, but he just liked the time. He liked
Speaker 2: the time to shop around for deals or get the
Speaker 2: best bargains. So that sort of fell to me being
Speaker 2: the orders top, and that was, you know, way I
Speaker 2: could contribute to the household was to get the groceries
Speaker 2: purchased and save money and pay the extricity bills.
Speaker 1: And so you've been doing this for many many years,
Speaker 1: is like since you were a young child. Wow, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I bet your father loved seeing the bargains that you
Speaker 1: would find.
Speaker 2: Definitely, it's like some of the bigger bargains. And I
Speaker 2: told my parents with was many many years ago they
Speaker 2: had the where you could claim money health insurance for
Speaker 2: campig centrals and sleeping bags and things like that. And
Speaker 2: I remember as a teenager going and getting sorry going in,
Speaker 2: putting the receipts in and having enough money to pay
Speaker 2: for family holiday.
Speaker 1: You're kidding. Wow, So it's like doings were really long. No,
Speaker 1: it's like always in your blood. So then what motivated
Speaker 1: you then to share with everyone else all the tips
Speaker 1: and tricks?
Speaker 2: Well, I was I have a history of studying social science,
Speaker 2: and particularly when I was working in community service roles,
Speaker 2: there was such a need. I noticed that there was
Speaker 2: such a need out there, and also that people just
Speaker 2: didn't know where to sort of look on different even
Speaker 2: with released to say SemLink payments, not many people sort
Speaker 2: of knew how to apply or what they could be
Speaker 2: eligible for.
Speaker 1: Wow, you know you were so on the money there,
Speaker 1: because you know, being frugal and being savvy with money,
Speaker 1: it does involve time. It does take time to shop around.
Speaker 1: And if you're able to help people save money but
Speaker 1: also save time along the way, that is just so
Speaker 1: incredibly valuable right now, and it really does take a
Speaker 1: lot of stress and pressure off people's shoulders, particularly when
Speaker 1: household budgets are running so incredibly tight. And I can
Speaker 1: see that's why you've driven so much success to your
Speaker 1: social channels now for someone who is just starting to,
Speaker 1: I guess, wake up to you know, the whole financial
Speaker 1: wellbeing story and start to be more mindful with their
Speaker 1: money and to want to be more frugal and budget harder.
Speaker 1: Where is the best place to start in thinking about
Speaker 1: how to get their budget under control?
Speaker 2: Again, I'm really not one of these. This is for
Speaker 2: your no that honestly, I.
Speaker 1: Completely disagree you. You're switched off with Mary. I've read
Speaker 1: stories you've written, and I felt a lot of stalking
Speaker 1: of you, and you're sappy.
Speaker 2: I would actually consider myself more a spend holy coner budget. Okay,
Speaker 2: all right? For me, it's you know, I love spending,
Speaker 2: even even in my Instagram name. It's sort of I
Speaker 2: am a spender by nature. I'm sorry, I'm a same
Speaker 2: of my nature, Amy, I mean out having a challenge girl.
Speaker 1: That one so for someone who wants to be so
Speaker 1: oided with money, And you know there's someone who loves
Speaker 1: to shop and doesn't really shop it without ever stopping
Speaker 1: to think, well, hang on, maybe I can buy that
Speaker 1: same item somewhere else. Would you recommend people do just
Speaker 1: to start? Is it a matter of sitting down and
Speaker 1: googling that particular item or you know what, what is
Speaker 1: your advice.
Speaker 2: There are quite a few options are Google lens for
Speaker 2: me has been absolute chame changer.
Speaker 1: You know, I only recently found out about Google lens.
Speaker 1: How brilliant is it?
Speaker 2: It is? It is absolutely amazing. Like last year, I
Speaker 2: was like, no, I'm going to go spend money on
Speaker 2: a new thro some ladge which are normally not only
Speaker 2: don't spend sorry, it's it's very hard for me to
Speaker 2: spend on feether I'm not used to spending okay, like
Speaker 2: such as furniture, or it's very hard for me to
Speaker 2: spend money on on on sorry, on myself.
Speaker 1: Really. Yeah, So for all the listeners who are wondering
Speaker 1: what Google Lens is, you've got to go and download
Speaker 1: this app. Now. Essentially, you download the app, and if
Speaker 1: you see something you like and you want to buy it,
Speaker 1: but you want to know where else you can potentially
Speaker 1: buy it or where it is the best place for
Speaker 1: the best price, you simply take a photo of it
Speaker 1: using the Google app lens and it will come up
Speaker 1: with a long list of all the online shops and
Speaker 1: retailers that have this particular item, as well as the price.
Speaker 1: So you're able to save a lot of money and time,
Speaker 1: very very quickly with this one app. It is an
Speaker 1: essential app. It's like it's up there with sometimes one
Speaker 1: of my banking apps because it really does save a
Speaker 1: lot of money. Now, you just touched on something a
Speaker 1: second ago where you said you feel at times uncomfortable
Speaker 1: buying things that you wouldn't normally buy for yourself, and
Speaker 1: that is something that a lot of people can really
Speaker 1: relate to. And there's almost an element of self love
Speaker 1: there as well, you know it feel you feel guilty
Speaker 1: or bad, you know, or feel that you're being wasteful
Speaker 1: buying something you wouldn't do. And it is even I
Speaker 1: will admit for myself, it's sometimes hard to step out
Speaker 1: of that. How did you, for someone who is naturally
Speaker 1: very frugal rate it's saving and is you know, has
Speaker 1: a budget, how did you get yourself over the line
Speaker 1: going all right, it's okay to buy something for myself.
Speaker 2: To actually truth be told. I went and spoke to
Speaker 2: a psychologist and had a couple of sessions going this
Speaker 2: is my views on money, you know, this is how
Speaker 2: I perceive what I'm seeing, And after some discussion, I
Speaker 2: was almost asking permission for myself to spend the money.
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, trying to justify it exactly, trying.
Speaker 2: To justify this is why I bought this because growing
Speaker 2: up I didn't have much at all. My parents were
Speaker 2: quite comfortable, but it wasn't something prioritized.
Speaker 1: And then what was this psychologist's advice.
Speaker 2: I have permission to spend my own money. I have
Speaker 2: permission to be happy, yes, and I don't have to
Speaker 2: ask or don't you know, or spending doesn't have to
Speaker 2: be good or bad, it's just what it.
Speaker 1: Is, exactly. And the amount of people that assume I'm
Speaker 1: going to judge someone for spending money really upset sets me.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: The other day, a friend of mine she called me
Speaker 1: and she said, I feel really bad. I'm going on
Speaker 1: a trip. And it was actually part of her work
Speaker 1: and part of her passion. And I said to her,
Speaker 1: what do you feel bad? She goes, well, I'm going
Speaker 1: on two trips and quite close to each other, and
Speaker 1: you'd probably be frowning upon me and saying this is
Speaker 1: really financially responsible. I was like, don't be ridiculous. Everyone
Speaker 1: needs to spend money, it's just about doing it in
Speaker 1: a mindful way that prioritizes our financial wellbeing. But it's
Speaker 1: about balance, and I spend money. I have my loves
Speaker 1: and I have my and I occasionally waste money and
Speaker 1: have stupid, regretful purchases. But that's part of life and
Speaker 1: that's our rich tapestry.
Speaker 2: And exactly saying that recently, I described sorry. This year,
Speaker 2: I just have sorry. This year, I discovered cruising and
Speaker 2: I'm absolutely hooked. I've been on three cruisers. I've got
Speaker 2: six more books.
Speaker 1: Oh you're kidding, Oh my god, wow, our ag we
Speaker 1: have to keep going with funny how you're affored six
Speaker 1: bruises book. But this is what I'm talking about. It's
Speaker 1: the investment within yourself and it's an act of self
Speaker 1: love and it's a sign of self respect. And you're
Speaker 1: also investing in your own personal growth and development as
Speaker 1: you visit new destinations, meet different people from different areas
Speaker 1: and learn about the culture, and it adds to your
Speaker 1: richness of.
Speaker 2: And also be able to have experiences with my family
Speaker 2: that matter matter.
Speaker 1: More money, exactly, and investing in those moments are those
Speaker 1: memories and they last forever like that is a brilliant
Speaker 1: return on your on your investment. So that whatever sees
Speaker 1: me walking down the street, please don't ever judge me,
Speaker 1: and don't don't judge me. Don't think that I'm judging them,
Speaker 1: but it is so far from from the truth. Now,
Speaker 1: can you share with us, because if you've managed to
Speaker 1: afford six cruises, I want to know everything about what
Speaker 1: you're doing. What are some of your favorite grocery strategies
Speaker 1: for finding the best deals, and you know, let's talk
Speaker 1: about well clothing, that's about groceries, household items. Like you've
Speaker 1: mentioned Google lens, which I'm obsessed with. What are your
Speaker 1: other hacks?
Speaker 2: Sign up for email lists, email address just for signing
Speaker 2: up for things such as fly Buyers rewards accounts. Any
Speaker 2: shop that you go to regularly sign up for the
Speaker 2: email lists. Have it separate so you're not tempted to shop.
Speaker 2: You can open it when you need and delete it
Speaker 2: or unsubscribe.
Speaker 1: That's such a good idea to have it as a
Speaker 1: separate because email a dress because it is very distracting
Speaker 1: getting those notifications and then thinking, oh, should I jump
Speaker 1: on this sale? But if it's in a separate email
Speaker 1: address and maybe not even look to your phone, but
Speaker 1: maybe linked to a laptop or a desktop where you
Speaker 1: can then access it, that's great. And obviously a lot
Speaker 1: of websites these days had an automatic ten percent discount
Speaker 1: or free shipping or something like that when you sign up.
Speaker 2: Or that's actually how I got the cruisersode cheap. Really,
Speaker 2: I saw a link on social media for Carnival, and
Speaker 2: I'm like, you know what, I'll sign up for it.
Speaker 2: And I did, and then I got offered a three
Speaker 2: hundred overseas cruise. We talked free alcohol and actually on
Speaker 2: board spending and everything as well. Public cruise three hundred
Speaker 2: dollar crews.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. All right, okay, so Google Lands signing up?
Speaker 1: What else you hit me up?
Speaker 2: Do you remember the entertainment book with all the little
Speaker 2: coupons they used to.
Speaker 1: Tut It was like a phone book, and I remember
Speaker 1: my parents used to buy it. I think the money
Speaker 1: you got to charity, it was really cheap. It was
Speaker 1: like fifty dollars.
Speaker 2: Yes, well it's actually back as an app now, and
Speaker 2: you can get discounts on OPSM or worse restaurants, so
Speaker 2: many other places.
Speaker 1: Those savings I remember, like those little chopper dockets used
Speaker 1: to come in that book. It would pay for itself
Speaker 1: within like one or two goes. It was such great value.
Speaker 2: Most definitely.
Speaker 1: All right. So we've got Google Lands, we've got signing Up,
Speaker 1: we've got the entertainment app. What else do you ever
Speaker 1: use websites like such as like shot back or casual wards.
Speaker 2: Well, of course you can get cash back on so
Speaker 2: many different things, even such as traveling shots. Now it's
Speaker 2: absolutely mind blowing. Like my most recent cruise, I got
Speaker 2: something like forty dollars back.
Speaker 1: That's just amazing, And it's amazing how quickly those little
Speaker 1: things really do add up. I use both shot back
Speaker 1: and cash awards. Probably I have a buyas towards cash rewards,
Speaker 1: but it's whenever I love I love it. I log
Speaker 1: in and I see my you know, money savings adding
Speaker 1: up and what they owe me, and I know we
Speaker 1: wait until I hit like three or one dollars before
Speaker 1: I like cash it in and get a transfer to
Speaker 1: the thousand dollar produce. It's addictive.
Speaker 2: You were so disapploined. I when I have my little
Speaker 2: cash back, I'm like, oh, that's my treat myself money,
Speaker 2: that's my Uber eats. Because one thing I do like
Speaker 2: about shop back is you can actually buy gift cards
Speaker 2: with the cash back and get cash back on top
Speaker 2: of that. Already.
Speaker 1: That's brilliant, saving my and hustling at the same time.
Speaker 1: All right, what about pre love Do you ever buy
Speaker 1: like secondhand from Facebook, Marketplace, a gum Tree? Like, what
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2: I have two massive tips. So first is Dress for
Speaker 2: Success Sydney. They hold these air peak eirpeak sales with
Speaker 2: all designer clothes rock bottom, think Tory Birds, think Cumilla,
Speaker 2: think no, yes, oh my gosh, Rise for Success yes,
Speaker 2: they so they hold regular sales to sell off clothes
Speaker 2: that are not suitable for their clients to fund the organization.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. Okay, right the other one you mentioned.
Speaker 1: You said there were two Dress to Success.
Speaker 2: And then you turn outlet in Punchbowl in Sidney.
Speaker 1: U turn punch bowl.
Speaker 2: So they've got a set price.
Speaker 1: Clothing.
Speaker 2: Dresses are three for twenty five. Any dresses. It could
Speaker 2: be a very high end brand. They don't care at
Speaker 2: set price. Same with skirts. Skirts are six dollars sixty
Speaker 2: per skirt, no matter what the brand, no matter what
Speaker 2: the size, the set pricey.
Speaker 1: I go, I've never heard of this. Oh my gosh, wow, Okay,
Speaker 1: you forget You're right, okay on the ex qustionon is
Speaker 1: I feel like a freaking I get freaking you're out
Speaker 1: with our over excited. I am going.
Speaker 2: Sorry, I'm enjoying this, I really am.
Speaker 1: Now. The cost of living obviously is out of control
Speaker 1: at the moment. What are your top tips then, for
Speaker 1: cutting down almost everyday expenses without feeling like you're sacrificing
Speaker 1: too much.
Speaker 2: For me, it is just little simple things like this
Speaker 2: is a big one for me, even things like groceries.
Speaker 2: I've started to go to a lot of factory outlets
Speaker 2: such as the Primal Wanting Syney. These savings can be
Speaker 2: absolutely amazing with him, like five dollars a kilough and
Speaker 2: you know the stuff you can do with that? You
Speaker 2: can make pizzas, sandwiches, the list goes on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is a bit of a guilty admission by me.
Speaker 1: I was I was doing solo parenting because my partner
Speaker 1: Tom ligatory here in Hong Kong here, and I didn't
Speaker 1: have any ham to make it hit sandwiches. And this
Speaker 1: is really naughty. But this is just really life. And
Speaker 1: if I could allow myself to be naughty like this,
Speaker 1: so can everyone else. Obviously within balance. But I had
Speaker 1: to uber eat some ham over because I could leave
Speaker 1: the house because I've got two young kids that were
Speaker 1: in better sleep and I needed to make their sandwiches
Speaker 1: for school and daycare. So Uber eat Uber eats some
Speaker 1: ham from the grocery store. I hate to think how
Speaker 1: much I paid for literally probably about three hundred grams
Speaker 1: of ham?
Speaker 2: Can I don't beat yourself up? She's got to ate
Speaker 2: subscriptions at the moment. Do you have two eb I
Speaker 2: have got two?
Speaker 1: Okay? On that note, do you are you member Uber one? Then?
Speaker 2: Yes? Sorry, I've got two Uber ones.
Speaker 1: Do you think Uber one's worth it?
Speaker 2: Yes? Why I can be sorry? Uber one can be
Speaker 2: worth it if you can find a free sign up.
Speaker 1: How do you find a free sign up?
Speaker 2: So usually os bargain okay or Google okay. So I've
Speaker 2: gotten about eight months for free and only this month
Speaker 2: that I've decided to.
Speaker 1: Pay, and for people who are happy to pay, Why
Speaker 1: do you or can't maybe find a free signup? Why
Speaker 1: do you think it's worth it?
Speaker 2: Definitely with the discounts or if you have got o
Speaker 2: other choice, depending on what you're buying, it's still can
Speaker 2: be cheaper. For example, I did a coals delivery fire
Speaker 2: Uber eats. I got twenty dollars off the shop and
Speaker 2: after even after fees and delivery, I still saved seven
Speaker 2: dollars on what I would have paid if I went
Speaker 2: myself at coals.
Speaker 1: And then we've had to pay for petrol traffic or
Speaker 1: you know part try park or you know, lug around
Speaker 1: a grocery bag or push around a trolleyed and an
Speaker 1: asle of busy people. I mean, your time's worth more.
Speaker 2: And there's somebody who doesn't drive that, you know, that
Speaker 2: just saved me exacly, ask somebody.
Speaker 1: And also I noticed with uber one is that they're
Speaker 1: quite often some specials, you know occasionally like fish bowl,
Speaker 1: will do you know dinner and it's like ten dollars
Speaker 1: each and you know, for nights where it's just Tom
Speaker 1: and I and the kids are having something you know simple,
Speaker 1: it's a nice way of having a really healthy salad
Speaker 1: for dinner that's a total of twenty dollars. And yes,
Speaker 1: obviously it's a bit of a splurge, it's a bit
Speaker 1: of a guilty pleasure. But sometimes those nights when you're
Speaker 1: just exhausted and can't you know, think about what you're
Speaker 1: gonna put together, it's it's sometimes it's an investment. In
Speaker 1: your own mental health and energy, so you can eat
Speaker 1: dinner as a family, get to bed quickly, exit for
Speaker 1: a bit cleaning up, and you know, get a good
Speaker 1: quality night sleep so you can hit the ground running
Speaker 1: the next day.
Speaker 2: Of course, like last year, thanks to Uber and one,
Speaker 2: I've got something like one and a half thousand dollars
Speaker 2: in discounts in one week. Ah what. At that time,
Speaker 2: they were trying to prefer regional restaurants. My family went
Speaker 2: away to Doubo and I paid for accommodation, but I
Speaker 2: was really going to struggle to pay to cover the food,
Speaker 2: and so I just went nuts. We all had Uber account,
Speaker 2: so we or just did all these mad orderings. I
Speaker 2: think it was twenty dollars off, so we just did
Speaker 2: twenty orders at so many restaurants. The restaurants were coming
Speaker 2: up and thanking us for doing these orders.
Speaker 1: Really, because there's often the perception that you know, Uber
Speaker 1: It's is squeezing as restaurants. But no, you'll find it
Speaker 1: saying you're absente opposite.
Speaker 2: No, I think these were really quiet restaurants who don't
Speaker 2: didn't have a lot of trade in that period. But
Speaker 2: I think there is some squeezing. But I think in
Speaker 2: those respects, Uber Eats were reimbursing the restaurants.
Speaker 1: For what That's great for the discount.
Speaker 2: I was keep getting, Oh that's actually I actually did
Speaker 2: put up a.
Speaker 1: Post okay, one read to make sure I licked your
Speaker 1: Instagram account because everyone needs to be hearing out all
Speaker 1: these fantastic resources like impulse spending, because there are a
Speaker 1: lot of people out there who are impulse ganders. And
Speaker 1: people may be a consistent impulse spender, or they may
Speaker 1: go through, you know, moments in their lives whereas you know,
Speaker 1: something's triggered in their life and they are feeling a
Speaker 1: bit vulnerable, and they tend to like go through a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks where they just splurge normal stop like
Speaker 1: an insatiable desire. Is that something you've seen yourself? And
Speaker 1: will your advice be to someone who feels like they
Speaker 1: kind of dabble in that emotional state?
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's just me to a tee. Really not so
Speaker 2: much anymore. But earlier this year, the best thing I
Speaker 2: ever did was put a block oh my buy now
Speaker 2: paid later accounts okay, because I was going to cycle.
Speaker 2: I was paying it off in full, and then I
Speaker 2: was like, oh, I've got all this money here. No,
Speaker 2: I don't have all this money.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say so, Lonny.
Speaker 2: So that was the best thing that I ever did.
Speaker 2: So they're all paid off in full. It was like
Speaker 2: three thousand, it's all done.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you've never used them since.
Speaker 2: That's only been mate.
Speaker 1: Okay, so fast through, so fast. Good. And look, you know,
Speaker 1: I think sometimes some people, and I've seen this a
Speaker 1: lot personally, is it almost becomes an addiction, the adrenaline
Speaker 1: and chase of buy now, pay later, in that you know,
Speaker 1: it gives them something to channel their energy on and
Speaker 1: they're trying to pay it off. And obviously that's not
Speaker 1: a good sign because ideally we want to be paying
Speaker 1: for things in cash through our debit card. And obviously
Speaker 1: there are times where buy now, pay later it works
Speaker 1: for people's certain budgets and situations. So you know, I'm
Speaker 1: not for or against buy now, pay later or whatsoever.
Speaker 1: I'm just whatever's best for your financial well being. But
Speaker 1: I do think that at times some people get this
Speaker 1: into this the subconsciously unaware of it, which you obviously
Speaker 1: is some conscious but they're unaware of the almost love
Speaker 1: affair of being in that space where they're addicted to
Speaker 1: the discipline or the having that simple goal of paying
Speaker 1: it off, when really we could shift it into, say,
Speaker 1: instead of being about paying off by now later saving
Speaker 1: up for something, or having a financial goal like to
Speaker 1: buy thousand dollars with the shares or something, you're tap
Speaker 1: to thousand dollars of emergency money. Would you agree with
Speaker 1: that it almost becomes like a almost like a hobby
Speaker 1: paying things off.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: Okay when it comes to heading to the supermarket and
Speaker 1: buying your grocery items, because that would probably be the
Speaker 1: third biggest expense in my household after our mortgage and childcare.
Speaker 1: What are your tips for saving money on food?
Speaker 2: I'm a massy fan of Audi for the every day
Speaker 2: low price and for those who are struggling to look
Speaker 2: at community food resources where you can go and purchase
Speaker 2: food at lower cost, and you're supporting the organization to
Speaker 2: support those who cannot.
Speaker 1: For food for stop. Yeah. What are your favorite things
Speaker 1: to pick up it out?
Speaker 2: I would have to say meat. I think at the
Speaker 2: moment I was normally so picking up me at Audi
Speaker 2: for so long, and then the last one or two
Speaker 2: years I've had a real short of shift back because
Speaker 2: it's quality, it's affordable, and it's tasty.
Speaker 1: Only on the weekend. Part of my girlfriends were telling
Speaker 1: me about the chicken some sort of chicken strips or
Speaker 1: chicken tenderloins which are really cheap and absolutely delicious. Studd
Speaker 1: about those, not.
Speaker 2: Really, but I love the chicken. The chicken pad thaie
Speaker 2: kit that is amazing. It's something like fifteen.
Speaker 1: And also I've heard the chocolate is delicious, yes, definitely,
Speaker 1: And I've heard the selection of cheeses is great as well.
Speaker 1: And I have also heard I really need to get
Speaker 1: my ass into Albie. I've also heard that the wine
Speaker 1: is really rising present and they actually won a lot
Speaker 1: of awards. Have you heard that? Yes? Yeah? Okay, all right,
Speaker 1: so all these where we need to be looking at
Speaker 1: doing our grocery shopping when it cuts things like utilities
Speaker 1: in the gas, electricity bills, transportation, what are your hacks there? Okay?
Speaker 2: So last year, with the Optus out each I end
Speaker 2: up writing the script for my followers so they could
Speaker 2: get so. So what they did They copying a paste
Speaker 2: to step by step into the and most of them
Speaker 2: got one or two months knocked.
Speaker 1: Off their bills. Just wow.
Speaker 2: By simply asking, this is what you've done for my
Speaker 2: Oh blah blah. We just made up a fictional friend
Speaker 2: brother relative. This is what we've done for them. What
Speaker 2: can you do for me? I'm prepared to.
Speaker 1: Leap gosh, I was so gorgeous, Like that is the
Speaker 1: most sincere, kind and generous thing to actually give someone
Speaker 1: a script so they can just easily do this themselves,
Speaker 1: like and that is Look, the average phone bill is
Speaker 1: brought between fifteen eighty dollars a month or so, I
Speaker 1: know for myself it's in excess of eighty dollars. To
Speaker 1: save two months off my bill is absolutely brilliant. So
Speaker 1: I am actually with Octor, so I should have actually
Speaker 1: done that if we missed the boat now, but maybe
Speaker 1: worth a shot just anyway. And then things like you know, transportation.
Speaker 2: So with petrol it's like absolutely crazy expense, now.
Speaker 1: Isn't it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I useerhaps like the Orginus files. They've got the
Speaker 2: fuel finder or they've got petrol spy or but I
Speaker 2: also buy if comes from shop back all the time,
Speaker 2: so like BP and EG. And then of course they
Speaker 2: combine it with the every day we would right if
Speaker 2: I'm going to go to a worst branded or flybys
Speaker 2: for colls.
Speaker 1: I love everyday rewards. I love watching my savings, and
Speaker 1: I bank everything for Christmas time because obviously that's such
Speaker 1: an expensive time of the year, especially if you're entertaining
Speaker 1: as well. So all these savings really do add up
Speaker 1: throughout the year, and it really frustrates me when I
Speaker 1: come on fross people but like, oh, so, what, you
Speaker 1: just saved ten dollars. Actually, no, that's that's a lot.
Speaker 1: Like that means a lot, you know, when you lead
Speaker 1: the money at the end of the year, and that
Speaker 1: just can save your bacon.
Speaker 2: For ten dollars, even at the moment it's a load
Speaker 2: of bread and no exactly, and that load of bread
Speaker 2: gets you through the week exactly.
Speaker 1: What say the most common mistakes when people are trying
Speaker 1: to save money and how to avoid them, Like you know,
Speaker 1: the buy three get one for free, Like what do
Speaker 1: you sort of go, oh, that's a trapped and fall
Speaker 1: for it.
Speaker 2: Personally, my biggest trap for saving is having the money
Speaker 2: where I can touch it, where I can see it.
Speaker 2: I needed to be out of sight, out a light,
Speaker 2: so I'm not going to go, oh, I just need
Speaker 2: ten dollars, transfer that from the same means no, I
Speaker 2: need a barrier.
Speaker 1: See you. That is so interesting you say that because
Speaker 1: I run a budget and cash flow academy, teaching people
Speaker 1: how to do a budget and also how to stick
Speaker 1: to a budget. And that is the exact mindset that
Speaker 1: I preach and follow myself. I turned to a supermarket
Speaker 1: going right, this is our absolute maxim Lert ask me
Speaker 1: how much we spend. If I go over that, things
Speaker 1: have to come out of the cart, which that's what
Speaker 1: keeps me in a safe boundary. And if I'm under
Speaker 1: that's break because there are obviously, with the ebbs and
Speaker 1: flows of life, I might have a busy wheat, you know,
Speaker 1: candy genuinely need extra food. I've got that saving grace
Speaker 1: from previously where I've come under budget. I am totally
Speaker 1: on board with that. When it comes to you know,
Speaker 1: your success and what you created on Instagram. You must
Speaker 1: get so many messages from people that say, oh my god,
Speaker 1: thank you so much. I just saved I save money,
Speaker 1: here money there? Do you everything you can share with us.
Speaker 2: I have a few I don't know.
Speaker 1: I love these, I know.
Speaker 2: One example was on the weekend I noticed one of
Speaker 2: the one of one of the accounts I follow. He
Speaker 2: was talking about how she's going to Europe and everything.
Speaker 2: So I reached out and said, hey, you might not
Speaker 2: have to pay for a U rail pass. You may
Speaker 2: be able to get this for nothing. She was absolutely
Speaker 2: so born away because I think it's like three thousand
Speaker 2: dollars or something for these two months euro rap.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: But I will tell But I think the biggest difference
Speaker 2: that my community made, not me, is in cover lockdowns.
Speaker 2: When everybody was looking their jobs, my community stepped up
Speaker 2: because door Dash at the time and still today gave
Speaker 2: out twenty dollars per sign up. So I was using
Speaker 2: that twenty dollars to pay it for it because doord
Speaker 2: actually really was still happeningly locked down, So anybody who
Speaker 2: needed it could just say, hey, I needed I need
Speaker 2: some food, I need something for my kids. Can you
Speaker 2: make it happen?
Speaker 1: Wow?
Speaker 2: I think we did about one hundred people families or more.
Speaker 2: I really lost count as quite a few years ago now,
Speaker 2: but that still sort of stays with me.
Speaker 1: I bet, I mean that is really powerful. That just
Speaker 1: shows you how important these things are and they do
Speaker 1: need to be respected and everyone should be having a
Speaker 1: really good goat right I've got two more questions for you,
Speaker 1: and then we're going to wrap up. The first one
Speaker 1: is is there anything in your life that you like
Speaker 1: to splurgeohn for yourself that makes you feel good inside?
Speaker 2: I think now is pretty dresses.
Speaker 1: Yes, I a beautiful sluing thing.
Speaker 2: I've sort of discovered proud poppy last year. Oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: I'm just addicted to the word. But by when I purchased,
Speaker 2: I wait for a sale and I use cash back
Speaker 2: brilliant and I normally would have put it on after pay,
Speaker 2: but no longer anymore.
Speaker 1: Okay, well, that makes me very happy to hear that.
Speaker 1: Then the last question I have for you is you are,
Speaker 1: obviously you know, I would say, one of the most
Speaker 1: switched on, savvy and frugal people I know when it
Speaker 1: comes to spending money and finding the best deals and
Speaker 1: getting as as I said, the best bang for your buck.
Speaker 1: So it's in order to meet with you and to
Speaker 1: have you come into the studio today when it comes
Speaker 1: to saving money, do you have a financial goal that
Speaker 1: you are working on personally?
Speaker 2: I did, but then I've also realized that I would
Speaker 2: never be able to afford a house, so I'm sort
Speaker 2: of a bit in my yollow face at the moment
Speaker 2: um where I'm more focused on creating memories, hence booking
Speaker 2: six crews.
Speaker 1: No, that is makes me so happy. Well, okay, what
Speaker 1: a couple of pieces to say here. First of all,
Speaker 1: why is I actually so happy that you have such
Speaker 1: a fantastic goal. You know it's a lifestyle goal, and
Speaker 1: you are saving up for that lifestyle goal at a
Speaker 1: very financially savvy way, making sure you don't get into debt,
Speaker 1: and you know you're making sure that you budget them
Speaker 1: out it'll act correctly. The second thing I want to
Speaker 1: say to you is I I said this as a
Speaker 1: financial plan, but also someone who really believes in people,
Speaker 1: and that is never close yourself off to a goal.
Speaker 1: If your dream or goal is to have a property
Speaker 1: of your own, don't ever give up on it. It
Speaker 1: may not be tomorrow, it may and it may not
Speaker 1: be next week, but you need to stay open to
Speaker 1: that and keep it burning in the background because you
Speaker 1: never know what is around the corner. You never know
Speaker 1: what blessing. You don't never know what opportunity, You never
Speaker 1: know what project is going to land literally in your
Speaker 1: lap that will suddenly help make that dream become a reality.
Speaker 1: And it is so incredibly important that you keep that
Speaker 1: fire within yourself burning, because if it's meant to be,
Speaker 1: it will happen. And I really do truly believe when
Speaker 1: you want something and you put your head down and
Speaker 1: bumm up, and it's quite incredible how the universe can
Speaker 1: take that serious mission of yours and work miracles in
Speaker 1: weird and wonderful ways. So please don't ever close yourself up. Okay,
Speaker 1: all right? Look that brings us to the end of
Speaker 1: this incredibly helpful episode with Stacy from Budgets, Save Spend.
Speaker 1: I really hope you've taken away some really valuable tips
Speaker 1: and strategies to help you save more and spend a
Speaker 1: lot less no matter where you are on your financial journey.
Speaker 1: Stacy's practical advice proves that with the right mindset and
Speaker 1: a few savvy strategies, we could all take control of
Speaker 1: our finances and make our money go so much further. Now,
Speaker 1: if you found this episode helpful, please make sure you
Speaker 1: share it with your friends, your family, or anyone else
Speaker 1: you could benefit from these money saving tips. And I
Speaker 1: will make sure I go and share all my Instagram
Speaker 1: account the list of all the shops that Stacy has
Speaker 1: so that we all know where to be buying those
Speaker 1: Tory Birch Camilla addresses, and obviously we're to be best
Speaker 1: place to be buying our haam and our meat, and
Speaker 1: of course making sure that we all turn up to
Speaker 1: Aldi and start exploring their product range which offers use
Speaker 1: brilliant value for money. So let's spread the word and
Speaker 1: help more people navigate these incredibly challenging times. And if
Speaker 1: you would like to connect with Stacy dive deeper into
Speaker 1: her wealth of knowledge, you can find her own Instagram
Speaker 1: at budget Savespend, which I have linked in the podcast
Speaker 1: notes for you, and this is where she saves her
Speaker 1: daily tips, bargain findes and so much more. So please
Speaker 1: don't ever hesitate to reach out to her with any
Speaker 1: questions or share your own success stories. She's clearly always
Speaker 1: really eager, passionate and ready to inspire you. Now, thank
Speaker 1: you everyone for listening to Sugar Mama's Fireplate. Be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and let's
Speaker 1: keep this conversation going on social media until next time.
Speaker 1: Stay savvy and keep striving for financial freedom. I believe
Speaker 1: in you