Extra Money

My partner and I are going down to one wage in November and I am not going back to work until August next year.

Does anyone have any tips to save money or ways of getting extra money??

Also, does anyone work from home and what kind of work?

i do 'homecare' Its real good for bring in extra money. Also i use lots of coupons

With all the money we got in return from family assistance and soon when we move and have a way higher rent to pay, we will be recieving accomodation supplement. If I had gone back to work we would only be getting $70 a fortnight, with govt subsidies and WINZ it is an extra $95 per week and we don't have to pay tax on that and I'm a SAHM. Although in saying all that I do wish to do something else to help out like pamphlet dropping or something to the effect where I can keep Olivia with me because working 2 nights a fortnight was the most horriblest thing ever!

Just a wee note about the mortgage holiday thing. It seems like a great idea, but increases your repayment term BIG TIME if you don't increase the repayments as soon as your holiday is over.... I reccomend you read the fine print about that.

We had a huge drop inincome as well, when I stopped work, and I for one, really struggled, as I am a real "luxuries" girl, and found it hard to adjust... My biggest tip, which saved us as much as $150 a week, was to take out say $200 a week, and use it for groceries and whatever and that was all I got out untill the next week. I found I was just using the card(s) willy nilly and not really thinking aobut how much I was spending.... $20 here and there REALLY adds up.

I don't know about getting in extra money but here are some of our tips for saving money.Hopefully they help!

1. Power - check you power usage, does you power company offer a cheaper planan to better fit your needs? Turn things off when you don't need them. Even not leaving the TV etc on standby but turning it right off makes a difference. We started turning all applianaces (as was prectical anyway) off at the wall and our power bill dropped dramatically!
2. Phones, check what plans you are on, mobile or landland. We switched to Telecom although we love Vodafone becuase of thir text and now we can stay in touch with others more but our costs are less.
3. Grocery shopping...make a list and stick to it! Look for cheaper options, honestly Signature Range/Pams/Home Brand...they are all just as good and cheaper ie: Homebrand bread...$0.94!!!!! There is one family on another forum who shops for their family of 4 and the total is around $200 per fortnight! Also buy your meat and fresh fruit separately at a butcher and fruit & vege shop...it's normally heaps cheaper than the supermarket!
4. Meal planning - plan out your meals for the week/fortnight and shop according to that.
5. Credit Card - if you must have one then use it wisely. We have cut up and are paying off our others. Only B's ASB one is in action. We put the money for all our expenditures on this ie shopping, petrol etc, so the card is constantly paid off and we are earning points for vouchers. We're up to a $100 petrol voucher at the moment!

Hope these help a bit!

I changed my mobile from plan to prepaid and i am saving just over $80 a month. It is amazing. These are great tips ladies but the biggest thing is that i have to get my partner to stop spending money. He just spends it willy nilly and he is not the easiest person to talk to about money either but i am getting there.

I agree...take the card and give a cash allowance. It sounds harsh but it will be the only way!

We've been a bit more relaxed about so far with my parental pay coming in but we're starting to tighten up now and not spend the money or go out etc. It takes some getting used to but worth it in the end!