Finances for the Modern Homemaker
23rd February, 2017
Managing finances is easier than it has ever been.
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Unpaid bills on the fridge. Paid bills on the bench. Overdrawn accounts. A savings account with a constant balance of $4.20. Your budget is reached when the Eftpos machine declines your card. Sound familiar? Then our article might very well save your sanity.
Even if you believe your finances are in order, there are still many ways to make managing money quicker and simpler. Here are some apps for Iphone & Android that could change your life. Book in an hour and give your finances a spring clean.
1_Budget – Wally – Smart Personal Finance
It’s great to start with a budget. There are many personal budget apps out there. Wally is a highly rated free app. It lets you set goals and make a budget, then you track your spending to ensure you’re keeping within your limits. Can be time consuming, but is the best way to really grasp the reality of your income versus your expenses. Try it for a week, then keep that in mind for all future spending. You can always go back if things are getting out of hand again.
2_Bills – Email
If you don’t yet receive your bills by email, you need to do this! Create an email folder for your phone bills, electricity, gas etc. Then once they’re paid, filing them away takes a matter of seconds. Reduces paper wastage and saves so much time. You can even manage all your bills on your smart phone.
3_Calendar – Google Tiny Calendar
A shared calendar could save your relationship and reduce a lot of stress. Google Tiny Calendar is very easy to use. Input all your regular expenses and direct debits as a recurring event, then select to be notified a day or so before. That way you have warning and can insure your account won’t be overdrawn. Put the reminder in a day or two before the actual debit is to occur. Then invite your partner so they’re aware as well. Not only is this useful for your finances but for everyday activities for any busy family.
4_Banking
Schedule bill payments, track your balances, transfer funds on the go, pay your friends while out at dinner, update your limits. You may be able to do all this on your banking app and so much more. Nearly all Australian banks have an app to make your life easier. For those concerned with privacy and security, contact your institution for more information.
Don’t forget to clean up your accounts. If you have accounts that aren’t being used, then close them. Accounts cost money and can clutter your life as much as a messy office can.
Watch your credit card spending. Create a regular payment to your credit card, set a reminder into your phone for the payment. Manual transferring takes a matter of seconds using a banking app so set a reminder to make the transfer monthly before they charge you interest.
5_Grocery List - AnyList
Not specifically a finance app, however overspending at the grocery store can be a real trap for households. AnyList is a free app that allows you to create a list that is shared with your partner or housemates. Any individual can add or delete items. Have one list for groceries and one for larger household items you need.
6_Government payments – Express Plus Centrelink
If you receive Child Care Benefit or any other government payment, life is made considerably easier using the Express Plus Centrelink app. This app can be used to report your family income estimate and notifies you of any new mail.
While you’re thinking about finance…
Once you’ve spent some time on cleaning up your family finances, now is the perfect time to look at your mortgage. Check your progress, use a mortgage calculator such as Zillow Mortgages to try and predict how long until you can own your home. Check your rates are competitive.
Superannuation is something we all need think about seriously. And the earlier the better. Opt to receive statements via email and check to see if your Super Fund Manager has an app for extra visibility. You can use your myGov account to check if you have any lost super or other accounts. Visit www.ato.gov.au for more information.
Now you can unwind.
Managing your finances can be stressful. Now that you’ve cleaned yours up, take a minute to unwind with the Headspace: Guided Mediation and Mindfulness app. This popular app guides you through a simple and basic meditation technique to encourage a more relaxed headspace. After this spring clean, a little meditation will certainly be needed and well deserved.
Christchurch's Next Generation
3rd February, 2017
Megan Newberry wasn’t in Christchurch, New Zealand when the earthquake of 2011 devastated the community. But that didn’t mean she escaped unscathed. As a registered psychologist and a Christchurch local born and bred, Newberry returned to her hometown where she joined the city in its long recovery.
When Newberry talks about returning to Christchurch after the earthquake that left 185 dead and several thousand injured, her quirky kiwi accent doesn’t give away the difficulty and trauma that came with the harrowing event. ‘They’re still dealing with it’, she said of the city she returned to, to be closer to her family and friends. ‘There are still areas in the city where there are just large patches of grass.’ If anyone could recognize the impact it would be her.
Newberry spent all her schooling in the self-named capital of the New Zealand South Island. It was also where she studied psychology at university and went on to do her masters in organisational psychology. She then went on to work in Auckland on the North Island. When asked why she chose psychology, Newberry’s bubbly voice is resolute: ‘I knew what I wanted to do before I left school at 17. I love observing and analysing people.’
It is this love of observation that also drives Newberry’s passion for writing. Recently enrolled in a feature article writing course Newberry thinks it will be a good balance with her profession: ‘Psychology has so many rules and regulations. Feature writing will let me write and share my observations of people’. And Newberry hopes to use this passion for writing to help make one of the biggest transitions of her life.
Newberry is hoping that free-lance writing will help alleviate some financial pressure as she transitions from her job in HR to a self-employed coach. Having worked professionally for 6 years, she’s excited to venture out on her own. And based in her hometown of Christchurch, Newberry will not be short of support.
As well as all her family and friends, Newberry’s biggest supporter will be her husband of 2 years, Gary. The two met after Newberry returned to Christchurch after the earthquakes. ‘Everyone wanted to get out of Christchurch and it was crazy I wanted to go back, but six months later I met my husband,’ Newberry says with a shrug of her shoulders. But the two of them didn’t stay in Christchurch long, with Gary’s job taking them all over the world.
Following Gary’s job in IT, Newberry got to experience the world and several temporary jobs. They spent 3 months each in Sydney, Australia and Boulder, Colorado. They also spent some time in Europe. But they have since returned to Christchurch where Newberry is now planning her future.
‘In 10 years I see myself juggling my coaching business with writing. With hopefully 2 to 3 kids’, she laughs. And does Megan Newberry see herself staying in the city that has become such an intrinsic part of her life? ‘Yes, I think so,’ she says with a solemn tone.
For 10 long years I’ve watched jealously as family & friends (and Instagrammers) take amazing trips to Europe, Asia and South America. As a young parent I knew my time would come and I bode my time patiently (and not so patiently). But my time finally came when recently our family of 5 boarded a plane for our first ever overseas trip.
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“You three need to stop that fighting and look out the window. There are MOUNTAINS out there! With SNOW! It’s AMAZING! Look out the window!!!!”
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I soon found out very quickly that travelling with children was… hmm… not the Instagram dream I thought it would be. But we did have a pretty amazing time.
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My husband and I took our kids (aged 10,8 and 7) on an amazing trip to the South Island of New Zealand for 3 weeks this winter. We spent months preparing, buying up on thermals, booking accommodation and going on practise hikes to ready our children. But nothing could quite prepare us for the sheer beauty, and the sheer cold, that New Zealand offers.
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Mountain scapes, friendly locals, chilly mornings and incredible hikes filled very short winter days. We had tried to prepare ourselves for travelling with young energetic children and with this in mind we booked ourselves a 3-day farm stay on the West Coast. I was terrified. We would have to live with strangers for 3 whole days. What if they were weirdos? My husband was more optimistic:
“If they are weirdos, it’ll make a great story”
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We arrived at Blur Spur Farm late, having driven all day from Christchurch through Arthur’s Pass, where it was already threatening to snow. It was on this long drive that a certain mother may have lost her temper at three certain children and forced them to look out the window. But in my defence the views were breathtaking. We stopped every five minutes to take photos. And then when we arrived at the farm, it was something else altogether.
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We had some rough, farmer directions to follow, given via email, and with the firm instructions NOT to follow Google Maps. The driveway was very rocky and seemed underused. The landscape felt very British, with low rolling green hills, everything lush and green, and wet. We passed pigs, turkeys, ducks, cattle and of course sheep, before pulling up in front of the large red-tinged off-grid home that sat high on a hill, looking over a farm that reminded me of James Herriot’s animal stories.
Our host Michelle was at the door as we hurried through the drizzle with our coats pulled tight. She was a very straight up and down kiwi farmer. Told us the house rules (basically don’t use electricity unnecessarily), gave us some priceless information on local places to visit, then left us to our own devices.
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Blue Spur Farmstay is minutes from the coastal town of Hokitika on the west coast of the South Island. Hokitika itself is a gorgeous little village, famous for its green stones. We spent two full days exploring the local area and I was blown away by the few things we got to see. Waterfalls, lakes, beaches, hikes and the Pancake Rocks. Just the coastal drive alone was magnificent. My kids fell in love with Hokitika as much as I did. They spent every minute they could searching for green stone on the beaches and rivers. On Michelle’s advice, we took our rock finds to a small business where a very friendly local who called us “bro”, polished and put our rocks on necklaces. When we weren’t exploring the region, we were exploring our temporary home.
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Back at the farm Michelle took us to feed the animals, gave us some insight to farming as a kiwi. We talked agriculture and then she left us to play with the sheep, the peacocks and pet rabbits. We could have easily spent three days chilling on the beautiful farm.
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But alas we had to keep moving. There was a whole island for us to see. With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our hosts and their cosy off-grid home on the hill. Hokitika and Blue Spur Farm had provided my family with a temporary home, where we got to have a true Kiwi experience. This was not quite the dream trip I had imagined. It was much more.
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ARTICLE PUBLISHED AT www.lililife.com.au
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Source: https://lililife.com.au/travel/international/going-off-grid-kids-new-zealand/
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Going Off-Grid with the Kids in New Zealand
28th July, 2017
Health, Fitness, Food, Profiles, Relationships, Family, Parenting, Fashion & Life