Latest / Making Cents / The Easiest Shortcuts To Save Money

Transcript

The Easiest Shortcuts To Save Money · Making Cents

• 0:01
  Hey, team, it's Francis.
• 0:03
  Look, our phones can tempt us into plenty of regrettable purchases, but if we're smart about it, they can also help us save with very little effort on our part.
• 0:14
  Because, look, you only need to do.
• 0:16
  A brief scan of the headlines to know that too many of us are doing it tough.
• 0:21
  Unemployment up to 5.6%, interest rates climbing, inflation above target levels.
• 0:28
  We all just need a win.
• 0:29
  And we need it to come without too much mental effort because we're all a bit tired.
• 0:34
  So let's make it happen.
• 0:36
  Time to save money with a minimum amount of mental effort.
• 0:40
  I had a chat to the TVNZ breakfast team this week about my favorite apps and websites to help us stay on top of our money without spending all of our mental effort on the rising tide of bills.
• 0:51
  Here they are enjoying.
• 0:58
  In this economy, with rising bills and long work days, it's easy to feel both burnt out and broke.
• 1:03
  But a few simple changes and the right digital tools could help you take control of both your finances and your wellbeing.
• 1:09
  To tell us more, we are joined by independent financial journalist Francis Cook.
• 1:12
  Good morning, love Solutions.
• 1:14
  All right, should we start on power, seeing as it's sort of the topic du jour for us here?
• 1:20
  What about combating this?
• 1:21
  We're receiving so much feedback from people that are just saying they're paying hundreds more than they were same time last year.
• 1:27
  It's insane.
• 1:28
  And it's been tracked.
• 1:29
  They've tracked how much more we are.
• 1:31
  It's every single year has been huge percentage increases.
• 1:35
  And one of the problems is that we're very sticky customers in New Zealand.
• 1:39
  We tend not to move around.
• 1:42
  So big one is powerswitch.org nz or billy.govt.nz two sites that are independent help you compare price plans for your usage.
• 1:53
  Because the problem is you can't just say, this one's the best, it's how you use it.
• 1:57
  And the average person, according to Consumer NZ, saves about 500 bucks a year.
• 2:03
  Yeah, we had one person write in Jodie, who said you moved house, got the power bill for one month.
• 2:08
  It's $981 for a month.
• 2:09
  I don't have a driver.
• 2:11
  I was hardly there that month I was away.
• 2:13
  My oven's gas.
• 2:15
  Just her and her son there as well.
• 2:16
  If they look around, could potentially save a wee bit.
• 2:19
  Do you reckon that is the big thing?
• 2:21
  The Reserve bank actually put out some research recently that said businesses are now watching you and your price torrents more than they watch their competitors.
• 2:32
  So that is the big Thing that they watch to see how much they can charge.
• 2:35
  So move around, switch up where you're going.
• 2:38
  Price compare.
• 2:39
  That is actually a big weapon that people underestimate.
• 2:42
  All right, so powerswitch.orgnz or billy.govnz what about other apps?
• 2:47
  What are your other favorite ones in terms of trying to find that balance with work in your life?
• 2:52
  Yeah, and I think we're always looking for the ones that make it easy for us.
• 2:54
  Right.
• 2:55
  We're all tired and then when we're looking to move the needle for our money, you hit those big costs first.
• 3:00
  Aim for the big things.
• 3:01
  I'm not as worried about your coffee, I'm worried about your power bill, your food bill, your housing.
• 3:07
  So if you're thinking about your food, some really good ones.
• 3:10
  Grocer NZ and Price Pulse.
• 3:14
  Price Pulse is one that I only just found out about and I told my social media followers about it and I've had so much feedback from people saying, this makes it so easy.
• 3:22
  What does it do to shop around?
• 3:23
  It's this little extension, this little broccoli that sits on your corner of.
• 3:28
  It's cute as well.
• 3:29
  We like cute.
• 3:30
  It sits in the corner of your website, it's there as a browser extension and it helps you price compare not only between shops, but also sort of over time, so you don't get tricked by fake specials either.
• 3:43
  And then if there is something cheaper, it'll help you out by just automatically loading that into a trolley in the other competitor who's got it cheaper.
• 3:52
  So it takes away all your.
• 3:53
  Your mental admin.
• 3:54
  So, yeah, grocer and price policy.
• 3:56
  Okay, so we covered power, we've covered food, fuel.
• 3:59
  I presume gas is the one, right?
• 4:01
  Amazing.
• 4:02
  What about if you want to actually enjoy yourself and not just, you know, make ends meet in those sort of essentials.
• 4:07
  If you want to go out and have a bit of extra recreation.
• 4:10
  Fun in this economy.
• 4:11
  Fun.
• 4:11
  We do fun.
• 4:12
  We can do a little bit of fun, right?
• 4:13
  We can do a little bit of fun.
• 4:14
  So if you're still wanting to have a good date night or catch up with your friends, first table is amazing.
• 4:19
  Now you will be eating at Toddler o'.
• 4:20
  Clock.
• 4:21
  You will be there before 6pm, 5 o', clock, the first table of the night.
• 4:27
  And you often get 50% off your meal so you can go out, support the hospitality sector at a time when they often find it hard to fill those tables.
• 4:35
  I love them.
• 4:36
  Right.
• 4:37
  And you get a bit more of a chill time.
• 4:39
  There's not as many people around and you get 50% off your meal, have a good time.
• 4:42
  And now that it's been around for a little.
• 4:44
  It's a little while now.
• 4:45
  Right.
• 4:46
  Does that mean that it's actually got more restaurants on its books?
• 4:49
  Yeah, well, exactly.
• 4:50
  Restaurants come and go depending on whether they can afford to be doing these discounts.
• 4:53
  Right.
• 4:53
  But you can have a look and can mix it up and it's a really good one.
• 4:57
  All right, you love Trade Me more.
• 4:59
  Trade Me or Marketplace?
• 5:00
  Well, okay, so I love either one.
• 5:03
  I just love the secondhand markets.
• 5:04
  But Trade Me is for if you are wanting to really be sure of who you're dealing with.
• 5:09
  There's a few more, you know, checkings of people Facebook Marketplace is really good for.
• 5:15
  If you are trying to sell something quickly or buy something quickly.
• 5:17
  Things move fast there.
• 5:19
  So if you're in a bit of a rush and you're looking locally, maybe something big, those Facebook Marketplace can be better.
• 5:25
  All right, I've also got LinkedIn learning on my list here.
• 5:28
  So if we're not just trying to cut costs, but we're trying to boost your income, we all know how hard it is to get a pay rise or promotion in this economy.
• 5:35
  Upskilling is really important and having a little course or something can really help.
• 5:41
  They're often expensive.
• 5:42
  LinkedIn learning, if you have a library card, is free and it is industry professionals.
• 5:48
  It's totally legitimate courses, it's really useful, but you can get in there for free just using your library card.
• 5:53
  The best.
• 5:54
  And what is it giving you?
• 5:55
  Just giving you some skills on how to use it properly.
• 5:58
  Yeah.
• 5:58
  So anything you might want.
• 6:00
  I mean, there might be some that do public speaking for people who are thinking about broadcast or literally Excel or coding or AI.
• 6:08
  If you're worried about that coming for your job, upskill and learn how to use it so you can keep the robots at bay.
• 6:13
  Everything and everything.
• 6:14
  Okay, some great advice in there.
• 6:17
  And some of those apps.
• 6:18
  Yeah, I'm quite keen to check out price polls probably in particular.
• 6:20
  Get the name Broccoli on there and have a look.
• 6:22
  Francis Cook, always a pleasure.
• 6:23
  Thank you so much for joining us.
• 6:24
  Thanks for having me.
• 6:26
  This podcast can only give you general information about how things work in most situations.
• 6:31
  It's not individual financial advice.
• 6:33
  If you're after that.
• 6:34
  A financial advisor is always the best bet.