How to Find the Extra Money for a Fun-Filled Holiday.

If you have followed a savings program, then your goal is assured. Wouldn’t it be grand if you could add to that money you are saving so faithfully each week? It might make your goal that much nicer too

Yeah, I know. You are already putting away all the extra income you can. Where are you going to get more money on top of that! NOT possible.

Umm. . . I really do not wish to push the point, but there are really dozens of ways you can save money and put it away for that super holiday coming up. It will truly help you to zing and swing then!

You don’t believe me? Just give these a quick glance, and see how many you can utilise with ease.

I am prepared to pay a premium for convenience, or savng me time and trouble. However, that does not mean that I do that all the time. Some habits are easy to adopt, and will save you a motsa. With a few money-savng tips the additional spending money for your holiday will roll in.

I will NOT be coming up with how to utilise egg-shells or how to save a penny here and another there. . . . I am talking about real money.

Unclaimed money search in Australia

Unclaimed in USA

Unclaimed Asset Register in UK

Unclaimed Assets in Canada

In most western countries there is a register of Unclaimed Moneys. Just search on a combination of the words "Unclaimed - Assets -Money/s - Register" or something on the same lines.

You find it difficult to believe that some people will ‘forget’ to pick up what is theirs? Think again.

A spare time job, which you had years back. Did you remember to pick up the relevant superannuation [as in Australia] or other similar benefits?

An old bank account with perhaps not a huge amount of money which you had forgotten about.

A check due you which you had intended chasing and which eventually faded from your memory.

These and other scenarios are just a few examples of the way money ends up sitting there unclaimed.

It will cost you nothing to do a check on your name [or names] and who knows, you might end up with a few hundred dollars . What a lovely bonus to put aside for that holiday.

I know. I found a check for $227, but you could score a lot more.

Lets just say. ............................$200

Time was when Brand loyalty was everything to the buyer and the company would reward its client base to keep them happy. That has evaporated as readily as the morning dew.

These days a new client is enticed in with a cheaper premium for 1 or 2 years, then slugged to the hilt. Check them out Car Insurance search.

They know that most of us are too busy with work and responding to facebook messages to worry about our bills. We just pay it and forget it.

Every few years, you need to rethink your insurances, car, house, contents, health etc. .

You think they are confusing? Not so much if you do it this way.

Tackle one at a time. Take out the last Invoice you had on [say] the last car insurance. Read the paragraph that gives you a summary of what you are insured for. Find a site that compares like with like eg: Canstar that give you new quotes for the same kind of insurance. These sites handle all types of insurances but you are only interested in car insurance at this point. Apples with apples, sort of argument.

Pick the top three, fill in the form with your number and they will be contacting you. When they do, make notes and do not make a decision until you have listened to the three of them.

When the first one calls he/she will point out some advantages of insuring with them. Use that information to question the second one about that point, and the same for the third.

By this time, you may well have realized that there are features that you were paying for that you do not really need.

It may take a few hours of working on this, but that will mean that for the next 2-3 years you will be saving anything from $100 to $400 each year.

Yippee!! This year’s stash will go to the holiday fund! What about next year’s savings? What will you put that towards?

Repeat the exercise for any other insurances you have.

It is best to handle this kind of inquiry say 2-4 months before the insurance is due. You are more likely to be offered a good deal. At that point Insurers are eager to 'gather you in their fold' as you are just ripe for the picking. So they give you the best deal they can. What they do not realize is, that you are wise to their games, and you will be doing the same to them in 2-3 years time unless they are again prepared to offer you a good enough deal for you to stay with them!

Car Insurance . . . . . .$150 - $250

House & Contents Insurance . . . .$200 - $300

Health Insurance . . . . .$100 - 250 .

So in total you will save between $450 & $750

Can you really convince yourself that this is not worth an hour or two of your time every 2-3 years?

A conservative estimate of what you can save on the above is . . . . . $600.

You paid for Foxtel [or Cable TV in your area] aeons ago. It was exciting then having so much to choose from. In no time at all you got to watching just a couple of shows, and did not have the time for the rest.

You’d probably forgotten how much you are paying for channels you are not watching.

In any case there are a gazillion, cheaper, TV and film streaming services and other non-link choices out there now, the quality and assortment of which will just continue developing in the years to come

That is yet another 20-40 dollars a month you can put away.

Let’s take $30 x 12 = for each year you save = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$360

Convenient and fuss free. No trips to the bank to get cash, no running out at awkward moments. Press a few buttons and voila! You’re out of there with your goodies and no real sense of having given the store anything much.

If you are already using cards in the way the bank would rather you didn’t, then this is not for you.

If you utilize banking or money management apps to keep track, and if you pay your cards off before the end of the periodic interest charges, then carry on enjoying the convenience.

But if you end up with big bills that are out of proportion to what you can afford, then maybe it is time to take a step backward.

Leave your card at home for the next few weeks. Withdraw what you think is your weekly ‘allowance’ and pay cash for everything. OMG! What an eye opener that can be. Money just flows out of your pockets, it positively evaporates!

If this seems way too inconvenient, go through a few statements from the bank and add up the interest you have been paying! Gulp! Is it any wonder you could never seem to pay it all?

How much you save on this all depends on how much Credit Card Debt you tend to carry from month to month. It can escalate very quickly. But we shall stick to a conservative amount.

You can save hundreds of dollars a year, but at least ..........................................$100

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There is a wealth of things to buy at some thrift or consignment shops. Give it a try. Maybe you have a horror of hand-me-downs. Ha!Ha!! Life is not so dire any more, and you will see that those who make millions each year, really do not put so much store on shopping for the latest trendy stuff. When they do it is because they get it for free from the designer. For much of the time they were very simple clothes that do not stand out.

Boutiques are expensive. Very expensive. There is such a variety of stuff to buy at thrift shops and most of it is less than one third of the price you’d pay at the other shops. It is not uncommon to find brand new stuff there either. Would you buy a used item from e-bay? Well. . 'nuff said! .

If you feel that these thrift shops are not for you, then learn to buy off-the-rack. The trick is to have an eye for good stuff, whether you buy new or pre-loved, store or other shops.

It is a trick that will have you going after the best bargains, and making a game of it. It will also keep a lot of money in your pocket that used to flow to the trendy shop-keeper. At a guess,

You could easily save $300 a year, maybe much more. The important point here is, that you put all or some of the amount saved to your holiday savings!

We will say just ..............$200

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There are often discounts available, but you have to find out what they are!! Most companies have them, but they do not advertise them all extensively. Ask, or use a search engine.

If you’re shopping online, just check for any discounts that could apply.

The bigger the purchase, the bigger the discount. Some discounts are pretty large, eg: student supplies can be 20% to 50%.

You can easily save $50 - $100. Let us just take a mere..................................$50

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How many times have you grabbed a cappuccino as you fly in to work?

You meet a friend on the street. Rather than having a chat there, you motion the café to your right and you automatically say ‘Coffee?’

Just the two coffees will cost you at least $8 and the price is rising all the time.

Nothing wrong with sharing a coffee with an old friend of course. But when you buy one or two coffees a day, well. . .work it out. That is $30-$40 a week.

A mere 30 dollars a week, will set you back - for each year - around . . . . . . . . $1,500

Do you stop at the milkbar next to where you work in the mornings, and grab a coffee and some lunch? Have you ever stopped working out how much it costs you each week, each month, each year?

I know it sounds so thoroughly boring to be thinking of making lunches, but hey, with a little bit of organization, it will cost you half as much and will save you the time you have to queue up to buy your lunch. If you prepare it all in the evening, then wrap any sandwiches in baking paper with some foil all around it, it will be as fresh as the one you get from the milk bar, but will cost much much less.

If you do decide to do this, do not forget to put the money you save in your holiday piggy bank. That will be your reward for taking the sensible route now. With lots of cash on your holiday you will be able to live it up.

Let’s just calculate savings on just four lunches a week .That leaves you with 50 lunches that you buy for when you just did not have the time, or did not have fresh stuff to make lunches with. There are also two weeks holiday time when you won't need lunches. We will also calculate a base minimum for lunch. If you pay more, it means that your savings will also rise!

We will add up a mere $5 x 4 p/week = $20 x 50 weeks = ..$1,000

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Anybody can learn to do the basics, and what you don’t know you can check out on YouTube.

For example, recently I learnt how to change the keyboard on my laptop. This saved me at least $50, and the time of taking it to the shop for repairs and picking it up again. The new keyboard came in the mail in 2 days and I had it changed within half an hour.

I would not suggest that you do complex works on your car or your house. However, most people can learn to check the pressure on the tires, thereby maintaining them for much longer wear.

You can learn to ensure that there is adequate water and oil in your car, and save yourself huge expenses in catastrophic results o not doing it. You do not need to take it to the mechanic for that kind of thing. If you live where I do, a regular check on these items would set you back $180 or so, every few months. If you check the basics regularly yourself and take the car for a checkup once a year, you have saved yourself the cost of one service.

Just one top up a year, will easily save you $150 We will count just .....................$130

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I have touched up on a few ways to ‘make money’. Your job consumes most of your time. These will only need a little bit more for you to have money to play with.

Adding up the minimum of each of the suggestions above will give you enough for a truly zingy holiday. Have a guess as to how much you can bank on saving? I am going to whisper it to you. I wish I could see your face as you read this! You can save a motza this year and then again in a couple of years time! You'll soon be going . . . .Whoopy!!

What you save this year can go to that fab holiday you have been dreaming of. Maybe the next time you go through this exercise again, you could put it towards a new car, or maybe something even bigger? This year [taking the figures above] you can save in excess of $4,000 and that will be your spending money on your holiday.

Once you get used to looking for bargains, you will take it in your stride and no doubt you will find many other ways to add to the above.

If you have any ideas on how else to save money, please do share them with us. You can add them in the Comments below for everyone else to read and enjoy and to benefit from..

Happy Holidays.