Within the last 2 months alone I've been to 4 music festivals and have booked a trip to Canada all out of my own pocket, and I constantly get the backhanded compliment of "Lucky you! How did you do it? I thought you were broke." The funny thing is, most of the people who say this to me are people who I know for sure make more money than me. Like, heaps more. And It's not like I'm a spoiled brat - groceries, shelter and love are my sole gifts from my parents, which even still, is lucky for me. All this talk got me thinking, if I'm not earning much, how am I saving so much? That's where my absolute disgustingly tight-arse uni student state of mind comes into play, and boy do I do a good job at it. I'll be going through all consumer aspect of life, including appearance, clothing & furniture, food, having fun, and the most important factor: how to view saving vs spending in a more effective light. I'm not going by a budget here, as I have the exception of living at home, but these are more or less tips to cut down what you're already spending money on.
Ladies and gentleman - here's a look into my cheepskate mind, buckle up.
Appearance
Cut your own hair. I know, I know, it sounds nuts, but it's so underrated. I unbelievably got this idea from Brooklyn Nine-Nine when Gina admitted she cuts her own hair to save money - right after admitting she owns her entire apartment outright. Think about it, salon haircuts can range anywhere from $30-$100, vs a couple hair ties and a pair of scissors for FREE. At first, it can seem cringey. You'll look at yourself and think "god my head looks rough", but with patience and a couple youtube videos on framing and texture and you'll be looking good as new. I'd also recommend colouring your own hair or paying a friend to colour it for you if you're planning to do anything other than blonde. I have a friend whos been dying her hair with $8 box dye for years, and it looks great everytime.
Finding dupes for popular high-end makeup products is also a great way to save cash and not sacrifice appearance. You could be wearing a $60 mascara or a $9 one, but either way no one's going to look directly at you and know whether it's NARS or NYX. Obviously this one is personal choice as makeup is also a hobby and therefore understandable to want to dedicate more coin to. I know for a fact I have a preference for Dermalogica because I personally find skincare important, yet this may not be as big of a concern for someone else. Essence, Elf, and Nyx are great cruelty-free brands to start with!
Also can we finally admit that the cheapest tan in priceline - Le Tan - is the best self-tan. I've been a stan of this brand since grade 10 when every suburban girl wanted to suddenly look like a Love Island castmate. I mean, it's vegan, it's not patchy, it doesn't give you a gross green undertone (*cough cough Bondi Sands is shit*), and it's usually on special for like $8. How good.
Clothes, Furniture, & Other Goods
Second hand is your best friend. We're lucky enough to live in a generation experiencing a "vintage" uprising with a greater appreciation for slow fashion and reusing instead of creating more demand for unnecessary new products (on the downside, this is climate crisis work at its finest).
I'd like to start off this section by adding how amazing Facebook Marketplace is. It's amazing. Sometimes I just go on marketplace when I'm bored because I always find cool stuff, it's becoming an addiction. It's a great place to get literally anything (books, furniture, clothes, rent, plants, cars!), and will target your search to items located nearby you. A lot of people on the site are also fellow uni students and will let you pickup an item on campus.
Gumtree is a close second for buying practically anything. I got my car from gumtree and it's a beauty!
Depop, Carousell and Shedd are useful platforms for finding clothes at a 'please-buy-i-am-desperate' price. You can also cross-compare different items on different sites (e.g. I found a festival outfit I wanted on Depop, but found the same outfit for cheaper on Carousell).
Books are one of the easiest items to bargain hunt. A lot of inner city suburbs will have at least 1 or 2 generous houses with a 'book fridge' initiative set up, where you take a book for free, and can add old books you don't want. Secondhand bookshops such as Bent Books in West End will retail mint condition reads for under $10.
If you don't want to go with the secondhand option, at least know your way around coupons! If you're online shopping, Honey is a lifesaving computer tool that finds every coupon on a retail website and immediately applies the discounts at checkout (but you already knew this, you youtube addict). If you can't find a code for the site you want, just go on youtube and google a brand haul of that store and no doubt the influencer will have a juicy discount code in their video description for you. Afterpay is also a great invention, but can easily be dangerous. Don't afterpay stuff unless you're willing to get bitten in the bum with a direct deposit!
Social & Eating Out
One of the biggest aspects of our life thats plaguing our back pocket is probably the 'living' part. Going out, spending time with friends, getting out of the house - it all adds up fast. One step out of the front door and you've probably lost $50. Although this is the most expensive part, it's not worth giving up valuable time with others and denying yourself of new experiences. Take alternatives instead of cutting out your social life altogether.
If you're in uni like me, clubs can be a great way to start. Joining social sports or sports clubs is a great way to not only make friends, but also get the same access to your hobby without paying a gazillion dollars. Instead of doing yoga classes at gym for around $15 a week, I joined my uni's official yoga club, can do it 3 times a week, and pay $10 for the whole year. You know how much money that is going to save me this year? Around a whopping $770. Most uni clubs are open to the public as well, so you can go to your closest campus. A lot of clubs, especially faculty clubs, will have sponsors on campus or around the area where you can score pretty good discounts from food to stationary to even events!
Company is more important than the activity, so why not just do something free in Brisbane? Go to the beach, take a bike ride along Southbank and piss off all the tourists, climb a fucking mountain. Even ditching the fancy restaurant for a pasta night at home can be so rewarding, and it will also teach you which friend is the best cook and which friend would get annihilated by Gordon Ramsay. The best things in life are free, are they not? (would you believe that this quote came from Coco Chanel out of all people).
Food is fuel. If you're not buying food because you're 1. hungry or 2. intentionally eating with others, don't buy food! I've never understood my friends that will whinge to my face about how broke they are - and yet continuously throw money away on bubble tea, zinger boxes and iced coffee without the blink of an eye. Listen to your mum for once, theres food at home. In true vegan fashion, I'll add that nutrients should come before taste. If you're spending $7 on a bag of chips and a mountain dew you're only benefitting your tastebuds and not your body or bank account. Impulse food should be saved for the weeks when you have coin.
If you live out of home or cook for yourself, start meal prepping. I'll save not only time but so. much. bank. Also if you're eating the same consistent meal for most of your week, you don't have to fork out for an array of different foods.
Onto the most exciting part - alcohol. Alcohol is a hard one because what's the point of drinking it if you want to be frugal? No one gets pissed on 2 drinks, and if you do then congratulations, I hate you. Obviously if you know your way around the valley you'll know that most if not all clubs have a designated night of the week that alcohol is cheaper. If you're going to the valley, start off with the cheaper clubs for the second pre-drinks of the night (after the ones you had at home). The Vic does $3 basics usually from Thursday-Sunday, and the RE does $3 basics on Wednesdays to mention a few. I want to emphasise what I said earlier about it being impossible to get drunk without buying a handful of drinks, so instead of not buying any drinks, just be a bit more hardcore with your body prior to alcohol consumption. Anyone who has an RSA will resent this, but eating IS cheating. Non-alcoholic drinks? Never heard of her. Nobody who gets drunk treats their body like a complete temple because otherwise they'd be at home drinking green tea and playing sudoku. Drinking is a sport, and you're the athlete. Prepare that body well, by giving it absolutely nothing. Don't be a pussy.
If you choose to die at a houseparty instead of a club, take your own water bottle for when things start going lopsided. The last thing you want is to break a glass trying to use the hosts fancy water-dispensing fridge, or to stick your head under a tap while your mate holds your hair and everyone now sees the flailing mess of your eyeshadow running down your cheek.
Mindset
I could write 20 pages on money mindset (is this why people give Capricorns so much shit???), so I'll probably write another article to be more precise, but this seems to be a good starting point to build from.
Keep the frugal mindset, even when you have money. Tell yourself you're broke, but feel wealthy within your quality of living. This can be confusing to grasp, let alone balance, but is truly life-changing when applied. I'd recommend reading up on the law of attraction, and aligning your motivation with these manifestations.
Creating a simple budget template on excel where you can keep track of your weekly or fortnightly expenses and savings goals is a great way to visually map out your finances and keep you accountable, rather than just having the money go in and out of the bank account with no recollection. I literally use the budget that I got given in like grade 11 maths, and like I thought I'd never use that shit again. Always put money in that savings account, even if you don't know what you want to save for yet! Your future self will thank you for it - I know I sure thanked myself when I put all but $40 into a compound interest savings account every week for my 3 years of highschool, and ended up with $8k to put towards my first car. Try to pay for everything in full to prevent debt build-up. This is where habitually putting money in the savings account comes in handy. Phone? Prepaid. Car? All mine.
Consider time as part of the equation. The present vs the future - what will you appreciate more over time, and what will depreciate for you over time? Consider bigger goals over small indulgences. What matters more to you? A new car that you'll use for years and will take you to so many places, or eating out all the time and being left with, I don't know, maybe a favourite item on a menu???
Don't let consumerism fuck you over for an unnecessary tech upgrade or an overpriced pair of pants that will be out of trend in 2 months. You're not even going to remember the heels you bought in 10 years, let alone now when you wear them to the club. I sound like the equivalent of a Trump supporter right now - a grumpy old boomer who gets mad over shitty things that I also coincidentally do but get mad because someone who's not me is doing it.
Just don't abandon your perspective I guess. Life's short, and money doesn't grow on trees. Sometimes less is more.
