Money cents Archives - Page 2 of 7

Managing insurance costs

Donna Willan 4 July 2017Latest, Money cents

Household and car insurance, you can’t live without it, but… It is so expensive, there are so many options it can be overwhelming and I often wonder if I’m being taken for a ride. So, as a part of my austerity plan I decided to investigate - starting with my car insurance. About five years ...

Personal finances in a recession

Donna Willan 20 June 2017Latest, Money cents

Two weeks ago, I said I would reflect on how tight my personal finances were becoming, then last week we officially tumbled into a recession. So, I wasn’t imagining it - inflation is hitting hard where it hurts. Simon was also lamenting it on Monday, it’s on all our lips. Right. We are in a recession, we do ...

Raiding the savings

Donna Willan 6 June 2017Latest, Money cents

Seven years of dreaming and finally we are going to do it; we are building a new deck! Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is unnecessary. Yes, it is an indulgence. No, we don’t have the cash in hand. Yet, I am thrilled that the builders start on Monday! What’s going on? I thought I ...

Can we work smarter and earn more?

Donna Willan 23 May 2017Latest, Money cents

Can we work less, still work well and earn enough money? I think about this a lot. I am tired of working long hours and feeling like work dominates everything. I don’t want my children to grow up to replicate this workaholic lifestyle – so I need to change something. But what? How can we work less, ...

Managing petrol increases

Donna Willan 9 May 2017Latest, Money cents

Two weeks ago I mentioned the train running towards us on the tracks; it turns out it is actually hurtling towards us – the petrol increase. It was not whoppingly huge, but it was certainly big enough to have ripple effects beyond the price of petrol. Food prices, public transport, and air travel seem to always ...

We’re the lucky ones

Donna Willan 25 April 2017Latest, Money cents

We are the lucky ones. All of us who read this column and wonder how to invest wisely, we are lucky enough to have money to invest, even if it is only tiny amounts. The majority have nothing to invest. So, today I want to talk about what we could all be doing to ‘give ...

Managing a salary cut

Donna Willan 11 April 2017Latest, Money cents

Help! My take home salary has just been cut by 10% - we have less money! This is not a completely terrible thing. Some of you may recall my dilemma a few columns back where I was pondering whether I should join our company pension scheme or purchase monthly EFTs. Well the discussion became moot ...

Following my mother’s wisdom

Donna Willan 28 March 2017Latest, Money cents

Some readers may recall my column where I reflected on the five money tips my mother taught me. I wanted to go back to that column and check in a bit. Am I following the money tips, and are my children learning them? First, let’s remind ourselves what the money tips were. My mother always ...

International Women’s Day and money

Donna Willan 14 March 2017Latest, Money cents

For 109 years we have been celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March, and I thought it would be fitting to reflect on what it means to be a woman today in terms of our financial choices and financial health. Women’s lives have changed remarkably, thanks to moments like International Women’s Day and amazing women and ...

Reflecting on investments

Donna Willan 28 February 2017Latest, Money cents

So we’ve launched the year, done our annual financial goals and budgets. Now I’m going to dig deeper and look at all my investments with a critical eye to reflect on whether I need to change anything. I have a few investments that take up about 20% of my income; it’s a lot of money ...