Pets cost more than we think

Donna WillanLatest, Money cents

As you know by now, I am always trying to work out why my monthly spend is more than my budget. This week I looked at another ‘silent spend’ and realized that our pets cost more than we think! How many of us have a line item in our budget for our pets? I certainly ...

Do I need a credit report?

Donna WillanMoney cents

I often hear conversations about personal credit ratings, and a few people have told me that I really should know what mine says, so I went forth to find out more. In truth I did not really know what a credit record was, let alone what mine would say! I assumed it would tell me ...

Using ETFs for kids’ education fund

Donna WillanMoney cents

Regular readers may recall that I had to cash in my children’s university fund earlier this year, which I had with the government’s pilot scheme, Fundisa. I was advised not to go with a traditional university fund that many banks sell, but rather to buy ETFs – see my earlier blog on this. And yes, ...
listing boom

What am I worth?

Donna WillanMoney cents

I have just re-watched the 100 second tip on “My personal balance sheet” (see video below). I was curious, and slightly nervous, to see what I am actually worth and whether I am ‘poor’ or ‘rich’. We tend to measure this by how much cash we have by mid-month, or how much debt we have on ...

How indebted am I?

Donna WillanMoney cents

How indebted am I, why do we have debt and what should I do about it? I have just re-watched the 100 Second Tip on ‘Good Debt, Bad Debt’ (watch the video below), where the JustOneLap team make a clear distinction, reminding us that a home loan is cheap debt and therefore not all bad. ...

Wants vs needs

Donna WillanMoney cents

“What do we Want? What do we Need? Do we know the difference?” This was the topic of one of Simon’s ‘100 second tips’ a few months ago and it really hit home for me, so I thought I would re-visit the idea today. How often do I manage to convince myself that my wants ...

Outsourcing to save money

Donna WillanMoney cents

Last week I managed to wrestle my pool back from green to murky blue. But as I wrote in my last column, I had an epiphany – we cannot do it all, I cannot do it all! So once in a while, if you can afford it and if it’s a task that’s not in ...

Reviewing my financial goals

Donna WillanMoney cents

It’s May and we are already a third of the way through the year, time for some reflection on my financial goals – am I on track? First a confession, I didn’t really articulate my goals in January, so let me do so now! First I will try to keep them SMART (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, ...