Emily Chantiri - Every Day Is Mothers Day: A Guide to Saving Some Cash and Rewarding Yourself

Contents

First published 2008 by

John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall Street, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

Emily Chantiri 2008

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Author: Chantiri, Emily.

Title: Every day is mothers day : find time, save money and reward yourself - without the guilt / author, Emily Chantiri.

Publisher: Richmond, Vic. : John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

ISBN: 9780731407576 (pbk.)

Subjects: WomenTime management

WomenAustraliaFinance, Personal.

WomenLife skills guides

Self-management (Psychology)

Dewey Number: 646.70082

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Production Works

Author photograph Keith Friendship/Monte Luke Studio

Cover image iStockphoto/Royce DeGrie

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and neither purports nor intends to be advice. Readers should not act on the basis of any matter in this publication without considering (and if appropriate taking) professional advice with due regard to their own particular circumstances. The author and publisher expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a purchaser of this publication or not, in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole or part, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

To Daniel and Marc

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the team at Wiley for giving me the opportunity to write this book and bring it to life. To my family and friends, who supported me and shared my journey, and to all the mums who shared their stories, I thank you all.

Zen teaching tells us not to worry about the branches, but go straight to the root, because taking care of the roots takes care not only of the branches but also of the leaves, the flowers and the fruit.

Introduction

A mothers role today is a far cry from the traditional homemaking one of the 1950s and the decades before. These days, many mums juggle a career and a home life. Most take care of household bills, chauffeur their children from place to place and do the housework the list is endless. Yet while we manage to do it all, we do very little for ourselves.

It doesnt matter if she is working or unemployed, or single or partnered, ask any mother what she wants more of, and she will answer, Time and money to enjoy some of lifes pleasures. Remember, while our circumstances differ, we all need to reward ourselves now and then.

We all want the best for our children; as parents, we want to make sure they receive the best education and opportunities life can afford them. Its so easy to fall into the pattern of putting our children first, but by doing so we forget about ourselves. Before this book was even an idea, I often had discussions with my female colleagues on this very topic. Some were good at taking time out for themselves while others were not so good at it.

Although we love our children dearly, at times it seems its childrens day every day. So I wrote Every Day is Mothers Day to help you regain some time and money that you can use to reward yourself without feeling guilty. Its now time to move yourself up on your list of priorities to ensure you make the most of your life. Remember that you dont have to give yourself a monetary reward. For a lot of mums, finding some me time is reward enough. This could be something as simple as watching TV, soaking in a hot tub or taking time on a Sunday morning to sleep in and read the Sunday papers.

The first step in regaining some me time is to take a look at the areas in your life that you can cut back on in order to find money or time to reward yourself. Every chapter of this book takes you through ways you can cut back whether they be related to your children, your home, your shopping or even your choice of beauty products. Youll find plenty of great tips to save, followed by examples of how you can reward yourself with your new-found savings. If youve neglected this area of your life, it will take a little effort to adjust to putting yourself first. If youre like many mums, youve probably forgotten how to do this I know I had!

Youll find great advice that will help you in almost every area of your life. Some of my tips require only a little effort, but they all provide significant savings, so look out for them. Also watch for the mum to mum boxes scattered throughout these pages. They provide fabulous suggestions on saving from women who juggle motherhood and a career.

Treating yourself is not about waiting for that one day in May each year when you allow yourself to enjoy being pampered by the kids. Embrace your new mindset: from now on every day is Mothers Day.

After all, a happy mum leads to a happier family life.

Chapter 1

The little things really add up

What better place to start cutting back than with the little things? We tend to take for granted the buying of everyday items. The danger lies in their prices being so low. When youre spending $2.00 here and $1.50 there, you tend not to notice. Although small purchases dont cost much on their own, added together, they provide you with a great opportunity to save.

By just buying fewer things, youll be able to treat yourself with your savings. You may want to have a night off to go out to dinner, pay a babysitter so that you can see a movie or even do something simple, such as catching up with your girlfriends over coffee.

At the end of this chapter, youll discover how you can eliminate nonessential spending and how the little things can make for big savings down the track.

Top tip: saving money at the ATM

This tip takes a little bit of forward planning, but its an effortless way to save.

I know its easy to pull up to any ATM and withdraw money, but did you know that you can be charged as much as $2 for using an ATM that isnt owned by your bank? The simple solution is to stick to your banks ATMs. However, bear in mind that even if you use only those ATMs, once you reach your free-transaction limit for the month, you will probably have to pay up to $1.50 for every transaction after that.

So stick to your own bank and you will save up to $10 a month giving you enough spare cash to share coffee and cake with a friend.

A little planning goes a long way

It sounds tedious, I know, but planning your finances really is essential. To do this well, you need to set a plan that is realistic and stick to the money-saving practices you implement.

We all need tools to help with organising ourselves. A budget planner is a useful tool for keeping your spending under control. There are dozens of planners online why not download one from the internet? The consumer advocate organisation CHOICE has a simple one you can use (at < www.choice.com.au >). If you prefer to write things down, then grab a journal and keep a diary of your outgoings for the month. Either option is a great way to keep track of your money.