As the cost of living continues to be relentlessly high, and the extra expenses of the festive season are taking a chunk out of our budgets, you might be thinking about how to structure your finances for the coming year.
Make 2024 the year that you take charge of your finances. We’ve tapped into the CHOICE hive mind to bring you savings tips from our experts and CHOICE Community consumer crusaders so you can rein in your spending and make your purchases work harder for you.
How to save money on bills
Avoid the loyalty penalty
If you’ve been with a particular provider for a while, shop around for a better deal before you continue doing business with them to avoid paying the ‘loyalty penalty’. It’s also worth asking your current provider what they can do to keep your business. – Dan, CHOICE insurance expert
Do some research before your policy is due to auto-renew. What you’ll get as an existing customer is unlikely to be as good a deal as what you’ll get as a new customer. – Dan, CHOICE insurance expert
Health insurance
Visit doineedhealthinsurance.com.au to find out if you could save money on taxes by buying a policy. If so, also look at paying an excess on your hospital insurance policy – this can save you as much in premiums as the excess would cost. – Uta, CHOICE health insurance expert
What you’ll get as an existing customer is unlikely to be as good a deal as what you’ll get as a new customer
For small claims (less than $1000), consider not claiming through your policy as it can increase your premiums. You could also look at increasing your excess to minimise your premiums.
Our Solar Estimator will give you an idea of the cost of solar for your home and help you get quotes from reliable solar installers. – Chris, CHOICE solar expert
Banking
Don’t pay more in fees than you have to. If you call your credit card company just before the annual fee is due and threaten to cancel the card, they may just waive it. And if you’re paying a lot of interest, switch to a low-interest credit card. – Ashley, CHOICE staff
If you call your credit card company just before the annual fee is due and threaten to cancel the card, they may just waive it
Fuel
Beat the bowser blues by doing your homework on when and where to fill up your car, and check out sites like MotorMouth which tell you which service stations currently have the lowest rates. – David, CHOICE staff
Telco
If you’ve been a rusted-on customer, you may get a better deal by shopping around for a new phone or internet provider. If you’re signing up to a new plan, make sure you check how much data you’ve been using – you may not need as much as you think. And if you’re switching to the NBN, it’s worth checking out some of the smaller providers and seeing if they have a contract-free option to test out their services. Speed matters too – smaller households can often get by on a 50/20 plan. Check out our reviews of the top NBN plans and deals before you sign up. – Alex, CHOICE NBN expert
How to save money around the home
Food and groceries
Buy cheap cuts of meat and cook them in a slow cooker. To make meat go further, serve over rice or pasta, or add canned beans or lentils to stews and casseroles. – Rachel, CHOICE food and nutrition expert
To make meat go further, serve over rice or pasta, or add canned beans or lentils to stews and casseroles
Join a fruit and vegetable co-op and shop in bulk together at your nearest fresh produce market. It will increase your fruit and veg consumption and you’ll get cheaper and longer lasting good-quality food. – Denise, CHOICE staff
Subscribe to the Aldi online newsletter for a heads-up on the Wednesday and Saturday specials. – CHOICE Community member
Check the sneak peek Coles catalogue after 5pm on Mondays to decide whether to shop on Tuesday or Wednesday. Check your local Supa IGA catalogue on Wednesday. – CHOICE Community member
Forget about buying floor cleaner: our lab tests have shown that it’s no more effective than using plain water. – Ashley, CHOICE staff
Sometimes pre-packaged fruit and veg will be cheaper than loose, and sometimes not. Always check the unit price to save money.
Laundry
You only need to use half the recommended dose of washing powder to get a great wash. And don’t bother with fabric softener – it actually makes your towels less absorbent and can reduce the fire retardancy of clothes. Read our guide to fabric softeners to find out more. – Ashley, CHOICE whitegoods expert
Appliances
You can reduce your energy bills by choosing energy-efficient appliances. And if you have solar, use the timer on your appliances to run them during peak power generation while you’re at work. – Ashley, CHOICE whitegoods expert
Price doesn’t always correlate with performance. Our reviews often find cheaper products that outperform models costing twice as much. – Every CHOICE tester, ever.
You only need to use half the recommended dose of washing powder to get a great wash
Buying an appliance that fails to live up to expectations can cost you more in the long run. To avoid ending up with a dud appliance, check out CHOICE’s reviews before you buy:
If you’re a pensioner or hold a Health Care Card or Seniors Card, find out what benefits you can get through your local, state and federal governments or businesses. You may be able to get concessions on transport, motor vehicle registrations, rates, utilities, medications and medical supplies, animal registrations, events and movie tickets. You may also be able to have your credit card fees wiped when paying bills. Don’t hesitate to ask if any business or service offers reductions based on your having one of these cards. – CHOICE Community member
Online shopping
When shopping online, especially for hotels or clothes, search around for a discount code or coupon (e.g. “hotels.com.au discount code”). New promo codes pop up all the time and there’s a bunch of websites that keep track of them. If you’re willing to sacrifice your email address, you can often get 5–10% off by signing up to a newsletter (and once that code lands in your inbox you can always smash the unsubscribe button). – Emily, CHOICE campaigner
If you find a good deal on a comparison booking site, visit the airline or hotel’s website to see if you can get a better rate
Travel
If you find a good deal on a comparison booking site, visit the airline or hotel’s website to see if you can get a better rate. Try to contact them directly and ask if they can beat the price you found online – it’s worth their while, since they lose a percentage of their fee when they receive bookings through a third-party site. For more information, read our article on how to get the best deal on hotel booking sites. – Elisabeth, CHOICE travel expert
Haggle
For big-ticket purchases, consider negotiating to get a better price. For tips on haggling, read our article on how to bargain. – Rebecca, CHOICE staff
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. LinkedIn
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