Girl With a Mortgage

Don’t you hate it when an online retailer says there will be a x% surcharge on your purchase if you pay by credit card, and then give you NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO PAY WITH CREDIT CARD?!

I mean, sure, if there is an easier way to do it, and I am doing it the harder way – maybe you should charge me.

Virginblue.com.au annoyed me today when they did this to me – oh, wait, but they did give me the opportunity to pay by another method – but I couldn’t, and you couldn’t either, unless you are a member of one of the particular banks they use.

Annoying! I am buying something from you, and then you have the audacity to charge me for PAYING you.

This is on par with tipping in Australia (get lost! I was a waitress, you get PAID) or a weekend surcharge, or that insane surcharge some restaurants have for parties of over 10 people or so (oh I am so SORRY that I brought you more business, shame on me).

But now I get to the biggest annoyance – Virgin Blue – how could you charge me a credit card transaction fee TWICE on the same purchase?!?!! is it two lots of admin that you are doing?! I don’t think so.

I bought two flights in the same transaction, and they charged me the credit card fee twice, and when I checked up on it, I saw on their website that for Australian domestic flights they charge you a credit card charge for EVERY FLIGHT you buy, NOT every transaction.

Booooooooo

But the annoying thing is, when they have the cheapest flights, and the most options, I have to go with them.

Annoying.

First of all, I am not sure who is using travel agents these days. I guess it is older people, people who can’t use the internet, or people who have never travelled before.

If you can use the internet, then use it. Online flights are so much cheaper than a travel agents – there is no comission in there for a start.

Also, travel agents cannot know about the whole world. They just can’t, it would be impossible. So if you think they are going to be experts on where you should go on your World Cup Tour of South Africa, it is almost guaranteed that they will just suggest the places which are main tourist spots anyway. With sites like the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, Virtual Tourist, Nile Guides and Trip Advisor, there is no end of sites where you can get much better, detailed and targetted advice.

Also, their accommodation offerings are going to be very restricted, to places they have on their books, not necessarily the best places, and almost definitely not independent places. For cheap accommodation I recommend hostelworld.com. No, it isn’t all hostels, you can find cheaper hotels and guesthouses on there  – I search all and narrow it by double with ensuite. I have found excellent B&B’s that way, and I am sure a travel agent wold not have found them.

Another thing which is a rip off from travel agents, is travel insurance. Don’t ever buy it from them, buy it online! You can find tonne’s of providers, and search hundreds of reviews. Whereas travel agents have a particular provider they will recommend to you (giving you no choice), AND their commission will be built into it. I have seen travel insurance from a travel agent be triple the price of a good, reputable deal you can find online yourself.

Ok, that was a bit of a rant…

Check this hilarious post from Regretsy on how to make an “expensive looking Twilight Candle”, from a plastic Burger King cup and old Tostito jar!

And if you are tight on cash – Regretsy shows you just how easy it is to sell stuff on Etsy with not much talent (ok, maybe not sell stuff, but post stuff at least!).

Ah, I laughed till I cried.

Imagine if you had ZERO money – I mean absolutely none, and no credit.

What would you eat? Well, of course, you would have a stock of food at home that you could eat through, right? Well, this post is about how that food should get eaten RIGHT NOW, not left to languish at the back of the cupboard.

First of all, this would sound strange to my mother – I used to be that kid who would stare in the pantry and cry “There’s nothing to EAT in here” – as if it wasn’t a pantry, but an art supplies closet or something. There always was something, just nothing I wanted right now – but a great way to save money, and minimise the gross old food in your cupboard, is to go through it and try and eat as much as possible. (This also includes your fridge and freezer).

Last week I spent only $50 on my weekly shop (for two people) – which is EXCELLENT, just in case you were wondering – especially because I don’t even buy my lunches, I eat stuff from home. My trick is, to do an audit of your cupboard first, see how many meals you can make, and then buy only the essential ingredients you would need to complete those meals.

For example, you have a tonne of eggs about to go off, and some frozen pastry – well go and get some cream and have yourself a quiche! Or use up that arborio rice by buying a leek and a chicken breast and make risotto.

You even saw a recipe from this strategy last week – the carrot and lentil soup – delicious!

Yesterday, Sunday, is our traditional grocery day, but instead I spent the day eating only what was left in my cupboard. It sounds punishing, doesn’t it? But actually, I had delicious food all day long;

• Banana and chocolate muffins – a banana on the cusp, some old easter eggs, flour, egg, butter and milk = delicious muffins
• Roast potatoes – potatoes with olive oil and garlic = a snack that goes all day
• Tuna pasta – tins of tomatos, tin of tuna, pasta = simmer the tins of tomato for a long time to get the best flavour
• Hot chocolate – old easter eggs, cup of cream, cup of milk, vanilla essence = as good as Max Brennar!

Oh, and cereal – there’s always cereal at my house.

Having a lot of friends is such a blessing – especially when they are a varied bunch. You get to know people with different jobs, interests, backgrounds – and knowing them widens your own knowledge and makes you yourself a more interesting person.

The problem is – when you have a varied bunch of friends – you often don’t all meet up together -but rather you have to schedule lots of different catch ups for each different group or individual. At least when you have one big bunch of friends you can all meet up together, on one night.

Weekday lunches, after work drinks, dinner clubs, weekend brunches and Saturday nights out  – it can all get very, very expensive, especially when you have a stupid mortgage! So here are my tips to making your social life less of a drain on your budget (without sacrificing those relationships).

1. First of all, try and combine as many of your friends as possible – it won’t always work – sometimes you need some one-on-one time, but where possible you can condense two dinners down to one by connecting your friends. And if they like each other, then you have just made their world a better place too!
2. Entertain at home – you pay so much for your flat or house, don’t leave it shut up while you go out! Invite friends over and entertain them at home. A home made cake and cups of tea/coffee are much cheaper than going out for brunch or drinks, and when you invite them, they will in turn invite you next time. I know a lot of people are scared about entertaining at home, especially in these times of Masterchef, you feel anxious about what you can provide. But these are your friends, remember? If they won’t like it, then maybe you shouldn’t be wasting your time with them anyway!
3. Walking – if you want to catch up with a friend for a chat – go for a walk! Especially when you live somewhere beautiful like Sydney, there are a million harbour walks, beaches, parks – get out amongst it. It is excercise, fresh air, companionship – and free! I spent five hours walking around the city with a friend the other week – from Darlinghurst, through Wollomooloo (how do you spell that?!) and back into the botanical gardens – the only money we spent was on a gelato.

You don’t have to go out and spend a lot of money just to enjoy the companionship of your friends – friendship is free, the rest is garnish.