Ready to kick off 2023 Rask style? Well, we’ve got quite a list lined up for your today!
Continuing on from the popularity of our saving and investing episodes in 2021 and 2022, we’ve put together 23 ways you can save and invest in 2023.
Give some of them a go and let us know by jumping into the Rask Core community or sending us a message on socials.
Read our lists from 2021 and 2022 for more ideas:
- 21 personal finance saving & investing ideas (for 2021) | Rask Media
- 22 ways to save and invest your money in 2022 | Rask Education
Get a copy of this list and make it your own, by jumping into this document and clicking File → Download As in the document settings.
At Rask our aim is to help you invest your time and money, better. If you’re keen for more, make sure to use the code AFP to get a special discount on our ETF Research Membership, known as Rask Core 🌏. Get an expert investing membership for less than $10 per month!
13 ways to save in 2023
🪴 DIY Herb garden
Try growing your own herbs and salad ingredients, even if it’s only a few pots on the balcony. Much more cost-efficient (and environmentally friendly!) than buying packaged fresh herbs from the supermarket.
👗 Clothes and book swap
Organise a clothes or book swap with friends or family, where you all take some gently loved items that you’re ready to part with, crack out some bubbles and have fun finding new homes for them.
🥗 Create a few meals with similar ingredients
My sister pointed out to me how inefficient my meal prep method was, as I always ended up with half a cabbage here and one chicken thigh there at the end of the week, after cooking different dishes.
Consider how you can cook a few different meals with similar ingredients to minimise food wastage (and costs). She recommends an app called Sorted Sidekick.
🪀 Find a new low-cost hobby
I’m all for spending your money on things that bring you joy, but some hobbies can get a little pricey.
Think about whether there are any hobbies that can reduce the costs of things you already do (e.g. joining a sports group over fitness classes) or don’t cost too much (e.g. park run, local drama group or crocheting).
📺 30 days TV free challenge
During 2022, I set myself multiple 30-day challenges, one being no TV/movies/streaming services for a month. Not only did I save money, but I also realised I often turned to TV out of habit, when I’d rather read a book, learn something new or talk to a friend.
Then try only subscribing to one streaming service a month – sure fire way to save $50 a month (and add some anticipation to watching the latest new releases).
✈️ Points hack the system
Do you use a particular brand or store on a regular basis? Make sure to maximise any rewards systems or discounts they have available.
For example, Everyday Rewards (Woolworths) and Flybuys (Coles) give you specials and points you can use to reduce the costs of your groceries.
🤑 If you haven’t used it for two years, try selling it online
Look around your house right now – chances are you’ve got some items collecting dust. Could you try selling any of these on Gumtree or Marketplace so add a bit more cash in your pocket?
🍕 Hunt for close to expiring food and end of day market deals
Our producer Monique often reminds me that there’s a special section in the supermarket, where you can get some great deals on food that’s inching closer to its expiry date.
Plus, many local cafes, markets and food chains offer end of deals on their perishable food. Keep an eye out for these deals where you live.
🥑 Buy fruit and veggies that are in season
One of the reasons that our grocery bill can spiral out of control (well, apart from inflation) is by purchasing fruit and veggies that are out of season.
By getting to know what’s in season at different points of the year, you can lower your grocery bill and try cooking with different ingredients. Here’s a handy guide to knowing what’s in season in Australia.
⚡️ Crush your bills
In true Kill Bills style, call up all your service providers (gas, electricity, water etc.) and see if you can negotiate a better deal, or pay 6 months in advance for a discount.
🍿 Potluck with friends (e.g. barbeque or Mexican)
Cut the costs of lunches and dinners with friends, by organising a meal where everyone brings one course or beverage option, or chips in for the supplies for a BBQ in the park. Heaps of fun, wonderful memories and plenty of burnt onion to go around.
🛠 Make money from your spare things
Spare room, garage, car park, pool, boat, car, caravan, lawn mower etc? Find a way to rent it out and get some extra money into your savings account.
- Uber Carshare – Rent your car
- Swimply – Rent your pool
- Parkhound – Rent your car spot
- Airbnb – Rent your room
- Gecko – Rent your event equipment
📱 Turn on find my iPhone (or equivalent tracking tool)
Find my iPhone saved my parents $1,000 and 10+ hours of time while on a road trip interstate this year.
After leaving his phone on the car roof prior to driving off and realising 30km away it was nowhere to be found, my mum was able to track my dad’s phone down to the middle of the road in the town they had previously stopped at, thus averting a mini-crisis!
10 ways to invest in 2023
🧾 Crush your debt
Focus on paying down your high-interest debt – this can often be a more sensible financial decision than investing if your debt has a high interest rate.
Take our FREE Getting and Staying Out of Debt Course on Rask Education!
🤖 Invest in your cybersecurity protection
After a year of massive data leaks and hacks, it’s worth spending some time and money protecting your financial and digital assets. Strengthen your passwords, add multi-authentication to your investment accounts, and buy some bug zapping software for your computer. And please, don’t click on any links telling you they’ll make you a millionaire overnight!
🏥 Set up your MyGov account (properly)
According to the ATO, there’s over $13.8 BILLION DOLLARS in lost superannuation accounts, floating around, just waiting for their owner to discover they exist.
My challenge to you: set up your MyGov account properly and hunt down any lost super funds you might have. While you’re there, also have a look if you’ve got any Medicare rebates waiting to be paid out to you (as I discovered for myself this year).
You can also look at the MoneySmart website or the State Revenue Office to find other unclaimed money that might be under your name.
👩💻 Pick one area of money & investing to learn more about in 2023
Between the Australian Finance/Investors/Business Podcasts, we’ve covered everything from emergency funds to ETFs, active investing to business plans over the past five years.
Challenge yourself by selecting one topic that we’ve discussed on the podcast over the years, to take a deep dive into it and become your own expert. Then share what you learn with your friends, family and the Rask Core community!
💰Make sure you’re using a high interest savings account
With interest rates on the rise, make sure you’re getting the most out of your savings account by shopping around for a better interest rate.
Some examples of savings accounts with higher interest rates include uBank, ING Australia, Macquarie, Up Money & BOQ.
While you’re there, set up one automated payment into your savings account to recur on a monthly basis.
🧮 Sort out your tax return and get that refund
Have you got a tax refund sitting with your name on it at the ATO, just waiting for you to get your paperwork together and submit your tax return?
Take some time to get everything sorted during the break, your tax refund might just be what you need to kickstart your investing journey!
On the topic of tax, make sure your TFNs are recorded everywhere (bank accounts, brokers, share registries, super funds etc.) so you don’t get hit with withholding tax.
🏁 Review your portfolio (ETF comparison activity)
Take the time to review your portfolio and consider if you need to rebalance your asset allocation. Plus, if you haven’t properly looked into your ETFs yet, we’ve got an ETF comparison activity you can complete, that was part of your ETF mini-series earlier this year.
Listen to the episode of the ETF mini-series here, and be sure to download our ETF Investing Checklist (Google Doc) that we’ve created for you.
🗺 Sort out your investment plan for 2023
Take some time to write down your investment goals and plan for the year. This will help you keep a steady head during volatile market conditions, and give you a map to follow during the year.
Think about how much you’re going to invest each month (take a look at your budget), when you’re going to invest (add a reminder to your calendar or automate it), how you’re going to invest it (what platform) and what you’re going to invest in (what shares/ETFs).
🏡 Take our property course before you buy a home
Thinking about buying a property in 2023? Make sure to do your homework, and take our FREE property course with an expert broker and buyers advocate.
Plus, we’ve even included a free inspection checklist in the course, so you can make sure the owners aren’t hiding massive holes under the carpet!
⌛️ Try investing with small amounts (you can start with $5!)
If you’re brand new to investing – set the goal of investing $500 this year to get comfortable with the process, so you don’t go from 0 to 100 straight away! Tune into our new investor checklist episode on the Finance Podcast, to make sure you’ve covered the basics before jumping in.
Well, that is certainly a list of epic proportions! We can’t wait to hear what you get up to on your money & investing journey in 2023, so jump into the Rask Core community to let us know.
