Eating on the cheap

Many Kiwis are in deep shock over the rapid rise in basic food costs. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald butter has jumped by 80.1% in price in a year, cheese 59.4% and fresh milk 21.5%. The latest news from Statistics New Zealand is that these price rises have made us cut our spending at the checkout.

There are many ways to cut you food spending without damaging your health. the number one tip that comes from the lips of budget advisers and food writers alike is to plan your meals.

The theory that by planning your meals, less of what you buy makes it to the rubbish bin, you go to the supermarket less often and don't make spur-of-the-moment purchases when you pop in to buy one missing ingredient.

However, not all food prices have gone up - some vegetables have actually gone down in price. So, by making subtle changes to your menus, it's possible to keep food costs down.

Also, buying cheaper food isn't necessarily always the only answer. Healthy Food Guide surveyed more than 2000 readers and found that around one-third of fresh fruit and vegetables bought are thrown out.

Tips to help you save at the checkout:

• Carry a list of prices on your PDA. This way you can double check if you think you've seen a bargain.
• Use your freezer. Freeze your leftovers instead of forgetting about them. You can even freeze cubes of wine, lemon juice, tomato pastes, pesto and most ingredients you but any usually waste half of.
• Make one meal into two by eking out the expensive components - such as meat - with more pasta, rice or vegetables.
• Extend your mince by adding cooked red lentils.
• Buy dried beans and chick peas.
• Get creative with salads by using cabbage and carrots, which are cheap instead of fancy lettuce and expensive rocket.

If you find yourself with leftover ingredients then do an online search for ideas on how to use them up.

One rule on the eating cheap is not trying to cook epicurean meals every night. Search for "budget recipes" online and you will be spoilt for choice.

Finish the year better off than when it started

The new year is a time when many of us take stock and set new goals - it's also a great time to think about your financial situation for the coming year.

Everyone can benefit from financial planning. No matter how much money you have or earn, it's about what you do with what you've got. Starting a financial plan early in the year - and sticking to it - will help you finish the year in a stronger position than when you started.

Here are there simple things to getting financially sorted:

1. Write down your short, medium and long-term financial goals. Your goals could range from paying off your credit card debt, putting a set amount of money away each week or saving towards an emergency fund. Longer term, you could be looking at saving for a house deposit - or knocking off the mortgage completely.
2. Make a budget. Ideally, you should spend less than you earn. This means looking at how you might be able to cut costs or find ways to increase your income. Once your budget's written down and you can see where the money is going, it van be easier to manage.
3. Get better at managing your personal cash flow. Think about cash flow as your money coming in (like wages, salary or benefit payments) versus your money going out (bills and other spending). Understanding where your money is going will help you see whether you're sticking to your budget or not and whether you need to make any adjustments.

The Value of Time

To realise the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed

a final exam.

To realise the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth

to a premature baby.

To realise the value of one week: ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise the value of one hour: Ask lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realise the value of one minute: ask the person who has missed the

train, bus or plane.

To realise the value of one millisecond: Ask the person who has won a

silver medal in theOlympics.

Time waits for on-one. Treasure every minute you have.

Free Credit Checks with Veda Advantage

How it works:

Everyone has a right to check their own credit file and unless you need the results posthaste there's no charge for it. Most people think about their credit file only when they are turned down for a loan or their identity has been stolen by a criminal seeking to take out loans in there name. That can mean incorrect information can remain on your file (Veda Advantage says that's relatively rare) or there can be surprises such as a video-store listing a debt for a late DVD you forgot to pay before moving house.

You can check you file for free by filling in a form downloaded from www.mycreditfile.co.nz and faxing or sending it to the firm with photocopies of ID.

You'll receive your credit report by post, exactly as lenders would see it, within ten working days. If that's not fast enough, an express service is available and will cost $23, but your file will be faxed or posted to you within one working day.

There's one further service "My Credit Alert" for those who fear falling victim to such crime. Veda Advantage will send you an email within 24 hours of someone checking you credit file (which can only be done with your permission) advising you who has obtained this information, any personal data that was changed and details of those changes. There is an annual cost for this service, to find out more please visit there website.

www.mycreditfile.co.nz

15 Ways to cut Your Medical Costs

Here’s a list of things that you can do to make life a little easier for yourself and your health care budget:

First things first: lose weight; quit smoking; eat healthily; wear seat belts; exercise. Doing this first step may very well wipe out the necessity for several of the items that follow. After all, the cheapest doctor bill is the one that doesn’t need to be paid.

Join a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and use only the service providers on the network list. Going outside of the network will cost you a larger slice of the bill.

If you’re on Medicare, go only to doctors who accept assignment, which means that they’ll charge no more than what Medicare will pay for a given procedure. You must still pay your deductible and appropriate percentage share of the bill, but you won’t have to pay any excess charges. Most doctors today accept assignment; if yours doesn’t, the local Social Security office should have a list of participating Medicare physicians. Your insurer may also have the information.
In fee-for-service plans, ask your doctors to limit their fees to whatever your insurance will pay. They could very well say yes.

Have your old X-rays sent to your new doctor or dentist; it will cut down on the cost and risk of being x-rayed again.

Use generic drugs unless there’s a good reason not to.

Get advice by telephone from your doctor or nurse; it’s much less costly than an office visit.

If you’re paying a portion of a doctor or hospital bill, be sure to get it itemized. Hospitals have been known to bill for treatments which you didn’t use. Some of their services will be listed in code, but you can get assistance in checking them. Visit the billing office and ask them to decipher anything you don’t understand, and itemize any lump sum charges labeled “pharmacy”, “miscellaneous”, etc. Don’t pay for anything which cannot be accounted for.

Get a copy of your doctor or hospital bill to see the amount that was actually paid. Your insurer may have received a discount. If you owe a percentage of the bill, it should be figured on the discounted amount unless your policy specifically states otherwise. Some insurers overcharge by billing you for a percentage based on the full price.

If there’s a 24-hour emergency clinic in your area, check their prices. They’re usually less expensive than a hospital emergency room.

If you’re in the hospital, tell them that you want to use your own aspirin, sleeping pills, or other routine medications as long as they don’t conflict with your treatment. Hospitals can charge $3 or more for a single pill that you may already have yourself.

Compare drug prices at several pharmacies; you’re likely to find substantial price differences. Also, many HMOs run their own low-cost mail-order pharmacies.

Try store-brand over-the-counter medications. They’re less expensive than their brand-name counterparts and often just as effective.

Check yourself regularly for breast cancer.

Learn how to take care of some illnesses yourself and follow your doctor’s directions to the letter.

How does insurance work?

Insurance is a promise of reimbursement in the case of a loss.Early traders ‘insured’ their goods by distributing them on a number of boats when travelling down a river, that way if one boat sunk, they only lost a small amount.
Similarly, in the ‘old days’ if a building was destroyed, the community often worked together to reconstruct it so the cost was shared amongst many people.Today it is common to insure risks by using an insurance company that assess the likelihood of an event and charge an appropriate premium. Many people pay into an insurance pool, and some would have an event that would pay out of the pool.
The cost of the premium is low compared to the benefit. Although it works like a lotto draw, it is an unwanted event that triggers a payout.According to the Investment Savings and Insurance Association, for the year ending 30 June 2007 insurance companies (who are members of the association)paid New Zealanders $784.5 million in life, trauma and income protection claims. That’s like having a lotto draw of $2.15 million every day of the year.Paying premiums is like buying a ticket.
The risk of an event exists whether or not the risk is insured. For instance, a person could still die a premature death whether or not they are insured.

A large number of events can be insured. This could be:

• Crashing the car
• Requiring surgery
• Being made redundant
• Being too sick to work
• House being destroyed
• Being seriously ill
• Dying
• Having a terminal illness

It is worth considering what events should be insured & those that can be managed in a different way. The table below is a useful tool to consider the strategy for an event depending on the imapct & frequency of the event.

Manage
e.g. small car accident
Insure
e.g. premature dealth
Reduce
e.g. doctor visits
Save
e.g. retirement

To discuss which events require which strategy, please don't hesitate to give the office a call.