Champagne living on a beer budget.

by lisascottdesign

[followbudgetbabe]

Going through our footage from the trip so far and struggling to find a picture without a vino in my hand 😂 #whenin ... #whereever (at Palma De Mallorca, Spain)

[followbudgetbabe]

A first birthday is probably not the best place to debut my custom silk shirt from Vietnam. Meh, at $20 a piece I could just order another... (at Yokohama)

[followbudgetbabe]

Lamb rack deliciousness 😋 a glass of red would have gone down a treat with this meal but at ¥2700 a pop we were happy to stick with #tea 😂 🍷➿🍵 #weekend #throwback (at Sky Restaurant 634)

[followbudgetbabe]

Special One-day Pass - For Toei Subway only

¥500 - Adult One-day Train Pass

¥ 200 - Child  One-day Train Pass

For ¥500 (6.50NZD) you can ride the Asakusa, Shinjuku, Mita and Oedo Lines as much as you like for one day.  This special pass is usually offered in the weekend following a public holiday (which I swear is like every second week!) 

Here’s a link to a PDF map of the Tokyo Metro Subway.

[followbudgetbabe]

In terms of service, this restaurant takes the cake 😉 After a waitress escorted me to the bathroom, a waiter then raced me back to the table to pull out my chair 😂 This Naenae girl ain't used to that 😅 That gateau chocolat though... 😱😋 (at Sky Restaurant 634)

[followbudgetbabe]

340th floor 😨 (at 東京スカイツリー / Tokyo Skytree)

[followbudgetbabe]

5 tips for increasing your wealth, according to a woman who tripled her income

A woman who tripled her income just months after struggling to pay her bills says the secret to financial success is writing a letter to your money. Jen Sincero - the author of a new book on how to save and make more cash - affords mindfulness and thankfulness as the key to getting rich. “Gratitude is what builds up the emotional reservoir that helps you kick serious ass,” she told Well & Good.

"A woman who tripled her income just months after struggling to pay her bills says the secret to financial success is writing a letter to your money."

An interesting idea.  I actually try to remove any emtional connection I have with my money so when pay-day rolls round and I push most of it towards savings, I don't get upset that I have no money lol

[stfumras]

Money Saving Tips

Hey guys here’s a grown up tip for you, if it’s one thing I learned that no one ever told me it’s that you can negotiate some of your bills. 

 * If you have cable call and see if they’ll offer you discounts, tell them you’re going to cancel and move to another provider.  Almost every time I’ve gotten money off for months/years and then when that expires I get a different one when I again say I’m switching. 

* For your car insurance, ask about discounts, good driver programs, courses you can take to lower it.  The agents (most) aren’t going to tell you right away you have to get it out of them. 

*Cellphones, when your contracts are up you may be able to get better deals when you tell them you are going to switch to a different provider.  Always try and negotiate, it took me a while to get the nerve to do it but now I’m a pro, it can’t hurt you to try

*Money market accounts, if you’re able to save some money each month even it’s a small amount, don’t keep it in a regular checking or savings account, look into money market accounts that have slightly higher interest rates.  Capitol one 360 is good and completely free to set up.

*If you have decent credit, you can get cards with zero interest for 12 to 24 months.  Once you reach that time limit, roll whatever you haven’t paid off onto a different card which offers no interest for a period of time, this will save you thousands. 

I’m lucky enough to have a business savy friend who has taught me some of these things but if it weren’t for him I probably wouldn’t even know half of it.  

If anyone can think of more feel free to add to this list. 

[followbudgetbabe]

#lifehacks #savingmoney #roadtowealth #wealth #money

[followbudgetbabe]

What does $6.50 get you in Japan?

If I had to choose a store that I would miss the most when I leave Japan, 100 Lawson would be a top contender.  100 Lawson is one of many convenience store chains in Japan (alongside 7/11, familymart and 100 Lawsons sister brand, Lawson).  What makes 100 Lawson different is that (all most) everything is ¥100 (ex GST) hence the name "100" Lawson.  So being the cheapest of all the convenience store chains, ofcourse, it's my go-to.

My local 100 Lawson store just a 5min walk from my workplace.

Unlike convenience stores in New Zealand (aka dairies) Japanese convenience stores are owned by massive corps so prices are very reasonable and fresh produce, hot food and the like are topped up/ replaced daily.  So if you time it right, (usually in the mornings before work or very late at night) you can pick up some sweet deals.

So, what does $6.50NZD get you from a 100 Lawson store in Japan?

A lot.

¥108 - Oat krunch cookies (4 packs x 3 cookies) for my midmorning coffee.

¥108 - 8 pack of eggs (I usually eat 1 egg with bread or rice for breakfast and sometimes dinner).

¥108 - Brown/white rice pack (I usually split as a side dish for 2-3 meals).

¥58 - Goboumaki (ごぼう巻 greater burdock root veg wrapped in surimi) which I split over 2 meals, are perfect in hot soups.

¥58 - Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し, literally "tea cup steam" or "steamed in a tea bowl") is an egg custard dish with veg and shrimp. 

¥108 - Sping oning and garlic seasoning for soups, omletes, rice, meats, you name it.

What groceries can you buy for $6.50?

[followbudgetbabe]

Take me back to the heat and 50 cent beers! #tbt (at Hanoi, Vietnam)

[laffgaff]

I just farted in my wallet.

Now I have gas money.

[followbudgetbabe]

Gold hahaha

[thefuturereynolds]

I have a mortgage payoff visual so you know it just got real.

We agreed that we would put in new floors (check!) and a fence before we started destroying the mortgage and I am ridiculously pumped. 

Come on 2014.  I’m waiting on you.

[followbudgetbabe]

What a great idea! Having something like this hung in the house I feel would really motivate me 🙆

[followbudgetbabe]

Dismay as homeowners who "don't know what they're doing" waste 10 years of low interest rates.

"As a result, they failed to recognise the small ways they are frittering money that added up to large sums of money during any given year".

[themindmovement]

A very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing.

Warren Buffet (via themindmovement)

[asianstudent]

The more you learn, the more you earn.

Warren Buffet (via asianstudent)

[quoteandinspire]

Someone is sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree long ago.

Warren Buffet (via quoteandinspire)

[businessinsider]

The most surprising ways to master 12 essential life skills

[followbudgetbabe]

#upskill