finance

Family who save nearly half their income share their money tips.

A super saving family has shared their tips on how they manage to save almost half their income but still afford the occasional splurge.

Jasmine and Aaron Boothley from Adelaide told Sydney Morning Herald they save a whopping $60,000 a year from their combined income of $125,000.

Jasmine said the key to maintaining this level of saving is by sustaining a pattern of spending.

“Our spending hasn’t increased significantly over the past 10 years, while our income has,” Jasmine said.

The couple have two young children, Blair, 5, and Hamish, 2, whose needs are also factored into their budgeting plans by following sales and making use of points programs like Flybuys.

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Source: iStock.
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Jasmine said on her budgeting blog Bargainmums she exchanges her Flybuys points for vouchers for Coles-owned retailer Mix Apparel.

"If you redeem your points for Flybuys dollars you will typically get $10 to spend for every 2000 points, but if you instead redeem your 2000 points for Mix Apparel vouchers, you will get $20 to spend," she wrote.

"Since we need both food and kids clothes, it made sense to me to get double the value by redeeming my points for clothing vouchers rather than food vouchers."

The mother of two said she also lived by the golden rules of waiting for sales before buying new items and never making unnecessary upgrades.

"If something still works fine, I see no point in replacing it," she said.

Budgeting may be a key component in their daily life but Jasmine says the couple has been careful to include the occasional splurge.

"It's all about balance, spending a little to enjoy now while saving to also enjoy the future," she said.

Are you struggling to manage your finances? Watch below for some helpful (and most importantly, practical) tips. (Post continues after video.)

Jasmine also said the couple made sure they did not spend their pay raises - a trap others struggled to avoid.

"We have always been mindful not to spend pay raises and cash windfalls, which is a trap we see so many others fall into. We got into the habit of being savers from the beginning, and now it's just habit," she said.

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The couple attribute their ability to already own two properties to their strict budgeting strategies.

"Each year we set ourselves financial goals, usually a little higher than we could have achieved the year before, and make a game out of trying to hit those goals," she said.

"We break our yearly goal into smaller monthly goals, which makes it easier to see our progress."

Source: iStock.

 

The Boothleys plan on building a new home for their family next year.