Would you struggle to save if your earned $190,000 a year?

Hi Candice again, I was recently trolling through articles in the financial section on news.com.au and an article caught my attention.   ‘Saving is not something I’m good at’: Meet the guy who spends $1500 a week at restaurants.  

Steve Molloy is a successful business owner, is married with a young child and spends money “like it’s going out of fashion” because he prefers to live his life rather than save for the future.

I get this.  I go between struggling to pay our bills to "life is too short, buy the shoes!".  

Many of us would LOVE to have an income of $190,000 a year, we would have the freedom  to save, enjoy the finer things in life AND not have to struggle each and every week.

While reading the article, I began to wonder, if my financial circumstances changed, would my behaviour?  Or am I that used to eating at home and running around turning the lights off after my kids, that I would continue to do it?  

I kept reading...

Mr Molloy said in the article “I’ve got a Netflix account which started out at $8 and is now $17 a month, also a YouTube Red account, Foxtel, Stan, Spotify and all that. What’s worse is they bump up the price, you get an email you don’t read, and suddenly you’re paying a little more than you first signed up for."

We have Netflix, and we had Stan.  I read the email that prices were going up.  We took a vote (actually, my husband and I took a vote, the kids didn't get a say) and Stan was cancelled.  It may have only gone up a little bit, but when you budget down to $2, that little bit is A LOT at the end of the month.    

His brother on the other hand  is a chartered accountant who counts every cent. “He has an Excel spreadsheet with all of his finances and every single month he’ll try to reduce it down,” he said.

“Even if it’s chewing gum, he’ll write down the cost and add it up. He had been at a company 14 years and had annual leave saved up. When he took the annual leave he stayed home and didn’t spend any money, just to maximise [the value]. He’s sort of on one extreme.”

I think I am somewhere between Steve and his brother, I do not spend my annual leave at home, bring on our yearly trip to Noosa, I don't have an excel spreadsheet (I used to) I have DCA Lifestyle Package. 

I don't have to write down when I buy a pack of chewing gum or even work out how much our house is worth, the Package does it for me.  The Financial Planner that comes with the Package helps work out how I can have the finer things in life, while still putting money in the bank for a rainy day.

If I did have an income like Steve, I would still use my Lifestyle Package, I would still chase my kids around the house turning lights off after them and I would still enjoy home cooked meals.  The money would reduce the stress of how to pay the next bill and allow us to have Stan AND Netflix (I can hear my kids rejoicing) but I would still need the advice on how to best manage it.  

If you would like a life somewhere between Steve and his brother, contact us.

Useful links

Lifestyle Package - Services included

Tax Planning - Lifestyle Package

This article is provided as general information only and does not consider your client’s specific situation, objectives or needs. It does not represent accounting advice upon which any person may act. Implementation and suitability requires a detailed analysis of a client's specific circumstances.