Aussie Health Insurance

We have made a lot of changes to our spending habits in the last 2 months and stopped wasting money buying 'even more stuff.' As a result we have decided to start paying into health insurance. We have taken out a basic hospital cover with no extras for $105.35 a month. For a long time I said we couldn't afford health insurance, but I was wrong. We could afford it, we just needed to make it a priority.

I have seen the health system from the inside and the outside having worked in health for many years in various roles. We used to have insurance when we were younger but once we hit some financial problems years ago it went by the wayside. In deciding which policy to take out I did a lot of research. I have not gone for one with extras such as massage, gym memberships, etc. I did not get one with dental but that may change. Yesterday hubby broke a tooth and that cost $350! So I will look into the dental side of things later.

This government site is the best private health comparison site and it is free. It has all the information and links to the health funds, policy's, and hospitals.

iselect is a free online service to compare funds. I did my own research before trying the site and came up with one of the funds that iselect also recommended. The customer service staff were really helpful and pleasant when I rang them about a problem with submitting the form online. I would have no hesitation in ringing them if I had any problems and the guy who answered gave me his name and direct line to call him on in the future. Joining the plan via their site also entitled me to a discount card for shops and offers.

There is also the choice magazine site which I have not used myself as it had a fee but it looks good.

Monday, 30 July 2007

A few good links...

What does a frustrated pf blogger do while sitting for 2 days with her leg elevated? Well yesterday I created a personal health blog, Health Nut Wannabe, to keep me motivated to improve my health.

Some other blog posts I have enjoyed reading include:

Get Rich Slowly wrote a great post on Lifestyles of the Rich & Stupid

Cheap as Chips writes about a difficult topic, the lessons learned from his younger brothers death while on a holiday. He gives some excellent advice worth reading.

While looking into credit card transfers I came across this helpful post at The Mint.

If swearing offends you then skip the next few links.
For Budget Beater Food to Avoid see: Steve Don't Eat It! A very funny site.

Ever thought about all that money you spend on tolls? Well this describes a very funny experiment to see if you can save money on tolls. The Turnpike Prank.

It look like I'll be sitting here with my foot up for a bit longer. I suppose it is one way to save money! I can't drive so no petrol costs, I cancelled lunch with my friend so saved $12, I can't stand for more than about 2 minutes to have a shower, and I can't stand to shower Dad, so less hot water costs, I'm eating brown rice and pears so saving heaps on food, tea, coffee milk. I am a dreadful patient so I am trying my best not to drive my family crazy.

At least it is only 2 days to the end of the month and I can start calculating again.

Debt elimination & health side effects.

One of the positive side effects of our debt elimination efforts has been that we have taken out health insurance. Previously I have thought that we can't afford it, but it is very obvious that we could afford it, we just chose to spend our money on other things.

One of the negative health side effects of our debt elimination efforts has been that I stopped buying chicken breast fillets and started buying minced beef. It certainly has saved us money but I wish I had remembered why I stopped eating so much red meat!

Last night I went to bed fine and this morning I woke up with very, very painful gout in my ankle. It really hurts! I haven't had an episode for almost a year. Those of you that have had it know what I mean when I say painful. I am allergic to all the medications and pain relievers so diet is my main treatment.

Anyway, today was supposed to be my first day back at work so I had to cancel.... I can only hop on the other leg so I planned on a day of Internet surfing but my computer decided to die.. or else it is seriously injured! I finally have another to use now.

So I will be returning to eating chicken again, focusing on the weight loss, drinking lots of water, hopping to the loo and reading pf blogs! What a weekend!

The good news is that the numbers look good! Only a few more days and that red bar is going down!

Thursday, 26 July 2007

Saving money on groceries.

Well today was the day I take over the grocery shopping after nearly 4 years of this being my husbands job. I wrote a list and away I went with a budget of $200.

I have just got back from my first shopping expedition to Aldi. It was different. Fast... not friendly... clinical almost..... but a LOT cheaper! So I will be shopping at Aldi in the future and making big savings on groceries.

I filled the trolley to the brim and it cost me only $157. I estimate that the same groceries at Coles would have cost me about $210-$230. Here are a few comparison prices with the Aldi price in bold and the price I usually pay in italics.

Bread 650g loaf .99c 1.47
Powdered Milk: 4.69 8.27
Wheat Bix 1kg 2.49 3.99 6.15 @corner shop!
Cornflakes 5oog 1.99 3.74
Pasta spaghetti 500g .69 1.49
Pasta penne 500g .49 1.49
Chicken drumsticks 1 kg 2.99 3.99

That is just a few examples. The cat food costs have also been solved. I have bought tinned cat food at .69c for 400g. We used to use the pouches which are 100g each. 4 of these a day bought in the boxes of 12 from Coles for $6.85 (or the corner shop more frequently for $8.69!) worked out at .57c each (or .72c each!). So this cost us $15.96 each week in wet food.

Now I will open a tin, divide it into 4 little containers and it will cost us $4.84 a week! So just this small change will save $595.92 each year!!! I find that incredible! And it is just a simple change that anyone can make.

On the home front, hubby and son now have half the retaining wall built. Cost was almost $100 for concrete. Rocks, labour, blood sweat and tears, transport all for free.

I have saved the petrol discount vouchers that come on the shopping dockets and I will use them tomorrow. Again it is something I just have never got around to.

There are savings to be made everywhere if I just take the time and make a little effort to do it.