Ugh, the dreaded “B” word – just ask my husband, it’s not my friend. (I think it has something to do with me not liking being told what to do!)
The reality is, most of us have to live on one so we need to constantly make smart choices about where our money goes.
In saying that, I think it’s really important to spend a little money on yourself every now and then and to make sure that you are still getting a treat, or if something is important to you that makes you feel good about yourself, that you make it a priority in your life, no matter WHAT your budget.
So when Westpac came to me and asked me to have a go of their new money-tracking app, CashNav, I jumped at the chance!
There are lots of banking and finance apps out there that help you save, but this one actually helps you spend! It shows me how much I’m spending on different things, highlighting that maybe I would like to be spending elsewhere ie the things that are important to me, that could be a big purchase or it might mean something small…… like getting my nails done!
For me, this is my one little luxury I can do every few weeks to treat myself, and help make me feel that little bit more “put together” (not only in everyday life, but in my job as a personal stylist too).
I just love the feeling of freshly done nails – I Â feel like they finish off any outfit and that makes me feel good (particularly when I get gel polish and don’t have to worry about it for weeks and weeks).
BUT – getting my nails done every 2 weeks (and then toes every 4 weeks) is NOT always a cheap exercise. You’re looking at anything from $40-$60 for a gel manicure, and then some for the pedicure – added up over the month, that’s about $200!
For some people, that is money better spent somewhere else, but for me, it’s a small luxury that makes me feel good so I want to stick with it.
Enter CashNav. Is there something else I can give up, maybe something I don’t even realise I’m spending money on, that will help fuel my nail addiction? I had a look…
I tracked my spending for a month and realised that take-away lunches were KILLING my budget (even being pregnant)! And we usually have perfectly good food at home too!
Here’s what I found!
From just ONE month of tracking using the Westpac CashNav app, I worked out I spent $180 on takeaway lunches (don’t get my started on dinners!). TWELVE!! That’s three a week! Whoops….
It’s amazing what a little bit of research and enforced accountability can do right? It really made me open my eyes to my spending.
So all I have to do in order to feel better about fitting my nails into my budget, it to make a serious effort to actually EAT what I have at home, and ask myself every time I want to grab lunch out, “what do I REALLY want? Sushi? Or to have my gorgeous nails that will last for ages?”
Here’s what it looks like – it really is easy to use, even for a budget-shy gal like me.
Now I can have nice nails WHILST I track my spending haha
It’s not a “savings’ tool per-say, but it does it REALLY show me where my money is going, and then I can adjust my spending accordingly.
The moral of this little exercise my friends is that you can TOTALLY have little luxuries in your life, even if you think you can’t. It’s really just about prioritising (and tracking) your spending.
It could be that you’re lusting after a gorgeous leather jacket, or just want to have an extra $100 a month to get a massage (which you TOTALLY deserve by the way), but you don’t think you can afford it. Well now I want challenge you to start to thinking about HOW you spend your money and not to feel guilty about wanting the little luxuries in life – cause you deserve them!
WANT TO WIN YOUR OWN LUXE PAMPERING SESSION?
I have a delightful deluxe manicure session to give away to one lucky Auckland reader with the amazing Heather Vette Nail Artist, valued at $50 (she’s my fave, definitely a little bit of luxury that I love!)
To enter the comp, tell me in a comment below, what little luxury you want in your life and what you’re going to look at spending less on to get it? I’d love to know!
Until Next Time, In Love & Style Always,
Competition Terms & Conditions
This is a game of skill. All entries will be judged on their creativity. The manicure giveaway is valued at $50 thanks to Heather Vette and is open to New Zealand residents over 18 years of age. It commences on Monday September 19 2016 and closes on Friday September 30 2016. The winner will be decided on Saturday October 1 2016 and then contacted via the blog & email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours to our email, another winner will be chosen. By entering this competition, entrants accept that Chasing Cait will email the winner with the email provided and publish their name on this blog post and that your email will be added to the Chasing Cait mailing list.
Hi Cait! My little luxury is that I’d love to have proper date nights with my boyfriend – nice dinner, movies, actual events that you buy tickets to… We’re both poor students so doing things like this always seem so unattainable. BUT I’m going to try and cut back on all the coffees I always convince myself I ‘need’ so that we can get out of the house together 🙂
I love getting my eyebrows done every month as it shapes my face. Would also love to be able to afford facials every few months – My favourite!!!
My little luxury is being able to fly home to visit all my family in Wellington every few months. Even though I usually buy them when they’re on special, it’s still a significant cost for us. We definitely go without to make up for it: no dinners out or going to the movies, no takeaways, no expensive haircuts and a strict budget for clothes and shoes. It’s hard sometimes but it’s definitely worth it!
awww that’s so lovely! I know the feeling, my fam are in Brisbane so it’s definitely worth saving for right?
I used to get my nails done regularly but have just recently had to stop cause I couldnt afford it any longer. Starting that up again would be amazing, they always made me feel ‘polished’ (sorry about the pun there!). Would be nice to get a massage once a month too…straighten out the kinks and ease the sore muscles from gym sessions.
it’s the little things that make you feel great right? sometimes its worth the money for how it makes you feel 🙂
I am the same with my nails. I get them done every 3 weeks as a treat to myself as I am always spending money on my partner or my daughter (too many cute things for girls!). I’ve started cooking more at home, with one night off for takeaways so that I can save that little extra every week to put towards my nail appointment.Im pregnant and am hoping I can still afford to get my nails done while on maternity leave so that’s going to be a tougher challenge, I don’t know if I can face cloth nappies 🙂
haha I TOTALLY know what you mean! I got my nails done for the first time with my bubba yesterday, it was so worth it!
My partner and I just switched to Westpac for a home loan and have started using it. We are so lucky to get in the housing market in Auckland but I am dying to re do the kitchen as brown lino isn’t my thing. This has meant no more weekends away and fancy dinners any more. We will be having a staycation and making meals at home!…..weekend away or a a new kitchen tap!
Oh nice work Julia! haha what? you don’t like brown lino?? 😉
Getting my nails done is my thing… I’m already on homemade lunches so I can retain that little luxury!! 😊
go you! And you always have fab nails, those homemade lunches are worth it 😉
My husband was made redundant last week so we’re having to cut back EVERYTHING at the moment. I’m looking at my manicure and thinking it’ll be the last one for who knows how long. The current plan is to radically overhaul the food budget, cancel the paper and gym membership along with no clothes or massages and move the mortgage to interest only for a year. It’s pretty grim but it might mean we can do the occasional coffee out and at least try to keep our house.
oh Niki! I’m sorry to hear that! This app sounds perfect for you then, it can REALLY help you track your spending and see where you can cut down. You guys will be totally fine 🙂
I would love to have a budget for doing little decorating things to my house! I have so many ideas and things I want to do but can’t justify the cost. I think if I was more careful with the money I spent on coffees out and food etc I might be able to do this 🙂
its SO interesting to see how much you spend on the “little things” – it helps if you have a big thing to save for right?
Definetly a hair cut and colour picks me up and is so relaxing.
ooooh and the head massage….. the best bit!
I love getting my hair coloured and cut every five weeks it makes me feel confident and happy as I run around after my two children who are both under five years old and so to keep this up I don’t eat lunch out and cut back on my take out coffees (love my Nespresso machine for my coffee fix) 😀
My husband and I are saving up for our first kid-free trip to Bali next year to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.
We realised that making a double sized evening meal on a Thursday night, meant that we had leftovers for a Friday night when we are often too tired to cook and slip into the habit of expensive takeaways…
If we do go out for dinner on a Saturday night, we have a glass of wine at home before leaving, to avoid the tempting trap of expensive pre-dinner cocktails 🙂
Also, we found that by being diligent with setting up direct debits for bills, we made sure to avoid late fees and always get prompt payment discounts where available 🙂
We just switched to Westpac when buying our first home. We were so lucky to get in the market and have the people around us who made it happen! However I would love to do the kitchen which I know won’t be cheap so no more “weekend get aways” and fancy dinners out for us anymore. We will be taking staycations and lighting candles at our own house!
This is very timely! I have just committed to an impromptu trip to Vegas next month but have nothing saved so am on a budget which cuts out shopping and cuts back on eating out (this is the hardest one, but Vegas will be worth it!)
OMG how fun!! At least you only have to budget for a month haha!
My little luxury is the exactly the same ad yours Cait – a gel manicure every 3 weeks. So worth it for the $50 it costs! If I won I’d gift my prize to my friend Sandra, who works hard every day at a fulltime job AND is a mum, so she deserves a little luxury!
oh that is so lovely of you! I take my hat off to mums who work full time! I’m struggling to get one blog post a week written haha!
Me too! I work part-time with a toddler, and I can’t imagine doing it full-time!
Hi Cait! I would love to be able to get monthly massages, but like you, I definitely would have to look at my food budget. In my short month of tracking, I’ve discovered I spend way more money on food and eating out than I need to!
omg how amazing would a monthly massage be! good on you for tracking your spending and working that out!