By Amanda Morrall
1) Rich man, poor man
If money was irrelevant how would it affect your consumer choices and spending patterns?
Would you still be inclined to shop for items on sale or discounted or refrain from unnecessary purchases, or would you ignore the price tag all together and just go for the shiniest, prettiest, easiest or best marketed item regardless of how full your cupboard, closet or garage?
Mr. Money Moustache lays out a defence for frugality even in the face of "wealth" after a few "rich" readers suggest saving is for the penurious.
2) Savings myth
Every so often the debate about whether New Zealanders are a nation of hopeless savers rears it head.
Catherine Harris, writing for Business Day, reports on the latest study which challenges the conventional wisdom. It's an interesting issue but the more pressing one for individuals is whether their own personal savings are sufficient to see them through old age and that's independent of the Government pension (New Zealand Superannuation) whose long-term sustainability remains far from certain.
3) Five ways to save
There's obviously more than five ways to save but here's a few basics for those who needing a reminder via www.darwinmoney.com
4) Budgeting basics
Budgeting is pretty straight forward. Budgeting is pretty straight forward. It's sticking to the budget but also planning for one off's, challenging situations such as receiving irregular income or other significant life changes (i.e. separation and or divorce, career changes), and also tracking your budget over time. Here's Forbes Money builder with a reminder about why budgeting is the cornerstone of your wealth creation platform.
5) Payment in peanuts
Even monkeys have an innate sense of fairness. Monevator, who put me onto this great TED talk below by Frans de Waal about the moral behaviour of animals, suggests we should broaden the scope of these experiments to include bankers at bonus time in the City. Brilliant idea and fabulous video content. At least one good belly laugh.
Like what you've read? You'll enjoy the book better. Here's how to order a copy of Amanda's book Money Matters: Get your Life and $ Sorted. The book is also available in ebook format as well via Amazon and is replete with hyper links to help you get your finances in order.
You can also follow Amanda on Twitter @amandamorrall; check out her previous Take Fives here; Find out what she's up on on her own blog here.
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