In an effort to show case some of our fabulous readers here at Savings Guide, we continue in our series of ‘People like me’.
You can learn about other savers, how they go about managing their money, debts and households. Hopefully it can give you some inspiration that there are other people out there going through the same things you are.
So if you wish to take part in this series, simply head over to our reader profile tool and submit your interview answers.
Now, meet Chantelle Parry a decicated mum, hard worker
Tell us about you and your money outlook
My name is Chantelle and I am married with a 3 and 5 year old. I closely monitor the family and business expenses through Quicken Home & Business in order to know exactly where we are financially and to ensure we are getting ahead each year.
We have a mortgage and have been living in our townhouse since before we were married. Our goal is to be able to upgrade to a house in the next few years, without having to borrow too much money.
Tell us about your first job and what it taught you about money
I worked as a dental rover, preparing the dental trays, sterilizing the equipment, mopping floors & tidying the waiting area.
I did this three afternoons a week after high school for a couple of hours and was paid $5 an per hour.
This taught me the value of money; in that I could work out how many hours it would take me at work to earn the money to buy something.
Whats your current job and where do you want to end up?
I stay at home with the kids but work a couple of evenings, totaling 13 hours a week in a call centre.
This helps support the weekly expenses, especially as my husband has recently started his own business and incoming money is far less predictable.
What is your best tip to help others save money?
Always do a weekly meal plan, list the necessary ingredients on your shopping list and don’t deviate from the list, unless there are some good specials on your regular purchase items.
If your husband likes beer, investigate brewing your own – much cheaper. Recently some warnings have gone out about people getting unwell from brewing their own – always remember to follow the instructions.
We also make our own yoghurt (Esiyo brand in a yoghurt maker), costs about $3.80 and makes one kilo.
Do you prefer to spend money or save money? Explain why.
I am a saver and get a kick out of seeing our mortgage reduce and savings go up, although with a young family and lots of expenses the progress is fairly slow.
If all goes well, we will have paid off our townhouse in 3-4 years, thanks to an offset account and recently reduced interest rate (I played all the banks against each other when we came off our fixed rate).
What is your biggest money regret?
We bought a new car 7 years ago and financed most of it, it took a long time to pay off. I will never buy a brand new car again and will never purchase one under finance again.