Loose change dilema.

I believe, that somewhere within our body, there is some kind of change magnet.

It seems to collect itself everywhere, especially in couch cushions, in glass jars and in piles on your bedside table. Its amazing how quickly loose change can add up, especially here in Australia where we have $1 and $2 dollar coins.

Now in a perfect world, we would have no need for notes or loose change, however, since we have not progressed to that level yet, here are some ideas of what you can do with your loose change:

Save up for something big: put all your coins into a piggy bank and save up for something special, like a holiday or a designer bag.

Use it for coffee or work lunches: Instead of breaking a note and creating more change for yourself, use your coin collection to pay for your lunch.

Donate it to charity: Your coins may have no value to you, but in the hands of a charity they could change the world.

Pay for train and parking tickets: When i used to travel to uni on the train, i’d take a handful of change and feed it to the myki machine instead of depositing notes. Just note that not all of these ticket machines accept pesky 5c pieces.

Save for your children’s future: Deposit all your change into a bank account to go towards your children’s education or for buying their first car. Make sure this account has high interest because that money will sit there untouched for a long time!

Add to your savings: You never know when the change from your piggy bank will save your bacon! (Pun intended!)

Treat Yourself: swap your coins for notes and take your family out for dinner or indulge in something else that you wouldn’t usually be able to afford.

I wish i had this piggy bank!

Personally, I am putting my loose change towards paying off my student loans, I’d rather it be paid out of loose change than out of my own pocket!

What are some things you do with your loose change?

Focus on the good things in life!

“If we magnified our success as much as we magnify our disappointments we’d all be much happier”

Most of you are probably thinking that this is obvious, why are you even mentioning it?

Its easy to let the bad times get you down, especially when you focus on all the terrible things that you think are happening to you.

Contrary to popular belief, the universe isn’t against you, it’s your mindset who is the culprit.

Sometimes its hard to be optimistic when a string of unfortunate things happens to you, however, when things are looking bad, think about the good things in life, your relationships, things to look forward in the future, your purpose for doing whatever you are doing; find a way to stay optimistic.

The world isn’t as big and bad as it seems when you focus on all the sweet things in life.

Productive Things to do on your day off

I think you can define yourself as a workaholic when on the rare occasion that you don’t have to go to work, all you do is sit down and twiddle your fingers trying to think of something to do.

Now not all of us are highly motivated people who always have something on the go, so here are some things that you can do to get a little motivation and inspiration into your life!

Read an educational book: One way to keep yourself motivated and to open your eyes to different ways of investing or thinking is to open an educational book! My top picks for people just starting out are Rick Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki), Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) and The Richest Man in Babylon (George S. Clason)

Take a look at your budget: My budget is something i manage on a weekly basis, I keep a track of all my finances in a spreadsheet and distribute my funds into my different accounts so that i can look forward to not working in the future. Every now and then i like to assess where my money is going and change the amounts i allocate to that account, or add new accounts to cater for changes in my life. Managing your money right is the key to saving.

Clean up your work space: I find that cluttered desks are unmotivating to work at, and for me, they make me stressed. Organise your work space or create a system that helps combat clutter on the desk.

Organise your filing cabinet: Now that you’ve cleaned your desk, you’ve probably just shoved all the papers that were on your desk into your filing cabinet. This is not productive. Try removing everything that is in your filing cabinet onto the dining table and organise all your files chronologically. Doing this, you will probably find that there is lots of unnecessary stuff in your filing cabinet that you can get rid of and everything will fit in much better afterwards. For best results, file the newest documents at the back of the file.

Watch educational and inspirational videos: Youtube is a fantastic place to waste time, however, it is also a great place to watch inspirational documentaries and look at seminars that are being offered in areas that you are interested in. Instead of watching funny videos, watch something that could change your life.

Saving Tips: don’t speed.

Duh, Its pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people do it anyway. Not only is speeding expensive, you also increase the risk of seriously injuring yourself and other people, not to mention the inconvenience it would cause you not being able to get around independently if you lost your license!

Play it safe and go the speed limit. Learn through the mistakes of others. Keep your hard earned money in your pocket.

Licenses are hard to get and too easy to lose!

Inspirational Wallpaper pt.1

See inspiration every time you look at your computer. Download here

Find something you love.

Have you ever asked yourself ‘Why am I torturing myself?!‘ when you’re at work? Me too.

For me, sometimes motivation to keep on going to my second job starts to run out… usually this happens when:

a) I’ve had a bad day

b) I’m tired

c) customers are just being rude

d) All of the above

To get myself out of this negative mindset, I remind myself why I’m going to work. Sure, you go to work to earn money (duh!) But what is that money going to do for you after its in your bank account? Are you saving up for a house, a holiday, a pair of designer shoes? What drives you to earn as much money as you can so you can afford the things that you want?

Every time I feel discouraged at work, I think of my dream house. I have this image in my head, of a white office lined with shelves to home my Barbie collection. Its lame, however it motivates me to keep going and be grateful that i have the capacity to go out and earn a living.

Find something you love, and make it your goal.

If you focus on it enough now and set up systems of how your going to achieve it, one day it will become a reality!