Ep.082 Adding Up - Spring Cleaning The Budget And Finding Money In this episode of Adding Up the podcast I explore ; 'Spring Cleaning The Budget And Finding Money' It’s finally getting warmer and almost like clock work I’m finding reasons to clear out things we no longer need in the house and as the prices of things are going up, I’m finding reasons to double check and evaluate what do we or don’t we need in our budget. Learn more about the Adding Up Podcast and discover more episodes to listen to https://addingup.com.au My Budget Highlights: My Best Saving - The washing machine is fixed! My B ..read more

Ep.080 Adding Up - What To Do When Unexpected Opportunities Come Your Way This week I've had an unexpected opportunity come up for work. I wasn't sure whether to make the most of it, especially since it is school holidays. In this episode I share the thought process I have gone through and what the potential is for this to be an opportunity to teach my kids financial literacy. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/serena-dot-ryan/message ..read more

Ep.078 Adding Up - Budget Friendly School Holidays. Are they really possible? I’m feeling the pressure as school holidays are coming around again! In this episode of Adding Up the podcast I continue to explore ; 'Budget Friendly School Holidays. Are they really possible?' Learn more about the Adding Up Podcast and discover more episodes to listen to https://addingup.com.au There’s nothing like growing, constantly hungry kids being around for 2 weeks to make the blood pressure and budget rise! I share how I’m planning to cope these school holidays and do my best to have fun too! My Budget Highl ..read more

Beginning Again When It's Easier Not To This is a tough episode, but I'm glad I've done it. When we stop doing something, time can suddenly slip by and if enough time goes by, we can stop doing it altogether. This was my track record with dieting and budgeting and now podcast episodes.  8 weeks ago I got sick. It was the sickest I had been in at least 3 years and I had to stop doing virtually everything, including this podcast. I had almost 3 weeks bed rest and now 8 weeks later I finally feel like I have caught up with work and I have had the opportunity to do more, including starting ..read more

Ep.074 Adding Up - Not Blowing The Budget In School Holidays School holidays are upon us. This brings up anxiety for me. Essentially because it's a change in routine and when routines change it's easy to be unprepared and things to blow out in time and money. I’m determined I’m not blowing the budget in school holidays. So how do I make that work? In this episode of Adding Up the podcast I explore; ‘Not blowing the budget in school holidays’ what this means for me and sharing how I’m planning to stay on budget and still have fun with the kids. This particular holidays are a challenge with many ..read more

Adding Up - Is The Perfect Budget Possible Now I’ve always aspired to have the perfect budget. After so many years of financial and budget mistakes I am pondering is the perfect budget possible now? In this episode of Adding Up the podcast I explore; ‘The Perfect Budget.’ Just exactly what this means to me and how I have always seen the perfect budget to be so elusive. 00:45 Is The Perfect Budget Possible Now? 00:54 My 3 Budget Highlights 01:02 My Best Saving - Being sick has its benefits 02:36 My Best Learning - Practise is preparation 06:21 Money Bravery - Calling the bank 07:09 The Perfect ..read more

Ep.070 Adding Up - Making Saving Money On Groceries Possible The struggle and pain is real. As groceries seem to be increasing in price every single week, I’m noticing I’m not the only one feeling it. I’m using all my creative skills to make every dollar count. It’s not helping that my kids seem to be eating me out of house and home! In this episode of Adding Up the podcast I explore; ‘Making Saving Money On Groceries Possible’ even when the kids won’t stop eating. 00:40 My Budget Highlights 00:49 My Best Saving - Raiding the pantry 02:05 My Best Learning - There value in the mundane 03:12 Mon ..read more

Ep.068 Adding Up - What No One Ever Tells You About Savings This is tough and it's personal. There are so many things I wish I knew about savings when I started my journey to get out of debt. I didn't realise the impact my ability to save money would have on my ability to have long term success with debt reduction. My 3 highlights from this week are shared: 03:02 My Best Saving - 7eleven coffee. It’s $1 and still amazing :) 04:25 My Best Learning - The oven was worth the wait 05:24 Money Bravery - Kids didn’t get canteen lunches this week 05:43 Teaching my kids financial literacy. 06:17 The va ..read more

Ep.066 Adding Up - Avoiding Panic Mode With Interest Rates Rising This episode includes: Interest rates have risen for the first time in more than 10 years. I’m doing my best to not go into panic mode. I’m revisiting all my habits I set up when I started my journey to become debt free. I’m reminding myself of what works. It’s okay to not be okay, the key thing is to find and reach out to your support network. Groceries are needed but are all of them needed? What is in the cupboard? Can I make it from scratch? The oven is broken, now what? My 3 highlights from this week are shared: My Best Savi ..read more

Ep.064 Having A Holiday When You Don’t Have The Money To Have One This week I have managed to have a holiday but it has not been without its challenges. School holidays 4 times a year create the opportunity for holidays and quality time with our kids but that doesn't mean it is easy. School holidays can easily blow the budget! In this episode I share the challenges to have a holiday when we simply don't have the money to have one. I share the different kinds of holidays we have had since I've made the active decision to reduce our debt and live under our means.  My 3 highlights from this ..read more