Since turning 30 I’ve had an epiphany that I need to start saving more of my monthly income. A looming European holiday has also helped focus the mind (and bank balance).

So I decided to go through my expenses to see if there were any areas where I could tighten up. I decided I wanted to keep my gym membership but that a hedge trimmer could be taken to the following:

Phone

I’ve been incredibly lazy with my phone plan for years, and know that I’ve been paying far and still only have an iPhone 3 (Siri? Who’s Siri?). So finally I decided to make the switch. I’m BYO’ing my own phone (acquired second hand) to a different company and a cheaper phone plan.

Savings: $35 a month

Subscriptions

I’ve been paying for a mainstream newspaper subscription which gives me the papers on the weekend as well as full access online. But when I think about it, I don’t use the subscription to access news online and I’m quite happy to trundle up the street to buy the papers on the weekend.

Savings: $26 a month

Health insurance

I’m an advocate for private health insurance – I think it’s important that those who can afford it pay for it. I reviewed my policy and decided I could probably take off some of the extras I’d put on there, particularly since I quit playing netball to save my poor ankles and knees.

Savings: $20 a month

Reducing charity dollars

This one was a hard decision to make but I consoled myself with the fact that I’d been regularly upping my give to this particular charity since I’d signed up 10 years ago. I’ve reduced my donation a little for the time being but have every intention to increase the amount next time they call for a chat. I’ll also continue to give to one off charity asks throughout the year.

Savings: $80 a month

Bank fees

I’m pretty hopeless at keeping track of bank fees but there is one that I’m determined never to pay again – the $2 fee you cop when you withdraw money from an ATM that isn’t your bank. Now, $2 isn’t much but it adds up and it makes me think more about what other fees I might be paying unnecessarily.

Savings: $40 to $50 a year

I hope these changes will result in a few more euros for my trip. What are your smart money saving tips?