How to keep cash at your command
Thou shalt not waste, thou shalt not be a cheapskate, and thou shalt not kill – unless it’s your credit card bill.
priority, and for work to be undertaken on the possibility of interest rate caps.
A draft Cabinet paper is expected in the second half of next year. The issue of interest rate caps has attracted the most interest, partly because conceptually, it may constrain lending.
‘‘It’s going to be complicated, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at it,’’ Faafoi said
‘‘I understand that people need to take loans at times and that credit is needed, but on top of that, there’s a part of the industry that I still think is flouting some of the 2014 changes.
‘‘There are some payday lenders who are offering loans in the hundreds of per cent [a year]. I find that hard to stomach.’’ AS I reached the summit of Mt Eden, pleased with the efficiency of a free activity that also involved healthy exercise, a great storm descended. Bolts of lightning rent the air, and the voice of a trumpet rang out with what sounded like the refrain from Macklemore’s ‘‘Thrift Shop’’. When the clouds parted, a ray of sunshine lit upon two tablets of stone (a lovely laminate job – much cheaper than real granite).
Inscribed upon the tablets, in a no-nonsense sans-serif font, were the 10 Commandments of Frugality:
1. THOU SHALT NOT WORSHIP FALSE IDOLS
Consumerism has spawned a host of false idols that promise to fulfil our deepest desires, only to leave us hollow. Millions of acolytes bathe in the blue light of the TV each night. People queue around the block to lay their hands upon Apple’s forbidden fruit. Luxury brands and corporations are elevated to the stature of deities. It is not too late to repent! Turn from and renounce your idols...
2. THOU SHALT PUT THY MONEY TO WORK
The parable of the talents: A man entrusted his finances to three servants while he went on a long journey. Upon his return, he found the first and second servants had invested the money and doubled its value, for which they were richly rewarded. The third servant had buried his share in the dirt. The furious master cast him into the outer darkness, where there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth – the same fate that awaits those who reach retirement age without having taken on enough investing risk.
3. THOU SHALT REMEMBER WORKLIFE BALANCE
Six days you shall labour, but the seventh is for rest. Observant Jews turn off their smartphones when they leave the office on Friday; unplugging for a day of study, shared meals and community that Gentiles could surely benefit from, too.
4. THOU SHALT DO IT THYSELF
‘‘God helps those who help themselves’’ isn’t actually scripture, but it was a favourite saying of Ben Franklin, a renowned frugality advocate and jack of all trades. Spare time can effectively be converted into cash by doing tasks you would have outsourced, with the added bonus of building new skills.
5. THOU SHALT NOT KILL, EXCEPT THY CREDIT CARD BILL
If you have any personal debts, your first priority should be to smite them verily, for the borrower always becomes the lender’s slave.
6. THOU SHALT RESIST TEMPTATION
If the siren song of advertisers are luring you onto the rocks, willpower may not be enough. Instead, follow the lead of Odysseus and lash yourself to the mast: up your KiwiSaver contribution rate, set an automatic payment to a savings account on payday, or increase mortgage repayments, and you’ll have no choice but to live on whatever’s left.
7. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
Saving money at the expense of someone else crosses the line from frugality to being a cheapskate, and there’s a special place in hell reserved for those who always forget their wallets on a night out.
8. THOU SHALT NOT WASTE
Wasting money is a cardinal sin for holders of the frugal faith, but so is wasting time, electricity, food etc. Not everyone could feed 4000 people with a few crusts of bread and fish, but we can convert expiring fruit and veggies into smoothies and soups, or check household appliances for efficiency.
9. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR’S PROPERTY
Keeping up with the Joneses is a fool’s game. Trying to compete leads to a treadmill of escalating desires, and chances are the fancy house, sportscar and designer clothes are a facade propped up by debt anyway.
10. THOU SHALT HAVE OTHER GODS BEYOND MONEY
Money is a means to an end, not something to be worshiped in and of itself. Used wisely, it can buy freedom, time with loved ones, pursuing passions, or helping others. It’s these sort of activities that give life a sense of purpose and meaning – unlike accumulating an ever-longer string of zeros in a bank account. Got a burning money question? Email Budget Buster at richard.meadows@thedeepdish.org, or hit him up on Facebook.