16 Aug 2024
Living in Australia is fascinating in every way. Be it tourism, education, or any other purpose, Australia has everything to offer you. Thousands of Pakistanis, therefore, live and work in Australia. They send money online to Pakistan from Australia to provide financial aid back home.
One of the challenges that you will have to grapple with while living in Australia is overspending. After all, you are living in Australia, and while you move around in any Australian city, the decorations in the shops alone are enough to compel you to buy things you least need. This blog, therefore, guides you on avoiding overspending as an expatriate.
Being alone in a foreign country like Australia is both fascinating and challenging. One of the biggest challenges you face is managing your finances properly because you have no one around you to keep a check on your financial habits.
It leaves you vulnerable to spend your hard-earned money on things you just do not need. Only after you have spent money and made the purchases do you realize that this particular expense was unnecessary. It also blurs the lines between:
· What you need
· What you want
Moreover, you are most likely to fall victim to impulsive buying, which is a sure recipe for financial disaster. When you are in the middle of impulsive buying, you just spend money without thinking, and when coupled with no financial accountability, the consequences can be grave. However, there are two approaches to counter overspending.
One is the proactive approach that you adopt before setting out for shopping and spending money. It is more effective. The other, however, is the reactive approach that you apply to mitigate the damage. For example, if you choose a service provider that charges you more than it should, to send money to Pakistan online from Australia, you will change the service provider for the next transaction. It is called the reactive approach. Both approaches are addressed below.
Adopting the proactive approach is more effective and saves you from wasting your in the first place. It means that the damage is averted. It consists of the following few steps that can save you from overspending.
You normally hear about setting financial goals. You have already set some or many financial goals. But the question is: are these financial goals – both long-term and short-term – SMART? Therefore, if your goals are not SMART, then work to transform them into Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART) financial goals. This will make achieving them easy and help you avoid overspending.
When you go to do groceries without a list, you end up wasting more money than you spend on purchasing the essentials. Therefore, make sure to create a list of items you need to buy and then go out shopping. Think if an item not on the list just does not exist in the world! Not on your grocery list? Not indeed in your cart!
Another tip to avoid overspending is to create a budget. A budget helps you set limits and boundaries around your income and expenses. It also helps you cut back on expenses where necessary. But more important than creating a budget is to live on it. Remember that when you live on a budget, the alarm bells begin to ring the moment you march towards the boundaries.
Click HERE to learn the best techniques to create a budget. You might think that creating a budget is a technical process. But it is not. Creating a budget is a simple and plain process and does not need a specific set of expertise.
One of the best approaches to avoid overspending is to create an emergency fund and contribute to it regularly. You can open a savings account at any Australian bank for this purpose. But to benefit optimally, make sure to add funds to this account first as soon as you get your salary and then spend from the remainder.
Start recording your expenses and track them. You can do this manually by using record books or some digital tools like digital wallets and other apps designed for this purpose. This will serve as an accountability mechanism and help you keep a check on your income and expenses. But the best way is to keep checking your spending records. You must record every money transfer from Australia to Pakistan and maintain its record properly.
As stated above, the reactive approach is applied after the damage is done. It aims to mitigate the damage caused in the absence of a reactive approach. Although it is a less effective way it still works and helps you avoid overspending.
Research has shown that people who use cash instead of cards tend to spend less. If you use cash, you will spend less. The math is simple. If you do not have cash, you will not spend it. So, try keeping cash with you but a small amount.
You fall to temptations while you go shopping. This is natural. You should understand and accept it. Therefore, avoid temptations and also do not go to the markets and shops that offer you tempting products that you do not need.
After suffering from overspending, you now fully know what is the importance of someone in your life who can hold you accountable for spending money and your financial habits. So, while you are in Australia, try to find a financial accountability buddy to keep an eye on you.
When you feel like buying things that you want but do not need, delay the purchase for a day or two. Then think about the utility of the stuff you were likely to buy and think about the value for money. It will preclude you from buying at the end of the day.
You are in Australia to earn a living and support your family financially back home. Right? Every time you fall victim to overspending, just remind yourself of the reason why you migrated to Australia. It will serve as a barrier between you and overspending.
When you send money to Pakistan from Australia you must choose your service provider with utmost financial care. The process is repetitive and incurs costs each time you initiate a transaction. Additionally, selecting a provider with competitive exchange rates and low fees can significantly impact the amount your recipient receives.
Avoid overspending to ensure the delivery of funds quickly or safely. You can easily find service providers that will charge you low fees and offer live and market-competitive currency exchange rates that will compensate you for the fee you pay. Moreover, you will not be charged extra for the tight security of funds and the transaction. Choosing ACE Money Transfer, however, will offer you these benefits in addition to delivering your funds in just under 7 seconds! Can you imagine a speedier delivery of funds?
Overspending refers to the habit of spending money on things that you just do not need. Living in Australia is pretty fascinating but it comes with strong temptations to spend money on things you should not be buying at all in the first place. Overspending, therefore, is an antithesis to saving money while living abroad.
You can avoid overspending by applying two approaches. One is the proactive approach that includes creating a budget, setting SMART financial goals, shopping according to a list, recording your expenses and adding to an emergency fund. The other is the reactive approach, which includes using cash, avoiding temptations, keeping a check on your spending habits, waiting before buying, and remembering why you migrated.
The first effect of overspending is that it does not allow you to save money. That is a grave financial challenge because you are working in Australia to earn a living and offer financial support back home so that your family can live a financially viable life. Overspending, on the other hand, works against it.
The difference between needs and wants is huge. If you do not understand the difference, then you are likely to fall victim to overspending. Wants are what you can lead your life easily without. Needs are what you cannot live without. For example, a car can be your need, but a luxury car is what you want. Similarly, a house is your need, but a palace can best fulfill your wants.
Remittance transfer service providers play a significant role in helping you avoid overspending. Several service providers will charge you extra for speed, safety, and other features that constitute a remittance transaction. But if you choose ACE Money Transfer, you be charged less and offered live currency exchange rates that will compensate you for the fee and deliver funds in just under 7 seconds!
