If you followed the NZ Government’s 2008 Budget you may have been as disappointed as I was.  What an anti-climax!  Everyone I’ve spoken to has forgotten any benefits there were already as they have been side-swiped by the horror of petrol prices finally smashing the $2.00 per litre barrier.  How can you distract yourself from this shock?

To save yourself from financial hardship you can vote with your feet, (literally) as you boycott petrol companies by walking everywhere.  Think of the time and finger-nails saved by not having to scrape ice of your windscreen in the morning, and the vitality you’ll feel with the fresh, crisp air filling your lungs as you stride to work.  Think of the joy you’ll have taking the children to school, singing together as you skip through the fog.

We are all aware of the lack of provision the recent Budget has promised us, so you can take heart by considering the savings you can make in other areas by boycotting the petrol companies.

By walking you’ll avoid the depressing news items you hear on the car radio which will no longer distract you from your work.  Instead of sitting at your desk for 8 hours a day totally immersed in your solutions to the world’s problems, you’ll be able to focus 100% on the tasks you’re paid to complete.  The freedom you’ll experience by not carrying the burdens of the world each day will allow you to enjoy your job and your life.

There will be no more queues waiting to pay for your petrol, as you don’t need any.  You will save hundreds of dollars by not buying the coffee, chocolate bars and cheap jandals that often tempt you in the petrol store.  You will no longer lie awake at night perplexed by the transformation your petrol station has undertaken to morph into your corner grocery store.  Finally sleep will come as you are released from these taxing sessions of mental gymnastics in the middle of the night.

You can also distract yourself by focussing fully on saving more money at the supermarket.  You will be limited in your shopping capacity by the size of the basket on your bike, or the size of your shopping trundler.  The small amount of space you now have for groceries pales in comparison to the size of your car bootspace, and you no longer feel like you need to fill that huge cavity.  Thank heavens you’ll have no room for cheese, think of the savings! 

And finally, you can turn your garage into an extra bedroom as you’ve been able to give your car away.  Who would pay to buy a gas guzzler anyway?  That extra bedroom space you have can now be rented out to the neighbour’s kids as a practice room for their heavy metal band.  Oh how you’ll enjoy the sweet sound of music ringing in your ears morning, noon, and night.

Ok, so maybe you don’t want to give away the car and walk everywhere.  But here’s my key point:  Let’s not get distracted by the things we can’t control and focus on the things we can.  Here are five ideas:

Make some different choices to make your dollars go further
I was amazed the other day at how many budget brands had appeared in our shopping trolley.  Kathy had a real focus on saving money on the groceries and had made some different choices.  None of the family have really noticed and it meant that the shopping budget went further.  So what different choices can you make in the areas of groceries, banking, clothing, schooling, and lifestyle choices?

Make a commitment to spend a limited amount on petrol every week
Petrol is the real killer at the moment and you have no control over the price at the pump, but you do have control over how often you have to return to the pump.  So try setting yourself a limit on how far you go during the week, after all, this is how a budget is supposed to work!  I’m sure you’ll come up with creative ways to get places… or imagine how much more you can achieve around the home by deciding not to go out?!!

Discover new hobbies that don’t cost money
Apparently if you try hard enough you can find hobbies you enjoy that don’t cost a cent!  I say “apparently” because I haven’t discovered any for me yet – I am looking though.  Suggestions include; learning a musical instrument, (get lessons from a friend instead of paying for them), try finding the enjoyment in exercise, (if you walk with friends you can learn to communicate by talking instead of texting!), or you could try an online hobby (maybe you’re the next online poker champion?)

Start a crash diet… on spending
Go through your bank statements and credit card statements and find a weakness that you need to eliminate from your spending.  We all have weaknesses, mine is great coffee.  If you can identify something that is literally stealing money from you and you are prepared to go on a crash diet then this is the time to break that habit.  Do it “cold turkey” and cut out all spending on that area.  Be tough on yourself!

Use the power of goals to find your success
For me, I refuse to accept that less money in my life means I have to achieve less.  Why should you be any different?  This is the time that we all need to dig in deep and find the real person inside every one of us; we need to be motivated to do whatever it takes to find our personal success.  And the way for you to do that is harness the power of financial goals.  As I always say, “Financial goals are how you can get ahead no matter what your 1ncome level.”  And today I’ll add, “And no matter how much petrol costs!”

So to all of us, including me, I say:

Come on everybody, isn’t life great?  Let’s not get distracted by the things we can’t control and focus on the things we can.

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