The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
EP. 1263 TIGHT ASS TUESDAY PROPERTY TIPS AND TRICKS
Jul 09, 2024Season 27Episode 1263
Mark Novak, Billy Drury
Ever wondered how to stretch every dollar without feeling like you're sacrificing your lifestyle? Learn how to master the art of being a "value merchant" in our latest episode. We promise you’ll uncover practical tips and personal insights on how to save money effectively, from negotiating every purchase and diving into DIY repairs, to haggling for better credit card rates and refinancing your mortgage. We'll share how these strategies have helped us maintain a comfortable and fulfilling life, even in challenging economic times.
Additionally, discover innovative ways to simplify your financial management with smart accounting practices. Our unique approach to handling receipts through a WhatsApp group with an accountant could revolutionize how you keep your records in order, making it as effortless as snapping a photo. Wrapping up the episode, we celebrate "Tight Ass Tuesday," showing that saving money doesn’t have to mean working harder. Tune in to learn how small tweaks can lead to big savings and financial peace of mind.
Ever wondered how to stretch every dollar without feeling like you're sacrificing your lifestyle? Learn how to master the art of being a "value merchant" in our latest episode. We promise you’ll uncover practical tips and personal insights on how to save money effectively, from negotiating every purchase and diving into DIY repairs, to haggling for better credit card rates and refinancing your mortgage. We'll share how these strategies have helped us maintain a comfortable and fulfilling life, even in challenging economic times.
Additionally, discover innovative ways to simplify your financial management with smart accounting practices. Our unique approach to handling receipts through a WhatsApp group with an accountant could revolutionize how you keep your records in order, making it as effortless as snapping a photo. Wrapping up the episode, we celebrate "Tight Ass Tuesday," showing that saving money doesn’t have to mean working harder. Tune in to learn how small tweaks can lead to big savings and financial peace of mind.
Speaker 1:
Tight Ass Tuesday we bring out your inner tight ass. Stay tuned.
Speaker 2:
I'm the ringleader, so let's love we're live, but Instagram's not with us this morning. I can't get Instagram going guys. Far out, billy, far out. I'll put you on Facebook or LinkedIn, absolutely no problems, far out.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely no problems, far out. So, billy, for those people who don't know, billy's a bit of a tight ass. I enjoy watching how careful he is with his money. And for those of you who don't know, I've come up with a new word for me, which is a variation, and tight ass it's called. It's called value merchant right what does that?
Speaker 1:
mean never pay retail okay. So if you've got someone that you know, a connection, a way, a way to buy cheaper, buy bulk I buy it overseas I will find a way. I'm a value merchant.
Speaker 2:
Okay, and is this?
Speaker 1:
a two time, two time, two time asses on a Tuesday.
Speaker 2:
Is this only just come about in the last couple of years, or always been like that Look? There's no better feeling than getting a discount.
Speaker 1:
I don't think you can. I think you are or you aren't. It's sort of like it's a light switch, it's on, like you just are a tight arse or you're just like not that way.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah, but I would challenge everyone to think that there's no better feeling than a good discount. Sometimes it's true.
Speaker 1:
Now, today we're going to direct this towards property, our observations of where people are tight arses, how they take advantage of being tight arses, and you know what Times are tough. So I think at the moment, a lot of us are evaluating what we're spending money on, what we're not spending money on, where we're investing where we're not investing, what we're not spending money on, where we're investing where we're not investing. It's just super critical at the moment, with interest rates to triple where they were sort of this time two and a half years ago. So I think it's a real relevant topic. Where have you been a tight-ass, billy?
Speaker 2:
Well, look, there's certain places you can sort of cut back and there's obviously areas you can't. And I mean that not just for practicality but, you know, also for lifestyle. Right, you know, you can't start just eating tins of beans, although that's what my dad would tell me to do. You've got to obviously maintain some kind of a lifestyle, and I've seen, we've seen Australians are working more hours to sustain the same lifestyle they've had before, and then they've obviously made cutbacks in other areas. But here's eight property tips, and I implemented some of these myself. You pretty much nailed the first one negotiate everything. I think everything's on the table for negotiation.
Speaker 1:
It's a free question stay shy, stay dry, stay shy, stay dry. You've got to negotiate, otherwise you're paying rack rate it's a free question as well.
Speaker 2:
I love that, like it's so true. You know, let's look at the low-hanging fruit here. You don't have to reinvent the wheel to just ask the question. Yeah, um, number two, diy repairs. I've seen a few people get in the tool shed and rather than getting a you know, a electrician in, you know, to do all the work, they might be able to do a little bit of prep stuff and then just get them in to do the bits they're really qualified for. Um doing.
Speaker 1:
That's a gun, that's a gun, that is a gun recommendation. Uh, but for tight ass, tuesday today. Uh, reflecting on what you just said, I have always got a painter in when I've um over the years, and I will paint with the painter. So what I'll do? He'll bring the brushes, he'll bring the rollers, he'll bring the trays, he'll bring the paint discounted paint, um, he'll do the cutting in the hard bit, the sweaty stuff, the stuff that gives me the shits. Yeah, I'll just roll and I'll just roll behind him. Much cheaper much cheaper.
Speaker 2:
Um. Number three refinance your mortgage. This is such a good one. I actually did this myself, saved me a couple hundred bucks a month on the mortgage, and it literally was a phone call to the broker saying I've seen rates move 13 times. Um, I am aware that there's now, you know, some competitiveness there where rates are hopefully going to come back down at some point. Can you make a call to the bank and see if they can sharpen it up a little, uh, the mortgage rate?
Speaker 1:
and they came back and they did 200 bucks a month do you know what it's it adds up it's that's two and a half k a year. It's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. It's a lot of money. You know, just just just ask um number four did you know you could do the same on your credit card number four?
Speaker 2:
did you know you could do the same on?
Speaker 1:
your credit card? No, no, I didn't. You can ring up your credit card provider, tell them that you intend to move and negotiate your rate to a sharper rate because their rates creep, like mortgage rates creep. So you'll be paying, you know, your regular, your competitive rate when they onboard you.
Speaker 2:
And then they creep that up with sometimes more than five percent yeah, and I've heard from you know mortgage brokers, when tying back to your mortgage your, you know the customers that have had the, you know just the onboarding rate are actually at the sharpest you know price uh yeah you know customers that have been absolutely never, checked. They're probably getting the worst. So you know, don that, have been absolutely never checked. They're probably getting the worst.
Speaker 1:
So you know, don't underestimate loyalties there yep, they're all trying to play within 55 days, or whatever it is. Be conscious of the days that that, um, you know you and and shot and make sure you're paying sharp, you're not loose, otherwise they'll whack you for those interest rates like almost 20 more in excess of 20 these days.
Speaker 2:
It's nuts, it's embarrassing yeah, number four um energy efficiency upgrades within your home tight ass tuesday Double glazing windows yes. Get some solar on the roof yes. Even small things, again, not sort of too big of expense. But just be conscious.
Speaker 1:
maybe what you know light bulbs you've got in can you change it to a smart bulb uh, yes, um, even the things that will take the most amount of cost are things that generate heat, so you know. So stuff that's moving or and stuff that is generating heat is going to use a shit ton more electricity than a light bulb, for instance. So if you've taken the effort of heating up a room and then someone leaves the door to the garden open for five minutes, it takes quite a lot to get the room back to that temperature. So tight ass Tuesdays. Just be conscious of if you've heated your rooms, how can you keep that heat in there?
Speaker 1:
Curtains, blinds help retain the heat in a room, so it can't escape Sealed windows. So if you do hear a draft coming through a window, that is competing with you heating the room. So it's coming in through the window cooling down and it's heating up from the heater getting hotter. They're competing with you heating the room. So it's coming in through the window cooling down and it's heating up from the heater getting hotter. They're competing with each other. That competition's costing you money.
Speaker 2:
I can just think of you know small ones, like if you've got kids, you know they're going to run out the door. Leave the door open, can you? Get something that closes the door, you know, under a five-second window. Spot on All right. You close the door, you know, under a spot on five second window.
Speaker 1:
Uh, all right, you ready for my favorite one? Yes, tight ass.
Speaker 2:
Tuesdays, my favorite house hacking house hacking what I mean by house hacking find spaces within your house or within your apartment that you can rent out for money, and it doesn't have to be a room. It it can be storage, it could be a garage, it could be a basement. There's so many little places that we don't monetize. You might be just able to get an extra 20 bucks a week.
Speaker 1:
Wow, you know what? It's not silly. You'd be shocked, absolutely shocked how much people pay for storage nationwide. It is a frightening figure. Um, I was talking to a kenard storage guy on saturday about their facility in french's forest. He told me they had over 600 storage units in that one building and I was like that's a lot. So, uh, yeah, get an advertisement marketplace, rent out stuff if you've got garage, garage spare or something like that yeah, I had a client come into the office two months ago now, so I'm going overseas.
Speaker 2:
I've got a car space in dy that I won't be using. Do you think you've got any clients that might just want a real short-term? Let put him in touch with an older client who's sick of walking back and forth to his apartment trying to find parking and he's just going to whack his spare car in there and save him a couple of months of hassle. Happy days, love it, love it. There's a couple more. Buying in up and coming areas I think that's an obvious one. Shopping around for insurance Bit of an obvious one. But my second favorite, the one I'll leave you with today, it's tax time. It's tax time. Can you, you know, utilize your tax deductions better than this year? Get in touch with you know what's interesting?
Speaker 1:
um, and I've loved my accountants, got an excellent relationship with them, but part of my benefit is, or has always been, pushing my accountants. If you expect your accountant to understand you, your life and your deductions, they're very good at interpreting them. So you can say to them okay, this is what I'm thinking, can I claim this? No, okay, this is what I'm thinking, can I claim this, maybe? So I reckon you've just got to be and so I reckon you've just got to be. Like it is tax time and I think you've got to be conscious for your setup for tax on any potential deductions that you've got. I don't care what industry you're from. You have deductions you can claim and your accountant will not locate all of the deductions. They don't have the time, they don't have the IP or intel about you and your life. It's your duty to find those deductions and deduct them on an annual basis. You just think of it and tell your accountant.
Speaker 1:
A little hack that I've always loved guys and it's ended up compounding to a stack of money is I've always used an alternative method of payment if it's a tax deduction. So what I've done is I've paid with cash or I've paid on a credit card and as soon as I think this is a deduction, I will pull out a separate credit card and I will pay on the separate credit card and I will pay on the separate credit card what I know is deductible. Then, when I get to the end of the year, I don't have to think you know of this, plus that, oh, plus this, oh, what about that? It's all on the one. It's centralized, all those tax deductible costs to one card. It is a frightening amount what it will add up to in the course of a month.
Speaker 2:
I reckon that's gold.
Speaker 1:
Mine's two tight asses. We can talk all Tuesday on this. Mine's a little different.
Speaker 2:
I think much of my accountants hate I've got a WhatsApp group with them and if he ever needs a receipt or I'm paying to my accountant's hate, I've got a WhatsApp group with him and if he ever needs a receipt or I'm paying for my fuel, I just whack a photo of the receipt in the WhatsApp group.
Speaker 1:
He doesn't ever have to read them, but end of year they're all there Stunning. I love it. That is so smart, that is so smart, there you go. I think that's the show, billy. Have a great day everyone. Enjoy tight ass tuesday.
Speaker 2:
Get out there, guys and be a tight ass today we'll put some money back in your pocket and you don't need to work any harder. That's the best part big time. Take care, see ya.