About

About Me

My name is Jessie Goh and I write Save Money Sydney.  I’m not a financial expert nor the epitome of frugality. I love to shop but many things have happened during my early 20s to make me realise that I cannot live the lifestyle I want unless I start doing some serious frugal work.

According to my favourite shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood, you either “make more money” or you “spend less“. In reality, these methods work but how do you go about doing it? How do you make more money and how to you curb that spending habit – I mean…those shoes are hot and they are an investment aren’t they? Besides making more money or spending less, there is another alternative – that is to marry someone filthy wealthy! For those of you who are lucky enough – we are envious; for those of us who aren’t that lucky, we have to stick to the first two methods.

Why Do You Write Save Money Sydney?

It all began with the need to save money (and this was prior to all the talk about a recession and what not). My accountant, Richie, spoke to us about the need to save. Richie told us that we have been living beyond our means and not saving enough. I was always under the impression that we have been doing fine until he dropped us the bombshell. This was in May and that was the real turning point that made me return to a more frugal lifestyle. I have been drawing on my experiences as a student who lived on a tight budget. Along the way, I’ve also picked up some creative skills that helped me start and grow my business. These are skills that are not taught in school or at expensive universities and I would like to share it with you.

Save Money Sydney is a collection of Sydney related free advice on saving, frugal living, making money and living on a realistic budget without crimping individual style. I’ve also included a section on the many ways small businesses can access resources without breaking the bank. I don’t have all the answers all the time as I am not an expert (having a finance and economics degree is not good enough to warrant me as an expert). However, I’m always looking for answers just like you. Living in Sydney isn’t easy with the high cost of living and so I would like to share the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the last 10 years with the community.

What Do I Write About?

I write about everything and anything that has to do with Sydney, living in Sydney and travelling to Sydney on a shoestring. I believe that:

• You do not have to sacrifice looking trendy and fashionable in order to save for that holiday, dream home or Jimmy Choos. All these can be achieved through creative and smart shopping.
• There is no such thing as a “Get Rich Quick” scheme (although there have been plenty of occasions that I’ve been tempted to try them out).
• There are many different ways to increase your budget but very few people to show you how to do it in a systematic manner.
• Inspiration and motivation are essential traits that will help you attain your goals.
• Saving money does not involve having to cut your own hair or reusing the tea bag – it is about being savvy and creative

A Mountain of Debt? Where From?

These are mostly education loans from university and private loans from mom and pop. They total about $40,000 between my partner and I. I have just paid off my car ($19,000) loan within 4 years and so that is a relieve. That said, I’m trying to build up a “buffer” (as my accountant calls it). This is my pool of money that I need to have before I can start doing some serious investing. He has given my partner and I a magic number of $100,000 to be achieved by the end of these 12 months. This is some serious saving, frugal living and making more money to hit that target.

What Else Do I do?

I have my time split between two businesses at the moment. Shine Music School is my first business venture and I have many customers who have turned friends. Summer Lane is another place that I hang around quite a bit now. It is a great place for great babies and children’s gifts for all types of budget.

Anything Else?

If you have any questions, you can ask me more. Alternatively, you can follow me on Twitter, catch me on my personal blog, look me up on LinkedIn.

Welcome to Save Money Sydney!

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Cheers

Jessie