Reader Q&A!

 

Dear chic friends,

 

It's reader Q&A time!

To celebrate the launch of my newest book 'Financially Chic Vol 2: How to be savvy with money in tough times, cultivate your rich lady lifestyle, and live fabulously for less', I am doing a series of reader Q&As.

 

And today is the first question, which is all about finances for singles.

“How to live financially chic while depending on one sole income?”

It’s hard in some ways of course, with one income not two, but in other ways it’s preferable. Being single gives you greater autonomy over your choices. You can cut back when you want to without getting someone else’s buy-in. And you can’t be held back by other’s poor spending habits.

Here are my three best tips to live financially chic while depending on one income:

1. Take a good look at your outgoings and see where you can delete unnecessary expenditures. Be really honest with yourself! Feel empowered when you cut things out instead of feeling deprived. Tell yourself you are giving that money to yourself instead.

2. Brainstorm all the ways in which you can have fun and feel rich for free (for me, using our public library, enjoying the lovely makeup and fragrances I already own, tidying up my wardrobe, going for walks in nice parts of town, making my lunch at home, making my own coffees, cooking at home in preference to eating out, and meeting friends for a picnic in the park vs an expensive lunch or brunch).

3. Look at ways you can bring in more income – a side hustle such as writing an ebook and uploading it to Amazon, renting out a room in your home if you have a guest room, or finding part-time work somewhere nice. I never saved so much money than when I worked weekends. I had no opportunity to browse the shops!

Know that everything you do, you are doing for you. You get to decide how plentiful and wonderful your future is.

I hope this was helpful, and if you have any ideas to add to this post, please do so! Maybe they are things you did as a single that really helped you feel (and be) financially chic.

 

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Here I am, walking my talk when it comes to being financially savvy 😊

These are my summer vegetable plants ready to put in once an expected cold snap next week has passed us by.

In the bonus chapter of my newest book ‘Financially Chic Vol 2: How to be savvy with money in tough times, cultivate your rich lady lifestyle, and live fabulously for less', tip no. 12 says:

“Grow what you eat. For me I’ve found the best value and easiest to grow are herbs, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini. Herbs are year-round, and the rest only in the summer.

Don’t grow difficult things or vegetables you never buy. This is meant to be a money saver/health giver, not an expensive hobby. If you have a small piece of garden, buy a $3 plant and enjoy the benefits.

We planted a six-pack of spinach plants because we buy spinach every week for our daily smoothies. The $4 spinach investment fed us for several weeks whereas before we were spending $5-8 a week on bagged fresh spinach.”

In my little stash here (with Daphne photobombing 😊) I have cherry tomatoes, cos lettuce (two colours – red and green), perpetual spinach, cucumber, and a new try for me – orange capsicum (pepper).

Our small vegetable garden is weeded and ready to roll. Already growing are cos plants from last summer and spinach planted more recently which are both still going strong. Because we have smoothies every morning, we go through a lot of spinach, hence why we are planting more when we already have some!

I don’t even consider myself to be a garden or have a green thumb, but some things are just worth doing.

Please let me know, what are your favourite things to grow for ease, value, and yumminess?

 

~~

 

This week I got to go on a winery tour and tasting, and it was so interesting.

The underground cellar here, where wines are aged in oak barrels is kept at an even 11 deg C (52 deg F) year round. It was very refreshing to be in there 😊

We tasted three whites and three reds, and there were eight of us in the group. We got to meet lovely people from Houston, Texas, Melbourne, Australia, and Auckland right here in New Zealand.

The times I've travelled to other areas of New Zealand and done wine tastings were so enjoyable. I mean, vineyards are generally in sunny, picturesque regions so what's not to like?

Paul and I did a quick Barossa Valley trip in South Australia some years back. That was great and I'd like to go back. Some of their wines are so old they look like shrubs, not having been trained along wires like 'modern' grape vines.

I hope you've had a great weekend, I've had a productive Sunday today. It's nice to have a lazy Sunday too, but when I have a productive Sunday it really feels like I've got a head start on the week!

Are you someone who loves wine tasting? Please tell me your favourite varietal!

There are no wines I don't like, I just prefer some over others 😍

I enjoy bubbles, Chardonnay, and aromatics such as Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. And Viognier too. Does Viognier count as an aromatic?

So, whites then! Although I do feel tres chic holding a glass of Syrah or Bordeaux blend. It's just so hard to choose a favourite, I get it!

Cheers to us all anyway 😊

xx Fiona

PS. You can read ‘Financially Chic Vol. 2’ for free on Kindle Unlimited, or purchase as an eBook or paperback. Audiobook coming soon!

 

(My Amazon links are affiliate, but the price is no different for you. I appreciate it if you choose to use my links!)