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Frugalism – What Is It And How Can 50+ Australians Apply Some Of Its Elements?

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Thrifty… prudent… economical… careful… penny-wise… It’s a very good time to be practising all of these! There’s even a name for it – frugalism!

Frugalism is the art of reducing wasteful, excessive, extravagant, and unnecessary things in your life – without reducing your quality of life. Don’t however confuse it with being ‘cheap’! Indeed, frugalists generally recognise that ‘being cheap’ defeats the purpose of frugalism if it means settling for ‘poor quality’. Their (sensible) view is that, in the long run, buying quality to begin with avoids waste and saves money because you only have to buy once. (And don’t have to throw out a cheap product that doesn’t work).

Frugalism: A Lifestyle For Our Times?

As a way of life, frugalism isn’t about doing without per se but about reducing expenses by not spending money on things that are wasteful or non-essential. It’s also very much about identifying exactly what is essential for a comfortable life. To paraphrase a popular saying – ‘If it ain’t necessary, don’t buy it.’

Whilst frugalism does have a focus on saving money, it isn’t always just about the money. For many frugalists it’s also about living more economically because it’s more sustainable and usually better for the environment. Of course, every good frugalist then wisely invests the money they save where it can contribute to their financial independence, or a decent, and potentially early, retirement nest egg.

Getting Started With Frugalism As A 50+ Australian

Unless you have very deep pockets, or like spending money for the sake of it, you probably already embrace some aspects of frugalism! For example – when you choose to eat in because it’s cheaper than dining out, you’re being frugal…

Review your expenses:

This is the most obvious, and easiest, place to start being frugal. Review your current expenses. Identify where you’re wasting money. Here are a few ideas:

  • What subscriptions, memberships, and services do you still have (perhaps on autopay) but don’t really use? Obsolete landlines are a good case in point! Modern mobile phones and WiFi have all but made these redundant for many people but how many of us still have one….
  • Shop around for better deals on things like mobile phone and Internet plans. Competitive offerings are everywhere and not just for these. They also exist for mortgages, debt consolidation, credit cards, investment opportunities…
  • Pay off debts as fast as you can.
  • Reduce expensive and unnecessary activities like dining out or buying takeaway.
  • Look at ways you can cut expenses by becoming more self-sufficient (fresh vegetables for instance are expensive now so consider growing your own if you can).

Review and reduce your energy consumption:

Electricity generation is a huge energy guzzler and traditionally it guzzles fossil fuels. It still does in many instances. The cost to consumers isn’t getting any cheaper either. In fact, with electricity prices forecast to double by the end of this year, reducing your use of mains power wherever you can is becoming a necessity rather than just a frugal option!

You can develop frugal, less wasteful energy consumption habits by:

  • Using energy efficient lighting.
  • Turning lights off when you leave a room.
  • Thermally insulating your house so it naturally stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
  • Turning down the thermostat a few degrees (wear an extra jumper or add another blanket in winter).
  • Turning appliances off at the wall when they’re not being used – anything that has a standby light for example is using power.
  • Investing in energy efficient appliances.
  • Installing solar panels.
  • Getting a wood burning stove – not only will it reduce your heating bills in winter but you can also use it for cooking (and heating water). NB: All new wood heaters and stoves sold in Australia after August 8th, 2019 must comply with the AS/NZS 4012:2014and AS/NZS 4013:2014 standards with respect to efficiency and particulate emissions as per the Australian Home Heating Association Inc.

For more tips about reducing your energy bills, check our blog post about keeping a lid on your energy bills.

Review and reduce your water use:

Water is an increasingly valuable and finite resource. For instance – did you know that less than 1% of the world’s water is available for us to easily use? The rest is either in the oceans, deep underground, or frozen in glaciers and the polar icecaps. Furthermore, producing clean mains water also uses a LOT of energy (which uses a lot of resources). Here are some tips to become more frugal in your water use:

  • Don’t leave taps running when you do things like brush your teeth – apart from reducing your water bills, you’ll also be wasting less of a precious and finite resource.
  • Consider installing a rainwater collection system to reduce your reliance on mains water. You can also get very efficient household wastewater recycling systems these days that allow you to recycle household water for things like reticulation, and other outdoor uses. Check local council regulations first though.
  • Put in a water-wise garden – plants that are native to your locality for example have evolved to survive on what moisture nature provides for them.

Plan your meals:

Planning meals ahead of time is a very good way to save money and reduce food waste, both important aspects of frugalism.

  • Invest a few hours on the weekend planning meals for the week ahead.
  • Cook in bulk and MYO frozen meals (instead of buying takeaway on the way home from work because you can’t be bothered cooking).
  • Make a shopping list, and stick to it.
  • Consider ordering your regular items online and having them delivered. Delivery fees from the big supermarkets are usually more than reasonable, and often less than what it would cost in fuel to drive yourself there. Not to mention the time you’re saving as well… You’re a budding frugalist so time is also something you want to avoid wasting!

Develop frugal shopping habits:

Probably the biggest benefit with online shopping is that it reduces wasteful impulse purchases. When you’re not physically wandering up and down grocery isles, you can’t be tempted by products you don’t need, flashy specials or not.

  • Speaking of specials – consider stocking up on non-perishables and staples with a long shelf life when they’re on special.
  • Buy products you use a lot of in bulk where you can, especially when they’re on special.
  • Don’t take the grandkids with you when you go shopping.
  • Eat something before you go – doing grocery shopping when you’re hungry usually ends with unnecessary, and expensive, non-frugal snack food purchases!

Think about buying pre-loved items:

New is not always necessary. Most second-hand stores have a lot of good quality bargains – furniture, crockery, electronics, and clothes.

  • Keep an eye on online marketplaces.
  • Visit your local community weekend market for arts and crafts products (and fresh produce).
  • Check boot and garage sales.
  • Take a trip to a salvage yard before buying timber or building products – these places usually sell salvaged white goods and furniture as well and can save you hundreds of dollars.
  • Factory seconds outlets are another good option for finding affordable quality.

Avoid debt:

Avoid taking on unnecessary debt. If you’re over 50, the reality is that you are running out of time to pay off long-term debts. Furthermore – do you really want to have to keep working long past when you should be enjoying retirement, just to pay off debts?

Commit to paying off what debts you do have as soon as possible so you can start putting that money towards better things – like funding the retirement of your dreams. We can help with that… contact us today to discuss your retirement plans.

Frugalism – Is It A Sustainable Lifestyle For The 50+ Generation?

For 50+’ers, it’s probably an ideal time to consider something like frugalism… By cutting back on excess, wasting less, and being more economical in your spending and consumption habits, you can save money, invest in a decent retirement nest egg, an

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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 Count Limited and its related bodies corporate (collectively ‘Count’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your privacy. We understand the importance you attach to information that identifies you (your ‘personal information’) and we want to help you protect it.

1.2 We are bound by, and committed to supporting, applicable privacy legislation including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy (‘Policy’) explains how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information that we may obtain when you submit information to us in person, by mail or email, or by visiting our website.


2. How do we collect and hold personal information about you?

2.1 We collect personal information from you in a variety of methods. Examples of how we collect personal information include: 

  • Through communications between you and our representatives or your adviser or accountant;
  • Your use of our website;
  • Completing application forms in relation to products and services;
  • Other avenues, where required to meet regulatory requirements and comply with the law;
  • When you apply for employment with us;
  • Through marketing activities which request information from you, such as surveys.

2.2 Because our products and services are often offered by intermediaries such as financial planners, solicitors, or accountants, we may collect personal information about you from these third parties.

2.3 You can deal with us anonymously or by pseudonym unless it is impractical for us to deal with you where you have not identified yourself or have used a pseudonym. We require certain personal information to provide you with services and information. If you do not provide us with certain personal information, we may not be able to provide you with access to those services or respond to your request for information.

2.4 We will only collect personal information from you where it is reasonably necessary for us to provide our services to you or to perform our functions or activities.

2.5 We will only collect sensitive information from you with your consent, except in permitted general situations which include:

  • The collection of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order;
  • The collection is necessary to address a threat to an individual’s life, health, or safety; and
  • Permitted health situations.

2.6 We may hold your information electronically or physically and have in place appropriate data and physical security measures and protocols to protect that information from loss or from disclosure not contemplated by this Policy.


3. What type of personal information do we collect?

3.1 The type of personal information we may collect from you includes (but is not limited to):

  • Names, address, email, phone numbers, and job titles;
  • Information in identification documents such as your passport or driver’s licence;
  • Tax file numbers (TFNs) and other identification numbers such as Medicare number;
  • Date of birth and gender;
  • Financial information;
  • Details of superannuation and insurance arrangements;
  • Sensitive information (with your consent), such as health information or membership details of professional or trade associations or political parties;
  • Bank account details, shareholdings, and details of investments;
  • Educational qualifications, employment history, and salary;
  • Visa or work permit status;
  • Personal information about your spouse and dependants.


4. How do we use your personal information?

4.1 We will use the information you supply for the purpose of providing you with the service(s) agreed under our engagement and related services, such as accounting or business advisory services, or to meet obligations we may have at law, including in relation to health and safety.

4.2 We may also use the information we collect for our internal business and management processes (for example, accounting or auditing purposes), monitoring and improving our website, keeping you informed about our services and company news, and for any other purposes that would be reasonably expected by you and to allow us to comply with our obligations under the law.

4.3 We may also use personal information we have collected from you for the purpose of marketing our services. If you do not want to receive marketing material from us, you can unsubscribe by contacting us as detailed below:

  • For electronic communications, you can click on the unsubscribe function in the communication;
  • For hard copy communications, you can email us using the details in the ‘How to contact us’ section of our website informing us that you wish to unsubscribe http://www.count.au/Contact-Us.


5. How do we disclose your personal information?

5.1 Your personal information will only be disclosed:

  • To our employees, contractors, consultants, dealers, agents, or advisors as required to provide our services to you or for related purposes;
  • To suppliers and service providers (for example, accounting or auditing service providers or our website hosting service providers) in connection with our provision of services to you;
  • Where you have consented to the disclosure;
  • Where required or authorised to do so under an Australian law, court or tribunal order, or other governmental or regulatory body or agency;
  • In permitted health situations;
  • If we believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for enforcement-related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body; or
  • In connection with an actual or proposed sale, reorganisation, or transfer of all or part of our business, including as set out in clause 16.1.

5.2 We may use, store, process, or back-up your personal information on servers that are located overseas (including through third-party service providers). The privacy laws in other countries might not be the same as in Australia. However, where we provide your personal information to third parties overseas, we will take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that your information is handled and stored in accordance with Australian privacy laws and this Policy. Currently, we use outsourced service providers in the Philippines, India, and Serbia.


6. Access to your personal information

6.1 You can request us to provide you with access to personal information we hold about you by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

6.2 We may allow an inspection of your personal information in person, or provide copies or a summary of relevant documents, depending on what is the most appropriate in the circumstances. Any charge we make for providing access will be reasonable and will not apply to lodging a request for access. Your request to access your personal information will be dealt with in a reasonable time.

6.3 Note that we need not provide access to personal information if a request is frivolous, or where to provide access would pose a threat to health or public safety, unreasonable interference with another person’s privacy, or be a breach of the law. If we refuse access, we will provide you with reasons for doing so.


7. Accuracy and correction

7.1 To enable us to keep our records properly, please notify us if you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date and we will take reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to ensure that it is corrected. You can notify us by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.


8. Our security procedures

8.1 We take your privacy and the privacy of our associated entities and their clients very seriously. We will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to protect any personal information you provide to us from misuse, interference, or loss and unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure.

8.2 We will also deidentify and destroy the personal information we hold about you once our legal obligations cease. Our security procedures are reviewed from time to time and we update them when relevant.

8.3 Please be aware that the transmission of data over the internet is never guaranteed to be completely secure. It is possible that third parties not under our control may be able to access or intercept transmissions or private communications without our permission or knowledge. We take all reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to protect your personal information. However, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. Such transmissions are done at your own risk.


9. Data breach notification

9.1 We are required to give notice to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals of an “eligible data breach”. This means that if we hold personal information about you, and there is unauthorised access to or disclosure of your personal information, and if you, as the “affected individual” would be likely to suffer serious harm from this access or disclosure, we must notify both you and the OAIC.

9.2 “Serious harm” could include identity theft, threats to physical safety, economic and financial harm, harm to reputation, embarrassment, discrimination, or harassment. The test is whether a “reasonable person” would expect you to suffer serious harm.

9.3 If you are likely to suffer serious harm from a data breach, we will notify you of:

  • The nature of the eligible data breach (i.e., how the information was accessed or disclosed);
  • The type of information that was accessed or disclosed;
  • The steps that we have taken to control or reduce the harm, and those that we plan to take;
  • Any assistance we can offer you, such as arranging for credit monitoring;
  • Anything that we can suggest you can do to assist yourself or mitigate the harm;
  • Whether the breach has also been notified to the OAIC;
  • How you can contact us for information or to complain; and
  • How to make a complaint with the OAIC.

9.4 We will notify you using the same method that we usually use to communicate with you. If it is not practicable for us to notify you personally, we will publish the notification on our website.

9.5 There are some circumstances in which we do not have to notify you of a data breach. These include:

  • Where we have taken remedial action before any serious harm has been caused by the breach;
  • If you have been notified of the breach by another entity;
  • If notification would be inconsistent with Commonwealth secrecy laws; or
  • Where the OAIC declares that notification does not have to be given.

9.6 Depending on the nature of the breach and the harm, we may voluntarily inform other third parties such as the police or other regulators or professional bodies.


10. Identifiers

10.1 We will not adopt as our own any government identifiers you may provide to us such as TFNs and will not store these identifiers on any information.


11. Links to other sites

11.1 We may provide links to other sites for you to access. You should be aware that these other sites are not subject to this Policy or our privacy standards and procedures. You will need to contact them directly to ascertain their privacy standards.


12. Cookies

12.1 Our website may deposit “cookies” on a visitor’s computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Cookies are only sent back to the website that deposited them when a visitor returns to that site.

12.2 Cookies make it easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at our site. We never save personal identifiable information in cookies. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can, however, reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.


13. Changes to our Privacy Policy

13.1 From time to time, we may vary this Policy for any reason. We will publish any changes on this website.

13.2 By continuing to use our website and continuing to provide us with your information, you confirm your acceptance of these changes.


14. Complaints resolution

14.1 We are committed to providing a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints from parties whose personal information we hold. If you have any concerns regarding the way we have handled your privacy, please send us an email at privacy@count.au or write to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. We will address any concerns you have through our complaints handling process and we will inform you of the outcome of your complaint within a reasonable timeframe.

14.2 If after receiving our response, you still consider that your privacy complaint has not been resolved, you may refer your concerns to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.