Take Some Tips From Mr Home Budget

The Bunyip Newspaper Gawler South Australia

Adam Goulding's friends and family branded him 'Mr Home Budget' when he first started saving his money, but he hardly thought the name would stick. In March 2005, Adam had found himself hitting rock bottom with no money to spend and heavily in debt.

Struggling to pay the rent and with massive credit card bills and car repayments building up, Adam's fiancee - now wife - Renee started showing him some KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) money saving tips. By the start of 2007, Adam had become a self-confessed saving monster and he and Renee started collecting receipts of all their purchases from January 1 ,2007.

From fuel and groceries to chocolate bars and chewing gum, the pair began saving all their receipts and piling them in a large suit case. At the end of each month, they would put all the purchases into a spreadsheet and see how much they spent and how they could cut back on their spending for the next month.

"Once you know where your money's going, you can cut it back really easily," Adam said. Over two years, Adam and Renee saved almost $85,000 and accumulated more than 2200 receipts in the suitcase.

"We are now credit card free, with no car debts and all we have is the mortgage we are paying off," he said.

No surprises Renee is happy Adam has changed his excessive spending ways, but Adam now admits he is a bit obsessive when it comes to collecting his receipts. "(Renee) really likes the idea. I've definitely become the monster of the family," he said.

The Craigmore couple has decided to share their money saving secrets with the world though their new book, which has had some interest from a publishing firm on the New York stock exchange. "They were interested, but we decided to release it ourselves through the website," he said.

"We thought we would take the risk and we ended up publishing it ourselves." "As far as the book is concerned, we are definitely keeping it simple."

Previously employed in sales, Adam is now looking for a more expressive outlet in the workforce. "Im hopeing something comes out of this with the book," he said. "I think I'm going to look for something a bit more creative". If confidence is the key to success, Adam is on a good thing.

Being so confident the ideas in his book will save people money, he is offering a two year money back guarantee if it dose not save the buyer 101 times the cost of the book. "You really can't lose," he said.

"I'm pretty confident it works for me and it will work for the readers." And surly enough , the name Mr. Home Budget has stuck, and Adam is using it for the name of his website.

For any more information on Adam's story or to order a copy of the book in hard copy, visit www.MrHomeBudget.com.au.