Some things in life simply don’t make sense – for example I recently read that it’s possible to sail faster than the wind. Think about it: how can you go faster than the thing that’s pushing you without introducing an external force? Yes, it’s possible. Another counterintuition I’ve discovered, this time relevant to everyday life, is that money can buy time.

I was brought up with Asian values, which is to say practicality trumps everything when it comes to finances. A perfect illustration of this is if one of your grandparents overseas died, and you don’t attend the funeral because you can’t get a cheap (discounted) airfare. It’s taken a long time to free myself from that mindset, and longer still to push through to the other side, where spending is considered a pragmatic solution to a problem.

The trick I used is to consider time and effort as “billable work” – this is the same thinking that led to the conclusion in my previous post about how spending less time getting to and from work is equivalent to a pay rise.

Work out what YOU’RE worth
Firstly, what’s your hourly rate? What is your time worth? If you don’t know where to start, then work it out in terms of your current job. What are you worth to them? Then, factor in how much you value your personal time – do you have a hobby or business that you’d rather be doing than work, chores or other distractions? If so try and put a figure against that – how much would somebody need to pay you to pull you away from that activity?

Work out what IT’S worth
Now that you know what you’re worth, you can work out whether it would cost less to get somebody to do something for you than to do it yourself. For example it might make sense for you to get your meals catered instead of cooking it yourself, when you consider the time saved from not having to shop and cook, on top of the money you’re already spending on groceries. Therefore although at face value it might seem like an additional expense, the true benefit lies in how much more free time it gives you to do other productive or enjoyable things.

What are some of the things in your life that would be worth paying for, in order to spend more time on the things you love?

With the Aussie Dollar currently trading at a 25-year high against the Pound Stirling, it’s the perfect time to grab a bargain. Here are a few places you’ll want to check out:

Book Depository
For seasoned Internet shoppers, the Book Depository would probably have been the first place that came to mind. Offering prices cheaper than almost anywhere else on- or off-line, and with free international shipping, it’s a popular destination for book lovers and students alike.

Amazon UK
Everybody knows about its brother in the US, but Amazon also has a presence in other countries (including Japan and China). Not just for books, Amazon also sells a variety of homewares, clothes and electronics, but can be expensive to ship.

CD Wow
Music and movie lovers need go no further. Although you can shop at CD Wow using Australian Dollars, you may find that with the current exchange rate that it’s cheaper to pay in Pounds. CD Wow has an excellent range of CDs, DVDs and video games, and like Book Depository, includes free shipping.

Zavvi
Zavvi is similar to Amazon or CD Wow in that it sells entertainment products, however they have arguably the best bargains for video games, with frequent deep discounts on popular titles.

One last thing, a few words of advice: if you’re buying DVDs, make sure that your DVD player can play discs from other regions first – a lot of older machines are still locked to playing Region 4 discs only. Lastly, don’t forget that the bank will charge you a currency conversion fee when using your credit card to pay, so remember to factor that into the final price.

Are there any good UK sites that I haven’t mentioned here? Share them with everybody in the comments!

[November 2010 update: As of 17th November, the Wizard Clear Advantage Mastercard will be rebranded as the 28 degrees Mastercard due to GE Money no longer having the rights to the name after selling Wizard Home Loans back in 2009. Other than the name change, the new card is identical to the old one.]

Need a break? I certainly do. Luckily for me I’m going on holiday next week, and as part of the trip we’ll be visiting a couple of the major Asian destinations, Hong Kong and Korea. Of course shopping will be very high on the list of things to do, but of course there’s that little problem of changing currency. Seasoned traveller’s will know the drill: use your bank credit, debit or ATM card and get ripped off on hefty withdrawal fees and foreign exchange fees, or buy travelers’ cheques and suffer their crappy exchange rate.

No more! Thanks to the Australia Frequent Flyer forums, I’ve discovered the Wizard Clear Advantage Mastercard. This nifty little card is not much to speak of. It does have no annual fee, but the interest rate is pretty average, the balance transfer deal is no better than most other banks, and there’s no rewards scheme to speak of. Where it really shines is when you take it with you overseas.

Firstly, they don’t charge withdrawal fees. While most banks would slug you with several dollars per transaction, the Wizard card don’t charge a single cent. Nada. That means you can withdraw as much or as little as you like, as often as you like. No more playing the “paranoid tourist” carrying around wads of cash hidden in a cache down the front of your pants, or looking everywhere and failing to find a place where you can cash your cheques. Just look for any ATM that has the “Plus” symbol (which you shouldn’t have any problem with in all but the most undeveloped countries) and you’re good to go.

Second, you know how the exchange rates that the bank or bureau gives always differs significantly from the ones you see on the news by a fairly wide margin? Well the travel gurus at the forums have also figured out that Wizard offers one of, if not the, most competitive exchange rates, varying only very slightly from the published ones. So not only are you paying no fees, you’re also getting a better bang for your buck.

Damn good so far, right? But wait, there’s an even better trick: you can pre-load the card so that you’re spending own money and not have to pay interest on a cash advance. You can put your credit card into credit by paying more than what you owe, so that the balance goes into positive. Then you simply withdraw any amount of funds at your destination up to your daily withdrawal limit and/or credit limit. This isn’t an advertised feature mainly because of the implications for money laundering, but unless you’re planning on bringing the whole country home with you, it won’t be a problem.

Brilliant, eh? Apply for a 28 Degrees Mastercard as part of the planning for your next holiday – you can’t go wrong.

Further reading:
Answers to a bunch of Frequently Asked Questions by one of the AFF forum members, FL360