Today I’m going to talk about one of the biggest financial mistakes I’ve ever made, in the hope that someone else who reads this will think twice before they do the same thing.

My mistake was to think that because I was young, healthy and very fit, I didn’t need private health insurance.

(A bit of background for non-Australian readers, since this is a really obviously dumb decision if you’re somewhere like the U.S. where the whole…

An aside to my ongoing series on finding your personal style… (last update is over here)

Beijing Baby has written about the evolution of her style so far, with lots of pictures. See part one, part two and part three. I found it interesting to see what she wore for teenage life, and how it’s changed as she moves into the adult world. She’s also very candid about sharing what she thinks about each of those outfits now!

It’s…

I just read a great article called ‘The Dead-End Road of Conspicuous Consumption’ over at Bouncing Back. It’s about why some people habitually spend beyond their means and what the end consequences are of that behaviour.

My favourite quote:

Conspicuous consumption is a dead-end road. The purchase of luxury items does not make you a worthwhile person; it never has and it never will.

But let me conclude on a lighter note. I actually believe in the purchase…

I don’t usually post pictures of my outfits, but since I asked for help with my pirate party costume, I thought I’d better show the end result.

In the end I didn’t dress up as a pirate or a wench. Instead I went as…

Pirate treasure!

Or as another guest put it, ‘booty’.

I decided to wear something that wouldn’t look completely freakish if noone else at the party had dressed up. I’ve been embarassed at many ‘fancy dress’…

Confession time: I’m a bit of a closet fashionista… and ever-so-slightly vain. (OK, very vain.) I like to look good all the time, and work pretty hard at it. I now have a pretty good idea of my own personal style, but it hasn’t always been that way — I’ve had just as many wardrobe disasters as everyone else; possibly more because I love experimenting with clothes so much.

In this section I share my hard-won…

HELP!

I’m going to a fancy-dress party tonight with a pirate theme and have no idea what to wear.

How do I dress like a pirate? Should I just give in and go as a wench? I have a full skirt and a corset-ish top I could turn into a wench costume, but pirates were way cooler!

Advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Today I found a great series on altering clothes over at Hot Off the Sale Rack, and thought I’d pass on my favourite tips.

Part One is about deciding whether it’s worth buying something that’s too big and tailoring it down a size. Tip: A-line skirts are relatively easy to alter.

Part Two and Part Three are about shortening straps on dresses (which would work equally well for tops). Tip: shorten them where they meet the back of the garment…

OK, I’m showing off again. Yesterday, I found not one but two cute bracelets for $5 at Equip. (One of my favourite places in Sydney for cheap accessories.)

[Mr Bargain Queen's latest budgeting tip...]

Is there a difference between money you spend on your gym membership vs. money you spend on chocolate?

Do you believe that if you’ve spent money on something virtuous you’re allowed to have a splurge on something villainous?

If so, you’re in for a whole world of budget-related blues.

The fact is, money doesn’t mind what you spend it on. Dollars don’t distinguish between the purchase of a college degree course and a…

I found some really interesting follow-up material to my post on whether expensive skincare is worth the money on the Festival of Frugality blog and had to share it:

My fiance has worked at L