Health benefits are always at the back of my mind. However, since I quit my job to finish my degree and be a homemaker at the same time, my interest in personal finances and thus the financial benefit of all kinds of DIY (and sometimes lack of benefit) has come to the front of my mind.

I've really taken to calculate my ROIs lately. It's absolutely true that a dollar saved is not just one dollar less you have to earn. Our tax rate is roughly 40% here and then there are the 'taxes' involved with purchasing things. 25% of everything we buy is a kind of VAT that goes to the state. It's an indirect tax and most people don't even think twice about it.

Since we live in a tiny apartment, we can't grow much right now, but we are looking at all our other expenses and buying things in their most basic form to get the best possible value for our money.