personal finance

my 'anonymity' MAY have been compromised and i am wondering how you delete your blog and username, so that you can make a fresh one with the same email address???

I have $1500 and change saved in my Bankwest account, and BF has $4500 and change. which means together we have over $6000 saved for our house deposit.
when it's just my savings it seems like i am never getting anywhere, but coupled with BF's savings it actually looks like we are making progress.

Monday I spent $10 on two drinks for my friend and I, and we went for a swim in the river near my house. I did a 15 minute walk as well.
Yesterday I had porridge with strawberries and honey for breakfast, and I made a salad for lunch and had a banana and mandarin for snacks, plus two (homemade) coffees. We had lentil Dal for dinner and I had a cup of strawberries and two scoops of icecream.
I filled up the tank with petrol, $30, and that was my only spend yesterday.
Today again I am having the same, but when I went to collect the mail my tummy was growling and I caved in and bought a chocolate chip scone for $1.60. I know! tsk tsk.
Tonight I am making red curry, so I need to buy:
Meat for BF
Meat for the pup
Some facial scrub (i've run out)

Tomorrow I will try and be good, my friend and I are going to a Day Spa, so that is $30 already spent. We might get a coffee afterwards, or maybe not, we will see.

Today is payday for Job #1.
$220 was deposited into my account.
Tomorrow afternoon my pay for Job #2 will clear in my bank, that is another $391.
This morning rent was deducted from my account, that is minus $126.67. I don't owe anything on CC #1, and CC#2 I owe about $234 but I have that money safely tucked away in my bills account earning a little bit of interest. I decided to do that because I can physically see the money there, it is not an ING account or a Bankwest account but is one linked to my everyday account.
I had $98 left over this week, so once Pay #2 clears I will transfer $100 to my House Fund savings account.
I will also transfer $40 extra onto my loan.

I need to buy a pair of shorts, another cheap pair of ballet-flat-style shoes and a black tshirt. I have also been thinking about that dress that I left at the store.
Should I go back and buy it? I have decided that I will go in on Saturday, if it is still there, I will try it on, and if I still like it, I think I will buy it. If you still really like something after a whole week, is it still an impulse purchase?

Even though I believe I have done well in my spending this month - having spent much less than I have taken in AND saved $100 more this month AND completely cleared the CC's, I still have managed to spend double, nearly TRIPLE of my allocated fun money. What the?!
And I have hardly bought anything really. I bought a season of a TV series at the start of september, I bought a couple of accesories for my birthday party (all under $6 each, total spent $30) , I bought two books (total: $43) and we ate out a couple of times.
I would hardly call that splurging. Infact, for me, that's holding back quite well.

This week I actually AM splurging. And I know it's a splurge. I am going to a day spa with a friend. I've been there twice before and it's gorgeous, and I mentioned it to my friend and she wanted to go, so I suggested we go one day after work.

So I guess my thoughts are, am I splurging every week, or am I just living like a normal person? Should I increase my 'budgetted' fun money, or should I be kicking myself when I spend say, $13 on a vegetarian cookbook, or $30 on a seven-disc, second hand television season on dvd???

After all, I did EARN the money. I guess I have a hard time about this because while I AM saving, and trying to save more (and succeeding! if just a small amount), I really have cut back on a lot of things. Am I setting my expectations too high? Or am I underestimating the costs of things these days?

While I understand that there are truly frugal people out there who would gasp at my spending habits, I need to clarify that I will never, could never, be the type that watches every penny like a hawk. True, I tally all my expenses, but I really believe life is for living.

How much in total do YOU spend per week/month (on average), on the following:
alcohol
takeaway beverages
takeaway and/or dining out
magazines
books
gym memberships
car washes
clothes
shoes
accesories
hair care & products
professional grooming
massage
makeup
chemist stuff
health
entertainment (ie. dvd's, cable, video rental, movies, memberships, online gaming, admissions etc)
lotto/gambling
house appliances
technology
electrical goods
charity

These are all the categories that I class under 'Fun'.

Currently I am spending on average $84.81 per week on 'Fun'.

(btw: I personally do not have cable or gym membership, online gaming or pay for car washes - but if I did I would class them in the Fun category)

until our last music festival.
well.
for a while.
we have decided this will be our last one until we save enough for a house deposit.
only because they usually cost around $250 for the day ( $120 for the ticket, $30 for a souviner, $20 for food & water, $80 for 'recreational activities')- which adds up when you consider how many we usually go to. (usually 4 a year or more if they are extra good).
ooooh i'm very excited.
i have probably already mentioned, but this is a little of the lineup:
goldfrapp, plump djs, vanshe, dizee rascal, 2manydjs, the bamboos, blackalicious, ajaz, bag raiders, peaches, diplo, soulwax and about 15 others.
anywho, it will be great! and all paid in cash of course, lol.

I made a recipe out of one of my new cook books last night which worked out well. It was a roast pumpkin, feta and caremalised onion pie. We had it with a side salad, and BF is taking some with salad for lunch today as well.

On the menu this week:

Red Curry (with lamb for BF)
Lentil Dal
Spinach & Roast Tomato Salad
Korma Curry (with lamb for BF)
Stuffed Roasted Eggplant with Rice
Homemade Pizza (with pepperoni & lamb for BF)

I bought lentils this week in the grocery shop. I haven't eaten them a great deal in my life; my dad has cooked occasionally with them and they've always turned out delicious, but that could be because my dad is a great cook.

Did you know lentils, when eaten with nuts, milk or yoghurt (to make them a 'complete' protein) have a higher amount of protein 100g than beef???

Interesting stuff!

I went into town and bought... wait for it...

exactly what I went in there for! (well. except for a bite to eat)

I am very proud.

Spending Log:
Coffee: $4.20
Biscuit: $1.60
3 x Singlets: $14.95
Vegie Recipe Book: $13.00

My friend hasn't contacted me about lunch yet, even though I know she told me she'd be available after 2pm (it's 1pm). I was so hungry I just ate a salad sandwhich, so now I think I will just have a coffee with her if she still wants to. Or a juice. Save $10+. Yay. I'm also going to try and go to the library.

I nearly bought a dress today but then decided not to. I have a difficult time with dresses. I LOVE them, but I don't wear them. I probably have more than 10 in my cupboard that I have worn once. Some not at all. Anyway. I guess I am just trying to find that perfect one that you can just throw on - but I am not a dress person so it's difficult for me to make that transition.
So I thought I found that dress, but it was $45 and I wasn't 100% sure. So I didn't buy it, even though I really did like it...

I have also updated them on my side bar, but these are my new balances:

Debt:
CC1: $0
CC2: $0
Personal Loan: $3836.74

Savings:
Everyday Account: $178.79
Bills Account: $226.64
Holiday/Gift Account: $100.13
Emergency Fund: $196.00
Home Loan Deposit Fund: $1518.91

I have $178.79 until next payday (Tuesday and Wednesday) plus $64 that BF owes me.
I have to get:
groceries
a couple of singlets
maybe a book (on sale - not full price!)
plus lunch with a friend today

Should be absolutely fine! And any remaining I think I will put into my home loan account.

I have completely cleared the CC's. I am only using the CC2 for the points anyway so I don't mind if I transfer the money before the actual due date. I know it works well (to buy everything on credit and put the money in an interest earning account until the due date) BUT it stresses me out a little. If it's paid, it's paid, and I don't have to worry about it, and I know my money is MY money.

BF is at work today, so I am by myself atleast until he gets home or flatmate and her boyfriend does.
I have a couple of plans for today. Mainly it involves cleaning (dishes, bathroom, room, washing clothes).
I am also meant to be meeting a friend for lucnh or coffee at 2pm.
I was thinking about going to the shops as I was wanting to get some singlets for summer which is bearing closer and closer now. I bought two a little while ago for $4.99 each and I really like them so far, and they are so cheap. I think the shop still has them. There is also a book sale on... I might take a look at that too. But I won't be buying anything else! I don't need anything else anyway.

Haven't written for a few days, not a great deal to say I guess! Haven't been spending a great deal of money which is goooood!

It looks like this month is going MUCH better than the last few months - every single week so far of september I have spent much less than I've taken in. I am really happy about that, but fingers crossed because it's not over yet!

I am planning on going to the markets on Sunday. Last week we went to the growers market on Saturday, but I hear it has moved this week and I am not quite sure where it is. Also, I have a feeling that the Sunday markets are cheaper. I spent $35 last week on salad ingredients and some extra veges and bananas, and I usually walk away on Sundays with change from $40 and a lot more veges... Hmmm...

I visited my sister this week in the city - so my petrol expenses were doubled this week; it cost around $30 to drive there and back! Couldn't believe it! I suppose I did a bit of driving around the city... but still! I also had a day off so that was less money in my pocket. Fortunately my sis paid for my meal, all I spent was $12 on two juices.

It's Friday afternoon and I've finished work; what a great feeling! Unfortunately BF is working tomorrow. Flatmate is away but will be coming back tomorrow. I sort of hope she doesnt get back til later in the day, it would be nice to have the house to myself for a bit. I might do some drawing or soemthing.

Tonight we are having enchiladas for dinner, with the mexican bean stew I made a few weeks ago and froze in portions. I will be making a salad to go with it.

My pre-cooked and frozen meals came in handy this week, when I visited my sister I got home quite late and was considering takeaway, but straightaway realised I had pasta sauce already in the freezer! It was easy and cheap, I just added some mince to BF's to keep him happy.

I made pumpkin soup this week - I usually make it with cream but didnt have any and didnt want to go to the shop. I had coconut milk in the pantry, but by the time I had whizzed it all up, it looked and tasted just fine without anything else in it, and was probably HEAPS healthier.

I went in and picked up a book I had ordered a couple of weeks ago - Cooking with Kurma by Kurma Dasa. My dad has his books and he cooked a bit from them when I visited him last. Delicious. I really wanted to get a vegetarian cook book seeing as all the cook books I have only have a couple of recipes in them. Of course, you can do substitutions or leave the meat out, but I just really wanted one that was actually FOR vegetarians. Only thing is Kurma doesn't cook with garlic, but I'll just be adding that in when I need to.

I had a quick flick through the book and I can't wait to get home so I can have a good go-over it. Next week I will plan a couple of meals around the recipes.

Tonight for dinner will be a little experiment. I am planning on baking some pumpkin, capsicum and zucchini (and some lamb for BF), blanching some beans and broccoli and caremelising some onions, then i am going to add that all to some plain cooked pasta and stir through the rest of the jar of pesto I have left in the fridge (from the pasta salad I made for my party). I might crumble some fetta over it and add some fresh rocket as well.

Yum Yum!

I need nothing from the store except the meat for BF.

Todays expenses so far:
Book: $30
Florentine Biscuit: $3.70 (i know! rip-off!)
Petrol: $30.31
Phone Bill: $44.45 (my share)

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I am excited because there are three people going on holiday at work at the SAME TIME (which is terribly stressful for my boss - but good for me!). Which means I get to do my maximum hours, and I might even get some easy work serving customers for some shifts. My max hours per week are 30 - I mentioned to my boss if he's REALLY stuck for people to work shifts, I said I would do more, and then he can pay me normally when I want to take time off. I don't really care that much about overtime unless I'm actually working more than 8 hours in a day - if it's spread over a week I couldn't care less if I worked an extra 8 hours and 'only' got $19.78 per hour.

It's starting to warm up now - summer has officially arrived for us. After having a few months not even breaking a sweat at work I had forgotten what it felt like to have to work in a hotbox - ugh!
(I'm not a fan of summer - I much prefer winter: jeans, jumpers, cups of tea, snuggling. As opposed to: anything you wear being too hot, no aircon or ceiling fans in this house, sunburn, feeling lazy etc).

The only things I can look forward to in summer is that it's easier to get up in the morning as the sun has risen already (yes! at 4.30am!) and it's so hot you basically sweat a couple of kilos off.

Of course, I don't HATE summer, but I much prefer winter. Although i do have to give credit to the sunny season as it does make you feel like you actually have to get out there and do something with your life. Just the past couple of weeks I have felt like I am wasting my life by sitting around doing nothing.

I have decided on some goals for the next couple of months. I figure if I write them down they'll be easier to stick to:

- exercise 5 days a week, for 30 min or more.
- have salad for lunch during the week.
- limit spending on coffees and snacks out when meeting with friends to $10 a week or less (a friend and i have started to go for bushwalks and hikes lately which is nice!).
- try to go to the beach at least once a week for a swim (it is five minutes walk away - yes, i can hear it at our house - yes, i know, we're slack, i haven't been to the beach for a swim for a year).
- try a new recipe at least once a week.


If I think of more I will post them. I know it's just starting to get colder for winter for most of you, do you have any winter goals??? And for those of you who are, like me, starting to experience the first rays of cummer, what are your goals?
I remember that I had a couple for winter, one most notably was to eat lots of different types of soups. I think I made minestroni and pumpkin soup. (yes... not a lot, i know...)

well the party was great - nearly everyone made an effort to get dressed up in the theme. although i did say the party started at 4pm and everyone started arriving after 7pm - so that was a bummer and the whole food thing didn't really pan out as planned. so we have lots of leftovers though, which is good!

i didn't really drink that much so i feel fine today. BF drank a lot and subsequently is a couch potato today.

i think in total i had about five shots each of tequila and galliano, and about a bottle and a half of sparkling wine, but didn't really manage to get 'drunk' drunk for the whole night. (you know... the 'drunk' where you can't walk and sway when you're standing still - none of that!)

i got a couple of neat gifts - cushions, a lamp, a book. anyway, good night overall!

Today is the day of my 21st birthday party. It's 7am and it starts at 4pm.

Today I have to:
-Go to the famers market and buy ingredients for salad and our veges for the week.
-Pick up the meat for all the carnivores.
-Make pasta salad
-Make a garden salad
-Clean up outside
-Clean up inside
-Make a playlist
-Do my hair
-Get ready

Thankfully I got my s*** together this week and don't have to do a great deal today!

This is what I have spent so far:

Groceries: approx $45
Other Food: $30
Cutlery/Plates/Cups: $12
Meat: $12
Outfit: $25

Today I only expect to spend about $15 or less on actual food for the party, the rest is groceries for the week.
BF bought me some alcohol (two bottles of Ricaddona Asti - and I have a bottle of Italian sparkling wine in the fridge from my mum too). BF also bought Tequila! Haha. I've never had it before. It has a little mexican hat for a lid and it comes with a shot glass...no worm or scorpion though...

My boss gave me my cake for free (would have cost about $35-$40 retail - I actually made it though...) and a crate full of Diet and Zero Coke - he got a credit from Coca Cola because they weren't selling well and then gave them to me for my party. So that was nice of him. I also spent about half an hour of work time making the cupcakes and cake for my party - and another 45 minutes of my own time.

Well. I am off to the farmers market now.
How exciting! I have been planning for months for this party and it's finally happening!

This week has been the first week on my new rate of pay, and I was hanging out to see what I would get paid for Job #2. I wasn't exactly sure - I thought I calculated it right at $18.47 per hour - I used the wageline website and added the 23% extra for casual rates... and I thought (and accepted) that it was possible my pay may be $17.75 per hour, because I remember seeing that somewhere before...

Anyway, long story short, I got into work today and tried to hold off looking at my payslip as long as I could... about three hours went by and I finally opened it.

$19.78 per hour!

That means my hourly rate has increased $3.62.

More than I expected, and actually pretty decent. It's lessened the blow of having to pay $190 a week in rent (not yet, but soon) - if just a little.


ooooh. Now I get to rework my spending categories/savings/budget! How exciting (in a nerdy way...)

I am feeling like I achieved a fair bit today which is good!

We went vege shopping at the markets today and spent approx $50 (including $10 dog food as we are looking after parents pup).

I made a batch of vegetable pasta sauce which made approx 2 nights of dinners (4 meals) and lunch for BF for the next day, packed in separate containers and frozen.

I made a batch of mexican bean stew (good for nachos/tacos/enchiladas etc) approx three nights dinners (6 meals), packed in separate containers and frozen.

I made a silverbeet/spinach/fetta pie and cut it into four and wrapped separately, frozen. It will be good for approx four nights dinners (8 meals) if I add some steamed veges and a side salad.

I also made about 6 of each:
-banana, sultana & coconut muffins
-apple & cinnamon muffins
-mulberry & strawberry muffins

using spelt flour, oats, brown sugar, plain yoghurt and a little water for the mix.

I also made a mango & peach crumble for dessert tonight, which should be enough for tomorrow night as well.

I will be making a thai vege red curry (with chicken for BF) for dinner tonight to have with rice. I was thinking, seeing as I am on a roll with the cooking today, that I will make a bigger batch and freeze half of it for another time as well.

Would you like to know the ironic part of all this? I have enough food in the pantry and fridge to not use a single pre-made dinner until next week! So that's good news. I think I will use them as a sort of 'takeaway' meal one or two nights a week, without actually getting takeaway (and not spending any money!).

On the menu so far for this week:
-pumpkin soup
-laksa
-homemade pizza
-roast veges (& steak for BF)

So yay for me. I feel like I've done a lot of work today.

Plus, I also vaccuumed the house and cleaned up the kitchen after cooking everything.

Well, i finally got my act together and created an avatar that bears some resemblence to myself, you can see it on my side bar now.

Today and yesterday I did very well with resisting the temptation to spend money on snacks. Yesterday I spent $2.90 on 1L of milk, and $23.50 on petrol. Today I had an automatic deduction come out for rent ($126.67).

I think we may actually get by without spending any more money on groceries this week!

Tonight I am making a vegetable minestroni soup with some meat in it for BF. Tomorrow I am thinking of making red curry, or enchiladas.

I thought we were going to go away for the weekend to BF's mothers, but we are not, which is fine. Flatmate is going away though, so we will have the house to ourselves.

I would sort of like to do something this weekend with BF. I was thinking maybe seeing the movie Taken, I think it looks interesting. Or maybe we could go bowling.

My payrise starts today. I am still unaware how much I get at Job #2, because I am not sure if I calculated it correctly on the wageline website, but here's hoping! I could either get $17.71 p/h or $18.47...
But at job #1 I now get $18 per hour, starting today!

In good news, I recently asked BF to put two new holes in my belt because they were just about not keeping my jeans up, and I have just started fastening it on the second-last one. It's a good sign!

On the flipside, BF (and I) have noticed he's getting 'a little thick' around the middle. (well, as thick as a tradesman can be - I would say it's a very small pot belly - he's usually a mass of muscle of lean-ness) I would say it has something to do with oh... sausage rolls for breakfast, two minute noodles for lunch, potato crisps in the afternoon, dinner, then dessert...? I know he works physically hard for the entire day, but me thinks it's getting to a point where he's eating so much (and so much that is BAD!) that he's not burning it off. And that's really saying something! My boy works pretty damn hard. Eh.
He needs to start consistently (key word here) eating salads for lunch like he used to. (once a fortnight doesn't count, especially when it's combined with all the other stuff!)


I got some chocolates and a pepper grinder, more chocolates, some moleskine journals and a handmade bag for my birthday yesterday as well as the other presents i mentioned in my earlier post.

Went to the post office to check the mail for work and post some letters, but I wasn't allowed in because there was a bomb scare! There were police and firetrucks everywhere.

Well that's all my news for now....

I am now officially 21.

A nice birthday surprise: today in the mail I got my $30 cheque from Emailcash, so I deposited it straight away.

My dad gave me $259 to buy myself a coffee machine - he researched the prices for me for my area and found the cheapest deal, and because he lives two hours on a plane away (so, like 2000km away) he put the money into my bank for me to get it, because he didn't want it wrecked in the mail. I went and bought it on Saturday, so I could have a coffee on my brand new machine this morning!

I don't know what BF has got me yet. I have dropped some hints, so we'll see.

My mum made me a painting (she's an artist), and her partner is paying for dinner tonight - a quiet one at home because of my mum's 'behaviour' last week - i point-blank refused to go anywhere expensive.

No doubt at work my boss will get me to make my own cake - haha (he did that last year).

Even though I think they're ridiculously overpriced, my friend and work-colleague T insists that I should own a pair of Havaiina thongs, so i think she may be getting me a pair of those. I mean, of course a gift is a gift, and I appreciate anything, and I think it's wonderful that she would think to buy me a present, but $25 for a pair of thongs???(flipflops is what i think americans call them...)

My party is in a week and a half so I am guessing I will get something then. Not that I EXPECT anything...

actually, this is sort of lame, but I DO actually expect something.

The only reason is, this is the first actual birthday party I have had where a lot of friends come, even though I have been hanging out with most of them for 5 years. This is basically the first thing I've ever done for my birthday since I was in high school. Every birthday of BF's friends that comes along, everyone pitches in $10-$25 each for a present for them, so they end up getting something that's between $100-$300 worth... so is it wrong for me to expect just a little something??? Just this one time???

Hmmm what else?

I also got in the mail from my local coffee place a free drink card (no purchase neccessary!).

A couple of days ago from my local surf club I got a card wishing me a happy birthday, and an offer of a free bottle of wine with any meal purchased.

I also got a card in the mail from ANOTHER club I am a member of, the Wallace Bishop Jewellery store, with a $25 voucher to spend in store (no purchase neccessary - the best part? membership was FREE!).

Income: $2041.50 ($510.38 p/w)
Job 1: $695.00 ($173.75 p/w)
Job 2: $1219.50 ($304.88)
Other: $127.00 ($31.75 p/w)

Deducted from Savings:
Gifts: $50
Holidays: $150
Bills: $142.69
Total: $342.69


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Expenses: $2113.43
Rent: $506.68 ($126.67 p/w)
Groceries: $219.71 ($54.93 p/w)
Petrol: $113.13 ($28.28 p/w)
Phone & Internet: $26.69 ($6.67 p/w)
Loan Repayment: $148.00 ($37 p/w)
Extra Loan Repayments: $80.00 ($20 p/w)
Skincare: $29.95 ($7.49 p/w)
Mobile Phone: $30 ($7.50 p/w)
Misc: $5
Health & Beauty: $36.50 ($9.13 p/w)
Gifts: $60
Bank Fees: $7
Fun-
Alcohol: $56.50 ($14.13 p/w)
Takaway Beverages: $90.32 ($22.58 p/w)
Takeaway/Dining Out: $239.40 ($59.85 p/w)
Magazines & Books: $13.50
Clothes & Shoes: $83.65 ($20.91 p/w)
Makeup: $21.95
Entertainment: $213.45 ($53.36 p/w)
Staff Lotto: $8 ($2 p/w)
House: $8.00
Car Service: $116.00
---------------------------------------

Savings: $220 ($55 p/w)

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So:
Income: $2041.50
+ saved: $342.69
= $2384.19

Less Expenses: $2113.43
Less Savings: $220.00

Remaining: $50.76

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Whew!

This is the first time that I have used my Holiday/Gifts Fund for what it was supposed to be used for, and it actually worked!

And yes, I know, I know, I spent a lot on the 'Fun' categories. In my defense, I had a wedding and a hens night to go to, which meant two whole weekends a couple of hourse drive away from my home. This month will be much better, the only thing I have to spend on in September is stuff for my party, which should cost roughly $100 or a bit more. I am thining I will take what I can out of my holiday account, if I need to.

I finally went to the market this weekend for our groceries. It has only taken me... oh a few months...
Groceries that will hopefully last us all week cost approx $26 ($13 each).
One thing I did differenly this time was, I didn't shop to a menu. I hardly ever stick to it anyway, and most of the time I buy the same stuff. I am trying to be a little creative with meals, as in, think of them on the spot, not a week in advance, and only using things in the pantry.
Last week, I roasted some vegetables,, boiled some pasta, and tossed the roasted vegetables through with a little homemade pasta sauce and topped with parmesan. It was really yummy, and cheap!

The month of August has technically finished on my expenses calender, so I will be posting those results soon. I warn you, it won't be pretty! What with the Hens Night and Wedding, and my car service... UGH!!! I already know I'm over. The most important part I guess, is that the bit that I'm over is what I took out of my Holiday Fund and Bills Account, so really I should break even...

Last night with a friend I went to the local Hare Krishna Janmastami (Festival of Life).
My friend, lets call her T, joined the Hare Krishna movement for two years. (she has joined many things, i think the poor girl just wants to find herself) however, I thought it was very enjoyable and I had a lot of fun.
Let me explain some things: I've never been religious, and I don't think I ever will be. But the subject interests me to no end. I really find it fascinating the different perceptions and beliefs people have, and the sacrifices they make, the commitment etc.
I love to watch.
I went to a Christian youth group for about a year, they held it every Saturday, and it was one of those rock ones, very un-traditional (well, what I thought anyway). The pastor was about 28, he would tell stories of times he was exposed to drugs and alcohol etc. He really got on a level with the majority of the audience.
I've been to traditonal Catholic and Christian church mornings as well.
To be honest I enjoyed the Hare Krishna gathering about a hundred times more than I enjoyed any of the others. They never forced their beliefs on you; they explained them, they showed films on one of the founders of the movement in America in the late 60's, (i think his name was Srila Probhupada) they sung, they showed examples of yoga, traditional dance, stories etc. It was welcoming, but not at all forceful and it didn't feel like they were 'recruiting' anyone.
At the end, before our meal, they did the famous 'circle' dance. While I'd already told T I didn't want to, she dragged me in, and I am sort of glad I did. I need to get out of my comfort zone sometimes, I am really bad at just standing on the sidelines, wishing I could join in, but feeling too weird.
They didn't ask for donations, although they provided to the entire gathering rice, several curries, salad, ginger tea, and dessert. I had to find the donation box, actually I had to ASK them where it was.
The guy selling Hare Krishna and Indian wares said 'you don't have to give, but if you choose to, you can give what you think your experience was worth'.
I had already decided that I would donate $20. I only had two $20 notes in my wallet, and $20 is what I would normally pay for a meal - I had decided this $20 donation when I was getting ready at home. But I felt a little weird when T and N put some coins in the donation box, so I had to fold up the note so it looked like only a $10. I don't know why I did that really, I just felt weird. Is that weird? I guess it's one of those things, your value of money over someone else's value of money.

Overall, it was a very fun and interesting night. Their talks and films have made me think about some things. While of course, I'm not going to join the movement, it's an interesting concept to consider.

Last night flatmate and her BF went out for dinner, so my BF and I were left to our own devices. I really really did not feel like cooking, and we considered takeaway for about 5 minutes. But because we have been on each others backs about super-saving until the end of the year, we decided to not spend $30+ on dinner and instead I pulled some pasta sauce out of the freezer that I had pre-made and frozen. (even THAT felt like an effort!) Bolognaise for BF and a vege packed sauce for me! And I also had a corner of a pizza base that had cracked off in the freezer, so i crushed some garlic on it, added some herbs and grated cheese and we had some garlic bread!
I felt good saving that money, as well as knowing that the food was fresh (well, fresh when I made it, then frozen!) the pasta was organic, and I had even made the dough for the garlic bread myself at work!
And I was able to watch Neighbours while I cooked it, heh heh (the truth comes out - I usually watch Neighbours every night...)

I am starting to run low on our stock of frozen pasta sauce though, so I will have to make some more. Tomorrow I am determined to go to the market, as I have not been in weeks.

On monday we are having a building and pest inspection done on our house. I don't know why?! The real estate has assured me that the owner is not selling, so I guess maybe that means that they are worried about us living here? I have always felt a little unsure living here, as the real estate aren't exactly friendly (we got a phone call about our lawn being 'ho-hum' and that we had 24 hours to mow it - even though it had been raining for 2 weeks) and I know for a fact we were the 'second choice' for occupants, which makes me feel a little edgy.

Anyone that has rental properties that they own, what would be your reasons for a building and pest inspection? I am planning on tidying up a little today and tomorrow, but I am not sure how far I should really go (as BF is working and flatmate has HER BF over - so therefore won't be much help - I don't want to clean the entire house myself). Apparently it will be the council doing the inspection, not the real estate, although the real estate MAY be there. So I was thinking just a general tidy-up, vaccuum & mop, sweep outside and clean the windows??? would there be anything else I would have to do? what about gardening? I HATE GARDENING!!! ok, I wouldn't mind if it was my own house, but it's not.

anyway.
any advice or thoughts would be appreciated

It's my 21st on Tuesday, and I get a payrise! I decided I have put it off long enough, trying to not get myself too excited about the prospect of a boost to go to savings, but it is less than a week away now, so it's time to do the figures:

JOB 1:
Old Wage: ($16.16 p/h gross)
Net: $328.50

JOB 2:
Old Wage: $14.00 p/h gross)
Net: $175.00

Total: $503.50

and now, added with the *approximate* new wage:

JOB 1:
New Wage: ($18.47 p/h gross)
Net: $367.34

JOB 2:
New Wage: ($17.50 p/h gross)
Net: $214.50

Total: $581.84

That's an extra $78 a week I can put into savings. I also get $60 a fortnight from my dad, which means my income is bumped up to just over $600 a week.

First off, I just wanted to say thankyou to all the kind comments and advice from my previous post. While it's not really MY financial problems, it did have some financial bone in the post and overall I think I just wanted to have a whinge. The worst part is yet to come as I have decided I will have to atleast say something to my mum (I have a habit of trying to ignore these things) and I also have to find out if she has told her partner yet - I don't want to be responsible for keeping something from him like that, and also the fact that I have a lot of financial control in his accounts as well will not inspire trust if he isn't told asap about this.

On another note, BF and I have been talking about this property thing. What we have decided to do is SAVE SAVE SAVE for the rest of the year. On top of this, we are looking into possibilities of renting again for another six months. While I am sure some of you will breathe a sigh of relief about this, I will also share the facts:
Renting now: $126.67 for me and $136.67 for BF.
In six months, if we can't find someone to rent with us, rent will increase to approximately $200 each. No doubt that will put a big dent in our ability to save. If we move somewhere else, that is smaller, rent will still be around $160 each.

We have one option which we have been talking about, which is a married couple (we'll call them M and F) that we know who live a few hours away who want to move to our area. Both the couples parents live near us as well. The mother of F has cancer, and it looks as though she might be at the end of her life. F is also expecting her first child in the start of 2009. M and F also have two dogs.

This would reduce our rent to around $100 each per week. The internet would also be reduced from $25 per week to $19. It would be a financially beneficial move for all of us (as M & F want to save for a deposit too) however, it would mean that we would be living with a newborn baby for about 5 months. It would also mean that BF may have to spend a fair amount of money fixing one of his cars so that it is driveable (therefore M & F can have half of the garage - currently BF has two cars in the garage). That would be putting a halt on our house deposit savings. I estimate a couple of K on the car. Also, BF and I would have to move to a smaller room. Currently we have the ensuite master bedroom. I think it would be only fair if M & F had the larger bedroom when they are expecting a baby.

Anyway. So those are our choices really. Current flatmate is moving at the end of the year, to live with her BF who is a couple of hours away. There's no chance of any of that changing.

So we either rent this place by ourselves, for $400 a week.
Or we find a cheaper place to rent, at a minimum of $320 a week.
Or M & F decide to move in with us, and our rent is split four ways.
Or, we save for just the mortgage insurance, and give the big bad banks $10k of our hard earned money. Plus stamp duty and fees, of course.

oh well. atleast i am trying to look at other possibilities. i thought you would all be proud.

(warning: vent/rant)

some of you may remember my situation from my old blog. i work for my family's business as a book keeper. on and off for the past four years i have had trouble with my parents as they seem to be going into debt faster and faster each year; they spend their money faster than they make it. i am responsible for paying the bills, wages, recording spending, invoicing clients, chasing up non-payers, part of the tax stuff, and general office duties. it is a sole-trader operated business, and that sole trader is my mums partner. i have tried so hard to make them see that they can't keep living like this, but it falls on deaf ears. recently i have decided to not involve myself in their personal financial affairs. it is difficult, obviously, because the business is essentially their personal affiars. however, i zip my lips when i have any comments on their personal spending.
i warned them about three months ago that, although we had 'available' funds, they were already spoken for through bills due at the end of the month etc. so the business basically had no money, three months ago. their response was that they don't spend any extra on anything, their only personal expenses were groceries and household bills, and that they are cutting back on business expenses such as advertising, and not buying any new tools. somehow they conveniently foget their lunch outings ($300 in one go: $30 on food, the rest on pokies - yes, it's a regular occurence, sometimes twice weekly). they also forget their 'alternative therapies' (acupuncture, naturopath etc), hippy crystals (dont ask) lump sums on clothes, etc etc.
they also somehow justified buying a brand new vehicle for the business (48k on the van, a further 12k on interest over 6 years), even though i advised strongly against it. (i said, save profit for six months and then buy it, save yourself 6k. 'no, no, it's tax deductable' they said)
anyway. so currently mums partner is away for a few weeks (holiday - another expense) and mum has decided she deserves a mini-holiday as well, which basically means only doing half the office work, not calling clients back on time, and hanging out with a single-mother friend duing the day.
so basically it's come to a crunch time. i have been able to roll the bills over each other while money has been coming in, but now the excess available money is dwindling, and the bills are still coming in. my conversation last week with my mum:
her: so we've still got money yeah?
me: no. in fact we have about 4k in the red. i've been saying this for months, but now there is actually NOT enough money to pay the bills.
her: oh. can't we just take it out of the mortgage? (note: the mortgage had 125k available for renovations, and now has 8k. only about 50k has been used for renovations, the rest has been 'topping up' the business account)
me: there's only a little bit left. it will be gone soon, and the renovations are only half done. what are we going to do when its all gone, and there's a half finished house and thousands due for business bills?
her: oh. we'll have to cut back on advertising or something.
me: $150 a fortnight isn't going to do shit.
her: oh.


ok. so you would think a normal reaction would be one or all of the following: sit and think about the finances. work out a proper budget. eat noodles all week, not go out at all, while silently stressing. anything remotely financially fiscal, you would think? yeah?

let me add a note here:
my mother gets a wage, plus family benefits. she probably earns roughly more or the same as me, ($500 a week). her partner pays ALL the bills, vet bills, school fees etc and all my mother has to do is get groceries each week. you would think for a family of four, who shop at the market, you would have some money left over from that each week for whatever you want to do with, entertainment, clothes etc.
so here was my conversation with my mother this morning:

her: i have to tell you something, because you'll find out anyway.
me: yeah?
her: i was naughty on the weekend. i went out. i took some money out of the business account.
me: oh
her: some of it was for groceries. not all of it was naughty.


i checked the business account, and there was roughly $850 taken out in increments. so, from wednesday to saturday (4 days) my mother has managed to spend $1350.
so you would be thinking, oh, that's a lot of groceries right? or even, that's a lot of clothes.
no.
it's a lot of pokies.

yes. that's right. my mum withdrew the money from the business checking account, while her partner was on the other side of the country on a holiday.

i mean, OF COURSE that's a totally normal reaction to 'oh, we need to save money, we're in debt'.

I am just so f******* pissed off.
I have tried so hard to make them both see that it can't go on like this. And what good has it done? She's gone and spent MORE money, which we don't even have in the first place. I've tried to get them to see a financial planner, with no avail. I've even offered to PAY for it, to an extent, just so someone who isn't family can knock some sense into them. The thing is they make out to other family and friends that it's a successful business that makes a lot of money, and they go on and on about their renovations and how beautiful their house will look once it's done etcetc.

What do you say? What can you do? How do I make them see what they are doing?
Sometimes I feel like all I am really doing is rearranging their spending. Organising their excessiveness into rows and columns. Trying to find a magical way where it actually seems like there is money in the bank. I don't feel like there is any point in it all, because they don't listen, and they don't do anything proactive about their situation. They won't change their lifestyle. If they do, they do it for a week, get bored, and go out and spend money at the pokies. Or they do it for a week, get bored, and decide they need an expensive water-filter for their drinking water, a boat, a new car, a kayak, a weekend away, a new hobby that requires more money etc etc.

The thing is, this time it will be fine. I mean, hey! we have 8k in the mortgage! But that will only get us through til next time. And next time will only be in a few months. And in a few months, I'm going to have to go through this frustration again, feeling like I'm talking to a brick wall. Or a baby. Or a dog.

Argh.

I am just so angry at my mother. She seems to be able to carry on like it really isn't that bad, spending a grand at the pokies. Maybe to Richard Branson it might not be that bad, but my mother, like I said, earns aroudn the same that I do. At the moment, my house fund is a little over 1k, and I would personally rather shoot myself in the foot than spend that at the pokies. The thing is, it's not even HER money. Even though they're partners, sure, they share the money, but the money ahs already been spent on bills, and the money, in the first place, is in her partners account. Argh. I am so *&%$#(& pissed off.

sorry guys :S

end vent/rant

I haven't done very well in tracking my expenses this week, mainly due to the wedding I guess. (Mainly due to me not wanting to know how much we really spent!). We were away for the entire weekend, and I had Friday off as well. Now I can settle back into routine. I am planning on running again atleast 3 times a week, and hopefully 4-5 times, depending on schedule. I was meant to go for a run on Monday afternoon but I went kayaking instead so I guess it is still exercise.
I went bowling on the weekend (the day after the wedding) and now my arm and right side hurts! I won the second game though...

Overall it was a spendy spendy weekend. Because I don't know the exact amounts, I am estimating and hoping I don't leave anything out. It is better to have some sort of idea of my spending than just giving up completely, right???

Expenses:
Magazine: $7.50
Breakfast: $8.00
Gift: $50 cash
Alcohol: $18
Bus: $10
Breakfast: $40 (BF and I)
Groceries for dinner: $17.23 (BF and I)
Bowling: $17 (for two games)
Drinks: $7.20
Breakfast: $20.40 (BF and I - a cheaper and nicer place second time round!!!)

Total: $195.33

Whew, isn't too bad considering I transferred $200 from my gifts/holidays fund!!! I thought it would be way more. Of course, it's still a lot. But these events only happen rarely in our group of friends, (for example, there was a wedding last year, then this one, and then the next one will most probably be BF and myself - and we're a long way off!) I think it's worth the expense because it was just such a great time.

On another note, we got our phone & internet bill, which is $88. BF and I are sharing the cost without other flatmate this month as she was away for a month. It's funny, she accepted the offer straight away to not pay it, even though I went away in June-July for three weeks and still had to pay the bill.

well, my boss's wife came in yesterday to talk about the loan information i wanted.

I WISH SHE HADN'T!!!

and I wish we could have trolloped along in our own oblivious way.

however, here is the big picture, all are relating to a property around $320 000:

scenario a)
No Deposit = $10 000 in mortgage insurance, plus another approx $4000 in fees.
total need for scenario a: $14 000 (approx)

scenario b)
5% deposit ($16 000) = $5000 in mortgage insurance, plus another approx $4000 in fees.
total need for scenario b: $25 000 (approx)

scenario c)
5% deposit($10 000 from BF's mum and $6000 of our own) = $5000 morgagte insurance and approx $4000 in fees - HOWEVER we would have to sign a statuary declaration about our intention to pay back the $10 000 (as the bank would treat it as another loan that we have), as well as having a written and signed legal document with BF's mum as well.
total need for scenario c: $15 000.00 plus $10 000 from BF's mum.

There is also the $7000 first home owners grant, but I have this feeling you don't get it until you've bought the house, which could be a bit tricky.


We have just under six months. It's going to be tough. We've talked a little about it already (which is a HUGE step!).

I have already worked this out:

Weekly Net Income: $1291.50
Less:
Rent: $263.34
Bills: $100
Food: $140
(my) phone: $4
(my) skincare: $8.15
(my) petrol: $30.00
(my) loan payment: $37
bank fees: $2

Total available after expenses per week:
$707.01

If we were to save $700 per week, for 25 weeks, we could possibly save $17 500.
Plus my approx savings: $1500
Plus BF's approx savings: $2000
Plus Bf's tax refund approx: $1700

$22700.00



What I want to know is, who has done this? who has gone from spending as much as they want to spending NOTHING at all? i've allowed about $40 extra for groceries than i normally do per week. BF does not pay for his mobile phone or petrol. I have not included alcohol for BF, although he does drink. I have calculated it on our normal incomes. BF sometimes works more or less. I sometimes work more or less. I also haven't included $60 a fortnight which my dad gives me.

I feel bad, but I think I've given up before we've even started. It just seems too hard.

I just transferred $150 from my Holiday/Gifts Fund into my main account, and $50 from my EF (because my Holiday/Gifts fund didn't have enough yet!). That's what it's there for, right?!

I feel bad taking the money out, but it does make me feel a hell of a lot better knowing I am taking it out for what it's actually meant to be used for!

The $200 is for the wedding this weekend. Some of it is because I am taking a day off work to go, and part of it is a cash gift for the bride and groom.

This means I had to delete one of the "goals reached" on my Holiday & Gifts fund, but I am sure that it won't be long until I reach it again.

Oh well. That's why I have these accounts! So I can take money out of them when I need to!