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!

For the past 2 weeks we have had visitors staying at our house, and they left late last week. Also our flatmate, who had been away for a month, returned. It was nice to have the visitors, but I definately noticed an increase in spending, as we would often have takeaway, or I would cook for all four of us (they cooked once). They were our guests and seeing as I didn't know them well enough as I know our other friends, I didn't exactly feel comfortable asking them to pitch in on grocery items and dinners (unless we got takeaways). So BF and I paid for about 3/4 of their dinners. (breakfasts and lunches they did their own thing).

Now everything is back to normal I am looking forward to a decrease in Takeaway Food and Groceries spendings. I know I have to work on some dining out expenses as I have been having coffees with a friend about 2 or 3 times a week, and I stupidly decide each time that I won't bother to pack some snacks and 'will be fine to just have a coffee and wait til dinner', which usually ends in my stomach grumbling at me and my friend and I sharing a bowl of chips or some other equally fattening non-essential item we could have easily avoided.

I have also not been walking AT ALL lately. Usually I have atleast 3 x 30 minute walking/jogging afternoons a week at the beach along a track, but have not really gotten back into it since my holiday. So this is all going to start again next week, on monday after work. NO excuses! and I have decided I will jog an extra 10 minutes each session just because I have been so lazy.
Fortunately I have not put on any weight, though I am sure that will change unless I do something immediately!

I am going to make a meal plan for this week. This vegetarian/meateater combination is a tricky one sometimes, but it's working. Tonight I think we will have homemade pizzas as I have some bases in the freezer which I made last week.
For the toppings we will have: artichoke hearts, pineapple, onion, capsicum, roast pumpkin, olives, sundried tomato, with a tomato and garlic sauce, fresh herbs and on BF's side he will have some sliced lamb.

A Hens Day/Night of expenses:

Transport: $10
Coffees (while waiting for people to turn up): $7.40
Snack: $2.40
Parking (shared): $5
Boat Cruise: $20
Alcoholic Beverages: $38.50 (for FOUR drinks)
Lunch: $6.20
Dinner: $18.50
Scarf: $10 (it was freezing!)
Breakfast: $33.30
Coffee: $3.70

Total: $130.00


...I am cringing at how much the wedding is going to cost me next week!

I (finally) got my car serviced yesterday. (It has done 219 000km and was supposed to have a service at 210 000km).
I stressed for the entire morning wondering how much it would be, and whether I had enough cash in my Bills Account for the service, and whether or not he would find anything horribly wrong with it. I got a call at 2pm telling me it was ready, and that the only thing that needed fixing in the next six months was the brake pads, to relieve the shudder in the steering wheel (whew! i thought it might have been the cv joints!).
So, I get there, and whip out the CC to pay for the minor service, expecting over $200. How much? $116!!!
I was so happy.
Of course, the quote for the brake pads and rotors is $352.00, however now I am aware of that I will have enough money for it.

After that, I went into town with the intent on looking for some kind of jacket so wear to the hens night this saturday. Target were having a sale and I bought a polka dot satin shirt, a navy cardigan and another short sleeve jacket, for $56.00 all up. Would you like to know the best thing about all this? I got it entirely for FREE because I used up three gift cards I had in my wallet. One was a christmas bonus, one was a survey reward card, and one was a credit card reward gift card. I still have $4.91 left on one of the cards!

I thought that my day went fantastically well. The only bad bit was that I spent $6.30 on lunch, $28.05 on petrol and a whopping $3.99 on a drink that I didn't bother to check the price on before I bought it. That'll teach me. So I am putting $10.30 onto my debt for those two.

...vegetarian meal?

I seem to have a loss of inspiration in the cooking department lately, and everyone here always seems to have great ideas.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Or anything that has meat in it, that can be easily cooked without as well, will do.

I am having my 21st Birthday Party in a month, and am starting to get things organised so it isn't a major stressout the week before the party. It is a dress-up theme, and therefore at my home.
The guests are bringing their own alcohol and I am supplying food.
I am stressing a little about the food, I don't want to not have enough, because that would be terrible. But I don't want to have too much either. People are meant to arrive at around 4pm, as it is meant to be a relaxed afternoon (I am not really the 'party'-party type, I prefer talking and catching up to loud music and shots until 1am) so I will need enough food for about 25 people for afternoon snacks and dinner. So far I have planned:

for nibbles:

- 40 x mini spinach & fetta rolls
- 40 x mini quiches
- 30 cupcakes
- cheeses, crackers & dips

for dinner (around 6pm)
- 3 large bowls of baked seasoned wedegs
- a large garden salad
- a large pesto pasta salad
- a large potato salad
- various loaves of fresh bread and rolls
- sausages & vege patties on the bbq

for dessert:
- cake

I am also planning on buying about five bottles of flavoured soft drink, plus of course paper plates, plastic cups and knives and forks.

One thing I am wondering is, are there too many 'nibbles'? or should I be putting some of the things for nibbles out when i put the dinner out (like the quiches and spinach and fetta rolls..?)

Is there anything I am missing???

EDIT: I forgot to say, I will be getting the quiche, spinach & fetta, cupcakes & cake from my work (ie. probably making them myself as well!) so they will not cost a great deal)

so to speak...

well, my 'entertainment' budget seems to have burst at the seams last week. i would love to stick my head in the sand and pretend i didn't spend the money, but i thought if i get it out now it will help me deal with it at the end of the month!!!

So this was my blow-out for last week:
CD: Portisheads new album Third ($19.95)
CD: Becks new album Modern Guilt ($24.95)
DVD: 1st Series of X files on eBay ($37.98)
plus some other purchases here and there. They were my main ones. Normally it wouldn't matter if it was one of those purchases in a month, but this was THREE in ONE WEEK. argh.
so many new albums from bands i love. i mean, how culd i possibly resist???

In line with my not-wanting-to-spend-much-money-this week train of thought *cough* we went to the movies last night. (X-files movie - not too bad but not much sci-fi, a lot more relationship talk than i would have liked... oh well. can't say i wouldn't watch anything with david duchovny in it anyway...)
To be fair, it was cheap night, so the ticket itself cost $8.50.
Total Expenditure last night:
Movie: $8.50
Coffee: $3.75
Icecream: $4
Kebab: $10
Water: $1.40
Total: $27.65

$17.75 of that I am transferring to my loan my debt is now *officially* under 4k.

This is hardly financial, but i just wanted to write a little post wishing Morgan Freeman the best in recovery.

If I prayed (which I don't) he would certainly be in my prayers.

Of course, I am assuming what I read online was true (i'm taking a chance here) in that he was seriously injured in a car accident and is in hospital.

I'm not one to follow celebrity stories, or buy gossip magazines (i am a reformed gossip-mag-girl - have been for a year or so now!) however, I did feel a little tinge of something when I read the report. I admire Morgan Freeman as an actor, he is one of the veterans in the industry and I greatly enjoy most or all of the roles he has played.

I will be keeping him in my thoughts today.

Hopefully this week (or next week, depending on how much interest is added on the 8th) my personal loan should be at UNDER $4000. How exciting. I am then roughly $300 off Goal # 2.

$730.28 away from Goal # 3 for my House Deposit/Uni Savings.

$94.79 away from Goal # 1 for my Emergency Fund.

$205.51 away from Goal # 2 for my Gifts & Holidays Fund.

Unfortunately however the Gifts & Holidays Fund will have some setbacks this month. I will be taking $50 out for a wedding gift, and also $113.12 out as I am taking a Friday off for the wedding, and that's how much I would have earnt for the day.

It's a setback, but that's the whole point of it being there, so in a way it's kind of exciting to use it for what it's meant to be used for!

In other news, I think I might start the $20 challenge again this week. I will be adding the extra money to my House & Uni Fund, for anything positive that I do financially or health-wise.

I will also be adding to my debt any small purchase amounts like takeaway coffee (for example) that could have been avoided, so essentially when I make a stupid purchase I will be paying for it twice

Well, it's 5am here and I have to run for work now. Take care everyone!

i'm sorry, but i am just so sick of seeing all these 'new blogs' spring up that are just marketing for some other product or loan or website. when i see a new blog listed, i am genuinely interested in reading a newbie's financial revelations, not some essay on car loans. it is just so disappointing.

Is there ANYONE here that actually reads them and says 'hey, what a good idea, i think i'll go buy that/do that/go to that website' ???

*Please Note: This is my Earnings & Expenditure for TWO months in total, added together. It is easier for me this way as I went on holiday and things would look a bit scary if I were to do the months by themselves! XD
I am proud of my savings efforts though.

Income:
Job 1: $999
Job 2: $2193.37
Other: $1264
Holiday Savings: $1300
Total Income: $5756.37

Expenses:
Rent: $1266.70
Savings: $1230
Fun: $949.82
Loan Repayments: $410
Groceries: $353.42
Petrol: $175.11
Bills: $52.85 (phone & internet) $92.35 (electricity for 3 months)
Skin Care: $69.85
Mobile Phone: $60
Grooming: $52.10
Misc: $46.08
Work Expenses: $22.24
Bank fees: $8
Gifts: $5

Total Expenses: $5743.34

So I earned $13 more than I spent over the past two months! Well, atleast I didn't overspend. And I also managed to save over $1200.