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.

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!

(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 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.

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 morning my pay went in for Job # 1 and I transferred $11.69 to the Stupid Vault.

New Loan Balance: $4288.47
New Stupid Vault Balance: $20.93

I also transferred $60 into my bills account. Once the money goes in for Job # 2 I will be transferring the remaining balance for CC # 2. Then I will officially have no credit card balance at all!!! How exciting, I haven't had that for months!

I will have to set up and change some automatic transfers over the next three weeks for:
Bill A/C: $60 weekly
Rent: $126.67 weekly
EF, Uni Fund: $20 weekly
Gift/Holiday Fund: $10 weekly

Why, you ask?

Because, I AM GOING ON HOLIDAY!!! Yes, that's right. A three week holiday to visit my dad, step-mum, sister, granparents, brother, sister in law, nephew, aunties, uncles...

It will be my last holiday of length for five years, if my University plans go ahead. So I am really looking forward to seeing all my family, as they all live in another state. The plane leaves next Tuesday. (This is what I have been saving for in my Holiday Fund).

I say 'holiday of length' because I am sure there will be many long weekends in there (being one that likes music festivals, bands, camping, trips away etc) but I am certain I won't be able to afford any holidays spanning weeks for a very long time!

I will miss BF terribly. Did you know, the longest we have ever been apart in five years is a couple of four week holidays here and there, and a couple of one week work-related trips for bf?

Whilst on holiday I am going to try and keep a spending log, so atleast I know what I spend when I am on holiday. This will let me plan for future trips too, incase I am able to save for a plane ticket.

Once I am back from my holiday I should have some surplus to keep me going for a week, and then I will be back into saving, saving, saving. My main priorities will be:

-a car service
-my EF goal # 2
-my goal # 2 for Personal Loan
-visiting my sister for two days in august

If I have a lot of money left over from my holiday I might consider checking out the stocktake sale in myer, as they sell a brand of jeans that I really like which are around $100 normally, but I can usually pick them up for under $50.

Today my expected spendings will be dinner, as we are having dinner with BF's mum. They usually have specials at the place we are going to at around or under $10, so I will try to keep it at $15 for drinks as well. That should be all the money I am spending today.

Anyway that is my update for today

my flatmate went to a housewarming party of a friend of hers and her bf's. they have been together for roughly 2.5-3 years and have just bought a house together. she is a real estate receptionist, so i understand the need and determination of someone in that profession to own property, but i wonder if they aren't jumping the gun a little on buying together? apparently the boy contributes more money to the mortgage than her as well.

eh.

sometimes i wonder why it seems so easy for other people.

the one thing that made me smile is, about a year ago they took out a five year term personal loan of $6000 to get a plasma television. apparently (according to flatmate) that is the only thing of value in the house, other than the house itself.

Yesterday I only spent money on petrol ($23) and milk ($2.39L) so I am adding 50c to my challenge money as I see it as a partial NSD - as in I only spent money on neccesities.

A friend of mine took me and my little brother and sister to a resort near our house where her friend works, and we snuck in and had a go on the resort lagoon's catamarans (we actually got stuck in the middle of the lagoon as there was no wind and then the friend had to come out in her boat and push us back in), fed some fish, and then jumped on this giant trampoline in the middle of the lagoon. It was heaps of fun, and FREE!