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.

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?

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.

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...)

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...)

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


---------------------------------------

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)

---------------------------------------

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

Less Expenses: $2113.43
Less Savings: $220.00

Remaining: $50.76

----------------------------------------

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

*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.

i have found in the couple of weeks i have been back from my holidays that i have been spending less than i did before i went on holidays.
it FEELS like my spending is out of control, but the expenditure log begs to differ.
other than the $180 dress i bought for the wedding, (which i had funds for anyway) my expenses each week are much less than what i have been earning, and much less than i was spending per week before my holiday.
and yet i have been going out for coffee a few times a week with friends, spending more on groceries, buying crap i don't need...
i have double checked the amounts, and every cent i have spent is there, listed. i have even paid for some costs that BF could have shared (like tea tree shampoo, a nail scrubber, some grocery costs i hadn't bothered to divide).

i have come to the conclusion that limiting the strictness of my budget, and relaxing a little on how i spend my money, is a good thing. it allows me to make decisions without feeling bad about it so much. i guess it's like a diet, if you control your eating so much you end up eating five tubs of icecream before too long. if i try too hard to limit my expenses i feel trapped and end up spending more.

i talked to my boss today about BF and I discussing (and agreeing) to talk to some banks/mortgage brokers/lenders about loans and property etc. my boss said he would talk to his wife if I wanted (his wife is a manager of a bank). I said yes, figuring (as she is pregnant) that it might take her a while to get some stuff together. Anyway, about an hour later she called me at work to ask some financial questions and said she would get back to me in a few days to tell me an idea of whether she thinks we can get a loan and what interest rate we will be offered.
HOW EXCITING!
It's not that we are actually going to DO anything just yet, but I am really interested to see how our finances stack up.
She also advised me (of which i was aware of anyway) to save as much as we could and for the time being make minimum payments or a bit more on my loan, as it would be better to have money saved and still have a small loan than have no money saved.

anyway. like i said, it's not that we are buying anything for a long time, but i guess you have to make the first step. i am just glad i have friends and people i can count on in areas like this so that i never have to do anything without being looked after. it takes a lot off my mind.

New Savings Deduction Amounts:

Emergency Fund: $20 weekly
(current balance: $64.82 goal: $1200 amount left to go: $1135.18)

Gifts/Holiday Account: $15 weekly
(current balance: $113.84 goal: $500 amount left to go: $386.16)

Uni/House Fund: $50 weekly
(current balance: $525.15 goal: $10000 amount left to go: $9474.85

Bills Account: $60 weekly
(current balance: $212.57)

Debt:
Loan Repayment: $37 weekly
Extra Loan Repayment: $40+ weekly
(current balance: $4153.24-)



gosh, isn't it funny how direct debits seem to take over your money (and life) and suddenly there is none left? it's a bit overwhelming sometimes!

from my tax return, which I just completed online. woohoo! i love doing my tax straight away. of course, i am sure had I OWED money I wouldn't have done it as quickly...
I am putting $350 in my savings and $350 on my loan, and the spare change is going on my credit card payment.

I thought I would just list my expenses for my holiday in detail:

Food: $72.55
Beverages: $61.50
Clothes: $77.95
Entertainment: $50 (Circus Oz ticket)
Magazines: $8.20
Books: $76.90
Misc: $12.30
Transport: $22.00
Total: $381.40

This is for three weeks. The reason my spending was so low is because I was staying with my dad, stepmum and little sister, so I had most homecooked meals and a lot of my dining out meals were paid for (even though I tried hard to pay for myself).

Now I am back into the swing of things again. I worked yesterday and today. (a rude shock to my system, my first day of work having started at 5.30am on a monday - quite a bit different from three weeks of waking up at around 9am!!!)

I am going to allow myself two weeks of leeway before I begin my challenge and stupid vault counting again. by this time I will have started to get full pays again and will have sorted out all my money!

It is now officially tax time, woohoo! I am currently writing up the group certificates for Work #1, and will be getting my Work #2 group certificate with my payslip on thursday.

Also apparently my boss and his wife at Work #2 handed out $25 coles-myer gift cards to all the staff with our group certificates for putting in a good effort over the year, which is lovely. (we also get $50 gift cards for christmas and a bottle of bubbles, and scratchies-cards for our birthdays...) Yes, it's a nice place to work.

I don't know how much I will get back from my tax return but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for $700+.

While I was on holidays I also reached Goal # 1 on my Personal loan for $4250 balance. It is now at approximately $4190. I will update all of my savings and debt amounts later.

Well that will be all for now. Thankyou for reading but I have to get back to work now

Today I paid the remaining $84.67 on my CC # 2 and now I officially have NO BALANCES on ANY of my CC's.
Which means my only debt is my personal loan. Technically I never actually had CC 'debt', as I always paid the full amount at the end of the cycle, but I always had a balance. So it's a very freeing feeling. I like transfering the money as soon as I spend it, I think I will keep doing it, it makes me feel on top of things.
I have set up a $60 transfer into my bills account for the next three weeks, as I probably won't have much access to the internet over my holiday. On Monday night I am going to adjust my automatic transfers for my online savings accounts as well, and transfer ALL of my holiday savings into my main account. I have worked hard for these savings, so I am not going to feel guilty for whichever way I decide to spend the money.
I am already a low spender type of person. I wouldn't say I'm especially frugal, and I like to have fun (sometimes a bit TOO much) however I am not the type of person to blow a paycheck on shoes or clothes, nor my holiday savings on a bunch of crap I won't use. I know if I have any money left over I will put it to good use as well.
Last holiday, I was with a friend who tried to convince me to buy something from a Country Road store, even though I wasn't really that interested, I only said I liked some of their clothes. Her reasoning? "you work hard, you deserve it."
deserve what? a piece of overpriced clothing that i only sort of like?
sheesh.

I am looking forward to seeing the SATC movie, haven't seen it yet. I was waiting to see it with my step-mum. She has already seen it but would like to see it again.
Oooh, can't wait! Only five more days to go!

In other news:
I got some bread rolls from work today (FREE!) so we are having burgers tonight for dinner:
Homemade beef rissoles, lettuce, tomato, cheese, cucumber, pineapple and beetroot.
Yum!
Bread rolls are normally 70c each, so I am adding 70c to my challenge, as well as $1 for a NSD today. New balance: $77.98

Last night we went out for dinner and I spent $2.20 on a drink and $12.50 on a pasta dish. It was delicious; a garlic, chicken and mushroom fettucine pasta. I think I did quite well for the night.

That's all my news for now!

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

BF and I were watching A Current Affair the other day and they had a feature on the 'Top 5' money saving tips. Of course, we watched it. I laughed at the tips:

-Sell things you don't need.
-Get a second job.
-Put your money in an interest earning account.
-Get an investment property.
-Ask for a payrise.


I regularly sell things on auction sites, and we plan to have a garage sale. BF makes furniture from scratch. I have two jobs, and a new third income source. I have had ING accounts for three years and a Bankwest Account (which they revealed as the Top Interest Earning Account @ 8.25%) for two and a half years. I also set up a Bankwest Account and automatic payment for BF. Our ultimate goal is to own investment properties, and we will probably start with our foot in the door by buying a unit which we will then use to buy another home. BF just got a payrise to nearly $30 an hour, and I too will be getting one in a few months.

They say these are the top 5 money savings tips, but I bet any money that most people on this site have already applied atleast one or two of these tips (and probably all) to their daily lives, and long ago. So my question is, how can I save money? I am always disappointed by saving tips, because most of them I already know and/or realise and apply them to my life.

-I don't drink often (once every six months on average - yes I said not often!)
-I don't smoke.
-I have curbed my magazine addiction quite significantly, and my book buying has decreased (to zilch) since I joined the library).
-I have also curbed takeaway and dining out to a maximum of one meal a week out.
-I stopped buying so many takeaway beverages - I wait til I get home for a coffee now, and make my own juice.
-I don't wear expensive brand clothes.
-I don't drive a gas guzzler - it's a 1998 4-cyl nissan pulsar.
-I don't go out regularly at all - maybe once a month.
-We always go for the cheaper option of everything when we do go out - the 'cheap movie' of the week, coupons for bowling, discount cards for most things, etc.
-I have the lowest possible mobile bill and the lowest possible internet bill.
-I pay extra on my loan, and am attempting to pay it off in half the loan term.
-The only splurges I have seem to be music festival weekends or bands, however I save for these events in advance. See below:
-My recreational use of drugs is quite limited, planned and saved for (yes, it's probably the oddest thing you've heard - and no, I don't need a lecture, how many of you have a glass of wine after work? i won't lecture you about that, even though I rarely drink and have my own opinions about it)
-I don't give a lot of gifts to people.
-I don't pay for others.
-I don't have a gym membership.
-I get a lot of music for free because my dad has an awesome job
-One expense I seem to have is purcahses of dvd's and movies, but even then it is not overboard.

On my budget analysis, the sections that I overspend on are my personal allowance/fun money, however in the past few months it has decreased significantly. Looking closely at it, there are no amounts that stand out either. I may spend $50 on clothes one week, but then nothing on clothes for a couple of months after that. I think my main problem is those 'stupid purchases' for which I've come up with a plan to stop, anyway. (see the stupid vault). So is this the only option I have to save money? Obviously the one thing I am doing to EARN more money is to study at university so I can get a higher earning job, but that still doesn't help with the 'saving of money'.

Last week I did some cleaning work and am charging out at $36.60 per hour. I did 6 hours of work so that means I earnt $219.60 for the day. Doing the cleaning work means I missed out on a day of my office work, where I earn around $105 per day less tax. So in the end I earnt extra:

cleaning: $219.60 less GST of $19.96 = $199.64 for the day
officework: $105 less payg tax $17.00 = $88 for the day

199.64 less 88 = $111.64 extra earnt.

In normal circumstances I would endeavour to put all of the extra earnings into my new challenge money, but as I still have an outstanding amount on my CC for my dentist visit I will be putting all the money on that.


EDIT NOTE: I redid some calculations and will actually be charging $40 per hour, so it is an extra $130.19, not $111.64

EVEN BETTER!!!!

Short Term:
- Track my loan payment progress in $250 goal increments
- Track all expenditure and endeavour to stick to or under my budget.
- Get my car serviced.
- Completely pay off all cc balances.
- Start my $20 challenge
- Start transfering money to my cc as soon as I make the purchase, so I don't get a nasty shock at the end of the month.
- Eat less meat and make my boyfriend enjoy meatless meals more.
- Start cooking healthy meals and then freezing them in bulk lots.
- Exercise 6 days a week.
- Make an appointment with my parents' naturopath/homeopath

Long Term:
- Completely pay off my loan.
- Reach my target amount for my Emergency Fund ($1200).
- Maintain a gifts/holidays account where money is drawn out of for days off & gifts purchased for others.
- Save a lump sum for university (current goal: $10 000) by January 2010.