My Op,s Done

My op. is over and I had no opportunity to post my July budget, and as I,m now down to 1 hand and it,s not my writing hand I will wait until I have more mobility before I add my new figures.

Thanks for all your good wishes, and remember I,ll be trolling LOL

My Fabulous Weekend Away

I,ve just come back from my Weekend away with another 5 friends, I met all of these friends online through a dieting website here in Australia 4 of us live not to far from one another and the other 2 about a 4 hour drive away, we have occasional meets for coffee but this was the first time we had spent a weekend together and we were all a bit reserved when we arrived at our destination. But let me tell you that by the time the first night was over I think we will be friends for life, our backgrounds are different and our ages range from early 40s to late 50s, but we laughed and we cried and I know I opened up to them about things I,ve told no one else. An all Female weekend away is food for the soul and because of this we are going to make this an Annual event.

The downside was the amount of money we spent between Accomodation ~Travelling expenses ~ Food~ Booze. Friday was payday for me so here is the breakdown

Incomings $610.00 ( wages plus overtime )

Outgoings $ 75.00 ( cake for Hubbies 60th )
Petrol for trip $50.00 ( $25.00 already in jar )
Groceries $100.00 ( food for home )
Food for weekend $80.00 ( this included eating out, food for cabin, coffee,s while out,)
Booze $29.00 ( 2 bottles of my favourite bubbly )
New walking shoes $35.00 ( these mad dieters made me exercise while away )
Debt $25.00 ( fortnightly payment )

I also put money away to cover my next round of bills and put money into my jars, so a successful end to catch up Month.
Tomorrow I have my Carpel Tunnel Release Operation done, so wish me luck. I have no idea how or if I am going to be able to post or comment on others blogs, but be assured I will still be reading them and be applauding your efforts.
Tomorrow before I go into Hospital I will post my budget for July I can,t believe it,s come round so quickly.

Not happy at all

I,m really not happy with myself, I overspent on Saturday and although I was upfront about it, I feel as if I cheated myself. It all started with me returning to the shopping centre on Saturday to meet my Daughter for coffee.

When I got there I remembered that I needed hair dye, I,m going away for the weekend and then getting my Carpel Tunnel Op. the following day so I won,t be able to use my hands to do my hair so it was now or never for the hair colour. NOT BUDGETED FOR $ 14.50

My Daughter went off to keep an appointment leaving me with my Grandchildren and because I can refuse them nothing it was Hungry Jacks all round, and MIL was there so it was for 4 NOT BUDGETED FOR $26.50

Mother-in-law went off to the ladies while I was left to pick up a couple of things she wanted to make a pot of soup, I was left to pay for them and the weeks Groceries had already been bought!! NOT BUDGETED FOR $4.60

So all up a total for NOT BUDGETED ITEMS for $45.60 and I,m really annoyed about it. Am I getting obsessive about my budget ??? I would,nt be at all surprised I tend to go at things at full speed and then fall off the wagon.

On the plus side I,ve just had 3 no spend days.

A successful payday

Today was payday and I have now completed my backlog of bills, registered my car, and have made a start on putting money away for next Months round of bills.
The breakdown was.

MONEY IN
Wages & overtime $667.28
Mother in laws Grocery money $50.00

MONEY OUT
Car registration $ 392.00 ( overdue )
Groceries $150 ( normal amount )
Cake and coffee $11.40 ( my turn to buy )
Petrol $25.00 ( still in the jar )
My spends personal stuff $27.45 ( my Avon bill )
New pair of black pants $20.00 ( for weekend away )
Debt $30.00 ( a fortnightly payment )
Car Rego $20.00 ( started jar for next payment )

A quick roundup was money in $717.28
money out $675.85

So still nothing done as far as savings go, but there is money in the petrol jar and my spends jar, and most of all I have put away money for the next round of bills, all my debts are being attended to and I am sleeping better at night.

I sent off the money for my weekend aways accomodation I had it in a jar so I hav,nt added it to this weeks total spends, my share of the bill for 2 nights is $100.00 as there are 6 of us going. we are having Dinner in on the Friday night and going out for Thai on the Saturday. this is going to be a bit of a test for me as it is the first time I will be trying to keep my spends down while in company. I don,t want to be continually worrying about how much is in my purse, but I also don,t want to blow my budget.
Any tips on how to manage a balance would be appreciated.

Half way through the week, I,m getting exited

I am getting exited about my next payday as i,m, finally going to start my savings plan, up till now I,ve been struggling to pay all my overdue accounts, but Friday will see me finished with them, of course before I know it they will all be back again as most of them are paid monthly, but my budget that I prepare monthly will have me putting away the money to cover them. So I,m happy.

Not long now till my weekend away and my Operation, one I am looking forward to the other I,m not.

My Computer is threatening to shut down on me so this is a very quick post.

Spending days none.

Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday were no spending days.

Who,s a lucky girl then ? Flowers and budgets.

Today I received a bunch of my favourite flowers the awesome Iris, I hope Hubby does,nt have a guilty conscience !!

Believe it or not I decided to see if I would still be able to keep within a budget next Month as my wages will be reduced and according to my figures and barring any unforseen disasters I should be able to save $1,000.00. As well as this my tax cheque should arrive about the middle of the Month and I am hoping to receive around $800.00. I can,t believe it I promised my Daughter a couple of thousand towards her Wedding and I am right on track for doing it. I can,t wait for July now.

Spends for the day
Cake $5.00 ( I am working tomorrow and providing dessert as it,s a public holiday )
Cat biscuits and bin bags $5.00

A lazy weekend

I am doing absolutely nothing with my weekend other than sitting with my feet up, although I did look after my youngest Granddaughter for a few hours this morning, she is a cutsy 16 months old with the widest smile and the biggest brown eyes, so looking after her is not a chore.

I thought I would have had a no spending day today but I had to pick up a prescription at the Pharmacy for myself.

Spends

Prescription $13.00

A costly Friday

Big Big day today it usually is on Payday, I put money into my Petrol jar, my entertainment jar and my holiday jar as well as paying money towards my debt and bringing my Telephone/Internet/Foxtel account up to date. I cleared of a layby on some lanterns for my Garden to be lit during the Wedding, as well as buying myself a warm pair of pyjamas for my weekend away with some friends. This is a holiday weekend here in Oz and I was really looking forward to some R and R, unfortunately the lure of the Dollar has me working on Monday, it,s all money in the bank and with only 2 weeks to go until my Operation, I need all the money I can get, as I will be on a reduced wage.

Incomings

Wages $611.00

Outgoings

• Telstra Bill $234.00
• Debt Payment $25.00
• Groceries $100.00
• Petrol $25.00
• Layby $80.00
• Pyjamas $30.00
• Entertainment $20.00
• Holiday $100.00

Total Outgoings $614.00

As you can see more out than in, but as I,ve mentioned before I am behind with most payments, but having said that I am almost there, next weeks biggy will be my car rego and then I can relax a bit, but only a bit, as the next round of bills will be in and I want to get on top of them early.

No spending Day No. 4

I love love love spending no money, everyday presents new challenges and everyday I am facing them head on and winning. I put my petrol into the car last Saturday for the week and I still have a 1/4 tank. I am taking a packed lunch with me everyday so no buying a lot of expensive rubbish. Plus I have been working overtime so not only have I no time to go out and spend money, but I am making a little extra as well. Joy Joy Joy.

The only downside to this is the effect my being so frugal has had on the way I see my Husbands wasteful ways, and we even had an arguement last night about money, I thought these arguements would stop when I got a handle on my finances. But now I want to handle his as well and he is,nt having any of it. Maybe when he sees the benefits my budgeting is having he will get more interested in trying one of his own. We have always had a my money your money kind of marriage and look where that,s got us.

I,m going to try and sit down and plan a menu for next week, so I can gauge what I,ll need to put on my shopping list. I love a list it can save you a lot of money.

Incoming $00.00
Outgoing $00.00

All work and no play

I have just had 3 no spending days in a row, and if everything goes to plan tomorrow will be a nother one.

I had to go to the Specialist,s yesterday after work as I have Carpel Tunnel Syndrome as I have to have both hands operated on. I am covered by Workcover who will pay all my medical expenses and 85% of my wages until I return to work. All up I will need about 7 weeks off of work. The operation is done in 2 stages the right hand will be done first and 3 weeks later the left, this means that I should manage to do all the little personal things by myself. If they had to do them both at the same time I would need assistance to do the most basic things.

I have been doing a few extra hours over the last few days and the overtime money will go into my wages on Friday, and as my operation is on the 28th of this month any extra money I can squirrel away is a bonus. Money in today was my MIL,s board of $100.00 for the month, I find it embarrassing to take this money from her but she says that she can,t stay here comfortably without putting a little into the kitty.

And so today we have

Incomings $100.00
Outgoings A no spend day.

My Frugal Ebay Lounge

I was commenting on a post today from a fellow blogger who was asking what she would need to decorate her first home, and I suggested she try Ebay if she was looking for bargains. This is precisely what we did when we moved from a home with 1 living area to a home with 2 areas. So in the photo the Lounge suite with matching cushions, the coffee table, all the lamps and on the wall you can,t see we have a matching entertainment centre, all bought by bidding on Ebay. Last month we bid on and won an LG Dishwasher in perfect working order for $23.04 obviously there are a lot of people not prepared to take the seller at there word when they say the machine is still working. And we are loving not having to fight over the dishes every night. Most of the bits and pieces for my Daughters Wedding we picked up on Auction sites. I don,t think our home reflects how we buy our furniture as we have been very choosy, but it was cheap and that,s part of the fun for me knowing that nobody else would guess.

Today was a no spend day for me

Daughters Wedding Photo

Today my MIL gave me back $50.00 that she owed me I had completely forgotten that I was going to get it back, it was,nt part of my budget, so what to do with a little extra money. Well as I have mentioned in earlier blogs my Daughter is getting married in November and her Dad and I are giving them money towards the costs, but I know she has heart set on getting a red food mixer as one of her Wedding gifts, so here it is and according to the user manual it does everything except the dishes. Hope she is pleased.



Spends for today

Foodmixer $149.00 ( my share $50.00 )
Coffee And Doughnuts for two $10.00

I accomplished this today !!!!!

Payday today and I usually hate this day with a vengeance, if ever I was down my hubby used to " say what,s wrong with you is it payday already" that,s how affected I was by my financial ups and downs. But today I feel great, not any better off but great nevertheless. I stuck the labels on my jars and I have money in my petrol jar, my entertainment jar and my holiday jar, as well as a little money left from my Grocery shopping in my Grocery jar. Also today I paid a large bill and it,s now looking good to start saving in earnest by July. This is my breakdown.


Incomings : wages $500.03
:MIL,s Grocery money $50.00

Outgoings

• Bill $350.00 ( this one was way overdue )
• Petrol $20.00 ( $5.00 left of my estimated amount for the week )
• Groceries $147.85 ( this included fish and chips for tea )
• Shampoo $8.00 ( I had completely run out )
• Potato masher $4.35 ( last one broke after 20 years )

Jars, overtime and conversations

Today I printed out the labels for my jars so now they are labeled

• petrol
• clothing
• Entertainment
• travelling
• Groceries

Everything else I pay by Bpay or direct debit, so it would be silly of me to take it out of the bank, if I am lucky enough to have any money left at the end of the week then any money left over will go into savings, I get paid weekly ( very weakly ) and payday is a Friday so roll on tomorrow. I managed to squeeze a few overtime hours out of the company I work for this week, I wont get paid them until next Friday and the extra money is going to go towards my weekend away at the end of the month. I had only allowed myself $100.00 for the weekend but with 2 nights board and a few meals out I definitely underestimated.

I was sitting having morning tea with the girls I work beside today, they all went to the food van that stops at our door and I took out my couple of biscuits and a yogurt that I had brought from the house, as well as a cup of coffee which our work provides free of charge. I was mentally counting up how much they spend daily on eating junk, and was estimating it to be at least $15.00 each, which over the course of the week is $75.00 spent on rubbish. I have always taken my food to work with me, and although it makes my weekly shopping bill a little higher as I also give my hubby a packed lunch, I,m sure it is way below what they are all spending. So armed with this information I got onto the subject of budgets and without going into all the details I was telling them about me curbing my spending. One of the girls said she did,nt bother to budget but used her credit card a lot, and both of the others thought that they managed their money really well. It was,nt my place to tell them that they could do a lot better simply by cutting down on money wasted at the food van. We all have our areas that we overindulge in and now that I realise that I,m going to make a success of budgeting.

A no spending day today

My first ever budget

Well I,ve committed myself now there,s no going back. Remember this is in Australian Dollars and are monthly figures.

• Food : $400.00
• Petrol : $100.00
• Mobile phone : $30.00
• Entertainment $ 80.00
• Clothes $00.00
• Entertainment $ 100.00

Outstanding bills for June.

• Electricity $ 350.00
• Car rego $ 400.00
• Phone : $250.00
• Debt : $50.00

Monthly total $1,740

Monthly income $2,000

Savings $260.00

I have not got any idea at this stage if my budget is going to work, as I have never ever tried to do this before, this is not a working budget I won,t be able to do that until I have cleared the backlog so at the end of the Month I may put money away into future bills instead of into savings, but first I,ll see how I go. Into jars I will be putting, my petrol money, my entertainment money and if I was buying anything new this month I would also put that money into a jar. Wish me luck.

Spends so far this month

Debt $25.00

Petrol $10.00