Days 29/30 & 31 / A virus on my PC/ Thanks

Well it,s over and I feel such a sense of achievement, because of a particularly nasty virus which my Hubby downloaded onto our PC I have not been able to blog daily, he is working on fixing it but at the moment I am sitting in my Daughter,s house while she takes the children to school.

Day 29 was Sunday and Hubby and I had the Mother and Father of an arguement about money, but you know what at the end of it we managed to write down incomings and outgoings and worked out that we now put the same percentage of our wages into the home. Sometimes it pays to clear the air, and the concept was one that I found in Suze Orman,s book that I borrowed from the library. Today I stayed home and spent nothing.

Day 30 was Monday and I had to go to the Specialist to get the all clear to return to work, but he thinks another week off is necessary, so I bow to his superior knowledge, after his appointment I went for my 3 times weekly physio, these visits are to desensitive the scars making it easier for me to return to work, no money spent today.

Day 31 Today although when I post this it will come up with the date of the 30th please realise that in Australia it is after 9.00am on the 31st. I have brought my remaining $10.00 with me today and when my Daughter returns from her school run we are going out to the Mall where I will indulge myself with a coffee and a cream cake. I really feel as if I,ve earned it.

I hav,nt found to many downsides to my No Spend August, I suffered from lack of spends a lot more at the beginning of the month, but then I seemed to fall into a pattern of non-spending, it was easier than I thought it was going to be.
The upsides are too many too mention, my self esteem, my willpower, my imagination, my accomplishments, these are all feelings I,ve enjoyed having about myself. I,m particularly happy about managing a couple of days away with my BFF and managing to do it within budget. I,m also delighted to have achieved becoming 60 this Month also while budgeting, and last but by no means least I have saved a lot of money.

The financial side of No Spend August I will put in my next post. I,ll also be adding Septembers budget, but bare with me as I have no PC, please don,t give up on me as I,ll be back.

A special thanks to all who have been so supportive, read my daily blogs even when they were not very interesting , added supportive comments, and generally kept me honest. xxxxxxxx

Day 28 no Spend August / Tears and Bubbly

I made a complete fool of myself today, although I think that,s the Mother of the Brides perogative. My Daughter came over to try on her Wedding Dress today, she has been trying to lose a few pounds before her wedding day and we were a bit worried that her dress was going to be a bit too big, but it fitted like a glove and she was so beautiful in it that I just bawled like a baby. The couple of glasses of bubbly that we had with the fitting could have had something to do with it of course.

Apart from that I had a really quiet day, just the usual cleanout that happens on a Saturday, hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Day 28 Of no Spend August

$10.00 still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Sandwiches Turkey Avocado and Relish
Dinner ~ Minced Beef, Potatoes, Brocoli and Peas
Snacks ~ Champagne and Cake

Day 27 No Spend August

I took myself off to visit my Daughter-in-Law today, I have been trying to organise this visit for ages but our schedules seem to always clash. Some might say she is trying to ignore me but they would be wrong, I could,nt have picked a better wife for my son, she is kind and thoughtful, full of understanding and compassion, in fact a gentle soul. Just the kind of Mum you would want for your Grandchild.

After my visit I stopped at my local Aldi,s for the bits and pieces that I will need to get me through to the end of the Month. These were mostly lunches staples, as I am returning to work on Tuesday, as my hands are almost back to normal. So now I am left with $10.00 and a few coins. The end is so near I can almost see my halo :)

Day 27 No Spend August

$10.00 left in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Turkey and salad sandwich
Dinner ~ Macaroni and Cheese ( Hubby was not happy about getting no meat )
Snacks ~ Macaroons ( provided by DIL )

Day 26 No Spend August / Red Wedding Dress

I had another no spend day today, I was feeling a little off colour and was sitting with my feet up when I heard someone at my door, wondering who could possibly be wanting one of my muffins and lousy coffee, I opened it to see a Courier with a giant parcel addressed to me. As this is no spend August, I was wracking my brains to try and remember how I had managed to order something, am I Internet shopping in my sleep now, should I head into Ebay or Paypal and check out the damage I,ve done. No I took a deep breath and opened the parcel and there in all it,s stunning beauty was my Daughter,s Red Wedding Dress. This photo is almost the dress, only she has more beading on the bodice and the dress is a redder red, she will be coming over later to try it on, can,t wait.
By the way she tried on an almost identical dress in a Bridal Boutique where it cost almost $2,000, but my sister who is in the Bridal business used one of her contacts in China and with postage and parceling and extra beading this gorgeous creation cost $200 YES you read that correctly that,s the kind of mark up you are paying for your one off creation.

Day 26 No Spend August

Money in Kitty $31.65

Breakfast ~ Egg on toast
Lunch ~ 2 Minute noodles Fresh Fruit
Dinner ~ Macaroni and Cheese & Oven Chips - Greek Yogurt
Snacks ~ Chocolate biscuits ( naughty naughty naughty )

Day 25 No Spend August / Huge Temptations Today

Today has been hard for me, it always is when I go to a Shopping Mall. I can,t resist all the glittering lights, the mood music, the gorgeous clothes, the coffee shops and although it,s all set up to suck me into buying I still looooooooove it. I have got a brain in my head and I do know that they are trying to wash it, but shopping Malls can be my downfall, and so today was no different plus I had my Daughter with me, and she was determined that it was time for me to shop for my Mother-of -the -Bride,s dress. Now there are a couple of reasons why I did,nt want to do this.
1) It,s No spend August
2) I,m not happy with my weight and would like to lose a few pounds, before the Wedding.
3) I,m not sure if I want 1 outfit or 2

My Daughter is having a Church Wedding it,s a little non-denominational church that,s been erected in our local Wedding Gardens, and a celebrant is marrying them. And then after we are dispensing with the Wedding theme and having a Masquerade Ball in a marquee, in our large backyard. So there lies my quandry, do I arrive all traditional and Mother of the Bridey at the Masquerade Ball with my mask on, or do I arrive at the church in something appropriate for a Masquerade Ball without the mask of course?. So we hunted and hunted and I came away all frustrated no nearer to making a decision and $10.00 worse off after coffee and a toasted sandwich. I might be turning up at this Wedding in my Birthday suit, complete with mask of course.

Day 25 No Spend August

$31.65 Still in Kitty

Breakfast ~ Cereal and Toast
Lunch ~ ate out $10.00
Dinner ~ Chicken Breast Fillet, Potatoes and Veg Yogurt and Fruit
Snacks ~ Chocolate biscuit ( not good for my diet )

Day 24 Of No Spend August / 1 week to go

Today I had to spend some money Grrrrrrr. I.m getting a bit like Scroodge, I was drawing my Hubby dirty looks when he finished off the milk this morning, and I almost died when he also finished off the butter. So grabbing my purse I got into the car and you guessed it in order to get to the shops I needed fuel. So I,m just about cashless with 1 week to go. Money spent today.
Groceries $13.60 ( the bare neccessities )
Fuel $10.00 ( again the bare neccessities )

Day 24 of No Spend August

$31.65 left in kitty

Breakfast~ Tea and Toast ( without butter and milk Yuck )
Lunch ~ Scrambled egg on Toast
Dinner ~ Omelette, Baked Potatoes and Brocoli.
Snacks ~ None ( trying to slim before Daughters Wedding )

Day 23 No Spend August / Recipe Book Cull

Spurred on by my success in clearing and cleaning out the Pantry, Fridges and Freezer, I have turned my attention to the kitchen cupboards most of these just need a wipe and a tidy. Except for my Recipe book cupboard, this is situated above my Microwave which is set into a unit, meaning that I will have to get myself a set of ladders and probably a bicycle helmet, just to open the door. This turned out to be harder than I thought as I don,t own a bicycle, or a helmet.
I love recipe books I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame, some of you may think this a little odd for someone who,s not 100% happy being in the kitchen and would rather come down with some dreaded disease than host a dinner party. but I,m a book person so what can I say !!!!!
But some of these will have to go, so I drag them all down and make a few piles. The ones I,m keeping, the ones I,m throwing away, the ones I,ll offer to my Daughter and Daughter-in-Law, the leaflets from every takeaway shop in Oz, and the family photos ( how the **** did they get there )
I don,t intend to use the recipes in any of the books I,m keeping. But I could,nt bare to part with them because my life and my story and my friends are all there, I have books I was given by friends when I left Scotland, books from when my children went to Guides and Scouts, then there are School recipe books sold at Fetes, and of course some I,ve bought myself. But my favourite book belonged to my Gran it is bound in black leather and is hand written in her usual flowing handwriting, and with each recipe comes a story of when she got it, who gave it to her and why. There is History on each page.

My Daughter phoned me yesterday to tell me about a site she had found where you could download blank menus and fill them in yourself, then print them out, so I did this and I now have the weeks menu stuck to my fridge door, the site also offers a few different downloads another of them is a stock list for your freezer.
http://faithfulprovisions.com/resources/downloads/

Another no spend day too busy reading recipe books I,ll never use. :)

Day 23 No Spend August

$55.25 still in Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Leftover chicken Curry & rice
Dinner ~ Turkey Burgers, Potatoes & Mixed Veg - Fresh Fruit.

Day 22 No Spend August / Pantry Cleanout

 

The big pantry clearout is behind me, my shelves are organised my, my perishables are all in labeled and dated containers. And I am proud to say that I did,nt have to throw anything out, nothing was past it,s use by date so obviously my newly organised meals regime is working. The only thing I hav,nt done is my menus for the next 9 days, however I know that I have enough to get me through now and I feel as if I may well achieve my goal of living off of $300 this month. I think the reason that this worked for me was a matter of luck and I hope good management. I don,t have children at home and so their are no shoe dramas or school expenses, no car expenses ( so far ) no vet,s bills ( so far ) Hubby has his own spending money, so has MIL, although I think I mentioned that she is away visiting her other Son at the moment, so there is nobody who on a daily basis could be expecting me to buy anything outside of my budget.

I was discussing with Hubby the fact that it might be possible for us to work until we are 70 years old, and that we would have another 10 years in which to get ourselves financially organised. Part of me was excited about this and the other part of me was horrified that because we had made a mess of our finances for so long, we are not financially able to retire in the mid sixties. We are currently renting and our rent is $365.00 a week, who knows how much we will have to be paying in another 10 years, but you can bet it will be too much for a couple on a pension. I,m saying that and also thinking what if one or other of us is dead or incapacitated by that time then the other will be totally destitute. Not a pleasant outlook. My parents are both in their 80s in fact Dad is 88 today, and Mum will be 84 in October. They own their own home and one day it will have to be divided up between we 3 siblings, this also fills me with horror, I have never been able to organise my money and the fact that I will have to decide what to do with this money to make it last frightens me to death. It won,t be enough to get us a home, so what do you do with it. Scary thoughts !!!!!!!!!

I had a no spend day, as the pantry took up all of my day.

Day 22 No spend August

$ 55.25 Left in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Boiled egg and Toast ( in bed, thanks Hubby )
Lunch ~ Ravioli on toast
Dinner ~ Chicken Curry, Boiled rice - Finished the Rhubarb Crumble
Snacks ~ A Bar of Chocolate bought by Hubby.

Day 21 No Spend August / Pantry clean out

 

Nearly at the end of Winter here in Oz and already I see big changes in the garden, everything is budding and the grass is needing cut more often. We never have a season when the grass lies dormant it grows all year round, just a little bit slower in Winter. I am going to be putting some fresh herbs in shortly as most of last years are either overgrown and woody, or dead looking. Not sure yet if I am going to be putting a lot of veg in as I am getting the garden ready for a Wedding so it might be more flowers and I,ll leave the veg until later.

I,m never leaving the house again without a grocery list, and I,m going to continue to scrutinise the leaflets and brochures to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. I have made some great savings this month and I,ve never had fuller cupboards and fridge, or eaten as healthily.

Tomorrow I,m going to be cleaning out my pantry, and my fridge and freezer and I,ll be making out menus to get me through to the 31st, I started off the month with $300 and with 1/3rd of the month left I should have $100 but I have almost half of that, so is my money tied up in groceries I have already bought or will I have enough to get me through. I,ll know by tomorrow. No Spends Today.

Day 21 No Spend August

$55.25 Still in Kitty

Breakfast ~ Boiled Egg and Toast
Lunch ~ Crackers and Cheese
Dinner ~ Spag Bol & Fruit Salad
Snacks ~ Biscuits from Pantry.

Day 20 No Spend August / I think I,m Losing It

 


Got up this morning and checked my local Supermarkets Specials, you know the ones that the Supermarkets make a loss on just to get you through the door, so I made myself out a list with any specials that I wanted, and off I set.

I also wanted to go to the Library and get myself some books on PF just to keep me on the right track, there was a scarcity of good books but I managed to pick out 4 they are.

1) IN THE RED ( The diary of a recovering shopaholic )

2) SORTING OUT YOUR FINANCES FOR DUMMIES

3) THE COURAGE TO BE RICH ( Suze Orman )

4) SMART GIRLS GUIDE TO MONEY ( essential reading for 18-25 year olds )
May have left this one a bit late :)

Then it was on to a local outlet shop, this is a Heinz outlet shop and you may get tins of fruit without labels on or some things which are almost out of date, I bought 13 items and paid $12.75 not too bad ehh ?

Then it was onto the Supermarket for my specials, I only wanted 3 things Turkey Mince, Frozen Chips and Bam Cleaner, but I could find none of them except for the turkey mince at the prices that were advertised, I was just about to complain to an passing shop assistant when I realised that I was in the wrong Supermarket. I was soooo over shopping by that time and starving hungry so I paid for the ground turkey and left the shop. $12.00 spent

Day 20 No Spend August

$55.25 still in Kitty

Breakfast ~ Porridge & Cup of Tea
Lunch ~ Roast Beef and Chutney Sandwich
Dinner ~ Chicken Schnitzel, Chips, Brocoli & Rhubarb Crumble and Cream
Snacks ~ Biscuits from Pantry.

Day 19 No Spend August / Starting to Panic

 

I spent nothing today again, but I only have $80.00 left for 12 days which is less than $7.00 a day, so panic is setting in. I will manage to eat for the next 12 days as my freezer is absolutely full up, my pantry is looking pretty healthy and I would,nt spend more than $80 on bread, milk and cat food. But it,s petrol and Entertainment money which are going to be my two biggest expenses, as next week is my last week at home before returning to work, and I want to catch up with a few friends before I return. We will just have to find cheap and cheerful things to do. I do have a way of getting extra Groceries if I absolutely need them, as I was given a couple of gift vouchers for my Birthday and one of them is for the Coles Meyer group which covers Retail Stores, Supermarkets and a couple of Alcohol outlets. But I would prefer not to have to use them and will only do so as a last resort.

Day 19 No Spend August>

$80.00 Still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Turkey and Salad Sandwich
Dinner ~ Chicken Enchilladas ~ Greek Yogurt & stewed Rhubarb
Snacks ~ Chocolate Mud Cake ( My Birthday Cake )

The loves of my Life / Scotty

 

I could not work out how to put more than one photo into my blog, so my apologies for wasting anybodys time.

This is a photo of my last remaining pet and this one was taken about 6 years ago, Scotty was originally my Daughters Cat but she left him with us while she went off to study and we still have him, the little angel sitting with him is my oldest Granddaughter who like me loves cats.

Later today I will post my latest info on no Spend August.

The Loves of my Life / Clyde

 


There post is not going to be anything to do with my finances, this post is purely and simply things about me you might not know. Firstly I,m an animal lover and at one time I had 2 dogs and 3 cats and as I,ve been asked for photos of my cats I went hunting through my computer, unfortunately there are very few as our PC crashed on us a few years back and I did,nt have my photos saved to disc so I lost every one of them. So I,ve had to rely on family and friends to fill in the gaps. So this photo is of my beloved cat Clyde who sadly is no longer with us, he died at age 18 and is much missed, he was 16 in this photo. If possible I will attempt to add another photo of my only living cat Scotty, my third cat went out one day and never returned and his photos are all gone as well, but the memories of my black and white bundle of joy remain.

I am Scottish by birth and came out with my Hubby and two young children to Australia to live in 1986, and immediately fell in love with this beautiful land. I,ve returned to Scotland only once since then and that was for a family Wedding. I doubt very much that I,d ever go back again as all of my family and hubbies family are now here as well, in fact my Mother-in-Law now lives with us. And thanks to Skype and the Internet I can still keep in touch with friends see their Grandchildren and watch us all aging gracefully.

My Daughter is getting married on the 14th of November, she has been with her partner for about 12 years and they have two beautiful children, a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. I thought they wer,nt going to bother with the formalities of a Marriage but as she hates the fact that her Surname is different from her kids they got engaged and soon will be Husband and Wife. My Son and his Wife have been married now for 5 years and have a little 18 month old girl. These Grandchildern are the lights of my life, words can,t describe the love I have for them. In May of 2011 Hubby and I celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary, we are a bit of an odd couple financially with finances being on a mine and yours basis, but that is changing slightly as I continue with my budgeting and blogging. In every other respect of our lives we are very well suited, we met at 17 got engaged at 18 and Married at 20 and had our first child at 24. And they said " It would never last "

Nobody knows that I have this blog, it,s my little secret. I have often wondered why I don,t share it with my nearest and dearest, I think I am frightened of having my finances scrutinised by everyone,or maybe it,s the fear of failure. So if you think you know me email me first before making a comment.

Days 12/13/14/15/16/17/18 No spend August / Catch up

Well I,m back, between visitors and time away I have been away from my computer for a week. and I am really proud of my achievemnts, today it is all about facts and figures so here goes.

Day 12 No Spend August

I spent nothing after picking up my BFF from the Airport we sat and caught up on about 4 months worth of gossip, ate food I already had in the house and drank a bottle of wine I already had.

$170.40 still in kitty

Day 13 No Spend August

This was the day before my 60th birthday and as we were having everyone over the next day I had to run out and get some Groceries, we were theming the meal Mexican and as everyone was contributing to the meal and starters my share was only $50.00 as I needed some staples and food for my cat.

$120.00 still in Kitty

Day 14 No Spend August

My 60th Birthday and I was not allowed to do a thing, as mentioned before everyone brought their food and drinks over and the only things I was allowed to do were swallow and laugh, and their was plenty of both.

$120.00 still in Kitty

Day 15 No Spend August

Today my BFF and I set off to have a couple of days away, we were staying in a caravan parked on a 2 acre property owned by good friends of ours, and as I had to put fuel in my car I spend $20.00 on fuel and $20.00 on a meal and a drink that evening in a quiet country pub with the most stunning views. Definitely worth the money.

$80.00 still in Kitty

Day 16 no Spend August.

This was the kind of day I love sitting with my feet up in a lovely garden with a good book and great company, the couple who own this garden have a Peacock called George who has lived with them for 12 years and he is so tame that he spent a lot of the day hanging around us, if we walked he walked if we sat he stayed with us, we lunched on leftovers from my Birthday bash and then were invited over to the house for Dinner so a no spend day.

$80.00 still in Kitty

Day 17 No Spend August

We left to come home today and we left with bags of Avocados, 2 hands of bananas, pounds of Tangerines and Oranges, a bag of Tamarillos, 2 giant Pumpkins, Silverbeet, Rocket and cos Lettuce, my car boot was weighed down. They also gave me lemons and limes and Rhubarb all of these were from there own garden, I was told to take what I could as they just drop to the ground and get wasted. there will be no waste in my house. Another no spend day.

$80.00 still in Kitty

Day 18 No Spend August

Took my BFF to the Airport today as she is working tomorrow, but we had the best time catching up and laughing. It is Lunchtime on the 18th here in Oz and I have spent the day stewing, juicing and freezing all my fruit and veg I brought back from my 2 days away. So I will be spending no money again. I think it proves that with the right company you don,t have to spend lots to have a good time. I had explained to my BFF that I was saving this month and she was happy to help me to stay committed.

$80.00 Still In Kitty

Day 11 No Spend August / Diamonds are a girls best friend

 


You would tell me if you think this is too boring having me blog everyday about spending nothing, from my point of view it,s encouraging to see another no spend day in print. It was a public holiday today in my little corner of the world, so as everything was closed I never got, or wanted, the opportunity to spend everything.

When I have a large Grocery bill on the weekend I panic thinking about how quickly I,m spending my money, but then I have almost a week when I don,t have to buy any other Groceries, and if I can just stay away from the Malls then I don,t get the chance to spend anything else.

My BFF arrives tomorrow morning and I don,t know if I,m going to get an opportunity to blog every day, as nobody that,s close to me knows about this blog, I prefer it that way when I,m talking about something as personal as money. However I will be taking a pen and pad with me everywhere I go and keeping track of my money.

And talking about spending money while I have a visitor, my Husband gave me some spends for the time that she and I are away ( perhaps it,s his guilty conscience ) and so it,s not going to come out of my allocated Monthly spends. I know strictly speaking it,s cheating, but you don,t have a 60th Birthday every year, and the challenge was to see if I could get my shopping budget/petrol/entertainment down on an average month.

Speaking of my Birthday, I got a phonecall this morning from a Gentleman I did,nt know to say that a parcel had been delivered to his home with my name on it ( we have a very unusual surname in these parts of the globe ) and he would drop it off for me. I got a bit anxious as he seemed to take the longest time to arrive, and when he did the parcel was in a state of disrepair, it was from my Mother and Father, so knowing that my Birthday present would be inside and might have been damaged/ stolen / tampered with, I opened it. I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous pair of Diamond earrings, but how near did I come to losing them. So my heartfelt thanks to that thoughtful honest Man.

Day 11 No Spend August

$170.40 Still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Noodles & Yogurt
Dinner ~ Chicken Potatoes and Veg
Snacks ~ Biscuits ( almost out of these )

Day 10 No Spend August / Rain Rain Rain

 


Only three weeks now until winter is officially over, and today the heavens opened up and forgot to close again. a simple task like putting out the trash or collecting the mail, means boots and an umbrella. Queensland is a drought state and we are constantly on water restrictions and as a result nobody ever complains about a good downpour, in fact it seems to cheer a lot of people up, I,m not one of them however it depresses me I definitely prefer to see the sun shining.

I had another no spend day today, there was no way I was going outside to tackle the elements. I only seem to have any trouble with my spending when others decide to help me (or sabotage me) spend my money. I,m fighting them all off with a big stick this month, perhaps I should have waited till I started back at work before I attempted this challenge. Anyway for the moment I am still on track.

Day 10 No Spend August

$170.40 still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Cereal & Banana
Lunch ~ A salad Sandwich with Cheese
Dinner ~ Spicy Lentil Hot Pot with a baked Potato
Snacks ~ Biscuits from my Pantry.

Day 9 No Spend August / Finances / Debts / Relief

 

Day 9 and I had another no spend day, I spent the whole afternoon sorting through my finances and all because of a phonecall. I have been on the run from a company who bought over a bad debt that has been hanging over my head like a guillotine. This was from a finance company that I had bought a fridge from many years ago, just before Hubby got sick, he was going to pay the debt but for some reason which was so long ago that I can,t remember the debt got put into my name. I think from memory that about 6 payments later Hubby had to give up work right out of the blue and there was no way I was ever going to make the payments on my wage and still keep the house running, I was in over my head and I,ve literally been on the run ever since. Because at last I,m getting my finances under control it has been niggling at my conscience, about this debt and so yesterday I was relieved when at last they caught up with me and we put a payment plan into action. The debt is for $1,372.86 and my repayments are $50 fortnightly, however once my Daughter,s Wedding is over I am going to pay that off as quickly as I can. And then put all my money into paying off my larger debt.



I have updated my profile and put the new debt totals in and I will update them again in 6 months. You might notice that I have put in a Superannuation total. I went online and got the total yesterday and I think I must have the only fund that has,nt made a loss this year, I had the choice last year of putting all my funds into a low risk investment , which makes you less money or a higher risk investment which could make you much more money but also put your money at greater risk. So I choose the safe option and made virtually nothing but lost nothing either and with very few years left until I retire and with only a very small Superannuation Fund I could,nt afford to lose any of it.


My Niece came over to see us yesterday and as I,d made a huge Lasagna we choose not to go out to eat but just to stay home and enjoy each others company and catch up, it had been 4 years since we had done this as she has been living and working in Ireland and England for a while. Hubby ducked out and bought a couple of bottles of wine and we had a lovely night at home.

Day 9 No Spend August

$172.40 still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Turkey and Salad Sandwich.
Dinner ~ Lasagna, chips, salad Fruit Salad & Cream
Snacks ~ Date and Walnut Loaf ( homemade )

Day 8 No Spend August / Bff

 

A no spend day today as we stayed home and Hubby and I got a few things straightened out. I was really mad when I wrote my blog last night, and I could probably waffled on for ages about what was annoying me about him. But the long and the short of it was that my BFF,s husband and my husband had a big fallout a few years ago. Neither of us girls were there when it happened and so we choose not to take sides or let it affect our friendship. But she is coming to stay with us for a few days over my Birthday as she now lives in a different State , and already I was hearing complaints from my Hubby who has washed his hands of the whole friendship. And although it is definitely not part of my no spend August, I decided that the best plan would be for us girls to head off somewhere for a couple of days for some time away from Hubby and MIL. It was going to cost a couple of Hundred dollars and I was complaining about it being out of my budget this morning when I remembered that I had been offered the use of a caravan on The Gold Coast any time I wanted it for nothing as long as it was out of season. So a phonecall later it was all organised and so I get two lovely days away for chats, bubbles long walks and all for a couple of nice bottles of wine for my generous friends.


Martha over at The Path to Frugality,s last couple of posts have been about food shopping and recipes, and it has dawned on me that although we are close to each other and share much in common on the Internet and through blogging, we are so far apart in terms of prices and terms. for example we don,t have sticks of butter here it is sold in grams, and there is no way even on special that I could buy beef or turkey as cheaply as she does. I hope this does,nt mean that I am not going to make it to the end of no spend August !!!!!

Day 8 No Spend August

$172.40 left in Kitty

Breakfast ~ Scrambled Egg on Toast.
Lunch ~ Toast with beans on top and cheese melted over it.
Dinner ~ Chicken in a mushroom Sauce & Noodles.
Snacks ~ Vanilla Cheesecake from the freezer.

Day 7 No Spend August / I,ve Shot Myself In The Foot

 


Today was Grocery day and all up I,ve managed to spend $70.00 plus $10.00 on a gadget for getting jars opened. Since the operation on my hands I,ve not got the strength to open anything up and so I,m hoping this will be money well spent. My freezer is full and so is my pantry and in normail circumstances I would be able to manage my no spends really well.


"BUT WAIT FOR IT"

I have just had the Mother and Father of all rows with my Hubby over the length of time my BFF will be spending at our house, and so I have booked us a couple of days away while she is here. I will tell you more tomorrow while Hubby is not around.

Day 7 No Spend August

$170.00 Still In Kitty

Breakfast ~ boiled Egg and Toast
Lunch ~ Homemade Burgers on a Bun
Dinner ~ Salmon and Salad And Chips
Snacks ~ Biscuits from Pantry.

Day 6 No Spend August / Did I Cheat Today ?

 

I,m wondering if it is considered cheating to allow someone to buy you lunch while you are not spending. This happened to me today, I met up with a close friend , although we are close friends we don,t actually live near to one another, and so we don,t meet up that often. My 60th Birthday is at the end of next week, so she insisted on paying for lunch as an early present, her 60th is in September and I will return the favour. I breathed a sigh of relief that all I spent today was $7.60 for two cups of coffee, but it,s niggling at the back of my mind that maybe I was too quick in allowing her to pay.

I watched an episode of Clean House the other day, the family were swamped in clutter, I had honestly never seen anything like it, but what stuck out for me was that because they never put anything away, and there seemed to be no shortage of money going into the home, they had piles of coins and notes lying around everywhere. At the end of the big clean-up they had found $5000.00 just lying around their home. So spurred on by that I checked down the couch, in some of my handbags and hubbies trouser pockets. And guess how much I found NOTHING !!!! not even a red cent. However I now have a tidier home.

Day 6 No spend August

$ 252.40 Still in the Kitty

Breakfast ~ Porridge ( yum )
Lunch ~ Bought by BFF
Dinner ~ Tuna casserole
Snacks ~ None today

Day 5 No Spend August / Chief Babysitter

 

Today I performed my all time favourite task that of Babysitter this time it was for my youngest Grandchild an 18 month old little girl, she has the biggest brownest eyes you have ever seen, and is a one girl comedy routine. She giggles all the time, and copies every word you say like a little Parrot, but her favourite saying just now is " no way " and then she flashes one of her broadest smiles. Who could be annoyed at this precious little one, who is so blissfully ignorant and innocent.

Because I was stuck home all day I never got the opportunity to spend any money so once again this was a no spend day. I,ve looked through a few blogs and there are a few of us out there doing an August no spend challenge, so I am going to draw on them for tips and motivation.

Once again my apologies to those of you who,s blogs I am following but have not added to my blog sidebar, I can,t remember how you do it and so I reach you through my dashboard.

Day 5 No Spend August

$270.00 still in the kitty

Breakfast ~ Tea and Toast
Lunch ~ Homemade Soup & Turkey Sandwich
Dinner ~ Curried Chicken & Rice
Snacks ~ Biscuits from Pantry

Day 4 No Spend August / Conspicious Consumption

 


While watching THE VIEW the other day one of the ladies expressed disgust at the amount of money that was spent on a foreign car that P Diddy ( sorry to all his fans as I, m sure he is called something else now )bought his Son for his 16th birthday, she called it tacky to be seen to spend so much money on an imported car, when there are workers in the States losing their jobs. And the panel also spoke at great length on the millions spent on the Clinton Wedding. I have never had an enviable amount of money to throw around, but it got me thinking would I make sure that I only bought Australian, whenever I made a big purchase, or would I still buy that gorgeous Italian Leather lounge suite I so admired. What is your take on Conspicious Consumption ???

Today I spent some money, and I hope I spent it well, I noticed that our local Supermarket,s weekly specials were Brocoli, coffee and pumpkins. So I bought 6lbs of brocoli which I have blanched and frozen in 6 single serve amounts. I saved $10.00 on my tin of coffee and I now have enough to last for a couple of months and as all of the pumpkins were the same price I picked out the largest one and Hubby has chopped it up for me. I will make soup, a pumpkin and red lentil curry and still have enough for roast pumpkin with our weekend roast. I also bought some tinned goods and chickpeas. I also put a little petrol into my car, no money was spent on coffee out as we had lunch before leaving home. Brocoli $6.00 Pumpkin $1.69 and petrol $10.00. So all up I spent $40.00.

Day 4 no spend August
$260.00 still in kitty

Breakfast Cereal & Banana
Lunch Turkey and Salad Sandwich
Dinner Spaghetti Bol.
Snacks finished off the Apple Pie.

Day 3 Of No Spend August

 

A really short post tonight as I have a migraine, or maybe it,s withdrawal symptoms LOL

Day 3 passed without me going to the shops so I have spent nothing again, and I think it,s rubbed off on Hubby as he was paid today and he came home without the usual chocolate, a lottery ticket or a bottle of wine. When I quizzed him about this he admitted to trying to spend less this month. I am so pleased that we are on the same page at last.

No spend day 3

$300 still in kitty

Breakfast ~ Toast and Jam
Lunch ~ Macaroni Cheese ( leftovers from yesterday )
Dinner ~ Chicken, Potatoes and Cauliflower
Snacks ~ Homemade Apple Pie ( yummy )

Day 2 No Spend August / Passive Spending

 

Day 2 and I have still not spent anything at all, although I very nearly went for a coffee as I was up at the Hospital getting the stitches taken out of my hand, but on looking at the time I decided just to go home and make Dinner, and have a free coffee instead.

And talking about free coffee I realised today that although I have kept to my budget by not taking money out of my purse, I am PASSIVELY SPENDING every single day, we all are. Whether we are asleep or awake it is costing us money.
Take our fridge for example we never switch it off or our freezers, so 24 hours a day we are spending money on electricity. We are paying road taxes even if our car is sitting in the garage. The same goes for insurances most of us make no claims, and of course we can,t forget taxes, in one form or another. My conclusion is that we have to be aware of our conscious spending, when we can do little to prevent the passive spends.

Day 2 No Spending August

$300 still in the kitty

Breakfast Tea and Toast
Lunch yogurt and a Banana
Dinner Macaroni Cheese and oven chips
Snacks biscuits from my pantry