My Machine Gun Preacher Meeting

Yesterday I had the most thought provoking Sunday.

 I am not a regualr churchgoer although I am definitely a Christian, but a serious of events happened to both The Foxx and I over the last couple of weeks which have been mind altering.

The Foxx was given a USB stick from a work mate with a couple of movies on it one of them was a film we both wanted to see and the other was Machine Gun Preacher a movie starring Gerard Butler I happen to think this Scots actor is a hunk so we decided to sit down and watch this one first. The first 15 mins were all blood, gore, drugs and swearing and by that time I had all but given up watching. But I am glad I stuck it out, please have a look at some film reviews if you want to find out more about this extraordinary man.

  

Sam Childers

This is the real Sam childers who, builds Orphanages in Sudan and rescues children from Joseph Kony, you may remember that the Utube video made about this man ( Kony ) went viral just last month. When The Foxx returned the USB stick to his workmate he wanted to know what we thought of the movie, I wanted to know which came first the movie or the video, also had the Preacher really been a killer and drug dealer. 

If you enjoyed the Movie and want to know more about the man why not come and meet him on Sunday he is preaching at our church, he said, you could have knocked me down with a feather, He is American we are in Australia all of the comoponents were falling right into place before my very eyes. was this some kind of message. ? The Foxx and I could hardly wait for Sunday and somewhere in the middle of the service I felt changed I felt protected and I felt loved.

When I read back this post I am convinced that it seems silly to have written it. Nothing financial here, nothing anyone else can expect to understand, but down in my core I feel changed

Anzac Day in Australia

The ANZAC spirit

The legend of ANZAC was born on 25 April 1915, and was reaffirmed in eight months’ fighting on Gallipoli. Although there was no military victory, the Australians displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship. Such qualities came to be seen as the ANZAC spirit.
Many saw the ANZAC spirit as having been born of egalitarianism and mutual support. According to the stereotype, the ANZAC rejected unnecessary restrictions, possessed a sardonic sense of humour, was contemptuous of danger, and proved himself the equal of anyone on the battlefield.
Australians still invoke the ANZAC spirit in times of conflict, danger and hardship.

The meaning of ANZAC

During the war the legend of ANZAC became the proud possession of all in the AIF and most Australians. Since then, the anniversary of 25 April 1915 has been commemorated each year as ANZAC Day.
The first ANZAC Day was conducted in 1916. The troops observed it in various ways, and in London large crowds watched 2,000 Australians and New Zealanders march to Westminster Abbey. In Australia there was strong support for the day, with between 60,000 and 100,000 people packing the Domain in Sydney for a service.
By 1925 huge ANZAC Day marches were being conducted in all the main cities. Smaller places had their own observances. Most states marked the day with a public holiday, and within two years they all did. Second World War ex-servicemen, and later others, accepted ANZAC Day as theirs too. In immediate post-war years they swelled the numbers of veterans marching.
In 1990 a few ageing Gallipoli veterans, accompanied by the Prime Minister, went back to Turkey for the 75th anniversary of the landing. Australians watched emotionally as a handful of representatives of a near vanished army received their salute.
Ninety years on, there are no longer any living survivors of the campaign, but the parades, services and rituals of ANZAC Day have survived, and some have expanded. Large crowds now go to Gallipoli each year. The legend of ANZAC remains relevant to many Australians.

A public holiday for us today and a chance to reflect as one of my close friends husbands died yesterday of a massive heart attack, RIP John xxx

Apologies All Round

I am so frustrated with my google account just now, I have one but whenever I try and make comments on some blogs it just keeps flashing back to this sign in box, so i do that then try and add my comment and blow me down but it does it too me again. So far today this has happened in three occasions, so today my apologies go out to.

Debt free by thirty

We May be Poor but we are Happy

Head over Heels in Debt

Sorry girls I am reading your posts but until I figure out how to fix this problem I can,t comment. I read every post written by all of my favourite bloggers, so if you are not hearing from me it,s probably because of this..........

No new happenings on the Restaurant front to report, an email from The Agent made us realise that we will be signing our lease agreement as soon as our Solicitor reads it over, but other than that I am having a housework day today before my Barista course tomorrow.

The Holiday Is Well And Truly Over

I,m back !!!!!!

It seems like forever since I last posted or checked and commented on any other bloggers posts, so my humble apologies. But as expected with the arrival of my sister, my life has been turned on end, but it,s exciting.

For the first time in a long time laughter is back in my home, my Sister is a very uplifting personality and together we laugh. I have no doubt in my mind, that while alone in bed she grieves for all she has lost and left behind, but she seems determined to get on with things and make a new start.

At the moment she is on the Golf Course, meeting some of the Lady members to see if she can build a social life round her love of Golf. Maybe one day I will join her down there, I have the Clubs now all I need is some motivation.

My holiday accomodation and flights were by far the cheapest part of our trip away, as we seemed to spend an awful lot on food and booze. We choose to stay in Hotels rather than apartments and so we had to eat out for every single meal, this is the first time we have ever holidayed this way and we did,nt realise how expensive this was going to be.

I reckon between food and drink we managed to spend around the $150 mark each day for 10 days so that was a huge lump out of our spending money. Then we stayed with friends for the last day or two and in both homes and I contributed to the weekly groceries.

Actually that annoyed me slightly as you would have thought that both of my friends would have shopped BEFORE I got to their homes ???

Total Holiday Spends ( just for me )

Flights $198

Hotels $450

Food & Drink $ 750

Presents for Grandkids $75

Total = $1,473 ( approx. )

Oh my gosh !!! It,s not until you write it all down that you realise how much a trip away costs, and this was not even our summer break, looks like I may have to up my holiday fund for that one.

Back at work now and money has started to come back into the house again, but my budget is no way meeting this houses demands, and so a rethink of all things financial will be happening soon. This time I will be expect some input from my Sister and Mil especially with the Groceries.

Great to be back, I am never going to be able to catch up with all the posts I have missed, but I will try and get through everyones last post, see you around

Maureen xxx

A Much Needed Break

I thought it was time I wrote another post, great idea let everyone know how your finances are doing, let the blogging world know how much you,ve spent, saved, budgeted for this last few days. So O.K. now open up your blog and lets get on with it...............Nothing.............I have writers block.

My finances are in the best shape they have been in for years, my spending is now under control, and my savings are growing.

My Holiday starts in a couple of days, my much needed time away from MIL, work and a chance to clear the air with The Foxx.

But where is my head, it,s with my Sister who as I write this is changing her life turning everything upside down, and in my opinion is the bravest Woman I know.

Forgive me my lack of committment to my blog, I will be taking almost 2 weeks away from the PC, until I return all the best with your plans hopes and dreams.

My First Emergency Of 2011

Me And My Big Mouth

After my comment yesterday about having had no financial emergencies and everything travelling along on an even keel. I woke this morning to find our house in complete darkness and The Foxx out at the fuse box with a torch. Our old but reliable kettle had decided to become our old and unreliable kettle, and had tripped the safety switch in our power box !!!

It,s not a fixable problem so a new kettle is now on my shopping list for tomorrow, and in my usual fashion of buying for quality and not price, I will be up around the $100 mark. Still it,s money well spent to get a decent cuppa. Although I will be looking for the best price possible.

My wages will be given an extra boost tomorrow, with extra snowflake money ( overtime money ) and this is my last wage before I take off on my holiday.

As soon as we booked the table for Dinner last night we realised we had made a mistake, there is no need for us to be having a night out so near to our week away. We thought that we had to use the coupon by the end of this month, but they have extended the offer until the end of May, so plenty of time to go for this meal.

My Sister lives about a 5 day drive away from us on the opposite side of this vast country, normally we would fly but as she is coming to live she wants to bring her car. But she does not want to drive across the Nullabor Desert alone, so she is putting her car on a train and then meeting the train in South Australia around the middle mark and coincidentaly this is exactly where The Foxx and I are going to be. This was not pre-planned but I,m glad that we are going to be there for her as she is going to need a lot of support. Then she will have to drive alone for another 2 days to get to Queensland, I would love to make this drive with her, but she insists that she needs the time alone to think things out, plus I would be abandoning The Foxx right in the middle of our holiday, plus I would not be back in time to start work the following Monday. So lots to think about.

Life Goes On

Now that I know that my Sister is going to be living near me my head is in a whirl, I cant sleep at night, plans , thoughts and suggestions are whirling around in my brain. On the 1st of January I made the statement that 2011 was going to be a great year, and since saying that the world has being going through some troubling times. Some right round the corner from me and some on the other side of the world. But I could stil not get rid of the idea that for me anyway, things were about to change.
Could this be it ??? could the difference be having my sister back in my life ?? I,m not sure but I cant get rid of the knot of excitement I,m feeling right now.

On the PF side of my life, I seem to have settled into a routine of working out my wages on a Thursday night and shuffling my money around on a Friday. I have not had any major financial emergencies so far this year, so I have not had to redo my budget other than to add on my layby payments for my bedding and pots. I have opted to pay the minimum amount on these purchases weekly. I figure I have waited 20 something years for new pots so a couple more months wont make much difference.
The Christmas present my Daughter gave to her Dad and I is finally going to get used on Tuesday night, when we will get all dressed up and go out for a free swanky meal. I love eating dishes I would never attempt at home.
And talking about dishes, I made out a menu which covered dinners this week, so no scratching my head and wondering what on earth to eat, I involved MIL and The Foxx in my decisions so we are all happy and everyone gets at least one favourite dish a week. And leftovers are being put aside for a Friday when it,s every man for himself and it,s first to the freezer scores the dish they prefer. It,s only week one but so far so good.

I have been a little slack commenting on your blogs, please I do try and find the time to get online every night after tea, but this week life just seems to be getting in the way. MIL has been a little under the weather, and I have been spending more time sitting chatting to her. My depression has been coming and going in waves, although that now seems to be back under control. And after getting a bone marrow test done The Foxx has 33% cancer cells, so his Leukemia, is back with a vengeance and the Chemo drugs he has to take have been knocking him around quite a bit.

I think we need this holiday big style !!!!!!!!

There,s Light Appearing Now !!!!!

I,m Feeling Heaps Better


I was looking for a picture which described how I feel right now, and to tell you all that I can find some light at the end of this tunnel, and I found this picture, maybe not exactly what I was loooking for, but it made me smile. Which should give you some idea of where I am right now. My meds have been tweaked and I,m in a much better place right now. Thanks for the support I may not have been blogging and commenting but I have been lurking so I am up to date with all your achievements and supporting all your failings.

I even felt well enough to work a little overtime yesterday, so looking forward to a little extra in my pay next week.
I will be heading off Grocery shopping soon and putting some money onto my layby,s ( pots and bedding ) I don,t know how much as yet as I have not done a budget up to include this, as I have been doing my Ostrich ( head in the sand ) act lately, which is a lot better than my Shopaholic act which started the month.
I have just noticed that my sidebars and Snowflake total need updating so I,ll be on to that soon. Otherwise everything is OK on the financial front.
The Foxx and I have still not had THAT conversation yet. But we are going away for 10 days at the end of the month, and we are going to be on our own for the first time in ages. I have no intention of spoiling our break, but some aspects of our finances and relationship are going to have to be ironed out.
More about our mini holiday later.
Once again a shoutout to an amazingly supportive bunch of bloggers, I have missed you all but I,m back now.

Sinking Lower And Lower

I have noticed a pattern forming and it seems as if my fits of depression are returning, this is a surprise as I am currently on my meds, so perhaps I need the dose looked at.

Symptoms for me are highs and lows, when I say high I actually mean I am feeling well and capable, where the lows have me keeping away from friends. Staying away from the Internet ( I call this my Ostrich time, head in the sand )not answering the phone and missing time off from work, so I,m currently at home, and forcing myself to post.

Things are still not good between The Foxx and I, he is once again broke and turning to me to keep him going, but I,m so over constantly being in financial charge.

Yesterday he wanted me to help him in the garden, but I wanted to sit and play games on my PC, and that ended in a row. Yes he is the one with the physical illnesses and I do sympathise and worry about him. But at the moment I am just mentally hanging on by a thread.

I have completely run out of paid sick leave, and so I am not being paid for my time at home, and like it or not I will have to return to work tomorrow.

I am stalking the blogs today, and will make no comments, because my head is not in the right place for making, enthusiastic, helpful, chatty responses.

I,ll be back with meds firmly in place, till then, happy blogging.

A Plea To My Hubby......

Dear Foxx

As you may have noticed I share this blog with nobody, It started it off as my personal diary just to see if I could, because as you know I am not that computer literate. but now I have met some awesome bloggers and I am at last with their help managing to get my head round my finances.

One or two things you have said to me lately lead me to believe that you have found my blog and have been reading it. That annoyed me at first but now that I am writing this I hope you are reading it. We are a couple and finances are definitely an area which we should be sharing.

I get quite jealous of the fact that so many of the bloggers I follow, reach awesome goals and make terrific decisions, together. They sit down discuss their finances and work out a budget which suits their household.

Most of them like you and I get to a bad place first before this happens, they have debt, no savings, no budget and no idea how to get out of the mess. And so along comes blogger and without looking back they dig themselves out.

We need to be doing this, it,s all well and good that I am at the moment in a better place, but this needs to be a joint venture. We need to be sharing information, working as a team and arguing a whole lot less. We retire shortly with bad money habits, and no home of our own.


Our Marriage needs to be in a better place with more trust, sharing and joint decisions.

I realize that it is going to be a while before the trust is there again, we have always been so secretive about our triumphs and failures. We have always had a mine and yours mentality towards money.

Can we get on the same page, for the first time in 40 years, that,s one hell of a lot of time wasted, and a hell of a lot of money wasted.

I love you Foxx can we do this
Maureen xxx

My New PC Arrives Tomorrow

A Big Day For Me

Well at last it is happening, my new PC arrives tomorrow, I am super excited, but I have no idea how to attach all the cables and set up the wireless mouse and keyboard, so I may have to take a couple of days off from blogging until some kind child takes pity on me.
Because it has taken so long for the company to find me a PC they are giving me the first month free, by way of an apology, yippee.

Short blog tonight. So the finances are NO Spend Day today, 3 hours overtime worked so far this week, will get by on my petrol until payday and my Phone Bill came in today and is cheaper than I expected, so good news all round.

On a serious note, our news bulletins and reports are full of the earthquake in New Zealand. I have some amazing Kiwi friends and many of them have family still in Christchurch. So for all those affected it is now our turn to say how sad we are, and wish you and yours safety. You are in my prayers.

Big Removal Day

All of my family are helping my SIL move house today, so I am doing the Babysitting, and so far this has gone really well. although the 2 year old is needing to go down for a nap and is fighting it like crazy, I will probably find her curled up in a corner asleep clutching her favorite Teddy soon.

My SIL is a business woman and a pretty successful one but she can not organize a removal, and leaves everything until, the end and also leaves everyone in the dark regarding times places and who is expected to do what. so I think everyone will be very tired and grumpy around now, so I reckon I have the best job, staying home with the kids and making a super sized Lasagna so they can all eat when they are finished.

I am a pedantic packer who starts well in advance and uses a spare bedroom to store all boxes once they are packed, I wrap all glassware and china in heavy duty tissue paper, put 5 labels on each box, on these I write where each box is going and whats inside,then a label goes on the top and one on each side so no matter which way they are turned the contents are easily read. I wash all bedding before moving, going through my linen press a shelf at a time, and freshening everything up.

I write out a list with everyone I need to contact regarding my move, this list includes my Doctor, Dentist, Work, Car Registration Dept. Insurances and of course for the move itself I have to get my electricity, cable, Internet and phone installations organized.

The family usually take the bulk of my boxes and of course all my private papers, plants, and my old cat who is usually found hiding somewhere by this time. And then we hire a couple of removalists to lift the heavy items. The whole thing only takes an hour or two because I have everything packed and ready. The last time we moved my BFF and her Husband came round and had Dinner with us that night and I knew where everything was right down to the champagne glasses. Moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do so I just like to take the pressure of myself a little.

I forgot to mention that my SIL is moving from a rental property into her own home, this will be her first house purchase in Australia and she is finding the system totally different, still it,s all signed sealed and delivered and she is now the proud owner of a mortgage on a beautiful home set in 5 acres, about a ten minute drive away from us.
I burst into tears when she told me about the house, yes a part of me was jealous but mainly I was delighted that she has managed to get some security behind her, I even had her in tears, happy ones of course.

On the financial front I have spent $100 on Groceries,so no savings there and although I havent as yet put my fuel in I have set aside $20, may make a small saving there.

OMG It,s Happening Again !!!!!

I cant believe that it,s happening to us again, for the second time in 4 weeks Queensland is making headlines round the world, as Tropical Cyclone Yasi bears down on our coastline. Apparently this has now been upgraded to category 5 and is the biggest one we have ever had. So once again residents in the North East areas are being evacuated. according to the weather bureau this storm is expected to hit in approx 4 hours. Our Premier Anna Bligh has not spared any punches and has told us to expect mass destruction and many deaths.
I am not going to be directly affected, although I know a couple of people who are, but I feel sick to my stomach, at what is definitely going to be a major catastrophy.

Queensland needs your thoughts and prayers tonight.

Apologies Sharon if I put my financial report on the back burner, when this is all over and we know the final outcome I will post again,

I,m Flying The Flag On Australia Day

No post today as my I have nothing financial to report. It,s a public holiday today all over Australia. so a chance to sit back and reflect on the move we made 25 years ago with two young children, all the way across the world.
This has resulted in a better way of life for us all, a fabulous Son and Daughter-in-law and three of the cutest Grandchildren a Granny could have.
So I just want to say

THANK YOU AUSTRALIA

I JUST QUICKLY WANT TO ASK CAN YOU SEE THE NAME OF MY BLOG ON MY HEADER PLUS A PICTURE OF MONEY, WHEN I CHECKED MY BLOG AT MY DAUGHTERS THEY WERENT THERE BUT ON MY PC THEY ARE. STRANGE

OOps I forgot some things

This zero based budget thing is all well and good but how do you find the money if you forgot something ??

Today is payday, so I stopped off at the bank on my way to work to take out my cash for the week, Grocery, petrol, my money and a personal loan repayment. I had already paid some debt and allocated my savings into a couple of other accounts. All I had left in my main account was money to cover my future bills, electricity phone etc.

I was feeling on top of the world this budgeting thing is an absolute breeze I thought, Ive really got a handle on this I thought, wonder what made me think it would be difficult I thought.

Well you know the old saying that pride comes before a fall, almost the moment I stepped into work I was handed a card and asked to sign it and if I wanted to I could contribute some money to one of my workmates who had lost everything in the Queensland floods. His Insurance did,nt cover him for flood damage and the poor soul had lost everything, as well as which he is recovering from major surgery from bowel cancer.

So of course I wanted to help out and I put $20 into the envelope, a drop in the ocean in comparison to his needs, but hopefully it will help.

But where do I take this money from as it is all spoken for right down to the last cent. I have only allocated myself $20 for petrol so I can,t take it out of there. $100 for Groceries and with 3 adults and a cat to buy for it will be hard to take it from there. I was not about to take it out of a debt repayment, thats way to important. So my only choice was to take it out of my mad money for this week, so with that decision made, what should I do in future.

Do I have to rewrite my whole years budget to accommodate a gift and charity category ? I had intended to fund any gift buying with Snowflakes, should I leave it like that. What would you have done ????

I Am Heartbroken. / More Sad Photos

This is Eagle Street pier and walkways most of which are now underwater, this is a favourite place to come to on a Sunday because of The Markets, and the many bars and Restaurants, it is normally a beautiful serene part of Brisbane.

This devastating picture is of Southbank my favourite place on earth, when I came to live in my beautiful adopted city, this was one of the first of Brisbanes attractions that I visited, built originally for Expo, it is an exciting vibrant place filed with life. In among all that water there was a man made beach, which was usually busy all Summer long, and if you stayed until after dark you could watch a Movie while sitting on the sand or swimming in the man made sea. When I first arrived here in 1995 they had just finished building a long Arbour and had just planted climbing flowering shrubs to grow over it, they were about 6 ins tall when I first saw them, and everytime Hubby and I would go there we would admire these tall strong beautiful plants which now covered the walkway.
It,s all gone now swept away by the river it was built on, the rage of the Brisbane River has destroyed so much beauty and left me heartbroken.

Yes I have so much to be thankful for we are all well and safe, but my heart is still breaking.

Jane the inland Sunami which you asked me about happened on Monday afternoon and was what made Queensland aware that we were in for bad times ahead, we got notice, these poor people got none. Stores are now quickly running out of fresh produce or are limiting the amount which customers can buy, some of the smaller places which were hardest hit, have been without power, water and food for several days now.
People from all over the world have volunteered to come and help, evacuation centers have been opened Brisbane wide, and the one nearest me slept 700 people last night and more are expected today as the power is going off all over.
So I am very lucky, and I count my blessings every day. Thanks for all your thoughts, will be back tomorrow with a financial post as it is payday and life must go on.

Back As Promised Power Still On.

The center of Brisbane is under water in some areas. My Son works on the Riverside and he and most of the rest of the city were evacuated around lunchtime yesterday. The streets which are on his bus route home were closed and so he found himself heading in the opposite direction from where he usually parks his car, no sign at this time of him being able to return to work. Also Hubby got a phone call last night telling him not to come in today. Most of Brisbane has come to a standstill.

This is the Wivenhoe Dam which is situated between Brisbane and Toowoomba, it is now at 190% capacity, they have opened up the gates and let some of the water spill out into the Brisbane River adding to the problem, however this is so they can regulate flow as once it reaches 200% it will overflow anyway. So by doing this they hope to minimise the damage, however at 3pm today we will also be hit with a King tide which will force it,s way up the river to meet with all the water coming down. This is obviously going to add to the current problems.

What you are seeing is Suncorp Stadium home of one of our great sporting teams and the venue for some of our large outdoor Concerts. U2 were here not too long ago. As you know Australia loves it,s sports, so this for some would be a devastating photo.

This last photo is of a Suburban back yard already under water, the River is expected to peak tomorrow morning at 3am and many many people are going to find themselves homeless with many thousands more with a massive clean-up job on their hands.


We were told today by a relative who drives the huge trucks Interstate, laden with produce, that we are soon going to notice a lot of items disappearing from out Supermarket shelves. As it is going to get harder to get in and out of this area. So this morning I went down to our local Aldi to stock up on bread and milk, and was confronted by a full car park and people panic buying. So I got my share and a couple of extra items and came back home.
We are all safe and dry, and likely to stay that way, however we have been told not to use our mobile phones more than need be and to be aware that we may experience power cuts. But so far so good.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and please keep them coming, we have 10 confirmed deaths and 80 missing. So a lot of families are in dire straits, and need those prayers.

Queensland is Under Water

The photographs I am posting today were both taken yesterday, in Toowoomba about 1 1/2hrs away from where we live, and both views were taken right in the heart of this beautiful town. Toowoomba is a very pretty tourist spot where they hold an annual flower festival, and many many people visit, to admire the scenery, enjoy the picnic areas and the walking tracks.
It is also where my son-in-Law,s family all stay, and at the moment because all connection has been cut it,s been very difficult to speak with them and make sure they are all well. Although they do seem to be. The scary thing about this flooding is that this area is 700mt above sea level and has never flooded before, this event has been likened to an inland Sunami, and it is now making it,s way down towards the Brisbane River. firstly sweeping through the area where we were visiting with family on Sunday, the roads in and out of this area are now all closed.

google for for news if you are interested.

More storms are expected today and Brisbane is on full alert, especially those suburbs near the river which is expected to start to rise within a couple of hours. I have been doing a bit of complaining over the Summer about the amount of rain we have been having, and how frustrating it,s been not to have weather we could rely on, but we just never saw this coming. And over on the other side of this vast land, they are battling bushfires.
Off now to make sure everything in the yard is tied down or put away, be back with more news tomorrow.

Tomorrow Starts a Whole New Chapter

My Best friend is ME

O.K. so perhaps that is a bit over the top, I admit it !!! But I am going to treat myself better this year than I ever have before, I,m going to get my finances in check, catch up with friendships which I,ve let slide and never put myself down even if it is a joke. I,m going to teach myself how to accept compliments, instead of brushing them off with
" Oh that old thing, it was really cheap "

Jane posted not long ago all the things she was going to do to look after herself this year, and I wrote a long comment which got lost in the great blogging airways, so now I am reposting that I will be getting a Mammogram done shortly this is an Annual event and I,m just waiting for them to send me out an appointment. And I,m due a Pap Smear test so I will contact my GP about that one.
Fortnightly I will be getting my nails done, and monthly I will color my hair. I am not a high maintenance type of girl, but maintaining is definitely getting harder as I age.
I will also have to lose some weight, this is getting to be a huge must as I have two bum knees and the extra weight I am carrying is, putting added strain on them, and I have been in agony since Christmas.

But the huge big look after yourself thing for me this year is my finances. Today is the last day in which I will struggle with bills, have no personal savings for retirement, although I have got Superannuation, have nothing in my Holiday fund or Emergency fund. Today is the last day I will have to deal with low self esteem, hide things from Hubby, make excuses to friends, family , strangers. So why does it all end today ?? Because tomorrow is payday my first of this year and the first of my new budget. I am on a tremendous high, I keep checking and rechecking my figures and they do add up, I am going to achieve all I want too this year.


At last it,s over !!!!!!!

First to 2011 / My Goals

Spurred on by how organized everyone seems to be about their 2011 Goals I am adding mine. My Goals are financial only, if I can get a handle on them then a lot of my other issues will seem less important and all consuming, leaving me to perhaps implement some personal goals later in the year, this is baby steps year coming up for me.

1. Pay off Debt 1 by August 5th, I would love to pay this off quicker at least before the end of June.
2. Pay down Debt 2 by at least $2000 making a sizeable deduction to this my last remaining debt.
3. Emergency Fund adding $40 per week into this fund to bring it up to over $1,000
4. Holiday Fund adding $40 per week into this fund, this will be ongoing as I want a couple of holidays booked in 2011
5. Retirement Savings as well as the extra money which I put into Superannuation, I want to save an extra $50 a week, this money will not be touched for any reason.
6. Household budget $300 per week will be kept in my main account for food, electricity,phone, mobile, petrol, and insurances.
7. I will have a Misc. Fund of $50 per week to cover anything extra that pops up
8. This is an entertainment fund of $50 per week, if not used I will roll it over into debt
   

Any overtime, tax returns, sales from ebay leftovers from entertainment and misc. will be counted as snowflakes and every 3 months will be rolled over into debt.

So what do you think ?? A pipedream or a reality ???

Today sees me pay off the last of last years bills and I will be starting first pay check of January implementing my budget and goals.


It is 2.00pm on New Years Eve so it wont be long now until we start to celebrate 2011 and the end of 2010. This last year will always be remembered by my family as the year of
" The Wedding "
And yes indeed for us all it was a time of celebration, of seeing my family all come together from all ends of this vast land to help make this the joyous occasion that it was.
But for me one of the most important decisions I made was to start my blog up again, I had decided to close it down as I had not been blogging for a good 8 months. But I could not for the life of me work out how to shut it down. So instead of closing it I reread my old posts and some of my blogging friends posts, and decided to give it another go. So from the bottom of my heart I want to shout out.
THANK YOU

Honestly I couldent do this without you behind me, so to everyone who has commented on my posts or just popped by quickly I want to wish you all

HAPPY NEW YEAR