BABY STEP 5 - THE SERIES

Holiday Spends

 

We don't actually have George Washington on our banknotes but I thought this might amuse some of my blogging friends.

It's only 3 weeks now until I head off on holiday, and I was hoping to have saved $1,000 to last me while I was away. At the moment I only have $400 but I am going to be able to add another $100 a week plus my small British Pension of $340 so I will have exactly what I need. Off of this amount I have to buy my Dad's Birthday present, 2 smaller gifts for my Great Nieces who share his big day and also help towards Groceries while staying with my parents. I think this is all perfectly doable.

I never heard back from the Dishwasher Hire Company is this good or bad ?? I suppose only time will tell, all the rest of our household accounts are up to date and all debts are slowly being paid off.

My littlest Grandson is now 8 weeks old and coming along in leaps and bounds I got my share of cuddles this morning and I also got some beautiful smiles.

Off now to make up my latest batch of soap powder. Only 3 sleeps to go until the car raffle !!!!

Living without Blogging

Apologies all round it has been 3 weeks since I last posted

As mentioned in my last post I have been suffering from THE BLUES. No one thing set this off just a serious of things which in the end I found so hard to cope with. But after some X-rays for my aching shoulders and stronger painkillers the pain is no longer an issue. The Foxx has taken over managing all of my debts and so I no longer have to avoid answering the phone. So gradually I find myself returning to normal or as normal as things get in this house LOL.

It is only 3 weeks now until I go off on holiday to spend my Father's 90th birthday with him, unfortunately due to a bad Echo Cardiogram reading The Foxx will not be going with me, he has to undergo more tests and they are due to start the day before I fly out, which also happens to be my Birthday. We tried to get another date but it would be March before he could get another appointment, which given his health issues would be too far away.

OK I hear you ask, what's with buying yourself  new car, or thinking of buying a new car ???

The Foxx and I went up to our local club the other night to spend some Birthday vouchers he had been sent, when you enter the club you scan your club card and it enters you for draws. On Sunday they are drawing for a new car, 36 members names were pulled out the hat and I was one of them. On Sunday they will take that number down to 6 these 6 will be handed a key and the one that fits wins the car.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I need a new car, so much so that I am frightened to go along on Sunday where the disappointment of not being the winner will be overwhelming. Or on the positive side winning it would also be overwhelming. Already I feel sick with excitement, I'm trying to rein it in but it's all I am thinking off.

Not Feeling 100%

Down In The Dumps

I have been feeling pretty low the last few days, I am prone to these feelings and during the time I feel like this I am not inclined to blog, leave the house in fact I hardly want to leave my bed. This seems to be my bodies way of coping with any problems which arise in my life and without medication I can't cope.  My world comes crashing down and all problems get magnified way beyond control, at least my control. I count and recount money, worry about bills don't answer the phone and don't open emails. Yesterday I received two blocked calls on my mobile phone which I never bothered to answer.

There is no need for me to feel like this I have my bills all under control, money in the bank and I am making great inroads on my debt,  this is a habit I have gotten into from so many years of living on the edge. When will this feeling of having no control ever end.........

My Grandchildren are coming over later to stay with me for a couple of days, they are on school holidays and I can't wait to have them here. We are heading to the Movies tomorrow to see Brave and have Lunch out. I have a bit of money left over from last weeks budget so we will use that to have a great day out.......

Apologies for MIA but I am seeing a light at the end of what was a dark tunnel, so I am back in the drivers seat again......

My Restaurant Has Caught Up With Me Again

My Usual Ostrich Act

This time I definitely know it's my fault I took my eye of the ball expected others to do the job for me and now I have to face the consequences. It seems that every time I get complacent Murphy visits, every time I think I have my debts sorted I get sideswiped.

When I walked away from The Restaurant thinking that I had sold it, I left behind a Dishwasher, a Restaurant quality one which I was leasing for around $19 a week. The couple who were buying the business from us had agreed to take over the lease, before they changed there minds and left me high and dry. Once my Sister and I closed down the bank accounts for the business the standing order to the rental company got cancelled. This payment came out weekly so about 2 days after the payment did not go through I was contacted by the Rental firm to check on why. I was very ill at the time both emotionaly ( I had a complete breakdown ) and physically ( a bad case of shingles ) and so I gave them the Landlords name and mobile phone number and left it up to them to make the arrangements to pick up their machine.

At this time I only owed 1 payment and 6 months on my lease agreement.

Should I have followed this up, sure, did I follow this up, no. I stuck my head in the sand and hoped it would all get sorted and then it would just go away. But it has not and yesterday I received an email from the company demanding I make a late payment of almost $900.

I must admit I got really angry probably not the right emotion, but why the hell did they not pick up the machine ? Why allow someone to run up months of back payments and never contact them to tell them this was happening ? So they have been gaily slapping on charges for a machine they knew I no longer wanted !!!!!

I sent them back an email yesterday which they have probably responded to by now, but I have stuck my head in the sand again and have not checked my inbox. I never slept again last night worrying about The Restaurant. How many times is this going to happen, instead of giving me great joy this Restaurant has caused me a world of pain. I thought it was going to end up a legacy instead it has ended up a nightmare........

A Fiscal Fast Fiasco

Hello New Friends

Since coming back to regular blogging after my Restaurant fiasco I have some new followers, so I want to take the opportunity of saying a huge Hello and welcome. I have also been able to add some new blogging sites to my favourites. Which means new things to learn, new successes to applaud and lots of new motivation.

My Fiscal Fast ended a lot sooner than expected when The Foxx took me to a new Hardware Store which has opened up near us, there were a few piddly little things I needed like a lightbulb for my Cooker Hood, some Fertiliser for my garden some new fiddly little things for restringing my clothesline in the garden and a new garden hose complete with all fittings and a spray nozzle. This was all we needed but then I added a couple of wants.

This is exactly what I wanted to put on my wall in our Patio area as it is all undercover we use this space pretty much like another room. It is 74cm ( 28inch) and is very rustic looking I love it.

Then I  just had to have this Lanten which is now sitting in the middle of my outdoor table it is pretty solid and now holds a huge candle I had lying round the house. Again I have been wanting something large enough to look showy in the middle of our table and this is now doing the job wonderfully and the candle is casting a lovely warm glow.

This is a breakdown of our spending spree.

Clock .............$29
Lantern...........$19
Lightglobes....$ 3.62 ( for a pack of 2 )
Fertiliser.........$ 2.49
Garden hose...$ 5.90
Clothesline.....$5.94

Total $65.95

Going out with The Foxx ended up blowing the budget and the fiscal fast but I really think for the money we got some pretty good buys. And we also snuck in a visit to our Grandchildren and went to church. Back to the drawingboard next week.

Pros and Cons of Being More Frugal Part 2

Losses and Gains Part 2

After posting my losses yesterday it's now time to look at what I have gained by losing. I neglected to say yesterday that I have also lost paid income, but that in itself has provided me with many gains.


GAINS

1. I think I will start with one which is of real importance to me and that's self respect, I used to feel so guilty about where I was in my life and I used to worry about what my Grandchildren would think of me when they were old enough to recognise me for what I was. A financial disaster, so as a way of preventing them from falling into the same trap I started bank accounts up for them as soon as they were born. I still give them a little money each time I see them and allow them to only spend a portion of it while saving the rest. I am now hoping that as they grow older they will see me as a good financial role model.
2. I have now gained good sleep patterns, I no longer walk the house in the wee small hours counting and recounting money. This stage in my life was particularly bad when I was running the Restaurant and it was time to work out wages and pay bills, during that time I would be surprised if I got more than a couple of hours of sleep a night.
3. I have gained a wonderful Husband, for years we were on a different page financially we worked our wages and bills as a you and me type of situation with both of us refusing to talk about how much savings or debt we had incured. This was especially frustrating for me when I finally saw the light and The Foxx did not. Now we plan together and spend together and save together, how sweet does that word together sound.
4. I am now slowly crawling my way back out of debt. At last I am gaining control of what I thought would be following us into retirement. I now know that by sticking to our plan we will be debt free before The Foxx retires.
5. I no longer pay bank fees I have gained control over my bank accounts, there was a time when all of my direct debits would be late and at $40 late fees per time this happened I was struggling to get through the month ( I have since changed my account name and the fee would now be $10 ) I think now I would be happy to look my bank Manager in the eye.
6. I have gained my home life back and because I am no longer working we have gained a carer for my aging MIL. I now enjoy cooking and cleaning and everything involved with running my home. I remember a few years ago I hired a cleaner to come in weekly and do the work which I never had the time or the inclination to do. Now making my own cleaning products and trying to find ways of living better for less are what occupy my days now. I love being a housewife and The Foxx is loving coming home each day to an organised home with wonderful new recipes to eat ( all bought with my budget in mind ) I am contributing things which money just could not buy.
7. I have gained my own fruit and veg shop as we laughingly call it, this is my backyard. I am growing herbs, veg and we have a few fruit trees. Putting my hands into the soil is so therapeutic I love it. There are some aspects of gardening I just can't manage like heavy digging and spending hours bending over. So I have set up a high bench for all my seedlings and for potting and by regular weeding I don't have to spend a lot of time bending over. And if I need any heavy digging done I have a fit and healthy Son and Son-in-Law.
8. Last but by no means least my financial journey has brought me in contact with some wonderful bloggers who are a wealth of knowledge and support. I have gained some facebook friends through this as well maybe some day we might even meet.

So there we have it, my gains. I am sure there are heaps more which by now I am taking for granted. But after reading back over them I notice that the biggest gains are all about how I feel about me. It's shocking that it has taken me till I reach 61 years of age to find out things I should have always known. Still better late than never..