Positives

2015 The Year of Positives

My boys play their 3ds a lot so I went & sat with them so I could watch them, that way they actually talked to me.

 

I went to bed with some printed out articles in a display folder, positive ones that I had collected in 2014. I awoke feeling so good about the day & looking for ways to be more loving!

 

In 2015 I am striving for being rich in love above all else.

 

I shall scale down some of my weedy rambling garden in favour of more focused food growing. The wicking beds are doing great as are the half wine barrels & giant lettuce planter. That is the way forward for me with gardening.

 

I shall follow through with learning boxing. I really enjoyed it & it is good upper body exercise and learning is good.

 

Hope you have many good memories that you made in 2014, a highlight for me was our trip to Melbourne to spend the weekend with family from interstate and being told "I don't want to see you anymore" from the endocronologist. 

Breaking up isn't always difficult!

No. 6 Money saving (stretching) efforts

Another post with a lag in between, it happens semi regularly around here...

This week I have;

1. Stuck to the menu plan. My menu plan is working really well & has saved me wondering 'what's for dinner'. Its in a folder in the kitchen & I check it regularly. I shop from it and can shuffle meals when need be as i know I have the food on hand to make everything on my plan for the week. I'm loving it! I'm spending less on food each week also as I am only buying what we need for our meals that week.
   
   
2. I have left the washing on the line! I had washed some towels that I used to dry the floor (after the dishwasher leaked) and some cloths we use for cleaning & i left them on the line until they were fully dry. Simple and it saved me time & effort trying to dry the large towels indoors. 
   
3. I bought a bag of Aldi bi carb soda to use as my laundry spot cleaner. I make it into a paste with a little water or (for a nastier stain) washing liquid & then apply with an old toothbrush. It works really well. The only thing it is yet to remove is paint from Art that mister 8 got on his sleeve, yet I work on it each time it gets washed (which is weekly) and I think its fading.
   
4. Borrowed books from the library! We love our local library & regularly resere items and go there at least weekly. My kids are avid readers & I love audio cd's & reading too, it saves us a bomb. I only buy items that I will refer back to or need to study for longer than the library borrowing period. Right now I am into Louise Hay and Stephen Covey, they have lots of their titles. Lucky me!
   
5. I fill a bucket daily with weeds from my garden & give it to the chickens. My garden & myself are enjoying the attention and the chooks are providing us with gorgeous eggs each day. From our 6 hens we are now getting 6 eggs a day. How wonderful, they are lovely to watch too.
   
6. I have watched a little less TV of an evening & have done surveys in attempt to earn a little extra cash. I usually get $25 a month from Pure Profile & that goes straight onto the mortgage to help pay it off.
    
   
   
   Happy savings!
   PS all photos are from the web.

This weeks efforts

Well I have been having a niggly health issue & have been awol.

Still plugging away at our budget & have not had a blow out, which is an achevement.

This month we put $500 into my super & I have been putting money aside for Dh's annual membership for golf (which is also his exercise, sanity & social life).

I have completed some sessions with a psychologist and am needing another appointment with the nueroligist, new shoes and maybe even new orthotics.

July is a 3 morgage payment month, which is always a stretch.

We have clawed $200 ahead in the previous months by scrimping here & there and that, added with any June leftovers, should see the July budget work. I hope.

I have already been playing with the figures for 2 months knowing we had extra expenses in July.

It is also my birthday in July & I would like the bathroom completed. It needs to be painted and silicone around the shower base. Dh says its a weekend job. I shall call the handyman Monday to get a quote as hubby is non-commital, unfortuneately.

Tonight we contemplated dinner out, it would have been a take away type meal, yet I found some pork chops in the fridge that needed to be cooked. Then I considered dessert out but the natives were happy with a microwave chocolate pudding. I call that a win!

I am waiting to see what exactly is the fallout from the federal budget here in Australia, I'd like to know for planning purposes.

July is the month I begin saving for our rates, I have not done this before & am quite pleased with myself for coming up with it.

Small things amuse me & keep me happy, I like progress.

Happy saving.

Kids & Money

I have 2 sons. (not these, this is from Google)

One is 10 & we've nicknamed him "money bags", he always has some cash stashed ready to buy something that takes his eye.

The other is 8 & money runs through his hands so fast.

The arrangement for pocket money is that the boys need to keep their room tidy & help with chores.
Kepping your room tidy is clearly explained to them & they acknowledge that they understand, its all clothes away & nothing on the floor.
Doesn't sound too hard.

Thier chores are drying the dishes & unpacking the dishwasher week about and setting the dinner table, maybe even making a little salad for themselves as that is how they prefer their vegies which I make them eat.

Trouble is that they have been getting slack & after warnings the pocket money has stopped.

Money bags & his spendthrift bro don't care, they like their messy rooms & lazy ways.

Yet today spendthrift Master 8 really wanted to buy a book from book club. It was the final day for orders & the book he wanted came with an entry to win a prize pack that looked o so desireable in the book club flyer. He had $3 only. Yesterday Nan came to visit and generously gave them $10 each as she is going on a holiday & loves to spoil them.

Lovely.

By the end of the day he had $13. The desired book is $14. Surely it won't be too hard to get $1...

He asked Nan yet she had no coin.
He asked Dad & he has spent all his money already, it is near the end of the month.
He asked me, Mum, & I said "No".
I had $1 yet I refused him & he went to school spitting mad.

How do we teach him to treat money, or himself really, better?

I don't really know yet I couldn't give him or lend him $1, no way.

Before he has any money he already has plans to spend it.

This is no way to start your financial life & I hope that $1 has its greatest value in a valuable lesson.

That is my hope.

Shall have to wait & see the outcome.

No. 5 Money saving efforts!

This week is a short week due to Easter & Anzac Day here in Australia

Its also been busy with back to school, appointments & errands.

There has also been a new baby in the family & my sons birthday!

Phew that is busy.

Efforts this week include;

 

Returning unwanted grocery items to the supermarket. 

 

Sounds pathetic really but I had some random items in my pantry & was feeling shy about returning them, then I just did it.

My return list is;

1. bag of 25 polystyrene cups leftover from a party.
2. bag of bird seed that I got to make a Christmas gift for my sons that just didn't happen.
3. can of coconut milk bought for Dh to make Thai green curry & it didn't happen.

Grand return was $6.50 (I'm sure got duped on the bird seed)

Is there anythiing lurking in your cupboard that could be returned? Mine were store brands & didn't even require receipts, I simply said they were unwanted. Easy.

Next item was onselling an item we bought in January that proved unsuitable. 

 

It was DIY double glazing and I had bought it for $190 & managed to sell it on ebay for $125. which I was pretty happy with.

Overall I am please with onselling this item, small ebay fee involved & it took some time but little effort & the buyer collected it so I didn't have to repost.

Anything you could onsell about your place?

 

Thirdly my son turned 10!  

 

I made cupcakes for him to share with his class using excess easter eggs as decoration (& removing the temptation for myself to eat them).

I spent minimally on him finding books he likes at the opshop & giving him a voucher for a day at a Museum and a magazine subscription in an area of interest.

Worst part was the magazine is one we are not yet familiar with & it comes out next month. I'm sure it will be great so its more something to look forward to than it was exciting for him on the day.

The fun will last though as they arrive throughout the year!

We also did a special dinner at home for the birthday. He wanted Calamari & they were on special, we also had a lamb rack roast for mains. It was so good!

Worked out to under $10 a head all in the comfort of our own home. Worth the extra $$ spent and he even said thank you for the dinner, so it must have been good. Very satisfying to have the effort & dollars spent appreiciated.

We could not have eaten out or had take away for 6 for anywhere near what I spent, which was around $40!

Not sure how that compares to what others give their kids yet my son was happy & commented that he recieved more than he normally does. I did put $10 in the envelope with his voucher & subscription notice and he banked it immediately. He is a good saver!

I am very proud of my son and we all enjoyed his special day!

 

Petrol savings!

 

Over Easter we stayed home & my car was in the garage from Thursday to Wednesday when i drove the boys to school. We biked the previous day & I had cakes to deliver for sons birtday that would have been spoiled if carted on the bike.

I usually set aside $50 a week for fuel & managed to spend $37 for the fortnight!

I was very pleased with that. I think it may even see me through the month.

Goals hit this month;

 

• Catch up Christmas club. Done with ebay sale.

•  Extra payment to mortgage. Done by reducing fuel spending.
  
  
  
  Happy Saving!
  
  
  
  
  

No. 4 Efforts in money saving aka Non Spending!

This week has been busy.
Kids are home on holiday from school & we have had rain! Lots of rain.

My efforts this week includes;

Staying with relatives for a short break!
It sure was cheap, I didn't open my purse at all! Yet it meant we all came home really tired due to the sleeping arrangements. No complaints though as our hosts were so generous.

Hubby sourced a free sewing machine. He mentioned to friends that he was on his way to buy a new machine to replace my broken one & they gave us their extra one. Bonus! Now I have a functional sewing machine again at no cost.

I was given some postage stamps, a lot of them. This shall save me on writing letters, which I love to do, & have numerous penpals around the place. I may need to spend 10 cents instead of 70 to post each letter, but how good is that to get a free roll of stamps!

Bacon! It was on special while I was away so hubby bought us 10kgs to last a while. I'll portion it out & freeze it Sunday, I love bacon.

Now to keep the birthday party on budget this week & get the house in order, again. I'd like to do some more decluttering as my Aunt had loads of clutter about & being in a cluttered environment always makes me crave clear space.
I love counters with nothing on them, what do you love in your home environment?

Happy non spending!

No.3 Money saving efforts

This year & I shall attempting to be diligent in practising money saving strategies. 
All the little bits add up & shall see us debt free sooner. 

1. Laundry savings. I wash the boys school clothes weekly. Seems harsh yet unless they haave been playing in a wet school yard they don't really come home dirty. We have more than one set if they do & I check it, work on any marks & wash it (inside out) once a week. My hope in doing this is that the uniform we have shall see son 1 through primary school and son 2 most of the way, without having to buy anything else. Our school has also began a regular stall of 2nd hand uniform, which is awesome. That means anything we no longer wear can be donated & I can buy what we need cheap. I also wash everything else in 3 loads a week. Prevously I was washing about 10 loads a week & would look for things to fill the machine. I'm hoping that I have effectively cut my laundry work in half! I only line dry & use our home heating to finish off clothes in the Winter, no clothes dryer unless it is absolutely necessary.

2. Appliance replacement. Our home is older & we are 14 years married this year both of which mean things shall need replacing now or soon. This last month we replaced our dishwasher, we bought a $299 one from Aldi & it works well. Then our oven element burnt out & we have replaced it with a $150 2nd hand one from Gumtree. I replaced our electric frypan yesterday, ours died when we moved here just over 2 years ago. I expect to have to replace more items & had begun saving for them this year.

3. Turning everything off or unplugging it. A seemingly small thing that can save us lots! We have a pedal switch on a powerboard that hubby uses in his office yet the TV & set top box need to be done manually. So I walk around each evening (or morning) & unplug, pick up (off the floor so things are not broken) and turn off.

Just looking back to June 8 2012 from my New Direction post.

I had the following goals 

1. Build our emergency fund of 10K  done October 2013, it took longer than expected yet it is such a huge acchievemnet for us & I have great pride in saying it is still intact.
2. Have a buffer amount in our offset account. Finished 2013 with one & it has gone to already in 2014, hence the strict refousing on 2014. We have had some health challenges that keep on costing $$.
3. Throw all extra cash at the mortgage. Begun this in January 2014 & though it hasn't been smooth it is definately priority. I have redirected the payments from the surveys to go to the mortgage, its something every month & makes a difference.
4. Keep up the house maintenence & repairs, but delay all else. This is where we are at right now!

This means we are on the right track & need indeed to "keep calm & save money". I'm tracking the progress we make with our mortgage each month and keeping myself alert to anything else we can do to save a little here & there. 

It is tiresome at times not to have any spare funds for impulse buys yet I enjoy the forced creativity of working on a goal and we sure do appreciate what we do & have. 

This month we are taking the family to see a production, that will be a treat for the whole family.

Week 2 Money Saving Effort

Ok Ok I know its not been a week since the previous post, its been longer, but here I am. Again.

This week was the start of April & as we get paid monthly I budget monthly.
April's budget is tight!

Yesterday I;

Did week 1 of 5 food shops for this month & came in under budget by $4.90

Got my son new shoes for $30, under budget by $60

Re-balanced the budget today, which I have never done, in attempt to stay on track!

And finally we collected our eye glasses today & were out of pocket $0! Yay

Goals this month;

Find $50 for Christmas fund & then another $50 for last month's contribution which we didn't make.

Find $100 to start May's sink (or bills) fund start off well.

Add some extra, no matter how small, to the mortgage.

Every dollar brings us closer to freedom!

Enjoy the journey!

Week 1 Money saving efforts

Well, long time no post here.

I have been up & down, like most of us, and am hoping to re-focus on day to day savings.

This week's money saving efforts;

1. I rang my Car Insurer to see if they could better the price on my renewal & was rewarded with a discount of $104.
2. Aldi opened in our little town & I shopped there first getting a better deal on most purchases
   except for celery, which turned out to be cheaper at Coles.
3. I bought a pair of jeans ot the op-shop to make a hanging planter bag for the plenty of strawberry runners we currently have. This is only a saving if I actually put the plan into action, I was thinking I could sell the planters of strawberries at the school fair later in the year.
4. I asked for & recieved free cutlery for work. This was a good lesson in asking! I am now considering asking for a scholarship to do a course I have been wanting to do for some years in order to seek employment.
5. I came in under my food budget. I am very proud of this & now have the challenge of coming in under budget for the month. I have $100.75 left! I declare it doable.

Lets see what I can manage for next week & the rest of this one.