Getting There

so i have looked into this accounting degree that i might be considering.
the thing is, i will have to explain everything from the beginning.
when i finished high school i did the same thing everyone did and applied to uni (except i did it just for the hell of it, and because everyone else did it and i didn't know what else to do). i applied for a combined degree in Business & Arts.
It ended up I got a better OP than I thought I would (a 10, not the best, but not bad either) and I got into the uni course with flying colours.
I deferred for a year then got a job at a bakery. Then I got a job at a restaurant. Then the time came for the deferment to end and I hadn't done getting my piece of the hospitality-slightly-low-wage-pie. I called the uni to ask about reapplying at a later date and they said with my OP results I should be fine for the next 5 or so years. (woo!).
anyway so my dad is slightly stressing out (not really stressing, more like 'suggesting' I think about what I might like to study). I'm working for my family business, which means I can only get another part-time or casual job, not a full-time one. I don't know what I want to do, because of the family business I should be doing SOMETHING to do with business, but then again I love to write. Then I was thinking, do I really want to write for a career? I might ruin the fun-ness of it. I would rather write a novel in my spare time and see how that goes at it's own pace. I'm not very imaginative under pressure.
Anyway so then I was talking to boyfriends mum, and she has been involved in accounting, and yes she basically said, do you want to work for fun or money. I have been thinking about it and for me, right now, money is slightly more important because I want a house to bring kids up in and not have to worry about their health bills, school fees etc.
Anyway.
I like the book work I do now for my family's business. I think accounting, although very different, is an extension of that, and I think I would be able to handle it.
So there is my explanation of why I am thinking of doing it!

i think.
i'm not 100% positive, but i am considering it, to say the very least.

i think i might study accounting.

so. have this story that really frustrates me, but i can't really whinge about it to other people because it would require me to tell the person the whole story.
so my work colleague recently confided in me that she has an OCD. she hasn't told me what it is, and i haven't really asked. i guess now and then, but i'm always wrong. she says she's never met anyone with the same, and that it's a physical thing, not a 'mind' one.
anyway. so awhile back she was depressed, and tried to commit suicide. she has told me she is not really like that, that she loves life, but that she just wanted to get away from it. anyway. now because of that the doctor has ordered she has to see a psychiatrist. he gave her 12 sessions that she had to complete, otherwise she would be listed 'as a danger to herself' and probably commited to hospital. they were priced at around $100 per session, and she was going once a week. i believe she got around $75 back on medicare.
so. she hates going and basically for the entire hour she sits there and says nothing. she does not like the lady she sees, which i guess is one of the problems. she does not like talking to her. she finished her 12 sessions but the psychiatrist wrote a report that was not... kindly... and which basically said she had not made any progress, and that further sessions were needed. so, the doctor gave her 12 more. the psychiatrist also happened to up her price from $100 per hour to around $120. also, my work colleague said that she only gets $25 back from medicare now.
I have lots of issues with this.

The first, is that my work colleague doesn't earn a lot. only about $250 a week. she lives with her parents, but obviously this is a very large expense compared to her income. and no, she can't increase her income, she already works a full working week.
I think it's unfair that she should be made to see a psychiatrist for that much money when she obviously can't afford it. it should be free, or she shouldn't have to go.
on the other hand, she is one of those people who doesn't speak up. she would rather 'keep the peace', and that infuriates me, because she has gotten herself in so much mess by doing this all the time. she is too concerned about how it might affect others that she is willing to suffer because of it.
(example: she has enourmous debt of $35000 and has been offered help by her boss's wife to get it down to $17000 because the debt consolidation group that she has to pay back is actually DOUBLE charging her for some reason. the one thing that is concerning her is that someone in that group might lose their job if she complains about the double-charging. she would rather pay $17000 for someone else to not get in trouble...!)
she doesn't like the lady, but i have suggested she ask the doctor if she can see someone else. she won't, because it 'would be too much trouble!"
i suggested she tell the lady she can't afford it, and she won't. so even though this lady may very well be sucking her dry, she won't say anything.
i suggested she just TALK to the lady and get these sessions over with, and tell the woman what she wants to hear, but she won't do that either because she doesn't want to talk to the lady.

argh! it's so frustrating! some people just CAN'T or WON'T be helped!

what would you do in my situation? just let my work colleague do whatever?

well i let my stepdad use my car yesterday and he filled up the tank for me, and put the reciept in the business expenses. so we all win!
it is actually very good that he filled it up, because last week i spent double my budgetted amount on petrol because we went for our night away where we had to drive for an hour and a bit to get there.

update on the stepdad: he is alright now and has been given a clean bill of health. he still maintains that the drugs did not cause him the breakdown but no one is listening to him/believing him and i told him to 'keep telling himself that' so i think he is having a good hard think about it.

update on the family business: seeing as the end of the financial year is looming, we may very well be transforming the business into a company. it will be better for everyone i believe, and may very well teach stepdad to manage his money a little better, as he will be on a wage instead of just drawing money out when he pleases. boyfriend is thinking about salaries.

Hmmm. So I just wanted to plan the rest of the month out:

Owing/Outgoing this month:
Car Rego: $523.00
CC1: $524.60
CC2: $316.25
Savings: $270.00
Loan Payments: $111.00
Rent: $380.01

Total: $2124.86

Available/Earning this month:
Everyday: $184.40
Bill Account: $282.07
EF: $83.34
Job 1: $525.00
Job 2: $946.50
Other: $90.00

Total: $2111.31

Deficit: $13.55

=O

Anyway I sort of expected that. And yes OBVIOUSLY I have not put in the money I need to actually LIVE on (ie. petrol, food etc). And all of this is because of two large expenses:
my dentist bill and the overdue dvd fees.
which have been put on CC1. ($524.60) the reason i put them on CC1 is because they have very reasonable interest and although I do INTEND to try very hard to pay it back in due time, i am ok with paying a little interest on this one. only because the dentist is something I wanted to get out of the way, even though I couldn't really afford it. it's not exactly a Plasma television, so I am ok with it.

for those who were wondering.
i know it's a lot of money ($142.80). and to anyone else i would say "fight fight fight!!". i know i am being silly in not fighting in the slightest, but i really would rather just pay it and not worry about it right now. what with my grandma just passing away, stepdad sick, stressful work problems and over all feeling slightly depressed, i just want one thing to go away so i don't have to worry about it.

the thing is, i KNEW i owed those fees. i was just avoiding them. and i did know it was over $100. i think this is just one of those (few) times i'm going to admit my mistake and make amends. AND NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!

so please understand, i know it's stupid to just go along with it and pay it, but i really cannot be bothered with fighting it. if it was over that amount i probably would, but like i said, i know i owed it.

i don't want smoething like that to bite me in the ass later on when we buy property. all because of an overdue dvd (or four...)

well.
about a year ago i returned some dvd's late to the store. i didn't give it much thought because i hardly ever rent dvd's. anyway so today i got a letter in the mail from a debt collection agency saying i have 7 days to pay the overdue fees, which amount to $142.80 (???what the!??).

i mean, it's fine, i will pay it. but it is so ridiculous that they didn't even call me or anything. i know that's the way they do it now, they just 'sell' the debt to the agencies and all that. anyway.

hahaha.

i am only laughing about it because it sucks so much that there is nothing else i can do... except laugh!

well i am glad i finally did get my act together and list some items on ebay before they switched it to PayPal only.
Of the 20 items I listed I sold 15 of them. I feel really good as I got rid of some clutter too! I sold mostly clothes and books. Once all the payments are in I will post my profit.

Well BF and I had our hotel stay last night. We had dinner in Chinatown which was yummy and cheap, then drinks with friends. This morning we had a free buffet breakfast and then went to this big dinky chinese store called the Life Factory, which I love because it's got lots of cool stationary. I bought quite a few notebooks and pretty writing paper, plus we bought a grater, a measuring jug and some other junk. Over all we spent around $47, but $20 was my stuff. Boyfriend paid for that, plus my dinner and drinks the night before. I bought him an ice tea, plus i paid for petrol, and also bought him a tattoo magazine and some scratchies. Plus I bought myself a magazine too.

When we got home we went into town so boyfriend could get a haircut. I wanted to find a black cardigan. I have a grey one which I have had for nearly two years, but I think a black one will go with a lot more things. The cardigan I bought cost $45, plus I then bought a little knitted bolero that was $14.16 but was FREE because I used a giftcard I had. I still have a balance of $15 on the card too, which will come in handy later on. I don't really need any other winter clothes and think I have done quite well this season with not buying a lot. I am pretty proud of myself!


Also I updated my totals on my profile/side-bar to show my new savings balances. I have met a couple of goals which is good. always makes you feel good when you reach a goal!!!

i got a letter from my online savings bank today saying that, on top of raising their normal interest rate to 7.75%, they are offering until January 31, 2009, on all amounts above the balance from 31st March 2008, the special interest rate of 8.25%.

Isn't that fantastic???

www.abetterdeal.com.au

well, because the recent erm, problems, my parents who were going to have a nice hotel stay in the city have decided they are not up to it, and so have instead given the room to BF and I, which is exciting and very nice.
We are going to have a nice dinner with friends and maybe see a movie, then BF has promised me a nice breakfast out too. Seeing as we got the room for free, i think it will be ok for us to have two meals out, considering we haven't had a dine-out dinner in what seems like at least a month, if not more.
Boyfriend has been working super hard these past two weeks. He clocked up 70 hours this week just gone and 53 the week before. The business is basically being carried by him at the moment, seeing as stepdad is not... well...
Boyfriend has been considering working out a salary instead of weekly pay. If the past couple of weeks are to go by, which I am sure they will be, he should be getting between $70 000 and $80 000 a year, and that isn't really including overtime or anything.
That is twice my income!
Things are changing I guess.
It is good. Boyfriend has finished his apprenticeship and is able to reap the benefits of all his hard work.

why does bad crap always have to happen to MY family?

in the past week... actually no, in the past FIVE DAYS:

- my grandmother has passed away.
- my little sister broke her arm.
- and my step-dad has been admitted to hospital, because for the past few months he has been secretly taking drugs EVERY DAY to keep himself going physically and mentally.

argggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!

and ours is not even a family where you would EXPECT such a thing. other than my mum's alcohol abuse, my lil bro and sis are in lower high school and my mum and stepdad are running a profitable and very busy business. there is the occasional joint when all the old uncles get together, and of course everyone has (most probably, myself i know included) experimented here and there, but EVERYDAY!!! FOR MONTHS!!! argh. i KNEW something was up but i thought it was just some sort of mid life crisis. INDEED.

*deep breath*

atleast he is getting the help he needs to be back on track.

well this weekend and last, i listed some things on ebay (20 items, to be exact) only two did not sell and I relisted them. Fingers crossed!

once i recieve all the payments i will be listing my profits, but it will be a help all the same. The items I am selling are just books and clothes, and most of them, even though I have spent money on them, i have had for so long that I don't really mind how much they go for.

HOWEVER, the only thing is... X-D

while i was listing items i accidently on purpose managed to BUY three things. teeheehee.

ok well to be honest, two of the three things I would have bought at the chemist within a week anyway. (i bought Clinique foundation and Revlon pressed powder). The clinique foundation I was going to buy at the chemist was $48. I managed to buy the foundation AND the powder, DELIVERED, for $42.23. So I am quite pleased with myself on that one.

Ok now the last thing I bought, i had been looking at for quite a while. It was a box set of the first season of Hotel Babylon. *TRASH* yes I know, but oh so good. Anyway, I have seen it go for upwards of $50 delivered, but managed to buy it from america, delivered, for about $43, so I am counting that one as a splurge, but a well-researched one nonetheless...

As some of you may be aware, he recently took a month-long holiday adventure with two best mates to America. He had paid for his flights ($1900) and had saved about $1000 for the trip. I got him an additional card from my credit card for the trip and the agreement was that I wouldn't use that one (I have two) and that he would pay for all the interest he accrued.
He had a great time and spent up big, and also managed to get a hefty fine for doing something naughty. (let's just say, he had the full american experience, which also included a one day stint in the county jail) - I have to say here, no offence to Americans, but jeez, you guys get thrown in jail for EVERYTHING!
His friends agreed to go thirds in the fine because they said 'it could have been either of us'. The fine was around AU$720.

When dearest boyfriend got back from america, he had in front of him a total amount to pay back of: $3000 on the CC, $700 to his friend for accomodation and car hire, $600 to his mum for a new camera, and $800 to me. Like I said - he had a great holiday!!!

He is an apprentice-tradesman and typically January, February and March are the slowest months of the year. Throw into the equasion that he was now paying around $40 extra per week rent than we were previously. So he is paying more for daily living, and earning abuot half of what he usually does. Also add some extreme tooth ache pain and some dentistry bills ($AU500).

He still managed to, before the middle of April:
- Pay the $700 he owed to his friend.
- Pay $400 off what he owed to his mum.
- and most importantly - COMPLETELY CLEAR HIS CC DEBT! $3000 in less than three months - and earning only half his usual earnings....
- He also says that within three weeks he will be able to completely pay off his mum and myself! (that's another $1000)

He also, I am so proud to say, as of this week...
IS A FULLY QUALIFIED TRADESMAN!
He has completed his apprenticeship about 6 months earlier than required.

This also means that, as of this week, he now has had a payrise, and you know what? My boyfriend now earns TWICE the amount that I do, for the same amount of working hours per week. TWICE! I am so very very proud of him.

He is already talking about how much money he is going to be saving for a house deposit (!!!), how he is going to fix his car so he can drive it, and how he is going to get the rest of his teeth fixed. I am so glad that saving is the first thing he thought of. *sigh* I am so lucky to have such a determined boy!

well i know april is not over yet, however i put the 28th-30th in may's expenses because i do my budget according to the weeks. anyway! so i am able to post aprils expenses now. how exciting:

April Income:
Job 1: $513.50
Job 2: $1236.00
Other: $149.20

Expenses:
Rent: $506.68
($126.67 per week)
Groceries: $190.44
($47.61 per week) $2.39 less
Petrol: $111.17
($27.79 per week) $2.79 over
Bills: $32.21 phone & Internet
($8.05 per week) $1.05 over
Loan Payments: $148.00
($37.00 per weel)
Skin Care: $32.60
($8.15 per week)
Savings: $240.00
($60 per week)
Gifts: $7.98
Misc: $9.50
Dentistry: $273.60
Bank Fees: $30.14

FUN:
Alcohol: $0 (!!!)
Clothes & Shoes: $0 (!!!)
Technology/Appliances: $0
Takeaway Beverages: $54.68
Takeaway Food/Dining Out: $64.59
Magazines/Books: $38.95
Entertainment: $37.90
Lotto: $8.00

Fun Budget: $50 per week
Fun Expenses: $204.12 ($51.03 per week)



YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
you read right.
i officially only spent $4.12 more of my fun money than allowed. FOUR DOLLARS.

i am SOOOOOOOOO proud.

Total Expenses: $1786.44
Total Income: $1898.70

well today was an alright start to the week. i spent $2 on the staff lotto at work, plus $2.80 on a magazine. The I did a spot of grocery shopping for the next couple of days and posted my ebay items.

Ebay Profit Workings:
Total Sale Amount: $76.04
Initial Cost of Product: -$46.56
Postage Cost: -$9.20
Ebay Listing Fees: -$0.60

Ebay Profits: $19.68 less ebay final sale fees.

After that I had a dentist appointment, an OUCHY $298.80. But atleast it is over and done with for a year, except for the clean. I am a little scared of the clean, last time i had it, it made my teeth very sensitive, and they are still like that.

Today I also transferred $60 to my bills account and paid an extra $40 on my loan.

well, i'm sure that 90% of you all have done it at one stage, so you will probably relate to a lot or at least some of it. and hopefully this will help anyone that might be thinking of moving in with other people!

1. Make sure you pay everything evenly - don't go "oh i'll pay for this if you pay for that" because you will end up stewing about it later. Whether it be milk or the bond clean. It may be only 60c one day, but it could rack up to hundreds if you're not careful, or the other person is slack and you end up buying everything all the time. Make sure it's EVEN!!!
2. Set up a cleaning roster as soon as possible, and stick to it. Trust me on this one.
3. Invest in your own personal music listening device (aka an ipod) and some good quality headphones. It will save you many a heartache if you have different tastes in music.
4. Be courteous to one another. If you are making a cup of tea, ask the others if they want one. Don't be selfish. It will take you about 30 seconds longer and everyone will be happy.
5. Help each other out once in a while. You don't have to be a doormat and do everything for someone, but if it's raining and their clothes are on the line and you're the only one home, bring them in for gods sake!
6. Take time to chill out together and either keep the friendship alive/form a friendship. Even if it's a weekly/monthly breakfast together or something like that.
7. Share the chores evenly when there is something big coming up like a party/house inspection/bond clean. Don't expect everyone else to do everything, and don't do everything for someone else!
8. If you have a pet, make sure everyone knows the boundaries. Don't untrain someone else's pet either. You might think they're mean for not letting them on the couch, but maybe there's a reason for that???
9. Pay the bills on time. Allocate who pays a bill. If you take turns paying it, then write it down somewhere. If you each have a different bill to look after, make sure you do look after it! And make sure you get your money/pay your money!
10. And of course, the most important: if you eat someones food, replace it. It's so easy. If you agree on it in advance, and make sure they weren't actually going to use that pasta/coconut milk/banana in the time it takes to replace it, then there should be no hassles. Just make sure you don't go cheap on them, if you use an expensive product of theirs, be prepared to pay for it. The same goes for beer/cigarettes. Don't mooch off people. Replace them, or buy your own.

well seeing as i have NO MONEY i would like to post my savings balances just to cheer me up!

Holiday Fund: $513.54
Emergency Fund: $42.87
House Deposit Fund: $193.05 + $800.00
Bills Account: $81.34
Everyday Account: $269.54

Loan Balance Owing: $4567.49-

with the $800 that my boyfriend owes me it means i am only $6.95 away from having $1000 in my home loan account! i am so excited!

i think my holiday account is going well. i have... 8 weeks until i go to Melbourne. I have been saving only a measly $20 a week for my holiday, but i think from this week i will step it up to $50, which means i will save another $400. Which will be $913.54 in total saved for my holiday.

my EF has been depleted quite a lot but it is all for what its meant to be for! i am so greatful that i started putting money away for an EF that i feel no guilt at all in using the money for my dental bills.

my bills account has taken a hit, mainly because my EF was not fully stocked! this is something i do feel a bit bad about, because my bills account is not for dental! but i would rather get all my dental work done while it is only $700 compared with the thousands my boyfriend will have to spend!

i also took some money out of my extra payments on my loan to pay off the cc, which in turn was ALSO for my dental bills! I will feel so much better once everything has been sorted out.

well i got my second cc bill the other day.
my first cc is a very low interest one (12.99%) which is what bf used when he went on his holiday to america (he's been a very good boy and it is nearly paid off - i am very proud of him).
the second one is a high interest one (21%) but with a rewards program. i got it purely for the reward incentive, and the past year i was able to earn enough rewards to pay for my yearly fee and get something out of it. i use it for my general expenses like petrol and groceries.
well for one month my expenses were over $1000! gosh it sure adds up, doesn't it?
to be fair, i did charge a dentist bill on it, which was nearly $300. since my emergency fund was depleted from LAST MONTHS dentist bill, i took it out of my bills account as well as some of the extra loan payments. for all my normal expenses i was able to use my normal earnings, which is good i suppose, because it means i am not earning less than i can live on. but gosh it sure does hurt when you get something that's not expected!
(ok, i did expect it because i keep a check online of how my spending is going, but just thinking about it - a thousand dollars... woah!)

anyway. in short for this next month of may i am going to trial not using the cc for most of my expenses. i have come to the conclusion that i can't be bothered dealing with this transferring of money all the time and paying a big bill at the end of the month, so i think at the end of this year i am going to cancel the rewards cc. does everyone else think thats a good idea?

last friday i listed some items on ebay, and they seem to be doing well. they are skincare products that i get delivered to my door on a two monthly basis. i get on my credit card for them and most times don't use the whole first lot before i get the second lot two months later, so every couple of deliveries i have a whole spare pack of them. rather than call and hold the delivery for one turn, i have found that they do quite well on ebay, almost always getting at least my money back or making an extra ten or twenty dollars.

i have listed five products this week and all of them have bids, and they all have more than two watchers. so here's hoping it goes well!

first off, i will start by apologising for my adolescent-esque title

our 6 month lease is due to expire in a month. there are three of us living here, sharing the $380 per week rent. even though i don't think we are ready (bf and i) to buy a house just yet, i hope to god we are in another 6 months or a year. these are my workings:

-in the six months i have been living here, i have shelled out $3293.42 in DEAD money.
-in a year (assuming we extend our lease another six months) that will amount to $6586.84.
-coupled with the fact that our rent will surely (i am 99% certain) increase in a months time when we resign, i guesstimate approximately $30 extra in total a week, however it could be anywhere between $10-$60.
-assuming they only increase it $30 per week, this amounts to $10 each per week extra.
-which means an extra $260 for the next six months, each.
-which means that, approximately, over a year of living here, i have spent $6846.84.
-so, together, boyfriend and i have spent $13693.68 on rent in a year.




$ 1 3 6 9 3 . 6 8 !!!!!


*sigh*

i am trying really really hard to talk myself out of buying some new foundation and powder today. here is the thing: i have completely used up my actual bottles of foundation, and i have three sample packets of foundation that i got from magazines. i also have another little pot i got as a freebie sample from the clinique counter, and a little container that i poured a little of my foundation in to use as a travel pot.
the samples i have all match my skin tone. so i really should be using up the samples first, shouldn't i? the thing is, this morning i opened up a sample pack to use, of a foundation type i had never tried before, and i think i really like it! is it a little odd that it is age defying foundation, and that i am 21? or does it not really matter?
so here's the problem: should i go out and buy this new foundation today, or use up the sample packet, and the other sample packets (there is another i haven't used there too) before i buy? how long should i stretch it..? i could probably go anothere week, maybe two.
am i being too much of a tightass here?

well today has been a NSD so far. I don't have anything planened for tonight either. yay for me!

i didnt do any work today. well, i did about 2 hours. then had an argument with parents. it started out alright. i mentioned a block of land that's for sale in our street (they are very rare, and very very expensive - about $300 000 for just the land). which then bf's dad started saying about how bf had to get his act together. then i happily told him how bf had finished paying off his friend this week, and had paid 2/3 of the cc debt off, and only owed me and his mum. well! wasn't that a mistake! bf's dad started going on about bf's mum (they are divorced, obviously) saying bf shouldnt have to pay her back and why did she need the money. i realised i'd put my foot in my mouth and muttered something about her needing the money, with which he replied "she doesn't need it, she's just a lazy bitch". so basically after that i shut down mentally and didn't want to continue with the conversation. but then bf's dad started going on about MY dad (see, my mum and bf's dad are good friends, this is where that comes in) and i had previously said i don't want to hear any more bad things about my dad, because i'm an adult now and i can make my own judgements, and it only makes THEM look bad because they keep putting my dad down. also i said (previously) that anything between parents is between parents and that they should never have, or continue to, involve children because it makes the kids feel sh*t. anyway. so he kept going on about it so i packed up my computer and left.
i went home and did 30 minutes on my exercise bike which is good i suppose.
then mum called and said she expected me to help. i said to her i wasn't working today, and that i really didn't think i would be continuing to work there at all. i said the only reason i was there is because BF wants me there, and at the moment i don't even care about that so much as my own happiness. then mum said well you can't just walk out when you said you were going to help and i reminded her of all the times she had walked off halfway through the day. (and yes, i am humble enough to admit that was slightly below the belt. i just didn't want to go to work and this is actually the only time i have walked out and NOT done my work. every other time i had continued to do my work at home.) i just needed a day by myself i think.

anyway. so i am at odds as what to do (again). i have an accountants appointment tomorrow which, yes, i am attending. i also made a doctors appointment for tomorrow as well. i am getting my calf/shin/leg checked out as i think i may have something along the lines of shin splint.

i am also considering asking if they could refer me to someone to talk to. i have seen ads on tv lately that say you can ask your gp to refer you to a psychologist to talk about anything from stress/eating/career/emotional etc problems. the problem is, i want to talk about my family problems (i guess that falls under past/emotional) but also career, because they both are grouped together. i am just worried i might have to see two!

i am also worried about the cost. a friend has an ocd and has to see a psychologist (or is it a psychiatrist? i always get them mixed up) and she has to pay $125 per visit and gets $75 back.

anyway. wawawa. i guess those are my thoughts today!

i had the great motivation last week to add my remaining money *cough* from my personal allowance to my bills account. and i really was almost there! all i had to do was get through sunday and i would have done it!
as i mentioned in my last post (i think) i had a dinner to go to. and that was fine. i had not had a single takeaway meal all week, not even lunchs, so i was prepared for it. my other 'fun' money expenses for the week included a magazine, a recipe book on sale for $8, a drink from work at $2.75, and my staff lotto money $2.00.

WELL!!!
i bought a drink while chatting to people before ordering, then a coffee (i was the driver). so alright, $6 spent so far, not bad really.
then the menu came out...
the cheapest meal, a salad, was $14. sides were priced $6-$15, the mains were priced $18-$35.
oh by the way. did i mention this was just a surf club?
anyway. well by that time i had resigned myself to spending my full budgetted amount this week. i wasn't going to eat a plate of chips for dinner, and i didn't want the cheapest option because it was the cheapest option. i did get a reasonable one, a plate of creamy chicken and garlic pasta for $19.00. (and yes, that's reasonable).

*sigh*

atleast my personal spending this week was only $52.95. i think that was a great effort, i am usually double that! so that is the one highlight.

well by looking at my expenses so far this week i can safely say i am going to be on budget! of my $50 allowance i have $38.05 left for the week, and it's SATURDAY! yay! (of course anything i don't spend is going to my bills account this week).

i have also been given an extra two shifts in the next couple of weeks, which will give me about $210 more. i am working the day that i am supposed to be working at my other job, but seeing as a) i am working from home now i should be able to make my own hours and still get my work done and b) they are still pissing me off and i have decided that if i can help out the one employer that has actually helped me over the past couple of years, i should, and not keep stressing about letting 'family' down when in fact all i've been worrying about the past six years is letting them down, and this is how they repay me (by making me want to quit!).

i am hoping to put that into my holiday fund. or maybe i will split it three ways to my EF, Holiday and House Deposit Fund... which is best?

umm what else? i think my only winter clothing expenses will be in the form of my Target Gift Card (which i was given for the points earnt on my credit card). I have $50 to spend and am thinking about getting a jumper, maybe some tracksuit pants, or maybe some long sleeved tops. i think i'll wait until they have a sale, or until i really need something desperately!

i am so painfully close to getting my $30 cheque from emailcash! i have been doing the free rewards nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY and am only about 200 points away from being able to cash in. every time i get an email from them i get a little bit excited. sad, i know! i have to say, i would have got it a lot quicker had i been interested in iot earlier. it's only since i joined this site that i have been excited about getting free things now and then. i think i will still keep doing it after i get the $30 cheque. people i know have gotten their cheque then deleted their names from the site. why? you can still continue to get more cheques!

I made green chicken curry last night and froze half of it. tonight i am going to make spaghetti bolognaise and freeze half of the sauce. tomorrow we are going out for dinner, but i hope to make minestroni and freeze half of that on monday. the mini quiches are a hit with the boyfriend who has been taking them to work each day for morning tea. my plan hasn't actually worked though (that if i make bulk lots of healthy food, he won't take the prepackaged things anymore), because he still buys muesli bars and other things to take too! so he is taking BOTH! argh. although, he has stopped buying the dried fruit packs though. which aren't UNhealthy, but they are definately a waste of packaging and money as they are the ones in the individual packs. so i was thinking if i make little fruit and nut muffins, and maybe my OWN muesli slice, he won't buy muesli bars anymore. the thing is, i haven't worked out if i am saving money. i know it is a lot better health wise though, because i never add sugar to anything i make (unless it's a cake or something) and i use rice and spelt flour.
so my question is, if it's healthier, is it worth the extra couple of bucks? (or the effort, if it works out to be the same cost) i guess it is. what are your thoughts?

i have a cocktail party to go to next weekend, with a dress up theme of... wait for it... yobbo.

ahaha. it is going to be hilarious!
and the good thing is i don't actually have to buy anything. (i'm not saying i dress like a yobbo at all, but i have some clothes that, when put together, may seem like i am a yobbo). also i have to borrow a flannelette shirt from someone. and an empty packet of cigarettes to put in my pocket. i will be wearing: thongs (flipflops - if you don't know what i'm talking about), short shorts, a muscle singlet, a flanno, and a truckers hat.
so i don't actually have to buy anything except beer. which for me, is decidedly UN-yobbo, because i only drink corona! oh well. i was half there.

well i haven't posted in a while. i have started a new blog so as to not burden everyone here with non-financial woes. once i have more than just a couple of entries i will post the url so if you would like you can go and read all about me, non-financially.
well this week has been pretty good so far. we passed up the opportunity to go to the movies yesterday, the only available times to see the one we wanted to see were 5pm or 9.30pm. the five o clock one was too early and the nine thirty one was too late, so that sorted that!
i have been working at home the past two days instead of at the office with the parents. it has been much better, work wise. although today i went there at 4.30pm to drop off some paperwork and i could tell mum had had something to drink. at first i thought maybe i was being too quick to judge but even my boyfriend said later that she had definately been drinking. she wasn't drunk, but you could tell.
i don't understand. why would someone want to drink, secretly, during the DAY??? i just don't see the point, or the need.
anyway, here i am rambling about non financial stuff again!

in other news, i made some mini quiches to freeze, they have sundried tomato, onion, capsicum and tomato in them. very nice. they are good for boyfriend to take to work for an afternoon snack and also for me, they defrost in about 30 seconds in the microwave.

i am going to make some muffins tomorrow too, to put in the freezer.

i also want to make a big batch of spaghetti bolognaise to freeze in smaller portions, but i don't know if i have enough smaller containers to store it in! (having not eaten takeaway for ages, we haven't had an influx of plastic takeaway containers!)

i suppose i could also make soup to freeze.

what other meals are easy to freeze and then defrost for quick healthy meals?
i find i get motivated to cook things all in one go, and then other days i don't feel like cooking at all. these would help on those days. any suggestions welcome!

just to try and keep my spirits up i thought i would post my savings balances for the end of march. so here goes:

Holiday Fund: $433.54
Emergency Fund: $182.87
House Deposit Fund: $123.05 (+ $800)
Bills Account: $531.34

Also my loan balance owing:
$4275.14

the $800 is what my boyfriend owes me, i will get it back in due time.

well.
atleast my foot is.
i looked at the myspace page of the tattoo parlour where i got my tattoo a few months back, and the photo of mine is up there! (it is the bird on the foot)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.vi...

click on the link to see!

March Income:
Job 1: $619.00
Job 2: $1169.91
Other: $127.00
Total: $1915.91


March Expenses:

Rent: $506.68 ($126.67 p/w)
Groceries: $208.04 ($52.01 pw)
Petrol: $133.50 ($33.38 pw)
Bills: Electricity $54.35 ($6.03 pw)
Phone $29.98 ($7.50 pw)
Loan Payments: $148 ($37 pw)
Extra Loan Payments: $80 ($20 pw)
Skin Care: $43.49 ($10.87 pw)
Mobile Phone: $30.00 ($3.75 pw)
Misc: $49.64 ($12.41 pw)
Gifts: $59.70 ($14.93 pw)
Bank Fees: $10 ($2.50 pw)
Charity: $62.75 kiva.org
Fun: $798.98
(Alcohol: $41.99 Takeaway Beverages: $57.34 Takeaway/Dining Out: $223.24 Magazines & Books: $64.06 Clothes: $203.85 Entertainment: $8.50 Other Entertainment: $125.00 Lotto: $11.00 Technology/Appliances: $64.00)

So... maybe this month I may need to limit *cough* my fun money. to negative.

basically, everything was looking fine until i got to that portion of my expenses. so naturally this month i will be trying to do things on the cheap again. i have a $50 voucher for target, which should keep my clothes expenses down for a little while.

well it has been about a week or so since i last posted! things are a little hectic right now so i have decided not to start anything new (like the challenge, or other savings goals). of course i am still recording every cent i spend, still having money automatically deducted from my account for savings, and still paying off my loan.
i am not quite sure what i am going to do about this job with my family's business (still issues with it!)
had another argument this week, boyfriends dad is now not speaking to me and relays everything through my mum to me. my mum now says it is all my fault and that i should not 'tell them what to do' in their house.
i am just so f*&%$#@ sick of all the crap. on one hand i know that i have a better perspective of the financial runnings of the business, im able to accept new changes and push the business further. i also know where it's limits are. but then again, i have come to almost this crossroads now where, even though i do know all that, and can do all that, i just don't know if it's worth it. i just don't know if i can be strong enough to fend off their closed-mind-edness for so long. i feel as though i need to leave them do their thing so they can realise that i actually do have an impact on the business. if i left and it went well, i would be happy, obviously. but if i left and it went to shit, then they would blame me.

because with them it all comes down to blame.
when i say i am trying to help them understand what my little brother and sister are going through, and i try and share my experiences and thoughts that i went through as a teen, they say i am blaming them for my childhood and upbringing and that i am telling them what to do.
they just miss the point all the time.

and i am just running out of energy. it's too hard.
i guess i have to start looking for another part time job. i can't survive on the money from just my bakery job anymore. if i'd known this was going to happen, i wouldn't have given up my saturdays.



just a big ramble i guess. sorry guys!

well, there has been quite a lot happening these past few weeks but it looks as though everything is starting to work itself out, so i am feeling a little bit happier.

- while not a great deal has been worked out at Job #1 (the family business) i think the parents have realised that things really are quite tight financially and they can't afford to be flinging a couple of thousand here and there any more. i am staying (at the job) and hope for the love of god they get their shit sorted out.
- after this week i should be able to buckle down again. this month has been a blowout of all sorts. i already know i have exceeded my budget and spent about $500 more than i earnt this month. It's a kick in the guts, but i also know that i have had quite a few days off as well. it can't be helped now, it just means april will be a very frugal month indeed.
- i hope to start a sort of $20 challenge for myself in april. becuase i know the $20 is based around creating more income for yourself, which i can't really do right now, i am basing my own $20 challenge on saving the money i would have previously spent, or taxing myself on the money i spend on unnecesary things. i have seen others do this too.
i am not really sure how this will go because my budget is pretty tight already.
- once april starts i am going to analyse how my savings are going and see if i still need to contribute $80 into my holiday acocunt each week. perhaps if i don't need to i will redirect it to my home loan account.
- my goal is to save around $1500 for my 3 week holiday to melbourne. this amount includes all my rent and loan payments while i am away, as well as all my bills.
- i am hoping that once april is over with, all my dental work will be finished. i am very pleased that i only need a few fillings, though it is still costing me $800. still, i don't think it's that bad for not going to the dentist in over 5 years.
- i am hoping that boyfriend will check himself into the dentist in the next week or so to fix his own teeth. i know already it's going to cost him a lot, and i'm alright with him putting it on my CC. he is in a lot of pain and i think pain comes before any type of interest you might have to pay. i am sure most of you would agree with me here!
- i am going to make sure i monitor boyfriends savings and CC payments so that he can get it paid off quickly. he is still owing about $1000 for the CC bill from his holiday, couple that with whatever this dentist bill may be, plus $400 to a friend and another $600 to his mum (both amounts for the holiday as well). my poor boy is in quite the pickle right now, but he is being good and not spending a lot on anything else. i can see he doesnt like the feeling of being in debt, as this is his first time having CC debt, and even though he sort of planned for it, he still doesn't like it. Which is good!
- i haven't been very healthy this week. unfortunately i have eaten out a fair bit, and haven't done nearly enough exercise. salad for dinner tonight!


my next post will be a list of goals for april.