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Archive for November, 2010

Cutting my internet & phone bill

November 30th, 2010 at 08:20 pm

I phoned my internet & phone provider yesterday and charged my plan to a lower deal which is in more keeping with my usage. I don’t wish to charge provider but to get on a better plan. I will lose some services but with the amount I am using over all as I don’t use that much so if I allow about extra $10 to 15 per month on average above minimum charge then it may work out. I will have to be on a fixed provider for another 24 months but as I don’t plan to charge it’s not that much a problem. A lot of fees if I pull out before that all most better to stay put.

I was on 7G down & upload but using under 3G per month and phone cost with free national & local landline phone call plus free mobile use to provider’s mobile phones of which I was using around 4 calls per month. Now it 5G down & upload and landline phone cost with free national & local landline phone calls but I will be paying for all mobile calls plus 13 ….. numbers, these are at local call cost and mobile phones will be expensive if I get to make a lot of them but not as much as before.

What I like about these packages is it’s cheaper to have internet broadband and landline combines then pay for the landline on its own. My friend is paying over a $100 per month for her landline only. I have been paying the same amount each month so I do know how much I had to outlay each time.

Now saving around $40 per month is a lot on age pension.

Over 12 month’s $1078.80 average on the old plan
Over 12 month’s $606.60 average on the new plan plus extra $120 to $180 for mobile calls for that I was getting for free before. I will just have to watch that I use landline phone numbers if possible more often. So businesses that only have mobile or 13 numbers will miss out on my business from now on if I can help it.

Spending up without leaving home

November 29th, 2010 at 08:10 pm

Well I didn’t go to the shops today but I did buy something for the cats.



Their Flea treatments online as I have to paid for postage so I order enough for six months for both of them. It’s the cheapest I can fine and they are local vet store on the other side of the city. It would cost same amount in postage to pay for tolls ($6.00 return) plus gas to get there.

So I spend $124.70 including postage.

Top price in pet store for flea treatment per packet is $117.20 and I bought two of them all up for $58.60 each at

Text is priceless pets and Link is http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/
priceless pets


Saving $109.70 on RRP

Stretching my groceries by buying less

November 24th, 2010 at 08:03 pm

After reading this blog

Text is 15 Items or Less and Link is http://carolinabound.savingadvice.com/2010/11/24/15-items-or-less_63755/
15 Items or Less. I had a look at my own last two grocery shop dockets both are under 15 or less too! Shopping for one person does have it little savings at times. Remember we have no coupons here.

Shop 1 - 6 items

3 pkt Savoury Biscuits @1.09 =$ 3.27 -off $1.51 pkt - saved $4.53
1 Pkt Bread Roll $1.50 -off $1.50 -saved $1.50
1 can Spam $3.00 -off $1.01 -saved $1.01
Home brand Ice Cream $2.19

Saved $6.69 off RRP this week

Shop 2 - 5 items

1 dozen Eggs $2.55
403g Sweet Potato .80
Mixed Fruit $2.00 -off .89 - saved .89
1 kg Tasty Cheese $7.98 -off $2.01 -saved $2.01
1 kg Hans Bacon Rashers $6.99 -off $5.00 -saved $5.00 (manager mark down)

Saved $7.90 off RRP this week

So that’s $14.89 off my groceries in two days.

Also that’s about 20 meals in the future of the protein parts.

I planning of using vegatables and fruits up that I had got here and garden vegetables first. I have plenty of beans and cherry tomatoes for now!

Saved $575 this morning at Garage Sale

November 20th, 2010 at 10:06 pm

Seeing that I didn’t have to go to my friend place for breakfast this morning I went to a Church Garage Sale instead. Not much in the way of things but I did find some craft books there so I bought what I bought I liked for $2.00 plus household items that I need for my project in the future at the price they were asking its buy now or never. I got metal napkin holder, metal plate, 2 bread & butter plates café style and placemat for $1.00.

Then I went to another section and pick up a beaded belt that I can use the beads for my craft necklace that I wear. I bought four books 3 medical ones and English text book $6.00.
Having spent my money I went home as I was walking I couldn’t buy too much then.

I went back to get some lunch but they were sold out of food. So I bought the balance of the craft books for $3.00 plus another kitchen garget that I didn’t see the first time around $1.00. Bought 7 craft books on the other stall $2. All up I spent $15.00 on both trips just one street over from my place and 4 houses as the crows.

I just did the RRP value of my bootie and I am in shock, the RRP on the books alone $538 and all up $590 on everything. That’s $575 saving. If I ever need some cash I could sell some of them as I will never use all of them, as I may have some of them in my storage boxes but at 20c each you need take it now and sell the extras later. I ask the Rev. if I could buy the balance of the craft books he said if I wanted too so I gave him an extra dollar for the balance so I had two pick then bought the balance as I didn’t buy lunch in the end.


Mommy cat helping me taking stock of what I bought


Some of craft books


The pile of craft books 21mm high, most are cross-stitch patterns

A Few No Spending Days

November 17th, 2010 at 07:51 pm

Well I did it, 7 days straight not spending any money, I did try to on last Sunday but in the end I came out better than I went in.

My friend is away for a few weeks so I am not shopping for her now! My other friend has just come back from a trip with her daughter and I did do the collect the mail and feed the birds & fish run each day while she was away. So last Sunday she took me to the local club and paid for my lunch and I played the pokies while we were there. I tried to spend $10 but I end up coming home with $25.00 so in fact I didn’t spend any money but came out ahead.

Today is a spending day as I have a trip to the city, and I need to pay a bill and check as few things out the whether I go with the hospital cover or not. I need to do the sums as the public hospitals are having trouble keeping pace to the number of people going there. The question is still can I afford over $132 per month for the rest of my life plus everything else.

Financial summery of the past month

November 14th, 2010 at 12:46 am

As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to a calendar months so here are the figures for my last period.

It’s time to start again on reviewing my monthly daily living allowance.

These are the categories for this challenge.

Items === Approx Budget===Spent

Eating out===$35.00=====$70.80
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $65
Non-Food===$17.00
Clothes ====$35.00=====$9
Grooming===$15.00=====$22.73
Gas======$25.00======$38.30
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$59.20
HH items===$42.50======$93.59
Fares== ====$9.00
Entrainments= $12.00 =====$17.55
Garden =====$10.00
Gifts & Donations =$35.00=== $11.00
Medical =====$15.00=====$35.50
Misc ======$9.00=======$2.00
Personal Allowance =$85.00 ==$46.20
Note only one amount is no spend

Budgeted for this period $530 spent $488.82

No Spending days over the 28 days =10 days in total.
I have been spending a little on some books, household items and Entrainments over the last month. Some of these are covered in my personal allowance in which I got a book or two at good discount price that were on my buy list and a few treats. I had a lot of large bills this month so I had to watch what I spent money on. My eating out for the month was high and it will be the same this month I would think too! A few Christmas lunches are planned in the coming weeks.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month. I am still under my budgeted allowance so I am on track by being under budget by $41.18.

My Excel Budget 2011

November 8th, 2010 at 08:15 pm

Today I started getting my Excel pages ready for next year’s tracking. I do track every cent that comes across my path incoming and outgoing. I have been doing this for many years now so it’s just part of my strategies. Timewise I have found it best to do this ahead of time as if I leave it to late I never get around to it and end up with a big mess budget wise. It’s easy as I have made templates for each set of pages.

I always am looking for the best way to do this. I work with floats as some bills I never need from year to the next but the money is there if it’s needed. Starting with $1300 in floats I do put total amount of bills plus extra 10% each pay away for just bills then just pay them all when due. Having worked out via my

Text is Bill Estimates Tracker and Link is http://tightwadkitty.savingadvice.com/2008/11/21/making-a-my-budget-work-for-global-reces_45361/
Bill Estimates Tracker (I wrote about this here) then using this bill tracker to calculate the amount that I need at for each pay cycle. This amount is allotted to the bill A/c. I try never to spend this amount as I consider this is not my money to spend freely. On an age pension it’s not easy to make it up if you do so it’s best if you think it as not your money. I worked in retail for many years and took this view at all the money that crossed my path while working. It was not my money so its value to me was that of an item that I was selling at the time and I had to look after it just the same.

Then if any money is leftover above the amount needed at the start of the next year it goes into savings or special projects after I taken out my floats for the following year.

Most of floats can be used as an Emergency Fund at pinch but must be paid back as you will have problems later down the track.
Text is Creating Emergency Fund and Link is http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06jan30b.cfm
Creating Emergency Fund

Hospital Cover Dilemma

November 5th, 2010 at 10:05 am

I am trying to add the cost of hospital cover to my bill budget, before I have pay a lot more as I get older if I don’t, as it is I have to pay an age surgechange of 40% now and it will go up by 2% each year that I delay. This will mean an extra $95 per month on top of what I am out laying now for all other bills.

This is because up till now I couldn’t afford to cover for hospital and we have a free public hospital here, but they are now over crowded with a very long waiting list for any surgery. This hospital cover I am thinking of getting is just for basic cover, so I may have to go to public free hospital if I need major surgery like hip or knee replacement. I will have an excess of $500 for hospital per year if need it but will have a float to cover this part.

By putting away around $300 each fortnight I can do this, but any car services will need to come out my personal living area of my budget. I am thinking that may be by buying a few less books and few other little treats at times when I do have to do something with the car, as I always have floats so I can borrow from these at pinch and pay back as soon as possible by cutting back on wants but not needs.

Annual Kerbside Pickup

November 1st, 2010 at 06:25 am

In our area it’s this time of the year again, over a full year about 8 suburbs get a week get to put out rubbish that’s too big for our bins, you are allowed to put out only certain items but you do get a list of what can be put out. Like old electrical items or furniture but the some things you have to take any doors off to make them safe and children can’t climb into them. I put out two very old TV 30 year plus ones, well the copper scavengers came calling the first night they took the electric cords off everything, next day some more came with cordless drills and took all the valuable metals inside the TV’s and microwaves. They can have it as they had been sitting here for next Kerbside Pickup anyway.

I did a bit of scavenging myself; I found a good dinning room chair that just needs coat paint and cushion. 10 medium size garden pots that I have run out off, waste tidy bin that just need a wash, pair of old fashioned salt & pepper shakers that I will sell or give to Op Shop, Maui Girl brand new backpack, hemp shopping bag Save the Planet kind, folding cooler bag that will be ok to keep in the car, a print of old city will need to have better look at it but not valuable, piece of green cloth thick and big enough to make a bag or cover a stool with and small galvanized letter box still usable.

If I went out and bought this all stuff I would be looking at around $160 worth. The chair alone is worth $80 at IKEA new, Backpack $30 as it’s a brand one and I pick up a second one just awhile ago not so new but washable again Maui Girl brand.