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Archive for April, 2012

Six Year Blogoversary

April 28th, 2012 at 10:05 am

Like Lucky Robin it’s my Six Year Blogoversary too!

I think I have slowed down a bit since I first started blogging on here. Some things have changed as I no longer have any cats. I am now on an age pension instead a disability pension but we get the same benefits so not much charge there. But our pension has gone up but a few hundred dollars over the period of time. Still below poverty line but with strict budgeting you can make things happen if you put your mind to it and go without some things along the way.

This week-end will be a busy one here!

April 27th, 2012 at 09:30 am

On Saturday we are voting for our city council Mayor and councillors, it compulsory voting here. You will get a fine if you don’t. Then I have to take my friend shopping afterwards. I hope not to spend too much on Fruit & Vegetables plus meat. ($25.00 or more)

On Sunday it’s the local school fete which donated a car load of stuff too, a few weeks back. I don’t plan on buying much but will go and see there are any books that I may be interested in. Last year I got a lot of Earth Garden magazines there. I have allotted $15.00 for the day to spend there.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.

It pays to be alert!

April 21st, 2012 at 09:05 am

A medical bill came for my friend for $176.00 but the way our age pension system works I wondered about it! After a lot thinking about how to pay this bill and which way to go about it, I went to one of the offices and just asked about age pension discount on it. With just one phone call from the office staff and age pension number no bill all done. Saving $176.00 and a lot of running around on my part as I was the one that would have need to pay if it had to be done that way.

2nd Monthly Financial Summery for 2012

April 15th, 2012 at 08:36 pm

Time to post my monthly, before others things did get in the away again.

I only just updated my Excel so here are the figures for last month. This period is from Mid-February until Mid- March

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.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx. Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35.00=====$32.55
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $129.83
Non-Food===$15.00=====$36.22
Clothes ====$35.00=====$22.80
Grooming===$15.00=====$29.99
Gas======$25.00=======$30.70
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$20.46
HH items===$40.00
Fares== ====$15.00
Entrainments=== $15.00
Garden =====$15.00
Gifts & Donations ====$35.00
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70.00====$177.85
Misc ======$10.00
Personal Allowance =$90.00 ====$36.15

Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $600 spent $516.55 so under budget by $83.45

No Spending days over the 28 days = 16 days in total.
Personal allowance covers confectionery, lotto, books, stamps, craft & hobby supplies.
Eating out including meals out with family and friends, we all go Dutch.
As for Medical & Diabetes Expenses - this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up this month just on medicine that is not covered be refund claims.
My credit cards are still paid in full each month.
Spending on books and papers $5.00 for the month including 3 papers.
I do keep my bill money separated from this summery. This year I will be budgeting around $650 per period month to cover all my bills. My bills over this period came to $0 only Medical ones.
Most of my social outing are dining out this is part of my social outings money and spending allowance.
As for food out, I dined out three times this month twice costing $9 each time as I can no longer eat at fast food outlets. That $9.00 meal’s at Casino is still looking the healthiest and best deal in the city for now. Another time breakfast at fast food outlet.
My grocery bill came in under budget for this month.
My clothes and grooming budget was on target this month as I bought Electric tooth brush
If any changes to my spending habits will need to come out of my daily living allowance categories of my budget as my bill categories are very tight now.
Still need to work on a Grocery category.
Strategy: - Track your daily spending down to the cent by writing it down daily.

My last Cat has passed away!

April 14th, 2012 at 05:08 am

In the last day or so my last cat took ill and wasn't breathing properly, so at 15 years it was best to put him down. I took at his food, odd and end to pet welfare shelter and paid for him to be putdown. I have told my son that I will not have any more pets here.

I have spent the last 16 years caring for my son’s unwanted pets at my cost and not being able to get away for a holiday as I couldn’t get anyone to care for them.

Sick cats were making me ill so it’s no more pets at all, it better if I donate some money instead.

Into reading novels this year

April 8th, 2012 at 10:00 am

More time reading and spending less time on the computer.

I am back to reading novels so I have read more books and three of those were a Sara Douglas trilogies of which I have read 11 books of hers so far this year and still 8 more novels to go of hers.

Along with that I have read a number of other novels as I am having a month off reading Sara Douglas and reading lighter novels that I own but never read or it’s so long since I did so.

Some of the books that I have read in the past weeks were light Regency novels and short stories.

Some Barbara Cartland novels of the Regency period
Other novels

An Infamous Army and The Spanish Bride both by Georgette Heyer.

The Happy Prisoner by Monica Dickens

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn from the Tales of the Orori Trilogy (Fuedal Japan)

My favourite one was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (You can buy this one online)
written in form of letters (1946)