It’s time that I posted, before I do the next month’s Financial Summery.

I have updated my Excel so here are the figures for past month not posted so far.

This for period of 28 days each as I looks like I missed one somewhere. As I work on 28 day cycles, my dates may be out to calendar months so here are the figures that will bring it up to date as its every near the end of next 28 day cycle.

Included is my trip to a wedding which I took earlier in the month.

Reviewing my monthly daily living allowance

These are the categories for this challenge.
Items === Approx. Budget===Spent
Eating out===$35=====$72.75
Groceries===$125=== =$30.35
Non-Food===$15=====$11.00
Clothes ====$35=====$95.75
Grooming===$20=====$175.5
Gas======$25
HH items===$40=====$200.45
Fares== ====$15 ====$310.75
Entrainments== $15 ====$56.47
Garden =====$15
Gifts & Donations ==$35===$173.5
Medical & Diabetes Expenses ===$70.00====$144.75
Misc ======$10==========$8
Personal Allowance =$90 ===$16.89
Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $550 spent $357.64 at home then $800.00 for trip and holiday and wedding came in at $938.52
Total $1350.00 budgeted for month and spending came in at $1296.16 under by $53.84

No spending days 8 of 28 days

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 over this period just on medicine that is not covered be refund claims.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month, it was $150.00

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 and bills for this period it came to $1220.00

My grocery bill came in well under budget for this period.

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. I was very tight in some areas of this daily living allowance over this period but I did work out in the end.

Still need to work on a Grocery category and personal allowance as I got to stop spending money on books, I think this is my biggest downfall most of my personal spending is spent on books.

Strategy - Do remember what you have stored before you go and buy more of the same.
Strategy: - Track your daily spending down to the cent by writing it down daily.

Enjoy your dinner out on last week. I have always average out on spending money over the year so long as I have some money left at the end of that week or pay period. I also keep a float so that I have some money for these kinds of nights out. I have to budget in Christmas dinner this year at Five Star Hotel as my DIL family likes to dine out $189 for one meal. You only live once.
I would not go if it was every year that they did this. I know they can't afford it!

Here is that salad recipe that mention a few posts ago.

Traditional Greek Salad
(Tomato and Feta Salad)

Serves 6
Prep time 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 Lebanese cucumbers
2 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
100g roughly diced Bulgarian style feta or firm feta
1/2 cup pitted Katamata olives
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice and/or Balsamic vinegar (50%-50%)

METHOD
Halve each cucumber lengthways and then slice thickly.
Place in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and toss well to combine.
Season to taste
Serve with Chicken Souvlakia or Keftethes (Greek Rissoles)

Well they would come here in the storm season. Only here for 5 days and we just had the two worse storms for a long time. They are staying a motel near where my niece is working this weekend; my sister came up with her this time. The place where they are staying got damaged and one guest left a baloney door open and the storm and wind damaged the room and everything of theirs too! At least my sister knew how bad our storms can be here and left their's locked. Trees down everywhere and just down the road from them a street flooded and 20 parked cars went under water. Where I live and my sister was at my place when the first storm hit we got very little damage here. This first storm lasted about 30 minutes and moved very quickly over. However the second storm lasted for hours it seemed as I went to bed and it still was raining and lightening flashing 3 hours later when we lost power for a few seconds but enough to stop all the clocks working. I know it just a summer storms but over 33000 lighting strikes between the two storms and the loss of power in some areas.

Severe storm warming in South East Queensland We did go out on Friday and I spent the day and evening with them. My son and his wife meet up with us all at South Bank Night Markets (Friday night and day time on Saturday and Sunday) do go there if you happen to in Brisbane on the weekend at any time and we had dinner there and Greek restaurant the food was great too! With an entertainment voucher of 25% off the table cost it was around $32.00 per head including drinks. I didn't spend any money other than on food for the whole day. We had two entree of cheese and dips for the table plus a main course each, I had Chicken Souvlakia with Tomatoes, Feta and Olives Salad (Greek salad I will post recipe) and the others had Moussaka and Green Greek Salad or a non -Greek dish. My niece just loves these craft markets and does make a bee line for them when she comes here to lecture on the weekends every so often they are fly in fly out trips as she lives interstate over 5 hours away from here in the country South Australia. Spending for the day $39.00 all up including lunch which was Thai Vegetable Curry with Brown Rice. Some three more storm cells have arrived today so far but were light here but much heavier on the north side up the coast a little. I will post now as I need to close my computer down each time a storm cell comes over and I have loss my Wi-Fi a number times today.

I haven't not been near the shops for over 5 days now! I will need to go tomorrow thorough with my friend but I am hoping not to spend at all.

I had some free pizza given to me today as my friend decided to have pizza for lunch. When she does this she buys 3 of them, one to share with me for lunch, one for her freezer and one for my freezer too! I put this pizza into Gladwrap with 2 pieces at time then freeze I do get 4 lunches out of this.

I think she is lonely and tries not to cook in hot weather as it was 35C today here and no rain.
I do other things for her so it's her way of paying me back I think.

Here is another Vegetarian recipe that I found.

Sri Lankan Vegetable Curry

Mix together in large saucepan
1 cup coconut cream
3 cups vegetable stock
10 curry leaves
1 -2 stalks lemongrass
1 cinnamon stick
Boil up for a few minutes then simmer and add -
1 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tbsp turmeric
Simmer and stir for approx. 10 minutes.
Chop up bigger chunks
1-2 carrots
6-8 small chat potatoes
Add cook 15 minutes then add-
2 chopped zucchinis
Cook another minute.
Then add in
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup cashew nuts
2-3 tbsp coriander
lime juice to taste.
Cook further 2 minutes.
Serve with boiled rice.

Last weekend outcome, Saturday it was raining here but I still went out as it was compulsory voting, at the polling booths the church had a street stall selling odd & ends and sausage sizzler, one sausage & onions on piece of white bread and sauce $2.00 each, I didn’t fall for that one I had eaten but I did buy a large brown handbag that has never been used $10.00.

Then we went down by car to the large fruit shop, my friend bought heaps of stuff. I bought bucket of mandarins, zucchinis, pineapple, pumpkin, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and fennel $12.45 all up then I got 10 chicken schnitzels for $10.00 at the butchers. Cost all up $22.45.


Large Brown Handbag

Come Sunday I had a problem with diabetic glucose machine that my diabetic educator lent me! I had to walk to the chemist to ask about that. New battery was needed so that cost $3.45 more about this in another post.

I did do the Washing before I went for my walk then came home to hang it out and do any hand washing. After morning tea I went the school fete as it had stopped raining. Normally they have Trash & Treasure in the school hall but as this was used for a polling booth the day before they went back to the old area before the new school hall was build. Having found the Trash & Treasure and second hand books area, I looked at these to spend my allotted money. I didn’t find anything interesting but saw most of the stuff I had donated was still for sale. So I may had made the right choice of donating it as it would never sold in any garage sale and I had three over time trying too! I had better luck at the bookstall I did find some cookbooks and two novels that I may read in the future.


$9.00 this lot of books

All up spent $44.90 Value of finds about $165

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.

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.

I had lunch with my friends at Casino, the meal was Fish with salad with chips but I asked and got green vegetables instead along with a vanilla slice and coffee all that for $9.00 for members and $14.00 if not! As I was in the city I got around and paid a few bills like Rates, water bill, my Credit card in full and another for my DF-M. I also got a top up on my GO CARD that I use for bus fares.

Would you believe I got all the bills paid and go card top up all within 45 minutes before I went to lunch so that I could be home on the early bus.

The places that I had go to were in four blocks of each other one place in each as I had to go to the bank first. It’s lucky that I know my way around the city as I was able use some of the short cuts to do this in time. It like go around in a maze I am reading a novel at the moment that has Mazes in it.
City trip all up costed $650.00 including bills.

Strategy - Don’t spend your forward bill money on trivia, it’s been put aside for a purpose and keeps you stress free.

Another milestrone past 800000 views

I think I could find some spare money in my budget if I focused on my food spending for a while.

These will be my target area to work on for now!

Non -Food ---$221--------$184.52---------under target by $36.48
Pets -----------$650------$547.26--------under target by $102.74
Eating out ----$455--------$560.05--------over target by $105.05
Groceries ----$1755-------$1601.08-------under target by $160.42

So money that I have to work with $3081 using 2011 target budget amounts.

In 2011, I came under by [$3081 -2893.10] = $187.90 so I would like to see a bigger drop in this figure this year. Without changing my lifestyle that much knowing that I can cutback harder if things change around here. So it’s to focusing and planning what I intend to do here.

So what strategies do I plan to use to reduce this further with cost of living going up here and my income is only age pension.

I will start with the easiest on first Non-food, this is area mainly covered by items that I can’t eat like Toilet paper, paper towels, and some cleaning items that I need to buy. If do a stocktake of these items, I may find that I will only need buy toilet paper this year. By looking online and some in of my books I will find replacement for other cleaning items.

Next easiest one is Pets this includes cat food and litter for them. As they are old cats I will not be retraining them with new ideas but focusing on any wasteful habits and paying more attention to what they eat. They flea and vet treatments are covered in the bill area of my budget so are not included here. But will try to find ways of reducing these as well.

Now time to think about my food out as I like to call it! This area I can control to a degree but not all the way. I have 12 planned lunch dates each year which I just go along with cost can between $9.00 and $26.00 each time at current prices. Then you have 5 birthday dinners or lunches that can cost around $30.00 each time at current prices. But will not go if it gets above this unless it’s a wedding which a once in blue moon event. Now the other lunches I can reduce or not have depending on my time schedule when out. I do try to keep these to under $12.00 where possible.

So where does that leave my food out budget, thus having budgeted for $350 outing with family and friend as socialising and form of entertainment. I do keep a float aside of $35.00 so that if asked out I can go will out worrying if I can afford that week. I am trying to get the family to eat at home more but it’s an uphill battle.

I will review my grocery shopping in my next post.

While looking at my annual figures another tally is noted there.

For 2011, I had a total of 148 days of no spending days that money wasn't changed hands at all in any form. So 216 days some money did find its way into someone else hands.

So I hope to improve on last year’s figures!
So I am planning a new strategy so that I can maximize my no spending day for 2012.

To do this will take some planning and a lot of blinkers on my part as when I shop for my friend.
Multiple tasks spending days is in order I should think, so days that I spend money must be days that all other spending is be done that I know that I need to do! e.g. Pay bills, credit card, buy paper if its Wednesday, medical scripts made up, fill the car with gas/petrol. As many of these tasks that can be done in one day the better thus leaving a number of days that I need not spend money at all.

This will take some will power as today I had to shop for my friend, this is what I faced, buying a loaf of bread now we don’t eat the cheap stuff and the bread we buy is between $2.49 and $4.49 per loaf depending what on special that week.

When she ask to buy 2 loaves of bread it’s a little easier. Why because of the way the supermarkets sell their bread, the best deals are 2 loaves for $6.00 ones the same bread that you would buy at $4.49 each but you have to buy two loaves at the same time to get that deal. So today I bought one for myself so I could get the deal, also one special of noodles that couldn’t find on my last shop plus some white grapes that I had planned to buy. So in I spent $7.00 saving around $3.00 off RRP plus the loaf of bread for my friend.

I went shopping yesterday, to get something’s for DF-M my elderly neighbour, so had I have get a few grocery and pet food for myself too! So this shop is what I nicknamed a cat shopping (More cat food than human food.)

It’s funny how you get into habits when buying things, anyone cart snooping into my cart / trolley. Do you do it? Would wonder what I ate at all.

There was between us
12 cans of cat food
2 packets of dry cat food
40 rolls of toilet paper
750g of white grapes
5 packets of satay Asian noodles
2 litres of skim milk
5 bags of Rustic Bread rolls
1/2 stick of celery
4 knobs of Australian garlic
6 packets of pasta
2 pack of Christmas cards @50c
2 packets Christmas jelly candy @50c
Local paper

I would love to see someone try to make a meal out of that lot.

Between us we spent over $70

Today is a no spending day

I said that we would have a heatwave here in my last post. Well while we were having a heatwave down south in Victoria, they were having snowstorms and Western Australia is having a Cyclone this morning. We just can’t win with this weather.

This week is one year on since the floods and the mud army some people are still in their homes yet and may never be.

I had my Air Con two days out of the three for about 8 hours non-stop. It used up power here normally I can get away with around 8 kWh per day plus 2 kWh from solar panels an selling back to the grid 1 or 2 kWh per day, both days I used 22 kwh plus 4 kWh from solar panels to run the Air Con on both day. I try to read my meters each day to see how I am going an note something I am doing different that normally here. I do chart it in excel over the years.
I drop down 8 kWh on line power since I installed Solar panels and 4 kWh in Hot water since installing solar hot water.

So I try to keep my utilities as low as I can.

I had a few things to do today, pay one of my credit cards off now in credit. Buy the group’s lotto ticket for Mega Jackpot on Saturday and I got this job for 2012. It would be nice to win something!

I walked past the departments stores and all retail stores with their Boxing Sales on and everything at 20 -70% off their regular price that may be the case with leftover Christmas lines that I do not need anytime in the next ten years. As for clothes I just don’t need any, only a pair of Black flat court shoes with decent soles on them still can’t find any in my size. I did see two styles that were right again not in my size so I walked on to the bank.

So what did venture into the shopping centre yield today something that I would have brought at my local shopping today paper for the TV weekly shows it a lot cheaper and you get more Free to Air channels in it than the Sunday paper. Cost $1.10.

I saw that our transport fares are going up again on Sunday so will be stay with my Go Card that’s for sure as paper ticket one way trip is now $2.00 cheaper to have a Go Card for the same trip. My normal fare will be going up 11 cents I think I can live with that one.

I had lunch with my Ex work colleagues today, we have been meeting up since we all were made redundant over 13 years ago, all of this group are retired.

We had lunch at the casino our $9.00 member’s meal deal of main meal, cake or fruit salad and coffee. I had Fish with Salad, piece of vanilla slice and coffee. No main meal for me tonight.

I spent only $4.00 playing the pokies as I like to play a little each time so to keep my membership card active.

So how much did I spend today, Boxing Day Sales Zero and Lunch Paper and pokies grand total of $14.10 and paid my Credit Card off.

I had breakfast with the family Christmas morning, BBQ sausages, Bacon, Hash Browns, & Eggs with Coffee and 2 Chocolate centred biscuits but true to form they cooked too much food for four adults. So I was given the 8 cooked sausages and 3 small slices cooked bacon to take home. It was still hot when I got home too! As we gave out our presents before we had our bunch so it was almost 10.30am before it was started to cook it.

On the way out my DIL ask if I would have some custard too! Then she came out with the end of the roast ham that they had in fridge too! They are only going away two days but too lazy to cut it off the bone and freeze it. I took that as well all 3lbs of it. The bone will make a great pea & ham soup come winter. Out of the sausages I got 4 servings and 1 serve of bacon which will be tomorrow breakfast and 15 servings of ham which I have frozen for now. Some of it will make salads and other will go into different dishes that I will make over the coming weeks along with what meats I bought in the last week I now have a full freeze again.

But my son works at the fruit markets and was given a tray of mangoes so I got 6 mangoes to top it off.

Tally of foods

6 Mangoes $2.00 each = $12.00
8 sausages uncooked = $5.50
3 slices of lean bacon = $ 2.00
1.5 kg Ham of the bone @29.95kg = $45.00

Waste Not, What Not Total $64.50

These prices are what I would have paid yesterday for the same things had I bought them!

The cats & I had a wonder nibble on the ham scraps while I cut it up for freezing.

I only had a few things to get as I don’t give that many present out now. My family is small and don’t give a large expensive gifts to anyone. I believe in the thought that count side of gift giving, if you can afford to give a lot then do!

I always give to some charity or medical research but only what I can afford. This year I have given to the Salvos and Hospital search team asking for one more doctor for the team in Liver research.

PA Research Foundation Liver Appeal

Liver Appeal brochure PDF

This Christmas the PA Research Foundation needs your help: Dr Elizabeth Powell and her team are addressing the toughest form of chronic liver disease; fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver - which more often than not results in end stage liver disease where the only treatment option, if available, is a liver transplant. To achieve this urgent research the PA Research Team desperately needs $90,000 to be raised to engage a specialist researcher to support this project.

I think this will be doable!

This research may save lives in the future around the world because there sure aren’t lot of donated livers around.

Want is it with some other charities; I keep getting requests for money with free items in them. I keep the free items because they have my name on them mainly address labels but thanks but no thanks. I don’t give to this kind of charity because they are run by businesses and give a percentage of the earning to the charity whom name they used and it’s quite small amount. Tick this box for a monthly donation of $50, $100 what who can afford this kind of donation when living below the poverty line in their country I sure can’t.

My son finely came to mow my lawn as it was getting too long for me to do it myself! It has been raining since it was time to mow! This will be the last time this year too! He did get to move a few items on the lawn that were in the way but I was just mowing around them the best I could. He also was dismantling the old TV antenna so it could be put into the rubbish tomorrow.

I did prune a few weed trees out before they got too big. We have the problem trees next door.

While out walking this morning I found some money on the footpath, someone must have dropped it when getting into their car. I never find any money but this time I went a lot early than I normally do!
It’s only $5.00 but it can go with to the next donation that I make, normal if I find a Salvo collecting I will give them some money each Christmas.

My Christmas spending is nearly finished. Just three inexpensive token gifts and a gift card voucher to get now. The family is pulling in on their spending too! I just need a mobile car charger for my new phone and some odd & ends that gift card voucher will buy and I will be happy. I normally buy my own treats so I not missing out when they can’t afford it! Some will just get a big box of chocolates or other sweet treat I think!

I had a no spending day too!

I finely finish culling my pictures and getting them back to one set of pictures each. I don’t know how many copies of my son’s trips were in the download but I just kept seeing the same pictures now the fun part is tagging these pictures in Window 7 Picture Gallery. Seeing that there were over 24000 pictures to start with and I do have a job on my hand, I am planning to just do my own pictures and scanned ones. The others I will burn to DVD and remove some too!

I bought my next voucher for my prepaid mobile phone this costed $40.00 and thinking of have one ahead so will buy another voucher in the next week or so, so that I am ahead as the place that I buy them from isn’t open on the weekends.

I went shopping today and bought a new iron for less than half price off the RRP of $79.00.

Today is the horse race that stops the nation. On the first Tuesday in November every year this race is run.

I wasn’t planning to go today but as a ticket for luncheon was non-refundable as one person is in hospital so couldn’t go and needed someone to watch the group of elderly friends and one with dementia I was asked to go for free.

We had a good feed of cold picnic style food this is the kind of Spring weather food that is eaten at Flemington race track in the car park and each of us got ticket on the sweepstake which gave us had a horse to follow in the race. One in our group won on the sweepstake taking home $24 for a $2.00 outlay.

None of us had a bet on any race including the Melbourne Cup, in our state over $30M was bet on that one race and $100M across Australia. For five minutes the whole nation stops if it can to watch the race, including toddlers for the last 151years. A number of toddlers and babies were at the function today.

It was held at local football club which we are all members. The daughter of one them drove us there and picked us up afterward she didn’t want to go today. I spent about $11.00 all up today. The luncheon would have costed $45.00 if I had paid.

Melbourne Cup

I am a little late in putting up my monthly balance others things do get in the away at times but that’s another story.

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=====$20.05
Groceries===$135.50 ==== $151.46
Non-Food===$17.00=====$40.44
Clothes ====$35.00=====$25.00
Grooming===$15.00
Gas======$25.00
Pets====== $50.00=== ==$23.05
HH items===$42.50=====$42.54
Fares== ====$9.00
Entrainments= $12.00 ====$29.95
Garden =====$10.00=====$11.99
Gifts & Donations =$35.00===$21.95
Medical =====$15.00======$5.60
Diabetes Expenses====$50
Misc ======$9.00
Personal Allowance =$85.00 ====$70.99

Note only one amount is a no spend

Budgeted for this period $580 spent $443.02 so under budget by $136.80
No Spending days over the 28 days = 13 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 this is the extra out of pockets amounts that came up this month just on medicine
As for my medical visits out of pocket expensive if they are related to Diabetes then I will class them as Diabetes Expenses will come under this new category.
Diabetes Expenses – nil
A most will be one off items or once per year expenses. But I need to track these items on my small budget and pension. Each time I pay for some thing in this category I will need to cut something in other categories.

My credit cards are still paid in full each month.
Spending on books and papers $39.50 for the month including 4 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. This month bills were around $74.96 so balance banked this month. These funds do cover all my fixed bills for the year if I can stick to this schedule as I have done for the past ten years or so. On my budget excel modelling chart I can pay the full amount this year. This amount includes the cat operation with the Vet.

As for food out, I dined out 4 times this month costing between $5 & $9 a time most were around the $9 mark as I can no longer eat at fast food outlets. That $9.00 meals at casino is still looking the healthiest and best deal in the city for now.

My grocery bill came in on high side for this month.
Most of my social outing are dining out this is part of my social outings money and spending allowance.

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 few categories as you can see but over all I had a good month.

Strategy: - Track your daily spending down to the cent by writing it down daily.

One of my neighbours just came over with a bag of food left at her place by house sitter while overseas. They don’t eat these foods normally, and the fish has bones in it that my cats may like to eat it!



Yes red salmon has some bones but my cats are not going to get much of it @ $5.99 a can and $3.99 for the small can. The soup packets are $1.89 each and can of soups are around $2.49 can here. You guess it I will eat the lot myself thanks very much!
Value Total$26.62 that helps $-t-r-e-t-c-h the budget quite nicely.

A while ago I wrote about sorting some socks for a neighbour and getting paid to do in

sock monster & over coming it .

The other day I found a few rolls of film that never was processed which just got done a few weeks ago. I found these photos in them.


Two full baskets of odd socks


My sorting method using a rotary clothes line.

I still have this clothes line it’s a 1949 vintage, I have restored it since these photos were taken.


Here is another photo of the kookaburra on the rotary clothes line

I once was paid by a neighbour to sort laundry basket of socks out. Having 3 males in their household most of the socks were odd, I only found 18 pairs of wearable socks in the whole basket.

The balance was odd or with holes that were unable to be mended if you still mend sock these days.

Some remarked the other day that they came home from they overseas holiday with no socks but took 10 pairs with them and sock monster ate their socks.

After thinking about this problem after first instance, I watch my own habits more closely and came up with this conclusion.

The monster sock eater is ourselves I found, I have a habit of wearing my socks to bed then they come off during the night and either left in the bed or under the bed. Now if you are travelling and doing this you’ll have a great loss of socks or sock is left behind in each hotel will soon add up. At $15.00 a pair for diabetic socks that a lot of money to loose.

To overcome this habit I have now made it a habit to put the pair of socks with my shoes or together before I leave the room each morning, since doing this I have never loss a pair of sock to the sock monster.

Another thing I found is buying as many pairs the same in style & colour as possible and on special minimum of 25% off that means multiple pairs at the same time to maximum benefit. I did on the last special and got 3 pairs of diabetic socks for $18.48 by buying multiple packs and buying on special.

Saving money and keeping it in my bank is my main aim so I can
s-t-r-e-t-c-h every cent out as much as possible. With a pair of ankle sock around $5.00 and a pair of diabetic sock $15.00. The longer a pair stays together the better.

I had the morning at home and waited for my son to drop in. He wife is away with work so we could use both pass on Friday. He arrived at my place 15 minutes after he finished work. Getting dressed we were on our away by 2.30pm arriving to park the car near the showground Carparking was $15.00 so we found street parking for $6.00 for the last four hours on the meters. He waited until 3.00pm so we only had to pay for 4 hours.
Walking over to the

EKKA showground we used our pass to get in again. Then walked though Side Show Alley and the Show Bag Pavilion we never bought a thing here. We had afternoon snacks at a Red Rooster stand at least my son did cost him $15.00, I had a fruit drink and mandarin from home.

We went down to government pavilion for my son to look around then went over the Woolworth Pavilion and got some free food samples and two kid’s aprons and shopping bags for the junior members of the family as there are different offers each day.

Walked around companies show case pavilion never spent any money there, walk over to the wool pavilion and had a look at the animal nursery the cows and horses then walked over to find something to eat yet again. I had a bottle of water and steak sandwich $10.50 DS had coke & hamburger $11.00.

On the walk up to the grandstands, we drop in at RM Williams stand, I bought T-Shirt for $15.00 but I had a voucher for $10.00 so I was able to use this so only paid $5.00 for the t-shirt in the end.

We went to the member’s grand stand at around 5.30pm and stayed there until 8.30pm when we went home. My son bought some coffee and hot chocolate for both of us. I had my muesli bar that I had with me.

Friday night was the night at they open the show, so we were there for this once. I did take a few pictures, they had some different breeds of cattle & cows on the ground and bullock team while the grand opening parade matched on to the oval. The person opening the show this year was our first lady of the Australia the Governor General Quentin Bryce, I meet her when she was the State Governor for Queensland here in 2006.

Ekka 2010 pictures are back up


Bullock Team


Opening Honour Guard Parade & Cattle



Honour Guard


Opening speech and police horses


Just before blessing of the plough


Also we watched the camp drafting, HiLux Heroes (5 truck team), bike jumping, Monster Truck Mania, Jet Van and then the firework.

That’s my day trips to the Ekka for this year! Home by 9pm.

Strategy - Have a treat now and then!

Strategy - Park your car in a spot that you will get your daily walk done too!

As it’s that time of the month again to meet up with my ex work friend for lunch and Medical appointments, planning my bill paying and shopping for these two day of the month. As I said my last post that I needed to start using my credit card for next $1000+ purchases and bills. I spend very little so need to plan this very carefully. I started out with paying all the bills that I had to pay first none could paid via credit card so they came out of my debit card as I don’t carry these large amounts around with me. The council rates, water bills and credit card payments were paid up for this period to date. On the spending side I bought book of stamps for my wallet so that I don’t need to go shopping for just a stamp and spend extra money when that’s all I need. I got a 50% off key ring for $5.00 that will make it easy to find extra set of house keys that I have here. Had a cup of coffee at the Coffee Shop, Senior Discount offer medium size cup for the $3.65 instead of $4.80. This is all done before I meet up with my friends for lunch.

We are now eating at the cheap venue for members $9.00 for main meal, fruit salad and coffee I had lamb shank and roasted vegetables. Had a play on a 1c slot machine and won $30.00 so came out winning for the day that is rare as I only play with $3.00 per day just to keep my member card active. As it was Wednesday the Farmers Markets were on and I bought bag of broccoli and 4 avocadoes for $4.50 and a newspaper then went home.

Money wise
Bills total $809.00, Lunch Food $12.65, F&V $4.50, misc items $12.10 = $850.35
Gambling outlay $3.00 won $30.00 so $27.00 I came out spending $823.35 for the day.

Senior % saving $1.15

Strategy - Don’t spend your forward bill money on trivia, it’s been put aside for a purpose and keep you stress free.

My family finally booked the tickets to take me to

Australia Outback Spectacular 2 - Heroes of the Light Horse for my last birthday which was back January. So I didn’t need to pay for my ticket. We went in group of ten made up of DIL girlfriend family and my son, DIL and myself and we got a group photo taken too!

Everyone gets a special outback hat which has a coloured band on it and this is how you know which side or station as they call it you’re on. The pavilion or shed is divided in two each side has a cattle station name. Each row has 15 seats and faces on to a table bench which has one drawback if you come in late you need climb into your seat from the walking platform behind your seat row if the your row is all most full. A few people in front of us had to do this as they were in the middle of the row.

Best part other than the spectacular show was the meal that came with your ticket. Each person was served the same meal if you weren’t a vegetarian you would need to have informed them when you bought your ticket of that as all tickets are pre-booked. Entree was a mixed Queensland salad mixed with tangy mango dressing and rolled in a flat bread swag, main course beautifully cooked barbecue tenderloin beef steak with rich gravy, seasoned with Kakadu plum sauce and served with garden vegetables and Australian Damper and for dessert you got traditional baked Pavlova with Queensland berries and country cream Drinks were wine, beer or lemonade and water and at the end of the meal there was coffee or Bush Billy Tea. All this was included in your ticket. Photos cost $15.00 each for one or $10 if you bought more than one, our group bought 8 photos between us you couldn’t take your own photos as they have No photo were allowed to be taken inside the shed policy.

Everything was alive or on a film on the screen back wall. There horses, dogs, camels, sheep and cattle. It went for two hours almost none stop as the food and drinks was served as you watched the show by staff dressed in outback that’s around thousand people per performance.

Do explore the link as there are lot of pictures there.
Australia Outback Spectacular 2 - Heroes of the Light Horse

I only wished that I got to see the Australia Outback Spectacular 1 now!

I just have a visit from my new neighbour; I just met them the other day. There is a lovely Chinese family, she just stop by the drop in two pieces of beautiful cakes in a box. I had half of one piece with coffee just now. It was a Cherry Chocolate Cake the other one looks like a coffee cake both are iced with a filling. There are a number of Chinese cake shops opening all over the place where you can buy a slice of cakes instead of whole cake these days.

I will now eat them very slowly as I have put them in the refrigerator. I still have to watch my diabetic so I can’t pig out so only half piece at a time.

On Sunday my niece came for a visit, she had flown in to work here for the weekend, as she lives in another state she is a trainer in the medical field. When she has finished training she comes to my place until she fly home again. This time it was for two nights and one full day free here. So Sunday night we went out for dinner at a local Asian restaurant, we had Thai Yellow Curry and spring rolls, she paid as she had a meal allowance for that day. Next day we went to our local shopping strip to look at op shops and antiques shop. Which we didn’t buy to much just some odd’s and ends. I didn’t go out with my son & niece in the afternoon as I had other things to do for her and mother that she was taking back with her and they needed some time together as each time she has come up here before he has missed her, but that night we all went to Irish pub for dinner, I had steak & chips and pancake & ice cream cost of meal $16.00 and $5.00 on pokies.

Today I had lunch out with my ex work friends, only 5 of us this month. Some them were airing they problems with they retired husbands, and they knee operations. Both topics are not my lot. I had Salmon Quiches & Salad with Fruit Salad Cost of the meal $9.00 and playing the pokies $3.00.

I hope not to eat out again this month if I can help it.
No hotel or casino will ever make a lot of money from my style of gambling.

Eating out so far this week $25.00 and pokies $8.00

Strategy - If you got family heirlooms that you wish to give to your interstate relatives then give them some things to take home when you see them and have the joy of seeing them taking it home.

Today I did the mowing as the grass need doing this is a year around job in this part of the world. I will mow again about eight times before next spring. I still have to wait until I have my neighbour husband around to start the mower for me. When he is no longer around then I will need to get a new key start mower. I will be saving my pennies for that time in future too many another things need doing before then.

After finishing off the mowing I got dressed and went around to my neighbour‘s house with the last of my Chokoes and some lemons, she was getting ready to go to the local school fete and asked if I would go with her. I never say no but I wasn’t planning to go today. I put $15.00 in my pocket and went to the school fete as both our children were past pupils of this school so you feel it right to donate if you find something to buy, she bought some stuff toys for her grandkids and plants, I bought lots of Earth Garden magazines about 54 of them @ 20c each I just love this kind of book and have been buying ones like it for years some of these date back to 1973 a bit like ‘The Mother Earth’ and five cookbooks of which I may have two of them but these were updates, one was Laurel’s Kitchen and Diane Seed’s cookbook that I didn’t have but I like the pictures in these books as they watercolour drawings I think I may have 5 or 6 of them now. Most are on Italian cooking but not all so I have found out. I also bought a framed oil painting of the bay with an Australian bush scene in the foreground it was I nice size and on wood. I do have another one painted near 1770 which is a town in Queensland, a relative painted that one. The painting only costed $2.00 so it was a good buy it’s now hanging in my kitchen under my air-con and signed too!

All up I spent $13.00 at the fete I only went to the white elephant stall near where we parked the car.

Strategy - If you will use it and cheap enough then have a treat now and then!

It was Mother Day last Sunday, I went to have dinner with my family at their local Hotel Bistro I didn’t mind driving up to their place as I don’t spent that much time with them. I got a beautiful leather coin wallet and cookbook on Diabetes that I said I would like to get some day. What I had to eat this time, Chicken Breast & Prawns in a Mustard Sauce with Mashed Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes and water to drink. I got a Senior Card discount off the meal too!

On driving out my car hit a bump and I wondered why! I could fine a cause so I drove up on the freeway to their place went to the Hotel in they car so only had to drive home again on the freeway at 80km all the way home. The car drove as normal so I thought only to have that bump again as I drove into the garage. I had a good look this time and found tat my front tyre was almost flat. As the car just came from a service just a few months before it had to be a nail.

Next morning I rang our car club which I am a member and they charged the tyre and said I will need to get it fixed ASAP. Tomorrow will do fine as I was planning a driving the car then.

After doing what I had planned to do by driving my friend to the bus so she could go on a bus trip with Italian speaking friends. I had two recommendation for a place near son’s place so I drove up there to get the tyre fix as I am looking for a cheaper place to get my car service in the near further.

The tyre cost $25 to fix which is a good price and that price was on they price for that job. As for the next car service which is a big one I will be going there too I think! I was quoted around $1500 at the car dealership which has a car service department as well! Without all that overhead I was quoted around $650 for the same job. That’s an awful lot of money and I have just six month left on parts replacement warranty which I don’t think I will use. As the timing belt is due to the age of the car has to be replaced this time. My style of driving requires me to have things fix on timing scale not on mileage.

Strategy - Try to drink water with your meals when you are dinning out and if you on a special diet try to stick to it as best you can.

Strategy - Don’t believe all the sale talk, do your own leg work.