While I was cleaning out some papers today, I found some old power bills from my parent’s time in this house. They pasted way in the early 1990’s so I do know they are their old bills as dates match that time.

My current power bills with 1kW Solar panels and solar hot water system are lower than that time by $60 and cost has risen somewhat. Same amount of power to run this house as then pre-solar.

I don’t use as much power now as then with solar and as there are not as many people in the house now. Four adult’s then and now only one adult.

Here are some samples
Winter - 1989 … 97 days … 2197KW cost $169.66
Summer - 1989-90 … 90 days … 1587KW cost $120.71

I haven’t got any bills since when the solar Hot water was installed.
Pre solar hot water bills
Winter - 2010 ….. 90 days … 898kW … solar rebate 42kW - cost $109.50
Summer - 2009-10 ….93 days … 1027kW… solar rebate 127 kW - cost $68.98

Rate now are very different to then. They now charge for service to property and as rates for anytime usage and off peak HW usage as well a solar rebate. These go up each year too!
Rates now around 20c kW and off peak 11.66c kW + service daily 24.55c then less solar rebate 44c kW

In 1990 it was about 11.51c kW and off peak HW 6.11c kW and no service charge.
(I have added them together here above) Both lots of bills do have Senior% in them.

Then you have now a Community Ambulance Cover at rate 30c daily per power bill in our state.
It’s good in one way we don’t need to pay for Ambulance if you need one. Just don’t own multiple properties in this state that all, pensioners are exempt from this charge.

Finally the answer to my question in my first post.

Just twelve months ago I started this blog asking myself a question that I been wondering about for sometime. My Question was this “What is the true value of my lifestyle now that I am living on a pension?” and still living within my means.

As I have never included my other saving accounts in this challenge only what was money banked into them. The main aim of this challenge was to write a daily account of my life style and living solely on my pension and cash reserves (by this I mean any money that I get within the hour) without going into to my investments. I did start with a small emergency fund as a back up and two credit cards at zero balance and no debt.

After crunching the numbers, I am better off than I was when I started this challenge with the door finished and adding $6000 to the value of my home. I am still debt free as I have the money there to pay any money that I owe when due!

My motto for this challenge.

“Its real hard to come up with $1000 but it’s easy to find 1000 ways to save a dollar or two!”

So let’s go and find those 1000 ways to save a dollar challenge and see what’s amount is at the end of 12 months.

So here are the numbers to this question.

I’ve crunched My Challenge numbers. I spent an average of $498.75 a pay, on living expenses, including the major project –Door, over the year after savings but I don’t pay any tax. My Credit Card is balanced now $55.00 in the No % period.

At the end of 365 days these are the totals showing up. That if I was the one who paid original full price for everything that I use, ate or bought in that year, my income would need to be around $24149 and not $13312 that I get in the way of my pension plus some cash gifts and interest.

Here are few numbers to look at.

Pension Income $13312.00
Cash gifts & Interest $1050.00
Banking in $2020.00 & out $1400.00
Major project $1690.00
Money Left $881.00 + Water Tank Money $1540.00
Senior % $3423.49
Other % $8045.38

To recap
My Real Spending Total : $12968.04
+ 2006 - 2007 Total $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings Tally: $11469.07
= Full Price (RRP) Income Challenge: $24149.11

So that’s a saving of 47.5% on RRP & Senior Discounts savings overall. ($11469)
My senior discount ratio 30% other savings 70%.

Looking at savings and senior discount numbers

Total Savings at following weeks.
4th wk $1343.50
8th wk $2826.02
12th wk $3427.84
16th wk $4590.28
20th wk $5814.26
24th wk $6645.21
28th wk $7521.90
32nd wk $8304.36
36th wk $8886.27
40th wk $9629.66
44th wk $10,018.97
48th wk $10,473.01
52nd wk $11469.07

Senior Card Discount & Senior Rebate Amounts

Rates ___________ $855.00
Car _____________ $322.28
Insurance 55over_ $125.00
Coffee free ______$92.10
Lunch ___________ $79.31
Medical _________ $1309.80
Dr_______________ $180.00
Power ___________ $120.00
Phone ___________ $120.00
Fares ___________ $58.00
Free Cheque______ $96.00
No Bank fees_____ $60.00
Movies __________ $6.00
________________= $3423.49

Power of senior card & senior pension discount rebates is averaging out around $3500 or more if I used the State Travel Voucher once this year on what I have done over past 12 months. Much more senior card discounts are available that I didn’t use 5 – 20% off different things for just showing your senior card.

This the text from 'The Answer to my Question'

Just twelve months ago I started this blog asking myself a question that I been wondering about for sometime. My Question was this “What is the true value of my lifestyle now that I am living on a pension?” and still living within my means.

I have posted my summery of this Mirror Image Challenge in Pages.

The Answer to My Question

It’s Another No spending day

Challenge at 52nd week and end of this $$$ Stretching challenge.

Kitty’s Real Spending Total $12968.04
+ 2007 Total $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings Tally $11469.07
= Full Price (RRP) Income Challenge $24149.11

Opening CC Balance $317.00 (In % free days period)
Kitty’s Opening Balance Rollover $648.00 ($265 Bill A/C)
$$$Money in - $1212.00
= Total Income Balance. $1860.00
Bills Total $339.00 + 262.00 CC = $601.00
Other Spending & Groceries $239.61
$$$ Money out = $840.61
Cash Banked in other A/C’s $138.00
Kitty’s Rollover Balance $ 881.39 ($400 Bill A/C*)
CC Balance $55.00 (No % free days period & to be paid next shopping day)
Major project bills outstanding = $360*

* (To be paid when my friend returns from a NZ holiday.)

Well it’s the last day of this Mirror Image Challenge, keeping up with the tally sheets and doing all the Maths did take sometime and at times days. Especially when you find after 28th weeks that the numbers are out by around 1000 dollars because you were adding in the wrong column into the totals at times and had to do the figures again and then go and fix it in the blog. Until I made up templates, it did take time to work it out and to keep it going for whole year. But it was worth it in the end, as now I do know that I can save money on what I am doing and where I am saving it. I will do a summery of my senior card discounts and pension rebate discounts and give you all and idea what different if I didn’t have this extra.

Some of our pensions here aren’t allow these discounts. So not all get them, our Age & Disability Support Pensions do but the others don’t to my knowledge, depending on the age of the person (60 plus) with different rates for couples than singles but with all pensions and allowances do get Pharmaceutical Allowance and some other benefits. All my figures were for a single household on Full Age or Disability Support Pension and in 60 plus group.

BREAKFAST Muesli & Milk Coffee
LUNCH Turkish Bread with Hummus Lettuce Tuna Marinated Feta with Marinated Peppers
DINNER Poached Fish with Salad Coffee

Another No spending day

In a few weeks time I will be coming the end of my Mirror Image Challenge. I am working on summery of my Senior discounts against my other $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings ways of saving money. So to see how much being a senior on a pension with discounts that are available here.

So at the end of this month I will be able to post this summery answering that question that I asked in my first post in April 2006

BREAKFAST Muesli & Milk Coffee
LUNCH Chilli Tuna Salad & Crackers Apple Coffee
DINNER Curry Ground Beef & Rice with Sambal

The more I do this challenge more, I see that having the pension and claiming all benefit that you are in titled too, does save money over and above what I am saving with other areas of this challenge. I must give you a list of the things that I am getting with pension benefit and see if I can work out before the end of this challenge at the end of April. How much of this Challenge is pension related and how much frugal buying or DIY savings. I will need to review all my posts to date to do this.

Today is one the day’s that I balance my budget and check that I paid all my bills due. I do this at least twice per month. Once for my own balancing and once for this blog as they don’t run at the same time and are 2 week’s apart which does keep me on my toes. All is well with my budget to this point. So much so that I did order some books in online today, and went to get at check to pay for them, as I don’t use my credit card online if I can find away not too! The firm that I am buying from is Australia and does allow a cheque but it can take a little longer but in this case not as the books are not available until end of the month. Free postage is part of the saving at $7.90 per book that is a large saving here on top of saving of RRP $11.44 per here. I may have got it cheap if I bought from other online book companies but it’s the postage & handling charges that cost the money and my bank cheque /check are free because I my pension card. Saving $8.00 here.

BREAKFAST Muesli & Milk Coffee
LUNCH Crackers & Marinated Feta Cheese with Marinated Peppers Fruit Coffee
DINNER Poached Fish with Salad

Today’s Full price Tally $78.88
Today’s Savings - $27.34
2007 Total $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings Tally $9955.46

This ‘Year Long Mirror Image Challenge’ has made me stop think and ask myself a lot of questions.

Why I do, what I do whom I meet, where I go and how I feel about all parts of living, spending and saving money. Learning along the way.

Now I need to stop think, how much I would have paid if I paid full price for everything. As this my challenge.

I put this question “What is the true value of my lifestyle now that I am living on a pension?” to myself in April. And this what I wished to find out the difference, than that of someone single paying full price for everything and what I am doing now!

My pension is around $13000 per year before tax, what is minimum income of someone single paying full price for everything paying, doing the same things and lifestyle? Mirror Image Challenge

Last week I found my original Saved Money Journal that I started early in January 2004 with very similar ideas.

This is what I wrote as an outline then.

Saved Money is there difference in Money spent and what I would have paid if I bought it differently.

Lists of areas to look at too save money in.
1. Paid someone to do the job.
2. Paid full price RRP without discounts or buying 2nd hand.
3. Bought it at another outlet
4. Bought it at different time of year when it’s more expensive.
5. Bought it at regular price and not on sale.
6. Something that was given to me that had a cash value.

I finally have decided that I need to work on fine-tuning my budget. My Question is “What is the true value of my lifestyle now that I am living on a pension?” This is what I wish to find out the difference, than that of someone single paying full price for everything and what I am doing now! My pension is around $13000 per year before tax. What is the minimum income of someone single paying full price for everything, doing the same things and having essentially the same lifestyle? Mirror Image Challenge

I can save very little in the way of cash, but I can certainly stretch my money a lot more than most of those around me can! If I had to pay for what I do use in the way of goods & services at full price I would need a lot more money than my pension allows. I want to find out what is the difference. So I plan to tally up what the full prices might be and then find the difference between the discounts found or/and saving made by $ stretching and frugal strategies. Naming the strategy used if possible.

2006 Total $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings Tally is the amount that I would need to find or earn extra to live at this level. My challenge is to find what my true cost of living would be, I will be using every frugal and saving tip or discount that is available to me! All will be in Australian dollars. (Exchange rate is around 75c to US dollar)

Example of my Tally list is:
Today’s Full price Tally $150
Today’s Savings - $80
2006 Total $-t-r-e-t-c-h Savings Tally $80

“It's really hard to come up with $1000 but it’s easy to find 1000 ways to save a dollar or two!”

So let’s go and find those 1000 ways to save a dollar challenge and see what the amount is at the end of 12 months.