Terrible

What a terrible week!

I thought by getting back into this blog, I would become even more disciplined with my money.

Not so!

This week I didn't go a single day without spending money. I got fifty dollars out of the bank on Wednesday and by yesterday morning it was gone - and I don't even know where it went!

Terrible, I know. So I am going to have to reassess and get back to basics and save, save, save!

Any tips?

Not Off to a Great Start

Yesterday I went to get my groceries for the week. I recently realised how much excess stuff I have in my pantry and thus, decided to start using all of that. So I checked out the cupboard and decided what I needed to buy. Apart from some porridge, I think basically everything I bought was fruit, vegetables, salad and milk.

My bill came in at about $34. I am quite happy with that, especially given that almost $9 of that was for my milk. I am lactose intolerant and thus my milk is a lot more expensive than regular milk. So all in all, a great shop, especially given I often spent around $80 a week on groceries!

As I was driving home, I decided to fill my car up with petrol. I chose to do this even though I had half a tank left. I thought it would be a good discipline exercise if I could limit the days I spent money to the weekends (including Friday). This would help me be better organised and save the money I might usually waste.

Well, that didn't last long.

Today I bought a drink whilst out running an errand for work. It cost me $4. There was no decision making process, I did not even think about buying this drink. It didn't even occur to me that I was trying not to spend during the week.

So it is going to take constantly reminding myself to get me into this new habit. I am determined not to let this bad start deter me, and to keep going and sticking to spending on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only.

Wish me luck!

I'm Back

Last night, I was reading through the archives of one of my favourite personal finance blogs. I had left a comment on one of the posts, and I had done so under AussieSaver. I clicked on my comment and was transported back to this blog. I read through all of my old posts and very quickly decided to start posting again.

Over the past few weeks, I have been re-evaluating my financial situation and have wanted to tighten the belt and refocus my savings goals. However, apart from making this decision, I had done little else toward this goal. This blog is of course the best way to monitor and inspire this decision. So I'm back- hopefully my faithful readers are still out there!

It has been almost a year since my last post and a lot has happened since then:

- I moved to a new city. I was transferred due to my job. It is approximately three hours from my previous city and the location of my house. As such, I was unable to live in it. My house was vacant for just under a month before I secured a tenant and so far, everything has gone well. He recently signed a further 12 month contract, so I am pretty happy being a landlord.

- Though I haven't made a final decision, I am still perusing real estate in my new city, thinking about buying. The main reason for this is that I HATE paying rent. I think it's such a waste of money. I will probably be here for a few years, so am considering purchasing. I will continue researching and see what I come up with.

- I sold all of my shares. Lucky I did too, a few weeks later they all fell and I would have lost a significant amount of money.

That's about it. So I currently have a mortgage, am renting and just basically plodding along. But I want to change that, I want to refocus and get back on the personal finance bandwagon!

Comment if you're still out there.

Change Jar

I have a beer mug from a university event I attended sitting on my kitchen windowsill. This is my change jar and whenever I have a build-up of change in my purse, I deposit it into this jar.

I don’t use a lot of cash (preferring to get the reward points on my credit card but ensuring I pay it off in full). As such, I don’t get to do this too often.

However, I counted it the other day and there is already $10 in there. Admittedly this isn’t very much, but that’s money that had I kept in my purse I probably would have spent on something silly.

And every dollar counts! Does anyone else try the change jar approach?

Why do I find blogging so hard?

The very first personal finance blog I read was The Simple Dollar. I loved it from the very start. This prompted me to find and read other PF blogs and eventually, to start my own.

Trent does an awful lot of blogging. He posts multiple articles a day, every day. While I understand that he no longer works full time and in fact has made blogging a part of his job, I am still struggling to understand how he makes it look so simple.

I cannot blog from work, not even on my lunch break, as my work has strict security guidelines on our computers. As such, I need to do my blogging at night or on weekends.

I have always loved writing. In high school, I used to write a lot of stories and really enjoyed it. So why, now that I actually have a blog, do I find it so hard to write when I get home?

I really want to keep this blog going and grow my readership. However, I just don't seem to have the energy or the motivation to keep it up. I am now closing the blog, but dear readers, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can find that much needed motivation?

Scare

I apologise (again) for the lack of posts. We had a bit of a family health scare which has taken me away from the computer. As soon as my dad is given the all clear (hopefully today), I will resume regular posting.

Cutting Christmas Costs

I love Christmas. The only thing I don’t like about Australia is that we don’t have white Christmas’. However, with a large family (I’m one of four children) and extended family, it can definitely get expensive.

Even though it’s six months away, I think it’s never too early to start planning for Christmas. So here are some small tips for saving money at Christmas time!

- Secret Santa. My family tried this for the first time last year. It didn't save an enormous amount of money (we set a high limit) but it certainly can if you want it to. We also all made a list so we were getting gifts that we wanted. My list had a mixture of wants and needs, saving me money in the future.

- Start saving at New Years. Some banks have Christmas accounts. If yours doesn’t, all you need to do is start an online savings account and put money into it each week. It could be as little as $10 a week but come Christmas time, you will have a nice stash of cash to use for gifts, food and decorations.

- Buy gifts early. I like to buy my Christmas (and birthday for that matter) throughout the year, particularly when I see something on sale! I don’t like the stress of shopping right before Christmas, I prefer to do it slowly and pragmatically. And by either catching things on sale or lay buying them, I end up saving a lot of money.

- Make use of boxing day sales. If you’re not seeing family or friends until after Christmas, put their presents at the Boxing Day Sales. This can save you a lot of money.

Remember, even if you only save $50, that money is better in your pocket than someone else’s.

What are your tips for saving money at Christmas time?