I'm Still Here

I have had a pretty busy December, hence my lack of posting. But no more, I want to get back into the swing of things, get back into saving and planning for my future. And the best way I know how to do that is through blogging!

I graduated in early December, with the whole family coming down for it. It was a great day and I am very glad to be done with it. I don't start my new job until January 11, so I have been at home for the past couple of weeks.

Plans have begun to fall in place for me to move into an apartment with my brother. I have to wait until I actually go down there to find a place, but I have started planning in other ways. Most of my Christmas gifts were home things, including some small appliances. I have also been hitting the post-Christmas sales and now have almost everything I need. The main thing I need to buy is a bed, but I can't do that until I have found a place. I do, however, have the money set aside for that purchase.

All of these purchases, I have been saving for, so I am not going into debt for them. I am also getting a small gauge in my car fixed tomorrow, which I have also saved for.

So even though I haven't been very diligent lately, I am doing alright. I have been saving all year, knowing I would need to buy a lot of stuff and I have been putting money away 'just in case' something were to happen to my car. So I am feeling good, getting excited about this new phase of my life and can't wait to continue saving for my future!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2010.

First Boxes Have Arrived

My first batch of moving boxes arrived yesterday, so now I must begin the arduous task of packing. I have a whole bunch of things set aside to sell on Ebay but I'm wondering, do you think I should just give them to Goodwill or pack them up and take them with me to my next city?

I'm Back

What a whirl-wind couple of weeks I've had! I apologise for the lack of posts, I went away for two weeks for a work course and didn't have access to the Internet.

It is official! I am a university graduate. Well, there is still the ceremony where I get handed my degree next Wednesday and I will only get that if I return all of my library books, but I've done all of my exams and passed all of my courses!

Needless to say, I am relieved. During my work course, I spent the middle weekend letting loose in Melbourne with some friends. I spent a lot of money (for me anyway) but it was worth it to me because I was rewarding myself for my three years of hard work!

But now I need to get into planning mode, I have to start getting ready to be an adult (see my last post). Glad to be back though!

Being an Adult

I graduate from university in around a month and after a few weeks of summer holidays, I will then start my first ever full time job. I'm nervous and excited!

This does mean, however, that I have to start thinking about rent and buying food and all that big, bad adult stuff. To begin with, I will be utilising company accommodation (basically just a room to sleep in, shared bathroom and kitchen facilities). This is until I get my footing in my new city, know what is what, that sort of thing.

However, I am sick of communal living, not having a home or a kitchen, that sort of thing. So I would like to move out and into a nice little apartment. At this stage, I want to live on my own, but may need to look for a roommate to save money. I don't really know how to budget to see what I will be able to afford as I have no idea what my expenses will be next year.

Any suggestions?

Christmas

Well, it's now less than two months to Christmas! Time to start thinking about gifts!

A little while ago, I put some things on lay by. It was my mum's, my younger brother's, my sister's and my three little cousins gifts. These cousins are the only ones I buy for, because they're so little.

I have almost paid it off. I've been very lax in making payments as I don't see the rush, it will just create clutter in my room once I pick it up. But, I still have more gifts to buy, most of which I can't think of anything for.

I need to get my dad something, my older brother and my two best friends. I don't know what to get any of them! Any ideas out there?

It's Going Well

My new lifestyle is off to a fairly good start. I have been quite good about my eating habits, eating all the lovely fresh stuff I have. I did spend the weekend at my grandparents where my diet was a little carb heavy, but that couldn't be helped without being rude. So now, back onto the healthy eating!

I have been a little lax about the exercise though. My exams start tomorrow and I've been studying for those, pushing exercise to the side. I know that's bad, I should definitely make time for both and it would probably even help me study better! So here's hoping I do better with that this week.

I had a very inexpensive weekend. All I had to buy was petrol and a box of chocolates for my grandparents. This week will also be inexpensive, as will the weekend, as I will mainly just be studying. Yay for savings!

New Lifestyle

I have decided to start a bit of a lifestyle re-vamp. I'm careful not to call it a diet because I want it to be something I stick to for the long term. As a result, I went grocery shopping last night and bought a lot of things I don't usually buy.

I bought a lot of fresh produce and it was surprisingly cheap. I spent around $50 all up, which I've easily spent in a week before on who knows what!

I honestly thought it would be more expensive for me to buy healthier food but in much larger quantities. But alas, it is not!

Super Update

Well it has certainly been a little while since I've posted. We're down to about 40 days until graduation, and it's a tremendous feeling. I'm just preparing for exams as best I can, don't want any nasty surprises preventing me from graduation.

I am still doing my best to save and not spend too frivolously, but also trying to enjoy myself, at least a little.

I got my superannuation (like 401k, just Australia's version of retirement savings) summary yesterday. I have $28 000 in there. Not heaps I know but I have only been working full time for three years and don't have a particularly high salary. I contribute the maximum 10% that is allowed. Maybe in ten years or so I will open a private account in order to contribute more, but that's not something I'm focusing on right now.

Sore

I am very sore today from a fairly intense gym workout yesterday. I plan to go for a swim this afternoon to stretch out the muscles.

I don't have much personal finance news to report. I'm still plodding along. Trying to save money where I can but also trying not to be too strict with myself. I have a ball to go to on Saturday night but am wearing my high school formal dress (stoked it still fits!) so that was a cheap alternative!

Have a good week!

Small Splurge

Today, I spent $26 to get my car washed and vacuumed. I think it made the news overseas, but for those who don't know, Australia recently had some very severe dust storms. In that, Sydney was red! No exaggeration, you should Google it, the pictures are amazing.

Anyway, due to these dust storms (there were at least four), my car was filthy. So I decided to splurge a little and get it washed and vacuumed. Sure, I could have saved money, and done it myself. But given the sheer filth, I thought it was worth the spend!

Slow ING

I had some leftover money the other day so I transferred it into ING. I then received an unexpected bill, so needed that money back. However, despite it being a week since I transferred the original sum into ING, it still hasn't shown up in there, which means I can't transfer it back out to pay my bill.

I have never had an issue with ING before and this isn't a major one, however, I am a little frustrated it has taken so long.

Travelling Disaster

You always hear horror stories about people who have had to spend all day in an airport due to delayed or cancelled flight. I thought that was all they were, horror stories. Not so.

I arrived at my local airport at 10:45am on Monday morning. I did not arrive in my city (a two hour flight) until 11pm that night. I spent over nine hours in an airport and another hour in a taxi to a different airport.

Though it wasn't really anyone's fault, I was still immensely frustrated and not very impressed with how this unnamed airline handled things. I have never had any issue with them (or any other airline) before, but it seems on Monday, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. They didn't keep any of us informed which was incredibly frustrating.

I did arrive home safe though so I suppose that is the main thing. If I can avoid it, I won't be travelling with this airline anytime soon, preferring to stick to my favourite but sometimes more expensive airline, Qantas. Sometimes I think the extra money is worth it.

Back to the Daily Grind

Tomorrow, I fly home after spending ten days at my parent's house on holiday. I was blessed with amazingly warm weather and thoroughly enjoyed the first break I've had from uni and work since mid-January.

I could definitely stay another ten days, which hasn't always been the case. I remember the first few times I came back after moving out of home, I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. I had set up my new, independent life and I liked it. I had my own routines and I really didn't have to think about anyone but myself. But when I would come to visit my family, there were now four more people in the house who I had to care about. Yes, other people live in my dorm, but it's not the same as being with family. I felt crowded and as though my independence had been snatched.

But this time, I had a really good time. I still did my own thing but there just seemed to be a better balance and we all got along great. I didn't really do anything exciting, a lot of the time I just bummed around the house. But I got to do it with people I don't get to see very often and that made all the difference.

From a financial point of view, I didn't spend too much money which is always a positive. I haven't worked out the exact figures but I think I would have only spent about $150 all up which is great!

I'm off to bed before I have to get on that plane. I really don't want to go back!

Savings and a New Blog

After I account for general living expenses, pay my mortgage, pay my car loan and set $100 aside for future car rego, insurance and repairs, I have around $250 left to save a fortnight. I did some tinkering yesterday and have decided to put $50 toward my travel fund and $200 toward my down payment fund.

I desperately want to pay off my car, but just can't get motivated to do it. I feel that I took on the loan comfortable with the $3000 interest I would have to pay. If I was channeling all of my money into my car, I wouldn't be able to save for a house or to go on a holiday. I know that once the car is paid off, I can save so much more toward a house and a holiday, but at this stage, I think I'd rather be saving for a down payment.

Does anyone think this is a completely ridiculous idea? Should I be trying to pay off my car instead?

In the meantime, I have discovered Madame X at My Open Wallet. This will probably occupy me for the rest of my afternoon :)

If Only Dreaming Made It So...

Last night I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that I could see everyone who accessed my blog, as in it gave me a detailed list. And on said list were all of my favourite bloggers! Trent from Simple Dollar, Meg from World of Wealth, SavingDiva, Money Maus, my fellow Aussie FruGal, Crystal at Brunette on a Budget, Kristen at The Frugal Girl and finally, My Pretty Pennies.

Oh, if only.

No Feedback

I didn't get any feedback as to whether I should be saving or spending, so I'm still in two minds about it.

Cursed Motivation

Well, for some bizarre reason, I woke up this morning feeling all excited and motivated about... you guessed it, SAVING!

I'm actually kind of disappointed. Why can't I just make a decision regarding my money and stick to it! Do I want to have fun? Yes. Do I want to save and set myself up for the future? Yes.

Oh what to do, what to do. Any suggestions out there?

To Spend!

I think I have decided to curtail the saving for the next few months. I'm unhappy at uni, away from family and I want to enjoy the last few months I have with my friends. So that usually means spending money and for now, I'm happy to do this. I have enough saved in case something happens, but for now, I think I'm just going to relax a little.

Thoughts?

Time Flies

On Friday, 25 Sep 09, I flew home to my parent's place. I am on holidays for ten days, my first break since February! I'm so excited!

In order to best prepare for my time off, I spent the week leading up to it trying to get as much of my homework out of the way as I could, so that I wouldn't have to do as much when I got home. I still have to do some, but not as much.

So that is why I haven't posted in a little while and I do apologise. I'll post later today with an update on the money side of things!

Broken $1000!

It is pay day today and I have officially broken the $1000 mark in my home deposit account. It currently sits at $1077. Yay! Still a long way to go I know, but every little bit counts!

I was speaking to my mother the other day and she suggested that I curtail saving for the next couple of months in favour of enjoying my last months at uni. Once I leave uni, I won't see a lot of my friends again for quite some time, so she suggested I splurge a little more on going out and enjoying myself with my friends. Then, next year (pay rise and all), I can get back to strict saving.

What does everyone think? Should I forgo some saving in order to enjoy my last months with little rsponsibility and lots of friends around?

Fitness on a Budget

I am one of those very lucky people that gets a free gym membership with my job. I know how lucky I am too! Despite this, some of my colleagues still choose to join the fancier gyms like Fitness First. This baffles me, what a waste of money! Anyway, I digress.

I don’t actually use the gym that often. I use it more in winter as it’s just too cold to be outside, but when the weather is nice, I utilise the outdoors to get my training done!

I know some people don’t live in safe areas and thus cannot go running after work. I’m lucky that I can and I try to do so, either late in the afternoon or occasionally between classes if I have the time. I don’t think anyone needs a gym membership to keep fit. It’s easy to head outside and go for a run, or even a walk if running isn’t your thing. In the comfort of your own living room, you can do sit ups, push ups, squats and lunges- none of which need expensive equipment.

I know there are certain situations that does not make this possible, but for the most part, I think it can be done without hurting the wallet!

Seven Things That Made Me Happy This Weekend

Though I was devastated by our soccer loss, I'm trying this new thing where I look on the bright side of life. So here are seven things that made me happy on the weekend:

1. A chicken and avocado foccacia toasted to perfection, eaten with one of my closest friends over great conversation.

2. My usually dreary, freezing city (it's the end of winter in Australia) burst with warmth and sun shine.

3. Watching an exciting game of men's soccer surrounded by peers, some who I have never met.

4. Having a BBQ at the lake, warm weather, great friends.

5. Snuggling up with my hot water bottle to watch 'Finding Nemo'

6. Spending four hours chatting to my crush- even if it was via Facebook

7. Being able to wear shorts for the first time in months!

What has made you happy lately?

We Lost

We lost at soccer. Devastated.

Crazy Weekend

This weekend is crazy! All of my uni sport teams were in the finals today which meant a road trip going from sport to sport. We had some wins and some losses... awesome day though!

My soccer team is in the semi tomorrow so here's hoping we dominate!

I did go out to dinner last night and buy lunch today, but apart from that, I shouldn't have to spend anymore money until pay day. Awesome!

A Couple of Things I Do To Save Money

Sometimes it’s downright impossible for me to save money, other times, I manage very well! Here are just a few things I do to same myself a little bit of money.

Buy cheap shampoo and conditioner

I was once told by a hairdresser that it is actually better for your hair to use cheap shampoo and conditioner. Growing up, my mum bought shampoo and conditioner called Natures Organics. It costs $1.98 at the supermarket. I don’t know what prices are like in other countries, but in Australia, even the more ‘cheaper’ brands of shampoo and conditioner start at around $6.00. I have continued buying Natures Organics since moving out and everytime I go to the hairdressers I am complimented on how healthy and soft my hair is!

Buy in bulk

I live in a dorm room so I can’t really buy anything perishable in bulk as I have no idea where to store it. We’re allowed a bar fridge between the four rooms in the corridor, but once four people have put their stuff in there, it doesn’t leave a lot of room to store things. But I do buy some things in bulk when I can, such as sugar, washing powder, cordial and cleaning products. Most of the time it only saves me a couple of dollars, but every little bit counts, right!

Order a main and take half home

I’m 5’2” and quite small, so I don’t eat all that much. Therefore, for about $3 extra, I buy a main at my favourite restaurant (rather than an entree), eat half and then take the other half home for lunch the next day. I get two delicious meals for the price of one!

Living Paycheck to Paycheck

I was reading an article today that said something like 65% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. I imagine that number would be similar in Australia.

This scared me!

I was once paying for something on a card, but I wasn't actually sure if there was money on the card, I just couldn't remember. That was a horrible feeling. I actually felt sick to my stomach and held my breath as the transaction processed. Luckily, there was money on it and everything was fine.

I could not imagine living this way day in and day out. Do any readers out there live like this? I'd love to hear your story.

It makes me even more determined to ensure my financial future so that, even if I can't enjoy life's luxuries, I can get by without this sinking feeling.

Mystery Solved

I finally discovered where the money came from! It was a travel allowance from my business trip back in July. It often takes a while for those sorts of things to come through to us and, as they're not paid in the regular pay cycle, it can often lead to some initial confusion followed by excitement.

Mine is going straight into savings!

Did you give me money?

On Friday night, I checked my main bank account, something I do at least once every two days. I was suprised to see an extra $240 in there. I had no idea where it had come from.

As it was quite late at night, I wasn't surprised to see that my statement had not updated itself yet and thus, while I could see I had the extra money in there and could access it, I could not see where it had come from.

This was the same all weekend and again, I wasn't surprised because my bank doesn't operate on weekends. Then today, I kept checking it and it still hasn't appeared.

This is driving me crazy as I desperately want to know where the money came from. I have asked all family members if they gave me any money and they all deny doing so.

Hopefully by tomorrow it will have appeared and I'll know if I am in fact a little richer than I thought or if there has been some sort of error.

Oops

Today I had to drive out to an out of the way store to buy my brother's birthday present. I arrived there only to find it closed. I could have returned home until it was time for soccer, but as my game was just down the road from where I was, I didn't see the point.

So I had an hour and a half to kill. What do most twenty one year old girls do to kill time? Shop!

It wasn't too bad. I spent $55 on a bra that I would probably have bought in the next couple of weeks anyway. I bought some socks and a magazine as well, both of which I probably didn't really need.

But this is just a small setback I think. I didn't put any of it on credit, I could afford it all and they were things that I would get a lot of use from.

But back onto the right track, back into saving!

My Share Portfolio

When the global financial crisis hit last year, everyone I knew was complaining about the severe drop in the share markets, worldwide. I got the bright idea that, while the market was low, buying shares would be a fantastic idea.

So, at the beginning of this year, I began to do some research. I learnt enough. By enough, I mean that I didn’t want to become a trader or anything; I just wanted to invest a little bit of money and then forget about it. So I learnt what was needed in order to invest and was done with it.

Then came my next little problem. I had just returned from a three week trip in Europe. While I had paid all cash for my trip, it had depleted my savings quite significantly. My dad suggested that I speak to my older brother. He was apparently interested in share investing as well but as he was on deployment with the Navy in the Gulf, wasn’t able to do too much.

I emailed him, explaining my investment idea. I suggested we each put in $5000 and invest in a few different companies. He liked my idea. I then asked him if I could borrow my share from him as I didn’t have the cash at the moment. He was more than willing.

I invested our money over about a month. We bought into eight different companies, all of which came highly recommended and all of which were companies I knew well. I was seriously planning on never checking on my shares, or at least not too often.

However, I used the online trading account of my regular bank. They recently changed their set up and now, every time I log into my regular bank account, it shows my share holdings and what they’re worth as well. So I see it almost daily.

At the moment, we’re about $1600 up. Doesn’t sound like much, I know. I still think it was a good investment for both of us and we picked the right time to buy. Now it is merely a waiting game.

I have paid my brother back in full, something I’m very pleased about!

Goals Have Changed

I am constantly altering my saving goals. You'll remember, when I first started this blog, I was saving up for a home deposit. Then my circumstances changed so I decided to pay off my car. Well I have one again changed my mind and will be channeling all my money into a home deposit.

Right now, this is $240 a fortnight. I will get a very significant pay rise in either December or January. Except for the first one or two pays, all that extra money will once again be channelled into a home deposit. I don't foresee my living expenses changing too significantly, so I should be able to put all that extra income into my deposit account.

This is both exciting and daunting. I am of the "now" generation. While I don't use credit cards to get everything now, I do get frustrated when my accounts only grow slowly. I wish I could have that deposit NOW, it would just make life so much easier.

But as in every aspect of life, the things you have to work for are the things that end up meaning the most to you!

I'm Back!

I apologise for being gone for the past few weeks. I lost heart unfortunately because no one was reading my blog. However, I discovered in my absence that it's something I really do enjoy, and therefore I'm going to keep doing it whether I have readers or not!

Ebay Shopping

I have done a little bit of shopping on Ebay the past couple of days. I wanted to pick up a couple of items for summer as it's starting to get warmer here. I didn't spend over $5 on anything I bought and am happy with my purchases. They'll give me a couple of new things to wear, and it didn't break the bank! I'm hesitant to buy pants or shoes on Ebay, as these differ so much I prefer to try them on. But shirts and tops are generally the same I've found so am happy to give it a go. I'll let you know how they pan out!

Weekend Spending

On Friday night, me and three friends headed into the city, very excited to see 'My Sister's Kepper.' We had dinner at Nando's first which cost me $13.00 and then headed upstairs to buy our tickets. It was sold out! We were all devestated as we'd been looking forward to seeing it all week. We'll probably go and see it next weekend now, I can't wait. I also made a $30 payment on my Christmas layby, spent $16 on a new pair of goggles as mine snapped on Thursday afternoon about two seconds before I dived into the pool and I also treated myself to 'Good Health' magazine for $6.95.

Yesterday, my older brother drove down to visit me for the day. I picked up some washing powder for $2.50, some face wash for $2.50 and some Glucosamine tablets for my knee for $17.00. We then went shopping and my lovely brother bought me lunch which was nice. We met up with a friend for coffee and again, my lovely brother paid. So it was a relatively cheap day for me and it was great to hang out with my brother.

Today, I'm doing assignments this morning and then have soccer this afternoon. I don't forsee having to spend any money, which is always a positive!

The Emergency Fund

Until I started to read personal finance blogs, I had never even heard of the emergency fund concept. I had read a few books about money, but none of them advocated it either. Now however, everything I read tells me I need one!

And I totally agree. I never really gave it much thought when I was younger. When something happened or went wrong, my parents would take care of it and I didn’t think much about or how it was solved. Now though, that I’m a little bit older, I can see why an emergency fun is absolutely imperative!

I am extremely blessed in regards to the benefits that my job offers, including full medical and dental coverage. Therefore, I don’t need to have spare money sitting around in case of a medical emergency. However, things can still happen! I’m not left with a lot of spare cash each pay, as I send all of my money to either bills or to savings accounts. Which means, if something we to happen unexpectedly, I would definitely need the use of an emergency fund!

My emergency fun is only around $800 right now, but I’m working on it! Ultimately, I’d like one around $10 000. However, that’s a long time in the future. For now, I’m aiming for $1500 and then I’ll continue to work at my other goals.

How does everyone else feel about the emergency fund? How big are yours?

My Experiences with Credit Cards

I got my first credit card when I was twenty years old. Prior to that, I did have a Visa debit card (that’s for another post), but that was mainly so I could book flights over the internet to go home and visit my family.

The reason I got my credit card was because I was heading over to Europe. Though I was paying for the trip myself, it was my first time travelling overseas without my parents. I know I’m an adult, but I was a little nervous about that. I didn’t want to end up stranded in a foreign country without any money. So I got the credit card as a backup.

I don’t think I have ever been charged any interest on the card. I often put money on it in order to build up a bit of extra money for something I’m saving for. I have found my credit card had been useful. It allows me to pay for big purchases when I don’t have the money handy- and by that, I mean it is in my ING account. It takes three days for ING savings to transfer. So if I need/want something there and then, I can use my credit card and then simply transfer the money from ING to pay it off.

I know credit cards are what a lot of people become unstuck with, causing them a great deal of financial difficulty. I don’t predict that happening to me, but then again, I doubt those people who have gotten into trouble with credit cards predicted it either.

Weekend Spending

I haven't posted on here in ages. In part it is due to being busy with uni, but also because I don't think anyone actually reads this.

On Friday I drove about two hours to a nearby city to visit with my grandparents. Apart from a train ticket Saturday morning ($8.00), I didn't spend any money on my actual visit. On the drive home though, I did fill up my car ($39). On Sunday I did a small grocery shop but, as I had to buy my multivitamins (buy once ever two to three months), it was an expensive one at $43.

I managed to sell a couple of DVDs on Ebay but will be using the money to pay my Ebay bill and then will put the rest onto my credit card. I get a big pay this Thursday due to a big allowance from May that is only now appearing in my pay cheque. Very excited about this!

Oh and on Thursday, I paid my brother off in full so I am now debt free to him! Yay!

University Savings

I read a lot of American personal finance blogs and the common thing for parents to do over there seems to be to pay for their children to attend college. Over here in Australia, things are a little bit different.

Back in the late 70’s, the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) was introduced. This was basically put in place so that everyone who wanted to could go to university. Basically, the government would pay for your time at university (tuition only) and you wouldn’t have to pay it back until you earn over $41 000. Even then, you only pay 4% of your salary toward it. It’s taken out much the same as tax is.

As such, most parents in Australia don’t scrimp and save in order to be able to send their children to university. Most kids just go to uni and take on a HECS debt. Of course, there are parents out there who probably do save up all the money to pay up front, but for the majority, HECS is the way to go.

I think this seems to be a better method than what occurs (or what I can understand) in America. Yes, you graduate with debt but you don’t have to pay it off quickly and you don’t have to battle high interest rates. Most people don’t even think about their HECS debt as it just seems similar to paying income tax.

What does everyone else out there think of the Australian system? I’m a little bias but I think it’s great.

Oh and an aside, I will graduate without a HECS debt, for which I am very grateful!

Weekend Spending

I had quite the un-exciting weekend! On Friday night I went to a university function which was actually not very fun. Due to being utterly bored, I didn't end up spending any money which is always a plus. My friend and I left early and went back to her room for a good catch up session before I went to bed. On Saturday, as previously posted, I bought a new phone. Or rather, I signed up for a phone contract and got my phone with it for free. I LOVE this phone, it is still giving me no end of enjoyment!

I also filled by car up which cost me $40. Because I live on campus, I don't drive very much, mainly just on weekends. During the week I usually eat on campus, study and hang out with friends on campus. So I sometimes manage an entire month out of one tank of fuel, which costs around $40 to fill up. This weekend however, I'm visiting my grandparents in a city a few hours away so will have to fill up again, but it's so rare that this happens, I'm happy to do it.

I also did my grocery shopping. I usually buy a box of Pepsi Max (I'm slightly addicted) that I keep in my room, replacing a can in the communal fridge each time I have one. I was due to buy another this past weekend for $14.95 a box. They had two for $20 though and I could not resist, as I know it is something I will buy again in the future. As a result, my grocery bill was a little higher than usual at $41. I also had to buy some back to school supplies for $12.

On Sunday I just tottered around at home, cleaning and doing my washing and ironing. I had soccer in the afternoon before heading home for a small dinner as I didn't feel like going to the dining hall. So Sunday was a no-spend day!

And that is my weekend spending report!

I got a new phone!

Well I bit the bullet and bought a new phone today. Or rather, signed up for a plan that came with a free phone.

But here's the good news. I love this phone! I think when making major purchases, if you don't remember where/when you bought it and if the thought of it doesn't bring a smile to your face, then you've wasted your money. Let me tell you, this phone brings a smile to my face! I'm so excited about it and will definitely be able to remember where/when I bought it!

Should I?

My mobile (cell) phone has started to play up. It's fine for the most part but it's not charging properly. I'm not under a contract so can't get it fixed without paying a hefty bill. For some time now, I have been considering going on a plan with my phone. As I don't live in the near vicinity of any of my family, I use it a lot to call home or to text my siblings.

Now that this one has started to play up, I'm considering it even more. If I go on a plan, I can get a new, free phone with it. But am I being silly with my money? Should I just bear with this phone until it dies?

I usually recharge with $30 credit. This does not always last me a month though, so I need to recharge again before the end of the month rolls around. If I were to get a new phone, I would have to go on the $49 plan and the one below that ($19) isn't enough. So this does sound like an extra $19 a month, but sometimes I spend up to $60 a month with my pre-paid... so maybe it's not too much. On the up side, on a plan I could call my sister for free and, as she still lives at home, can also use this to speak with my parents.

I don't really know what to do. Any advice out there?

Reality Check

I know I haven't been posting as frequently since I returned from my trip, and I do apologise. To be honest, I don't actually think I have any regular readers, but still, my apologies.

My final semester of uni started on Monday. I can't believe I am mere months from graduating! I actually think I am going to miss it! I've spent the past sixteen years of my life studying- I won't know what to do with myself once that's gone. Here's hoping the semester goes by without a hitch!

I have received my job assignment for the next three years. It's on the outskirts of a major city and is in a nice area. The actual job I will be doing is very high tempo, very stressful and involves long hours. I'm quite excited as I'll learn a lot. However, since finding this out, I've done some re-evaluation in terms of buying a home.

I still plan to save, research and look for a home next year, getting to know the area . However, my goal between now and the end of 2010 is to pay off my car. Until I have that debt out of the way, I feel like I would be getting in a little bit over my head with another mortgage. I think this is the responsible decision and, due to my low cost of living, I should be able to do it by the end of next year.

In other news, I submitted my tax return today and will be getting a $1500 refund. That, plus an extra $200 of my next pay cheque, will be going straight to my brother which will make me completely debt free to him! I'm very excited about that!

As always, if anyone is out there, please comment!

You Spent How Much?

Over the last Christmas break, I travelled to Europe for around three weeks. It was all paid for by my own money, I didn’t put any of it on credit and I had the most amazing time. One of the reasons I was able to afford such an amazing trip was that I had no plans to spend big while I was there. I was going there for the experiences, not to buy things!

I did set some money aside to buy myself, my older brother and my parents some art, but apart from that, I only picked up one or two small things for myself and my other siblings. However, then I went to Venice.

For those who have never been to Venice, they’re famous for their glassware and it’s everywhere! I found the most beautiful champagne flutes I had ever seen. I just had to have them. I did take the entire day to deliberate, but in the end, decided to buy them!

They cost me almost $400. This might not sound like much to people out there, but for a twenty year old student in Europe for the first time, this was HUGE!

However, I do not regret my purchase. Now, every time I use them, I think of my trip and what a spectacular time I had there!

My Trip

So I have recently returned from a two week work trip. It involved lots of boring briefings and then one or two "tests" for certain qualifications needed to do my job. Very dull work but necessary.

For who only knows what reason, it was held in a very remote locality. It was about a $30 taxi ride to the nearest town and none of us took our cars (logistics issues). I thought this would be fantastic, I would save a lot of money as there was nothing to do and nowhere to go.

I didn't save that much though as I spent far more than usual on eating out, both for lunch and dinner. I know I shouldn't have but I was bored and needed to socialise with some friends! Plus the food provided wasn't overly appetizing.

So yes, I spent more than usual but it was a two week thing so I don't feel too badly about it. I get paid this Thursday and will hopefully get back on track!

I'm Back!

I am back from my two week long business trip. It was an alright time, a little boring and had a lot of content. But it's good for my career, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

I'm hoping to start regular posting again tomorrow, the first one being on how my spending went for the two weeks.

Check this space soon!

Off on business

I'm off on a business trip for two weeks. I don't think I'll have access to the internet (it's in a very remote location unfortunately). But once I'm back, I'll continue to post! Have a good two weeks!

My Car: No Regrets

In February of this year, I bought my first car. I bought a brand new Holden Barina sedan for $15 990. I had been planning to save for around six months before buying a car but soon became desperate and found a great deal. I’ll back up just a little.

Around mid-way through last year, my older brother was deployed to the Gulf with the Navy. It was a seven month deployment and, instead of leaving his car in a parking garage for that long, he gave it to me, with the understanding that I would keep it safe and running. I was eternally grateful! I had been managing without a car for two years and it was really beginning to get to me. I would often volunteer to be designated driver, simply so I could borrow someone’s car to do errands the next day. The city I live in is very small and only has a bus service- which is eternally unreliable.

Once I had my brother’s car, I was free! I couldn’t believe I had ever lived without one. I really enjoyed having it and it made life a lot easier. He returned home in January and thus, needed his car back. I spent two weeks back at uni and almost died without a car! I couldn’t stand it! Fortunately, I then went home for two weeks for the remainder of my Christmas break.

Whilst there, I went car shopping with my little sister. Not for me but for her. She was undecided as to what she wanted to buy so we went and looked at a number of different makes and models. She finally decided on a car, a Mazda 3, and left with my parents to purchase it. I stayed home with my younger brother, surfing my favourite PF blogs and watching a movie with him.

A few hours later, my sister and parents returned. My sister had in fact purchased a new car but it wasn’t the one she had set out to buy. Instead, she had bought a Holden Barina sedan. Basically, Holden were having a sale where you could buy the sedan for the same price as the hatch back. Both my sister and I disliked hatch backs but were appalled with how much extra it was to buy a sedan.

She was absolutely gushing as she showed me the brochure and talked about the car. I really liked the look of it, the features of it and the price. I seriously considered buying one. I thought it over for a couple of days and then, on the day I was flying out, I went down to the dealership with my mum and sister and test drove the car. And yes, I fell in love with it.

I filled out all the paperwork and bought it that day. I had quotes from both my bank and credit union for a loan but, as it turned out, the dealership dealt with a bank that had a much lower interest rate. It was one of Australia’s top five banks so I was comfortable financing my car through them. I know it seems like I rushed into this and it’s true, I did, but I definitely haven’t regretted it, not even for a second!

I read everywhere that you should never take a loan for a car and you should never buy a brand new car. However, this was my first ever car and to be frank, I didn’t have the cash. I plan to drive this car until it falls apart and I will buy my next used vehicle with cash. But for now, I refuse to regret my purchase, I absolutely love it!

Which bank?

I have read a lot of personal finance blog stories about the time kids were taken to the bank by their parents to open up their very first bank account. That never happened with me. My parents opened a bank account for me when I was just a few months old. I had a bank book as a child and would bank any pocket money or birthday money I received through that.

As a result, I have been with that same bank ever since. A few times I have considered changing but, as long as I’m a student (only another six months), I get a great deal with them. I did join my work credit union when I first got my current job, but that was more in order to take advantage of their credit card deal and also to have a branch on campus.

When ING Direct first came out- or rather when I first noticed it was out- I opened a few accounts. I currently have around seven sub-accounts in ING. I love it! Though the phenomenal interest rate that I received when it first opened has now all but disappeared, I still really enjoy it. I love that I can have the sub accounts and that I can arrange for money to go in there each pay without me lifting a finger.

So I basically use three banks, all to varying degrees. I find it easy to manage and helps me keep track of my different sorts of spending.

What about everyone else out there? How many banks do you use? Which ones?

July Goals

This will be my first time setting public goals for a month! I'm a little nervous- what if I don't achieve any of them? Anyway, here they are:

1. Save $1500 in my emergency fund.

2. Lose three kilograms.

3. Get my run time down to 12:30.

I honestly couldn't think of anymore. Here's hoping I can do it! I'll update at the end of the month.

The age old... budget

These days, you’d be hard pressed to find either a personal finance book or a personal finance blog that doesn’t advocate the use of a budget. I wholeheartedly agree; a budget is definitely needed! I’ve done my fair share of experimenting with budgets and thought I would post about the different methods I have used and why they did or did not work for me.

No Budget

For a while, I experimented with the “no budget” budget. I am not a very frivolous person. Sure, I like to treat myself as much as the next person, but I don’t have a problem with spending, spending, spending. I plan big purchases or save up for shopping sprees (which even then are only around $100). So with this “no budget” budget, I would basically wait until the night before pay day and any money left over from the previous pay that I hadn’t spent would be transferred into my savings account. This worked best when I was in high school and working part time at a supermarket. I didn’t have a lot of expenses. When I got my licence, I was given the use of my dad’s old car. This was mainly because my parents didn’t want to drive me to school anymore (there wasn’t a bus to my school anywhere near my house). Petrol became a new expense, but even that wasn’t very much. Until I graduated, I was still fed by my parents and was only required to pay what I realise now was a very small amount of board (though at the time I thought it was HUGE). I didn’t go out very often as I was either working, playing sport or spending time at home. I’m not a huge party person, preferring to go out to dinner with some friends and enjoy my night. That’s starting to get more popular with my peer group but when I was sixteen; all anyone wanted to do was party. So this too saved me some money. I managed to save quite a lot of money pretty quickly, especially given how little I really earnt.

This didn’t work as well when I moved away to uni and actually had expenses. Now, truth be told, if I was truly frugal then I would be able to spend almost nothing! I don’t pay for university (my job covers it), I am on a compulsory housing and food plan that gets taken out of my pay before I even see it. I have full medical and dental cover, I have free gym membership and I am required to wear a uniform of sorts to work. So really, apart from toiletries and some casual and going out clothes, what else do I have to spend my money on? Great question! But I’m a twenty one year old girl; I always find something I want/need. So this “no budget” budget began to see me not saving any money and thus, I was forced to abandon it.

Cash Only (the Envelope System)

For my twenty first birthday, my younger brother and sister bought me a beautiful Oroton purse. For any males out there reading, this is probably no big deal to you but I’m sure all the ladies will understand when I say, I LOVE this purse! It’s beautiful! It’s very plain and simple (much like me), but I love it and feel important and classy every time I pull it out!

This purse has four spaces in it where you can put cash. This helped me to create my cash only budget. Some other people call this the envelope system but I didn’t technically use envelopes so to me, it’s just the cash only budget.

The idea was that each pay day, I would withdraw $200, or four $50 notes. Each of these fifties would be placed into one of the four sections of my purse. One section would be for groceries, one for petrol, one for clothing and one for miscellaneous (including eating out). This worked pretty well. I never used the full amount except for maybe miscellaneous so I would merely carry the amount over. I don’t drive my car that often as I live one campus so my petrol bill was never very high. If there was money left over from that, I would usually move it into the clothing section which meant I could splurge on something for more than $50.

I don’t really remember every running out of money, so maybe it was actually a really good system. I would basically leave around $150 “cushion” money in my bank account just in case and move it into savings the night before pay day. Maybe I should go back to this system.

Strict Budgeting

For a while, I tried to allocate money to each thing that I thought I would spend on. For example, I would allocate $30 to groceries, $30 to phone credit etc. This made it hard to have fun as you don’t always predict opportunities to have fun, so you don’t always budget them. Mostly, I just found that I would spend over in certain categories but because I spent under in others, it didn’t really matter. I didn’t really like this form of budgeting.

Free Flowing- the one I am currently using

Currently, I move $300 a pay onto my Visa Debit card. I then use this for everything needed. This covers eating out, my mobile phone, groceries, toiletries and petrol. If I have particularly low expenses, I might be able to buy some new clothes or underwear.

I don’t mind this system but it makes it hard to save up for bigger purchases that don’t fall under my usual spending. For example, as mentioned in a previous post, my running shoes are quite expensive. I need to save for these but don’t have a specific ING account (where I do all my best saving) for running shoes.

My Solution

I think I’m going to do a mixture of the cash only system and the free flowing budget. I will continue to transfer that $300, withdraw $200 of cash and the $100 that is left in there can go toward saving up for something- like my running shoes. We’ll see how this works out, starting from next pay!

I waited a whole week!

I went shopping last week for something for my computer. I had to go into a clothes shop I'd never shopped in as my sister (who lives in another state) wanted me to look at a dress she was thinking of buying. She wanted me to approve it for her, so I headed in and took a look at it.

I discovered this was actually a very nice shop. Its prices were mid-range and I saw some things I really liked. I saw one top in particular for $60. I really like it. It was classy and could be used as business attire, going out with some friends to a nice restaurant or even heading out for some cocktails. I really loved it.

However, I just looked as I am, as always, trying to save money. I figured I'd think about it and if I really wanted it, I could come back sometime this week and buy it. Well, it has been on my mind the entire time and I just know it will nicely complement my wardrobe. I think $60 is a reasonable price, especially given how much use I will get out of it and how classic it is, I'll be able to wear it for many years to come.

Impulse buying can kill any budget. However, sometimes you do see something and you just instantly have to have it! I think this waiting thing is quite helpful. It made me realise exactly how much I wanted it, it allowed me to ensure I had the money to buy it and it also gave me something to look forward to.

So this afternoon, when I head out to help my friend with something, I am going to purchase the top. I've even planned when I'm going to wear it first! On Thursday night I'm heading out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday and I'll be looking glamorous in my new top!

I'm Tagging Myself!

I love these little quiz things so I thought I'd tag myself to fill one out!

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was eleven years old and in grade six. I lived in Darwin and that year I went to Bali with my family. Lots of fun!

2. Five items on today's "to do" list.

1. Vacuum my dispicable floor. It has been way too long!

2. Wash the dishes.

3. Email my grandmother.

4. Go to bed early as I didn't get enough sleep last night.

5. Do my situps and pushups!

3. What snacks do you enjoy?

Microwave popcorn, sultanas and Curly Wurley's.

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Pay off my parent's debts, buy myself and all my siblings a house, buy my little brother a car, pay off mine and my sister's car, travel around the world with my mum and sister, donate to charity and invest the rest for retirement.

5. Where do you want to live when you grow up?

Probably the Gold Coast but I would like to live for at least a year in America and London.

I'm not going to tag anyone as I don't know how that works and I don't think I have any other bloggers following me. But that was fun!

Blog Envy

I am having some major blog envy! Not only are other blogs amazingly helpful and insightful, but people read them! I have no idea what to write! My life is very dull, I don't really spend a lot of money so what am I supposed to write about? And what is the point of writing if no one is going to read it!

I am positively green with envy!

Wish Lists

I like to write myself a wish list of smaller things that I am saving for (i.e. not a down payment, overseas trip or new car). Sometimes it's as something small as some new undergarments or something as big... actually there is never anything very big on there. Currently, everything on there is around $50-$80. There is one expensive thing on there, my running shoes.

I don't think I have ever spent more than $50 on a pair of shoes. I just did not get that female gene! I like nice shoes but I don't like spending a lot of money on them. However, my running shoes are an exception. I run a lot. I also have knee problems from my childhood days of playing competitive tennis. This means that in order to avoid knee pain, I need to wear a certain type of running shoe which costs around $250. My current ones are looking a little worse for wear but I'm trying to make them last as I save for my next pair. Also, as I bought this pair in September last year, I need to wait until the end of the financial year so I can also claim my new pair on tax. That's right, I get to claim this ridiculously expensive shoes on tax, so that makes things slightly better.

I think it's so important to save for an emergency fund, for a down payment if that is what you desire, for travelling if you love it as much as I do and just for savings in general. But I also think it's important to save for smaller things that you can't afford to buy each week. I get a great deal of pleasure when I cross something off my wish list. I admit, mostly it contains clothes but every so often it has something else on there which I don't need, but really, really want!

Does anyone else use the wish list system?

Getting an Education

I know that many people, all over the world have achieved great success, wealth and happiness with little or no education. I am not one of those people and never will be. Due to my upbringing, I place a great deal of importance on education.

Neither of my parents finished high school and yet, they are both very successful and live comfortably. However, maybe because they didn't complete their educations, they always encouraged my siblings and I to try hard at school and, if it was our desire, to go on to university.

My older brother completed a year of his degree and then joined the Navy. Uni was not for him. This means that I will be the first member of my family to graduate from university (have I mentioned there are only six months to go!) My sister is half-way through her second year of a teaching degree and loves it. My younger brother is undecided but is leaning toward attending the same university I am at or following my older brother into the Armed Forces.

So despite the importance I place on education in my own situation, it's not the same for everybody. My older brother is one of the wealthiest 23 years olds I have ever met and yet, he never completed a degree. However, my sister and I will be getting our degrees and couldn't imagine entering the working world without them.

What does everyone else think about the importance of education?

Fortnightly Budget

So I got paid today! Yay! I get paid every two weeks, so this budget is obviously until I get paid again in two weeks. I know most Americans seem to be paid monthly, but in Australia, the majority of people are paid fortnightly (do you guys call is bi-weekly?). Due to the nature of my job and university (they're linked), my rent, utilities and meal fund are all non-negotiable and come straight out of my paycheck. As I can't reduce these even if I wanted to and as I never see the money, I haven't included them here. I also contribute 10% to my superannuation each fortnight which I also haven't included, again, because I don't see it.

So here goes!

Fixed Expenses

Mortgage Payment $180

Car Payment $170

Total $350

Savings

Car Fund

(to cover insurance, rego and maintenance) $70

God-Daughter's Fund

(to give to her on her 18th birthday) $5

Emergency Fund $250

Total Savings $325

Discretionary

Everything

(groceries, eating out, mobile phone etc.) $300

Graduation Bill

(paying it now to get a head start) $50

Total Discretionary $350

How does that look? Any gaps? Anything I'm spending too much on?

Plans Have Changed

So, my plans have changed! For anyone out there who is reading this, you might remember that I had plans to purchase a property at the beginning of 2010 with my brother. As I am definitely not cash rich, we were going to use the equity in one of my parent's investment properties as the deposit. My brother has a lot of cash but I'm not comfortable borrowing from him.

My parents have decided to do some renovations on their house. They will look fantastic and significantly increase the value on the place. They got the quote yesterday and it's going to cost somewhere between $70 000-$100 000. How are they planning to pay for it? By selling that investment property.

My mum guiltily called me this morning but of course, I completely understand and would never ask them to forgo their dreams for mine. It just means that I will have to put the purchase of property on hold for a bit longer!

So that's just a quick update! Comment if you're reading!

Roadmap to Wealth

I am a HUGE fan of Meg's blog at http://wealthisgood.blogspot.com. I really enjoy reading it each day or week and I have learnt a great deal from it. One of her earlier posts was entitled 'My Roadmap to Wealth.' In this, she used a number of headings to detail where she was going on her road to wealth. I'm going to use the same headings here today to show anyone out there (is there anyone?), just where I would like to go! Thanks Meg for the inspiration!

Education

1. Receive a Bachelor's Degree in something that will be both interesting and useful to me. Six months to go!

2. Complete a law degree via correspondence whilst working full time.

3. Whilst working full time, volunteer for every course possible ensuring that I am as qualified as I possibly can be.

Security

1. Pay off my car as soon as possible to lessen my monthly burden.

2. Do not acquire anymore consumer debt.

3. Build an emergency fund of $1500 and a back-up emergency fund of approximately $10 000.

4. Continue to contribute 10% (highest amount allowed) to my superannuation account (similar to a 401k I believe- basically this is Australia's version of retirement savings).

5. Own a home to live in. Though my job will require me to relocate every 2-3 years, I still plan to buy a home to live in next year and once I relocate, it will become an investment property.

Giving

1. Find a preferred charity to contribute to each fortnight. I have been meaning to research this for a long time but am yet to actually do it!

Income

1. Have a steady, fulfilling job that pays well. I've already achieved this, yay!

2. Continue to buy property that can later be used as passive income.

3. Continue to invest in shares that can later be used as passive income.

Assets

1. Own five properties (still mortgaged) by the time I am 30. I currently own one and am 21 years old.

2. Build my share portfolio up to around $50 000.

Fun!

1. Ensure that I am always saving for something that may not necessarily improve my life (i.e not a need) but that I really, really want!

3. Travel overseas at least every three years.

Well that's my roadmap to wealth. I am sure it is a work in progress and will change over the next few years, especially once I graduate from university. What does everyone think?

Study Break

I'm taking a much needed study break and thought I would update. I don't actually think anyone reads this but you never know.

Last October, around the time we were getting our pay rises, it turns out that pay made an error and forgot to take out my monthly deduction for food. I am required to pay for my food whether I eat it or not, sort of like a meal plan at many universities I suppose. As I knew I was getting a pay rise around this time, I didn't notice that they had stopped taking money out for my meals. In February this year, this error was brought to my attention. Despite it not being my fault, I was required to pay the money back, over $2000! They simply took an extra $150 out of my paycheck each fortnight until the debt was paid.

On Thursday, I will pay a further $22 toward that debt and then, it is all paid off! I will have another $150 coming my way each pay. This is very exciting for me.

Any ideas on what I should do with this extra $150?

Ooops

My diet is going down the drain- both my actual diet and my money diet! I'm three days out from my first of five exams so I'm stressing, eating and spending! As such, I'll be out for a week or so- not that I have any readers, but just in case!

Cheap Furniture!

My mother called me yesterday to ask me if I would like her to buy me some furniture- that I would pay her back for of course. Where my parents live there is some sort of second hand furniture store that they go to quite a bit. A lot of the stuff is from closed down hotels or businesses.

Basically, for $135, my mum was going to buy me a TV stand, two bedside tables, a desk and chair, a chest of drawers and a small, round dining/kitchen table. It's all wooden and apparently quite solid. I don't like the light colour of the wood but can either stain it or paint it.

So if I want her to, my mother is going to go and buy them for me on Saturday. I'm pretty sure I want them but is it too early? I won't have a home to put them in until next year (I'm still living in a dorm room). Any thoughts out there?

It's worth it!

As a twenty one year old, it's sometimes hard to plan and try to set myself up for the future. I am surrounded by other people who frivolously spend their money on alcohol, food and the latest fashion. Oh how I wish I could afford those things!

The Australian government recently gave $900 to low income earners (under $100 000) as part of the stimulus package. Usually, my frugal self would have saved that money. However, I had been saving for so long and was in such desperate need of some warm winter clothing (it's winter in Australia right now) that I went shopping instead. I also used it to buy some plane tickets home to visit my family, but most of it went on some new, warm, winter clothing. I tried to be smart about it, buying things that would last and would not go out of fashion but it was still a very weird feeling for me.

I just don't haphazardly spend my money like that. If I want something, I usually have to save up for it. It felt good to not have to save for months to be able to keep myself warm this winter, but I was also wracked with an enormous amount of guilt!

Does anyone else feel this way? My peers are able to do this every payday, but not me. Like I said in a previous post, I get $250 to last me for everything for two weeks! Most people around me don't save and I don't know of anyone else at my university with a mortgage. So while it's sometimes hard to resist the temptation, I think it's definitely worth it and I hope it will be ten years from now!

Eating Out... it'll be the end of me!

Just went out and had a delicious Chinese dinner. $21 down the drain but it was oh so yummy! Definitely need to stop eating out so much!

My Budget... or lack thereof

I have tried every budgeting method under the sun! I used to allocate every cent that I earnt, however, I found that a little too strict. I have recently decided to allocate $250 a fortnight (I get paid every two weeks) to live on. With that, I can do whatever I want. It has to feed me and put petrol in my car, but other than that, I can do whatever I want with it.

This is my first pay doing this and so far it is working well. I visited some family a couple of hours away from me on the weekend, so I did have to spend a bit more money than usual on petrol. But other than that, I think it's working.

I allocate money to savings before I even see it which for me, works out well. At the moment, most of my savings is going toward paying my brother off. However, he isn't desperate for the money so I'm thinking of talking to him and reallocating most of my savings toward my new home fund so that we can successfully buy one at the beginning of next year!

I allocate some to my car fund (to cover rego, insurance and any needed maintenance), my emergency fund (ridiculously small right now) and $5 a fortnight to a fund for my God-daughter so I can give her some money when she turns eighteen.

So does it sound like I'm handling my money okay? It's hard to know sometimes, fingers crossed I am!

First Post

Hi and welcome to my blog! I have been reading personal finance blogs for around a year and a half now. On one or two occasions I have commented but for the most part, I've just read and read and read, taking in as much information as I possibly can.

I am very interested in personal finance and setting myself up for the future. I am a twenty one year old woman from Australia about to enter my final semester (yes!) of university. I earn around $42 000 a year and am guaranteed a full time job come graduation. I will also graduate with no student loan debt. In my first year of uni, I went thirds in an investment property with my parents and my brother, and thus have a mortgage debt. Around four months ago, I bought (and financed) a car of which I do not regret. Last year I travelled to Vietnam and over Christmas spent three weeks in Europe- both of which I was able to do without going into debt. My brother and I invested $10 000 in shares at the beginning of the year, of which I borrowed my half from him. I have paid some of it back and still owe him $2500.

This is basically my financial standing in a nutshell. After I graduate, I am moving to begin my career. Once I get there, my brother and I plan to purchase our second property. It will be an investment for him however, I will live in it as we both pay off the mortgage. The reason behind this blog is to motivate me to save for my new home, manage my money correctly and learn a bunch of things along the way!

Please read and comment!