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!