On Business

I am currently on business in Darwin for the week. For those American readers, Darwin is at the very top of Australia and is a very hot, tropical city. I lived here for six years as a child and it's great to be back! It has changed a lot but at the same time, it's fun to see many places I used to go to as a child that really haven't changed at all.

I get allowances for all my meals etc. whilst here. I don't need $20 for breakfast each day (bought milk and cereal from the supermarket) so I will actually probably make a profit out of this trip. Yay! Not to mention that I won't be spending my usual amount of money anyway.

No one commented on my previous post about my budget. I would absolutely love some feedback, if anyone is out there!

New Budget

I just re-did my budget. This year, I haven't really been living by a budget. I had just decided to put all of my extra money into my car loan. This has dropped to under $9000 now and I'm very happy. However, recent events have caused me to re-evaluate and realise the importance of saving whilst I pay down debt. So here it is!

My take home pay is $1600 a fortnight. This is after tax, super and rent has been taken out. So I have $1600 to do with whatever I want. This is what I plan to do:

Mortgage Repayment - $180

Mandatory Car Repayment - $170

Spending - $300

Treats - $75

Internet and Phone - $60 (considerably over-budgeting here, just to be safe)

Home Deposit Fund - $100

Gift Fund - $15

Travel Fund - $75

Furniture Fund - $50

Car Fund - $60 (for insurance, rego and any repairs)

Emergency Fund - $50

Vacuum Cleaner Fund - $15

Extra Car Loan Repayments - $450

So there it is! Not only am I managing to pay a significant amount off my car loan, I am also able to save toward the things that I want for the future and for emergencies.

What does everyone think? Advice would definitely be appreciated!

Lest We Forget

Yesterday was ANZAC Day here in Australia. It is, without a doubt, the most important day on the Australian calendar. It commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli during WWI. It is a day of remembrance as well as celebration.

Myself and two girlfriends got a hotel in the city and spent the weekend there. I had a great time, but spent a lot of money. I didn't necessarily budget for this weekend but I didn't use any savings or my credit cards, so I don't feel guilty about it. I had a good time and I will have those memories for a long time to come.

Lest We Forget.

Relearning what I already knew...

Meg gave me some tough love the other day! And I am thankful for it!

She was basically telling me what I already knew, but sometimes you just need to be told for the one thousandth time!

So instead of putting all of my money into my car loan and thus leaving myself vulnerable, without an emergency fund, I will be doing half and half.

So not only will I be paying off my car a lot quicker, but I will be able to save up a good cushion as well!

Yay!

Where's the Love?

With no advice forthcoming from my post yesterday, I must continue on!

I have started tracking my finances again, well, as of three days ago. I am interested to find out how much I spend of each pay packet. I think it'll help me with my saving allocation.

So yesterday when I went shopping, I was extremely mindful of how I spent. Now I don't spend in a frivolous manner, but I haven't been overly careful about it lately. So yesterday, I was. And I didn't spend too much. So good for me.

This post just took a very boring turn. Please someone comment!

Update

It has been a while since I have updated.

Unfortunately, at the end of March, my grandfather passed away. It was a devastating time for my entire family and I not yet over it, as can be expected. I miss him a lot.

From a financial perspective (the whole point of this blog), it was quite pricey. I had to fly home and then drove back and forth between my parents house and my grandparents house (about a five hour round trip) a number of times. So flights, petrol and all the other little things really added up.

As I have been putting all of my extra money onto my car loan, I didn't have any money sitting in the bank in the form of an EF. So I had to use my credit card. I paid it off a week and a half later when I got paid next without accruing any interest but still, I'm not sure if it's a particularly good way to live. In fact, I know it's not.

But I am just so desperate to pay my car off that I have forgone all other saving. Can anyone offer some sage advice? I really need it right now!