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.