Budget Month - Day 17

$25 a day behind budget. *sigh* What is that by day 17? $400? Like 2 1/2 days of ZERO spending to get where I want. And as you can see above, my ducks are HUGE. They need a tub to splash in pretty badly. I heard target has some mini baths for about twenty dollars. I also heard Reverse Garbage in West End might have one. We'll see what I can do to get one really cheap.

Also, I'm putting my last food payment down today. $78. *sigh* I still have almost $200 in food to spend, but still. It just LOOKS so bad. I can't believe it. I don't even know what to do. I feel like I'm either failing or that the last week of this experiment will leave me as a shut-in peeking between my blinds at all the neighbours.

GAH I just remembered I need to pay electricity today too. $84. That's pretty much my budget for the day so I'm STILL 3 full days behind.

I suck balls.

Budget Month - Day 16

The babies enjoying their first day ever outside.

*sigh* So back onto the farm part of my life instead of just budget budget budget for a moment - one of my baby chickens passed away. It's always sad when this happens mostly because you wonder if you could do anything. I suppose after awhile that feeling goes away. I've had a few chickens die now and it's not very uncommon. Still, it's depressing. I don't know how or why, all I know is there's one less chicken.

There's also the fact my baby duckling is now obviously a male. Overnight, too. Woke up this morning and the baby was bigger than the girl duck I currently have. They're both Muscovy so the male tends to be twice the size of the female. If he's this big already, he's a male. He still has baby feathers! Bigger than the other duck! Such a boy.

I also got a new egg today. It's exciting on the mini-suburban Costello farm (because it's a pale pale imitation of the real Costello farm). I double checked and compared it to my other eggs (I always try to keep one of each on hand just for this) and it's definitely bigger, slightly wider and not as pointy. Oh, and whiter. So someone new is laying and I think it's an Australorp! Either New Nigella or Julia Child have started laying (or again, for Julia)... which I'm looking forward to!

I was concerned the introduction of the new babies would make them stop. It made Fanny stop, but that's because she's a smarmy passive-agressive bitch chicken (yes chickens have personality) that also thinks she's my mate. So when I brought home babies that weren't hers she was pretty pissed (and rightly so, if I were her!).

I let the babies out in the run today, which I closed up. This way the flock gets used to the babies but the babies are protected by the mesh on the run from nasty pecking from my 'missus' chicken. Also, that makes it so the babies get to, for the first time since they hatched, play in the dirt!! They're SO happy! Scratching and pecking and drinking.

That leaves me at 29 mouths to feed for now until the male duck decides his older girlfriend is a good hitching post and gives me some ducklings. Of course, by then some of the chickens should be on the Real Costello Farm (TM!) and I won't have that many beaks/mouths to worry about then, if I don't accidentally find a sale on baby chickens that I end up bringing home - again. (I totally never do this. Honest. Honest. Honest?)

So I'm on day 16. $29 a day behind. Score. That's a little over two straight days of NO spending to catch up. Which I plan on doing. Like every other damn week. *sigh* I kinda knew this would happen, too. I thought, "No I'm going to budget slowly and meticulously so the end I am not scrimping." But.. looks like I will be.

However, -all- of the huge bills are paid. Like $200 healthcare and $120 cable and the really expensive monthly things. I don't need to pay those again until next month. So that is probably way spiking my spending.

When I look at it with my ACTUAL budget... like... I have $250 left in utilities to spend... and I haven't even spent half my departmental budget. I've only spent a third of my entertainment budget. However, my healthcare budget is completely paid up. My food is getting a little close. And my miscellanious only has $50 left.

So... give and take, I suppose. I've GOT money to spend in my budget, I'm just way behind because the big monthly bills are already paid. Or so I can pretend. I really really really wish I could break down my budget into weekly and see how I'm doing then. Like... a THIRD of my entertainment budget. A third! In 16 out of 30 days! That means I'm excelling at not spending money on frivolous entertainment. And half of my departmental (not really.. I have $310 and only spent 140 of it.. so I'm ahead there by more than half too) keeps me right on track. My misc is $83 spent out of $150 so that's not even that terrible. Don't buy miscellanious stuff for three days and I'm caught up, really.

Hell, I'm only a third through on my car as well.

So I guess it just looks worse than it is. BUT I will not use that as en excuse to buy more chickens. If I keep this up and spend only on bills from here on out, I think that I'll come quite a few hundred under budget. Which is awesome.

Budget Month - Day 15

I don't want to die a loser. You die a loser if you feel you haven't lived life enough when it's over. That one goal. That one dream. That one thought you never grabbed a hold of and actually followed because you gave yourself so many damn excuses it's made it impossible to see the possibilities. That's what I don't want to die thinking about.

Sometimes I look at people with deep sadness and watch as they sigh about lost dreams and lost ideals that never fruited because of some thing that happened to didn't happen. Either money or time seemed to be never made. Constant excuses were made and when the subject approached doing it now, yet another excuse was made. Age. Time. Money.

You're never too old to follow your dreams. You're never too poor to find a way to earn your dreams. You're never have less time than the person beside you who's always found theirs. We are all given a number of years, but we tend to live a very decent few decades - to which each one of us has the opportunity to make the most or the least of. It's what you chose to do with the time you're given, which is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year - to do what is best for you.

So this budget. This budget. I am thinking about my future and the things I truly want; houses, land, investments, travel opportunities, and the list continues. I think to myself like I tend to do (as I cannot think to someone else just yet) that I should approach these goals like I approach all my goals - with a great deal of seriousness. And I'm not talking "Be serious, you can't do that." I'm talking, "What would it seriously take for you to do that?"

If I save well for three months - three! - I can go to Greece with my husband for a small number of weeks. If I save well for all twelve months of the year, I can do that trip every year and buy a house within five years and an investment property in ten. Ten years of saving in the entire 100odd so I get in life so that I can spend the rest of it almost never worrying about money, having a passive income and seeing parts of the world every year? Why don't I do this?

Excuses. Time. Money. Bullshit. I'm not one for it. I see, day after day, people who sit there and complain about their life and how hard they have it compared to other people. All that energy. All that pain. All that jealousy. Why wouldn't you use it more constructively? Instead of spending an hour writing about how you can't get a job, why don't you put your resume out there, call a few friends and ask if they have openings or hell, sell some unneeded possessions?

Sure you can say you have no time or no money but if you're not happy, loving life, feeling successful and being ambitious about your future, is that really time and money you're spending well? Sit back and review how you spend you time and money. Look at what things make you happy and what things don't.

Forget numbers for a moment. Does the high-paying job make you miserable? Did you have more freedoms when you were a broke student (and less stress?)? Maybe. Maybe not. But if the money isn't making you happy - it's not buying you a damn thing other than living. And you're not doing that much either.

In th end, you're the most important thing in the world. You're the only constant in your world and you're the only person who will have to live with you forever. Do you like you? Do you like where you're going? Do you like where you are? Make steps to work toward that. For fuck's sake, follow your dreams! Any age! Dreams are just as important at 60 as they are at 6!

Sit back and reflect for just a moment. What can you improve? Improve it! What makes you miserable? Get rid of it! Surround yourself with only things that make you happy because you're the only one who has to live with the things you surround yourself with. Nobody else. Keep friends you love. Don't keep the ones who constantly use you but you give them a second chance.

And for the love of Gd, don't die regretting everything you never did.

Budget Month - Day 14

Two weeks in and a day from halfway. I am currently at $6 a day over budget. I'm a little concerned about what rent and electricity will do to that in two days, but I digress.

I've been reading a new financial book for women. At first I was a little offended at the idea of 'budgeting for women'. It either insinuates I'm bad at saving money or it insinuates that, as a woman, I have some un-male habits that cause me to spend more. I think I just plain don't like it when someone suggests women are predictable and only act a certain way, or they're not normal women. Hell, I even had a conversation about the expectations people have on women maybe... three days ago?

However this book made a clear and good point as to why women should be more careful with their money than men. Fact: Women on average make less than men. Fact: Women on average live significantly longer than men. Meaning, we have to live a lot longer off a lot less money in order to survive old age. This makes sense to me. This is inspiring to me. What do I do when I'm inspired? I pass it on - because I'm Jesus like that. (Must be a Jewish thing.)

So I'm making a deal with my readers. I am going to continue this budget thing - once a week I will update on something budget-y. I'm also doing a few other things:

I currently own two credit cards. One has a few thousand limit and is almost full. The other has a few thousand limit and is about $1500 full. $4500 in debt is really not something to be concerned about. Y'know, unless it has interest. Which the big card does. The little one doesn't. Not for another 4 months. With today's cheque coming in the mail (I confirmed it was sent last wednesday) I can pay off a full thousand on the big interest card. Then I can tranfer two thousand of it to the smaller no interest card. Leaving me with $3000 with 0% interest and $500 at 14%.

Currently I have almost $500 in savings gaining 6% interest. So with this credit card hogging space I'm losing money. Might as well chuck that savings onto the card, I suppose. It's annoying because that money was 'paying myself first'. But I am not paying myself very well if my debt exceeds my savings investments, am I?

I guess what I'm saying is by the end of today I will have an entire credit card paid off. All because I budgeted. I should point out I don't consider paying off credit cards part of my budget - technically the money is still there. I will cancel the card in the future and I've decided when. When I have that exact amount of money on the card ($3500) in cash in savings, I will close it. I will no longer need it 'for emergencies' (like I ever did...) and of course, I will have paid off the second one and will do the same exact thing.

Then - I will invest. I will talk about this when it happens - like I said I want to update weekly on this. I'm eyeing some stocks at the moment, but we'll see how I go. Unless I go high-risk, there's no point in using money that can go on my 14% credit card (because I'd need a 15% or above return to make it worth it). So once the credit card is paid off, I can start paying the other credit card, then I can invest what I pay myself, which may be as soon as next month.

I am excited.

Budget Month Day 13

Quickly, before Glynn wakes up. Today is 'no computer and no TV' day, which means money will probably be spent. Eeek. I am a whole $9 per day behind right now. I cannot wait until I can go Monday and Tuesday without spending anything so I can try to catch the fuck up, because that little tiny behind bit is really getting to me!! It makes me want to see if I can have the money gap there next month before rent, so when rent comes in I don't have to think about it.

Either way though, the gap is definitely closing. I'm being more careful. I'm even getting more work! I wanted to do so much work last night but my fiance was against working too late, which disappointed me. I would really like it if he didn't work Saturdays so that when I work, he can stay awake for the night. If I had continued on my path I would've had 6 jobs! Insane.

This month's expenses compared to last month's is really telling, though. There's amounts in there that are $500 or more below last month's amount. There's some that are not even 10% of last month's amount. And I'm almost halfway through! Even though last month I didn't budget at all and only spent and tracked, it's still a good sign.

My car insurance got cheaper, my car is being paid off.. everything is just finally starting to come together in my life in every way.

I'm hoping to be a millionare by next week.

Budget Month - Day 11

I know what you're thinking. I know exactly what you're thinking. I'm psychic and can predict all of my readers opinions at once. First, you're thinking, "Why the fuck do I continue to read this shit?" then you're thinking, "Fuck, she's posted again. It means she hasn't failed. Now I can't feel better about myself." See how I made you a loser, there? Why DO you read me, anyway? You'll never grow up to be a doctor. This is why I like your sister more than you. At least SHE will take care of me when I'm old. ....ah fuck, sorry, I have Jewish Mother Syndrome. It's like Tourette's, but with guilt.

Honestly - I could be doing better at this. I'm currently sitting at $159.43/$182.94. So... that's not better. And honestly I could say, "But you know, I don't have bills for a week!" Which is... kinda what I said last week. Keeping this pattern up will have me a week from my goal with no money left to spend and I was really hoping I could do a 'ha watch me budget well ALL month' instead of a 'watch me fuck it up in 15 days and spend the next 15 as a miser'. So. Gonna try THAT. The first one, not the miser one.

So, I've been living a lie. I've been drinking dehydrated coffee. If you know me (and you should, otherwise you're some pervert reading my blog for cheap budget thrills, you sicko) then you know I love my coffee. So much so, my machine resembles something out of a Sci-fi movie and my coffee tends to be handpicked off mountain tops. I'm a spoiled bitch.

In order to get new coffee, I either have to suck it up and by some cheap local brand I can't really stand for $34 or drive to my favourite coffee place (40km and about an hour and a half because it's on a mountain) and spend $20 on a new bag. And you know what? My petrol budget is kinda not looking so great right now. I could take the motorbike - but it's out of rego and getting caught ain't cheap either. So... dehydrated coffee. My bowels are fighting me in this battle. They are losing. DIE BOWELS DIE!

I called again about my missing cheque and it should be here today. Some of my lettuces died and I'm hoping planting my brussel sprouts there is alright for them, because those are the plants I hadn't budgeted for transplanting. We haven't bought a truck, there's food in the fridge and cupboard, bills are 100% caught up and I've squirreled away $250 in savings already from this month.

So I'm not doing bad. But I'm not doing great. Us Jews call that "Meh."

Budget Month - Day 8

It's that time of the week again - fruit and veg week. It's a big harvest this time - with a lot of kiwis and bananas and mandarins. Specifically we have:

8 kiwis
4 limes
7 mandarins
4 lemonaid fruit
2 oranges
3 banans
1 three-headed pineapple (no really!)
4 avocados
8 apples
and 1 custard apple (don't ask what I do with these*)

for vegetables I have:
3 potatos
5 giant space garlic cloves
4 sweet potato
2 zucchini
1 capsicum
2 corn
1 purple lettuce thing (scientific term)
1 celery
1 broccoli
1 bag mushrooms
1 lettuce
1 raddish
1 bok choy
1 savoy cabbage
1 leek
1 bag roma tomatoes
4 green onions

I really really want to make some dried granola bars in my dehydrator this week. So I think I'll dehydrate the apples and pineapple for it. I am also considering a ratatouille... since, y'know, it uses pretty much a ton of veggies.

Also, today I got chook scraps, which my co-op gives for free if they have extras. I save a day of chicken feed with this. (3 days a month, 10% of their feed, $3.50 per month!)



They're in the backyardnow. So much space for them, it hardly feels like I have too many now.

*I poisoned my husband, okay?