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Archive for January, 2010

Net worth and update.

January 27th, 2010 at 12:00 am

Just looked at our networth (finalise) as at 31 of Dec 2009. I know it is a bit late but we just got our statements for our retirement accounts. Anyway to my suprise we actually now above $250K networth. This is such a milestone for us.

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Nothing much is happening here. Been doing a lot outdoor activities, we are taking advantage of the good weather. Health wise it is really good for us but it also means spending a bit. Nothing too extravagant though.

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We are also trying to organise our holiday for this year, haven't decide yet, just looking at our options. Our options will depend on how much money we got to spend for it.

Car Insurance

January 14th, 2010 at 11:16 pm

We got our annual car insurance bill earlier this month and it went up again to $707. It is due very soon. I really wasn't happy about paying that much for it, so I got DH to look at a better deal online last night. He found one for $565, there are some differences in the contract but nothing too extreme, overall really it is very similar. I think the excess is a bit higher but nothing that we can't handle especially now that we got a reasonable car fund. So couple hours work saved us almost $150.

Electricity

January 11th, 2010 at 07:03 am

We just got notice that our electricity will be going up again next week, they suck! Frown

Wish List

January 7th, 2010 at 06:32 am

This is my wish list for this year.

Household:
1. Fridge
2. LED TV
3. Rug
4. Furnitures for the study - Desk, Chair & Filing Cabinet.

Personal:
1. IPod Touch
2. Kindle
Ohh, don't I wish...



JANUARY

January 6th, 2010 at 04:16 am

This my spending plan for January:



This month we have our Car and House Insurance due.

According to our goals (sidebar) we also need to put away:

- #300 into Xmas/Anniversay Fund
- $300 into Holiday Fund
- and I'm hoping to be able to set aside $1,000 into the Household Fund.

2010 Spending Plan ($19K - Australian dollar)

January 5th, 2010 at 05:02 am

This is our living expenses budget in 2010. I think this one is a better balance than last year. Although last year we had people living with us for over a month that we didn't account in our budget. I guess that is the disadvantage of having a yearly budget it is hard to predicted what will happen in the future. But then again that is why it is called a budget, it's only an estimate.



* Entertainment - we will give ourselves $30 per week to spend plus $20 a month for takeaway. I want keep the money we spend on takeaway as separate to see how much we actually spend on it.

* Allowances - DH will get $15 per week and I will get $10 per week.

* Personal/Medical - I have increased it because I need new glasses and contact lenses.

2009 19K challenge review

January 4th, 2010 at 05:02 am

This is how we went with of $19K challenge.



So we went over our budget but we still did better than 2008. In 2008 overall we spent $19,890.73 ($500 better) for all our living expenses excluding mortgage.

Our 2010 challenge will be very similar to 2009. I will post that next.

2009 goals review and 2010 goals

January 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 am

These were our 2009 goals:

1.Save $1K p/m into Saving/Invest
TTD = $12,000 (100%) DONE Dec

2.Add $5K into the Household Fund (Jan-May).
TTD = $5,000 (100%)DONE Apr

3.Add $3K into the EF (May-Aug).
TTD = $3,000 (100%)DONE May

4.Add $4K into the Car Fund (Aug-Nov).
TTD = $4,000 (100%)DONE June

5.Put $1K into 2010 Xmas/Ann Fund in Dec.

6.Any extra (up to $1K) put into Holiday Fund (as a reward!).
TTD = $1410

I achieved all but 1 goal in 2009 but it was because I changed my mind about it. I've decided not to fund goal #5. Instead I am moving this goal to 2010. Because we needed to put as much money into our household fund that is why I didn't bother with putting money into the 2010 xmas/anniversary fund.

Anyway this is our 2010 Goals:

Goal 1: Save $1,200 into the Christmas/Anniversary Fund.

Action Plan: This goal will be achieve by saving $300 per month from Jan to April. This money will keep in one of my online saving account until needed.

Goal 2: Save $1,500 into the Holiday Fund.

Action Plan: Will also be adding $300 per month from Jan to May for this goal.

Goal 3: Save $10,000 into the Household Fund (this is mainly to be use for more house renovation).

Action Plan: For the first 5 months of the year we will put any extra money into this goal after goal 1 and 2 has been achieved every month.

Goal 4: Add another $2,000 into Baby Fund.

Action Plan: Put away $500 a month from June to September.

Goal 5: Add another $2,500 into the Car Fund

Action Plan: Put away $500 a month from June to October.

Goal 6: Save or Invest $10,000. This year most of this money will go towards prepaying the mortgage.

Action Plan: We will put any extra money towards this goal from June to December after goal 4 and 5 has been covered.

Other non-financial goals:
• Read at least 20 books.
• Do more stretching and more active activities, such as running, swimming, etc. Do this 2-3 times a week. I will keep track of this in my Wii Fit data.
• Keep caffeine and sugar consumptions low.


That's for my 2010 goals. I will write about our 19K challenge tomorrow