Layout:
Home > Archive: November, 2010

Archive for November, 2010

Just a quick update

November 30th, 2010 at 01:13 am

- Friday was another NSD.
- Saturday we spent money on groceries. And gift for a friend's house warming. We also spent money on Hungry Jack (Burger King) after the housewarming. She didn't have much food and on the way home we were still hungry so we got some burgers.
- I decided to buy my contact lenses online (first time doing this), I thought I should give it a try. I only got the smallest quantity I could get. Only cost me $40 incl postage. Not bad.
- Paid the property rate for the quarter, $322.

We are already officially over the 20K mark. I think we might even go over $21,000 for the year. We got our car insurance due in 2 weeks and that will cost over $600.

Things have to change next year. We have to stop eating out too much. The head of our reserve bank is actually telling everyone to start saving more of their income while we are in a boom because it will not last. I wonder if people will actually listen to him. I do know that people are more aware about it since we can clearly see what it has done in the US and EU.

I was going to keep this really short but it is not as short as I intended it to be. Today is the end of the month so I will post my November numbers tomorrow.

Summer is here.

November 24th, 2010 at 12:45 am

It has been really hot in the last couple of days. We've had 2 NSDs in a row (Mon and Tues). Today the phone bill is due so that will automatically get direct debited out. Not much to update really.

--------

Stockmarket: the Australian market has been going sideways in the last 3 months, so there hasn't been much of an opportunity to do much trading, I have just been in the sideline waiting.

Sunday Shopping and hoping for NSD Monday

November 22nd, 2010 at 01:11 am

Yesterday (Sunday here) was spent window shopping to get an idea on how much are stuff for our bathroom renovation is going to cost us and the sytle that we might want to copy. Unfortunately most bathroom showrooms were closed on Sundays, so will have to go back sometime soon. We did get to see some and we have concluded that prices can vary so much. We really just have to have a reasonable budget and get quotes from builders. We don't want anything too fancy just to update.

We also went grocery shopping yesterday, spent just over $60 for everything we needed this week. Asparagus were really cheap at Aldi so I went crazy and got 4 bunches (for 89cents a bunch).

We also ended up eating out for lunch and had afternoon tea at this really lovely nursery. DH and I shared a cake and he also got a cup of coffee. At one stage I grab the coffee without thinking and almost had some but DH managed to stop me...lol
While there I got a plant for the front yard. And DH got this containers for sprouting seeds and some seeds for it, that was $29. We started sprouting some yesterday afternoon and they are already starting to sprout. I can't wait to have them in salads, sandwiches and stir fries.

On other news, DH did actually put in $500 extra into the mortgage. He also applied to get $250 gift card from our AMEX reward points. We got a letter from them that if we get at least $250 gift card this month we will get an extra 2 movie tickets. It was good timing since I was thinking that we should cash them up to use for next month's grocery and fuel. So it worked out well for us.

Today is Monday here and I am hoping to start the week with a NSD.

Have a nice week everyone.

Got everything done on my to do list yesterday and plus some

November 20th, 2010 at 07:57 am

Yesterday was a really productive day for me. Deposited my cheque. Went to the dentist, that cost $373 which is a lot. And I still need to go back next month, probably another $150+. When I was in high school I chipped one of my front tooth and had to eventually get a root canal. Now that tooth is starting to discolour again and had to get it bleach internally and will get the old capped replace next month. Since it got bleach over a month ago that tooth is now whiter than the rest so to make it all even I am currently under going a bleaching regimen in the next 2 weeks, everyday for at least 2 hours a day. I'm not suppose to drink coffee, tea and eat anything that might stain my teeth. Unfortunately, I only lasted 24 hours without coffee before I couldn't take it anymore. I did drank it through a straw and brushed my teeth right away...haha..total addict.

Our lunch date yesterday was fantastic, we went to a nice Greek restaurant, I had a really yummy calamari salad. I think we spent $43 including drinks (I'm yet to put yesterday's spending into my spreadsheets, will do that after this). We also got coffee and macadamia baklava at this Greek bakery that was next door to the restaurant, that was $11.

After our lunch I got DH's old watch a new battery. We have been thinking of getting him a new watch but this was definitely a cheaper option. I think he have kept this watch in the drawer for few years now. He has got another working watch but he only wears it on special occassion, it's a bit fancy to wear around everyday. I spent $15 for new battery. However, it is not waterproof anymore, that would have cost a lot more, anyway he never wears his watch while swimming or in the shower so no big deal.

And last night I got my hair cut ($25), nothing special just my usual style.

-----------

Today we did end up going hiking, it has been such a lovely day. Perfect spring temperature, not a cloud in sight. We walked for almost 4 hours on a fairly tough terrain (it is rated easy to medium) for us amateurs. It was really enjoyable until towards the end when I started getting a headeache. By the time we got home it became a full blown migraine. That was when I decided to have a cup of coffee. Thankfully, 3 hours or so later, it is now almost gone. 1 day down, 13 days to go. I don't think my teeth will ever get to my desired whiteness before I go back to get my tooth fix again. It has to match you see. I guess I can always reschedule it to give me more time. But they are closed during christmas, which means it won't get done until next year. The old capped bit of that tooth is really standing out to the rest that has been internally bleached. Ohh the vanity! I wish I was more careful in high school.


Today

November 18th, 2010 at 01:44 am

Today could be another NSD, which would make it 4 days in a row. Horray for me Smile

It is raining at the moment, which kind of suck since I was half planning to go hiking this weekend. Hopefully it will just be a passing shower. I haven't been anywhere for almost two weeks now and so I'm really eager to get away for a day.

Been looking at our finances again today (I just love it), and I think we can put $500 extra into the mortgage this month.

Well that is all I got for now. I probably won't be able to blog tomorrow, I got a lot on my plate tomorrow: dentist, haircut, banking and meeting DH for lunch. DH and I are trying to get together for lunch once a month. We have tried it for the last 2 months. Now that he is working in the CBD it is a lot easier for us to get together. He works near my dentist so that helps too.

Have a nice day everyone.

Hoping for another NSD today

November 17th, 2010 at 03:47 am

I woke up this morning and I didn't feel like going out to get a haircut or to the bank. It's such a nice day, I didn't feel like lining up at the bank. Anyway now that I've decided not to go anywhere it might turn to be a NSD. I might just get it on Friday after my dentist appointment.

I've just been tinkering in the garage and garden today. The weather is really lovely today. While I was outside I've been thinking a lot about our budget for next year. On Friday DH got his full pay for the first time with this new job. On average, it will be an extra $1000 more per month plus an extra pay per year. In this new job he will get paid every 4 weeks, so 13 times in one year. So I thought, that's is not bad increase, especially since his retirement payments has also increase by $200+ per pay. But when I did our budget for next year it is still doesn't seemed enough. I'm still feeling deprive. There are always a lot more to spend it on. But I think if we can follow our budget next year it will mean a lot for our future.

Dental Work

November 16th, 2010 at 01:33 am

This was another thing that kept me busy in the last couple of months. I'm actually been to the dentist few times already and will need to go back again this Friday. Most of it is necessary but I'm also getting some cosmetic/ or preventative job done. Unfortunately, the cosmetic work is not covered in my health insurance. So far I've spent already $350 and I think I still have another $400 to go. I'm just thankful that DH health issues earlier this year was covered by his old company.

I thought about maybe getting this work done next year but since it is not covered by my health insurance I thought I may as well get it out of the way. But then I probably should have got some of this work done last year. The previous dentist we went to was terrible and it has taken us a while to find a decent dentist.

I also went to my optometrist a month ago, no changes necessary this time around. I did get my eyes check for catarac (sp?) and stuff like that which cost me $20. But I will also need to go back soon to get more contact lenses. This will probably cost over $100 depending on how many sets I will get. The last time I got some was about 3 years ago and it cost me about that much.

Yesterday was a NSD and I'm hoping for another today. I'm thinking of getting my hair cut tomorrow, I should have really went with DH the other day but I was to lazy to get out in the rain. Anyway, I need to go to the bank to deposit a dividend check so I should have time to get my hair cut too.

Relaxing weekend and more increase in mortgage interest rate

November 15th, 2010 at 04:48 am

Our weekend was spent reading and watching old tv shows. It rained all weekend so we didn't have any choice but to stay indoors. I didn't go out at all, DH however went to get a hair cut and did some grocery shopping. All up he spent less than $50. Spending less than $50 all weekend has been unheard of for us for a while. We were actually meant to go out with some friends on Saturday night but that was cancelled. I was actually glad about that, it was cold and wet that night.

--------

We just got news about our mortgage rate going up again. I think it will add another $60-$80 a month! I'm really sick of this debt, I can't wait to pay it off. It will take a while though.

Update and Confession

November 11th, 2010 at 01:34 am

Hmmm... I don't even know where to start. I haven't been in the mood to blog at all lately. I have stopped by few times a week to read other people's blog. But I haven't had much time to actually write and update my own blog. As a consequence we have over spent by a lot. Our 2010 challenge/budget is officailly over budget. I have actually already revised it for next year. We will try to go back to the 20K challenge. I hope this will be enough, but I can't predict how much more our utilities bill will go up by. As I was looking back to our spending this year, the gas bill has been crazy, I didn't even realised it until now. At the start of the year (note: this is our summer time, when we don't use as much gas) was only around $80, but our last bill for it was almost $250! Water and electricity has been going in the same trend.

Also it doesn't help that we have been going out so much. This the definitely the biggest item that we need to change next year. Reason for it to be so huge expense this month and last month is that we had relatives visiting us and we took them out a lot. So this was an unusual occurrence, we are hoping not have too much of this next year. We had a lot of people visiting us this year, more than usual.

We have also been spending a lot on other areas, we spent a bit this year on buying new furnitures and other "want" items. Example, I just recently bought a kindle. This was an item that I wanted when it first came out, but it wasn't really avaible here in Australia until mid last year. At that time I wasn't that happy about the price. But the new kindle is so much cheaper and now that the Australian dollar is in parity (and at time of buying, it was even above) with the US dollar. It is the best time to import it. I have been downloading a lot of free books, mostly classic books that are now past copywrite. I'm really loving the new kindle so I'm not as guilt-ridden about it (oh I'm so weak, justifying this right now...lol).

Anyway, we will most likely be over $1,000 over our 19K challenge. It is bad but if I look back 5 years or so ago we used to spend around $23-25K for these items. So it is still an improvement.

The good thing however about not blogging is I've been busy cleaning the house, and I have to say that it is now about 90% clear from all the clutter inside the house. I've only got the pantry and a closet to clean out. We are trying to eat as much of the stuff in the pantry so it gets clean. I am currently trying to tackle the garage. We will probably get someone to come and pick up the rubbish as soon as I'm done clearing out stuff we don't need anymore.

Hopefully after christmas we can start our renovation again. We decided to delay it because of DH new job. And now that christmas is just around the corner it is a bit risky to start one now, I don't want to deal with it during the crazy season.

I now feel better writing this blog, I just really need to get back to my routine. This is always what happen to me when I'm out of my routine, I end up over spending.

Now I need to update my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by.