Budget skills

2012-05-09T15:20:00.000+08:00

Hi, I'm not able to post for a while, if you still want to leave a comment I will check every now and then and respond. Cheers

Home is where you lay your hat ...for now

2012-03-02T19:16:00.000+08:00

We have not been in our own home now for nearly 2 years. It is being rented out to strangers while we live here on the other side of Australia earning enough spare cash so we can buy a farm and move back to Far North Queensland.

Like most communities all over the world, the financial collapse effected many. In our case our local economy was based on tourism ,construction and the sugar industry . With no tourism, there was little need for many staff , then there was no need for extra accommodation to be built so the building industry was hit. We had a couple of bad years with the weather so even the sugar cane was affected. This caused many in the community to scatter to find work. This is why we are over here in Perth now.

I was very house and yard conscious in Qld and found when I got here to a new climate and house that was not mine, I found it hard to find the motivation to really get in and do what I always have. However today I realized that somewhere along the line I have done an unconscious slide to the home movement without giving it much thought.

It was "wheelie bin " day today and I was just mooching around the front of our rented house pulling the last few stragglers of weeds to toss into the bin. I looked around, nodded my head happy with my work and walked past the veggie garden that has actually taken me almost a year to get to seedling stage. I was patting myself on the back for such a good job when I realized I had crossed over to homeowner status.

This is when I realized in order to live a truly fulfilled life you must feel as if where you are living feels like "home". It doesn't matter if you own where you live or rent. We all find ourselves "nesting" in order to feel good about the space we inhabit. If you don't feel comfortable .....maybe you need to put in a few personal touches to show that this is your space for now. Growing veggies amongst the flowers, rearranging your home to suit your families changing needs, or even just being very house proud is the start of realizing that home is wherever you are at the time.

Beetroot Jam

2012-02-23T22:58:00.002+08:00

Much to my children's dismay, when I have a glut of fruit and vegetables I quite often try to work out what else beside "normal" eating can I do with these items. Just recently it was beetroot. I had bought some beets from the markets thinking I would make a roasted beetroot salad. Alas, time got away from me (as it nearly always does) and I was caught with these beets looking a bit soft and crying out to me to do something with them. This is when I decided to have a go at beetroot jam.

Now I rarely use a recipe as I can't seem to follow them very well. Don't get me wrong, I have heaps of cook books, and I love reading them, but I find some ingredients just wont pass muster in this house so over the years I have had to adapt and change the ingredients to suit the fussy males I live with. This also means I have to change quantities as well, so I try to visualize the process and possible taste in my head. 99% of the time this works. When we have a fail, commonly called a flop in this house....all come running and attack the remains and start giving "advice".

In my fridge this particular clean-out day were some apples that had been forgotten and passed over for grapes and stone fruit, so they too needed to be cooked up.This was just what I needed as the beets don't really contain much pectin at all. I cored the apples as well as peeled them,and placed cores,skin and all seeds in a material bag that could be pulled out at a later date.This was then put in a pot that also held the chopped up beets (next time I will grate them), my chopped and sliced apples as well as the juice of a couple of lemons I squeezed.A small amount of water so the fruit does not catch (burn) on the bottom...that's it. See , no recipes.....just guide lines to recipes.

removing pectin from cores

I then just kept this all on low heat bubbling away until all the beets are soft (ish). I then pulled out the bag of cores/skins and squeezed out the pectin. This is the gel like substance that oozes out of the bag. I put the containing mixture from the bag into a sieve and pushed through all the gel that I could. This then gets put back into the beet/apple mix.The fruit mix should now be soft enough to have sugar added to it. If not...grab a stick blender and give the fruit mix a hard time. This will make spreading of the fruit jam so much easier when all is done. I then add sugar to the fruit mix cup(of fruit) for cup(of sugar). If however I don't want it so sweet, I cut back a bit on the sugar....or add some extra lemon juice. You have to be aware that if you don't get enough pectin from your apple cores, and don't put in enough sugar...your jam wont set or keep for long outside a fridge.

This mixture now bubbles away till it says "jam set" on your thermometer, or till the jam gels on a chilled saucer.In the meantime while this mix has been turning itself from veggies to jam, I have washed some jars, boiled them in hot water to kill all bacteria (germs) as well as the lids...and are now ready to fill as soon as the mixture is ready. When all is cooked I remove any "scum" looking substance from the fruit mix. There is nothing wrong with this, except that is looks yukky when cooled down if you have put it into your jars. I now ladle the mix into my still warm to hot jars (if cold they will crack) and flip them over when done.

After about10 to 20 mins the seals on the lids would have sucked in and these will be good to keep on the shelf for quite a few months. If you want to take it one step further you can put them into a water bath to ensure the vacuum seal. If you do this you will need to add just a little extra lemon juice to the mix to ensure you have the correct acid level.Follow the instructions of your water bath booklet so you know how long to boil them for.

This mix was actually not to sweet at all, and put on some freshly made bread and butter, it tasted just great.
PS... One son only knows this as purple jam. What he doesn't know wont hurt him. Give it a go...it's quite nice.
PPS If you don't have any apples to create pure pectin, you can buy sachets of "jam setta". This is a Fowlers Vaccola product that contains pectin and sugar as a carrier. Just follow the instructions on the packet.

What is retirement ?

2012-02-19T19:17:00.001+08:00

Hubby and I over lunch today were discussing our Farm. We were jotting down how we were going to do the walled garden, how and where to place the different garden beds; as well as where would it be best to fit the chook pen. Where we plan to move to is a cyclone prone area, so we need to take into account the direction of the winds when the cyclones, inevitably , arrive each year.
While we were doing this we realized our age will be in the late 50's by the time our first lot of trees become close to maturity. This is the age when a lot of folk are ready to retire.Which then started the question. What is retirement.??

We are in the process of planning our future and will be so busy we wont really be able to "retire" till they bury us. Many people talk about retirement as if it is a time to just stop.As if it is an end to their existence that they don't like and it is somewhere to run to. But what do you do once you get there.???

Yes, I fully understand when you are working huge hours doing the day to day grind that retirement sounds like a great holiday. But if you ask someone what they will do in their retirement all you will get most of the time is "nothing" or "golf" or "sleep".....but really after the first month you will be looking for something, and unless you are prepared you will have a long time being just plain old bored.

We hope to be self sufficient and that means learning so many new things, as well as being reacquainted with some old skills ( just a little buried in the sub conscious). And because of this we are so excited about the future. We can't wait to start, but as goals go, we need to stay where we are just a little longer. So in the mean time we will hunt down tools and machinery that will come in handy as well as learn and read as much as possible. We are preparing our special needs son as well. He is just as keen. The future to us is very bright indeed. There will be no time for "golf" "sleeping late" or "doing nothing"

I CANT WAIT !!!!

How's and Whys to Budget

2012-02-13T16:13:00.000+08:00

Just before Christmas I was writing an article for our website and got a little out of hand. In the process my hubby suggested I turn it into a PDF. This we did. If you would like to read it feel free. We don't charge for the information in our heads. So when we write something, generally will hand it out for free.Below is an excerpt from the Hows and Whys of Budgeting PDF

.............What do you believe is your main motivation for doing or having a budget? Are you just going through the motions because that is what your spouse wants you to do? Have you contacted a help line and they have suggested you do this? Or are you under a debt repayment plan that requires you to do it? These reasons are not bad motivations, however they are external pressures that may not be easy to maintain over a long period. It is similar to giving up smoking. If you are told to do it, it won’t happen…however if you choose to stop then the chances of success are very high. That’s the feelings and motivation you need when doing a budget. If you choose to do it, then every decision you make when it comes to spending your cash becomes a choice and puts you in the driver’s seat.

If you start a budget be aware that you need a positive attitude, realistic expectations and motivation from within, then the chances of getting it right is much higher than without.With all the pieces of the puzzle in place, you should be able to achieve your goals.>>>>>>>>> click here to read on

I hope this booklet may be able to help someone find the information they are looking for. If not I'm sure if you look around you may find something else that is helpful. Either way....hope you enjoy it.

scratch it's belly and get on with life

2012-02-11T09:25:00.000+08:00

We've had a shocker of a week here. You know how in most cases, situations have the potential to go belly up, but only comes close?,,,,well this week every thing not only went belly up...it laid on it's back and wanted a scratch as well!!!!

We had the lot....these covered our home in Qld, tenants doing a runner, maintenance needed, tax bills, gardening problems, work related issues.....by the end of the week we were just laughing ( not in the good way) as the news kept rolling in and rolling in and rolling in......

What do you do when you have a really bad experience? Do you believe retail therapy is the cure? A good stiff drink...or many??

I fortunately have 2 lads at home to keep me in line.We have our special needs boy who keeps me on the straight and narrow and reminds me that we have run out of biscuits for his cup of tea, and another son has caught a cold and feels that soup will cure him. Then (to remind us he's still around) ...My eldest rings from Afghanistan and puts in a request for tea bags as all the fellows there drink coffee, and he hates coffee.

By this stage the weeks bad news has pretty much stopped flowing in, hubby and I are over our hysterical mad laughter and realize...there's nothing we can do about all the bad news that come in, except scratch it's belly and get on with life.

So I did what was needed....went shopping for teabags to be mailed to Afghanistan, biscuits for middle lad, and bought chicken carcases for chicken soup.

I woke up this morning and was quite surprised to see the sun really was still shining.
I pulled all the chicken meat off the chicken carcass and will begin chopping veggies shortly. While I was doing this 1/2 doz magpies decided to serenade me outside the kitchen window. Do you think they know something?
I've checked my seedlings in the back yard and they seem to be growing as well.

All still seems to be well with the world.

.

Teaching old dogs new tricks

2012-02-05T19:12:00.001+08:00

We have recently moved into a rented house after living in the same home for over 10 years. I had forgotten how hard it is to not just do what you want, when you want. In our previous house (back in Queensland) we started our last garden on a sparse house block and managed to turn it into an oasis that had fruit trees, veggie patches, bird loving flowers and trees.It had little nooks and crannies and was really coming along.

We now find ourselves (for the next couple of years) having to live in the opposite side of Australia in a climate so foreign to us, we may as well be in another country. We are accustomed to huge rainfall and the issues that arise from this. We know how to avoid tropical pests and know how to take precautionary measures when a cyclone crops up.

Now we are re-learning the gardening tricks of our parents as we live in a climate now that has 4 seasons (not just wet or dry), and having to learn about a soil that has no guts to it at all, and seems to require tonnes of manure and composting matter.

This was only 1/4 of weeds

Now as this house is not ours we don't really have a choice as to where we can plant things, and raised beds are out of the question, so this will be the first crop of veggies I will be giving a go. I've managed to pull the grass out of one designated area and sectioned off a few squares that I can plant in. We've pulled up a few pavers that was designed for the rubbish bins and found dirt underneath ; this today became another veggie patch. A bit more plant and weed thinning in the garden and we will be able to pop in a few more tomatoes amongst the azaleas :o)

Finished reclaimed garden beds

Discovering dirt under pavers

2 new garden beds on either sides of pavers

Discovering soil under weeds

It doesn't really matter where you live. The opportunity to grow a few veggies or herbs can present itself in so many ways. If you really cant plant in the garden you have, then try pots. These come in all shapes and designs, if you don't want to go to that expense then just plain broccoli boxes will do the job. All you really need is one or two tomatoes and your favorite herb to whet your appetite and soon there will be no stopping you.

Be like the hummingbird

2012-02-02T09:32:00.001+08:00

Sometimes knowing that you need to go on a budget can make you feel completely overwhelmed.

There is a story from Africa about a hummingbird. There in the forest begins a fire. Soon this fire becomes bigger and bigger, The animals all run away to the river and watch transfixed as the forest begins to burn. They are so consumed with fear that they just watch and do nothing.The fire of course continues to grow as no one does anything, fear has rooted them to the spot. The fire is coming closer and closer.

Suddenly a little hummingbird bird say "I'm not going to sit here, I'm going to do something about it" So this little hummingbird goes to the water and picks up a drop of water in his tiny beak. flies over to the fire and drops it. He then does this again, and again. Flying back and forwards trying to put out the fire one drop at a time. The other animals just watch him fly back and forth.

The animals watching (that are very large and could do a lot by helping) said to him. "Why do you bother, with your little wings and your little beak and the tiny amount of water that that you are dropping. You are hardly doing any good".

The little hummingbird turns to them and says "I am doing the best I can do".

No matter what the "fire" is. In order to put it out you need to start. Even if it is only one drop at a time. If your fire is a budgeting plan, or if you want to reduce some of your expenses by growing your own veggies or baking your own bread, you just need to start .

We all need to be like the little hummingbird and just keep trying. Sooner or later the "fire" will be put out. How soon depends whether or not we get help from others standing around.The support of family friends and in some situations community is what is standing between you and the "fire".

Do you have any tips to get people started on a budget? If your on a budget, how did you start? Was it hard to begin? I'd love to hear how others are going.

Shop free week...or how to save thousands

2012-01-31T08:25:00.001+08:00

How many times a week do you go shopping ?

Do you pop into the store just to pick up one item and walk out with ten?

If you do you are sooooo normal.This I must admit is my weakness . In order to combat a habit I know can be destructive to my spending habits, I do what suits me and I hide. Yep, I hide from shopping...

I've found over the years that if I just stay away from the shops then there is a high chance that I will not spend....and therefore I save. Sound nuts??? I realize hiding is not suitable to many, but what I suggest you try is at least one week a month, rather than doing your weekly big shop, do not buy anything except for the necesities like bread or milk.( This does not mean chocolate!!!!! even though I realize it could come under that catagory) but for one week you just dont spend. This is when you clean out your fridge and make a stew or casserole with the nearly spent veggies, raid the pantry for items you bought and never used, dig to the bottom of your freezer and cook that mystery meat.It's an opportunity to de-clutter the cupboards and freezer.

If you generally spend $200 to $300 a week for your groceries, then on your shop free week only take $30 (or $50 to start) in cash with you to buy the necessities. This equates to a possible savings of $2200 to $3500 for the year. Could you use this money to pay off that Credit card? Put it towards those jobs around the house that have been just to expensive. Put it towards something that will help reduce more bills else where eg solar panels, water saving drip systems around your home or replace your electric water heater with gas. The ideas are endless. All you have to do is cut back one week a month on your grocery bills.

Of course if your grocery bills are higher then you will really save some dollars.

Have a go at this shop free week and let me know how you go. It's a great feeling regaining control of your money. I have done it for years and I know it works.

Stop paying someone else to do what you can do yourself.

2012-01-29T09:10:00.004+08:00

The importance of living well on a budget may seem like an oxymoron.However it is very easy to do. The first thing you need to know is that it requires a bit of effort in the kitchen, and a bit of forethought and imagination when you are shopping.

The first rule of budgeting (for me) is to stop paying someone else to do, what I can do myself.

This quite simply will almost halve your monthly grocery bill as you wont be paying the extra costs in preparation.

You also have to be prepared to experiment and try new things in the kitchen. If you have ever watched the early shows of Vicar of Dibley; you may remember there was an old woman Leticia who was cooking these weird concoctions. I'm not advocating you cook what she cooked (as most things were inedible!!!) what I'm trying to encourage is the idea that something that you are not familiar with has the potential to be a great meal.

When I was shopping last I picked up a piece of lambs liver/fry. Now I know my husband isn't to keen on the idea, but tonight he will be having a go at this. I generally cook this for myself and the boys when hubby is working away. When I was small, my Mum used to fry up sliced pieces of "soft steak", make a mound of fluffy white mashed potato and serve with a rich black gravy made from the cooking pan scrapings.This was absolutely delicious.I'm sure it will be tonight.
To top off the budgeting feel, the piece of lamb's fry I bought only cost me $2 and the bacon is just a small packet also only worth less than $2 Between 4 adults...not to bad.

Here's my recipe if you want to try this

Fry up the bacon in a med pan, then put aside.

Slice the liver into thin slices.(We alternate between palm size slices or strips, depending on who's eating it)
Dust with plain flour (I have been known to add some dried herbs at this stage)
Put pan on med to hot and fry quickly to brown( too long makes it tough)then take off heat and put aside
To make the gravy add some water or stock to pan and scrape of the crunchy bits Add a little salt and pepper, extra herbs and some garlic if you like. If your gravy is a bit thin, mix some cornflour and water together then pour into gravy and quickly stir in.
Pop the liver and bacon back into the gravy and leave the flavours to mix all together. Keep warm. Pop in the oven or on the stove on the lowest setting. Make your mashed potato and green veg of choice and serve.

This is a surprisingly cheap and tasty meal.

Starting the year with a bang

2012-01-23T22:18:00.001+08:00

It is nearly time to celebrate Australia Day. You would think that the beginning of a new year, celebrating (what our German friends call) the biggest celebration of our country, would put a spring in most peoples step. But what I'm seeing on the news, on the internet and in general conversation at the shops, is that many people are just trying to get by day to day. Starting a budget is what I'm hearing but many just don't know how or where to start.

Many are now starting to realize the money spent before and at Christmas time is starting to bite, and the prospect of the next couple of months not quite knowing how to go about paying their bills is quite daunting.

For families that have children, school will be starting and this can be rather expensive as well as stressful.
I'd like to recommend that if you are feeling the pinch, just take a deep breath and take one step at a time.Cut back on a few wants for a couple of weeks, and buy only what is absolutely needed. If your groceries are generally $150, try to drop down to half and use this extra cash to go towards the school needs.Re-use last years pencils/pens etc. Try to salvage as much of the previous years gear as possible. If buying new books for school, try on-line and ask at the school, as quite often some schools have a 2nd hand section.There are many things you can do.You just need to look around.

I realize kids will want new of everything, but don't cave on it all. After the first 2 weeks of school, no one will notice what is new and what is old. If you talk to them, let them know as much as is possible for their age; and you will be surprised with where and what they will be willing to do, to help out. Most kids are prepared to dig in and help; and may even be willing to do without all new gear. A lot of kids just want to blend in, and if they have some new gear, then both you and them can start the year on a good footing

Work together as a team...that's what families are supposed to do.

I hope your Australia Day is a good one.

PS if you need help with starting a budget go here for information on how to start a budget.It's a free download and might be just what you need to kick start the new year.
http://budgetskills.com/irregularincome.html

Baking Bread

2012-01-21T16:18:00.000+08:00

Today is bread day for me. I've just finished baking 4 loaves of bread..2 of plain white and 2 banana bread.

I was shopping yesterday and noticed the price of the breads. The plain prepackaged mass produced stuff was cheap, however I noticed that many shoppers were hovering over the better quality bread, here they would look over the ingredients, nod their heads in agreement with each other, look at the price being charged, then sadly put down the good breads and toss a cheap, no flavor loaf into their trolley
.

finished product..yum

I also noticed the cost of foccacia breads and any type of bread that had bacon, olives or dried tomatoes on it, most were around the $5 mark. Incredible.

I've worked out that my loaves cost less than a dollar to make, have no preservatives, and I can customize them by adding any flavor I want.I can choose to do savory or sweet, grainy or full of fruit. So long as I use the basic recipe....the rest is easy.

Using a basic recipe also allows us to make our own pizza base, as well as pizza turnovers.(basically a pizza with the toppings on the inside....Yum) This for me is a really great way to use up any left overs in the fridge.

Doing your own cooking from scratch is definitely a lot cheaper as well as healthier as you get to control what goes into your food. You also get more control over what you buy, how you spend and what you spend it on.

From the garden to the kitchen

2012-01-16T17:52:00.004+08:00

I picked some herbs from our garden this morning, and have just sprinkled them all over the roast that is in the oven. The smell in this house is incredible. I use herbs for almost everything I cook, can't help it. I think I'm a herbaholic.

If you are not using herbs regularly then your meals are missing that extra kick that encourages families to eat more meals at home. If your meals taste great then the chances of them asking for your flavor packed meal is higher than the requests for some greasy carb packed takeaway. There is nothing more rewarding than having your loved ones asking for more because the meal tasted so great. Sometimes it takes only a small amount of herbs to achieve this.

Since moving to this City we're experiencing the high costs of buying our own fresh herbs, this is what has kick started me into gardening mode; so I'm in the process of redoing our garden as this is a rental and I've had to leave my garden that I had developed over the past 10 years. So I will be posting updates on this process over the next couple of weeks.

What herbs could you not do without?

Make use of what you've got

2012-01-13T17:45:00.000+08:00

Whether you call it self sufficiency, sustainability , budgeting or frugality, using something the second or even 3rd time around is just plain good sense.

When I was still at school I remember my uniforms couldn't keep up with the growth rate of my legs. I was pleased when my last year at primary was over, and so was my Mum, as there was no way we were going to make those 2 dresses pass 1 more year.I wore these uniforms for 3 years, they had been well worn however still could be passed on to another family. You wont see that anymore.

Over the past 20 years our boys have used and reused every piece of clothing that we started with. They always got handed down at least 3 times then moved on to another family.We even have a photo of my husband feeding our eldest a piece of cake from his 2nd birthday. In that photo the jacket that he was wearing still gets used. Our eldest is now 21.

On the weekend my youngest (who is over 6 ft tall) asked if I could chop his jeans into cutoffs as he has shot up again since we bought these. It never crossed his mind to buy new shorts, just reuse the clothing he has to make them more user friendly and as these have no one to be passed on to, and he needed shorts. Problem solved

Clothing can be as expensive or inexpensive as you choose. Don't buy cheap clothes as these are often cheaply made. Shop around and you will find good quality at a good price. Thrift stores are my favorite. There will always be cheap stuff, but if your prepared to take your time you will find good quality priced clothing at a great price. Often shopping out of season is the best way to go. Start looking for decent winter coats in summer as this is when they are the most cost effective. Same as summer clothing. Shop for these in winter.

PS The cut off legs from juniors jeans will be stuffed with rags and used as spare pillows for his bed.

PPS I always leave my giveaway clothes in a basket for 3 mths before I get rid of them...cause you just never know what they will come in handy for.

M.O.R.T.G.A.G.E

2012-01-10T18:02:00.000+08:00

After Christmas and New Years are done and dusted you may find yourself in a bit of a bind with cash. Many people would have been in denial before the holidays and oblivious to the consequences of spending all of their cash. If you are finding it a bit hard to cope and the family is starting to suffer then you need to do something about it.

The last thing you need to worry about is your house. Here are a few ideas that may help.

M MOTIVATION... Have you been avoiding looking at your mail for fear of what might be there? You need to bite the bullet and see where you stand and make contact with the banks. The sooner you contact them, the more choices you may have. Make sure you get moving as soon as possible.

O ORGANIZE YOURSELF... In order to make contact you will need to make sure you have organized all related files and paperwork. This also increases your sense of control over your situation.

R RECRUIT THE FAMILY... There is nothing worse than trying to do it all yourself. If family members are aware of the situation you may be less likely to stress as much, and they may give you a little leeway if you are a bit short with them.

T TALK TO SOMEONE…There is always someone around who may be able to offer assistance whether it be face to face or phone assistance (Life line, Red cross or similar)

G GET A VALUATION…If your situation is really dire you may need to sell. If this happens you will need to contact a couple of real-estate agents who may give you a free valuation. This will at least give you some more information to present to the banks.

A ACTION…You need to “pull your socks up”, take a deep breath and take action. Don’t spend too much time dithering around avoiding the problem and don’t give in to analysis paralysis. You need to just DO something. The next step will present itself once you’ve taken that first step.

G GO EASY ON YOURSELF… If you know deep down that you have done your best for yourself and your family, then guilt, anger, and frustration have no place in your home. All these emotions do is drag you down. You need to let go of them in order to help solve your problems

E ENJOY YOUR NEW FOUND FREEDOM…Once you have sorted the repayments out, and all parties are happy, the freedom and relief you will feel will be enormous. When you are ready, if you use this knowledge to help others, you will feel so much better about yourself. You may be the reason someone else can save their home by lowering their mortgage payments!

The upside is that there are many mortgage companies these days that are open to mortgage reduction programs to help homeowners keep their houses; as it is in the best interest for them to keep the borrowers in their homes because they are simply not in the business of real estate.

If they take back (repossess) a home because the homeowner defaulted on the mortgage, they are more than likely going to lose money on that house in most cases. If helping homeowners to keep their homes the mortgage companies stand a good chance of continuing to make a profit on the mortgage they had loaned out.

And with the state of the real-estate market they really don’t need a whole drawer full of houses.

This is why it is in everyone’s interest to sort out some sort of repayment plan, or refinancing plan.

The banks will be better off and you still get to keep your house. Win win all round.

A Guide to better budgeting

2009-09-17T18:09:00.000+08:00

When you first decide to start on a budget, you have in reality decided to start a money plan. This is something that will be outlining you and your families financial goals.
Having a budget means you will be able to establish and regulate your funds; you will be able to set and achieve your financial objectives, and you should now be able to decide on how and what your finances will be able to do for you.
The main idea of budgeting is to deal with your everyday expences as well as putting aside a certain amount of money for the unexpected events and costs.
Simply put, budgeting means an estimation of monthly home expenses basing it on previous expenses and bills.

The first smart secret to a budget is to set a goal.
What do you want to achieve?
Do you want to correctly appropriate your income into bills payments?
Do you want to put an amount aside for a big purchase or a huge investment?
By having a goal, you will be able to shape your budget to best serve your interests.

Secondly, you would want to take note of where your money usually goes.
This includes bills, major but regular purchases (like grocery costs, healthcare costs, and the like), and everyday miscellaneous purchases.
Only when you list down where you know your money usually goes will you be able to identify which expenses you can do without. You will be highly amazed at how much money is wasted once you start to write things down.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to grab on old exersize book or notepad and for 2 weeks to a month write down every purchase....no matter how small. Coins for parking fees, coffee, kids pocket money...EVERYTHING.

Once you’ve identified these regular and irregular expenditures, take into consideration what you can cut back on. This of course is a family decision. It will be easier to do if all family members are involved in the process. As a family you need to sit down and work out your priorities, what are your goals, as well as ALL being prepared to pitch in and save.

Priorities are different from goals. They are aspects in your family’s life that you, as a family, want to set focus on, say health or children’s future, while goals are specific targets that support priorities. In setting priorities, do not set too many as it defeats the purpose. Ideally, there should only be one, but because life is not ideal, 2 to 3 are reasonable.
As the priorities are set and agreed upon, write them down. Post the paper where everybody can see them to remind them of what your family is focused on. This will be a constant reminder that you as a family are doing this together as a team.

Next step is to work on your goals

Once the family has set and agreed on priorities, the next step is to set the goals. Goals are specific and measurable conditions that, when achieved, will support the priorities.
Try to limit your family into setting 1-2 goals per priority, to maintain focus.

After setting your priorities and goals, start living by them. All of the family’s activities will be geared towards working at your goals. Track progress, particularly on financial goals, by using an income and expense-tracking tool. The simplest way is to get a notebook and list down all expenses and incomes and set a budget for future spending. There are those that invest in computer software or a family accountant. Whatever it is, the important thing is to have a system of monitoring the family’s performance towards achieving their goals.

Now it's just a matter of watching what you spend and how you spend.

Change your attitude

2009-09-08T18:16:00.000+08:00

One of the biggest hurdles in managing to save money is to change your attitude towards money.
When you finally come to this realization it is so much easier to deal with all the issues involved with creating a "budget".

The results of how you think about money can have a huge impact on your life. This will show up in many different forms. If you are stressed from the lack of money and bills piling up..this may lead to a lack of sleep, which could manifest into feeling unwell, blood pressure problems, anger within the family unit, even depression and/or panic attacks.

Once you choose to do something about your budget, you may find that you will begin to sleep a bit better as you are now about to take back control of your life.

2009-09-08T14:52:00.000+08:00

Hi, I havn't been here for a while and have now decided to pass on as much information on how to make end meet as is possible
I realize some of my info may be "old hat" to some. However there are a lot of young people out there that truely don't know how to live well on a small budget.
This is no fault of their own. In most cases it has just been a set of circumstances that has led them to this situation.
As there are just sooooooo many ways to budget or to save money, I have decided to randomly give my information and whatever you can use....great!!!!