Low Income Lady

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:43:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas! I thought you might like this photo of my cockatiel Pepper. She is getting a scratch. My hand is over her whole body and she loves it! Sorry for the blurry photo, I had the camera is my left hand and it wasn't quite steady as I am right handed...

November/December 2011 Net Worth

2011-12-18T15:10:00.000+11:00

I have worked out a few things to do with the mortgage. With the interest rate cut recently I recalculated the minimum payment on our mortgage using the latest balance and the new interest rate of 6.61%. The minimum payment now is $218 a fortnight! That's only $109 a week! Also the interest gets debited on the 15th every month and it was $398.42 in December...We cracked the $400 a month barrier with the mortgage interest!

I also worked out our net worth for December (I usually work it out on the 25th of the month but I'm dead curious...we got new software which has helped the budget heaps and I wanted to see if its working)

November

ASSETS

House Value: 380 000

Contents Value: 30 000

Cash in bank: $0.00

ASSETS TOTAL: 410 000

DEBTS

Mortgage: 69 875

Credit Card: 718

DEBT TOTAL: 70 593

NOVEMBER NET WORTH: 339 407

December

ASSETS

House Value: 380 000

Contents Value: 30 000

Cash in bank: 100.00

ASSETS TOTAL: 410100

DEBTS

Mortgage: 66 125

Credit Card: 1667

DEBT TOTAL: 67 792

DECEMBER NET WORTH: 342 308

So our Net Worth grew by $2901 in December!

I think we are doing rather well and the software has made me much more attuned to the finances then I was before and it has definitely stopped the spending to a large extent...

Detailed look at Budget

2011-12-07T20:45:00.001+11:00

Home Loan 3248.85

I have tweaked the December Budget. We are receiving $420 from a Christmas Club Account, plus making changes to categories we should be able to put $3248.85 to the mortgage in December. The Christmas expenses will be minimal. We have had the annual termite inspection. the annual vet check for the dog, we have had the gutters cleaned out which we do every 6 months, as far as we know all the maintenance has been done on the house which was quite expensive this year...

Kiva 18.65

The charity we support is Kiva. We contribute $25 a month and that amount will be topped up when we receive loan repayments towards the middle of the month.

House Insurance 83.21

This is the amount we pay for house and contents insurance every month.

Solar Panels 117.78

We will finish paying these off in November 2012. The above amount is the monthly amount. We have just received our electricity bill and we were $84 in credit and we didn't have to pay a bill of just under $200.

Groceries 92.02

We have only spent $92.02 on groceries so far this month...We are stocked up quite a lot and I buy specials and stock up more as I see them. The Woolies (an Aussie supermarket) Android App helps enormously...If things keep going like this we should be able to take money from this category and boost the mortgage amount even further...

Cash 35.50

Actual cash we have withdrew from our accounts this month. We withdraw weekly money each week and quite often we hardly spend any of it so it goes towards the next weeks money. I think this is why this figure is so low...

Phone & Internet 94.48

The base rate of our phone/internet plan is $89.95. So we only spent about $5 on mobiles and 13 numbers last month. We get STD and local numbers for free, up to 350 local calls and 150 long distance calls untimed at any time.

Our area is getting fast internet installed in the next couple of years which I am quite excited about! Super fast internet YAY! (It's called the National Broadband Network. NBN for short)

Healthcare/Medical 19.15

We will spend about another $30 on prescriptions this month as I try and beat the January 1st price rise...

Hobbies 28.47

Odds and ends which I think I have documented in a previous post.

Restaurants 23.00

This amount hasn't been spent yet but we will get pizza in the next month or rather my Dad will...

Misc 100.00

Hasn't been spent. This allows for any expenses that crop up. We don't forsee anything...

Electricity 0.00

Water 0.00

Council Rates 0.00

Maintenance & Repairs 0.00

Animals/Vet 0.00

Child Expenses 0.00

Gifts 0.00

Office Supplies 0.00

The above we are not budgeting for but will pay for out of the month's income in which they occur.

Clothing/Shoes 8.03

I bought a summer beanie

Ebay Fees 7.12

These are seller fees from ebay, they are final value fees from things that sold last month.

WHEW! That's a post and a half!

December 2011 Week 1

2011-12-06T06:21:00.001+11:00

December Week 1

House/Rental Insurance 83.21

Solar Panels 117.78

Groceries 84.68

Cash 15.50

Healthcare/Medical 19.15

Hobbies 28.47

Clothing/Shoes 8.03

Ebay 7.12

Insurance and Solar Panels are a fixed amount that comes out of the CC every month .

84.68 on the groceries which is what I spent yesterday...we are stocked up on a fair few number of items we buy hence the lower bill.

Cash is self explanatory :)

$19.15 on the chemist was 2 prescriptions and also I had to buy a single puffer as I was breathless and I had forgotten my puffer. They really rip you off when you don't have a script. $7.95 for one puffer! It costs under $7 for two with a script! And I know the generic one is cheaper but I prefer the taste of the ventolin to the generic one...not that I like the taste of a puffer LOL...I try and use a spacer where I can as they are more effective.

$34.78 on hobbies on various things. I bought the YNAB android app for $4.64 and also Dad bought some more chess games (tournament entry fee)...

$8.03 on a summer beanie from ebay. It's a beanie made from cotton suitable to wear in warmer weather.

$7.12 on ebay...This is made up mostly of fees for selling stuff.

So we had a pretty light week! I had to pay a stupid tax (the puffer)...but that's life! I think the way they have priced that is predatory pricing....GRRR!

And the mortgage:

Balance: 69 999.83

After this Thursday payday: 68 012.03

Of course we will have to redraw for expenses so this figure will go up a little...

Cheers

Cheryl

It's a good day today

2011-11-30T22:15:00.001+11:00

Today has been an interesting day. Tomorrow we are taking a whole heap of garden waste to the tip (my friend has a van - I absolute adore the van by the way, it's a '91 Toyota that is LPG and petrol - it reminds me of my childhood and the vehicles I used to get around in when I was a teenager). The garden waste was in different places around the back and front yards so we have put it all in one spot under cover so if it rains it won't get wet.

After my Mum and I did that, we checked the mailbox. There was our electricity bill which was $84 in credit YAY! (We have solar panels). And also there was an envelope from the NRMA - I have been entering competitions lately and I had won 2 tickets to see Arthur Christmas at the movies.

Also yesterday I bought the You need a budget software otherwise known as YNAB. I absolutely love it!. It is the first financial software I have ever looked at that makes sense to me and that I can understand...I got it for $39 down from $60...

It HAS been a good day today!

Morty Update

2011-11-22T23:16:00.001+11:00

CurrentMorty Balance: 70 605.98 - The interest went on of about $437 on the 15th whichaccounts for the higher balance.

Nextpayday:

24-Nov-11

Income1987.80

togroceries 500.00

tocc 657.00

tomortgage 830.80

Thatwill make the morty balance 69 775.18...we will break the 70k barrier! YAY!

We are getting a $420 payment from a Christmas Club account which will make the morty balance: 69 355

It'searly days yet but the way the finances are shaping up for December we might beable to put $1000 a fortnight to the mortgage...This would make the balance 67355 plus December interest of about $410...Potential final balance for the endof the year: 67 765

Westarted out the year at a balance of 89 164. So if these figures turn out to becorrect we will have paid off 21 399 off the principal for the year...

Notbad!

Cheers

Cheryl

2011 review

2011-11-17T22:46:00.001+11:00

We have had quite an expensive year this year.

House Maintenance:

Gate: $650. This took 3 months from the time the wooden gate broke until it was replaced with a colourbond metal one. We rang a couple of companies and they said they would come and never turned up. So this ate up a couple of weeks. Then I rang the builder who built our house extension and he recommended a fencer. He came and quoted for a colourbond gate. Then we got a quote for an aluminium gate and that came to $1390 which was way more than what we wanted to pay. So then we accepted the first quote and then had to wait 3 weeks for the gate to be ordered as it had to be specially made. 3 months all up and all that time we had to take the dog out on a lead to do his business which was a PITA and we had to train him again afterwards to go out by himself...

Gutters: $150. We had our gutters cleaned out. We do this about twice a year as there are heaps of trees around our place that drop leaves onto the roof all the time. And of course the gutter guy noticed that a drainpipe was blocked and rusting so we needed a new...

Drainpipe: $250. This was for a brand new drainpipe rerouted to drain down the side of the house as the underground pipe was totally blocked. This price included painting the pipe to match the guttering. They did a great job!

Kitchen Taps: $210. This problem irritated us for months and we finally called a plumber - no more dripping taps! No more changing washers and it not working! We needed to replace the seating and the actual taps as the spindle was bent.

Front Door Lock: $300. Our door lock broke. We called a locksmith and he replaced it on the spot. I have a feeling we were ripped off but I lack the information to confirm this...We did change the type of lock from a triple lock to an ordinary deadlock and it needed a special kit to do this but I think $300 is a bit rich...

My uncle has also done a fair bit of work for us. He has used his chainsaw to trim some trees. He fixed our loo. He also fixed my badly designed craft lamp so it's as good as new...

No major appliances broke this year. We had to replace my parents radio's and we splashed out and bought a couple of TDK micro hifi systems at $199 each. They are wonderful and you can put podcasts that you download free from itunes onto a SD card and slot it into the system and listen to it. My parents have very different tastes in what they listen to hence the need for 2 systems...

I bought an Optus My Tab (android tablet computer) for about $200 including a 32GB micro SD card and case. I also bought a PVR (personal video recorder) for $239.

We also bought a second computer and wireless modem so my Dad has his own computer to play his chess games.

A few odds and ends like a good cutlery set to replace our old mismatched stuff. A dog harness and 5m retractable lead.

And of course we have got the mortgage down from about 90k to 70k in that year...

So all in all its been a good year...I have lost about 10 kilos this year...I hope to do better next year... and I have done a lot of cross stitch...and helped at market day and volunteer computer work. Blogging, chatting on facebook, walking the dog, playing the flute in a band...my life is full!

Here's to a great 2012...

Kiva

2011-11-13T19:19:00.001+11:00

Morty Balance as of today: 70 150.68

Next payday:

24-Nov-11

Income 1987.80

to groceries 500.00

to cc 625.89

to mortgage 861.91

which will make the morty balance: $69 288

BUT interest will go in a couple of days approx $440

so the potential balance on the 24th is 69 728

On the 17th in four days time, its Kiva day! We contribute $25 a month towards it and I will have enough for 2 more loans. We will have $35 to give that has built up (I keep track of it on a spreadsheet at $12.50 a pay), plus I am expecting to get $9 in repayments back from the previous 2 loans and then we will add $6 from the 24th November pay to make it enough for 2 more loans...YAY! I have set up an email alert to let me know of any loans that come up that fit my criteria...I lend to females that sell in retail or food shops, and I like to lend to widows...and I have lent to the Phillipines for my last 2 loans but I might try a different country this time...

A Chinese Meal Christmas

2011-11-11T20:23:00.000+11:00

I have been spending a few lazy days at home, I have only been out on Wednesday to do a bit of grocery shopping and go to my weight loss group. (I stayed the same weight...)

Well, my hopes of Christmas being cancelled will not be fulfilled...BAH HUMBUG! LOL...Christmas is no fun anymore now my son isn't here to celebrate it with me...

There are some Christmas related stuff I am attending though...

There is dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my craft group the first week of December. Then its my Dad's birthday and we will have home delivered Chinese takeaway. Then in the middle of December, on the Tuesday everyone at craft will bring a plate of food to share and swap presents. The next day is my weight loss group last meeting and guess what = all expenses paid for Chinese banquet meal - you can have anything you want and don't have to pay a cent - can anyone say 'deep fried ice cream' - LOL

And then on Christmas Day we are cooking a chicken and having salad and I haven't decided what else...

So my options are to 1) try and make good choices and limit the damage caloriewise...or 2) forget the diet and start again after Christmas

Option 2 definitely sounds more appealing...

6th November 2011

2011-11-06T08:11:00.000+11:00

On the 27th October this was my prediction for this week's payday

10-Nov-11
Income 1987.80
to groceries 500.00
to cc 401.00
to mortgage 1086.80

This is how it stands now:

10-Nov-11
Income 1987.80
to groceries 500.00
to cc 425.00
to mortgage 1062.80

The CC has hardly gone up at all! I have been trying to pay for the odds and ends with the grocery money...

That figure for the credit card is half of the balance. I now pay half the credit card each payday.

We haven't done too bad! Also I worked out after doing a mini shop this Tuesday we will be able to put about $70 left over from the grocery money to the mortgage...that's not a precise figure as we haven't finalised the shopping list yet...

The 24th November payday the council tax/rates are due which amounts to $260.30... so that will be a bit of a dampener on things. Also that pay period we will have yearly vet expenses which will cost about $120 for Lukie the Cavalier's check up and injection plus we have to buy tablets for when he is itchy as he has sensitive skin and is allergic to something outside (not sure what). Also it's termite inspection time next month, that will also cost $120. So we have a few expenses coming up!

All in all I am really pleased with our progress...

Oh I almost forgot the all important morty figures:

Balance as of today: 71 046.82
Potential Balance on the 10th November: 69984.02

Yay, that 70k barrier will be cracked until the dreaded interest on the 15th...

Financial Journal

2011-11-04T07:58:00.000+11:00

I have been keeping a financial journal on a private online group and I thought I would post a few entries here. I know some of my readers like the financial stuff and I thought you might like to know how we have been going lately.

(The income mentioned in the entries is the whole families income combined. My actual personal income is $748.80 a fortnight, the rest belongs to other members of the family. We combine our income to pay for everything but I just thought I'd clarify that point...)

1 November 2011

Well, I can't let this day pass without an update! Interest rates went down! YAY! Our interest rate goes from 7.11% to 6.86% on Friday...this will make the interest on the loan go from about $430 a month to $415 a month.

If we can manage to pay $2000 a month to the loan we will have it paid off by February 2015...

I feel so much more in control of the finances now I have gone back to the old way of doing things again.

If we put nothing else on the credit card for the next fortnight, and we don't spend more than our $500 a fortnight grocery budget we will be able to put $2125 to the mortgage in November. We have $300 left for next weeks groceries which is plenty...we should be able to make an extra repayment!

If we manage to do this we will crack the 70k barrier finally! It is so good to be seeing some progress with the morty balance.

So interest rates down, morty balance down...what more could you ask for? Weight down? Hmm we'll see! Two out of three ain't bad! LOL

28 October 2011

I thought I might have a look at how the credit card is going this month:

solar panels 117.78 (This is our regular solar panel monthly payment - will be paid off in November 2012)

sentinel spectrum 62.00 (6 months supply of worming tablets for the dog)

kiva 14.89 (regular monthly charity donation)

woolies 90.32 (groceries)

kmart 56.50 (clothes for me! As usual one of the tops I bought was a mistake, it looks dreadful but looked fine when I tried it on! Another top is great and I also bought a dress which I am wearing to craft next week where they are having a hat day which they do every Melbourne Cup)

globes 13.00 (Had to get some specialty globes for a lamp we own)

vistaprint 12.10 (I bought a mug with a good picture of my son on it as a Christmas gift for my Dad)

phone/internet 96.27

officeworks 15.87 (my new computer keyboard to replace the one my son ruined)

ebay fees 3.48 (seller fees for selling on ebay)

dominos 27.95 (pizza! YUM!)

officeworks 27.46 (I bought a toilet roll holder and toilet brush for my bathroom - this was the cheapest and most decent ones I could find - I notice aldi has the same thing this week for $42 so I think I got a bargain!)

solar panels 117.78 (Occasionally we will have a month where the solar panels will come on twice on the same credit card bill)

cotd 45.35 (I bought an Italian cutlery set worth $250 for $45.35 from Catch of the Day to replace our hodgepodge of old cutlery we are currently using)

cotd 12.90 (I also bought a dog harness and 5m retractable lead for our dog. We have heard that using a chain lead is bad for dogs which is what we have now so I will be happy to get this)

Also a couple of days ago was Catch of the Day's birthday bash and they were giving things away for free and for 1 cent shipping. The catch was there was intense competition for them and things sold out within seconds of being posted. I managed to get 3 things...I got a razor sole skateboard...and a pair of $90 sony headphones which I actually needed...and an iphone extender battery which I can resell hopefully on ebay...

27 October 2011

It was payday today and the balance is now 71 078.33. We had money left over from the grocery money so I transferred it over which is why the balance is lower than I predicted.

Here are the next 2 paydays as it stands now:

10-Nov-11
Income 1987.80
to groceries 500.00
to credit card 401.00
to mortgage 1086.80

24-Nov-11
Income 1987.80
to groceries 500.00
to credit card 401.00
to mortgage 1086.80

Next week I have to go and buy the 2011 Australia Post stamp collection for Dad. I buy it every year for him. That will be $99.95 (I just looked up the Auspost website). It's released on the 1st November. I have included that cost in the credit card payments I'm making in November.

We usually have money left over from the groceries too so I transfer that the day before payday.

November is looking great!

24 October 2011

Mortgage Balance: $72 004.93

It's payday this Thursday and I know what's going to happen so I'll post now...

27 Oct Pension
Income: 1987.80
To credit card: 720.00
For groceries: $500.00
To mortgage: $767.80

This will make the morty balance: $71 237.13

We could also have some spare from the groceries. The current credit card balance after we pay last month off on Thursday is $655.40.

Also some October figures

Income: 4586.63
Groceries: 525.66
Bills: 366.41
Everything else: 1294.88

Income minus expenses = 1874.02 in mortgage

21 October 2011

I have changed the way we do the finances back to the old way we used to do them before we changed the loan over. I keep $500 for the groceries for the fortnight in the savings account. I pay half of the credit card (and the other half the next payday). Then I put the rest to the mortgage. That way there is no more redrawing on the mortgage and what is put in the mortgage stays in the mortgage. We seemed to do better with the loan with this system... I also like knowing what the right mortgage balance is at all times...

Mortgage Balance today: 72 091.52

10 October 2011

I sorta know the figures as it relates to payday this week so while I'm in the right frame of mind, I thought I would update.

Mortgage Balance right now: 72 773.85
Mortgage Balance on Thursday: 70 445

Credit Card Balance right now: 1210.96

I have not been putting as much on the credit card as you can see from the lower balance. There are only 6 days to go until the end of the statement so we are doing better.

Here is some different statistics which I have been keeping track of since 2006.

Last month our assets (which don't change from month to month much) were:

25th September
House: $380 000
Personal Property: $30 000
Total $410 000

Our debts on the 25th September were:
Mortgage: $71 920
Credit Card: $2621
Total: $74 541

NET WORTH: $335 459

Here is an estimate of what our net worth will be on the 25th October so you can see the potential change this month:

Assets:
House: $380 000
Personal Property: $30 000
Total: $410 000

Debts:
Mortgage: $70 800
Credit Card: $1400
Total: 72 200

NET WORTH: $337 800

Difference between September and October Net Worth: $2341

So our assets will have increased by $2341...

Tidy my son's room

2011-10-21T16:33:00.003+11:00

When my son left a couple of months back, he left his toy room in a mess...

I spent half an hour this afternoon and cleaned it up:

Doesn't that look better!

Family, Facebook and The Sims

2011-10-21T12:54:00.000+11:00

Thanks Colleen for the link from your blog at 365 less things. This is one of my favourite blogs and the only one whose posts go directly to my email. I read the rest in google reader. I am slowly working my way through her archives and gathering ideas for things I can work on through the house.

Yesterday I did my recipe drawer. I have put the old weight watcher recipe books to the bookstall I am running and if they don't sell there I will take them to the op shop.

I spoke to my son last night. He is overseas with his Dad and does his education over there (in another language - Arabic). We spoke for 5 minutes and then spent the next 40 minutes playing The Sims Social on facebook together. I really enjoy these times together now whereas before I used to have trouble thinking of things to say to him or questions to ask...And before I only spoke to him once a week but now he wants to come onto skype twice a week to play the game with me. So I get more contact with him this way...Last week, I couldn't sleep one night and turned the computer on at 2.30am and my son was online and we played The Sims for 2 hours until 4.30am!

Now I really want to buy The Sims 3 for me as well as for my son when he comes back in June next year. When I played The Sims years ago, I didn't really enjoy building the house or the interior decoration but I must have changed because I love it now. I am trying to upgrade my house to better furniture and things...

It's a work in progress. I have made my sim character a male because most of my neighbours are female and it is possible to have a relationship with your neighbours.

Anyway, I haven't been getting much cross stitch done lately due to playing The Sims, organising for the bookstall in a couple of weeks, a bit of decluttering and organising in the house and various other activities!

Cheers

Cheryl

Simple things that need doing

2011-10-20T11:50:00.000+11:00

I have just written out a list of things I want to do.

1. Throw out outdated computer keyboard (DONE!)
2. Declutter kitchen drawers (in both kitchens)
3. Go through recipe drawer and declutter
4. Put rest of craft magazines on gumtree
5. Go through my clothes and donate ones I don't like
6. Get rid of makeup we don't like/use
7. Go through my craft drawer
8. Tidy my son's room
9. Finish putting some sheet music into sheet protectors ...ditto some cross stitch charts I have printed

1. Throw out outdated computer keyboard - I found the old keyboard the other day as I was looking if I had a keyboard to replace the one I hate with the keys too close together - I ended up buying a new one for $15.87 from Officeworks including delivery. It's a fantastic keyboard and it was the cheapest I could find on the net that was decent.

2. Declutter kitchen drawers (in both kitchens) - I have recently done this but I feel like I could do it again. Stuff is just sitting there not being used. Also there is some paperwork that needs going through. Who knows what else is there?

3. Go through recipe drawer and declutter - This really needs doing. I know we have recipe books there we never use. These can go to the bookstall I am running next month.

4. Put rest of craft magazines on Gumtree - I'm trying to get rid of some craft magazines that I was given to sell on behalf of my craft group. They came from a lady who has become too ill to do craft anymore. I am finding these extremely hard to get rid of as no one seems to want them. I might end up donating them.

5. Go through my clothes and donate the ones I don't like - I am losing weight at the moment and I have some clothes the next size down that I will be able to get into hopefully soon. I know I won't wear some of it due to the fact I don't like them. They come from various places and a lot of it I haven't chosen myself. So I think it is time I went through them and donated the ones I don't want.

6. Get rid of makeup we don't like/use - I am thinking of lipsticks in particular here. There are some colours I will never wear that can go in the bin. Why I bought them I will never know...I have recently been through my bathroom cupboards and decluttered some bath products as well.

7. Go through my craft drawer - I have assorted cross stitch stuff that needs organising and decluttering...

8. Tidy my son's room - Before my son left to go overseas with his Dad for the next few months, he left his toy room in a mess. So guess who the muggins is who has to clean it up...

9. Finish putting some sheet music into sheet protectors ...ditto some cross stitch charts I have printed - I have taken up playing the flute again after not playing since primary school (I'm in my 30s now). And this involves reams of sheet music. I have some music that is loose and needs to be put into sheet protectors and then into a binder. I also have some freshly printed cross stitch charts that need putting away too.

So I have quite a bit to do. I should stop typing on this new keyboard and go do some of it!

Kiva

2011-10-19T21:18:00.001+11:00

I have always had a problem with donating to charity. I am suspicious of where the money ends up and I will not give if a charity has high admin cost and a highly paid CEO. I never give to a charity who phones me. I heard that the organisation doing the phoning takes 95% of the donation and the charity only gets 5%.

And then a few months ago I heard on a personal finance blog about Kiva. So last month I made my first loan and a couple of days ago I made my second loan. Each loan is for $25 and the first loan had already repaid me $10 by the time I loaned out my 2nd $25... I love the concept of Kiva...and I love the personal aspect and you can see where your money is going and if you get repaid you can lend it again!

So it is an ongoing commitment and personal involvement and I really love that. Kiva itself is funded by donations and they don't take a % of any money that is lent. This is my kind of program!

I can see myself making a $25 loan every month for a very long time...

Socks + Bathroom

2011-10-15T12:40:00.002+11:00

I have found the Clutterme series of videos on Youtube and I am watching a video and then actually doing something about it! The first one is about organising socks. I have recently bought 15 pairs of socks (I got them from Catch of the Day for $1 each) so I decided to throw out all my old ones as they are not as comfortable as the new ones. Plus they are quite old as well...

The second video was about organising the bathroom. So I went through all the cupboards and drawers. I found old sunscreen that expired in 2008 at the back of the cupboard under the sink! I also did as she suggested in the video and cleared the sink so there is nothing on it except for soap. It's much easier to clean now...I also keep the spare toilet rolls under the sink as well and now there is more space and it looks much less cluttered.

Now I might watch the next one and see what else I can do in the house!

Bookstall at Market Day

2011-10-14T19:16:00.003+11:00

I am running a bookstall at the once a month market day in town in just over a couple of weeks time. I have 3 boxes and about 5 bags full of books to sell. I also have another couple of boxes that someone donated today. I am raising money for charity so that is why I get donations.

It's a fair bit of work organising all the books and pricing them and sorting them. I do enjoy it though and I love running a stall and interacting with customers. I used to love my job as a supermarket deli assistant because of the interaction with people. When someone doesn't work, it's easy to become isolated and stay at home all the time. It takes an effort to go out and be part of society. The rewards are worth it and it enriches your life to have a social network. It's also helpful when you need a helping hand to have people you can call on and of course for this to work you have to be willing to be called upon to help others as well...

I am going out tonight to a group. We will have a chat and share coffee and cake. We meet once a fortnight and I really enjoy it...

I'm leaving in a few minutes so I better make sure I have everything ready!

Too much flute

2011-10-10T21:12:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I played the flute a lot! I got up and practiced the 29 songs I had to play yesterday 4 at church in the morning and 25 at the Hymn Fest in the afternoon. Then I went to church and played the 4 songs...well 5 actually! Then in between church and the hymn fest I practiced the 25 songs again doing about 4 of them twice. Then I played the 25 of them again and of course being hymns each one had an average of 4 verses. So for the day I think that adds up to about 167 songs in 1 day!

I have had a quiet peaceful day today with no flute playing whatsoever...LOL

The garden

2011-10-08T13:03:00.000+11:00

For the most part of my life I lived in a 2 bedroom flat. I have a soft spot for apartment living. I am not a gardener. The garden at this house is quite overwhelming at times and we just do the bare minimum. I don't know the names of plants at all (my mum tells me the names) and if it were up to me and if I had the energy and the right tools I would rip a lot of the plants out and put gravel down or something. There is a plant in the backyard...I think it is called wisteria and it is the creepiest plant. I really don't like it. We have ferns that are really hard to get rid of and we haven't succeeded yet.

There is a may bush that the neighbour wants to rip out which is on our land but I said to her she could get rid of it if she wanted. I have tried to help her by trimming it back...

The back lawn needs mowing...I wish I could pay someone to do this but I'm capable of doing it so I keep doing it...

We have also just spent $1350 on maintenance. Apartment living sounds better all the time!

I do like the space of a house but in the future I could see myself moving to an apartment.

Cat Map

2011-10-08T13:02:00.001+11:00

One of my facebook friends shared this photo and I really like it even though I'm not a cat person!

Ebay and exercise

2011-10-06T21:11:00.001+11:00

My constant battle with my weight is finally paying off. I am sticking to between 1000 to 1200 calories a day and I am losing approximately a kilo a week. So I'm happy with that. I am currently 133.7 kgs. My starting weight when I started was 148.8 kgs. I can't remember when I started...at least a couple of years ago now...

I have been taking advantage of the free listings on ebay. Aussie sellers are allowed 30 listings a month with no insertion fees. I have sold 5 books so far.

Ebay is good for me as everytime I sell something I have to walk up a steep hill to a postbox. It's good to get the heart rate pumping as well as make some money...the dog likes getting out for a walk too.A friend of mine who is a lady in her 80s asked me to get her a crocheted tablecloth. She gives me the money to buy it so thats no problem to do it. I found one from England on ebay. So I am waiting for that to arrive. I have bought quite a bit for her in the past as she doesn't have the internet or any computer skills and her daughters are too busy to do it...

Expenses

2011-10-06T00:23:00.001+11:00

I have been plodding along. We have had a fair few expenses lately. The wooden gate at the side of the house broke in the wind and we had a lot of trouble getting anyone to come out to quote. I finally rang the builder who built our extension and he recommended someone. The new colourbond gate cost $650.

We also had a leaking tap in the kitchen. We had to call a plumber because changing the washers wasn't working. We needed new taps. That cost $210 for 1.5 hours of labour and parts. It took a while to figure out what was wrong...

It was also time to clean the gutters. $150 thank you! The gutter guy found that a drainpipe was blocked and had worn out. Cha ching! $250 gone!

My dad was taking up heaps of time on my computer so we bought him a computer of his own...plus the equipment needed for a wireless network. About $850 all up. Plus a printer $86.

I have also taken up playing the flute again. My old flute was broken and not repairable. So I bought a $349 used secondhand flute from ebay. Its a beautiful flute...basically in brand new condition and has been very well looked after...lovely to play and has a great tone.

We also bought Mum a vintage natural ruby and diamond ring. $395.

The mortgage balance is $72 790. It should be under 70k by the end of this month.

Cheers

Cheryl

My new baby cockatiel, Pepper

2011-09-29T12:04:00.000+10:00

Decluttering

2011-07-29T05:34:00.003+10:00

We did some decluttering yesterday. We went through the buffet cupboards and threw out some plastic wineglasses and a few other bits and pieces. I asked Mum what this plain chipped plate was and why are we keeping it? Turns out it belonged to my great grandfather and he ate off it every day. Mum said he ate corned beef with white sauce and mashed potato a lot. He also was a miser and didn't like his wife even to boil the kettle for a cup of tea! When he got old he shuffled along which Mum remembers from her childhood...

So just an old plate brings a lot of memories! So I put it back into the cupboard. At least I know the story behind it now. There were also some china saucers that belonged to my great grandmother...

I also went through my kitchen cupboards and found some stuff we had forgotten about, like cake tins and a pie dish and also a baking dish. And I threw out a cheap saucepan and a rusty cake rake. Not that I do a whole lot of cake baking but its nice to know where things are.

I also found a rice cooker. I will have to test it out and see if it works properly and if it doesn't I will chuck it!

I also want to go through some bookshelves and sell what I can. I never look at the stuff on it so it can go I think...

I really don't like the way things look in here. Even though we have got rid of a lot of stuff in the last year, I still feel dissatisfied ... I wonder if I will ever be happy!

2011-07-27T11:20:00.001+10:00

We got two quotes for the gate that needs to be replaced at the side of the house. One is for a colourbond one for $650. The other is for an aluminium gate at a whopping $1390. I guess we are going for the colourbond one! We were shocked at the price of the aluminium one

Also, our solar panels have generated 242 kw of power so far this quarter after 2 months. That's worth 145.20. With the credits we already have our bill will have to be over $290 for us to have to pay anything...the whole house is run on electricity as well, we don't have gas connected.

Mortgage balance is currently: $74 324.98. I am hoping for it to be about $65 000 by the end of the year...