After September.......

So it is now "after September" lets see how my plan worked.

The only time I slipped up this month was with buying things for Anya.  How can you say no to a beautiful girl with a SUPER HUGE TOOTHY SMILE!!  hehe and all I bought was a Wiggles Balloon that is STILL floating around our lounge, a Wiggles Eco Bag and on Saturday when it was SUPER hot we had an ice cream.  All Up I spent less than $20 in the whole month on Anya so I think I did pretty well.

Now if I'm honest I didn't actually save any money.  I guess this is from buying more groceries.  Because I'm eating at home all the time that is where the food goes, in my BELLY!!  hehe  But we have been eating healthier and all of the bills have been paid.  And there is a VERY happy $164.00 sitting in our bill account ready to pay the up coming power bill and anything else we may need.  This is where my bad habits start because if I run out of money, I dig into that account and I shouldn't because we need to have money in there to pay things such as the contents insurance and also if I need to see the doctor.

This month has opened my eyes to what "crap" I buy.  Like do I really need more DVD's and Books and PJ's like I don't need all of these things.  I need Anya and I to live a happy and healthy life and of course pay the bills on time.  =)

So what did I learn.......  I BUY CRAP THAT I DON'T NEED!!!
This is SO TRUE!!  I just NEED to buy food and that is it.  And maybe clothes for Anya, yes I need clothes too but they're not as important as Anya's.  Like I'm losing weight (sometimes) and so my clothes are to big etc......  but I can get by.  Anya on the other is GROWING and she needs new clothes for when she out grows her old ones and to be honest that is pretty quick.  And SHOES!!  Gosh those feet can grow!!  But I always buy bigger so she can grow into things and we never buy expensive.  If we shop at 'Cotton On Kids' we only get the on sale items that are less than $10, and otherwise we shop at 'The Warehouse' and 'K-Mart'.  When T-shirts are CUTE and are less than $7 you can't say NO to that.  And Anya doesn't care what shes wearing.  To be honest all she wants to wear are her "PURPLE PANTS" as she tells me every morning and I have to deliver the bad news that she wore them yesterday and that they are in the wash.

So clothes for Anya and food in our bellies is all that we need.  And a Fluffy for Anya when she makes me SO PROUD as a treat.  I am pretty thankful that I have already got her Birthday and Xmas presents cos otherwise I think I would be screwed this month.  ARGH!!  Toys are WAY to expensive.  I don't know how people can afford to have more than one child and to buy their kids anything and everything the want.  Not sure how I'm gonna cope in the coming years but I think we'll get through.  Especially cos My Parents have always got my back!!

So I'm a bit CRAP a......

I'm a bit crap at this blog thing a.......  I haven't posted in 2 weeks.  OPPS!!

Well so the challenge has been going great so far.  I can't say that I've saved any money but I haven't bought anything that I'm not supposed to. 

So Anya and I went to THE WIGGLES concert on the 18th and we had a blast.  But try telling an almost 23 month old that she can't have a WIGGLES balloon because Mummy doesn't wanna spend any money.  So I gave in and I think the $10 was well worth it considering it is still floating around our 1 week and 1 day later.  Also we bought a WIGGLES eco bag for $3.  Which isn't really a waste of money because they are reusable.  I couldn't get over how much money some parents were spending though.  Like $25 for a t-shirt and then $20 for a DVD or album.  The kids want and the parents buy.  This is totally where a parents money goes.  Not to mention the $80 we had already spent on our 2 tickets for the show.  But I was proud of myself for packing our lunch and we had a great time singing and dancing.  It was a SAD day though, because it will be the last time (apart from the hours of youtube and dvd's) we will see the ORIGINAL WIGGLES!

Other than our little spend at The WIGGLES I think we're doing really well.  I am up to date with all of our bills and there is $164.00 in the bill account and we have only bought groceries.  Of course I feel we are spending more at the supermarket because I don't eat out anymore.  But this way at least I can see and KNOW where its going.  Our fridge and pantry is FULL for a change and I'm feeling great.  I think we can keep this going though.  No more COFFEE for Mum in the mornings.  And I feel better as well, I think because I'm not having a fatty coffee every morning.  Its just budget instant for Mum at home now.  I've become a PRO at making omelet and my slow cooker is loving all of the use its getting.  Anya is having yummy healthy lunches as always with fruit and sandwiches or yummy hot left overs.  Not junk for my Baby Girl!!  hehe only plain biscuits and crackers with cheese.

I have to admit one of the hardest parts has been MAKING dinner every night.  So many times I have wanted to stop and just pick up Fish & Chips but NO!!  After watching a show about how bad it is I wanted to cry.  Mainly because I give that to my Baby thinking that its better than KFC or Mc D's, but really its just as bad.  But we are NOT going back that way.  Anya misses our Fish Lady and so do I but I can't keep giving that to Anya every week.  Its just not right.  We can make Fish & Chip a lot healthier at home and for a quarter of the price.  Thank GOD Anya LOVE fish.  I'm pretty lucky I've got a GOOD eater.  Put it in front of her and 10 minutes later its gone.  

Well that's it from ME for now.  Must be getting into some UNI work.  (main reason why I haven't been blogging)  Got 2 assignments to write and LOTS of things to read.  And the washer has just finished so laundry to hang out!!  FUN FUN xx

12 Days in......

We are NOW 12 days in........

I know I've been a bit slack with blogging but to be honest I've been trying to avoid the internet.  I have 4 assignments to write and really I still haven't written them.  ARGH university is HARD and studying from home is EVEN harder.  So many distractions and my bed is just so close.  

Well this blog is about money and I have a SMALL confession........  I accidentally bought a song for Anya the other day on iTunes!!  It was $1.79 and I had hit the BUY button before I even knew what I was doing.  This is HONESTLY the only thing that I have bought this month; but as soon as I did it I was gutted!!  Well it was less than $2 so I guess its OKAY......

So far though I think I'm getting through this month OKAY.  We have been eating at home and I haven't bought a coffee in 12 days!!  WOW!!  I really can't believe this.  I'm so PROUD of myself.  This REALLY is where all of my money goes.  Its the Soy, Caramel, Latte and then a Savory Scone.  This is like $9.80 a day.  Where do I think this money is coming from.  I have managed to truck through all of my course related cost for UNI and that was $1000.  And I don't have any money spare for bills at the moment.  I have money in that account to pay my LARGE power bill and thats it.  But if I need the doctors or anything urgent where is this money going to come from.......  I guess this really is the purpose of the whole exercise.  Yesterday I made my list of what I need my money to go to.

#1.  Takeaway Coffee Cup - so I don't have to spend money on coffee when I'm out.
#2.  Renew My License - expired last week so need a new one.
#3.  Get Anya & I Passports - mine expired and Anya doesn't have one.
#4.  New Jandals - my favourites broke a few weeks ago and my second favourites aren't looking so good either these days.

And then we have October.  That is Anya's 2nd Birthday.  Thank God I have her presents sorted but what is her party going to cost me.  Thought we might just have a BYO FOOD picnic at the park.  That way all the kiddies can have fun running around and the parents can have a sit and enjoy the adult conversation.  But there is still all the food I have to pay for but hopefully I can make that less than $50.  Baking is a great way to save as well so I'll be baking cupcakes and biscuits.  Should I bake a cake or just cupcakes.......  hmm

Right time for some lunch and some study!!  Fingers X'd!!

6 Days IN......

So we're 6 days in and I can't see the end of the tunnel yet.  Its amazing how much of our money I WASTE on coffee when I'm out and about.  Today I had some library books to return so after dropping Anya off at daycare I got my bum on the bus and headed to town.  Normally I'd end up wasting hours in town wandering around but today I went to the library and then went home.  AND because i was less than an hour I got to rife home on the bus for FREE!!  

Later on in the day after I had just a LITTLE nap while reading my UNI work I got off my bum and went to get Anya.  Did I tell you that Anya's daycare in opposite KFC and WENDYS!!  Like that is the worst daycare placement EVER.  And they smell SO GOOD.  Even though I know that if I ate them I'd feel yuck and I wouldn't even be full but that smell gets you every time.

This saving money is making my cooking better though.  We made smoked fish pie for dinner and it was YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!  Well I thought so, Anya didn't really eat much but she kept saying fish pie so I think she did like it.  And I've been making chocolate pudding.  I may have eaten the whole thing in less than 24 hours but it was good.  One of the best ways I have found to save money is on POPCORN.  I LOVE microwave popcorn but I just can't afford it anymore.  That stuff is like $4 or $5 for a box of 3 bags.  But if you buy a bag of popping corn for like $2.50 and you can get heaps and heaps of popcorn and on that note I might go make some now!!  YUM!!

Avoiding COFFEE

This is a TOUGHIE for me.......

It is POURING with rain here in Tauranga and I had to make the big walk to drop Anya at daycare.  Thank GOD I didn't take my purse with me because I totally would have stopped for a coffee just to avoid walking home in the rain.........

But I got my walk on and now I'm at home.  Nice and dry.  Not looking forward to the walk to daycare later though.

I'm also thinking of what to make for dinner.  We have A LOT of mince now after buying 2KG's worth yesterday so I thought I could do a nice slow cooker mince and then serve it with some pasta.  Just chuck in lots of random things and let it cook away while I actually maybe do some UNI work.......

I think I can actually get some work done now that I have almost finished the Living Oprah book.  Man that book gave me some great ideas on how to save and to get the most out of my life.  I can't believe that this woman actually lived her life for a whole year according to Oprah.  I think Robyn really was my inspiration to start my spend free September project.

Well thats enough BLOGGING for now, I had better get some housework done and start this dinner I talked about and then MAYBE some UNI work.......

Day 2 and its ALREADY hard!!

So Anya and I went for a walk to the supermarket today and the supermarket was the easy part I think.  Like the shopping centre where we get out groceries has loads of eateries and other shops but today I swear all that food smelt AMAZING!!

Burger King is the DEVIL I think, it smells so good but costs you a small fortune and you come home still feeling hungry.  Its just like all fast food restaurants but today I really felt the pull and the pinch.  But I stuck to my GUNS and we went to Countdown and bought our cheap mince, walked through The Warehouse and then came home.  I was VERY proud.

So we are 2 days in and 28 to go.  I have my Mums birthday in this month too and we've just had Fathers Day.  Time to get creative with presents I think.  My big test will be my trips to drop Anya at daycare.  I nearly always stop for a coffee at the local cafe so my main plan for this is NEVER to take my purse with me when I take Anya to daycare.  FINGERS CROSSED for this one people.........

So I thought I'd make some money today.  And to be honest yes I did.  Not the barrels of it that I wanted to but I am now $50 richer and my house is less cluttered.  It did make me think though about how much we throw out and how much we give away.  I'm more than happy to donate clothes to the Sallies and other donation shops but with things such as my books and dvd's I wanna make a profit.  I had a HUGE bag of books and a bad full of dvd's that I wanted to be rid of so I got my walking shoes and bus legs on and left the house.  I ended up heading to Fraser Cove to lose my books.  I thought, bookworm is a great place they sell loads of books and have a great selection.  Lets just say I WONT be shopping or selling there anymore.  The women TOTALLY ripped me off and I'm still pretty angry.  For a HUGE bag full of great condition nearly new books she gave me $10.  What a F**KING CROCK!!  Especially because I know she's gonna mark up the prices and make a killing.  But my fault for being to lazy to LUG these books to another store.  So I took the cash after trying to haggle her for at least $1 a book.  But NO it was NOT to be so.......  Well I left vowing never to shop or sell there again.  Also its probably a good thing because they are part of United Video and I'm BARRED from ever having an account there ever again.  (THANK YOU dumb BOY flat mates who lose dvd's and or lie and say they returned them when they hadn't!!)

So it was onto the bus for me and into town.  Where I made $40 at Cash Converters for some dvd's, a ps2 game and some skull candy headphones that I got for FREE and never used anyway.  So that was more of a winner.  And then was on to the library where I will now be getting all of my books from.  Of course I had a $7 fine to pay so the profits for today were really $43.  But still a WIN!!  and I also came home and ate noodles for lunch instead of getting a pie!!

I paid for my LAST coffee today and tonight Anya and I shall be dining on our LAST feed of Fish & Chips before our Spend Free September begins.  OH its gonna be a LONG 30 days I can feel it.......

Lists.......

I am a HUGE list person.  I LOVE them!!  I write a list for everything and I'm one of those people that will write things that I've already done just so I can cross things off.

When Anya was a newborn I would have lists to just get through the day.

1. Shower
2. Get Dressed
3. Was Nappies
4. Hang Out Nappies
5. Make Sure I EAT.......

Of course there was also a Baby in there too but it was an achievement to get dressed somedays.  If your a Mum then you'll understand.

But today it was lists for Spend Free September!!  What we need to do and what we need to pay for and writing out menus for the month.  Its actually really hard to think of meals for a whole months.  Like what do you eat??  There will be a lot of rice and pasta because those are Anya's favourite meals.  A bit of fish and maybe some spaghetti on toast?  And then there's lunches.  Not so much during the week for Anya but more on the weekend.  And the big adjustment that I have to get used to is making lunch for me when I make lunch for Anya. This way if I need to pop to the library or somewhere out of the house I have lunch and I wont be tempted to buy a coffee or a sandwich.

I think this month there will be a lot of fruit and vegetables, slow cooker meals and sandwiches.  The main goal is to save so I don't want us to blow our budget at the super market.  So I guess I'll be recipe hunting on PINTEREST and all around the net.  Made chocolate chip cookies today for Anya and they went down a treat.  

But for anyone that is actually reading my blog if you have any meal ideas for the month please post and let me know.

I'm sitting in the bathroom on the floor while Anya is in the shower.  And really all I can think about it how much money is running down the drain now that she insists on having showers instead of a bath...........

When did life become so much about money??  Can't we just enjoy the small stuff!!

It all begins.......

So I had this GREAT IDEA.  My daughter and I wouldn't spend any money for all of September.  We will only pay the bills and pay for groceries.......

This may seem like an easy thing to do for your average person but for ME this is GONNA BE TOUGH!!  I'm an impulse buyer and I LOVE my SOY, CARAMEL LATTES.......

But we can't afford it.  To be honest, we live in the red every week and I want us to get on top of my spending so I can give my daughter the best life she can have.  Heres some back ground on who we are.  I'm Esta* and my daughter is Anya.  I'm 28 and she is almost 2.  So if your a parent you know how easy it is to buy cute outfits, toys and dvd's for your kiddies.  I NEED to stop though.

I'm a solo mum and full time student.  We live on the benefit and it really is tough.  But we'll only be on it for as long as it takes to get my degree.  Every week I send Anya to daycare and it breaks my heart, but I know its for the best so I can study so we can have a better future.  The best way for us to get to that future is to not spend any money.

So the rules are pretty simple for September, pay the bills and buy food that's it.

On my blog I'll post my day to day struggles and also how our saving it going.  From Our rough budget for the month we should save about $150.00.  May not seem like a lot but when you see what we pay and what we live on I think its GOOD.

SO our total weekly income is $478.00.  Now out of that we take.......

Rent: $220.00

Power:  $40.00

Internet:  $20.00

Mobile Phone: $5.00

Insurance:  $15.00

Daycare:  $33.60

So after all of this we have $144.40 a week to buy groceries.  We usually spend about $80.00 so we could be saving $64.40 =)

So I'll post everyday during September to let you know how its going!!

haha as if I'll have any followers but who knows