Well we had an extra pay for some reason this month and oct will be a busy month for us so I used it to do a majority of our shopping so I have bought all the staples and meat for the month..which means I have less to put away for food in october...which will be nice can put extra on my CC instead....so that will be nice.

Also disappointed that I have been waiting 5 weeks for a package and it says it has been delivered and it never was...hard to track as it came from china (I mean what doesn't) so that is just something else we have to deal with...

I have this saying that when you buy something on sale you don't actually save anything unless you put the "extra" monry into savings...so if something is $10 and you get it for $5...you don't save $5 unless you put it in the bank...you just get it for a cheaper price...my extended family hates it when I say that but it is the truth...what do you think??

I have started from scratch again with my budget and everything. I have noticed that when I get sick or stressed and things fall away and not planned then I just don't bother and it is hard when you have a chronic illness to always stay on track...So I have redone my budget starting october (our next pay cycle), have my meals planned and have my shopping lists ready to go (we got to 5 different stores/markets) I am hoping that helps me stay on track and get back on track and stay there. Does anyone else do this?, if you do does it help you stay on track?

I am thankful that our bills are paid every month and we don't add to our debt which is only our dreaded CC which should be paid by end of year....then we can start saving for a house, we have also started decluttering and have sold a couple things and still have plenty to get ready for sale...so that will be a few extra dollars...although some of it has been put towards a home generator that we decided to buy as with a hot summer they are talking about rolling blackouts and we will struggle with that

Let me know if you plan and any hints and tips that have worked for you...Thanks

Well firs off the dog is fine and they think it is just a cyst that he has had a couple of before so right now it is wait and see...so no extra money out there other than the $80 consult fee.

As prices are soaring here with everything the govt is upping their payments and each payment is getting different amounts...we are getting the following which will help out

Back paid $350 (jan2022 till june) for utilities (elec) for having fibromyalgia then $50 every quarter from then on.

We also get an extra 75per fortnight (2 weeks) from now on

so every little bit helps...we did use the CC as hubby bought a generator since we are suppose to have rolling blackouts this summer....but we do have the money to put it back on the CC just need to get down to the bank...he got it when they had a sale for that 1 day and he was out and he saved $170..it was an hour away and he had his cash in the safe...so that is covered..managed to put a little extra on there this month

fingers crossed things stay on track and keep adding up in the positive side of the budget and financials

Well yesterday I sat down and did our budget..it never really changes in that our bills always remain similar..we do however add 10% moe each year as they usually go up...especially now...and it can be hard as we do get US money and we all know how much the dollar changes...so I usually round down so I know we can cover everything. The CC will be paid off by end of year...should have some good savings next year....but in saying that our dog has the vet today as we found a growth on hid ear..so need to get checked out and see what it is...and I told my daughter that I will help with her fertility treatment...so although we will have savings not sure of amount right now...

Well the last couple months have been a bust in every way imaginable...the weather has been horrible, cold/wet/windy etc....health has been bad for all of us...I had 2 cold viruses and influenza B all at the same time..had to get some chunks cut out to check for cancer (told today it hadn't turned to cancer yet) now everyone has bad hayfever....and I don't even want to talk about the budget....SO...I am resetting everything...starting with the budget...so with the weather starting to fine up....the house all open with fresh air...I am going to sit down and do my budget as I WANT to be debt free by end of year and then have saving goals for a house deposit end of next year....wish me luck

So a little catch up has been a couple weeks or so...I think our tax saga is finally over...a little update on the last 3 phone calls...so I had to amend our taxes so I called them and asked how to do it over the phone and they told me where to put the amounts in...so we did that and sent them in...didn't hear anything for a couple months so I called to find out what was going on as we owed (I paid what we thought we owed them..this is for 2021) and this nice older lady was looking through my records and I was explaining to her what has happened over the last 2 years with it..the guy who processed it did it wrong and added the amended amount to the already taxed amount and said we owed approc $2800...she was reading through it and said it was all done wrong and that she would personally do it herself since she knew what was going on and was taking noted etc....I was then given a 3 month reprieve from interest as it was being amended..still hadn't heard anything and the 3 months was almost up (tomorrow) so called to get an update...told her we hadn't received anything....now granted the issues began because they never received my taxes in 2021..even though I called and asked several times if they had or if they wanted me to resend them and they said no..so this year I sent them both together and had them sign for them so I knew they got them...and if they didn't sign then I would have something saying that they wouldn't sign for them...but they did but they charged me for not sending them in last year...because they never got them....so the nice lady from the 2nd call managed to get all the fees dropped as she could see that I had called etc...so we ended up only owing $32 which was interest...so we are so thankful for that and glad that it is finally over...we were able to pay that online.

In other financial news...I was sick with 2 cold viruses and influenza b..so was under the weather...we never got the paperwork in for our car registaration and I forgot about it...so we were fined $556 for driving an unregistered car...purely my fault I just forgot about it....so that sucks...but then I also received a call here in Aust the govt if you have certain chronic illnesses will pay you a small amount each year (broken down to each 4 months) to help with heating/cooling costs....both my daughter and I had to reapply and both got rejected...and I asked why because my doc is the one that manages it and specialists are so expensive and so hard to get into that many people either couldn't or wouldn't be able to get in to a specialist again...and the specialist that diagnosed me died...so I would have to start again but the GP's are the ones who manage everyone not specialists...this was a couple months ago..she called yesterday and said that it wasn't in their policy and not something they thought about so they had a meeting and decided that yes GP's can now do the paperwork and we were going to get paid as they have changed the policy and thankyou for bringing it to their attention...they were also going to contact others in the same situation as us who had been rejected and let them know that they would be getting paid as well...so that was a nice little bonus...especially since elec prices have jumped another 20% this year..average elec bills are around $800-1000 a quarter.

I then was changing my moms dog registration since she lives with us and realised we hadn't got our dogs rego in (it actually our daughters dog) but he lives with us...so had to call and get that sorted as well. my nephew turns 18 in oct and we told him he has to pay rent to live here...he doesn't like that idea so he is thinking of moving out..so we will see....he really has no clue about money and paying bills etc...he thinks he knows everything and doesn't listen to any of us...so he can learn on his own..he makes decent money for his age...but we will see what happens when it comes time to pay...no matter where he goes he will have to pay something.

And last but not least I had a couple  biopsies apiece cut out of my neck and back of my shin to test for cancer...should find out in a couple weeks...also wants me to do the  actinic keratosis treatment on my face..it will take 3 months from start to finish and you look like something out of a horror show...I am thinking about it but don't want to do until the new year as I want family photos done as my hubbys cancer numbers are starting to climb a bit again (3rd time) and he had been diagnosed with diabetes (not insulin dependant) and don't want to walk around like that for christmas...so we will discuss and it just turned spring here don't want to be stuck in the house for another 3 months...so will discuss with the doc in a couple weeks when I get my stitches out.

Well that about catches us up for now...just need to go balance the budget with the fine and all but it may make me short for paying off my CC by end of year..we will see..fingers crossed I can make it work