I was at the store the other day when I overheard a couple of women talking and one said "I just finished paying off the CC from last christmas and now maxing it out again for this christmas"..her friend said "we are doing the same...it's a yearly ritual for us" 

I have never put christmas on credit I either have a seperate account to put the money in (we put it away monthly) and there is alao an option here for a 5 month layby (layaway) for christmas (all toy related including game consoles etc) from one of the major retailers here...you just pay it off over that time and pick it up right before christmas...so I don't understand the concept of paying off gifts over an entire year...plus the interest you pay on the CC...do others do this for christmas?? or do u just pay for christmas as you pick up things??

Is there a way to work out how much tax we would probably owe (US) it is only federal taxes...just not sure where to find it...any help would appreciate it

Well I am hoping next year that we have an easier time with our taxes and social security then we did last year...we will owe again...we did ask that extra money be taken out of our pay but it doesn't look like they did it....and we never got a letter from social security saying what we will get paid this year and we never get one at end of year...so that is going to be hard to figure out how to get this done...but we will figure it out and get them done at the beginning of the year next year!! Wish me luck

Well it is only 26 days away...my goodness this year has just flown by!!

Christmas is done, I only have some fresh foods to get closer to the day but that is all...its summer here so we have a lot of salads and fruit etc on xmas day..so makes it easier...but all gifts are done.

We no longer have our storage unit we have emptied it and handed it back...so saving $330 starting next month, that is going straight to savings...will still treat it as a bill. we got all our rubbish collected...honestly planned on 2 mini skips...at $500 each....but everything fitted into one so that was $500 we didn't need to spend....we still have 2 paydays left this month and I do still need to pay a couple bills but that will be done by end of year...which means I should have a bit extra to put on the CC which means a little less we need to pay next year!

Budget for 2024 is done and I am feeling positive about 2024!!

Just found out a friend that I went to school with died a few days ago...that is the 2nd school friend we have lost this year...what is happening these girls were only early 50s....makes life real knowing that it can happen to anyone..anytime...I just can't think straight about it....we are all far to young to be losing friends like this already....thought we would have like another 20 plus years before things like this happened....she is australian but lived in the US so they wwill bring her ashes back when they can to spread them.

On other news I have been working on my budget we should get rid of our storage unit by mid dec and the what we pay on that will go straight into savings...going to treat it just like a bill that we were paying...have decided that I will also pay our CC down and it should be paid off in april (earlier if we have extra)...its not what I wanted but it is what it is...and I will just continue to pay it down and save and see what the future holds....but it is looking brighter

So I have started doing quite a bit around here, I have gone through 2 sheds and tidied them up and now have a big rubbish pile and stuff to sell....we have done 4 car loads from storage shed to our home....so we are trying to do 1-2 a day until we get to the bigger stuff like shelving and wood then we will just get a truck for the day...will be more expensive but can't move them in our car...will hopefully be done by end of year with everything....this weekend I will take photos of some of the stuff we want to sell and advertise it and hopefully sell some of it....hubby has been cleaning the driveway....he should finish it today...just cleaning it but don't think it has been cleaned since it was poured in the 60s and we just need cleaner spaces. I am hoping the yard/storage/house/shed will all be done by end of year so we can start 2024 off in a clean positive way.

They asked hubby if he would like to go into a trial...it was for 11 days and would have paid $6500 but since his cancer is back he couldn't do it...so as much as it would have helped...you don't miss what you never had...maybe next time..I'm sure god has other plans for us!

I don't think with what we have to pay out to get rid of rubbish etc that we will get the CC paid off by end of year...but going to pay as much as we can so hopefully early next year!

So my hubby and daughter have a lot of "hobbies", they are both very creative people and always have been they redo furniture, sewing, leatherwork, gardening, jewellery (making/selling), camping and metal detecting...thats between the 2 of them...a couple they do together so we have a lot of stuff and since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago we have had a storage shed with all our "excess" stuff....I told them by end of year I want the storage shed gone as it costs money we don't need to spend...so today we went and did a couple car loads and will do it all by end of year (hopefully)...it is starting to warm up so while its not to bad I want to get it done and they can go through it rebox it, sell some of it etc....hubby can no longer camp or do his detecting so that can go...it will be nice to have an extra $330pm...if we never had that storage shed we would have had approx $4000 in our pocket....so fingers crossed we can get it done by end of year and start putting that money into savings....normally I would put it on the CC but we need to start saving again!!

So my hubby and daughter have a lot of "hobbies", they are both very creative people and always have been they redo furniture, sewing, leatherwork, gardening, jewellery (making/selling), camping and metal detecting...thats between the 2 of them...a couple they do together so we have a lot of stuff and since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago we have had a storage shed with all our "excess" stuff....I told them by end of year I want the storage shed gone as it costs money we don't need to spend...so today we went and did a couple car loads and will do it all by end of year (hopefully)...it is starting to warm up so while its not to bad I want to get it done and they can go through it rebox it, sell some of it etc....hubby can no longer camp or do his detecting so that can go...it will be nice to have an extra $330pm...if we never had that storage shed we would have had approx $4000 in our pocket....so fingers crossed we can get it done by end of year and start putting that money into savings....normally I would put it on the CC but we need to start saving again!!

So my hubby and daughter have a lot of "hobbies", they are both very creative people and always have been they redo furniture, sewing, leatherwork, gardening, jewellery (making/selling), camping and metal detecting...thats between the 2 of them...a couple they do together so we have a lot of stuff and since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago we have had a storage shed with all our "excess" stuff....I told them by end of year I want the storage shed gone as it costs money we don't need to spend...so today we went and did a couple car loads and will do it all by end of year (hopefully)...it is starting to warm up so while its not to bad I want to get it done and they can go through it rebox it, sell some of it etc....hubby can no longer camp or do his detecting so that can go...it will be nice to have an extra $330pm...if we never had that storage shed we would have had approx $4000 in our pocket....so fingers crossed we can get it done by end of year and start putting that money into savings....normally I would put it on the CC but we need to start saving again!!

Don't you just hate it when you pay money on to a debt and it takes a couple days to process it...like I want to see the progress now....and does anyone else who has a CC charge you to make payments?? Ours does we have to pay .95c everytime we make a payment....but we are getting rid of this CC slowly but surely!!

Made a $700 payment on the CC yesterday....have 2 more pays so hoping to put another big chunk on it this month...and hopefully stay on track to have paid off dec/jan

So November is going to be a very heavy spend month as we have so many things to pay...but I have managed to pay all the bills for the month except the dreaded CC I am hoping to pay between $1000-2000 this month (all going well), we have a tyre that we will get fixed monday and then I will put some on the CC on monday and then we have 2 more pays this month so will hopefully reach our goal and hopefully will be aid off or almost paid off by end of year...

Seriously....how do people do it....especially when you are on disability...so our microwave and toaster broke and we need to replace them, our elec bill came in and they have skyrocketed here ours went up 19% (last I looked) for each quarter (most companies went 30-40% increase), so that was super high, now we need a new rim for our car (2009) plus a complete new tyre...not sure how but we have a 16" as a spare when the rest are 18"....don't know if the car came that way or not (bought 2nd hand a few years ago) and we have never used it...will go back and get it changed tomorrow as they had to order it in (tyre) but as for the rim the cheapest we have found is $770 for a used one...I'm not paying that....and why so expensive...because of our liberal govt that was in power we no longer manufacture cars in our country which means no spare parts etc are made anymore...and our car is well maintained and we are not going to buy a new one...I'm just hoping nothing else goes or we just won't be able to cope with it financially...nothing will be going to savings in the next month due to all this which sucks.

Told my hubby I'm not going to budget anymore as soon as I did our budget for the rest of this year and next year..everything started happening....so frustrating!!! (yes I will continue to budget but I literally just done it and all this happened)...murphy is having a good laugh at us right now

So I did my budget and thought that finally we could start saving in november...but yesterday our toaster and microwave both broke down...so we were pricing them and our youngest daughter decided to pay for the ones we wanted and have them delivered....we will pay her back but she said no hurry...I love that we have great kids that do this and we should have her paid back by next week...so no real inconvienience to her...but more out of our pocket again...and our electricity went up 19% this quarter and it was quite high compared to normal...we knew it would be but damn much higher than we normally pay...so will have to adjust our budget again...especially since we are suppose to have a hot summer...so we are hoping nothing else messes up in the next few weeks and we can stay on track as much as possible...especially with becoming debt free!!

On another note not sure if anyone remembers all the saga with our US taxes...we finally got them paid only because I called them to see if they were finalised and they told me what we needed to pay...and we paid it...finally had an amazing lady who knew what she was doing....but we have never received any paperwork from them that we were suppose to...so glad that we called but don't have any paperwork from them at all...so that is frustrating

I have ordered almost all the christmas gifts we will need this year....have one to go for my hubby but want his opinion so that will be done today then I just have money, which I will do over the next couple months and the animals...everything else is done...so feeling good about it.

My mom has moved back to my nieces house now....it was just easier with the animals...my niece doesn't have any and they can just run around out there in the yard....so everything is so much better here without the extra pets around...we love them but they don't like other animals...so made it hard in the yard....all the animals are so much happier as are we...except that I buy our meat etc monthly so we have extra food each meal that we just don't eat...so it is becoming hard to figure out what to do with it..as we hate wasting it as it is expensive...we are all feeling less stressed as everyone has their own space again.

I did use the CC to order a couple things online as it is easier to control and has no access to our other accounts....but will put the money back on it from our christmas account....now I am just going to relook at my budget to make sure we are on track to pay off our CC by end of year...fingers crossed...it is the only debt we have right now

Well it was payday today and we paid $1000 off of our CC...so we are 1/5 of paying it off...will hopefully pay another 500-1000 off on the next payday...fingers crossed!!

Well we only have 78 days till christmas🤫

This year has gone by so fast...I have about 2/3 of my christmas shopping done (just need to wrap it) and today I wil finish up my list of what we need to get or want to get and continue looking at sales to finish it off...as the kids are older they pretty much buy what they want...so they get 1 thing under the tree and money to buy what they want on after christmas sales...this year I found a great money one for them so will be fun watching them open it...but one thing we have always done is either pay cash for it (especially these days) or do the 5 month layaway that they have...use to do one for charity as well but just send them money now...much easier for them to get what they need in whatever age group (foster kids) that they need....so how is everyone else doing in regards to christmas?

We on thursday it is payday...so excited...we don't have any bills to pay as they are all paid so going to beable to put $1000 on the CC...that is what I was hoping to do and that is what I can do...so going to...that will leave us about $200 in our personal account (we have multiple accounts) but this is our everyday account...and if we don't use it by end of month then will transfer it to the CC...so glad to finally be back on track...have a long way to go when it comes to our ice and savings but once CC is paid off by end of year then 2024 I can really focus on those and start adding more to them.

Love the beginning of the month we manage to pay all our bills and then don't have to worry about them...except our rent but we just put it into an account it it gets taken straight out, so don't have to worry about it...have managed to put $1000 into our ice acct and $500 into savings (yes I am doing them both at the same time) and although I haven't made payments to the CC yet this month, we still have 2 paydays so I am hoping to put between $1000-$1500 on it this month...fingers crossed.

We only have to go to costco to get a few things, its 45 mins away so only go every few months and going to get halloween candy this month...so will do that thursday...and we have to go back to the market in the city as they only had 1 bag of prawns left...and I like theirs as they are fresh....so will do that in a couple weeks...everything else has been bought for the menu and shelves....so will only need things like bread/milk/fruit/fresh vegies

so feeling good this month that things are back on track...and hopefully stays that way

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

Have only 1 debt which is the dreaded CC...my plan is to pay it off by the end of year so we can start 2024 debt free..I have currently paid off $500 this month with 1 more payday to go..so on track right now..fingers crossed it stays that way

Well we renewed our lease for another year it is just to much hassle to move right now especially since we still have my mom and nephew living with us till they find a rental (has been 11 months) and it also gives us some time to save towards a house deposit and the rent only went up by $20pw. We also want to go through and declutter when they move out as my hubby can't do a lot of things that he use to since his cancer treatment so will sell a bunch of it...and my daughter is going to declutter as well as she has so much stuff and she is thinking of closing down her jewellry business as she has other interests now that take up more of her time.

We have switched banks now and that should make banking a little more secure than our last bank..they don't like to pay up if people are scammed etc and I don't trust that...so now with a bigger bank...and have our savings in another bank...will hopefully be debt free by end of year and then saving for a house deposit

also started using an investment app...see how that goes...wanting to learn how to invest now...so starting off small

I hate winter it has been so cold, wet, windy and dreary almost everyday for 3 months..we occassionally see the sun peek through the clouds...but not often...so everyone has been feeling a bit down that we can't get out more into nature, beach etc....but we have had some unexpected things happen...first 2 things happened to our car that we have never had happen before...the seatbelt latch broke in the car so you couldn't do the seatbelt up...so one was ordered..we got it fixed...it still had a light on which means if we were in an accident then the airbags would'nt go off..which means it was faulty so had to order another one and get that one replaced...finally that was all done...then our ignition switch stopped working...so had someone come out and look at it...was an easy fix..the keys were getting old (car is 15 plus yrs old) so it wasn't connecting with the ignition swith and we just got a new key..it cost $220 but cheaper than an all new ignition switch...so that was some unexpected expenses we werent expecting

Now for some shocking...disgusting news...that is not money related but I am sick to my stomach about!!

10 days ago my niece aged 24, who we have nothing to do with as she takes drugs, she is violent and breaks the law etc...was arrested for child neglect and child endangerment!!!...she has a 5 year old and an 18 month old who she barely raises...her mother has them way more than she does...apparently her and her mom got into an arguement and werent talking....so the police showed up at her mothers house and said they needed her to go with them as they were taking her children off of her...the house was a mess but shockingly the 18 month old had an over flowing diaper that had live maggots in it...I am sick to my stomach..knowing those kids went through that...I am beyond disgusted that I am related to her and I was hoping they would keep her in jail...but today she got bail and home detention...she is not to be within 50 metres of children...and has to wear a monitor...I know she will break her bail conditions...she is that sort of person like the rules don't apply to her...she has 7 convictions of physical violence against her, she has breaking and entering...not sure if she has been charged with that...but I am just appalled to be related to her...sorry for the rant but I just can't seem to get past this...on the upside I have been changing all my banking to a new bank and getting it set up...and hoping to pay off our CC by end of year so we will debt free and I have started using an investment app and starting off small and just adding to it until I learn how to invest better!!

So I called the tax office back after a couple weeks like they asked me..waited till after the 4th...tried to explain again to a new person what has been going on and to see if we owed anymore...as we had to amend our taxes...she was looking through it and said that the person who did them messed them up and added the tax in instead of readjusting it...they didn't read the notes so she did it while I was on the phone and she is seeing what she can do about the late fees/interest etc, so she said the first 2 letters we get don't do anything as it will say we owe around $2800 (we don't) and then we will get in 3 more letters and that will say what we owe...so fingers crossed after that we will be done...

Other than that and a few extra bills we have to pay we are finally getting back on track and starting to get some $ in the bank again...will update later in the month