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budget planning tools

March 13th, 2024 at 04:05 am

Does anyone use any budgeting apps/tools as I am looking at using one but have no idea what I should be looking for...am sick of the way I am doing it and want it set out better...if anyone has nay good ones they have tried let me know...or if you have had some that havent been good let me know as well

 

Thanks

taxes done I think and hospital

February 28th, 2024 at 10:51 am

Well my taxes were delivered (had them sign for them) and then noticed that the check we sent had been cashed so I am guessing they have been done hopefully we will get some paperwork in to say so...we still haven't got any from last year....so fingers crossed all is good and done for the year.

Had to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy done tuesday...the staff were amazing I tend to get sensory overload when it comes to noise and lights and they saw that i was starting to struggle so they took me to another room where is was darker and quieter (hubby stayed with me), they kept checking in on me....the thing I love about our health system is that the prep medicine, the procedures and the food etc were all free...the only thing that cost us was for the chocolates we bought the staff for all their amazing work...so professional but also very caring and compassionate...also made sure I wrote to the head of the hospital to tell them what an amazing job they did as I think it is important to put in complaints when needed but also good reports for staff so they are recognised...I think people should do that more often.....well at least we do that 😊

It's pay week this week so will hopefully get everything paide we have a lot of expenses this month as well as helping our daughter save for her ivf...but I have my plan and we should be debt free july/aug

taxes sent in...wish me luck!!

February 6th, 2024 at 06:07 am

So we have done our taxes and we owed yet again....but after last years saga we have learnt to send over where they have to sign for it and it also has tracking (in case it goes missing again)...it cost us $27 but worth it considering the headache then we will know when they have it, we sent the cheque with the taxes so hopefully once processed it will be done and dusted for the year...have also upped what they take out for taxes and they have started that this month so hopefully we won't owe next year...fingers crossed!!

does trauma lead to financial hardship??

January 31st, 2024 at 08:24 am

Okay so sorry but this will be long just to give you a brief rundown of our history so you might understand what I am saying and thinking.

So I had 2 really bad pregnancies and deliveries for both I had really really really bad morning sickness to the point if I moved I threw up I was in hospital every other week to be rehydrated...this was for both pregnancies...had to have epidurals (2 for the 1st one) both labors were 14hrs and 5 mins...the 1st one I had a 3rd degree tear and the 2nd I died on the table and had to be brought back...I weighed 92lbs after my 1st one and 82lbs after my 2nd one....couldn't breastfeed as I had to weight back on....never felt like I ever recovered from having them...and was always tired. The girls would sleep 10-12hrs at a time from when they were born but were also on monitors as they were sids babies and could stop breathing up to 25 times a night all the way through till just over a year old....my youngest had a blood disorder that started when she was 5 months old but grew out od it by the time she was 11-12 years old...other than that we had 2 very well behaved, intelligent, healthy children.

I never felt like I recovered and was always exhausted and doc just said it was because I had to young kids...but it was more than that I could sleep 10 hours and wake up exhausted...they did tests and nothing showed up so I just learnt to live with it...eventually I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue...but not much was known about it (talking mid 90s) so we just struggled with it....then my hubby got real sick and they told us he had 6-12 months to live...so he couldnt work and I had to go to work....he eventually got better and they said his diagnosis was wrong....I then decided that I would go to university...and my hubby would go back to work...our kids are now 12 & 14...my daughter then got epstein barr virus and got real sick....to the point where you couldn't wake her up...you could touch her eyelids and there would be no response...so hubby gave up work to look after her as she needed 24/7 care...it took her months before she could eat and stay awake for more than an hour...she couldnt go to school which she hated because she loved school and was a straight A student and always wanted to be a teacher...she got depressed as she was just exhausted and couldn't go anywhere or do anything....she was finally diagnosed with chronic fatigue....by this time I had also had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia...so we decided to move to the other side of town to be closer to family so we had more help if we needed it...(family was no help, but that is another story)...then in 2007 hubby had a stroke...so I had to take care of him and our daughter, plus deal with my illnesses...it was a lot...I finished my studies...hubby was doing better so I went back to work....that work place was toxic and the stress of working there after it sold to new owners put my health so far down due to my illnesses and I never really recovered. 8 years ago I woke up dizzy and it never went away....I couldn't even walk by myself...I have done different therapies and I am doing better but I can't be left alone as I do fall, my body goes into meltdowns, I can't travel far and only in the back seat of a car...I have bad anxiety...I have adverse reactions to meds and with all the specialists and hospital visits they are saying its stress as nothing else shows up...so far my daughter still isn't recovered fully, my hubby has had 2 bouts of cancer, 17 tias and 7 hemaphylgic migraines...so my thoughts are..........

If the doctors back then would have listened to me I think the trauma would have been dealt with and I would have had a much better life...working and providing for my family better, being able to buy a house again much sooner, having savings and retirement funds etc....I am hoping that I can undo the trauma my body has been through and be much better in the future and provide for my family...I am so glad that now we have the internet so I can research as I think I have done more for my family than any doctor/specialist has done for us.....

Sorry so long but wanted to give a quick rundown of the main things, so has anyone on here been through medical trauma and finds it spills into the financial side of your life? let me know what you have done...or if you have any ideas or thoughts on this

well get use to the pain

January 26th, 2024 at 12:58 am

Well my shoulder and knee pain has finally gotten to the point where it is affecting my life to much so I asked the doc for xrays or scans...she did both for shoulder and xrays for my knee...I do have oesteoarthritis in both knees and have tendonitis with floating calcium in the shoulder...it has been hard to do things but hubby and daughter have been helping a lot and my physio has been helping with massage...but god I am so bored not being able to do much and also my eyes have been bad and getting worse...I am thinking it may be my liver (who knows) so I also have to go see eye medics to get them assessed as when I wear my glasses my eyes really hurt...but they do get really dry...and I do tend to put eye drops in around 4 plus times a day...other than that things are just rolling along

My god we pay a lot of rent

January 6th, 2024 at 07:09 am

While doing our budget this year I figured we pay over $29,000 a year in rent....that really sucks...but guess we are stuck doing it for now

Debt update

January 5th, 2024 at 07:56 am

Well I have decided to regularly put our debt updates on here to keep my self accountable..so the first 2 bills we are working on is our daughters hecs debt and the CC...obviously we need to pay the CC every month (don't have enough to pay off right now) and my daughters hecs I decided to pay that for her while she saves for her ivf....it's a choice I made so no remaqrks on that please.

hecs debt start $2040.88...owe $1500

CC debt start $5250....owe $4785.11....I did pay $500 but they did take the monthly interest out.

It's a small start but we are on the road to being debt free....and we have 1 more payday this month which we will add more money to these bills and reduce the numbers again.

Wish us luck!!

January Budget

January 3rd, 2024 at 02:42 am

Well I have completed paying all but 3 of my bills for the month, tomorrow is payday so I will pay 2 of them and them the last one at the end of month on our next payday. 

I know many pay their bills differently and although the hecs debt get indexed in june of each year where the CC charges monthly (when you owe) I have chosen to pay off the smallest first as it will only take a couple months then the CC which should be done by april...so not a lot of difference. 

Also I like to pay things like insurance annually but last year that all got messed up so the first months of the year I am putting away extra so it can go back to annual payments...so that makes it a little tighter as well but afer that (around 6 months) payments go down to a more reasonable amount and we are back on track now.

Our freezers are pretty full so not really buying any meat this month so can hopefully save a couple dollars ready for next months menu. 

I have stayed away from stores as I don't need or want anything...I actually hate shopping so that makes it easy...and I can do click and collect for our groceries...so the only stores we go to is the butcher and the central market (like an indoor farmers market) as their food is much better quality and locally sourced. 

So far so good this year financially and yes I know its only a few days in but almost all the bills are paid for the month and we are staying on track so to me that is a big win!!

bad news and getting ready for 2024

December 31st, 2023 at 01:58 am

Well the bad news first...my friend who has health issues and lives with her sister and BIL was found at the end of her bed unconscious...she was taken to the ER and is in icu but they haven't figured out what has happened to her yet..she is moving around but not conscious or following commands...so hopefully fingers crossed she will pull through not the way anyone wants to end the year. This has brought my anxiety on big time so not having a great day.

The 2024 budget is up and running and since we got paid early then I have been able to start it, the budget will be tight this year as we want to get everything paid off this year so probably no savings but to be completely debt free will be fine. We have done our menu plan for the month and already done the january monthly shop as we were paid early so we will only need to get things likefruit/veg/milk/bread each week or as needed. 

I am unlike you all where I can write what we have paid off and saved as we just aren't there yet to where we do that but will get there. But I am feeling very positive for 2024 and I want to wish you all a happy and prosperous new years...and yes it news year here tonight 😀

Many everyone dreams and goals come true

Murphys thrown one last thing to us before christmas

December 18th, 2023 at 06:29 am

Well don't know how many have seen australias weather but half is burning and in heatwaves and the other is flooding...yes our weather is going crazy this year....well we are the ones with flooding....not major but enough to where our back room got flooded and we had to pull everything out and all our daughters furniture has to be chucked out...we do have a plumber coming out tomorrow to have a look and we have put in an insurance claim so its just a waiting game now...not what we need this close to christmas but that is life...lets hope it is an easy fix and can be done beofre next year.

Christmas on credit??

December 13th, 2023 at 11:06 pm

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??

December 12th, 2023 at 02:01 am

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

taxes and social security

December 11th, 2023 at 01:00 am

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

ready for 2024

December 6th, 2023 at 01:16 am

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!!

sad news

November 28th, 2023 at 05:53 am

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

been busy

November 16th, 2023 at 01:27 am

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!

decluttering and saving money

November 13th, 2023 at 04:21 am

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!!

decluttering and saving money

November 13th, 2023 at 04:21 am

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!!

decluttering and saving money

November 13th, 2023 at 04:21 am

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!!

dont you hate it when...?

November 9th, 2023 at 05:40 am

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!!

paid $700

November 7th, 2023 at 05:14 am

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

good month so far

November 4th, 2023 at 04:50 am

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...

how do people get ahead??

October 25th, 2023 at 06:31 am

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

Sure murphy is laughing at us!!

October 24th, 2023 at 10:28 am

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

christmas shopping almost done & other news

October 21st, 2023 at 03:39 am

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

paid $1000

October 12th, 2023 at 11:28 am

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!!

christmas shopping

October 8th, 2023 at 01:57 am

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?

$1000 on CC this week

October 8th, 2023 at 01:50 am

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.

 

bills paid and savings

October 3rd, 2023 at 05:24 am

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

wow spent $1000 in 2 hrs

September 29th, 2023 at 04:51 am

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...


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