So been a busy week...hubby got his first covid vaccine on saturday...we didn't like that one as it can cause blood clots but its the only one that he can get...he gets the next one in 10 weeks...so far he has only been really tired from it but you can get symptoms after a month...so we will keep an eye on him and hope for the best...my daughter and I can get the pfizer one, she had her first shot today and her next one in 3 weeks...I get mine on the 31st then 3 weeks later...so hopefully in the next few months we will be vaccinated completly...they say we might get a booster shot in 6-12 months....although I did find out from the doctor but unless you have a medical condition or work in aged care/disability or with vulnerable people...(also evryone who works in the medical/police or firemanetc) you can't get vaccinated if you under 40 yet...due to not having enough vaccine...and we have had a few outbreaks in the several states...so hopefully they get it rectified soon.

had a house inspecion today we passed with flying colors and told him about a few things that we would like fixed but doesn't need to be fixed...so glad he came early have a big storm coming through today and tomorrow...one thing we have trouble here is we have a large washing machine so we can wash blankets etc...but this laundry room it has a big overhead cabinet so it is impossible to use and walk around it etc...so we decided to sell it and get a front loader...it gets delivered tomorrow...I hate front loaders but it's whats better for us now and in the future...so was an added expense we didn't expect but that is ok.

We are sticking to the budget and saving each pay as well...and with the crappy weather we aren't going anywhere so not spending any money either...so feeling good about the budget and our finances 

I can't be left alone due to my dizziness and our daughter went hiking today so just me and hubby...he needed to go do some banking which we need to go to a bank to do...but couldn't as I'm not having a great day to be going out etc...and it was nice to say don't worry about it it doesn't need to be done it can wait till tomorrow....I know people on here have quite a bit of money and some live pay check to paycheck...but it is nice to not have to worry about having to go out and do it now...a few years ago that wouldn't have been possible...we already have our bills paid for the month except groceries and gas...so it is a great feeling and probably not one tht many people worry about or think about but one that I am happy to be apart of!! 

We are going to splurge on ourselves and buy a treadmill...all 3 of us will use it...I think it is something that will get a lot of use...I know they can be expensive but we just need a basic one we don't need one with all the bells and whistles...a couple of reasons why we need it...since my hubby cancer treatment he lost a lot of muscle and can't walk far so it will be easy for him to walk for a little bit then rest then do more if he wants to...he is real shaky on his feet at times so be easier to get some walking in with us around...again with my dizziness it is hard for me to walk any kind of distance...i have trouble walking more than 10 mins and I am someone who use to walk around 10 plus miles a day..I loved walking....still do I just can't do it and I am gaining weight as I can't do much exercise...so this way I can do more walking and if I feel dizzy then can just get off and lay down and they can keep an eye on me without stressing cause I am dizzy and out walking with them as I can go downhill fast....also our daughter who has chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and bipolar as well as a couple other things like to do charity walks so it will help her get more in shape as well....on top of that this winter so far has been cold wet and windy and hard to go anywhere...so this weekend we will do some research and hopefully order one that won't use all our savings...

US taxes have got to be so complicated it isn't funny not sure they know what they are doing...so I have spoken to the tax office 3 times and ever time it is completely different...so we paid over $1700 in federal taxes and we get $67 back which is the lowest ever...but they said we should have gotten the 2nd stimulus payment (which we didn't) and so they put it on the taxes as something..I said we never got it and that last years taxes had only just been done so they had nothing to go by anyways...then he said that they were going to charge us for some recovery payment even though we didn't get the payment...so we have no idea what they are talking about then the guy says that he isn't a tax preparer so he isn't sure what is going on...so now we are trying to get someone to look at it and try to figure it out we paid double tax and get hardly anything back and they want to charge us for stimulus payments that we didn't get and why they are charging us for that is beyond me...really thought when we saw it was being processd this saga would almost be over...but no it isn't...and so hard living in a different country and trying to get answers...everyone there has told me completly different things...so frustrating...damn by the time they get it done it will be time to do it again...not looking forward to that... 

seriously where has this year gone it seems to be speeding by...which is nice in some ways (like summer being here quicker) but then it will be christmas before we know it LOL!!

It is pay week this week so will pay bills and start adding to our house savings...

We have had a couple cases of community covid here (well 1 guy who was from interstate working and his family) they have been quarantined in the medi hotel and so far no other cases but not risking it so did a bit of a shop today so we don't have to go out much and will start to get our groceries delivered instead...we aren't vaccinated and until we can get a good vaccine we don't want to risk the one they are trying to give us...hopefully later in the year.

Our state now has 5 cases of covid in the community in 200 days...all because our govt opened up our borders a bit....the family is now in hotel quarentine and will stay there till they test negative..it is frustrating so we now have restrictions and people are panic buying which is ridiculous....hopefully things will be back to normal soon...I actually have the doctors tomorrow and one thing I was going to discuss with her is the covid vaccine...so will see what she says.

othr than that nothing much is happening here its sunny here for a change but still cool...managed to get some stuff sorted in the garage so feel like I achieved something.

So we have been waiting for our taxes to be done...and about 10 days ago it said that it was being processed so we checked over the weekend and now it's saying that they have no info so not sure what is going on...geez just want it over and done with...by the time they get it done will be time to do it again...can't believe it's almost july.

It's pay week this week so it will be nice to pay the bills and start adding to our house saving account again.

Covid is starting to hit australia again..we still haven't been vaccinated as we don't like the one that is provided for us it has to many issues...but i might be able to get the pfizer one so will talk to the doc this week when I see her and see what she says..if she says it's ok then will book in to get it...and hope for the best....our state doesn't have any cases yet but we have border closures again...hopefully it will stay that way.

The weather here is cold wet and windy and I am really over it...have been sick for a month now and have not left the house except for a covid test (because i was suppose to have a procedure but was to sick) but it was negative...

I have a fair few doc appointments this month so medical will be a bit of a cost but we should have that covered..other than that no other expenses....YET!

I love paydays....not that they are very exciting but we only need grocery and gas money this week all our bills are paid at begining of the month...but will be able to add to our small savings and make it grow a little more!!

We have menu planned and written out grocery list for what we need for next week or so...will just need to get basics like milk/bread/fruit etc...

Weather here has been cold and wet and tonight they say we will have high winds, torrential rains and flash flooding...god I hate winter and I have been sick for 3 weeks so that doesn't help

No endoscopy today they will reschedule for july hopefully as i am still to sick to have it done...so hopefully by then I will be okay.

Our US tax check finally cleared today so that $300 plus went into our house account so it is building up slowly again and we get paid this week so can add a little more to our savings. 

They have a big toy sale on right now where you can layaway till christmas (they do it every year) was going to do for a charity we support for foster kids but have decided to just put money away each month and buy as we see sales between now and then...think that works better for us right now.

Good thing about me is I don't like shopping at all so even though I am sick I don't go online and shop which means we don't spend much money...hubby does but it is his mad money so he can do what he wants for it.

So we were doing great with our savings but then we had to buy a bed that cost over $3000 plus bedding (so almost $4000)  and we had to use the CC...I was going to keep saving and just pay off the CC but I hate having debt so used our savings to pay it off and now only have $700 in savings...was hard but knowing we are debt free again fills me with peace of mind more...so we are debt free again.

Hubby loves to do prospecting as a hobby but has been unable to due to me being sick as I can't be left alone and I don't travel well but where he buys his stuff from they also sell gold dirt so you can actually get some gold out of each bag...usually not a lot so today so taday i say in my bed and went through the bags and found a bunch of gold in them..all total 1.1 ounces which is about $2600 but we need to go interstate later in the year to cash it in as we can't do it in our state so it was so fun to do and made my day since I haven't been able to get up and around....hubby is thrilled

Nothing else has been going on..my covid test came back negative which we knew it would..so hopefully I am well enough for my endoscopy on monday!

Well some good news today..first my friend in the US who had surgery a month ago is finally stable enough to go back to her rehab hospital...she had lots of complications but is doing much better today...so glad was able to speak with her.

Then got a call from my mom our family friend that they thought had a stroke he didn't it was his heart they put in a pacemaker and he is being discharged today...he will be staying with my mom as his kids won't stay with him and he needs someone around 24/7 for now and he is like a son to her.

Today I got an appt for next week for my endoscopy, I have antibiotics as I have a sinus infection and I went for a covid test (my doc said to) she doesn't think I have it but that way if I go in and say that I have been on antbiotics and have the sniffles they know I don't have covid and cancel on me....just hoping I am well enough to have it done the last couple weeks have been rough health wise.

We now have $4600 in our house savings...I am hoping to reach $5000 by end of month...fingers crossed

First off some good news..I finally got my bed yesterday so it was nice to finally be able to sleep in a bed again..all new bedding...the dog wasn't so sure LOL.

Went over today to put our dishwasher at moms house and of course I went down hill when we went to the store...really wish they would find a cause for it...so hubby took me back to her place so she could babysit me and hubby could get back to get what he needed to finish it up...while there we got a call a family friend who is more like family had a car accident...his daughter managed to get the car stopped and call an ambulance the ambos said it looks like he had a major stroke...they weren't sure...so had to call hubby to come take her to the hospital...still not sure what happened as it was only an hour ago..sure we will be updated as they find out more...hopefully will get some good news...

On a financial note everything is ticking along nicely so far this month no unexpected expenses have come up...so hope it stays that way....it has been real cold here so plenty of slow cooker meals...

Over the last few months with moving and couch surfing I really found budgeting hard, all our savings went into moving and we didn't have much left...all our other money went into our bond and rent (over $4000).

When we moved I was happy but bummed out and just thought do we just keep renting for the rest of our lives or stick to our budget and save what we can and just find what we can for the deposit we have....deposits over here are super expensive as you have around $25,000 in fees that you have to pay up front on top of the deposit...and it just seems so out of our reach at times.....so I decided that I would stick to the budget and see what we can save in the next 16 months and then see if we can buy...and hope in the next 15 months house prices drop!!

So I have been rejigging the budget and saving what we can and we are now up to $3900 in the house deposit acct in 2 months...and should be able to save a little more this month so our focus till sept 2022 will be saving as much as possible but also trying to live a nice life...wish me luck going to need all the good vibes I can get to stay on track....what do others do to stay on track...I know many of you have a lot of money but for those who don't how do you stay on track?

Sold my bed today...love my bed but hubby can't use use it so had to get one like him to be able to sleep together...so another $300 to put into our house account...should be around $3900 saved for the house deposit..but they paid cash so have to go put it into the bank before can put it into the account....but every dollar counts.

I know this might seem like a weird question...I am one of those people that use to shop all year for christmas gifts (had a monthly amount to spend for christmas) now the kids are adults I just do it in nov/dec...but one charity we support here is backpacks4 sakids...it's a place that provides backpacks for foster kids so they have their own stuff...they have also expanded into displaced teens that no longer live at home and DV families...so they have all the basics when they move as they found that was the issue that they couldn't cook for the kids, have plates to feed them etc...so now they have everything basic to get started...which has helped out a lot....but the reason I am asking is they also do christmas presents for the foster kids so they all get something...and our kmart here does a 6 month layaway begining july so we get a bunch of toys and donate to the charity...so our christmas shopping starts july....when do others do theirs?? Just curious

I can't believe it is june already...this year is flying by...and it's the first day of winter here...and it's cold...well for us anyways

We are doing good with the budget, all june bills are paid already and I have been real good with not buying any extra...going to work on that this month...menu planning is going well so we have been sticking to the food budget...gas prices have stayed down a bit so have saved some money there...between may/june so far we have saved $3500 in our house acct...will continue to add to it over the month

Hopefully getting my bed in the next week or so...so that would be great....trying to stay positive I feel the cold wet weather makes me a bit depressed but staying positive and trying to get things done

Only expenses today was my neurophysio...but had that in the medical account...hope everyone is enjoying the heat while we are freezing here

We got last years taxes back...so irs checks in a week...one was unexpected but so glad the taxes are done...I just don't understand why they ask for your bank details and then send you a check in the mail...which we then have to put in the bank and wait 4-6 weeks for it to clear...but so nice to finally start to get finished up and completed...the money is not much but will go into our house deposit account...every bit counts...can't believe that it took so long to process...just have this years to have processed then will be done

Anyone who lives on a fixed income knows how frustrating it is and can be...I haven't been able to work in 8 years and I hate it...hubby is retired and had a stroke and 17 tias and just finshed cancer treatment a couple months ago and I have spent thousands on specialists which haven't really done much I am getting better but not a lot...we are wanting to buy a home...which is so hard here with all the fees you have to pay up front...and our oldest daughter also has a chronic illness and will live with us for the rest of our lives...which is fine for all of us..she will be having a child next year (getting pregnant this year) and yes she will be doing it on her own (her choice)...she has her own income and helps pay bills etc....it seems like everytime we get a bit ahead something else always comes up...my issue is...with me and my daughter not being able to work (right now hopefully in the future) and with my hubbys age it will be hard to buy a house in the long run (I'm hoping in 17 months) or we just won't be able to due to lending guidelines and they have become stricter since the pandemic and people struggled....sorry I'm just rambling probably but I will show you some figures and see what your thoughts are

home loan will be around $500,000 (aust $ and no that isn't a great big house either)

so for a low deposit (3%) you need $15,000 deposit

on top of that you need to pay $29,526 in fees 

so that equals $44,526 deposit to begin with....

That is where the hard part is saving $15000 isn't to bad its the fees that are hard to save but you have to pay up front....so do we just keep renting and just hope we can save and buy or just rent for the rest of our lives...although we hate that idea...

Also looking into how to make extra money from home but not that much opportunity here in aust that I can see

I used the credit card first time in 13 months and it was for a bed $3000 (including bedding), yes it is a lot and I hated buying it..I have a dark wood queen bed that I love and a matress that is so comfy...however about 3 years ago my hubby has some serious health issue and now has to sleep half sitting up and have his legs raised when he sleeps...so we got him one of those motorised beds that moves the head and tail of the bed...I hate them but I hate not sleeping with my hubby more so finally decided that I would get the same one so it will be like 1 bed same size and all...so worth it in the end and I do like to use the CC once a year if I remember just so they don't close it...so now will work that into my budget could pay off all at once but then savings would be low...so will pay off over a couple months

other than that we did well with the grocery and gas budget...menu planning has been helping out big time..and although the weather has been horrible and I have been sick there are others to pick up the slack and do the cooking etc...so I am hoping to try and cut back on our groceries but the prices have sure gone up and we only get our meat from a butcher which costs more...but you get better meat

We received a stimulus check in the mail today from the US treasury...very unexpected...didn't think we qualified but also they haven't done our last 2 years of taxes either but they did send it to our last address  so they have updated that...so that was a nice surprise...however we have to deposit it into the bank and then they send it back to the US and wait for it to clear (usually 6 weeks) so who knows how long it is going to take for it to actually clear...but its extra money that we didn't expect.

So far in Australia we only have the pfizer and astrazeneca AZ as we call it)...unfortunately the az causes blood clots so many people won't use it and it's the only one that is available to over 50's, the pfizer one is available to under 50's so me and my hubby have decided not to get it...as we don't trust the AZ one...now they have said that they have ordered the moderna one from the US and it should be here sometime this year...so maybe we will get that one...I know there has been so much more vaccines given in the US so wondering what others have thought about the moderna one..we haven't heard about much of it...it's so funny we are a country of 26 million people and have ordered 195 million vaccines...guessing they will be sending the AZ one to some 3rd worl country as they won't want them....let me know what you think of the vaccine please.

This week went pretty well...stayed on track with the budget/groceries/gas etc...although a friend of mine who lives in florida has had major surgery and I hate the we can't be there so I did spend around $200 (aust) on flowers/cookies etc as gifts to her while she is in hospital..I am hoping she gets them okay...so that will come out of my mad money...other than no spending.

Today is the family meeting day, it's where we discuss anything that people have issues with or need help with etc, put our menu together and sinc our calendars up, just so we all stay on track with each other.

The weather here has been cold so not able to do a lot outside but did manage to finish up the cat cage outside and this coming week I will get the back rooms done which are my daughters jewellery business, she has another couple orders to get out and the othe one is storage...so thats this weeks tasks.

Well we spent quite a bit this week...shouldn't have but oh well...thats life!

Hubby wanted a new blender combo so we got one and my mom wanted a new blender so he bought her one for mothers day...she is really happy!

We also bought a fire pit for the yard...hubby has wanted one for a bit but the last house there wasn't enough space...now we do...we also left our compost bin at the last house so we needed to get a new one...and now we have one of those as well....so are pretty set for what we needed to get!

I have started menu planning again so hopefully the grocery budget will come down a bit but only time will tell...we want to incorporate more seafood into our diet again...so that may be a bit pricey.

Other than that the rest of the budget is on track, the move has been finalised, we finally got all our bond back...starting this week going to start my new daily schedule and healthy habits

I have a couple questions, now i live in australia so different from you guys and I'm wondering if you can tell me the difference between Roth, IRA an 401k acct (did I miss any?) are they mandatory or are they like savings accounts? I read all about them but don't understand them...Thanks

It was pay week this week and I am happy to say that our budget is looking good and our accounts are looking fuller...still waiting for our bond to be refunded which will be in next week or so they said then all the moving money side is dealt with, paid our daughter back yesterday, have some savings, finally back on track.

Our grocery budget might be a bit over this month since we need to replenish our food stores..we had nothing in fridge/freezer etc...but hopefully next week will have our weekly menu going and will be able to just shop once or twice a week, we also will get back to the markets ( where we get our seafood) so things are looking good.

we have our first month of rent in the bank covered, our regular bills that you would normally have like internet, gas/elec, you can't pay them until you actually get a bill in so that money has been put in our POM acct for when they arrive, so finally I think we can actually start saving for our house..hopefully our house deposit thing on here climbs every month...fingers crossed.

I have 3 appts this week..2 specialists and then my regular doctor...although I'm pretty sure we will be getting our flu shots this week at the docs...if they have come in!

I have to get my eyes checked by a specialist today and then see my neuro-physio...it's a new one again so will see how I feel about seeing them..it's my 3rd one at this clinic, they keep changing...so will be an expensive week have some money saved for medical but the eye specialist wasn't put into that tally so may have to transfer some money from savings...will see...will do an update as we find out..hopefully nothing to worry about

Have started back on our budget for may...feels good to be kind of back on track, I know we might spend a little more on groceries this month than normal as we have had to replenish everything in our fridge/freezer etc...but going to try to stick to our $1000 month amount the best we can. 

Bill wise it can be a little hard as we haven't had bills in for thing like internet etc so will put what we normally pay into my POM acct until we do...I am hoping to save between $2-3000pm towards our house deposit so in 18 months we can buy...only time will tell how much we can save each month..see how are budget goes over the next few monthswhen things settle down...have paid all our moving expenses except our daughter who we will pay back this week, we are still waiting for our bond to be returned which should be in the next week or so so can put that into savings...

Feeling positive now we are getting back on track...once everything has been put away etc then we can start menu planning which will help with the grocery budget as well (hopefully) prices here have gone up, we do buy our meat from a butcher and vegetables etc from the markets so can be a little more expensive but so worth it to help the farmers and have much better food

Yesterday was my dads b-day it's the first one without him, he passed in sept...it was a nice day and had a beautiful sunset..which reminded me of the calm peaceful person he was.. 

We have finally got everything moved to the new rental...we couldn't get movers as they were all booked out (yes we called 8 companies) so we did it ourselves so it took longer...so now we just need to finish putting things away...very lucky that we have had good weather this week...will rain this weekend but we have time to get everything under cover.

Mind you I don't think any of us have been this exhausted in forever...but it is starting to look like a home and is nice to be under the same roof again...so now we just have to finishing up letting every company know we have moved and getting everything put away and do some grocery shopping....honestly if we never see take away again it will be to soon!!

This weekend I can finally get back and sort our budget out...get back on track again!!

We are finally moving...yes we finally got a rental..so excited..only 2 sleeps to go...problem is I can't find someone to move us...everyone here is flat out so we may have to move ourselves which will take days...so hopefully we can find someone tomorrow...fingers crossed...it is an 18 month lease so once we move don't have to think about it for a long while...

I have to say I can't wait to be able to menu plan, cook the way we do....budget properrly, shop like we normally do etc...but more importantly I can't wait to have my own bed back....and we are hoping the animals settle down again...I can't wait.

Hoping it doesn't rain..has been getting cold and wet here..it's autmn but fels like winter already

Have more houses to look at but know have a politician as a reference and a housing liason officer to help us find a house to rent...they are trying to find out what the issue is in regards to our applications...so hopefully we will have one soon.

We are still waiting for our bond deposit back hopefully will get it soon, it $3,100 so that will be nice to go into savings till we need it for another bond, it is taking forever but they have had so many to do since so many people have no housing and need their bonds back...we are not desperate for it, but would like it in our bank account and not theirs..hopefully soon.

We should finally on monday finish emptying one of our storage containers so we no longer have to pay for that one, so can save around $400pm...that will be nice.

not much else happening here although it is getting cold so I had to go buy some track pants as mine are in storage..but they were fairly cheap $12 each....other than that only spending on groceries and gas which both seem to be costing a lot more

Thankyou for my hubbys birthday wishes he had a quiet day and our oldest got him a cheesecake that said 

"happy 27,394th day", he loved it...was great to catch up with some of the family even if it was just a couple hours