Well as everyone can see this is my very first attempt at writing a blog, so please be gentle.
I became very interested in the 'Savings Advice' website as I attempted in getting one of my sons to become more financially independent instead of coming to us (my husband and I) for 'loans' all the time. Instead I realised there was a great deal that I could learn and improve in my own financial situation.
In 2005 my New Year's Resolution was to give up smoking and I achieved that without too much drama. This year I decided to become 'LEAN, GREEN AND MEAN' hence the title of the blog.
LEAN is because last year when I gave up smoking I had a terrific time in the kitchen - cooking up a dream after dream. Unfortunately it all went to the hips and I am 2 stone or 10 kilos a little heavier than I am used to.
GREEN - I want to become more environmentally friendlier while at the same time find ways to cut down on the utilities. These are the most expensive items in the house besides financing the kids. When they are gone and its just the 2 of us living on an aged pension then we need to find ways to keep the cost of living down.
Finally, MEAN - I wanted to take on the $20 Challenge, then I realised that I had to first have an extra $20. With 2 teenagers still living at home finding the extra $20 without having their hands out for it was going to be more of the challenge hence the MEAN part of the triology. I knew toundertake such a challenge a budget needed to be organised and I had to be tough.
The budget, in my opinion, was beautifully written up, leaving plenty of room for those little extra treats and unexpected items. Then, the school year started and while I had put a line item down with room to maneuver to cover these expenses, the school forgot to inform me and many other parents that there were going to be major changes in the school fees. I nearly died when they rose from $100 to over $300 then I was gently informed that one of my daughters course's would require another $70 a couple of months down the track.
That was just the fees then there were the books, uniforms for this year and next year's had to be ordered and paid at the end of the year and etc on top of that.
Needless to say the budget was looking very shaky. I could understand why someone would give up. Now it is the middle of February and the budget still has not lived up to expectations But I appreciated the fact that there was no advanced money in kitty to cover these hiccups and line-items needed to re-adjusted.
I have not given up yet because sooner or later there will be a quiet month and the budget will start looking healthy again.
Thank you for being so kind for my first blog and I always look for any kind of advice that would help me in my task.
Cheers
colleen
Today is my first day at blogging - What an experience
February 10th, 2007 at 04:25 am
February 10th, 2007 at 04:27 am 1171081655
February 10th, 2007 at 05:09 am 1171084164
Your increased costs - are they monthly, or school term yearly? Knowing your time frame might help a bit...you can then save a little bit each month. And do your teenagers earn a little bit of money themselves?
February 10th, 2007 at 02:21 pm 1171117290
I hope you find the answers to your questions here. You will certainly find a lot of support and ideas here. These are the nicest people here on this site and very smart too. I'm glad you joined and I enjoyed your first entry.
February 10th, 2007 at 03:58 pm 1171123130
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