Update - May payments

Sorry for the absence, I've been ridiculously busy at work and away from home for a number of days.

Pleased to say that my scheduled payments went ahead last week, with $150 going to my TV debt and $350 to the family loan.

Starting Net Worth (28 April 2017)
-$35,513

Current Net Worth
-$33,613

Total Debt Paid to date:
$1,900


That's a figure that's starting to look a bit respectable. Next round of payments are due next week and I expect to make slightly larger payments, all going well.

Sponsoring to save some $$

I normally purchase an $85 membership to my daughters sporting club.

This entitles us to "free" entry to all home games, which works out to be cheaper than paying entry at each home game she plays. I buy a membership in order to save some money, given that we do attend every home and away game through the season. Unfortunately there is no way of saving on the entry to out of town games, but I do budget for this item.

This year, she bought home a sponsors pack. She hasn't previously received the pack because sponsorship is something only the older players seek - she's playing some games with the senior team this year so they gave her a pack. Every senior player is encouraged to get at least one players sponsor, and if they get 5 sponsors they receive their own membership ($85) free of charge.

Now, my daughter doesn't have to pay membership yet, because she's under 18. Only 18+ players have to pay membership. So she gets in free to every home game regardless, because she's a junior player. Still, I had a read of the sponsorship pack to find out what was on offer.

Turns out that sponsoring a player gets you membership PLUS extra bonuses, including one sponsors game where you have all-you-can eat and drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) in a special marquee. You also get your name up on the sponsors wall, which is kind of nice I guess, particularly if you have a business to advertise.

So how much is sponsorship? 

$75.

I am so annoyed that I didn't know about this sooner. I could have saved an additional $10 a year and had a nice day out as well, for something I buy anyway!

If you have a child who plays sports, it might be worth investigating if they have player sponsor deals like this one - you may save yourself some additional money.

Shoe negotiations - teenagers

I took my daughter shopping for new sports shoes yesterday.

It was our second attempt at it, the first trip having ended in an argument. 

My daughter is very strong willed and while I say that she gets that from her Dad, I know she gets it from me! 

Anyway, I did some exploration online before we went and had money set aside for this purpose. 

Sports shoes designed for the particular sport she plays and  suitable for what she needed from a support / hard wearing point of view  averaged about $150 for a basic shoe from a good brand. 

When she was young, I bought cheap shoes and found that they generally fell apart by mid way through the season. She plays outdoor winter sports and is involved in training and extension activities associated with athletics and running. To make sure the shoes last, I now I invest in good quality shoes without buying top of the line. This time, she was pushing for shoes at the $300 plus price point, well above what I was prepared to pay and for no reason other than because she wanted a particular colour that was only available in the most expensive shoe. That's what caused the argument the first trip and why we didn't buy anything. 

Before this trip I negotiated with her. She has a job and had birthday money to use. I said that I would buy shoes up to $150. If she wanted a more expensive pair, she could pay the difference. 

She eventually settled on a pair at $237 and paid me the difference. 

It was a good outcome I think - she got what she wanted and I spent what I had budgeted. She also chose a very slightly cheaper shoe than her original choice  and we bought the shoes on sale saving a little more. 

I felt good knowing that we'd been able to negotiate an outcome we were both happy with and which demonstrated to her that I wasn't prepared to spend excessive amounts purely for fashion. 

She ended up spending only part of her birthday money (she got $200, spent $87). She's saving the rest. 

Me Made May

This month I'm participating in Me-Made-May, something that the online sewing community gets into each year. 

The idea is that you take a pledge to wear the clothing that you make for the month of May. The beauty of it is the you can pledge at any level you like - at least one piece a day right through to everything you wear being handmade.

I've been sewing for a number of years, and I have a reasonable collection of clothing that I've made myself. 

I made a dress last week, that took me overnight to make, and cost only the fabric ($25). I needed something to wear to a funeral and I could easily have gone out and spent $80 - $150 on a nice dress for the occasion. Instead, I invested a little bit of my time and a little amount of money into fabric, and made something that fits me perfectly and I feel really great in.

Sewing isn't always the thrifty answer, but it can be a very positive way to save some money on specialty items. I can certainly make professional dresses at a significantly lower cost than buying them.

Me Made May is a great opportunity for me to look at what I've  made and how I can wear it in my everyday life, in order to get the best value from my hobby.

Thrifty cooking

I've been eating a low carb diet for a while now, and I love it. I have great health results, so much more energy, sleeping better, it's amazing.

But I need to balance that against my budget. 

Rice, pasta and beans, potatoes and carrots  are the staple of most frugal meals. I don't eat any of those things. 

I think this winter the slow cooker is going to be my friend. Cheap meat, veg I can eat, and rice for my daughter. I have mine with zucchini noodles to bulk it out. Easy and delicious. 

There are ways to manage frugal living even on special diets. 

(Oh, and in case you're wondering, I started this way of eating because of a food allergy that made me violently ill. I had also put on a lot of weight. This way, I can avoid my allergen and lose weight. 14.5kg down so far - or 32lbs. Not bad!). 

Update on my second job

I thought I should give an update on my second job.

Unfortunately, the managers decided to wind back the work and there is nothing for me to do. I haven't had a shift since October 2016 and there is no work in the foreseeable future. Not just for me, for all the employees.

In some ways, since I've spent a lot of time dealing with the separation from my husband, this has been a good thing. I've also noticed that I've been able to be more productive in my day job because I'm not as tired from the weekend work.

In positive income news, I received a raise in August which was worth more than my part time job was annually. That has certainly helped things significantly. I'm very aware of how lucky I am to have such a great job, and to have a generous pay increase thanks to moving up through the bands within our Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. As long as I can demonstrate that I'm performing my role and learning and growing each year, I *should* get a progression. So there is a possibility of a similar raise again this coming August, but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch there. Things are tight in my work industry, but as far as I'm aware from my Manager, progression payments have been circled off from any cutbacks.

Not having the second job has meant that I've also been able to be more present for my family through some pretty difficult times in the last few months. We've had illnesses and we lost one of my grandparents early this year so being able to drop everything and be there was important.

As my daughter gets older, I find myself not wanting to make sure that I can be present for her, and as she gets older her schedule with her own Dad (who she normally visits every other weekend) becomes more unpredictable. Working a weekend job and unpredictable teenager schedules doesn't really work. Perhaps losing the job was a blessing in disguise.

Financially, I haven't found its made any difference, thanks to the raise. Actually, having that extra income this year would have pushed me into a higher tax bracket, increased the amount I'd have to pay in levies through my tax, and removed the very small amount of social security assistance that I receive. I'd be working harder, for very, very little, if any, gain.

I'll keep my ears open and if a lucrative opportunity comes up I'll grab it, but otherwise I'm going to leave the second job for the time being.

Personal finance blogs

I'm re reading the wonderful archives of www.bloggingawaydebt.com

Tricia was such a wonderful inspiration to me. Now I'm up to 2010 and Bek's. I'm heartened to think that these wise women clawed their way out of debt.

I can too.

Another week until I get paid. The challenge for this week is to spend as little as possible.

I'm sitting on my couch and it is cold. But instead of hitting the button on the heater, I've put a beanie on. An extra jumper. Bed socks. I'm still cold but it's passable.

I'd rather be cold than have to pay more for gas this month. I want to put that money towards my debt.