Laceshawl's Personal Finance Blog

I have been warned of the "new worker's spread." There is lots of food at my new work place. We are provided with morning tea on Monday (cookies) and a fruit platter on Wednesdays. The trainer is handing out lollies as rewards and there is a snack machine plus baked goods for sale as a fund raiser. Not only could I easily spend a lot of money - I could get fat.

I went to the supermarket after work today, the 5pm crush is something I've avoided for a long time. I saw someone I knew and she had a deli cooked chicken, some salad greens and a bottle of wine. Her bill came to over nz$30. I asked her if the wine was for a special occasion and she said no, it was just a regular dinner. Guess I'm lucky I can't drink alcohol with my medication.

Today I received $28.47 as a tax rebate. Thankyou - I'll put it in my doing-up-the-house-to-sell-it fund.

I'm still around and full of good intentions, but hit a glitch with the computer this week. I am in the process of drawing up a list of needs - needs, not wants - to be purchased out of my first paypacket. So far I have listed:

1. mouse
2. socks
3. get defective light switch in dining room fixed.

Of course the list of wants is endless, from a 3mm circular needle to a laptop. I shall start a second list titled thneeds - "a thneed is a thing that everyone needs."

I received the info from my new job. I'm going to be working for a power company, and I get 25% discount on my power bills. Yes! Also I can pay 8% of my salary into Kiwisaver, and get a match of 1%, rising to 4% after 3 years. I'm wearing a big smile today.

Today was a NSD - good for me. It was a close call tho. In one of the opportunity shops they had some laceweight wool, a beautiful deep red colour, enough for a shawl and only nz$16. It was positively screaming "buy me". But I resisted. I already have a whole boxful of yarn that I couldn't resist buying - I am going to use it all up before I buy any more, plus the material I have and the unfinished crossstitch projects. It's silly to keep buying stuff if I don't get round to completing it.

My artist friend disagrees. He says if you're creative, you need lots of raw material for projects. Maybe. But all those unused skeins represent $$$. If I don't buy now, and put the money aside, I'll be able to afford it when I'm older.

I have been reading James Scurlock's book Maxed Out. I haven't seen the documentary, but he talks in detail about some of the cases in the book. Terrifying how easily some people fell into the debt trap. Having formerly been a volunteer tutor with an adult literacy group, I wouldn't be surprised if some of those folks can barely read. I blame it all on the education system for not teaching financial literacy. I can remember going off to university with my brand new checkbook and not knowing how to write a check for my fees - the woman at the registry desk had to tell me how!

I guess I am very fortunate I was reared by Depression Era family members who really dinned it into me debt is not a good thing. The only acceptable kind was a mortgage, and that was paid off as quickly as poss so you had a secure roof over your head. I only ever had one store card. When I bought my own house I had all sorts of little expenses, needing to buy tools, put up shelves etc, so I applied for a card with Mitre 10, the DIY supplies store. Wow did I ever get a shock when I ran up $500 worth of stuff in a couple months! Then I saw how much the fees and interest rate were on the statement. I sat down with a calculator and figured it would take me 5 years to pay it off and twice the amount charged if I kept making the minimum payment, so I paid it off as fast as I could and cancelled it. I am very fortunate I had an education and knew enough to go to the local library and start checking out books on personal finance when I realised I had a problem.

I wonder if people would be more careful if we legally obliged credit cards to be referred to as "debt cards"? There's a force - at least to me - about the word debt that doesn't seem to exist with available credit or home equity loan. Or maybe, as I did when I first tried my store card, they just think it's only $25 a month and don't focus on anything else. Of course I was a young knowitall new grad back in those days. Nowadays I see students putting beer and pizza on the student loan, never noticing how it adds up.

Today I went to the supermarket early, and bought a couple date scones for lunch from the day old bread bin for .80 cents. I found .40 cents by a parking meter on the way back. That's nz$1.40 saved.

I can choose to spend it on ... nothing very much, but if I save it and invest it at 5% it will bring be in .07 cents a year for the rest of my life. I keep trying to bear this in mind when tempted to spend.

Clearly I live in a very different world from our politicians. New Zealand is having an election this year, and promises loom large. John Key, leader of the National Party, just announced that his party would spend $1.5 billion making highspeed Broadband available. I appreciate the thought, but where is the money coming from, given we're heading into a recession. This is the same party that is promising tax cuts to high income earners. I thought they were supposed to be all about govt non-intervention in business. He says it will be good for people who can telecommute. Hmm, maybe our politicians could set the example and have teleconferences, instead of flying all over the country -and world - at taxpayers' expense. Given a Member of Parliament earns 3 times the average wage, I don't think they're in touch with how ordinary people live.

Yes, I've been MIA for a while, but I've still been lurking. Thanx for kind enquiries while I was gone. I wanted to make sure I was on my feet again before I made any rash plans for the future.

The good news is I am feeling much better, and I am even starting pt work soon. Training begins 5 May, for 8 weeks, then I will be working 20 hours a week. Money coming in! cool!

The bad news is I have gotten myself into some bad habits financially. Because I was struggling to cook for a while, I started eating out more. Not topline reastaurants - my idea of eating out is a cup of tea and a sandwich, but still when you haven't much money it adds up. So I have to knock this behavior on the head. I bought some zuccini on manager's special yesterday and made myself a frittata. It was nice to have a home cooked meal again, so today I'm going through the cookbooks and planning meals for the week. We're heading into winter here, so lentil soup is on the cards for tonite.

ds sent me a cute decoration for the Christmas tree, made of gold material in the shape of an elephant. My friend who's into Feng Shui has declared it to be a symbol of prosperity and came over with her books to figure out the best place to hang it to enhance my wealth. By the wood stove, apparently. Um, I think it might covered with ash.

The radio here is already celebrating Elvis' birthday, so I get to eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches in his honor. Not fried, tho, I don't want to wind up a blimp.

I got a prescription filled nz7.82. Apart from that I stayed home and knitted. so long as I'm doing that I'm not out spending money.

I thought I was doing well with the new shawl but I goofed majorly and had to unravel the whole thing. Start again. But the patience I have to exercise is a transferrable skill, especially when it comes to making my money grow.

For both knitting and handling your money you require a pattern, or plan. A few creative geniuses can just start and keep it all straight in their head, but most of us require a vision of what we want to achieve, and the details of how to do it - Written Down!!

Your pattern or plan must match your current skills. Don't expect to do a complex Aran if you're a new knitter, and don't invest in complex tax shelters if you haven't mastered basic budgeting.

It's important to get good advice from experienced people in the craft. This is easy with online communities today.

Be prepared to take time. Knitting is one stitch after another, saving money is one dollar after another. It's better to do a little towards your goal every day than to do a whole load of things one day, then ignore it for weeks on end.

You need the right tools and material for the job. These are simple, but gaining proficiency requires constant practice. You will make mistakes along the way, so be prepared to go back and fix the major botch ups, but don't sweat every little glitch. So long as you stick to your plan you'll be okay.

I went out briefly to the shop to buy some milk, nz3.20. I put on a jacket I hadn't worn for some time and was pleasantly surprised to find 1.20 in the pocket. Aside from that I was lazing around eating bananas on toast and surfing the net. I found this free pattern

http://cdevine.typepad.com/photos/lace_work/rosetrellisl.html
so dug out some vintage pink laceweight I found at the opportunity shop for nz6.00 and bravely cast on. So far so good. I hope to have a beautiful shawl in time to wear to England.

Didn't blog yesterday because I was late back. It was raining in the morning and I had some wet washing, but I didnt use the dryer - I put it all on the clothes horse, then lit the fire, using wood chopped from my trees, and also cooked lunch on top of the stove.

Im the evening I went to a barbecue, having made quiche and beetroot salad. After eating we watched Jailhouse Rock. Elvis plays a character who wants money above all else, but learns the hard way that love is more important. I have to go out more now that I live alone, but I'm keeping the entertainment down to such simple things, rather than big screen movies and restaurants.

Today was a lovely sunny day. My support group went for a drive to the Peninsula and looked round a historic town. I virtuously refrained from buying an icecream or soft drink. Then we went to someone's place with a lovely view of the beach for a barbecue. I paid nz12.50 for my share of transport and food. Yes I could have stayed home and not spent the money, but who wants to be rich with no social life? Not me! I'll enjoy my modest treats - after a meal at a restaurant could cost me 3 times that amount - and find other ways to cut costs. I find if I try to deprive myself too much I wind up having a backlash and going on a spending binge.

Last night in the enthusiasm of setting resolutions I declared I was going to cut out caffeine. Supposed to be good for my health, and I'll save money on tea and coffee and power by not boiling the jug to make it. I woke up with that familiar withdrawl headache and decided to rethink that idea. Too much like deprivation. I have to have my little treats to keep me happy if I'm to feel good about saving money.

I will probably be the first to bid farewell to the old year and see in the new, so time to sum up the year's achievements and consider what lies ahead.

Balance sheet
Cash 44
Check 22
Bill payer 385
House repairs fund 185
Online a/c 317
Emergency fund 3,400

Difference from 31 Dec 06 - saved 779. In addition I paid 1040 into retirement savings. So from a piddling income of just under 12,000 I saved 15%. I am quite chuffed with myself.

I didn't reach my goal to have 5,000 saved in the EF but that was because I had an emergency! Despite the difficult year, things have improved overall. Next year I will be wanting more liquid funds to cover expenses of selling and buying a new home and shifting. I also have 5,000 in the Credit Union for a trip to Britain. It looks like it will be a year of blackbelt tightwadding and one month of living it up in July. I am going to blog more often to keep me on track, maybe start listing my daily expenses. Today was a no spend day apart from .20 donated to a charity box.

Some of my friends have been complaining about not being able to contact me on the phone, so I decided it was time I finally sidled reluctantly into the 21st Century, like a little crab coming out of its shell, and got myself voice mail. i signed up for the standard Telecom package of call minder, call waiting and caller ID for nz$10 a month. Unfortunately my old phone is a very basic one I bought at The Warehouse 6 years ago and doesn't support caller ID, so I bought a new cordless Uniden for nz$89. Ouch! But I've been having fun programming it - now my best friend is trying to talk me into a cell phone. Sure I'd like to have all these wonderful things like digital cameras, but I noticed my new phone is only guaranteed for 2 years - the same length of time as the rechargeable battery!! It will take me that long to figure out how all the functions work. I guess by the time the warranty runs out there will be some new technological marvel I need to update to. What concerns me is what happens to all the now useless gadgets. I guess they get shipped off to China and some poor person gets exposed to toxicity while disassembling it. I try to reduce the amount of stuff I buy because of concern for the environment, but if I'm to stay in contact, especially now most of my family lives overseas, I have to have some of the new bells and whistles. So we are all dragged along by the pace of change willy nilly.

This morning I was listening to the radio and this Chinese herbalist said NOT to use shampoo to wash your hair. She claimed all that is necessary is to wash it in water in the shower every morning. Well, I'm always on the lookout for tips to save money, so I'll do as she suggested and give it a month's trial. I have very fine problem hair and have spent a lot on fancy shampoos over the years. I wonder if many other listeners will give it a go - there could be a dip in shampoo sales for the holidays!

I decided to turn ds' room into a hobby room/office, so today I sorted out my hope chest where I keep all my projects. I found some nice material I bought to make a skirt. My neighbor admired it and said she had some old patterns, so I had a look through and found one I liked. All I needed was a zipper, and I got one at the Salvation Army for nz.50 cents. Sewing notions are sooo expensive it's hardly worth making your own clothes nowadays. Patterns too. I found one pattern I bought years ago intending to make a top - you could date it by the power shoulder pads.

I also looked through my yarn. I can tell where I'm at in my life by how my knitting is going. At the moment I'm doing miles of boring stockinette in a neutral color, so the next project will be something a little more exciting. I have a big stash to keep me going for a looong time - in fact, I even gave some away. Gasp. But I asked myself the question, if I had the money again would I buy this? The answer was definitely not, so off to a group knitting blankets for Roumanian orpahnages. Crafts are wonderful outlets for creativity, and I think they are spiritual too, but hoarding supplies can get out of hand. No more impulse snapping up of this and that because "I'll use it one day." From now on I'll decide what project I want to do and then shop for that. Some of that yarn has been sitting in my hope chest for 5 years.

Today was a no spend day. I looked through my coin collection of foreign money I recieved in change or found under parking meters. I have

$16.85 Australian
6.03 US (plus a Kennedy half dollar - are those legal tender?)
2.70 Singapore
10 rupees Indian
1.91 Canadian
Stg3.50 UK
4.50 Fijian

plus coins from Austria, Falkland Islands, Samoa, Eire, France, Indonesia, Netherlands, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Switzerland, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Be nice if I could get to all those countries to spend the money.

Because I am using mental health services, I am entitled to attend the local art centre for therapy. I started today with a creative writing class. We looked through glossy magazines for phrases, and I wrote two poems.

Designer Life
It's that time of year to age beautifully
Take a basic quick mix hanging garden
Add an easy care formal contrast funky handbag
Avoid chandeliers - they cause skin damage
Elegant glasses and dramatic dresses
should not be left in direct sunlight
Team a stained glass window with a classic jacket
for squeaky clean tender barbecued asparagus
Look as young in your pergola
as you do in your silk shirt
Use your no hassle trimmer
to make a decadent golden cake
for a balmy climate


The other sounds quite depressed, but I'm slowly coming right.

The Last Shop
We retail black
You can call it burnt charcoal
or ethnic ebony
and we'll charge an extra $300
but when all's said and done
lie down in the box
in your black polyester work pants
or your strapless little black dress
There'll be no money in your pocket
just white bones in black earth

The mad whirl of Christmas parties has begun. Today my Bible Study group had an end of year function, also to say farewell to a couple who are moving. We went for morning tea at a cafe nz$7.00. I had some scrummy ginger crunch. I stopped at the supermarket on the way back to buy some eggs, nz$1.80, and on the back of my reciept was a coupon for a free coffee at the very cafe we'd been at. Hearty use of words that are in the King James.

Then I got home and in the mail was an invitation to a free lunch with a presentation on making money on the Internet. I suspect some scheme to seperate me from my money, but a free lunch sounded good. Then I looked at the available dates: 3rd, 4th and 5th of December. Hullo, it's the 5th already? What marketing genius in Auckland didn't realize it can take mail 5 days to get here? More use of Authorized language.

looks spectacular. I was very careful to spend only on needs, not wants, as I'm saving for Christmas.

Total Income nz$733.26
Expenses $491.24
Savings 242.02

Groceries 100.76
Donations 37.70
Clothes 3.90
Meeting friends for coffee 25.70
Medical 23.00
Local body taxes 90.67
Phone & ISP 67.74
Insurance 49.45
Power 75.00
Misc 17.32

When I go to the shop I feel like the Greek philosopher who went to the market and commented "who would have thought there could be so many things I have no need of." I have basically lost interest in spending money apart from meeting friends for coffee - and I'm reconsidering that expense. I'd rather save up and have a big decent trip than fritter it all away on little bits and pieces that give no lasting satisfaction.

I was out the flat end of town today and happened to pass by an open home, so went in and had a look. It was quite nice and I could afford it if my house sells at it's estimated value, but the agent told me nothing is moving in the housing market at the moment - since the collapse of several finance companies, everyone is waiting to see what happens. Well, they say real estate goes in seven year cycles and the last seven years have been pretty good, so we can expect a downturn. It's got me thinking about how much it's worth spending on doing up my place. I shall probably just repaint the interior walls and put some nice shrubs in the garden - I wouldn't get enough to make it worthwhile renovating the bathroom and kitchen. I'm fortunate because living fairly close to the University there are always buyers looking, so I can move out to the flat area where houses are cheaper. I will miss my lovely view of the harbour, but I won't be sorry not to have to climb up that hill anymore. I'll get the trip to Britain over first, and sell next summer by which time there'll be a clearer picture of what the market is doing.

The price of petrol must be pinching - I've seen a number of SUVs for sale. There is an Isuzu Bighorn parked just down the road with a sign in the window. They cost over NZ$40,000 new, and he's asking $5,000. Just behind it is a 1969 VW beetle which is asking NZ$4,500. I think I'd rather have the VW. They're really reliable and hold their value well. Besides, I have fond memories of whizzing around in a former bf's VW. But at the moment I'm better off managing with taking the bus or walking - I need to exercise.

Now I'm no pedantic English teacher, ready to jump on every little misuse of the language, but...

there is one radio ad that has me concerned over whether I should let the store know of their mistake. It's a furniture and appliance store that offers terms, as most do. In the ad, the announcer enthuses about "Smith City's infamous Easypay."

I guess whoever dreamed up that one thought that infamous was the same as famous. Not so - infamous means notorious.

At least people who get into trouble over their payments can't claim they weren't warned.

Today was a glorious day - the sort where you smile at total strangers and say lovely day, and they smile back and say isn't it. I spent the day idling round. In the morning I seamed the cardigan I knitted. Of course I ran into the Murphy's Law of the button jar, one button short of the 10 I required. I went to the thrift store on the corner and found a dress for $1 which I snipped the buttons off. In the afternoon I went out to the beach with a friend and we sat and watched the surfies doing their thing. My sandal broke as I was walking back, but I was able to fix it with superglue. Had a yummy chocolate icecream for nz$1.50.

This is a very nice town to be in if you are broke. There are free museums, parks and art galleries, and open lectures down at the University. I live a very simple life and am totally satisfied. I keep thinking about when I was in India. If I converted my assets to rupees, I would be a millionaire, and I certainly was compared to the people around me. Even though I was staying on an ashram, living out of one suitcase and eating simple meals of lentils and rice, I felt I had so much to be grateful for. When I got back I was so annoyed with people complaining about how hard life was. I have my little house and I can afford food, clothing and power, and I still have eyes that can see and legs that can walk. There are millions in the world who would love to change places with me. I think even if I won the lottery I would not change much. I could be very happy being financially independent on an income of say, $1000 a month. The one thing I would like to do more of is travel. Not only does it broaden the mind, you feel like there's no place like home when you get back.

There has been a lot in the papers recently about the increased cost of food, so I decided to take a careful look at prices today. Fruit and vegetables have gone up, but as it is spring at the moment you'd expect that. Potatoes are expensive as we wait for the new ones, but rice and pasta are still cheap. We have the ridiculous situation where we are exporting food to other parts of the world, and in return a lot of the stuff in the supermarkets is imported from US and Australia. I need to check out the local farmers' market.

I came to the conclusion that a lot of the price increase is due to packaging. Instead of say, a can of plain tuna, there are a whole load of little cans with all sorts of added flavors, often lunchables with a few crackers and all done up in loads of cardboard and plastic. But if you buy the regular can it's just as cheap and helps save the environment. I found no difference in the prices of basics like oats, lentils and eggs. I think people's eating habits have changed and they're buying a lot more convenience foods.

The one thing that is more expensive is dairy products, I guess cos the Asian market is beginning to use more. But I did notice round campus, judging by the trash, a lot of students can still afford plenty of pizza and beer. Hmm, if the price of cheese keeps going up, will pizza become less affordable?

This weekend I went to the Oamaru Victorian Heritage celebrations. Had a lot of fun, including a history lecture in the basement of a whiskey distillery. There were horse drawn carriages, people riding penny farthing bicycles and lots of people dressed up in 19th century costume. The highlight was a tea in the park, with tea poured from silver teasets, and cucumber sandwiches and scones with jam and cream. Yummy, and as it was an outing with my support group it didn't cost me anything.

Of course I know that back in those days it really was a lot of hard work, which is why most people were dressed up as ladies and gentlemen rather than servants, but it is fun to pretend once in a while.

Wow, it's been 4 months since I last posted. I hadn't forgotten - I had to be hospitalized in July and it's been a slow recovery. I keep reminding myself of all the things I have to be grateful for, like all the wonderful medical care I am getting, paid for under our State system. And having a paid for house in these shaky times. I had to spend $1100 on doing some alterations, but still have over $3000 in bonds to fall back on if needed.

I haven't given up on returning to work eventually but for the moment I'm back on the sickness benefit and have very little spare cash so need to be extra diligent about where my money goes. I'm looking at having to sell this place and moving to an apartment in a couple years. Also since I'm not guaranteed a ripe old age, I'd love to take a trip to Britain next year and see ds and other relatives in England and Ireland. No one can predict what the future holds, but I'll make plans anyway!