Reasons to be Financially Independent no 53

So you don't have to take a day off work when the repairman is coming.

this, folks, has turned into a no hold barred pro wrestling match. In the black corner is tina, ably seconded by her Efund. In the red corner, the villain of the piece, Murphy.

And Murphy has just attempted a low blow. After knocking out tina's tooth last week, he proceeded to infect the empty socket this week. However, the dentist treated it and made no charge!!!Murphy came back almost immediately with another kinghit - a tax demand from the regional council that has gone up over 20%! Tina is now sitting down and writing out her request for a rates rebate. Stay tuned for the ref's decision on this one.

Well, it's been a disaster of a weekend. In the last 48 hours the washing machine stopped functioning (I'm guessing a blocked pump); then an element on the stove top stopped functioning ( as it is a very old stove I'm expecting to be told it's not repairable so will have to buy a new stove); finally the electric kettle stopped functioning ( I went to KMart today to buy a cheapie replacement, but all the jugs they had were fancy schmancy stainless steel and cost too much, so I'm temporarily boiling water in a pan)

All this and I'm still smiling. I have over nz$3000 in my EF fund to deal with these setbacks. Murphy - you're out!

As I was waiting for the bus I noticed a 20 cent coin on the street. I waited for a gap in the traffic so I could go over and pick it up, but no traffic gap before my bus came, so I had to leave it. Sob! I want my free money!

Thankfully it was only a 24 hour bug, so I'm back on my feet again. I am eating some chocolate which is a cure for all human ailments of body, mind and soul.

Ugh, I'm coming down with a nasty bug; runny nose, sore eyes, upset tummy and aching joints. I got some Vitamin C and if I'm not better tomorrow I'll go to the dr.

Last month was a bit spendy so September calls for belt tightening, with my shop hours going down to Saturdays only. Food, power, medical expenses and transport are all that are allowed. I'll be interested to see what it costs me to live on a bare bones budget.

I found 20 cents coming home from work. I got home and as I was pulling my front door key out of my pocket, the coin flew out and rolled down a crack in the path. Never mind, it'll be something for future archaeologists to get excited about.

I joined myopinions.co.nz to do surveys and got 150 points just for joining. I discovered I can transfer the points to my Smilecity account, so I transferred them and now I have almost 3000 points in my Smilecity account. Yay, I will be able to cash out a nz$30 check soon.

Not a good day. I slipped crossing the road and suffered minor damage to my knee and major damage to my jeans. I am debating whether I should put a patch on or splash out a whole $2 and get a new pair at the opp shop. I also need to buy a new pair of shoes as the soles are horribly worn - which is why I slipped in the first place. I have not calculated the cost of a bandaid.

Okay, who was the wally that threw a perfectly good whole pumpkin onto the road and left it to be squashed by passing cars?

Wasting good food - grr. Drives me crazy.

My knee is improving so I limped down to the supermarket for bananas. The sky was blue, the sun shining and the temp up to 12 degrees C. There were birds singing and I saw little buds on my neighbors plum tree. Only August to go and then it will be spring! Happy happy.

Down the road I saw one of the young men renting had a for sale sign on his car. Only $nz5000. Just think, if I wanted to use up my EF or use the money I put aside for house painting, I could pay cash for that. Buying another car isn't high on my priority list at the moment, but it's nice to know I could afford one if I want to. As the poet said, how pleasant it is to have money, heigh ho, how pleasant it is to have money.

It's not just the financial kind that hit. On Tuesday there was a robbery at a nearby bank, on Wednesday there was an earthquake. and last nite it snowed again. Best to be prepared for a few days coping on my own, so I filled up some containers with water and am now slowly filling a box with canned food and a first aid kit, torch, radio etc. And a couple hundred dollars in cash just in case (gold bars are too heavy)

I am forty eleven years old. I celebrated by going for a pancake brunch with friends.

I noticed when I got my phone bill today that the usual free return enveolpe now requires a stamp. I wonder how long they've been doing that. Not that it matters to me - I pay by direct debit, but I bet it caught some folks out. Maybe they are trying to discourage customers from sending checks which are more time and trouble to process.

When they first introduced the dd option, they offered a 1% discount, which is why I signed up. After a while that was changed to an entry in a monthly prize draw for things like a years free phone use.Now I don't think there is anything. Wouldn't you think in these hard economic times they'd want to be nice to their customers. But no, I guess the next step will be to do away with the return envelope.

Actually there is an option to recieve your bill on line now, which I already do with my power bill. I think I will sign up for it and save a couple trees.

I was chatting with an artist at church today. He told me he had just bought 4 boxes of comics. I confessed I have 246 balls of wool.

He grinned. "Ah yes," he said. "We creative types need to keep a lot of raw material for inspiration."

So there. I am not a homely knitter. I am a fiber artist and I need plenty of supplies.

Winter arrived with a vengeance today. Minus 4 degrees C and snow down to sea level. This happens 1 or 2 days a year in our town and always causes chaos. The place was cut off from the rest of the country with motorways closed. The buses stopped running and all schools were closed. I was happy to stay indoors and watch the pretty flakes falling and the students enjoying a break from exams by sliding down the hills on baking trays.

The only problem I didn't know if I was needed at work or not. I rang several times but only got the usual answerphone message. In the end I walked there and found the place was shut. And if there was any money on the ground it was covered by the snow.

Never mind, I would sooner take the trouble than not turn up and be growled at for absenteeism. Now I am going to have a long soak in a hot bathtub then make myself a plate of chili beans.

According to the scale this morning I have lost 3 lb. I celebrated this evening after work by buying fries. Oops.

Yay! I now owe less than three thousand dollars to the Credit Union - this is my only debt. Since it is zero interest there is no rush to pay it off, but it's nice to see the amount going down

I thought I would wear a skirt this morning since I have completed my nice legwarmers. Woe is me! I tried on three skirts and couldn't do the zip up on any of them. I rushed to the bathroom scale which confirmed the bad news - I weigh 170 lb. Too much! I'm going to have to rescusitate the diet. No more raspberry buns and cheese scones and fried potatoes. Pancakes regarded with aversion. No more sugar in my tea. All the bad little habits which sneaked in have to go. Sigh. But better than having to spend money on fat clothes.

Today I went opp shopping with a friend. I decided I didn't need any new clothes, and there wasn't anything I really liked anyway. The nicknacks all need dusting so i passed on buying ornaments, but I did come across a big bag of new wool for nz25. A lovely chocolate brown. I was tempted to buy it and knit a cardigan, but decided I don't usually wear brown so dont' have much it will go with, and anyway it was too much money to spend. Then we went and had a cup of coffee nz3. Hmm, I'll never get anywhere if I keep celebrating saving money by spending money. I think I will keep out of the thrift store until my EF is up to nz5000. It's far too easy to impulse spend a couple bucks here and there - and find at the end of the month I've spent megabucks. I need to get real disciplined and shop with a list of what I need rather than popping in just to see what there is.

which is something I don't do very often. Movie going has just never appealed to me, but since today is discount day I thought I'd go and see Untouchable girls. It's a doco about the Topp twins, the world famous in New Zealand yodelling lesbian twins. I had a good laugh, but some of the political footage made me feel really old. I need to start my own campaign about price gouging on icecream and popcorn.

It was really wet out side so I stayed at home and had a NSD - except the meter reader called so I will be getting a bill shortly for the power I'm using.

I did my banking online. My pay from my first job went thru last week, 73.30, and the one from the second job eventually turned up today, 75.30. I haven't got a payslip for that yet, and I suspect they've automatically enrolled me in Kiwisaver and taken out 2%. I've an idea you're only aloowed to sign up for one job with the scheme, but I will have to check. Would be a shame to miss out on the employer contribution.

I also recieved nz20.00 from my Bonus Bonds. And a letter from WINZ saying they are going to deduct 32.00 a week from my benefit, but that's okay. I just have to keep them informed if my hours change.

Only 5 hours cleaning a week, but for nice folks and the amount earned doesn't interfere with my benefit. Now I can start contributing to Kiwisaver again. My paln is to keep living on just the amount of the benefit and save all extra money into my EF (which currently stands at nz2,358)

Last night a friend rang up to say she had tickets to the National Youth Choir and did I want to go. So I jumped at the chance and hunted in my wardrobe for some glad rags to wear. Concert going ladies always seem to go for shawls in a big way, so I wore one of my hand knitted ones. I got several compliments, which is pretty good as the yarn only cost me a dollar, and the rest of my clothes also came from the thrift store - total considerably less than the cost of the tickets. Anyway, had a wonderful time, the choir was terrific, but there was a sour end to the evening. While they were performing someone broke into the changing rooms and stole their wallets and other property. Hope the cops catch them soon.

is what I'm looking for, since we're approaching winter in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm hoping to get one in the thrift stores for no more than nz$30, but no luck so far Ideally, I'd like it to be waterproof, but good enough to wear to work. I hope I find one soon, as I keep being tempted to impulse buy all sorts of pretty tops and skirts which I don't need, and all those two dollars an item keep adding up. The only other clothes I need are new socks and bra. Will wait for sale at The Warehouse.

Having been debtfree for almost 7 years, I took out a loan back in October for a heatpump. It was under a Govt scheme for more energy efficient houses and is interest free. I borrowed $nz3,800, and am now down to $3,270.34. Costs me $24.03 a week.

I added up the money in my various accounts
checking 316
home repairs 436
billpaying 2,380

total $3,182 so I have almost enough to pay it off in a lump sum if necessary. In the meantime I'm enjoying my cosy house.

Wow, 6 months since I last blogged. It has been a rough 6 months. I have been sick and in pain and had to spend a wad of my savings on house renovations. I'm beginning to think I shall never achieve my dream of being financially independent. I've even been on anti- depressants. Gimme a virtual hug, someone.

Never mind, I'm not going to stay stuck in misery. I'm still a lot better off than many folks in these tough times. I figger the bright side is there'll be fewer employers wanting full time, but more demand for p/t and casual staff. I should be able to pick something up. In the meantime, i am honing my skills of telling the difference between wants and needs. Plus I'm still able to put $10 a week into my Kiwisaver.

Unfortunately I have been unwell again and have had to quit my job. At least I have managed to save up enough to put me in a good financial position for the next few months, and hopefully I will get back to work in the New Year. In the meantime I am being veeerrry careful with the cash - no more buying coffees as I'm always tempted to buy a nice little ginger slice or sandwich or other goodie to go with it. The coffee alone costs nz$3. But I did buy a whole crown pumpkin for $1. Funny thing, I would never eat it when I was little, but now I know why nana served it so often. I have plenty of rice in the pantry as well, so I may get a little sick of pumpkin risotto. I have nz$4.20 in my pocket and no plans to buy anything other than milk until Wednesday.

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."