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Archive for August, 2018

Day 96

August 31st, 2018 at 10:05 am

It's been a frustrating day. I was binding off on a shawl when I realised I'd made a horrible mistake near the beginning. Nothing to do but frog and start again. Takes me 20 minutes to do one row.

And I'm coming down with a cold.

Day 95

August 30th, 2018 at 10:16 am

Today in my $6 produce bag I got: 2 apples, 2 kiwis, 2 oranges, 1 head broccoli, 2 large carrots, half a pumpkin and 4 onions. Not sure what I'll do with the onions, maybe give them to Food Share and ask the people at All Saints if they could leave them out in future.

It is kind of fun not knowing what I'll get in my bag but it does make meal planning a little tricky sometimes. I'll do it a while before I decide whether I prefer choosing for myself.

I also bought bananas, bread and peanut butter at New World $5.20. I am limited to the same dozen or so cheap items but that's ok as it's the food I grew up on and I like it.

Day 94

August 29th, 2018 at 10:19 am

I decided to cap my House maintenance fund at $2,800 so was able to transfer $100 to my EF.

Bought a loaf of bread $1.

Day 93

August 28th, 2018 at 10:10 am

Today I bought a circular needle, $7, and a ball of yarn, $3.90, in order to complete a project. I'm not kicking myself over it as I've only bought 5 balls so far this year. I unsubscribed from some websites as they send me emails about what's on sale and I want to buy. One of my favorite lines is being discontinued and I want to stock up all the lovely stuff on clearance. I keep telling myself there will be more lovely yarns when I'm ready to buy again.

Day 92 - 9 months to go

August 27th, 2018 at 10:11 am

Ugh, after 3 months spending only cash from my budgeted $20 for food, today I impulse whipped out the debit card and spent $3 on raspberry slice. Not a good purchase as it was terribly sweet and made me feel sick. I usually feel that way after eating sugar and try to avoid it, but sometimes I binge. I think I'm addicted as I feel better without it. Never mind, it could have been the $112 shawl kit I've been drooling over. I'll take the $3 out of this week's food money and put it in the Trans Siberian fund.

Day 91 - 39 weeks to go

August 26th, 2018 at 10:03 am

Left in my envelopes
food 0
misc $88
medical $198
change dish $4.50
mta vouchers $70
bus card $14.08

Day 90

August 25th, 2018 at 10:10 am

I took $3.10 from my change dish and bought 2 Turkish rolls and 6 brown spotted bananas for lunch because I couldn't be bothered cooking.

Day 89

August 24th, 2018 at 10:06 am

I will be glad when spring arrives so I can go back to walking more. Spending quite a bit on bus fares.

I must be getting old. I have my regular cervical smear tests, been having mammograms for the last few years and now I'm being put on the bowel cancer screening program. I'm glad my dr is looking out for me but it's a bit alarming to think of all the unpleasant things that can befall me.

Day 88

August 23rd, 2018 at 10:05 am

Spend day. I went to lunch with a friend, $6.60 from my misc envelopes. It is going down quite rapidly so will have to put the brakes on spending. I will need a new pair of shoes soon so will have to save for those.

I went to All Saints for more fruit and vege. I got half a cabbage, half a cauliflower, carrots, yams, apples, kiwifruit and oranges. Pretty good for $6.

Day 87

August 22nd, 2018 at 10:13 am

Missed a few days for website maintenance, but all I have done moneywise is put another $20 on my bus card.

Tonight I went to a soup and poetry night nite and spent $4 ON BREAD ROLLS. love 'em. I could eat them all nite with pumpkin soup.

Day 83

August 18th, 2018 at 10:06 am

I still have several cans of beans and 2 packets of pasta. Looks like beans and pasta every day this week. Not complaining as I like it and I have different sorts of beans and veggies.

Day 82

August 17th, 2018 at 10:08 am

I reduced my yarn stash by 400 grams today. Someone had given me some laceweight but when I tried to wind it into balls it was all deteriorated. It must have been sitting in someone's basement for years. So I threw it out. I hate wasting yarn but some things are not salvageable.

I went to see the Australian documentary The Song Keepers. I left my money at home so no popcorn, but it didn't seem appropriate while the choir was singing ancient hymns.

When I got home ds had taken pity on me heating water in the microwave and bought me an electric jug.

Day 81

August 16th, 2018 at 10:36 am

I withdrew my weekly $60 today and then I spent from the misc at the thrift store $5 on 2 skirts, 20 cents on a knitting pattern and $3 on a Greek-English lexicon. I did a course on New Testament Greek some years ago and am getting rusty. Time to ward off dementia by keeping the brain cells active.

I spent another $18 on trash saks (ok, that's more than $20 from misc this week). We have to buy the ones the city council puts out and they keep getting more expensive. User pays. When I was living alone I didn't use many but now ds is back he can really churn out the rubbish. Here's me trying to leave a clean planet to future generations and him what inherits it is messing it up.

I decided to buy my fruit and veggies from the All Saints co-op. Saves having to go to 3 different shops to get the best price and as the produce is fresh from the market the quality is better. They do a bag for a single person for $3, but I find it doesn't contain enough veggies for me, so I went with the $6 bag. I think it's easier to budget when I know I'll be spending the same amount every week.

Day 80

August 15th, 2018 at 10:22 am

Payday. I have decided to make Thursday my shopping day (in case there is a delay in my benefit going into the bank) so will withdraw money and hit the stores tomorrow.

I did give a koha of $1 at the Knit Squad today. We meet at the community rooms and today the community gardens had put a box of leeks there for people to help themselves. I didn't want to be greedy so only took one and made leek and potato soup for dinner which will last me 3 days.

I have been occupying myself with finding out how many cups of tea I can get from one teabag. I take it without milk and sugar so don't like it too strong. I can get 3 cups by putting the teabag in the cold water then heating it for 3 minutes in the microwave.

Day 79

August 14th, 2018 at 10:07 am

I think I'm mildly addicted to spending. If I go 2 or 3 days without going to the shops I feel antsy and want to go see what there is and buy - something. Usually food but anything just to satisfy the urge. I think it's the power of handing over the money and getting whatever I want in exchange. Most of my purchases are small in dollar terms, but if there's a lot of them they add up. I'm considering having only one spending day a week, where I do all my shopping for groceries and anything else that's needed and pay the bills. The rest of the time stay out of stores. This will force me to make a list, which is the best way I know to save money.

Day 78

August 13th, 2018 at 10:10 am

I found a dime. Net gain as I didn't spend anything. I did find a book of lovely lace patterns at the library and spent some time drooling over the gorgeous yarns but didn't purchase anything. Not until my birthday.

Day 77 - 41 weeks to go

August 12th, 2018 at 10:09 am

I sold a child's vest I knitted for $15. I put the money in my Trans Siberian tin. Now I have $32.70.

Left in my envelopes
food zero
misc $107
medical $158
change dish $4.60
vouchers $70

Day 76

August 11th, 2018 at 10:08 am

Bought peanut butter $2.29 and pasta 79 cents. Neither was on sale but I needed them. Otherwise a quiet day at home knitting a scarf with some of the fun fur I got given. I'm not enjoying the yarn and think I'll on donate the rest to the thrift store. Someone will like it.

Day 75

August 10th, 2018 at 10:13 am

Although I have only the weekly $20 in my wallet for some reason I was feeling flush today. So I spent $3 on frosted fruit buns and $2 on fries. I will regret it when I step on the scale, but for the moment I have a comfortably full tummy. I also bought for Sunday
hummus $2.69
milk $2.39
bananas $1.21
I have tried bringing various plant milks to morning tea. The younger people accept them but the older ones insist on their cow juice.

Day 74

August 9th, 2018 at 10:12 am

Today I volunteered at the Sallies. I came across 2 woolen sweaters which I could have unravelled to make charity items, but decided with the amount I already have it would take me months to get to doing it. Or if I do it right away something else will have to wait. I bought all that yarn with specific projects in mind and I should get around to doing them.

Day 73

August 8th, 2018 at 10:11 am

Payday. After 10 weeks drinking nothing but water I couldn't stand it any longer and bought 100 teabags for $4.

Day 72

August 7th, 2018 at 10:16 am

I stayed out of thrift stores today to avoid temptation. I nickle and dime myself to death in those places {but it's such fun finding bargains). I did go to the supermarket ans bought 5 reduced price bananas for $1.06 and a loaf of bread for $1. Also I found a dime.

Day 71

August 6th, 2018 at 10:23 am

I spent $14.30 on supplies for church morning tea and communion this Sunday. I used one of my mta vouchers and got cookies at the service station.

And I spent a dollar - yes, a whole dollar - on yarn at the thrift store. That was silly, I have loads already. I'm supposed to be cold sheeping this year i.e. not buying any yarn. Darn sheep bucked me off. Ah well, get back on and try again for the rest of the year.

Day 70 - 42 weeks to go

August 5th, 2018 at 10:18 am

I got given a free ticket to a concert by the Returned Servicemens's choir. Good hearty singing, fine soloists, all ending in a stirring rendition of The Battlehymn of the Republic. Normally when I go to a concert I'll treat myself to a glass of wine in the interval (I only drink on special occasions) but it cost $10, so I passed.

$9.40 spent on food this week. Left in my envelopes:
food $10
misc $90
medical $148
change dish 90 cents
bus card $16.20
mta vouchers $80

Day 69

August 4th, 2018 at 09:59 am

I found a nice pink top in the Orphans Aid shop. The devil posed as an angel - It's only $3! It's for a good cause! - but I resisted and put the $3 in my Trans Siberian tin.

Day 68

August 3rd, 2018 at 10:28 am

It drizzled all day so I didn't go out. I stayed home and organised my yarn stash. Now all the yarn I have plans for is in project bags with the pattern The rest is sorted by color and weight. It's quite sobering to reflect on the hundreds of dollars I have in yarn, but it gives me hours of pleasure and makes useful things.

Day 67

August 2nd, 2018 at 10:07 am

Today was my day to volunteer at the thrift store. They had some nice bags so I bought a black and white striped one for $2 as my old black one is pretty worn. I also put $1 from my misc envelope into my Trans Siberian money tin. Now I have $12.70. It's such a tiny amount to be saving compared to what I need, but I want to get started now rather than wait until all my other goals are met.

Day 66

August 1st, 2018 at 10:12 am

Payday. There are 5 paydays this month. I went to Veggie Boys and bought over 2 kilos of carrots for $2.49 and just under a kilo of kiwifruit for $1.87. I also went to New World and bought 2 liters of canola oil for $5. That's all I need for the rest of the week.

I transferred $300 from my check account to my emergency fund. Now up to $2,383.38