Today New World had 2-minute noodles on sale at nz.20 per packet, normally nz.35. There is not much nutrition in them, so I tend to avoid them, but they are handy to have in the cupboard when you need a quick meal. I sprout my own mung beans and add an egg for a cheapie stir fry. So I bought 10 packs.

Broccoli was on special and I got some reduced price carrots, so will make a noodle-vege-cheese casserole tonite. I don't buy canned soup, but will use the flavor sachet with the noodles to make a sauce.

After THREE no spend days on the trot, today I visited my fave thrift store. Just to see what there was.... bad idea. I'm always sure to see something I want. Today I got a big bag of yarn for $5. Now I didn't strictly speaking need it, as I already have 22 potential projects sitting in my glory box. As it is mostly acrylic I will probably use it for charity knitting. And if it gets really cold, I will sleep in the glory box, with all my yarn snuggled round me.

I grew up in the stone fruit growing district, and much of my high school vacations were spent picking apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, and nectarines. As a result I am spoilt for life. When you have tasted ripe, sweet, juicy fruit straight from the tree, warmed by the sun, you lose all interest in the underipe, chilly, bland things you get in supermarkets. And they are expensive. Cherries cost $13nz for a kilo. So usually I only eat them when I visit my hometown.

But today I had to provide something for a potluck. I noticed that some entrepreneurial types had brought down a lot of freshly picked cherries, and were selling them on a street stall. I tried one and they were delicious. So I bought a bag for $5nz. My friends were delighted.

I did well today:
2 pairs knitting needles, one 2mm, the other 2.25mm. Now I can knit up the lace weight in my stash.
Knitting pattern book. Now I can knit up etc etc.
Book of crossstitch sampler patterns.

all these cost 50 cents each. Hours and hours of entertainment, plus pretty clothing and decorations for my home, for only $2nz. Beats going to the movies any day.

Today I was on my way to work. First I noticed the Sally Army was having a bag sale, so stopped to take a look. I didn't buy any clothes, but I got a book on traditional quilt making for a $1.

Carrying on, I saw the local radio station was having a promo and giving away freebies. I got a couple of sachets hair dye, which I gave to a blonde friend: some Nicorette gum, to give to a friend who's trying to give up smoking; and some Hilary Duff scent. Smells quite nice.

Then today was my last day at this job, so thought I would buy myself a little celebration lunch in town. I asked for a pizza slice, and the counter asstant said as they were rather old, she would give me two for the price of one. So I had 2 slices of pizza and a cup of tea for $3nz.

My friends often comment that I am a lucky person. Seems that way.

I had $30 from my change jar as my start to the $20 Challenge. I was taking it to deposit it and I saw the Women's refuge was having a street appeal. So what did I do? I promptly gave them all my money, and I don't regret it. I am grateful for all the blessings I have, but for some poor women life is hardly worth living. I hope it will be used to improve things for some poor soul.

Now I know i promised this would be a no spend year, but today a relative from Ireland came to visit, and who can resist someone who's kissed the Blarney Stone. So we went out to a beachfront cafe and a leprechaun took $12.95 from my wallet for some mushrooms that were nearly as good as those in the Old Country. (Well, mebbe there was a drop of the good stuff too. I'm not saying) Then we decided to browse the 2nd hand shops, and while I was admiring some jewellry, another leprechaun pushed a ring onto my finger. It was obviously an enchanted ring, because it wouldn't come off. Then the store owner pulled a gun on me and demanded $10. Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'd better start saving for St Pat's day. Who knows what the little people will want to do with my money then.

Sigh. If only that were the end of expenses once the mortgage is paid off. But Nooo. there's money that has to be spent to keep the place in good order. Today I hired a dumpster - we call it a skip - and a work party of friends came round, and we filled it to the brim with garden waste. It looks so much better now. Unfortunately, while clearing the section we came across a wasp's nest, so there was the added expense of calling someone to dispose of it.

I'm afraid my garden has been getting the better of me while my health has been poor. I can't keep relying on friends and neighbours to take care of it for me, so I will eventually have to look at selling this place and moving into an apartment. But before that I will have to spend more money to get it into reasonable selling condition. I wonder if I can get on one of those do-it-up TV shows?

Happy to say my arm is improving and I have no problems using it, tho it is still rather painful. Medical costs nz25.

Because of my having a day off last week when I have not yet accumulated any sick leave, my paypacket is lower this week, only $142, plus 33 disability. Still, that is enough to put aside for bills, nz20 into retirement, 30 for home repairs and 10 into my Travel-the-trans-Siberian a/c. I had 17.10 in my change jar, which helped with buying groceries, and we had the library booksale this week. I restrained myself and only bought nz5 worth.

Actually, I would be alright even if for some reason i didn't get paid at all. The nice thing about having savings is you're no longer continually counting on the next pay. I still had nz85 in my check a/c from last time, so decided to go the end of year dinner with my Toastmasters Club. Very nice Thai restaurant, nz8 - I passed on the green tea icecream.

I have been learning about this group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/

They have decided not to buy anything new except essentials like underwear for the next 12 months. A very good idea for saving the environment, and also for saving $$$. I support it in principle, but I think I've borrowed my neighbor's pruning saw often enough, so I bought one for $nz19.99 at a closing down sale. Also I did buy a very nice navy 2 piece at the Presbyterian Social Support shop for only $1.

First party of the month, a pot luck. I took along the crackers and dip, but there was so much food I wound up bringing it home again. As I am going to be on my own this Christmas, I have decided to invite all my single friends to my place and bring a dish.

Today is damp and misty. I slipped on the path outside and now am nursing a very sore elbow. I'm thankful it wasn't any worse- can still use arm to do knitting and use computer.

The problem was my sneakers, they are very old and worn. So I decided I had better get some new ones and found a pair in Dowsons for $19.95. Grey and yellow. I found 10 cents outside the store.

When I got home my latest power bill had arrived. Because I am now out of the house during the day, it was only $59. I am very pleased as the last few have been quite high.

because a dollar saved now will bring me 5 cents a year forever. I now have $1360 in Bonds. Walking to work I found 50 cents, and on the way back, one of the opportunity shops had a "six items of clothing for a $1" deal. So I got a wool jersey, 2 skivvies, 2 summer tops and a skirt. i also got a big bag of milk powder for $nz7.10, so shouldn't need to spend any more on groceries. I have $9.70 left in my wallet - i wonder if i can gothe rest of the week without spending it?

My old Epson has given up the ghost and the man at the shop informed me that kind is no longer being produced. I thought i would have to spend at least $100 for a new one, but a friend of mine had just updated his Canon because he wanted all sorts of fancy features, and offered me his old one for $30. I have just installed it and feel like a computer genius.

only purchases today
ink cartridge nz8.00
bananas for lunch nz0.50

I did a little paint scraping and now have nearly cleaned one window. I spent most of the afternoon knitting. I am giving homemade gifts this year - hats and scarves. I have a TON of yarn in my stash and am not allowing myself to buy any more for 12 months. It's silly to keep on buying new stuff when I'm not using what I've got.

A coupla pizza buns for $nz1.60. Ham and pineapple, mmm...

That is the only money I have spent today. Got inspired by the exercising on some other blogs and decided to walk to work, got a lift back from a coworker.

Oh, and I found 10 cents but gave it to a street collector.

to hear whether i get more weeks in this job. The office supervisor keeps saying she wants me to continue, but the boss is away this week so haven't been asked yet.

Doling out the money s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully in the meantime. Today's spending:

prescription 17.00
busfare 2.60

made do with banana and oatmeal for breakfast, cheese sandwich for lunch, and zuccinni fritters for dinner. The same as I had yesterday.

I am having to go to dad's house this weekend. The financial matters are now in the hands of the Public Trust, and they say it is to be sold, so I need to go and make an inventory of the goods in the house and decide what is to be done with them. None of us really want the furniture, but the pictures and books have sentimental value for all of us.

Woe is me. Announcing that I intend to save money is like announcing I'm going on a diet. When I try to cut food intake I start eating everything in sight. When i decide not to spend everyman and his dog is ringing me inviting me to all sorts of delightful places - at a price. I managed to blow $14.95 of my remaining cash at lunch with a friend and now have only $3.80 left. It's that blasted ATM card, i just keep thinking, I can get some more cash out.
I could go into all sorts of psychological reasons why I do this (I'm reacting to my dad who was always nagging me about wasting my money)but never mind Freud. I've just got to stop. Otherwise I'll be having to go without food for a week in order to save money.
I can do this. I know I can. Heck I've faced big challenges in my time. And if I'm smart enough to go back to college and get my BA at the age of 40, I'm not too old to learn new tricks.
Encourage me wouldya?

Well, I have had a lovely time with sis going round the 2nd hand shops looking for furniture. I bought
a lounge suite for $NZ249
a dining suite for $nz180
and a filing cabinet $70.
Some plastic boxes to store all ds comic and DVD colection in.
A couple rubbish bins.
A new single mattress
I also had to get some tools and some paint stripper so I could get started on redecorating. i am still waiting on the quote for new spouting.

I also had to pay Toastmasters subs, and buy a choir uniform and music folder. Plus a trip to see dad.

All this is necessary expense, but last month I spent over $nz1800, while my income was only $800. Time for another austerity month.

I have signed on with one of the agencies to see if I can get some temp work.

We are coming into spring here in southern land. My camellias and magnolia are in bloom. Today was a lovely sunny day, filling people with smiles and energy.

Sis has decreed that I should turn the spare bedroom into a hobby room. OK, so long as it can be done on the cheap. There is a horrible orange and brown carpet which I have never liked. It wasn't in very good condition, so we tore it up and found the boards underneath were in good condition, so decided to polish them up, and put down a nice rug. Our first step was to take the old carpet to the tip. We dumped it, then took a look at the recycling shop they have there which sells still usable goods. And wadda ya think! They had some offcuts of carpet, a nice beige, in perfect condition. And how much did the guy ask for it?

TWO DOLLARS!!

We grabbed it and whizzed back home with it. Looked great and matched the curtains beautifully. So now I have a totally recarpeted room at a price even a dyed in the wool skinflint like me can't complain about. I gotta start checking out the tip more often.

When everyone seems to be demanding my money. I bought a few tools and some curtain material for the house, which I thought I could afford, then i got hit with this glasses bill, plus my dentist just sent me an appointment for the 22nd. I need to pay a $100 subscription for the choir and I have to have some spare cash for going to National Conference on the 25th. Next month I need to put aside $80 for Toastmasters and I was hoping to go visit a friend in another city. Okay, so they're not all necessities; I could just sit at home and count my money instead. However, the work broker just told me about a 6 month project I might be put to work on - data entry. Shall I spend the extra money doing the house up, or should I save for a new car? Ah the pain when there's not enough money to do everything I want. At times like these I am almost tempted to buy a lottery ticket so I can have a few pleasurable days of dreaming.

First, the bad news., because I'm the sort of person who likes to get it out of the way quickly. I decided to do some work on my house while sis was here to help me. Got some bright material and made new drape for the living room. The plan was to pull up the hideous carpet which I have hated since i moved in, polish up the floorboards, and have a nice colorful rug on it. Unfortunately, we found one corner of the room was very damp, and found the basement underneath that spot was also quite wet. What to do? I haven't got an estimate for fixing it yet, but I imagine it will be considerable. I don't know if I should use my Bond money, or take out a home equity loan. I'd rather owe $3000 and have $3000 than have no money at all.
I'm also debating whether it's worth my fixing it up at all, or whether I should sell it in its current condition and move to a more disability friendly house, as I will eventually have to do anyway. I love my little house, and I'm very proud of the fact I bought and paid off the mortgage all by myself, but maybe the time has come to let it go.

The good news is that 3 months ago I found a camera and handed in in to the police. Well, I just got a letter saying it hasn't been claimed so it is now mine. Honesty pays.

Because of all the close work I've been doing lately, on the computer and my knitting, I've been prescribed glasses. $NZ355 for eye exam, lenses and frames. Ouch. Just when I'd planned to do a little home decorating. (Sis offered to paint the walls while she's here)

I did ask about hobby glasses, but I have astigmatism too so need corrective lenses. Oh well, if I am going back into the work force and be spending my time at a computer, I'd better have them now. I have already received many compliments on my new haircut, there will be even more comment on my changed appearance with glasses. Must be either the new moon or the onset of midlife that brings about such dramatic change.

I decided recently I spent a lot of time on my own and am becoming a boring person, too prone to talk about my ailments. So I decided to put more interests in my life.

I became the organizer of a support group, and have now been asked to attend a National Conference. Airfare paid.

I joined Toastmasters and have been recently inspired to start entering contests. This year a girl from our area won the New Zealand finals, so on Friday I am helping in her fundraiser to get her to the International finals in Washington DC. $nz20 to hear some great speeches and supper.

And last night I auditioned for the City choir and won a place in the first altos!
So when my dr tells me I am okay to get back to work (I am hoping he will ok me for parttime soon), I will have lots of interesting things to put on my CV.

I admit it, I'm a yarnaholic. I have an entire hope chest stashed with yarn - which is why I signed up with Stashbusters till the end of the year.

But yesterday I caved, looking thru my patterns and thinking about what I could knit for friend's baby. I found the sweetest bootee patterns and - well, gulp, yes, I wound up buying a ball of baby yarn.

But only one ball! and this despite the fact they had a sale on! I bravely walked past all the boxes of novelty yarn and luscious mohair, found exactly what I wanted, paid for it plus a yard of ribbon, and walked out. No stopping to drool. HA! Will power!

Or maybe it's the fact I have a trip coming up next month and i know I have to save for it.

I also used some scrap yarn to knit an ipod cozy for another friend. Oh - wait I don't have any suitable buttons. What to do? Fear not, the local thrift store sells them. And walking into the thrift store what do I see? A whole BAG of baby yarn going for $2. Rats, could have saved $1.50 on my purchase. Never mind, just remeber to check it out first next time.

I shopped for groceries today, mostly fruit and veg,potatoes, pasta, dates,flour and milk powder. It came to $18.25. as I will be at a community health camp this weekend, I didn't need so much. The checkout girl commented on how much I had for my money. The woman ahead of me had some diet coke and precooked chicken, then she wanted a carton of cigarettes, which took her bill to over $NZ50.

Time to inspect the damage caused by ds flitting the nest. Apart from the money I spent on him, this month's expenses came to $NZ646.61 Not bad, could be lower in theory, but since I live on a low income anyway, and have to watch pennies all the time, I tend to rationalise my treats.

Property taxes 87.40
Electric 101.00
Insurance 48.78
Phone 44.78
Internet 27.95
Grocery 113.25
Eating out 18.75
Church 58.25
Household 4.00
Prescription 4.00
Hobbies 5.00
Shoes 29.95
Travel 60.00
Misc. 43.55

However, I am above budget for the first 6 months of the year. To keep within budget I have NZ4,672 to spend for the rest of the year, or 778 per month. I want to see how much of that I can save into my battered Emergency account, so have decided:

Sign up to Stashalong for 6 months and not purchase any more yarn or materials.
Don't buy any more outer clothing.
Restrict use of ATM to one cash withdrawal per week, and pay for all purchases in cash. Once cash is gone, that's it for week.
Eat out only once per month.
Only one trip out of town per month.
Restrict long distance calls to family to once a week.

I went to the Fair Trade shop today and saw some earrings I liked for $12.95. When I took them to the counter, the girl said there was 20% off all jewellry. I then asked her what the symbol on the earrings meant. She said "Prosperity!" We had a good laugh, and she wished me a prosperous day. On the way home I found a half dollar by a parking meter.

Out of the blue ds received an offer to go to England, ticket paid for by dad. Great excitement and a furious rush to get things done on time. We had to get an urgent passport. Of course ds having happily blown all his cash on DVDs and satellite TV, despite my best efforts to encourage savings, dear old mum has to come up with the required $NZ300. Aesop should rewrite the fable about the ant and the grasshopper where the ant is too kindhearted to refuse to help the starving grasshopper when winter comes. Never mind, it's a great opportunity for him and I'm really happy. But I shall be lonely when he's gone next week. I shall have to get a housemate, which will help with finances too.

I am now drawing up a list of all the jewellry and things I want ds to buy for me in Europe.

Yes tax is deducted from my benefit. At 15%. Plus there is the Goods and Services Tax on everything I buy. And I pay property taxes to the local council. And tax on the the interest earned on my bank accounts. At 19.5%.

Someone told me about this website staplesrodway.com where NZers can check out their own personal Tax Freedom Day. Mine was on May 17 and I paid a total of $3,736.42. So there, I am a contributing member of society. Now I can use the rest of my money with a clear conscience.

I am thankful I don't smoke, drink or own a car.

Well, I'm planning my month on the breadline. My plan is to pay all my usual monthly bills, utilities, ISP etc. I also pay my local body taxes and insurance monthly. It generally comes to around $300 total.

Then I plan to withdraw $40 cash each week from my cheque account, which I will use for groceries and other little incidentals. I'm hoping not to withdraw any other money from any of my accounts. If I can do it it should keep the total below $NZ500 for the month. Then I'll run for Parliament, become Minister of Finance and balance the national budget.

It's Saturday morning down under. I went round some of the nearby garage sales, but the only thing I bought was a very pretty ring for $2. (Yes I know it's not a necessity, but what's the point of having money if you can't buy something you like now and then) I stopped at the supermarket on the way back and bought

milk NZ1.65
shampoo NZ2.00

There was a phone booth there that I always check out for reject coins (I know, scrooge) I found 30 cents.

When I got back a friend rang to say she had been given tickets to a play and would I like to go with her? So I'm off to gussie myself up.