Budget Budget Budget*

NOTE: numbers used in illustrative spreadsheets are random - you didn't think I'd let you see my actual income and expenditure did you? Due to this being a MADE UP budget, the numbers don't work as neatly as my real budget does. Use your imagination.

I'm still very much in post-baby fog, so this might not be the most coherent post on earth, though it looks OK to me. Please accept my apologies.

Also, click the picture for a bigger view.



Recently, a friend of mine asked me to show her how I use my budget (we still need to sit down one day so I can show her properly.. we keep getting distracted by things like op-shops and screaming children). She had gone to her bank account for some reason and couldn't figure out where all the money had gone. Now, I'm no expert, but I usually have a pretty good idea of how much there is in my account (and generally manage to save a fair amount). My husband generally does not.

He readily admits that he's not so great with money. If he needs to save for something, he can do it, no worries, but saving just because is a bit tricky. If he sees 'spare' money, he wants to spend it. What this means in a practical sense is that he's given me complete control over our finances, and rarely looks at the bank account. He doesn't want to know how much is there, so he can't be tempted to spend it. He knows in a general sense what he's allowed to spend - eg. he knows groceries should be around $200/week - but he leaves the specifics up to me.

This means that I need to keep a constant eye on where our money is going, since if we end up broke, ITS MY FAULT. The best way for me to do this is having it written down, and checking our spending frequently. Theres no point saying out loud "I will only spend $800/month on groceries" if you don't have it written anywhere to keep track. So I've drawn up a spreadsheet, with an 'estimate' and 'actual' column, and every thursday I open my bank account online and check whats been spent where, filling in the blanks in my budget as I go.

This helps for two reasons.

• Firstly, the estimate column is what our goal is - how much we should be spending in each area - and seeing how much we actually spend, compared to what we planned on spending lets me know if maybe we need to re-think our goals. Some things never change - for example our car payments are the same every month, and our phone bill should be, since we're on a plan and rarely go over our limit. Other things, like groceries, are less predictable, so the 'estimate' column is more of a guide, a number I'd rather not go over.

• Secondly, checking it every week lets me know if it was a one off blow-out - did we go over our grocery budget because we had one week where we had to buy toilet paper AND dish washing liquid AND laundry powder AND tissues AND restock our meat supply - or if we have been consistently going over by a little bit each week, perhaps meaning we haven't been paying as much attention to purchases as we ought.

My budget spreadsheet also carries over from month to month, with sections for the current month, the current quarter, and the whole year, so I can see at a glance how much we've spent over different periods of time, and if there are any trends - do we spend more on petrol at one time of year? More on groceries? More on eating out?

I have a monthly calendar at the bottom of each page, so I can see how many thursdays - when hubby gets paid - there are per month, so I know how many units of salary and groceries to put in. This also lets me know if I'm likely to need to transfer money from the savings account into our everyday account for things like insurance payments - if the payment is due monday, chances are I'll need to transfer some back, since there won't be the funds for it until thursday, and when thursday rolls round, I can simply transfer the extra back to the savings.

I've also set it up so that negative numbers show in red - every time we go over budget theres a big nasty red mark on my neat and tidy page, glaringly obvious, and begging not to happen again. I'm a shocker at keeping my house clean, but I like my computer to be ridiculously tidy, so having the glaring red really helps me try to keep things in check.

Absolutely THE most important thing in any budgeting is to make it work for you. This set-up worked for me, obviously, or I wouldn't still be using it 5 years after I first drew it up. It might not work for you. Your brain may not work the same way mine does. There are lots of different guidelines out there, find one that suite you. Also, don't be a slave to it. The budget is a guide, an indication of what you should be spending. Draw yourself in some wiggle room, and don't freak out if you go over a little. Maybe you need to rethink the numbers, but maybe it was a one off. If you are consistently going over budget, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, but don't beat yourself up about it.



If anyone is interested in more pictures and/or detailed explanations, or would like a blank copy to play with, let me know and I'll see what I can do.




*Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget MONEY MONEY!!
Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget MONEY MONEY!!
A Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget Budget SAVINGS SAVINGS! Savings, Savings, oooooooooooh Savings and Budget Budget Budget.....

(sorry, couldn't help myself, the badger songs gets in my head every time someone says budget)

Can't I Keep Her A Baby Forever?

I've just finished cleaning up an ENTIRE glass of milk from the floor.

Mr Snotface decided he didn't want to drink his milk this morning. I told him that was fine, but if he didn't drink it, he's obviously sick, and wont be going to preschool. So instead, I get "I have to go to the toilet." Classic excuse, one he uses a LOT to get out of things, but I can't take the chance that this time he's actually telling the truth - I really don't want to be the one that makes him poo in his pants because of some milk.

Since then, three things have happened, because he is being Mr Snotface today, instead of the sweet Critterbug I'd rather see:

• In his attitude laden stomping, he spilled the ENTIRE glass of milk, and then, despite being desperate to go to the toilet, he just stood there, staring at it. Not making any effort to clean it, or even ignoring it and continuing on his stomp to the bathroom. Just standing like a lump.

• He is now in his bedroom wailing hideously because I told him he has to wear a different shirt - I don't want him getting one of his only 2 unstained shirts covered in paint and marker at preschool. So he put the other one on, and screamed when I said "not that one please either" in a calm voice.

• I am now siting here praying for peace and patience, and that God will miraculously stop me from strangling him on the walk to school.

Are we absolutely certain theres no way to stop the aging process so I can stop Spaceghost before she gets to this point?



***UPDATE*** Imediately after posting this, what do I hear? He has turned the tap in the bathroom ALL THE WAY TO FULL to brush his teeth. Despite being told at least once a week that it is not to be turned that high. Somebody better calm down at school today.

What A World, What A World

After dropping my son off at preschool this morning, I sat down at the bus stop just around the corner to let my legs calm down before I walked home (the preschool is just over 1km - about 0.6 miles, or 3200 feet - away, so I walk if pain and weather permit - 2km, 3 times a week. But it has been rather cold here in the mornings and my legs itch like crazy if I walk more than about 100metres in the cold.. I don't know why, but they always have. It drives me crazy). As I was sitting at the bus stop, I started to wonder if maybe I should go down to the shops, since the bus stops right there and there was nothing urgent at home that needed doing.

While I was trying to make up my mind, and was talking to Spaceghost, trying to find the quickest way to make her laugh at me, a man who had been standing at the stop for a few minutes walked over to me. "D'you think you could lend me $2.50 for the bus fare?" he said, to which I responded "Sorry, no," as I only had $3 in my wallet, and had almost decided to catch the bus down to the shops.

Then I started to feel guilty. Home wasn't really that far away, and there is another stop for the same bus just around the corner from my house. I could easily give him bus fare, then make my way home, grab more money out of the change jar (and change Spaceghost's nappy while I was there) and head back out again.

Just as I was contemplating this, the bus pulled up. And the man pulled a pre-paid ticket out of his wallet and got on the bus.

He didn't need my money for the bus. He already had a ticket. That made me a little mad. And also put me in a bad mood, so I no longer wanted to go to the shops. Instead I'm sitting here watching my precious girl gripping her blanket and twitching in her sleep, and listening to the washing machine.

People suck.

The Cost of Clothing Babies

Last week, at just over 2 months of age (literally, 2 days past), my daughter Spaceghost graduated to 3-6 months jumpsuits for sleepwear. We could have continued to clothe her in 0-3 sleepers, but only if we left the crotch snaps undone to leave room for her cloth nappies (diapers) and cut off the feet. Despite the rolls on her thighs and wrists, and the Mega-Cheeks (tm), she is quite slender for her height (90th percentile height, 50th weight at her check last week. Critter is the same, only even more extreme - he needs size 4 or 5 for the length, but only size 1 around the waist), so separates still fit her in 0-3. In fact, her jeans are constantly falling off because the waist is too big for her, even though they look like capris, ending halfway up her calves.

My first thought? This girl is going to cost me a FORTUNE in clothes!!* My second? OP-SHOPS ROCK!!!

I try not to buy my kids' clothes full price if I can help it. There are times when its unavoidable. Like when they've pooed all over their clothes, and then vomited all over the spares, and the blankets got dirty too, so you HAVE to buy something so the poor little thing doesn't freeze. Critter did that to me a couple of times when he was tiny. Spaceghost hasn't. Yet. And I do like to buy them new clothes. I become overwhelmed with the cuteness of some of the little clothes I see in Kmart or Target or BigW.. like the two little tops I bought Spaceghost at Kmart the other week. Totally adorable. But honestly, theres nothing wrong with second hand, either.

At my local shops, there are three second hand stores. An Anglicare, a Vinnies (St. Vincent de Paul society), and a Smith Family. When I went by the other week, the Anglicare was having a 3-2-1 sale, to get rid of summer stock so they had room for winter stock, and everything in the store was $2.00 - thats 2 pair jeans and 1 overalls for Spaceghost, and jeans for Critter, for $8.00 - and on Saturday, everything was going to be $1.00. A shirt in Vinnies for Spaceghost at $2.50, and my shopping trip was complete. Not only that, they were in different sizes, so I already have things for when she grows, and she won't be dressed in the same thing as all the other kids her age, because they are previous seasons stock.

Even better, there is an Anglicare depot a few suburbs away from me, where they just have bins of clothing to go through yourself. Nothing is sorted in any way shape or form, but they sell the clothes BY THE KILOGRAM. This resulted in me picking up 12 items for the girl and 4 for the boy for $9.00 - went shopping with a friend, ended up with 3kg between us, and just split the cost. Some of the items were ever so lightly stained, but for 50c each, when they'd cost about $9.00 each new, who cares?

At the rate she's growing, clothing this girl of mine could cost a fortune, but it isn't going to. And anyone spending $20 for a shirt that will be outgrown in a matter of weeks needs their head examined.





*This would be even more true if I shopped at Pumpkin Patch, where a t-shirt for a 2 month old costs more than $20.00 - and they arent even the most expensive kids clothes around! Totally adorable, totally worth it at op-shop prices, never being bought full price in this house.

Taken For Granted

On sunday night, when I went to do the dishes, nothing came out of the tap. Which was strange. I turned it round to cold, and water BLASTED from the faucet, but when i swivelled it back to hot, it dribbled back to nothing. I checked every other tap in the house, and there was no hot water anywhere, so I informed my husband, who decided it was too late to do anything, and we went to bed.

On monday morning - yesterday - when hubby got up to get ready for work, there was still no hot water. In fact, since we're going into autumn now down here in the southern hemisphere, he informed me that the water hitting his feet was like - and i quote - "the icy cold fingers of death". Sometimes he's a little melodramatic. In any event, we ended up having to boil the kettle and fill the sink in the bathroom so he could in effect have a sponge bath, and then he braced himself to wash his hair with the cold water from the shower. That can't have been fun. I didn't risk it, and decided to take my chances at stinking down the house.

When he got home from work yesterday afternoon, he had a look at the hot water heater, and since he couldn't see anything obviously wrong, we called a plumber, who was here in about 3-4 hours. Turns out the valve to let water into the heater had collapsed. We weren't getting any hot water because there was no hot water. The water heater was happily sitting there heating the air inside it, because NO WATER COULD GET IN. So he replaced the valve, and now we have hot water again. YAY. (On a down note, the heater is ten years old, and they have a lifespan of ten years. I see a new hot water heater on our horizon soon...)

Being without hot water all day was annoying. Having to boil the kettle, or put a pot on the stove every time we wanted something other than near-freezing was very much a bother. But it got me thinking about how privileged we are to have such easy access to a plumber, so we can have hot water. Even to be in an area that has running water.

When my mother was an infant, her family didn't have access to running water. My grandmother had to walk to the well with a bucket, and I gather it was quite some way away. This was only a little over 60 years ago. In the USA. Yeah, I had trouble believing it too. But there are people who still live like that, or worse. Whose accessible water not only isn't running, it isn't even clean. And hot? Only if it's summer.

Most of my country* is in drought (so maybe I did good by not having a shower?). We in the cities aren't allowed to use a hose on the garden, and further inland farms are lying vacant because there isn't enough water to grow anything, so the farmers can't afford to keep farming. Sydney's (where I live) water supply is at less than 60% capacity, and hasn't been anywhere near full for 7 years. But we still HAVE water, and it's clean. And when the heater is working, it's hot too.

There are so many things we take for granted, but any of them could be gone at any time. I think I'm going to pay more attention from now on.




*The rest of the country is flooded. Thats right. It's either parched, or under water. This place is CRAZY.

It'a nearly EEEEEEEASTERRRRRRRRRRR

So, as I'm sure you've noticed, Easter is coming up pretty quick. MIL bought a truck full of chocolate eggs for the Critter while she was here when Spaceghost was a tiny thing, so there's his chocolate intake taken care of. I shall try to think of something to get for hubby, and at just 2 months, Spaceghost is just a teensy bit too small for chocolate at this point.. don't you think?

So now, I only have one dilemma. When do I make my hot cross buns? Should I make the dough on saturday night and then stick them in the oven Easter morning? Or should I make the dough before Church on sunday, leave them to rise during church, and cook&eat them after? It's quite a dilemma, since I'd love to eat them for Easter breakfast, but they're best fresh&hot, so I don't want to make them in advance and freeze them or something...


NOT FAIR. Time is annoying.

ugh

Not having a good time at the moment. The kids are sick (how does a breastfed baby get a cold? Thats not supposed to happen), hubby and I arent feeling too crash hot either, Spaceghost didnt eat much yesterday, I'm having trouble sleeping, and theres various other stuff going on thats causing stress in my life, like cats, and jobs, and weddings.

On top of all that, my internet is being slow, and I'm having a lot of trouble loading anything. My solution? Hit the enter key REALLY REALLY HARD when trying to refresh a page. I know it won't make it work any better, but I feel like it will, and it makes me feel better to smash that button.

If only the rest of life was so simple.