An Op Shopping we will go....

Ive been wanting to pick up some bargains from a second hand shop for awhile but never found the time. However on the weekend, I had a free half hour, childless, so decided to pop into one.

Holy Moly I was in op shop heaven! I spent most of the time in the homewares section but Ill definately be heading back in the not too distant future to browse the clothes etc.

I got all this (plus a Chuggington top for little man) for a mere $21!!

There was way more stuff I could of taken away with me but I limited myself to this for now. There was a fine line between collecting bargains or just more clutter!

So i got myself a couple of baskets. The larger one im thinking of spray painting and using for Master A's toys and the rectangular one Ill either use as a bread basket (which was its intention) or maybe as a table decoration.

Ive been wanting a large wooden tray for ages so I had to grab this one at a steal of $3!! The smaller tray was just cute and only $1. Reckon these will both get a lick of paint as well

 The star container I thought i'd use as a pencil holder or similar.

And I couldnt go past the Thomas (Master A is obsessed!), another steal at $3!

I never thought of op shops even selling fabric but they do! I got a few meters of this lovely blue and white material for about $6 I think. Not sure what my plan is for this..maybe cushions covers or even a bean bag cover.

Cant wait to get stuck into some projects with these beauties!

The paintbrush is calling me....

New year, new budget

I briefly mentioned on a FB status about trialing a 'pay in cash' method this year. Drawing out X amount every pay to cover groceries, fuel and 'play' money for myself and hubby, in order to help with saving.I normally pay by card for most things which is usually fine but sometimes the spending bug can take hold and its so easy to hand over a card rather than actual money. Im hoping using the cash wallet system will help with knowing what I have spent and therefore what is left in the kitty.
I tried this on Tuesday when I did my grocery shopping. My budget is between $220 and $250 for the fortnight including meat, nappies, fresh produce etc. It normally averages $220-30. It felt good to just hand over the cash and see exactly what was left ($8!) which I will then put aside for top up milk. Of course there is always room to add a little extra if we need but I will try and stick to it as much as I can.

This nifty device I found at Woolies awhile ago on clearance.

Ive only used 3 dividers separating FUEL, FOOD and CASH for everyday items. Theres also room for dockets and bills i might have to pay whilst out.

Im also putting aside money each fortnight (coinciding with payday) to cover the quarterly house bills.
I was reading another bloggers status feed (sorry cant remember which one) about what people do to budget their bills, and noticed a few people pay these bills monthly. I've never thought of this, nor thought you could! But it would definately help with Bill Shock expecially with the rising costs of electricity and water bills.
Originally I was going to look into opening another account with my bank where I could transfer the money into but to be honest, I couldnt be bothered, so Im going to move the money into my premium savings account I already use for our savings and mark the transfer 'bills' so I can easily tell the difference between savings and bill money.

Our family is at a cross roads this year where were not really sure what we're going to do. Our home is only 2 bedroom and we knew one day we would outgrow it, although that day seems to have come along very quickly. We want to expand our family in the next couple of years and desperately need more room. So either we look into building on (which we're not sure if we're able to with restrictions etc) or move to a bigger house. I really prefer option 1 because moving just seems too hard but time will soon tell as we start looking at planning with the council etc to see if the extension can be approved.
Lets just say, it could be an interesting year!

Our budget planner

Ive been using our budget planner since the start of this year and its the first time Ive actually stuck at it.
It was imperative that I kept track of our finances due to being on a low income until i returned to work and then having to survive on one wage. This planner helped take some of the stress out of worrying about money as i could plan what bills were due and what we had leftover for the 'fun' stuff!
I use Excel. I probably dont use it to its full potential but because I use it a lot at work, im getting better at formulas and macros etc.
So here's an overview:

INCOME

 

Ive taken out the actual figures, for privacy reasons of course, but this is the basic layout. Normally this section is pretty standard from month to month but Hubby has just started a casual position so his section will differ depending.

 

EXPENDITURE

example only (wish our mortgage was really $1000/mth!)

 



Here is where i record our regular monthly expenditure (minus food/fuel...thats to follow).

Again, this doesnt often change month to month but I use a colour code to know what has been paid and what is still to come. Some of these payments are direct debited so I know when they're due to come out. I also record these on a calender next to the computer. When they have been paid, I mark them GREEN. YELLOW are all pending payments. Then I calculate the total at the bottom.

 

VARIABLES and UTILITIES

 

 

I record my food and fuel expenditure separately as this is where I can save money if needed. I class them as my 'variables'. I set myself a budget of $440 for food and $200 for fuel per month. This seems to work out pretty close to but if money is looking tight I can always jiggle these costs around.
I update this as i go along for the month and then its saved for when i want to look back at how we can do better next time.

Then I have our quarterly and yearly bills. This is what has been really handy for me as Ive been able to predict when the next bill/s are coming in.
Im sure most of your Utility bills come quarterly, so mark what month you receive and then colour the box 3 months down the track. So in this case i can see next month we'll get Electric, Gas and our council rates (YUCK!)  and in December our RAA is due. Then I can budget around that.

Finally at the bottom I have the grand total of what will be left in the kitty. I use formulas to subtract our sub total expenditures from our income.

So I hope that might have helped some of you looking at preparing a budget.
Its not foolproof but i go back to this every couple of days and compare our bank balance to see how we're travelling.