Best Gift A Mother Can Get...

Happy Mothers' Day to all the Mothers ~

Those who are Mothers, Had Mothers, Have Been Mothers ... May there have been sunshine in your day if you do that kind of thing...

We've just got back from a weekend in Melbourne's inner and bayside areas ~ the majority of time was spent with family from both sides - catch up for Mothers Day with the mums. There were token gifts given to the 'Nannas'. It was more about 'family' ~ we stayed with Husband's Mum Friday night, and enjoyed a delicious dinner around the dinner table. Saturday was two nephews first birthdays which gets all my 'side' together - yea hah?! It was a great kid party, awesome to see near all my family together and it was very happy, chatty kinda get-together. Good fun.

Dinner with a girlfriend of ours (SlateyChickie) and her cool hubby and gorgeous (sweetie, darling) girls. Stayed at my Mums - had pikelets for brekkie and home again, home again ~ no jiggity, but let chooks out, collected eggs - half a dozen! good gerls. We've been nice to cats, given them some extra cuddles and food and now all the Sunday afternoon blah blah you need to catch up on. 

Its Mothers Day ~ hope you're having a good one. 

As with most of the commercial holidays we seem to 'enjoy' ~ "Mothers' Day" type days are used to set a date to be met to celebrate being able to purchase something needed . . . like coordinating the delivery of (say) chickens - best "mothers day" present 4-5 years ago. Or the water tank arriving just/before after dads day and put a picture of it beside his morning cuppa with delivery due 'on Wednesday'.

This mothers day I am getting a commitment from my boys to undertake ruthless culling of non necessities - and a 15m dumper-bin to put it all in. The bin has been paid for already with one additional week of 'service'. This is being delivered on Monday morning (tomorrow) for all the junk, rubbish to be 'gathered'. Its a real ruthless cull of 'sort, sell, store or scrap' 

Yeah Sita ~ "Stuff Is Taken Away"!! Perfect 'timing' ~ and what mum wouldn't love a mothers day gift which goes for two weeks and ends in every last piece of cr£p be gone, taken away, not just moved to another place to be dealt with another day?!? And at about only *exactly* $426.62 is what it costs to give, including *free* labour and (in)assurance of a job well done. I know I can count on SITA hauling the skip away, and count on SmallBoy with his broken leg to clear out his room 'clutter' and Husband to work through the garage so I can pack down the house into boxes for storage in there.

Best ever 'Mothers Day' present - after the chickens...

3/4 size initial compromise

We're up to $1100 on the car repair to have the engine changed over, a few minor works to ensure running - still under budget, but we dont yet know what is required for road worthy & rego, hoping only $1000-$1500 more and allow us a little more for the pop top van budget (please!!) as the middle way point of portable accommodation on wheel compromise.  

More in budget ~ but older type range

None of the options are what you would really call caravans in that type we all remember from our child-hoods. It will be lower on the petrol, ideally we will be staying with friends along the way up with inside spare rooms each night and only need trailer space and at the moment it is all about the budget. We are looking forward to this helping reduce ours and aid health, 

But at the moment it looks like we have a camper trailer type budget to work with at best. It's a case of the 3/4 size caravan vs a pop-top (attaching a rack to enable taking our queen mattress) now down to one we put our mattress in/on, the top rises to a small upright tent with annex room structure needing a few pegs to secure and store items to come to QLD under the mattress base, giving us the rear of the station wagon and level 'queen-size' trailer of space as what we can take. 

A truly 'ideal' ~ if really lucky...

I had the chance to look back to the start of this blog ~ that Front Page type of first post you write when you start writing about your aims, the plans or 'Mission' you are setting out on, what you hope to achieve... Truly we have come far from that October last year when it all felt a bit cold, stark and overwhelming on a negative. Nothing has been mind-blowingly amazing like saving $10k and halving the debt ~ more lots of little chips and changes, extra payments on debts and little adds to the savings, negotiation and compromises, smart decision and purchases.

But it is a long way from the first blog post when you remember where we started our Mission and compare it to where we are now about to make that move to Queensland - and into the region we had originally chosen for ourselves to introduce ourselves into state. It might be 3-4 years behind schedule but I can read that entry and see the history leading to the moment - to the here and now and where we are going with so much more confidence, opportunity and experiences to gain. Brilliant!!

~ WELCOME TO THE FRONT PAGE ~

Got a lot to do before we get to Qld and only 8 weeks to do it in! 

Looking for Whiskers cat food under $1 this week - have a $10 mystery shop coming up so we have an 'extra $10' in the budget this week. With a $21 or less 'limit' while we eat down the pantry, etc ~ I get the 'looking for sorbent' on special this week/next week type of shopping - we were having a chat on Simple Savings about keeping things 'less' or 'low'. Fingers crossed someone has it at 79c again soon and at the supermarket of my 'shop'.

Time for me to go ~ back in the next day or two.

Oi vie it does begin :D

Here we go again

You know that feeling...?

Up down, Up down ~ well I really want UP not down. And you know it is getting rather cold here ~ this is hurting me more and more. Having those days here I am struggling to get up ~ much is the metal in the back and the withdrawal from pain medication but Jeez Louise another western Victoria winter is going to be a real drain. Especially having missed out on summer (thanks Mother Nature!)

So we are moving. North. In a few weeks!!  Holy Toledo Ballarat-Man! We've said we would ~ we've planned to go ~ and suddenly we are! On a shoe-string budget but it is all on. What's more - no rent required. Helping out the most lovely couple enjoy their retirement dreams and we are looking after a furnished home, maintaining the garden and taking care of the property while they travel the country! It means we get to save, have SmallBoy in a school for a long term - not just dragging him from place to place, school to school like others I know have - give us all somewhere stable and allow us to discover the area we would like to settle into in a few years. 

SmallBoy is keen, MudGuts is staying. That's going to be a scary notion ~ hopefully mental health services will finally pull its finger out and provide him the support we have been screaming for him for years.

Creepy crawlie little beetles...

We've decided to cancel the solar panels ~ my 'dirty little budget secret' is we have had $6000 waiting for the panels' installation due to be this month. This would have cleared a whack of debt, fixed the car or been spent had it not been locked away and being added to over the past six months - it was our $4000 tax return plus savings since July - little bits at a time to ensure we hit the $6k mark to allow a discount of $1000 on an $9000 system. 

We paid $1k up front and risk losing it - but ce la vie - especially as we can get this back IF we find someone to take up the contract. But we are unlikely to succeed this option unless MIL can have her new place located in a month. Or someone in the region says 'we'll take over your contract Mands' in a few weeks.

However, the cash is the reason we can get the station wagon repaired and 'invest' in a pop-up caravan. More economical on the petrol costs.  It was almost going to cost half the 'solar savings' to get an engine for the station wagon ~ the first quote was $3200. But, a few days of searching and haggling I've found a changeover engine for $650 and it should cost about the same to get it in the car, other work to be at road worthy and then whatever registration costs...

The next few weeks will be the packing, the throwing, the down-sizing. Already the wardrobes have been 'claimed', one of the tables has been sold, the couch is 'bags-ed' and we will be selling one fridge/freezer, 2000 items of clothes (actually only 1900 now - sold $170 worth on Sunday). Half the kitchen stuff will go and we are spending NOTHING on food for a fortnight to get everything down in the pantry. 

Sure, tinned carrots, peas, potatoes - all go great in a casserole! We've got turkey, mince, chicken, mince, beef, mince, lamb, mince, pork and, you guessed it, mince to get through. We'll use the garage for storage and ship that up when we get our own place. In a few years!

But its late - the excitement has been exhausting - the future is full of panic, fear, thrills and change but most importantly - warmth!! My doctors' say this is the best thing for recovery and should allow me back to work within 18-24 months ~ two years ahead of schedule ~ only part time but heck to be using my skills again!! Too cool for school!!

Time for bed people ~ let me fill you in on more over the next few days. Sunny North Queensland ~ hahaha and a big Yee-Haa!! Its somewhere along here ~ 15mins from the water, where the Great Barrier Reef begins ~ too darn cool.

Yes Verruca ~ it's the bank's fault...

Don't you just love waking up early ~ to sunshine :D

No spending or bill paying required today. A good thing too ~ poor old NAB is having 'technical issues' and no pension has been paid into the account. Heard a lot of bitching about how terrible it is salaries have not gone in, wages have not transferred out, automatic transactions have not occurred ~ do people with incomes really put themselves that close to the wire without a little 'secret stash' for emergencies??   Just asking...

Now I can hear the swearing and cussing of 'who does she think she is', 'where does she get off' and thinking how can I be making such generalised statements. Believe me when I say, we used to live pay to pay, enjoying dinners out, weekends away, takeaway and such without putting anything away and wondering where it all went week in week out. Pay the rent, buy the groceries, buy CDs, go out every Friday, Saturday, use a taxi and whinge about how little we were paid for the work we did. Been there OK?!

I am a NAB customer whose disability pension did not get paid into the account as scheduled. Am I left stranded? No. Am I going to starve? No. Am I inconvenienced to the point of mayhem, agony and financial crisis? No. Can we manage for a day, or two? Or three even?  Yes we can.  Why?? Because even on a pension with a mortgage, children, hubby on carer payments and (now) $26,000 of debt to pay off, we 'squirrel' an emergency buffer of $10pf - 10% of our income - away for emergencies and unexpected events (like broken talus bones) to ensure we have enough to carry us for about a month.

Each time that buffer becomes a month buffer - one full payment of approximately $600 can be paid into our Line of Credit, or onto our (NAB) VISA card.  It's a habit we had while earning a regular wage and one we have maintained in $5-$10 increments every single week. Sure - panic might set in from time to time because having an 'emergency stash' of $300-$600 can be scary - but no where near as scary as having a $zero emergency fall back. 

As seems to be the case this weekend with so many screaming they are in trouble, inconvenienced with the none receipt of their weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay cheque. Come on grown-up peoples - get your personal finances and butt coverage in order. If only in a small way...

Yes - the NAB's services are substandard - especially as society expects - no, demands an instant fix or 100% timeliness in the banking, telecommunication and insurance industries' business practices.  Yes - I agree business offering a service should provide, especially when charging fees for the privilege of simply using that particular business over any others (sadly I have to include Hellstra's stranglehold on landlines in that statement) but sometimes things go wrong and, regardless of whose fault it may be or what technology failed to perform to ones expectation (including that of the relevant service provider) - cover your own behinds people and pre-empt the unexpected but not totally unavoidable with some sensible saving practices.

Has there problems with banks and technology in the past? Yes. Did people not learn anything when this happened a few months back? Especially those who were customers of NAB and previously affected. Was there nothing that suggested individuals should be a little more prepared for the 'just in case'??  Mind you - when the Commonwealth automatic teller machines went on the Fritz and issued more cash from the whole than requested - heaps took the 'chance' to access extra funds than their entitlements. Sure ~ just about everyone was asked to repay after being tracked down via personal identification numbers entered into the ATMs ~ and the Commonwealth had to do the tracking for weeks of those unwilling to advise the bank of the overpayments.

I didn't plan to break my spine and reduce our two incomes to one within a year of acquiring a mortgage.  We didn't plan on a global financial crisis to reduce that one income by 20%. We didn't plan to fall dependent on benefits for a period of time (be assured, this is not going to be case within the next 6-12months). It was never the plan to spend four years as a single income family with a newly obtained mortgage.

But we did plan to live within our means, have the capacity to fulfil our financial obligations on one income, adjust it to fit that dictated by the GFC and to save 10% of our income(s) when there in whatever capacity. We did plan to be able to cover our obligations on a single income and not rely on two full time wages. This is how we had around $7000 when I first became incapacitated in 2007. This is how we were able to have an additional year paid onto our mortgage without dipping into those savings. 

These savings paid for medications, doctors, surgical appointments, scans, therapies and transportation before disability support payments (and the all important pension card with its medical and pharmacy discount entitlements) were granted. Which all aided our request for a period without mortgage repayments while we adjusted to a weekly drop of 50% on that single income to benefit payments only in August last year. 

So really ~ what are people complaining about a 24 hour delay when we used to have manual payments. We are a society of Verruca Salt's and we "want it now" ~ when we can't we have a tantrum, expect 'Daddy' to fix it or we will grab and scream until we get it, only appeased until the next 'thing' comes along.

Just saying...

Stuff n saving

Today we spent...

Diddly squat ~ $3 for milk and put the petrol off for another day. As only the school run was required, with a detour to the stoopermarket for milk, it seemed pointless travelling into town to the servo today (with the 4c off coupon) when I need to be in town for an appointment tomorrow morning. Of course, if we run out of fuel with tomorrow's school drop off before getting into town, it will just be a case of poor estimation! *chuckles* Nah ~ it's not THAT low - yet! 

Dinner changed (again) but still came in under $2 per head. We had the most delicious sausages - pork and sage. These were marked down to $2.81 for 8 snags, then Husband made mashed potatoes - something he does so so well. Until I met him, the one food type I despised was mashed potato. Blah blergh, hated it with a passion. However he makes it with a little milk, a little butter, a spoonful of sour cream and an egg and it is the creamiest, tastiest potato mash you can ever have - nom nom - ate a plateful! He and I also had some fried onion because onions are always great with sausages!! All up I doubt that made $1.50 per head - even counting the frozen honey yoghurt we had for dessert.

Plus I saved $150 redeeming points on the credit card for a 'cash payment' onto the credit card and went a little insane trying to explain this could not be considered the monthly repayment, even thought it means we have repaid more than we had to pay. I see it as a bonus!

This leads into a few 'rules' we seem to have developed while on Our Mission to reduce debt. If you don't have debt, these are ideal ways to build up savings for a holiday, a new car or a house deposit. Using these 'rules' has allowed us to have spare money to redirect onto the debt and not simply keep on top of the expenses we have each month.

Always got eggs!!

The 'Know What We've Got' Rule.

It's common sense to say if you only spend what you have you will always be on top of your finances, right? We have a sheet on the wall showing exactly what money comes in every fortnight and what amount, at maximum, must be paid out per fortnight - even if the bill is monthly or quarterly. 

Our water bill tends to be around $120-$160 per quarter. Using the higher amount as the 'guesstimate', we put aside $25 per fortnight to pay the account when it comes in. When the account arrives every 12-13 weeks, and is $140, we already have $150-$175 at hand to pay it. The balance then goes onto (say) the VISA or could be savings.

Some people use an envelope system and take the required amount out each pay-day, place it in the envelope until the account becomes due. We transfer the amount to an online banking account to accumulate a higher interest over the month (some online banking accounts, like ING or Rabo, have bonus payments for regular deposits) and either BPay or transfer the funds to a linked account, fee-free, for payment. Online banks usually allow for BPay transactions without fees.

The same goes for what is available in the cupboards ~ food, cleaners, wrapping paper, clothes ~ knowing there is a box with wrapping paper means there is no need to go out and get more for presents, especially at Christmas. If worse comes to worse, plain paper jazzed up with pictures, stickers or ribbon works a treat ~ especially for children who tend to just rip paper off to get inside. Newspaper can work if need be ~ and does for pot plants or flowers. Save the posters from the Sunday Paper of the footy teams, the movie releases, the teen sensation of the day ~ these all save spending $5 on a sheet of glossy wrap which is going to end up in the bin.

The 'One more day' Rule.

Do you really need to wash that blouse you wore for half the day or can it be aired on the line and rehung to wear again? Same with the jeans, trousers or towels used after the morning shower? Every day you get one more use from clothes, linen or even washing your hair is one extra saving of the detergents needed to do that job. Unless you're excessively sweaty or grotty (and smelly) is anyone going to know you didn't wash the trousers you wore to work on Monday when you wear them again on Friday?

If you were starting a new exercise regime, you wouldn't try to run a marathon on the very first day. You probably wouldn't try to run 5kms either. But you could run from one street light to the next, then aim for two street poles the next day, three the following day, then the bus stops - and actually succeed! Not rushing off to the shop to buy items because you are running low or on empty and substituting or pushing the purchase out for 'One More Day' also means your money sits earning interest for one more day - or saves you the interest on a credit card purchase by one less day!

At the change of seasons, put off turning the heating on by one more day and add another jumper over your top, or pop a beanie on your head like you do with a baby. Can you leave the mowing for one more day (well, be assured Husband can, but not always to extend the use of petrol!) or make the bar of chocolate last for one more day?

Can you put off buying vegetable oil for one more day because there is still some in the bottle, its not on special yet and if needed you could use a little butter in the pan? Then when you intend to purchase it (the next day) can you go another day without buying to see if it is on special elsewhere - or next week?? So you've run out of carrots - can you make do with the broccoli? There are no chips in the freezer, how about using the potatoes in the pantry? 

Except on movie returns or bill payments ~ never ever wait one more day! 

A household budget can be tight enough without having to come up with extra for late fees, extra interest or fines. Always return them on time - set a reminder for the day before the return/due date on your phone if this is something you're experiencing!! 

Just a little wine...

The 'Take Off 10%' Rule.

Most people know the saving rule of putting 10% of your income into a separate account to build up a nest egg for unexpected expenses or as part of a savings plan. "They" say you don't miss 10% as a rule. But when you've only got $300 a week available after the mortgage, $30 can be the food shop or petrol for the week. Saving 10% does not just mean cash.

• Washing Powder: I've never used the required amount of washing powder in the clothes wash ~ usually I put 25%-50% less than recommended and never use conditioners on towels or linen. Towels with conditioner never seem to dry the body as well as those washed without.
• Dish washer tablets: Cutting a dishwasher tablet in half often does just as good a job as the full tablet ~ epseically if you rinse your dishes before the machine wash. Putting less powder in can give you more than 10% extra washes than advised on the packet.
• Shampoo: Do you follow the instructions of 'rinse and repeat'? Why?? Unless your hair is filthy and excessively greasy, one wash is all you need. I was told this line was a marketing ploy to have repeat purchases made in a quicker time and honestly, I reckon that is the truth. After a week camping it may be necessary but if you wash your hair daily or weekly, you may just find it an unnecessary step.
• Sauces, juice, milk: Ask my kids, after the first use (eg, the first glass of juice) I add a glass or two of water to the bottle. Often I do this again as it empties. I also add water to that first glass.  I'll use the cooled water from the kettle and add water into the sauce bottle while close to full and thoroughly shake it in. I'll also add water into the bottle at the end to thin out the dregs for use - although usually not for pouring onto snags. *grins*
• Glad wrap/Al foil: Generally, I use each piece twice and do the same with zip lock bags, unless used for raw meats to avoid food poisoning! Commercially, this may be a no-no but in my home I have no problem with this. While more often I use a plastic/Tupperware container which can be washed, I have been known to use the bread bags for lunches - washing them out and reusing several times. 

Though we wont be buying much this year anything that we do buy we will haggle to get at least 10% off the marked price. More if possible. Always ask for a discount ~ the worst that can happen is you get a no. The best can be as high as 30% off the marked price without really negotiating. Pick the end of the month for better deals as sales quotas may not have been met by staff.

And before you say this can't be done at the supermarket ~ just look at how I buy the meat, dairy and bakery when I shop. It's rare for me to select the item marked down by 10% ~ I usually aim for 33% or more! Plus looking on the higher or lower shelves for products often gets a bargain. 

'The Vinnie Rat' needed a jumper...

The 'I Don't Care What Other People Think' rule.

With suggestions like using the bread bag to wrap sandwiches, or using the footy poster from the paper to wrap a present, you can probably tell I don't really care what other people think. It's not entirely true, but if you can put an environmental, economical or practical slant on your actions, you will find it easier to adopt this rule and often more accepted by others you choose to tell.

So you've been using samples of shampoo you got from the chemist instead of bottle from the store - who cares? Who knows unless you tell them?? And the kids are wearing their pyjamas all day when it rains all Sunday to avoid a load of washing you cant dry without running the heaters or clothes dryer ~ who cares?

Or you bought the birthday present of Bionicles Lego when it was in the 50% off sale - last year - or the year before. Who cares?? If you care or feel this is embarrassing, cheapskate or just plain scummy ~ friends and family will only know if you tell them. They don't know that the $20 iTunes voucher only cost you $10 because you bought them as part of a special three-pack for $30 - all they see is $20 to spend on iTunes items. 

Or if the wedding present of a new bread maker came from redeeming the points on your credit card.  How about using FlyBuy points to get magazine subscriptions or presents for the family at Christmas time - or better still, buy gifts when they are on sale throughout the year. Husband and I give our siblings a token gift of a Christmas decoration every year. These usually have a value of $7-$15 each, however getting them the week or two after Christmas when these ornaments are $1 or $2 saves us over $100 in Christmas gift spending - I have 6 siblings, separated parents; Husband has 1 sibling and his mum, plus we both have the aunty who isn't related just is part of the family. $12-$20 is much easier to cope with than $120+

Using a two for one voucher might make you feel 'funny' initially, but when you can tell your friends you've been to that flash place for dinner on a recent dinner date with your spouse without the kids, do they know or care? So - why should you, especially if you really enjoyed yourselves! It is pointless trying to keep up with 'the Jones' if it is only going to put you further into debt. What you might not know is that 'the Jones' are so broke they just got a new credit card with a higher limit to cover themselves!!  

Might leave it there or it will become way too long for reading in one sitting. It probably already is. 

As always, any donations into our Savings Jar or the Treasure Chest at the top of the page are gratefully accepted. We hope to get this debt down ourselves, but with a little help - even just $1 - from readers who enjoy our Mission's achievements or benefit from our stories - well, it will be an enormous help and appreciated greatly! 

Until next time...

Journey to financial freedom...

I do so despise crushed muesli and cereal dregs...

And weet-bix. Seeing as these were the only initial options for breakfast, I almost decided to skip it ~ but having had enough problems trying to gain weight over the past decade, this really is not a good habit for me to get back into. While SmallBoy happily hoed into weet-bix and milk, I made myself a breakfast shake. Bit 'made up' but damn fine and filling.

1 egg

1 heaped tsp milk powder

1 heaped tsp Sustegen HS dutch chocolate

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 frozen bananas

4 small strawberries

250-300ml iced water

Blended

SmallBoy decided he'd like to take strawberries for his fruit snack at school today so we went out in the morning drizzle and picked about a dozen red berries. A few were a little bruised or 'bugged' - perfect for whizzing up in the shake. If you've ever picked strawberries or tomatoes off the vine, you'll know the smell the ripe fruit leaves on your hands ~ well SmallBoy used that sweet smell as a reason for going to school with dirty hands, bringing his palms up to his nose gave him the greatest pleasure and no-way was he getting rid of the smell.

"A bank is a place which gives you money if you can prove you don't need it"

Thank goodness the RBA decided no rate rises were to happen ~ I know it will be amazing if the same happens in April, but we could not manage even a weeny increase on the mortgage at the moment. Not unless CPI increases came along and matched on a similar amount. Who would have thought those sort of things would sit on my mind all the time. Still - all up we are coping better today than we did six months ago!

But how about those who 'scored free money' from the CBA teller machines last night! As much as I wish I could be 'so lucky', I really do think customer records need to be reviewed and all persons withdrawing from effected machines be ordered to return the excess dollars received in error or risk being questioned about obtaining funds that are not their own. How would customers be treating the issue if, when trying to withdraw $500 the receipt said those funds were issued but you only received $50 from the slot? There would be means to verify if this occurred, so the same can/should happen for the overpayments. It's almost the same as finding a wallet with $500 and keeping the cash when the honest thing to do is hand it into police or authorities so it can be returned to its rightful owner or given to you once ownership cannot be determined or however that works with the police.

Tonight SmallBoy and I enjoyed a delicious dinner which cost .25c a plate. We got some fresh corn on the cob for free because it had manky ends and I got a packet of kangaroo sausages for $1. We had two each, leaving four snags for another time, and I used the last of the zucchini given to us. Seriously yummy and how low cost was that!?! I am more than set food wise for the week and with several mystery shops at the supermarkets for next week, there is going to be almost $30 available for groceries.

Oh ~ here's a tip ~ I've noticed the supermarkets are marking down meat in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I am not sure if it just here in regional Victoria, but it has been great to see a semi regular day to allow for some bargain hunting without needing to walk into shops day after day. This also means double the bargains when mystery shopping as a minimum buy is usually requested or quantity of items required to be purchased. I know I can get 5-6 items for $10 and that's dairy, bakery, meat and veg in most cases. I am almost excited about shopping... 

Having some major computer problems ~ it has been a wonderful laptop for the past five-six years, but it really does seem to be getting confused with itself (if that makes sense when referring to a machine). Currently it can't seem to work out which screen is the one being typed in and subsequently I can't get eBay items loaded and could not even type a post last night. For some reason the cursor works in Twitter but now we are here and able to update *grins*

Not the most interesting post - I know - but please please PLEASE enter the Coles "We Love Pets" pack offer here as the more entries, the more chance further competitions and offers can be made available. I've received no payment for promoting these products and the reported review are my own opinions based on how my animals have reacted - and that truly is with gusto - but receiving items like food, toiletries and such help us redirect cash into our debt.

Remember - we really appreciate any assistance readers can offer. If you want to donate to our Treasure Chest via PayPal, the link is there at the top right or left of the blog page. There are items appearing on eBay ~ although while the laptop is playing up, this is a bit hard. On the Q+A page are other ways you can contribute and if sending supermarket vouchers is a preferred method, please leave a comment and I can contact you directly and won't publish your personal details for all and sundry. *smiles*

Thanks again ~ loving the feedback, the comments and support from everyone. Got my first 'rude spam' but the filter kept it away from the screen (thank goodness) so please keep it nice. We're not here to scam anyone, we've reduced the debt as much as we can without help but any assistance goes toward the debt and any vouchers provided means the same amount in cash goes onto the debt and not a splurge. Oh for chocolate, oh for biscuits, oh for a bottle of wine ~ but its not happening until the debt comes down!

Chat again soon *waves*

Money Moanagement

  

Sometimes it is a little hard. 

I'm a little sick of being 'broke'. I know we are managing and keeping up with payments, but I am tired of having to struggle with the meals, bills, petrol and subsequent lack of ability to go to the movies with friends, not being able to enjoy the theatre unless it is free and, being regional, the lack of quality events accessible via public transport. The markets and entertainment occur out of public transport hours for a return trip or off the route and it makes me a little bitter at times. 

On the upside, I really do like that challenge to see how low our spending can be ~ whether it is the supermarket, the necessary items and the (few and far between) unnecessary and frivolous spends. I love to see just how low I can haggle an interest rate with the bank, negotiate on a bulk purchase from a 'major' outlet, barter a price from an independent seller. Bartering is one of my favourites because I will recommend others use the same person, business or supplier which helps Australian businesses grow and local produce stay local. 

Today I haggled with the bank to bring my credit card rate lower than 9.8% ~ a good rate but none the less, others are offering lower rates. Using the same techniques as previous, I spoke to Tony at the NAB and could not get the VISA lower as it is a 'platinum' card, already discounted and set with no annual fee for the life of the card. Bummer ~ so I asked, how can NAB retain my business without me heading over to ANotherZ bank offering 2.9%? Asking that question provided the information the NAB has a low fee credit card with a nominal annual fee and a current rate of 3.99% ~ that wasn't hard to find out. By changing the type of card we currently hold to the new low fee card has saved $65 in interest payments per month! Too easy ~ and the new card will arrive in 10-14 days. 

 

Having a little lamb roast for dinner tonight and the leftover meat will be used to make pasties for dinner tomorrow. The roast was $6.09, down from $9.20 ~ add a few potatoes, carrots, some peas and beans means its about $7 all up, perhaps $9 when the pastry and extra veggies for the pasties are counted ~ so that's two dinners for about $1 per head! I used a little BBQ sauce to marinade the lamb so no gravy is needed tonight. 

Facts and Figures

Mortgage comes out next week, as does the loan repayment, Husband's mobile phone account, the dentist, the gas and electricity. It's the expensive fortnight but we also have the pension and carer payment come in. School camp is coming up but those payments have been broken into manageable amounts and they will be paid by mid semester. With no rates due for another 12months, the refrigerator now owned outright  and the credit card under a sort of control, we might get a little ahead by the end of May. Not out of the pooh ~ but not sitting behind the eight-ball as badly as this time last year. 

Money in: 

Friday 25 February ~ $309.50

Money out:

Debt Repayment - Council home care ~ $2

Debt Repayment - VISA ~ $50

MicroSoft ~ $10.95

Internode ~ $60.94

Life Insurance ~ $52.18

Myopathy ~ $50.00

Petrol ~ $60.00

Train Fare ~ $10.20

Groceries ~ $13.16

TOTAL: $309.43

Oh well, at least it is not a deficit. Cashed in FlyBuys points for a $150 payment on the VISA plus  two mystery-shops next week will enable a $20 shop to be done ~ I'll be scouting out for some bakery, meat and dairy items again. Hopefully I can get yoghurt, cream and the rest will be fresh fruit and veg. Plus, and this is the bonus, I am doing a product trial that gives me a $50 Coles Myer voucher, a $50 Rebel Sports voucher and the promise of beautiful skin.

So its time for bed ~ Husband is off to help his mum get her place ready for sale. The Coles "We Love Pets" pack is up for grabs. I've got to say the cats are loving the Optimum dry food and drooling through the Purr Tuna whitemeat wet food. Boy they are feeling spoilt!! Hope you and your friends can enter before Sunday :D

A Summary of Successes

Waiting for the train ~ by Husband 

Just watched Baz Luhrmann's "Australia"
Boy its a long movie. And it should make every viewer realise what a sad tale the aboriginal people have been left to tell as part of their story. Watching it made me ashamed of my forefathers and wish to know more of the heritage of this country. From my heart, I too say 'sorry'.

I remember as a child, taking several family trips across the Nullarbor ~ travelling by car from Melbourne to Perth and back over Christmas/Summer holidays. We've stayed in caravan parks along the way and a vivid memory of noticeable change through time was that of the aboriginal along the Nullarbor Plains. I remember in the early 70s, driving along the 'old' highway, seeing native Australian's along side the road dressed as King George (David Gulpilil) standing with their spears ~ hair blowing wildly in the wind ~ in their environmental home and free.

The new highway across the Nullarbor 

On a second journey, 4-5 years later, I remember seeing a similar sight ~ only this time the aborigines were dressed in denim and flannel type shirts or topless. They still carried the spears and their skin was an even glossier black than I recall from the first time. By the third journey across the great Nullarbor Plains, I remember only seeing aborigines close to the road houses, sitting on eskies and drinking beer. I don't think I saw any during my final family holiday to Perth.  Even as a teenager, my thoughts were that my children would never see the sights, sounds and people of those who arrived in Australia first ~ unless through a paid performance or heritage art.

So memories from my youth ~ ones which have stayed with me. Journeys taken with a family the size of mine (six kids, three adults, one station-wagon and a caravan) do tend to stick with you for a long long time. One day I hope SmallBoy will be able to follow his dream to see the outback and learn a native language by taking his own 'walk-about'.

Sometimes you stop, wait and look first

Our Mission Moves On

We are making in-roads and, although the financial page has not been updated as the happenings around our home has taken up a lot of physical time (and break-thru pain relief makes the ol' brain a little loopy), I'd like to share some of the successes we have made of late.

Telstra - hahaha ~ well, we got our money back as a payment into the account and NOT a credit. A $450 credit would have lasted us 21 months - almost two years. What on earth would we want that when the deduction from the credit card was incurring interest and leaving us with no emergency back up. Any way - it is sorted. Actually, we are in credit on the Telstra bill by $148.98 - so no bill payments required for about 7months. There's a small stress reliever!

Electricity ~ woo hoo ~ we have almost paid off the $850 arrears. Only two more fortnightly payments and we have! Plus, thanks to the next success on the list our electricity bill will be dramatically lower as the ol' power-guzzler is gone...

Two good, working units 

Refrigerator Rental ~ woo hoo (again) ~ it is finalised. We have $44 extra in the fortnightly budget ~ going to be spread around other outstanding bills.  Plus we get to keep the fridge! Nice!! Subsequently we have given the old power guzzling fridge/freezer away to another family to use while they save for their own good refrigerator and not need to hire, rent or pay one off using one of the GE Money type arrangements. Win-Win! Lesson learnt ~ never ever hire white-goods...

Council Home Help account ~ chipping away slowly with $2 a month has not made any great dent in this puppy, but it has ensured we are not having the account sent off to the debt collectors. This alone will save us a huge headache and stress melt-down.

The Line of Credit ~ well I am chuffed we've been able to get $800 in there over 8 weeks - especially when we only get $600 in per week and the mortgage takes half of this! I can't wait until February when the NIVA is reduced to $1000 - it will be more like emergency money then.

School Fees ~ $5 more and its all paid. Just in time for the new school year. SmallBoy has a small scholarship which will cover every thing needed for this year, excluding camp.

Dental Fees ~ believe it or not, we overpaid them by $10 so last appointment Husband walked out with a filling AND $10. It was paid onto the Personal Loan

Personal Loan ~ oh this is just not disappearing quickly enough. It's down to $3047 but the loan repayments are a quarter of our monthly income. Ridiculous really ~ but we weren't on government payments when we bought the share of a holiday property - it is worth it in the long run and we've had the chance to use it twice ourselves and twice by friends in the past two years. It's an investment of sorts, costs more than double the $10k we put in, so we really can't complain. We just can't pull out without losing the lot.

The Weekly Shop ~ is now a fortnightly shop with a "MFB" mid-fortnight buy - as well as being the acronym for mid-fortnight buy, it stands for Milk, Fruit and Bread! We've been staying within the fortnightly budget of $200-$250 ~ and fortnights where the shop comes in under $200 (like this past fortnight when we only spent $175) the balance goes off a bill - currently the gas.

The current debt is now :
$    0.00 - Dental account
$    0.00 - Refrigerator rental
$    5.00 - School fees
$   32.28 - Water arrears
$   49.90 - Magazine subs
$   88.00 - Electricity and Gas - payment plan costs set
$ 850.00 - HomeCare Services
$ 923.60 - Collections

$3046.98 - Personal Loan

$5628.77 - VISA 

$21420.21 - Line of Credit

$32,052,74 : TOTAL DEBT

We've gone down!! Reduced by a massive $5207.73!  Oh wow, oh joy.  

At the start of December, the total debt was $37, 563.47.  We were so disappointed when the debt increased in November due to the interest and fees and fines applied to the Line Of Credit and the VISA (more because we were struggling to stay on top of the payments) but talking to the banks and those we had debt with through Collections to renegotiate minimum payment amounts - plus doing community service time in lieu of two outstanding accounts not only reduced the dollar amounts outgoing, its allowed us to redirect available (ha) funds toward other accounts.

What a great way to start the year ~ we are feeling a little more empowered and assured we are still on the right track. So ~ every Monday we will again be updating the Weekly Report. Changing it from Wednesday to Monday makes a little more sense as we do the budget over the weekend when we know what is paid into our bank account on Friday.

Tips Which Have Allowed Us to Free Up Cash for Debt Repayments

Working together 

Don't Buy; Make Do ~ seriously I've not bought any 'new' clothes since we started Our Mission and prior to this is was only the OpShop. If something breaks, we try to repair it. At the moment, our lawnmower is held together with wire and okky-straps. Sure, not ideal, but when you don't have a spare $80 for repairs, it gets the job done! Fixing the brake pads on the car might be quicker at the mechanics, but it is cheaper (and often fun) when done yourself. Same with other basic car repairs.

Get's things fixed 

Less is Best; Make it Stretch ~ why make a home made pizza with lashing of meats, herbs, veggies and cheese. Seriously, just a little goes a long long way on something like a pizza.  Same with pasta and sauces ~ you don't have pasta with your sauce, or pie with your sauce. The sauces and toppings are an addition to the pasta, not the other way around. Plus there is less likely to be wasted left overs and more sauce to put away for another day (just make sure you label the item and the date it is being frozen)

Free is Fun; Find Out First ~ committing to not buying books, magazines or newspapers is a huge saving of cash. Going to the library means we are not missing out and calling ahead to ensure the books you want are in the library saves petrol or fares for travelling. We save the cost of the call by checking online and reserving the books if they are in the library. The local council usually has a 'whats on' section and we've enjoyed picnics listening to musicians and bands playing in the gardens or at the rotunda.


Here's hoping you will continue to support us on our journey ~ stay on our tails to keep us motivated and throw an extra dollar or two into our Spare Change Jar or Treasure Chest to help bring the debt down even more. Yes, it is a lot to ask - but if you and your friends can help with a spare dollar or two it will make an enormous difference to us.

Thanks so much for sticking with Our Mission and here's to providing you all with more success stories and the hints and tips we use to reduce our outgoings, pay more on our debt and get out of this vicious cycle. Your input is gratefully received, every time :D

Way too early...

Christmas is almost wrapped up for 2010

It is too early to be up and alert ~ thankfully I am only one of these things at the moment!! If you need a hint ~ alert is not one of them!

Hence the dribbly nature of this post! If I could work out how to go to the pages using the phone, I'd update the finances. I don't want to turn on the computer because it is too noisy. Gosh technology is amazing. Back to money - spending actually. Knowing we have 'failed' dismally of late (mostly due to the madness of Christmas) this is probably a good thing for the old self-confidence to not try and do an update until the whole thing is sorted ~ sort of?!?

We've got everything for the sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews, mothers and fathers for just under $250 ~ and that is no mean feat when there are 22 people who fall under one of those types!! One gift is my family's Kris Kringle which has a $50 cost. This year's theme is home or house (can't remember exactly) and we were $1 over.

We also need to get gifts from the kids to the nanas - these fell within that $250 budget ~ had ball-parked $10 per head and made it. Nothing tacky or too kitch either!! Oh I can't wait to share some of the bargains found, scavenged and bought this year.  Personally, the free 67cm colour flat screen TV is the best score - free, functional and fantastic - and going to a very deserving person (well, we think so *grins*)  No No - not us, although it is definitely in the "bigger, better, faster" category!!

Thankfully the sleepies are again creeping in ~ this lurgy is terrible and the coughing has disturbed for too many days. Heck knows how Husband sleeps through.  Funny note - he did 'wake' and say "oh, baby, not fair" but has no recollection of doing so. At least he is not missing out on his beauty sleep.

A little Christmas thought to share to all

Finally, it's Christmas Eve

And the kids are on such highs

Mum & Dad keep smiling

When they hear the happy cries

It's not about the gifts they get

Or what Santa left behind

This year its all about the joy

And enjoying special time

For every year, as they pass

It's less about the presents

As we all grow, we get to know

Christmas is more about our presence

So hug your loved ones

Hold and kiss them true

One day the best gift

Will be the memories from you

☽*♥
✲´(░) ¸.(░)´✫
(¸(░)´ (¸.✲´´¯`•.¸¸.(░)✫
(░)•(░)✲ CняisԷмas کþяɨղƙɭєṡ (░) • ✫
┊ ┊ ❄´´¯`❅.¸¸.(░)✫
┊❄
❄  by ~Mands 2010

Not sure where this one is going...

Man we are having the most amazing storms.

It is summer, only just ~ and the weather cannot make up its mind which way to go!  The only consistent is there is a guaranteed torrential downpour at school pick up time ~ has been for the past week or so. Full of crashing, rumbling thunder vibrations and flashing sheets or random bolts of lightening! And the wind!!  Each morning seems to start warm, high teens moving into the low-mid 20s before big, blue-black storm clouds materialise across the sky ahead of a massive temperature drop. 

The heavens open, natures' symphony drum-roll hits is crescendo ~ occasionally throwing in hail to add to the varying and contrasting size, weight and pitch of the rain-drops ~ before we have a brief intermission of tumbling thunder, light, pattering rain and great sheets of lightening intermittently before the neighbours' dogs start up a new chorus, usually signalling a repeat performance of the stormy session!

At some point the temperature rises as Mother Nature composes her musical of sound, colour and light in a flurry of inspiration, often stopping and starting or focussing on a particular aspect of her storm. Just now there has been splatters of the rain, heavy, slow rhythmic drops moving into gentle with small needle point drops. As the wind again picks up sending her musical drops into hurried waves of off tempo arrangements, there are definite signs of more changes and possibly sunshine before sunset. *sighs*

We love storms ~ such a wonder, truly delightful, totally unpredictable and never the same experience.  To follow up today's blackened performance we have now been blessed with the bluest of skies, flecked with white fluffy clouds racing on a mild breeze in front of a blazing sun ~ well!  The setting skies have pink and orange hues so we can be led to believe tomorrow should be a rather glorious day.  At quick check at the Elders Weather page has set off a cheer - because its going to be 29oC tomorrow and 26oC on Sunday ~ what a lovely sounding weekend!!

Raising Funds to Reduce Debt
More items up on eBay ~ still of the Tupperware variety but other stuff is getting photographed at the moment.  http://myworld.ebay.com.au/mandsmission 

We really do hope to get a fair bit to refund the debt these items originally created on the VISA.  At one stage, a good $1000 of Tupperware was on this card so if we can raise even that through eBay it will be a worthwhile effort. I just don't know what else to put up which will sell - going to screen-doh eBay - an online version of window shopping, and just as inexpensive!

Staying on the 'not spending' track ~ nothing spent today. Ordered SmallBoy's Grade 6 "Bomber" jacket tho - $40 bucks!! All quiet from the wallets.  We did get firewood yesterday and Husband haggled with the price as it was red gum sleeper offcuts and scraps. He got it for $10 a metre less, and kept our usual $5 delivery discount. $280 - Good job. Boys stacked that up - well that which was not wet!

A Brief Distraction 

Well, my horoscope indicates good things for tomorrow:

SCORPIO (03 December US/Canada/UK/Europe - 04 December NZ/Australia)

A lot of things are falling into place, with the Moon in your sign as you settle back into your Venus return and as forces slowly come to a head on the income front. It’s the Moon’s position in your sign that is giving you an intuitive read on your heart, at a time when your heart has a lot to say. It was the 2 months Venus spent in your sign, combined with the 22 days that she steps back out, that has given you a clear sense of what you want and what’s a priority

Husband's is reasonably compatible, in synch almost:

VIRGO (03 December US/Canada/UK/Europe - 04 December NZ/Australia)

Whatever your plans are for the coming days, communication and home and family matters need to be high on your agenda. With the Moon spending his last full day in your communication sector before leaving Venus on her own, this creates an opportunity to speak from the heart. As you've reached an important point on the romantic, relationship, work and home fronts, the key to succeeding on all fronts and having it all is communication. 

Visitors up for the weekend, plus SmallBoy is hyper scatting as it gets closer to his birthday. Already we are getting some of the tears from the "fear he might not get..." knowing he really should be grateful for any gift received, knowing he is getting gifts and visitors and that overwhelming excitement and anticipation, even if just the presence of a relative, possibly without presents. Knowing doesn't make it any less emotionally unsettling when you're still 10yo. *shakes head a little sadly*

Time for sleep - can't spend while asleep.  Sadly, banks still apply interest while we are sleeping ~ some every night while we try to find peaceful slumber. Bit of a catch-22 for some of us, isn't it!?!

Emergency Funds ~ Break glass to use... when?

Colour in our garden ~ gorgeous! 

Gotta love modern technology ~ car, communications and now cash! We have picked the Trifecta!!
But, as happened with the car repairs and the Hellstra Debacle, NAB seems to be making good progress fixing its funds access 'glitch'. The last recipients to be balanced are those awaiting Centrelink payments ~ those deemed least able to cope with this loss of cash flow. We've not been inconvenienced by the inaccessibility of 40% of our income ~ sure it is nowhere near the ideal, especially having had an opportunity to do shopping for SmallBoy's birthday and start putting tickets beside 'The List' for Christmas. We can catch that up during school hours this week. No worries! *grins*

Big picture, and bank/credit union/financial institution types aside, this is probably the first time in these days of electronic banking we've encountered such a situation with any type of 'glitch' on the depositing side to the humble Joe. Many will have had a time when payroll 'missed the cut-off time' for transfers and might be late by a day ~ it's usually fixed by lunchtime, no big deal. This incident is a little different and could potentially be more widespread 'next time'.

Making it even more surprising for us personally is as our main income is via the affected route, part of the group 'last on the list' to be rectified, and at a lower amount than we'd had six months earlier, this is the first time we've ever been ready for such a situation. All we really need to do is reschedule part of the birthday shop once the funds are available. If that's not happening by Tuesday, we'll take from our 'emergency stash' of $320 and replace it with the transferring funds when available! Who would have thought we would get to having access to emergency funds!?!

You don't always see where the storm hit hardest

Our Personal Costs Risk Analysis 

When we bought our home five years ago, we made sure it was manageable on one income instead of the two good wages we had. Just in case. Because Husband could have an accident at his labour intensive job, or during the five hours of daily commuting. Because maybe we could both go part time in the future. Because we could pay in more than the minimum amount, we did. Take-away Fridays were and Cheaper Tuesday Movie nights happened. When I stopped working, we could still maintain our lifestyle by reducing the amount of 'extra' being paid into the mortgage, going to the cinema less. In the height of the GFC, we could still manage a nice balance of need to want when Husband's work and paid hours were reduced by 25%. The entitlement of a pension card was a medical expense godsend.

At the start of this year, we changed weekly Friday take-away to a monthly treat and forewent the cinema to special occasions or blockbusters only. Many of the speculative 'what ifs' in life had actually become for us ~ with the knowledge some paralysis, pain pathways and mobility were showing up indicating problems post-op ~ plus we had little or no balance anywhere in our living, working, family, friend situation barely maintaining the 'when' of 'if'. This was how we started to build an emergency stash and, while piddly in the goal of having three months of expenses available, perfect to help over this fortnight and avoid any stress over missed repayments.

In one Simple Savings forum thread discussion is about wanting to be able to get money out of the NAB, with one member said they were up the proverbial creek, another relieved not with NAB, others  giving credit to credit unions, some affirming the over-reliance on technology and a bit of chatter about having but not wanting or knowing if it was the right thing to choose to use their 'emergency funds' or stash of cash. We have never had sufficient in the 'emergency fund' to actually provide funds if required, same as never really had a time when we would be needing to use it, and actually having to utilise some of the funds. Into my brain the question popped, "if you have the funds available in an emergency account, what is the rule for accessing your 'emergency money' and how?"

What is your answer to that?

On Friday, along with about a million others, we were expecting the regular fortnightly deposit of $495 from Centrelink into the NAB account. Half is needed this week to cover a regular automatic/set debits ~ $200 for our power, $45 insurance premiums, $60 loan levies, $15 to collections, $10 mortgage extra, $10 to emergency fund, $5 to savings plus $50 for petrol ~ there was and still is an in-credit balance of $209 in the account. Of course, this did not happen and as at Sunday evening, still has not occurred.  If the funds are still not accessible early afternoon Monday, we will withdraw $200 from our Emergency Funds via WestPac, walk into NAB and deposit $150 into the account at the counter, use the remaining $50 for petrol. When the delayed funds are cleared, we will transfer $200 back to the Emergency Fund electronically.

No financial stress, no accounting mess - but others are asking requesting advice to determine when is the right time to use your emergency fund or how much is the right amount to have on stand-by. SO financial institution aside, income level irrelevant in some ways ~ have you an emergency fund and what are the rules of access? How does it get activated??

Hmmm ~ it's a bit like home-work.  Think about it and let us know what you do or would like to be doing. If we've helped you in any way, please consider adding to the Spare Change Jar *grins*  Still got that $37k of debt out there.

Wednesday's Weekly Report will be interesting as we hope to know what the outcome of our Hardship application is and have the next three months budgeted around this being approved. To help us stay on track, mortgage information is going to be in the report and the debt is going to be shown as a total amount to balance down over the next 12months ~ with reader help and contributions of spare change *hints*

Sometimes you get a bonus just because...

A week ahead 

Sunday is menu planning ~ thus covering a wee stocktake to know what to use already at hand, ideally nothing extra is required. Having a lambs fry for dinner ~ 98c for over 500g ~ used to be about that and this was down by 66%. Maybe on mash, maybe on grainy bread toast. Mmmm ~ leaning toward toast. The week's breakfasts will be a choice of cereals and muesli, plus fruit n veg smoothies. Lunches will be salads, sandwiches and/or savoury smoothies as we build up on the raw food components.

Monday : ~ Omelettes
Tuesday : ~ 'Gourmet' basil herbed sausages, chips and salad
Wednesday : ~ Turkey drumstick, barley, brown rice slow cooker thing
Thursday : ~ Pasta with a tomato, fetta, herbs kinda sauce
Friday : ~ Pie from turkey drumstick slow cooker meal
Saturday : ~ sausage rolls for lunch; a roast beef and veg for dinner
Sunday : ~ Freezer Pie Surprise or chow mein if we come across cheap (free) cabbage

What an exciting menu for this week ~ nice variety and aside from not having a cabbage for chow mein, nothing needs to be purchased for this menu plan. There is still $37 left in this fortnights budget for groceries and we might use that to ready for SmallBoy's birthday party. We've got the lamb roast in the freezer, on standby if we can't find a suitable and reasonably priced roast pork with crackling, or pork spare ribs for next week's birthday dinner. And home made pizza (including the base) next weekend. We might make this week a Simple Savings $21 Challenge ~ with $30 to use on birthday supplies.

Should the $495 not be in the account until the end of the week, the automatic outgoings are covered and the $150 food budget not required *laughs* novel concept to 'not need' to go shopping aside from milk, perhaps veg later in the week.


How many more sleeps?

So it is 26 or so sleeps to Christmas ~ probably all days are shopping days from this time onward as there does not seem to be any days where you can't shop for food, gifts or clothing at the moment. We've got a heap of 'goodies' from the garage we are using as gifts plus loads to go onto eBay. Having finally caught up with the backlog of items to send, emails received, contributions to the Mission's debt reduction through lowering our outgoings, changing our payments, wonderful readers and followers (thanks NS :D - will shoot you a personal message xx) the focus is on the Financial Report due. Knowing the bills outstanding are lower in amount owing, in-roads are being made.

Found a plethora of Tupperware to auction on eBay ~ a rose coloured Illusions set with servers, wondering if it should go up for sale, away as a gift or kept for prosperity as its all still in the bags ~ and the de-clutter bug inside me says it should all just go.  Here's a little sample to leave you with *grins*

Perhaps a gift option lies within that ramble of plastic fantastic ~ will get it going asap! See the toys still in the bags ~ its the train kids pull along and it wobbles. There is a complete Bake2Basics set of old with the silicone 'nipples', a silicone roaster, a high round cake taker and the icing ball as some of the set. Any moneys from this lot of eBay items will be going straight onto the credit card as, inevitably somewhere back in time, it was once charge to the VISA thus now forming in part through history the debt our Mission is to remove forever!

Great way to end ~ please feel free to 'shout us' a Cafe Memories Moment from our Treasure Chest ~ it's been a while since we've done 'the coffee thing' so a boost reminding us how different $5 can better be used to pay down debt while we don't have the ability to add the extra ourselves would be greatly appreciated. *chuckles* In that waffle it says, please give us a few dollars ~ it reinforces to us how effective it is against debt instead of a take-away latte from the Cafe!

Happy days & smiley nights

Who has time to fuss or fight

Think about it - we're all the same

So you drink beer, and I champagne

Its time to put the effort in

To share whole truth so we all win

I never owned her, yet you owned me

Released at last, debts clear and free