Usually I don't vent too much, but every so often I have something that really ticks me off and then I need to -and if you have read any of my previous posts about my earlier struggles with depression, than you would know that writing is my therapy.
This particular topic of frustration is a touchy one and liable to cause some people or a person to snap and delete me off their friend's list on Facebook, but if you can't take what I say and accept it as a vent on my part and I will be over it (I hope), then you aren't really a 'friend' and you probably don't deserve me as a friend. Everyone is entitled to their opinion - this one is mine, if you don't wanna know about it - STOP reading now!
I have a varied group of friends that I have met over the years, from a few from school days to my more recent friends that I have met here in Bundy and would love to see more of.....with varied friends comes varied situations - varied households, varied ages and varied stages in life with family and varied financial situations - all of these situations we get ourselves into whether we like it or not, we can try and blame the world, but ultimately we have made the decisions that put us in these situations.
My husband and I have taken a very long and painful road to get ourselves nearly into a financial position to buy our first home - we have learnt a lot of lessons along the way and we are still learning and more than anything hoping we can get a home before the market jumps ahead of us.
Lessons we have learnt have included budgeting in it's every facet. We have struggled (like most people) with debts, but it is so satisfying to know we have worked our butts off to be in a position of clearing and paying it off ourselves this year. Most people don't know just how hard it has been at times - but we have always come out the other side fine - we have all been fed and we have always had a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs - we haven't always had a nice car, the best clothes, the latest gadgets or had the money to treat ourselves to dinner out, but we have done well with what have had.
So WHAT has frustrated me to ramble on about the above - simple - people who complain to others that they have NO money and are struggling to put food on the table and pay their bills and yet - suddenly have the money for things that I would call extravagant spending. If you suddenly have extra money after struggling to feed yourselves- don't waste it on unnecessary, materialistic items - put the money away. If you have a couple of thousand in savings and have gone at least 3months of not having to stress about how you are going to pay rent for the week - then go ahead and treat yourself to your new furniture. The other thing that annoys me (while I am ranting) is when someone goes out and buys extravagant things when clearly they can't afford it and then decides within a few months that - oh dear we really can't afford these, lets sell them. ARGHHH!! Such a waste - you lose so much money doing this as you never recoup your costs and then you are so desperate for money you take whatever you can get for them.
I don't profess to be a money expert - in fact I can profess to being hopeless with money a lot more than I am great with it , but I am getting a lot better very quickly- I am so sick of wasted money and watching others do the above - these examples make me realise I am a lot better with money than others. I like to live comfortably and within our means. We don't have credit cards anymore, we don't go out for dinner unless it is a super special occasion, I do try and give my kid's a birthday party - even if it's simple every birthday - because I think they deserve it, it is usually an afternoon tea with cake with their friends or just family, but sometimes we will take it elsewhere and pay for a bigger birthday - I haven't hired a jumping castle, for one we have never had the space for one and secondly we just can't justify the expense....sure the kid's love it, but they love going to a play centre too and for the same price or less they will supply the food, set it up and clean it up for you. I would like to think we are getting a lot smarter with our finances - we spend half the amount on groceries to what we used to, I budget monthly and weekly and I try to be strict with it - especially with hubby's job change. Me being strict with our budget means I can stay at home and not have to work, it means we sacrifice a few things, but I believe me being home for the kid's is more important than me being at work full time and spoiling them with materialistic items. Our light at the end of the tunnel is coming up before tax time this year and we will be celebrating when we reach the end of this tunnel - it has been a (nearly) 9year journey, but we are nearly there - if you try and take short cuts it ends up a longer road. I do have some tips for those out there that may genuinely be struggling and want to know how we get through our "tight weeks" as I like to call them. See below - there are a lot of fantastic blogs out there that are dedicated to money saving tips - so go and find them will be my first tip.
- Seriously shop at ALDI - this has saved me a minimum of $50 a week. Most of their food is comparable to known name brands - you don't need brand names in the cupboard, put them in a container and nobody knows any different and it is a lot cheaper. Their prices are online so it makes life easier with budgeting.
- Spend the time to write lists and shop to the list. If you get to the supermarket and think you have forgotten to write something on the list - too bad, go without it - either you didn't need it and still have some at home, or you do adjust and can go without it for a week - if you truely need it you can go to the shop and pick it up during the week.
- Shop to catalogues - I know ALDI doesn't stock everything, but shop to catalogues for the rest of your weekly needs - whoever has the items on sale gets your business.
- Shop from the markets - if you have farmers at your market - then buy direct, you will get fresher produce that will last longer and you usually get it a lot cheaper. I am fortunate to live near farms that sell some things direct and I save a lot of money.
- Buy in season - fruit and veg is a lot fresher and cheaper if you buy in season.
- Buy your meat in bulk and freeze and buy from a butcher - this will save you bucket loads AND the meat is usually far better quality. My butcher's prices are pretty unbeatable and his prices are regular so I know before I get there how much I am going to spend and what I am going to be able to get. Mince and Chicken is a staple in this household.
- Shop from your pantry - go through your pantry and make a menu for the week based on your panty and then you just need to make up your shopping list from the menu....takes a bit of time to get used to, but once it's habit it will not only save you money, but will save you having to wonder what's for dinner.
- You don't have to eat meat every night - have some vegetarian nights - noodles, spaghetti on toast, omelets etc. they are cheap and at the end of a busy day - EASY.
- You could try doing a cooking day - Sunday spend half a day pre- cooking meals and freezing so you can just reheat and eat - not everybody's cup of tea and certainly not mine, but if you are busy it can be better than having take aways.
- Make your own fast food - we have homemade hamburgers and pizzas a lot. Since our move we live 20mins from town - very inconvenient for junk food, but great considering I have lost a lot of weight- homemade is def. the way to go - much healthier, you know what's in it and really doesn't take much to make.
- You can have treats, but make them small - you don't need to go on a huge splurge.
- Avoid shopping centres for 'something to do' you will only spend money that you don't have. I don't go near the shops unless I really need something - this way I avoid compulsive buys.
- If you want to go out for a meal - go out for lunch - it is a lot cheaper in fact I have found it is half the price of going out for dinner here in my local town. Have a big lunch and then just have a toasted sandwich or similar for dinner.
- Pay off and cut up your credit cards - you don't need them any more. Save some money and have a visa debit card on your account - you can still take advantage of internet shopping/transaction, but it's your own money learn to live on your own income and not credit.
- Use lay-by if you 'need' a higher price ticketed item - layby it and incorporate it into your budget - if you can't afford to layby then you need to consider whether you NEED the item.
Ok that will be quite enough - vent and advice over - I have plenty more where that came from, but this post is becoming a novel...which is nothing unusual. So if you made it this far without falling asleep you need a medal! Congrats and thank you. xx
