Archive for the 'Money' Category
September 5 2008: Retail Therapy: Photo Evidence
As mentioned yesterday, a post detailing everything I bought. A word of warning - this is going to take awhile. Before you start, I suggest you first go to the toilet, make yourself a cup of tea, grab yourself a couple of biscuits, and get yourself comfortable. Prepare yourself!
The first purchase of the day - a black satin dressing gown by Crystelle. I bought it for $15AUD. It has the most darling elasticised/lacey cuffs, so you get a kind of puffy sleeve effect. Plus, it hides whatever naughtiness I might be wearing underneath. Not that I would be wearing any. Cause, you know, I’m an innocent little girl.
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Filed under Fashion & Money with 13 Comments
September 4 2008: Retail Therapy Is Not An Incorrect Term
Thank you for your comments yesterday. Honestly, thank you. It means a lot to me - while I know that everything that’s happening now is just a temporary bleakness in my life, that knowledge doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to handle so your encouragement is much appreciated.
On a brighter note, I did get the chance to spend much of today with Alex. Sure, I made an ironing run early in the morning beforehand, and just came back from another ironing run at 10pm at night, but! A good eight/nine hours of girliness with Alex! Nothing takes my mind off things more than shopping!
Our local shopping mall is having a month of freebies to celebrate spring. We took advantage of the free Toblerones (mmm…), of a free manicure each, and of course, of some shopping. But, as shopping at the biggest mall in Melbourne apparently wasn’t enough, we decided to hightail to Ikea on the other side of town and browse through mass-produced homewares (I bought microwavable food containers!), and then hit up a couple of warehouse clothing sales.
All in all, we went from 10am in the morning to 6.30pm in the evening, and by my calculations, gave around $400AUD to the retail industry between us. Thankfully, we got goods in return for the dosh…goods that shall be described in further detail, with photos, in tomorrow’s entry. LOTS OF GOODS, LOTS OF CLOTHES! Mmm, clothes.
Filed under Friends & Life & Money with 10 Comments
August 21 2008: How I Manage My Money
How do I manage my money? As I post so often about saving money on what I spend it on, it might shed a bit of light if I were to explain how I save money without spending it. Like many others in our new electronic society, most of my money is managed via online banking. I have two bank accounts - one is my easily-accessible “Online Savings” account, the other is my untouchable “Term Deposit” account.
I currently have roughly $11,000AUD in my Term Deposit account, and $7,000AUD in my Online Savings account, coming to $18,000AUD in accumulated savings that I can draw upon. It’s an adequate amount for someone my age who’s still only working part-time, but due to the lifestyle I like to lead (overseas holidays, etc.) it’s certainly not as much as it could have been. In fact, I’d have about $50,000 in savings if I hadn’t kept going overseas, or bought a car, or paid university fees. Anyway. Necessary expenditure.
How my Term Deposit works: You leave your money in there, and you don’t touch it. In fact, there are specifications on when you can touch it: I have a three month term deposit (e.g. the amount rolls over every three months), so I can only touch it once every three months, on the actual day that it rolls over. In fact, in my whole working life, I’ve only taken money out of this account once - $10,000AUD (plus $4,000AUD from my other account) last year to pay for the car.
The impossibility of access is a great deterrent to spending the money. I get the benefits of higher interest rates (I earnt $650AUD in accumulated interest in that account last year), as well as a great way of accumulating savings for larger purchases (home deposit for the future, etc.).
How my Online Savings account works: This is my everyday account. All my regular income (pay from work, etc.) goes into this account, and all my regular expenses (phone bills, rent & board, etc.) come out of this account. All my day-to-day expenses (petrol, food, shopping, going out, etc.) is generally paid for in cash from my babysitting gigs, so I can moderate my spending accordingly week-by-week. I manage to save a good $100-$400 every week (depending on whether it’s university term time {e.g. less income} or vacation time {e.g. more income}) in this account, which is used in either one of three ways:
- Paying off university tuition fees
- Paying for a holiday
- Making a contribution to my term deposit account or superannuation account
This account has never gone over $10,000AUD, or under $5,000AUD for the simple reason that once it starts nudging $9000AUD, I always have to pay university fees, or I feel the need to take an overseas or interstate holiday, or I chuck $2,000AUD into my Term Deposit. It never goes under $5,000AUD because I’m a cheapskate and I just stop going out and spending money until it reaches an acceptable level again.
Based on my experience, I would recommend that: If you have over $10,000AUD in funds to invest, put half into a high-interest savings account that you cannot touch. You’ll find it much easier to save money for large purchases (like how I bought a car, and am gradually saving up to buy my first home), and this fiscal safety net only grows in size! And - if you don’t have over $10,000AUD in funds to invest, start following my other saving money tips until you do!
Filed under Money with 7 Comments