How to save money (for things like surgery for your pet)

How to save $3,000, for unexpected things, like surgery for your pet

Ok, the cat got cancer, and following some investigative tests was given an excellent prognosis should we be in a position to afford major surgery - to remove her leg and shoulder blade. Now plenty of people in equal numbers have responded to this - some with 'knock it on the head' others with 'well she is part of the family'. Its ironic to hear that one of the 'knock it on the head' camp, have a 3 legged dog. Emotion plays a huge part in these decisions.

I am looking at my poor dear puss with its 3 legs, half its long hair body shaved, a collar around her neck to prevent her from chewing a medicated patch off her hind leg. She is a sorry site. I'm still not sure if I made the right decision. But decide we did, and pay now we must. So how to come up with the goods? Well forunately we were about to upgrade the bathroom, so the vet has been paid. However, I'd still like that bathroom upgrade, maybe even by xmas, so I'm going to get resourceful and look at the family budget and come up with as many ways as i can to save $$. If you have some ideas, pleaase add. We can all do with extra $$, so lets see what we can come up with:

1: curb soft drink consuption

I buy a drink a day, lets say thats $3 a day - so over 1,000 days . . . . I'm not a saint I like to buy a drink (but I'll cut back to 2/7 days)

2: caught a lift home from a party on the weekend, saved $30 on the taxi

3: sell a few more of my chooks precious eggs - $4 / doz - can prob sell a doz a fortnight

4: I have a free gym membership through work, I'm going to use that more than attending Bikrum, which costs (I'll drop 1 class a fortnight)

5: One of my ante-natal clients just had a baby, I'm going to fill her spot immediately (good business sense really) - my share is around . . . .

Well there's a start. So for the month of Feb I've saved roughly $150?? something like that. Its a start - I'll post more ideas each week and please feel free to add ways that would work for you

NEXT 5 tips - how to save $3,000

OK, so its week 2 of trying to claw back $$ spent on the pet surgery. I've genuinely reduced spending in these areas

tip #6 - handbag in airport shop - half price, down to $100 and I do need a new handbag, my current one is held together with electricians tape. I am considering the plurchase, and my mother whispers in my ear "dont forget about your poor little cat". I put it down and walk away. $100 saved. As my friend Anitra says, 'truely noble'.

tip #7 - needed after school care last Friday, put out a facebook plee, and children looked after by dear friend. Not sure what I saved, maybe $30?

tip #8 - new batteries for toys - pulled out batteries from toys not currently being used, saved maybe $10

tip #9 - Mercury newspaper currently has $2 wildlife DVD's, 2 are free the rest you buy. Something stirs in my memory . . . . I look in the back of the DVD cupboard and find not 1, but 2 sets of wildlife DVD's purchased for child 1 and 2. Child 3 has not seen. So I buy nothing and save $20 or so

tip #10 - need new shampoo and conditioner for the gym bag. Found heaps of old half empty bottles at back of cupboard, also some bottles from various hotels/motels, soap too. So now I dont need to buy any for a while. Saved about $20

Tips 6-10 - saved around $180 + the $150 from tips 1-5 - so $330 saved at this point :)

How to save $3K . . . . progress so far - ($1,000 saved in one decision)

Well its week 3 of trying to claw back the price of the cats surgery. When I genuinely hit the $3k mark I'll be ready to get my new bathroom. I'm finding different ways each week to save $$, and thanks to those who've added their tips - keep them coming. Who would have thought that Melinda would take the time to measure the lid of something to see if adding a lid of liquid meets the recommended dose of 50ml. She found it measured 65 ml, so quite a difference there.

Tip #11: went to the beach on Sat instead of the pool. Saved maybe $30, cos a trip to the pool for our kids means chips and a drink

Tip #12: Sunday - invited to the pool (Oh dilemna - its nearly 40 degrees and I'm feeling good about saving $$ yesterday) But wait, 3 years ago we were given a free pass - would they honour it? YES!! so saved $15 on entry and it wasnt the chippy pool - lets just say we saved $15!

Tip #13: Did some volunteer work helping with Taiko drumming - I love it, love being part of it, happy to help out. Apparently I am to be rewarded with a $20 reduction in fees, I wouldn't normally take the reduction, it is afterall a fun pass time, but this month I'll take it.

Tip #14: This one I'm abit embarrassed about cos its a shear waste of money, and I was being a bit precious. So get over it chicky, its not that bad. Last year I purchased a 10 visit pass for a yoga studio but fell in love with NEWTOWN Bikrum and it was looking like I wasnt going to use those remaining 9 visits (about $15 each) So now I am instead of visiting my favorite centre, and I'm doing less visits anyway, so it save approx $130 over the next year.

Tip #15: I'm not going to add this one to the tally becuase I'd decided to do this before the cat got sick - but later in the year we are going away for 6 weeks. And 2 cats in a catery for 6 weeks is around $1,000 - we are getting a house sitter instead. They can enjoy the house, feed the chooks, eat the eggs, and look after the cats. A few summers ago we did a house swap with a car in WA, we estimated that saved us around $10,000! It was for 3 weeks, over xmas, and the trip was unexpected - it was a great way to have your cake and eat it too. And the house we got was AMAZING!

tally on the savings so far $195 this week, + $330 previous weeks - $$525

Saturday, 10 March 2012

How to save $3,000 - 4th update, and still going!

There's some repition to saving money this week, as the ideas from previous weeks continue, but still some new ideas

#16: I am not doing this again - forgo 4 weekly dieing of overly grey streak in hair - saw hair colour for $15 (that's worth saving), then discounted at $11 (still worth saving I suppose), then discounted again at Chickfeed for $5 - but hair dresser is coming next week anyway . . . so I saved $5 and feel crap everytime I look in the mirror. Not doing that again. Will buy up a few packs of $5 colour - this is unusally cheap!

#17: Did more volunteer work for TAIKO and earned a hefty discount off my fees for a workshop this weekend - saved $50

#18: Bakery bipass - I usually spend around $8-$12 each trip - around 4 a week. The boys havent been enjoying sandwhiches and I'm not enjoying buying bakery products to replace them. But I've been cooking scrolls and cheese and bacon rolls and reduced spending at bakery to ABOUT $15 per week total. Savings this week and last - around $60

#19: Ongoing savings from reduced purchasing of drinks, egg sales, etc - around $16 for the week

#20: discovered that if I pick my boys up from child care at 4.59, rather than 5.01 I save an hour childcare or about $10 each and every week

So this week I saved $141, previously I have saved $525, making it a total of - $666 - at this rate it'll take me 6 months, which is on target for a new bathroom before xmas!

How to save $3,000 - 5th update

Well after 4 weeks I genuinely saved $666, and havent suffered because of it (although the lack of hair dye was a personal sacrifice I'm not doing again)

This week:

#21: another bakery bipass - saved about $30 over the week, as well as making scrolls instead on sandwhiches

#22: picked boys up early from childcare - an hour early as Brookey was sick anyway - saved about $15

#23: nit treatments - yep the nits and lice have hit 4/5 of us - so the options are cheap and labour intensive or quick and over with. I went 50 / 50, and probably saved $10 opting for cheap conditioner

#24 a friend is looking after Brooke next week while i go to a work thing - saved $35 in childcare

#25 this is a weird one, but Brooke will miss a swimming lesson at $15 each - she is allowed to miss one without $$ penalty

Total saved this week - $105 - shocker of a week for not any soft drinks - lots of stress and not enough sleep - needed the caffeine!! Better luck next week

Total saving so far - $771

How to save $3,000, next entry

Well I have to say I am starting to run out of new and exciting ways to save money. We are down to routine habits. Here is this weeks savings

#26: Bakery bipass - again saved around $30, less bread in the house, and cheese and bacon rolls made for the kids

#27: havent included this one yet, but since the cat got sick we havent had Friday night takeaway. Now that might not sound much of a sacrifice, and it really isnt. But it is a saving because we used to get takeaway every 2 weeks. So over 6 weeks I reacon we've saved about $80 - we usually spend between $25-$40 - gosh that seems a lot

#28: Sold eggs, reduced soft drink consumption, picked up kids from childcare - probably saved $25 this week. Finding it hard to go without my soft drink as it is my 1 form of caffiene and fizz over the day.

#29: cant think how to put a price to this but there is one. Bought some seedlings during the week, I usually buy the healthiest without looking any further. The healthiest had 6, the next healthiest had 12. Those 12 are now planted in the garden and doing very well! Instead of 6.

Well cant think of many other ways I've saved, its been that kind of week. However, $135 is not a bad effort, I guess most savings come from reducing things habitually and that's what we are doing

Total savings - previously $771 + this weeks effort $135 = $904 - actually thats not bad over 6 weeks!

Enjoy your week!

have saved over $1,000 in 7 weeks!! See how here!

Well its week #7 and the cat is looking well. Still there are more savings to be found in the weekly budget with a few new ideas

#30 - kids school photos, usually I buy the value pack but this year just the class photo (its not like we dont have a whole heap of photos of our kids!) Saves $22

#31 - MYO Pizza tonight - saves us about $40. It's the last futsal game tonight and we are going to MACCAS for an icecream - strictly icecream - simple, easy, fun, cheap!

#32 - We will have to wait to see if this is fully realised - but if Fraser wins the karate colouring in competition there is a months free training for a prize. That'll save us about $100 atm, so Fraser - get your pencils out. He is fully into this - as we have bribed him to enter the comp - normally we wouldnt worry about it !! I wont put this saving down unless it gets realised . . . .

#33 - bakery bipass, eggs sold and soft drinks not purchased, early pick up from childcare, spot in my ante natal class filled early - $88 or there abouts :)

#34 - bought something to replace something I lost, then I found it BEFORE losing the receipt, $6 back in the bank!

# 35 - staying at a friends over the weekend, up north, to save on accomodation costs - we have to go up for karate tournament for Fraser - I wont add the saving of around $150 because we are really looking forward to seeing them. I might cook up a dish to take so they dont suggest we go out for tea (that rarely costs us less than $100). Sneaky eh - I'm getting good at this!!

So, counting savings from points 30, 31, 33 and 34 - $156 + $904 (from the last 6 weeks)

Savings so far - over $1,000 - $1,060 to be exact!

How to save $3,000 . . . . week 8

After saving $1060 over the last 7 weeks you'd think I would run out of innovative ways to save money - partly true as it is the establishment of thrifty routines is what will do it. Yet here's a few things that increased our savings this week

#36 - this is cheeky, no doubt - but as I'm not being really that keen to dish out copious amounts of chocolate to young kids it was a thrifty solution - I was given some easter eggs for my kids from a lovely lady - they didn't know and weren't expecting anything - so lets just say I saved about $30 as the Easter bunny has been via a kindly person

#37 Fraser won a karate gi! and we didn't even know we were competing for it - but when i posted this photo on his GKR karate FB site it seems the chief sensei appreciated his efforts, and rewarded us with a gi that is overdue. I was going to get him one shortly, so it really is a saving of around $50!

#38 - bakery bipass, soft drink reduction, no takeaways . . . . approx $60

Can't think of anything else - but that's $140 in a week - total $1,200

I am mortified. Over the last 8 weeks I've clawed back $1,200 in surplus spending. This bit of thriftiness was needed after my dear old puss got bone cancer and needed her own surgeon. Lets just say when she picked me out at the cat home she chose wisely. The bill came in at around $3,000 which is the amount I had put aside to reno the ensuit. Gone. Puss is still here though. So I got all thrifty and have done a pretty awesome job of clawing back the $3,000 but am feeling very disheartened. The stove died. We've been running on 2/3 elements for some time, now we just have the outer grill. I thought I might replace it cheaply, but stoves are only purchased infrequently, so maybe something a bit better than that. Then there's the hotplates - 1 is damaged, another only works on full, and the discounts for buying both the hot plates and oven are hundreds of dollars. Its a matter of choices - 1) fix - throw good money after bad?? 2) go without - its an option, but I love cooking, or 3) get a loan and just suck it up, forget about the bathroom. I think its option 3. So I'll be looking around, researching, keeping eyes out for specials. Can you be my eyes too?? Here of any sales please let me know - do you know of any good websites??

Any way, enough sooking

Week 9 was not a great week for saving $$ as the kids were off school

#39 - why is Glenorchy movies cheaper than everywhere else? Took the kids and me to the cinema for $10 each - that saved $12 just by turning right instead of left at the lights - PIRATES - good fun movie.

#40 - sold some baby stuff - $50

Total savings - up to week 9 is $1,262

Its been a few weeks since my last blog on how to save $3,000 - but despite away for a conference I did manage to keep the spending down. I usually take the chance when I'm away to splash out a bit and eat somewhere fancy - but quite often cheap and cheerful with good company is just the ticket. I attended the 2012 FILEX Fitness Convention at Darling Harbour - not a cheap part of town, and with lectures running back to back its tempting to just buy at the portable cafe stations dotted around the place and pay for the convenience. So how did I save $$ at such a venue - just a bit of planning really.

So far I've saved $1,262 - just to remind us . . . .

Tip #41 - take your portable hot drink cup - a cup of herbal tea in a disposible cup cost around $4.50. I made mine at the hotel before leaving - so over 3 days saved around $13.50

Tip #42 - stock up on snacks, fruit, muslea bars, healthy snacks that you know you'll need and wont be able to find at the portable cafe stations. I spent about $5 on fruit, I bought some dried fruit and nuts from home, and this covered morning and afternoon tea. I ate better and saved $$. I even bought my beloved V so I wouldnt have to seek it out between lectures. I reacon I saved bucket loads here - at least $25 each day - so $75 over 3 days

Tip#43 - cheap and cheerful for tea - good company - enjoyed eating outside - that is treat enough. 2 pub meals and one chinese banquet (paid for by my buddies Kel and Kel as it was my birthday). I spent a total of $50 on eating at night - over 3 nights - I think I spent $50 a night last year - I didnt drink as much alcohol- so I am confident to say I saved $100!

Tip #44 - Bought breakfast muslea and yoghurt and brought grains from home to add to it - and a little of the fruit from the market - so instead of buying breakfast every morning for $10, $10 covered the lot. I probably ate better too - it was all high in fibre and that's something I really cant do without! Saved $20.

Tip #45 - nothing new here - bakery bipass, sold some eggs (even got a $1 tip because my eggs are so good!) avoided buying takeaway drinks (at takeaways anyway) Gotta admit I was missing my coke so i bought a carton of cans - its way cheaper than takeaway and I drink less of it as i only have 1 can a day. Oh and my mum looked after Brooke when I was away so that saved in childcare costs - but the boys went in afterschool care - i think the net gain was about $15. Total saving for this lot is around $50 over the last week

Did have to buy an oven. Its worthy of discussion because we made some decisions, changed our mind, changed it back again, talked, shopped around, and bought something quite different to what we intended. We were thinking you only buy an oven every decade or 2 its a big purchase, the hot plate unit is also almost done - so we will get a package and ultimately save - buy good stuff - one visit from a sparky to install it . . . . Then a friend said go for second hand parts. NUTS. This really was throwing good money after bad - hardly any feature worked.

I'm not counting these savings to the tally but here's our rationale. To get a really good oven (pylometric) and hot plate elements we were looking at around $3,000 (familiar figure coincidentally). We'd need finance for it. But it would be a one off purchase and we could do a deal. All the deals included rangehoods - which we did not need or want to sell on (or as my father would have done - build a shack around it). This isnt what we did. We bought an oven with excellent energy efficiency, it looks good, it doesnt have pylometric feature but we own it out right and it cooks like a dream, the light works, the timer works, I'm happy with it. Sometimes we think we need something, and it makes sense to pay more . . . . but it is something you just dont need right now.

Total savings this last week and this I suppose $$223.50 + $1,262 = $1,485.2

LETS CALL THAT HALF WAY THERE!!

It's been an ongoing blog, and I know many of you have enjoyed reading my strategies for saving money - even those in the USA, Germany and Russia (welcome new readers). It's a common need - world wide - so this blog isnt so much about how much I saved, because it is getting harder to put an amount to this each week. Why is that? Because we have changed our lifestyle and things that were savings, we just dont do anymore.

1: I rarely buy takeaway drinks now (not never, but rarely). Instead I buy boxes of canned drinks for when i want something fizzy, otherwise its water

2: Bypass the bakery / supermarket - I was spending around $40 a week but now I bake scrolls for the kids lunches on a sunday, or pizza bread, or ham and cheese rolls - the kids prefer it to sandwhiches and I dont get bullied into buying a whole load of extra. Then there is the other way of looking at it - my husband only buys bakery bread - he says it saves money because you go in, buy your loaf of bread and bypass the supermarket - and dont get side tracked into buying something you didnt intend to! (He doesnt take the kids). We have both discovered a way to save!

3: Extend your village. Childcare is a necessary part of a busy family's life - but often friends will pick up your kids if you have a late meeting - in fact they are happy too! And this is free, and the kids get a play date, and if you are lucky you get to chat to a friend too.

4: Takeaway on a Friday night is a treat. Sure youre tired, we all are - but takeaways are generally pretty low nutritionally and hit the hip pocket hard. I think we have had takeaways on a Friday twice since the cat needed her surgery - no one misses it, no one expects it (well the kids took a little weaning). It is a real treat now.

5: Buy later. With all spending - can you do it tomorrow, next week, next month, even next financial year - delay what you can and postpone the spending. Empty the cupboards, make do with what you have.

Good luck folks! Feel free to add strategies that have saved you money :)

How to save $3,000 - 3rd month - tips 45-50

Here she is -almost 3 months after her surgery to remove a cancer riddled leg - doesnt she look well. Bailey is the reason for the need to save $$, her surgery was expensive but fortunately we had the money as we were about to renovate the bathroom. I've pretty much given up on the idea of a new bathroom before xmas - other things keep getting in the way - but I made a pledge to claw back that $3,000 and now I'm more than half way there. And here is my reason - I think she is worth it!

Last time I posted an amount I had saved $1,485.20! The rules are life still has to be fun, savings have to be time effective, and sustainable, in that I am changing habits of being very free with our spare $$, to become a lot more thoughtful and thrifty. So, for the last 2 weeks, what have I done thats saved??

46: Last week we bought takeaway on the Friday night for a treat, and it was really enjoyed by the family. It was a treat rather than a regular Friday night have to have. This week - takeaway is off the menu - $30 saved.

47: Last weekend was Mothers Day and the mothers of the family were cooked for by the men. We had a lovely roast and there were some leftovers - I took the leftover roast chicken to make a stock, but found there so much extra meat it was indeed a whole extra meal. A family meal of meat generally costs us an average of $10. This was meat that for convenience sake was going to the bin. Shameful.

48: Sold some eggs, used pre-purchased block of fizzy to feed fizzy addiction - rather than paying 3 times as much in the shops, bypassed the bakery - Approx $70 over 2 weeks

49: Family offered to take me to breakfast for mothers day - stayed home instead - saved $50 easily

50: Early pickups from chldcare - as mentioned before i discovered that if i picked my kids up at 4.59, I saved about $12 instead of picking them up at 5.01!!

So over the last 2 weeks I reacon I've saved around $172 - this brings my savings to $1,657.20

How to save $3,000 - almost $2,000 saved in 4 months!!

2 weeks since my last blog - and four months into the process of saving $3,000. So far I have saved $1657.20 - and there's been a few things I havent really kept a tab on - so I'll try to catch up on my savings record today!

Savings tip:

#51 - Savings from routinely cutting softdrinks - or buying slabs of cans instead of from takeaway shops - I think I have saved about $15 a week - so thats $60 over the last month - I kid you not!

#52 - Here's a beauty - Brooke was getting swimming lessons, and due to a whole range of issues she really isnt progressing. So we will cut those lessons until the summer, and just go swimming with mummy. No as it turns out my work arrangements get me into a pretty awesome family friendly aquatic centre for nix, and Brooke at 3 costs me $1.60. Now if I can just wean her off the expectation that going there means a serve of hot chips and a milkshake, I'll be saving $13.40 each and every week. I usually sign up for a 10 week block, so in the next 10 weeks I'll save $134.00!! Sweet!

#53 Bakery bipass - still managing to only buy bread 2-3 times a week with no extra lunch box snacks, and I am cooking regularly to replace bread. I reacon I am still saving about $30 a week, $60 over the last 2 weeks!

#54 - my lovely neice who is training to be a beautician did my eyebrows, I paid a reduced rate saving me about $7, I caught up with my neice, and gave her some experience in dealing with really hairy eyebrows (men go and see her for a full body wax if that's your thing - tell her I sent you :))

#55 - have been missing my bikrum classes due to an injury - every class I miss saves $16, and I've saved 3 over the last week - $48.

So the balance of savings was $1657.20, and this fortnight I saved $309 = $1966.20!!!

Alrighty, we are on the business end of this saving $$ mission - after last week which was the beginning of the school holidays I thought this always blows out - but not this time - for one thing my regular casual job meant no big excursions, and I've got the kids doing the maths on how much it costs just to buy one take away drink a day (or more to the point how much we save if we dont). They are good little mathematicians - added up the numbers / day / week / month OMG they exclaimed - all that money just on a drink!

Here's my efforts over the last 10 days

tip # 56 - I bought 3 second hand school uniform items - in great condition - but a third of the cost, so saved around $100! maybe even more!

tip #57 - filled the cupboards with yummy cooking - biscuits, muffins - it gave the kids something to do and meant we never needed to waste money on expensive takeaways - saved $50

tip #58 - bribed the boys to sit quietly while I took an exercise class instead of going into care for one hour - saved $8.80. Then we went swimming and usually we'd buy lunch there - fortunately or unfortunately the car park man wont give you a minute over 3 hours - so instead of having a lunch at the canteen (which I was more than happy to do - except for the drinks bit) we had to run like blue arsed flies to move the car before we got a $50 fine!! It was a great day for exercise, and no hot chippies this time - and the kids didnt even complain! - Saved another $12 I reacon!

tip #59 - skipped some yoga in stead I did swimming - which is free for me - saved $16

tip #60 - started saving seeds for the summer garden. So far I have pumpkin, broccoli, marigold, and another bright and cheery annual. Hopefully this will be fruitful and save $20 or so - seeds arent cheap!

So thats $206 of savings added to the $1966 already saved - making a total of $$2172

$828 to go!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I mentioned before, it's getting hard to keep adding new and innovative ways to save money, but instead now I have some firmly intrenched habits that are keeping us within budget - and saving in ways we never did before

So here's a bit of a recap:
Tip #61 - each and every week I save money by not going into the bakery with kids, I cook our own bakery delights, and this saves = well it varies - I'd say $20 a week is fair. By buying bulk cans of fizzy I save $3 a day - most days - this week I was out and about a bit more - I think its fair to say I saved $15 by buying and taking with me fizzy drinks (gotta love a bit of fizz). I sold a doz eggs, $4 (what a bargain) - total week savings $39

Tip #62
I hate closing down sales - I really do - especially when its a shop in your local community, and they have supported your kids school through various fundraising ventures. But closing down they are, and I have purchased the netting for my desired netted area in the garden at half price - so I saved $60.

Tip #63
Bought 2 kilos of meat - usually $15 / kilo for $10 - its winter and therefore slow cooker time. Saved $10. Incidentally - I had a massive work week and hubby came home with hungry kids 3 times this week, late, with nothing for tea prepared - we both left too early to put the slow cooker on!! This week we will be better organised! A friend and fellow foody has suggested that we both do a slow cooker meal and swap half for half, so we both have something different and equivalently yummy for those kind of nights - for next week. I think its a great idea and I'll share more about this down the track. Tonight we had slow cooked ginger beef (thanks for the recipe Sonia)

Tip #64
Hubby rings on his way home - "I'm exhausted - can we have takeaway" - "Nope I say - tea is a cooking" - Saved half of what the takeaway would be - maybe $12

So that's another week gone and another $121 saved - $707 to go - soooooo close!

How to save $3,000 . . . . almost there!!

Over the last week there has been absolutely no new strategies to save money, but with $707 to go I am starting to think - lets get this job finished. As mentioned before we have shifted away from re-vamping the bathroom as we are about to head off on a red dirt experience. They money we have saved is put away, and maybe we will spend it while away, maybe it will be there when we get back. I am still keen on a new bathroom by xmas, but an awesome holiday rich with experiences is the priority now.

So how have I saved over the last week:

#65 - the strategies of being super organised when it comes to lunches and snacks is still a major $$ saver. On my largest work day I literally dont have time to even drive through a drive through - so being organised is essential.
Last week I think I saved about $15 avoiding the bakery
$12 on being organised with drinks
$20 on avoiding the Friday takeaway for the kids
$10 on picking the kids up from care, just before the o'clock, rather than just after

So that makes about $57.

So that brings my balance down to $650.

Over the next few weeks we are going to 'eat down' the larder. Is this a saving? The food has already been bought - surely it is not a saving. I would argue that it is! We will try new meals, from the ingrediants that we have, and 'make do' more than we usually do. Previously I said that one of my strategies for saving money was just not going in the supermarket - I always spent more than intended - the specials always got me in - always!

Anyway - this week is potato week - the spuds I dug earlier in the year are starting to seed - so eat them or throw them out - that's gotta save $$!

How to save $3,000 . . . . so close!!

With $650 to save before I meet my target I wanted to think up a few new ways over the next few weeks. Here's what I came up with.

#66 - dont you love fresh flowers! I decided it would be a lovely thing to have in the house so I popped around the garden, into the bush, over the fence (not stealing) and came up with a lovely bunch of native flowers that are bright and cheerful and havent set off anyone's hay fever
Saved $13 last week, and I'll do it again this week - so thats $26

#67 - I'm off on a 2 day conference in a few weeks time and as I bought my discount tickets a few things happened - the price kept going up - extra baggage i didnt want, extra insurance i didnt want . . . it added up to an extra $30 / flight. So that's $60 saved, because I didnt want / or need it. I also saved $8.50 by using direct debit rather that credit. But when the direct debit info did not come through I used my credit card before my flight on 'hold' was released - and yipee for me - no $8.50 charge :). $8.50 just to use my credit card on an $85 flight!! Seriously! so that's $68.50!

#68 - another made lunch on a mega busy day - Saved $10

#69 - bypass the bakery, dont buy any takeway drinks - $27

#70 - more than anything I'm far too busy - missed bikrum x 2 this week - saved $32 - but did make it to spin x2 @ no charge cos that membership is given to me as part of my job :)

So this week I saved $163.50 - off my balance of $650 - $$496.50 to go


Well I've done it - I've saved back the money spent on my pets surgery - $3,000 in 5 months! The plan was to now go ahead and get the bathroom renovated but as we are about to take an extended holiday . . . . well lets see how much extra $$ are in the 'kitty' at the end of the trip.

So here we go, I promised my self I wasnt going to do another entry until the final $496.50 had been saved - so I will start with the modest savings, and keep going on all that's been saved in the last 2 and a half weeks. Here we go . . .

#71 - $10 saved on hiring DVD's from the State library rather than Video City. I dont think I'll send Video City broke, but there are some good finds in the State library - and they are totally free

#72 - the spring flowers are now in - even though we are into the thick of winter and every other person seems stricken with the flu. The mornings are chilly with frost in the yard and snow on the mountain - but the spring flowers - daffodils, eggs and bacon, camilias are optomistic reminders that the spring is coming! I've saved $25 over the last 2 weeks by finding flowers in the garden, and around the neighbourhood (over the fence).

#73 - I'm still avoiding the bakery - the kids dont even ask anymore - this saves around $15 / week, so $30

#74 - early pickups from childcare over the last week have saved around $25 (picking up 1 minute after 5 costs an extra 30 minutes than 1 minute before 1 x 2 kids - it all adds up!)

#75 - reduced BIKRUM classes again - I've been really enjoying spin classes and bike riding in general - I've missed 3 classes in the last 2 weeks, but 1 was because I was away - so 2 missed classes = $32

#76 - sold some clutter - 1 unused cot (unused for 8 months or so), and 1 bassinet (unused for 3 and half years!!!!) I was offered less than my asking price, but I help firm and now have $210 in my pocket and more space in the house

#77 - compared business insurance and saved $80 over 2 years (and feel I got a better policy more importantly)

#78 - soft drinks - prepurchased in can form - saves $3 / day instead of buying from the shop - over 3 weeks thats $42

#79 - I went to Melbourne for a business seminar. I find any kind of jaunt away from home can really blow a load of cash, but with a bit of planning you can save hundreds. This is what I saved - and these are real savings, because I'm comparing things to they way I used to do things before I decided to claw this money back
I used to taxi to accom - now I bus - saved $33 each way - $66
I used to buy breakfast - now I take muslea with me saved $10 / day - $20
I'd usually eat out somewhere nice - I got a more than satisfactory dinner for less than $20, so I probably saved $20
(I travelled late, to save 1 meal altogether)
I took my own tea and travel mug - saving $4 / day $8
(and I won $11 at Crown Casino - but I wont count that :))
$$114 - over 2 days!
Ironically saving money was one of the topics covered at the course - the pay for the next course . . . . I told the presenter I had been blogging ways to save $$ for months now. He looked at me as if I was nuts!!


NUTS I MIGHT BE BUT I HAVE DONE IT!! I'VE SAVED OVER $3,000 IN 5 MONTHS, WHICH I MIGHT ADD WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO PAYING FOR THE NEXT COURSE, A NEW BATHROOM, AN AWESOME ADDITION TO A BRILLIANT HOLIDAY, OR SURGERY FOR YOUR BELOVED PET. The choice is ours, the money is there!

As I sit hear I can hear the contented purr of my 3 legged cat - I really can. She has a wonderful life, she is much more pampered now - we baby her, brush her, buy her favorite food (which happens to be chicken necks which is great for her health) and generally enjoy her alot more than before she got sick. I hate my old bathroom, but I love my cat!


Well its a couple of months since I finished this part of my blog - it took about 6 months to find savings in our family budget to pay for my dear little cats surgery, to save her life.

Despite an excellent prognosis she died last Friday of secondary cancer.  The end was pretty swift.  I had her for 14 years, almost a third of my life.

Am I regretful that we spent such a large amount of money given she didn't last that long?  No.  I am regretful that she is gone.  Miserable in fact.  Cats are just so loveable.  They are always pleased to see you and although they can be a little moody they are a great source of comfort and I miss her terribly.

That is all