Shhh dont tel anyone. . .

. . .I think I am going to buy a sewing machine today! BUT this is a good budgeting decision. I have opened an online store on the website MadeIt and I am going to try and actually make money from my sewing activities! I am really enjoying exploring the creative side of my personality and if I am about to get all bogged down in being tight with my money - sewing is something that (after the purchase of the machine) wont cost much to keep me occupied!

And if I buy it now I wont have to put it in my budget! LOL

Plan to PLAN

My first blog should have been titled "The Idea". It was just a general thought and sort of a direction for the coming year - it was not a plan. A plan of this importance needs to be thought out, concise and thorough, not a sudden brain wave and a quick blog post!

I am not however in any mood to plan tonight - I am already in bed, with my cosy bed socks on, my heat bag under my legs warming my sore calf muscles and my half finished cup of camomile tea on the bed side table. Not to mention tired as hell!

But I do want to blog on this site regularly so that it stays at the top of my mind. So I think my hope tonight is to set out what I need my Real Plan to cover so that I am best prepared for the coming months!

BUDGET!

Well I don't know about you but i have tried and tried and TRIED to budget in the past and each and every time i have FAILED! And I think that the main inspiration for this blog idea - there is obviously money going out that I am not accounting for. So where does it go? But in order to start on the right foot I am going to set myself a budget to begin with. I will endeavor to make it as comprehensive as I can and then if I am still failing to met it at least (i hope) I will know WHY!

RULES

• I need to set my self rules. Like what do I do with any extra cash if I do a grocery shop or fuel the car and come in under budget (unlikely i know but just on the off chance, I had better know what to do). Do I roll that over into the next weeks budget, buy myself something special or SAVE IT?? Any clues?
• I need to discuss this plan with my housemate as we go halves in most costs in the house so she will need to be on board to some degree.
• What is my contingency plan if I "Need" to go over budget? What if my car blows up, or Aston needs something in a particular week (like medicine) that I have not budgeted for? Where will this money come from?
• What is my plan of attack for the credit cards? How much of the good cash (the stuff left over) do I save away for a rainy day and how much do I use to try and impact the huge CC debit I have?
• If I should pay off a card that is in my budget - where is that money then allocated?
• Can I still buy Frankie Magazine every 2 months? Or should I just hope that Kel buys it first (I did pay for 12 months subscription to Dumbo Feather so that's fair - right?)
• How often do I need to blog (daily, weekly) and how detailed should I be - "I spent $20 this week on stuff for me I didn't" need OR "I spent $13 on magazines and $7 on coffees"?

I think that is enough "think tanking" for one night! My tea cup is empty and my eye lids are heavy so it's a start and that's the important thing!

cheers,

The Plan. . .

As the new financial year approaches I have decided it is CRUNCH TIME! I keep telling everyone - "Oh but I just want to buy a house for me and my boy!" - and yet I spend money on cups of coffee, clothes (of which I have SO many already) and the list could go on and on!

So there is the plan. . .I am going to outline on a weekly basis (I hope) the financial incomings and outgoings so I can see where I am going wrong. I am going to honest and candid in the hope that I will learn something about my spending habits that I can change.

I am going to use the next few weeks to prep myself for the year ahead - if I can blog for 12 months I think I will learn alot! But I need to do a bit of ground work so I hope to work out exactly what my current money situation is and what tools I want to use to help me along the way.

But I am happy tonight that the plan has been laid - set in stone so to speak.

Wish me luck. . .