The Vicky Challenge. Week 4.

As it turns out the calendar works out just perfectly to wrap up the savings for January and move on to February! AND do my first months total.

Two things... one, it was much easier than I thought to keep track and do this weekly than I imagined. It is basically habit now. I keep a notebook on the fridge and that makes it easy to jot things down plus my savings book where I add it all in a few times a week.
The other thing, having worked savings out many things are really easy to just add in with out thinking. So there is minimal figuring things out. And when I need to it is actually fun. i.e. I confess I have paid to have windows done a few times. As I did my windows over the weekend I wanted to know what is the going rate now? I found it is $125 for an average home in Adelaide. So it sort of made me jump for joy that I DIDN'T pay that and saved it!

It was a big week. Tuesday was Australia Day and we used the day to do home and garden jobs. A lot of money was saved that day!

So the last week needs adding up:

I dealt with the last of the peaches! I still had some in the fridge and finally used them up. It was wonderful having so many and it took me three weeks to get through them but I did it. The last few I made two more crumbles. I love peaches but if someone gave me more right now I would probably cry!

Andy cleaned up the yard and out the front on the street etc. I am counting $80 as that is what our neighbours pay weekly.

Andy cleaned the gutters, $100, that is what we paid last time we had someone else do it.

Being the end of the month I am adding in my months worth of hair trim, colour etc and that is $225! Still recovering from when I worked this out!

I cleaned the windows $125

I did my nails $38

Savings on bargain turkish breads and focaccia rolls was about $20. These are the kind of bargains you save on twice. First on the really cheap rolls. Next, later, on a fast focaccia or pizza dinner and not getting takeaway.

I needed bottles as I have been making bubble bath. All my bottles were full of things! So I headed to the bargain store. Beautiful bottles that had been a few dollars each were all out for 50c so I got 12. 

That was more than I needed but I will put them away to make herbed vinegars or olive oil and other gifts. It was about a $30 saving.

Made all the work lunches $100.

I did more painting... I concentrated on doors and skirting boards this week. I will count $200. 

So thats about it... and it adds up to: $934 ! 

AND now to add up the whole of January...

That is $3997. 

I would never have believed that. 

Some of these things I do to save money. Some of them I just do. But I did not count cooking meals house work etc. Some things we thought about and did because of the challenge! 

All of it means we live much better than we normally could and can add to our emergency savings. It all is building up our home and getting us ahead.

Next time someone says "oh, you don't work then?" I am going to slap em in the face with this! 

I hope that keeping track of your savings has been helpful and interesting! And as full of shocks as it has been for me. Much of what I count people routinely pay for. Everyones lives are different but I cannot fathom paying over $100 out on work lunches... adding that to tax and other work expenses how do people have any money to bring home at the end of the working week? I don't get that.

The other day I was talking to a lady in a shop and she was saying how hectic her life is. I asked her if her working made them economically better off? She asked me what did I mean? I said that if she deducted tax, travel, clothes, dry cleaning, child care, takeaway food or whatever else it costs her what is the end profit? She said she didn't know. She actually did not know if there was any point! You have to wonder! 

How did your week go and how did your month turn out? I hope you are encouraged to see that your work at home or outside work hours adds hugely to your household.  

What is exciting to me is the number of things I am still finding that are amazing savings. I wonder what I might discover next! 

Now to February! xxx