Aunty Steff

Seven months ago, at about the same time I was beginning to fret over my finances, my brother announced he and his partner were expecting a baby. With this news I was given extra special reasons to get my shit together.

In the short term, with some savings, I would be able to visit them and meet my niece or nephew in England and joining the rest of my family in France for Christmas would be a possibility.

In the long term, I began to think about how I wanted to be viewed by my niece or nephew and that really gave me something to think about. I could be the pathetic aunt who lives in the same house as Sophia's Jammy and Mo (the names my parents want to be called) who only pops over to visit her dad to borrow money. Or, I could be the cool aunt. Who has a room all set up with books and toys especially for when she visits. Who sends postcards and awesome presents from her amazing adventures and who is an inspiring, secure and independent woman.

Any wonder that I began my financial education in earnest and I got serious about saving?

Now I am happy to say that I'm on my way to being cool Aunty Steff (I think?). The goal I set myself of $5,000 in savings to travel with has been achieved (woo f*cking hoo!) and I hope to be closer to moving out from Jammy and Mo's when I return from my travels.

The only problem I foresee is that with Sophia's arrival came a million reasons to spend. Like when I went to Coles to buy some food for dinner expecting to spend about $10 and came back with a bag full of baby clothes having parted with $64.44!

To avoid spoiling Christmas surprises, please excuse the lack of description below.

BUY:

Baby presents:

$58.40

$27

$57.95 

$15.95 

 WHY?

Because she looks so cute in stars!

BUY:

$38.50 - taking Jammy out for lunch during a hard day's shopping for baby stuff!

“Only an Aunt can give hugs like a mother, can keep secrets like a sister, and share love like a friend.”

~ Spanish Proverb

Pay an honest tithing...

BUY:

$48 - monthly sponsorship to Sabita from Bangladesh

$36 - payment towards her Christmas card and a bit extra to support World Vision

WHY?

As mentioned, my take on the whole tithing business is donating to charity.

I know I am said it before but based on my earnings, I am in the richest <1% of the world's population and my income is more than 41 times that of the typical person. Embarrassingly enough, I don’t give anywhere near 10% of my earnings to charity (which even non-religious people seem to suggest is the charitable thing to do!) which would still leave me with an income 37 times that of the typical person. But, I give where I can because somewhere out there is someone scrounging for food and basics I take for granted and I guess I sleep a little better at night knowing that despite my hedonism and selfishness one person might be able to benefit through education and in turn help others. 

BUY:

$62.75 - Ticket to JK's Safari Soiree

WHY?

To support her Climb for a Cure and fundraising for Cure Cancer Australia.

Cure Cancer is a charity which provides seed funding to young researchers seeking treatments/cures for cancer. Once such researcher was in attendance, Hilda, who gave us a rundown of her work paid for by Cure Cancer. I don't know how to describe what keeps her busy but hope is successful! I doubt that there are many people who haven't been affected by cancer in some way - either personally as the statistics of the chances of developing some form of cancer are chilling, through the loss of a loved one or supporting someone else living through treatment - and for this reason this is most definitely a charity worth getting behind.  

With all the effort JK had gone to with organising amazing African food, drinks, Three Minute Angels, awesome drummers (and dance teachers), a not-so-silent auction thanks to the emcee who managed to convince everyone to part out with more money even if they still held the winning bid for some awesome prizes, it was a fantastic night! Especially as I got to catch up with friends I hadn't seen for ages!

But it's wrong that I spent more on my hair cut and outfit in anticipation of the night isn't it?

BUY:

$29.95 - African animal print dress for the Soiree

$185 - hair cut and colour by the very talented Jade who makes me feel like a million dollars when I walk out of her salon.
$15 - taxi - to get from the train station to the venue

Joke of the day

What is the key to financial survival?

.

.

.

A tight arse!

(It's totally wrong that my dad emailed me this, isn't?? With a link in the email to a woman's g-string-clad behind...)

For those unfamiliar with the phrase tight-arse (or tight-ass for the Americans) this joke probably makes no sense. I mean, what's someone's bottom got to do with money? There are a few ways to explain it. The first is when tight-arse can be substituted for the word 'serious' or 'uptight'. i.e. He was no fun out last night because he's such a tight-arse. However in this circumstance a tight-arse is someone who is reluctant to part with their money. The phrase is generally thrown around pejoratively when the said tight-arse won't share their money with their friend and/or when said friend can't see any reason why the tight-arse won't share their money [1] e.g. Even though he earns more than me, he wouldn't shout me a drink because he's such a tight-arse.

Jokes and female exploitation aside, there is actually a valid point to this statement. The key to financial survival in tough times is often to careful with one's money. It's a real sign of our spend-thrifty society that not spending money or just generally sensible with it attracts the unattractive title of tight-arse. I guess it's hard to see it as a positive attribute when most people don't see a need not to spend: credit is easier to get than a cold and most accounts have a small overdraft facility if one doesn't have a credit card. And I'm not going to get caught up talking about the millions of dollars spent (successfully) on advertising telling us how spending money on this season's LBD (little black dress) or the latest release 3D HDTV is supposed to make us happier/sexier/more attractive/cleverer even when last year's style still fits or plays DVDs perfectly etc...

Anyhoo... What our friend the tight-arse is exhibiting is "self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters", much like our Mormon friend Elder Ashton recommends. I honestly never expected to be ruminating over the words of an elder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints but my take on this is basically: don't spend more than you earn, don't live beyond your means. And, as my dear readers will know from this blog, to throw another cliche at you - this is much easier said than done!

Given the fact that I am now debt-free and have about $4,000 in savings - check the counter to the right - I think I have done a pretty good job of being a tight-arse (September notwithstanding), I just wish mine looked like hers.

Another oops..

BUY:
$2 - packet of plastic clothes pegs

WHY?
Mum asked me to buy some for my grandmother while I was in the mall and it wasn't until after I returned home I realised that I had just purchased something new. I have been so focussed on not buying new clothes and related items that I didn't even think something as small as a peg, and cheaper than a coffee would cause me to stumble in my Buy Nothing New month.

Fredag

KÖP:

$12 - biljetten till filmen

VÄRFÖR?

I fredags jag var ledig ifrån jobbet. Förmodligen. Vi har haft så mycket att göra jag inte hunnit svara alla email och sånt så jag var tvungen att jobba idag i alla fall. Jag brukar inte göra mycket när jag har ledigt, särskilt när ledig dagen är en vardag. Men idag jag hade planerat att gå på bio i eftermiddagen. Jag skulle vilja kolla på "Flickan som lekte med elden". Dock timmarna försvann och satt jag vid bordet fortfarande när filmen skulle börja.

Till slut åkte jag hem. Efter en kort middagsomn (vilken gamla tant jag ar!), åt jag en lite middag forrän jag bestämde mig att titta på en sent forevisning av filmen. Det betyde jag skulle komma hem sent men skit i det. Jag är glad. Det var kanon bra! Vilken spännande film. Jag älskar Lisbeth Salander och hennes modigheter. Efter Ikea besöket jag blev lite hemsjuk for Sverige men nu kanslor är stärkare. Nu längter jag efter språket, maten, miljön, vänner. Allting. Däreför skriver jap på svenska. Det ar inte perfekt, det vet jag men jag hoppas ni som kan, ni forstår fortfarande.

Money for Mormons 101

During the week a friend put a link on her Facebook with the title “Shopping on a budget”.

Now, in my journey towards financial independence and education I’m regularly reading the business section of the newspaper, the ASX website is in my favourites list and I often click on links like the one above that are money/budget related. The articles take me across the world, from Sydney to the New York stock exchange or even China. I just never expected to be heading to Utah and into Mormonism...

The article my friend posted led me to a set of articles regarding Mormon family budgeting. 'Cos I'm curious, a few links later found me at a pamphlet by Elder Marvin J Ashton called “One for the Money: Guide to Family Finance”. I waded through the faith-specific messages and past the description of strong gender roles that apparently accompany and are necessary for both good finance (?) and happy Mormon families to find some fairly sensible messages. There are 12 Mormon guidelines of which 8 I feel are relevant to me (with slight amendments). These are:

• Pay an honest tithing*
• Learn to manage money before it manages you
• Learn self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters
• Use a budget
• Make education a continuing process
• Work towards home ownership
•  Appropriately involve yourself in an insurance program
• Understand the influence of external forces on family finances and investments

It seems basic money-sense transcends faith because these really are very sensible. My regular reader(s) will know that I already follow a few of these. The others I will explore on a personal basis as this month proceeds. Of course, I will try to keep you up to date....


* I am familiar with tithing (not personally of course) so I googled it for more information. Members give one-tenth of their annual income to the Church. I guess a secular parallel is giving to charity so that's the direction I am going to take.

Memories

On Wednesday Mum and I visited that mecca of clean, functional and clever yet simple Scandinavian design (also known as IKEA) seeking inspiration for improvements and additions for her study. 

I  made it past the bookshelves and the cute red moose-shaped coat rack without spending any money. I even made it past the heart-shaped ice-cube trays, the myriad of drinking glasses and clever kitchen utensils that are enticingly laid out en-route to the cash registers for that last minute impulse-purchase. I was feeling strong and motivated by my 'buy nothing new pledge' but helped even further by the fact I gave Mum my wallet to hold while we wandered through the maze and that she shouted me lunch of svensk köttbullar och potatismos med brunsås - Swedish meatballs and mashed potato with gravy - one of my most-favouritest meals in the world.

BUY: $5.98 - two packets of Ahlgrens Bilar

Where I came undone was in the Swedish Food Market, just past the cash registers. I couldn't pass the sweet section without buying a couple of packets of  Ahlgrens Bilar. Bilar means cars in Swedish and the tag line Sveriges mest köpta bil on the bag reads "Sweden's most bought car". 

WHY?

These soft little candy cars are my favourite lolly and while I can't even describe the flavour, each colour is different! Chewing on these sweets is like stepping into a time machine - it's the fastest way I have of being transported to Sweden and through memories of my year as an exchange student there: to nights I crawled through the snow and the fence separating my host family's place from my friend Annika's to spend long dark nights in front of the TV watching Arkiv-X (The X-Files) or Buffy vampyrdödaren (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). To car trips with my host mum Lisa, chatting, as she chomped on them to remain alert. To train rides to visit friends in Stockholm or fika and long chats with friends after school. To one of my favourite places, to memories of wonderful friends and family and to an amazing year. While the enjoying a plate of meatballs also brings back warm memories, I can enjoy Bilar in comfort, sitting on my bed listening to Gyllene Tider, Lisa Ekdahl or Robyn and thinking happy thoughts. 

So you see I couldn't not buy them.

You can read a little more of the place Sweden holds in my heart here and here.  

The tenth of the tenth, two thousand and ten

and this is my one hundred and tenth post!

BUY:

$3 - mmmm, coffee.

$17.50 - cheese, lime, steak, potatoes

WHY?

Contribution to M & E's housewarming party. I never did get to eat (or even bother to cook) my steak, or the potatoes, because there was so much food already available, prepared by Cee, author of American Baking by Cee (available in all good Thai bookstores!) And I have to say their key lime pie was heaven in a dish. I think I even proposed to them after tasting it - a request repeated this morning when they made pancakes! I'm gonna have to get the recipe and try making a key lime pie because that taste sensation deserves repeating. Over and over and over again.

Oops?

BUY:

$1.69* - Is buying Pink's single "Raise your Glass" from iTunes considered buying something new?

I'm mean, it's a new single and it's very new to me but it's not like I could get it from anywhere else but iTunes cos that would be wrong and robbing a talented artist of royalties and I couldn't wait to the end of the month... At least the her new album isn't due out til 16th November so I won't break the 'buy nothing new' pledge. Again.

*$1.69 x 2 - I was a little drunk and eager when dowloading it last night and may have accidently bought it twice. And the Scrabble App $1.19 cos it was on sale.

Blood, sweat and tears

During an audit of my accounts last night, trying yet again to work out where my money goes, I saw a random deposit into my account with the decription DIVIDEND. This got me just a little bit excited because it seems the investment in blood, sweat, tears and cold hard cash I have made into my company's shares is slowly starting to pay off!

So what if it was only $14.96 and I spent pretty much all of it today*? It's a better turn over than my superannuation.

Last year $4,388.07 was added to my superannuation fund as per the law in Australia that requires my employer to contribute a minimum 9% of my ordinary earnings to my nominated account. The idea is that the money is locked away in an account I can't touch until I am of a certain legislatively-nominated age where people, with better brains for figures that I, play with my money with the intention that they will invest it wisely and over time I will see an exponential growth in my investment that outstrips my meagre annual contributions so that I can be kept in the manner to which I have become accustomed after I become too old to be a productive member of society. Great in theory...

The $4k or so added to my account over the course of the financial year brought the total of my super fund to $26,880. However, as at 30 June 2010 my account balance was $25,753.91. As you know I suck at maths and have no head for numbers but even I can work out that this is heading in the wrong direction. My super fund mismanaged to lose $1,275.40 of my hard earned money and still charged me $435.62 in fees and costs for the privilege.

I get the whole 'the share market is a long term investment' and that the general long-term direction of shares is an upward motion - just like this pretty graph says... It's just that being in a slump hurts and I feel that for every two steps forward I am taking one step back.

*Today my BUYS were $3.50 - pizza and drink for lunch and then $11.30 for a beer and chips at the pub with work colleagues for a Friday night drink.

Buy Nothing New Month

After such a ridiculously decadent and expensive month, it's time to get serious about saving. Again. Still? Whatever...

  

I would love a "Buy Nothing" month but that is unrealistic. By comparison, the Salvos' "Buy Nothing New Month" seems like a very achievable and worthy challenge. It works with my attempts to get back to my inner-city hippy, environmentally-conscious roots (lost somewhere over the Pacific in 2009 flying from London to Sydney while also leaving a rather large carbon footprint). 

As the "borrowed" banner says basically I'm going to Buy Nothing New this month. The idea being that I beg, borrow, barter, buy second-hand or swap what I need this month. I'm also thinking that this would include repair, re-use or recycle whatever it is I may need as long as it's not new, with the reasonable exceptions of food, drink, medications and hygiene products. This way I am helping not only myself and my wallet but engaging in sustainable behaviour and not contributing to our largely disposable and wasteful consumer society. For this month at least.

I was a lot better at this when I lived in the same city/country as my best friend! We used to swap books, unwanted make-up and toiletries and sometimes clothes (even though we share different tastes and sizes!) but 4 days into the month I'm doing okay having only bought food, today included:

BUY:
$8.90 - ham and cheese toastie

WHY?
Lunchtime meeting with my boss to discuss the team's and my future. It's exciting....


I am thinking I might face a challenge towards the end of the month when my first niece or nephew is born... 

The best things in life are free*

... like holidays won at work functions! (read the background here...)

You'll remember that I have been talking about a trip I won to the Solomon Islands. Well, I've been there, done that and loved it!

Excerpts from my travel diary:

"Delayed in Brisbane by a faulty toilet, missing my connection to Seghe (and so the boat to Uepi Island) and now in Honiara which is not the most ideal of starts to what should be a dream holiday. I had hoped to be enjoying a beer by the beach instead of watching rain falling from the gutters with more water pressure than the hotel's showers...

 

...After last night's uneventfulness, watching "Ever After" in my hotel room, the markets in Honiara this morning were a welcome break. And catching the local bus was quite the adventure. Not sure that this is recommended but hey, ignorance is bliss!

Even the long delay (again) at the airport was preferable to the monotony of the hotel. At least there is a feeling of progress and anticipation at the airport.  The flight across to Seghe has been definitely worth the wait. Mostly clear skies with the few clouds about casting shadows on the cerulean waters below. A flight like this in yesterday's rain would have been terrifying, with little visibility and only the clouds for company. There is an upside to everything!

     

...OMFG. What a dive! Tropical temperatures, beautiful blue sea with visibility for 30m or more. Dili, my dive master was very good with me, holding my hand pretty much the whole time which was comforting when there were sharks nearby but it also kept me at the right depth because I didn't have enough weight!

...The dive today at Landoro Garden was aptly named as it is a veritable garden: coral, sponges and other 'plants' being tended to by little angel and butterflyfish, that buzzed around like bees while the parrotfish paraded and other fish grazed. The bombies have life everywhere and the fan coral shaded its inhabitants like ferns. The first rule of scuba diving is always breathe! Hard to do when what you are seeing is absolutely breath-taking. It's like being in your own documentary - the movement, the colours, the sights...

... Bliss is napping in the hammock on the deck of my guesthouse, looking out through palm trees to crystal clear water, enjoying a good book and being happily interupted by the neighbours wandering past...

   

...I think I have found my happy place. In fact, I know I have. Travelling solo in the Solomons has been the highlight of my travels to date. Everyday has brought a new experience, a new sensory sensation and visual delight. It's absolutely magic.

   

...I have never cried leaving a holiday before. Until now. As Jill, Grant and Dili waved me off I couldn't help the tears that welled to the surface, to be quickly wiped away so I didn't miss the wonderful view on the boat ride back to the plane. I will be back."

*The best things in life are free but there really is no such thing as a free lunch!

The holiday I won wasn't totally cost-free and I ended up spending a bit more than originally anticipated in preparation for the trip away. But certainly not as much as if I had had to pay for my own flights, food and accommodation (which were the free bits.... )

The BUYS and the WHYS:

During Holiday:
$10.40 – train ticket to airport
$114.09 – exchanging SBD$600 which included $10 commission and a shit rate – I could have got better at the hotel in Honiara.
- now I spent this on food at the airport on the way, some grog at the hotel in Honiara (cos the airline was only paying for soft drink), donating to the Uepi Island staff X-mas party (in lieu of tips) and still managed to come home with about SBD$110!
SBD$1523 – A visit to the local village where a lot of the staff come from, my bar tab and 4 dives – bargain at around AUD$215!!
$47.19 – bottle of Glen Fiddich for my dive instructor!
$6.35 - Hungary Jacks at the airport. I switched onto an earlier flight and there was a warning on the screen and also on my boarding pass saying refreshments weren’t guaranteed. So i ate. In the end there was food but opted for a liquid refreshment and some biscuits and cheese.

Subtotal = $393.03 (within my original budget and estimated expenses!)

Before holiday:

$314 - flight taxes (paid back in July)

$150 - dive medical, to ensure I pose no greater risk than average underwater! (paid in July)

$150 - for access to PADI coursework online

$200 - for practical side to my PADI diving course: one night in a heated pool and then two mornings of diving in 17.5 degree water!!

$135 - snorkel and mask, cos it's always better to have your own so you're comfortable and they fit well.

$25 - My PADI dive card, which is usually free but I decided to contribute to Project Aware to help protect our amazing underwater world by ordering one with a turtle on it!

$59.99 - Long-sleeved rash vest for diving

$59.95 - my black dress which was a winner because I wore it pretty much every day. It was sooo comfortable (paid in early Sept)

$39.95 - my foldable hat (paid in early Sept)

$29 - MicroSD 2GB memory card, so I could take the underwater photos above with the camera my drive instructor gave me!
$148.66 – for bug spray that attracted the mosquitos, a dead arm thanks to me tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough shot, malaria tabs and a doctor consult
$31.46– 100mL plastic bottles, toothbrush cover and SPF 15+ moisturising cream and other toiletries

$5.99 - Saline nasal spray, cos flying dries me out!
$12.99 - for Travacalm tablets
$35.18 - new bras
$82.50 - 4 months worth of the Pill (otherwise  I would have run out before I went away!)

Subtotal = $1479.67 (hadn't really factored these expenses except the airline taxes into the budget at all...)

Grand Total: $1872.70

Steff's Action Plan:

4. Spend 5 nights in the Solomon Islands putting my new diving skills to the test between 24 - 29 September. DONE!

A MASSIVE THANK YOU

to

Dive Adventures  and  Uepi Island Resort

for providing such an amazing prize and organising such a magical holiday.

I will never forget it.

IT issues

BUY:
$29 - monthly internet. Pay as you go.

WHY?
Until I move somewhere on a more permanent basis, I figure this is the best way to go. I feel I was quite sensible when my month ran out the night before I headed to the Solomons. Rather than top up right then and there (which I wanted to do cos I was right in the middle of organising stuff online when it defaulted to the recharge page) I held off and only topped up on my return. And honestly, where would we be without the whole interweb?

BUY:
$51.59 - monthly phone. On contract.

WHY?
Okay, so perhaps I didn't think the whole contract thing through. I signed up based on the phone. I was dead keen for an iPhone - and really, it's fantastic and allows me to do so many things as well as freeing up space in my handbag! But to get the iPhone I signed up for a plan with allowances higher than what I currently use and in doing so, I pay more than I probably need. All so I could get an iPhone and the oldest model at that!!
 Basically for $49 a month, I have a phone call allowance of $350 per month and a download limit of 50MB. If the cool (free) app I downloaded called Consume (which allows me to measure my usage as well as keep a record of frequent flyer points and other loyalty program points)  is accurate, I only used about $88 worth of calls and go to 32MB in downloads last month. How I managed to exceed my limits for August is beyond me cos I clearly need to reach out and touch someone more regularly, 'scuse the pun...

Another day...

BUY:
$3 – coffee.
$3.25 – chocolate croissant.

WHY?
Mum and Dad's toaster died last night, taking the whole house down with it!! One minute I'm boiling eggs for dinner and the next the house was so dark I couldn’t even fumble my way through it to find a torch. So instead I headed out into the street, helpfully lit with street lights and hassled our lovely next door neighbour who kindly provided both torch and fuse-fixing skills. What this meant was though, there were no breakfast-making instruments available this morning, and the coffee machine wouldn't turn on either... I hope not a result of fried wires from the sudden power surge?

Hitting a tonne!

If you understand the rather parochial sporting analogy of the above title, you may realise that there is another milestone to celebrate... this being my 100th post! (A tonne in cricket-speak is 100 runs. It is also known as a century).

When I started this blog, my goal was to get my sh!t together money-wise because my family is celebrating Christmas in France and I really wanted to be there. I figured it would be great to have about $5,000 to spend. Bear in mind that I started with debts of $5,000!

Along the way I added a few extra goals so running with the sporting imagery, I figured at this point in the game it was time for a recap of the scores:

1. Be debt free by mid-August. WOOHOO. DONE! 
2. Move out from parents into a place in the inner west by end of August. Ummm, still working on this. Although I am now paying $100 a week board.
3. Learn to scuba dive by end of September. DONE! Thanks to the guys at Frog Dive in Willoughby I am now a PADI-certified scuba diver.
4. Spend 5 nights in the Solomon Islands putting my new diving skills to the test between 24 - 29 September. I leave for Brisbane on Thursday night after work in order to meet my connecting flight on Friday morning... I will update on my return!
5. Have $5,000 in savings by 17 December to take with me to Europe for 3 weeks of fun! Nearly half way there with $2,200!
6. Start saving for a house deposit with the goal of buying by 2013. A work in progress...
7. Save for a 2 week holiday in San Francisco in June 2011 Another work in progress...
8. Save for a 3 week holiday in South Africa in March 2012 Reconsidering South Africa (maybe Ghana and north-west Africa) but still a work in progress...
9. Have a regular slush fund to buy presents for friends and family and of course to spoil my little niece or nephew! Getting there and have a few pressies in the cupboard!
10. Be open to meeting someone to share my life with. Great in theory, harder in practice...
11. Ultimately, run my own business. Baby steps, which begin with a management course through work in October...

And for the fun-filled European holiday: my international flights flights are sorted, I've paid the deposit on the accommodation in France. I have travel insurance and the next major investments are trains from London to Dijon, and then from Dijon to Paris and to London again as well as flights from Paris to Gothenburg so I can welcome in the New Year in Sweden!

I figure this is a pretty decent inning at midway through the game. What say you?

Hard at work...

Way back when, in my former life as a lawyer, I had to take work trips. Regularly enough that I was temporarily upgraded to silver frequent flyer status. Aside from a free pass into the Qantas lounge, I wasn't there long enough to work out the difference from bronze! But I digress...work trips...

For the case I was working on at the time, they generally involved domestic flights between Canberra and Brisbane, sometimes Sydney, and on the one occasion a flight to Dubbo to collect a car and drive as far as Warren. For those unfamiliar with Australian geography or who are familiar with Australian geography but wonder what and where the f*ck Warren is, it's a small country town in western New South Wales whose population increased 25% the night my colleague and I stayed there!

The accommodation budget during said work trips depended on your position so you could well end up in a different hotel to a more senior colleague or even the client and you were awarded an allowance for out of pocket expenses, measured on how many hours/days/meals you were away for. To avoid unnecessary cost and time out of the office some work trips meant getting the first flight out of a morning and returning on the last. And your time out of the office was spent working. Every 6 minutes had to be justified and of course, billed back to the client. Some of the more exciting moments I recall on work trips were driving through a locust storm (on the way to Warren!), playing a game of Scrabble with the mother of the barrister we had engaged on a particular matter when we were on a trip near his home town and a highlight was probably the night I snuck my then-girlfriend into my hotel room in Melbourne on the final night of a law conference! Exciting stuff!

As a travel agent, I've already had a couple of 'edjos' as they're known in the biz (short for educationals) - Uluru in May and Rotorua last year, but my recent trip to Fiji was like no work trip I have ever taken.

A reward for making my targets back when I was a newie, I joined 10 colleagues and one of the state managers (for want of a better description) for a 3 day all expenses paid trip to Fiji. And when I say all expenses paid, I mean it! I didn't even change any money into Fijian dollars but somehow managed to enjoy cocktails by in the pool, the most 'heavenly' bed ever*, lovely meals, a beginner scuba dive and enough alcohol to fuel NASA's next rocket launch (apparently I accounted for 19 or the 23 or so vodkas ordered during the final night's festivities... In my defence, others were drinking different spirits in similar numbers...).

I can only but thank Sal (representative of the powers that be) profusely for her generosity over the course of the trip. There was no expense spared and certainly no separation based on rank. In fact, I think Sal got the worst room of the bunch, with little water pressure and she had to make do with a garden view rather than this....

Again, you're probably just think 'fine, Steff's just rubbing it in. Why is this here if she didn't spend any money?' so here are the purchases made in anticipation of the trip (and the couple made while in Fiji!):

BUY:

$9.08 - Travacalm tablets (cos I get seasick!)

$18.17 - Nasal spray (cos flying really dries you out)

$23.22 - book called "Don't look back" by Karin Fossum (for the flight of course)

$149.93 - a pair of cotton slacks to wear on the plane (cos when you're travelling on agent tickets you're not allowed to wear jeans and that's pretty much all I own). Well, it was 2 pairs cos I got the second pair at 50% off and I know they will get worn regularly...

$10 - train ticket from airport to home

$30.39 - bottle of 42 below Vodka duty-free (cos I didn't have enough while I was away!)

FJD$19.95 - pair of thongs (as mentioned in earlier post)

FJD$38.67 - little shell bracelets and pencils as Fijian souvenirs for my work mates

*We stayed at the Westin in Denarau.  The 'Heavenly' bed is a signature feature of Westin resorts around the world and is so popular you can purchase the bed, linen or pillows to take home! Rumour was the bed is made with 14 sheets over the mattress which is why it is so comfy but I'm not sure if this is fact or fiction. What I can say as a fact is that I have never slept in a better bed.

Sunday

BUY:
$2 - Marble maderia cake

WHY?
I was going so well... the day was looking as though it would be spend-free until I could no longer ignore the weird and somewhat distracting noises my stomach was making. As work finished at arvo tea-time (3pm) it seemed appropriate to get something to share with my colleagues as we tidied up all the loose ends from a crazy busy day. The cake won cos it was cheap and sweet!

Spendthrifty Thursday...

Guess I better start the confessions for this month. Today being as good a place as any to begin!

BUY: $7 coffees

WHY? After boasting about how good I was being with coffee, what tops my list today?! Reason being that I met my former assistant manager for lunch on King Street Wharf, which is near her new work. She was generous enough to shout lunch so the least I could do was grab the post-lunch coffee to help counteract the effect of the beer we enjoyed with our salt and pepper squid and chips!

BUY: $59.95 - summer dress

WHY? Only 2 weeks til I'm in the Solomon Islands and while I have every intention of living in my bikini and a sarong for the week, there may be times when I have to cover up. Like at dinner so I don't put everyone off their food!

Added bonus is that I had a $20 voucher to put towards this - which helped pay for the tailoring required to take up the hem and a little off the top of the actual cost of the dress. Compliments to the blond sales guy in Just Jeans Pitt St Mall who not only asked if the dress was too long but then arranged for it to be altered within 30 mins. Great service.

Now, the hat is a recent purchase as well, from yesterday actually - $39.95. With my pasty white porcelein skin, sun protection is a must so I feel totally justified buying this. The very cool thing about this hat is that it scrunches up and is great for travelling!

The thongs/flip flops are also a new addition to the wardrobe. In Oz, Billabong-branded thongs cost around AUD$25. I was thinking ahead to my next tropical holiday when I bought these, in Nadi airport for FJD$19.95, which translates to AUD$11.94.

BUY: Loceryl - $100
WHY? Embarassingly enough, after winter my toe nails need a little work to be presentable in my new thongs. Loceryl is an anti-fungal nail lacquer. TMI? Sorry.

BUY: T-shirt - $9.95
WHY? It's cute and I wanted a new tshirt for summer/Solomons.

BUY: Loving Annabelle DVD  - $23

WHY? I am desperate to watch a dyke drama and this one was the cheapest one in the queer cinema section at JB HiFi. I have been wanting to see this for ages but I'm going to have to wait a little longer. Bummer is that my computer, since being rebuilt, no longer has a DVD player function (which I didn't realise til tonight) and I have to download some sort of DVD decoder app to be able to watch it in the comfort of my own bed. 

Managing addictions....

A shout out to my friend B. who is now a week nicotine-free. I wish I could say the same about my caffeine addiction. It's a daily battle - sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.

The major reason I am trying to cut down is to save money. My coffee habit costs me around $60 a month but possibly more. I drink it because it's social, because it's warm on a cold morning, because I am not a morning person and because I also get a sugar hit! My usual is a cappuccino with two sugars and I think part of the reason is the lovely, light, frothy milk atop the coffee.... Solution?

BUY: A milk frother! $19.95

WHY? So far so good - cold milk froths better than warm but doesn't compliment the coffee as well but I have cut down on my purchases considerably. While I still get to drink cafe-made cappucinos, I haven't been paying for them: sales reps, generous clients or my manager have sated my addiction!

Team building...

As you can see from the photos, I had a weekend on the Gold Coast which was between 13 - 15 August...

There were not many out of pocket expenses because the trip was courtesy of work. However, I wouldn't describe this necessarily as 'free' because this was the reward for many hours of hard work by the rest of the work crew and I for the previous financial year. Others may argue that I'm splitting hairs though because I didn't have to pay for the flights, the accommodation, dinner on both nights, the car hire, entry in to Dreamworld....

Dear reader, you're probably now asking what on earth did I pay for to justify a posting?!

Friday night:

BUY: Ear plugs - $7

WHY? Just in case... I was sharing a room after all and I say never leave home without them.

BUY: Train ticket to the airport - $10

WHY? It was the fastest way to get there from work. In my view the airport line is too expensive. $10 is the student/concession rate and the adult I believe is about $15 - $16... all for about 3 stops from Wynyard. And they wonder why it's under-utilised? I have been to a number of airports around the world and relied on public transport to deliver me in a timely fashion - Sydney is by far the most expensive and it is also one of the shortest train rides from the airport to the city out of many of the airports I am thinking of: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome to name a few. Each of which from memory were only a few euro...

BUY: Book at airport: $34.99

WHY?

Because I couldn't face a 2 hour flight to Brisbane without something to read. Honestly, having time on my hands and nothing to read is my idea of cruel and unusual punishment. The problem is though that the airport is the most expensive place to book shop and I am such a quick reader that the fun is over too quickly and I really don't get value for money. While it was an okay book and engaged me, it wasn't $35 well spent I am afraid to say.

BUY: Bottle of water - $3.99.

WHY? Thirst overruled my usual dislike of purchasing bottled water. Sydney water is some of the best tasting in Australia and I don't see the point in buying water when the stuff out of the tap is okay. But, standing on Central Station there were no bubblers and I really couldn't wait.

Saturday:

BUY: $5 tip to the waitress at Shuck Seafood Restaurant in Main Beach.

WHY? We all threw in to tip her because her service was excellent, she put up with all of us for the entire evening.

We decided to go somewhere 'nice' for dinner to spoil ourselves and Shuck was recommended to us by someone-or-other. I am so glad we listened. The food wasn't just nice, it was divine. We all did a bit of a taste test of everyone else's dishes - my entree was the Charcuterie Plate comprising a number of meats which I can't pronounce, followed by the eye fillet. Not exactly seafood but the others did enjoy the restaurant's namesake, as well as B. ordering the carpaccio of tuna, kingfish and ocean trout. Not being one for raw foods, I was hesitant to try it but wow! I'm glad I did because packed with flavour and texture.

BUY: $10 cover charge to Elsewhere, a night club on Cavill Avenue, $20 or so in drinks as well as a $10 contribution to our newies' taxi ride home because they were calling it a night early!

WHY? Not wanting to call it a night, our waitress had recommended this 'alternative' club called Elsewhere. It started well but when the music changed to stuff us oldies didn't recognise, we wandered the block or so to our rooms at Q1 for a drink or two...

Sunday:

BUY: Breakfast croissant and coffee - $9.20, lunch at south bank – $8.50, petrol and parking $5

WHY? We blew the budget with Saturday's dinner so we had to fend for ourselves on Sunday! Feeling that we had experienced all the Gold Coast had to offer we drove back up to Brisbane (where we were flying from), via South Bank for lunch in the sun. It's such a great part of Brisvegas and I love that everyone - families, friends, couples - heads there to enjoy the markets, restaurants, little beach and of course, the sun!

Team bonding (minus me...cos I'm chicken!)