The cost of convenience

Milk from the corner store often costs more. You pay extra for dinner to be home delivered. Not to mention doctors. And, judging by my bank statements for the last financial year, taking out money from the closest ATM costs you too.

I paid over $108.50 in bank fees and ATM withdrawal fees. 

It actually serves me right. Nearly 12 months ago (where on earth does time go?) I asked for help choosing a new bank account. I then did nothing about it. My indecision and inactivity has really cost me. 

I had thought I was doing a pretty good job hunting my brand down and minimising my withdrawal costs because my (now former) bank allowed me free withdrawals from their own or the occasional partner ATM. Evidently this was not the case, I guess because I try not to carry too much cash in fear of spending it. I am regularly caught short and approach no-name ATMs who charge me for my lack of foresight and/or laziness. Not only was I get stung by whoever owned that particular ATM, anywhere between $1.50 to $2.50 per withdrawal, but the double whammy of being charged by my bank. Not too mention the $3 per month service fee I pay on one account and $5 on the other. 

Now being aware of what my behaviour has cost me, I finally made time to find a bank that matches my habits rather than me try to change. This meant ignoring the offer of 50c for every EFTPOS withdrawal over $200 or even making it free from ATM. It also meant turning down the $50 bonus interest. Instead, I have opened an interest free account, linked to a high interest online savings account, with access to the Big 4's ATM network without charge. Let's see how this goes!

Duty free?

It's not, is it? Duty-free?

There may be no government taxes applied to the purchases but it's not free, and there seems to be a duty attached to buying something as you walk unwashed and unawake through the ceiling to floor stocks of alcohol, cigarettes, make up and perfumes cos it's, well, cheaper. But again, it's not is it? I mean, you've already forked out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to leave the country, for somewhere to stay, eat and entertain yourself and yet, it's easy to justify the further $100 or more on that bottle of vodka or small bottle of perfume.

I know. I do it every time I follow the signs to Customs. I get distracted by the pretty bottles, bright lights and promises of tax-free goodness. 

BUY:

$30.95 - earphones for my iPhone - I keep losing them :(

£3.66 - 100ml bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash

£16.90 - Clinique matte stay powder

£4.67 - toothbrush, tissues and toothbrush guards

$58 - bottle of 42 Below vodka and 20ml bottle of CK IN2U perfume (other rather, aftershave as I bought the men's fragrance)

Oh, and $40 for 2 little onesies with Australiana designs as a gift for V's twins when I caught up with them in London. 

WHY?

Cos they're so cute!

Travel buddies

BUY:

GBP12.99 - History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
GBP12.99 - Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

WHY?

What better company on a long, solitary journey than a book or two?

The first was chosen after I read this article which piqued my interest.  Sadly the very pleasurable experience of reading this book only lasted 3 of the 24 hours between London and Sydney. In small, because I tend to devour books but largely because it was a romping good read through early 20^th century aristocratic Amsterdam and I couldn't put it down! It’s the kind of book, and style of writing, that makes me wish I had such a talent. I mean, take the first paragraph:

“The adventures of adolescence had taught Piet Barol that he was extremely attractive to most women and to many men. He was old enough to be pragmatic about this advantage, young enough to be immodest,  and experienced enough to suspect that it might be decisive in this, as in other instances.”

It's up there with the intelligent, witty and sarcastic first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" that I regard as one of the best opening lines. While Mason isn't writing contemporaneously like Austen, he certain transports the reader easily into the period through descriptions and his use of language. Definitely money well spent. 

The second I'm yet to finish but will let you know!

Burnt Orange breakfast

Saturday started with the sound of rain splattering heavily against the window. Ordinarily this would be a soothing sound on a day off, providing the perfect excuse to stay tucked up in a warm, toasty bed with the prospect of a few videos or even some quality book time featuring in the future.

The exception being this particular Saturday when I had a day of house-hunting planned. Wandering the streets of the inner suburbs of Sydney looking at a. beautiful apartments and/or houses for rent way outside my budget that I was already decorating in my mind or b. small, pokey studio apartments inside my budget but where I couldn't face living was depressing enough. Adding the wind, rain and wet shoes and it was downright depressing.

The antidote? Breakfast with M. at what was, at that point, an undisclosed location as she wanted to surprise me. Still not being as familiar with Sydney as I should be, a wrong turn at Taronga Zoo or driving through Mosman didn't provide any hints. Others may also have recognised the car park, but not I, so the gorgeous Federation-style cafe that houses the Burnt Orange cafe, its boutique clothes and homewares, with spectacular views over Sydney Harbour (even in spite of the grey and cloud) was a very pleasant surprise. While breakfast was M's treat, it was the half an hour waiting for a table where I came undone.... Stocking really unique gifts and beautiful baby things I was unable to leave empty-handed. Sophia arrives in a few short days and I just can't help spoiling her (or myself it seems!)...


BUY:
$29.95 - a gorgeous picture book called 'A Walk in London' by Salvatore Rubbino

$59.95 - little pink and blue jacket that she'll fit into in about 2 1/2 years!!

$12 - Vintage Travel Calendar with old advertisements for airlines and destinations to decorate my new place when I finally find it!!

Budgeting

It doesn’t matter which money guru you listen to: Moneygirl, the Baby Boomer and financial advisor Paul Clitheroe, a Mormon Brother or my own brother, they all say the same thing – BUDGET.

My dear bro planned a budget to get me debt-free back in June last year. It worked well enough to get me debt-free, reach the end of each pay cycle without scrounging under car seats for coins and head overseas with savings. However it was probably more good luck than good management that got me through! I stuck to the bigger principles like paying off debt first and putting money into savings, I just wasn’t very good with fine print like only spending $150 per month on going out.

There is still plenty of waste in my spending and if I am being honest with myself about what I want for the future, I need to be more disciplined. So, at the beginning of February I sat down and worked out the following monthly budget:

Income:
Base salary: $2100
Minimum commission after tax: $800

Must Have Expenses:
Rent: $400
Mobile: $49
Food: $200
Travel – public transport/taxis: $107
General going out – coffee/dinner/pub: $250
Toiletries/make up/girly stuff: $40
Banking fee: $3
Beauty – hair/beautician: $100

Medical Expenses:
Physio: $50
Doctor’s visits/vitamins/medications: $150
Health insurance: $69

Wants Expenses:
Internet: $29
Clothes: $0
Other entertainment – apps/music: $0
Books: $30
Sponsorship/charity: $48

Total income: $2900
Total budget: $1475
Possible savings: $1425

What I hadn’t budgeted for was romance…

Mid-way through February my world changed in the best possible way when I started seeing M* and all my planning went out the window! My bank statement currently reads like a restaurant/bar guide to Sydney (or the shopping list of an alcoholic, depending on which entries you’re referring to) because we have enjoyed dinners out and drinks in as we get to know each other better. And, because she totally deserves to be spoilt, there are the occasional references to florists and maybe a hotel in Melbourne for a weekend getaway in the next few weeks…

The result of all this romantically-fuelled unbudgeted spending is that I got to the day before pay day (yesterday) with 20c in my bank account!

The challenge I have therefore set myself for this month is to still spoil M but explore what Sydney has to offer the romantic on a budget!

Any suggestions?

*In the interests of protecting the beautiful, I will refer to the amazingly talented, creative, intelligent and sexy woman I am dating by her initial.

Books: 3 for $10

This is my idea of heaven: five trestle tables piled high with books that previously filled Borders’ shelves with a sign reading 3 for $10. I’m not worried that they aren’t best sellers, this is where many gems of the genres I enjoy reading hide. And an hour of browsing turned up nine lesbian-themed novels and even a Buffy-branded novella (each of which would normally cost me over $30). All found a new home on my bookshelf for a total of $30.

A good buy? This is the introduction that grabbed my attention:

“When Rye Woods, a fairy, meets the beautiful dryad Flora Withe, her libido, as squashed and hidden as her wings, reawakens along with her heart. But Rye is a poor builder's labourer with a teenage sister to raise, while Flora is a wealthy artist-celebrity with a tree-top condominium and a sporty, late-model flying carpet. If those aren’t obstacles enough to the scorching attraction that rapidly develops, Rye lives under the pall of a dark secret that has made her a fugitive in the very land where she sought freedom. […] Can she and Flora find their way to loving one another in the face of their social and cultural differences while struggling with the dark forces that threaten Rye?”

And, despite its somewhat Mills and Boons-esque blurb (although wait for the review on Branded Ann), Broken Wings by L-J Baker easily creates a magical United States multicultural United Forestlands populated by dryads, brownies, gnomes (each with their own physical attributes, religions, cultural practices and even prejudices) which prosecutes and repatriates terrified refugees illegal immigrants who have sought sanctuary from torture or even death in less forgiving regimes, like Iran/Iraq/Saudi Arabia Fairlyand. And this is the world in which our steamy (lesbian) romance takes place.

Some might call it a lesbian romance but it is probably more accurately described as lesbian fairy-porn* and well-worth the $3.33 investment and three hours less sleep it cost me to read!

*If you're after more heterosexual faerie-porn, check out Laurell K Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, which centres on faerie Princess Merry's life with her orgy group of loyal lovers bodyguards. Just don't pick up the sixth book in the series without reading the ones before, like I did. It kinda ruins a romping good story!

The best laid plans...

BUY:

€35 taxi

€10 beer

€220 Eurostar ticket

€104 Deutsche Bahn ticket

WHY?



Having spent the better part of 2010 sending other people around the world on amazing holidays, 17 December marked the beginning of my own. After all the planning and saving during the preceding months, I don’t think I have been more excited for a holiday. In large part because I knew I would enjoy myself, catching up with friends dearly missed and meeting my niece (as well as three weeks out of the office) but, if I am honest, also as a result of my savings regime. The stash of cash readily available to me was incredibly liberating. I have never not left Australia on the back of my credit card!



Brussels

 But clearly the universe wanted me to work hard for my long-earned break! In the industry we always joke that it’s your own bookings you stuff up - like when my colleague booked himself on a different flight to his family - and while almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong for me, luckily none of it was my fault.

I checked in for my flight to London, regaling the lady at the desk with insider travel tales in the hope of charming my way towards the pointy end of the plane (which failed), with no idea that I was flying towards a snowstorm, the likes of which the UK had not seen in about 100 years.


View from train between Frankfurt
and Brussels

 Happily watching the in-flight entertainment and sipping on my vodka sodas, for 23 hours I remained blissfully unaware of the road closures, train delays and general carnage being reaped by three inches of snow at my destination. At about the time I was anticipating being told to prepare for landing, the captain came over the intercom to advise that Heathrow was closed and we were being diverted to Frankfurt. This initial briefing suggested it was only for a few hours but 5 hours on the tarmac suggested otherwise and it really was no surprise when it was finally confirmed that we would be overnighting in Germany. While disappointed, I figured the dinner party I was to attend would go on, even without the guest of honour. And really, diversions like this actually add to the sense of adventure, particularly when I’m not footing the bill! Well, the exhausted mother of three sitting opposite me probably disagreed though. Not one of her brood had slept during the trip and a confirmed delay of at least 12 hours before she could pass the brats off to their father brought tears to her already red and tired eyes.

After a short yet comfortable sleep I was woken by an uncomfortably early morning call to prepare for the hour bus trip back to the airport. Unnecessarily as it turned out. Heathrow was to be closed for another 3 days. Despite promises of free food and a warm bed I had no intention of remaining in Frankfurt, even if their Christmas market is one of the best in Europe. Somewhat wiser about the German rail system but €350 poorer, the next stage of my adventure began.



With train tickets to London, via Brussels, firmly in hand I naively thought I was sorted. Sharing a beer with fellow divertees at Frankfurt Central and a few more en route, we had no idea what waited for us at the Eurostar terminal. I mean only I was clever enough to sort out an alternate route to London, wasn’t I? It never crossed my mind that other stranded passengers, far from home, would be as determined as me in reaching their goal or that the weather would again wreak havoc on my travel plans.



My €220 Eurostar seat

However, after 50 hours of travel by plane, train and automobile, through two countries and with only a 50.5km tunnel between me and London, I was not waiting another day to meet my niece and nothing was going to stop me getting to English soil that night. Not the thousand or so passengers on the cancelled train before mine who were given the thousand or so seats on my train. Not even the officious-looking ticket collector nor the lack of a seat. Well, maybe the ticket collector. Luckily he was an officious-looking but understanding ticket collector and as I folded down my seat amongst the baggage racks between the carriages I sent him, his family and any future offspring very heartfelt thanks and blessings for the season. In spite of myself, I then fell into an exhausted but comforted sleep, relieved I’d be in England when I awoke but relatively unworried that it had taken me a total 60 hours and an extra, unanticipated €350 or so!