Poopsie and I both feel like November was one of our most expensive months of the year- at least that’s how it felt.
As it turns out, we still managed a savings rate of over 50%! That always makes us happy.
We got our only car serviced for the first time, which came in at a hefty $220. We also did a couple of trips to the Gold Coast to visit my parents, so fuel was a little higher than usual.
We’re happy to keep our little car fully serviced as we plan to have it for years and years.
We got our first rates notice for the new house. Rates are dished out quarterly in our area and they’re known amongst locals to be pretty high. This isn’t something we can alter and to be honest, we’re both very impressed with the amenities in our area that the council provides, so we don’t really mind paying this. This is one cost that will continue in retirement, so we have ensured we include it in all of our cost estimations.
As mentioned in Poopsie’s latest article, I have officially made the switch to Jeenee Mobile. I had to pay three months up front, and also pay my regular phone bill. December will be my final Spintel bill and then we’ll both enjoy $18 a month for our phone service. We can’t wait!
Miscellaneous was a lot higher this month. I got my first haircut in over a year! Poopsie has been trimming my hair for over twelve months now and I have been very happy with the results. However, I opted for a haircut as we come into summer and am much cooler with my now shorter do. Poopsie will continue to trim my hair and here’s hoping I can go at least another year before I pay for a haircut!
Poopsie has expressed interest in playing the guitar ever since I first met him. We finally found a great guitar on Gumtree (Australia’s version of Craigslist) for $60, including bag and stand. He has been teaching himself to play on YouTube and I have been really impressed with how he sounds.
Poopsie’s new (to him) guitar nestled on its stand.
Our mortgage interest has reduced by a further $50 or so. We are so close to getting it under $900! We can’t wait! It just goes to show that channelling all extra money into our Offset account pays off!
For any Australians living under a rock, Adele announced her very first Australian tour in March 2017. I am a huuuuuuge fan, so Poopsie stalked the website and managed to get us tickets! Considering they sold out in forty minutes, I am pretty pleased with his efforts! They were expensive, and the first time in a while we have spent money on entertainment. Part of the reason we are frugal is so we can take advantage of opportunities and things that interest us, despite the cost. This is a perfect example of having the freedom to not worry about the cost of something that we are both really looking forward to (I swear Poopsie is… deep down).
Finally, after reading this great article over at Our Next Life, Poopsie and I decided to give camping a go. We thought it would be a great way to travel frugally, particularly around Australia which is perfect for camping. We purchased a tent, some sleeping bags and a lantern but managed to get the rest free as hand me downs from family and friends. It’s amazing what you can find in your parents garage! We absolutely loved our camping adventure and will do a full post on it soon!
Our camping set up.
After that very long winded explanation, here are our expenses for the month:
| Category | Amount | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | 459.06 | Slightly higher this month. We did a little bit of stocking up, so hopefully it'll be down next month. |
| Car Costs | 385.48 | We got our car serviced and Poopsie also went to Newcastle for work and borrowed a friend's car. He filled the tank with petrol as a thank you. |
| Kids (child support, school fees, etc.) | 1208.32 | Standard. |
| Rates | 431.55 | Quarterly rates. Ouch! About $100 of this is a one off fee for the title transfer from buying the house, so this will be a little lower in future. |
| Mobile | 110.45 | I took the plunge and signed up for Jeenee which includes paying the first three months up front. |
| Household | 120.68 | We bought some hardware items, some IKEA things and a couple of Christmas decorations. |
| Miscellaneous | 159.95 | I got my first haircut in over a year and we bought Poopsie a guitar on Gumtree. |
| Mortgage Interest | 911.22 | We are tantalisingly close to getting this under $900 a month! |
| Eating Out | 72.22 | I took my sister out for lunch for her birthday and we ordered pizza one night. That was a frugal fail. |
| Entertainment | 317.71 | We purchased two tickets to see Adele in March, 2017. |
| Clothing | 173 | My shoes. Also, three pairs of underwear. |
| Travel | 232.81 | We purchased a tent, two sleeping bags and a lantern for our camping trip. We also topped up Poopsie's train card. |
| Gifts/Donations | 266.8 | Almost all of our Christmas shopping. |
How did your expenses go in November?
Awesome camping set-up! Pretty sweet that you found a lot of the gear that would be needed! Australia is indeed an incredible place for campers. I spent a month camping in NSW and Tasmania a few years back (including an old penal colony called Maria Island, which I will remember for all of my life, I’m certain!) and it was just glorious. I always thought I would not fare well as a camper but I truly enjoyed it in Australia. Let us know if you and Poopsie are now camping converts!
Wow, seems like you have seen parts of Australia that we haven’t! That’s so awesome and I am so glad you liked our country (we really liked yours too, eh).
Tune in next week when we give a complete review of our first camping trip. SPOILER ALERT!! We’re hooked!
I don’t know if our council rates are comparatively high or not, but I also appreciate what our council does for us. So many people complain about paying rates. Our nephew was trying to complain the other day, so I suggested that if he thought he was wasting money that he has no choice in paying, wouldn’t he be better off utilising the supplied facilities to get better value for his money? He could start with our excellent local library… (bad auntie )
50% savings rate is amazing, congratulations.
Nice update guys – nice tent 🙂 Well done on hitting your offset hard, that must be really helping your budget and your net worth out!
I hope you have an awesome time at the Adele concert, I bet it’s something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Tristan
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