The month of no money

A few months ago I was acting at higher duties at work, I knew there was no possibility of extension and so in a few months I would have to return to my previous role. Looking back over my past seven years in the job, I could not remember a time when I'd had a significant period of time off. So for the sake of my sanity I applied to have a month off work before the transition back to my old job commenced. Having odd days off here and throughout the year I only had a total of two weeks leave and as I was not willing to settle for any less than a month of leave I took my leave on half pay. I factored the reduced pay into my budget and figured I could cover my mortgages, my personal loan and a few small other bills. However, it did not leave any money for entertainment, groceries or any more than two tanks of fuel, so in a word it was 'tight'.

I had a fair amount of meat already in the freezer and a pantry of pasta, rice and other staple foods. For the first week I slept in, went shopping with my petrol budget (oops, good start) and got all of my housework out of the way.


By week two however, reality set in. I had to plan all of my trips in the car to ensure the petrol lasted me till the end of the week. So to find some extra money I cleaned out my entire garage and put un-needed items on ebay. The de-clutter is a fabulous feeling and now I have room to park my car in there! I signed up to a local babysitting website and for a few days of my month of holiday, babysat a couple of children.


Week 3 I was running out of food...In the pantry still had flour, some rice, some pasta and a couple of tins tomatoes, mushrooms and kidney beans. In the fridge was eggs, long life milk, cheese and a couple of wilted vegies. I was also lucky enough to have some fresh herbs from my portable garden - see "Kitchen Savings" I made up my own recipes and adapted some that I found on the web to make the following;


Day one - simple spaghetti
One brown onion finely chopped
One tin of tomatoes
One carrot grated
One zucchini grated
Tsp garlic
Two tbsp tomato sauce I had no paste)
One cup of pasta
Salt & pepper to taste
Served with grated cheese


Day two - Mushroom crepes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
To make a crepe

1 tin mushrooms
spring onions
Grated cheese to fill

Make a thin crepe, sautee the mushrooms in a separate pan, place onto crepe, sprinkle with cheese and roll up crepe

Can also be served with a basic white sauce or more sauteed mushrooms.


Day three - Mushroom quiche
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups sliced button mushrooms
4 eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup grated cheese

Flour, water, eggs and butter to make quiche base

Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 180 degrees or until centre is just set. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.


Day four - Cheese and tomato omelette
1 tomato
1 tbsp grated cheese
3 basil leaves
1 spring onion , finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs , beaten

Finely chop the tomato and tip into a bowl with the cheese, basil leaves, spring onion, half the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Heat the remaining oil in a small, non-stick frying pan, then swirl in the eggs. Cook until done to your liking, then spoon the tomato mix over half of the omelette. Fold omelette over the tomato, leave for about 30 secs, then slide onto a plate.


Day five - Dinner at mum's


Day six - Carrot souffle`
4 carrots, sliced into one inch pieces
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I toast frozen bread and then run it through my spice grinder/ coffee mill)
1/2 cup dried minced onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Place carrots in pot and covering them with water, bring them to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain.
Preheat oven to 190 degrees and spray individual ramikins Puree carrots in food processor. Add eggs, breadcrumbs, onion, salt, pepper, and cumin and pulse. Place puree in ramikins, but don’t overfill them- they tastes best when shallow so they get a crispy crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is brown and crispy. Carrot souffle should start to detach from sides of dish.

Day seven - Dinner at a friend's place
I made cheese twists out of some puff pastry from the freezer (could have made my own but was lazy) and rolled them with cheese 10 mins in the oven and they were an instant hit!

So I'd made it through Week 3
Luckily it was payday and although all I had available to me was my petrol budget, I used $20 to get some basic groceries from my favourite supermarket - ALDI
I got an entire week's worth of food for $20! I got the staples (bread, pasta, margarine, milk and eggs) from ALDI for a grand total of $10 and then went to the larger supermarkets on a Tuesday morning to get their marked-down meats. I got a 400gm tray of mince for $3, tray of 12 sausages for $3 and 6 chicken drumsticks for $3.
Dinner for the next week consisted of bbq sausages, chilli con carne, honey soy drumsticks with rice, sausage casserole, chicken fried rice, toad in the hole (old english dish with sausages in dumpling pastry) and of course a dinner at mum's.

I now have bare basics left in my fridge and pantry, but will make it through till next payday just fine. I plan to sell some old jewellery to the local goldsmith and top up the car with petrol ready to go back to work. Life doesn't have to be as tough as the 2 minute noodle uni days, just use your imagination!

The beauty of DIY

A long time ago before the yellowpages online, before I slept with a mobile under my pillow or learned how to bargain with tradies, I discovered the joy of Do-It-Yourself. At 18 years old when I moved out of home and Dad's tool kit was too far away I bought myself my own little set of tools and a book that I now credit to all of my DIY projects.

This book was expensive at the time - about $50, but it covers just about every repair, upgrade, renovation I've ever conducted and as far as I'm concerned is worth it's weight in gold.

My first project was to renovate the ensuite in my main bedroom. I chose to do this whilst my husband at the time was away on 5 months training. I figured that way any mistakes I made could be rectified before he came home. The demolition was by far the best bit of it. As it was so out of date, toilets got smashed vanity was ripped out, the only part I took real care with was the shower screen for safety reasons. I also had two large mirrors in the bathroom, which I carefully removed and then sold to a lady who wanted to use them in her dressage arena. That then paid for the tip fees, the tile adhedsive and grout for the new tiles.

I chose a cheap blue common tile for the flooring and a common white wall tile for the walls. All tiles including capping cost me $450. I wet sealed the area using a brush-on wet sealer from Bunnings that cost me $70 (compared to the $300 I was quoted for a professional). Rather than create a hob for the shower base I went to my local reno depo and picked up a pre moulded shower base for $99, I also picked up a brand new mirror for $70. The vanity I bought on ebay for $360 delivered and the shower screen I got three quotes from local tradies and it ended up costing me $650 installed. I read the section of my book on how to lay tiles and found it remarkably easy as long as you took your time and paid strict attention to detail. The paint for the walls was a mis-tint from Bunnings costing me $21 and I did this myself as well. I carried out this project over two weeks and the total cost came in at $1720.
Not a bad result for a first reno - I would estimate this saved me over $4000!





My next project came about when I moved into the three bedroom unit. In real estate terms the unit had 'good bones' but nearly all the fixtures and fittings needed replacing or updating. I started by pulling up the flooring in the lounge and lino in the kitchen.



I bought mis-tints from Bunnings again and painted the lounge, kitchen and bedrooms for $65 including two feature walls. I then ordered carpet ($500 fitted) and bought some factory second tiles for the kitchen for $150. I knew the kitchen desparately needed updating but priced a flat pack kitchen at $1500, so instead I bought some laminate paint, some tile paint and new knobs for the cupboards. I painted the doors, old tiles and lined the inside of the cupboards with some contact. The kitchen cost me a total of $120!




I had a family friend who owed me a few favours, so I got them around to paint architraves and doors in gloss (I could have done this myself, but there is quite an art to painting with oil based paints) I paid him $200 to do this for me. The ensuite in the main bedroom was still in quite good condition, so all I did in there was replace the toilet seat and put up a sturdier shower screen - total $50.



The main bathroom had been re-tiled at one point, but the previous owners had simply tiled over the old tiles. I discovered this as I tried to pull a tile off the bath to find a leak. I bought a hammer drill with a chisel bit from Bunnings for $69 and spent three weekends, two manicures and several bottles of red chipping off the old and the older tiles. I then bought the same tiles ($100) I had used on the walls in the previous house and decided rather than going through the pain of chipping up the old tiny floor tiles, that I would simply re-grout. I found border tiles for $1 each on ebay and I bought a new mirror for above the vanity from the Reject Shop $20. I found an old vanity drawer at my local recycling depot for $10. After re-tiling, re-grouting, painting and ordering a new shower screen ($600) the total bathroom reno cost me $880.





I used left over tiles and paint to use on my balcony and at the end of this reno my total costs were;

* Paint $65
* Architrave painting $200
* Carpet $500
* Kitchen $120
* Ensuite $50
* Main bath $880
* Grand total $1815






I sold the unit six months later for a tidy $60,000 net profit and bought a larger home a few suburbs away. The home was only seven years old so all that was required was some gardening.



Twelve months later I moved out of this house and rented it out, this became my first investment property since my divorce. I moved into a new house with my partner at the time and before moving in, carried out some basic renovations.

The floor was old slate, having not enjoyed the experience of chipping away at tiles last time, I arranged for a tradesman to come in and do this for me. I found some beautiful porcelain tiles at a steal for $380 for 22 sqm and paid the same tradesman to lay them for me (porcelain tiles are not as easy to cut as normal ceramic tiles) The removal, plus laying of the new tiles cost $2200 ($2580 inc tiles)
I then chose a new paint for feature walls in the bedroom and lounge, this cost me $90. I bought a ceiling fan with light from Bunnings for $99 and had an electrician (a good mate of mine) install the fan, some downlights, some extra internal powerpoints and an outdoor powerpoint for $900. I bought second hand cupboard handles for $10 from the local recycling depot and this completed the kitchen.
Total cost for this project was $3679




While I was living in this home I bought a 2 bedroom unit at the south coast. The property was tenanted at the time, but around 6 months later they decided to relocate, this was just before Christmas - hooray! So I packed up the car with my renovating supplies and headed down. I knew the tenants were smokers, so I arranged for my property manager to have the walls washed with sugar soap prior to my arrival, this cost me $200 but was well worth it. I replaced door handles in the kitchen, repaired the cupboard doors with new hinges, rplaces wardrobe door handles, repainted the kitchen and lounge, replaced cracked tiles took the curtains home and washed them. Total cost for this project was $125


I managed to rent this place out on the 2 January for an extra $30/week.

About 12 months later I bought a block of land through a ballot, it was my intention to build a house on the block and move into it with my partner, turning his property into another investment. Unfortunately a few months later, the relationship broke down and I was forced to move back into my parents house. None the less this inspired me further to build the house on the block and have it as my own. I was now 26 years old, had two investment properties and whilst I was living with my parents, it was very affordable and I had a new home to look forward to. Just prior to the house being complete, I got keys to the home and painted feature walls in the foyer, main bedroom and lounge using - of course - a mis-tint $22!






Being a brand new home, there was no work required other than landscaping. I had some left over bricks which I tucked away in the garage and I used these for an edge in the garden, I cemented these in to minimise weeds. I then put down weed matting and dug holes for the border plants. The best part of building a new home in the ACT is the $220 plant allocation from the government. I went out and selected 16 hedge plants and three cordelines as feature plants. Total cost to me - nothing! I knew I didn't want to mow lawn so I chose cheap rock and bark for the front. Front yard landscaping cost $400


Out the back is still a work in progress. I plan to pave an area and have bark in the other area. Meanwhile I am nearly finished tiling the alfresco area with left over tiles from the house. Once this project is complete I will add more photos and include total costs.



The latest challenge
My girlfriend called me up in a panic the other day. She'd spilled her spaghetti sauce all over her kitchen carpet and wanted to know how to get the stain out...This raised many questions...like "what does get red sauce out of green carpet?" "How long should it soak for?" But most importantly "what the hell are you doing with carpet in your kitchen?"

Grow your own

I'm sure it's been discussed many times, the plentiful savings one can make by growing your own vegetables and this has certainly been my experience. However, in this day and age, time is a precious resource, backyards are getting smaller and whilst patience is a virtue - it's one that I lack quite a bit of. So although I have longed for a quarter acre block with vegie garden from back door to back fence, I have made do with what I could manage with the time and space available to me.

Portable planter for under $10!



After scouring my local recycling depot for some second hand pots I stumbled upon an old kettle bbq. With a little lateral thinking, this bbq has now become my portable planter! It has wheels to move it around to optimise sunshine, my little dogs can't reach the plants and best of all I don't have to bend! Total cost of this project was $9.95! The old bbq cost me $4, bag of potting mix was $2.95 and I picked up 4 plants for $3 at my local sunday market! I placed scrap felt in the bottom of the kettle bbq as the holes were quite large and I placed an old washing up tub underneath to catch the water as it drains out - then this water can be used to re-water the plants. Now I can enjoy fresh strawberries and assorted herbs for less than what it costs me to drive to the supermarket! Other ideas for a portable garden could include; old washing basket trolleys, old bassinetts with black plastic as a liner or old wheelbarrows, be creative today!

Finally catching up with technology

So I've been thinking about this for a while. How was I going to share my message with the world? How was I going to educate, inspire and prove that "thrifty," "frugal," or "tight-wad" living wasn't as scary, hard, nor as bad as the titles imply. During my daily 'research' (aka fluffing about on the net) I came across a site where a group of like-minded people came together to share ideas on saving the almighty dollar. This was my first source of inspiration for sharing my own message to the world that living the good life doesn't have to mean working 3 jobs until 65, selling your first-born or committing yourself to a lifetime of mortgage hell...

However to put this realisation in context, it's probably best I explain a little about me and my background in personal financial planning. I'm 27 years old, educated (somewhat), I work full-time in a public service job and I've scrimped, saved, over-spent but come a long way my 27 years. I earn a slightly above-average living, but it hasn't always been that way.

I moved out of home when I was 18 years old (mistake number 1), I worked 3 jobs, went to university full-time doing nursing (which I then inevitably dropped out of) paid rent, maintained a car and generally kept my nose clean. It was during this phase in my life that I started to question "is it always going to be this hard?" I'm sure you've heard the soliloquy of the cash-poor uni student living on 2 minute noodles, fishing through next door's garbage cans looking for the daily newspaper...(well maybe not that part) but yes that was me Mrs Xu!

It was this first encounter with independence that drove me to aspire for more. I was distraught with the concept of paying someone else's mortgage, albeit a pittance of rent I was paying. I knew without a doubt that my first ambition in life was to own my own home. At 19 years old I set out to try and achieve just that and by 20 I had secured my very first property in a very dodgy end of Goulburn NSW.

My parents always meant very well, however the old-school thought of "go to school, get good results, get a good job" (in that specific order) was often heard at the Allen dinner table. So, in the hope I could remove that inscription from my forehead I enrolled myself in accounting (dad wanted me to be a doctor, but doesn't every dad?) I completed this course in 12 months and walked away astounded that the basic concept of debit and credits was not taught in schools. I was also however, further inspired that I had now learned a concept that I could apply in my everyday life.

To be continued....