Meg and Mare

Yesterday morning Meg and I made some more laundry liquid before she headed back to Tba; we had an order to fill! I quickly did the BAS then went for a ride, 10 quarry hills, another good workout. We packed the car and headed to Bris to drop off Drew's gear at Uni. After collecting him from the airport, feeding him and dropping him back at College we drove to Tba and stayed the night with Meg. Gibbo went back to Bris and flew to CQ this morning for one of his regular irregular visits to his three properties up there!

Meg and I spent the day together, she took a bank day :) She went to the gym early to continue her fitness program. These certainly help.

We went to the bike shop to see if there was anything there I'd like to waste spend my money on but there wasn't. We had lunch with the cousins then went to the organic shop to see what was on offer; we bought some non homogenised milk to make kefir, seeing as how we're such experts now.

This afternoon I went back to see the doctor about my crappy left ear. Long story short, I've booked in for the operation on October 16 - overnight in hospital, no driving for a week, two weeks off work and no exercise for six weeks. The no driving and two weeks off work should be interesting! I could have the op done earlier but then I'd have to miss my bike ride and that's not really an option. I've had the problem for 2 and 1/2 years now, what's a few more months of me saying, "What" and the family getting frustrated with me? I walked from the doctor's room back to reception and nearly burst out laughing - Meg was sitting in the corner - FAST ASLEEP. When I touched her arm she woke up with a start and we both cried laughing our way out the door and up the hallway!

From there we went to RMW and spent the $100 gift card that Gibbo was given 11 months ago for speaking at a forum a(nd is due to soon expire - the card, not Gibbo). I've been there a couple of times but hadn't found anything I liked and needed enough to warrant using it but I knew Meg would be able to do it justice - and I was right! She found a very nice navy pleated lined skirt that will be excellent for work. We continued on home, stopping along the way to buy heaven ice-creams and red frogs. The four leggers were pleased to see us when we got home after dark. Meg will get up at 4.30 to head back to Tba and her regular Tuesday appointment with her personal trainer, Andrew, who is whipping her into shape, before going to work.

Last weekend we re-jigged Meg's budget. When she first started work I set up a spreadsheet for her to run her bank account and we worked out a budget that covered all her expenses. Each fortnight she divides her pay - some gets transferred to a separate account for savings, mojo and emergency fund; some goes to another account to cover her regular bills so that when her insurance/rego/phone account arrive or it's time for her regular hair appointment or a medical cost, she always has the money and doesn't have to panic about how to pay them. The different expenses are split into separate cells in the spreadsheet and she always knows how much is in each cell for each expense. When she has to spend the money that's built up over time she just deducts it from that cell. Very simple. (We work out how much to put away each fortnight by taking the yearly cost and dividing by 26). The balance of her pay stays in the main account for fortnightly discretionary spending ie fuel, food, going out, cheese making courses etc. She told me once it's one of the best things she's ever learned - she's never had to live from pay to pay because she's always had the money there, ready and waiting for the bill to arrive. She's off to Melbourne in two weeks with a friend for a couple of days and she has quite a stash of money in the mojo cell to use - and she doesn't feel guilty about going shopping down there because she's saved up for it.

However.

She has recently lost her way a little due to some unnecessary distractions in the form(s) of Chanel No 5, Christian Dior and Prada and a nasty little piece of plastic known as a credit card. She also lost sight of the fact and became a little disillusioned by the thought that being able to afford to buy a place of her own was beyond her reach on one salary - but with the rejigging of her budget last weekend she has a renewed outlook and sees that with a little restraint in certain areas (ie the 4 mentioned above!) it is doable. So I wrote out  a plan to the end of the year and she has it stuck on the wall beside her mirror so that she can remind herself of the goal and at the same time, see how quickly her savings are growing.

You can do it Meg!