Our Frugal Lifestyle

My photo
Passionate about eco-frugality. I used to party hard, clubbing my way from pay-packet to pay-packet. Never getting ahead, just getting by. Then came our much wanted baby with no savings in the bank - only an old car. Changes were made to our lifestyle and we didn't turn back. In the past 6yrs we purchased a flat, found employment, lived below our means, built an emergency fund, purchased a reliable car and saw the financial benefits of our frugal lifestyle. Our only debt is our mortgage. Our aim is to manage our cash flow wisely, pay off our home quickly and eventually work for pleasure, not necessity. Join us on our journey, share insights, tips and tricks to help us and others to get ahead while having a good time.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas and Cyclones

I'm still not 100% better so I have been catching up on sleep. 11 hours a night most nights! Still coughing, sore throat, dizzy, sore back and general unwellness :-(  That is why I have been absent here...

We are also preparing for a cyclone which is thought to hit us on Christmas Eve. We have prepared "some" of our cyclone kit, we started to clean up our yard, we have had a huge termite infested palm tree chopped down yesterday and I will need to put our valuables and documents in the safest place I can find in our home.

If this a biggie I am sure one side of our home will loose it's louvre windows. They are old and we have saved all year to have them replaced. They go from ceiling to floor. We were supposed to have them replaced in November but the builder never got back to me and I have been too sick to be bothered. Now I'm bothered and it's too late :-( Some of my readers may remember Cyclone Carlos earlier this year.

Aside from that, last week I picked up 3 babysitting jobs. I made $120 (12 hours) to look after sleeping children. In that time I read, watched TV and crafted while keeping and eye and ear on deeply sleeping children. I used the money to purchase NEW stuff for Dolly's Christmas. Her heart is set on Rapunzel and a ugly tutu outfit she saw. She is sure Santa will bring these for her. (She has learnt a lot about Santa at school and from peers) I can't find the tutu outfit as it sold out quickly, but found a Rapunzel, Prince and Horse for my mum to gift at her place, from Santa.

And this is what I purchased for Dolly with my Babysitting money:

Mini Presents at Big Prices.

Another Mini Present - Too Cute - Maybe I will Play With Her.

  • Wand $5 each - 1 for Dolly and 3 for friends = $20 (small local shop Yay).
  • Mini Strawberry Shortcake Doll 1 for her and 3 for future B-Day Party gifts $3 each = $12
  • Mini Rapunzel Doll = $23.72!!! Rip Off! - But she will LOVE this and play with it for hours.
  • Mini Blythe Pet Shop Doll = $18.75 (This is from Santa)(I love this - I hope she does too)
  • Crafting alphabet letters = $5.98 (expensive but creative and educational)
  • Glittered crafting paper = $4.86
  • Catnip toy for Dolly to give to our pet cat = $3.97
Total = $89.28. A crazy amount spent on new unecological plastic junk. I've been swept up in the crazy Christmas madness trap. I only wanted 1 "new" purchase and ended up with 4 new toys and 2 new craft items for Dolly. Luckily all of this came from the extra cash I made and I hope to make this the only NEW stuff purchased until next Christmas. Here is the second hand stuff I purchased for Dolly a few weeks back with good intentions.

I have $30.72 left in my pocket to purchase some yummies to share with my mum on a quiet and simple family Christmas lunch if we are not in the middle of a cyclone. I'm a Volunteer Admin person for the city shelter so will too busy in the shelter (with my family) to cook a Christmas meal if the Cyclone does hit.

Are you shopping for Christmas or for looming disaster?

3 comments:

  1. I'm not quite sure what to say.

    Hope you and your loved ones stay safe.

    And of course have a lovely Christmas.

    HUGE HUGS!

    Sft x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fingers crossed that the silly cyclone fizzles itself out. You are very admirable for commitment to the environment and helping others

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why not take the shutters down now? That way, they will be in one piece, at least!

    Cute things. Sometimes the urge to buy new overcomes us.

    Stay safe in AU. Keep in touch so I won't have to get in my car and come looking for you to make sure you are in one piece.

    There's no road from AL to AU...well, there should be....mumble...mumble...who should I talk to in order to rectify this oversight?

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting - I love getting feedback, sharing experiences and learning from you.