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Month: March 2010

  • March 4, 2010

    Writing off bad debt

    The other day, I started thinking about how many times we’ve written off money as a sunk cost.

    For example, everything my heinous ex-flatmate owes me (to the tune of almost $900).

    I also left one of my earlier flats a few years back on bad terms, and didn’t even ask for my bond back. It was two weeks’ worth, so about $250, but I really didn’t want to get into a fight about it.

    Then late last year, T seemingly got paid for a month at his PT coaching job. The first month went fine. Then a new company took over everything, including the payroll. He gave his notice literally on that second payday, which then was apparently RETRACTED. But it was only around $130, and neither of us wanted to waste our time with a shitfight with the new, underhanded company. We moved on.

    And finally, we’re still waiting for T to get paid for his one-off gig working at Matakana on New Year’s Eve. That’s probably worth $200 or so. I’m not holding my breath, but at least it’s not affecting our bottom line.

    Have you ever written off money owed to you?

  • March 3, 2010

    February roundup

    This month I did something a little different and tracked every single expense by hand. I just wanted a really accurate picture of our spending, and although it started off kinda fun, I soon fell behind and it became more of a chore. I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss anything off – here’s hoping – and certainly nothing major. What was nice was having the flexibility to make up categories of my own! It inspired me to finally get my butt into gear and add three new classifications in my online banking tracker (you’re allowed to add four of your own maximum).

    • We’ll have his car loan paid off this month, and I can’t wait! There’s nothing worse than paying interest on something that you no longer even HAVE.
    • It looks like he blew of a lot fun money, but $50 of that was for his ticket to a Shapeshifter gig, which accounts for nearly half of it.
    • Misc. items include donations, a bug bomb for our room, and a haircut for him.
    • Grocery spending looks REALLY good this month! Dining looks in line at just over $30 a week, although T is averaging a similar amount in lunch money.  I try to corral him into making SOME of his own lunches, but it doesn’t always happen. He also doesn’t always have access to kitchen facilities if he’s working on sites, so that narrows down options.
    • I bought a lot of things this month for various mystery shops – Lotto tickets, some goodies from Lush, pizza, and three meals and a beer. I’m only waiting on about $60 in reimbursements at this stage.

    In extra income, I made $355 from my second job (which went towards our Waiheke trip) and netted $166.41  from mystery shopping after purchases. That went towards a pretty summer dress ($30) and the rest was split between our ‘bills’ account and savings.

    GOALS RECAP:

    Save 20 per cent – DONE

    One new recipe each week – Major, major fail.

    Run once a week – Done, barring last week when we went away… but at least I got some swimming in!

    Make an upwards career move – Done, to an extent. I’m still not counting this as fully achieved.

    Donate to charity – Done in cash, canned food to the foodbank, dollars earned through an online survey site, and some old clothes for a child cancer appeal.

  • March 2, 2010

    You can’t fight genetics

    Geek in Heels had a great blog post about ‘genetic gifts’ the other day, and whether your partner’s traits (that would presumably be passed on to your children) would be a factor in the relationship. Oh man, that brought up some memories, I tell you.

    See, my parents HATED my first serious boyfriend. I’m not really sure why. I mean, yes, he was often a bit of a douchebag to others, but never to me. He was never rude to my family, but they were very hostile to him, and he didn’t really know how to act around them (not only are they a little weird, but there was definitely culture clash going on as well). Not only was I threatened to be cut from the family will if I didn’t choose my partner wisely….along with a lecture on ‘leading boys on’ because I wanted to travel in the future, and had I disclosed that to all potential boyfriends? Ya, don’t ask me how their brains worked on this one…and of course, the infamous, unforgettable lecture I got at the age of 16.

    Apparently, I shouldn’t even THINK of marrying someone until we both had genetic tests. Just in case he happened to have bad genes, or tendencies for certain disabilities/diseases/syndromes…I don’t know, whatever. I was STUNNED. There I was standing awkwardly in their bedroom, shifting from foot to foot and wondering what on earth I’d done to deserve such wackjobs for parents. I actually could not believe what they were saying, and I asked them if they’d done this test themselves.

    “But of course,” they said.

    I should have known better than to ask, really.

    If my genes are anything to go by, my kids are screwed. I am nearly blind. I’m weak, clumsy, awkward (both physically and socially) and prone to skin conditions and allergies. On the other hand, I can eat as much as I want and not gain weight. And I did pretty well in school, although I’m not sure that counts as intelligence.

    On the other hand T is tall, muscly, sporty, smart and has perfect vision (we had a very random but fun discussion last night about how we would’ve fared in American high school, from what we know through pop culture 😛 I would’ve probably been bullied being a geek, and he would probably have been a quarterback and gone to university on a sports scholarship). I’m hoping most of his genes overpower mine when the time comes…

  • March 2, 2010

    By the numbers

    Some interesting numbers in this week’s Sunday paper:

    The latest wage figures in Australia show those across the Tasman earn an average NZ$1574 a week – an increase of 5.9 per cent over the year. In New Zealand, the average wage is $955.

    That is a MASSIVE disparity. And I doubt their cost of living is that much higher. Then again, our media does love those ‘you’d be so much better off in Aussie” stories.

    The “average” Kiwi male is getting older, marrying later or not at all and isn’t thinking about babies until the early 30 mark. He’s 35 years old, earns $681 a week, gets married at 29 and dies at 78.

    The typical Kiwi woman is a little older than him at 37, earns $430 a week, marries at 28 and is likely to have two children.

    Again, a pretty big gap there between the “average” (what a baited word) male and female wages. Seriously, $430 a week? Even after tax, that’s pretty dismal. I assume though, that takes into account all the nonworking and part-time workers, of which there’d be a lot more women than men.

  • March 1, 2010

    Our weekend on Waiheke

    Last week we escaped the city for the tranquillity of Waiheke – the island known for its beaches and vineyards (pity I detest wine).

    We…

    lounged on the beach and went for numerous swims, and a snorkel

    …went on little adventures around all the rocks and cliffs at each beach

    … did heaps of driving around – I love the fact that you never have to go far before catching a glimpse of the ocean, although some of the best views are now held on private property :S
    …

    ….enjoyed a spa at the lodge, along with homemade afternoon teas – slices, biscuits, and scones with fresh cream and jam, not to mention fresh muffins every morning


    ….ate breakfast for lunch, along with a very pretty flat white, at the Lazy Lounge cafe

    …had fish and chips for dinner on the beach, where a seagull proceeded to crap on me
    …made a new friend, Tom (aka T’s brother’s GPS, who proved invaluable in getting around the island) …saw an old, naked guy on the beach
    … used a longdrop public toilet
    …watched Up, which had us both in tears
    … and finally, I read A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman. Beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking. Worth a read.

    Cost: $365 for two nights at Punga Lodge – HIGHLY recommend it – including breakfasts and afternoon teas.

    Just under $140 for all our other meals and snacks (two lunches, three dinners) plus an overpriced tube of sunblock ($20!!!)

    And approximately $30, or a half tank of gas.

    I don’t think I’ve ever come back from holiday feeling so good about the cost!

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