Browsing tag: money

I am not an agent of change. In fact, I’m quite set in my ways. But I made a radical move last month and switched entirely to online billing… doing my bit to save the planet.

It didn’t start off too well. Something went wrong along the way and I nearly got locked out on my first attempt to log in to Contact Energy. But aside from that, I think online billing and me are gonna get along juuuust fine.

Up until a month ago, I used to pay my paper bills on or just before the due date. They would sit in a pile on my desk for a couple of weeks, then I’d trot down to the post office on my lunch break to pay them over the counter. I really don’t know why – reluctance to fork over my money? Wanting it to earn a tiny bit of interest in the bank over the rest of the month?

But now I pay them as soon as I get them. It’s just too easy to forget about an emailed invoice, and I’m paranoid about internet banking and possible payment delays.

Do you pay your bills when they arrive, or on the due date? Why?

Bless my mum. An accountant to the core, she’s encouraging me to get GST registered so I can claim expenses and depreciation and whatnot for when I work from home.

It all sounds way too complicated for my liking and I’m tempted to put it in the too-hard basket. But apparently I can list things like part of my rent, phone bill, depreciation on my laptop, computer paper and who knows what else. As I understand it, I charge GST, then claim it back somehow…and I assume, sometimes end up paying taxes, and maybe sometimes not, if it evens out?

March saw me doing some extra freelancing, which cost me some phone calls on my own time (anyone in NZ will know how outrageous mobile call pricing here is. And some of it didn’t even end up making it to print – there wasn’t enough room. Ah, how spoilt we are in the infinite world of online. At least I got paid for it all nonetheless). And it’s possible I may be doing some more of that in the future.

So setting up as a GST contractor could be quite handy. I’m looking into it…but not making any promises. Having my taxes all taken care of for me before I see it is just so easy, you know?

Anyone have any experience with this kind of stuff?

Ridiculous amounts in the car category, thanks to a new warrant and associated parts that needed replacing to get it up to scratch. I don’t think there are any of my commuting costs in here, as I bought a month of bus fare at the end of March – cheap student fares, before my ID card expired.

Even more ridiculous amounts in the utilities area. I had to pay a ridiculous bond $150 to my power company as well as a aig phone/internet bill for the first month (month in advance plus part charge to catch up with their billing cycle). And although I topped up my cellphone, a crap locking system and carelessness saw me waste $10 (half of the amount I put on it) on random phone calls to random people. I’m still hoping to make it to my next recharge date without having to top up further. One week to go…

I also paid a quarter’s worth of contents insurance. Otherwise everything doesn’t look too bad – dining out especially is half of what we spent last month! I’m kind of surprised. It’s all out of necessity, though – I’m the only steady earner right now.

In other news…

I made $733 in additional income – $40 from mystery shopping and the rest from two months of my side job. $250 went to my travel fund and the rest to my EF, although some of it will pay for an eye test and new contacts soon…and maybe a haircut. I badly need one, but don’t really want shorter hair going into winter! Speaking of which, that $40 bought me a shiny new pair of  boots. Flat, semi-slouchy, pointed REAL leather boots (another almost brand-new secondhand score!) Unlike every other pair I’ve ever had, they are not the nearly-knee high kind. Instead, they come to about mid-calf, which I think is actually more flattering to my legs. Now I need some roundtoed brown boots and some black ballet flats!

To date this year I’ve netted an extra $806.57 aside from my day job.

January
$88.10 (Mystery shops – plus free food, lotto tickets)

February
$87.91 (Plus free food, lotto tickets, beauty products)
$70 focus group
$355 side job

March:
$135.56 (Plus a free $70 cardigan from Max – a much needed wardrobe staple and the best quality cardi I’ve ever owned)
$70 tutoring

A month ago I signed up to findatutor.co.nz and, surprisingly, have had three jobs come up already. I don’t have the time or inclination to tutor, but I do enjoy proofing and editing, so I thought I’d put feelers out and see if there was a demand…students wanting their essays polished, etc. I can mostly do it from home, which is exactly what I’m looking for.

I might even set a “reach” goal of making an additional $4000 by the end of the year!

What the…?

Between setting up a brand new connection, wiring and the technician’s visiting fee, the total came to three months’ worth of regular phone/internet bills.

I knew the phone line had to be connected, but didn’t realise it had NEVER been connected in the past. And I sure was not prepared for the charge. The LL set it up for us before we moved in, so I never dealt directly with Telecom. Still, we would have had to do it nonetheless – it’s a necessary evil.

Ouch.

Action: Pull $70 from bills account.

Use $40 of my Chinese New Year money. (Yep, only got my angpows this week since I missed the family do – got to love the working weekends thing)

Pay the remaining $160 from savings and replenish it ASAP from other income streams.

Not happy, but I don’t think I have much choice in the matter.

It wasn’t that long ago that I had an unhealthy addiction to MSN Money. Specifically, the message boards. I never once posted a message, but boy did I stalk those threads. I’m nosey; I love to read about other people’s lives, and how to handle finances.

One thing that keeps cropping up is the theme of women as breadwinners. Women who make more money than their partners, who lack motivation, education, or a highflying job.

Everyone tends to immediately dismiss them as deadbeat husbands and advise GET A DIVORCE – but is there really something wrong with just wanting to work a 9-5 (or whatever) job and live the simple life?

I’m not talking about guys who obviously leech off their partners, I’m talking about relationships where the woman wants more from the man and often tries to push that onto him. She’s frustrated because he doesn’t want, in her eyes, to advance. Frustrated at the income gap, or at his inability to decide on the next move.

And you know what? THAT’S ME!!! I see myself in those posters, and it’s quite frightening.

Do you believe that everyone has a career path they were made for? I think I may have done once, but not anymore. I say this from what I’m observing with T, with myself and my friends who are working, studying or something in between.

I think I can honestly say that I don’t care if he has no true calling, if he just wants to do a bit of everything. As long as there’s some job security, and some stability. Once he pays off his debt and finishes building up an EF, I think I’d be content just chugging along with both of us making steady money (fingers crossed), living within our means, prioritising good food, travel, concerts and other experiences. And of course, saving for a house of our own once we’ve seen a bit more of the world.

And I say steady, because there’s nothing worse than trying to get by on an irregular income. That’s something we did, and are probably going to have to continue to do to an extent. T’s new company doesn’t have work for him this week, and although he’ll try to find a temp gig to fill in, there’s no guarantees.

I think this is the key to surviving as a freelancer: If single, ONE of your gigs has to pay regularly and if in a relationship, one of you must have a steady kind of job. The main source of income can cover bills and expenses, while the other stream/s go toward saving, or however you want to manage it – but there HAS to be a regular paycheck to keep you fed and clothed.