Tip #4
It's been wild and windy where I live in the southern hemisphere and winter is well and truly here. I own a dryer but find I generally don't use for most of the year. However at the peak of winter, it does need to be used as nothing gets dry.
Here's a tip to improve the efficiency and lessen the time it takes to dry your clothes.
Tennis balls!
Chuck two tennis balls in the dryer. The balls 'punch' air pockets into the clothes as they bounce about and dry your clothes faster. Less drying time = less money spent on powering the dryer.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
M40 Update
Meh. What a crappy week.
Firstly a positive, I have $70 in my M40 savings account and earnt 15c interest on it last month.
Not so positive. Several unexpected bills and expenses arrived this week. Meaning the budget is not even going to come close to covering the expenses. And I don't have much of a plan to tackle it.
My pile of stuff heading to gumtree/garage sale has grown, I should get at least $100-$200 for that, but the garage sale date is not set until next month.
I have a market stall this month, I'm hoping on about $200 or so from that.
I have yet to put in our family tax returns, but should get enough back to cover some bills.
One of our biggest dilemmas is a car loan. 2 years ago we took out a loan to buy a car as a businees expense. This year the business was closed due to my husband taking up another jub offer. This job offer came with a work vechical. The car loan is about $18000, but looking on car sales ads, the car probably has a resale value of $13000. The repayments are $520 p/m and we are really struggling to meet them.
Option One is to keep meeting the repayments and keep hoping for the best. The advantage of keeping the car is that it is still an expense claimed at tax time according to our accountant.
Option Two is to sell the car, use some of that money to pay out a personal loan (also a business debt) and put the rest straight on the car loan, leaving us with app $7000 to be paid off. We still have $520 p/m repayments to make, but we can be rid of the personal loan ($160) and car expenses (rego, insurance, about another$120 p/m). That $280 per month could go into extra repayments for the car.
Option Three. Let the car get repossesed. Not an option as this would totally screw my credit rating and we would still probably have a debt to pay on the car.
Now I've written it out, I think option 2 is the only way really to go.
Want to buy a car?
Firstly a positive, I have $70 in my M40 savings account and earnt 15c interest on it last month.
Not so positive. Several unexpected bills and expenses arrived this week. Meaning the budget is not even going to come close to covering the expenses. And I don't have much of a plan to tackle it.
My pile of stuff heading to gumtree/garage sale has grown, I should get at least $100-$200 for that, but the garage sale date is not set until next month.
I have a market stall this month, I'm hoping on about $200 or so from that.
I have yet to put in our family tax returns, but should get enough back to cover some bills.
One of our biggest dilemmas is a car loan. 2 years ago we took out a loan to buy a car as a businees expense. This year the business was closed due to my husband taking up another jub offer. This job offer came with a work vechical. The car loan is about $18000, but looking on car sales ads, the car probably has a resale value of $13000. The repayments are $520 p/m and we are really struggling to meet them.
Option One is to keep meeting the repayments and keep hoping for the best. The advantage of keeping the car is that it is still an expense claimed at tax time according to our accountant.
Option Two is to sell the car, use some of that money to pay out a personal loan (also a business debt) and put the rest straight on the car loan, leaving us with app $7000 to be paid off. We still have $520 p/m repayments to make, but we can be rid of the personal loan ($160) and car expenses (rego, insurance, about another$120 p/m). That $280 per month could go into extra repayments for the car.
Option Three. Let the car get repossesed. Not an option as this would totally screw my credit rating and we would still probably have a debt to pay on the car.
Now I've written it out, I think option 2 is the only way really to go.
Want to buy a car?
Tip Me
Tip #2
Cleaning Products
I don't know about you, but buying products that will end up down the drain or toilet seems almost bizarre! Don't get me wrong, I love a bleachy clean house and I spray my ensuite profusely with an oil of cloves based spray because I like the smell when I walk in my room. But really, this stuff is expensive.
My tip is in two parts.
Part One. Make your own. Plenty of recipes exist on the web and in books and magazines in DIY cleaning products. I have made a variety and yes they are cheap, but they work in a different way to strong chemicals. Having said that, they are worth a try. I personally use the oil of cloves spray, not only does it smell good, but it kills mold spores. A few drops in 2 L of water, poured into an atomizer and your done!
You can find recipes for laundry products here
Part Two
If you aren't into making your own, fair enough. Buy in bulk. I have 4 children. I have no dishwasher. I was up several times a day. I buy my dishwashing liquid in bulk 5L containers and decant into a smaller 400ml container which I keep by the kitchen sink.
5L normally retails for $24.98, but I usually keep an eye out and buy it on special for about $21. This size lasts for 12 months. So even going on the full price, it cost about 48c per week for dishwashing liquid.
Similarly, I buy liquid (clothes) washing detergent in bulk 6L containers and decant into a 1L container for easy pouring. I do a lot of washing (I have two bedwetters still), probably 2-3 loads per day, depending on the season. 6L cost $24.94 and lasts for 3 months. That is $2 per week, or based on 2 loads a day, 15c a load. I would like to note here that I use less than what's recommended.
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