In January I posted I had $25,412.15 in debt.

I've been greyhound sitting when the opportunity arises and also just got a higher paying role at work for 12 months (just 2 months ago).
My current debt as of right now is: $9442.40 with Zip Plus, Zip Money and my Solar battery. I currently owe $6,567.25 on my credit card = $16,009.65
So, I have paid off $9402.50 =)

I am currently on track to have Zip Pay, Zip Plus and my Solar battery paid out by December 31.
My credit card fluctuates but I will be pushing to pay it off once I am rid of the Zips and Solar Battery as these carry the highest interest and account fees.

I do get a work bonus in a few months, but I still have expenses like my dogs dentals at $2500 expected (my greyhound is just really unlucky genetically and always needs extractions), my car also needs a service which is always upwards of $2000 a year as it's now 10 years old, I know it needs a new battery. I also need to pay $300 towards cleaning my aircon units, get my gutters cleaned and get the pest control done etc.

I listened to an audiobook in the last few weeks called I will teach you to be rich, and I've boosted my savings from $10 a month to consistently saving $20 per fortnight for my emergency fund and $20 for a business version of this. I've also opened a fund which is to store maintenance costs for all the things I know come up at this time of year when I get my bonus, my goal is for next year to have these expenses covered and the year after, have enough money to pay my house insurance and health insurance up front to save on the direct debt fees. I'm also investing $50 per fortnight into a commsec account. The bonus is nice, but it would be nice not to have to use it for life expenses and to 'catch-up'.

I'm really trying not to spend too much money on food, focusing on using up what I have. When I do make trips to the shops, I tend to spend around $30 instead of $75+-$95. I'm even drinking all of those Nespresso pods I got last Christmas in peppermint and gingerbread haha.

My mortgage will come off its fixed interest rate in Feb next year so I've looked, and my payments will increase by about $600 - $700 a month.
I'm hoping I can remain in my current role after my secondment finishes - if I can, I've looked at the sums of buying a new car - no loan, buying a car with a loan and leasing with the intent to buy a new car. With my pay, I save a LOT of tax if I salary sacrifice and do the lease over the life of the car. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but Rahmi says in his book to 'know your numbers' and to of course research everything. My car will be 11 years old by then, and it is starting to cost me a lot to keep it running vs. its insured value. My other dream is to save up and go to Egypt for a holiday flying business class. This one will take time as I also need to add more to my emergency fund, it's only got about $1100 in it so far. But this is more than I've ever had before. My solar battery also has a redraw, and it has an extra $700 I could access should the worse happen.

So that's my update, I'm making progress and on track to be debt free except for my mortgage by February 2026. My mortgage will even drop below $300,000 in the next few months which also feels like a small lil milestone, when I refinance, I'm doing a 20-year loan so I am on track for it to be paid out by the time I retire and hoping to make a few small extra payments so it's paid out in even less time.

Quite the shift from January :0)

The first thread, Tomorrow ...., is becoming long, so here's a new one documenting my experience with breast cancer treatment.

I do this as I see value in other women having a familiarity with what could be involved in addressing cancer for their own or a loved one's treatment one day. Everyone's cancer and treatment is unique to the individual.

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A great benefit to me has been the kind and genuine support, interest, and encouragement from forum members. I am humbled by your kindness and earnestly thank you for it.

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The cancers:

1) breast cancer. HER2 positive, meaning that it's aggressive.

2) Paget's disease of the breast - a rare form of breast cancer of the nipple and areola.

Treatment so far:

Doxorubicin. The world's strongest chemotherapy, also known as Red Devil Chemo - named after satan because it's red and because of its side effects.

Paclitaxel. Another chemo often known as Taxol.

Perjeta, a targeted immunotherapy treatment.

Herceptin, a targeted immunotherapy treatment.

Surgery - mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes with implant reconstruction.

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This morning, the PICO dressing (with its pump) was removed, and a simple dressing applied. I didn't actually see the scar tissue, but apparently it's (still) almost healed with the deterioration looking only superficial.

I then met the Oncology Radiologist who had a look at the scar tissue and cleared me to start radiation this morning.

I was set up on the table for radiation treatment to begin, but the technician found that there were changes in the breast/chest wall, and radiation treatment could not begin. Thankfully, someone had the foresight to predict this change, and had scheduled an appointment for another planning session. I had to wait around for another 90 minutes, but the session was completed.

Radiation treatment will now commence next Monday 24/2 for 15 sessions Monday-Friday. The Oncology Radiologist now, therefore, does not want the new chemo to commence until after radiation is completed - Monday 17/3 which allows for the Canberra Day public holiday in March (the chemo clinic runs every day of the year, but radiation treatment does not occur on public holidays). This means that drug treatment won't finish until December now, but that's OK.

This is what a PICO pump looks like. It stays in the bag, and is worn around the neck. The OK button should periodically flash green to show that it is working. If the next icon is lit up, it means that the seal around the dressing has lifted and air is escaping. If the third icon is lit, it means that the dressing is soaked in blood/fluid and needs to be replaced. The fourth icon will illuminate if the battery has drained. They cost several hundred dollars and have a 14 day shelf life.

You can see the thin tubing; the other end is embedded in the dressing somehow - not actually visible to me.