Oops! I got myself in a muddle (but I’m back out again now)

Posted October 10th, 2023

The Background

Once upon a time I was doing a reasonable job of living frugally. Look I would never have won an award for being the most frugal person in Brisbane, but I wasn't being the most wasteful either. I had a fairly good savings rate, and I was managing to live comfortably on my DSP and save about 20% of it, thanks to subsidised housing and plenty of concessions.

Then I went on a big holiday. I'd budgeted for it, saved for it, worked everything out, and off I set for 11 weeks in Melbourne, regional Vic and Adelaide.

The floods changed my plans - I was in the city not the country for the first month, staying with friends, and going to coffee shops, eating out and lurking in bookshops.

"I'm on holiday!" I cried, I whacked things on my credit card that really had no business being there. Books, clothes, things for my home - oh dear, it wasn't good.

I rarely go away so I wasn't really prepared for the effects of that "holiday mentality" stretched over an extended time.

The budget blew, and instead of tightening my belt when I got home after 11 weeks, I did the opposite.

The CC offered me a no interest repayment plan with monthly instalments and only a "small set up fee" - I said yes.

They offered me another instalment plan when my (rather expensive) autism and adhd testing appeared on my card - I said yes.

Suddenly, instead of saving at a good rate each fortnight, I was paying down debt. My grocery budget blew. I spent money at Spotlight and went back for more. I went to the writers festival and bought lots of new books. This was fun, but then suddenly it was not great, not really how I wanted to live and not very frugal at all!

After a couple of months of having two repayment plans going, I just thought "what the heck am I doing?" Sure I wasn't paying interest, but I wasn't earning any either. And I didn't like this feeling of being in debt one little bit.

So in July I got my act together and started pushing what I could at that amount owing, while also being strict enough with myself so I could fund another trip down south to see my family in November, and my Christmas savings (which somehow I'd forgotten about - oops)

By September those debts were gone and saving could start in earnest. I was determined to fund that trip, Christmas, and get my Emergency Fund looking healthier.

This month:

Phew! I am back on a smoother track. My wounds are licked, but my tail is still rather between my legs. What this year has shown me is that I have a lot to learn. I can't take my money for granted, and I can't afford to play fast and loose with my cash. I need to learn how to wait, plan, and put effort in. I need to say No! to that voice that clamours for everything now.

I downloaded the Wealthy Habits - Save $10,000 workbook from the tools section, and boy was that an eye-opener to me. So many habits that I had in the past thought smugly "I don't do that" have now become part of my life. Where once upon a time I would have been patting myself on the back for how frugal I was, now I was humbled by how impulsive and thoughtless I'd become. Talk about waking up! I definitely felt jolted from the dream.

The first habit I'm working on changing is my impulse spending, especially focussing on spending outside my budget categories. No more using my bills money to pay for that book I just found on sale. No buying fabric and counting it as "clothes" when there's nothing left there to spend. No no no no no!

In conjunction with the No Spend Challenge this month and the encouragement of the SS'ers there, I feel like I'm really making progress.

I set up an "I Want It!" note on my phone I can add to instead of buying, and so far that has definitely saved me $160 and probably more. I will plan and save for the things I know I will want from the list, and I'll let go the things that really were just a whim.

I'm enjoying putting a little animal stamp on each day that I don't spend impulsively, and I'm feeling really pleased with my efforts and proud of myself (but not too proud, because we all know what that comes before, right?)

Anyway, I thought I would write about it, just in case there are others who don't know about the Wealthy Habits book and might like to try it. I think it will definitely be worth it to me.

I don't know if I'll be able to save $10,000 in a year though, but we will see. By the end of next year though I think I can, and I am going to give it my best shot! Feel free to join in, and good luck 🙂

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