Lived Experience Forum

[SmilingGecko]

Hello everyone and welcome to my Budgeting Page.

With the way the economy is going its going to make a lot of people have to pull their purse strings tight in future. Financial wellbeing is also integral to mental health. They are both entwined. I studied commerce at university and also have survived on a low income right throughout my early onset diagnosis. 

I wanted to create this page for people to gain tips and useful information about how to stay in the black financially and for people to share any difficulties they are having. This is not a substitute for financial advice but ways and means of ensuring that we can meet our expenditures and find cost effective solutions to our budgeting dilemmas.

Feel free to drop by, contribute and share according to your liking!  Let's get this thread a happening thing!

S.G 🦎

[Notakoala]

Very kind of you. I've been thinking about what weekly or monthly expenses I can reduce and how to balance enjoying life and caring for those around me.

[Dimity]

Great idea for a thread @SmilingGecko 

[SmilingGecko]

Hello @Notakoala yes I'm the same just literally paring back expenditures and getting more affordable options. One thing I have done is kept a spending tracker and monthly budget.  I follow Jessica Irvine from The Age newspaper - she is the Money editor however she has her own webpage. On it she has free resources such as a monthly budget, spending tracker and future fund spreadsheets. They are downloadable to print and come in a nice format that is easy to use:

https://www.jessicairvine.com.au/resources/

They look something like this: See below <images>

I have found the Spending Tracker to be especially useful as you see what you spend in realtime and hold yourself more accountable for what you spend

Spending trackerMy monthly budgetFuture Fund

[Blackbird11]

Great topic for discussion @SmilingGecko 

A useful website is Home - Moneysmart.gov.au

Also if you're in financial trouble call 1800 007 007 they will link you up to local supports.

[SmilingGecko]

Thank-you @Blackbird11 I set up extra bank accounts awhile back with community banks. Am slowly making an exodus from one of the big banks. I have had necessary expenses recently but decided to transfer money across now. Any time is a good time. The moneysmart site you gave says the same thing so a good prompt for me to get my mojo on. I had been meaning to do it but had house repairs, had to replace furniture plus buy a refurbished Android as my old burner phone will no longer operate on the upgraded network by December. So big unavoidable expenses. So am now setting aside a future fund in addition to using a spending tracker and monthly budget spreadsheet 🙂

[Blackbird11]

All great things to do @SmilingGecko you got this!

[SmilingGecko]

CAPSULE WARDROBES - SAVE MONEY ON CLOTHES!

https://classyyettrendy.com/2017/02/start-capsule-wardrobe-5-steps.html/

Does your wardrobe resemble something chaotic like this on the left after going to op-shops?

Capsule wardrobes can save you a lot of money on clothes plus the wardrobe is so functional that everything is interchangeable with hundreds of options! You will always have something to wear!

Sticking with these color options: white, taupe, navy, black, grey and brown will ensure you will have maximum use out of all your clothes. You can also add one or two accent pieces with patterns and different colors!

I use a capsule wardrobe but also only buy when the moon is waxing in my natal moon sign. I was born with a moon in capricorn so only buy when the moon is waxing in capricorn. I usually find something that suits my personality and complements my features when the moon is in this sign. 

If I want to offload clothes that no longer suit me a day with a waning moon in capricorn is a good time to part with clothes.

My friend was an astrologer and she got me thinking lol

If you want me to calculate your moon sign I need 3 points of data from you. 

1. The exact time you were born

2. The date you were born

3. The city you were born

I normally use the website https://www.astro-seek.com/ to calculate moon signs if you want to do it yourself. 

It also has moon phases so you can see when the moon goes in and out of each sign so you know when to buy for example when the moon is in your natal moon sign.

Another tip is if I buy online I will narrow the search by the colors mentioned and have a sizing table of the brand name with a measuring tape by my computer so I can get an exact fit!

Don't be put off by disparity in sizing, just get something with the exact fit!

You will save lots of money on clothes, your wardrobe will be less cluttered and you will be able to get dressed quickly with a multitude of permutations and combinations.

@Dimity @Notakoala @Blackbird11 @Historylover @Kyle1 @Former-Member 

[Kyle1]

I know my moon placement already @SmilingGecko 

But I'd be glad to have you tell me a little about it, if you like...

Taurus moon in 7th house. It is conjunct chiron. And opposite Venus in Scorpio in first house... ✌️

warm wishes ✨️ 

[SmilingGecko]

Oh youre so lovely @Kyle1 

I just checked when the moon is in Taurus. Taurus is your lunar signature and defines your sense of style. I just uploaded this from where it has a tab "Moon Phase Calendar" from https://www.astro-seek.com/

By the table the moon is in Taurus as of Saturday tomorrow, I'm in Melbourne.  I presume you are in Tasmania somewhere. It ingresses into Taurus 10:44pm Saturday Melbourne time and is waxing until 7:23am Sunday Melbourne time. You may be lucky to get something online.

After 7:23am Sunday its waning because we have a full moon so from that point onwards and into Monday you may wish to part with clothing.