Budgeting tips please
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Forum Name: Budgeting
Forum Description: Want to save before baby arrives? Struggling on one income? Found some great ways to make your dollar go further? Share your thoughts & tips here.
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Topic: Budgeting tips please
Posted By: myfullhouse
Subject: Budgeting tips please
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 2:59pm
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Ok I have been thinking about this for a while and then seeing Sez25's thread I thought it was time to start a thread.
We are doing OK at the moment but there really isn't any spare. I work a few hours from home but really we live off DH's salary. I have been following Babe's blog and I alreay shopped monthly to try and reduce the bill. I have been trying to reduce other bills too. But I need some advice/tips on budgeting. How do you keep track of your budget? Do you spreadsheet? Use a computer programme? Put $$ in envelopes?How do you make sure you stick to it? ------------- Lindsey 
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Replies:
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 3:18pm
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I use a spreadsheet..
It has all our bills on it and the exact amount of them where I can (like for insurance) and an approx amount (like for power) and whether its monthly/fornightly etc. Then have another column that has how much I need to put away per fortnight to cover them all. If its a monthly bill I divide the amount by 2 so then I will always have just a bit extra in that account. I also have a couple that get paid via credit card and I note that so I know how much MUST go on the credit card each month. We use bnz total money meaning we can have up to 10 accounts. Our "expenses" account has all our bills coming out of it. We have sanity money accounts for each of us. We have a general acc which is for house stuff and random bills that show up. And 2 savings accounts, christmas acc, road user charges acc (I have a 4wd). Whatever money was left over I divded up between the acc's and put automatic payments on it so that it all gets done on payday. I've set my spreadsheet up so that if a bill changes (like say phone goes up) then it automatically adjusts the figures for me and then I just have to go in and adjust the payments. We have a tough sh*t policy, if you want something and you don't have the money in the acc, tough sh*t. We changed our eftpos cards so that cheque became our sanity money acc, savings became our general acc and credit was credit. It works well for us. I have a budgeted amount for groceries per fortnight which gets done on credit card. If we wanna get takeaways we have to spend less that fortnight to afford it unless we wanna pay for it out of our sanity money |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 3:58pm
| What do people prefer, paying fortnightly an amount on bills, like power, phone etc or putting money away to pay when bill comes in. |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 4:05pm
| I put it away, that way its earning us interest sitting in our account rather than in the billers account and it makes a difference for us on the interest that we earn monthly over our accounts. |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 4:19pm
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With your sanity money - do you both have eftpos cards or do you get it out in cash type thing?
And can someone please give me the link to Babe's blog? I REALLY need to tighten up on our budget - or lack of at the moment! ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 4:38pm
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http://simplehomekeeping.blogspot.com
With our sanity money its in a seperate acc on our eftpos cards. We can have up to 10 accounts so its up to us to control our own sanity money accounts. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 4:41pm
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We use easy pay for our power so its a fixed amount each fortnight coming out after DH's pay goes in.
We also set up our rates to be paid the same way by direct debit each fortnight. Phone bill is pretty much the same each month as we don't make many toll calls, and I set Dh up as my best friend on vodafone so I don't pay anything to call him outside peak call times. Our biggest flexible expense is our grocery bill. I've found doing more baking and cooking stuff from scratch has saved me heaps. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: amme_eilyk
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 5:40pm
| how do you decide how much sanity money to have. I always feel guilty about allowing for it instead of saving it, but then I tend to splurge instead. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 5:44pm
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We don't do sanity money.
I pay most bills fortnightly & keep most in credit. Our biggest expense would be food & we don't always stick to budget on that. So I want to plan meals & stick to it & use up what we have. Do more baking & keep the crap out. |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 6:26pm
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OK maybe I need to change my spreadsheet as it is done retrospectively.
I pay alot of our bills at the beginning of the month a few days after DH is paid. I pay our land rates weekly as it is easier than getting a big quarterly bill and I am less inclined to dip into the savings. I might look at averaging our power bill and paying the same each month once summer comes and our bill goes down. I like the 10 bank accounts idea but as we have some of the mortgage on revolving credit it probably wouldn't work. But I may be able to use the 3 accounts we do have I set a budget for all our birthday and mothers/fathers day presents as we have heaps - in May alone we have 3 Mothers Day (incl me!  ) and 3 birthday presents to buy. I divided it evenly and have put away money each month
Might have to employ the "Tough s*it" rule!" ------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 6:43pm
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Linzy If you've been with the same power company for awhile they'll be able to put you onto the average account where you pay the average each month for the year. Otherwise I would just make a set amount each month say $100 each month and you'll go into balance over summer. Do you get the vector pay out? (can't think of what its called) Do you automatically put that on the power bill? ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: Shine
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 6:53pm
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We also use the tough sh*t rule for things that we want but do not need.
If we want something then we make sure that all the bills are paid that month and that we are happy to take that money out of the savings account (if it is a big amount) |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 15 September 2010 at 6:58pm
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Im too lazy to work retrospectively. I like that everything is now automatic and I don't have to worry about it. For rates I set aside a bit every pay for that so it sits in our bills acc earning interest until the bill arrives so I don't have to find the money for that now either.
Linzy - thats why I have a christmas acc, to pay for all presents so we don't have to look for the money. Just a little each pay into it, we don't notice it but come xmas time we don't have to go looking for money to buy presents. |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 10:57am
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Cool - so Stace you and DH both have a eftpos card each? ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 11:44am
| Yup. DH has a eftpos and credit, I just have my credit card which I've had set up so that I don't need an eftpos card. But our cards don't have access to the bulk of our money, certainly not our savings. I don't like having to get cash out so thats why we have our own accounts for sanity money and have set them up on our card. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 12:23pm
I don't think Vector is out west. But it is due out in a few weeks as it was Sept last yr we got it & not sure how much it is for this yr as it did not say on the letter but that is a nice little payout 
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HoneybunsMa wrote:Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 12:41pm
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Lol, tough luck rule applies here too. Works well. Our house and our degrees are the only things we've ever bought on credit.
We do use our credit cards for most purchases but then pay them off in full each month so we never pay interest. We don't have sanity money as such, but we do budget for a few items that are mostly just for fun. Like chook food for my vast collection of chooks  . Anyone in Palmy want to trade fruit/veges from their garden for free-range eggs? I'm getting about a dozen a day atm! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: popcorn
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 4:07pm
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wow thats some impressive chickens!
wish I lived in Palmy! ha! What sorts of things do you eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks? I think thats where we majorly fall down |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 16 September 2010 at 9:20pm
Elle we are with Mercury Energy. They actually reviewed our power plan recently, changed it and gave us a $100 credit! All I am going to do is work out our average bill over the last year and pay that amount, well once it goes down in summer, at the moment we are paying close on $300/mth 
OK so I have set up my spreadsheet and will utilise our 3 accounts, I have even worked out how much I need to put away each month for kindy, PC and swimming fees. Will start next month.
Breakfast - weetbix for all of us, sometimes fruit too Dinners - I meal plan for the month although I don't allocate a meal for each day, just enough meals for the month e.g. 4 sausage meals, 4 lasagnes etc. I have stopped buying things just cos they are on special and now don't have things sitting in the pantry for ages DH's lunches - baking (muesli slice and cookies/muffin/cake), ham and cheese sandwich, 3 pieces of fruit (down from 7!!), a picnic pie or pieburger Jack and Ben - sandwiches, fruit, baking (muesli bars, cookies), pikelets, dried fruit, luncheon, yoghurt, crackers Me - baking (muesli slice and cookies/muffin/cake), sandwich I enjoy baking, like knowing what we eat and I think it is a bit cheaper than store bought biscuits etc. I don't buy any soft drinks or juice - I drinks buckets of tea and DH and the boys have water - this is a big saving. I stopped buying packets of things e.g. small bags of chips/crackers etc, they are really expensive. I buy from the local butcher, he is more expensive than supermarket specials but I don't end up with have my mince containing fat and water. I cut our portion sizes down to about 300g meat per meal, cheaper and you don't actually need to eat much. Baked Beans or grated veges are great for bulking out mince dishes plus you can hide veges from the boys and DH! ------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 12:01pm
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$300.00 for power .. that would be a cheap month at our place! ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 12:13pm
| How on earth do you guys use so much power???? Everything is on power here, heat pump, dryer (which until yesterday when it broke was being used for ALL of our washing), hot water which I have baths every night and the dishwasher gets used 6 times a week and ours only comes to $170 a month |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 12:29pm
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Our power is about $300 in winter & we use heaters. I am home most days & there is 5 of us. I am looking at changing power companies & that will save some.
So $300 / by 5 people is $60 a month each $170 / by 3 people is $56 a month each...so kebakat we don't use much more power than you lol |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 12:48pm
| Thats a silly way of working it out though.. cause even when number 4 comes along it wont add to the power by $50 odd. Going from 2 of us with both working to me being home all day every day plus Daniel has only added about $20 in winter |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 1:25pm
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I don't know how we get that high in winter . I have been trying to keep unused lights off, only use the dryer once or twice a week for the sheets etc etc but it still adds up. Although I do a warm (40C) wash each time in my front loader so that would add to it and I must do at least 10-12 loads a week ------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 1:32pm
Well then I would have to say you use a lot of power if yours is $170 a month for 3 of you |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 1:35pm
| Have you tried getting one of those plug in meters from a sparky shop or the warehouse where you plug your appliance into it and input how much your power costs per unit and it tells you how much it costs to use the appliance. They are only $20-30 depending where you get it from. Really handy too, I found out that my dryer doesn't suck that much power at all so thats why I use it |
Posted By: xLUCKYx
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 1:37pm
| power is a wierd thing... pre kids, the first place DF and I lived together cost us 90-100 a month... in our own homw it costs 150-300 (summer-winter).. that was before we had the kids and now that we have 2 it has hardly changed.... |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 1:38pm
Yup we do, but like I was pointing out we don't try and save power at all by using the dish washer all the time, dryer all the time, deep baths every night while I'm preg, we also have an old big deep chest freezer which isn't energy efficient by any means. Thats why I'm shocked at $300 power bills when we make no effort. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 2:02pm
I don't get why you would be shocked at a $300 power bill especially when it is for more people. I don't think $300 a month is too bad for power. We are a family of 5, I am home everyday. I use the dishwasher, daily washing, baths/showers for 5 daily, baking, housework, heaters in the 3 bedrooms at night...we leave a hall light on for DS3 at night & he often gets up to turn it back on in the middle of the night as we turn it out when we go to bed...so will get a new night light for him that can run all night. When I lived alone my power was about 80 a mth & I was at work 5-6 days a week & out a lot. Its the water bill I hate, ha ha... |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 2:08pm
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$300 is still lots IMO. My parents bill is at the $220 mark and thats for 4 adults, an electric fence system as they have 20 acres, as well as all their contracting business stuff (so like compressers, power tools, welding equipment etc). We will have to agree to disagree.
But I am thankful we don't pay for water here, its included in our rates :) |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 2:14pm
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Do you think it has anything to do with the area?
Water sucks as you pay 1x in 2x out...but I was looking at he water bill & it shows us using the same amount as 3 people & that $250-320 every 3 mths. |
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 2:14pm
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We live in a huge house .. hence the power bill because it includes the granny flat and both Mum and I cook alot which uses the oven, apparently the oven uses a LOAD of power, more than most domestic appliances.
Also our kids bath each night .. And I have a sunbed .. and treadmill ... and crosstrainer, that I use alot lol. ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 2:17pm
& your address was...ha ha
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Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 7:58pm
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$300 is A LOT for 5people especially when some of them are only kids.
We live with my parents and aside from DD we are all adults all shower everyday use the dryer, heaters, computers are on modems on, tv and sky on all day and I think the powerbill gets up to a max of $400 but that's with two fridges and 6adults plus DD in cloth nappies and the fact that in the weekend at any one time there is upwards of 12people having showers, baths, playing games, watching tv. Oh and my bro has basically a mini recording studio in his room out in the sleepout. (we're a technology household) and dad, DD and I are home all day as well. Edited to change that to $400 just spoke to mum. She said last months was $375 she says its less this year then last and theres more people here and we have the heater going in our room all night because of DD too, a heater in the hallway a heater in their room and a heater in the front of the house. We do have an open fire but its not used every night. Oh and dehumidifiers! ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 17 September 2010 at 9:19pm
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Last winter it was DH DD and I , we had an oil heater going in her room every night for 2 months and our power bill was $300 + for those months.
This year cause its been warmer no oil heater and the power bill just went over $200 last month ($210) . YAY We also turn off all the lights except the dimmer in our room ( when kids go to bed ) and I think thast saved a heap too. For a budget I have everything set up fortnightly so theres always money in the account. I have a strict shopping budget that we NEVER go over ( only cause we can't lol) I take a calculator I do work off a basic meal plan. I always allow for savings then bills then groceries inthat order and if theres nothing left then thats that . Thats just the way it is. Kebakat I'm calling it the 'tough s$%t ' policy from now on 
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 7:45am
Were do you live...as I am wondering if it is AK that has higher power charges. & how do you get away with $400 for 12 people, good thing tho if the bill is split between heaps of people you wont pay much at all...wow the washing pile must be huge & I have a lot with 3 kids 
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 8:48am
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Just checked the last power bill & it was $260...roll on summer as that will go down heaps.
Now to work on the phone bill
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 9:43am
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Our power bill in summer is around $100 and for winter including gas is around $200-300 a month.
For the last 2 winters there's been only 1 of us home so have kept it down around $200. Ours includes gas for heating. I have my wages split so that my share of the fixed expenses - mortgage, rates, insurance, power etc goes into the house account and I have $200 a fortnight left in my own account - this pays for my cellphone bill and my petrol. Tank of gas lasts 2 weeks and costs $70. I'll do the same with PPL and WFF when it starts will be paid into my account is a lot less but that will be money for the baby as I wouldn't be getting it if it weren't for her. Won't be spending hardly anything on petrol once on maternity leave, as everything I need is in walking distance. Will do the weekly/fortnightly grocery shop with DH. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 11:32am
Jazzy we're in East Auck so same situation as you. Yep I normally do a load of washing a day just so it doesn't topple out of the basket onto the cat food  In the weekend is the big clean, washing yadda yadda. Mums a virgo so likes things done a specific way and to a certain level. She also likes doing the housework its relaxing 
We don't split the powerbill we should but we don't I actually have it pretty good here but we only moved back because we needed to pay off bills from the 6yrs I lived out of home. We'll be moving again soon can't wait for my own space! But everyone knows that next year they are going to have to help as dad's insurance money will be finished and he'll only get super and mums pay won't pay for everything. One of my brothers already pays his share of board etc and most nights its fend for yourself for food which I have a pantry load in our wardrobe lol------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 12:01pm
| Stacey - my electricty bill in winter ranges from $290 (this last bill - over estimate tho) and $350. We have three adults, two kids, and three computers. i wash A LOT of clothes, and we have the dryer on. Must get one of those doo-hickeys you talk about though. we make no effort to save electricity apart from periods of me rushing around turning off bloody computers left on all day. |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 2:43pm
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I think Auckland prices for electricity are alot higher
ETA: out of interest then what do you guys get charged for electricity? Ours is 20.59c/kWh and 101.92c/day fixed charge ------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: whitewave
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 2:51pm
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Maybe Auckland does have higher power bills, I also can't understand how you can spend $300 + on power.
In Dunedin, over winter we had the heat pump going most of the day (big arse variety too), heater on in the bedroom at night, lots of washing (mostly cold washes though). About $150 a month was the norm, we had a heart attack if it was more like $180!! There is no way we could make the power bill $300 if we tried, so maybe we are charged less for power than Aucklanders are? |
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 10:21pm
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Without looking at the bills we get charged
133.21c day fixed and 20.770c kWh thats come from Mercury site. We do get the discount for having our gas and power with Mercury I think the consumer site has a price comparison for the different companies ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: xLUCKYx
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 10:29pm
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We are on a daily composite plan with Genesis energy and get 20.38/c unit + 91.00 c/day
Looks like ours is cheaper than yours Linzy! Who are you with? I have been tempted to go with contact for the flyby's points. |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 18 September 2010 at 10:32pm
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We are with Mercury. Might do a bit of shopping around ------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: whitewave
Date Posted: 19 September 2010 at 10:17pm
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Woah, you guys do get charged a helluva lot more up in Auckland!! With Meridian in Dunedin, we were paying 37.50c per day on a low user plan, but they charged 22.82c per kw.
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Posted By: amme_eilyk
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 6:43pm
| wow those power bills are scary. for the two of us we pay a max of $80/month and that is with me home all day and during winter before we had a woodburner so were using heaters. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 6:49pm
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Has anyone bought a beast for their meat?
Has it worked out cheaper? ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 7:01pm
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Buying a beast usually does work out cheaper per kg.
The more you do yourself the cheaper it works out to be. My parents for example do most of the butchering themselves (well my mum does) and the only thing they get done is the mince because they only have a tiny mincer and it just doesn't cut it for a whole beast. My mum won't allow my dad to kill a beast cause hes just not skilled enough to do it cleanly so they get another farmer to do that. For a sheep they do the lot, kill, skin, gut, butcher so its very cheap |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 7:06pm
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We don't really have the facilities to do the butchering ourselves. Guess we'd get cuts of meat we wouldn't normally be able to afford to get. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 7:15pm
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You actually don't need as much space/tools as you might think.
This may gross some people out but.. My parents will hang the beast in the garage. Mum uses a couple of different butchering knives and a saw. She sharpens the knives herself as they have a decent steel but gets the saw sharpened by a guy in bulls that does it. If you don't wanna do that you would probably have to ask around to get the best price for butchering services. But when my parents do it they like doing it because they choose what sizes of cuts they want packed. How much steak per bag etc |
Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 7:55pm
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I've done both - the butchering and had it done by someone else. It does cost a bit to get someone else to do it (just paid $320 to process a steer - including some corned beef and sausages, basic cuts are a bit cheaper) but it's so much easier that way and right now easy is good! It would've taken DH and I ages to do it all ourselves, whereas this way we just had to leave Brownie in the yards and collect him in bags later. We just told the butcher how many people in our house and he packaged it up accordingly. It was 162 kg carcass - that included bones obviously, but not the guts/head etc and Brownie probably would have sold for around $600 if we'd sold him - so say $900 all up if you were purchasing the beast as well. We would have got over 100 kg meat, so less than $9/kg. I'd say if you usually buy cheap cuts it won't save you much, but you will get lots of *better* cuts that you won't usually be able to afford - so better meat for the same money. On the flip side, you do have to have the freezer space! We currently have the steer and a porker pig in our big chest freezer and it's full to the brim.
Last time we had a lamb done it was $95 to have him collect the live lamb and we picked it up packaged and frozen later. That was a different butcher though. The lamb probably would have cost around $100 to buy. I can't remember how much meat we got, but I think it about filled one of those big chilly bins and it was sooooo yum!! The pig was about 60 kg carcass (and over 40kg meat), would have cost around $400 to buy and process, but that included quite a bit of bacon and sausages. So about $10/kg. Dunno how that compares to shop pork, but it was tasty!! And I know all my meat had a happy, healthy life. And neither the steer or the lamb had ever been treated with drugs of any kind. Heh, sorry about the essay ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 8:03pm
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Might look into it when we move north and see if my Dad will go half with us, they've got the freezer space so can always store some of it with them and grab it as we need to. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: palomino
Date Posted: 20 September 2010 at 8:04pm
| Wow go your mum! Im too soft and pay someone to do ours, even the sheep. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 21 September 2010 at 12:49pm
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My IL's did it with a cow a yr, they bought calves & raised them & killed 1 a yr. They when halves in the butchering with friends which I think last time was approx $250. They gave us a few packs & it was lovely meat. If they did not have a standing arrangement with friends we would of gladly gone halves.
So it would cost them the cost of the calf they bought 7-10 yearly & the cost of the kill/butchery. |
Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 21 September 2010 at 12:50pm
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just got my new power bill in & is it $219 so pretty happy with that....roll on summer
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Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 21 September 2010 at 2:09pm
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I think it depends regarding a beast. Bro and SIL have done it a few times and one time they got great cuts etc for a very good price and another time they were not happy with the cost or what they got.
I asked our local butcher and he doesn't do beasts for people, he said it doesn't necessarily work out cheaper. He also said that some butchers don't always give you all the meat  . I would suggest getting a butcher recommended to you in the hope of getting the best deal------------- Lindsey
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Posted By: tiptoes
Date Posted: 26 September 2010 at 3:42pm
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I wonder how much power electric blankets use as we have a bill of about $250 during the winter for 2 adults and 1 baby and apart from that, it seems pretty similar to you guys. It was only about $150 before winter when the heaters/blankets/dryer usage all went up.
We're probably on a pretty good deal too as it's only 18.478c per kWh. The day usage is 91.54 cents but that's the smaller part of the bill. ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com">  
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Posted By: flakesitchyfeet
Date Posted: 26 September 2010 at 7:41pm
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This has been a useful thread, our income is dropping 10k for the next two years, freaking out a tad!
We wanted to do the beast thing for meat but 1 - I don't have room for a chest freezer and 2 - It'd become a pet and an expense instead. We have swapped from Meridian Energy to powershop, which seems to be saving us money so far, but the weather is getting warmer too. We have swapped from Telecom to Slingshot. Internet isn't as super, but bills are cheaper. I've been too lazy to meal plan for awhile. Will start again soon. I bake the biscuits and cupcakes for lunches We run totalmoney with BNZ. And have visas linked to flybuys. Everything goes on the Visa, flybuys are used to buy gifts whenever possible. We have, and use, the soda stream, bread maker and esiyo. -------------  http://lilypie.com"> |
Posted By: tiptoes
Date Posted: 27 September 2010 at 8:08am
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Soda stream - that's a good idea. We drink too much fizzy drink, but that would be a good alternative. ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com">
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Posted By: Mucky_Tiger
Date Posted: 28 September 2010 at 2:55pm
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were with meridian in dunedin.
just got our bill for last month and its $128.20 before discount. we pay 20.63c per unit and 91.65c per day (we're on the MeridianPlus economy 24 plan) we have 3 adults and we all have a laptop on 24/7 and 3 tvs on often. but we do have eco bulbs in every place where they will fit. but by no means do we try to save power infact last month i used the dryer once a week (normally we dont use it) we do happen to have a wet back fire and get wood and coal from my parents so dont pay for any of that. |
Posted By: lil_lease
Date Posted: 30 September 2010 at 3:25am
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We have a very limited budget each week and so far we're doing well on it. We paid a maximum of $80 for power for 2 adults over winter (was down at $40 suring summer, before we got our laptop lol) and that is with the entertainment system (tv, xbox360, stereo hooked up to car speakers) going pretty much all day every day and the laptop being run 12+ hours a day. We do have ecobulbs in all the frequently used light fixtures and we dont have a dryer. We didnt use the heater very often during winter as it sucked power like crazy so we just piled a few more blankets on the bed and more a couple more layers.
I cant say we really try to save power lol seeing as I currently have 3 bulbs lighting one room when with a flick of 2 switches I can change it to one
For power I auto payment $15 a week to the power company and so far this is covering it nicely. I pay the same to cover the phone bill. We have $60 to $70 a week for groceries and I can usually make that stretch to feed us quite easily. Meat is usually mince and sausages. I make quite a lot of meals that will last us more than one night like my lasagne which lasts 3 nights (or 2 nights and one lunch) and most other meals I make last us 2 nights. Meat free meal is usually pasta with cheese sauce though I sometimes add cooked bacon to the sauce along with some mushrooms and chopped tomato and spring onion. Yum. We have a couple of extras like DF signed up to get the paper delivered because there was a deal of 2 free movie tickets per month. Worked out that we were paying for the movie tickets and getting a months worth of papers (6 days a week) for about $5. We have reorganised the budget though so now need that money elsewhere and so are cancelling the subscription. We currently do live week by week but I think we're doing the best we can with what we have. ------------- Antony, gone but never forgotten 2-4-2010 
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Posted By: xLUCKYx
Date Posted: 30 September 2010 at 7:26am
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We turned our hot water cylinder down in temperature after our big bill last month so will be interesting to see what our next bill comes in as. We won't get any instant savings though as we are on even pay but will still be nice to see the number go down.
I now have 1 out of 2 toilet trained and since it is nicer weather now I am going to ditch the disposables and go back to cloth nappies which will help save a little bit of $$ as well as reduce our rubbish. I am amped to start a vege garden so will make a raised planter - will use timber that we already have so will only cost us for compost and plants and I will then grow from seeds. Also I have last night cooked a chicken in the slow cooker, removed and shredded all the meat and then put the bones back in the cooker to make a stock. Tonight we are having chicken noodle soup, tomorrow will be chicken wraps and saturday a chicken and vege fritata. So 1 chicken = 3 meals. I will also have plenty of stock leftover (it's in the cooker now, looks like about 4 litres worth) so that will be frozen for future meals. |
Posted By: Mum_mum
Date Posted: 03 October 2010 at 9:02pm
Will be interested to see how much it changes your bill, we have had some huge bills and I know its cos of heaters and dryers going but think also that the hot water is TOO HOT but DH refuses to turn it down ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
 Angel baby - May 2008
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Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 03 October 2010 at 9:50pm
Xela, you can use the disposable for compost... I'll try find the information, or you could probably find it if you googled, but the crystals are apparently really good for gardens etc. Don't know if you want to use a poopy nappy though ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: mirsty
Date Posted: 22 November 2010 at 10:26am
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We don't use a dryer - its so windy at the moment that it doesn't seem to be much of a problem - maybe when baby comes and in winter we may need to do something about it.
We also turned down our hot water cylinder - didn't even notice the temperature difference - but are yet to receive the power bill too...so reserving judgement on it. However, DH and I set a timer in the bathroom to 3 min for him and 5 for me (since im not as agile). So think that helps too. Our sodastream (thanks flybuys) is awesome. It is such a balancing act - especially this time of year. I am a 'mature' student and DH works, we dont' get any sort of help from parents or WINZ like many of my friends do  and it sucks when we catch up for coffee when they all talk about cool stuff they've bought, everything we have for baby is second hand. Nothing wrong with that, but just gets down a bit sometimes.
Yay for summer! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: mirsty
Date Posted: 22 November 2010 at 10:28am
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Re: the eco bulbs - do you guys reckon they actually work? ours keep popping in their fittings, the normal ones seem to last longer! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 25 November 2010 at 5:50pm
I don't like them. We did use one in the hallway but it took forever to warm up & it was used for the kids while they went to sleep. We would never use them in kids room. |
Posted By: amme_eilyk
Date Posted: 26 November 2010 at 9:58am
| i cant stand them either. |
Posted By: Mina001
Date Posted: 28 January 2011 at 10:26am
| I'm saving couple of $ a week now by just using an iPhone app called" buysmart" |