Yet another item on my stress list: Money.

Cash. Dough. Moolah.

Whatever you want to call it, I don’t have much of it.

Upon returning from M and my Post-Graduation South-Asian Holiday-Extravaganza, there were three factors which left me in this particular financial position:

1. I had spent all my savings;
2. I had dipped into the ol’ Visa (all it takes ™) to fund some splurge duty-free purchases, leaving me in debt; and
3. I realised that I simply cannot, no matter what, regardless of any previous grandiose stay-at-home-to-save-for-home-deposit plan, live with my parents anymore.

As for Number 3, I honestly had to get out.  As. Soon. As. Possible. (I know keep putting off the back story, but I really can’t find the time to sit down to shift through it all…)

I emailed/rang a bunch of people offering rooms in share houses in suitable locations and accepted the first response because it was in a great location, the room was reasonable, the house didn’t look horrible and the house-mate seemed nice enough (in the five minutes in which I spoke to her).  It was lucky I took it since it was the only response I got, and therefore I ignored the fact that my share of the rent was slightly higher than I wanted, and just submitted to the horrible rental market, relegating myself to not saving as much as I would like to.

My frugality with the new digs included not buying a TV and choosing not to use/share the wireless internet (saving about $40/month) but I had to borrow $750 bond from Mother and $200 from M to buy a microwave.  Whereby Number 2 got even worse.

An “interest-free balance-transfer low-rate credit card” offer was taken up to avoid paying 19.99% on my old student “fee free” credit-card, which was now about to charge me fees as I was no longer a student, but I was rudely awakened to receive less than I expected in my first paycheck due to the fact I was paying back more than I should have to in Fee-HELP because my incompetent university had overcharged me.

Plus I have the aforementioned shopping addiction, so I was buying a few things here and there which I probably didn’t need to buy, but hey, I just started working and I was earning money, I should be able to spend if I want to, dammit.

Then, as I was reasonably making-do, I decided to go to Therapy to sort out my Issues.

Which totally Boned my budget.

At $170 a session, getting Self Actualized ain’t cheap.

While I do get about $110 back from Medicare cause I’m on a “Mental Health Plan” through my GP, I still have to have the full fee up-front, and it’s caused me to actually increase my credit card debt. 

I need to get it paid off before the 6-month “interest free” period is over, but I feel like I’m not making aaaaany headway and it’s bumming me out because I can’t save for anything, including a trip to Melbourne that I would reeeeeally like to do in July.  Plus I can’t shop. 

After I’ve paid for this week’s session today, I am cutting up my card so it doesn’t get worse, because I have budgeted to keep my head above water from this payday onwards.

I’ve been reading a few blogs about saving money, and I have decided to really get serious about “budgeting” and the like.  My next goal is to save up an “emergency fund” so that I don’t need to rely on credit or parents or M for things that jump up to scare me.

Then I’ll work back to the Melbourne Trip, if I can, and then work on saving for a home deposit.  Not that that’s likely in this market (I’m such a pinko, cause I love to blame the freaking market) but hey, a dream is a dream.

Squanderlust on news.com.au had a new post today about “frugal being the new black” and I reckon she’s onto something.  And hey, if I’m on that bandwagon, of course it’s cool now :P