dollars and sense

Social Entrepreneurs

2008-03-19T13:39:00.005+11:00

Sitting in the sun reading the NZ Herald, jotting this down before i lose it:

"Turning your job into a cause
-A social entrepreneur is driven to raise money for a cause...
-It's where a lot of businesses are heading now...
-It is about doing something you feel passionate about...
-Making your business your cause"

Ecostore founder Malcolm Rands says he isn't afraid to make money because it can achieve good things.

His advise to budding social entrepreneurs is "To find out what you are passionate about. it all comes down to passion. If you're doing something for passion you're not even working, you're doing something you want to do anyway"

'Mola Club and Activities"

2008-01-15T10:54:00.000+11:00

Miss E (Age 10) and friends designed and delivered a very cute brochure to neighbouring houses yesterday. It read...
"At Mola (Their club) We are holding a cake and smoothie stall to raise money for a clubhouse, our homemade recipes are sure to make you come back testers will be available!!!!

So far we have $27. But that is not really enough to buy a cubby house and you may remember our last fundraiser was the bag of bears competition and the results were…..

We only made $1 profit but we had a heap of fun. We hope this goes better.

From Mola Leaders"

Beyond Consumerism

2007-11-24T12:44:00.000+11:00

Read an article last night in November’s edition of ‘Sydney’s Child’ about moving beyond consumerism.
Apparently if everyone in the world consumed as much as the average Australian we would need almost 4 planet earths to put it all on!!! (Ecological Footprint Analysis)

My application this Christmas….

Teaching our kids that….
Genuine happiness is not in things that can be bought at Christmas…relationships are more fun!
Excessive human consumption has high environmental costs.

Steering the focus away….
From ‘Self’ and what one can ‘get’…. Towards generousity and care for others

Thought-out gifts….
Because we have enough…this house can’t fit many more toys!!!
Not just 2 minute wonders that will get lost at the bottom of the toy box, but gifts that will be a source of more enduring pleasure

Saving for a rainy day...

2007-10-31T16:49:00.000+11:00

Well the sunshine really

BPs business really, REALLY slows down over the Christmas/summer period…everyone goes to the beach!
So after saving for our first house in Australia now need put aside enough money to cover our mortgage over that time

Diligence, diligence-pulling in now so life doesn’t become strained then...AND we can go to the beach too!

Foot in the Door

2007-08-03T16:25:00.000+10:00

A home of our own in Sydney… BP’s liking that the kitchen-a big job is already done... the remainder of the home in need of the kind of attention he can easily give. Being a jack of all trades he’s itching to get into it.
We move in a month…exciting yet tinged with sadness at leaving the community we have spent the last 7 years in.
Feels like we’re moving town…a little bit country, horse paddocks 100m from our house, the kids will change schools, finding our way around and discovering a new area.
Relieved though to finally have entered the Sydney market.

Operation House

2007-07-20T22:13:00.000+10:00

This week BP and I when on the computer have been scrolling down, and through house after house
We really need buy

Sold our house in NZ 3 years ago and been renting our whole time in Australia.
Waiting at first because the market was going down… NOW feeling like the right time.
At connect group tonight they prayed we’d find the right house, at the right price, in the right place. And you know everything we seem pray in that group gets answered!

“Make hay when the sun shines”

2007-05-28T13:24:00.000+10:00

BP’s crazy busy with back to back demo jobs on over the next couple of months.
Playing as a team I know it therefore important I don’t over-commit myself at this time.
Been there, done that! The busy at the-same time scenario, not a goer for us with 4 little kids in tow.
One needing pull back for the sake of sanity (If that at all possible!) in our home

Worth a Rummage…

2007-05-10T13:13:00.000+10:00

I had fun….
While BP worked from home, and my little fella was sound asleep, snuck off to an ‘Op’ shop, which I haven’t done for the longest time

Found a new pleasure…old cookbooks, buying a 1974 dessert book…
Plus a pile of books for the kids, 2 cushions covers that match our lounge perfectly, and a pretty rose plate to serve cake….ALL for a grand total of $10-only!

New (pre-loved) books on the coffee table and kids sprawled over the couches reading them…
Baked custard, self saucing puddings, fruit crumble, lemon delicious, …in the oven for dessert times
Have I told you I love Winter puddings!!

Work and play

2007-02-10T09:56:00.000+11:00

Wanting your own home based little business??

Last night I hosted a Nutrimetics party here, as a school mum is one of their consultants

She has been involved with Nutrimetics 10 years now, and since her first, qualified for a free car, annual overseas trip, and often earns more from it than her husband.

AND all she has needed do to make the dollars and earn the rewards….is fit in two Nutrimetic spa parties a week in-between her family, coffee with the girls, getting her nails done, the gym and 2 games of tennis a week!

Out of pocket

2007-01-29T11:31:00.000+11:00

Some of you will remember that we offered to match whatever the kids were able to save in 2006

Just handed out the $$!
The kids, stuffing some into their wallets (to spend), but a majority straight back into their money boxes…
Whoah at this rate we may be matching significantly more in years to come…
Think we better think of a dollar for dollar cut off age!!!

And sense???.... Update:

2006-11-26T07:22:00.000+11:00

Spent TOO much + JUST broke even+ Loss of time= An interesting learning experience!

Setting out my table for Fridays market realised I probably had way too many ware’s…
My stomach kinda dropped too thinking what if only a few things sell
Had a steady flow of sales though throughout the night …but because of my over-zealousness, stock left at the end of the night
SO bright and early Saturday morn rang and managed to secure a spot at Balmain markets
Finally breaking even at the end of the day -The goal…
But, Ha-ha spending a fair bit of the takings at the cool clothing shop next to my stall, and food in the hall

Conclusion: There’s a lot of money out there being spent and my takings were high, but I was just a tad carried away in how much stock I’d bought for the occasion!

....sense?

2006-11-23T21:44:00.000+11:00

As said
It’s been a week going like mad getting ready for my stall at the Twilight markets tomorrow night ….

And sense???

Well I honestly don’t know…have spent a bit, so now forget profit, I’m just HOPING to break even. Had a dismal thought the other night when it dawned on me that there are no credit /card facilities at a market and are dependant on the buyers cash in hand alone!

And sense???

Cramming the prep all into week…I’ve had a few incidences
Before I was labeling little gloss containers ‘Glosh’, thinking it looked funny but for the life of me not able to work out why

And then there’s the cat (Tiara), poor thing! We’d heard her meowing on and off in the background for about 30 minutes, but o my. After hearing scrambling noises at the front door, went to investigate to find Tiara hanging for dear life on the screen door.
In my absent minded state I’d shut the door, sandwich-ing her between the screen and front door!

An affordable way to get wet

2006-10-28T15:00:00.000+10:00

Want a pool?

BUT are renting OR there’s no room in the budget to spend multiple thousands on one???

Friends and a neighbour have both recently set up cheap pools in their back yards which are perfect for keeping the kids cool…

Only $350 from Target, (comes with filter and everything!)

some sand,

fencing…

AND you’re set up hours and hours of fun,
Our neighbour wishing she’d done it years ago

eBay

2006-09-25T12:15:00.000+10:00

Have got my eBay loving husband doing a write up for us today...
Remember that white car he bought…well he spent a few bob getting the dings taken out of it and has recently resold it on eBAY for $5000 more than we purchased it for.
We now have our 'lastest' eBAY car sitting in a driveway…which I’m sure he won’t be able to resist selling either!

Here's BP(Now a power seller even!)with a few eBay tips:

“Finishing Time:
Have the auction finish at a time when you are most likely to have you target audience online. (For me Here in Sydney I like around 9pm on Sunday night – That would be about 11pm in New Zealand, 9pm on the east coast of Australia, 6pm on the West coast of Australia). I once bought a Jackhammer from a man at 1pm on a weekday –I got it cheap because most people who would want one of these would be no where near a computer

Post To Anywhere:
If possible make the item available to anywhere in the world by post (The buyer pays for the postage). I have bought and sold stuff to the US, and UK. In Australia it is easy to post items up to 20kg in standard post. (I have posted a large concrete saw (like a really big chainsaw) to Perth, Western Australia. Cost was about $50. This was an odd shape so, was covered in bubble wrap the taped tight with duct tape (Make sure you add the cost of packaging to the postage charge).
A few months ago, I bought another concrete saw which was local pick up only, then resold it that evening with a $200 profit, simply by making it available in the post.

Guard your feedback:
Having a high number of positive feedback, means that you will get a higher price for items that you list. This gives confidence to buyers that they can trust you. (You can actually build your feedback rating by buying as well as selling. So a good starting point in learning the whole process is to buy a lot of inexpensive items.) Most negative feed back is for the following reasons: Item not as described, Poor communication (not responding to emails), Slow postage, Slow paying when buying. If you do the opposite to each of these you are almost guaranteed great feedback.

Use a good photo, and describe fully.
This is your sales pitch. Be honest. Not cheesy. Give as much benefits to using your product as possible. If it is a quality brand make sure you promote the brand.

Title to get as many searches as possible
When someone is searching for an item, the title is the only place that eBay searches, so use as many key words as possible (more people who view your item means you will get a much higher price. At the beginning of this year I sold a bus which had been set up as a mobile training center. The owner of the bus didn’t know how to sell it, so I cam to an agreement with him that if it sold I would pay him what he wanted, but anything over that was mine to keep.
My title line was something like this “BUS, MOTOR HOME, MOBILE TRAINING, and ENTERTAINMENT CENTER”. I ran the add 3 times each for 10 days. Every time it had over 2000 different viewers. It sold for about $20,000 more than the owner wanted. That was an easy couple of hours work.

EBay is a great place to get a bargain (usually because the seller doesn’t do what I have listed above). But ironically it is a great place to get the highest possible price for your item, buy putting it in front of as many interested buyers as possible.”

Anyone else out there into eBay???

Living where you’re at

2006-08-18T20:31:00.000+10:00

On the motorway years ago I remember seeing a dunga of a car up ahead... thinking myself slightly grander whizzing along in our gleaming car we’d recently purchased from the lot
As I got closer though I read its bumper sticker;
It said:“My car may be a bomb but at least I own it”
Got me!

Our car we’d put a considerable down payment on, topped off with monthly payments… PLUS the price we one day sold it for =tones of $$ down the drain!!!

With BPs work car from his last job about to go back we’ve recently decided to opt for the “My car may be a bomb but at least I own it!” stance.
Not that we’re against financing a car it’s more a case of deciding to live we’re currently at; self employed, getting new businesses up and running etc, etc…

But lo and behold we stumbled across a bargain in our price range! Our new car here:
$50,000 cheaper than the work one we’ve been driving;
But not looking too dusty at all!

AHOY THERE

2006-08-10T23:12:00.000+10:00

My very own pirates posing for photos tonight…Getting together some packs to trial at a market or two

BEEN THINKING ABOUT 'STUFF'

2006-07-27T13:47:00.000+10:00

July 27th 2006

I’ve had a few internal dialogues with myself lately about ‘things’ vs. ‘experiences’

Purchasing a house, creating a home, building for the future are all important to me but whan considering the long term value of the material v.s experiencial would i/you rather…

Spend money on a Mid Winters Dinner with family and friends or a new shoes (When I’ve already enough)
A family vacation or the latest and greatest_______
Be out and about on adventures with the kids or have them dressed in the latest designer threads (When Target does just fine!)
Create little experiences such as cooking, craft, photography and play dough, for the children v.s short lived flashing light gizmos

Actually as part of a household of six I’m a little tired of ‘Stuff’…especially as I try get it picked up each day!!!

Yesterday noting the tatty state of my son’s car seat thought too bad it’s going to run its course …shock horror even contemplating putting a patch on it as opposed to buying a new one. And it’s not about the money as it is purchasing and purchasing when the old will do. The kids play clothes now worn to their death, without the urge to replace them as quickly with newer, brighter, better ‘stuff’

Once upon a time I might have viewed tickets for such and such a waste of money when a tangible good could have been bought instead
Of late, the social aspect and relational value of life experiences shared with friends and family well worth the investment.

I’m not in a ‘good book’ entry but the other day I encountered this in Ecclesiastes
5v11 “As goods increase, so do those who consume them,
And what benefit are they to the owners
Except to feast their eyes upon”

I love a visual feast, beautiful things AND to shop!!!… BP and I were so excited on Saturday to find a sale on sale prices at General Pants …
It’s more a case of how much ‘stuff’ do we really need??!

WHEN 2 BECAME 4...

2006-07-12T20:15:00.000+10:00

July 12th 2006

Am I really saving…or gaining!

Have you ever done this?
I’m walking out of the Medical Centre today, see boxes of lil chocolates for sale and reckon I 'need' a couple ....then notice a sign besides reading: “4 for $2…
So what do I do: buy and gobble up all four…after all it’s a bargain?

As I drove home munching the last of my tasty treats I pondered my logic…
Yeah 2 chocolates were worth more per piece than 4… BUT (!!!) all I’m really gaining is want I want to lose!
Reminded me of the whole “Super-size” me deal…and the realisation I’d fallen into the same trap!

"BECAUSE I'M WORTH IT!"

2006-06-23T13:37:00.000+10:00

June 23rd 2006

Life in general with four lil kids seems to eat away a big portion of our money…there’s always a fee to pay or cheque to write

In the order of priorities I place myself way down there, in fact feeling guilty if ever I spend anything on myself!
The other day though, I thought I can’t live like that forever and took some money out of my savings and bought some proper skincare after having run out of my supermarket stuff months ago.

I remember reading a proverb once about how a worker’s hunger drives him on, and could relate.Now at an age where I do want a few nicer things and a bit of cash to spend here and there, am ever dreaming and scheming of ways to make an extra buck;
Today planning on taking a kid-ish painting of mine to try sell at our local kids clothing shop

FINISHED BUSINESS

2006-05-31T14:03:00.000+10:00

May 31st 2006

WOW... was so surprised when i mentioned my latest project to my daughter and she replied; “I love it mum… you always finish and do what you said you were going to do too”
Amazing grace!!!!!!!!!! That’s SO not the real me.
I’m an ideas person and occasional starter… but O so very easily distracted and on to the next thing…e.g. I’m mid vacuum cleaning as I write this

And oppps, I’ve been racing full speed ahead with my latest idea…leaving the last covered in a trail of dirt.
BP’s been laughing at me as for the last week I’ve been lost in a world of box’s; on the hunt for the best deal and packaging that’s as eco friendly as possible… although NOT knowing completely the contents to go in it

BUT
Whoa hold your horses…
Yeah keep with the boxes (Me talking to myself)… but how about making sure the loose ends of project A are tied… before getting too busy with B, C and D!

So yesterday I prioritised time and got to work… challenged to finish the synopsis and 3 chapters required by a particular book publisher for a submission …getting there!
Shot one at getting a book published
But I’ll never know if I strike it lucky or not, if what I've started is left unfinished

“...a quitter never wins”

THE GUY ON THE BED SCENARIO

2006-04-12T16:59:00.000+10:00

BP was called back today to play a frazzled husband…think he’ll get the part!!

No I’m not giving him a hard time… but rather he could relate to the poor ole’ guy sitting despondently on the side of the bed internally stressing at the state of the finances…and thus portrayed the scenario (for a TV ad) convincingly. Art imitating life he said!

When we first came to Sydney BP responded to an ad calling for all shapes and sizes (Hey that’s a category we fit!) as a possible extra stream of income (remember the worried guy on the side of the bed)

Back then we had to pay a smaller joining fee than it probably is now…and have since landed the odd job here and there as everyday looking people!(Song in my head:“Everyday people”; definitely not models!)
The kids have loved every minute of it (Wouldn’t do it otherwise)…my daughter living a dream when starring in a McDonald’s ad!

P.S. For those a partner on the edge (Of the bed):
There’s a great Proverb that says: “Worry weighs a person down but an encouraging word can cheer them up”
And how about becoming part of the answer not the problem (I know some gals and shopping!!)

SKYPE-ING

2006-04-07T19:00:00.000+10:00

You’re probably already in the know but in case your not… the world just got smaller!

Dad rang us earlier this year excited at discovering skype and the money it will save our international family in calls!
It’s as easy as registering with skype, buying a headset, connecting it to your computer AND THEN ‘Bob’s your uncle’ you can talk to family and friends over the computer FOR FREE!!!!!!!!
I often come into the lounge in the morning and find the kids at the computer chatting away with my parents in London and at times I've had a yarn with both mum and my sis-in –law in NZ
…even cooler (There’s more!)my bro gave the kids a vid-cam so now Master 4 can stand up on the chair and show Mammie and Pa his new Spiderman undies…and we got to see Aunty's preggy belly before little girl was born last Saturday night.
… Speaking of my beautiful new niece I can’t help but show her off:here's our lil Bear'...

INTO THEIR POCKETS

2006-03-29T16:56:00.000+11:00

March 8th 2006

So cute: my six year old (Who wants to be like daddy with a coffee in hand) lining up with his OWN money at the ‘Gloria’s Jean’s’ coffee cart to purchase (With probably only his hand seen over the counter) a hot chocolate!
And priceless: the look of satisfaction as he sipped his cuppa with dad!

This year we have started giving pocket money to the oldest three.
In the past pocket money attempts with Molly have fizzled out; as often we haven’t had the correct change at the right time
Fixed that: NOW when at the supermarket I ask for $10 worth of 1 and 2 and 50 cent coins when paying by eftpos
Once home the children are called to the bench with their wallets (So they don’t lose it in 2 seconds flat) to collect their pile of coins which is calculated at half their age. i.e. Elijah who turns 4 tomorrow will get a 33% pay increase from $1:50 to $2- Whoohoo!
They are then encouraged to ‘Give some, save some, spend some’
*Give some: They give into the many causes our church supports and as they see a need
*Save some: As incentive to save we have promised to double whatever they save this year AND glued the bottom of their money boxes permanently shut!

*Spend some: Well that part comes naturally and it’s there’s for the picking…and their” Can I have this, can I have that” are now pointed at their own purses
She's got it all...check out this pink piggy

BLUE VODA RAVE

2006-02-23T20:33:00.000+11:00

February 7th

www.bestlife.com.au:TODAY a week in action!

I hoped to get my fortnightly emails to mums/women up on the web BUT when first looking into it was DAUNTED with the “How to’???”-confused by the lingo and decisions to make such as do I get dream weaver or FrontPage etc etc plus trying to make it all happen on a shoe-string budget…
Then low and behold one day BP came across BLUE VODA’S FREE website building program. (See button on the left somewhere)...and I was away laughing!
BLUE VODA is super simple to use with step by step tutorials,ton's of templates, and the look of your website up to you... I went casual, but basically the skies the limit with the ability to style to suit.

Now when I’m lured in to try a sampler at the supermarket I will normally purchase the product….and as BLUEVODA provided such an awesome tool i therefore felt inclined to choose them as hosts. (This consequently was very reasonable!)
However I am unsure what happens if you select another host…you’d have to investigate

Have a go and look forward to seeing some of you on the web!

SAVINGS RACE:

2006-01-30T22:25:00.000+11:00

October 2005

Months back Brendan and I challenged each other to a race: first one to build their savings account to x amount of dollars!

At this stage in the race I can proudly report I’m currently in the lead!!!!!- BUT… there’s a looming chance he might just sprint up the rear and take the prize?!
As the gun fired and the race begun I thought how was I ever going to get anywhere on my meager income? I investigated a few harebrain schemes before deciding on the tortoise approach “Slow and steady wins the race”

SO - I set up an automatic payment directing money STRAIGHT OUT of my account, on the day I’m paid and RIGHT INTO a personal savings account…it’s honestly been painless and if it’s not there you don’t spend it! (You just nick it from your husband’s wallet!)

Little by little though my small deposits have slowly but surely grown to the point where now I’m a threat; a definite strong contender:
“Go ahead Brendan, make my day!” I’ll let you know who wins….