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11 Things For 11 Days

March 11th, 2017 at 06:10 am

It's been a little while since I've posted so rather than write about whatever the latest thing is, I'm going to write about 11 things (hopefully mostly financial) that have been going on in the last 11 days:

1. On Tuesday our dishwasher seal broke Frown. Luckily I was standing near it and it had only run for 3 minutes so there was no water damage. B had a look at it and found the manufacturers website so we bought a double pack of seals (just in case the other seal goes, so that we don't have to re-order) for $52.73 which they say will be delivered to us next Wednesday. We are both so sick of washing dishes by hand but thankfully have got ourselves into a more regular routine so it's a bit less painful.

2. I finally got around to checking my superannuation account (retirement account) and the balance is $92,008. Going by ceejay's years x income, by the time I turn 40 next year I need to have 2 x times my income so $108,000. I realized that combined with the taxable investments I hold outside of superannuation and earnings that hopefully the account will receive it should be a possibility. The earnings last year were a paltry 2.44% however over 5 years in total they were 38.75% which equates to 7.75% per year which beats the standard 5%. I am happy with 7.75%.

3. B got a letter from a superannuation account which was an employer one from a job he had 9-10 years ago stating that if he didn't give his instructions on what to do with the account they would be turning it over to the Australian Taxation Office so they could hold it in the unclaimed moneys department. We had a financial planner roll all of our employer superannuation accounts into one years ago however he missed this one, the current account balance is $4,187.50. The letter was dated 1st February and gave us until 22nd February however I don't think they sent it for a while because we saw the letter on the 28th so the money has now gone to the Tax Office. There will now be a lengthy process to get it and roll it over as B will need to apply in writing and we will need to wait a while most likely to receive it. How annoying.

4. We have decided not to go on the Phuket holiday. This is due to our friends not being interested in going anymore and also B not really being interested. I wouldn't mind going but I'm not too bothered that we aren't doing it anymore as I had a big trip overseas last year and generally like to go overseas every 2-3 years, otherwise it can be a bit expensive going on annual overseas trips. We are now looking at doing a camping holiday in the next state at a beachy sort of area instead, which I am looking forward to. I'm not sure of when we will go though, it would be sometime between July and September and would be dependent on B's work (my work is a bit more flexible at that time of year).

5. This month we pay B's tax of $2,780. All funds have now been saved and the money will be transferred over soon.

6. Our car insurances also get debited out of our account around the 19th of March; mine is $969.40 for a 14 year old car; B's is $1,121.16 for a 6 year old car. We have enough money in the account and because I averaged out the bills amount back in October we did not have to pay for any of it out of pocket which is great! Last year we had to find $461.40 to cover the remaining portion. All I need to do is work out which bank account B's car insurance comes out of, don't remember.

7. We made month number 2 of the Christmas savings challenge, so we now have $135 saved up. This month we are supposed to save up $95. We currently have $2 saved up so need to start working towards it.

8. I bought a replacement suit for work a couple of weeks ago for $132, which was an $87 reduction in price. This suit should last a long time so was happy to pay it.

9. B is on a health kick and has rejoined boxing classes. He went regularly just before we got married but then it died off after the wedding so it's been a few years since he's been. To test the waters instead of signing up for a membership we bought a 10 class pack for $130. So far he has done 2 classes this week and has lost 2 kilos so is pretty happy. If he decides after using up the class pack that he wants to rejoin, it is $19.95 per week (same as my membership).

10. Last week we had my family over for lunch and it was a warm day so we cooked up chicken with roast potatoes and salad, then my sister and I both did a dessert each. It was a lovely meal and for 7 people we spent a whole $37.86 Smile. You could spend that on 2 people going out for lunch so I was pretty happy.

11. It is week 2 of my study unit and I am coping ok with the workload. They say you need to allocate 10hours per week however this subject's tutor has said we should allocate 15(!?!) which I really hope is not the truth because I don't know how on earth I would fit that amount of time in. I really want to be diligent with doing 10hours from the very start to avoid having to do 20hours around exam and assignment time, but this week I am finding that I have put in 7.5hours and don't really have 2.5 more hours of work to do.... I will probably finish the online quiz I have to do and do some revision.

I struggled to think of the 11th thing but I'm glad to have jotted down some bits and pieces. Off to check the blogs!

5 Responses to “11 Things For 11 Days”

  1. snafu Says:
    1489225173

    Wow, being near the DW when the seal went was a lucky part of an unfortunate situation. Terrific that B is willing to take on the task of remove and replace. It costs double your mentioned cosst just to get a repair guy here and whatever the problem...it never seems to be something warranted.

    The rules about superannuation [retirement plans] are quite strict. If you have the envelop from the notice, it's important to check the imprinted date. It's outrageous to date a letter February 1st and mail it to recipient near February 28th with instruction to take action by February 22nd.

    If the envelop supports your view, I'd be demanding the company chase 'B's retirement sum and copy to every government agency that rules on superannuation and the Minister in charge. That employer is not up-to-date on legislative requirements. Here is the biggest run up in valuation in history and you've missed it! The glacial pace most money is tracked is painful.

  2. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1489238062

    B is pretty handy with things like this so he is more than happy to try fixing it. Hopefully it works and we don't need to get someone to come out.

    Unfortunately we dutifully tossed the envelope into the bin so that is not an option. I know how strict the rules are, eg you can request the money back but you also need to provide the details of the new superannuation account; you do not get to cash out the amount, it must get rolled into your current superannuation account. I need to do a bit more research into the process. Thankfully this amount is the smallest balance and all the rest of B's superannuation is invested. I'm guessing it could be a couple of months before the amount is deposited into his current superannuation. (Meanwhile the Tax Office is probably earning income off that money!). A lot of it is red tape and bureaucratic rigmarole.

  3. rob62521 Says:
    1489266637

    Fortunately you caught the dishwasher before it became a tragedy!

    Interesting 11 things! Good for you on that Christmas savings!

  4. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1489456948

    What a frustrating situation with the superannuation.

  5. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1489489272

    Rob- thanks for your support! And yes, definitely disaster averted Smile.

    FrugalTexan- yeah I know. Have no idea how long it will take to get the funds out of the clutches of the government now! B has an insurance policy with the same company that the superannuation account is with so never actually believed that he had a superannuation account with them, turns out I was right and he was wrong. Who knows how long this will take.

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