Saving money

As my wedding prep is over.. I got married ;) My next project is to save money and create a beautiful home! So basically I went from one expensive project to another..haha
Oh well, the house should be a long lasting one and therefore it needs to be carefully created.
Just like the wedding, only one shot!

We will of course bring a lot of stuff we have in our current house. But somethings we cannot there are just things that won't fit.
I was so angry the other day when we realized the sofa we have only comes in the size we have.
I wanted a second one slightly smaller, but nope... not available.
Which leaves us to buy a new. And with a larger sofa we'd need a new sofa table. You see, it piles up already!

Another item we want to buy new is a larger bed! A bed can come cheap but then there is also the more expensive. And buying a bed isn't like buying a top. You cannot bargain either because.. who knows the real truth, a bed that cost 1000 USD can be as good as 2000 USD..no?
And is a 10 000 USD bed really worth the price? a jungle I don't want to enter, just need to swipe my card.

Did I tell you, I have a fear of credit cards?
I have NEVER bought anything using a credit card / pay in installments. The fear of the extra rates or suddenly be without money and still have a bill to pay. No Thank You.
Has it ever happened to me? No.
Do I own a credit card? No.
I keep it simple, I save and yes, I'm good at it! I have never been in a situation I cannot afford what I want. I'd rather say it has been about if I feel it's "worth it?" / "Do I really need it?"
And after I have saved and finally buying the thing I have saved for, I feel happier :) It was worth the wait...

Every penny counts!

Cost of foods

How much do you spend of food?
How often do you eat out?
How and when do you buy groceries?

I love eating good food, and dining out is also nice.
But thinking.. what do you pay for?
With all other costs a month, is the food money worth it?
Some of my colleagues eat out every day. They spend about 10-15 USD daily.
I however only eat out for lunch 2-3 times a month. Reason, I rather eat a dinner somewhere else, we only have a few places around the office so.
I like to spend money on other things than a lunch which I stress through anyhow.

A lunch in a lunch box can cost me around 2-3 USD. So 5 days a week I spend as much as one meal out!!

And looking at it, it's the same world wide!

Pay day!!

I don't think I have been this happy about pay day before!
Not that I'm that strapped with cash, but it's my first pay check as a full-time worker.
It feels so nice!!
I have already decided to put a lot away for upcoming travel and savings.
But of course I will also spend some on well.. just to paper myself (^^;;)

I have already bough a hot-pot pot and a winter jacket, so well I already bought myself some things but.. just because I can, I'll probably buy something more.

I need a new suitcase so that's on my "To buy" list.

For some reason I sound greedy now, and I know there are people who has way way worse than me.
But to me this pay day means a lot as it feels like I have been able to climb a huge step in life. So sorry but today is all about me..
Others will come, but later!

pics @ owner

I'm a queen, again!

Going from being poor, I couldn't even withdraw 100 sek (aprox US$15) from the ATM today with my usual card!!
But I kinda have myself to blame as I have put most of my money on my savings account for the upcoming travel to Japan.

Anyway, today's the 25th... and that means... PAYCHECK day!!
And I'm going from "poor" to more wealthy. So yes, it's kinda like going from servant to being a queen!
Still, most of it, 90% will be going to my savings account. rest to pay bills and survive a few weeks before the travel, then the other days before the next paycheck!! ^^

Oh well... It feels good, so good!!
It's worth saving money, and it's good to work, because when I finally spend it, I know I need to work harder to be able to do this again, or even more!!
Because you know, money does not grow on trees!

Happy Monday!!
14 days left...I'm soon back in one of my fave cities in the world... TOKYO!

Tax refund is here!!!!

Ever since I got the notice I have been anticipating this day.
Actually I got it yesterday already but ^^
This year I got a lot of money in Tax refund. The money will provide me shopping and sightseeing in Korea and Japan ^^

What else could I wish for?!

Calculating money

Not that I would call myself poor nor rich!! These days I'm really thinking about my money...
Then again I guess it's also my fault in some ways, I've been spending quite alot within the last couple of weeks.

I recently bought some shoes, jacket and shirt from Gmarket. Actually the items wasn't that bad but the shipping fee was quite high.

Anyway.. the more expensive items are my train commute tickets. This month because of my group assignments I've been going to school almost every day. Normally I only go twice a week.
Because of this I've been paying 100USD more.. and it will be more.
Soon I also have to buy a new underground/bus pass here in Sweden, actually it's cheap but when paying all at once it's expensive.

Next month is my dad's b-day and also I need to think about X-mas, there are lots of pressies to buy. This X-mas we will have relatives from Japan and Australia coming so I need to buy more pressies than usual. I'm delighted that they are coming however I wonder how I should budget.
I hope I will figure something out!

I hope I find a new job soon then I won't have to think about this anymore...!! It's all about calculation and think on what's needed and not! ^^