I'm a poor student at the moment, and will be for another 2 1/2 years... so progress will probably be pretty slow until I graduate.
I'm in Australia where government higher education loans are indexed with inflation so I've decided not to pay up front and invest it instead. I'm expecting to graduate with ~20-25k debt, and if all goes well 35-40k money/investments (if all doesn't go well I might only be in the black by 5k or so).
So far I have a caravan, some savings, some shares and will soon have a car.
I'm looking forwards to keeping this record for the long term - hopefully this forum is still around by the time I retire (at 30, I'm 20 now)
BlackRat's Journal
Thought Id just note here that from early May I did an experiment of not eating sugar, processed flour or other things that fell totally in the junk/really processed category. It lasted about 3.5 weeks until I did a jump into a lake on the first day of winter thing and they gave us a free BBQ/chocolates/warm drinks. After that I gave up, but I've gotten a bunch of pimples all over my face... I'm going to cut out the junk stuff again and hopefully I'll notice a change.
3/5 exams done, 1 easy one left, 1 with massive amounts of content that'll probably still have a nasty time with even if I study my butt off... I'm thinking of instituting a 'non-study-screen-time-limit', I'm not feeling particularly motivated about my course right now... reading a lot of permaculture and cheap living stuff, and looking up cheap land and daydreaming.
This site is good: http://www.permaculturenews.org/ and they had a post about someone with a goat powered mowing business(http://permaculturenews.org/2013/06/07/rent-a-ruminant/)... one of my old ideas was have a flock of goats with pack saddles and walk around finding places for them to eat - think I have to try it one day.
Anyway, I hereby limit myself to one hour a day on non-study computer time until exams are over.
3/5 exams done, 1 easy one left, 1 with massive amounts of content that'll probably still have a nasty time with even if I study my butt off... I'm thinking of instituting a 'non-study-screen-time-limit', I'm not feeling particularly motivated about my course right now... reading a lot of permaculture and cheap living stuff, and looking up cheap land and daydreaming.
This site is good: http://www.permaculturenews.org/ and they had a post about someone with a goat powered mowing business(http://permaculturenews.org/2013/06/07/rent-a-ruminant/)... one of my old ideas was have a flock of goats with pack saddles and walk around finding places for them to eat - think I have to try it one day.
Anyway, I hereby limit myself to one hour a day on non-study computer time until exams are over.
Re: BlackRat's Journal
So I got the car... I got 3rd party insurance which was ~$250/yr, and considering my age I'm pretty pleased with that.
I've spend a ridiculous amount on fuel since getting it - some from laziness and luxury and some from being on placement for the past month. I also got my first speeding fine, which is a never-to-be-repeated event.
I stopped tracking my expenses for 2-3 months, and was pretty un-motivated for everything - I broke up with my boyfriend and that left me a bit miserable.
Since getting home I've gotten some of my spark back. I had a welding lesson and hopefully I'll be skilled enough to build a cart over summer - I already know where I can borrow a pony.
And I've started a batch of what will hopefully turn into cider.
Cider (apple juice + yeast + varying amounts of sugar):
2 days into fermentation they were at 1.037, 1.057 and 1.082 specific gravity (I added sugar to 2 of the bottles to see if I can get a higher final alcohol content) and they were started on the 14th September.
Start of September money stats:
savings $7715
shares ~$8300
uni debt ~-$8000
and I owe my savings account $400 from my cash account
I've spend a ridiculous amount on fuel since getting it - some from laziness and luxury and some from being on placement for the past month. I also got my first speeding fine, which is a never-to-be-repeated event.
I stopped tracking my expenses for 2-3 months, and was pretty un-motivated for everything - I broke up with my boyfriend and that left me a bit miserable.
Since getting home I've gotten some of my spark back. I had a welding lesson and hopefully I'll be skilled enough to build a cart over summer - I already know where I can borrow a pony.
And I've started a batch of what will hopefully turn into cider.
Cider (apple juice + yeast + varying amounts of sugar):
2 days into fermentation they were at 1.037, 1.057 and 1.082 specific gravity (I added sugar to 2 of the bottles to see if I can get a higher final alcohol content) and they were started on the 14th September.
Start of September money stats:
savings $7715
shares ~$8300
uni debt ~-$8000
and I owe my savings account $400 from my cash account
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Sounds like you fell off the bandwagon for a little while, but well done for getting back on and back into it! Whoops on the speeding fine though - always seems like dead money.
Where did you get your apples for the cider? In my area (ACT), there are lots of wild apple trees along the highways - I try to pick a few crates each which get made into cider. I don't add sugar though, but mix and match the apples I press a bit to try to get the right specific gravity before the yeast.
I also agree with you on the deferral of HELP - its about the cheapest debt you will ever get. I deferred mine, and paid it off fairly quickly after I started working.
Good luck with the cider, and a lower expense month!
Where did you get your apples for the cider? In my area (ACT), there are lots of wild apple trees along the highways - I try to pick a few crates each which get made into cider. I don't add sugar though, but mix and match the apples I press a bit to try to get the right specific gravity before the yeast.
I also agree with you on the deferral of HELP - its about the cheapest debt you will ever get. I deferred mine, and paid it off fairly quickly after I started working.
Good luck with the cider, and a lower expense month!
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Well this time I just got apple juice (from Aldi I think), but we have a pretty good orchard and have made cider from those apples a couple of years ago. What do you use to crush the apples chris?
I think we used an electric juicer, which means cutting the apples to be small enough to fit in the top.
The batch of cider worked pretty well(so far), the lowest sugar one got to ~4% abv but is very sour, the next two got to 6.17 and 6.8 respectively, the middle one being about right and the one with the most sugar added still being too sweet. They're all a little on the flat side - not having been sealed. I havn't stopped the fermentation yet, so I can still add a bit more sugar and let them get bubbly... I only did 6 litres, so this was more of a pilot batch to see if it would work, once I get back from uni I'll make a bigger batch and bottle some of it up (I'm only here for a month, then home again), but it was a bit of fun.
Apart from that, here are my figures for the month:
Expenses:
Rent: $300 (still paid rent for my place at uni)
Fuel: $157.45 (very high, but meant I didn't need to rent a room for placement)
Car (other): $185.60 (including speeding fine... ouch)
Karate: $40 (low, home dojo has a monthly membership system)
Food: $36.55 (low, living at home, didn't buy much)
Alcohol: $13.40 (just for ingredients, made some amaretto and tried to make a rose liquer)
Clothes: $35.70 ($22 for placement stuff, otherwise op-shopping for fun)
Phone: $20 (very good, forgot to ring anyone for a week or two)
Presents: $31.20
Rats(pets!): $31 (I've got rats now...)
postage: $5.80
other: $62.15 (next month there won't be an 'other' category)
Total: $918.18 (low food, karate and phone seem to have kept it reasonable, even with the ridiculous car/fuel costs)
Income:
government: $876 (I'm really not sure about posting this here... I don't really like the idea of accepting charity, especially admitting it on a forum like this, should I take this down?)
working: $530 (gardening, being home has its advantages)
interest $0.18 (well, it counts, right?)
Tax refund: $341 (first year I've had to file tax, pretty exciting
Savings acc. up to $8415 from $7715
I think we used an electric juicer, which means cutting the apples to be small enough to fit in the top.
The batch of cider worked pretty well(so far), the lowest sugar one got to ~4% abv but is very sour, the next two got to 6.17 and 6.8 respectively, the middle one being about right and the one with the most sugar added still being too sweet. They're all a little on the flat side - not having been sealed. I havn't stopped the fermentation yet, so I can still add a bit more sugar and let them get bubbly... I only did 6 litres, so this was more of a pilot batch to see if it would work, once I get back from uni I'll make a bigger batch and bottle some of it up (I'm only here for a month, then home again), but it was a bit of fun.
Apart from that, here are my figures for the month:
Expenses:
Rent: $300 (still paid rent for my place at uni)
Fuel: $157.45 (very high, but meant I didn't need to rent a room for placement)
Car (other): $185.60 (including speeding fine... ouch)
Karate: $40 (low, home dojo has a monthly membership system)
Food: $36.55 (low, living at home, didn't buy much)
Alcohol: $13.40 (just for ingredients, made some amaretto and tried to make a rose liquer)
Clothes: $35.70 ($22 for placement stuff, otherwise op-shopping for fun)
Phone: $20 (very good, forgot to ring anyone for a week or two)
Presents: $31.20
Rats(pets!): $31 (I've got rats now...)
postage: $5.80
other: $62.15 (next month there won't be an 'other' category)
Total: $918.18 (low food, karate and phone seem to have kept it reasonable, even with the ridiculous car/fuel costs)
Income:
government: $876 (I'm really not sure about posting this here... I don't really like the idea of accepting charity, especially admitting it on a forum like this, should I take this down?)
working: $530 (gardening, being home has its advantages)
interest $0.18 (well, it counts, right?)
Tax refund: $341 (first year I've had to file tax, pretty exciting
Savings acc. up to $8415 from $7715
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Finished exams a week ago and I am so glad its over, I think I've had a bit of burnout.
Expenses: $802.90
rent $375
fuel $32.50
alcohol $20.35 ($11 on bottles, the rest on ingredients)
karate $160.10 (including a tournament and associated food/fuel money)
food $46.10 (gamely trying to get through my freezer and panty before I went home)
clothes $31.50 (silly, also bought some makeup - will try to reduce this)
eating out $40.50 ( unusual, aim for $0)
phone $40
camping stuff $25.95 (maps and a new tarp, lots of fun)
donation $15
presents $10
medical $5.90
In my own records I just lump the smaller expenses together with a note in case I want to go back over it.
I have way to many plans for these holidays - I've been trying to drum up a bit of work and it looks like I'll get some in the next week or two. I'm trying to really improve my fitness too - I want to be able to run 10km by the end of the break and I'm planning a 500ish km bike ride in January that I'll need to train up for.
Its a 17km trip into town, which is pretty reasonable (and it seems pretty dumb to buy fuel just to get into town to go to the gym
).
I also bought my caravan home and want to renovate it (all new window catches, replace some flywire, rig up a flywire thing for the roof vent, scrubbing and maybe painting the outside and getting some of the rust off the underside).
I'm thinking I probably won't have time to build a cart, but I'd still like to borrow a pony too - train it and exercise it a bit, maybe start teaching it to be driven.
Expenses: $802.90
rent $375
fuel $32.50
alcohol $20.35 ($11 on bottles, the rest on ingredients)
karate $160.10 (including a tournament and associated food/fuel money)
food $46.10 (gamely trying to get through my freezer and panty before I went home)
clothes $31.50 (silly, also bought some makeup - will try to reduce this)
eating out $40.50 ( unusual, aim for $0)
phone $40
camping stuff $25.95 (maps and a new tarp, lots of fun)
donation $15
presents $10
medical $5.90
In my own records I just lump the smaller expenses together with a note in case I want to go back over it.
I have way to many plans for these holidays - I've been trying to drum up a bit of work and it looks like I'll get some in the next week or two. I'm trying to really improve my fitness too - I want to be able to run 10km by the end of the break and I'm planning a 500ish km bike ride in January that I'll need to train up for.
Its a 17km trip into town, which is pretty reasonable (and it seems pretty dumb to buy fuel just to get into town to go to the gym
).I also bought my caravan home and want to renovate it (all new window catches, replace some flywire, rig up a flywire thing for the roof vent, scrubbing and maybe painting the outside and getting some of the rust off the underside).
I'm thinking I probably won't have time to build a cart, but I'd still like to borrow a pony too - train it and exercise it a bit, maybe start teaching it to be driven.
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Ahhh, I feel so rich
And I love holidays!
I've been working in shearing sheds as a roustabout ("woolhandler" these days), lots of fun, and I like shearers, and farmers - I get along with the older ones better I think, rather than the guys my age. And they like me... way too many jokes about how lucky my mum/future husband must be cause I keep the floor nice and clean.
And I'm learning to shear. I've done a grand total of 6 sheep so far (you need to do 75/day to break even with roustabout wages, and I've worked with a few people who do 200/day).
And I've done a bit of gardening, with more lined up next week.
I pressure washed the caravan (I took a picture half way through, so you can see how its covered in lichen one side and not the other) - next thing is to go to the place I found out about in town and see what the proper paint would cost.
And I got the caravan home! Which was way harder than it sounds.
The car was really struggling right from the start and using 3x as much fuel as it normally would(which shouldn't have been happening) and then the tread got ripped off one of the tires and hurled through a cupboard into the van; and then I couldn't change the tire because the car's wheel brace didn't fit the caravan. We (some friends came along for the trip) got off the highway and found some people to ask if they had one... and they changed the tire for me and worked out that the brake cable was too tight and so the caravan's brakes had been pulling for the 200km from my uni town. And they fixed it. And then the car overheated. And it was actually a little bit fun and very educational since we didn't have any deadlines to make - it only took 5 hours more than it should have
. Which is part of the reason why I spent so much on fuel this month.
I'm doing a sociology subject by distance that I'm starting to get behind on (the other stuff I'm reading is more exciting).
And I haven't even thought about getting a pony, but I do know who has my old harness.
and I met a guy who lives over the creek from me that took me ferreting (6 rabbits in one short afternoon, 4 the next time, worked brilliantly) and showed me how to make snares.
And I've been getting stronger Probably more from weightlifting than working, but I'm sure that helps too. Latest bests are 3 chin-ups without touching the ground and a 105kg deadlift.
And onto the numbers:
November:
Income: $2491.91 (shed work mostly, I got a semi-annual $150 dividend payment though too)
Expenses: $834.37 (I am aiming to get this to ~$600/month, excluding annual bills - eg. rego/insurance)
rent $75
car $0.40 (parking)
fuel $226.52 (that big trip, plus working, but I get a travel allowance that is more than the fuel costs)
karate $190 (paid for a grading I'm going to do next march, also for a months membership at my home dojo)
food $76.15 (big shop at a bulk foods place before I came home, bits and pieces of other stuff)
clothes $8.50 (unnecessary, but not too bad this month - I got rid of 6 bags of stuff to send back to op-shops though)
alcohol $18
other $21.25 (some stuff from a market, secateurs, stevia plant, mealworm project)
phone $20
hunting $198.55 ($150 as hunting fee for club I'm in - one of the annual expenses ~$50 for ammo and supplies for improved snares)
so I guess I could say I spent $684 non-annual expenses
The $600/month is arbitrary, but an achievable target for improvement... the idea being that I would spend $8000, allowing $800 for annual expenses.
But annual expenses will be more than that...
$725 car
$260 uni service fees
$50 professional m/ship
$ 230 deerhunting club/hunting fees (I could do this for much less and think I might, but it is still quite economical in terms of meat, and is something I get to do with my stepfather)
I guess I'm happy with a target of $8500/pa for the moment (savings rate is not a sensible measure at the moment since my earnings are low/irregular).
But, this month... savings rate = 66.5%
And I love holidays!
I've been working in shearing sheds as a roustabout ("woolhandler" these days), lots of fun, and I like shearers, and farmers - I get along with the older ones better I think, rather than the guys my age. And they like me... way too many jokes about how lucky my mum/future husband must be cause I keep the floor nice and clean.
And I'm learning to shear. I've done a grand total of 6 sheep so far (you need to do 75/day to break even with roustabout wages, and I've worked with a few people who do 200/day).
And I've done a bit of gardening, with more lined up next week.
I pressure washed the caravan (I took a picture half way through, so you can see how its covered in lichen one side and not the other) - next thing is to go to the place I found out about in town and see what the proper paint would cost.
And I got the caravan home! Which was way harder than it sounds.
The car was really struggling right from the start and using 3x as much fuel as it normally would(which shouldn't have been happening) and then the tread got ripped off one of the tires and hurled through a cupboard into the van; and then I couldn't change the tire because the car's wheel brace didn't fit the caravan. We (some friends came along for the trip) got off the highway and found some people to ask if they had one... and they changed the tire for me and worked out that the brake cable was too tight and so the caravan's brakes had been pulling for the 200km from my uni town. And they fixed it. And then the car overheated. And it was actually a little bit fun and very educational since we didn't have any deadlines to make - it only took 5 hours more than it should have
. Which is part of the reason why I spent so much on fuel this month.I'm doing a sociology subject by distance that I'm starting to get behind on (the other stuff I'm reading is more exciting).
And I haven't even thought about getting a pony, but I do know who has my old harness.
and I met a guy who lives over the creek from me that took me ferreting (6 rabbits in one short afternoon, 4 the next time, worked brilliantly) and showed me how to make snares.
And I've been getting stronger
Probably more from weightlifting than working, but I'm sure that helps too. Latest bests are 3 chin-ups without touching the ground and a 105kg deadlift.And onto the numbers:
November:
Income: $2491.91 (shed work mostly, I got a semi-annual $150 dividend payment though too)
Expenses: $834.37 (I am aiming to get this to ~$600/month, excluding annual bills - eg. rego/insurance)
rent $75
car $0.40 (parking)
fuel $226.52 (that big trip, plus working, but I get a travel allowance that is more than the fuel costs)
karate $190 (paid for a grading I'm going to do next march, also for a months membership at my home dojo)
food $76.15 (big shop at a bulk foods place before I came home, bits and pieces of other stuff)
clothes $8.50 (unnecessary, but not too bad this month - I got rid of 6 bags of stuff to send back to op-shops though)
alcohol $18
other $21.25 (some stuff from a market, secateurs, stevia plant, mealworm project)
phone $20
hunting $198.55 ($150 as hunting fee for club I'm in - one of the annual expenses ~$50 for ammo and supplies for improved snares)
so I guess I could say I spent $684 non-annual expenses
The $600/month is arbitrary, but an achievable target for improvement... the idea being that I would spend $8000, allowing $800 for annual expenses.
But annual expenses will be more than that...
$725 car
$260 uni service fees
$50 professional m/ship
$ 230 deerhunting club/hunting fees (I could do this for much less and think I might, but it is still quite economical in terms of meat, and is something I get to do with my stepfather)
I guess I'm happy with a target of $8500/pa for the moment (savings rate is not a sensible measure at the moment since my earnings are low/irregular).
But, this month... savings rate = 66.5%
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Well, 2 months update here:
December:
Income $1573.89 - Mostly odd, random bits of gardening or other work I managed to pick up
$0.08 from investments
Expenses $527.70
rent: 0 (I'm doing some gardening and odd jobs around home)
fuel $115.45
car $15 (new tire)
alcohol $66 (made some liquors for Christmas, brewed a batch of cider and one of ginger beer - good!)
karate $50
food $42.15
clothes $1
phone $20
hunting $71
entertainment $48.50
gym $60 (3 months)
other $38.60 (including nearly $20 on a train ticket I didn't end up using)
A lot of money really, considering I'm not paying rent
savings = 66.5%
January:
Income: 2264.74 - Farm down the road came through with some hay carting work, I'm learning to use a tractor with a front end loader!
$43.72 from investments
Expenses: $392
rent $0
fuel $142.85 (should go down when I go back to uni)
car $5 (getting a bottle of radiator conditioner refilled at a workshop - my lack of unexpected car problems is making me a tad uneasy)
karate $0 (need to get to the dojo, got a grading coming up - also need to do more home practice, I'm planning on doing less classes and more home practice this year, need to get a steady routine going)
caravan $112.80 (supplies for replacing window catches, making a flywire cover for skylight, fixing skylight, replacing very old tires and painting/rustproofing wheel rims - people at the building supplies shops were really nice... I got more than my moneys worth of supplies and a lot of good advice)
phone $20
entertainment $40.40
gym $20
nutritional supplements $36.95 (might be useful, we'll see)
antivirus renewal $45.47
brokerage $22 (!!!)
food $24.35
Savings = 82.6%
I did go to the doctor this month, which was free, but not helpful, hence buying the supplements as a possible alternative.
I put a new shelf in the caravan (actually, it still needs to be screwed in), and put new tires on a couple of sets of rims (car and caravan), and found out what I need to do to repaint the whole caravan. Ideally reseal the whole thing - corners, joins and windows - with something called easy/ezycaulk, sand it back and spray paint with primer and then auto paint (quote of $500 for paint). That sounds like a job for next summer, but I could start on the windows in the meantime.
I've been working close to full time (8-5:30 is normal, but very long lunch/afternoon tea and a late start are the norm), and having heap of fun (I'm useful, and I'm learning); except on total fire ban days when its too risky to take the machinery through the paddocks - which usually means I'm on call for the CFA (fire brigade).
Its my first year in the CFA attending fires and things, we've only had a couple of small fires (lightning strikes) and one car accident locally, but I did a couple of shifts at the big bushfires in the Grampians. I'm hoping I can join the brigade near my uni when I go back (interstate, so different organisation). And I'm going to learn how to drive the truck.
I nearly deferred my course for a year (which would probably have lead to me dropping out), totally convinced I was on the wrong course.
I'm not sure that I'm not. But I'm going back - I don't love the course, but I didn't really have a plan of what to do instead (agriculture! permaculture! renewable energy? wwoofing?) and I do really like the lifestyle and friends I have there, and the course is interesting... just not something I'm really interested in.
By committing to another semester I've decided to keep going to the finish, since I'm already over the halfway mark - I might take a year off if I'm struggling, but I'll go back again.
My grades are good, but I'm tempted to slack off into the 'P's make degrees' crowd... I've got two exams in the next fortnight which I'm underprepared for at the moment, but I think I'd feel pretty bad if I only scraped through. We'll see.
I'm not sure wether it is more 'courageous' to complete the course despite waning interest (willpower! dedication!), which is the safe, known, boring route or to venture out on my own to explore the world and something I've been interested in my whole (short) life - while dropping out of my degree because I'm bored.
I'd rather be wise than courageous any day, but I don't know which is wiser anyway.
And I bought another two parcels of shares, each just under $5000 - a real estate fund, and an energy company, to add to the staples/retail and financial companies that I already have shares in.
My investing strategy is pretty uneducated - blue chip shares, pretty high dividend rates, and aiming to diversify over time as I can afford more shares.
I did look at Vangaurd's VAS (ASX300) and VHY (index of ASX high yield shares) - but decided to keep going with my 'strategy'.
Investing advice or advice about good markers for identifying quality/undervalued shares is welcome
This does mean that my income from dividend returns, franking credits and bank interest should be over $1000 this year, which is nice.
December:
Income $1573.89 - Mostly odd, random bits of gardening or other work I managed to pick up
$0.08 from investments
Expenses $527.70
rent: 0 (I'm doing some gardening and odd jobs around home)
fuel $115.45
car $15 (new tire)
alcohol $66 (made some liquors for Christmas, brewed a batch of cider and one of ginger beer - good!)
karate $50
food $42.15
clothes $1
phone $20
hunting $71
entertainment $48.50
gym $60 (3 months)
other $38.60 (including nearly $20 on a train ticket I didn't end up using)
A lot of money really, considering I'm not paying rent
savings = 66.5%
January:
Income: 2264.74 - Farm down the road came through with some hay carting work, I'm learning to use a tractor with a front end loader!
$43.72 from investments
Expenses: $392
rent $0
fuel $142.85 (should go down when I go back to uni)
car $5 (getting a bottle of radiator conditioner refilled at a workshop - my lack of unexpected car problems is making me a tad uneasy)
karate $0 (need to get to the dojo, got a grading coming up - also need to do more home practice, I'm planning on doing less classes and more home practice this year, need to get a steady routine going)
caravan $112.80 (supplies for replacing window catches, making a flywire cover for skylight, fixing skylight, replacing very old tires and painting/rustproofing wheel rims - people at the building supplies shops were really nice... I got more than my moneys worth of supplies and a lot of good advice)
phone $20
entertainment $40.40
gym $20
nutritional supplements $36.95 (might be useful, we'll see)
antivirus renewal $45.47
brokerage $22 (!!!
)food $24.35
Savings = 82.6%
I did go to the doctor this month, which was free, but not helpful, hence buying the supplements as a possible alternative.
I put a new shelf in the caravan (actually, it still needs to be screwed in), and put new tires on a couple of sets of rims (car and caravan), and found out what I need to do to repaint the whole caravan. Ideally reseal the whole thing - corners, joins and windows - with something called easy/ezycaulk, sand it back and spray paint with primer and then auto paint (quote of $500 for paint). That sounds like a job for next summer, but I could start on the windows in the meantime.
I've been working close to full time (8-5:30 is normal, but very long lunch/afternoon tea and a late start are the norm), and having heap of fun (I'm useful, and I'm learning); except on total fire ban days when its too risky to take the machinery through the paddocks - which usually means I'm on call for the CFA (fire brigade).
Its my first year in the CFA attending fires and things, we've only had a couple of small fires (lightning strikes) and one car accident locally, but I did a couple of shifts at the big bushfires in the Grampians. I'm hoping I can join the brigade near my uni when I go back (interstate, so different organisation). And I'm going to learn how to drive the truck.
I nearly deferred my course for a year (which would probably have lead to me dropping out), totally convinced I was on the wrong course.
I'm not sure that I'm not. But I'm going back - I don't love the course, but I didn't really have a plan of what to do instead (agriculture! permaculture! renewable energy? wwoofing?) and I do really like the lifestyle and friends I have there, and the course is interesting... just not something I'm really interested in.
By committing to another semester I've decided to keep going to the finish, since I'm already over the halfway mark - I might take a year off if I'm struggling, but I'll go back again.
My grades are good, but I'm tempted to slack off into the 'P's make degrees' crowd... I've got two exams in the next fortnight which I'm underprepared for at the moment, but I think I'd feel pretty bad if I only scraped through. We'll see.
I'm not sure wether it is more 'courageous' to complete the course despite waning interest (willpower! dedication!), which is the safe, known, boring route or to venture out on my own to explore the world and something I've been interested in my whole (short) life - while dropping out of my degree because I'm bored.
I'd rather be wise than courageous any day, but I don't know which is wiser anyway.
And I bought another two parcels of shares, each just under $5000 - a real estate fund, and an energy company, to add to the staples/retail and financial companies that I already have shares in.
My investing strategy is pretty uneducated - blue chip shares, pretty high dividend rates, and aiming to diversify over time as I can afford more shares.
I did look at Vangaurd's VAS (ASX300) and VHY (index of ASX high yield shares) - but decided to keep going with my 'strategy'.
Investing advice or advice about good markers for identifying quality/undervalued shares is welcome
This does mean that my income from dividend returns, franking credits and bank interest should be over $1000 this year, which is nice.
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Eh, Thought I'd put a post in here to prove I'm still in the game.
Still not really happy with uni, but committed to finishing.
I've been crazy busy and a bit overwhelmed.
Spending has been way higher than normal - I am paying rent again, but I had a couple of trips last month and some hunting expenses, the month before that it was mostly karate related costs, and I've been spending crazy amounts on fuel since the start of the year.
Thanks to the share market doing some nice stuff recently, a windfall and a new job I'm already 2/3 of the way to my accumulation/savings goal for the year.
I'm doing a bit of work for a footy club, taping, massage and first aid and I'm starting to have an appreciation for how much skill they have (never having had much interest spectator sports) - I'm also pretty amazed by the number of injuries they get.
I'm already committed to a trip next weekend, but after that I'm aiming to do LESS for a while.
Still not really happy with uni, but committed to finishing.
I've been crazy busy and a bit overwhelmed.
Spending has been way higher than normal - I am paying rent again, but I had a couple of trips last month and some hunting expenses, the month before that it was mostly karate related costs, and I've been spending crazy amounts on fuel since the start of the year.
Thanks to the share market doing some nice stuff recently, a windfall and a new job I'm already 2/3 of the way to my accumulation/savings goal for the year.
I'm doing a bit of work for a footy club, taping, massage and first aid and I'm starting to have an appreciation for how much skill they have (never having had much interest spectator sports) - I'm also pretty amazed by the number of injuries they get.
I'm already committed to a trip next weekend, but after that I'm aiming to do LESS for a while.
Re: BlackRat's Journal
Some more good luck, personally and in the share market means I'm still doing better than planned at increasing my savings/net worth.
I spent a bit excessively on entertainment/alcohol for a party, fuel; trip back home for said party, plus fuel to the footy club I'm working at. If I thought about it I should have found one closer to home, but a friend asked me if I'd come and help and then they wanted me to keep helping out... and I think it'd be treachery to join a different team now.
My laptop died. I spent $40 getting the hard drive put into a case, which seemed pretty fair as it'd taken an hour or so for the guys to pull it apart, and I spent a while asking them questions.
I thought about doing without one... I know it lets me waste a lot of time. I found a functional replacement for $80. Its smaller, older, slower and can't open word, excel or powerpoint documents, I've been using google docs and going to the library more to make up for it - its working pretty well so far.
I realised just how dependant I am on my laptop for entertainment/escapism; which is probably not a good thing. I've promised to look after this one better than the last one and seeing how long I can make it last.
I've had 2 months of no karate, weight training only about 1x/week and maybe one run a week, which made me feel pretty terrible (self image and the direct affect of lack of exercise). I've started my gym routine again and it feels great. I think a major effect is on my self-story... what I tell myself about who/what kind of person I am.
I've been reading about the buddhist tradition and other religious orders lately.
I spent a bit excessively on entertainment/alcohol for a party, fuel; trip back home for said party, plus fuel to the footy club I'm working at. If I thought about it I should have found one closer to home, but a friend asked me if I'd come and help and then they wanted me to keep helping out... and I think it'd be treachery to join a different team now.
My laptop died. I spent $40 getting the hard drive put into a case, which seemed pretty fair as it'd taken an hour or so for the guys to pull it apart, and I spent a while asking them questions.
I thought about doing without one... I know it lets me waste a lot of time. I found a functional replacement for $80. Its smaller, older, slower and can't open word, excel or powerpoint documents, I've been using google docs and going to the library more to make up for it - its working pretty well so far.
I realised just how dependant I am on my laptop for entertainment/escapism; which is probably not a good thing. I've promised to look after this one better than the last one and seeing how long I can make it last.
I've had 2 months of no karate, weight training only about 1x/week and maybe one run a week, which made me feel pretty terrible (self image and the direct affect of lack of exercise). I've started my gym routine again and it feels great. I think a major effect is on my self-story... what I tell myself about who/what kind of person I am.
I've been reading about the buddhist tradition and other religious orders lately.
Re: BlackRat's Journal
So, things are changing.
I dropped down to studying only one subject in the middle of the year; miserable and suffering from burn out. Since finishing that semester I've decided to drop out.
I can change my mind at the end of next year and finish the course if I want to, but that would be a last resort in the event of not being able to find anything I wanted to do with my time. I.e. a failure to find meaning.
Mostly now I feel relieved/free, but also a bit nervous and scared. I don't have a goal/story/career path mapped out for me - I feel a bit like I must be 'weak' for dropping out.
Plus I have 'no qualifications' and I'm not working on any so I feel a little... ashamed?
I guess I'm struggling with the identity of self and with not having a 'purpose'.
I might potentially have a semi-apprenticeship dropping into my lap in a couple of weeks time; in a field I find interesting. I would need to buy some hungry 4wd though. Nothings certain yet but I should know by the end of the month.
I've been picking up bits of work in shearing sheds as a roustabout and if the little 'apprentice' scheme doesn't work I'd quite like to do one of the big runs in central Australia.
My interests lie in the agriculture/self sufficiency/environmental arenas anyway; and have done since I was a little kid, so it might have been foolish planning a career in health.
Alternatively, I might go wwoofing, or backpacking overseas.
I can support my current lifestyle for 2-3 years without working, or or less if I were to repay my HECS/HELP loans (in my understanding, the interest rate on these will jump to 5-6% from 2016, making it worthwhile). I'm moving home at the end of the month so my expenses should drop a bit too. I'd rather not touch my stash.
I'm still spending more time than I would like getting lost surfing the internet, and now my time is 'all my own' so to speak, it seems more important than before to be deliberate about how I spend it.
I took up running about a month ago, and I'm liking it, I want to be able to go further, and to more rugged/wild places. I think running is part of why I've been so tired lately. I made some leather wallets with carved images and as a result of that I did some sketching to try and get better at that. I'm nearly out of materials and I think I'll have to buy some this time. Right now I'm happy with wallets, but I want to get more ambitious... I have a pack saddle for a goat I started making years ago that needs finishing.
Its probably a very poor time to try a project what my lifestyle might look like in the future but at the moment it looks like a collection of odd bouts or work in between leisure time, only very slow accumulation of wealth, but a pretty good life if I can cope with the existential problems/misfit status. I want to do more fishing, hunting, reading, drawing, running, weight lifting, gardening, learning, hiking and making things (leather, wood, solar/wind power). Leisure of participation, not passivity.
I'm not sure if this is a very coherent post, I think I've gone too long without organising my thoughts in front of me (or paper), especially when there are so many possibilities.
I dropped down to studying only one subject in the middle of the year; miserable and suffering from burn out. Since finishing that semester I've decided to drop out.
I can change my mind at the end of next year and finish the course if I want to, but that would be a last resort in the event of not being able to find anything I wanted to do with my time. I.e. a failure to find meaning.
Mostly now I feel relieved/free, but also a bit nervous and scared. I don't have a goal/story/career path mapped out for me - I feel a bit like I must be 'weak' for dropping out.
Plus I have 'no qualifications' and I'm not working on any so I feel a little... ashamed?
I guess I'm struggling with the identity of self and with not having a 'purpose'.
I might potentially have a semi-apprenticeship dropping into my lap in a couple of weeks time; in a field I find interesting. I would need to buy some hungry 4wd though. Nothings certain yet but I should know by the end of the month.
I've been picking up bits of work in shearing sheds as a roustabout and if the little 'apprentice' scheme doesn't work I'd quite like to do one of the big runs in central Australia.
My interests lie in the agriculture/self sufficiency/environmental arenas anyway; and have done since I was a little kid, so it might have been foolish planning a career in health.
Alternatively, I might go wwoofing, or backpacking overseas.
I can support my current lifestyle for 2-3 years without working, or or less if I were to repay my HECS/HELP loans (in my understanding, the interest rate on these will jump to 5-6% from 2016, making it worthwhile). I'm moving home at the end of the month so my expenses should drop a bit too. I'd rather not touch my stash.
I'm still spending more time than I would like getting lost surfing the internet, and now my time is 'all my own' so to speak, it seems more important than before to be deliberate about how I spend it.
I took up running about a month ago, and I'm liking it, I want to be able to go further, and to more rugged/wild places. I think running is part of why I've been so tired lately. I made some leather wallets with carved images and as a result of that I did some sketching to try and get better at that. I'm nearly out of materials and I think I'll have to buy some this time. Right now I'm happy with wallets, but I want to get more ambitious... I have a pack saddle for a goat I started making years ago that needs finishing.
Its probably a very poor time to try a project what my lifestyle might look like in the future but at the moment it looks like a collection of odd bouts or work in between leisure time, only very slow accumulation of wealth, but a pretty good life if I can cope with the existential problems/misfit status. I want to do more fishing, hunting, reading, drawing, running, weight lifting, gardening, learning, hiking and making things (leather, wood, solar/wind power). Leisure of participation, not passivity.
I'm not sure if this is a very coherent post, I think I've gone too long without organising my thoughts in front of me (or paper), especially when there are so many possibilities.