We are cutting back ... again

We have come to the sad realisation that we are not makings ends meet. In the past month our fuel costs have risen from $120 a month to $150, and we are spending more on food. We have lived on our current budget for three years but in the past six months we have watched as prices rose, however, with a bit of juggling have been able to absorb those increases. But not any more. In the past, we spent less than our meager income and we had money left over at the end of most months. That money went to our emergency fund or our savings. We have been hoping for an increase in the pension but last week when our new Labor government handled down their first budget, that didn't happen. They increased the baby bonus to $5000, increased the day care allowance, gave tax cuts to families with young children, and taxed the rich, and for all those things I'm grateful, but we pensioners got nothing. We are a group who must live on a fixed income with ever rising prices.

Hanno and I will go through our budget tomorrow and work out how we can shuffle things around and what we can cut out. We're voluntarily living fairly close to the bone as it is. I guess I can now cut the "voluntarily" out of my simple living sentences. One thing is clear, we can't take anymore little trips out like our trip to the chook lady last week. We'll have to be more prudent with our car usage. I will also cut back on postage. I've budgeted $15 a month for that so when I get my current lot of postings in the mail, I might have to pull my head in for a while. We will need to concentrate more of producing food here, I will make sure we don't run short with our continuous planting and we'll be ever vigilant about what we can store for use later.

I'm going to set myself up again today for reading my electricity and water metres. I need to keep an eye on our usage and pull it back if possible. I'll read both metres this morning and check the metres every day - noting what we've done during that day like washing clothes and baking bread. I'll also have to cost out what we're spending on feed for our chooks, dogs and cat. There may be savings to be made there. There are a few things I can do in the kitchen to scale back our costs, I'll write about those in the coming weeks after I make sure all the changes actually work well.

I am so grateful to be debt-free and already living small. I am also grateful for our garden and that we have already reskilled ourselves for a situation like this. We will have to do without things we like, we'll not be able to go on the little driving holiday we planned for later in the year, but overall, unlike many others, we will be okay. We have some money in the bank and are definitely not about to be carted off to the poor house. My thoughts are with the many pensioners who are really struggling - paying rent or paying off a mortgage.

I'm going to see if I can earn some money from writing again. I did that for over 20 years so I hope I haven't lost my touch. If anyone has any contacts or ideas for me, I'd appreciate them.

Of course the real test in all of this is to cut back while still living life to its fullest. Now, more than ever, we'll find our joy with each other and in our home. There are many trials in life, and this is certainly not the most difficult one, so I don't want anyone feeling sorry for us. What I would like is your help with any new ideas about saving in these tough times. What have you done? Or what would you do if in a similar position?