The Fiscal Fast: one month on

I figured a month on from the end of my Fiscal Fast would be a good time to revisit the ol' finances and see what's changed and what hasn't.

There have been a couple of ouchy expenses this month - my medical insurance was due and I also had winter electricity and gas bills turn up. Plus the matter of an unplanned-for visit from the vet for the Fluffmeister. But generally, I'm pleased to say, habits started last month have held pretty steady. I'm particularly chuffed by that low Entertainment spend.

Changes which are still in place:

* I continue to bake my own bread, and am getting itchy to try out some more creative loaves.

* I'm also still making my own hummus, making fudge instead of buying chocolate and baking biscuits.

* Grocery-wise, I'm still buying local and organic wherever possible, which is sometimes more expensive but since I'm eating almost 100% at home, still works out cheaper overall (I can count the number of times I ate out this month on one hand). For instance the change from Home Brand UHT skim milk to organic has caused my milk costs to rise from $1 a litre to $2.60. But it's worth it. I'm also trundling off to the Farmers' Markets at sparrow's fart on Saturday mornings to buy my fruit and veges.

* After much gnashing of teeth and wailing I decided to cancel my holds on UK Vogue and UK Elle at the newsagents, thus saving me $24 a month. I seem to spend my time reading blogs rather than magazines these days so having a constant backlog sitting scowling at me is causing mucho stress. And when I do read either of these titles I find myself aghast at how much people are prepared to pay for clothing. Maybe I'm finally getting old?

* Speaking of paying for clothing, the only item I bought in July was one pair of shoes. For $20.

* Finally, all of the above has given me the option to go down to 3 days a week in paid work, giving me more time to work on The Shopping Sherpa and other stuff. Which I'm pretty excited about.

If you did a Fiscal Fast with me in June, I'd be interested to hear what's happening a month down the track with you...