Source: http://www.ozball.com.au/Image_Gallery.aspx
I’ve decided if I’m every going to get this list done, I need a plan – to save the money, but also to DO the things I’ve listed. Two on going task (bible reading and half marathon running) are both currently in practice. As for the other 10, I’ll list them in chronological order. Sadly one goal has been deleted, but it’s for the best reason!
| Activity list | Proposed date |
Cost |
| Dinner at Quay | ||
| Knife skills course |
$89 |
|
| Go on a silent retreat | 3-14 July 13 |
?? |
| Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb | Sept 13 |
$218 – $298 |
| 22 Sept 13 |
$55 |
|
| Go Jet Skiing |
$300/per hour |
|
| Learn to Surf | Nov 13 – 3 days |
$445 |
| Dinner at Aria | Jan 14 |
$420 |
| Read the new testament | Mar 14 |
$0 |
| Run a half marathon | May 14 or Sept 14 |
$120 |
| Plan and prepay funeral | Nov 14 |
$6000 |
| Zorbing | Jun 13 |
$110 +$105 in flights |
|
$1997 |
You can see the grand total has omitted the funeral prepaying – it’s just such a large chunk… so I have to have $2k raised over 21 months, that’s only $95 a month. I can surely find that! I’ll now sling any ‘extra’ cash at the end of the week into an ‘adventures’ fund (remember, I put a set amount away every week towards my $20k goal to refinance my mortgage at the end of this year). Here’s to getting fun stuff onto the agenda, but still meeting my savings targets!
You can definitely do this! I am eager to know what is served at Aria? Also, an 11 day silent retreat seems really long – have you done a weekend before? It's great that you've turned your list into a real plan!
You're right, a weekend might be a better start! Aria is modern Australian I think – with wonderful harbour views.
Hope you had a Happy Easter, Sarah!
What a great idea to cost goals and plan it out like this…once again, I am taking notes of your organisation!
Just on the funeral plan part…is there any chance that your life-insurance policy might cover that? We have the standard "death and disability" policy that comes with our Superannuation. Our policies pay out $15,000 for "funeral expenses" immediately, if anything happens, so we haven't at this stage taken out separate plans.
Fiona – glad to encourage you. I haven't done the bridge climb in all these years cause I haven't earmarked the money – any extra goes to savings.
I visited a funeral home (as part of my floristry certificate) and found it's only about $6000 held in a trust, so it earns interest. I worry about insurance and super being slow to pay but also the decisions still need to be made by someone in grief.
I'll be interested to hear about the silent retreat because it's something I've thought of doing myself. Eleven days is a long time, though! What is zorbing?
Zorbing is what's in the photo – it's a large inflatable ball that you roll around in (cushioned by the outer ball of course!) sometimes they even put water in there, so the person get soaked!! Eleven days is a long time – I'll speak to a friend who did a silent retreat a while ago, and see whether he recommends I start with something shorter… :s
Hi, I investigated prepaying a funeral, and decided against it. Instead I bought shares in INVOCARE, the company that owns most of the undertakers and crematoriums in Australia and NZ. You could save up and buy $2,000 worth of shares and then dividend reinvest until you feel the value of the shares is more than enought to cover the cost of a funeral, then take the dividends to spend as you wish, enjoying life. You can still leave details of what you wish to happen with your Will. This is a funeral that is paid for by the funeral company!!
HI Gill – thanks for another point of view. How liquid are your shares when you die though? Your partner/next of kin won't be able to access them right away? I think that's the biggest reason I just want to simply 'pre buy' (rather than buying insurance which is INCREDIBLY common in Australia – almost every ad when I'm at the gym at 4pm is about it!).
Love the idea of tying real dollars to each goal–it will be helpful when moving forward. Great goals; best of luck crushing all of them! 🙂
It seemed like the best way to prioritise getting the fun things in done! Especially now I've overpaid the mortgage as much as I can this year