This weekend Aaron and I did the budget for the last 2 months. A number of unexpected expenses had cropped up and we needed to see whether we could afford to pay for another couple of projects.
Budgets and forecasts can be scary things but the constant balancing of the books is the only way to stop ourselves landing in hot water. As it is, we’re sailing pretty close to the wind at the moment. $4000 for building stockyards and related fences blew the July budget out of the water. Since then there’s been new tyres on the ute, 200m of fencing for ducks, 2 Devon calves and numerous guests to feed and suddenly the bank account looks a little empty.
On Sunday I spent several hours analysing all our grocery receipts for the last 3 months. We needed to find out just how much all these guests are costing us. It was a tedious but none-the-less interesting exercise.
It would seem that each guest costs us roughly $75 a week for food, power and incidentals. In return we get 28+ hours work per person per week. I think it’s a fair trade. Our property has progressed in leaps and bounds in 3 months. While we’ve had a couple of weeks guest free, all those guest double ups has meant that we have easily had 60 hours work a week done on not only general chores but also on projects Aaron and I had little hope of achieving ourselves.
That time has also freed up our time to spend on more leisurely pursuits like reading and sleeping in. I finally read my first novel in about 3 years, and have read several in the last few months.
There are plenty of other projects planned for the block but the fact is we’ve spent this year’s project budget already. There is money enough for paint for painting the baseboards of the house but that is it. If we are to increase our mortgage payments as well then there is no money left for having guests until the end of the year.
Aaron and I feel we need a bit of space anyway. Jay and Bex and Bren and Sydney have been good company this last week but when they spent the weekend tiki-touring Aaron and I really enjoyed having an empty household.
The great thing is, we’ve had so much work done that we can now spend the next couple of months just doing basic maintenance type work and taking it easy for a bit. We have a number of projects lined up for next year and I think if we have HelpXers for one month every quarter, then we will achieve our 10-year plan a lot sooner than anticipated. As far as projects go now, most of it will be focused on adding value to the property.
Two Super Powers Battle It Out
With Jay and Bex waving the flag for the United Kingdom and Bren and Sydney waving the flag for the United States it has been a week of constant battles for supremacy.
There have been constant digs at language and accents which have caused much laughter. It has been an interesting week for us as several battles have had to be resolved based on the Kiwi version of a word. It has certainly brought home to me how much the NZ vocabulary is influenced by both England and America.
Aaron and I chose to remain as neutral as possible. There’s no need to defend our own country. After all, we’re the country of destination for both couples so clearly that makes us the winner.
Perhaps the best thing for me has been meeting Americans and being pleasantly surprised that they are neither loud nor obnoxious. I had been warned of lazy attitudes and arrogance but these 2 do not fit that stereotype. Patriotism and flag waving was absent and in fact, when they bought us a thank you gift it was a very healthy NZ cabbage tree. 
Mind you, they gave it an American name – ‘W’ (pronounced doubleya) as in George W Bush. W has been planted on the side of the drive, close to the pond. The enormous Kahikatea Bex and Jay gave us has been planted close to the pond to mark the grave of Baby Girl. These trees will be appreciated and admired for years to come.
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