Thankyou Government People!

So the world economy is in total shambles. The US is talking stimulus packages and so are we. The Household Stimulus Package recently announced by Australia's government equates to quite a nice little sum of money, depending on which social security payments you are already getting. For those that don't know, our social security system is a bit different down here - most families get some money from the government to help with the cost of raising children, increasing with the number of children and lessening as personal income increases.

When they announce these special bonus payments - which are happening at the rate of two or three times per year for the last several years - it can equate to quite a bit of money, even for those on a fair salary. Without going into specifics on Talented Hubby's income, we've been able to live comfortably on one income since we started our family. And we still qualified for a $950 per child payment and an extra $900 per family payment this week. Add it up. It's a big chunk o' cash which a week ago we didn't know we were getting.

Unexpected income. Dangerous territory.

We're trying to work out a good balance between satisfying some household repair issues, buying a few minor pieces of furniture (couple of cabinets, Ikea-style) and putting a little extra on the mortgage. The possibility of spending actual, real money in Ikea fills me with glee. But we'll do our homework. Trust me, being married to Talented Hubby keeps a firm rein on impulse spending, LOL. We'll be spending a lot of time poring over the Ikea catalogue this week, configuring pieces to fit our specific needs and space. Should we actually get close to spending money (it usually takes Talented Hubby a long time to get comfortable with the idea of spending money, even unexpected windfalls!) I'll take some before and after pics and post them here.

I also spent a bit of time sorting and shredding documents today. There's a whole wall in our loungeroom filled with miscellaneous piles of papers, plastic containers, books, sewing gear, shoeboxes - oh, it's a nightmare. I finally got sick of staring at the stack of papers and dumped them all out on the floor and began sorting. I found an accordian file somewhere in the pile and labelled all the sections. In the end, I kept only the paid bills from 2008 and so far in 2009. This meant two-thirds of the paper stack disappeared. I also created sections for basic identifying documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificate, immunisation records and passports, and one for social security papers. We've kept these things in our main filing cabinet until now, so this makes it a lot easier to 'grab and run' should something disasterous happen. I'll keep working at the pile o' mess over the next week. It's an awkward kind of room arrangement - we have our main TV and sofa set in the family (open plan) room so the closed-off loungeroom doesn't get used near as often - it doesn't even have any sofas in there and there are the parts of the gym stacked in a corner - very redneck, LOL. I keep my sewing stuff here, stacked in a corner but the whole L-shaped room is an absolute magnet for clutter. It will be good to set it up in a functional way again :)

Talented Hubby has ducked out for late night shopping tonight (you Americans might find this rather quaint, but generally speaking, the shops close at 5-6pm here except one night a week (usually Thursday) designated 'late night shopping', where most things are open until 9pm). He finally made the decision about what camera to buy. We're talking hardcore photographic equipment here - very expensive. But he has been saving money from his photo sales (online and exhibition) and he so rarely buys anything for himself that I really have no reservations about how much this new camera will cost. It's his 'out', this photography gig - mine is blogging, his is taking awesome pictures. Our walls are covered with his art - I love it!

But this new toy of his? I won't hear a whisper from him for days - weeks even! - while he learns how to use it!