The majority of the world would like a little more than they have right now, in terms of money. I mean, it’s not like I want to be ridiculously rich, though that would be great, but I would really like to be financially comfortable. You know, that nice level of comfort where your home is furnished well and just the way you want it, your bank account won’t be empty should the electric bill come in, and I can afford to be lavish with my fiancé for his birthday, and buy some yarn afterwards too.

I know it’s simple. Finish my degree, get a good job, and there you go, all of that is right at my fingertips, but right now it feels pretty far off. I don’t need an independent financial advisor to tell me my finances aren’t going well right now, and nor do I have to look at financial news to know that we aren’t the only ones in this boat.

It seems that banking in general is still a source of hair pulling frustrating for most of us, and in spite of the slow economic turn around most are still feeling worse off than before all that sub-prime crisis stuff. I’m not happy with my current bank account, either, as their fees are ridiculous. I was charged over ten pounds in bank fees last month!

Knitting, now! In the vein of money and money related things, here’s a link to a cute little Felted Purse. Now, I’m not big on purses and what not, but what I like about this is the idea. It inspires me to finally make that cute little felted camera case that I’ve been meaning to make for the last year or so. It’s one of those projects that I’ve had a few ideas about, and really, I’m still leaning towards knitting up a large piece of fabric to felt, then cutting out the appropriate pieces and sewing them together for the camera case and making a nice lining to go in there, too.

The other day I got that little notice in the mail of how your superannuation is going. I’ve not worked for the last year because my old job was cut due to finances, so I really didn’t expect to see much in there. Because I’m still young, I’ve had a few jobs and not bothered taking superannuation details over from one job to the next, so I’ve probably got three different superannuation accounts. Anyway, on at least one of those, I’ve watched it decline for a very meagre £50 – ridiculous I know! – to nothing, as it’s been eaten up with fees. Pooh pooh.

The last job I worked, however, was for a University – the University I attend, actually! – and their superannuation people are of a higher quality, one of those industry super funds, so they don’t pay out money to people for referrals and all that sort of shadyness. I opened up the letter, expecting to see the balance have dropped, but it actually went from £808 up to just over £1000!!! Isn’t that great! I’ll continue to use this fun whenever I get a job from now on!

It’s so fantastic to know that the superannuation company your account is with actually has notably good pension schemes that you can rely on. I didn’t have any insurance at the University I worked for, as I was a contract worker, but they did have some sort of group health insurance, which I think covered us if something happened whilst I was at work, but I never really found out.

When I’ve finished my degree and I’ve got a good job, I definitely want good health insurance included, with a sizeable contribution to my superannuation, and paid maternity leave for me and paid paternity leave for my fiancé. We’re not 100% sure we want to have children yet, but if we do then we want to know that both of us have the option to take time off. I think it’s becoming more widely accepted, too. I don’t expect six months paid, but three would be good.

Okay now for a knitting pattern! In keeping with today’s topic, I’m going to include this Lined Zippered Knit Coin Pouch!