Seriously though, it was just me being practical. Driving to Toronto and back last night plus building in time for flight delays meant I'd be bone tired today and I am. Happily her flight was only delayed for an hour while she was in L.A. On her flight TO Australia a month ago it was delayed 6 hours! I had visions of sitting in Pearson airport until the wee hours of the morning and then having to drive from Toronto to London - so just to be safe I took a sick day. It's only my 3rd sick day since September so I only felt a wee bit guilty. I have to keep telling myself that THEY CAN get along without me once in a while!
Flights to New York were cancelled but fortunately the current major storm bypassed SW Ontario. Thank goodness for small mercies!
So - today's hot topic! PAYDAY!! There's such a long build up to payday and then minutes after it's posted to my account it's all dispersed! Very anti-climatic! Here's how this pay has been dispersed:
$2327
-$1200 to savings; $79 for internet; $32 to Reliance (rental for my super duper hot water heater!); $73 for Union Gas (heat, hot water tank and I have a gas dryer); $72 for electricity (usually it's around $50-$60 but we've been running a space heater in the basement when we're down there watching TV/riding stationary bike); $175 PEI mortgage, $8 to Netflix (we don't have cable TV); and $155 for condo property taxes.
If you're following along with a calculator that should leave me with $533 for groceries, gas and misc until Feb. 28 but I also paid off my PCMC (President's Choice Mastercard) as I do every payday. I use this card to buy groceries and gas as I get points I can use for groceries. Using my mastercard this way means $200-$300 free money annually for groceries which really helps at Christmas and when I go east for the summer. I've never paid a cent in interest as it's paid in full twice a month.
So what I have left is $273 as well as $90 cash in my wallet some of which I'll use tonight when I go out to dinner with 3 girlfriends. (I'm also waiting for a reimbursement from school for about $40). We're also going to see "Monuments Men" tonight but that's being taken care of with gift cards. I've done a Costco run, a produce run at United (my favorite Asian grocery store that has the largest selection of produce of any store and at the lowest prices) and a No-Frills run. I don't foresee spending any $$ for food for at least two weeks. I may be able to tuck some of that $274 into savings if I'm careful!
Woo hoo Canada just scored - they are up 1-0 against Austria!!
But Dougie the Dodge needs gas so I'll be filling him up today. Over the past month I've been driving Kazi's car, Cora Cobalt (Kazi calls her Stella) and that has really saved me $$ in gas. Also, I don't think I spent more than about $75 on groceries over the month she was away. I had a very frugal month indeed!
The first thing I do when I get paid is to transfer at least half into savings. So once I retire I will have had lots of practice living on half a paycheque! And once I dispose of the condo I'll have much lower expenses and will be able to continue saving, just not as much obviously.
So that's my current episode of "HAVE FUN WITH PAY DAY"!!
Hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me. I feel like I should call this post "Don't Read This - Its Boring" a la Sluggy!!
Oh well, I can't be at the top of my game for every post ha ha! If only! Anyhoo I hope your Valentine's day is a happy one if you go in for that sort of thing.
Canada just scored again! Now THAT'S exciting!!
<3
Haha, glad to see I'm the only masochist that goes to work, turns around and does a 15hr drive, then returns to work after the vacation is over with no breaks in between... I need to stop doing that. Then again, for my trip in Feb, I am working the 27th until 5pm, driving to the airport and getting on my 10pm flight, arriving shortly before midnight, and driving an hour to the hotel... boy, why do I do this to myself?! Oh, yeah. No vacation days. Haha. Paydays are awesome, especially when you can save almost half straight to savings! Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey watch it lady.......don't be taking the Sluggy blog's name in vain....lolz
ReplyDeleteHope your hockey watching was fun for you!
It's my payday today too! I love those. Happy Valentines Day, Jane!
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of the airport run is figuring our which flipping lane to get into at the airport so you end up at the right terminal. It's like driving through a bowl of spaghetti.
ReplyDeleteJane x
Paydays are awesome :) Especially if you have some money left to put into savings after all the bills are paid.
ReplyDeletewell done on being so good at saving half your pay cheque that takes some discipline. What did you think of the movie?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could save anything! My pay is $2000 - $1100 goes straight to mortgage and car payment, and $300 to daycare, leaving me with $600 to pay for utilities, gas, food for 3 kids, etc etc...Paydays are anti-climatic for me too! On a positive note, next week at school we will be spending a great deal of time watching hockey and I cannot wait!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Jane,
ReplyDeleteI've never left a comment on your blog before but I've been following it on-and-off for several years. I found you from some sort of PEI search way back. I'm a PEI wannabe and my husband and I plan to move to PEI at some point and bought some land there in 2003 and then a small cabin on 55 acres of wood in 2009. We are presently living in Calgary. I long for a few good hens and some shell picking on the strand.
I was sorry to recently read about your break with Michael and my heart goes out to you. I've been through this in the past and it's very painful indeed. You seem to be such an upbeat and solid person so I wanted to encourage you, if I can.
I know it's been your dream to move to PEI but you may be feeling derailed at this point. It's a different lifestyle but one where you can take a step back, several deep breaths of fresh sea air, and hear yourself think, without the constant din of the city. We're so often surrounded with nonstop noise that it's hard to do this. It's easier to do it in PEI.
In 2011 I went out there by myself and stayed for about 7 weeks. I'm no stranger to living alone and only got married when I was 32, so I thought I could tough it out in this little cabin where spiders, snakes, and I cohabited. Good thing I like them, not in a creepy sort of way, but in a beneficial gardener type of way. This little cabin gave me its share of things going bump in the night, creaks, scratches, and the like but I felt stronger after having done it. I shipped my truck out from Alberta and organized a bunch of renovations on the place and all went well. It was satisfying. I do remember calling my hubby in late May and saying I didn't think I was going to make it because the blasted place didn't yet have heat and the fireplace was only good for filling up the cabin with smoke. One night I woke with a jump thinking I was surrounded by cop cars with flashing lights. A firefly had landed on my window sill. Seems he had been mating with the flicker of my cell phone email alert. Way too long living in the city.
Except for the confounded bugs, which I'm spoiled to say we don't have here, PEI is a magical place. But, you already know this. I just wanted to encourage you and say that you can do this. You can keep your dream alive and give it a try. If you decide otherwise along the way, at least you will know and not be wondering if it was what you needed to do. I do recommend a good dog. Nothing beats them for quality company. They are good listeners too.
I've read several wonderful books about women starting over by the sea (one is by a lake). Very refreshing. Here's the list. I think you will enjoy them.
A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson
Still Life with Chickens, Catherine Goldhammer
The Feast Nearby, Robin Mather
Thanks for sharing your heart with us. You're a special person and you'll find your way.
Heather
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