Good Riddance May Budget

Well THAT was a spendy month!! I was never so happy to get to the end of a budget month!

Let me scrounge for the GOOD:

• Union Gas dropped to $43 in May - I had budgeted $65; however I now pay Union Gas at the trailer with an activation fee of $40
• London Hydro came in at $63 - I had budgeted $70 - woo hoo! I'm hoping for a further drop (yeah, right - Hydro just goes up and up and up!!) since we aren't using the electric heater in the basement now

That's it for the good.

Now for the BAD:

• I had to pay HST on the trailer - SURPRISE!! That was an unexpected $1,314.00.  Colour me BLUE!!!
• License stickers had to be renewed this month - what a lovely birthday gift! $98.00 Plus this was my year to get an E-Test and I needed an oil change. KA-CHING!!
• Lots of invites to go out for lunch/brunch etc; that's nice but really makes an impact on the ol' budget. Eating out twice in one week is equal to the amount I spend on groceries in a week!
• $45.00 for 40 days of yoga
• I spent $356 on stuff for the trailer: this was "needed" stuff as the previous owners left nothing except a big fat mess. I purchased a small BBQ, side tables, 4 tubs of grasses to plant, cutlery, utensils, bedding, pillows and much more.
• I spent $300 on stuff I needed for hiking and my upcoming trip at MEC (Mountain Equipment Company): a good backpack (the one I have is from Roots and used to be Kazi's high school backpack - it is NOT suitable for hiking long distances and really hurts my shoulders; a day pack for short hikes - it goes around your waist, holds 2 water bottles and has a zippered compartment for snacks and another for keys, ID etc; socks, sock liners, headband for HOT yoga, and a buffy for hiking - it can be used in many ways; and 3 tops (all on sale)

That spree was my birthday gift to myself. 

Needless to say I had to dip into my savings several times during the month which gives me anxiety. Oh yes, I also loaned Kazi $700 as her car needed repairs and was unsafe to drive. She was upset about having to borrow from me but has already repaid $200.  And now I need a new fridge. Arghhh!

Oh well, I will adjust the budget like we all have to do from time to time. Touch wood I won't have any more big unexpected expenses in the near future. I have $2500 set aside for my trip and hope that will be enough. I have an automatic tsf of $300 monthly into savings which helps to rebuild and in a year (when I turn 60) that will go up to $800 or $900 monthly. 

I knew when I retired early at 58 I'd have two lean years but I wasn't expecting so many visits from Murphy!! But that's the way it goes right? The best laid plans...  But I know I will come through it ok and look forward to the future when I can redo the bathroom etc. We can plan for the future but we have to live one day at a time.

June's budget looks good so far!! 

The Handyman Gene

Michael can do many things. He can whip up a big pot of soup or stew or as he calls it, a medley, from a few scraps and bones. He folds my freshly cleaned clothes better than a high end retail clerk. He can iron and sew and find all the bargains at the grocery store.

But...he didn't get the handyman gene....rats. (Can you tell he was raised only by women?)

I was hoping that with a little help he could install our new hardwood. Wrong. Lots of extra prep needed to be done using materials and tools we've never laid eyes on before. The "guy" did a really great job but that was an extra $550 that I hadn't planned for. Next he'll install our ceramic tiles but said there's a lot of prep needed for that too so I foresee another $500 bill coming my way. We've also booked him for a couple of other "odd" jobs around the house which will also make a dent in my bank account.

Woe is me...

I've noticed recently that MURPHY is visiting some of you - Carla's dishwasher, Sonya Ann's family's cars...at least we can take comfort knowing we're not alone in our misery. Yes, misery loves company.

OK, my whining is over...for now. As Sluggy told Sonya Ann there is a positive flip-side to all of her troubles. I wonder if I can put a positive spin on my own troubles...

...yes, actually, I think I can. In fact, like Carla noted the other day, no matter how bad we might think we have it there are millions who have so much less than we do, so her charitable donations will continue in spite of nipping and tucking her budget due to bill increases.

So...here goes...

• My floors are magnificent!! I'm trying (not very hard) to imagine the mess we would have been in if we'd tried to do them ourselves. Better to pay extra for a professional job. I probably would have just taken that $550 and blown it on stupid stuff for Christmas. Instead, I'm giving Michael new carpet for Christmas and he's giving me new hardwood. 

• Magnificent floors will help us to sell this house in the new year. And then the packing will begin in earnest. 

• I love soup. I love stew. I love Michael's medleys. (No dirty thoughts now!) 

So, on that note I'm going to heat up a bowl of Michael's amazing chicken soup and contemplate how lucky I am to come home every day to a home cooked meal.

Thanks Sluggy! Thanks Carla!

Oh yes, and Michael is REALLY good at starting fires....

The End is in Sight

Hello my friends! Yes, the end is in sight, the end of June that is. June ends for me on Friday, June 29th - the end of the school year, PAYDAY and the day to pack up the car for Prince Edward Island! (I hope! There are a number of details concerning my leave from work to be attended to this week - my expectations are that they will all work themselves out and summer will proceed as usual - I am an optimist!)

I'm not sure how it happened but I still have some money left in my account. It was a somewhat spendy month what with Kazi's graduation yet I've paid for everything and still have money left over! Every time I check my account there is more money in it than I expect there to be. And whenever I check my credit card I find that everything is paid for. It's like the parable of the loaves and fishes - it seems that I just cannot get rid of my money - there's always more!  Even now there is more $$ in my account than my records show there should be...about $125 more! I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but nothing happens. This is totally the opposite of what normally happens - I usually forget an expense or two or three and end up in the hole because of it so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my luck has changed at least for June.

I am going by MY records and will NOT spend that $125; if it's still there by Friday then it will give me a couple of FREE tanks of gas for my long road trip!

With the advent of July I am entering my higher paid portion of the year! Woohoo!  No union dues to pay in June and July and by August all of my CPP will be paid for increasing my paycheques yet again. Happy days are here again! Which is good because summer is always more expensive - lots of $$ spent on gas, a hotel stay or two while travelling, lots of eating out and various excursions.

In June I paid off my half of our new TV - about $440.  I also paid off the new fridge and stove I purchased for our PEI home - total about $1600 and paid all outstanding charges on my credit card from our weekend mini-holiday in Niagara Falls. I must confess to an impulse purchase however, which I will pay off from my extra funds in July - I just had to purchase tickets to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse when they come to London in October - he is my musical idol and worth every penny!  I also put $1000 into my PEI Maintenance account to handle anything I need for the house over the summer. I now have about $67 to get me through to next Friday which ain't much, I know, but I don't need to buy groceries, probably just some gas for the car.

July's savings will be divided up between my Christmas/Gift fund (totally funded with $1500) and I will start paying back my TFSA ($1000 - I owe it a whopping $15,000 from paying off my EX - Line of Credit!).

I might be able to save more but will be keeping a larger balance in my chequing account over the summer to handle all of the extra expenses so that's a big MAYBE!

If it sounds like I am wrapping up June a little early - I AM!!  And that's OK! Unless he who cannot be named shows up! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Sealed Pot Blues

My lovely sealed pot has become  ......... undone.

I've been keeping bills inside my little pot but I couldn't keep all of the rolled coins in there (my pot was much too small) and I also had a huge jar of loose coins.  So a couple of days ago I rolled all the coins I had and marched off to the bank. My other purpose of going to the bank was to close my checking account and close my line of credit. Unfortunately it cost me $272 to discharge the mortgage attached to my line of credit. I handed over the $192 that I had received for the rolled coins plus another $80.

Right now I have no way of paying back my sealed pot the $192.  Even worse, it looks like I might have to make use of the bills in there for my birthday weekend away next weekend. So I feel like I'm having a little Christmas in May! It does make me sad though to have to use that money now but the money is going towards two things that make me VERY happy! My line of credit is KAPUT and I really need a weekend away right now.  I will consider the time away as some much needed stress therapy.

I am going to continue to save $$ in my sealed pot. And when I can I will make up for what I've taken out. It's all my stupid fault for thinking I could afford that lovely fire burner which I purchased at the beginning of May.  And I forgot how much it costs to get my passport renewed ($87) along with the cost of new photos for it($18). Then there was the license sticker for my car ($75) and the new fans/frying pan/sandals at Zellers ($108) and the little splurge at Talize ($40).  Oh, and let's not forget the $288 for my property taxes out in PEI!!

The only thing that makes me feel better (well, not the only thing) is that with the help of my sealed pot I am not adding anything to my credit card.  True, I didn't get to save quite as much as I wanted to but I did save a fair bit. And I think I can make it to the end of May without too much more trouble. (I probably shouldn't have said that - leave me alone Murphy!!)

Murphy's Law - Update #2

I feel like I'm living in an episode of The Hoarders right now. I just signed my life away for the new "pipe" and then snaked my way through all of the mess to find my bottle of scotch!! Here's to No/Low Spend January! Cheers! 


There is so much STUFF piled around each room I just want to find a nice quiet clean closet somewhere and hide til spring. It's 8:45pm and now I get to spend the next couple of hours making a pathway to our bed. Not much sleep was had last night and I feel like I could sleep on the kitchen counter but since I couldn't wash the dishes that's out! 


Do you know the hot water tank installers don't even clean up after themselves?? No, we have to go and vacuum up from all the soldering etc - what a MESS! So Carla, I'm letting you know since I've not been able to make comments on your posts tonight that I am procrastinating going down into the basement to get started on the clean up. But any second now I'm going to get my butt off this chair and go down those stairs. Any second now...see ya, bye-bye....

Murphy's Law - Update #1

So I'm a little bummed as I was hoping to get my EF up to $2000 this month by participating in Carla's January No Spend. Just paid my first bill associated with THE FLOOD of 2012 which was $211.88 to Steam Canada. I certainly don't begrudge the money however as the wizened little man with the big hose sucked up the lake in the basement lickety split!!


I am getting a new hot water tank - they're coming to install between 4 and 8pm.  The good news is I'm certainly saving on the heat bill!! The hot water tank works in conjunction with the furnace so I can't run the furnace. I don't mind that so much, it still feels plenty warm in here, but I do get tired of going to the tap and nothing comes OUT!!! Makes me realize how lucky we are to have clean running water at our fingertips - we just take it for granted. But damn I want a cup of tea!


The bad news is I need a new "pipe" (I don't get plumbing lingo AT ALL) as, you know, they update the "code" every year meaning my 18 year old "pipe" is not at the level of the current "code" so they need to replace said pipe to the tune of $300 plus lots and lots of taxes. 


The good news is no other damage was done. Most of the water stayed in the furnace room and the laundry room which have cement floors plus a drain in the laundry room floor. 


The bad news is there is stuff from the basement EVERYWHERE!! so that the workers have clear access and don't have to move so much as a piece of lint out of their way (they're not allowed to touch our stuff...insurance purposes...aren't they the lucky sods!?!) 


So the bad news is (ha, gotcha, you thought there was gonna be more GOOD news, ha ha) my back is killing me from moving things that are way heavier than I can handle and my clothes are way too tight so the waistband of my jeans is digging into the area of my back that hurts intensifying the PAIN. 


Sheesh, what a whiner I am today!


The good news, for you, is I'm done my little rant now and will go back to defrocking the Christmas tree and the rest of the house.


Oh oh oh wait! I've got more good news!!! I DO have $1800 in my EF so have ample $$ to cover this little emergency because this DOES qualify as an emergency n'est-ce pas? I'm STILL having a NO SPEND month because EMERGENCIES don't count, right Carla?  

Emergency Fund Woes

There I was, all proud of myself for topping up my EF again. It had sunk to a low of $800 over the summer and at the end of August when I received the rest of the money from my trailer sale I boosted it back up to $2000.  But as we all know..."pride goeth before a fall!"


Then this happened.

Murphy's Law right? Oh hell. Well, maybe it's fixable. (Though probably not as my daughter drove I don't know how far with it like this...YES!! She said it was driving fine, she couldn't tell any difference??!!)  Sigh...Michael took it to our usual guy, Harry, I think I've written about him before.  Worse news, Harry's is now closed - we had no idea!  Digging through my memory for another reliable repair place I remembered Kraft which is about 2km in the other direction from our house.  Yes, still open...good start!

They recommended these:

Yup, all four of them.  Seems our tires were plum worn out. They also installed a right front linkage system - if you owned a Cobalt you would know this is a problem with these cars - one good pot hole = one broken link. All in all it came to $635, 4 new tires and a linkage kit and 13% sales tax.  I thought that was pretty reasonable.

But that means my $2000 EF is now down to $1365. And just after I updated all of my sidebar financial goals. (Way down the side!) I was feeling smug at having met one goal before the end of the year - no such luck! Stink! I think I'd better start practising more humility! 

So the savings (and spending) continues. I feel like I've spent a fortune the last couple of weeks but the majority of it will be reimbursed as they were expenditures for the classroom. I am all set up and ready to go though there are going to be a few glitches on the first day of school. 

I'll write about them tomorrow:)