January Recap

Due to the terrible events of the past week or two I haven't posted much. So...I'll get back into the swing of things by recapping January's budget.

What went well: (almost everything)

• the cost-of-living increase in my teacher's pension was TO THE DOLLAR exactly equal to the increases in my bills: property tax, condo fee and insurance! Sometimes the system works. That allowed the increase in my Canada Pension Plan ($8.00 whoopdedoo!) to be added to my savings.
• Saving $1,000 per month is very doable. Tsf'd $1100 in January to savings. (Travel fund:)
• Overestimates in utilities put $46 back into my misc budget line. It's just not been that cold so far this winter.
• Didn't have to pay property taxes this month as I am on a 10 month schedule. Went to savings instead.
• Overpaid insurance so received a credit in January and NO payment til Feb. Extra went to savings.
• Received investment income. Rolled it over.
• Due to various bits and bobs my misc spending budget was $675 in January!! Out of that I saved enough to buy 250 pounds sterling! 
• Received GST refund ($105 4 x a year) put it into savings
• Came in under budget for gas $75/$100 & groceries $255/$280. Extra went to misc.
• Even with that I finished January with $31 in my chequing account. Added that to February's budget.

What didn't go quite as well but wasn't too bad considering!

• $60 for eye doctor because of Posterior Vitreous Detachment issue - have a checkup in a week which is also covered by the $60 payment already made. Don't feel too upset about that bill!
• $37 for a prescription

January was a great month!!

Misc spending covered:

• two meals out (Hong Ping with a friend & Swiss Chalet with my neighbour - an annual Christmas treat)
• Wine and Food Show
• Purchased Amazon Prime for a year which also includes Amazon Prime Video streaming. Comes to less than $7.00/month
• Art supplies ordered through Amazon (free shipping :) 
• added $ to my Tim's card and my Starbucks card
• Home Depot materials to fix electrical outlet
• Walmart - craft supplies (political sign-making)
• Google storage
• 250 pounds sterling

Stay tuned for February's budget recap when I proceed to spend twice what I saved in January!!

(Scotland trip is shaping up!!)

The Jeep has Arrived!

Ain't she a beaut!

Kazi may not leave it white - she might have it "wrapped" as 

she has a friend who does that for a living.

Example:

But, in the meantime...white/charcoal it is!

(My Dougie is in the background!)

I took Kaz out to breakfast yesterday to celebrate. She's so happy!

Though she cried giving up the old Cobalt I gave her years ago. 

Due to the amount of rust on the Cobalt it couldn't be

safetied without major work. So she used it as a trade-in.

And...she broke off a chunk of rust to keep forever!

Yes, she's very sentimental.

Maybe I'll mount it in a shadow-box for Christmas 😊

She's trying to come up with a name for the jeep. 

She called the Cobalt "Stella". Yes, we tend to name everything!

I suggested "Jerry".

I'm pretty proud of my girl. She did all the research, got the best deal she could. Her job with Enterprise helped out too as she was able to drive a ton of different vehicles which helped in her decision. Also, Enterprise is partnered with London Chrysler/Jeep which gave her 10% off the top!

In other news...I briefly looked at ads for a used Jeep then came to my senses! I'm trying to decrease my transportation expenses not increase them. To me, a vehicle has always been a way to get from point A to point B.  I've never cared about "heated seats" or the myriad other perks/options.

An older woman once said to me "you're no plain Jane" but really, I am. The less things that can go wrong with a car is what I'm interested in. We had 3 Cobalts over the years and that was because they were rated as being one of the most inexpensive cars to maintain. And they were.

Buying Dougie was an anomaly for me - he was perfect for PEI. People often ask me why I still drive a truck and I say: I paid cash - a small amount of cash so I owe nothing, he had less than 100,000km on him and currently sits at a low 134,000km, insurance is cheap due to less chance of personal injury in case of a crash, having a truck in the family is very handy, and he makes me walk more....oh, and I LOVE HIM!

I've been lucky (we've ALL been lucky) with the low price of gas over the last couple of years or I would likely have traded Dougie in by now. But I still think - "should I walk or should I drive" every time I go somewhere. And more often than not I walk. Or cycle.

I've been thinking about one last big road trip with Dougie, so considering all of my options of course. I still have a couple of months before my insurance renews so will take that time to make a decision about Dougie. Sell him, give him away, continue as is, insure for just 6 months a year...I don't need to decide today.

Do you have any decisions you're putting off?

Dougie the Dodge

I want to thank those folks who commented on my previous post about going "car-free" for their well-thought out remarks. It's not an easy decision and no option is perfect. You've given me a lot to think about.

London has a transit system which I used when I was in university. I had sold my orange mini in order to cut back on expenses while in school. The reasons I disliked city transit then was because of grocery shopping and doing laundry. Those are no longer issues as I can walk/bike to several grocery stores and now I have a washer and dryer. I tend to shop several times a week once I decide what to have for supper. Within 20 minutes I can make my list, walk to the store, buy a few things and walk home. I would have to plan to buy all the heavy stuff (cat litter, laundry detergent etc) when I either rented a car or used Car Share or Zipcar.

To travel further I don't mind taking a bus or the train. In fact, I prefer either of those options to driving myself. And there's Robert Q if I'm going to the airport.

I've done the math as to how much I would save over the course of a year.  My insurance is going to change a bit as Kazi is buying a car and is going to get her own policy. But not sure how much my outlay would be for renting/sharing per year.

My biggest concern is "spontaneous" outings, convenience, visiting friends/family and getting to places across the city. I would have to plan everything out and I don't really like to do that. Trying to get to volleyball on Friday nights would take at least an hour, likely more as there is no direct route. And, if I take a notion to go somewhere I don't really want to take 2 buses just to get to the rental place.

Rats. I don't think I would really like being car-free. But I am going to continue to think about it. Most rental places will pick me up and drop me off after. There is a Zipcar location just a few blocks from me. For a good portion of the year I barely use Dougie the Dodge - instead I walk or cycle and pay very little for gas. Unfortunately I don't think you can get insurance on a part-time basis. Too bad. That would suit me very well - have insurance from November to April. Bike or walk the rest of the time.

There's a business idea for somebody!!

Budget Update

Monday is "Budget Update" day. Aren't you glad you stopped by?

As it is only the first week of my new 2015 budget (and not even a full week at that) the news is all good! Let's enjoy it while it lasts!

Some necessary adjustments have shown up already - my condo fee has gone up by $9 a month. I can handle that. My heating/dryer/hot water tank natural gas bill was $2 more than my estimate of $65 which for this time of year is still ridiculously LOW!! I'll take, it thank you very much, due to a mild December:)

There was extra $$ in the misc budget this month since I don't pay property taxes being on a 10 month plan and because for reasons that will remain a mystery I caught a break in my insurance bill for December AND January. New (lower) rates will begin in February. I appreciated the extra $$ as the bill for my fancy schmancy dining room rug just came through Paypal and I socked an extra $110 into savings to round up my numbers. That all said I still have more than usual in my misc so had a small thrifting spree at Talize to the tune of $36!! I bought a gorgeous new to me coat for $12...brown suede with leather trim and faux fur collar, cuffs and hood! It appears to be brand new or rarely worn!

...a daypack which I've been wanting for quite some time, again looking brand new for $3.99! It just has one strap, you wear it across your body which means the days of taking off my backpack in order to access water/snacks etc are over - just pull around to the front of your body and open - voila!

 ...2 new hats and a kitty....oh no, that's Luna, she's not new! (Hats were $2.99 each)

...something I'm always looking for - splash pants to keep me dry on hikes for $7.99 - in great shape!

 ...and this treasure - a brand new (tag still on) Tuff jacket that was 50% off!! for $6.50!!

And a kitty!! Oh no, that's Luna again - she loves being in the middle of things :)

A very good day of thrifting!!

My variable totals are steady at $615 in the misc budget, a full $180 in the gas budget with a full tank still in Dougie the Dodge and $252 in the food budget.

This photo of my fridge tells me that I don't need to shop this week. Mondays are my gas up and grocery shopping days but I won't need to do either this week. I LOVE it when the money stays IN my budget. All the more for savings at the end of the month...go away Murphy!! I wasn't talking to you!!

Are you on a new budget for 2015 or is it same old same old? If it ain't broke, don't need to fix it!!

Weekly Wrap - Last Week of NO Spend February!!

Here we are heading into the last week of NO Spend February - that's one way to make quite possibly THE WORST month of the year speed by! I hope this last week also zips by superfast as the
money is running OUT!!
I have a grand total of $135.00 left to cover groceries, gas and misc. and I really hope I can make it to Feb. 28 without spending more than that (or...magically...any of that..) 
Only six more days, groceries have been purchased and I have
nothing left but a few fixed expenses.
I'd like to sound more confident but I'm afraid of invoking the power
of Murphy's Law!! I've seen the power of the dreaded Murphy
affect some of my fellow No Spenders so am trying to lay really really low...shhhh..

My thanks go out to Sharon who led us on this fearless quest. And
thanks also to my fellow bloggers/readers who were either involved
in the No Spend month or who cheered us on from the sidelines.
February is my lowest income month of the year
so it was the perfect time for this goal
and already I've been able to pay a bit extra on my line of credit....so YIPPEE! AND I was able to leave the extra $150 in my savings
that I mistakenly deposited at the beginning of the month.
Those are huge accomplishments for this, my "poorest" month:)
I would have been satisfied to "break even" so I am THRILLED with
the results!! Consider also that I spent $$ on Valentine's Day for both Kazi and Michael, never used the restaurant gift card or probably the BIGGEST accomplishment of all - I didn't spend ONE PENNY at Starbucks - woot woot!!

(Hmmmmmm I am seeing some possible future savings for EVERY month...)



Since I created these charts on http://www.spendingdiary.com/ a couple of days ago another $52.00 was spent on food but I'm too lazy to make the change
right now
so you'll just have to trust me on that one..heh heh heh:)
I also opened up another two, yes two, new savings accounts
with ING and put a whopping $10 in each of them.
I've decided to bite the bullet NOW and start saving for
my trailer rental fee (for 2012) and for the home insurance and
property tax for my property in PEI. This year's trailer
rental fee will come from my expected tax refund.

I think that I now have ALL of my weekly/monthly/annual expenses
covered, at least I sure hope so....is there a limit to how many
savings accounts one can have with ING???

On another entirely unrelated topic I'd like to thank some newer readers for stopping by and taking the time to read what I have to say.
It really means a lot to me when someone not only reads my posts but leaves a comment. Some folks, however, don't have a google
profile/blog so I can't thank them more personally so I
hope you are reading THIS post so you know that I'm grateful for
your readership.
So, thank you to Mena, anonymous, psych sarah, mary, christy, julie and bev and anyone else who has taken the time to pause for a moment and read.
Thank you - you brighten my day!





7am and All is Well

Just a quickie before my staff and students arrive. This is my favourite part of the school day - when I am all by myself lol!! No, really, this is like the calm before the storm, when I can muster my thoughts, organize materials, plan strategies, breathe deeply and head into the fray.

We had a behavioral consultant with us all day yesterday to help program for our broken angel. It was a huge help and now I need ALL staff to implement the changes - that is the hard part - making sure everyone uses the same approach, the same words, the same everything. Last night I was very busy making changes to schedules and typing up my notes from the day then went to bed early as I was exhausted. Whoever mentioned the 100 day cough that's going around? I think I have it.

The money end of things looks pretty good. No time to spend yesterday! I did remember that I haven't planned for a couple of new PEI house-related expenses coming up this year like property taxes in May (between $300 and $400 - remarkable eh?) and house insurance in August. So will need to work those 2 items into my budget or use my tax refund for those. The property rental for my trailer went up too - I always use my refund to pay for that - I hope I get enough $$ back to pay all 3 bills.  While that would be wonderful it probably means there won't be anything leftover to make an extra line of credit payment and I was kinda counting on doing that.

Oh well, I can only do so much. Talk to you later:)
Have a wonderful day!

Weekly Wrap - Feeling Grateful

I'm so pretty...oh so pretty....I'm so pretty, and witty and wise.....in my wrap:)

Newsbeat: I used to work with a woman at the Royal Bank about a hundred years ago who used to sing the "I'm so pretty" song every morning before the doors were unlocked. I always wished I had her confidence.

Today was a wild and woolly day. My "broken angel" had a tough day - trying to bite staff (not succeeding thankfully), but biting holes in both of his slippers, biting a pilates ball and breaking it, biting a box and ripping it, ripping his one holey sock into pieces, biting the bottom of his backpack ripping a big hole in it. Oh yes, it was one of those days. All I did was record, record, record. But now the day is done and Michael and I are relaxing, with our feet up, at Starbucks both enjoying a free drink. Me because of a slow order last week so they gave me a gift coupon for a free drink and Michael because he gets a free birthday drink.

It's so nice to unwind:)The week has been full of ups and downs - birthday, sick child, $500 cheque coming from my car insurance, my broken angel. Up down up down. Yet I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for a week spent well: celebrating, reflecting, writing, mothering, reading, exercising, discussing and laughing.

Here is my three week chart. One more week (and a bit) and I'll be able to see the whole month:) The big news of course is the $500 I'm getting from the insurance company (not reflected here of course as I haven't received it yet)but I'm putting some on my Line of Credit and the rest into emergency savings. This will REALLY REALLY help because in February my pay will be approximately $340 less than January. So it's a darn good thing I've joined Sharon's NO Spend February which I may just have to continue til July when my pay will slightly increase due to not having to pay union dues and also my Canada Pension plan will be paid in full. I have six poor months and six good months financially over the year. Could be worse, could be way worse.

My misc. spending will have to be held in check. This month is higher than usual due to $152 being spent on my prescription sunglasses. I am very happy with my food, entertainment, gift and transportation totals and I don't foresee adding very much to those. My food buget still has most of its money due to Angela's "pantry challenge" and Michael has helped with the gas money:)


Heartbeat: While we were driving to Starbucks Michael told me about an acquaintance of his who he just found out had died in November. We had just seen him a few weeks before. At this point we don't know how he died. We find that as we get older we think about our mortality more and more and that we need to stop wasting today by only "living in the future". I used to think I wouldn't be happy until I retired. I found out that my thinking was very flawed. Today is all we really have. Michael finds himself guilty of thinking that he hasn't accomplished enough yet instead of feeling thankful for what he has today. But - we also can't stop dreaming and planning for the future so we have to find the balance. Here's what we came up with.


Live for Today so that We Can Plan for Tomorrow.


Are you living for today?

Weekly Wrap

News Beat: Here it is, only Dec. 5th, and I can see trouble ahead already. To balance out my extravagent weekend I need a WEEK of NO SPEND days. That will be my goal for this week. I have $20 left in my wallet and plan to keep it there til next weekend. This will not be an easy task but I have to rein in my spending somehow.

After work on Friday (not a great day at school) I decided that I wanted to go and browse at the local Talize (a really great second-hand store near us...we have turned the name of the store into a verb as in "let's go talizing"). That should have been the first warning sign to me to stop and evaluate my thinking but I chose to ignore my inner voice. I justified going there to myself because I am in need of long-sleeve tops to wear to work - my classroom is cold and although I suffer from hot flashes throughout the day inbetween times I freeze.

Michael had some extra $$ and so off we went talizing. We each spent around $140. That doesn't sound too too bad especially when I told myself that I saved a TON of money by buying second hand instead of new. I just know you are all familiar with that old excuse!!! But did I need that gorgeous pair of black boots as well??  Did I need that Le Chateau black blazer with the jewel-like buttons that I may wear once or twice a season?? 

 NO AND NO!!

I'm not done yet...by the time we left Talize it was 7:30pm and we were absolutely famished. I suggested we go down to the local Vietnamese restaurant and have a bowl of soup...ding a ling - warning warning!!

 Well the soup was really good and so was the chicken chop suey and the lemongrass chicken!! There are still leftovers in the fridge because like my mother always liked to point out: YOUR EYES ARE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH!!

I wish I could heave a great sigh and say that was it, but last night was our dinner out in Sarnia with friends - we spent $$ on gas, $140 for dinner (YIKES) and then another $20 in a martini bar. I actually don't feel too bad about this one because it was a planned outing and I had $$ ready for that one but it still seems so extravagant after several months of living frugally! However, we had sooooo much fun, great conversation and a ton of laughs so I have no regrets.

I am hoping I can make up for talizing by having a no spend week (or three)! ha ha yeah right! I'm a little worried about my cell phone because when I got it out of my purse last night it was on the internet somehow (not on purpose) and I don't have a data plan - I use it only as a phone so I am hoping I don't have some whopping big charge on my next bill!!

On the bright side...let's see...is there a bright side?...I have spent 0$ of my gas money as Michael has been keeping the gas tank full and I still have plenty of grocery $$ left to last until the 15th. The heating bill came in $13 under budget:), and due to paying $2500 extra on my line of credit last month the interest was reduced by $4, not much but every little bit helps, and my car insurance was reduced by $3 a month because I bought a car that was 2 years older than my other car. Because of these little savings and a $100 HST cheque that will be coming sometime in Dec. I may just be able to make up for this expensive weekend. Only 3 more December weekends to go!!

Heartbeat:

Blended families can be a challenge sometimes so it was truly wonderful to spend some quality time with both Michael and Kazi yesterday getting our tree. Everyone was in good spirits and we all fell in love with Bruce the Spruce. I will post pictures when we get him all decked out but right now he is still outside (probably frozen) in a large pot filled with water....er...ice.   Because we were going out of town it seemed like the best idea to keep him outside in his element until we were ready to get into full decorating mode...



Bruce the Spruce getting snowed on this morning! Poor Bruce!

 How are you balancing all the EXTRAS in December??

The Hunt Continues...

http://www.amandajocharms.com.au/sales/CHARMS/Medical_Dental/1900/An_Arm_And_A_Leg_Charm/

Day One of the hunt for a replacement car that fits within the budgeted amount is over. I drove a few cars that were either too expensive or too crappy. Still looking for the middle road - a decent car with fairly low mileage that only costs an arm instead of an arm and a leg.

Going to see someone who is selling their cobalt privately tomorrow. I am hoping they didn't make a mistake on kijiji about the mileage because it is VERY low.  I haven't bought a car privately for a loooong time but am willing to try. I don't think I can talk to another used car salesman again tomorrow - I need break. But I only have the rental til Thursday night so the pressure is on...

But enough for now, must put my weary body to bed...
Cheers everybody:)

Crumpled Cobalt

This was my car. Got a call from the appraiser this afternoon and it is officially a write-off.  I accepted the appraiser's offer and I was pleasantly surprised that:

• he included credit for the new tires I had just put on in August without me having to haggle
• the quote includes the tax on the lump sum amount as well, which I didn't expect but very much appreciate as our beautifully-named tax in these parts -"Harmonized Sales Tax" - amounts to 13% , yup, you read that right, on car purchases
• he told me I could pick up my old license plates at the autowreckers, aptly named "Impact Auto Wreckers" and when I arrived I found that someone had hammered the worst of the dents out of them saving me the cost of replacing them (if you look closely at the photo above you can see that the front plate is bent right in half)
• the lump sum was about how much I was hoping to get but was afraid they'd lowball me - so now I must get busy and find a replacement car - the insurance company lets me keep the rental for free for 3 more business days so must have a "new" car by the end of Thursday

The insurance company has still held back my $500 deductible as the police report is still being audited. If they find in my daughter's favour then I will receive an additional $500. I am looking at that as a windfall if indeed I get it - I am NOT including it in the price of my replacement car so here's hoping!

Stay tuned...