Just another Money Monday

Don't you just love the end of a month?  I put my nice clean (for now) budget page for March on my clipboard, forever consigning February 2016 to my filing cabinet. I know March isn't until tomorrow but I actually closed February last Friday. I had $60 in my wallet plus $150 in my snowflake box just in case of emergency. And I still had $120 in my chequing account.

So I did what any sane person would do - I went shopping!! No, I didn't go wild. I bought some super bulky yarn at Michael's for my next project - an infinity scarf for Kazi. And I bought a cute little book with a nice variety of crochet projects including a SUPER darling pair of baby shoes :) Well, I can dream can't I? I wonder if they have a kitty-cat version??

Now THERE'S and idea....nope, just couldn't do it!

I used money from my wallet for the yarn and book which came to about $22. Then I danced a jig over to the Currency Exchange store at Masonville Mall and purchased 100 euros!! Woo hoo!! When all was said and done I withdrew the $120 left over in my chequing account and put it into my snowflake box towards my next purchase of euros! I should be able to buy another 100 euros by the end of this week or next! As long as Murphy doesn't rear his ugly head! Thankfully the euro is dropping too which makes it a bit cheaper than a few weeks ago.

My February budget goals were met: a Christmas present for my great-nephew was purchased and I donated $25 to United Way. What really helped me out in February was the weather and the price of gas. We had a bad storm that kept me home for a few days - with another one due tomorrow!! And with the price of gas being at its lowest in years I only spent $68 for gas for Dougie the Dodge. Unheard of!

The big grocery shop in the middle of the month ($102) is still feeding us! And my heating bill was at its lowest in years as well (for a January!) I'm curious to see what my heating bill will be for February - yes, it's a shorter month but I tried something a little different. I set the thermostat at 19c and didn't touch it once! If I got chilly I put on a sweater or put a quilt over my lap. When we watch TV we have an electric fire to keep us toasty. So, happily, I ended up with surpluses in both the gas and grocery budget lines :) Yippee!!

Savings increased by about $550 which was then used to pay for some Ireland-related expenses. Easy come, easy go! Still awaiting my whopping tax refund of just over $200 plus I have some good RSP interest due this month. That will all go towards the trip. So that was February! I think March is going to come in like a lion according to the latest forecast. That's ok, let's get it over with - only 3 weeks til SPRING!! 

Once again my snowdrops are blooming but if tomorrow's forecast is accurate they'll be covered up for the second time. (Just checked - we're in for anywhere between 15 and 30cms)  Crap.