Financial Goals - Do I Have Any?

What's today....Sunday?  That's the retired life people! Not knowing (or caring) what day it is!

I got a little melancholy as I packed up the Christmas decorations this afternoon - then I had a beer. And 2 pieces of cashew brittle - I feel much better now, at least until I crash after all that sugar.

Yuck yuck.

So where was I? .... oh yeah, financial goals for 2016. Let's see....well, there's good news and then there's bad news.

GOOD NEWS:

• I'll get a wee pension increase.

BAD NEWS:

• it won't cover fully the increases in my condo fee, electricity, insurance etc etc

GOOD NEWS:

• Union Gas (heats my house, heats my hot water tank, runs my dryer) is GOING DOWN a little bit next year!! Woot woot - no bad news there (to my knowledge!)

GOOD NEWS:

• I turn 60 this year (wait...that's not the good news)...so I will start drawing on my Canada Pension!! Yes, that's the good news! Hundreds more dollars a month added to my budget - I estimate I can go from saving $350 a month to saving $1,000 a month! I see more travel in my future!! 

BAD NEWS:

• Had an expensive repair on Dougie the Dodge  but...

GOOD NEWS: 

• my mechanic told me Dougie should last at least another 4-5 years! Right now it's 16 years YOUNG! So I've decided it makes more financial sense to keep driving Dougie instead of spending big bucks on a small car. What I also like about having big ol' Dougie sitting out there in the parking lot is I tend to walk/bike more to do errands instead of driving. Good on gas and good for me!
• More good news - I had exactly enough money for Christmas and all of the many December needs. On Dec. 31st I had $70 left in my wallet and I used it to rent movies and buy Chinese food. I stayed on budget this Christmas and I feel really good about that. But I was anxious about it all month so tonight I'm going to sit down with my day planner and make a notation each month to buy a Christmas gift so that when next December arrives it won't be so anxiety provoking. I just gotta do it!
• I have NO debt. Not one nickel.
• I've been saving my change - I have almost $70. It's just a wee household emergency fund. For example....today I don't really feel like cooking so I might order a pizza. Saving my loonies and toonies and some $5.00 bills means I always have cash "on hand" just in case. 
• I received a Starbucks gift card and a Tim Hortons gift card for Christmas - that will augment my misc budget this month
• It's time to transfer $5000 from my RRSPs once again. I can do this once a year and it goes into my travel account - of course the gov't takes their share (10%) right off the top so I really only get $4500.  I'm interested to see what my tax situation will be like this year - this is my first tax season that I've been on my pension the whole year. I know I won't be looking at $2,000 tax refunds anymore but I hope I get a little bit back at least and don't have to pay!!

So...to sum up my 2016 financial goals - SAVE SAVE SAVE and spend less than I make each month! I have no large purchases to make (as of this particular moment in time - touch wood touch wood touch wood!!); I don't plan to buy and then immediately sell any real estate this year :(  (I was on a learning curve, what can I say?), and IT'S FINALLY SNOWING A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER CHRISTMAS!!

Do you have a NEW budget for 2016 or is it the same old same old?

The Cost of Christmas

I really don't want to know!

Actually, it's not that bad. I started December with a misc budget of close to $1,000.00. That had to cover all gifts (Kazi, her boyfriend, neighbour, 3 girlfriends, 2 brothers, 1 sister-in-law plus her mother and brother, my nephew his wife and their son - my great-nephew). Oh...and me!! (my gifts to me are all from the used bookstore! I hope Luna doesn't pick the one I want to read first!)

And let's not forget Luna and Lily...I bought some treats and toys for their stockings...sorry, Lily, you have to wait til Friday!!!

But that's not all. My misc budget also covers entertainment - eating out, going for drinks etc. It covers decorations - I bought a new (fake) Christmas tree (40% off) and light up wall decoration...(70% off!)

...and then there's the baking supplies...Bulk Barn LOVES me!

...and the Christmas candy...yes, they follow me wherever I go! (Bulk Barn)

...the craft supplies... (Walmart and Michael's)

...and the liquor too! (tastes the same as Bailey's at a third of the cost!)

Christmas can easily get out of hand - I saw in the financial news today that Canadians are the worst abusers of their credit cards....in the entire WORLD!!  So...I must confess....that I used my President's Choice Mastercard for ALL of my purchases...then went home and promptly paid them off! Why? So I would have enough points to purchase Kazi's new comforter set and new pillows, new sheets and all of her stocking gifts!! That's what saves my bacon every year - POINTS! 

My cheap thrifty ways continue into retirement! My gift giving this year includes crocheted wash/dish cloths along with new Body Shop soaps and lotions;  homemade treats and 2nd hand books. Points bought the new stuff and my baking supplies were bought in bulk. I'm not a label whore so Cartier's Irish Cream is very satisfying. 

I am proud to announce that I still have $$ left in my chequing account! Not a huge amount but enough to get me to the end of the month. My fridge is stuffed and my truck has a full tank of gas. I vowed to myself I wouldn't take money out of savings and I didn't. Yippeeeeeee! 

Did you have a Christmas budget? Did you stick to it?

Christmas Spending Plan

Before I head to the basement to do more purging I though I'd give you an update on my Christmas spending plan. Oh, and by the way, just to clarify the $1378 (lower now!) I have left in my account is not just for Christmas and gifts, it's also for living on for the rest of the month: groceries, gas, entertainment (dining out, movies, wine, coffee, newspapers), clothing, gifts, and misc expenses. 


So what I did is I made a list, well a chart actually, of all of the upcoming expenses (groceries, gas, entertainment, gifts, postage, shipping costs etc etc) and estimated a hopefully reasonable amount for each item. For example, I estimated $100 for a duvet or comforter for Kazi's new bed. And so on. When I was finished I had around $200 left as a buffer zone. I was pretty pleased. Even if I stick fairly close to the estimated amounts I should have a little bit of money left at the end of the month...maybe!


Then...here comes the best part...I challenged myself to see if I could come in under budget on most items (I won't scrimp on groceries during the Christmas week!!) and if I did come in under budget whatever $$ I have left at the end of the month will go into an envelope earmarked for my iPad. Yes, I have decided I will buy one but not until I have saved $600 (iPad, cover/stand & tax). 


I'm happy with my solution and my challenge - I do love a challenge. Already I've come in under budget for a couple of items - here's our Christmas tree!

HAH! Just kidding!


BUT I went to Jysk after work yesterday and found the perfect bedding for Kazi's new queen-size bed!! She's a bit fussy - doesn't want patterns, doesn't want bright colours (when I asked her what colour she did want she said..."well, I like beige"!! - so I think she will LOVE what I found - a beyootiful beige microfiber blanket, a satiny luscious chocolate brown (or dark beige!!) bedspread and two matching chocolate brown pillow cases. Michael purchased a set of chocolate brown flannel sheets. My portion of the bill came to $70.00, so there is $30 saved already!!


I will tell you the rest of my economies later, the siren of the basement is luring me to come hither, or is that thither? 


Hope your Saturday is bearing fruit!!