Big Decision Made

I've been wavering back and forth and forth and back on the number of trips to take this year. It's a tough decision considering all of the places I'd like to revisit or visit anew. It's not that I can't afford to travel - it's just that I feel most comfortable having a certain amount of a savings "cushion". Last September when I bought the Honda Civic I paid cash out of my savings accounts - mostly my TFSA. That was on top of the expenses to travel to British Columbia, Bracebridge and Scotland.  So while I am still above my cushion amount now I might not be if I took two major trips this year plus I am looking forward to going to PEI this year as well as Bracebridge once again. My daughter would like to see both of her aunts again this year.

Hiking to China Beach

Mystic Beach

Sun setting on Vancouver Island

Hiking along Loch Lomond

Ferry - Loch Lomond

Family time in Bracebridge

Therefore - I am putting off B.C. this year and going to Scotland for 3 weeks sharing expenses with my brother, plus making visits in Canada sharing costs with Kazi. That will allow me to reimburse my savings account by $1200 per month. By this time next year I'll be able to plan several trips without the anxiety associated with using up too much of my savings.

I think everyone has that magic number that makes them feel comfortable. I didn't really have one when I was teaching but now that my ability to save is a lot lower than when I was working it takes a while longer to build up or rebuild a nest egg. And living on one income is a factor also.

On the bright side I will have the time to ride my bike to Kilally Meadows every day and document the spring wild flowers and birds. I'll need to be in really good shape to keep up with my brother in the Scottish Highlands! He's a lot taller and has a much longer stride than I do.  I estimate my costs for the 3 week trip to Scotland to be around $4,700-$5,000 though I have given myself a large misc fund to cover emergencies, as well as spending money, food, accommodations, rental car, gas, tour fees, ferries and so on. I hope to come in way under budget....she says optimistically!

Do you have travel plans for 2018??

Warm Weather brings out the Relatives!

Not that I'm implying my relatives are reptiles...not all of them anyway! But like reptiles they tend to rise to the surface when the sun is shining and the temperature goes up into the double digits.

Tomorrow my PEI relatives are coming to SW Ontario for a visit. How nice that the weather is warming up - we'll just forget about the snowstorm we had a few days ago!

Hmmmm that brings to mind the age old saying: "which came first...the relatives or the warm weather?" I dunno, but I made my first "spring" trip to the beer store today:) Yay, relatives with hangovers! That's the best!

See you all in  few days when I rise from the dead!

What are YOU Saving For?

Why do we save? Is it just to have savings? Is there a specific goal or goals for our savings? Is it just a pile of money that makes us feel safe? How has your savings evolved over the years? Have you always been a saver? Or have you never been a saver? Do you wish you could save more or are you content with what you have? Do you feel anxious when you take a big chunk out of your savings? Do you have 1 savings account or several that reflect a goodly number of goals?

Maybe I should answer all of those questions myself starting with...

Why do I save? 
My reasons for saving have evolved over my lifetime.  I started earning money at the age of 12 (picking strawberries, cucumbers, rhubarb, raspberries, babysitting, working on a tobacco farm etc) and I saved most of my earnings. I bought/made my own clothing, records, candy, makeup, hobbies etc and paid for my first trip (Yugoslavia) when I was in high school(about $450.00 in total). What an incredible experience that was!

In the hotel dining room - Split, Yugoslavia

In my family you saved up for what you wanted and my dad had a real aversion to debt. I remember clearly how happy he was when he paid off the house - the mortgage payment was $25 a month!! Can you imagine!

Then after highschool I used my savings to buy a used Datsun for $1,000 which I used to drive back and forth to my first REAL job as a bank teller and because I didn't make a lot ($6250/year) I didn't save a lot but I did save. Being a bank teller was actually a good first job as I gained a lot of knowledge about money and opened my first RRSP.

I must confess I do like to maintain a certain level of savings and always have- it does help me to feel secure. There was a period of time when I first had Kazi and we were living on one income which changed from month to month (occasional teaching) and other than RRSPs my savings were pretty non-existent. That was a very scary time and lasted for 7 years when I applied for and got a permanent contract! Happy days!!

After 2 years of occasional teaching I cashed in my two little life insurance policies and my RRSPs, borrowed a little from my dad for moving expenses and lawyer's fees in order to purchase the condo we still live in. We were really living on the edge then! But each year I put the maximum into my RRSP even if I had to borrow the money and once I got a permanent contract (at age 43!!!) my income gradually increased and I became more solvent.

Crabapple Landing

 A lot of my savings in those days were related to Kazi's dance career. It cost about $1500 every couple of years for new dance outfits and shoes and as she became competitive we travelled all over Canada. I don't regret one penny of those expensive years as the memories will last forever and it re-awakened my love of travel.

After her dancing days ended I put the money aside to help Kazi with tuition costs and into saving for retirement. I used a line of credit to purchase the trailer we enjoyed for several years and to help pay for the house in PEI. I don't own either of those properties anymore and my savings now helps me to travel and maintain my home. I have zero debt. I have another pension starting in June which will help fund more trips. I'll always keep a certain amount in savings "just because" but the rest I will enjoy.

Saving for big ticket items is important but it's also important that some savings is spent on joyful things which differs from person to person.

What would you joyfully spend your savings on??

Ketchup....

...that is to say - "catching up"!

I went to my comment library today because I knew there were some questions from readers that I hadn't answered yet. I receive notice of comments through my email but when I went to the Blogger comment library no comments were showing up since mid-September even though I've seen/read several in my email.  I use Disqus for commenting so went to their site and did a little update. Not having much any computer background I found that all of the code and where to place it very confusing. So bear with me as I monkey around! Grrrr...

If you have encountered this or have any advice please let me know!

So I cannot go back and find the questions except by looking at every post, one by one (I delete my emails periodically). One question that I remember is about what product I use for waterproofing my hiking boots. I have applied this product several times over the past year and a bit. But I have to tell you that the insides of my boots were still damp on particularly rainy and dewy days. So we used the old hiking trick of stuffing newspaper into the toes of our boots overnight to absorb moisture and that really helped.

A while back someone recommended some flavours of Chapman's icecream/frozen yogurt to me (was that you "Living Rich on the Cheap"? Anyhoo, I recently purchased Black Jack Cherry and it is to die for! Kazi thinks it's too sweet (hmmmm strange comment with regard to ice cream!)...perhaps bits of sour cherry would be more up her alley? Actually, that's not a bad idea - my sour tooth is just as demanding as my sweet tooth!

**If there are any other questions please post them in the comments section (hopefully it still works) and I'll get right back to you. Now that I'm home I'll be posting more frequently. 

Also I want to give a "shout out" to my faithful reader "Freckles" who made a comment "she's back" after one of my posts :) Freckles - you know me too well! Yes, I am indeed feeling more like my old self. I still struggle with motivation some days but it's improving. I appreciate you rooting for me. PS- I like the name you use, "Freckles", because I read a lot of Gene Stratton Porter books as a child and one of them was named "Freckles".

So...what am I doing these days when I'm not posting about my trips on FB or on my blog? Glad you asked!

I spend a lot of time walking, hiking and biking and enjoying the fall colours. The following 2 photos are of a bike trail out at Fanshawe Park which is quite close to me. So far I haven't had the courage to try it (there are lots of tree roots and other hazards) but I made a vow to try it before the snow falls. I noticed next week we are going to have several warm days so wish me luck!! Wouldn't it be great if I broke my leg and had to spend the whole winter reading on the couch!!

This is me looking terribly sexy in my bike helmet - I have a "rear view mirror" attached to my helmet - you can see it sticking out. It looks a little weird but I can't believe how much safer I feel being able to see the traffic coming up behind me.

My new bike seat before I got a gel cover for it. It's quite comfortable (someone stole my other seat!)

Other folks enjoying the nice fall weather...

 Fanshaw Lake/Park/Conservation Area is such a beautiful place and I enjoy biking in an area where there are very few cars.

Oh, I've gotten back into decluttering. When I retired I donated about 1/3 of my entire wardrobe. But I went through it again ruthlessly! If I hadn't worn it in the past year out it went! I made quite a mountain!

Filled 4 garbage bags and took them to the local thrift shop.

My closet still looks well stocked but it contains almost all of my clothes for all seasons (I used to use 2 large closets and switch them around as the seasons changed). I just have a couple of summery dresses in a closet in the basement that also contains our winter coats. I'm not quite ready to bring out the winter coats yet!

I even have room in my closet for other things...like my backpack.

 My jeans and stretchy tights.

 My hiking pants and shoes. I pretty much just wear jeans, tights or hiking pants plus yoga tops, hiking tops (short and long sleeved), hoodies and T-shirts. I still have more "going out" tops than I can wear so I'll do another clear out in the spring. In the summer I like dresses but I usually ride my bike to wherever I'm going so end up wearing shorts or capri lengths black tights. Basically I only dress up for funerals!! I don't date so my social life consists of going to movies and concerts, out to play games and euchre, out to yoga and meditation, out for coffee or a meal or a hike - all with friends or family and I can dress casually for all of that! It feels GREAT to have a much more stream lined closet. So easy to choose what to wear.

 Ironically, another activity I want to get back into is sewing!! So I recently purchased a pattern (40% off though still expensive - I used to buy Simplicity patterns as a teenager for $1.00!! Yes, I'm that old!) and found material in the remnants bin that I really liked - is it paisley? Oh yes it is! Total cost about $25.00.

I hope it turns out ok. I'm a bit torn between using only the paisley material for the whole top (too overwhelming?) or substituting a solid colour (navy blue?) for the sleeves as shown in the photos on the left of the pattern. Undecided.

 I've been on a couple hikes though I'm becoming more choosy as I've discovered the big group hike experience isn't my favourite but I'll go occasionally to see people I haven't seen for awhile or if there is a particular place I want to go to like Meadowlily conservation area shown below. I also hike/walk/bike on my own for the purpose of exercise and getting out in nature - both helpful to my peace of mind.

Some hopeful young man spray painted a message on a cement culvert - "will you be my girlfriend?" I'm sure she was suitably impressed :) I like how he used the word "girlfriend" instead of her name - a reusable message if he strikes out with the first girlfriend!!

I'm also busy decluttering the basement as I brought home the rest of my belongings from my sister's barn in PEI. Most of it I'm storing though there were 3 chairs that I've managed to assimilate into various rooms. Let's just say there will be one helluva yard sale next spring!! But, meanwhile, I have to rearrange my storage areas to hold all my stuff for the short term.

I think that's about it - as the weather turns colder and snowy I'll be spending more time in my workshop as I've started carving a piece of soapstone and I'd like to get it done for a Christmas gift. This weekend I am going ziplining(!) and then to a Halloween stag and doe - I think I'll recycle my chimney sweep costume from last year as it will be a totally different crowd. Should be fun!

Toodles for now! Coming soon: "The Mother of all Days"!!

On the Road Again!

I'm off to PEI to see my sister! And today my brother asked if he could come too! That should be interesting. He's often talked about taking a road trip with all of our siblings but we haven't been brave enough to try it out yet. So we'll try just the two of us and see how that goes....(he's quite a talker! I could probably put in my ear plugs and he'd never know the difference!...haha just kidding...sorta...)

 Last year, when I sold my lovely Crofter's Lane I had to get rid of so much stuff!! I made several trips to drop things off at the Salvation Army store in Summerside. And I made one trip to my sister's place and stored some stuff in one of her barns. The rest I stuffed into Dougie and brought it home last August.

This past winter some wee mice made a home in a blanket or two over the winter (glad I could help out a few little rodents) so I need to get out there and retrieve the rest. I was supposed to go in June but had some back issues.  Now that I am managing the pain much better it's time to hit the road!

I'm taking Dougie the Dodge on it's last trip east; in the photo below I'm in New Brunswick. I'll probably keep Dougie for a while longer as he's been such a good boy for me. Other than oil changes I haven't had to spend anything for repairs. But the time will eventually come for me to get something smaller and more economical on gas. Fortunately, for me, gas is quite low right now so it's a good time to travel. Plus my bro will help pay for gas too! Win win!

It's likely a good thing that he's coming with me as the temptation is there to go see my old house and take a painful walk down memory lane. Don't need to do that!

So, my friends,  I likely won't be posting over the next week. By the time I get home Canada should have a new, and I mean NEW, prime minister!! Should be an exciting election - and yes, I voted already in an advance poll, just in case I didn't make it home in time.

Talk to you soon!!

Foto Friday

One year ago today....

...I put together 2 bookcases and a desk with a hutch...

...because I had so much crap treasure that needed to find a home!! Bins and bins and boxes and boxes full of crap priceless possessions that I brought from school and from my former PEI home. 

 Yikes!!

It took a while but it all came together...sorta...

 I say sorta because...

 I probably should have...

...reattached the baseboards after the new carpet was laid before filling all of the shelves with endless piles of crap important stuff. Sigh...guess that'll be one of many projects to get done during the fall/winter season. GROAN!!

A Girl's gotta Eat

Today I spent more at the grocery store than I have since Christmas! Reason being I needed to buy a whole whack of stuff for the trailer: TP, paper towels, kleenex, cleaning supplies etc etc ... So to reduce the blow to the food budget I used $50.00 of my PC points to bring the overall total down to about $70.00.  That wasn't so bad...I still have $109 left in the food budget and should only need to pick up fresh produce between now and the end of the month.

Today's produce includes: apples, bananas, grapefruit, lemons, pears, cauliflower, avocados, green peppers, green beans, green onions, jalapeno peppers and some luscious tomatoes...

Frozen food includes two pizzas on sale, frozen corn and a package of "french" fish that was 50% off. This is our junk food!

Other treats included Triscuits made from brown rice, chicken bacon, eggs and whole wheat English muffins. On a whim I bought English muffins for an Easter breakfast (toasted muffin, slice of cheese, fried egg, chicken bacon and a slice of tomato). We're hooked!!

The dairy section includes mozzarella cheese strings which I take hiking for a quick burst of protein (reduced 60%), ginormous cheese blocks (800g compared to the usual 500g) at a reduced price so I grabbed two - won't need cheese for about 3-4 months! First pound of butter I've bought since Christmas baking and some half and half for my coffee. Just can't drink it black.

*see the pink heart-shaped thingies attached to my kitchen tile? They're sticky notes with generic reminders - I just put the applicable one on the counter to remind Kazi to do something..."clean the kitty litter", "tsf $$", etc, plus a few love notes for good measure!

Supplies for the trailer include: kleenex, paper towels, TP, garbage bags, Lysol wipes, dish soap, Windex spray, swiffer dusters but the no name version and shampoo, deoderant plus an extra shampoo for the trailer. And...two boxes of Kashi granola bars....

 ...in two yummy flavours...

And there you have it - $120 worth of groceries for $70.00.  After grocery shopping I spent the rest of the afternoon scouring the house for trailer stuff: sheets, blankets, throws, pillows, towels, tea towels and cleaning cloths, rake, broom, dishes, coffee maker, electric kettle, frying pans, lawn chairs and so on. I had a lot of stuff that I brought home from out east (and there is another truck load I need to pick up from one of my sister's barns in PEI). I will clean and arrange stuff tomorrow and make a list of what I'll still need. It shouldn't be too long of a list hopefully.

My daughter is going to be REALLY happy to find out I'm not bothering with a TV or cable. Or internet for that matter. She'll still have her phone:) She needs to rediscover books. She was raised as a reader and read the 7 Harry Potter books at least 10 times each but that has spoiled her for all other literature - she just can't find anything else to compare. Perhaps she can read them this summer for the 11th time! I have a library card for the local library and we can borrow movies. For me the trailer is just a place to sleep - the real action is on the beach and around the fire pit.

S'mores anyone?

Best Laid Plans...

... gang aft agley...!!

Although I said I was going to wait to see my "tax situation" I've gone and booked my flight!!

Into Manchester!!

To hike Hadrian's Wall with my friend and fellow blogger Annie!!

Most of you know Annie - but here's her blog url, just in case you haven't met her yet: "Northern Living Allowance."  If you are a regular reader of my blog you'll know that Annie and I met up for the first time in person on my last trip to England. We forgot to take a selfie during that visit so I decided to make another journey across the pond :) We connected through our blogs... oh I don't know...5 years ago? 6? Annie used to live in Canada, in the Yukon no less!! But she felt the call to move to England and is enjoying new adventures there and LOVING it!!

(**I thought I was getting a great deal on my flight until I discovered it was in American dollars!! Once converted into Canadian dollars ay yi yi!!)

So I'll keep posting wonderful photos to make myself feel better - I mean...who can put a price on THIS!!

 Or THIS!!

And then there's THIS!

I've been pouring over my big map of England which is spread out over my dining room table to decide where I'll spend a few days after our hike is over. I'm considering one of the following: Liverpool, York, Edinburgh, the Lake District... right now I'm most interested in York or Edinburgh. Decisions, decisions!!

Thanks Mike for the advice about the waterproofs - I realize I probably won't be so lucky a second time around. Last year's trip saw me carry my rain gear daily in my back pack where it stayed - for TWO weeks - no rain!! But I am realistic and know that was an anomaly!! (Though I'll keep my fingers crossed that the good weather fairy will follow me around again!)

Having this trip to plan for and look forward to has really lifted my spirits - I read recently that we get just as much joy and excitement from the planning stages as we do from the actual trip. Ain't that a trip?!

Plus I needed some motivation to get eating right and moving more - this should do the trick!

Now I need to plan my trip to PEI this spring!! I'll be busier than a rooster in a henhouse!

January's Budget

It might seem a little premature to close off my budget for January today but everything is pretty much done and paid for the week and the month. Let's just say I'm "tentatively" ending January!  And I'm happy to report (touch wood) that my new "Pension Budget" was a success.  Thanks to a few factors:

• low price of gas right now - I set a budget of $180 for the month for gas and had $88 left after filling up today!!
• creative meals and careful grocery shopping - buying only what I need for the week means lower costs and less waste. Out of a budget of $280 I had $17 left and my fridge is PACKED!!
• having a set amount for misc spending really works for me. Not that I was deprived at all but I'm selective about what I spend my money on and sometimes I have to say NO - some of the money spent is for February's fun - a Bryan Adam's concert on Feb. 24th so I'm ahead of the game a little bit. I had over a $100 left in my misc budget so sent some of that to savings along with the surplus in the food and gas budgets making total saved for this month - $608.00!! (Remember I had extra $$ this month due to not having to pay property taxes and getting a break on insurance. I won't be able to save that much every month! Darn it!) 

I want to buy new living room furniture but think I'll put that off til the kittens are older. My next major expenditure will hopefully be a trailer in the spring. And I will be taking a trip east to PEI - I hope the gas prices stay low for awhile! I ordered a guide book for a couple of hikes in England and am wavering back and forth whether to go this year or wait til 2016. I was kinda hoping to walk the Camino in 2016 when I turn 60 but not sure if I'm ready for that yet. I'm having a tough time making decisions. It's a question of having my cake and eating it too! I like having my savings AND I like spending it too! 

Sigh...