Oops, Ouch and Eek!

Monday Money Madness!

I thought this picture was very apropos because I have NOT been keeping track of my money. And that's not like me. But I know why...........................................................................................................!

It's because my bank accounts look like a bathtub with the plug pulled! All swirling away down the drain..glug glug glug. That little metaphor reminds me of a time when Kazi was about 2 and she was in the bathtub watching the water go down the drain. She peered into the drain and said "is anybody in there?" No answer.

Well I DO have answers...I just don't want to face them! I'm in "money denial!" So much so that my dentist's office just called wondering why I hadn't shown up for my appointment this morning! Ooops.

CAA comes off this month too.  Ouch!  Plus I'm going to pay the remainder of my Ireland trip to the company who organizes the B&Bs/Inns and transfers out suitcases from place to place. Eek!

Some of my bills this month have been reduced so the news isn't ALL bad. The city has finally figured out how much property tax I have to pay this year and I'm going to save $3.00 a month!! Big whoop! My Union Gas bill was only $33.00 this month as I turned the furnace off (mostly). The electricity bill was down by $10.00 no doubt due to the extra daylight hours and not needing to turn on the electric heater in the basement TV room. AND because I'm cycling for cancer research this month I still have 3/4 of a tank of gas left in the truck! I won't be putting in any more gas til July and maybe not even then :)

Food costs are UP UP UP!! Cherries are $6.99/lb and I have indulged. Strawberries are $4.75/qt and I have over indulged! Kazi's boyfriend has been visiting so that means buying more meat etc. Oh, and wine and beer. And snacks.

I think I've done a pretty good job so far with my Misc budget line. I'm trying to rein in misc spending so that I can cover CAA and dentist without touching my savings. Fingers crossed. I guess I should check but I haven't because I'm in.......MONEY DENIAL!! 

Okay, I promise myself I'll update my budget as soon as I'm done this post unless I can think of some way to distract myself!

Hmmmmm, I wonder what I should have for lunch...

Oh look, this is how Lily lies in her bed when it's 32c + high humidity!!

 Airing out my tummy.

Just Another Money Monday

Not too much to say about the budget thus far. I spent $8 more than I should have (OMG!!) - my misc budget is $145/week and I over spent a wee bit. I used my snowflake $$ to purchase another 100 euros - I didn't have quite enough so used misc funds to complete the purchase. I am down to only $6 in my snowflake box but I have enough cash now for my trip to cover entrance fees to Blarney Castle and other attractions/souvenirs etc.

$400 was automatically transferred to savings and I withdrew $5,000 from my RRSP and put the $4500 that remained after taxes into my Tax Free Savings Account. Some interest has been received with another major chunk coming on the 11th. No sign of my tax refund yet though it will probably show up this week. I am able to check its progress on the Canada Revenue site and it has been assessed and confirmed so any day now.....

I think I mentioned that I over estimated my Union Gas bill by $22. As that doesn't come off til near the end of March I haven't really had the benefit of that yet. Hopefully my estimate ($75) of my electricity bill will be over as well. All of those little bits of $$ help me get through the month and expand my misc budget a little.

The other purchase I made during the first week of March's budget was a white microwave (on sale for $50). I've been meaning to replace my old black one for quite some time. It works fine (so I'll take it to a thrift store) but it really stuck out in front of my white subway tiles and my other appliances are white so now it sort of "disappears" - it's also a bit smaller which helps with my somewhat limited counter space.

The final purchase for the first week of March was some lighter coloured wool for Kazi's infinity scarf. My shoulder is feeling quite a bit better today so I may get started on that tonight as I watch TV.

I have used $38/$160 of my gas budget and $88/$280 of my food budget. I'm going to pick up a few groceries today (only what we need - it's a short list) but I won't need gas for quite a while yet.

And so goes the budget - no surprises so far - just the way I like it!

Wednesday in the Workshop

First I want to complain about the weather!! I just had a weather alert sent to my phone telling me that north London is under a snow squall warning. So IF I lived in south London I wouldn't be getting this additional whack of snow that I just cleaned off my truck?! Poo. Unless the band is moving south, it's a little hard to tell. The crappy part was the 2 inches of frozen rain that lay hidden underneath the 8 inches of snow - SURPRISE!!

Okay, I'm done. Sort of. I'm bitter because I went on a fantastic hike on Sunday when it was sunny and +14c and now THIS! Oh well, March came in like a lion so I EXPECT it to go out like a lamb. Ya hear me Mother Nature??

Sunday in Kilally Meadows - the snow was almost gone!

Something I can't complain about is my heating bill!! Again the bill only came to $52.00!! I checked my Union Gas bill online so I could compare to last year's bill - and last year I paid $83.00!! Looking at the average temperature showed why - last year the average temperature for February was -13c compared to a balmy +3c this year. El Nino, I thank you.

Ok, on to the workshop....this sculpture has been giving me all kinds of grief. I've been slimming down the rounded sections trying to get away from the phallic weird shape that evolved over the first week or two...

...I've worked in a spiral at the one end thinking maybe if I looked at it from another angle I would be inspired...but no, still not digging it.

 ...but now I think I'm getting somewhere - I am liking the swooping curves that are developing. I think it's on its way, finally! Stay tuned for sanding and polishing!

Juicing

I don't think I've done any juicing for at least a year, perhaps longer. But talking about it with friends has piqued my interest again. So yesterday I switched the coffee maker with the juicer on my kitchen counter.

Then I went to my local United Store (Chinese produce/products) and filled my cart with lots of lovely kale, spinach, ginger, oranges, cucumbers and so on for the modest total of $37. I love my United store - so much more choice than the usual grocery store, not too far away and CHEAP. The plan is to drink juice for breakfast and lunch and have a regular supper and by regular I mean fish/chicken/turkey plus lots and lots of veggies. I need to budge some fat, anyone need some?

My juice today doesn't follow a recipe - I had some "older" produce that I needed to get rid of (another handy feature of juicing - no waste!!) so my juice contains a withering grapefruit, a soft apple, some soft green grapes, spinach and kale, half a cucumber, pomegranate arils, and a big chunk of ginger. And yes it was very tasty - a bit too sweet - too many grapes I think but they needed to be used up.

The big news today is I got my Union Gas bill. I set aside $75; but because it was quite mild in November the bill was only $46!! However, today the temperature was -17c at 8am! Next month's bill won't be quite so low! Phooey!

You know you're are a boring financial nerd when you get excited by a low monthly bill!

Today's chores includes: making a couple of new toilet paper bird feeders, doing a bit more grocery shopping at No Frills (need toothpaste), NO housework, got it done yesterday, ride bike for an hour, tidy workshop and continue soapstone carving currently in progress. Supper is looked after - taking my neighbour to Swiss Chalet - YUM!

Off I go! This retirement business is so much fun!!

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?

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!! 

You Better Shop Around uh huh

So I got my renewal form yesterday from Superior Energy. My one year contract ends soon and either I renew with them at a fixed rate or go back to Union Gas whose rate is variable and can change every 3 months. What to do, what to do...


My dilemma is now compounded by the fact that Superior's lowest rate is higher than the current Union Gas rate by 3 cents per cubic meter. 

Sorry for the crappy photo, I was too lazy to get up and walk to the scanner. This shows the current Union Gas rate and a bill based on the usage of 217 cubic m. for a total of $44.07. (Superior sent me this info)


Superior's fixed rate would see the same bill amount to $57.48, a difference of almost $13.00.  


So do I lock in for another year knowing there will be no surprise rate hikes or go back to Union Gas in hopes that natural gas prices will stay low and I may save a few bucks? 


Hmmmmmm, that's a toughie.


Do you shop around for utilities?