Budget Update

I have TOO MUCH money. Yes, you heard me right. And somewhere, somehow it'll be taken from me, I just know it. It's not a large amount but I've gone wrong in my budget calculations somewhere even though I use a calculator!! I would be more worried if I had TOO LITTLE money which is what usually happens. I'm just going to sit on it til the end of the months and all the bills are paid. If that little extra bit is still there then off to savings it goes.

Today's budget adjustments were small as predicted. It only cost $20 to fill up the truck!!! That's how much gas I used since last Monday. I've been more strategic in my driving - car (truck) pooling to hiking spots with a friend :), doing all of my errands on one day and so on. It helps - and so does paying only 84.7 cents per litre of gas!! I only have one more gas fill up til February (fill up every Monday) so I will have gas money left to move to savings as there is still $108 left in the gas budget. Woo hoo!

After shelling out $115 last Monday on food & household items today's total was only $30 plus $4.25 spent at Dollarama. I only needed to add to my produce as I still have about 2/3rd's of the food from last week's shop left in the fridge/freezer/pantry!! There is one "shop" left in January and $107 left in the food budget so no worries there. I foresee sending about half of that to savings at the end of the month!
My misc items for this week - I love the little dustpan/sweepers, they are so handy for little cleanups - one for the upstairs bathroom and one for the workshop.

The rest of the money I spent was for luscious produce. Stuffed peppers are on the menu this week, and obviously lots more guacamole :)

My misc budget is getting low however. I decided to bite the bullet and buy an air purifier for the workshop. I can wear a mask while I'm working but my lovely Luna can't and if I'm in the workshop then she's in the workshop.  And then my friend invited me to go with her to see Canadian rocker  BRYAN ADAMS who's coming to London in February so I said YES!! Plus I overspent on art supplies, got the oil changed and new windshield wipers on the truck, bought a couple of books, indulged at the Wine and Food show, went to see "The Imitiation Game" and went out to dinner with my nephews!! I HAVE been busy and spendy haven't I? So I have $120 left in my misc budget which I need to stretch over 12 days - I can do it!! Plus I have some $$ in my wallet. As long as nothing unexpected comes up I should be ok plus there's the cushion in the gas and food budgets if I need it.

February's budget will see a few little adjustments with the drop in car/home insurance covering the increase in condo fees and taxes. AND joy oh joy I get a cost of living increase on my pension amount starting January 31st. A whopping $20 extra per month - woot woot!! It doesn't sound like much (it ain't much at all) but it would pay for FOUR $5.00 movie nights at Rainbow Cinema!! That's something!

Today's cuteness:

Staying cozy

Friday Folderol

folderol - Trivial or nonsensical fuss, nonsense, or a useless trifle.


Feel free to pass on by this post. It is mere folderol! 


Top Ten Thoughts on My Mind Today (TTToMMT):

1. I'm thinking about buying Michael a chainsaw for Father's Day. Copp's Buildall has electric ones on sale for $99.99! Hmmmm, might need an awfully long cord though to reach into our little forest!?!
2. Giant Tiger has my brand of hair clippers on sale. Currently Michael and I share my old one. When he discovered he could achieve the same effect as his barber did with the clippers for FREE instead of $30 + tip every couple of weeks he was CONVERTED!  By doing our own hair we've saved thousands of $$$$$!
3. It's GIRL'S NIGHT tonight!!  What should I take to drink??? I'm leaning towards a bottle of rasberry Sourpuss and 7UP, a drink I was introduced to at the Albert and Crown in Alberton last summer. A nice tart summery drink - YUM!
4. As it's my bestie's birthday today (mine 2 weeks ago and my other friend's in a couple of weeks) I've decided to offer them a beach day next week as a gift (neither of them own a car). SO.MUCH.FUN!
5. Don't look don't look DON'T LOOK!  Oh crap, I looked....I'm going to have to do some weeding today on my back patio. Lots of little weedy plants are growing up between the concrete patio stones.....
6. The Euro Cup starts today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go England!!!!!!!!!!!!! (note to self: find and install St. George Cross flags on the car)
7. What should I eat for breakfast? My choices are: Vector cereal on vanilla yogurt, sour dough rye toast with PB, oatmeal, eggs and chicken bacon. 
8. Three weeks tomorrow morning I'll be headed east to PEI!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Twenty-two years ago this week I graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an Honours degree in Visual Arts. I was seven months pregnant and Kazi kicked up a storm all day long; soon she will be receiving her own degree from the same university. Momma's so proud!
10. Visited with one brother yesterday and the other one this afternoon - I love my bro's!

Financial Uber Notes (FUN):

1. For Kazi's graduation I am doing the following: helped her pay for her new silk very expensive dress, putting together a memory album dating back to her time in daycare, buying her flowers and taking her out to lunch after with her boyfriend, her uncle, our neighbour who has been like a gramma to Kazi since she was 4, Michael and myself. Oh yes, and at her suggestion I'm letting her use the car next Tuesday to take some friends to Canada's Wonderland.
2. I have paid in full the cost of my new fridge and stove for PEI, and have paid off our new TV before incurring any interest charges. I just need the cheque from school to cover curriculum materials I purchased and my credit card will be back to ZERO! I love the feeling of a zero balance!
3. The one area I am struggling with this month is gas for the car. I (no WE) have used almost two week's worth of gas money in ONE WEEK and I don't get paid again until the 15th. My dear daughter said she would put gas in last night but she didn't so I'll have to remind her and she hates that! Oh well...
4. We are under in the food budget by $16 so I'll direct that to the gas fund. We are also under in electricity by $2 and natural gas by $2.  That ain't much but I'll take what I can get! It's better than being OVER budget!
5. The only misc item purchased so far this month is a journal (for me) and a memory album and extra page inserts for Kazi's gift. (and icecream-shhhhhhh!)  I am really trying to rein in my spending, so far so good.
6. From my next pay I will have $1200 to allot to savings. It will go into my PEI Maintenance Fund to help with costs that may occur while in PEI this summer like any small repair or rebuilding our fence.
7. Next months savings will rebuild my Christmas/Birthdays fund in full ($1500) and the rest will go towards rebuilding my TFSA. (I owe it close to $20,000 after paying off my line of credit - it will take me til at least the end of this year to repay that account!) 
8. I have no other EXTRA expenses this month to worry about - thank goodness!  May was a killer month! June looks to be "steady as she goes".  I noticed that Mr. Murphy is at B-Kat's house so the coast looks to be clear for the rest of us!

And that about sums things up. I have $$ in my wallet plus another $160 in my account for any misc items that may pop up. Like that chainsaw. The sale goes until the 17th so I have a while to think about it. If I can tighten the belt even more and save in some other areas (food), then maybe. 

So what do you think I really had for breakfast??

NO/LOW Spend January - Week One

Well, I'm not buying MUCH! Thanks Carla for inspiring us to keep our spending very very low as you can go during the month of January. After all the carefree spending I did in December it is definitely time to put a tourniquet on the free flow of money exiting my accounts!


One week of January has passed and it's time to assess just how little spending I did.


So here goes.  On January 1st I withdrew $100 from my account plus I had $10 left in my wallet from last month so I started the first week with $110.00 for misc spending.  I spent the following:

• $15.00 for firewood while winter camping (Jan. 2)
• $3.60 for a coffee and a muffin at Coffee Culture on the way home from the Pinery after winter camping (Jan. 3)
• $1.80 for a coffee at Tim Hortons (Jan. 5) 
• $6.34 for Globe and Mail and the National Post (Jan. 7) 
• $13.26 for my Sealed Pot  (oooh I like THAT one!) 

Total money spent during Week One - $26.74 plus $13.26 into my Sealed Pot!!

Not bad, not bad at all!

Money remaining in my wallet - an even $70.00!!  I am issuing myself another challenge - I'm going to make that $70.00 last the rest of the month!! I won't be buying any snacks that's for sure (see The 10 Pound Challenge!)

Other Spending:

$211.88 for Steam Canada re The Flood - instead of taking this amount out of the Emergency Fund I am going to take it out of my Misc spending which means things will be much tighter than usual this month - hence wanting to make that $70 in my wallet last for the rest of the month. 

The $301.07 that I have to pay for the up-to-code "pipe" for the new hot water tank won't be coming off until February's Reliance bill so deferred for now.

Gas - budgeted til the 15th $100.00; spent so far $0.00 (my awesome family has been helping to pay for gas!!)

Groceries - budgeted til the 15th $200.00; spent so far $168.34 leaving $31.66 in the food budget. I just did my first grocery shopping of January 2012 yesterday and a bit more today. I foresee spending more for milk, bread and salad possibly before the 15th rolls around and another $200 is added to the food budget. Doing great!

Other expenses: condo fee ($208.00); Line of Credit interest and payment ($602.76); various savings accounts ($750.00)

I'm happy with how the month is going so far. My heating bill came via email and is only $59.00 - last year it was $91.14 for the same period!! That just shows you how warm it has been this year! Right now I have the back door open a crack, the front door is open a bit and windows in the basement are open and it's freakin' January the 7th!! What little snow we had when this picture was taken is GONZO! (That's the lovely Carla, daughters Mya and Maria and me just 3 days ago!) 

Above and beyond the $70.00 in my wallet I have $315.00 left in Misc spending. Maybe, just maybe if I can hang onto that money I can use it to pay for the "PIPE"!! 

Hope that's not just a pipe dream hee hee, couldn't resist!

How is YOUR NO/LOW Spend January going so far?

Month End Update: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!!

Sometimes I like to type something into "google images" and see what comes up. I just typed in "end of October" and this "momento mori" appeared. I thought it captured how I'm feeling this week. A momento mori was a work of art which was supposed to remind us of our mortality. Here we see the grim reaper extending a welcoming hand to a somewhat elderly woman. She looks a bit stunned by the invitation...I guess she's not ready to go! 


Well, hell's bells neither am I. On the one hand I'm ready to say goodbye to October, an expensive month...yet on the other hand I'm not ready to say goodbye to trees covered in gorgeous colour, the last snapdragons in the garden and the warm sunshine on my shoulders. However, I don't have a choice - time marches on - this morning my car was covered in its first frost of the season and the temperature registered at -2c. When I came home from school it was a chilly 17c inside my house...I covered up with two afghans and made some chai tea but it wasn't enough. I ran the furnace for the FIRST time (I tried to make it to Oct. 31st) but just for a few minutes then I shut it off again. It's still a toasty 22c and I've pushed the afghans aside...for now.

Financially I'm saying goodbye to October. I've been a little lot preoccupied with numbers this week as retirement draws ever closer. It seems like just yesterday my countdown widget dipped below 1000 days, now it reads 975! Sometimes time DOES fly! I did some calculating and found we're living on 34.6% of our income, that's a good sign that we'll survive on a 50% income drop once I retire. Ok - now for the month end numbers...


The Good:

• the "no grocery shopping" for the last two week of October was a success! - in spite of major over spending for Thanksgiving we came in $12 under our $400 monthly food budget
• Kazi gave me $50 to cover her share of the monthly car insurance bill:)
• Michael directed $1000 my way to help cover monthly expenses - thanks honey - it sure helps out!!
• 4 No Spend days this week (would have been 5 but I spent $1.80 at Timmy's this morning for a much needed coffee!)

The Bad:

• slightly over our $200 gas budget but Kazi chipped in thank goodness or I would have been WAY over which was only right since she did a lot of practice driving to prepare for her final road test which she PASSED! 

The Ugly:

• way overspent on the Misc budget line and Entertainment budget line which includes a couple of trips to Talize (second-hand clothing) which I totally didn't need to do!! This meant less $$ into Savings...BAD Jane BAD!!

November Challenges:

• I am almost back to 100% health-wise so time to ramp up the exercise again, especially the scissors challenge with Sarah!   Ya hear me Sarah? I am going to start cutting up the air again with my razor sharp legs!! 
• For the first time ever I am going to plan a few meals for next week so I don't waste money on extra food. Our fridge looks so much less crowded now after NOT grocery shopping the last two weeks- we had to get a little creative with our cooking in order to just use what we had instead of making numerous trips to the grocery store - this was a great learning experience!
• Must stay out of TALIZE!! If I feel the need to shop I will start my Christmas shopping:)
• I am going to try for 3 No Spend Days per week for a total of 12 for the month!

Are YOU finished with October yet??

Weekly Wrap & Other Crap (How to get Great Stuff for FREE!!)

Only one week left of October - that's CRAZY!! Where did the month go?? Well, I slept the last week away in a kind of daze, that's why I've been MIA for the last few days. (daze - days - I'm a poet!!) I have been feeling VERY TIRED, can't get rid of my cold, and work has been crazy-busy what with progress reports, IEPs, parent/teacher interviews, meetings......so for a few nights I was going to bed at 8 or 9pm.


"Ok - Exhibit A" (maybe I missed a career as a rapper!)
The Good News: I did NOT go food shopping yesterday! And yes, it wasn't easy to stifle that habit but I did it! Even so I'm still very close to my $400 total monthly food budget due to overspending on Thanksgiving. Our fridge/freezer is definitely less packed but there is more than ample food to get us through to the end of the month. Sharon and Laura - how are you doing on this??


Other good news - DEBT and SAVINGS columns dominate my Spending Diary graph. Sometimes (ALWAYS) I feel guilty about my MISC purchases (read unnecessary purchases) but when I see the height of the MISC column compared to the DEBT and SAVINGS columns I can actually smile, laugh at my silly self (ha ha ha ha) and cast off those dang guilty feelings:)


The Bad News: I wish I could say there wasn't any bad news but there is a wee bit. I won't be able to make that extra deposit into my EF this month as planned because I had a few other expenses to cover and used that money up. You could say that's also Good News since I didn't have to take money out of savings to cover them. I had to buy a bulb for one of my headlights this week (well the car's headlights not MY headlight AND that's a whole other story!!) and I also took the car in for an oil change which always ends up costing way more than just the cost of the oil change - a brake light was not working, a filter needed changing etc. So the extra EF money was spent on the car instead and I am OK with that.


The extra expenses this month were more than balanced out by TWO GIFTS I received this week; one from Michael and one from Kazi. 

This gorgeous leather jacket is a gift from Kazi.  She works as a bartender for a popular club in London. Every couple of weeks unclaimed coats left in the coat check are given away to the Goodwill.  This one she nabbed and brought home for me - it fits perfectly and goes really well with Michael's gift:

Michael gave me an early Christmas gift this week - my first pair of Blundstone boots! Now that he's working at Fodemisi's he gets a great discount making these unaffordable boots affordable!! They are the most comfortable boots I've ever worn and I never want to take them off - EVER!!


Aren't I lucky?? All I need now is a Harley!


Other Crap:

• Sarah - I've fallen off the Scissors wagon but I do plan to get back on. It's just been one of THOSE weeks.
• KAZI PASSED HER DRIVING TEST!! SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO TAKE ANOTHER DRIVING TEST TIL SHE'S 80 YEARS OLD!! WOOT WOOT!
• After much taste testing Michael and I agree that the best chicken wings in London can be found HERE!  However, just to be sure we'll need to try them again....and again....
• the SMARTBOARD that I received for my classroom in September has finally been hooked up!! It's so much FUN!! My students will be using it for the first time tomorrow - I can hardly wait!! More about this in a future post!

I think that's a WRAP! 

Weekly Wrap & Other Crap

It's a blah kind of day and I'm feeling...well...kind of blah. This is the kind of day that makes me want to stay in bed. Or, at 5:30 in the afternoon, get back into it! I'm so tired it took all my effort to hit that exclamation mark...my nose is still running (I know, TMI), my head is achy (blame the low pressure system currently dumping drizzling rain and millions of leaves) and, sadly, the numbers don't add up.


You know what I mean? Just bring on Thursday and let's get this week over with. I'm feeling glum chum. And I'm at a loss to think of anything good to cheer myself up with...lemme see...my hockey team sucks (Montreal Canadians...well at least they beat Winnipeg but that's not saying much), I'm all alone (kinda good, kinda not), I'm hungry (when am I not?) and I'm afraid to step on the scales (thanks Sharon for your kind "skinny" comment...you're a dear), I should go make myself supper but all there is is turkey and I'm tired of turkey after eating it Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday...my knees hurt (tried a little jogging on the treadmill...yes, I'm that desperate), and I feel like going shopping.


OK, now I should look at the bright side of things: I finished my students' progress reports today, I am almost finished my last IEP (Individual Education Plan for my special needs students), Michael's taking me out to dinner Friday night (it's for his son's 24th birthday but he said he'd buy mine too, only two days left in this short work week, I get paid Friday, I have free library movies to watch, people actually love me, I HAVE food to eat and I HAVE shelter from the rain. And if I really DID go shopping I could afford it.


Isn't it great how a little review of one's life can put everything back into proper perspective? Not that I'm feeling all cheery and perky now but I am sitting up a little straighter.


Here are the numbers for the first twelve days of October, read 'em and weep!

It doesn't look too bad laid out like this but what you don't know is that my food budget of $200 was supposed to last til this Friday's pay and I'm over already by about $73.00. Like I said yesterday, I need to budget more for food when there is major feasting going on. 


I had $150 for misc spending til this Friday's pay and am over by $54. Oops. I still have $25 for gas and I will use it up before Friday.  And I had $0 set aside for entertainment and I spent $61 - do I sense a pattern of overspending here? After all the whining I did in Sept. and all of my vows to keep my spending in line I can plainly see I haven't taken those lessons to heart...yet.

What I've had to do to make up for my overspending is reduce how much I had planned to put into savings.  That affects my long-term goals. Somehow I need to keep my long-term goals in the forefront of my mind - I'll have to think about that and see what ideas I (or you!!) can generate!  HELP!


I think I need to set my goals for this coming year. I've been talking about it but haven't actually gotten down to the nitty gritty yet. Such procrastination! School has kept me super busy and I'm afraid I've neglected other important stuff - like finances and goals. I'm just sort of wading through each day hoping the money will take care of itself.  It rarely does as you and I both know. 


I'll try and find some motivation and see what sort of plans I can come up with, but it's so NOT happening today. I plan to procrastinate a wee bit longer...

No Spend Days

How's THAT for motivation? My plan this week is to have 5 No Spend days, including today. And gathering from the way I'm feeling it shouldn't be too difficult.  My cold symptoms went underground yesterday and I thought I had really evaded the bullet. Ha ha on me. So I stopped taking oil of oregano thinking smugly that I had pulled a fast one on these puppies:

Yes, today I started having symptoms again so it's back on the oil of oregano though I think I'm past the point of no return. Crap. So it will be straight home from work for the next few days, no stopping at Starbucks or any other cash-sucking evil stores. Speaking of which...


Yesterday Michael and I took more old clothes to Talize and received our $5 coupons. That gave us a total of $15 in coupons so we decided to go in and have a little look around.  Yeah, really, we're only looking...HAH!! What with the chill in the air and me not wanting to turn on the furnace yet I thought I should get a few long-sleeved tops to wear. Usually my hot flashes keep me more than toasty but when I spend a while sitting and using my laptop I do get chilly. I found a couple of really nice tops - one still had its original tags on it! Michael was looking for shirts to wear to work and found a really really amazing leather jacket for $25.00! How he ever found that in the shirt aisle I'll never know! 


But now I'm down to $78 in personal spending money til my next payday which is Oct. 14th. This should be more than enough as I only tend to spend money on the weekend and there is only 1 weekend between now and payday. But I will help myself along by declaring the weekdays as No Spend days. Hey, whatever works right?

Saturday's Child Works Hard for Her Money

Sometimes I don't understand myself and I get confused. Today was one of those days. Have you ever had your colours done - I don't mean for makeup but for your personality? I'm blue and green. Which means I'm not gold (or orange). People who are gold are well organized, therefore I'm not. Organized that is. I know that - yet I still get upset with myself. 


Today was marketing day. My fiscal fast is over so I made the rounds to my favourite places this being Saturday morning. I dropped Michael off downtown and headed to the farmer's market. I loaded up on produce and paid with cash.

My next stop was a variety store to get my Saturday newspaper - $3.00 - I paid with cash.

Then off to the Bulk Barn where I bought quinoa and decaf coffee. AND I used a coupon, aren't you proud?? I paid with debit. 

Next stop - Pioneer Gas Station for gas (duh) and I used my "Bonus Bucks" card - I now have $1.00 in free gas!! My pioneer station has a drive through Tim Horton's and since my fiscal fast is over I bought a gigantic coffee! To pay for the gas I used my President's Choice Mastercard because I collect points (just cashed in $80.00 worth of points last week for groceries) and for the coffee I used cash.

At Talize I dropped a bag of clothes and received a $5.00 coupon to use on my next shopping trip - LOVE this thrift store! But no shopping today!

Nope, I was off to Shoppers instead to pick up some body wash that I noticed on special when I was in there picking up a prescription a few days ago. Yup, still on sale!  Used cash.

My last stop was at the NoFrills near where I live. I loaded up on tilapia which was on sale and a few other grocery items. I stuck to my list!! I paid for my order with my President's Choice Mastercard.


Next stop:

Home sweet home

Have you picked up on my helter skelter payment methods? Of course you have, and so did I when I sat down with my budget to record my purchases. It took me a looooooooooooooooong time to record my purchases and balance my books to my online bank balance. Eventually I did manage to balance the books but I was pissed off at myself for such chaotic practices. The problem is that unless I want to give up collecting points with my Mastercard (I don't) then I can't really make much of a change and will have to accept being "all over the place". 


One thing I should have done was NOT used my debit at the Bulk Barn - I should have used my credit card. Then I would only be using two payment methods instead of three. I don't know, I just don't think and whip out the first card that comes to hand. 


Please don't tell me to use cash only - I can't keep track of it - I need the paper trail. Cash just disappears in my sweaty hands. I do keep a bit of cash in my wallet for my misc spending, such as my newspaper and coffee. 


That's my sad tale of woe for today (other than complaining about how COLD it is!) I've read my newspaper and drank my coffee. The laundry is done...I think...I better go check. Plus I'm going to ride my bike for awhile because later I'm going to:

The Waltzing Weasel for wings and a pint!


Hope your weekend is less confusing than mine!

Weekly Wrap & Other Crap

Now here's a Weekly Wrap I can really sink my teeth into har har! 


The past week has really been a No Spend week! I cut way back at the farmer's market buying only green beans and sweet new little potatoes. Total cost - $5.00. At the grocery store I bought: salad greens, tomatoes, baby cucumbers, bagels, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries and skim milk. I am proud to say I made a list and stuck to it - nothing extra found its way into my cart. In fact I didn't even USE a cart, just put things into my cloth bags as I shopped! Total cost $27.00 so amount spent on groceries this week - $32.00 instead of the usual $100.00 or more. Money saved will be applied to credit card.


This week I plan to skip the market altogether.  We have all kinds of frozen veggies that Michael blanched from fresh and we need to use them up. We still have chicken, fish and steak in the freezer. I will need to buy more salad greens, bread and milk. That might be enough to get to next Friday's paycheque when a new grocery budget cycles in. 


Personally I bought myself a coffee today at Timmy's as I was facing a long tedious day of professional development. It's tedious because usually the PD doesn't apply to me in my capacity of a teacher of students with developmental disabilities. However, it was a day of catching up with other teachers that I don't see very often and that was fun.  Unless some emergency happens I should make it to payday with between $100 - $200 to apply to my credit card. 


I have been on my fiscal fast for one week now and I can call it a rousing success, albeit a boring one (see yesterday's boring post called "Life is Dull as Dishwater":)  Even Michael is holding my feet to the fire - today I texted him that there were some good movies on at the Rainbow Theatre (only $6.00!!!) and he reminded me I was on a "spending diet" as he so descriptively called it!! Why did I ever give him my blog URL I ask you!?! 


Oh well, no one said living on loose change while saving every dollar to put towards debt and retirement savings would be a barrel of laughs! But if I don't have some FUN soon someone is going to feel my wrath! AND the rainy weather isn't helping any. AND it's the weekend........mumble.......grumble......mumble...


I saved today's FREE newspaper to read tomorrow so I won't be tempted to buy one for $3.00. AND I am about halfway through a REALLY GREAT book called "Waiting to Exhale" by Terry McMillan so I have THAT to finish.  AND I have about TEN FREE movies from the library still to watch....AND it's supposed to be in the low 20's this weekend with partial sunshine so hiking will be a GO on Sunday...HEY...things are looking up!! 


Here's hoping YOU have a fantastic non-boring weekend!! 

LIFE IS DULL AS DISHWATER

Hi there: yes, life is currently dull. I've got to think up some creative and frugal things to do other than get up, go to work, come home, use  computer, eat dinner, exercise, read/watch a movie, go to bed. Repeat. Repeat...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


You would have laughed at me today and, thanks to blogging, you still can! After work I picked up a free newspaper from the office, drove to Starbucks and sat outside on their patio in the sunshine reading my paper and drinking a tea that I had made at WORK!! Tee hee...or should I say tea hee...how's that for CHEAP!!


I'm going through a bit of shopping withdrawal. It's insidious pull on me is still there.  I thought I had buried that along with my previous smoking habit. (It's been EIGHT YEARS since my last ciggy!) But after a summer of buying this and that for our PEI house, then coming back and shopping everyday for school (at no cost to me, totally reimbursed) and buying some second-hand clothes at Talize (for me) and then buying some new clothes from Winner's it started to be fun again and I wanted to keep on shopping and shopping! 


It wasn't til I examined the budget numbers a week ago that I realized I quickly needed to apply a tourniquet! But part of me is still hankering to spend. But I won't. I have become a fairly proficient freeloader instead. I had a free dinner last Saturday night at Jambalaya...again.  Then Michael took me dancing so that didn't cost me anything. Sunday we went hiking and to the beach. Michael bought some fries and shared them with me and put gas in the car. I think I missed my calling.  Perhaps when I heard God say "go forth and teach" He was really saying "go forth and mooch"?!?


Just call me Minnie.

Minnie the Moocher

Fiscal Fast Update

I was asked on the weekend what creative ways I was going to come up with to solve my overspending problems this month so I tried really hard to think of something really new and amazing that you would oooooh and ahhhhhh over and then you would say - gee that Jane is really smart...why didn't I think of that?


Well, I failed to come up with any new ways to save some extra $$ so that I could pay off the $443 that is sitting very uncomfortably on my President's Choice Mastercard right now. 


My navel gazing has only resulted in the usual and the mundane. Here is my list of things I am currently doing so that I can a) not go any further into debt and b) perhaps end the month with a few dollars leftover which will be immediately put against my outstanding debt.

• make the groceries in the fridge last until next week and skip grocery shopping this week ...as much as possible (with $200 left in the food budget I've spent just over $30...I hope to have maybe $100 left if I pull in my belt another notch or two...this could really benefit my weight loss program!...love those hidden benefits:)
• go eat at my friends' homes - can you guys give me your addresses? 
• drive as little as possible; siphon gas out of other cars at work (ha!)
• take my own snacks/drinks absolutely everywhere; I already take my lunch everyday to work (I suppose I could steal food from other peoples' lunches?)
• stay out of stores and coffee shops! (especially Starbucks because I now have only 34 cents left on my card
• go directly to work and then go directly home after, no pit stops! no passing Go or collecting $200!
• grab a free newspaper daily from the main office or read news online (for reals as my daughter would say!)

I am open for suggestions. Any other creative ways of saving a few dollars come to mind??

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!

That's me, putting the brakes on spending!! After last night's scrumptious meal for Kazi's birthday at Under the Volcano, complete with deep-fried icecream and Irish coffee my spending and self-indulgence is coming to a screeching halt!


I see a fairly clear road ahead without any major spending bumps or eating potholes to contend with. Famous last words right? Oh Murphy, where are you...I know you're out there somewhere...!


That being said it's time for me to bring back my Weekly Wrap. Each Friday I will sum up my financial week and keep myself accountable. I spent some time yesterday going over September's budget and yes, I have overspent. So in the second half of the month I am going to have to make up for it, therefore, my fiscal fast will be starting TOMORROW, Sept. 17th. This is not a fast in order to save up a bunch of money, no, for me it's a fast in order to bring my spending back in line with my budget. 


More details coming tonight.

Emergency Fund Woes

There I was, all proud of myself for topping up my EF again. It had sunk to a low of $800 over the summer and at the end of August when I received the rest of the money from my trailer sale I boosted it back up to $2000.  But as we all know..."pride goeth before a fall!"


Then this happened.

Murphy's Law right? Oh hell. Well, maybe it's fixable. (Though probably not as my daughter drove I don't know how far with it like this...YES!! She said it was driving fine, she couldn't tell any difference??!!)  Sigh...Michael took it to our usual guy, Harry, I think I've written about him before.  Worse news, Harry's is now closed - we had no idea!  Digging through my memory for another reliable repair place I remembered Kraft which is about 2km in the other direction from our house.  Yes, still open...good start!

They recommended these:

Yup, all four of them.  Seems our tires were plum worn out. They also installed a right front linkage system - if you owned a Cobalt you would know this is a problem with these cars - one good pot hole = one broken link. All in all it came to $635, 4 new tires and a linkage kit and 13% sales tax.  I thought that was pretty reasonable.

But that means my $2000 EF is now down to $1365. And just after I updated all of my sidebar financial goals. (Way down the side!) I was feeling smug at having met one goal before the end of the year - no such luck! Stink! I think I'd better start practising more humility! 

So the savings (and spending) continues. I feel like I've spent a fortune the last couple of weeks but the majority of it will be reimbursed as they were expenditures for the classroom. I am all set up and ready to go though there are going to be a few glitches on the first day of school. 

I'll write about them tomorrow:)

Yowzers! June is Half Gone! (kinda like me!)

The end is near, it is in sight, there is a light at the end of the school hallway! Oh, that's the fire alarm flashing....(those graduating students get up to the craziest antics, I tell you!)...and it is beckoning me, closer and closer to FREEDOM, one long day at a time. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to have a stable job in these days of high unemployment, but the last couple of months I have been more stressed out than a one-armed wallpaper hanger with a bad rash! 

Really though, the days are flying by, almost too quickly! It's getting difficult to enjoy each day as so much time is spent thinking about and making preparations for PEI travel day only 2 1/2 weeks away! Not to mention report cards, classroom cleanup, prep for next year...

How are the finances doing? So glad you asked!  Let's have a look see at the first two weeks of June, shall we?  Today is payday, and I've made lots of payments...easy come, easy go! Now you see it, now you don't!

Already I realize I forgot to post a bill to my spendingdiary.com.  We just got the car checked over from stem to stern and shelled out $167 and change for an oil change and a link assembly kit (?)...darn potholes!! I was quietly relieved....             

....because I thought for sure we'd need brake work and perhaps some new tires. But we've been given the green light to drive Cora Cobalt out east adding at least another 5,000km to her odometer. 

What else...oh I paid an extra $100 on my line of credit bringing it to an even $41,000. When I get the rest of the $$ owed on the trailer I'll knock off a few more grand. For now that's $15,000 paid off since last September!! I'm hoping to reach $20,000 paid off by September. Interest rates will soon be going up so it's becoming increasingly important to get debt PAID DOWN!!

Food is on track for the month though I'll be buying a No Frills grocery card for Kazi so she can buy what she needs while we're away (and hopefully remember to feed the cat too!)  Housing is much higher than usual as I paid over $500 on my PEI property taxes (with another payment due the end of August and November (though not for that much).  

Misc is higher than usual as I splurged at a thrift store for some summer duds to take east - I now have EVERYTHING I need clothing-wise except for a hat to keep my nose from looking like a boiled lobster!  Oops, too late....

Savings are up-to-date and I've transferred what remained in my trailer fee account to the PEI property tax account as I won't have to pay that HUGE fee anymore!!  I am going to rename the Trailer Fee account the Maintenance account and start saving the recommended 3% annually for PEI house repairs. I was just about to say I have "everything covered" but that would just be tempting Murphy and Lord knows I don't want to do THAT!!

I'm happy to report that since NAGGING my family about electricity useage our bill dropped by almost $20 from last month; HOWEVER, our minimal but necessary use of central air isn't reflected on THIS bill, that will show up on July's bill, with no doubt lots more added to it! 

We've also tried to be more "thoughtful" when using Cora for driving to work and to do errands by combining several trips into one to reduce the cost of gas and we're doing really well on that, so thanks Michael and Kazi!! I think we're doing awesomely well sharing one car between three adults with their 5, yes FIVE, jobs!! Oh, and Cora thanks you too!

Well, that about wraps it up for today. Oh yeah, I printed off the forms I need to have my payroll deposit switched to ING where I opened up a fee-free chequing account. They are going to give me $100 for the switch.  Then I'll have to gradually switch all of my automatic bill payments over, some other day though, not today...I've done enough for one day...so ....see ya...

Falling off the Wagon

This week is all about getting back up onto the wagon.  The wagons of "exercise" and "no spending".  I was doing so well there for a few months and so I got cocky and sat on the edge of the wagon.  "I've got everything under control" I said to myself, "I can handle dangling my feet off the back of the wagon...I can see better back here"...

And then the wagon hit a few bumps and I fell off.....

Mind you I enjoyed the bumps just like a kid would...but now the adult in me says "you've had your fun, get back up on the wagon!! You can't spend all of your time being lazy and loose with your money or you won't meet your goals!"

"Remember your goals?" a little voice said to me.  "You know, the ones where you were going to bike all of the way to PEI by the end of June? And pay off $20,000 on your Line of Credit by September?  Are you just going to forget about those goals and let down the team?"

So here I am.  The wagon kindly pulled a U-turn so I could climb back on.  Nobody gave me the evil eye, in fact a few others moved over so I could sit far away from the edge. They told me that they too had fallen off the wagon before, sometimes more than once. 

"It's getting back on that's important...so welcome back!"

Weekly Wrap - May 7, 2011

Well there goes the first week of May.  As weeks go I've had better and I've had worse. Actually, to be truthful and honest and all of that good stuff it was longer than a week, and I'm not just hallucinating.

May started in April for me, yeah, weird how that works huh? You see, I get paid on the last day of the month and if that day is on the weekend then I get paid the Friday before the weekend starts so I really got paid on April 29th which has to get me to May 15th.  That won't be too bad because once again the 15th falls on the weekend, the Sunday this time, so I'll get my next pay on May 13th. Then the trouble begins in earnest as that pay has to get me all of the way to May 31st so more like 2 1/2 weeks instead of 2 weeks.

Getting paid twice a month is challenging if you have weekly payments or bi - weekly payments to make. There are either 52 payments a year or 26 payments on a bi-weekly schedule and I only get paid 24 times. See, this is where people on "Til Debt do us Part" get into all kinds of trouble with Gail - she likes to whack them upside the head because so many people forget that bi-weekly payments come off 26 times a year, not 24! 

I arrange my payments to coincide with my pays so bi-monthly, the 15th and the end of the month. If you get paid every two weeks you can basically just ignore everything I said and I'm very envious of you!

May already seems like a long month and we're only 1 week in. I made a big boo boo by throwing caution to the wind last Friday and shopping at a second- hand store to the tune of $103.00. (I'm sorry...but I need shorts and jeans that don't create such a huge muffintop on my otherwise OK frame - I hate to admit it but that middleage spread seems to have moved in permanently!) Oh horrors! What was I thinking?!?!? That was basically my whole misc budget until May 15th. Doh! Then, when I was at the trailer on Saturday I spent more than my NEW Entertainment budget for the next two weeks on booze. Man, I am just going to the dogs here. 

I will endeavor to rationalize that purchase by saying that the excellent bottle of scotch I bought will last for weeks and weeks of fireside chats and heart-to-hearts at the trailer. So really you could say it's an investment :) One that depreciates, but an investment nonetheless...

On the bright side...I'm thinking...hang in there, I'm sure I'll come up with something.....oh yes, I made an extra little payment of $43.93 on my line of credit so I would have a pretty number ending in zeros and I bought a wedding gift for a friend's daughter's wedding coming up in two weeks.  

I might transfer the money for the gift from my gift account - I mean that's what it's for right?  It's just that I'd like to build my gift account up a bit more before I start taking money out but that's just the way my little mind works. Once the money is in there I hate to take it out. Oh well, it will give me a bit more breathing space in my budget and I really need that. 

Not done yet! I just remembered I spent another $180 this morning (gee, how quickly I can spend and forget!!!) on my daughter's birthday gift. She and I are huge fans of Keith Urban and he's coming to town 2 days before her birthday so that's taken care of! It's been a tradition since she was 12 to take her to a concert for her birthday, building years of memories of shared experiences - the first concert was Amanda Marshall - remember this one?

So, that about wraps it up. Stay tuned for week two...it should prove even more exciting! 

Saturday's Tune: Michael's favorite song these days! (I got shivers listening to this choir's version - enjoy!)

Putting the Squeeze on the Budget

Last week I wrote about putting the You Back in Frugal.  I decided that I desperately needed to add an Entertainment line to my budget, plus I was trying to figure out how to cover my entertainment costs for the rest of April.

I sat down and figured out how much $$ I would need for upcoming social events - coffee with my brother and sister-in-law, dinner with my nephews, movies with Michael, wine to go with dinner at my brother's house yesterday and Easter goodies for Kazi. I budgeted $105 (using my credit card for points & to be repaid next month so I wouldn't have to withdraw money from savings) and I think I came in a bit under budget!!

Budgeted                                                  Actual

Coffee - $3.00                                            $3.25 (had a tea AND a coffee)

Two movies - $12.00                                   $16.75 (movies were $7 each &

                                                                 I bought a diet coke but I 

                                                                 snuck in my own popcorn!!)

Dinner - $50.00                                           $35.00 but then Kazi and I went

                                                                 to Yoyo's for frozen yogurt so

                                                                 that came to:

                                                                 $5.46

Wine - $20.00                                             $19.95

Easter Goodies - $20.00                               $7.76

Total                                                         Total

$105.00                                                     $88.17

I can live with that - I came in under budget and didn't break the bank. I'll pay that back next month (well, payday is Friday) and I've also managed to add an Entertainment line to my budget for $100.00 in addition to my usual Misc money.  It's not a lot but I'll see how it goes. 

The way I came up with the extra $100 was by estimating a few costs a bit closer to their actual costs instead of over-estimating. The amount I pay for interest on my line of credit has decreased but I hadn't adjusted the amount in my budget, also Union Gas and London Hydro have been about $30 less each month than what I had budgeted. 

In May I have a few extra expenses so I hope that doesn't rock the budget too much - I have to pay for my car sticker ($74) and we are going away TWO weekends - one for a wedding (so need to cover a gift and one night at a motel) and one weekend for my birthday. We'll see how it goes.