Seesters and Brudda: By the numbers

It's been ages since I did a "by the numbers" post. So....here goes!

• My first post after my blogging break was #1300!!
• I have been retired for 1505 days!
• I have two sisters and two brothers - ALL older than me. Yes, I'm the baby of the family! My two sisters are 9 and 12 years older than me. My brothers are four and seven years older. 
• I'm visiting one sister and one brother this week...in Bracebridge, ON (Santa's Village!) My other brother and I are going to Scotland soon and I hope to see my other sister at Christmas in PEI though Kazi has a new job and we'll have to see if we can make it happen. 
• Bracebridge is about a 4 hour drive and at one time both of my sisters lived there.
• We leave for Scotland in 30 days!
• Yesterday I rode my bike for 26.7kms :)
• I used points to purchase a $100 Esso card and two $50 grocery store cards (the budget is tight this month!)
• My property tax went down $7 per month! Woohoo!
• My cell phone bill will be increasing by about $15, so much for the previous savings of $7. I added unlimited long distance minutes anywhere in Canada.
• My natural gas bill was a mere $32 in August...but my electricity bill went over budget by $2.37 due to running the A/C. Considering how deathly hot it's been here for weeks and weeks I'm surprised my bill wasn't sky high!!
• So far this month I've spent a whopping $44 on food plus $7 for lemon tarts to share with my Scotland bound brother. Lemon is his favourite - I go to his place for tea every other Thursday and to make plans for the Scotland trip. 
• I have gone to Dairy Queen THREE times so far this month- I only get a plain cone as it has the least amount of calories!!
• And speaking of calories - between eating better (most of the time), cutting out a few things like bread & pasta and riding my bike almost every day I have lost 10% of my overall weight!! I haven't been below 130lbs in 15 years!! 
• I don't think I'll have any $$ to put into savings this month but that's ok. I paid off well over $1,000 on my Mastercard to cover new hiking boots ($423), almost $200 at the Mountain Equipment Company, Greyhound bus tickets to get us to Toronto's Pearson airport, travel insurance and an early birthday dinner with Kazi. Never fear...I clear off my Mastercard every month and pay no interest. 
• I also did some thrifting with my friend Jules; photos in my next post. Can't remember how much I spent but it wasn't much!

Thus ends "By the Numbers" August edition :)

The Winter Weirdness Continues!

I'm heading out in a few minutes to see the movie "Brooklyn" which has been nominated for Best Picture but before I go I just have to remark, once again, on how weirdly this winter is shaping up.

First of all a rain warning is in effect!

Second of all it's supposed to be +11c tomorrow!!!!!

And thirdly of all I just got my natural gas bill (heating, hot water, dryer) and it was only $53.00!!!!!! I budgeted $75.00. Without a doubt this is the lowest January natural gas bill I've ever had over the past 21 winters that we've lived here.

I'm not complaining, but I am getting a little worried about the state of our climate!!

Budget Update

Monday is "Budget Update" day. Aren't you glad you stopped by?

As it is only the first week of my new 2015 budget (and not even a full week at that) the news is all good! Let's enjoy it while it lasts!

Some necessary adjustments have shown up already - my condo fee has gone up by $9 a month. I can handle that. My heating/dryer/hot water tank natural gas bill was $2 more than my estimate of $65 which for this time of year is still ridiculously LOW!! I'll take, it thank you very much, due to a mild December:)

There was extra $$ in the misc budget this month since I don't pay property taxes being on a 10 month plan and because for reasons that will remain a mystery I caught a break in my insurance bill for December AND January. New (lower) rates will begin in February. I appreciated the extra $$ as the bill for my fancy schmancy dining room rug just came through Paypal and I socked an extra $110 into savings to round up my numbers. That all said I still have more than usual in my misc so had a small thrifting spree at Talize to the tune of $36!! I bought a gorgeous new to me coat for $12...brown suede with leather trim and faux fur collar, cuffs and hood! It appears to be brand new or rarely worn!

...a daypack which I've been wanting for quite some time, again looking brand new for $3.99! It just has one strap, you wear it across your body which means the days of taking off my backpack in order to access water/snacks etc are over - just pull around to the front of your body and open - voila!

 ...2 new hats and a kitty....oh no, that's Luna, she's not new! (Hats were $2.99 each)

...something I'm always looking for - splash pants to keep me dry on hikes for $7.99 - in great shape!

 ...and this treasure - a brand new (tag still on) Tuff jacket that was 50% off!! for $6.50!!

And a kitty!! Oh no, that's Luna again - she loves being in the middle of things :)

A very good day of thrifting!!

My variable totals are steady at $615 in the misc budget, a full $180 in the gas budget with a full tank still in Dougie the Dodge and $252 in the food budget.

This photo of my fridge tells me that I don't need to shop this week. Mondays are my gas up and grocery shopping days but I won't need to do either this week. I LOVE it when the money stays IN my budget. All the more for savings at the end of the month...go away Murphy!! I wasn't talking to you!!

Are you on a new budget for 2015 or is it same old same old? If it ain't broke, don't need to fix it!!