Where the money stands

Debts

Mortgage -  $35 202.31
Vehicle Loan - $15 873.31

Total Debts - $51 075.62

Savings

EF (TFSA) - $2000
Summer 2010 - $525

Total Savings - $2525

Planned Savings
RRSP - $ 2 500
RESP - $6 350

I am looking forward to:

• having my total debt enter a new decade and be under $50 000
• having my vehicle loan get under $10 000

I will hit the first by March 5th ish and the second................really depends on income tax returns, our new teaching contract which is under negotiation and how much extra I slam onto it.

$1.129 a liter

yup that 's correct. That is how much our gas went up to yesterday. Prior to Christmas, we'd been hanging around $1.019 for quite some time. Then 2 weeks before Christmas, it jumped to $1.099 over night. Then this little blessing yesterday. I guess I am lucky I filled up Tuesday night so I am good for a week or so.

It's craziness how it jumps so quick. Not sure what that comes to per gallon for the US readers.

Did everyone else's prices jump up too???

Day before school this'n'that

Well today definitely is here. Vacation is over and today was the day of reckoning. House to clean. Laundry to do. Groceries to shop for. Work to do at the school.

It was a big day of checklists. morning will go so much easier for the boys and I if we are ready to go. So that means that all the clothes are clean and ready to go. It means the fridge needed to be cleaned out and new groceries shopped for. It means I needed to run to the school, get my room ready and plan for my students for tomorrow. I try to plan to stagger it up for them as it's hard coming back that first day.

A spirit of optimism seems to permeate wherever I go, for 2011. I am excited to see what the year brings and, more importantly, what do I DO with what the year brings me.

I have restless energy tonight..puttering here and there to make sure there are no 'where is my....' surprises in the morning.

Vehicle is filled up and ready to go. Jars are filled.

It's game on!

So for the week, comes a menu which I planned earlier but never posted.

Sunday - Ribs and baked potatoes
Monday - Pork Chops, Fusili and Corn
Tuesday - Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza, Salad
Thursday - Chilli and homemade bread
Friday - leftovers

So there we go.

Have a good week back to school everyone.

2011 Goals

My goals for the coming year aren't all that different than my 2010 goals to be honest. For the most part, they were good, solid goals with an achievable end. Well at least my financial ones were.

Financial Goals

1) EF (TFSA) - $1000. I have $2000 in the account right now. Not a safety net by any means, but a start. Once I get my Vehicle Loan Paid off, I hope to be in a position to at least double the annual contribution.

2) RRSP - $1500. Again, small beans in the big picture, but a girl can only divide a mess of beans into so many piles.

3) Summer 2011 - $1000. Boy it sure was nice to have that money set aside for fun things that come up in the summer. Want to go golfing boys? ok. Want to go camping? You bet. I am already at $525 for this one so it will be done in no time.

4) Back to School - $1500. This one is new. Back to school kills. I have fees due as an educator and the social and coffee fund at work. The boys' school fees are about $125 each. They both need back to school supplies. DS2's band fees are $500. Not even going to start on DS1's hockey fees. *shudder*. This will ease things up considerably.

5) Xmas 2011 - $1400. I have upped the budget on this one. Would be nice to cut expenses and try I shall, but prices go up every year for things.

I have money I set aside each month for these items. I have decided to lump all that money together and whap it on one target at a time. When you divide it between 5 targets it feels like forever until one is filled. Breaking it apart this way keeps me more motivated, I believe. It's what I actually ended up doing most of the year last year and it worked quite fine.

My order of attack is:
a) Summer
b) Back to School
c) Xmas 2010
d) EF
e) RRSP

Personal Goals

1) Lose 20 lbs
2) Get to the gym or cancel the membership!!!
3) 10 new recipes
4) 25 new books
5) Move more (tied into #2)
6) Use my time more efficiently.

11:11 1/1/11 (aka highlights of 2010)

I just had to post this at a specific time.

Posted at 11:11 and the date is 1/1/11

totally cool!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've seen some lovely highlight posts from others and it struck me as a wonderful way to pay tribute to the past year in ways that are not always financial. Here is my list for 2010.

January brought some highs and lows. DH's father passed away after intermittant struggles with poor health. It was an end of era on that side of the family.  I began setting up RESPs for my sons. Late? oh yes. But I have over $6000 instead of $0 so better late than never.

February gave us some good family bonding time, which we often neglect in the whirling of every day life. I also began my first RRSP, which was a very intimidating process. Also late to the game on this.

March  was quieter. I was appreciating the jars very much. It's  a great cash only mechanism to use, even if I don't stay 100% pure with it all year.

April was a wonderful month. I paid off my consolidation loan a full year early. It was an amazing experience and the rush was phenomenal.

May gave me multiple opportunities to be appreciative of a filing system. I needed documents and found them, literally, in moments. Amazing! I also participated in my first MS walk to raise money for the cause. I am hoping that this will be an annual family event.

June was a busy month. Lots of running with the boys as we wrapped up school activities. Sister 1 turned 50 and we had a big party for her at the lake - her happy place. It was a very odd feeling to know that one of my siblings was 50.

July was a wonderfully relaxing month. Time at the lake. Soccer with DS1. Camp for DS2. camping with my family.

August brought a first. DS2 made it through a rigorous training camp for Scouts and was awarded the title of Service Scouter. I couldn't have done half the stuff he did. Am so proud of him. A lot of good saving and a successful garage sale saw the boys and I pull together to raise $ for a new sectional. It was a very good experience for them to see that things just don't appear at the home without planning and thought. I also felt very old as we welcomed the first Great Nephew to the family, and went to the first of the 'next generation' weddings, as my nephew got married.

September was back to school. DS1 made the hockey team we were hoping he would.

October didnt' see much remarkable happen for this  month aside from my vehicle loan moving under the 20 grand mark.

November was humbling.  DS1 turned 16 and got his license. Again, I felt old. very exciting for him though.

December I went over budget for Christmas. I have some heavy reflection to do for plans for 2011.

And that was my year, in a nutshell.

Here's to a 2011 full of fun, family and adventures.