Where the Money Stands

as of March 8, 2011

Debts
Mortgage-  $34 693.51
Vehicle Loan -  $14 270.12
Total Debt - $ 48 963.63

Savings
EF (TFSA) - $2000
Summer 2011 - $1000
Back to School - $742
Total Savings - $3742

Planned Savings
RESPs - $6800
RRSP - $2500


This month my debt dropped by $769.20. Not as much as I would have liked but it is a work in progress.

My "jars" piechart

So I thought I'd play around with, and relearn how to make Pie Charts. I chose my Monthly variable expense jars as the focus of this one. It was a very powerful visual to see the colours manifest. Wow my kids eat a lot. While that big chunk of red is groceries AND home, the majority of it is groceries. Then again, watching my two bottomless pits eat constantly (and still thin as rails) I realize it really is a big part of our life. There is always room for adjustments and better meal choices; for more frequent menu planning and more food from scratch. I can continue to work on that.

What is in my jars?

Here is the weekly snapshot.

Groceries and Home: $170
Gas:  $50
Entertainment: $40
Spending (my own allowance): $20
Clothing and Gifts: $25

The last item on the list is the one which needs the most boosting and that will come, eventually.

It's Telemiracle Weekend (and the Briar, and report cards)

It's a busy day round these parts. Firstly it's the end of Telemiracle Weekend. Telemiracle is an annual Telethon/Fundraiser in Saskatchewan. It's been going on for 36 years now and I can remember watching all through the night as a child. The money raised goes to help individuals, groups or heath care facilities across the province. Among the national/international talent, they audition for local Saskatchewan talent. Happily, my youngest niece and her friends were chosen and their band got to perform live in the wee hours of the night. Auntie taped it as she doesn't have the stamina anymore :P

The Canadian Men's Curling Briar started yesterday so I've been keeping that on as I am working and doing marks. I am hoping they feature a SK game soon.

My house needs attention and I have lots more on my to do lists. Top priority are the report cards though.

Supper is at mom's. Thanks mom!!

Saturday This'n'that

What a fast and busy first week back to work.  I was swamped with meetings before school, meetings after school. meetings at noon. It was still bitter cold out but there is just the slightest chance of things improving weatherwise *knock on wood*


Thank you to everyone for your wonderful commiseratory comments about gas prices. It is nice to know the whole country's gas is crazy. One of the mornings on my way to work I saw my station back at $1.119 (8 cents less) but I was en route to a meeting and could not stop. By the time I got home from work, it was back up again. I guess it was not meant to be. I had come home from Edmonton with gas in the tank and I never actually used my gas jar money this week so that money is still tucked aside in the 'gas wallet' so that when I need an oil change or when we have some longer driving trips, there is extra gas money ready.


DS1 is busy reffing this weekend. I told him we're going to start his jar for his share of the vehicle plates. I want him to come up with $400. Hockey season will be soon over and he will need to get on it to find  a job for spring/summer so he can continue to learn how to budget and save. The hard part for him (as it was for me) is to understand that once that money goes IN the jar, that it ceases to exist as money he can spend. We shall see how successful I am with that lesson. I don't know how receptive I would have been if my mother had did that for me, but I honestly wish she had.


As I went to get their allowance this morning I realized that we never got around to handing out last Saturday's. With their consent, it is going in my snowflake jar for DS's plates. $20 towards my goal. wheee


Both my snowflake and my vehicle savings goals  in the sidebar have been updated this morning. It is nice to see them growing. The snowflake jar will grow more whenever the Income Tax refund comes.

I have a bit of banking to do this morning. Once that it is done, there won't be anymore 'banking' to do this month aside from taking out my  last 3 weeks of jars, as each week starts.

Once that is done it is off to the school to meet a couple of other girls and we shall work on report cards while watching the first game of the Briar (Canadian Men's curling). The number of extra hours of work that go in during report card season is high. I've probably done about 8 so far as I mark the last assignments, or locate them, for the students who never bothered to hand them in)

It's still frosty out there and a very light snow is falling. Well hopefully if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like  a lamb.

PS - ohhhhh I forgot to write that our furnace quit on Monday night when it was 40 below out and dropping. I noticed something was off whilst DS2 and his father were at scouts. It just kept dropping no matter how lovingly I encouraged the thermostat to warm it up. When he got home I told hubby that something was off. As per usual he accused me of doing something to change the default settings. mhm like I have nothing better to do than play with the default settings while you are gone just to piss you off when you get home. *sweet lil eye roll*. He tinkered with something and the heat cut in giving him the chance to erroneously say ` I told you so`.  He woke me up around midnight to declare that the furnace was broken. I refrained from saying anything. We made it through the night with quilts and the repairman was called in the morning. This avoided emergency call out fees. It was the switch which was broken. This was replaced and the bill will be mailed. No clue how much that will cost.

Grrrrrrrrrr Gas

$1.199 per Liter

Yup. Gas went up. Again. It's crazy trying to keep up. It jumped 8 cents overnight. We were already higher than many of our neighbouring communities and soar higher we go.

It means I need to think carefully about trips around town and ask  myself if I really need to go, or can I wait and combine trips.

darn gas prices!!