Where the money stands

as of July 4th

Debts
Mortgage - $27 313.38
LOC - ZERO :-)

Total Debt - $27 313.38

Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $2062
(set aside waiting for full $1000 to formally add to TFSA - $273)
RESP - $14 040
RRSP - $6100
Plates - $1200
Summer - $1000

Not much progress beyond completing the summer goal. I am SO far behind on my savings goals. Scary stuff. Need to get cracking on the 'back to school' and then Xmas

There was no change on the RESP numbers which is odd. The money comes out of my account on the 1st of the month and shows up pretty quick after that on the resp account.

Murphy loves the summer too!

And Murphy has arrived.

My front passenger tire has been having issues the past 6 months. Leaking air. We go and get a patch and it just doesnt' quite hold, but enough that I could put off thinking for awhile. Then it would start to leak again. Lather, rinse repeat.

So I guess it was time to face reality and know that 2 new tires are needed for the front. Silly me, I never realized that if you have issues with 1, the set needs to be replaced so that there is equal traction and such. My dad looked at me like I was an airhead when I explained that this was brand new information.

The 'life happens' mantra  hit in when we went to the campgroun for supper last night. Just as we were leaving a truck pulling a fifth wheel pulled in for the night. Two of his tires on the fifth wheel were in shreds and he was limping in. He said he has 2 spares but in their journey from Winnipeg that day, 2 other tires on his fifth wheel had gone too and he was already using the spares. What are they odds that four tires would go in one day. Murphy really likes this guy. He asked about tire shops  and we gave him the flyers we had for prices and phone numbers. He was very appreciative.

I really don't want to be  on a roadtrip and have a tire go kablooey (that has GOT to be a real word).

So tire shopping we went. I know I should have regular tires and winter tires, especially for our neck of the woods, but 4 tires x 2 seasons x 4 vehicles....the cost makes me nauseated.  So all wheel tires is what we went went. I shopped prices at the four or five places we have around here and found the one with the best rate, who had them in stock and could do them today.

2 all wheel tread tires in the mid price range were $207.99 each for a total of $415. Add on the labour and taxes and it brought me up to $513.82 to have them installed and balanced.

OW!!

My vehicle is 5 years old last month and these are the original tires. I had them all rotated as per schedule. Not sure honestly how long tires are supposed to last. I guess that is something new for me to learn. I need to start saving for 2 more tires for the back before winter

Why I do declare...

that July is 'use it up' month, for me.

As I put the pieces of my end of June messy home back together, I am realizing how many bits of this and that I have. Whether it be pantry (cookie mix, puddings, little bags of pasta) or freezer (4 bags of peas with a handful in each one?  chicken breast or chops in single packs, obviously leftover from a bigger batch of cooking) - or household items (samples of swiffer floor cloths, household cleaning supplies with a bit left in each, or little bottles of lotion and shampoo)

Crazy silly. Things forgotten and a new one opened, but still taking up space and going unused in the recesses of my home, and mostly, money wasted.

Time to bite the bullet and see how many things I can use up in July and clear some clutter from my world.

Happy Use it up Month!

June Change

With no wrappable change during May, and my spending more cash than debit in June, I suspected the change would be more substantial for this month.

2 rolls of toonies - $100
1 roll of quarters - $10
1 roll of dimes - $5
1 roll of nickles - $2
2 rolls of pennies - $1

For a grand total of $118. This money is going straight to the bank today to be added to the money I am saving for my EF/TFSA. When it gets to $1000 then I will make an appt with the bank to have that transferred officially into my TFSA account.

The pennies - well no one gives them out anymore but as I clean and sort and tidy, they are popping up here and there in the vehicles and the house.

Thanks Change! I like you!

Quiet Canada Day

I know a lot of folk go wild and crazy for Canada day, but that just isn't our thing. The lakes are packed with folk celebrating. The provincial parks are alcohol free on long weekends, as things got far TOO wild a few years ago. I think it has cut down a lot on the parties and things getting out of control.

For us, DS2 headed off with some of his scouters to their camp for a few days. He is driving himself up there now and I always hold my breath until I know he's there safe. Highway fatalities on long weekends always go up. I was glad to get his text that he'd arrived.

DH and I headed over to a pancake breakfast the community was hosting. A lot of people turned out for this. I always laugh when students from my school see me out and about. I can hear their wheels turning "she's OUT? in public?? are teachers allowed out??"  The breakfast was good. I know how much volunteer work it takes to make something like that a success and I think the crew did a great job.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet. I hit the grocery store to restock my bare fridge and get some meat for grilling. It was great to see the fridge bursting with fresh fruits and veggies.

One of the funniest things today was a facebook status my aunt put up. She is almost 70 and new to facebook and was so excited to learn how to attach a picture from the net and wish Canada a  happy birthday. I about died laughing when I saw the flag....it wasn't a maple leaf...it was cannibas, in red. She didn't realize.  My sister and I rock paper scissored to see who would tell her. I won LOL

DH and I went to the campground at supper to have a hot dog roast with DS. He can't leave during supper time but he can take his break. It was nice to see how well he interacts with the campers coming in. It certainly wasn't a fancy supper, but it was somewhere different and 3/4 of us were together.

The new fence neighbours had a party tonight to celebrate her 30th birthday. They warned us ahead of time it might be noisy and invited us over. We didn't go but it was good to hear them having fun. They weren't all that loud at all. As I type this, the celebration is still going on and the community Canada Day Fireworks are about to start.

However you celebrated, big or small, happy Canada Day my fellow Canuck bloggers. The fourth is here soon to my American Friends :-)