Bank of Mom loan - the end is in sight!

So I finally had a chance to get to the brick and mortar bank this week and get out this month's contribution to this loan. Right now the 'snowball' is at $400 so with what I had before, I am within $100 of the end. This is so exciting and such a milestone for me.

If I can manage to scrimp and snowball, I have the potential to pay this off before...that's BEFORE, next payday. I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited.

*crosses my fingers*

Battle between diet and budget

Ok so I used up all of my groceries jar by Thursday and the new week doesn't start until Monday. Did I spent my week's money wisely? naww probably not. Too many 'just grab this etc'.

So we are out of milk and the boys need it so I decide ok I have money from my 'dining out' for the week and food is food. After all, milk is more important than Chinese food take out. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm chinese food take out. *drools*

So off I go to Walmart this AM after I drop DS2 off at band practice. I have $10 for groceries and $10 for household (Kleenex...lots as it is cold season and I need some cheapie emory boards). Two milk bring me in around $8 before tax and the tissue and boards bring me to $9.

Hey, great job right? I stayed within the cash I had.

Problem is I am there going 'ohhh I am out of fiber 1 ceral for me.' 'oh I haven't tried those 100 calorie packs', 'ohhhh those yogurt look good'.

I swear to god if someone were walking beside me they would have phoned for the men in white coats. I was talking to myself constantly. "nooo jolie you can't have that. You spent your grocery money unwisely'. "yess jolie I am sure those new 100 c packs are tasty as hell but you need milk!!' Over and over. I even laughed outloud as I battled 'me'.

When it all came down I walked out with just the above mentioned items and a wee bit of jingle in the pocket'.

It is HARD to buy healthy for cheap. Especially when we're way up here and produce costs the earth.

Anyone else battling the balance between healthy and cheap?

Anyone else been hauled away for aruging with yourself in the store? lol

I'm on a great clutter cleaning binge today. Wheeeeeeeeeee. It's so much fun. Two big garbage bags full of containers etc that I NEVER use that will go off to the food bank who will use them happily.

Cleaning up the clutter

January's a great time for new routines and new self promises. One I've really been working on is cleaning out clutter. We have a wee 850 square foot house plus basement and with four of us in it (plus two cats), there just isn't the space for unnecessary things.

I used to be a packrat. Honest. I just couldn't stand to throw out anything and carefully kept it, never looking at many things, but feeling the items kept the memories alive.

So as part of a new me I have been working the past couple years on getting rid of the clutter. Just keeping up with the kids' clothes they've outgrown was a challenge in and of itself. I found a family who lives near my sister with 6 little ones younger than mine, so we joyfully pack up items about 3 times a year as we go through the closets and drawers and send it on up, knowing a family with limited funds is getting 'new to them' clothes. A good home.

I have gotten rid of my castoffs to the Canadian Diabetes Organization, who sends a van around every couple months.

House hold wise, I have had a garage sale every year and love it when I see things go off to a new home.

It's almost scary, the joy I get out of yet another garbage bag of something gone LOL

It makes me feel more in control I think and really.......who needs a bunch of things that are never used???

I am a big believer in the 'one in/one out' rule and while we may not practice it immediately, I think it's fair to say that we do a pretty good job of this. My spouse isn't a big fan of letting things go and gets right cranky when I even 'think' about going through his stuff so I have to leave it alone sadly. I mean really.........if you haven't fit that pair of jeans (x 20) since I met you 18 years ago...........it's pretty safe to say they are OUT of style and could benefit from a new home.

I found this great webpage the other day and there is some great stuff in there for the routine declutterers as well as the newbies.

http://organizedhome.com/

Dishing out for Weight Watchers

ok I admit it. I've overweight. Not one of those girls with four extra ounces on here, tossing her head back, back of hand to brow, crying out 'ohhhh I'm so fat'. no not that at all. I'm at the high end of the 'o' scale. Don't make me type that word. LOL

A few years ago I did WW on my own with FANTASTIC results. like 80 lbs. But then you stop the program and start the eating and whammo, you're back where you were. So last January I said "this is my year" and I joined WW MEETINGS and I was fabulous from Jan to end of May and lost about 40 lbs. Yeah me

Then I stopped and I am not really sure why. There is no real good reason. I tried valiantly in October/November 08 but things fell apart when my son was injured.

So here I am back again and after 'trying' to do it on my own I have given up and paid the $ . I had been putting money aside a bit each month so I did not go off budget on this one bit (yeah me) but the $ still hurt.

For registration week plus 8 weeks it was $140. That's just for the local meetings. A coupon for each of the 8 meetings. Now see I'm in Canada. When I got home and checked the ww pages for the US, that cost was HALF. You heard me HALF. crazy insane. AND in the US you get a monthly pass. You can go to as many meetings as you want or need to in the month AND you get access to the online tools.

Why, oh WHY WW Canada are you hosing the Canadians for the same program and services as you have in the US. Even with the wee bit of $ exchange, it's still incredibly unbalanced.

Sigh. just one example of how things cost more in Canada for the same darn thing as the US.

*grumble grumble grumble*

Anyways I went back and now I have a start on getting my sh*t together and get healthier.

Does the program work? yup, but you have to work the program.
Do other programs work? probably but I haven't been successeful with the ones I have tried.

I will continue to have a budget line to support my WW habit so I can't use $ as an excuse.

Happy Friday

My first month - Part 2

What I did:

• I went to the dollar store and got some lil plastic jars for $3 and labelled them with their category and how much went in each week. It made it feel more like the show Til Debt do Us Part.
• I sat down and figured out how many 20s, 10s and 5s I needed to get from the bank to fill for each week.
• I hit the brick and mortar bank in person more times than I can count, but for a variety of reasons.
• I withdrew the $ for 2 weeks, placing the first week in the jars, and the second in an envelope
• I used cash for every 'jar' purchase except twice (and then deducted that amount so it all would balance at home)
• I did eat at out at people's houses many times as it was the end of the Christmas season so that saved on groceries.
• I did cook out of my pantry and freezer quite a bit more
• I did find myself saying, NO to myself many times while I was shopping if what I wanted wasn't on the list or if I didn't take enough cash with me.
• I did doodle lots on how much I would need to pay off the Mastercard and where I could get it from, and it worked.
• I did pay off my Mastercard
• I did have money left over in the jars.
• I did move the leftover money each week into the identically labelled envelope so that at the end of the month I would know how much I spent/saved each week in each category.
• I did have a lot of snowflakes: christmas $, lots of rolled coins, bottles taken in etc. I recognize that isn't going to happen each time.
• I got reallllllly excited about paying off that Credit card and everything extra went to that.

What I did not:

• I did not carry $ with me except if I knew I was going to go to 'x' after work and then took the right amount from that jar.
• I did not have very many transaction lines on my bank statement. LOL Usually it takes up pages.
• I did not gain many airmiles points, which I get for using my BMO debit card and Mastercard, because I didn't really use them.
• I did not add to my credit card debt.
• I did not go once for my morning coffee to Tim Horton's on the way to work.
• I did not go out once for lunch during the work week.
• I did not buy any magazines or books
• I did not write down each thing I bought. I tried but even for me, that was micromanaging too much and I fell behind and stopped.