February Change

Well I am off today to see DS in the States for the weekend. It's his Senior Night this Sat so it will be super bitter sweet that this is probably my last time in his amazing city, and at his rink.

Not sure what the future holds for him next, but he certainly has had amazing memories made in his College Town.


I will head to the bank before we go to the city to catch our flight.

My change for the month totaled $100 and it goes towards my Back to School Target.

I have:
 

• 1 roll of toonies - $50
• 1 roll of loonies - $25
• 1 roll of quarters - $10
• 1 roll of dimes - $5
• 5 rolls of nickels - $10

I checked my 'change' blog logs and the last time I had my $10 worth of nickels to take in was June of 2017. So it took 8 months to acquire 200 nickels.  Interesting fact that probably no one cares about lol

RRSP Update

When last we left my wee little RRSP account it had a balance of $15 455.92 and had made a gain of under $200.

With my quarterly update I am up $358 with a new balance of $15 814.84

I really wish I had been in a position (or smart enough) to add more, and start earlier.  As I head to the last 10 or so years of working I know this little bit isn't going to get me far at all when retirement comes, especially after it's taxed.

I have my $1500 saved for my 2018 contribution so perhaps I will have time to get it added in the next couple weeks.

Where the money stands

as of Feb 5th

Debt

Mortgage - $10 384.93

College LOC - $20 393.42

Total Debt - $30 778.35

Savings/Planned Spending

TFSA/EF - $8200 
RRSP -$15 351

Back to School 2018 - $200

XMAS 2018 - $200

TFSA 2018 - $400

RRSP 2018 - $1500 (goal met)

Plates 2018 - $0

January is always a month that makes me feel energized, money wise.

I have met my goal for RRSP 2018.

I added change for Back to School.

My goal for 2018 was to pay down $1500 extra on my LOC. I managed to do $450. I know that Jan is a month before new bills happen and surprises, or I feel de-energized, so I don't expect to do that much every month. Was a nice start though. 

I hope to be below $30 000 (again) for my March 'where the money stands', but I never try to plan, or Murphy will come knocking.

My next goal will be for vehicle plates (insurance). If the boys manage to be able to pay their own for the first time, then I can redirect that saved money to another purpose.

January Change

I am off this morning to the city for an appointment with my specialist.  It's a 3 hour round trip, plus $60 in gas,  plus 20 min of parking and another ---- minutes of waiting, for a 10 min appointment.

I really appreciate having a specialist. Taking a day off of work and the cost and time it takes to do so is not a fun part.

Before I head out I will stop at the bank to deposit my coins for the month. This will go towards my Back to School goal of $500

I had:

• 1 roll of toonies - $50
• 1 roll of loonies - $25
• 1 roll of dimes - $5
• 2 rolls of quarters - $20

for a total of $100. 1/5th of my back to school goal.

Pay Day

As I sat getting ready for work today, I had an amazing thought...... I may be close to not having to budget for 'college' in my monthly spreadsheet.

Don't get me wrong...the LOC payoff will continue for a good while, but the $ I put aside to get converted painfully to US for college....that part may be close to and end. What an exciting thought.

For a few years now, my budget lines have remained mostly unchanged in category, and not much differently in amounts.

It will be interesting to think about how I will rearrange things. of course debt payoff will be top of the list, but it's fun to imagine what I could do with that money.

I love the freshness of payday. I move anything left in my chequing to my savings and start with my paycheque for the month in chequing.