a wee bit of snow

As we head into the long weekend here and I say goodbye to July, I took the money I had left from my June-July budget, and deposited it in my savings, targetted for RRSP. Adding that $200 to the $250 that was already there and I am almost 1/3 of the way to my target.

There won't be jar updates for this month or for next. All the extra cash will be heading towards the unbudgeted categories of the Toronto trip and the week long hockey camp in another city.

My hope is to come through end of August/school start, unscathed, and get back onto diligent jar categories for Aug-September. It worked so well for me from Christmas on, and I hope to recreate that as I meet the RRSP goal and figure out where to go next.

Driving myself squirrely

It seems all I have done this summer is do and redo the numbers as I try to figure out the best way to get my RRSP goal done before Christmas. I play different number columns over and over and I'm driving myself crazy.

I have hit the point where I begrudge the money flying out for groceries, gas and expenses. I am getting miserly with 'fun' money and as a result I think my boys are having a very dull summer. Then I feel guilty for not being a better mother and giving them more of the experiences they love to do.

and around it goes.

I can't say as I am enjoying these feelings. Makes one anxious, depressed and fretful.

Wee sidebar update

About 6 months ago I paid off the Bank of Mom Loan so that has come off the sidebar as something to keep track of. It really was good to see a personal loan of mine that I actually paid off in full :-) Made me proud.

I also updated the personal (consolidated) loan. The payment came out today and I am, after 16 months, at more than 50% paid off. It's a 36 month loan so I am a wee bit ahead of schedule. yeah me :-)

This loan is due to mature March 26, 2011 according to the original loan agreement but I am going to do everything possible to pay it all off by June 26th, 2010. Then I can take that amount and pay double on my vehicle loan every month.

*crosses her fingers that all goes according to plan*

A spendy day

We headed into the city yesterday. The primary goal was to get DS1 new equipment for hockey as he's grown immensely since last season ended. We braced ourselves as we knew this was not a low budget trip. It wasn't. Not even a little bit. It's the price we pay for having him in sports, and at the higher level of sports he will be at. He needed new skates (the most costly of all the items), pants, shoulder pads, a new bag as his was pretty much toast after lasting three seasons, and a new stick.

Total cost for the boy's base needs: $1349. Scary hey? And that is only about half the equipment. Fortunately the gloves, shin pads, elbow pads and helmet still fit. I'll still need to put out about another $100 for his mouth guard (note to self: get that done next week).

Money is all about choices and yes this is indeed a costly one. But we don't smoke or drink.... we don't gamble or ski....we don't have expensive summer and winter outside toys. I know far too many folks who spend their cash on those items. Choices.

wheee summer 'payday'

Ok the reason I had payday in " " is that technically as a teacher, I do not get paid in the summer or for the summer (though tons of folks out there sure think my summers are paid time off LOL)

I get paid for the 10 months of the school year. Now being horrible with money, I took advantage of our division (district)'s kind program that allows me to divide my salary by 12 and not 10, so I can actually have money coming in, in the summer.

A bonus of this is that for the July and August cheques, I do not have to pay union dues, pension contributions and insurance, as those only come off during the actual paycheques. So each July and August it's a bit of a surprise how much that cheque will actually be. This month I net an extra $650. August should be about the same.

I am so grateful for this extra $1300. I have to tuck it aside and use it for the start up fees for fall. Here is what I estimated last year for these activities.

It will be interesting to see what this year brings. As soon as I get paid, that extra money is going into a dif account until it is time to use it. I am estimating about $1600 this year but it depends on fees for their sports/band/school.

A Canadian vs US cost comparison

For those of you who are not familiar with Gail Vaz -Oxlade, she is a Canadian $ Guru with a TV show on slice.ca called Til Debt do us Part. I really enjoyed her post today as it answers questions I had always had. I had always believed US prices were far far below Canadian ones, mostly in terms of consumer product prices. This was a really neat comparison you might wish to check out.


The post is called "Where does our money go?"

Awwww 10,000

I just realized when I peeked on here that I was over 10,000 hit since I started this blog last fall. That's pretty darn exciting for a girl who was afraid to put a counter on there for fear no one but her would read it LOL

Granted I get that probably half of that 10,000 is me as I check the pages, tinker, update things etc. It's rather annoying that it does that for the blogwriter.

But still ... :-)

Thanks so much to everyone who pops by to read and comment, and also those who just pop by to read. I've learned so much by writing this and your insights.

Lake Update

Well there was a breeze blowing in which saved me from pure heat. The boys had a great time out there and it was great to have a good long visit with my sister, which I haven't had the chance to do since her MS diagnosis, as she's been away.

It didn't end up being too costly. Another one of my sisters had a park pass I borrowed so I saved that $8.

Day at the lake costs:

Gas $10

Groceries $12

Mini Golf $15

for a total of $37.

a wee outing

I never seem to get the boys to too many fun things in the summer. We're bound at home this year with an 80+ father in law recovering from hip replacement. As well, there is the cost of going places and I admit I have trouble doling out money for fun. Something I need to work on as life without fun is pretty sad indeed.

That being said, we are heading out to the lake today. It's about 30 minutes from town so the costs today will be gas, park entry fee and the food we take to munch on for supper. My sister is out there so we'll have a place to perch for the day.

I really hate heat and sand and beach. Maybe it's a product of being overweight. Maybe it's my lily pale skin that burns when going by a lightbulb. lol But go I shall, to give some fun to my boys. Have a good day.

something forgotten in the budget

I've been going over $ the past few year, playing 'what if' for when debts or goals will be met. It's always fun :-)

I popped into the school the other day just to move something things around and get a couple small things off my to do list for fall.

It didn't take long to get into teacher mode and start planning things like my welcome back bulletin board, and what things I need to get the year started. I curled up at my desk, music filling the room, and wrote out my list for my august shopping. It was a great list. A work of art.

Then like a lightning bolt it hit me. Girl this is the first August you've been on Gail's Magic Jars and a B U D G E T. Ackk!!!! There is no budget line for such things as setting up your classroom. You never made one.

With a lovely cup of coffee I started playing around with the $ to see where I could squeeze out some cash to make my classroom shopping list happen. It just wasn't realistic. I have so much debt I am working SO hard to pay off so my little $300ish list just isn't going to happen.

It was a hard lesson for me. I probably spend $1000 a year of my own money in the classroom or for the students. This isn't refundable and beyond the general 'work allowance' that everyone gets for Canadian Income Tax, it isn't deductable.

So I took a hard long look at my list. Then I looked at the mound of resources I have in my classroom that I've bought over the year. Tons!! seriously. I started to cross items off my shopping list. Some were easy to cross off, which must show how incredibly important they were to me LOL. Some were definitely harder to x out.

I said goodbye to the new ideas for bulletin board stuff and dug out the idea from about 7 years ago. Wham, up on the board. All done. Cost to me? $0

Do I really need new pens/markers/sharpies etc this year? No. I can use up what I have in my drawer and then we'll see.

Do I need a few new binders to store things? yes so I will have to watch for sales.

The list is still a work in progress. It will be less than $50. Where the money will come from, I will have to determine.

A good catch

Last week I had put the first of $ in my savings account for future RRSP purchases. This is the same account I keep my Christmas money in as well as my baby EF $. I finally got the online banking hooked up properly for it but I got confused when the $250 didn't seem to get added on.

I checked my receipt from the bank and yeah.....it should have been in there.

I debated going today or Monday. I thought perhaps on a Friday afternoon the bank might be busy or the staff might be less happy to help. I went anyways.

I hit the ATM first to get a print out of the current balance then headed in. I explained my question and showed the receipt from last week. After a bit of digging she found that it had been erroneously deposited into the trust/yearly dues portion of the bank. There is a $5 member fee per year. I however was special and paid $255 lol. They have no clue how that happpened as there are several steps to 'get' into that part They transferred it to the correct amount.

I never keep those receipts but recently I started to and boy am I glad I did :-)

Almost the weekend

I made it through the city trip. The boys and I did lunch for under $30 so that was good. We hit the first big bookstore. It ws my first time in there. For a book lover like myself it's simply amazing and overwhelming. I just can't believe how many different books are out there. People may not like to read, but you can't tell me in a store that size, there isn't something of interest for everyone in there.

I did well. I didn't find the book I wanted there. My sons each got the books they were looking for, paid for with their own money. It's good for them to have practice with money handling and spending. Even just the mechanics of being at the cashier on their own is a good experience for them.

We jetted to the older, smaller (but still good sized) bookstore and I learned the book I want is out of stock and en route to being out of print. The store wouldn't get getting any more of them in. Now granted if I were to journey to another city there's a good chance it could be there, but I wasn't willing to take a chance, given how rarely I go places.

I came home and found it on amazon.ca so I ordered from there. Should be here in a week or so.

I also had hit a used bookstore in the city and got 2 novels I'd been looking for, used. All told three books cost me under $30. There goes my spending money for the week LOL

I haven't bought books in ages, let alone three in one day. Such a wild girl I am lmao

Heading to a trigger spot

We all have our triggers...for some of us it's purses....clothing...make up....perfume....electronics...power tools.

Mine is books :-)

Ok this will totally ID me as a 'non city' girl but, tomorrow I'm leaving for 'the city' to pick up my brother in law at the airport. I haven't been out of town for months. Starting to make me stir crazy. The boys are both coming with me and we're hitting the bookstore. Both boths are reader's thank goodness, though the older one is a little more particular in his choices. I've promised them each they could use their allowance they've saved up for a book or two each. They only buy the ones they are truly passionate about. The rest they get from the library.

See, me and books, we have this long illicit love affair. I love reading. I could do it for hours. Now my reading choices are not always high quality but they are not harlequin romance either :-) I seriously have spent thou$and$ over my adult life on books. I am slowly weeding them out. Garage sale. Giving them to the hospital or library. I actually have all the books I currently own on one bookshelf now. Probably 200ish. That's a far cry from the closet filled with boxes of books. That closet, I just cleaned on the weekend, and has ROOM in it now.

So I am going to have to limit what I will let myself buy. Either X $ or 2 books methinks. I will have to do some online exploring tonight to see what is new from my favourite authors.

Here's to a NON meltdown :-)

Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

I spent a bit this morning curled up on my front step this morning, wind blowing, as I sipped my coffee. I have to admit, I am pretty lucky to live on the street I live in. I know most of my neighbours, or rather, they know me. They've known me since I was a little girl and my grandparents lived on this street. We aren't 'hey come to my house for supper' kind of close. More like chitchat from the lawn or when putting out the trash. It's an older neighbourhood, circa 1950s. While sometimes a few (yes, you the lady across the street) are a bit nosy, it's well meaning nosy. I know they watch out for our home, just as we watch out for theirs. If I needed anything, they'd be there in whatever way we could. They are good to my cats, who do roam but dont' dig...they just want petting.

There is something to be said for having a connection with your neighbourhood. I am watching the new parts going up on the edge of town and while I am envious of those big bright beautiful houses....the yards are small............the neighbours, unknown to each other for now... It will take awhile and the right chemistry to get the feel of a 'good street'.

That is kind of a wealth, all to it's own.

Mentally Scary

It's a mind thing, to be sure. Something I have to get over to be sure. I get paid once a month. Most of the action takes place in the first 7 days in my account: loan 1, loan 2, distributing $ to it's destinations and the bills.

Right now I've taken out Week 3's jar $ and with everything else paid, all that remains in there is Week 4's money. Given that payday is 13 days away, it feels frightening.

Now really, I tell myself, what extra money do you need? You have your jar money for groceries, spending etc already taken out. You have next week's ready in the account. Your bills are all paid. Should a small emergency come, you have your baby EF. If times were horridly desperate, you have some options.

Just that teeny bit in the account is scary LOL

Home from camping

Well it was a lovely camping trip, if a bit damp. We took a 'long weekend' and went camping with some of the family. There were about 12 of us there so not everyone, but a good sprinkling of members. Tenting up in the northern forests, surrounded by pine trees, and good clear lake water.

I often feel guilty for not giving the boys more of this during the summer, but like everything else, it costs and I haven't quite figured out how to balance it all. Still the boys got in fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing, thanks to their Uncle's boat. My sister and her family are all about the outdoors and they have all the great toys.

There was great food and lots of laughs. It absolutely froze at night. With the damp rains and low temps, the tents got mighty cold.

For money, it costs for 2 tanks of gas (2.5 hours away, one way), about $50 worth of munchies, the fee for the tent each night, which isn't cheap and we chipped in for gas money for the boat. The rest of the food my mom provided. That is her self- declared role and to fight it just gets tiresome after a point because one never wins with her :P We ate very well!

Now home to do mounds and mounds of laundry and cut the lawn.

Happy Sunday all

a benefit of Credit card rewards

With 'almost' 100% carefully planning and pay off (just one glitz in June), I have seen my AirMiles rewards zooming up. I usually ran around 20 miles a month, which was hardly worth it. I was excited earlier this spring with 50ish. I checked this morning though and for the past month, I earned 122 miles. Granted that shows how much went on the MC, but still :-)

Aside from Shopper's Drug Mart Optimum card, the MC airmiles is the only reward card I use.

Even better was that Bank of Montreal nixed the $35 fee for the card. I saw it go on my statement and then about 4 days later, a $35 credit refund applied.

rain, sipping tea and a new goal

I swear there is nothing more peaceful and theraputic than laying in bed early in the morning, window open, the sounds and smells of a gentle rain coming down, breeze wafting over you, and knowing there is no where you have to be that day. It was a glorious way to wake up.

It felt like a tea morning rather than a coffee morning and so I sit here, curled up, reading my comments (thank you), and catching up on my blog reading.

I've really pondered hard about what my next goal will be. I have a personal loan which matures in March of 2011, I have the mortgage, and I have the new vehicle loan (59 of 60 payments left. ouch). I really had planned at this point to dump everything extra I had on my personal loan to get rid of it super fast. That is, I had planned that when I foolishly thought I had 15 payments left and not 21.

Now that I have the correct info from my bank, I have changed my mind. It isn't that I am trying to avoid that personal loan, although I've asked that question to myself a few times. I honestly do better with shorter goals. I could make that personal loan my goal and work my ass off and still be plugging away at that this time next year, having accomplished nothing else. Sure I would have paid down my loan but I don't think I have the staying power for that.

For years now I have felt monstrously inadequate for not having RRSPs. I'd listen in the staffroom to folks talking about what they were doing. I'd go to get my taxes done and they would ask if I had any RRSPs and I would mumble an embarrassed 'no' and they would look quick, and then move on. I am fortunate enough to have a good pension plan, though I got started late so I will probably die at my desk before I get to actually use it.

I set a goal at the beginning of 2009 to put $1500 towards RRSPs. I have no idea where I got this number from but there it is. I will make saving for that my next goal, so that when tax time comes around again I can say a firm and assertive 'why yes, yes I do" when they ask that question.

I currently have $100 set aside as target for 'the next goal' so that will give me $700 (June through December). I want to have this goal completed before my Dec 25th paycheck ideally so that means I will be tossing my snowflakes towards RRSPs. I know that starting in September, I begin to max out on my EI and CPP contributions and 'more' appears on my cheque. I have decided to devote that 'more' towards this goal so that I can meet it before the end of 2009.

I'm rather excited about it as this is a smaller, far more visual goal for me. I am a huge visual person and I make little boxes to X out or fill in as I accomplish each mini goal/chunk. I'm such a kid sometimes LOL. I could mentally divide it into 15 $100 chunks, or I could divide it into 30 $50 chunks. I'm honestly not sure which one of those would motivate me more. Which would you pick????

Anyways that is my goal and now it's time to curl up for a bit and watch the Jackson memorial.

Have a great day everyone!

Garage Sale update

Well our impromptu garage sale did surprisingly well considering we threw it together the day before. We ran it Thurs and Fri as they seem to be more successful than full weekend ones. The rain dampened visitors (and some items) for a bit but not too badly.

Overall we sold just under $500. The boys earned about $100 for their items so that was divided between the two of them. We made about $400, minus a bit for pizza so we divided that up between the two of us. That leaves me some nice cash to put towards my next goal.

It was so good to get rid of the clutter. The garage has more room now and it felt very empowering to give things away. We didn't really have many huge ticket items, so that was a lot of little things to add up to $500ish.

It really helped having the boxes from the last garage sale, just up in the attic. They were all nicely packed, already priced and just needed to be brought down. Combined with the other thing we found around the house, the set up went very quick. The take down went even quicker as there was that much less to do.

The prepricing was a trick my mother had taught me. As you clean, sort and purge throughout the year, have a box ready to go for garage sale items. Have your price stickers, or masking tape and a marker, and price them as you put them in the box. It takes more time in the cleaning process but boy is it nice to just be able to pull out full boxes all ready to go.

My sister may have one in the fall, but aside from an airhockey table, currently stored under my son's bed, I don't have tons to put in. Unlessssss I find more as I clean through the summer.

Where the money stands

As of July 1st

Debts

Mortgage - $39,084.59
Consolidated Loan - $9429.05
Vehicle Loan - $29,661.30

Total Debt - $77,940.27

Savings

Christmas Savings - $1000
Emergency Fund - $1000

Ok so my Savings is down as I used the $2500 downpayment for..........well...a downpayment LOL

My debt is up with the addition of the new vehicle.

I did manage to get my personal /consolidated loan down under $10,000. wheeeee

The mortgage.......man that sucker only goes down by less than $200 a month, if that. And with property taxes being added on NO wonder this debt doesn't seem to shrink at all. Sigh. I wish I had more $ to add a lump sum to that bad boy and get IT down, but the other loans come first.

Happy Blog-a-versary to me!!

Well I guess for me, July 4th is my own little independence day. I may not be Amercian, but it was the day I chose to start my own PF blog and start making changes in my life, instead of just wishing I could make changes in my life.

It was a scary endeavour for me. I had been making 'budgets' for a few years that I never stuck to beyond a couple weeks. I would meticulously write out categories and jiggle the numbers for hours to make it balance (unrealistically balance). I'd spend hours doing it with my little pencil and paper. And then I'd never follow through.

It stared when I discovered Til Debt Do Us Part - a great show with hostess Gail Vaz Oxlade. Something about seeing that variable income breakdown in those jars just resonated in me.

Earlier in 2008 I had 'discovered' other PF blogs and had spent hours reading them. Cynthia's, Twiggers, Chicky's. I learned that while their numbers may be different, and their progress along the journey may be different, it wasn't that foreign to me.

I have learned a lot over this past year and just wanted to share some of those thoughts, to clarify them for my own benefit, to share with those who have been reading with me for awhile now, and for those who may have recently discovered me.

What I have learned:

• Budgets are not set in stone. You really have to tinker with and live with the budget to see how it works for me, and what parts don't. I think that was my trouble before. It would never balance so I'd just give up. When you first start, you may have forgotten an item or two, such as a once a year membership like Costco or CAA (AAA). You learn that some months take more money in certain categories than others and you have to learn how to deal with that. I have changed mine about three times in the past year and while it is far from perfect, for now, it is working.
  
• You have to become educated on money. I don't care if the reading is online or books, through classes or information at the bank. If we were all born knowing this information naturally, there would be no financial difficulties. Learn. Ask questions. Experiment. Ask more questions.

• Find a documentation system that works for you. I tried the spreadsheet. Oh lord how I tried. It just doesn't fit what 'works' for me right now. I haven't tried software like Quicken. I tried writing every single thing down. I love lists so this should have been a no brainer, but it was a disaster for me. It was too much detail and probably the reason past attempts failed miserably. I use a basic spreadsheet for how much goes into each category, but the rest is pen and paper. Right now, it just works.

• Find a distribution method that works for you. Some do it all online. Some use CC exclusively. At the beginning I tried a couple different ways but honestly it wasn't until I started using Money Jars (a la Gail Vaz-Oxlade) at the end of December, that things really clicked into place for me. It was as though the heavens opened up and I heard my own personal chorus of Hallelujah. Bright lights and all *grins*

• Set up your accounts to make it as easy for you as possible. Whether it is several actual accounts or online accounts that allow you to subcategory, or maybe you just subcategory in your head and it all goes into one 'savings'. I have two chequing and two savings; one set of each at two different banks. One is my primary one and the other I use for the special savings and the money I use for the boys' activities. In both savings accounts I have 'mental' subcategories.

• Be organized! When I started using the jars, I learned that if I didn't have that money ready to go at the start of that week, things got all........floofy, and I lost track of where things went. I also spent more. For me, I just have to have all my ducks in a row or it all falls to hell in a handbasket. Whether you're using jars or envelopes, or transferring money here and there, know what you're doing and when to keep things moving.

• Be organized paperwise. Ok I am still learning this. I was terrible at keeping track of my bills and statements; paperwork in general. I had no clue where my previous CC statements were, loan documents, utilities etc. I did a good job of keeping my pay stubs so woo hoo score 1 for me LOL I got myself a lovely organizer box and some pretty file folders and made categories, labelled lovingly. Some organize by month. I go by category. It's so nice to be able to go back and say 'hmmmm how much WAS my electric bill last June because this seems so high' and actually be able to find the bill. I still get behind in filing them into the box but that is more a product of being insanely busy and not taking a few minutes of down time to use it.

• Bounce back when you have a bad month. They happen. I call it "June". LOL Life isn't going to sail smoothly so learn from mistakes and make changes for the better.

• Little things add up. Since I started using jars, holy wow the snowflakes can add up. Change, recycled bottles, bits of money leftover from the jars. It is absolutely amazing how that can add up. I am still floored by it.

• Make it fun for you. Do whatever makes you enjoy the experience more. Whether it is pretty ledgers, labels and folders, or a fun blog, or a software program that makes you go 'oooo', make it fun so you will stick with it.

• Fewer, smaller targets make ME more successful. Everyone has different comfort levels for this. I tried several targets and it just felt like I was never getting anywhere. So the extra money I have and any snowflakes I get, all go to one. I've changed targets midplan because it wasn't working and thus far I think I've made the right decisions. It has to be what works for you.

• Don't get too attached to the blogs you read. I have seen so many PFs go poof in the past year. Some are announced. Some just disappear. I guess everyone has their own reasons. The first one I read was Twiggers and then she just poofed. I often think of her and wonder how her world is.

I still have lots to learn. I still have lots I want to accomplish. I have to learn not to beat myself up for past mistakes or for all those years I COULD have been doing this and didn't. (That one really gets me)
I want to thank all the folks who have read and all those who have commented. I still remember how excited I was when I got my first comment. I thought 'OMG people out there are reading what I write!!' I have learned so much through your comments and through your blogs.
Happy Independence Day to all of you out there! and, thank you.
~~jolie~~

a reminder to document more carefully

Finally tonight, the charge that I was waiting to see on my MC showed up. 11 days after I made it. I was prepared for that one. Sadly, it brought along one little friend I forgot to write down to the tune of $100ish. Bad jolie for not keeping better track. Means I was more out of control than I thought I was in June.

What that means is I can kiss my garage sale profit goodbye.

powerful lesson learned

Ditz update

Ok so I emailed my bank last night asking when the loan was due to be finished. I had 'thought' it was September of 2010, but I was off by six months. The email reply came in this morning that it matures in March of 2011. bummer

First I have to give kudos to BMO for incredibly fast customer service, and on a national holiday too! Very impressive.

This means it is a long ways off til loan #1 is done and I can begin double payments on my vehicle loan. A bid disappointment to say the least. sigh.

I was waffling on what to do with snowflakes. I had originally promised myself that I would put it all down on the loan, but even aggressively, that loan is a long ways from being down.

The past few days my RRSP goal (first RRSPs ever!) has been waffling in my mind. I want to put $1500 into RRSP and gather that money before Dec 31st, 2009. I have not put any in to date.

I am leaning towards putting all snowflake etc towards the RRSP to get that goal out of the way as fast as possible. Then I could put down my snowflakes on the loan without feeling guilty that yet again, I failed to put anything towards RRSPs. I really really want to meet that goal.

Hmm. I wonder how fast I can snowflake $1500?

Happy Canada Day!

Just a shout out to the Canadian readers out there. Hope you're having a great day, no matter how you choose to spend it.

What are we doing that is exciting? cleaning LOL big fun hey?

We're going through the garage which became a 'for now spot' over the winter. Then later this afternoon we'll pull down anything we have stored and we'll have a garage sale this Thurs and Friday.

Hopefully it will bring in a bit of cash, but more importantly, it will declutter my home a bit. THAT is the real gift!