The Sweet Smell of (J)Money

I have to tell you I was tickled pink when I was scanning over my blogroll this morning and found JMoney did a lovely mention of my MoneyTree. I had done my 'costs of being a girl' both last year and more recently and he did the manly man version of it.

I know many of you already have this great Blog on your linklove, but for those who don't....here it is...



Budgets are Sexy

It's a great read and I loved seeing my thoughts on female expenses being validated.

of course if I didn't have to buy 'monthly' stuff and stopped shaving I could knock $20 or so off my monthly amount, but ...........ewwww LOl

On a totally separate note, this is directed to blogsmart folks or those with blogger /blogspot blogs. I noticed that I no longer have any font style to choose from. Before there was a limited choice of font style and now that drop down option is totally gone. I can't choose text size either. A few other things look different. Anyone noticed that or can offer wisdom?


Thanks for a great read this morning J and a big smile on my face.

Small changes

With each payday,until January, I have $125 to target towards my savings. As yesterday was payday, I snuck off tonight to the ATM to put money into my savings account there.

I allotted $75 to my summer 2010 account, which brings it up to $550. Just a bit over halfway to that goal.

I also allotted $50 towards my Efund. It is now at $1100 and my new goal for that is $1500. Sure that won't go far in a real emergency but I find that with a smaller target to get to, it doesn't feel so insurmountable. When I hit $1500, I will re-evaluate my budget and then up the target to $2000. baby steps.

The summer 2010 is fully funded in April at the current rate. It's still before the deadline of 'summer' so I would consider that a success.

I still, however, want to to RRSP contributions as well as xmas 2010 so I am not sure how that will all pan out.

Ahhh sweet payday

That proverbial time of each month when I rejoice that I have a 'full' account again and can once again play the happy fairy with her basket of money....skipping through the debt forest and sprinkling dollars here and there.

This month feels different, however. It feels like a ' man we just made it through a month and now I have to do that AGAIN?' kinda feeling.

Purely psychological. I mean I made it through the month without running out of money. I paid of bills and debt. I paid extra on debt. We weren't eating bread crumbs. I need to reframe into positivity.

I updated my personal loan sidebar. I am finally in the $6000. It's exciting to see that number keep dropping. I can't wait til this loan is gone. It's been hanging around in one consolidated form or another for over 9 years. Craziness.

I will hit the bank as soon as I have a moment and take in the rest of my snowflakes and dump them on that loan as well. I have just over $300 of them.

small steps, or rather, if I am that fairy....small skips through the debt forest.

Updated Sidebars

I can't believe I forgot to do that. It's just been so whirly and crazy the past two weeks as the kids' activities are in full swing. We have at least two things going on every day afternoon and it certainly keeps them hopping. Not so much they can't get at their homework but it still does require careful use of time.

I added $50 to my EF which brings me a wee tiny bit closer to my new goal of $1500. $50 isn't that much in the grand scheme of things but it is an amount I can dedicate to and not fret about other things.

I also added $475 to my Summer 2010 account. I have $75 a month budgeted to this. However, since I have maxed out on my contributions to CCP and EI this year, I have a bit of cash there as well. I used the $400 for that which brings me almost halfway to my summer 2010 goal.

The extra money I have coming up on payday this weekend will go towards my goal of a second $600 lump sum payment for my consolidated loan. I have $90 snowflakes already towards it with perhaps another $200 for this month of slowly accumulated snowflakes.

I feel like this month was so busy with expenses that I stagnated a bit. The numbers show I didn't, not totally, but it felt like it.

A sports road trip

Ahhhh the sweet life of winter (acckkk too early) when the snow falls far too early and the sports season begins. This weekend was our first full weekend of hockey and with it comes the proverbial costs with it. THIS is what I save x $ for each month so that some of our costs are offset. Entertainment $ comes in here too.

Bus costs. The boy rides for free and the adults pay $20 each to go.

Hotel costs. One night this weekend which came to just over $100 with all the lovely taxes.

Food costs. Healthy snacks and 2 meals on the bus. Grocery shopping. Water, juice, a couple gatorade. Sandwiches, fruit, lean proteins and granola $40

Meal costs. Two suppers out, one breakfast and one lunch that usually ends up being at a rink. $45ish per person

Rink costs: $5 per adult (depending on where we play). $5 if you purchase the host rink's 50/50 raffle (The profit from the 50/50 for the host rink goes to offset their ref costs. If you buy when you are there, generally, they buy when they come back to you) You are not required to buy. Really up to the person.

Crazy hey?

But as I stated above, this IS our family entertainment. We don't go on expensive holidays, we don't go out to movies etc so it balances out in the end.

Let the games begin

It's beginning to look a lot...

...like Christmas. It snowed last night. It's been wicked cold for weather the past 10 days or so, dropping below zero. Last night the dump of snow came. The ground is white with a couple inches. My poor new vehicle was all covered in snow, shivering. Poor baby. I wish we had a garage to park it in.

It's supposed to go back to 9C this weekend. We shall see.

Happy day all.

Cost of Being a girl

A year ago I had written about the little costs that add up for those of the female persuasion. I was curious to see how things had changed over the past year so I dug up my old post and did some recalculating. This is before our 10% taxes. The first number is the 2008 number, the second, in brackets, is the current number. This is based over a one month period so I have prorated things I don't use a whole container of in one month.


Bodywash - $2.46 ($0)
Shampoo - $4.40 ($2.50)
Conditioner - $4.40 ($3.00)
Blush - $2.41 ($2.50)
Eye Shadow - $2.98 ($3.00)
Lipstick - $4.23 (0)
Toothpaste - $2.08 ($1.50)
Fem. Products - $8.96 ($9.95)
Deodorant - $5.94 ($3.00)
Contact Solution - $8.88 ($5.00)
Gel - $9.92 ($5.00)
Razors - $5.99 ($3.00)
Facewash - $7.11 ($5.00)
Foundation - $11.47 ($12.00)
Moisturizer - $19.97 (15.00)
Mascara - $7.47 ($7.50)
Under eye roller n/a ($8.00)
MONTH TOTAL - $98.59 ($85.95)

ok so the price has gone down but man that is insane for costs, even at drugstore/walmart prices.

Added was an undereye roller ball from l'oreal. I have horrible dark shadows. always have. Thought I'd give it a try to see.

Deleted was lipstick. I really just don't use it.

Deleted was body wash. I found that I had so many little bottles given as gifts from students in the past and I might as well use them up. I haven't bought any since April or so.

Some things, like moisturizer, foundation and feminine products have gone up. Surprise surprise. Other things I am just learning to use less of or be more sparing with them. It is surprising how far things go.

Of course not included in the list are things that are sporadic use, that are harder to track over a monthly basis. Things like lipchap, motrin, cough medicine, or the rare bottle of bubble bath I buy. Things like that.

Since some of these things last for more than a month, short of actually writing down the date I start a new one, I am guestimating a bit on whether it lasts 6 weeks or 8.

It was last time, and still is this time, a most interesting experiment to track.

If I had unlimited $, I think these kinds of items would be the first to be replaced by more expensive ones. I do love my lotions and potions. LOL

Menu for the week

Well here I am, Miss never use a menu plan, on her third week of planning food items out. What I've noticed is less stress on the 'what to have' front, along with fewer trips to the store. I haven't yet reduced the $ I am spending, but perhaps that will come.

So here it is, a bit retroactively, starting this past weekend.

Saturday - BBQ ribs and corn

Sunday - Canadian turkey day with all the trimmings

Monday - Homemade hamburger soup and rolls

Tuesday - Beef Tacos and fixings

Wednesday - Leftover soup

Thursday - Baked ham and scalloped potatoes

Friday - Chicken quesadillas

Gobble Gobble

It's been quite the Tday weekend. We were all supposed to gather at my parents' to put a new roof on their house but this premature winter nixed that. Even were we able to negotiate the cold, the snow would have made it miserable, and things never quite seal properly when the temperatures are inclement.

So we began the weekend with my son's first game of the season. we won. yeah us! Saturday was a day of housecleaning, grocery shopping and hair appointments. Cuts for the kids and a colour for me. My younger, you would swear I cut off his life by trimming his hair. It looked awful though. Long and stringy and it just seemed to make his mood darker and I wasn't thrilled about that. Now he looks human again, he looks happy and he's ticked LOL. We curled up to watch the Rider Game in the evening. Again, a win!!

Yesterday we gathered at my parents for turkey, ham and wayyyy too many fixings. There were 25 of us there. It's always something to see how our family has grown. From mom and dad and the kids to all these grandkids, grown, with girlfriends or boyfriends. Many hadn't seen my older one for awhile and were shocked to see that at 14 he's now 6 foot 1.5 inches. He has now beaten out his grandfather and towers over the rest of them. As my one niece put it "hiya there HOLY WOW gigantor!!!" eloquent to say the least.

It was a fast day as some had to head back to Alberta for work and two were heading back to the city as they have midterms at university this week.

And for today, the real turkey day? I am off to the school to do about 7 hours of marking and prep. Oh the joys of teaching :P

Have a super turkey day everyone.

Where the money stands

As of October 1st

Debt

Mortgage - $38,539.63
Consolidated Loan - $7207.46
Vehicle Loan - $28,003.37

Total Debt - $73,750.46

Savings

Emergency Fund - $1000
Christmas Fund - $1000
RRSP 2009 - $1000

Total Savings - $3000

I did well this month, reducing my debt by over $2000. That's fantastic for me and I am excited to see that bad boy get down below $70,000.

The savings category hasn't changed as I honestly haven't been to that bank yet to add this month's money to the Efund and to Summer 2010. That will happen soon. very soon. (before I spend the money LOL)

weekly menu

Ok I have to admit that last week was the first time I'd actually done up a menu and pretty much stuck to it. It was an odd sensation to not have to wonder at the end of each work day what I would make....or to not do a handful of trips to the store to get the things I needed each day.

Now I certainly didn't save any money as I spent my grocery money totally, but it was far less stressful having the menu ready to go. That has to count for something.

Monday - chicken fingers and fries (that we didn't have Fri as two were gone for activites

Tuesday - homemade pizza

Wednesday - beef stew

Thursday - Pork chops, rice and veggies

Friday - Stir Fry (if time permits)

This weekend in our Thanksgiving so I won't menu plan for that. We are going to be over at my parents' helping them redo their roof. I believe mom has a variety of things on the menu for the kids/grandkids whilst we help. Not sure if I have to bring anything.

change challenge

I am the first to admit I have had a lifelong fascination for collecting change, counting change and rolling change. It's absolutely amazing when you add it all up and see what those little bits of forgotten and neglected currency can become.

I remember being little and saving in a jar. During my teen years in then became a texas mickey whiskey bottle that one of my family had won in a snowmobile poker rally. I have strong visuals of curling up by the fireplace in our incomplete basement, pouring the change out, separating it. Counting it. I would then cut out a little circle of paper just slightly larger than the cap and writing the $ amounts of each coin, then lining the cap with it and putting all the change back inside the bottle.

I can also remember the horrors of trying to wrap up the change when you had the flat sheets of money roller paper and you had to physically get the change on this sheet and somehow roll it all up and tuck the ends inside without spilling it all out. All hail the preformed, cylindrical money tubes!!! *bows down*

I've bought a lot of things with change over the years. I can remember 'robbing' it in early days of university to get enough $ for a hamburger. I can remember the advent of the Loonies, in Canada. I diligenty saved each and every one of these I received and purchased my wedding dress, vein, shoes and bouquet. I almost put my back out carrying all that into the bank.

I'm not a fan of 'take it to a machine and let it count it for you for a fee'. Actually, I don't even know if the banks in town have one of those machines. (small town yanno). To me that would defeat the thrill of saving.....the mechanics of filling each tube..the wonder of how much it added up to.

If you look on my 'snowflakes this year' icon on the side, you will see a freakishly large amount of money I 'found' in bits, here and there, over the year. Guestimating, I would say around $1000 of that is from rolled coins.

(yes it does add up quicker in Canada with toonies and loonies)

I've also never been a fan of artificially created change....where a person goes to the store with a $10 or a $20 and buys a bit of something for the express purpose of stockpiling the change. Nothing wrong with that, mind you. Just not my thing.

At the start of Sept I had taken in the last bits of rolled change and put it on my consolidated loan as a lump sum payment. I always love a little mind rush so my personal challenge is to see how much change I can acquire, bit by bit, until Christmas. Then I will take it in and again, put it down on my lump sum, to get that baby lower and lower. I initially was hoping for $100, but I realized that that is not too hard to achieve. One each of toonie, loonie, quarter, dime, nickel and penny gets one $92.50.

That being said, I already have $29.50. I love these little kinds of mind games to keep me amused while I continue to learn how to budget and make better choices with my money.

Let the change, begin!