My poorest financial choice this year

This could be up for debate but I have to say that I think my biggest financial mistake this year was NOT going to the gym, that I pay $48 a month to go to. It's one of those pay a membership fee and then pay per monthy for the year, kinda places. If one quits, then one has to REPAY the horrid membership fee again. I think it's one of those psychological traps that keep ppl paying every month out of fear that if they quit and then change their mind..it will cost them again.

The first year it was open I went 100 times during the year.

This year, I'm pretty embarrased to say I went a whopping 32 times.... 6 of which were this past week since I've been out of school.

So I wasted money. Heaps and oodles of it. I lost opportunity to go and get my VERY out of shape and overweight body into a better place. Crazy. and NO excuse. None. Nada.

At $48 per month that means I spent a total of $576 for the year's membership. Dividing that by the 32 times I went, it means that each and every one of those visits cost me $18 each. That's right. $18!!

Compared to the year before when each of my visits 'cost' me $5.76...it's a sad statement.

In my community there are four gyms/fitness centers. One in  my town and three across the river in the neighbouring city. I really like having this one in my town and close to home.

Needless to say..... going to the gym is on my list of things for self improvement for 2010.

So this absolutely has to change for next year.

2009 Summary - Part 2 - Savings

I really have never had any savings before. Sad, isn't it? A middle aged mom of two with no savings. There just never seemed to be enough money to live, let alone save. Go figure that making a reasonable budget and watching what I spent, could net me money for targetting savings. Crazy isn't it? LOL

Here were my goals for 2009

1) EF to $1500



Well part way through the spring I realized I couldn’t quite achieve all the things I wished to achieve if this was at $1500 so I changed it to $1000. This gave me a huge sense of relief. This winter I decided I was now in a position to make a  regular $50 contribution each month to the EF. As of Dec 25th this is now at $1200.


2) Fully fund Xmas 2009 of $1000


I achieved this early on, just slamming money onto this target as fast as I could. I ended up using more than the $1000 but boy was it nice to have it there. I will cut costs again this coming year I hope. I am going again with $1000 for xmas 2010 and can put $85 towards this.


3) New Vehicle Downpayment


This wasn’t an original goal but was added part way through the year. I decided it was time to get ready for a new vehicle, so that when the time came, I HAD a down payment. I managed to tuck $2500 away and then used it in June when I bought my new Torrent. It was such a great feeling to be able to say ‘yes’ when they asked if I had a down payment.


4) RRSP of $1500


Well this one changed and morphed throughout the year. I ended up changing it to $1000 so I could meet my other goals and boy what a relief it was. I achieved this goal and for the first time, I will be able to buy an RRSP. I know it’s just a teeny one but it’s a start. Next year I’ll morph that up to $1500. A lovely FIRST for me.

5) Summer 2010 - $1000

This one also got added in during the fall. I decided I  needed to have money there and ready to go so that the boys and I could enjoy summer activities knowing there was money put aside. I have to admit that I am envious of our friends who go on holidays then to exotic places, or who own a cabin and spend the summer there.  While I can't give my kids those kinds of summers, now I can give them something.

That wraps up my saving for the year. I loved every minute of it. SO empowering. I just added it up. $7500 saved.  Holy wow!!!!

2009 Summary - Part I - The Debt

Here were my debt goals from 2009!

1) Pay off Credit card debt and be able to use the credit cards and NOT carry a balance. (finished jan 23)



It was very exciting for me to be able to do this. And so early. I went for three months without using it and once I had my budget amounts under control, I started using them again. It was a bit tricky to keep track of expenses this way, still using the cash jar scenario. Adding a ‘Credit Card’ jar, helped. I simply took money I spent out of it’s jar and put it into the CC jar to keep track. This wasn’t 100% successful but it was a good effort to balance both.

2) Pay off Bank of Mom Loan (finished by Feb 23)



I can’t begin to state how exciting it was for me to pay off this debt. Over the years Mom and Dad (mostly mom (have doled out far far too much money that never got paid back. No one specifically said it was a 'loan' but I mean really???? I knew it wasn't a gift from the hand of happy money. 

This money was technically reimbursement for items they had picked up in a dif city, when we were doing our home renos in 2008. Things like new tub and shower surround.....the flooring for the livingroom...that sort of stuff.  Mom was reluctant to take the money but I told her "I" needed to do this for me.

3) Pay down my Consolidated Loan

Ok technically this wasn't part of the original goals but it became one before Spring  hit. I have reconsolidated this loan three times over the past 10 years and NEVER paid it off fully. It was time to take the bull by the horns and get 'er done! I put everything I could down onto it.

My payments were $579 a month. At the beginning of 2009 only about $500 of that was principal so that mean every  month $79 of my dollars were being sucked into interest land. I HATE interest land!

I started 2009 with a balance of  $12,945 and ended 2009 with a balance of $4300.16. That means I took off $8644.84 in 2009. woo hoo me. It averages out to $720.40 if I just divide that amount by 12. What is better is that I have knocked off 6 months, off the end of my loan.

4) New vehicle!
Also not on the beginning of the year goals, but soon on there was the addition of my new vehicle. We can debate back and forth on whether I should have done it or not. I DID need a new vehicle. It was doomed to die or have a lengthly and painful illness. I have added just under $30,000 of debt to my life. Right now, is the vehicle worth it?  yes. would a new but less expensive one have worked? hmmmm not sure. Only if I had gotten a car...and that did not work for hauling around 4 ppl plus luggage plus hockey equipment. What I DO know is how crack addicting lump sum payments are, and this baby will NOT take me the full 60 months to pay off.

5) Mortgage

well we paid our regular payments. When Income tax came in  we put most of it all towards that. Mortgage moves insanely slow. From $43 000 ish to $38 000 ish. Blech, Interest and property taxes on that are killing us. It's on the list too.

So there is my 2009 in terms of Debt. Despite the new debt amounts coming on, I would say the year was a success. I have done things I have never done before and, frankly, it excites me!

Ok off to the gym. Have a great day everyone!

HOLY wow the snow!!

Ok I almost can't quite believe it even as I write it.

In the year 2009, I managed to save and allocate $4295 in snowflakes! Isn't that amazing????

I'm in shock.

I took my  last $350 to the bank today and plopped it down on my consolidated loan.

It's been a fantastic year for snow.

Snowflakes - my definition

I defined this as money that was not specifically designated in my budget or was leftover. This amount changed every month, as did where it goes. Any money I 'found' within my budget or from outside that I threw at my target du jour. This could be money from my jars leftover. This could be birthday money from my dad or Christmas money from my father in law. This could be all the change that I kept and rolled. It came from doing extra supervision at work that I got paid cash for, or the wee admin allowance on the days that I was acting admin. It came from a bit of money owed me by a friend. It came from working another person's fundraising shift at bingos or canteens, which they paid me for. It came from money I had in the past few months of this calendar year when I had maxed out on my Pension and EI contributions.

I understand everyone who uses the term snowflakes may define it dififerently. This is mine :P

Snowflakes - where did they go?

Ohhh all sorts of good places. They went to pay off the Christmas debt after Xmas 2008. They went to pay off my Bank of Mom loan! They went to targetted savings such as Xmas 2009, Summer 2010, a bit to RRSP. It went to saving $2500 for a downpayment on a new vehicle, which was used in June. Finally, a good chunk of it went towards a lump sum payment for my consolidated loan.

Snowflakes - the future?

I don't anticipate as many this coming year for one main reason. I have changed my budget to 'use up' some of that money and put specific amounts towards savings targets each and every month. The money is still going to a greater good......just not as many of them whirling randomly about....they are more.................military style snowflakes with a purpose hehe

I plan to put every single snowflake I can get my hands on towards my consolidated loan. The sooner that is paid off, the sooner I have $579 to reallocate elsewhere in my budget.

I never thought that I would be able to set aside so much. I guess it shows the benefits of budgeting and watching more carefully what one spends. It shows how much more I can do with my money than I thought I could when I frittered it away on whatever I wished.

There is absolutely still room for refinement and improvement. That's the beauty of learning as you grow.

May 2010 grant you many lovely snowflakes to use for good, rather than evil.

My interest'ing' experiment

Last month I wrote of my 'duh' revelation that any lump sums I make on my consolidated loan should be made at the beginning of  the month, right after my monthly loan comes out, in order to maximize the interest saved.

I put down $250 extra last month and have waited anxiously all month to see how much extra came off. Of late, $525 of my principal actually came off of my $580 payment. I anxiously waitied this morning for the long banking weekend to be over and peek. The results were interesting, but not earth shattering. In all, $542 came off this month.

A change? yes. Hugely wow? eh not really, but it is an extra $18 of interest that came off simply by puttng money down at a dif time of the month.

Or I could be totally wrong and it is just that as you near the bottom half of your loan, more principal comes off  LOL

I really am clueless.

The good news is that my loan is now under $5000. In the $4650.62 to be exact! I'm so excited as I can feel the 'home stretch' coming on.

After I figure out what is left to pay on my MC to wipe out all Christmas purchases, then I will have some to put down, hopefully as lump sum this month.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

How long do you keep....

Your statements...whether you get paper or email version?

Just tidying at year end and wondering?

I have a lovely bill box with categories of my dif utilities, my bank statements,  Credit Card statements etc.

What do you do???

Over Budget

Numbers are in mostly and it would appear that I am about $350 over budget on Christmas. ouch. That's over 1/4 of my original budget, EXTRA.

Where did I go horribly wrong? hmmmm Well I bought a few decorations for my classroom at the DollarStore as I haven't bought any new for years and they were looking a little ratty. I spent about $25 on my Secret Santa, which I didn't know we were doing until about 2 weeks before Christmas. I spent $20 on a gift for a coworker. We sometimes exchange, we sometimes don't. I usually let her lead, and lead she did this year. Beyond that, I spent probably too much on the boys. Well not probably....most likely....ok I did. It's hard to buy things they NEED when what they NEED is costly. Example..the boy needed a new helmet for Refereeing. A need. Those are costly little things. The younger NEEDED an algae eater for his tank as it is ridiculous how much that tank builds up. There were WANTS too. The WANTS are where I need to watch. Most definitely.

As for husband...honestly...........he's never happy with what I get him whether I go the one larger item or the several smaller items. I honestly have given up. I buy what he says he needs, in the brand he wishes and somehow it still all goes horribly wrong. Ah well. I tried :P

Today the tree came down and decorations went away. It's a cleaning day in that realm and time to curl up with my reflections from 2009 and thoughts for 2010.

Happy Day everyone!

Successful Boxing day

DS2 cleaned his hiney off today and we got one big black garbage bag out of his room and THREE black bags of clothes to dontate to the family we give to. We cleaned and dusted and vac'd and it felt good. DS1 did much the same and we got another each of trash and donate-ables.

Husband went to  a boxing day sale at Canadian Tire and found some really good pots that my brother in law the chef uses at his home. They were 60% off. I cringed at the price but then again, we have been using the same pots since we were married in 1991 so that is 18 plus years of service they have put in. And it shows LOL So I cleaned the pan cupboard and tidied that up. I cleaned up the tupperware cupboard as well and did about 12 loads of laundry.

We relaxed a bit and watched my nephews in a curling bonspiel. I rarely get to go see them play. Then we curled up at my mom's for supper and now home again.

Happy Boxing Day

Twas the day after Christmas

It's a productively lazy day for us here. It's 10:30 and we're still  kinda sorta in our jammies. Today is a day to play with the games we got and enjoy family time together. If I dont' look too closely, I won't see the mess my house is in LOL and we didnt' even have company over here. Today is also a day to tidy and clean, sort and put the new things away.

I also make it a policy that as much that comes into the house......it's space equivalent must come out of the house. You just have to with a teeny house or it will take you over. The boys will go through their drawers and closets and try on their clothes. Everything too small for the younger goes into a bag for a family we donate to. Everything too small for the older either goes to the younger if he doesn't loathe it, or into the same bag. With the way they are growing, there will be a lot in the bags this year. It's craziness.

Similarly, toys and books will also go, either to a  shelter house for battered women, or in the box for the garage sale next year.

The amount of waste this time of year is staggering. We have folks good here about recycling so the bins will be full of paper and broken down cardboard. I shudder to think how much is going into the landfill.

We will head to the curling rink today to watch my nephews curl  in a Boxing day bonspeil. I hardly get to watch them so it's nice I have time to do so. We'll go to mom's tonight for supper to eat leftovers.

Hopefully by tomorrow evening my house will be in order and I can focus on what I need to do for banking, debt repayment and goals for 2010.

Then it will be time to take a few days and head to the school and plan and prep for the new year. Busy busy busy.

Happy Boxing day everyone!!!

Merry Christmas

Just wishing everyone out there a good holiday, no matter where you are or how you celebrate. This is my tree though it is far from the best picture. I had forgotten to get one earlier and snapped it right before the boys dove in.

We had a  lovely Christmas supper at my sister's house last night. Her MS is rapidly escalating and she wanted very much to host this year as this could be the last year she is able to. Aside from the amazing turkey supper complete with homemade buns and pies, there was a phenomenal spread of food for nibbling.  For someone trying to watch what she eats in a pre 'new years's resolution' mode, it was a test of strength to be sure.

We played some games after...board games and Kaiser. Only part of our family was there as some  were working and my one sister and her husband took their kids to the Dominican for their long saved up holiday. In all there were fourteen of us plus three dogs and a cat. good times!!!

We opened gifts at home and today we will go to my mom's for brunch and then again for supper. In between we will jet up to the hospital where my father in law is. He is not doing well at all so a sombre time for my husband.

Have a great day everyone!

A bright lil ray of sushine.

Ok my last post was a poor me post. I really try not to do those too often as that becomes the framework of how one thinks and behaves. I will chalk it up to the whirlyness of school those last weeks before break. Honestly, until I worked at an elementary school, I had NO idea how much extra goes on. Making gifts for the parents, food hamper collections, the Christmas concert...ohhh lordy the Christmas concert....that parents expect and often 'demand' and it's hours and hours of time away from classtime, plus outside school time.

Getting back to my ray of sunshine!!!!  One of my goals earlier this year (honestly I can't find the blog entry where I put it) was to work to pay off my consolidated loan early. It matures in March 2011. I was trying  valiantly to get it done by December 2010 paydate.

Doing some quick math, I have acheived this. My loan amount is $580 and 'about' $520 has been coming off each month. It changes depending on how much I lump sum and when. Based on this basic math, barring any other extra lum sums that WILL happen. the loan will be paid off in full by September of 2010. Wheeeee

My next goal is to try to pay off extra to get it paid off by June 2010 if possible.

That would be fantastic!!!

Happy day, everyone

Bleeding Money

It truly feels like that this month. Even though I saved my money for XMAS fund it is whirling out of the account at an alarming rate. I made my lists last year of all the things I spend $ on and used that to estimate costs, but it would appear I estimated too low.

I have bought for:

• my secret santa at school
• DS2's teacher
• my students
• my parents
• my husband
• my children
• one colleague at work

Really, that 's it. But things add up. Items for the food bank donations the children do at school. One gift for the hampers at the food bank. Gift bags. Tape and Labels, which I should have bought last year on the sales after Christmas. I have downsized how much I get the boys but it still is far from frugal. I really need to work on this for next year.

Thanks for the 'warm' wishes

Thanks to all the lovely comments on my last post. The sympathies and commiserations were most welcome.

It's still close to minus 48C out there and my lovely lil vehicle was most unhappy I wanted it to start this morning, despite being plugged in.

I ended up just driving my son and his father Friday to the meeting place where the team caught the bus and let them go. There was just no way we could all go and leave the vehicle in the parking lot for 6 hours and expect it to start at midnight when we got back. That did mean of course that I couldnt' snuggle in, in my jammies at home as I had to make the bitter cold venture back to meet the bus. We lost that game by 2 goals, in a small town rink with ZERO heat. My son's visor frosted over LOL

Yesterday's game was here in town. Few fans ventured out to watch us and I don't blame them one bit. Craziness. My toes were like ice cubes after that one. When we went to my mom's for supper after the game, I heated up the trusty oat bag and warmed them while I ate a lovely potroast, roasted veggies, homemade buns and a homemade Saskatoon berry pie. deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious.

I have to work a Bingo tonight for my son's hockey team so that means hoping to god the command start works so I can run out every hour or so and make sure it runs. No place to plug in there. Brrrr

My toss out question to y'all out there is...do you have plug ins at your work so you can plug in the vehicle??? If so, do you have to pay for them? or are they free?

I can remember a friend of mine having trouble one winter with her vehicle. She dutifully phoned the number listed on her CAA for help getting a boost.

She explained to the nice lady who answered that her car was dead as it was cold outside.  She told the nice lady that it had indeed been plugged in. There was a long pause and my friend said the lady asked "Ma'am???????????????? do you have an ELECTRIC car that you plug it in????"

We heard our friend say "exactly where am I calling???" The reply was "South Carolina".

No wonder the nice lady had no clue about plugging cars in to keep the engine warm. We still laugh at that.

Have a super day everyone and keep warm!

shiverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr me timbers!!!!!

It's currently -48C right now with the windchill. That's right! No typo there folks. The temps are dropping and the wind continues to pick up.

Staying snuggled at home on the couch under a blanket???? you ask.

Heck no!!! The boy has a hockey game tonight about an hour and a quarter out of town. Back in town by midnight.

lordy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what we don't do for our kids.

A new thing learned

I wandered into my brick and mortar this week with a $250 lump sum payment. I had blogged earlier this month, wondering if my interest was daily or added on at the end of each month. I confess to low knowledge level on such things as interest and rates  and such.  I had emailed my bank. I have to say that BMO has fantastic response to email inquiries...even on weekend. This time the answer I got was long and vague and basically said 'refer to your loan documents or check with your local bank'. Being mature and all I groaned "ohhhhh mannnnn they want me to READ that thing?" lol

I honestly didn't have a chance to do the reading part. It's been insane here. I did wander in to my brick and mortar and was reminded again why I like GOING to the bank. They know me (ish) and me them, and I can ask questions that might make me sound like an idiot but I suspect they aren't going to the coffee room to mock me later lol

After a few clicks they said that the interest is per diem. If I am going to make a lump sum payment and want to maximize the interest saved, then it needs to be at the beginning of the new loan month. My loan comes out on the 26th of each month, so they suggested that if I am going to make one, do it before the 1st of the month to maximize things. Good advice.

Makes me want to kick myself a bit as last month I made a whopping $300+ lump sum, but did it the day BEFORE the loan came out.  While that sum definitely helped me reduce the total amount owing, it didn't affect the principal/interest ratio of the 26th payment.

I recall awhile back when I lum summed early in the month and there was a $50 favourable difference in the principal/interest ratio. I will have to go back through my stats to find it.

At any rate, I learned something new and when I am finished with this loan, I can use what I've learned on the  vehicle one.

Happy Saturday everyone. Stay warm.

What's in my vehicle????

Ok I have seen a lot of 'what is in my purse' posts and I have to admit, they intrigue me a great deal. It's always such an interesting snapshot into a person's life. You can see if they are simple or complicated, sentimental or not, organized or chaos.


I did buy a new purse at the purse party I went to at the end of October, and I never did post a pic of that. Hmmm add that to my list to do.


I have to admit, though, that while my purse is with me, somewhere, it is not the main 'keeper of my life'. I honestly just have too many 'bags' for that. My laptop bag goes with me, as does my marking bag. Juggling all three are unpractical so usually two live in the vehicle when I am somewhere, and one makes the journey insisde wherever I am going.  I will modify this regarding the laptop now that Arctic Frigidity has set in.


Instead of talking about what is in my purse, I will go with the 'heart and soul ' of my life currently....my vehicle. Being a busy teacher and mom of two incredibly active teens, we are on the go a lot. The vehicle is sort of a home on wheels. It's amazing how many different things are in it. Now it's not messy, or cluttered; it's not littered with take out garbage...but it has many components.


1) a collapsiable shovel and a closed tub of kitty litter. Hey when you have this much snow and ice, you never know what you might need to dig out or sliiiiiiiiiiiiide out of. It's come in handy more than once, mostly in the form of good samaritan.

2) Booster Cables. When I got my first vehicle, my daddy slapped a pair of those in my trunk and said NEVER be without these in the winter!! I am a very good girl and listened. They have come in handy many a time; sometimes for me and sometimes for others.


3) Coupon Book. This was one of those hockey fundraisers where I buy something from someone and in return she buys something of mine. The coupon book is handy and very easy to get your money back without spending where you wouldn't  naturally. As long as I get my $30 output, back, I consider it a win. I'm at something like $60 'free' now so anything after that is bonus. I keep it in the vehicle because having it at home makes zero sense.

4) Library cards. Three of them. The boys' and I each have one and they are not often carrying their wallets with them so having them is a handy way to have access to FREE books when one needs to.

5) Emergency Kit. This is just a little one with some basic first aid items in it, some 'hot pockets' to keep hands warm, a flare etc. If I am just toodling about between home, work and the boys' activities I only need a small one. If we go on a road trip in the winter, I pop in a bigger one in case we break down out in the middle of nowhere on the prairies. It happens.

6) My cell phone vehicle charger. I actually don't even have a house charger. The vehicle one makes more sense as I rarely travel without it.

7) Ice scraper/snowbrush. Hello, I live in the prairies. It's winter. Nuff said.

8) A blanket. For a new vehicle, I have to say that it has poor circulation of heat to the rear seats.

9) An oat "magic"  bag. See above regarding poor heat circulation. Often the boys will toss in a magic bag into the microwave and snuggle with that while we go to school. Well, the one who didn't call shotgun and has to sit in the back, does.





10) $50 Cash. I've been caught far from home at a gas station on one of those fluke days when the station kindly does not tell you their internet service is down and they cannot take Credit Cards or Debit. Not a great feeling. I keep this hidden 'just in case'.

11) 1 Loonie. Places that charge for the 'borrowing' of the cart annoy me, but sometimes I need to go there. Inevitably, I never have a loonie on me. So I have funtac'd one into my console so it is allllway there when I need it. Smart, hey?

11) Curling Broom, Slider and Gloves. My younger son curls and it's just handy to have ready to go instead of moving it in and out of the vehicle.

12) A Sudoku Book, a notepad, and a pencil. I get bored sitting around waiting for them sometimes and this helps to pass the time.

13) Re-useable shopping bags. My little bit for the environment. Problem is I often forget to get them out of the back when I go in the store. A work in progress LOL

14) Carmex and hand lotion. My lips get insanely dry in the winter. I NEED carmex to get me through. As for the hand lotion, well, right now it's frozen and less useful than in the summer LOL

15) Hockey tape. Black, white and clear. With DS1 being a hockey player I don't think there has been a time in the last 11 years where there hasn't been tape in my vehicle.

16) Big, lined deerskin gloves that go up to my elbows. You never know when you're going to have to do something outside when it's cold. Regular gloves just don't cut it.

17) Extension Cord. A must for prairie weather. Plug in at work season has officially begun. I would really like one with a light on the end so I am sure when connection is being made.

18) Box of Kleenex. Sniff Sniff

19) Sticky Lint Roller. I have two cats. Dress pants. You get the idea.

20) My sunglasses. I have very sensitive eyes and all the sun shining on the white snow is blinding. They are a must for me.

21) Regular Car Stuff. The manual. Registration.  A couple maps

22) 250 Del Monte Juice Jammers. Long story. For a Christmas movie day at school but too cold to unload them. Thank god they freeze well LOL

There you have it!! My mobile purse!

I wasn't ready!!!!!

It was bitter this morning. Minus 35 C plus the windchill took it to close to -40C. I had to rummage around last night to find my extension cords. One for the house and one to take with me to work.

I hate it being so cold everything crunches. Snow. Your hair. The seat of your vehicle.

You have to warm up your vehicle and that costs extra for fuel.

We had such a beautifully, abnormally mild November. We truly were spoiled. Then wham! it went to this Arctic Freezer.

Boy I whine LOL

Ah well this too shall pass :-)  Look on the bright side!! Soon it will officially be the first day of Winter :P

26 questions

I rarely do these sorts of things but apparently I'm in the mood so here goes.

Last Movie I Saw In A Movie Theater? Harry Potter, in July

What Book Are You Reading? re-reading The Lovely Bones

Favorite Board Game? Monopoly

Favorite Magazine? Good Housekeeping

Favorite Smells? Roast cooking or Yeasty things with cinnamon.

Favorite Sounds? morning birds in the spring, fire crackling

Worst Feeling In The World? Inadequacy.

First Thing You Think of When You Wake? My day's to do list

Favorite Fast Food Place? McDonalds (and yes, I've seen Supersize me)

Future Child’s Name? I have two. no more please.

Finish This Statement—“If I Had a Lot of Money,” I could do some of the things on my Bucket List

Do You Drive Fast? not usually no

Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? Yes, a lovely stuffed lion a good friend gave me

Storms—cool or scary? I love watching Thunderstorms from a safe place

What Was Your First Car? Powder blue K car (a la 'if I had a million dollars')

Favorite Drink? ice cold milk, or baileys.

Do You Eat the Stems on Broccoli? sometimes. it depends on how they taste.

If You could Dye your Hair Any Other Color, What Would It Be? I do a lovely red brown for the past few years.

Favorite Sport to Watch? Hockey, preferably my son's games.

What’s Under Your Bed? The cats' toy mice

Would You Like to Be Born As Yourself Again? only if I were smarter the second time around and made better choices

Morning Person or Night Owl? Early evening person

Over Easy or Sunny Side Up? Poached, baby, with runny innards.

Favorite Place to Relax? On my couch, with my cats, and a big blankie

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? Tiramisu.

Where the money stands

as of December 1st, 2009

Debts

Mortgage - $38 170.02
Consolidated Loan - $5 442.74
Vehicle Loan - $27 159.23


Total Debt - $70 771.99


Savings
RRSP 2009 - $1000
Efund - $1 150
Summer 2010 - $1000
RRSP 2010 - $75


Total Savings - $3 225

Not a bad month. I reduced my overall debt by about $1500. By next month, it will be under $70 000 and that is good news indeed. Every little decade of debt that goes down, is fantastic.

For savings, my EF slowly climbs by $50 a month. Not huge but better than nothing. Summer 2010 is fully funded at $1000. That was a random number I picked. There are no specific plans for that money but it will be nice to know that if I want to take the boys camping we have the cash for that. We shall see how long that $1000 lasts when summer actually comes.

I will have to ask at the bank how to do the RRSP 2009 when the time comes. I know it's teeny and hopefully they won't laugh at the small amount, but it's a start. I will shoot for $1500 for 2010 and perhaps keep increasing it like that as I go.

I removed the Christmas 2009 from my progress bars and I have taken it off my savings. I have used less then $200 of it thus far. Funny how I am being so stingy on Christmas gifts when I actually have money to pay for them, but other years, when I just charged my butt off, it didn't really matter. That is totally financially ironic.

Do you write a lot of cheques???

I read here and there on blogs how folk don't even have actual 'hold in your hands' paper cheques anymore, or if they do, they rarely use them. I was pondering this the other night when I was waiting outside the school for my son and can't imagine functioning without them currently.

Now don't get me wrong. I DO use these new fangled computer technologies often. I pay bills online. I do money transfers. I never use a cheque in a store anymore. Haven't for............gosh...........a long time.

But there are areas in my life where I am not quite sure I would function successfully without my chequebook. There are places where cash just isn't a good way of paying as it would be a schwack of bills. Or sometimes you pay but receipts are not provided. Here's just a wee list of how those little rectangular symbols of money are necessary in my world:

a) when the boys went to the sitter, I paid by cheque.

b) their school fees

c) their sports/extra curicular fees

d) my staff fees

e) those evil men who bring tubs of books and such to staff rooms

f) the fundraising items teams and clubs in our area like poinsettias, cookie dough, hams, turkeys etc

g) Scholastic Book Clubs

So do you use cheques? a lot? a little? never? what things do you use them for?

If you have any of my above expenses and do not pay by cheque, how DO you pay for them?