I am proud to say that my first snowflakes came on January 2nd, to be precise.
My sister in law and her husband generally give me a pack of holiday scratch and win tickets for Christmas. I spent a lovely hour with my feet soaking in a pedispa, sipping a glass of wine and scratching away. What a visual lol
Technically you don't have to scratch them to win. You can just uncover the barcode area and then put it under the self check scanner to see if it's a winner. While there are 'rules' for scratching, it doesn't void your ticket if you do not abide by them. They sure have gotten more intricate and complicated from when they first came out. Some are quite clear whether you have won or lost but others, well I suspect the lottery corporation saves a fortune from folks who have missed seeing a win. That's the beauty of the self check scanner. It's got your back.
So for less than an hour of soakin'n'scratchin' I came away with $35 in winnings, which is now part of my snowflake jar.
wheeeee
While I was taking pics of money I thought I'd snap a pic of my most useful yet frightening gift of the year.
I am psyched to get it but as I leaf through it I realize how much I do not understand. I realize how late I left things re: RRSPs. I realize that my husband is screwed as he has pretty much NOTHING.
12 comments:
My God I wonder what Gail would think about my finances.
I also have some snowflakes only $10 but that,s $10 more than I had last year.
2011 is really shaping up.
Man you ROCK when it comes to snowflakes. As for me they tend to melt away to nothing before I can tuck them into the jar lol!
"soakin'n'scratchin'" That made me laugh.
I love Gail, hope it is a good read, I am sure it is though.
Nice start! And nice shot of the Canadian currency...it's so colorful! :)
Also, maybe you've talked about this before, and if I'm overstepping, please say so, but do you and your husband have separate finances? If you're comfortable discussing, I'm curious about that. I know couples who do it both ways, but I've read more PF bloggers who talk about combining. I say, whatever works for you! :)
Maureen - I think I'd be afraid of what Gail said too LOL. you're right $10 is more than not $10
Jane - you are such a morale booster for me. for whatever reason the saving of them is working for me. no clue why. *knock on wood*
Niki- glad I made you smile. I read a bit more tonight, going slow to see if I can understand.
LBC - we do have separate finances. It started when we were first married and I was still away at university. He lived in overdraft and I had to be sure I had enough $ in my accounts to pay tuition and bills. That was the first 2 years of our marriage. Then I came home and substitute taught for 2 years and had our first child. He paid most of the bills those first two years I was home. After I started getting part time positions, it was more of a habit than anything.
While my financial history isn't much to brag about, we are very different in terms of how we plan and how we treat money. He is a live in the moment person and I am a plan (try to plan) for the future person.
Currently he pays for the mortgage $550 each month and the water bill. Most of the time, I pay for everything else.
Is it perfect? god no
Do we fight about money? yes
Would we fight about it more if we were combined? hell yes
Should we actually be married? nope
I have four years until DS2 is done High School. I guess we shall see how things go until then. Husband has often said he's leaving when they are graduated. Will he? who knows?
that is a wonderfully relaxing image!!! just wish it was me!!!
Congrats on your winnings!!! :)
Thanks for being candid. It sounds like it's definitely good that you have separate finances, no matter what happens in the future.
Congrats! $35 is cool :-)
I should look into Gail's book. I have to admit I've never read any of hers...
LBC you are very welcome. We're definitely not a model to follow for new couples starting out :-)
CS - ohhh you should. The first, Debt Free Forever, is great. Of course it's all the same info that is on her many resources on her webpage but it's nice to have it all in one package.
While you're late getting started on RRSPs, imho, it's never too late to start catching up. I'm curious to know if you've considered putting more into your RRSPs and less into the RESP - at least at first.
Upping your RRSP contributions would result in a larger tax return, which you could put towards next years RRSP - or the RESP.
While I can appreciate that you want to help your DSs with their education - you need to take care of you, too. They can apply for scholarships or student loans. The same is not true for your retirement.
My apologies if I'm overstepping. Best of luck to you.
Hey Dylan
Thanks for commenting. I have a pretty good pension plan so the RRSP will be left in as long as possible.
My boys are older and with RESPs there comes an age where there is almost 'no point' in starting to contribute as there is not enough time to reap the benefits. I have only 2 years left with DS1 before he graduates.
I am at that wonderful salary bracket where we really don't have a ton of money but if he were applying today, he would be ineligible for student loans. There is a chance he will get a scholarship through hockey. One year with the junior league = 1 year of university.
With regards to what I said about my husband and I possibly splitting, he would be entitled to half of my RRSPs and pension, but the RESPs can't be touched. mama has to look out for her kids :-)
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