Out of a pile of guano comes some sunshine

I have no idea how long the issues at work will be going. I know it affected last month's salary and will again at the end of June. I know that my carefully (and painfully) saved $2000 EF will not go far in the big picture and I know that I need to have a 'just in case' that isn't credit cards at 19.5% or higher.


So I made an appointment at my  Credit Union yesterday to discuss a line of credit. I really dont' want to use it but if something drastic happens at work then it would be significantly harder to get the LOC then, than it would be now.


I have a few friends who have them; some are contingency accounts they do not use and some, use their LOC a lot. When I went in, the bank lady described  a few different options but they did not sound like what my friends have. I did not want it attached to my mortgage. I would have needed to go to my main bank for that and they were unable to give me an appointment outside of work hours for...........3 or so weeks. Not timely enough. I did not want it attached as an 'overdraft'. I ended up with an interest only LOC, which this Credit Union calls a 'quick loan'.


So as I am giving her my information, she is asking things such as mortgage balance and loan balances. I can't tell you enough how empowering it was to be able to quote those balances off the top of my head, including the interest rates. It was interesting to watch her face as I did that. It was even more empowering to be able to say, yes I have two CCs. Both have zero owing and zero balance.


As she put through my information, she processed it via Equifax. Now it's been on my list for a couple of years to explore the new territory of getting my credit score/report. I just never got around to it.  I was beyond surprised when I got to see a printed out copy of it. I have had vehicle loans before and the mortgage and I know that they had to do the same credit check but I NEVER got to see the results before. This was an unexpected bonus.


As she brought out the copies from Equifax, she had a quizzical smile on her face. She said she's been in loans/LOC etc for 10 years at this bank and had never seen a score so high before.  My credit score was 817. Very, very good, she tells me.


I told her this all was new territory for me and she went through the report, line by line with me, so I would understand what it all meant. I sure appreciated that.  I learned that apparently my Sears card was closed by 'client request' last month, though I did not  close it. I haven't used that card in a long time. I will have to phone to find out more about that. We are a  small town so the Sears store is mostly a small area with fridges, stoves, washers and dryers. Anything we order comes via catalogue, so the card is fairly necessary for that.


anyhooooo she asked what my secret was to such a short and glowing  Credit Score. I asked her if she had heard of Gail Vaz-Oxlade and she had NOT!! So I told her a bit about who she was and the premise of her books/show/website. I told her how 'finding Gail' on Slice three summers ago really changed my life.

For interest rate, I was able to get prime plus 2.5, which is 0.5 less than BMO had quoted me over the phone.


So I have an LOC now. I am really hoping not to use it. I am watching every penny going out right now, particulary in groceries and household, which is a big part of my variable expenses. Ideally I'd like to close the LOC once the work troubles are over.

EF calling. I don't want to answer

 I know my posts have been far fewer than usual the past month. Things are changing in my world and money is always the casualty in one way or another.

Firstly, DS1 has not been able to find a part time job. He's been looking since the end of Feb and applied everywhere  and heard nothing back. He's gotten good at filling in the different versions of application forms and the printer has been exercised as we access his resume. Having a job means many different things to him:
A) It will give him money for gas and spending.
B) It will be the only way he can fullfill his 1/3 of the share for his car plates; save for his trip; pay back on his share of his vehicle.
C) It will be a constructive way for him to spend his downtime this summer.
D) and most important, he will understand what it takes to earn $10, or $20. He will learn how to schedule his time and be more responsible. It's a taste of adulthood.

Last night he had a phonecall for an interview, Tuesday. he's very shy face to face so I don't know how much he can 'sell himself'. Fingers crossed.

Secondly is the big one. Our contract negotiations have hit  difficult times and we have had job action, which is a first for us ever, in our province.  On the money end, I lost one day's wage for the upcoming pay period and at least 2 for the next one.

The worst part of this is hearing the comments about what people think of my profession, their misunderstandings of what they think I do each day/week and the anger and hatred they feel. I understand there are 'less than stellar' folks in teaching, as there are in EVERY profession out there, but I haven't come across many. There are also amazing folk in every profession as well.  I have a great staff and those are the words of the kids and parents we work with.

I have zero desire to get into any kind of debate with anyone on this matter. My philosophy is that I know ZIP about any other job that I haven't worked and I don't judge.

It does mean, as it has for many folk who have lost days of work, or worse, their job, that the money situation has to be rethought and rebalanced.

I know I have $2000 in my EF but I am really reluctant to touch it. If I have to, instead, I will dip into the back to school money and then work towards replenishing that.

I hope you all had a great weekend. It's the long weekend here and we actually had decent weather. It's cloudy today so I am off to the school.

Getting to know me

Taking  a leaf off of  LBC with a wee 'getting to know me'.

A - Age 41
B - Bed Size - Queen
C - Chore I Hate - washing windows
D - Dogs? heck no. cat woman all the way
E - Essential start of the day - checking blogs and texting a good morning to my best friend
F - Favourite Colour - Turquoise
G - Gold or Silver - Gold
H - Height - 5 foot 9
I - Instruments I play - none
J - Job - Middle School Teacher
K - Kids - 2 boys
L - Love - cats
M - Mom's Name - Annette
N - Nickname - Rena
O - Overnight Hospital stays - 18 (2 babies and 1 pneumonia)
P - Pet Peeve - people who don't hold the door open for those who follow
Q - Quote - smile and wave boys - Madagascar
R - Right or left handed - Right
S - Siblings - 3
T - Time I wake up - 6:20
U - Underwear - lacey
V - Veggie I dislike - Raw ionion
W - What makes me late - my children
X - Xrays - teeth, lungs
Y - Yummy food I make - Sweet and sour meatballs
Z - Zoo Animal - anything from the cat family

MS Walk...here we come

Today is year 2 of our family MS walk. We began it last year in support of Sister 1, who was diagnosed with MS in June of 2009.  The whole 'fam damily' came home last year to walk it and we raised about $5000 towards it. Not everyone can make it this year, unfortunately. A few of the nieces of nephews can't make it. I was hoping that my new great-nephew would be home so I could see him, but unfortunately they just can't. 14 hours round trip when ya work Monday morning just isn't do-able.

My sister has declined a lot in the past year. She has also developed hives all over that they attribute to the disorder. She walked half of the 3K last year. She won't even make a half K this year. We have plans made for her to call someone waiting at the base, so they can drive to pick her up. It's very sad to see how this has affected her life.

It makes me very angry at myself. I am overweight.  a lot. I love to walk and I know the benefits of what this can do for the mind, body and spirit. I knew this walk was coming and I have had time to get ready for it. Did I go walking? nope. hardly at all. I struggled to complete the walk last year and hated how that felt. And here I am, in the same  or worse condition than I was the year before. No one's fault but my own. I have the gift of being able to walk and the time to do it, and I squander it to sit at home on my @ss. Shameful.

I need to change and I know it. I need to appreciate that I can still walk, when my sister can't. I talk the talk well, but will I walk the walk? (pun intended)


Have a happy day everyone. Find a cause near and dear to your heart, and find a way to support it, whether it be through a walk, through volunteerism or through donations. It puts life in a whole new perspective for you!

Cinnamon Bun Recipe

Sam had requested this...so voila!

2 Hour Buns


3 cups warm water

1/2 cup white sugar

6 tbsp. oil

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. yeast

2 eggs, beaten

7 to 9 cups of flour



Combine the first five ingredients.

Add the eggs and mix well.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Pat with oil and let rise 15 minutes.

Punch down and repeat rise two more times.

On the forth rise make into buns or cinnamon buns.

Let rise 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 15 mins.

Note:for cinnamon buns, roll out batter and spread plenty of butter on batter. Sprinkle dark brown sugar and cinnamon over batter. For a gooier cinnamon bun, sprinkle brown sugar on the bottom of your pan.

There is nothing more intoxicating than the smell of freshly ground coffee and yeast activating. There is a light rain falling and I am curled up sipping my first cup. I have an apple cinnamon candle burning. I mixed up a batch of 2 hour buns which I will convert into cinnamon buns.

I have only made them once before, over Easter. They turned out not too badly. I was quite pleased to have done alright with them. Just one of those things I felt like I always should have known how to make.

I had a wee bit of house envy yesterday. I went to a baby shower for a friend at work. One of her friends hosted it. The shower was great and the wee one soooo cute. I couldn't help but compare yesterday though. Her kitchen/dining room is the size of my whole house. I often wonder where I went wrong back in the early adulthood when houses like hers are the norm for the people I know, and houses like mine, are the exception. Not a darn thing I can do to change it though. I'm 41 and my life path isn't likely to change to include a boatload of money. When I got home, I gave myself an hour to work through that (some might read 'pout' LOL) and then pushed on. I have what I have.

There might be a bit of time for Mother's Day today. I have to go over to the school and work for a couple hours to be ready for tomorrow and the week ahead.

for all those moms out there, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family and love.

Where the money stands

as of May 7th

Debts
Mortgage - $34 188.89
Vehicle Loan - $12 049.52
Total Debt - $46 238.41

Savings
Summer - $1000
Back to School - $1500
EF (TFSA) - $2000

Planned Savings
RRSP - $2500
RESP - $7375

just.............appreciating things

just feels like the right thing to do: to appreciate some of the things in my life.

• the weather has been nice. It was gorgeous yesterday. Heading towards rain today. But there is just something about that beginning of spring weather where everything feels fresh and peaceful that replenishes my spirit.
• back to work today. I missed my kids. they are so funny and such a great group to work with, even if they are not easy all the time.  I like that I have a job where I really enjoy the people, young and old, that I work with.
• DS1 had an interview after school today. We waiting outside (out of sight of the door) to see how it went. It is his first one ever so he has no frame of reference. It would be really nice if he got it.
• My cats are always so happy to see me when I come home. If they are outside they both run. Sometimes I can't even get in the vehicle and they are already in the driveway. they both add such richness to my life

The depth of consumer loyalty

I was on my way over to the school this morning to get some correcting and prep work done for the week ahead. My vehicle was low on fuel. Periliously low. The happy little fuel indicator said I had about 50 KM left. I don't put a whole lot of trust in those but they do give a nice estimate. I stopped at my regular gas station. I have been going to this station since it opened in 1985 and I was the first 'gas jockey' hired. I was 15.

There are two fuel stations in my wee town and in our sister community about 5 Km away, there are about 8ish.  We are very much the little sister of the family and most of our shopping places exist in the larger of the two communities.

Now I go to my regular station out of a sense of habit and loyalty. I also go because it support my Air Miles Card, which I got when I was first a driver. When I am at home, I support this station for probably 99% of my fuel purchases.

I pulled in this morning and thought 'ohh they got a new sign'. Then I took a closer look and realized that the new sign was there because they had switched companies. awwww. I honestly didn't know if this company took AirMiles but I needed gas so stop I did.

For the record, our gas went up across all the stations and is now at $1.329 per litre. sigh.  I put in $50, which is my gas budget for the week. How much did that get me? 3/4 of a tank. Very sad to see, especially since that first 1/4 is the largest part of the tank, based on the shape.

I went in and asked if they still took airmiles and they said no. They are now with Aeroplan. A fine points card I am sure but not the one I use.

I said I was very sad to hear this and that this possibly was my last tank of gas at their station. We are a three car family so that means a loss of business of 3 tanks every 10 days or so, for this station. I told them that, kindly. I have no idea why the companies changed and I know it's not their fault, but I felt it was important to know why they would likely be losing my business.

I know there is one other Shell Station in our sister community. I now have to decide if I want to support my own community and add yet another card to my wallet, or if I will stick with the one I have and fuel up elsewhere. That station is on the far side of the city and really not on my direct path but another 3 minutes would get me there. It's not horribly out of the way but it would require me to be more aware of when I need fuel.

In the big picture of life I know this is not a huge decision. It does make me go hmmmmm