Review of 2013 Goals

I love the end of a year and the promise of a new one. It does for my goals and my budget thoughts as spring does for my emotions and my connection with nature.

As I look back on my goals this year (and the ones from years before) I can see that I have made some good changes. I think about money differently. I plan ahead for events. I recognize more how finite the money source is and I recognize that I have to make compromises or sacrifices.

So how did I do??

Goal 1 - Pay off Line of Credit - PASS
I got this paid off by the end of May thanks to paying down extra every month, using my true income tax return and using the money they gave me and then wanted back in December. I made mini goals so that I could feel the momentum as I paid it down.   So good to have this LOC gone.

Goal 2 - Celebrations Goal - PASS
I got this off my to do list right at the start of 2013. I was so glad I had this money ready for the weddings and for DS1's prom and grad. It made those events far less stressful knowing I didn't have to fret over $

Goal 3 - Summer 2013 - PASS
I had this goal met just in the nick of time, at the end of June. It was great to have that money for our camping time and to give the boys $ for different summer activities.

Goal 4 - Vehicle Plates - PASS
With a total of 4 vehicles in the family now, planning to pay for the insurance is KEY.

Goal 5 - Back to School - PASS
This was a smaller goal this year since DS1 was graduated. It gave me more money for DS2 for clothes, and I bought some things for my class since I was teaching a brand new grade.

Goal 6 - Save for DS2's trip - Half and half
DS decided he would not go on the trip in spring of Grade 11 (this coming spring) and would wait for spring of Grade 12. He hopes that trip will be Europe based, preferably Italy or Greece. I saved $1140 thus far for his trip. He has his spending money ready to go.

Goal 7 - Christmas 2013 - PASS
It made for a stress free Christmas. I did not get a fresh tree this year, so I saved $ there. With 5 great nieces/nephews now I had to cut the amount I gave for them. Added up very fast.

Goal 8 - TFSA - PASS
It felt so good to finally add to this after 2 years hiatus. I can't let that happen again.

Goal 9 - RRSP - PASS
My little portfolio is slowly growing. I try not to think about how little it actually would help for monthly expenses once I am retired and will just focus on continuing to add to this.

Goal 10 - Lose 20 lbs - Fail
I started off great. Then quit and gained. Then kept going strong over summer and early fall. Then quit and gained. Overall I lost (as of this morning) 11 pounds this year.

Goal 11 - Reading - Fail

But I am ok with this. I read in the summer and it was great, but with 35ish kids in my class this year, I don't have a lot of brain cells left to read while school is on.

My final sentence on my 2013 goal page is worth mentioning. It said "I hope 2013 is a year of DOING, rather than a year of just wishing I were doing something...anything"

Looking back, and reading what others have done, I realize that I have not DONE enough. I have thought, and wished, and dreamed and planned, but the actualization of it was insufficient. I need to get moving and get living and get ENJOYING life more.

A Year of Snowflakes

I continue to be assured that little things definitely add up and can create positive (pardon the pun) change.

The money comes from a variety of sources - leftover weekly jar money, rolled change, bottle recycling, income tax refund, garage sales, and little bits of money I get here and there. On the weeks or months where I am diligent about using cash, I have more change. Usually any change I get, goes in the jar.  That can add up fast.

I put most of my snowflakes in the early part of the year towards my Line of Credit. I wanted that gone, diddily on! (ok I was watching a Simpsons rerun as I wrote this and channeled Ned)

After the LOC was paid off, it went towards things like my TFSA or the money I saved for DS2's trip.

In 2012 the snowflakes were $3136
In 2011 the snowflakes were $4350
In 2010 the snowflakes were $5070
In 2009 the snowflakes were $4295

And for this year, 2013, at first glance it looked like my yearly totals would be $4971.

THEN, I remembered that $1300 of that was the money Revenue Canada gave me, then took back last week.

So for 2013 it looks like my yearly total of snowflakes is $3671. A great number, to be sure, and very appreciated. I won't lie though....that loss of $1300 hurt.

I look forward to finding more snowflakes for next year.

2013 - a quick glance

The beauty of having blogged for so long is that one acquires access to personal data trends from across the years.  It helps me see what progress I have made and helps to formulate goals for the upcoming year.

For dates, I am using information from the start of December for each  year.

Debts
December 2009 - $70 771.99
December 2010 - $52 410.25 (down $18 361.74)
December 2011 - $40 055.29 (down $12 354.96)
December 2012 - $35 921.04 (down $4 134.25)
December 2013 - $25 925.49 (down $9 995.55)

Purely looking at the numbers one could say that I have put less of an effort at debt reduction as the years have progressed. It doesn't taken into account the fact that I have several different KINDS of debt in 2009 and now that I have reached 2013, I currently have only  my mortgage.

The numbers will probably be different for 2014. If DS1 does not qualify for student loans to offset his college fees then I will probably acquire more debt for a bit to help supplement this.

It will definitely be a learning process for all of us.

A year of change

As longtime readers know, I toss my change from my everyday purchases into a jar instead of hanging on to it and putting it back into my jars for groceries or gas or whatnot.

 Once a month I count it up and take the full rolls into the bank to put it towards whatever goal is the current target. My bank has the fancy machine that counts it up but I take great pleasure in doing it myself.  Each month I report on the change for the month. It is quite amazing how it adds up.

Here is a summary for the year's change:
January - $100
February - $80
March - $42
April - $100
May - $0
June - $118
July - $100
August -$125
September - $30
October - $100
November  - $85
December - $100

My year's total for 2013 was an impressive $980

In 2012 my year's total was $549.50

If I were able to shop effectively with my debit card rather than cash, a good percentage of that 'change' would have remained in those budget lines. I just never seem to shop well with only debit. I am much more careful when I shop with cash.

I am grateful for the change and able to use it for my different goals.

Discovering my roots

No no, I am not talking about my hair, although, now that you mention it, they are getting quite noticeable.

I have been interested in family history for years. I am probably the only one of my siblings who has that interest. I remember times of curling up and listening to stories of our family. Some of it I remember and some of it is gone.

I remember visiting my maternal grandfather and he was actually willing to share some stories (he was very reluctant to share details). My mom pulled me aside and said "Go listen! There will come a time when he isn't around and you will no longer have that chance."  How right she was. (sshhh don't read that so loud...she might hear you and know I admitted this :-)

My paternal grandmother had 'a book' done up by a genealogist on her husband's family. It traced roots back to Palentine Germany in the 1600s and followed their trail to the US and then up to Canada.  A couple years before she passed she gave the book to me to read. Boy am I glad she did. I may not have gotten it after she passed as my dad's brother seems to have...............errr.....................appropriated all the family pictures and such.  I am not letting this book out of my hands or I will never see it again.

We have a couple books done about the regions my parents grew up in and the families that lived there.

While my mom was in the hospital in early December, her words of long ago came back to me. "Go listen! There will come a time when you will no longer have that chance."

I started asking dad stories to distract him while she was in surgery.  He remembered some and I filled in some details with what I remembered. He said "we need to find  a way to get the rest of the information" and asked me about those ads he had seen on TV for ancestry.ca

Just seeing that little sparkle in his tired and sad eyes was enough for me. I pulled out my IPAD (from work) and my credit card, and subscribed for a  year right there and then.

We started searching and it was not hard to start with the details we had. He was really interested in what I was finding.

In the hours I sat by mom's bedside as she drifted in and out of sleep, I kept exploring. At one point I was looking at a census artifact for my dad's side, and found a few of my mom's on the same page. I laughed and she asked what I found. I mentioned a name and she started blabbing, "well he was married to so and so and their kids were....and they had his brother living with him."   I said 'yup, that's all here on this document.". She laughed and said "Well you didn't need to sign up then did you? I already know all that."

In my ever loving way I said "Look lady you were unconscious and quite unwilling to answer my questions...". She smiled.  

In the past couple weeks I have had great fun following the trees up and up. I have found an uncle of my mom's who we didn't know existed. They came over from Poland.....second marriage...etc etc. I found a granddaughter of another uncle my mom just barely remembers. There was some sort of a falling out and years later, my mom remembers a reunion between the brothers. I found a picture this  granddaughter posted and without even looking at the names, I knew which one he was. He looked just like grandpa.  I have now connected with this woman and we are starting to share.

I found the links for our pirate ancestor. I knew about him for years now but found the artifacts to back it up.

I found out that one of my dad's great great uncles was hung for killing his wife...strangled her to death. Lovely.

I am locked out of databases that are in the US or UK, but I am realizing that those trails are much easier to track than my mom's side where it links into villages in Poland and Russia and those varying boundaries back then.

My cost for the year is $119. Seeing the excitement in my parents' eyes makes it well worth it. We need to start going through pictures and beginning to add. My mom wants to go to the city in the spring and find her grandmother's grave...things like that.

I have shaved this money off my jars over the month of December. A bit from gas. A bit from groceries. A bit from entertainment.

For those of you who use it - I ask - at the end of the year when my membership expires, IF I chose not to continue to pay, what happens to my tree? Does it disappear? Or does it remain in some sort of stasis, waiting for me to pay again to see it again?

An impulse buy? yup. But I do recognize that the keepers to the stories behind all these names, have less time left on earth, rather than more.

Jammie Day and Calendars

Today is a quiet day...time to relax, sip coffee, read or watch TV and just .............appreciate.

We are not part of the Boxing Day madness sales out there. a) no money left. b) nothing we truly need.  It saves me gas, money and stress. All good things. AND they frown on you shopping in your jammies :-)

DH left by 8 AM to go ice fishing. The boys are still sleeping. The kitty is curled up beside me and all is well in the world.

The first thing I am doing is filling in my mom's calendar for the year: birthdates, anniversaries, the remainder of the DS1's hockey schedule, DS2's curling schedule and my weekly 'paydays'.  I have been using this calendar brand for a few years now and quite like it. Every year they tweak the calendar a bit and some parts I love, and some a bit less. I think they one they made last year was the best version.

(image courtesy of http://www.moretimemoms.ca/ )

 

I bought the one for this year a few months ago and it has been waiting, still in it's plastic wrap, in my closet. I opened it the other day and was a little disappointed. It is physically smaller than previous ones and the space for writing is a big part of why I love it. There are a few versions so I suspected I had bought the wrong version.  I really debated over whether I should use it or go back and get one that was like last year's. Ohhh the internal debate. Waste the money you spent on the first one just to go back and get a new one with bigger spaces??  or the other side - It's only about $11, so just go get it if it will make you happy. But it's still $11? think of how happy you are when you snowflake $11 in coins?

 

The internal debate reached the point where I gave myself permission to go get a different version of it just to shut my mind up :-) I had gone online to see which one I was looking for and off to the store I went. I was surprised to find that the version I had bought last year did not exist. There was an erasable one, a fridge magnet one with unconnected sheets (but the size of squares I love) or the coil bound version I already had.

 

End result - I went home and told myself to be satisfied with the one I had. Based on the kinds of stickers at the back, I really am not a 'new mom' and almost out of the mom calendar phase. How sad is that?

 

I am glad I went to look though. It quieted the voice in my head that was coveting a different kind :-)

 

I still like having a paper based calendar up where everyone can write their information and see what is coming up in the week/month.

 

Do you still even use a paper calendar anymore? or have you gone completely digital?

 



 

 

Christmas Celebrations - it's a wrap!

Well we are back home. The boys are downstairs with one of their cousins, playing Xbox. DH and I are upstairs here watching TV, AND the deer slowly wandering down our street. The snow is softly falling outside and it is just a smidge below 0.

How quickly the anticipation and the busy-ness of those two days has come and gone.  The overarching feeling this year was how happy we all were that mom was still here for the holiday, coupled with the reality that she is just so tired.

Originally the plan was to have Christmas eve supper at Sister 1's (the one with MS) and Christmas Day at mom's, who insisted she could still host it. After returning home from her last surgery, even she admitted that she could not do it. Sister 2 was gone to Alberta to have Christmas with her daughter and the grandkids. Sister 3 was just returning from Mexico and lives 2.5 hours north of here. And me...well my house is just too small to host anything (and that continues to bug me)


Sister 1 said that as long as she was hosting Eve supper she might as well do the Day supper as well. She just needed help with the prep, cooking and cleaning.

Christmas Eve I went over early to help prep. We were having appetizers (coconut shrimp, wings, ribs etc) followed by lasagne, Caesar salad and garlic bread. Her children and their families were there (2 beautiful little girls to hold/play with), along with our parents and my family. Sister 1 always cooks way too much. Hosting is her thing and having this darn disease that saps her energy and strength, is so hard emotionally on her. It was nice for mom and dad to be able to come over, share time for awhile, then head home when she needed to nap.  

After we finished there, DS1 headed off to his girlfriend's house and DS2 went to hang out with friends for an hour or so.

Christmas morning, we opened our gifts here. I have to say that we all really missed not having our tomcat here. Traditionally DS1 opened that kitty's stocking with him and DS2 opened the one with our maine coone.  It was hard not having him there and things just felt off without him. DS1 was particularly quiet.

We cut down a bit on presents this year (thank goodness) especially between DH and myself. I have been trying to get him to do that for years but he just fights it. Then he complains about spending money on gifts LOL. Sometimes there is no reasoning with him. DS1's gifts were clothes and sports items. One of his favourites was a fur hat like this -

 

 

You can snap up the sides to the top. Maybe now he'll stop stealing his brother's.

 

DS2's favourite gift was this quick little stove for his winter camps or canoe trips.

 

 

DH was mainly given 'dry wear' gear for his work outdoors. My list was short and I wouldn't have even made a list if they hadn't all asked. I told the boys all I wanted was a nice picture of the two of them together. DS1's girlfriend will take it and voila. They both agreed to it. DS2 hates pics like his mama.  I got some candles and towels, little things like that. I also got a gift certificate for a pedicure and one to put towards some art to hang on my living room walls. Seriously tired of having nothing on them.  I will have to pick something out and then save the rest of the cash.



After we opened our gifts we headed to mom and dad's where she insisted on doing brunch. Sister 3 and her family were there cooking when we got there. We don't get to see them much so it was fun to catch up and share a meal together.  The phone was busy there this holiday with more relatives making calls to talk to mom (and dad) than usual. We left so mom could rest for awhile.

Sister 3 headed over to Sister 1's house to get started on prep and I joined her there not long after. Another delicious meal. and lots of the kids to help clean up and do the dishes.  We played a couple of games, as usual. This year was Taboo and Catch Phrase. DS2 is coveted for these games as he is a quick thinker (much like his mother) and it is good to see him shine.  He even played on the Wii for awhile with his brother. He doesn't like to use the Wii as his tremors make it incredibly hard for him to hold his hands still for the games and he is so self conscious about that. Was good to see him kick his brother's ........ in archery, especially since DS1 is the jock of the family.

When the evening was finished about 7:30, mom and dad went home, Sister 3 took off for home with her crew, my boys headed off to join friends at the outdoor rink at my school and...... we fast forward to where I started this prairie tale.

We have not yet opened gifts at mom and dads. She likes to do that with one daughter and their family at a time and there just wasn't time yesterday. We can do that on Boxing Day or the next..whatever works.

Simple Christmas celebrations here. Sometimes I yearn for fancy but I know we don't have the kind of cash to make that sort of thing happen.

When it comes down to it, I got to be with my parents, and that is the best gift of all. I cherish those moments even more than ever now.

RRSP Goal Met

I can happily say today that the $1500 I had saved for my year's contribution to RRSPs has now been officially added to my little portfolio.    I tried a few times to book a meeting with my rep at the bank but we just couldn't make it work out with the business of my last few weeks. Since I was changing nothing and merely adding to the portfolio, she got the papers ready and left them at the front desk for me to sign.

I signed yesterday. Today I checked my account and the money has now been moved. So yippee! I could have spent it in so many different ways (good and bad). I am so glad I stayed true and didn't touch it.

My portfolio should now be at around $7600, give or take whatever ups and downs there may have been in the market.

Adventures of ...

Gary the Gift Card

Hi! I'm Gary the Gift Card. I was  a surprise for Jolie and her family for Christmas from the hockey organization. You see the families that take in boys from the team get $ each month for having a billet. DS stays at home so Jolie's family did not get one. For Christmas this year Jolie got a $300 grocery card as a thank you. What a big surprise for them all.

Jolie planned to take me shopping with her on the weekend and buy 'the big haul'....fill up the dwindling pantry and freezer, along with getting some things for the holiday season. She was so excited.


So Jolie and her DH headed off yesterday to get groceries in the 30 below weather. DH was excited as he rarely gets to go grocery shopping. He doesn't understand 'staying within the budget' and finds it ridiculously hard to only spend that amount. He is surprised at how expensive things are LOL

Jolie and DH's card was for a big grocery store attached to a small mall (think small town rural mall - no fountains, no food courts, no second story).  They went for lunch together at a cafeteria style place and then with full tummies, they headed off to the store. As they entered the store with the cart, Jolie stopped to make sure I was still in her purse.

I. WAS. GONE.

Jolie panicked. She checked her pockets. She checked her purse. She checked her wallet. I was missing.  Her heart sank as the thoughts of a heaping full cart were gone out the window.

She retraced her steps back down to where they ate, and through the cafeteria line to see if I had fallen out at lunch. No sign of me.

She walked back towards the grocery store with a heavy heart. She stopped about 10 steps outside of the store to call home. DS was there, minding the space heaters. She had him check her dresser, her counter, the kitchen floor and the path out to the truck. NO sign of me.

The feelings running inside her were many - sadness, disappointment, stupidity (I mean who loses a gift card).  She took a big breath and headed back to the store to let DH know. Three steps inside the grocery store, in plain sight of where everyone could see, and walked, there I lay...... face down on the floor, with my $300 written on me in big black sharpie.

The look on her face was something I will never forget. I mean really, how many people walked past me (including Jolie) and just left me there????  As she swept me up, I heard her whisper a 'thank you!!! guarding angel'.

There was definitely more spring in her step as she headed off to take me shopping.

Here is to keeping things organized, appreciating the gifts in your life and guardian angels

signed - Gary the Gift Card

C-C-C-Cold

Seems fitting with the temperatures we have been having in the -30C that the furnace would decide to join the rebellion.

We lost it around 9 PM last night. We called all the 'heating' companies in town on their after hours lines. Only one answered. He had a dozen calls ahead of us and said he wouldn't be here until today. We called our energy company and the man came within a half hour. He checked all the lines from the gas meter and that part is working well. It was nice of him to come so fast.


We got our two space heaters out and  borrowed 1 from my brother in law and one from DH's.  The main goal  is to keep our water pipes from freezing...and...well...us too LOL

We called the heating company again first thing this morning and he just came and left. We remain on space heaters until at least tomorrow as the main guy who works with our brand of furnace does not work until tomorrow. The heating company was kind enough to not charge us for this call out which I am told is around $500 ($500!! man I am in the wrong business. when I think of how many times I have had parents call in the evenings or on weekends or holidays saying their child has forgotten 'x' at school and could I please come so they could get it. I could be rich LOL)

So parts of my house are ok for heat and parts are 14C (57F)

Can't imagine what our electric bill will be with all these space  heaters, or the bills for the repairs.

murphy!!!!!!

The Big C

It has been rearing it's ugly head a great deal of late. It never ceases to amaze me how unfair it all seems.  In my work world, one of my colleagues at a sister school was diagnosed with cancer of the throat a few weeks ago. She has undergone some pretty radical surgery of late. The husband of one of my colleagues has had cancer for over a year now. It has gotten worse and what they wanted to operate on has now become inoperable. It is incredibly sad.  The mother of one of our school's youngest students had battled and won, we thought. It is back now, with a vengeance and she is about to undergo a radial treatment where she will be isolation for 6 months...away from her little ones. Today was their last day with us. very sad.

And now the personal touch. My mom's results came back a couple weeks ago. The cancer has spread. They were able to get her in very fast and we spent last week in the city while she had all her lymph nodes on one side, removed. Her face and neck are a hot mess of stitch after stitch. Watching my dad in there.....he was so sad. Broke our hearts. Mom is at home now under home care and very weak. Our next stop, regardless of the results of the tests, will be the Cancer Clinic.

All this from a mole.

Last week was the first time I verbalized "My mom has cancer."  It did me in. Even just typing this...I am breaking down.

She is so strong, but it just seems like a battle we can't win.

It is just not fair.

And the holiday begins

What a busy, swirling last week before Christmas break.

 There was Christmas concert this week where the older students were part of a play and the little groups popped on for their songs. There were 3 performances of this and then with a big sigh of relief, we could take the stage down and get back to having a gym again.

It's been bitter cold and the kids have been inside almost 100% of the time for noons and recesses rfor the past 3 weeks. They get so squirrely without that time to run around and get some fresh air, but with windchills into the -40C range and more, that's a little too much fresh air for safety.

My class had their annual potluck party. 35 kids eat a LOT of food. They had a great time though. I was surprised at how many had no potluck etiquette experience to draw upon. It was a great teaching moment showing them how to not touch every dish with their hands...how not to take heaping amounts until everyone had firsts, and then seconds.

I have had a student teacher with me once  a week for the past four months, then a few more days as he was done his  exams. The best part is that he is a former student of mine and a lot of the activities were things he remembered from being in my class, only this time he got to see them as the adult. There were a lot of  'so THAT is why you always....." comments :-)

We had pajama days and movies today. I popped popcorn yesterday after school and then again early this morning. We sang carols this afternoon and then we released them to their parents for the holidays.

It was a great feeling to be home and in my jammies by 4 PM. Such decadence!

DS2 left this morning for a winter camp weekend. Crazy kid...excited to be out and camping this weather. I am taking advantage of his being gone to strip down his bed and do laundry and get it tidied. I know...he should be doing this, but for some reason I just feel the need to surface tidy and clean.

I am curled up watching Season 2 of CSI New York, that I got from the library today. Tomorrow will be soon enough to do all the things I need to do, outside of the house.

F'ing taxes

I am mad. steaming mad.

Remember back HERE

where I got a larger than expected tax refund?

Remember I called Revenue Canada THAT day. THAT DAY!! to ask them to check over all my files as their number did not match mine?

Remember that I asked the man who answered AREYOU SURE this is correct???

He assured me it was.

Well today I got a statement saying that they reassessed and I now owe THEM $1300, with interest thank you very much you deadbeat citizen!

I called the number on my assessment and they have NO record I ever called. None

Merry F'ing Christmas

Where the money stands

as of December 8th

Debts
Mortgage - $25 925.49

Total Debt - $25 925.49

Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $3075
RESP - $15 800
RRSP - $6100 ($1500 more ready to be added in when I meet with bank)
xmas 2013 - $1400 (for the moment....beginning to dip out of this now for the holiday)
DS2's trip -$1030

I am happy to have added to DS2's trip fund. He won't be going until April of 2015 but a head start will make me a much happier woman. I want to be sure I have that money ready for his trip, as I did for his brother.

I have added a category I am planned spending for, which will probably not show up on this radar...college. I am tucking away money each month for the upcoming bills for DS1.  This will get tapped into as need be and right now I have no clue how that will unfold.  I suspect this will go on for 4 years at which point I hope/suspect both boys will be done.

Air Miles Credit Cards

Looking for a little input here from folks, particularly my Canadian readers.

I have a lot of flights in my future if I ever want to visit DS at college to see him play or fly him home at Christmas etc.

I bank with BMO and use their BMO air miles CC...the one with no fee. I get one reward mile for every $20 in purchases.   I am wondering if I should choose to get one of the other airmiles cards where there IS a yearly fee, but the ratio of dollars spent to miles earned is better.

I would be using it for flights down to the US and back and those days would be rather specific so I would not want to fight 'blackout' times.

I really haven't used my airmiles for much beyond some gift redemeptions.

Thoughts? suggestions? 

November Change

I headed off to the bank today with my change for November. I had almost forgotten about it, in the craziness of the last month.

I had:

• 1 roll of toonies - $50
• 1 roll of loonies - $25
• 1 roll of quarters - $10

for a total of $85

I had $15 I hadn't spent from my  grocery budget so I added that too and put the money towards DS2's trip fund.

Catching up

Yes I have been a bad blogger. Perhaps my mojo is fading. More likely is the busyness of the month left me drained.

So....what's new?

Well with mom, her surgery is over. She had to have 3 lymph nodes removed from her neck and almost 4 weeks later we are still waiting  to find out if there is more cancer. It is a rough time waiting longer than the 2 weeks promised for this kind of news. She also had to have part of her ear removed as there were cancer cells there, below the mole she had had removed. Makes me see Skin Cancer in a whole new light. She has been very brave through this, but is still scared.  We are trying to fashion scarves so she can go out without folks staring.

With sister, her MS is getting worse. She has also had some serious issues with her gall bladder and is weak weak weak. Any meds she takes for it reacts with the symptoms of her MS and gives her massive hives, the size of golf balls. She is very sad a lot. She can't get out to do anything and doesn't even have the energy to do things around the house. Another of my sisters is semi retired so she is coming home to help decorate for Christmas.

With school, it has been insanely busy. With a completely new marking system (1-4) instead of percentages or A, B, C, it means a whole new style of teaching and assessment. Along with teaching the students and parents what it all means, we are learning it ourselves. There is  a lot of resistance and confusion about it. Added to that was a whole new computer system for marking that has had at it all many glitches. Interviews were different as well. What it all translated to was time....outside of classtime, to learn a whole new grade curriculum in 7 subjects and to do and to meet. In November I was spending approximately 20 hours a week doing school work in the evenings and weekends. I am hoping I will become more efficient as the year progresses. It's a lot of time I am giving up away from my family. We have had a few staff in our district leave the profession this year - they are amazing teachers and do great things in the classroom, but weighed the pros and cons of the time they lose with their little ones every night and weekend, and family won.

With DS1, we have decided on a college. We had form after form to fill in and ship off to the States. He is very excited about going down to play his beloved game, but we have yet to pick his classes lol. It was not a full scholarship. Those are less common than apparently they were a few years ago. I am stressed about how much money I will need to find over four years to meet the rest of the commitment, as we as the basics of what he will need there. We will figure out the first year and after that I am afraid he needs to start exploring student loans. I feel very guilty about having  a 'personal finance blog' and knowing these monstrous costs coming.

I have decided to keep the money in the RESP for DS2. It's a family plan so we can shift it back and forth between kids as far as I know. While it's great there is $15 000 there, it won't go far if I used it for US college tuition. I want to be sure I have money to give DS2.

Winter is here with a vengeance. It started right after Halloween with a super freezing rain storm covered up by a big snow dump.  I hope this winter is not as long as last year. I can't do another almost 7 month winter (October 16 to May 6th last year)

And that's my world. :-)

I laugh as I put "unplanned expenses" as a label here. It isn't like I didn't know my kids would be going to College. I simply didn't start saving soon enough. When they were first born I had no job and DH's job was low paying and I couldn't, but even, say 10 years ago, if I had understood budgets and planning, I COULD have started.    Lesson to be learned for new folks out there - really think about money and what it can do for you, in the present and in the possible future.

RRSP Update

My new statement came yesterday, updating my RRSO portfolio.

At my last update, I had $6110.79 in my portfolio divided between NEI Canadian Bonds and Ethical Equity. The balance had dropped about $60.

My balance currently stands at $6376.13.

It's nice to see it has gained a little bit over $260 in that time.  It's divided 65% equity and 35% bonds.

I have my 2013 RRSP money saved ($1500). I just need to find time to book an appointment with my bank to get the new money added in. That's not going to happen until after report cards and interviews this month.

My first goal of $10 000 gets closer, albeit slowly.

Where the money stands

as of November 2, 2013

Debts
Mortgage - $26 206.59

Total Debt - $26 206.59

Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $3065
RESP - $15 450
RRSP - $6100 ($1500 more ready to be added in when I meet with bank)
Plates - $0 - insurance was due this month so bye bye planned spending
xmas 2013 - $1400
DS2's trip -$400

October change

It was a big change month, as usual when I pay with cash.

I know I could pop that back in the grocery jar but I do enjoy using it as snowflake change at the end of each month.

I ended up with a total of $100

1 roll toonies - $50
1 roll of loonies - $25
2 rolls of quarters - $20
1 roll of dimes - $5

It went in the back towards my RRSP goal.

catching up

Well October has certainly been an interesting month. Sorry I have been away. I just couldn't get out from under the piles of life stuff.

On the home front, my hard drive on my laptop crashed. One afternoon it was fine, later that evening it started doing weird things, like not properly turning on. After a few attempts over the next couple days I finally got it to turn on, only to see the ominous message telling me of hard drive failure. After 2 weeks at the doctor, my laptop is home with a $220 medical bill. I wish I knew what caused it, so I could not do that again.

Going down to the desktop was a challenge as I somehow managed to sprain my ankle a couple weekends ago. I have NO idea how. I went for a great walk. I was fine. I came home and did a load of laundry. I was fine. I went to the school to work and as I started down my hall, I started to limp. It just kept getting worse and worse and a trip to the ER later that week showed there was no break or fracture, but a bad sprain. I spent the next four days with it up as much as I could. No laptop time. Laundry piled up as apparently there is some mysterious technique to it that no one else understands. It's almost healed now.

My mom got some bad news. She had had a couple moles removed this summer from the side of her face. They were sent for testing as per usual. The results were not good. She has malignant melanoma.  She goes next week for massive tissue removal and testing of her lymph nodes. She is very scared and is struggling to think positive.

School is very busy. Having 35 kids in one classroom is hard. Even with good kids. Trying to meet the needs of so many, all at once, is overwhelming.


DS1 has had quite the month. After an opportunity to play in front of some scouts, we have had a flurry of contact (phone, email and in person meetings) with NCAA coaches throughout the US. We now have to choose which school he wants to attend and play hockey for. The scholarships being dangled are quite amazing, as are the costs of US colleges. We have some math to figure out as well. I hadn't realized just how much a year of college costs. It was quite an eye opener. I guess I have to accept that it has been a LONG LONG while since I attended college and quite possibly, the costs have increased since then lol.  The chance for him to play top level hockey though, is something he has worked for his whole 'career' and not one we are going to deny.  He hasn't left yet, and I miss him already.

Fall is quickly here. While September was lovely, October has started to get quite cool. Most of the leaves are already down. It gets dark by 7 now and that desire to curl up under a blanket and watch TV and eat, is so very strong. I miss summer. I sure hope we don't have the long ugly winter we had last year.

While I could not say so before, I certainly cannot say now that  our world is frugal. It really is more a matter of choices and opportunities and making the best decisions for the four of us with the cash we have.

I sure would like to shake that money tree and have some rain down.

Where the money stands

(backdated since I forgot to publish this)

as of October 6th, 2013

Debts
Mortgage - $26 483.95

Total Debt - $26 483.95

Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $3065
RESP - $15 100
RRSP - $6100
Plates - $1200
xmas 2013 - $1400
RRSP Pending savings - $900

What I got for free....sorta

Saturday was spend your points at Shoppers.

I have to admit that I have not shopped at shoppers nearly as much of late. You really have to watch the prices there as their 'regular' price is more than ...say...Walmart.  

I spent some of mine and got the items below for free (except for tax), which amounted to $30 in product. Hard to believe that this little pile hit that amount but those cold pills add up :-)

 

I also went to M and M's to pick up their chicken strips, which were on sale.  I was given a $5 off coupon and a coupon for a free apple crisp, both to be used on a future visit, but before Oct 31.

 

Works for me.

September Change

It wasn't a huge month for change. I must have used my debit card much more than I did over the summer.  Still there was a bit.

2 rolls of quarters - $20
2 rolls of dimes - $10

I took that and $70 cash I had left from my jars over the month and put that $100 down towards my RRSP goal for 2013. That, added to the $800 I deposited yesterday brings my balance up to $900/$1500.

I hope to have that goal complete at the end of October, knock on wood.

Sunday Night Chit Chat

ok ok it's afternoon right now, but I have taken a moment to sit down and thought I'd jot this out before I completely forget. Not that anything I write is earth shattering :-)


Please take a moment later to stop by Carla at 1/2 Dozen Daily and see what her Sunday Night Chit Chat is.

This has been a fantastic week, if I do say so myself.  The month too. The best September I can recall in a long time.

What am I reading?

Great Ways in Differentiate Mathematics Instruction. Kids have such ability range even within each classroom. Hopefully I can find a thing or two that is reasonable and feasible to try in my room.

 

 

What am I watching?

 

I am watching the last bits of the fourth quarter of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders vs Montreal. I don't have a good feeling.

 

 

What am I cooking/baking?

 

I have a pulled pork in the crock pot ready to go as the boys will both be eating at different times. That with some of my mom's fresh made buns and a salad. mmmmm

 

 

What have I accomplished this week?

 

 I think what I am most excited about is the fact that I logged 22 KM walking this week. I made time both Monday and Wednesday after school, and then enjoyed Friday after school to celebrate and lots on Saturday and Sunday. For me this is huge. (ok "I" am huge) because I am not in good shape and more prone to be a lazy couch potato than active. Of course right now it feels like I sprained my *ss and  I am moving funny :-)

 

What am I Looking forward to next week?

 

I have two great outings planned with my students this week. I hope the weather holds. DS1 is going to skate  at an event where college scouts (US and Canada) are present so I am hoping he does well. DS2 is applying to Outward Bound. I hope he is considered. I think he would love it and he already has white water canoeing experience.

 

What am I thankful for?

 

This great weather that lets me be outside. My health...that I am able to do long walks without colitis issues. I think of my sister often when I am walking. She used to walk all the time before she got MS. Now she can barely move. I am reminded how fleeting good health can be and how much we should appreciate it.

 

 



Sensational Saturday

I have to say I truly enjoyed my Saturday, and appreciated all the moments and experiences.

DS2 and his father were up at their camp for one last fall camp before they take down their surveyor tents for the winter.  They left Friday at noon. I got a text to say that DH's tent was quite thoroughly mauled by a bear sometime between last visit and now. They always leave these structures up. At least it happened when no one was at camp. But when one is in bear country, stuff happens. We will have to buy a new one for spring. This one was almost 18 years old so it certainly had a good long life full of camping adventures.

I started off the day early. DS1 had to be up to meet his team by 5:30 for a run. I got up with him and enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee waiting for the sun to fully rise.  When he came back he brought a couple of boys with him and I fed them pancakes and bacon before they all left to crash for a few hours. They had to meet again for another run after lunch. 

I went and picked up mom's dog and off we went for another walk. I explored a different set of trails and was dismayed to find that erosion had taken away one of my favourites from the past. I guess that is nature's way of saying she is alive and kicking. We had a great 4 K walk and I took him home.

I had lunch out on my little patio and enjoyed the leaves (both falling and fallen) and spent some time with a book, just appreciating the sunshine. I went again for another walk around 4. No mutt this time as he was out for a drive in the country to look at the various stages of harvest progress.  When I was done that trail I ended up back in the main area where there are picnic tables and fire pits. I was very pleased to see a birthday party going on. Campfire and picnic baskets and family and friends all enjoying the day outside playing and visiting. Such a better choice financially than going to a restaurant, or one of those token game places where costs add up like wildfire.

It was just me for supper as well. I must say I am doing better adjusting to 'single' life without the kids around. Or at least I was until I started raking leaves. I had a big lovely pile there and recalled wistfully the days we would rake and then the boys would bury each other in the piles and have leaf fights.  Timing couldn't have been more perfect. DS1 showed up with 2 of his teammates and without even saying  a word they proceeded to play in the leaves and bury the rookie. It was great to watch these 18/19 year old 'men' have such fun. When they were done they loaded those leaves into the compost bin.

I ended my evening with a glass of wine as I watched the end of the football game.

No costs today but a priceless day nevertheless.

Fabulous Friday

I am really appreciating the weather and Fridays. Yesterday was very dark and gloomy  but today was amazing. It's like I don't want to come inside because I know this weather and sunshine is limited. Maybe last year's winter that went from Oct 15 to May 2 and felt like forever.

After work I jetted home to change and grab my runners then went over to my parent's place. Mom was nice enough to feed DS1 before his game as he needs to eat by 4 then get himself gone. In  return I took her mutt and we went for a great long walk (4.5 KM) down on the trails by the river. It's just so pretty down there now that almost all of the mosquitos are gone. I love love love the changing and falling leaves. It's such a beautiful place to go walk. The mutt's never been down there before so I have taken him there a few times over the past 2 weeks. So many new places to sniff. Last night we tried the far loop which I haven't been on in years. Apparently no one else has either as it is overgrown. I liked that path. Hopefully it will get regroomed for next year.

After supper, I took my parents to the hockey game. Mom doesn't come to many games (crowd issues) so this was a treat.  It is still a bit odd to see kids running around with jerseys with DS's name and number on it.

I hope I can get back to the trails this weekend and take advantage of the sunshine. It's free, it's good exercise for my hiney and the benefits are endless!

A shocking revelation

I know..... it's going to shock you! It gave me quite a start as well.

Hold onto your hats for this self realizing moment. When I eat healthier, and I move more and I sit less, I................. feel better.

I am a reasonably intelligent woman. I am educated. I have life experience (I am old :) but it's been so long since I took care of myself properly, I had forgotten.

Since school started I have been (mostly) following Weight Watchers online, eating lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins. I have been walking more and sitting less. I shut off the TV more than I have in the past.

While I have lost only a few pounds (4 or so), I DO feel better. I have more energy, I feel better about myself and I carry myself with more positivity than I did  a few months ago.

Now, to just remember this as winter sets in and the newness of a new school year and keep on making choices to keep on feeling better.

Where the money stands

as of September 9th

Debts
Mortgage - $26 763.26

Total Debt - $26 763.26

Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $3062
($1000 added this month!! wheeee)
RESP - $14 550
RRSP - $6100
Plates - $1200
xmas 2013 - $1400
Back to School - $1000 (but disappearing soon)

This is the second time lately that my RESPs have done squat. I put $200 in each month and I expect it to grow my $200 each month, but this month it has stayed the same again. I am confused honestly and need to make a point of going in and asking what prompts it to stay the same despite the deposit.

Next target: RRSPs

The Happiness Project (book review)

A couple years ago, reading The Happiness Project was on my to do list. It was on the side of the list that never got done for the longest time. This summer I borrowed it from the library and started to read through it.  While I am late to the game on reading this, I thought I would share my thoughts.

Being truly happy in life is something I am struggling with lately and it bugs the heck out of me that I am not happier in the life I am living. I have a lot of great things going on in my world but this pervasive sadness just kept  cloaking it. I didn't like that. We only have one life to live and except for those teenage years when you just can't wait to grow up, it flies by quicker than one can imagine. 

One of the quotes from the book is "the days are long but the years are short" and that line resonated within me.  There is a lot of time during the day and I really do not use it to it's fullest potential. I need to do a better job of that.  Those few minutes here and there where I waste time could be use to get a few of the little things off my list that nag and nag at my brain, creating Titanic sized guilt.

The part of the book that resonated the deepest with me was the decluttering. One of January's goals I believe. She started by  just..............starting. I think that is one of the biggest hurdles. Just. Starting. I love love loved reading about her rush as she made it through her closet, and then went through it again. I could totally relate. There is just an amazing psychological effect when you clean and sort and get organizational control in your life....or one part of one room in your life. I wish my family would catch on to this feeling, but so far it is me against three mountains, unless I force the mountains to help.

What kept resonating in me as I read the book was how finding peace and contentment in your own life really impacts your health and mental well being, as well as how others see you.

I had a rough year last year and I am working very hard to have a more positive year this year in all corners of my life.

I'd like to draw your attention to.....

.......................... my  TFSA/EF progress bar on the right.

That's right. 100%

I haven't contributed to the darn thing since.....................2010??

Finally I have added a $1000 to it.

It's small. Really small. My contribution room is close to $20 000 I believe.

Things happened and I didn't set it as a priority and I just never ended up putting anything towards it the past couple years.

This year, after the LOC was paid off, I started using my change at the end of each month and some snowflakes, to boost that bad boy and save towards it.

I went to the bank yesterday and the teller did the paperwork to move it from my high interest into the TFSA account.

It feels good to see some green on there instead of that 66% and the pink.

I think I need to do that again next year....use the snowflakes /change to save for it. The savings goal didn't feel so onerous when it was added to here and there from money just sitting in a jar.

Yeah me ! A 2013 goal done!

Twas the night before school starts

Well I guess summer really is over. It's been hotter this past week than it was all summer so it is tougher to adjust to. Hard too, knowing that folks could be out enjoying the weather before old man winter pops back and settles in.

It was a busy day around here. DH finally finished cutting the tops off the main posts of our new fence and putting the running board across the top. Grass got cut and some weeding.

I hit the school for about 3 hours to finish tidying up and make sure I was ready for my huge class. I am quite nervous this year. A new grade and so much more to learn and to do.

I then ran for groceries so we could be sure to have food in the fridge for lunches and for supper.

It was HOT HOT out but what was I doing? cooking in my AC less house. silly girl.

I knew I would be tired tomorrow after school and that DS would need food before hockey so I was cooking. Felt like forever in the kitchen.  We bbq's chicken kabobs for supper and had fresh corn on the cob as well. Almost too hot to eat.

Mom dropped off fresh carrots from the farm so those needed to be cut and cleaned as well.

I went through clothes so I would know what I was wearing for the week, and I did about 7 loads of laundry and got those put away.

There wasn't much to get ready for the boys. DS1 is done. DS2 needed a binder and that was pretty much it. I got a cheque ready for him for his school fees. After years of school supplies and labelling them all, it was very empty this year.  Between you and me, I miss the days of labelling their pencils.

We ended the evening with a fire in the fire pit. I hated to come in and let the evening end.

Happy night before first day back for all those parents out there getting their little ones ready.

August Change

Time to roll change again. A good, soothing way to meditate before I head back with the kids on Tuesday.

I rolled $125 this time. Paying with cash garnered a lot of change.

1 roll of toonies $50
2 rolls of loonies $50
2 rolls of quarters $20
1 roll of dimes $5

This money will go as a snowflake towards my EF/TFSA goal of $1000 this year. I am getting closer.

Got my car back

Ahhhhh it's nice to be driving her again. I went after work today and dropped off my rental, caught a ride with DS to get my vehicle and it all feels normal again.

Total cost for repairs? just over $5200. The estimate had been just under 4. Glad insurance was covering in and not me.

Very glad the rental was under the insurance of the other woman as well.

That could have been very costly if I had had to pay it all outright from my pocket.

Feels good to drive my own again.

Back to Work

Well today was my first day back at work. It felt like summer went so very fast. It always does.

Summers start off full of promise and time and whoosh, before you know it, they are gone.

We have a week of meetings and Professional Development, which is new for us. Usually the kids in our area start before the long weekend. It was kind of nice as you had a chance to get them back, get your numbers of students, get them settled and unpacked and then we had the long weekend to relax.

This year all of SK's students start back after the long weekend as per the government's ruling. That should be interesting for years where the Sept long weekend is later (because of how the Mondays fall)

I dropped my vehicle off at the bodyshop at 8 AM and they drove me over to get my rental. For the week, or however long it takes, I am driving a Hyundai Santa Fe.  The first thing I noticed is that the seats are much higher than in my SUV. So much so that when I swung myself in to the driver's seat, I cracked my head  on the vehicle.  Lovely way to start back to work...with a headache.

Apparently this model does not have seats that raise or lower.  Forward or back to my heart's content. I can tilt til the cows come home. But no up and down.

Based on that alone I would not buy this particular model and vehicle. Not worth the weird angles trying to get in the drivers seat or the mild concussions :-)

I am tired today. It is going to take a bit to get back into work mode.

Vehicle Inspection and planning

So that was interesting taking my vehicle in.

First he started off by taking pictures from all different angles. I had already done the same for my own records so it was fun for me to see if I took all the same angles needed by the expert. I got most of them.

After uploading the pics to my file he then brought out his ipad and started inspecting and tap tap tapping. The drop down options make it quite efficient. It must have taken them forever back when you had to write it all down then go and look it all up.

The whole process took about 20 minutes. He printed off a copy for me so I could take it to a bodyshop and get the repair process started.

Total estimated damage $3800. Because it was all the other person's fault. I am told I do not have to pay anything, even the deductible. Great news.

Off I went to the bodyshop. This is one I hadn't tried before. Our usual one is always overbooked and he works..........slowly. I would like to get this wrapped up as fast as possible.  The one I tried is close to the dealership where I bought my vehicle.

The owner came out to have a look at the damage and my sheet. We discussed when he could get me in and about how long it would take. I felt very comfortable talking with him and didn't get that slimy oozy feeling I sometimes get when talking car stuff with folks who talk down to females.  (This isn't a male bashing comment....I just have had more than a few "ohh you couldn't possibly understand 'x' because you're a woman. would your husband/father like to come in and talk to us?" 

The parts are being ordered and it is booked to go in this coming Monday, so I need to get a rental booked as well.  A first for me.

CRASH!!

There I was....innocently shopping with DS1 as he needed new elbow pads. We were coming out of the store and a woman was coming in, swearing up a blue streak. DS and I looked at each other with that 'glad she's not mad at me' look.

 As we continued out towards the vehicle, something looked wrong. I took a few more steps and thought "hmmm did I park on an angle???"  Then I put 2 and 2 together and realized I had been hit.

The woman had been heading into the store to find the owner and I think she heard my shout of anguish and turned around and came back out.  DS said I did fairly well. A couple of expletives (in general) at the start and then we proceeded to take pictures, exchange information and call the RCMP.  They just said to go to the insurance since both vehicles were driveable. I was surprised to find that my hands were shaking as I was writing things down. Surprising, considering I didn't cause the accident and wasn't even in the vehicle when it happened.

It was distracted driving. She was pulling in too fast turning to the right but looking back over her shoulder at something parked the other way.

Mine was hit across the rear driver tire and all the way across the back. Hers was on the front drivers side above her wheel well.

I snapped a pic of her drivers licence and then wrote down the number. It was a good thing I did that as the snapped pic had a glare and I couldn't see the number

When I went to go file the claim, I was pleased to see that the other woman filed before me and the process was started. Since she was at fault, even if I filed...and she hadn't...the process would have taken soooo much longer.

In the big picture, it has gone as well as possible when a person is hit.

I take my vehicle in tomorrow to get the damage appraised and we can start the repairing process.

Given how I have been less perky and positive the past few months, I am quite pleased to see that I handled this fairly positively. I hope that is a sign of things to come.

This piece is pulled away about 6 inches from where it's supposed to be on the back left wheel well.

Home from camping

Another successful family camping trip is under our belts. Our family is growing in size and spreading apart and we all love our August holiday to get together and just hang out. With new girlfriends or boyfriends,  and new babies, the numbers keep growing. All together there are 33 of us. 31 were able to make it (not my niece or her premature baby)

We didn't all make it there for the whole time. There was a lot of shifts of coming and going to accommodate work schedules and such.  Four of the five grandbabies were there. Its hard to believe that the 'kids' now have kids.

Some have fifth wheels, some have trailers, some tent, and this year DH and I rented a wee 2 bedroom cabin on the water (out of my summer $). There wasn't another camping spot or place for  a tent left. One of the nights we shared the cabin with my oldest sister (with MS) as she came for a day and a night and didn't want to move her trailer which was at a different lake.


Here is a shot of our cabin. We are the downstairs unit. It was really quite roomy with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen/dining/sitting are and the bathroom. Patio doors led to a sitting area where you could watch the lake.

One of my nieces set up a menu again this year so we all knew what we were having each day for the meals. We all brought our own meat and then we were responsible for specific items to fill out the meals and snacks. She did a great job of it. We had ribs and chicken one night, we had steak another night. One great night my brother in law brought his fryer and we had 'popcorn' fish  made from the fresh catch for the day. yum! another nephew in law brought a fresh salmon from BC.

The days were spent out on the water for most everyone, babies and all. A parade of boats pulling tubes, seadoos and my sister's new pontoon boat headed out to the far side of the lake where there is a little island.  That was basecamp for the day while folks enjoyed their time on the water.

In the morning, there is nothing better than the freshness of the air, a coffee with baileys and looking out over the water at this....

 

As we grow, it gets harder and harder to get us all together for moments like this.  I am so glad it happened again this year. Family is so important.

Free to a good home

No no, I didn't put my kids or my husband out on the curb, although some days..... :-) (I'm sure they want to do that with me as well)


With 2 new chairs in the house I was adamant that I would not ADD to the used up space in my house.  DH said 'When I have a chance I will pack them up and haul them to the dump. That often takes months to happen and I wanted to get rid of them fast. Plus, it costs $$$ to add things like that to the landfill

I promptly hauled the two broken down chairs from my computer room out to the end of my driveway and wrote out 'Free to a good home' on a paper and stuck it to them. I had done this last year with a shelf and a couple 2 drawer filing cabinets and had success.

I resisted the urge to peek out between my blinds to see if they were gone like a reverse peeping Tom.

As I puttered about cleaning, I realized that I had another chair in the garage. It was one from my classroom I had bought several years ago. The hydrolic was gone on it. I am told you can replace those but I never could seem to find the right one to fit. With joyful glee I wheeled that bad boy out to the curb with his friends.

On a get rid of it rush,  I searched the clutter in my 1 car garage and found a shelving unit we had bought for our tiny basement 2 piece bath about 6 years ago. We had diligently put it together than realized I had grossly overestimated how tiny the bathroom was and how massive the shelf was. You could be in the bathroom to pee or the shelf could be in there. And the shelf didn't seem willing to take turns.

Off it went to the end of the drive with a joyful plop and a 'never used/ I can't measure properly' sign on it.

Back I went to the laundry and went out to the backyard to hang clothes on the line. About a half hour later I took out a bag of garbage for a legitimate reason to check out the driveway.

Woot woot!! All four of my friends were gone, happily, off to a better life, and NOT in the landfill!
$$ saved.

First purchase out of the 'home improvement' budget

As I said a couple posts ago, I tweaked my budget to allow for $200 / month for home improvement. I can spend it on something on my list, or save it for a bigger ticket item. This is letting me appreciate life more in the now, rather than everything going to my mortgage or retirement or planned spending for  big events. Not that those things aren't important!! They are. I've just been.....not appreciating or living in the NOW, lately, and that is not fun at all.

I decided that I would replace the computer room chair. There are two currently in there. One has lost it's suspension and sits low low low. The other was a cast off from DH's former work. The base had broken so there was plywood underneath to support the seat. The chair itself was probably a very costly one to start with. It had tears in the leather when we got it and they have gotten quite bad. 

Seeing the chairs made me feel very.........poor.  Were they functional? sort of.  Was replacing them a NEED? no.  It was a quality of life WANT. Having this as part of the budget line helped.

So DS and I went off to look for chairs. There are three places in town where you can get office sorts of chairs. Four if you count Walmart, who did not have any in stock aside from 'utility' chair - those basic plastic ones with the teeny seat that break far too easily.

 Store 1 was an Aaron's. I had honestly never been in it. I had thought it was office furniture and such. Much to my disappointment it was home furniture.....most of it dinged or damaged. No chairs there so exit, stage left.

Store 2 was an office type store. I went to the section with the chairs and almost had a stroke. Sticker shock stroke. $500 chairs. $700 chairs. an $899 chair. good lord...for a chair!! Who can afford that.

I pulled out the ones that were $200. There were 3 of them. Actually one of the three was $229. DS sat in them all...tested out the arms...the lean back etc. We narrowed it down to the $229 for comfort. I snapped a pic of it and put it aside. DS played in the $899 chair for a few minutes, trying to decide why it cost so much. Then off we went.

Our final stop was Staples. The upside was that there were lots of different kinds. The downside was that you would have to assemble your own chair if you bought it.

We again pulled out the ones in our price range. There were more in the <$200 range. DS dutifully tired them all out.  DS's eyes kept going to one that was marked $249. He said it felt soooo much more comfortable. Right. Of course it did. I reminded him of my budget.

Along comes a sales associate. A former student of mine. I asked about the chairs we had pulled out. He gave me what info there was then motioned to the chair DS was sitting in. Turns out the $249 chair was on clearance for $89. Old stock or something.  I was able to replace BOTH of my computer room chairs with new  ones that were semi fancy, ON budget. including tax.

And we didn't have to assemble them!!! bonus.

This is like the ones I bought. Every pic  I tried taking downstairs was coming out with flash glare and spots.

Fall is coming quickly

As always July feels luxuriously  long and full of promise and potential. As soon as the August long weekend is over, it feels like summer is over.  Nature was quick to support this theory tonight.

I've been gifting myself with lots of walks lately. It is almost as though I want to squeeze in as much fresh air and sunshine before work starts again and winter is upon us. There is something very 'rich' about having time to walk.

I made my way down to the campground where DS works. We had just been here not long ago for a picnic for supper and it felt..........like summer.

As I rounded a corner, what I saw brought me to a dead stop.

Leaves.

Yellow leaves.

Already fallen.

Laying on the ground.

I do love fall but not this soon.

Rejigging the main budget

In the waning days of summer I have been going over my budget to see if any adjustments need to be made before school starts up and I don't have time to think rationally.

My satellite bill has gone up another $3 (Shaw) and I needed to add to that budget line. It is now $91 a month for a Gold package. Gold is a couple up from the basic and a few down from the ultimate package.  We really do not have a stable wireless line to benefit from streaming online. It just cuts in and out far too much. It's a bill I swallow as we don't go out a lot for entertainment, go to concerts etc. I have been tracking it since 2008 and it was $72.08 then.  So $20 increase in 5 years.

I got DS1 Netflix Canada after he graduated.  I figure the $8 a month is better than us running to the video store and risking late returns. I do have to say that Netflix Canada is ridiculously limited when compared to the US version. What's up with that Netflix????

I would really like to get rid of our landline and its $90 monthly bill. DH is dead against it. Vehemently. The only calls we really get on there are from my mom, telemarketers and some scouting phone calls.

I have noticed that my budget falls into two main categories: things for basic living now, and planning for future expenses.   I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am probably never going to get out of this too small of a house. Do we really want to take on a whopping mortgage at this stage of our lives to get me a kitchen/dining area where people actually can eat?    sigh. probably not.   But there are a lot of things in this house that need updating, or retouching. I don't even want to bring up the living room walls that have been totally bare now for the FIVE years since I painted it all. DH flips out everytime I suggest hanging things up to make the room feel complete.  Our basement windows are 50 years old I think, and hardly energy efficient and the casings are warping.  Just a lot of things to do.

So.....I have taken $200 out of the 'plan for the distant future' budget and moved it to what I call home improvement. I can either use that $200 a month to work at slowly replacing things or save it towards a bigger priced item ( like the windows).  Maybe the knowledge that there is money monthly will put some sparkle in what has become 'same old same old/nothing changes'.

It's worth a try. If it falls apart I will morph it back into the main budget line.

Other than that, right now, there isn't much in the main budget that needs to be changed for the foreseeable future.

Now to come up with a list of  quick fix items and bigger cost items for the home improvements so I can start to envision what this can /can't do.

Do you have a spot in your budget for things like repairing windows/floors, replacing pieces of furniture, etc?

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Update:  My vehicle basic insurance (Plates) statement came in today. While it went UP $10 last year to just under $97, it looks like it went down $3 this year to just under $94. That should balance out the increase to Shaw LOL

RRSP Update

At my last update I had $6174 in my portfolio, divided between NEI Canadian Bonds and NEI Ethical Dividends.

Today I received my latest update and see that I am down about $60.

My balance today stands at $6 110.79

It looks like the Bonds are the culprit as they are sitting with a net loss this update.

I need to get started saving for my RRSP 2013 goal. An additional $1500 would put me $7600. I look forward to see it at $10 000 and higher. I need to make some changes if I wish that to happen sooner, rather than later.

Book Suggestion needed

There is an episode on Friends where Joey laments about not having enough time to be alone with his thoughts. After finding time, he sums it up with "I figured I'd have, like, time alone with my thoughts, but, you know, it turns out I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think"


I am heading towards empty nest. Technically, DS1 should be gone as he is graduated, but he will be around potentially for the next 2 years if he stays with this team. He doesn't want a whole lot to do with me and he is not making some very responsible choices.  DS2 has been, and will be gone, most of the summer for his camps.  DH is working and, let's face it, he and I don't have a whole lot in common anymore.

I've hit that phase of my life where I am kind of alone and...........I don't like it. It reminds me that I don't have a lot in the definition of Jolie, that isn't wrapped up in  terms of 'I am a teacher" or "I am a mother".

My parents are closer to the ends of their lives and health issues are starting.

I am 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through my life on earth.

This isn't a poor me post. I do recognize, however, that I need to start finding happiness and satisfaction in being me...or figuring out who I am...or..... redefining me.

I have been very sad this summer and actually, throughout the winter/spring as well.

So.............on that bright and sunshiny note :-),  I am looking for book suggestions that may help me figure a few things out. I am not really looking for one with a religious tone to it as though are so personal and what fits  you may not fit me.

I have scoured online and there are a boat load of books out there and its hard to weed through what is going to be helpful and what may not. (yes I recognize the irony of asking for help finding a self help book lol)

So I turn it over to you..................any suggestions from blogland????