Reflecting on 2014 Aspirations

Well a year has passed since I created this list....a year ago when I was wide eyed with anticipation, hope and promise. A year where there was the possibility of everything going smoothly :-)

 

Here are my thoughts on 2014's goals.

 

2014 Aspirations - Planned Savings

 

1) TFSA - $2000. This was a success. This was the first time I had moved my goal from $1000 to $2000. I was a bit worried I was setting myself up for failure, but it was one of the first goals I tackled, and I was full of motivation and purpose.  My TFSA is sitting at $5100ish. The $100 being the sad tiny amount of interest that has accumulated over the years. 

 

2) RRSP - $2000. This was not a success. The expenses from over the year slowed this down considerably. Something had to give and it looks like this was what ...gave.  I managed to get to the bank just this week and put down $1200 in my RRSP. So not only did I not make my goal for 2014, I also put in less than I have the last two years.

 

3) RESP - $2400. Based on my numbers from Dec 1 to Dec 1.... I went from $15 800 to        $20 400. I put in $200 a month...hence my $2400 goal amount. This is a total difference of $4 600. So.....success.

 

 3) DS2's Trip - $2000. Success. I actually put in just over $2700 and paid off the last bit of the trip a couple weeks ago. I am so happy I can give DS2 his trip.

 

4) Summer 2014 - $1000. Success. I know I used a chunk of the money for our camping trip and the rest went towards our trip to the US to get DS settled.

 

5) Back to School - $1000. Success. I know I used some for DS2's back to school clothes, and a bit of it for my staff fees that are always due when we start the school year.

 

6) Christmas 2014 - $1400. Success. and spent. grateful I had it saved.

 

7) Vehicle Plates - $1200. Success. This was for DS2's plates which were due in October. I actually only needed $960 of it as his new vehicle was cheaper for insurance than his old one.

 

2014 Aspirations - Experiences

1) embrace the past at ancestry.ca. Semi success. I did bursts of exploration and found some new things. I realized I have little time to do it during the school year though.

 

2) feed your love of reading. total fail. I read less this year than I ever have. This bothers me.

 

3) move move move more to feel great. Sporadic success. I definitely move more in the summer and early fall months than I do in the winter. I need to figure out a plan to keep walking during our long snowy months.

 

4) get more weight off your body. Fail. I never seem to be successful at this. Will I ever value my health?

 

5) take a road trip to rediscover the past or explore the future. Success. We did the 17 hour drive to DS's new hometown. While my derriere did not appreciate sitting that long, I was pleased that DS2 and I navigated so well together. It was amazing to see a new place. I felt an instant kinship with DS1's new city.

 

6) work smarter, not harder. Semi success. I am more aware of how much time I do not use well, and I know that I can tap that resource to I don't feel so much pressure during high stress seasons.

 

7) make conscious efforts to focus on the positive. Despite my sadness with DS leaving, I honestly think I have done a better job of this, especially at work. Amazing how a change in your mood affects your day and the day of those around you.

 

8) notice the beauty of simple, small moments. Success. I find myself tearful at so many tiny moments. So appreciative of them. maybe almost too teary :-)

 

9) shut off the tv more and turn on the music. At home? fail. At school when I am working on weekends or evenings? Success.  Technically it is not so much actual TV but Netflix. Same things though :-)

 

 

2014 was a heck of a ride. 2015 will be even busier with  more new experiences. I need to practice patience and planning to cope with these changes.

 

A year of snowflakes

Ahhh sweet beautiful snowflakes. Each on their own is tiny, but together, they can create amazing things.  Here are my thoughts on snowflakes for this year.

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.

This year it was mostly from change and from bits I syphon out of my weekly jar money. If you look at the amounts below, the snowflake amount has mostly gotten smaller each year.

I don't feel I did my best job this year. I let the overwhelming nature of moving a child to another country and beginning to pay for college..............muddled my focus and my clarity.

Nevertheless, I am pleased that I still kept up with snowflaking, and that I put it towards good uses. In the latter part of the year, the snowflaking went to pay off the expenses from our trip down in the summer, as well as in October to DS's USA home.

Here is the breakdown of years past and a link to their pages, if you are interested.


In 2013 the snowflakes were $3671
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 2014..... well the snowflakes, including the change I rolled this week, came to a grand total of $3112

Here is to another year of being wiser with money and remembering that every little bit saved or not spent, can add up and make a great impact on goals.

2014 - a quick glance

Looking at the numbers, I have done the poorest job of debt reduction in 2014, out of the years I have been blogging.

And if we wanted to get technical, the debt is really up. Not included in that 2014 number is the LOC  for DS's college expenses, which is setting at a bit under $8 600. So technically, I am UP $5200ish.

It also doesn't include DH's truck loan, but I have never included it as I do not pay it off.

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)
December 2014 - $22 494.06 (down $3431.43)

The only thing on the debt amount just above is the mortgage. I don't anticipate this  number will change a whole lot as I do not plan to put anything extra on it. I have one child in college now and as of the fall of  2015 I will have two. 

My focus must must must be on finding a way to reduce expenses to get through the next four college years.

Despite this doom and gloom prospect, I rejoice in the fact that I started this blog in 2008 and I started becoming money AWARE. I would not have had any of the successes or planning I have now, without that start then.

So if you are reading this, and just starting out, or just thinking about starting out, please DO. You will be so happy you did. I know I am.

Taking a bit of Canada back with him

Well that visit home went far too fast. I suppose I had better get used to it as that is our future.  He got time with 'the boys' (hockey buddies), his friends, his kitties, his cousins, his brother, his gf and her family, and ...the rest of us.

His flight left at 4 PM today. We drove into the city and I swear it was harder saying goodbye this time than it was in August when we left him in the US.

He went over to say goodbye to his grandparents last night. They miss him so much. My dad was full of advice. DS just smiles and nods. My mom gives him advice about taking care of his dress clothes.

We came home and watched the World Jr Canada vs Germany game and he worked at his lottery scratch tickets he got for gifts. A total of $32 in winnings which are going into his Craven 2015 fund.

I ended the night watching The Hobbit 2 with BOTH my boys. They sat on the same couch, each holding a cat. Such a great moment.

Since he had room in his checked luggage, some favourite items went home, that he can't get in his college town.  I miss him already!

All the whiz down there has queso in it,

mmm unhealthy juice crystals

He missed his ketchup chips

M and Ms are NOT the same thing.

He loves this on his chicken.



A Year of Change

Just take it to the bank and put it in one of those machines and it will count it for you!  I often hear that, but honestly, I just love that feeling of watching the change in my jar grow, then dumping it out, sorting it and rolling it up.  I am definitely weird, but I am ok with that.

I haven't added up my yearly change as I am typing this. My gut tells me that it is lower than in the past. I think I recall a couple months where there wasn't even enough of any one kind to roll anything to take to the bank.

Last year's total was $980.  I suspect this year is much less. Let's head to the month by month as I rummage through my blog history to see if I am correct.


January -$45
February - $80
March - $40
April - $0 recorded
May - $15
June - $75
July - $50
August - $50
September - $100
October - $57
November - $0 recorded
December - $100

For a grand total for 2014 of $512

ouch. I hate it when my gut is right. That  was a lot less. This tells me I used my debit card a lot more and actual cash a lot less. And if I was using my debit card, I probably was spending more of the budget line.  All things within my control to change.(no pun intended)

Wrapping up Christmas

and just like that, it is over again. 

We had our first celebration the other night at mom and dad's, as I blogged about previously.

Christmas eve was quiet. DS1 went to his gf's house. They do their big celebration on the 24th with a big supper, mass, then opening gifts.

DS2 seems to have picked up my cold. He was thrilled I had decided to share it. We had a quiet Christmas eve at home and he and I curled up to watch The Hobbit. We had seen it in theaters a couple summers ago but I had honestly forgotten.

Christmas morning was quiet with only one son home. DS2 had the choice of when he wanted to do gifts and he opted to wait until later in the day when his brother came home.  We went over to my mom and dad's for brunch - pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs and opened a couple of gifts to and from my parents.

Then we popped over to DH's sister's house for a little visit with them.  DS1 and his girlfriend met us their on their way back into town and he introduced her to them, then we came home. 

The kitten was excited to open his presents and it was fun watching the boys play with him.

DS1 loved his Craven ticket, as did his girlfriend. I hope they are still together come summer. They are good for each other.  He was excited about his Roughrider deck of cards, as well as the clothing he got. The gamble on the dress shoes paid off and he loved them.

DS2's face lit up when he opened his book on the canoeing routes of the Churchill river system. He flipped through, finding the trips he has been on and the one they hope to go on this summer. I bought that book in July or August, and I am so glad I did. He loved his camping gear and his new chainsaw pants.

And me? I got a fitbit for Christmas as my big gift.

I will have to spend some time figuring out how it works.  I also got some Cinnamon Yankee Candles, some Baileys, new gloves, and a cashmere infinity scarf from my sister. The gf's family sent in a bottle of wine and some wonderful homemade baking, including these chocolate cheesecake balls that were amazing.

After presents we went to my sister's house and had our Christmas meal there. Turkey and all the trimmings. It was a chance to see that set of nephews, their wives and the two little girls. The little one is 18 months now and no signs linger of her being so premature. We built the 3 year old's Gingerbread house, played foosball and I watched the kids doing Just Dance.

Our evening wasn't very late. By 10 PM my boys, the gf and the nephews headed to the outdoor rink at my school and played a pick up game of hockey with some other folk hanging out there. They came home by midnight, rosy cheeked and ready for a snack and some movie watching.

It went far too fast, but the many simple moments made my heart smile.

Pitter patter of little feet

Well we have a few new pairs of feet running around our extended family this holiday.

The first is in our house. His name is Izzy and he joined us at Halloween. He is DS2's cat, technically, and reminds us of our orange tomcat we lost in the summer of 2013. He spent the first few weeks sleeping in DS2's room at night, to give our Maine Coone a bit of a break. She is not thrilled about the new arrival, though it's getting better slowly.

DS1's face lit up when he came home, to find this new addition to the family. I think that the kitten is the best present he could have had. He and his girlfriend have been spending a lot of time playing with Izzy.

My boys have never had a kitten in the house. Of the three cats we have had since the boys were born, they all were grown and strays when they came into our lives. It's fun watching the boys learn what a kitten means: sharp teeth, little claws, limitless energy, cute meows and fishing him out of the Christmas tree :-)

 

 

The other pitter patter comes from 2 new babies. My niece had twin girls (not identical) on Friday, December 19th. They were 5 weeks early and are still in neonatal care. They were each a little over 5lbs. She had a tough go of labour as the twins were side by side and neither was willing to shift to let someone out.  Their names are Kate and Kara. I don't have any pics of just the two of them yet, but hopefully soon. I am hoping to get into the city to see them at the hospital after the 28th. My cold and flu  needs to be 100% gone.

 

That brings our family number to 7 great grandchildren for mom and dad.  5 girls and 2 boys.

 

My house is quiet right now. Just me and Izzy are up. DH and the three kids are all still asleep.  I have the lights of the tree on and am watching HGTV and sipping some coffee with a tiny bit of baileys. 

 



Christmas Traditions

I was scrolling through old December posts and came across this one from 2010. It made me smile, just to read it. Despite the changes in our lives and our families, many things appear to be the
 same.

Christmas traditions are different for every family out there, but the  essence of the celebrations seem to be the same....quality time with family or friends, spending time together and eating way too much.

Whether folks have a big Christmas or small, go out to eat or do a family gathering, no matter how diverse we are, we all seem to crave the same core values and traditions over the holiday season. I find that rather comforting in some way.

We began our celebrations tonight (last night), and no matter the players, the essence is the same. There were only 21 of us, half of our immediate family clan, but fun was had by all.

Mom and dad hosted Sister 3 and her family at her place. Sister 1 and two of her kids made it, and sister 2 made it with one of her daughters and her two little ones.  The four of us were there, along with DS's girlfriend. While the cast of characters changes, the theme is the same.....food, games, conversation and lots of laughter.

My niece wasn't going to be there with her two little ones as they are going to her dad's for Christmas (divorced family), but when she heard DS1 was going to be home, she bartered time off work and drove the 2 hours to see us. Her son, who is 4, idolizes his UncleDS1.  We brought over our ministick nets and sticks and it was great to see the 20 year old and the 4 year old engaged in a 45 minute hockey game.  Sister 1 got the little guy some evil racetrack thing that needed to be assembled so it was UncleDS2 to the rescue. He spent an hour with him, helping him set it up and then playing cars with him.

There were a couple of heavy Kaiser and Crokinole tournaments going on. Competition is always fierce. DS said that down in the States where he is, the boys have never heard of Kaiser, so  he and his roomie (also from SK) have been teaching them how to play.

It was an appetizer/crockpot kind of supper. Dry ribs, homemade pizza, lasagne, sweet and sour meatballs, wings, spinach/cheese dip, veggies, fruit etc. As usual, there was far too much food. Aren't we blessed to be able to say that?

As I write this, everyone but DS2 is home. He was finishing off a last round of Kaiser so the rest of us came home and Sister 2 will drop him off within the hour and then it is off to bed for everyone.

My boys :-)

For 7 sweet days I get a bit of normal back in my life. My boys are both home :-)  

It will go fast. He flies out the 28th and won't be home until....May, I think. For now I took my calendar off my wall so I don't do that mental countdown and just enjoy the days.

My boys are not overtly boisterous with each other. Just the way they are I guess, but you can tell they are happy to see each other.

DS's  second flight got delayed the night of the 19th due to fog here in Saskatchewan, at the airport. He called, bitterly disappointed that he would have to stay the night in the Minneapolis airport...a lovely 12 hour extra layover. No compensation. No vouchers for food or hotel. He and his roomie found a spot under a staircase leading to an observation level, and pitted in for the night.

He got back into town with 10 minutes to spare before he went to the rink to see his old team play and see all 'the boys'.  It was quite something to watch how the fans were, seeing him and several of the other graduated players, who came home to watch the final game. The kid were all running up to them for high fives, the senior citizen fans were full of hearty handshakes and a couple of big hugs. The best was watching how excited the special needs fans were. They love their boys and their faces just lit up, seeing them.

I am sharing DS with his girlfriend and her family for these 7 days. They live about an hour away from us.

DS2 got to spend two weekends in a row at his camp 3 hours north of here. He figures there is about a foot of snow up there. They snowshoed in from the main road and hauled their gear on sleds. They slept under tarps in the snow and loved every minute of it. They found a skunk sleeping in their boatshed and repaired a few spots where something had gnawed through another building. The ice isn't terribly thick in many spots on the lake so they put out markers. Lots of folks snowmobile through that area and the boys wanted to be sure the snowmobilers knew where the trouble spots were. He took some amazing pics of the hoar frost up there. I will get him to send me a pic or two and I will add them to here.

The time went so fast while they were growing up. I really wish I had appreciated all those moments, even more.

Over the flu hump

The last thing anyone needs the last week before Christmas, is the flu.  A third of our staff managed to do just that the though. It hit in the wee hours of the 14th and was an evil one. I was in bed all last Sunday, home from work Monday, part of Wed and part of Thurs. Aside from vomiting and his good friend diarrhea, he brought a complete lack of energy.  We all pushed through though and finished classes on the 19th. Lots of the kids had it first. It's hard to say who got it first.

I came home that night and just went to bed, trying to push out the thoughts that I hadn't really even started shopping, my fridge was empty, my house a mess, and the tree wasn't up yet.

I am still not at full energy, and my appetite is off...things taste funny and I am not eating a whole lot.

But I am much better than I was and I can be ever so grateful for that.

For those who keep track, I did not get the flu shot. The two years I did, I ended up with pneumonia. Could just be a coincidence though.

Gift suggestion ideas

DS will be home for a few days at Christmas. Yeah us!!

I have no clue what to get him for Christmas though. We reach that stage where he and his brother don't NEED anything really. 

DS has to be able to carry it back in his luggage if it is something we want him to have for down in the States.

Gift cards are out as most of the ones we buy up here won't work in the States.

Thoughts??

Where the money stands

as of December 8th

Debts
Mortgage - $22 494.06

**Total Debt - $22 494.06


Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $5000
RESP - $20 400
RRSP - $8000 
DS2's trip -$2709  - sent to MC to pay the final payment
Plates 2014 - $0 -
XMAS - $1400


**this does not take into account the college LOC

Athens and the Islands

It was with great satisfaction this morning that I was able to make the final payment on DS2's trip for Easter with his travel club. He is super excited to be going to Greece and seeing such a different part of the world.

He could have gone last year, during Grade 11 like his brother did, but opted not to. The trip was to China and that didn't appeal to him. He knew he was taking a risk, waiting, as the next destination was not yet know, but he decided to wait.

His fingers were crossed for either Italy, like his brother, or Greece.  He is super excited to get to go tour the Greek Islands.

The trip is through EF tours and the fee includes everything from flight to hotels to transportation to most of the tours. They may decide on other day trips when they get there. I think DS's group opted for one.  The total cost was $3780. It felt good to be able to log on and make that last payment. It was due by the end of  December, but I didn't want to forget to do it in the busyness of that last week.

The trip includes Athens (temple of Zeus, Acropolis, temple of Apollo, Delphi, an Olive Farm). Then they get on a cruise ship tour the islands for four days.  Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes.

He is a big Greek Mythology buff so this is like a dream come true.

Creating Families

I find my mind whirling with thoughts today. Glimpses of things I remember, I am thankful for...swirling ideas racing through my mind.

My son experienced his first US thanksgiving last month. They had the weekend off from hockey. over 80% of the team is from 3 hours or less away so they went home. A tiny handful of the boys are from Canada, including my son and another of his roommates. 

I was surprised, that day, to get a text from an unknown number. I have been getting so many of those lately. spam from all kinds of random numbers have latched onto my cell phone number. There was a photo in the message and for good or for bad, I opened it. It was a picture of DS celebrating American Thanksgiving. He was with his 2 roomies and 2 older women. A message quickly followed and it was from Nick's mom. She wanted to send me a pic of DS with his  new American grandmothers :-)

She wanted me to know how  much she enjoyed having DS at her house. She figured he would run first to the home made food, as she expected. Instead she found him for most of his first hour playing with their two cats and chatting up the grandmothers. It made me laugh and smile and cry all at once. I know how much he is missing his cats.

It was so sweet of her to take the boys in and give them family for a weekend. I think that is what they miss most of all. Regular family time.

So thank you US mom and dad and the grandmothers, for giving my son a wonderful home for Thanksgiving. For the food, the families, and the kitties.  It means the world to me.

All because of a toothbrush

I have been working, lately, at appreciating more what I have. Some days are more successful than others. I am enjoying my job far more than I have in years, despite the workload tripling. I am getting along well with my son here and my long distance one.  I still get sad more than I care for, and troubled by the expenses.

I went home from work a couple Fridays ago. I had been fighting the flu for most of the week. I had tried in vain to get supply teacher, but there were none available. 30 calls. 40 calls. nada. So I had to work Thursday when I really should have been at home. Friday I was lucky enough to find someone who hadn't been snapped up and by 9:40 I was on my way home.

I stopped at the little drug store near my house for.....flu supplies. There was only one other woman in there. The woman had a short conversation with the cashier then headed down an aisle. She appeared tired and worn down. We arrived at the register at almost the same time. 

As the cashier put my items through, I turned to see that the woman only had a toothbrush to purchase. I turned and asked the woman if I could buy it for her. I just  felt the need for  a random act of kindness. She looked at me, a little stunned, handed it to me we put through the $2.99 purchase.

The woman burst into tears and hugged me and then headed off to the parking lot to a truck pulling a small Uhaul unit.

The cashier said "What a nice thing you did.  How did you know she needed that so badly?"  Apparently during their quick conversation at the register, the woman had asked if there was a public restroom nearby.  She had spent the night in her truck, unable to afford a hotel room. She was heading two provinces over to restart her life after her husband had just left her with no home and no money.

It may have just been a toothbrush, but I think that moment gave something to both of us. A little sparkle of hope.