June Change

I used a lot more cash this month...and charged a lot to the CC too, come to think of it (all of it paid off), so there is more change this month than some of the drought plagued past few months.

On the weekend I rolled

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

for a grand total of  $85.

This goes towards my "I don't think I will make it" mini goal of $490 saved towards plates before July 25th.

$490 - $85 = $405 to go

I do have some cash that has to go in. I will probably take that in on July 2nd

Almost there

Two days of work left.

The field trips were a success. Little bumps here and there as always, but nothing insurmountable.

Awards days are done.

Monday is teacher work day. It's also DS2's grad so I was granted leave for the day, provided I got all my year end duties done.  A lot of 15 hour work days to get that done properly.

My room is almost packed. I am down to the last 10 or so boxes. You know what that 's like when you are packing to move......the grumbles and such that get shoved in boxes at the very end.  I found myself sad Friday morning, as most of the big jobs were done and my brain had a moment to think about what's happening. Leaving a home of over a decade is not going to be easy.

Last night I found myself snappy and exhausted. It didn't help that it was 31 C in a non air conditioned house - a house that no one has  really looked after in three weeks.

I curled up on my patio last night and watched the cat play in the yard. I actually started my summer to do list. Oddly, it calmed me. I know...I'm weird. 

We ended the evening with a fire in the firepit. The flicker of the flames brought a lot of peace to my soul.

Tomorrow is a family wedding out of town on their acreage. 33C. blech. I am SO a 18C kinda girl.

While I am two days out, it sort of feels like summer has begun. Wow that year went fast.

21 day push

I know...sounds like labour right?   :-)

That's a bit what the last three weeks of a school year feel like. It's like juggling all the balls you can handle and someone throws in a dozen more.

I have been at the school an extra five or six hours a day since about the 8th, trying to stay caught up on marking, get ahead on planning, and taking care of the relentless tasks as you head towards year end. Add to that my packing up a room. It's not hard, just non stop work. just as many of you know in your jobs away from home, or at home, or both.

Tonight I took a break from going to the school. By taking a break it means I am out on my patio entering marks and writing out my lists of things I need to do/buy before my two day including overnight field trip this week. But there is something to be said to working outside, sipping  a water with lemon in it, while watching my cats play and listening to the birds sing.

It will be  a big hard push until Monday morning, and then it is just jumping through all the regular hoops along with awards evenings and afternoons and the final field trip activities.

I leave home Friday morning for our big field trip and won't get back home Saturday afternoon. Then I need to sleep for awhile and have to get back at the slideshow for our year end awards and my speeches.

How does this affect budget? It's taking a hard hit. Not being home to plan and grocery shop makes for too many pay for it suppers. I have succumbed to Tim Hortons a few more times in the morning rather than my once a month treat on the last Friday of the month on the way to school.

Lots of pay for it suppers through work. A school one with students that costs. A trip to the lake with the school - canteen costs. An awards night for a retiring admin - cost. You know what those months are like.

Methinks I need to add a budget line or a savings category for June craziness, just like I do for Back to school costs.

Definitely worth thinking about.

Ok back to report card comments.

....on the bright side, this night 'off' work has let me get two loads of laundry done and baked 3 4 dozen muffins for our sleepover breakfast. Six muffins at the grocery cost $5.49. SIX!!!! And they aren't even great muffins.

Sunday Night Chit Chat

Tonight's Sunday Night Chit Chat is brought to you by My 1/2 Dozen Daily

• Wearing? Jammies. Early. Feels wonderful.
• Creating? To do lists for my week ahead
• Reading? Debbie McComber's The Inn at Harbour Cove
• Grateful for? Using my time well this weekend. I got a lot of things done. 
• Looking forward to? Being done my class field trips after this week.
• Cooking/Baking? Blueberry muffins this morning. Some for us for the week and some for my class's breakfast after our overnight.
• Saving for? My goals. nothing exciting at all 
• Watching? DH is watching Naked and Afraid while I type this.
• Listening to? the sound of my dryer going round and round.
• Hoping for? An uneventful last week before the last week of school. I hope to use my time well so that I don't become stressed.
• Learning? hmmmmm nothing comes to mind right now.

I had forgotten...

how much he eats.

Feeding that athlete engine is not cheap. And he eats often.

 He is missing home cooked meals so I have been trying to fill that hole :-)   We definitely go through far more staples with four in the house than we do with three. Ok technically it's four and  a half. The girlfriend is here for the weekend. He will be spending time there too in the weekends to come so her mom can feed him. She has five kids so she knows lol

In the meantime, I need to look at flyers and figure out what is on sale this week. The grocery  budget is taking a kicking.

Nevertheless,

It's good to have him home.

If you listen closely.....

(quick post from school)

You can hear DS1's car making its way up from the corner of SK towards home!

He made his way through North Dakota yesterday to take advantage of those low gas prices as long as he could.

It's been six months since I have had both my boys under one roof at the same time.

I can't wait!!!

He requested sweet and sour meatballs for supper. It's supposed to be a high of 29C. I had better see if they will work in the crock pot - haven't tried this yet.

Productive Saturday

Yesterday was a very well used day.  I don't say that as often as I should. 

DH was up early and helping our neighbour with the fence. These were the neighbours that weren't quite ready to do a fence when we did our back and other side two years ago.  They are now. They are also in their late 60s so help was definitely appreciated.  When I got home in late afternoon it was almost done. Boy it looks different not being able to see in their yard. We lose a lot of that hot late afternoon and evening sun as well.

I did a few quick loads of laundry early yest morning and hung them on the line to dry. It was a hot, breezy day.

I spent the day at the school. Packing is on for real, as well as marking.  I found myself so distracted last week with what had to be packed, that it was really hard to focus on the kids...which is all kinds of wrong.

So yesterday I spent 8 hours at the school. Cranked the music. And set my timer. 30 minutes for packing. 30 minutes for marking. Lather rinse repeat.  I even went through the boxes I had already packed and did two things: purged one more time for things I really am never going to need again and ; redistributed things so the weight was more liftable.   I am now at 40 boxes.

I came home to do some more laundry and gather the things off my line.

My room still looks twirly and chaotic so I hope to get my hiney in there for a  couple hours today. But only a couple, because this afternoon, I become a happy mama.

New mini goal

A few days ago Saskatchewan Savings asked what my next mini goal was going to be.

Excellent question

June is crazy busy with a ton of surprise expenses so I don't anticipate a whole lot of extra cash coming in.  Still, a goal gives one a bit of focus in the whirling chaos.

My next 2015 goal is the $1200 I will need for DS2's vehicle plates (insurance) which is due in... October I believe.

I have $210 currently saved for that. I have budgeted $500 from my end of June paycheque to go towards this. That brings me to $710. That's a deficit of $490.

Now I also have $500 budgeted at end of July to go towards this, but I am behind on my goals thanks to Murphy setting up roots in my home in Feb and March. 

IF I can get that $490 before the end of July then that my $500 can move on to the next goal.

So my next mini goal is $490 before end of July.

I already have $50 in that. My mom and dad insisted on repaying me for their tickets to the prom. They came to the grand march  and left after that part. I really really tried to not accept it, but my mother...............well..........she's insistent!

So $50/$490 is in the kitty.

Where the money stands

as of June 3rd

Debt
Mortgage - $20 705.41
**Total Debt - $20 705.41


Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $5100
TFSA in waiting to be added - $2000
RESP - $16 800
RRSP - $10 186 
Grad 2015 - $600
Summer 2015 - $1000
Back to School - $500
Plates - $210
**does not include the College  LOC which is in constant flux (up and down) but below $10 000