RRSP update

When last we checked in with  my RRSP update we had taken a hit as the Canadian dollar tanked. My big excited about being above $10 000 was crushed, and life........well life moved on.

It has gone from $10 196 down to $9 847.

So currently I find it back up again, thank goodness.  My current statement has me at $10 976, which puts me up $1129 since last statement. This should accommodate the $1500 I added in...I think

I will not pretend to understand the market.  I would need serious training for that :-)


If my past math is correct, I have put in a total of $9200 since I opened it. A small gain over 5 years, but not monumental.

Election Day

Election Day in Canada


Proud to live in a country where voting is a democratic right for all races, genders and ethnicities. As I tell my students, so many places don't have that right.

The polls were busy. That was a good thing. I ran into one of my former students who was excited to be finally 18 and able to vote. I hugged her.

I hope all my Canadian readers got out there to exercise your democratic right.

Challenge completed

It was an interesting experiment.

If it were purely food we put in our mouths based, this challenge was, even with our Canadian high grocery prices, completed.

I spent $6.77 on 4L of milk and $4.14 on a large loaf of bread.  With enviro tax on the milk jug and tax, this came to just under $11.

$10 remaining in the challenge.

We needed toilet paper however and with tax that came to $11 ish. DH went to buy that. Did he bring the receipt? no.


I get that I mention TP a lot. As a person with colitis, it is a big part of my life, unfortunately.  In the spirit of TMI, I probably use as much as a family of four.

We could have gotten each of these a little cheaper if we had driven over to Walmart. The cost of gas to go there and back is $2. I theory tested it a few weeks ago.  The danger is going to Walmart is self control. So many things to catch the eye.    

I decided the lower prices weren't worth the extra 30 min of driving time there and back and the time in the store and at the register.

So did I make the challenge? not quite. but super close.

For supper
Sun- Thanksgiving at mom and dads
Mon - thanksgiving leftovers at home
Tues - eggs. I like scrambled and DH made an omelette with veggie leftovers
Wed - sloppy joes with tossed salad (used up the salad veggies)
Thurs - mom invited us over for porkchops and baked potatoes
Fri - no clue what DH ate, but there were dishes in the sink when I got home from volleyball tourney. It was late so I had some toast and crashed.
Sat - chicken and rice.

We could probably do this again right away but we'd need some veggies and some yogurt.

In the 'household supplies' category, which shares the $180 budget, we are out of cat food, Kleenex and Motrin. I have to renew my prescription this week as well.

I suppose when you include household, every week has a something which is running out.

It was an interesting experiment, and one I doubt I would have been successful with when my boys were at home.

So I 'saved' $160 this week, with little difficulty. It went straight towards the new to DS vehicle debt.

$21 week challenge

Ok with the costs for DS2's vehicle and the extra international long distance we've accrued this seemed like a good week to try this challenge that I see all kinds of folk trying.

I saw the idea on NDChic's Cents, who saw it on Finally Acting our Wage.

I usually allocate $180 a week (Canadian, for those lucky folk in cheaper grocery land) and this is for groceries as well as household things like shampoo, conditioner, household supplies, prescriptions etc.

If I can keep this week at the $21 limit then that gives me $159 to put towards those nagging debts.  What a sweet little snowflake.

Not really any rules: just keeping track.

I started it on Sunday, with Thanksgiving at mama's. Monday was leftovers and it was just me.

So I thought I'd give it a shot. My week will be up Saturday night....which is the end of my weekly 'allowance' for jar money.

What might I need? milk, bread, Toilet paper.   I have another volley ball tourney this weekend so I will have to think and plan.

I snack far too often and those cost....and I always drink chug milk with it so I can go through milk quick. time to focus on water, which is free. or Wine which is not, but I have some.

What have I done to motivate myself? I am cooking up some dobbles of ground beef that were in the freezer for sloppy joes for Wednesdsay. We have buns from my mom's. I also am baking a spaghetti squash, which will give me something to nosh on for my lunch at school that is filling.

Here we go!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's a lovely Monday morning to still be at home and not at work (although I am heading there in an hour or so lol)

It would be lovely if all weekends were three day: one to spend cleaning/maintaining home and yard, one to spend with friends or family and the third to spend at the school marking and prepping.

DS2 came home for Thanksgiving weekend. It was so good to see him and hear how his classes are going. He is really enjoying them and finds them all quite practical. I know I couldn't say that about all my University ones.

Saturday was spent doing yard work. Raking leaves. Mowing lawn. Blowing out the sprinkler lines before free. Putting the patio furniture away. That one always makes me sad.

It was  a good thing we got that done on Saturday as it poured and gusted wind all Sunday.

Some of the family made it home for Thanksgiving at mom and dad's. I got to see the newest baby in the family and snuggle her. I got to see the 10 month old twins, and I got to hang out with the older ones. 8 little ones, ages 5 and under.  DS2 isn't much for little kids or babies, but he did well teaching the older two how to play an old Mario game. They thought he was awesome!

Some frustrating news came though  - DS2's beloved Scout camp was broken into sometime on Saturday. Damage and so much stolen. He and DH left early this morning to go see what they could do to fix the damaged buildings and inventory what is missing.

After my leisurely cup of coffee I am off to the school to get caught up on marking and plan for the week. It's nice today so maybe I can get a walk in this afternoon after things dry up.

Happy Monday everyone.

Where the money stands...

as of Oct 9

Not everything is as it says here. I am in the process of buying DS1 a replacement car. As we don't have our money from SGI yet, I shifted things around including a bit of LOC until things settle


Debt
Mortgage - $19 462.65
College LOC - $16 349

Total Debt - $35 811.65 



Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $7100
RESP - $10 400
RRSP - $9 847 + $1500 (no update balance from them yet)
Plates - $1100 (goal met)
XMAS -500

This n that

I would highly recommend not getting into an accident outside of your home country. The paperwork is ridiculous. I had to send in tax forms to prove he files taxes here. The college had to send papers to prove he goes to school there. Forms of declaration up the wazoo. questionnaires.

Don't even get me started on the phone interviews. It took 7 business days of calling 6-8 times a day before we got the agent LIVE instead of her voice mail.  "I tried to call you at 11 AM yesterday!!!" she said indignantly. "yes, " I reply, and as I said in my message I left, "I teach then and can't leave 37 math students for a 20 min phone call"

Each time I called and got her voicemail, I gave her a window of when I could be reached. She never called during those times.

Same thing with DS. He's in class. He has practice. So he would call in the morning and leave her a window of time each day when he had 30 min for the phone call. She would call while he was in class.

I recognize we are not her only clients, but ...

So we are not yet done dealing with all of this.  No end in sight.