July change

It wasn't a big change month here.  One lonely little roll of toonies for a total of $50.

It will go to finish paying off the charge for kitty's surgery.

I leave you with a picture from my sister's little cabin rental where we are camping this weekend.  You can see her scooter on the right. We think this may be her last year she is able to camp. Very bittersweet.

Week 4 of holidays

This week felt busy and not laid back like the first week did.

I did my walks as often as I could. I cut my grass and my parents'.

I went out to my sister's Sunday for a family work bee. She has so much going on and is so far behind. DH spent two hours on the riding mower cutting her grass.  DS1 spent a couple hours in her labyrinth, which was terribly overgrown. Whipper snip to the rescue.  DS2 worked on her hedge which leads from her yard down to the highway.  I went in and did a week's worth of dishes and laundry from when she had all  her grandkids there. Mom and dad helped sister out in her pea patch picking 11 10 gallon pails full.

Then we went out and helped work the pea sheller, which I had never seen in action before. It seemed to take forever, but nowhere near the time it would take to hand shell that many peas.

We finished at mom and dad's with a lovely BBQ.

Despite all my walking and water drinking and 90% of the time excellent food choices, I did not lose. I maintained. I was bummed. I know it is 'that easy (finger snap) for me to fall off the wagon and go back to eating like I used to and the weight would climb back on. I was hoping for a loss again this week before heading into a long weekend of camping where food choices are much more delicious with many many more calories and fat.  I am fearful it would throw me totally off and my good habits of the summer will just be memories. It's happened so many times before.

RRSP Update

When last I wrote in May, my RRSPs had made some gain from the previous quarter.... a welcome sign. We left off with it sitting at $11 438.00

My statement this time shows $11 563.99.

A small gain, but at least it was a gain.

Third week of holidays

I saw a lot of DS1 during this week. He was home last Thursday to pack up and head off to his four day music festival. They left right after the Eric Church concert and got home in the wee hours of Monday morning. I had the crockpot going will pulled pork and had a pasta salad ready. They were ravenous when they woke up.  We got all the laundry done, tents and coolers cleaned out and his vehicle washed and ready to go.

I saw him again last Tuesday night as he had dentist appt #2 early Wednesday morning. They got home and had caught the Pokémon Go bug. It was funny watching them go out on the bikes hunting together. Wed morning was his dentist appt. Two wisdom teeth out and a filling. While he was in the chair his gf and I went out so she could catch a few poke. When we got back DS was choked we had gone without him. He was so funny with his mouth half frozen, full of gauze, cracking jokes left and right. The ladies in the dentist office had tears in their eyes. What a kid.  I sent him back to his gf's house with homemade beef barley soup and his prescribed Tylenol 3s. She sent me a pic later of him asleep on their couch with her two year old niece sitting on him 'reading' a book to her sleeping Uncle.

I have been doing a few more walks. I long for longer ones but when I get home and hit the bathroom right away, I know I made the right call doing a  shorter ones.  DS got re-added to DH's insurance so hopefully a cheque for his first dentist visit comes soon. We mailed those forms last Fri. His one yesterday was sent straight from the dentist to insurance so we may well get that cheque before the first one.

I was bad and went to the school on Tuesday. There was no one in my wing, not even cleaning staff. I was checking to see if my floors were waxed. They were so I set my timer and spent two hours moving my furniture back into my room and arranging it how I think I want it to be for the first month. I left a list for myself for the next time I go in, so that I use my time efficiently.


I read some this week. Went online and hunted for ideas for new units I want to do.

I watched what I ate and I drank a ton of water. And I lost weight.

Week 2 of holidays - appointments and paperwork oh my

In a sharp contrast to week 1 of holidays, week 2 was much busier, with more appointments and a ton of money put out.

Last Friday I finally upgraded my old IPhone4. It had been failing for over a year. The little round home button only worked sometimes. Texts were getting lost. The battery was draining at ridiculous rates.I had upgraded my IOS as much as it would let me but most of my apps needed a higher IOS to work (banking, fitbit, WW, news etc) It served me well though. Not one crack or scratch on it.

They finally reduced the 'cost' of a 2 year plan to $0 for a 5S so off I went. They tried to talk me into a 6S but that was $268 and I was not willing to pay that. I ended up paying just under $100 in total. $25 for the activation fee and the rest for a vehicle charger and an otter box. I used $50 from my VISA reward points to pay off half of the fees, and the other $50 I had saved up so the device didn't cost me anything. We shall see how much it changes my bill. My old plan was grandfathered in as long as I had the old device. They transferred all my contacts and pictures for me so that was a bonus.

DS1 came home from camping Sunday with tooth  news. He had a massive toothache which turned out to be  infected wisdom teeth on the top and bottom of his left jaw. It had been a long time since I had  him at the dentist. Bad me. Our actual dentist wasn't at the clinic anymore. He had retired. I know getting through on the phone is tough so I went in person at 8 AM Monday morning and got DS an apt for Tuesday to get things checked out...and booked myself in for a long overdue checkup and cleaning as well. DS needs three additional appointments to take care of the mess in his mouth. Good times.

Better still was the fact that he was no longer covered under DH's health care plan. Once you are 21 you age out unless you send in documentation that the kid is in college. I did it for my plan but DH did not for his. So I sent DH off to his HR rep on Tuesday to get DS added back in. The HR was new and didn't know............. much. I had to go in to explain what needed to be done and gave him the paperwork he needed to send off for proof.  Even though DS was covered under my plan, he has to go through DH's first, as DH's birthday comes first in the calendar year. My plan will refuse to cover until DS is re-added to DH's plan.

So I paid $176 outright and we have to wait til the plan is fixed and then we can start the paperwork. First to DH's plan and when that cheque comes back with whatever % of coverage, then I submit the rest to my plan. It is time consuming.

On Tuesday, DS and I headed to the dentist and then off to the city to get his passport renewed. I prefer going in person in case there are any problems on the form. We can fix them immediately. They do dozens a day there so they are well versed in what is needed. That cost $160 plus $22 for passport pics. I paid half and DS paid half.  Assuming he doesn't lose it or have it stolen, his next renewal is when he is 31 so I think he can handle that on his own then :-)

Wednesday was a double dentist day. Our cat is very sick and needed two teeth extracted. For those who aren't pet parents or who don't like cats, this will not be an expense that makes sense to you. For us, she has been part of our family for 10 years this fall and while I didn't like paying the cost, I did. We go on frugal for gas and groceries and any and all extra money went to this cost. Just under $700.  The next morning she was already her old self, happy and purring and rolling on our laps.  My dentist appointment and cleaning was $159. Not great news - 2 cavities, so back I go on the 26th to get those taken care of. I paid up front for it and the dentist office sent it straight off to my insurance, which will cover all of it. Hopefully that cheque arrives soon.

Last Sunday I had all the children home. It was great. I cooked DS's favourite meal and baked muffins and cookies for them both to take back with them for work. DS1's 'mother in law' won't take any $ for keeping him there, so I send things like laundry soap, TP, cookies and muffins and meals ready to go in the crock pot.

There was little reading this week. Lots more 'running around' and taking care of forms. I spent little time on my patio but we did have a fire one night and I got to relax there, watching it.  I walked though colitis was not very cooperative.  I watched what I ate. I lost weight. It was a very different week than week 1, but it was a good week.

Where the money stands

as of July 9th

Debt
Mortgage - $16 619.10
College LOC - $15 151.16

Total Debt - $31 770.26



Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $7100
RESP - $5 500
RRSP - $10 946
Summer 2016 - $1000
Back to School - $500
RRSP 2016 - $1500
XMAS 2016 - $160
Plates - $1500

Not a whole lot of change. Some money went down on the LOC. I added another $500 to the Plates category. I now have 2 children vehicles I am handling. $1500 won't cover both. I need to figure out what to do with this. The bright news is that DS2 has only one more year left of school. Assuming he finds a job in conservation, I can begin to transfer some of the things I handle over to him as part of his 'hey you're an adult now. Welcome to the world of bills' training.

My next planned savings goal is for Christmas. That will take July, August and September, if nothing else happens (jolie snorts in derision  because things always happen)

First week of holidays...

...went so fast.

I wish a work week went that fast :-)

It was a quiet week off. To many, a boring week off.

For me, it was restful. I did baby walks outside (10 min ones seem to be the 'safe' distance before colitis wants to play). I dusted off treadmill and walked there too. I realize how sick I was. How weak. (and even more overweight). I think of the hour or more walks I used to do and feel sad that those are not currently in my wheelhouse.

I cleaned out many of those clutter collector spots: top of fridge, junk drawer, top of my dresser. Amazing how much crap collects there.

I had to send off copies of my tax form to my colitis med provider so they will (hopefully) continue to pay for the almost $4000 a shot med.

I sat out and had coffee at my little patio and felt the breeze and heard the birds.

I got to catch up on my blog reading.

I cut our lawn, twice. I cut my mom and dad's as well. Thought I was going to pass out (refer back to incredibly weak from illness and out of shape from.............yeah anyways).

I got the oil changed in my car.

I read and read and read.

I hung laundry on the line and watched it blow in the breeze.

I talked to two of my neighbours. Not much time for more than a wave during the school year.

I started watching Nashville on Netflix.

I did NOT crack a school book.  A record for me I think.

I ate fresh fruit and veggies. If I have to stay close to the bathroom I might as well enjoy!

I drank a  ton of water.

I lost weight.

I am very appreciative of this past week.

Evolution of the Jars

I know plastic ruins a LOT of lives, but five little jar shaped pieces of plastic saved mine. Honestly.

They provided a way for me to visibly control my expenditures.

Such a gift those little plastic jars were.

I started on Money Jars in December of 2008. It was an exciting day. I had started this blog 6 months prior and was using an envelope system. I laugh hysterically when I think of what I had been putting in those 'envelopes' for each category. HUGE amounts. Unnecessary amounts. Unrealistic amounts. Nothing like deciding what was going in the envelopes before considering my income, my expenses and my goals. Such a newb!! 

but at least I tried.

But 6 months into this little budget experiment of mine, I slowly grew wiser. The jars were calling my name.

What are these jars?   Well I had been voraciously watching every episode of Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Til Debt Do Us Part. Part of her way of helping people was calculating variable expenses and putting them in jars for people to SEE how much they had (or didn't have) for the week.

The sheer simplicity of it was genius.

Here was her premise of what to do. THE JARS


My original amounts were higher than what I have now, but I don't seem to have them written down in the blog.  I had five categories back then: Gas, Entertainment, Grocery and household items, spending money and Clothing and Gifts.

Since then my dollar amounts and how I handle them have evolved slightly. Here are two instances where I actually wrote the amounts down.

June 2010

1) Food and Household - $680 a month ($170 a week)
2) Spending Money - $80 a month ($20 a week)
3) Gas/Transportation - $200 a month ($50 a week)
4) Entertainment - $160 a month ($40 a week)
5) Clothing and Gifts - $100 a month ($25 a week)

And

August 2014
Gas - $60 a week
Entertainment - $40 a week
Spending money - $20 a week
Grocery and house hold items - $220 a week

I know when I first started I had amounts that required me to get bills other than $20s. That proved to be annoying as the machines didn't cooperate and it meant my going in to the brick and mortar. So I tweaked them not long after to reflect ATM cooperative 20s.


Over time...
I used to have my Clothing and Gifts in a jar but it proved to be easier to make this an invisible 'category' in my savings and just transfer it.

My gas money increased because gas prices kept soaring.

My entertainment money was cut in half. I wasn't using it properly and that other $20 could go to a dif goal.

Grocery went down to $180 when DS1 left and I reallocated that $40 a week towards money I was transferring to him.

I found this great post in 2009 that talked about how the first month of jars went. It was interesting to go back and read it after all these years.


I have to say, I have started and stopped a ton of 'new routines' for diet, exercise, money, housekeeping...you name it. The jars is the ONLY thing that has had this longevity.

If you are thinking of starting a system to help you save, or get out of debt, DO. Whether it's jars or envelopes or online tracking. Whatever works for you. Just start! Know that adjusting your amounts or how you do it is NOT a failure. It's showing you are learning from the experience.

Just start.

After 8 years of blogging...

... yup. It's 8 years today that I was brave enough to start a little blog that I didn't expect anyone to read. It was more for me. To document. To reflect. To plan. To motivate.

It did all of those things.

And a few people read it too.

I had nothing ground breaking to share. No big successes. No advice on investments (seriously, don't ask me! I am still fuzzy on all that after 8 years). No press. No media.

Just me, and my thoughts.

So after 8 years of blogging...

• I know a LOT more than I used to, but still have so much to learn
• I haven't carried a CC balance since early 2009 - but I do have a LOC I am working on
• I still put money in jars. Not 100% of the time - but a great deal.
• I still fake a payday four times a month, since I really only get paid once a month. I dutifully go out and pull out my weekly money. It works.
• I still budget and go over numbers
• I still make mistakes
• and spend too much on my kids
• and college, don't even get me started on this (voluntary) path
• I still get rattled by upcoming expenses, but going back to my spreadsheet is soothing...reassuring.
• I still plan ahead for things like Christmas, Summer, back to school. etc
• I still look for ways to save and ask questions to avoid surprises in things like phone plan, cable bill etc
• I still suffer from poor health but keep valiantly trying to get better
• I still get sad when a favourite blog disappears, or isn't updated
• I still roll change  and cherish its zen like feelings
• I rarely charge to my CC without going home immediately and paying it off
• I rarely buy books or magazines anymore.
• I still buy the occasional lottery ticket and hope and wish
• I still keep reading your blogs and learning from your experiences
• I still read and appreciate every comment, even if I don't answer them all

I don't have a lot new to say these days, and sometimes I go quiet. But every single success I have had moneywise, little or small, owes its credit to this blog and the community I discovered, 8 years ago.

One Red Paperclip

It's just after 7 AM. It's grey skied and cool but I am out on my little patio, sipping my coffee, listening to the birds sing, and catching up on my blog reading. In my jammies!  It's glorious.

The sheer privilege of time to do this is incredible. I certainly don't get this during the school year.  I am blessed.

My summer reading is from an activity I actually did with my class in Social Studies this year.  It was one of the highlights of their year.

My actual cover is far more simple. It must be from a different edition of the book.

It's an amazing story of a young man who set out on a journey to trade one red paperclip up, and up, with a goal of trading for a house.  He quickly realized that it was NOT that final goal of a house that was the richness of the experience.....it was the journey; the story of each trade and the social (and mainstream) media that were captivated by this unique adventure.

Here is a link to the webpage for those interested. 

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.ca/

For many of us, it is far too easy to get our focus wrapped up in 'the end', that long away elusive goal. I know I do. As a teacher it's the next long weekend, or Christmas, or the end of the school year. As a mom of college kids, it's the next time they will come home, or I will go to them. As a woman with debt it's the next monthly paycheque.  As an obese woman it's the next time I step on that damn scale.

And when those moments come, they are not celebrated. They are not savoured. They are almost hollow.

And then the wait for the next end point begins.

Even now, in the beautiful gloriousness of this grey morning, I catch myself thinking of payday at the END of July, weighing in next Thursday, and the date my kids leave me. There is no joy in this kind of living.  I have little joy and it's all of my own creation ( or lack thereof)

Thus far, I have two favourite quotes from this book, and they both happened to be on the same page.

The first is for anyone who is looking to change something. Weight. Debt. Budget creation. The ones who stay stuck in the " I wish but I don't know how" phase. Been there.

"If you don't start, then how can you finish...It starts with a step. Just get a foot through the door and make your move. Right foot or left foot, it's your choice"

The second is for those for whom the end goal is the ONLY thing with meaning; who live a life that is missing the joy.

"If it works small, it might work big, but if you have fun along the way, it won't matter either way"

The start of summer

Yup I've been totally awol.   To give you an idea of how whirly my brain is, I didn't realize for a month that my favourite AM weather guy had moved to a Calgary station.  Miss that guy :-)

We finished school yesterday.  The first year at my new school definitely went fast. I guess that all do when you look at them in the rear view mirror.   It definitely is different in a High School than in an Elementary School. Far fewer 'events' happen at the upper end - no big track and field events, field trips, assesemblies...that sort of thing.  In a lot of ways it was nice to have so many of my year end responsibilities off my list - but I do miss the experiences. There was definitely more of a team atmosphere there - but perhaps this will grow.

It's a quiet Canada Day here. DS2 is working up north (double time and a half mom!! he said). DS1 is with his gf and her family.  They were home last weekend to visit. DS1 and DH built some shelving in the garage. To quote DS - dad and I only fought twice. That is a huge record for us.

My plans for the summer are inconsequential. No big trips planned. Just the one long weekend in August at the lake, as per usual.   I promised myself I would stay out of my school until July 25. I brought some things home that I will either do or not, but I won't let myself live there this summer, as I did in the past.  For this summer, I simply want to get healthy. rest. walk on my treadmill. drink lots of water. Hopefully my colon will heal, my knees will stop aching, my skin won't be lizard like, my head won't ache, and I won't be so exhausted 24/7. Not big goals, but vital ones. I am so tired of not living.

I am going to attempt to pull myself off milk for the month of July and see what changes that brings.

Moneywise - I have little savings goals and will continue to work against that darn debt.