Where the money stands

as of June 2

I seem to have missed a couple of these.

And I miss going to the bank to drop off my change. They are now closed except for emergencies.

Not a lot of progress here, except for the mortgage being gone gone gone.

Debt

Mortgage - $0 baby

College LOC - $1500.00

Total Debt - $1500

Planned Savings

TFSA - $9900

RRSP - $14 262

TFSA 2020 - $500

Back to School - $500

Summer 2020 - $300

Christmas 2020 - $500

I am definitely behind on my savings. I have been working off the LOC instead.

We are getting close to that being gone too.

January change

$100 in change went to the bank this month.

I put it towards my back to school fund. Once I get it up to $500 then any change rolled goes towards my TFSA.

June change

I took my change into the bank yesterday. $100 of lovely coin to add to my TFSA/EF.

Not close to even the thousand dollar mark which is the bare minimum I would like to add, but getting closer each month.

I am grateful for this no stress way of adding money to one of my goals without having to carve something else out of the budget.

Murphy listens

You know that urban legend gossip that Facebook listens to your conversations and the 'ads' that pop up reflect your conversations???  (I totally agree with this by the way).

Know what else listens to your conversations? Murphy.

No sooner had the garage sale money been applied to the college loc, than my washing machine, my 23 year old machine, gives it up.  We have done little fixes to it over the years. a pump. a hose clamp.

This one was the final straw. It ended with the machine barfing out 2 inches of water across the floor of my laundry room. It was done.

Luckily I have been tucking little bits of money away over the past few years for the moment when I would need a new pair. We went down to our local furniture store and within 15 min the old units were gone and the new ones were installed and a load of towels was going.

This unexpected expense wiped out my emergency appliance replacement fund. It would have been nice to have the garage sale money to offset it.

I will have to begin the little bits of cash here and there to restock it in case something else decides to go. It was sure nice having that money there, ready to go, though.

A year of snowflakes

I love keeping track of the little ways money can add up. For me, there is no side hustle. During the school year there isn't enough energy to make it happen and during the summer I am recharging. I suppose I could find something in the summer if I REALLY wanted to.

Most of the money came from Tax returns. I was able to claim both boys this past year. For 2017 tax year I will just have the one, as DS2's tuition was all paid before the turn of the year.

The rest of the money came from my change jar, and the bits of money I was able to tuck away from jar money to repurpose for savings or debt goals.


In the past, this is how the snowflakes built up:

In 2016 the snowflakes were $5872
In 2015 the snowflakes were $8064
In 2014 the snowflakes were $3112
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

For 2017, my total was not the largest ever, nor was it the smallest. It floated in the middle.  $4770

My change jar for 2017

I do love my change jar.

Actually I have two of them. One is a piggy that used to sing when you put coins in. The toonies and loonies live in them. They other is a carafe of some sort. No clue where I got that from. All the other change lives in there.

I love putting my spending change in the jar and then counting it up at the end of the year. I still do it old school - hand roll and take into the bank. Love doing it that way.

For 6 months this year the change went towards the back to school planned spending. It seemed like an innocent and non threatening way to build up to that $500. After that, I put the jar money towards my 2018 TFSA, since I didn't make that goal this year.

Here are my ghosts of change jars past:

2012 -$549.50
2013 - $980
2014 - $512
2015 - $642
2016 - $825

Each year I think, hmmm I don't have that much. Especially when there are $0 months. then I do a tally and surprise myself.

January - $100
February  - $90
March - $0
April - $0
May - $100
June - $100
July - $50
August - $100
September - $100
October - $100
November - $100
December - $100

Actually this is spookily similar to last year's. Interesting.

For a grand total of $940

Not my highest ever but definitely up there.

I do recognize that if I spent less there would be less opportunity for change :-)

I plan to keep the same targets for next year - First $500 for Back to School and then TFSA.

If I were to have $100 per month (which I never do, then I would have a surplus of $100 to do go a third goal. We shall see.

Thank you change rolling for all those fun little memories.

August change

August change was pretty good. Most of it came from the change when I went grocery shopping with cash. Anytime I go to Walmart or the Coop they try to encourage me to use the self check line ups. My response is - I am paying with cash and you can't use cash at the self check.

As I walk away I hear one clerk mutter to another - Who pays with cash these days?

me

mostly

For groceries anyways.

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

Total of $100

This will be the first $100 to go towards TFSA 2018

A good start.

July snowflakes

Ahh sweet payday was yesterday. A chance for me to reset my jars, start on a fresh month spreadsheet and update my goals and plans.

I managed to snowflake $170 of my jar money this month. Mostly from groceries. I credit a good part of it from it being too hot to really want to eat much.

I managed this even with my voraciously appetited (have I made a new word?) children coming home to visit.

I saved $100 of this and set it aside for my trip to Costco yesterday when I was in the city for my medical appt. Nothing exciting. Toilet paper, laundry soap and a massive bag of chocolate chips that will do for baking for a long time. It also got several pouches ( I miss the super large cans) of Goodhost ice tea mix that DS takes back to the US  with him, and a big box of Tim Hortons Kcups for DS's roommate. A little gift from his Canadian mom. It was nice to have that set aside to buy those things without worry or guilt.

The $70 I have tucked aside. When I get a hundred dollars, I go to the bank and swap it for a $100 bill. Not sure of my plans for the few of those I have tucked in the home safe, but it's nice to have it ready if something comes up.

I will also have the change yet to be taken to the bank to add to that.

Every little bit...

June change

It looks like I am getting back into the swing of things. spending cash from my jars. NOT spending the change on munchies or Timmies.

I happily rolled changed and took it to the bank today.

• 1 roll of toonies
• 1 roll of loonies
• 1 roll of quarters
• 1 roll of dimes
• 5 rolls of nickels

Total $100

This went towards my back to school goal of $500. I now only need $50 to meet that goal.

I also finally had enough nickels to roll that last one to take an even dollar amount to the bank. I know, totally anal.  It took quite  awhile to get them. Will take awhile to get the same again :-)

January Change

January was a good month for change. I spent cash for groc / gas etc exclusively so there was a lot of change.

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

Total of $100.

As previously planned, I am using my rolled change to put towards my $500 goal for Back to School. This gives me a total of $150 towards that goal.

As an aside, I have 2 rolls of nickels sitting in a drawer. Something in my OCD just refuses to take $104 to the bank. $100 makes me feel calmer.

Since we don't have pennies anymore and I don't have a current trip to the US planned, I suspect those nickels will stay nested until they have 3 friends and I have a more 'balanced' $10. 

Yup, I am weird.  

snowflakey January

For all the different good and bad that January brought, the snowflakes were the best.

January always brings that sense of renewed focus....of paying attention to the little things...of that drive to meet goals and make the best of the new year.

This January paid off in spades.

Grocery savings was my biggest friend. We  had stocked heavily for the boys return home... Freezer, pantry and fridge. Added to that was the wealth of leftovers that we got from both my mom and my sister after the Christmas meals. Mostly my sister. She continued to send over all the bits and pieces from her Christmas grocery purchases.

We had wonderful leftovers of turkey and ham that turned into soups and stews, quesadillas and 'ham'n'eggers. The wealth of fruit was devoured and then froze for smoothies. Veggies made their way as side dishes and salads and into omelets and more.

I was able to snowflake $300 of my grocery money during the month of January. I have it sitting right now in 3 pretty $100 bills, unsure right now of where to focus my effort. I won't spend them in that form, but if I had left them in my main account, or if I had gotten them in $20s they would have been siphoned away bit by bit.

Cooking for 2 really can get creative sometimes and we consciously work to repurpose leftovers in a way we aren't getting bored.

I hope the inertia of January pushes forward, for awhile.

My change jar for 2016

One thing about blogging year after year is that while the entries may be boring, I can peek back in the archive for details from past years.

I honestly thought that like the rest of 2016, my change I rolled was 'meh'.  I was a little surprised when I counted up this year and checked previous years.

So here is the data I have:
2012 -$549.50
2013 - $980
2014 - $512
2015 - $642
2016 ------

So I had a few months of not enough change of any category to roll. The rest of the months had a bit of a predictability to them.

January - $0
February  - $100
March - $25
April - $0
May - $100
June - $100
July - $50
August - $100
September - $100
October - $100
November - $100
December - $50

For a grand total of $825

If I recall correctly I used the first $500 as  a non stress way of saving for Back to School costs for me. The rest went as payments on the College LOC.

I would have to say that of those two options, I got more of a rush out of the saving for Back to School. Took one thing off the budget line.

November change

 Happily it was a productive month for change.

Total of $100 which was placed on the Line of Credit.

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

Home from the US

It was amazing. It really was. Probably the best of the trips I have done to see DS.

First - the drive. 17 hours there. 17 hours home. DH and I actually got along. Miracle. I don't think we have spent that much one on one time together in years. We were going to take my SUV but the night before when DH was checking the air, the valve literally blew out of the tire. So we had to take the truck.

The colitis - I was terrified I would have an accident on the drive. I mean, I have a block from my house, so that long a drive....... eek. I threw myself back on a high dose of steroids 2 weeks before we left to try to calm down the flare. I cut myself off food at noon the day before we left. For the drive there, and for the return, I had nothing to eat or drink. zero. nada. not a sip of water. not a mint. not gum. Any one of those things can trigger urgency.  Surprisingly, I wasn't dying of starvation. I didn't get the 'I'm hungry' dizziness or headaches.  I survived.  DH was amazingly supportive, which was a first as well.  It was greatly appreciative.

Funny, as we were driving, hour 12 ish, we went by a farmyard super close to the highway. I KNOW I smelled fresh brewed coffee wafting from the yard. It smelled SO good. We laughed as my senses must have been heightened.

The city - oh the weather was glorious. About 24 C. Amazing for end of October. We walked along a few of the scenic trails. We played in the huge waves coming in off the lake. Enjoyed all the sights. Hit a couple local breweries for a taste. Not really beer drinkers but it is very popular there. I learned I am not really an ale person.

The people - I found the parents group friendlier this year. Or maybe I am three years in and more comfortable. It was much more relaxed and chatty. There was a bonfire the first night we got intot he city but we were wiped from driving so far. We just met with our BFF parents and our boys and did supper together. Amazing pasta.

The parents did a brunch together, met for drinks before the first game, and again before the second at an outdoor patio down by the water. I still didn't get to meet all of them. Some are harder to approach - or maybe it' s my shyness. I have trouble around people who .........how shall I put this........are wealthier, have had more success, have all the fancy clothes. I feel .....lesser. They are probably wonderful people but it just feels different. Probably all in my head.

I also got to meet an internet friend..... a big longtime fan of the team whom I follow on twitter. We've chatted a bit on there. There was a jersey auction and she bid on DS's and won. She was so excited to get to meet DS and get a picture with him. She's met a lot of the players over the years and blogged that it was her #1 interaction with one of the boys from the team. The mama in me was 'awwww'. In their picture they are both laughing as he is 6 foot 4 and she is 5 foot 4 and he had to squat so they both could be in the picture.

The hockey. They won both their games. DS got to play in both games (which is less common - there are NHL draft picks here and DS is not on the top 2 lines). I even got to see DS score a goal and get an assist. I realized how much I miss when I don't get to see his games.

I need to tally up the costs for gas to see how much it came to. Certainly less than the cost of 2 flights at the current prices.

It was a phenomenal trip. We drove in thick rain from the border up and it snowed the night after we got home. I am so glad we didn't have to drive in that.

September change

Ok I am definitely not going to be successful at meeting my < $10 000 on the College LOC by the end of 2016.

But I will keep swinging.

Change this month was what seems to be a standard:

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

For a total of $100. It went straight to a little lump sum on the LOC.

August Change

It was  healthy change month for me. I think I just tossed every coin I received when shopping, into the jar.

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

Total for the month is $100. I am just getting a $100 bill for this. I could put it against my LOC, but I am waiting for DS1's tuition balance to see if I have enough in my US$ account. If I don't I will just be pulling from the LOC right away.

June Change

June was " a good change month"

I don't think this is because I was wise with my money. In June, I am rarely wise. I spend more than I should. I eat out more than I should. I stop at Timmy's more than I should. But at least I kept the change (pathetic attempt at a silver lining)

I will take this money in next week and put it down against debt.

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

For a grand total of $100. It looks great all rolled up. Waiting. Stored potential.

February Change

Well after a January of 'not a whole roll to roll', it was good to see what February brought.  It met my mini goal of $100 snowflaked. It also helped me to get my first planned savings goal met purely on snowflaked change and cash.   Happy to say that my 'back to school' goal of $500 is met.

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

total of $100

Now I need to figure out what goal I want to use as a target for my next snowflakes. I think I have an idea.

A year of change

I continue to believe in the power of change...the rattling money kind, that is.

(I seem to be typing this with one hand, as my maine coone cat insists this is her snuggle time)

It goes in a jar and once a month I count it, and roll it, if there enough of any kind. Then off to the bank I go and put it towards debt, or a savings goal.

Last year my total rolled change was $512.

Not bad for a year of rolling. Not my highest amount either though. Just shows how much I use cash, and if I keep, or spend, the change.

This year, it felt like a lot of months didn't have enough to roll.

January - $0
February - $80
March - $0
April - $100
May - $20
June - $85
July - $92
August - $150
September - $0
October - $0
November - $30
December - $85

So the grand total for the year is $642

More than I thought, actually.

This money generally went to mini goals or debt repayment.

I haven't yet decided if I will put all my change towards a specific goal, or just allocate it month by month, because sh&t happens.

In theory, I COULD decide that the change goes towards "Back to School" as it would get me at least halfway towards that goal by August 1.  Hmmm something to think about.

Some snowflakes/August Change

I went to the bank today after work and made an extra payment on my LOC.

My change for the month was hefty. I purposely didn't spend any that I got buy when buying things, because I  needed this little psychological boost.

1 roll of Toonies - $50
1 rolls of loonies - $50
3 rolls of quarters - $30

for a total of $130

Added to that was some leftover gas money and grocery money which added up to $100.

Together that was $230 down on my LOC.

I need to keep up the focus and get this debt DOWN.