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.

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.

College, LOC and TFSA, oh my!

So most of my money goals for the year have been met. Plates (insurance), RRSP, Christmas is almost done, Summer etc.

The only goal I haven't started yet is my TFSA savings of $1000. Interest on this is paltry. Super paltry.

Interest on my college LOC however, is not paltry.

I was putting $500 a month down on the LOC, and saving a comparable amount for College. My LOC is close to being maxed out. Yes they would give me more, but I really don't want it to come to that.

This is DS1's last year of college. It will cost. Money will be needed. Usually I am putting  a chunk on my LOC and a chunk into college savings, along with a chunk that goes to my rotating money goals (see First paragraph).

I really really really want to avoid putting more money on the LOC. I would rather jiggle the amounts around to put a base amount on the LOC and a larger amount into College (and the dreaded Canadian to US dollar conversion).

The dollar is at about 77 cents right now which is not great but better than the 71 cents it was earlier this year.

I think I will drop the worry about the $1000 TFSA goal and focus instead on the college/LOC for the rest of 2017.

My change jar $ was going towards my Back to School fund and that is now met. Thank goodness. I start in 2 weeks.

For the rest of 2017 I will put my change jar $ towards TFSA 2018. This is a pretty low stress way of slowly building it.

I know...It's a lot of thinking out loud. But that's my plan for now. for now. Til Murphy or someone finds me and whaps me upside the head.

A bit of a boost

We got word earlier this week that DS2 received two bursaries to go towards college.

We applied for these through the college in early July. Competition is tough and DS doesn't qualify for any special circumstances so only about 5% of the scholarships available were ones he was eligible for.

Happily, we received $1000 and $500 . Both go straight to the college  and are applied directly to his account. I definitely appreciated them.

We need to do thank you cards for them. This school offers four different rounds of scholarships throughout the school year and to not do a thank you pretty much writes off all future chances.

May change

It was a lean month for change here.

A few rolls to go to the bank with some $ I had snowflaked off grocery and gas.

1 roll of quarters - $10
1 roll of dimes - $5
2 rolls nickels - $4
2 rolls of pennies - $1

The pennies were waiting for a 'just need a dollar more to make things even' month.

Total $20

I also did four half periods of noon supervision which netted me $5.50 for each half period. That gives me another $21.


This $40 got me enough to meet me $200 mini goal. I took it to the bank  yesterday and I now have met my $2000 goal for TFSA for 2015.  I will formally apply it to my TFSA  in July when I have time to go in and do the paperwork.

Yeah mini goal.

Financial Goals for 2015

These aren't all the much different than last year to be honest. The needs haven't changed a whole lot, nor the amounts. Some amounts are chosen by the 'This is how much I need" for the goal, and some are "this is probably all I can do" for others.

 

1) TFSA - $2000

I managed to get this amount last year. I divided the goal into two $1000 chunks to make it feel more manageable.  My TFSA is currently sitting at $5000 in contributions plus $120 ish in interest. I have tons of contribution room, but not tons to add.

 

2) RRSP - $1500

I am moving my goal BACK to $1500 as it was 2  years ago. I tried last year for $2000, but between DS2's car accident, DS1's colleege, and our trips down there, I failed to meet this goal.  I fell short of having $10 000 in contributions.  That would last about four months in my retirement, if I pulled it all out and paid the fees and taxes involved with it. Four months! ouch

 

3) RESP - is no longer a goal since DS2 has finished his contribution + grant contribution years. I will reallocate this money towards saving for college for two children.

 

4) Summer 2014 - $1000

I have no specific plans for this money. I am sure a chunk of it will go to our yearly August long camping trip. Beyond that, I am not sure.

 

5) Back to School - $500

I have cut this goal down by half. It's just for me now. My fees that are due right at the start of the year, plus coffee fund etc. There will be a little left for clothes. The boys' expenses will fall under 'college savings'

 

 6)Christmas 2014 - $1400

No change

 

7) Vehicle Plates - $1200

No change

 

8) Graduation Costs - $500

This amount is less than his brother. DS2 has no desire to go to prom. I may get him there for the Grand March, and he would leave after that. Dances and parties are just not his comfort zone. He may change his mind, but I don't think so. I will have a few prom tickets that have to be bought in order to attend the grand march.

This brings me to a grand total of $8100. This is $2000 less than what I set aside last year...however, I still have college to save towards.

Back to the $8100. Divided by 12 months shows me I need to have $675/month to put towards these savings goals. I have $700. Seems like it should be easy peasy right?

But we all know things happen and money has to get redirected elsewhere. I certainly had to do so last year.

Not counted in this planned spending and savings goal are the college costs. Those are too predictable, especially as DS2 is not gone yet.

And that's my money plan for 2015.

 

Goal!!!

Ok I am tuning in to the Can/US women's hockey game shortly, but that isn't the goal I am cheering for.

I am happy to say that as of 30 minutes ago, I have now achieved my TFSA/EF goal of $2000.

I headed down to the bank to make the final deposit and have them do the paperwork to make it all official.

I have scrimped and skimmed, mostly from my grocery account (hello pantry and freezer cooking) and used most of my spending money each week ($20/week) and a bit from gas.

I now have $5000 in my TFSA account. I am excited about that but I also recognize that $5000 was the yearly allotment I could have put in for the first year of my TFSA, which was 2010 I believe. As of now I could, in theory, have $25 000+ in there.

But I must be happy for what I have done, and promise myself to keep at it each year. I have approximately 11 years of work left, so hopefully I can add at the very least $25 000 to it before R day.

For  those of you Canadians with a TFSA out there, do you have it in a regular savings account or do you have it in a fancier form of investment? 

June Change

With no wrappable change during May, and my spending more cash than debit in June, I suspected the change would be more substantial for this month.

2 rolls of toonies - $100
1 roll of quarters - $10
1 roll of dimes - $5
1 roll of nickles - $2
2 rolls of pennies - $1

For a grand total of $118. This money is going straight to the bank today to be added to the money I am saving for my EF/TFSA. When it gets to $1000 then I will make an appt with the bank to have that transferred officially into my TFSA account.

The pennies - well no one gives them out anymore but as I clean and sort and tidy, they are popping up here and there in the vehicles and the house.

Thanks Change! I like you!

Out of a pile of guano comes some sunshine

I have no idea how long the issues at work will be going. I know it affected last month's salary and will again at the end of June. I know that my carefully (and painfully) saved $2000 EF will not go far in the big picture and I know that I need to have a 'just in case' that isn't credit cards at 19.5% or higher.


So I made an appointment at my  Credit Union yesterday to discuss a line of credit. I really dont' want to use it but if something drastic happens at work then it would be significantly harder to get the LOC then, than it would be now.


I have a few friends who have them; some are contingency accounts they do not use and some, use their LOC a lot. When I went in, the bank lady described  a few different options but they did not sound like what my friends have. I did not want it attached to my mortgage. I would have needed to go to my main bank for that and they were unable to give me an appointment outside of work hours for...........3 or so weeks. Not timely enough. I did not want it attached as an 'overdraft'. I ended up with an interest only LOC, which this Credit Union calls a 'quick loan'.


So as I am giving her my information, she is asking things such as mortgage balance and loan balances. I can't tell you enough how empowering it was to be able to quote those balances off the top of my head, including the interest rates. It was interesting to watch her face as I did that. It was even more empowering to be able to say, yes I have two CCs. Both have zero owing and zero balance.


As she put through my information, she processed it via Equifax. Now it's been on my list for a couple of years to explore the new territory of getting my credit score/report. I just never got around to it.  I was beyond surprised when I got to see a printed out copy of it. I have had vehicle loans before and the mortgage and I know that they had to do the same credit check but I NEVER got to see the results before. This was an unexpected bonus.


As she brought out the copies from Equifax, she had a quizzical smile on her face. She said she's been in loans/LOC etc for 10 years at this bank and had never seen a score so high before.  My credit score was 817. Very, very good, she tells me.


I told her this all was new territory for me and she went through the report, line by line with me, so I would understand what it all meant. I sure appreciated that.  I learned that apparently my Sears card was closed by 'client request' last month, though I did not  close it. I haven't used that card in a long time. I will have to phone to find out more about that. We are a  small town so the Sears store is mostly a small area with fridges, stoves, washers and dryers. Anything we order comes via catalogue, so the card is fairly necessary for that.


anyhooooo she asked what my secret was to such a short and glowing  Credit Score. I asked her if she had heard of Gail Vaz-Oxlade and she had NOT!! So I told her a bit about who she was and the premise of her books/show/website. I told her how 'finding Gail' on Slice three summers ago really changed my life.

For interest rate, I was able to get prime plus 2.5, which is 0.5 less than BMO had quoted me over the phone.


So I have an LOC now. I am really hoping not to use it. I am watching every penny going out right now, particulary in groceries and household, which is a big part of my variable expenses. Ideally I'd like to close the LOC once the work troubles are over.

2010 EF goal met

As it was payday on Sunday, I happily skipped with my baskets of money to plop them in the various targets. It goes quickly so I try to savour the experience.

Seeing as I was close to finishing my EF goal of $2000 this year, I decided to take my savings money and allocate it all to the EF. It now stands happily complete at $2000, for this year.

Next month I will take the money that was to go to the complete EF and Xmas 2010, and combine it with my RRSP money and put it all on my RRSP goal. Barring any unforseen events, I will have my RRSP goal complete by the end of September.

It's lovely to see some green on those bars. Such a festive colour.

Happy Wednesday.

Insurance Refunds

This is a wee shout out to those of you with medical insurance that covers things like dental, vision and medical.

How quickly does your insurer get your cheque back to you when you file?

DS2 ended up needing glasses a few weeks ago. I paid in full on my MCard. Dutifully I came home and filled in the forms. My husband has some coverage through his work and I have decent through mine. According to the  rules when filing for children, it must be filed first through the policy of whichever parent's bday fall first in the calendar year. That is husband's.  His will cover only a fraction of it. I will then send the forms from husband's insurer on to MY company for the remainder of what is covered.

We sent the forms in first thing a couple Fridays ago. That same day, I sent in forms to My insurer for the contact lens I got for myself the same day as I bought DS2's glasses. My refund for my contacts came in the following Tuesday. That's a whole 3 business days of mail going, being processed and cheque returning. I think that's pretty fantastic.

We are still waiting on the cheque from my husband's insurer. It seems like forever. Meanwhile the MC statement came and went. I covered it out of emergency savings. It' is a real pain in the hiney though knowing I have to file, wait, and file again to get all the parts.

Still, I am glad I have insurance...and emergency savings!!

2009 Summary - Part 2 - Savings

I really have never had any savings before. Sad, isn't it? A middle aged mom of two with no savings. There just never seemed to be enough money to live, let alone save. Go figure that making a reasonable budget and watching what I spent, could net me money for targetting savings. Crazy isn't it? LOL

Here were my goals for 2009

1) EF to $1500



Well part way through the spring I realized I couldn’t quite achieve all the things I wished to achieve if this was at $1500 so I changed it to $1000. This gave me a huge sense of relief. This winter I decided I was now in a position to make a  regular $50 contribution each month to the EF. As of Dec 25th this is now at $1200.


2) Fully fund Xmas 2009 of $1000


I achieved this early on, just slamming money onto this target as fast as I could. I ended up using more than the $1000 but boy was it nice to have it there. I will cut costs again this coming year I hope. I am going again with $1000 for xmas 2010 and can put $85 towards this.


3) New Vehicle Downpayment


This wasn’t an original goal but was added part way through the year. I decided it was time to get ready for a new vehicle, so that when the time came, I HAD a down payment. I managed to tuck $2500 away and then used it in June when I bought my new Torrent. It was such a great feeling to be able to say ‘yes’ when they asked if I had a down payment.


4) RRSP of $1500


Well this one changed and morphed throughout the year. I ended up changing it to $1000 so I could meet my other goals and boy what a relief it was. I achieved this goal and for the first time, I will be able to buy an RRSP. I know it’s just a teeny one but it’s a start. Next year I’ll morph that up to $1500. A lovely FIRST for me.

5) Summer 2010 - $1000

This one also got added in during the fall. I decided I  needed to have money there and ready to go so that the boys and I could enjoy summer activities knowing there was money put aside. I have to admit that I am envious of our friends who go on holidays then to exotic places, or who own a cabin and spend the summer there.  While I can't give my kids those kinds of summers, now I can give them something.

That wraps up my saving for the year. I loved every minute of it. SO empowering. I just added it up. $7500 saved.  Holy wow!!!!

Achieved another goal or two

One of my goals to cross of my Fall 'to do' list was to snowflake $600 (just slightly over the equivalent of one payment) towards my consolidated loan. With the $ left over from my jars, along with a few other sources, I have acheived that. I needed $152 and I made it with $160.

I had planned to keep $50 or 25%, whichever was lowest, from my jar leftovers, to tuck into a little home emergency fund. Having a very heavy back to school expense month, I was not able to do this AND achieve the goal, so it is all going to the consolidated loan. I will take that in, Monday at noon, to the bank. BMO does not allow one to transfer $ online as a lump sum to a loan, which is a pity. With the bank only open til 4 PM Mon to Thurs, and being busy most noons and after school, getting there takes a bit of organizing and patience.

The other goal I accomplished was to get $400 aside for my new targets (Xmas2010, RRSP 2010, Summer 2010 and up my EF) As I have now maxed out on pension contributions for the year via work, I have the money to do this. wheee. I can take that in to my second bank next week sometime, or I can simply deposit in via the ATM as all those items go in one savings account, and I just mentally keep track of how much each category has.

I have only to decide if I am going to put $100 in each of the four categories, or wriggle it around. I will have to play with those numbers today.

I love the feeling of payday when I can distribute money to my different spots. It is rather empowering.

With these two goals done, what is next.....another $600 lump sum towards the consolidated loan! Bring it on!!!!

Looking over my Fall Goals

In August, I revamped my goals to meet my changing needs. The previous ones weren't fitting my comfort level and were causing me great stress.

To date, I have several of them completed, which is a great feeling.

a) Pay off the MC/Visa for this summer, the T trip and this current (and costly) week away in hotel for sports camp (Done)
b) Pay off all the back to school bills such as supplies, a few new clothes, school fees, and start up costs for their extra curricular activities (Done)
c) Max out my first ever RRSP, which is small, but a start. (Done)
d) Make the equivalent of one month's lump sum payment to Loan #1. ($448 done, $152 to go)
e) Put some money in each of the new target bars
f) If there is anything left 'extra' by the end of December then put it towards more lump sum payments.
g) newly added: set aside $200 for new clothes purchase about end of Oct. (Done)

I am close to finishing d) so that is good. It would be nice if I had that much left when I finish my 'month' this Thursday night but I have to accept that may not happen.

New Goals:

• save $1000 for XMAS 2010
• save $1000 for summer 2010
• save $1500 for RRSP 2010
• save $500 more for my Emergency Fund

I am hoping to put a total of $800 towards my new goals by Christmas. I have not yet decided if I will distribute the money equally, or if I will allocate by time deadline. Obviously the summer 2010 will have to come first.

For paycheques September to December I have $125 to play with. My two options are to put it all towards summer 2010 or to put $75 to Summer and $50 to EF.

Once January comes, I 'think' I will have about $225 to use (raise). I honestly won't know how much until that cheque comes. Then I will be dividing up the $ between all four of the targets.

I will still be whapping as much extra as I can on the lump sum payments for the consolidated loan. I positively ACHE for that one to be finished.

An exciting goal reached

Today I ventured out in the bitter bitter -40C cold for a variety of errands, one of which being, going to the bank where I have my emergency savings account.

I had a cheque to cash of money that someone owed me, along with a refund cheque for Christmas gifts I had ordered which were backordered. I did not care for the replacement items so I had a refund come.

Together, those two lovely cheques brought me to my $1000 goal for a mini emergency fund. I'm so excited. I only started this quest in July and I am so pleased I was able to reach this goal......hell reach ANY goal and stick with it.

I now need to decide how to arrange my budget for Dec 25th pay cheque and decide on my goals for 2009.

I've never had a savings account before like this and I am excited about what I've done. It's only a wee drop in the bucket of what I should have, but it's a great mini goal done and accomplished. woo hoo me!

Emergency Funds

For the first time EVER I have an emergency fund started. My first goal is $1000 and I am almost there. It is a very strange feeling to know it is there should a true emergency come along.

After six months of reading personal finance blogs, I can see that this is one thing that PFers agree on. One is needed! Beyond that, the amount, the method of collecting it and when one should start one up varies like snowflakes.

I know that $1000 is just a teaspoonful of what I really should need but I keep saying "It's a start!! and more than I've ever done".

I found a great article over at Gail's website. Gail is the host of "Til debt do us part", which is a great show on SLICE TV (in Canada). You can see archived shows on there if you're interested.

I just started reading her blog and found a great one on Emergency Funds.