Wednesday 26 November 2008

Car shopping...um...dreaming



My favourite car out there these days is a Toyota FJ Cruiser. It's one of these. Of course it's out of the question right now, but it's nice to look. I'm not sure why I like them so much - they're the up to date version of the old Toyota LandCruiser - but I'm partial to Toyota, so that might have something to do with it. A co-worker has just bought a new Honda Fit, and I think that's what's started my daydreaming again.

I do this on occasion, although I simply can't afford a new car right now. It's kind of like perusing the real estate websites; I can't afford a house, but I like to see what's out there and what the prices are like. I just have to be a patient. Prices are bound to fall, there's going to be used vehicles for sale, I might just change my mind, etc. I went online and played around a little bit with pricing, interest rates, term, and down payments. A lease would work - if I had $15K to put down, which I don't. And a lease, unless you can write it off, is Not Good. Honestly, I just want something newer than my current one (an '81).

I was playing around with December's budget and because I get paid three times, I technically have a "free" paycheque. If I manage to just stick to my bills, plus some groceries, I should be able to put about $500 into each of my savings accounts! That's very exciting, particularly as I've already got my Christmas fund sorted out, so I won't (hopefully) need to draw anything from the paycheques to cover anything there.

I've decided to get my sister and brother in law gift certificates for Kiva or Heifer International. This way they can choose one or several loans to invest in or the gift of an animal for a needy family. I think it's perfect for them, particularly as they're trying to downsize and don't really need any more "stuff."

So my spending for the past several days looks like this:

Saturday
$6.57 water
$6.98 (2 x tea & breakfast sandwich)
$9.47 cat food

Sunday
$5.88 Starbuck's (a treat of steamed egg nog; felt I deserved it after my photo shoot the day before)
$41.98 yogs outfit from Reitman's (on sale; 40% off!) to replace old, shrunken workout pants
$39.47 Gail's Budget Binder

Monday
$103.14 "Bare Essentials" campaign through work (purchasing basic things like toothpaste, shampoo, etc. for women's shelters - that's the photo of "the stuff" at the top)
$4.02 tea and bagel at Timmy's
$28.84 for 69 5x7 pet photos (!)

I took the photos to the photo store downtown and said "Please don't make me take these to Wal-Mart!" The guy was awesome; I would have been happy with a price match (.97 cents for a 5x7 at Wally-World), but he printed them off for .39 cents apiece!! I am SO, SO, SO happy. I loathe Wal-Mart and really didn't want to spend money there, even if it was for charity.

Tuesday
$11.64 milk and snacks
$12.79 Quizno's (...haven't done a grocery shop yet...)

So, not too bad overall, considering about half of it was for charity, and I do get the money back for the photos.

5 comments:

Saver Queen said...

Thanks for posting the pic! Great work!
My email is saverqueen -at- gmail - dot - com.
Excellent idea about the Kiva and Heiffer Int. gift cards. It's such an excellent gift idea.
Oh, and I see you got Gail's budget binder! I am hoping to get it for xmas... (I've made some major hints!) let me know if you like it!

Sharon S said...

Hi there-you're doing soo well, keep up the good work! Love to know how good Gails binder is, very intriguing!! Hope you get to save as planned too, excellent idea!!

Anonymous said...

One can always dream right! I also keep an eye on the real estate...you just never know!

I'd also like to know how you find the budget binder - please do a review post!

Northern Living Allowance said...

Hi all,

Still awaiting the arrival of the budget binder, but will definitely do an update once I get it! I am really curious to see how it works.

dinah34 said...

hi there! i found your blog from Frugal Dreamers blogroll. i love the spring thaw in the yukon picture.

& i really want to know how gails budget binder is once you get it!