Saturday 13 December 2008

Weekly roundup



I was up before 6:30 this morning, scraping that darned ice off the truck at 6:45 and at SuperStore by 7:00. Their hours until Christmas: 6am - 12am!

I am determined NOT to do any more shopping (apart from, perhaps, some perishables) until the (Christmas) madness is over and I am not remotely patient enough to go during the weekend days or after work. One of the staff there said I sure had my timing right - about 10:00 and the place is a zoo. I figured it might be, which is why I wanted to get out there and just get it done. I had my list, but did I follow it? More or less...meaning that I got MOST stuff on it, but saw yummy things down every aisle, even though I had to pick my way around stockers, boxes, carts...I swear these things just jumped in on their own! There were no actual tills open (?), so I guess they want people to use the new self-checkouts instead, but as I was using my gift cards, I couldn't (they don't take cash). The lady at customer service opened a checkout for me. How fabulous! I am so glad to have that over and done with.

The grocery bill came to $180.91, but I've got loads and loads of stuff to keep me happy over the holidays, so I'm actually pretty happy with the amount I spent. I stocked up on pasta and rice (which I love) and which are great as leftovers for several days. I've also got a bunch of stuff to make a giant salad (spinach base, carrots, peppers, onions, cheese, eggs, tuna or chicken), and if I make it right, it should last me almost a week. I still have almost $100 left on my gift cards, too.

Once I got home, I did my dishes, cleaned my floor, my microwave, part of the bathroom and the stovetop (even took off the metal thingees and washed them), took out a bunch of garbage and removed my recycling to the truck. All before 10:30! I'm amazed at myself...but now I have my whole day to play :)

My spending since Wednesday looks like this:

Wednesday
Lunch at Tim Horton's $7.96 (on gift card)

Thursday
Amazon order $167.38 (from my Christmas money)
4 DVD box sets, 1 book

And just in case anyone's keeping track, that's five DVD box sets in one week: Planet Earth, Arrested Development S1, Coupling S1-4, Heroes S1, Sex & the City S1; Mastering Digital Photography was the book I chose. I'm pretty much set, as long as I can break my new addiction...

Thursday evening four of us got together to make pizza. It was really good! My share was about $15. Much cheaper than the dining out we've been doing the past little while.

Friday
Gas $44.15 (87.9!!!!! Wahoo! I NEVER thought I'd see it below a dollar, never mind .90 cents a litre)

I realize this is still high compared to eastern Ontario (my friends in Kingston are paying 67.9L right now), but for the North, it's pretty awesome.

I've made a couple of phone calls, too. One was to the cell phone company. My current contract is up in June '09 and I was hoping I could make some adjustments, but it's actually cheaper for me to keep what I've got now and renegotiate when the contract is up. I'll probably look at pre-paid or pay-as-you-go, because I use nowhere near the 40 free minutes a month I currently have. I did find out that I've been throwing money pretty randomly at the cell phone bills and currently have a credit son my account of about $150! That means No payments for me for about 3 months.

The other call was to student loans to find out my current balance. It's come down a bit to $3264.22. Interest (out of interest) is .54 cents a day, and the rate has fallen 1/2% to 6%.

I also stopped by the cable provider to find out the status on my account. It turns out I have a credit there, too: $113. Wow! I've decided to cancel at the end of my cycle in Feb. Just in time for spring and the beginning of our long days.

This means that for the next two months, I have an extra $220 to throw at my debt. This will probably be my LOC and my student loan, as I'd like to see higher and lower numbers respectively in those.

I have to take my princess to the vet on Monday (the calico in the photo). She has another ear infection that I want to clear up before it gets worse. I don't want another "worst I've ever seen" infection. Poor princess. I also went to the doctor to refill some prescriptions and visited my bank to discuss RRSP mutual fund options. There are a couple that I'm interested in, so I just have to get a printout of my account information and can get myself set up.

So I'm feeling quite productive these days, checking things off my list of to do's. I have some time off over the holidays (not much, as I decided to take three shifts at the liquor store to help out) and I want to poke through my closets and bookshelves and find things I can get rid of. I'm in a purging mood, probably because another new year is right around the corner.

One day over the holidays will be devoted to Boxing Week sales (when did Boxing Day morph into Boxing Week exactly?). I am looking for snowshoes and x-country skis and accoutrements. The winter weather here is too damn nice to spend inside ALL the time.

4 comments:

dinah34 said...

you have been productive. it sound like you did a good shop at superstore and i love shopping there first thing in the morning too. it's nice and quiet

Anonymous said...

wow. you are so amazing. i can barely get out of bed by 10:30, haha.

Saver Queen said...

i hope your sweet princess gets her ear infection cleared up soon!

Sharon S said...

Hi there-wow, what a productive weekend, keep up the good work my dear, and hugs to your Princess too!