I've been away all week and have just spent a couple of hours getting caught up on all your blogs. Everyone's been really busy! Holly is working on her 101 list and gave blood (!); Frugal Trenches is focussing on what she needs to make sure her life-puzzle pieces fit together well; Frugal Dreamer is doing great with her monthly goals...
It's so inspiring to have so many people on the same journey and be able to follow the success's, the slips and the recoveries. It's exciting to read how everybody reaches their goals each month - or does their very best - and continues to find different goals each month. I'm learning so much from reading all the blogs that it's almost more fun to just read and not write! :-)
I've had a week away working in Dawson City. It's a pretty quiet community and more so now that a lot of places have closed for the season. I'm not sure what the permanent population is, but it hovers somewhere around 1,800 I think. It's the third largest community in the Yukon and has a comparatively big library, which is a school/public library combination. This poses its own challenges when it comes to automation, but we were there to weed books and spent 4 very full days pulling items that hadn't been borrowed in five years off the shelves. We ended up with about 60 boxes - and we're only half done! It will mean a return trip to finish it, but it's a pretty good start. At this point, I'm not sure we'll get back before spring, as we hit snow flurries just north of Stewart Crossing (about 3 hrs north of Whitehorse) on our trip back. The road will probably close in the next month or so...
Because I was travelling for work, the spending this week was a little all over the place. I also made a visit to the animal shelter and bought some food for the dogs, which bumped up the total (but just a bit...ahem...). I missed the chance the last time I was up there in August, so wanted to make sure I made it this time. It was nice to see it and although it's small, they definitely do what they can. Right now they only have four dogs and four cats, so they're doing "better" than we are - some of our dogs are doubled up.
My spending for the week is as follows:
$240 cash: Meals for most of the week, including half the cost of taking the librarian and her boyfriend out for dinner on Thursday evening (Dawson ain't cheap!); some small groceries and shampoo/conditioner because I managed to leave mine at home; and a thank-you gift for my co-worker who cared for my cats while I was gone! :-(
$178.50: 3 giant bags of dog food for the shelter (that's with the musher's discount). The manager is a great girl, super chatty and even donated some food for residents of the Whitehorse Humane Society!
$45.79: 2 breakfasts at the hotel + lunch for my co-worker and I at our stop in Carmacks on the way home on Friday
Grand total: $464.29
Except for the dog food donation, I will get all my expenses back and probably MAKE money from that. The per diem's of the Yukon Government are quite ridiculous, so I'm not complaning because if I've figured it out right, I should get almost $600 back. On top of that, I worked 16 hours of overtime this week. As I have no choice but to get paid out for that, that should add approximately another $500, too.
It was exhausting work - because we were so focused on getting as much done as we possibly could, the longest time I was out was an hour & a half on my trek to the shelter! Gah...
But I'm off work starting Friday, and off to Victoria on the 8th, which I'm looking forward to. I'm really excited about my time off: a little shopping, a little eating and a lot of catching up with my friends. :-)
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Monday, 22 September 2008
Sunday, 21 September 2008
A weekly round-up
Well, it hasn't my best week to date by any stretch of imagination, but apart from mad spending on DVD box sets on Monday and Tuesday (which, as Frugal Dreamer says, will keep me entertained for weeks now), I also bought a plane ticket and BCAA coverage for my truck.
I've been saving for my trip to Victoria since about January and had just over $1500 to this point. Airline prices have gone up so I paid $100 more for my ticket than I would have last year, but there's nothing I can do about that. I have two airline choices to get Outside: Air Canada ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) or Air North ($$$). My total, then, for my return flight on Air North (taking into consideration the minimum two-week discount) is $628.25. This has already been pre-paid onto my Visa card, and I still have plenty of funds to use in Victoria. Plus I have a paycheque this week and in two weeks' time, when I'm actually there, so there's still a little time to plump up the travel funds until I leave in October. I'm actually taking 10 days off after much mulling and thought because I haven't had a holiday in two years, I work every weekend and sometimes taking care of yourself and relaxing is worth more than a paycheque. I've reached that point, as I want some time to get a few things done around the apartment. With one day off a week, lots of stuff just gets pushed aside for "later."
I bought roadside assistance again because with a very old truck (by vehicle standards - she's 27) it's a peace of mind that I need through our very long, very cold winters. Last year I used it twice in two weeks: once for a tow ($125) and once for unlocking the truck ($60) when I shut the keys in it (it was -43C that morning...), and for $70 for the year, I definitely got my money's worth. I feel it's well worth the cost, even if I don't have to use it this year.
I've got two trips that I'd like to do next year, so I'm going to be very careful with what I spend while I'm away this time. I found a pamphlet about Horsepacking Trips of 1 - 8 days, which I thought was really fortunate, as I've wanted to do something like this for years! Of course, I've decided on a 7 night trek (may as well make it worthwhile, right?) for $2188 and a driving trip to the South-West US. This was just decided today with a co-worker of mine and we're looking at next September, so there's lots of time to plan, etc. Two things in particular may halt the trip, namely a road-worthy vehicle and whether my friend will still be in Canada (she's German) as she'll need permanent resident status to do any travelling! So...planning is fun, but I'll need a contigency plan in case it doesn't work out.
Spending this week (apart from the above):
Lunch on Friday with a friend: $7.98
Groceries: $16.49 (inc. $10 for 16 kg of cat litter)
New shirt: $31.50 (this was on sale, plus I also saved $5 by exchanging a pair of pants). Another want, I admit, but it looks really cute! Ha! :-)
Another week of travel ahead of me. 5 days no driving (not really counting the fact I'm driving to pick up a government vehicle Monday morning and leaving my truck until Friday when I need to get home). Plus I'm going to get loads of overtime from my week of travel, plus another reimbursement cheque for it, so I should be fine with keeping my expenses and savings about where they currently are.
But first there's a 5 a.m. start...blah!
I've been saving for my trip to Victoria since about January and had just over $1500 to this point. Airline prices have gone up so I paid $100 more for my ticket than I would have last year, but there's nothing I can do about that. I have two airline choices to get Outside: Air Canada ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) or Air North ($$$). My total, then, for my return flight on Air North (taking into consideration the minimum two-week discount) is $628.25. This has already been pre-paid onto my Visa card, and I still have plenty of funds to use in Victoria. Plus I have a paycheque this week and in two weeks' time, when I'm actually there, so there's still a little time to plump up the travel funds until I leave in October. I'm actually taking 10 days off after much mulling and thought because I haven't had a holiday in two years, I work every weekend and sometimes taking care of yourself and relaxing is worth more than a paycheque. I've reached that point, as I want some time to get a few things done around the apartment. With one day off a week, lots of stuff just gets pushed aside for "later."
I bought roadside assistance again because with a very old truck (by vehicle standards - she's 27) it's a peace of mind that I need through our very long, very cold winters. Last year I used it twice in two weeks: once for a tow ($125) and once for unlocking the truck ($60) when I shut the keys in it (it was -43C that morning...), and for $70 for the year, I definitely got my money's worth. I feel it's well worth the cost, even if I don't have to use it this year.
I've got two trips that I'd like to do next year, so I'm going to be very careful with what I spend while I'm away this time. I found a pamphlet about Horsepacking Trips of 1 - 8 days, which I thought was really fortunate, as I've wanted to do something like this for years! Of course, I've decided on a 7 night trek (may as well make it worthwhile, right?) for $2188 and a driving trip to the South-West US. This was just decided today with a co-worker of mine and we're looking at next September, so there's lots of time to plan, etc. Two things in particular may halt the trip, namely a road-worthy vehicle and whether my friend will still be in Canada (she's German) as she'll need permanent resident status to do any travelling! So...planning is fun, but I'll need a contigency plan in case it doesn't work out.
Spending this week (apart from the above):
Lunch on Friday with a friend: $7.98
Groceries: $16.49 (inc. $10 for 16 kg of cat litter)
New shirt: $31.50 (this was on sale, plus I also saved $5 by exchanging a pair of pants). Another want, I admit, but it looks really cute! Ha! :-)
Another week of travel ahead of me. 5 days no driving (not really counting the fact I'm driving to pick up a government vehicle Monday morning and leaving my truck until Friday when I need to get home). Plus I'm going to get loads of overtime from my week of travel, plus another reimbursement cheque for it, so I should be fine with keeping my expenses and savings about where they currently are.
But first there's a 5 a.m. start...blah!
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Uh-oh...
I have NOT been good the past several days. Not at all. I went shopping on the weekend with a friend and ended up with two pairs of new pants that would fall into that big gray area of "needs that I wanted".
I have about 8 pairs of cords (I LOVE cords), but most of them don't fit me anymore, so keeping in mind of the coming cold months, I decided to find a nice pair that I could actually be comfortable in. I picked up one pair ($27) and a pair of jeans ($32), but am going to return the jeans for another pair of cords on the weekend. They're much warmer for winter and jeans are just jeans, really. I have three pairs and that's sufficient for now.
My friend, however, picked up the lunch tab, which was really nice of her. So we got to visit (rare) AND I got a free lunch out of it, so I certainly can't complain about that. After lunch, we swung by the grocery store and I picked up a few things for the animal shelter that they needed. I set aside about $80 a month for the shelter (it can buy a lot of food or supplies) and spent $73.73, which falls well into my monthly budget for this, so that's my charity dollars spent for September. I've also offered some more of my time, to help clean the cat cages on at least one weekend day, which will give my friend some well-deserved time off.
I finished watching the second season of Weeds on Sunday night and this of course prompted me to rush out on Monday and start spending blithely at the store (not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the Evil Empire and other people can spend their money there, but not me!). Honestly, it was almost embarrassing...
Season 2 of Ugly Betty
Season 3 of Weeds
Season 1 of The Office
Season 1 of Pushing Daisies
Final installment of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Grand total: $209.94!!
I share them with co-workers, and I borrow on occasion too. I currently have Season 1 of Northern Exposure, Charlie's Angels (the Series) and a Canadian show called Slings & Arrows to watch.
But that still doesn't really excuse my mad purchases. I'm trying not to watch as much cable, so I suppose I'm justifying my spending that way, but still...I guess I'll have to use my "mad money" account to cover those expenditures.
I also spent $45.39 at the drug store getting a few things that I needed. Some is going to be used right away, some will be good for quite some time. I needed a spacious cosmetics case to take travelling with me, as the one I have now barely contains the half dozen things I take with me. The new one has space to spare, so I'm really pleased.
I did get confirmation that my very first investment has been received and set up with Investors Group. It's ostensibly a house fund and I've also started a $50 per month automatic debit with them into an RSP. With all the horror stories around about defaulting and bankruptcy-protection seeking insurance companies, it's a little nervewracking to be making decisions like that, but I really don't think there's anything that we can do except trust a little in "the system" and know that it will recover, it just won't be overnight. I'm still convinced that saving and investing are safe enough. Although the rates aren't staggering at this this time, I believe that a little return is still a positive return.
It's far better than no return at all!
I have about 8 pairs of cords (I LOVE cords), but most of them don't fit me anymore, so keeping in mind of the coming cold months, I decided to find a nice pair that I could actually be comfortable in. I picked up one pair ($27) and a pair of jeans ($32), but am going to return the jeans for another pair of cords on the weekend. They're much warmer for winter and jeans are just jeans, really. I have three pairs and that's sufficient for now.
My friend, however, picked up the lunch tab, which was really nice of her. So we got to visit (rare) AND I got a free lunch out of it, so I certainly can't complain about that. After lunch, we swung by the grocery store and I picked up a few things for the animal shelter that they needed. I set aside about $80 a month for the shelter (it can buy a lot of food or supplies) and spent $73.73, which falls well into my monthly budget for this, so that's my charity dollars spent for September. I've also offered some more of my time, to help clean the cat cages on at least one weekend day, which will give my friend some well-deserved time off.
I finished watching the second season of Weeds on Sunday night and this of course prompted me to rush out on Monday and start spending blithely at the store (not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the Evil Empire and other people can spend their money there, but not me!). Honestly, it was almost embarrassing...
Season 2 of Ugly Betty
Season 3 of Weeds
Season 1 of The Office
Season 1 of Pushing Daisies
Final installment of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Grand total: $209.94!!
I share them with co-workers, and I borrow on occasion too. I currently have Season 1 of Northern Exposure, Charlie's Angels (the Series) and a Canadian show called Slings & Arrows to watch.
But that still doesn't really excuse my mad purchases. I'm trying not to watch as much cable, so I suppose I'm justifying my spending that way, but still...I guess I'll have to use my "mad money" account to cover those expenditures.
I also spent $45.39 at the drug store getting a few things that I needed. Some is going to be used right away, some will be good for quite some time. I needed a spacious cosmetics case to take travelling with me, as the one I have now barely contains the half dozen things I take with me. The new one has space to spare, so I'm really pleased.
I did get confirmation that my very first investment has been received and set up with Investors Group. It's ostensibly a house fund and I've also started a $50 per month automatic debit with them into an RSP. With all the horror stories around about defaulting and bankruptcy-protection seeking insurance companies, it's a little nervewracking to be making decisions like that, but I really don't think there's anything that we can do except trust a little in "the system" and know that it will recover, it just won't be overnight. I'm still convinced that saving and investing are safe enough. Although the rates aren't staggering at this this time, I believe that a little return is still a positive return.
It's far better than no return at all!
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Weekend Round-Up
My day off today! So it's time to do some things around the house - dishes, laundry, hang some plastic in the windows (one down, but have been putting off doing the rest because I have to fiddle around the blinds, so it's a bit time consuming), and go for lunch and shopping with a friend.
On the shopping list today: a new winter jacket, something in between my parka and my windbreaker; a really skookum pair of gloves as I seem to have real trouble keeping my hands warm in the winter; and I have to remember to pick up my prescription! I have a savings account that will be suitable "mad money" for these items, so I won't have to be putting it on a credit card or taking it out of an account that I need.
My biggest expense this week was a vet bill for $510.65 for my cat Bylaw, who had a dental appointment. I was expecting it to be twice that, actually, so I was - dare I say it? - pleasantly surprised to hear the amount. The reason it's "so cheap" is that Bylaw didn't need any extractions, which I'm curious about. Maybe that's another visit...Regardless, it came from the vet account, and I paid by debit, so no credit card interest!
I did spend $66.42 on groceries & cat food, too. Not bad, but instead of doing the smart thing and "shopping" at home first, I picked up 4 loaves of bread for a really good price only to find I had 4 already in the freezer at home! So, I reckon I'm good for bread for about 6 months now, as I don't eat as much bread as I used to! Granted, this was a last minute shop instead of a planned one, so not surprising I bought stuff I didn't need!
I spent three days in a workshop this week, where all meals were supplied, so all I needed (oops! "wanted") was my tea from Tim's to start my day off right. To top it off, I'll be getting a little overtime as I was involved in presenting at the workshop. Yay! And I'm still waiting for a reimbursement cheque for a trip at the end of August. That will likely arrive sometime next week and should add just over $100 to my finances.
So, despite a couple of big spends, it's actually not as bad as I thought and I STILL have lots left in my chequing account!
On the shopping list today: a new winter jacket, something in between my parka and my windbreaker; a really skookum pair of gloves as I seem to have real trouble keeping my hands warm in the winter; and I have to remember to pick up my prescription! I have a savings account that will be suitable "mad money" for these items, so I won't have to be putting it on a credit card or taking it out of an account that I need.
My biggest expense this week was a vet bill for $510.65 for my cat Bylaw, who had a dental appointment. I was expecting it to be twice that, actually, so I was - dare I say it? - pleasantly surprised to hear the amount. The reason it's "so cheap" is that Bylaw didn't need any extractions, which I'm curious about. Maybe that's another visit...Regardless, it came from the vet account, and I paid by debit, so no credit card interest!
I did spend $66.42 on groceries & cat food, too. Not bad, but instead of doing the smart thing and "shopping" at home first, I picked up 4 loaves of bread for a really good price only to find I had 4 already in the freezer at home! So, I reckon I'm good for bread for about 6 months now, as I don't eat as much bread as I used to! Granted, this was a last minute shop instead of a planned one, so not surprising I bought stuff I didn't need!
I spent three days in a workshop this week, where all meals were supplied, so all I needed (oops! "wanted") was my tea from Tim's to start my day off right. To top it off, I'll be getting a little overtime as I was involved in presenting at the workshop. Yay! And I'm still waiting for a reimbursement cheque for a trip at the end of August. That will likely arrive sometime next week and should add just over $100 to my finances.
So, despite a couple of big spends, it's actually not as bad as I thought and I STILL have lots left in my chequing account!
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Semi-Daily Tracking Continued, Sept 10
I'm not particularly consistent with my updates, am I? My Internet was acting up for a couple of days, so I haven't been able to post as this isn't something I should be doing at work. I started an update yesterday, but got distracted before I got much done, so don't remember where I wanted to go with it.
But it's a new day today and it doesn't matter what didn't get done yesterday.
On Sunday I worked at the hotel and spent $1.92 on my tea from Tim's (I admit, it's an addicition - I'm naming them "Tim-ergencies" from now on...). It's a nice routine, but when the temperatures plummet to -40C, I refuse to apologize for a hot drink to get me going in the morning!
For breakfast I would have bought some pancakes (a weakness), but the server offered to share an omelette with me, so I took advantage of that instead. It was a really good omelette. :-)
Over the past couple of days I've worked on my September goals, so despite the fact they're late this is what I've come up with (in no particular order):
1) Finish my 101 Things in 1001 Days list (wow...this is challenging)
2) Save all my change, including my twoonies to roll and put in the bank (I need the loonies for laundry)
3) Read "Smart Women Finish Rich" and do the accompanying exercises
4) Ensure that my overtime and my travel reimbursements are designated to both debt and my savings accounts as equally as possible.
5) Get a copy of my Canada Pension Plan update
6) Ask financial advisor about "pre-tax" investing and whether this is realistic
I got part of my travel reimbursements yesterday and deposited the cheque today. I have one more coming and have another whole week of travel coming up, so can expect more sometime in October (this travel thing is fun!). The upcoming travel also means quite a lot of overtime as well, so this bodes well for my debt repayment and savings accounts.
I'm planning a 10-day trip Outside in mid-October to Victoria to visit my friends. Now that my storage locker has been taken care of, I can spend all my time relaxing and visiting with people, which will be really nice. I want to be independent instead of relying on other people to get me around, so I'm hoping to rent a car for the time I'm there. As it happens, I got a renewal letter for BCAA yesterday as well and it turns out that Hertz rentals offers discounts to BCAA members! So while renting a car isn't cheap, at least I can save some money if I decide to do it. I'm going to do a little research into it and see what the offer looks like before I make a final decision.
The trip, however, will be "free time" for me, as I don't get paid holidays from my job, so I have to be careful how I spend while I'm gone. I just have to stay focused and not go crazy with the shopping opportunities that I just don't have here.
But it's a new day today and it doesn't matter what didn't get done yesterday.
On Sunday I worked at the hotel and spent $1.92 on my tea from Tim's (I admit, it's an addicition - I'm naming them "Tim-ergencies" from now on...). It's a nice routine, but when the temperatures plummet to -40C, I refuse to apologize for a hot drink to get me going in the morning!
For breakfast I would have bought some pancakes (a weakness), but the server offered to share an omelette with me, so I took advantage of that instead. It was a really good omelette. :-)
Over the past couple of days I've worked on my September goals, so despite the fact they're late this is what I've come up with (in no particular order):
1) Finish my 101 Things in 1001 Days list (wow...this is challenging)
2) Save all my change, including my twoonies to roll and put in the bank (I need the loonies for laundry)
3) Read "Smart Women Finish Rich" and do the accompanying exercises
4) Ensure that my overtime and my travel reimbursements are designated to both debt and my savings accounts as equally as possible.
5) Get a copy of my Canada Pension Plan update
6) Ask financial advisor about "pre-tax" investing and whether this is realistic
I got part of my travel reimbursements yesterday and deposited the cheque today. I have one more coming and have another whole week of travel coming up, so can expect more sometime in October (this travel thing is fun!). The upcoming travel also means quite a lot of overtime as well, so this bodes well for my debt repayment and savings accounts.
I'm planning a 10-day trip Outside in mid-October to Victoria to visit my friends. Now that my storage locker has been taken care of, I can spend all my time relaxing and visiting with people, which will be really nice. I want to be independent instead of relying on other people to get me around, so I'm hoping to rent a car for the time I'm there. As it happens, I got a renewal letter for BCAA yesterday as well and it turns out that Hertz rentals offers discounts to BCAA members! So while renting a car isn't cheap, at least I can save some money if I decide to do it. I'm going to do a little research into it and see what the offer looks like before I make a final decision.
The trip, however, will be "free time" for me, as I don't get paid holidays from my job, so I have to be careful how I spend while I'm gone. I just have to stay focused and not go crazy with the shopping opportunities that I just don't have here.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Daily Tracking September 6
I'm spending my day off puttering about and trying to get caught up on a few things. I did a big load of laundry, which washed while I went out for an hour to pick up a few things.
After my financial boost of cancelling a couple of unncessary things over the past week or so, I didn't do particuarly well today, even though I made a list before I went out.
Cat litter
Water (x2 or 3): ...
Cost: $0.59?? Wow! Somebody certainly made a mistake in my favour when ringing through my 12 bottles of water! Whoops... :-P
I wanted to stock up on the flats of 35, but they were sold out. I realize it's sort of stupid to BUY water, but I recycle the bottles and donate the proceeds to the Humane Society.
Total: $11.62
Pillows: x2.
My pillows were awful. Constant pounding and "fluffing" didn't help, so I bit the bullet and bought two new ones today. I took my older pillows (I had 4) to charity, as they're still okay, I just haven't been sleeping very well lately, so I updated the pillows and hope they'll help.
2 pillows: $16
6 rolls paper towel: $5.00
Also purchased was a travel bag, as I don't have one that suffices for short trips. I don't need a regular sized suitcase for a weekend away, so this will be a good compromise and is the perfect size for carry-on luggage for a plane, too.
Travel bag: $15
Total: $37.80
And the unnecessary purchases (I was swayed by the colours...):
3 new towels: $20.95
The old towels will be donated to the Humane Society for their monthly dog wash as they're still in good enough shape to use for quite a few dogs!
I made a dozen muffins this afternoon, too, so I have snacks to take to work for the next few days. I've only paid for one visit to Tim Horton's this week, too, as one co-worker paid for my tea and another owed me one. :-)
Travel plans for Dawson City are in the works for the week of September 22. It's going to be way more work than the last time we were there in August as our task this time is to thoroughly weed the library and barcode some of the books in preparation for automation sometime in October.
This will be a LOT of work, but will equal some serious overtime. My status at work means that I have to get paid out for any overtime that I earn instead of taking it as time owing. Time owing would be a nice option in this case as I'm taking a few days off in mid-October and won't be getting paid for it. Everything should balance out okay as long as I designate the funds properly.
I'm still waiting (a bit impatiently) for my expense cheques from last month, too, but will get my overtime on my next paycheque on Wednesday. I'm not sure exactly how much I'll be getting, but it will be designated appropriately.
I also had some good news from a friend in Victoria today. She and I had been sharing a storage locker since just before I moved North two years ago. Today, she emptied it out! She's just bought a house and is going to keep my things for me. Not only does that save me $240 a year, I have a little refund of $30 due to me!
After my financial boost of cancelling a couple of unncessary things over the past week or so, I didn't do particuarly well today, even though I made a list before I went out.
Cat litter
Water (x2 or 3): ...
Cost: $0.59?? Wow! Somebody certainly made a mistake in my favour when ringing through my 12 bottles of water! Whoops... :-P
I wanted to stock up on the flats of 35, but they were sold out. I realize it's sort of stupid to BUY water, but I recycle the bottles and donate the proceeds to the Humane Society.
Total: $11.62
Pillows: x2.
My pillows were awful. Constant pounding and "fluffing" didn't help, so I bit the bullet and bought two new ones today. I took my older pillows (I had 4) to charity, as they're still okay, I just haven't been sleeping very well lately, so I updated the pillows and hope they'll help.
2 pillows: $16
6 rolls paper towel: $5.00
Also purchased was a travel bag, as I don't have one that suffices for short trips. I don't need a regular sized suitcase for a weekend away, so this will be a good compromise and is the perfect size for carry-on luggage for a plane, too.
Travel bag: $15
Total: $37.80
And the unnecessary purchases (I was swayed by the colours...):
3 new towels: $20.95
The old towels will be donated to the Humane Society for their monthly dog wash as they're still in good enough shape to use for quite a few dogs!
I made a dozen muffins this afternoon, too, so I have snacks to take to work for the next few days. I've only paid for one visit to Tim Horton's this week, too, as one co-worker paid for my tea and another owed me one. :-)
Travel plans for Dawson City are in the works for the week of September 22. It's going to be way more work than the last time we were there in August as our task this time is to thoroughly weed the library and barcode some of the books in preparation for automation sometime in October.
This will be a LOT of work, but will equal some serious overtime. My status at work means that I have to get paid out for any overtime that I earn instead of taking it as time owing. Time owing would be a nice option in this case as I'm taking a few days off in mid-October and won't be getting paid for it. Everything should balance out okay as long as I designate the funds properly.
I'm still waiting (a bit impatiently) for my expense cheques from last month, too, but will get my overtime on my next paycheque on Wednesday. I'm not sure exactly how much I'll be getting, but it will be designated appropriately.
I also had some good news from a friend in Victoria today. She and I had been sharing a storage locker since just before I moved North two years ago. Today, she emptied it out! She's just bought a house and is going to keep my things for me. Not only does that save me $240 a year, I have a little refund of $30 due to me!
Thursday, 4 September 2008
(Almost) Daily Tracking - September 3
I like that I'm actually beginning to understand this money stuff. I have a LONG way to go, don't get me wrong, but I'm finding that I like to see that I'm saving a dollar here, a dollar there...
The past couple of days have actually been pretty good in the grand scheme of things and will save me a total of $40 a month or $480 a year. Not insubstantial over the course of, say, 5 years: $2400. That's a pretty good injection into an Emergency Fund or into debt repayment, so I'm really pleased with that.
After several attempts at phoning to try and cancel my video game account over the past couple of days and getting nothing but a busy signal, I ended up going on-line to do it this afternoon, so I am now video game free (okay, as of the end of September, when the current pre-payment expires)! Hurrah! :-)
Savings: $15/mth
I also had to speak with my credit union (which is still in Victoria) about one issue yesterday and while I was on the phone, the service rep suggested a different account type for me. My current account is free everything, apart from visits to other ATMs. Whitehorse has no credit unions, only the "Big 5" chartered banks, so everytime I use a bank's ATM, I get dinged $1.50 from one of the "Big 5" plus $2.10 per transaction from the credit union in Victoria (I thought the ATM visits were free, but apparently that's only true if you use other credit union ATMs...there's always something!). Anyhow, those charges were costing me $10-$12 a month - I take my rent from the credit union account - and with the new account, I get 4 free withdrawals a month from a "not my bank" ATM for a flat fee of $5 a month, which will allow me to get my rent essentially for free!
Savings: $5/mth (approx)
I also deposited $28 in rolled coins into my bank account today, although I'm somewhat annoyed that as of September 1st, the interest rate has dropped by 0.75%! I've decided that I will put my Christmas gift funds into this account instead of saving for something radical, as it's not really an issue if I get a lot of interest on something like that.
My spending over the past couple of days looks like this. Not bad, but I can still improve.
Aug 30
Groceries
Water
Baking soda (x2)
Muffin mix
Organic milk (2L)
Green onions
Cucumber
Organic spinach
Sliced ham
Sliced turkey breast
Hummus
Total: $43.90
Sept 3
Groceries
Freezer bags
Plastic wrap
Red pepper
Raspberries
Gala apples
Cat food (x 10)
Sourdough bread
Turkey fillet
Sm. apple pie
And...oh my! I was charged two cents each for two plastic bags, which I'll have to remember, as I am constantly forgetting to bring my own cloth bags (and I have about 6...).
Total: $24.66
And I am currently working on two lists: one is the 101 Things in 1001 Days, which sounds like an excellent challenge (and is actually proving to be one as I wrack my brain trying to think of things to add to it!) as well as a 50x50 list - 50 things I want to do by the time I'm 50, because as I'm past 40 now, a 40x40 list is moot! That's a lot of thinking to do...
And sincere thanks to Canadian Saver for picking me as one of her "I Heart Your Blog" faves! I will try to "pay forward" the favour but I'm so new to this, I haven't had a chance to read all the fabulous PF blogs out there yet. This is motivation to start! :-)
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