Travel plans...OFF!

Travel plans for September have been, essentially, cancelled. D was called for jury duty - starting September 14, the day after we were supposed to have left for the trip. He tried to explain this, but short of mental/physical incapacity, he's got to show up. Whether this is for jury selection or for the start of the trial, I'm not sure, but regardless, it messes up the travel. So, my disappointment was profound, to say the least, but I've moved on. Obviously we just aren't meant to go right now, so this means that I can save up a little longer and have a little extra money to spend when we get there (wherever it happens to be).

This also leaves me with more holidays to play around with and have taken some time in October & November. My schedule works in such a way that the Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day stats fall into a week where if I take only two days holiday, I get nine straight days off. So I've done that. Air North always has deals for long weekends Outside, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for some around that time. It's not the same as the much anticipated road trip, but we can do that next year.

My side bars have been updated and I'm really pleased with my saving progress, although I do admit to spending a lot, too. I just really have a hard time keeping my fingers off my debit card (so maybe I should take it out of my wallet??). I've bought a lot of stuff this month, including sending my sister some money to pay for shipping some pieces of furniture to me (I bought this from her and my BIL last year when I was visiting. Now that they're heading to Edinburgh, it's time for them to start clearing out). And as there are still several more pieces to come, I'll be out of pocket for that over the next few weeks, too. But that was part of the agreement I made with them - I got an outrageous deal on the actual furniture, and I would pay to have it shipped. I'm still keen for it to arrive, so I can arrange it and take photos. It's really lovely stuff!

I've made an appointment to see my account manager at the bank, too, as my fees this month were nearly $40, which is outrageous! I realize I will still have to pay a fee for debiting and banking on my own account, but it will be a very small, fixed amount compared to this. I do my banking online and each time money is taken out of my account, whether to pay a bill, add to my savings, etc. I get charged (I think it's .65 - .85 per transaction) and I do approximately 25 - 30 transactions a month. I am okay with paying a fixed fee, as long as it's reasonable (less than $10 p/month), and this is what I'm aiming for with my account manager next week, as well as boosting my RSP auto-savings a little bit.

So, this is how I used my last two paycheques in August:

Rent: $700
Gift Fund: $50
LOC: $50
Rev Can: $110
Student Loan: $85
Rent (svgs) account: $50
ING: $150
USD: $98 (bought at par from hotel)
VISA: $67.96 (from travel a/c & planned spending a/c)
Brakes: $40 (D is going to fix these for me and that's my share for parts)
Jars: $260
Allowance: $40

Total spent: $1700.96
Total pay: $2044.12 (both jobs)
Total remaining: $343.16

Total debt remaining: $3977.89
Total debt paid: $312.96!

It was a good pay day, as my overtime came through. I'm pleased to have so much left over, too. Although I realize it could be applied to my debt, I don't like having nothing in the bank. As well, my job at the hotel is winding up and I won't be working there after the Labour Day weekend (I put in my notice. I don't want to get up at 5:30am on -40C mornings anymore!), so I'll be losing $400 extra a month after that. If that hurts too much, I will go back to a second job, but right now I am learning to value my free time a lot more. It means that it will take me a little longer to get out of debt than I had wanted, but at least I'll be out of Rev Can's thrall by the end of December - with my extra $10 bi-weekly, it's really bringing the total down faster! Yahoo!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I've been enjoying reading your blogs, even though I haven't been around much. Always motivating and inspiring! :)