Friday 11 September 2009

Paycheque Designation Day!

Another month, another paycheque or two. Raise your hands if you can believe it's already (the middle of) September? No. Me neither!

But it's my favourite time of the year, so I'm happy it's here, despite the fact that it means summer really is over - for the most part - and we're starting to get a lot of rain. It's definitely cooler and our days are noticeably shorter, too. At least the mornings seem to stay clear and it means I can walk to work.

My last day at the hotel was on Monday. There were two of us working and I actually left an hour early because it was so quiet! No point paying two people to do a whole lot of nothing. Regardless, I feel it's somewhere I can return to if I wanted or needed to in the future, but right now I really want the time. I don't remember the last time my house got cleaned or I spent any part of a day just reading a book and now I can. I am also keen to be getting a lot more use out of my camera, which sits idle most days, simply because I'm not around to use it.

One of the first things I did after leaving the hotel was to play around with my budget (muchas gracias to Fabulously Broke in the City for her amazing Excel budget! And so pretty....) and actually punch numbers into it to get an idea of whether I can live on one job. It turns out - with a few 'aha!' moments, some 'oops!' moments and some tweaking - that, yes, I most definitely can. I just have to be smarter with my money. This month I'm fine. Even after quitting the hotel, I still get one more paycheque from them at the end of the month, which will help. I AM going to carry over some cash in my account this month, because October and November are going to be tight and I want a little bit of a cushion.

My auto-transfer to my LOC is all set up (I decided on $100 a month for now, instead of $150, just because it's tight some months), and I've also adjusted the monthly amount that gets transferred to my ING savings accounts. I've decreased it to $120 from $150. I'd rather save something than nothing at all, so $10 per account keeps me happy and also allows for a little flexibility when I have a month where I'm making more (or spending less!) and can add extra.

So, my paycheques this week were dispursed as follows:

Phone/Internet: $141
TFSA (rent): $100 ($50 extra)
RRSP: $150 ($25 extra)
Hydro: $50 (I'm actually in a credit balance this month, and wanted to be next month, too)
Savings: $135 ($75 extra)
Gift: $50
Jars: $260
Allowance: $40
Groceries: $37.04

Total income: $1429.73
Total spent: $963.04
Total remaining: $466.69

So...that, apparently, is that! It took me until today to figure out why there weren't more bills: I'VE PAID THEM. My student loan and my Rev Canada debt are GONE!! I also paid off my Visa card, but have since registered to have a monthly donation of $10 charged to it for the Humane Society. I'm fine with this, as that's something I can easily set up to have autopaid. It's for my charity of choice and right now is the best I can do, money wise at least, for them. When my LOC is paid off, then I will increase my monthly donation.

I was invited to D's naming ceremony tomorrow (where he'll be receiving his Tlingit name), and I said I would go, but he heard the hesitation in my voice and told me I really didn't have to if I would be uncomfortable. There are going to be around 300 people there - this is just his dad's side of the family! - and he has duties to take care of (there's a potlatch and also the placing of his grandma's headstone), so I'd be left alone for a lot of the time. Okay, so I'm a big girl, right? This isn't about me, but is still hugely intimidating, although it would be a wonderful experience. So he instead suggested we go to his parents' house on Sunday for dinner, so I could (finally) meet them. I'm wondering now which event is less intimidating!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you have everything working out for you, which is great!! :) And enjoy your "you-time"