Gutted...

RIP ELMO

October 8, 1996 - January 26, 2009

I lost Elmo today. He was the cat that even people who don't like cats like. They liked him because he was a huge dork.

I let him go because whatever the problem was too big and he was suffering. The vet couldn't even pinpoint what exactly was wrong with him (fluid on the lungs can indicate either heart failure or a tumour or some sort...somewhere), but it was time. <3

Updating

I've spent the past days getting caught up things and thinking about the always excellent and thought provoking advice and ideas re: paying down my debt.

I've decided - after reading all your advice several times - that I will take my house down payment amount and put it on my debt. My financial advisor said the same thing, and paradigmshifted made a good point in that once the debt is gone, savings build up incredibly fast. I'm going to save it until early Feb, after my interest and auto deposit go in, then transfer it and put it on my LOC.

I moved some more things over to my new place today with the help of a friend and we went for a coffee afterwards. I bought D a Quizno's sub for lunch and dropped it off for him at work. His truck broke down in the road this morning, so I had to drive him. His brakes had locked on him, so he had it in the shop by the time we got there and was working on it. It was a slow day for them, so fortunately he has the know how and the tools at the shop to be able to fix this sort of stuff.

It's been a pretty spendy week, and I've just finished the $200 I took out at the beginning of the month. Not bad - it lasted me about three weeks! However, because I'm in a bit of a state of flux with the move, my routine is a way off as far as making food goes and this, I hope, explains why it didn't last the whole month. I've kept only the bare essentials here and that has meant I've bought breakfast every day, although I have made lunch: a pb & jelly sandwich almost every day for two weeks, but I'm okay with that. Once I'm moved in, I can pick up my routine - or perhaps a better one! - and start making sure I've got plans and food for EVERY meal...and not just pb & jelly which let's face it, while tasty, is not exactly the best sort of meal I could be giving myself! :P

One of our grocery stores is shutting down (after 37 yrs in business!) because, ironically, it can't compete up here. We only have 5! But SuperStore is the biggest competition and it's simply not viable anymore. It's a shame as they have great produce, but admittedly I haven't shopped there as frequently as I could have. Starting on Feb 1, they will be discounting their prices, so I'm going to go and stock up on tins, bread, cat food/litter, that sort of thing. Along with many other people, I'm sure...I do feel somewhat guilty about taking advantage of another's misfortune, but why not get a deal where you can, right?

I have an interview on Wednesday morning for a new job, and there is a competition on the go at the library that I'll be applying for, too. In the meantime, my current position will most likely be extended to the end of February at this point. I'm actually ready for it to be over, to be honest, but I'm not going to turn down a few more weeks of full-time work, either. It's a little frustrating to be in a position that, on paper, looks great, but that can actually be quite exhausting. The interview on Wed is another supervisory position in a different department. I'm trying not to think too far ahead (i.e. what if I get it?) and look at the interview in and of itself as experience.

But I have an essay to start. My instructor told me not to panic about this first essay and to see how I do when I get it back, but there's a little part of me that is grateful he's given me this chance to "step up" and that I have to prove something to him. I think I need to just keep the gratitude and put the need to prove aside as it's getting in my way. The fact that I'm feeling motivated and enjoying the class should be what fuels my drive; plus a little of that "need to prove" which I need to internalize and use it to prove to myself that I can do this. Because ultimately, I'm the only one who'll be let down if I don't.

Need advice...

I'm having a "moment." One of those where my debt is starting to become a nag and I'm debating about putting some of my savings towards it to knock it down, although I know this is generally a bad idea, depending on what savings we're talking about.

My remaining debt stands at $7585 (more or less). My student loan is $2982, my LOC $4602. Both have the exact same interest rate - 6%. I have just over $1K sitting in my house down payment account and I'm debating whether or not it's worth it to pay off some of that nagging debt.

The student loan is a fixed loan, the LOC a revolving loan. As I would want to clear the debt, if I did do this, I would put the cash onto the student loan and just work on getting rid of it.

Soooo the question is: Is this something I should do or not? Advice & ideas welcome! :P

Frankenstein

I'm definitely feeling better today, although I wouldn't say 100% yet, but at least I'm more mobile, my fever and achiness has gone and my head is a bit clearer. I'm lucky in that I generally get really sick for about a day and then it seems to move on. I think the Ibuprofen I took when I got up helped, too.

I've been prompted to write a review on "Frankenstein" by Arual, who is currently reading the book. I have to admit here - like I did at the show - that I've never read it, so don't really have a good insight to any comparisons! Having seen the show, though, I think the book is going on my "to do" list. That's just to keep in mind as I don't know how Mary Shelley originally wrote the characters.

The basic review:

The production was put on by the Catalyst Theatre, from Edmonton. There were 8 actors who played a total of about 40 characters in total. It could have been very confusing, but it was beautifully done and we were able to follow along with no trouble at all.

The sets and costumes were very minimal, organic and Seuss-like in nature. The costumes and sets were mostly white - only a few characters had any colour to them - and seemed to be made of paper (the odd bit would fall off and they rustled slightly), which allowed the lighting to create quite dramatic effects. The first set consisted of the players and one very simple representation of a chateau. Lighting was kept to a miminum as well, so you had no choice but to pay attention to the actors and the story as it played out. The accompanying music was a beautiful mix of classical and modern and the story played out as part poem and part opera. By all accounts it was a really unique and modern take on a classic gothic story, almost balletic in parts.

The second set was my favourite. This was the graveyard where the trees and grave markers were very Suess-like, again, all white. The trees were tall, curly and slender and this is also where you met the monster for the first time, albeit briefly. The lighting and the accompanying music were what really set the mood for the darkening theme, which I really liked. While some shows rely a lot on background sets, this was simple and very effective with the "less is more" theme. One scene towards the end has the cast carrying umbrellas; old umbrellas where most of the material has been removed and there are "pom poms" on the end of the metal arms. It's a sombre scene, made a little lighter with the fun props.

One of the final sets was simple gauzy material strung up to represent mountains, forest and the memory of a town square. In between, when there were no sets, per se, simple props filled in the blanks: a metal table and a light acted as a laboratory, for example.

I'm not sure about everyone else in the audience, but I was mesmerized from the beginning. The characters, apart from being "real" were also quirky and fun. It was a unique take on a classic "horror" film/story, but you really got the idea behind the story. Who was the real monster? The creator or the created? All the monster wanted was love (from his creator, his "father", at least), yet people hated him because of how he looked. It's a statement of something people have always done - judged others based on how they appear.

They deserved every moment of the standing ovation they got.

Not the greatest review (I need some practice, I know!), but honestly it was a simply amazing play, wonderfully acted and truly unique and if you ever get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

Ugh...sick

I was at work, but I'm home now. I woke up feeling awful, but had committed myself to go to work today, however, I only lasted about 2 hours.

I had to buy some Neo-Citran on the way home (the only GOOD thing about being sick - I wish I could drink that stuff anytime!), and will be spending the evening curled up with cats, DVDs and hot drinks.

I will also have tomorrow to sleep, curl, watch, drink, sleep...Sometimes you just have to take the time to get better, and not worry about missing a few hours work.

Blah...

Another week gone!

The cold I was dreading hit me full on yesterday evening, but I gamely dragged myself to the play with my friend (SORRY EVERYONE!). I was running on Dayquil, which I realize is just a bandaid solution at the best of times, but it served its purpose and my sniffling and nose blowing was minimal. Too bad it does nothing for a foggy head! :(

Anyhow, the play was simply wonderful! Although it was too dark to take notes during the course of the show, I did manage a few during intermission, but I will really have to think and work on the notes to create a worthy review. My friend and I - actually the whole audience - were mesmerised by the performance. It was balletic, poetic, operatic, original, funny...The sets were relatively simple and they let the words and the performers tell the story instead. There is a review in Friday's paper, which I am going to ignore for the present, as I don't want to be influenced by someone else's view of the same play. I will, however, find a few other play reviews and read them so I get an idea of what I need to create.

I spent yesterday packing up most of my food (dry goods) and taking it over to the new apartment. I did my recycling and also stopped to pick up several items that I needed (they're in my Gail Planner on my wish list, so they're legit! :P ) A 16' cord for the plug-ins when the temperature drops again (and it will). My 6' cord isn't nearly long enough for the new place. Two drying racks, cat litter and a filtered water jug (like the Brita). My budget for all of these was $100.00. It went on my debit card, however, but I like the fact that I was dead-on, so I'm not going to beat myself up over my slip.

Costs
Two drying racks @8.49 ea: $17.00 (original budget: $40)
16' cord: $24.99 (original budget: $20.00)
Water pitcher/3 filters: $51.98 (original budget $40)
Cat litter: $6.49
Total spent: $100.73

Granted, the cat litter wasn't on my list, but as it's always a necessity, I picked up a container because it was cheap.

I also watched a few TDDUP episodes online (Season 6) and decided that I need to seriously re-commit to the Magic Jars. To that end, I am going to work on budget over the next two weeks. Until I move and get myself settled, there are going to be a couple of estimated costs, but my plan is to start with a $500 p/mth budget and trim it from there. That should be more than sufficient for a single person to live on.

According to the "What You Owe" spreadsheet on Gail's website, I need to dedicate $670.02 to my debt to be clear in a year. That will clear my full debt of $7585.16. One option is to pay the minimum on the LOC and throw the $670.02 at the student loan. And if I did that, according to MY calculations, that would make me student loan free in just under 4.5 months! That's not counting the fact that tax time falls in there and if my tax return is anything like last year's, then I'll actually be able to apply some extra $$ to those debts and get them paid down sooner.

Hmmm. I may need to get that 3rd job I've been contemplating after all...

Tired, but better

Thank you everyone for your kind thought for my sick kitty! He appears to be feeling a bit better the past couple of days and is more himself, but we're still awaiting the test results, which should be here next week. This week has gone very slowly - I can't believe it's "only" Friday!

I'm trying some alternative healing for Elmo as well. The Bodytalk practitioner I saw in Victoria is doing a couple of long distance sessions for him and I'm hopeful they'll at least make him a bit more comfortable. The evening of his first session his ears were very warm to the touch; hot almost. Bylaw's ears by comparison were cool. He's also eating and drinking again - not much, but it's something. I sat with him this morning for a few minutes, but only wish I could spend more time with him.

But I'm definitely making progress in other areas, which I'm very excited about!

I had my first English class last night and am happy to report that I REALLY enjoyed it. This was a pleasant surprise as I've always hated English, but I am a different person than I was in high-school (hopefully, aren't we all?), the instructor was great and because I'm more interested in writing and am reading a far more varied "diet" than I was at 17, and have more of a purpose to be there, it made a huge difference in how I participated in the class and what I got out of it. There are only 13 of us and I was happy to see I wasn't the oldest person in the class after all! :P I'm floundering a bit simply because most of the students have the experience of the pre-requisite course where all the building blocks to writing essays, critical thinking and analysis are set in place, but I'll be fine now that I understand a bit more of what I'm supposed to be doing.

One of the requirements is a play review, which should be fun. A friend and I are going to see a production of "Frankenstein" tomorrow night, which already has some excellent reviews. I have to take my notebook with me and hand in my review by the end of the term. Doing this early and getting it over with is part of my motivation, but it's also nice to just get out once in a while and also to spend time with a friend. She's actually treating me to the play because Elmo is ill, which is sweet and very much appreciated. :)

Today I also cancelled my cable for February 1, and adjusted my Internet service a bit as well. The biggest reason for cancelling the cable is that I watch far too much of it. I can't not watch it, and I've tried! The second is the cost: $60 a month and I watch - mostly - one channel, so it's simply not worth it. There's also the fact that I need fewer distractions while I'm doing my studies (shiny things and, well, really just about anything distracts me like you wouldn't believe) and that HGTV - my one channel of choice - now streams full episodes ONLINE. :)

I've saved another $1K towards a down payment on a house, put an extra $100 onto my student loan, paid my VISA in full as of today (!!!) and have modified one of my financial goals with respect to that. I will only incur any debt on the VISA card if it's school related or it's for my charitable donations that I want to make on a monthly basis.

I have a lot going on this month and am feeling quite tired; moving, starting school, Elmo and now I feel a cold or something coming on. :( I'm using my Gail Planner and have several lists of things that I am slowly checking off (mostly to do with my move, but still!) and that feels like an accomplishment in itself right now. :)

So:

Savings
Cancelled cable: $60 p/mth
Downgraded Internet: $20 mth
Halved auto savings: $150 p/mth

Paid
VISA: PIF
Student loan: $100 extra
Remaining: $2982.38

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

A good/bad spend day

I'm a bit exhausted today. Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day and it's carried over to today.

On Sunday evening the tow truck showed up to get my truck. I had a call from the driver about 4:30 who was on his way out of town for another pick up and would get my truck on the way back, as he was dropping that pick up off elsewhere. I left the key on the seat for him and he showed up about 6:30 and off she went.

My friend picked me up yesterday morning and took me and Elmo to the vet for our appointment. The vet was concerned enough about Elmo to keep him for the day. I found a nasty looking ulcer/tumour looking thing in his mouth last week - the reason for his visit - and she wanted to get a sample for a biopsy. While I was waiting for my friend to pick me up, the shop called to let me know that my truck was ready - for the grand total of $125.12!

I was really pleased that it was so fast (I had called them at 9:00 to let them know what the problem was, and they called me at 10:30 to say it was ready!) as I had to go to the college for my meeting with the English instructor.

I registered for my course (my first class is Thursday night! Exciting!!) and bought my books, so I'm all set to go. I haven't missed anything, so I don't have to scramble to get caught up at least! I'm actually in a course higher than I should be in, but I have to go back and do the 100 level courses when I can because I can't move forward without them. The course times just aren't very conducive to those of us who work full-time, as they're morning classes... :(

Anyhow. The day took a decided turn for the worse when I got a call from the vet informing me that Elmo most likely has a tumour, oral cancer. Speaking with her later when I went to collect him, there wasn't much better news. Oral cancer is very aggressive and neither surgery nor chemo are worth it. I wouldn't subject him to chemo anyway. So really there's nothing that can be done for him. I forced some sandwich meat into him earlier and he's finally sleeping quietly after 24 hours of being wide awake. He's just not eating much at all. It's basically a matter of time and the biopsy is mainly for my peace of mind at this point, as it's 80% certain it's a tumour. It just means I'll have to make "The Decision" sooner rather than later, although knowing it doesn't make it any easier.

Regardless, it's a 10-day wait for the results (it had to go Outside for biopsy) and I just have to find ways to make him as comfortable as possible until then. He's 13 this year, so not a young cat, but I've had him since he was 8 months old and he's going to be desperately missed.

Spends for yesterday are crazy:

Car $125.12
Class $200.00
Books $103.72
Vet $367.12

Total: $795.96

EEEE! But these are all needs, not wants. I need my truck, I need my course (one less thing to do on my list for 2009!) and my books, and I need care for my cat. My debit & VISA cards took a hit, but will be repaid from the car & vet accounts.

I'm distracted enough right now, though, that I'm just not concerned about that. Poor sick Elmo... :(

Unexpected expenses

After my outing yesterday doing some moving, I went home and relaxed, had a shower and puttered around for a bit, before getting ready at about 8:00 to go back out briefly. A friend of mine has asked me to let her dog back in each evening for the next couple of days, so she's not out all night (my friend works until 11:00 pm at the hotel).

I noticed when I went out to the parking lot that I hadn't plugged my truck in, which is unusual (she's been plugged in almost 24/7 for about 3 weeks!). Anyhow, as it hadn't been that long since I'd arrived back, I started my usual routine of nudging the gas pedal for ease of starting, but noticed that the gas pedal was solid. Not a good sign. I tried turning the truck on without the gas and it made a couple of ugly noises, so I decided to push the gas pedal anyway.

Big mistake.

The throttle stuck wide open and the engine started racing at the highest RPM, making an awful screaming noise, so I shut it off immediately. I remember this from last year and made the expensive mistake of letting it RUN then, blowing out my water pump and causing about $500 worth of damage. I'm not touching the truck again and am calling a towtruck when I get home this afternoon. I'm very thankful right now that I renewed my BCAA membership in the fall! One tow ($125) is almost double what I paid for a year membership!

I'm hopeful that it won't be as expensive to repair this year because I stopped the engine as quickly as I did. The shop that will do the repairs semi-prioritizes BCAA members and gives a 10% discount if you pay with cash, which is something.

My friend is very kindly going to loan me her car for the day as I have both my vet appointment and college appointment in the morning and then have work until 9pm. At some point, I'll also have to go and pick up my truck somehow. But...*argh*

Strange that it's been almost a year to the day that this happened. It was January 19 last year. I remember because I had to get to a course the next morning and ended up taking the bus (my first and, so far, only experience on Whitehorse transit) Weird!

Weekend Round Up

It's so nice to have an empty apartment to move into! What a difference to your stress level when you're able to move things a little bit at a time instead of having to do it all in half a day. But I just want to know one thing:

WHO MOVED ALL THAT JUNK INTO MY PLACE?? Seriously. How on earth did I accumulate so much crap? A giant purge looms, one which I think will be better done at the unpacking stage. I'm down to almost bare necessesities, however I keep opening cupboards and finding stuff I'll have to pack...I moved a truck-load of stuff today with a friend's help and the place is feeling a little bare. But that's okay, as it'll be easier to keep it clean and tidy now.

I've already made a bit of a dent in my goals, albeit a little one. I've been using cash only for the past week - after a bit of a bumpy start - and am keeping track of everything I'm spending. It really is amazing how you stop and actually think about things differently when you're using cash. It's far more "real" than debit and credit cards.

How about that? :P

My list of to-do's done this week is as follows:

1) Call the vet for an app't for Elmo - CHECK!
2) Call the bank to make an app't to discuss transferring RRSP - CHECK!
3) Call Superstore re: carpet cleaner - no phone #??
4) Return my book - CHECK!
5) Roll and deposit change - CHECK!
6) Book off 29th & 30th to move/clean - CHECK!
7) Call the college to inquire about English class I want to take - CHECK!
8) Call Athabasca Univeristy to ask about LPI results. Are they equivalent to Alberta test? - Not Done Yet

I met with an account manager at my bank and my RRSP transfer is now in progress. I just have to decide which mutual fund I want to move it to once it arrives. I have a Prospectus, but there are so many questions to take into consideration: Do I want to use it to go back to school? Do I want to use it for a house downpayment? Do I want to just let it grow? How much do I want to auto-save? How aggressive do I want to be? How long do I want to keep it in the fund?

The woman I spoke with recommended two, both of which are moderate risk and reinvest the interest & dividends monthly. I'm also debating the option of splitting the RRSP funds into two - or possibly three - mutual fund options, with the two balanced funds, plus one slightly more aggressive option. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

I spoke with an instructor at the college about an English course as well, and am going to see him on Monday morning to (I hope!) register for the class. It's actually not the one I'm supposed to take, because those classes are during the daytime and I'm unable to attend. The instructor is willing to let me take the higher class as long as I promise to go back and take the introductory classe(s) when I'm able to. YAY!!

This week is payday, and I should see the overtime from my work at the liquor store in December, too. That will take a big chunk out of the Visa and I'm going to add extra to my LOC and my student loan, as well finding out what's left on the loan. I think I'm down to about $3K. I'm also going to redo my sidebars and see if I can make them better reflect what's growing, what's shrinking, etc.

Returns Queen

The temperature this morning was, with wind chill, -47C. It didn't climb that much higher, ending the afternoon at -43C.

It's time for an update, I think.

I spent the weekend having way too much fun with a friend. We stayed up too late, drank too much, played "Guitar Hero", ate pizza, watched a couple of movies and probably embarrassed two of her kids a bit, too. It was awesome. I need to take more time off work and do things like that more often!

I did spend a bit during my hedonistic weekend, however:
Dessert, Coke $23.76 (strawberries, $7.99!! Ouch...)
Milk (x 2), $13.64

I think I made up for that, however (and the fact the purchases were, again, NOT cash), by depositing $36.00 worth of rolled coin into my gift fund on Monday morning. I was surprised I had so much, but it adds up really quickly. Another bonus of cash only - found money in the form of change.

I also returned the second book I bought the other day. I thought it might be interesting, or something I could use, but it's not really designed for single people. It was called "Once a Month Cooking" and had all kinds of recipes and strategies for cooking a ton of food once a month and freezing the dinner entrees. I'm just not sure it would be worth my while to, firstly, buy all the equipment necessary for this grand scheme and secondly, whether it's actually a practical undertaking in a TINY kitchen. I'm thinking most likely not...

Anyhow, I have my fabulous new crockpot and I think that's more than sufficient for one person to make a week's worth of meals.

I've taken out $200 in cash, to have for my new cash only undertaking. I used $3.50 this morning because I woke up at 8am (and start work at 8:30!), so I had no time to have any breakfast or throw something together for lunch. I'm not certain how long this will last me, but I'm aiming for a month. Wish me luck!

Today I made yet another return. I had bought some tape and a tape gun for packing, but decided I could borrow a gun instead. So I returned it!

My total returns for the week amount to $194.66! Most of that is the snowshoes, but that's pretty substantial overall, n'est ce pas?

One of my comments from my last post was from a reporter at the Yukon News, one of our two newspapers and the only daily. He came across my blog and is interested in doing an article about it and my attempts at saving money here in Whitehorse. I'm thinking about this as I think it would be fun, but part of what I like about this blog is my anonymity.

Hmmm...

A slip or two on Day One!

Yesterday was a really nice day. Weather-wise, it started out at about -41C or so, and didn't climb higher than -37C and there was really heavy ice-fog for most of the day.

I met a friend at her new place for breakfast (a small German breakfast: lots of bread, butter, cheese, pate, Nutella..yum!) and we spent most of the day shopping (window & otherwise) and getting caught up. December is one of those months where you're either a total recluse or you've got social activities out the ying-yang. For my friend and I it was the former, so it was great to have the time to get catch up.

Our first stop was the recycling centre. It was closed because of the cold weather (this is standard if the temperatures fall below -40C) but the bins were open, so we were able to get our recyclabes sorted. It didn't take long with two of us, but even the few minutes we were there was enough to seriously chill my fingers! We next stopped at The Brick. I'm looking for a hide-a-bed for the living room in the new place. There's absolutely no rush, but I just wanted to get an idea of what's out there. Whitehorse isn't the kind of place you can just wander around or "show up" and find exactly what you want. You can spend weeks or months searching but still might not find what you you're looking for. There aren't really any "great" deals because there simply isn't enough competition. We went across the street to a store that's going out of business and while there were no hide-a-beds left, there were some lovely area rugs. I'm looking for a couple of these for my living room in the new apartment. The prices were "OK", not fantastic, but I think I can find room in my budget for a new rug.

I then returned an item and we went to the hardware store. I was looking for a rice steamer, a crock pot and an extra long plug in cord. It turns out that a lot of other people were looking for one of those as well, as there were NONE to be found!

My spend:

Crockpot: $24.99 (for a 5-quart!! Best buy by far)
Steamer/rice cooker: $34.99

Spent: $62.98
Return: $41.68
Total: $21.30

I had budgeted $50 for the crockpot, so I got a really good deal! We stopped at Starbucks and I had a steamed eggnog: $3.83.

I also took back my snowshoes. I felt a bit guilty, particularly as the kid who sold them to me intially was on cash, but I felt I overdid it a bit on Boxing Day. The skis are plenty and I have no regrets about the return today, so it was obviously the right thing to do.

I've already broken two of my goals: none of my spends were cash only and I bought books! I will be returning one because after starting it, it's not quite what I was hoping for. The other book I bought is to go along with the new crockpot: "The Healthy Slowcooker." But I swear that's it!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm not sure I've ever looked forward to a new year with quite so much excitement and enthusiasm as I have 2009. I started this blog in August last year, and didn't really have any goals to set & meet as I stumbled and fumbled my way along through December, but now that I have a better idea of what I want & need to do, I've definitely got some to meet for this year.

First, though, I want to say a huge "Thank You" to you all for your support. It means so much knowing I'm in such great company as we meet - and in many cases, exceed - our challenges and goals, strive to take control of our spending and clutter and lives. It's been so motivating reading about how you all tackle debt reduction (and increase savings). There've been so many tips, hints, tricks, ideas, etc. and I've come away with a lot of determination to see the end of 50% of my debt load by the end of this year, if not more because it's not large compared to some of the scary numbers I've seen here. No doubt I probably could have done better last year with reducing some of that, but I didn't, so this year is it.

I've been working a lot the past while, and not posted for a few days, but I took all my "junk" with me to the hotel today to spend some time plotting and planning and thinking. In between check-outs and messing up several usually straightforward transactions (!), I managed to get a few things written out for 2009 plans.

Financial Goals
1) Cash only for three months - I figure this is a great way to get into a routine and start actually THINKING about where my money goes and to make sure I keep more of it for myself. I'm not brave enough to try a whole year right off the bat like BecomingDebtFree, but I did want to challenge myself enough to make it relatively difficult. If the first three months goes well, then I can try it again...

2) Continue to track my spending - I've been doing well with this the past couple of months and find that it clears up a lot of questions if you started out with, say, $100 in your wallet on Monday and have 35 cents left on Wednesday!

3) No un-necessary spending - I'm using the Gail Planner "wish list" to make a note of what I want and what I need and will keep track of my success that way. As Gail says, if it's not on the list, it's not necessary!!

4) Pay off my Visa card and incur no new CC debt! - I was a bit surprised to discover the current interest rate on my credit card is only 1.9% (from 14.9%)! When did that happen? Regardless, while it's low I want to get rid of the balance. This should be easy to do, as I'm still awaiting the overtime cheque from the liquor store hours.

5) Keep saving and rolling my change. This will go into my gift fund.

6) No Spend Days. I am going to start small and go for two a week for the first three months. We'll see how it goes from there.

7) No buying books or DVD box sets! These are my biggest addiction by far (okay, and Tim Horton's) and I honestly spent a huge amount of money in the past several months on both of these items.

8) Donate $25 to a different charity each month. I am also considering fostering a child. I had two a number of years ago, but unfortunately just couldn't maintain my donation. I can now.

9) Pay off my student loan and my LOC - a total of $8140.

10) Move my RSP to somewhere it will actually make some interest!

Personal Goals
1) Cancel the cable - this I'm going to do when I move in Feb. I've tried just watching less and it's not working. I need to go cold turkey.

2) Write more: letters, emails, bad romances. Whatever it is, I just want to sit down and do it.

3) Use the phone more to talk to people instead of email/MSN.

4) Stay on the Humane Society Board.

5) Walk dogs at the shelter. I love dogs, but can't have them where I live, so this can be my dog fix, while socializing and exercising myself and the dogs. I'm aiming to start just once a week right now.

6) Get much needed funding for the shelter through grants.

7) Use the car less. This will be easy now that I'm moving closer to town! I'll be walking mostly and riding my bike in summer.

8) Start tae-kwon-do in September. I've wanted to do this for years, but one thing or another has prevented me (mostly lack of funds and motivation). There's a community group up here that is extremely well-priced and meets 3x's a week.

9) Start a class. I'm going to call Yukon College next week once they open and find out what level English class I can get into. I'm also going to contact Athabasca U in Alberta and see if my test is valid there, as there's a Comparative Religion course that I'm interested in doing. Athabasca is way more expensive, however.

10) Eat mindfully. I do not really think about what I eat. I will start meal planning and shopping accordingly, cut down on my grocery bills and the amount of food I waste and actually c-o-o-k. Our lone organic food store seems to have morphed somehow into a vitamins and supplements store, so organic things will be bought elsewhere!

It's a bigger list than I thought it would be! :P

I spent time today on ING to halve the auto-save amounts I had set up. I was putting $600 a month into savings and while I think that's a pretty decent amount, I've cut it back to $300, so the other $300 can go towards my debt reduction. This also means that I have to cut back on the amount I contribute to my RSP for the moment, from 18% to 10%, but it's better than nothing and I have to remember it's only temporary. The point is that I'm reluctant to stop saving entirely in order to pay off my debt faster.

I also printed off a few pages about how to use vinegar as a cleaner (to go along with my ones on lemons and baking soda) and a chart for weekly menu planning and put them all into a binder so that I can get on track with that.

Anyhow, I'm so looking forward to following everyone's blogs again this year! I know there are going to be success stories all over the board :)