Thursday thoughts

• I'm home sick today, as I was yesterday. It's not morphed into anything serious, but is enough to make me feel tired and miserable - stuffy head, sore throat, itchy ears, that sort of thing. I managed to miss the other nasties that were floating around town for a few months, so I'm pleased about that. This is just a normal cold and will hopefully be gone in a couple more days.

• Yesterday I received notification that my application for a training allowance was approved. That was fast! I dropped off the form on June 1st - with the lady who would be reviewing it - and the approval letter was drafted up on the 4th, the very day I registered for school. I imagine it was so quick because I was one of the first people to apply for it. It will give me $100 p/wk for groceries and I pick up a cheque bi-weekly at the college bookstore.

• Fantastic! :)

• I'm hoping that I'll be able to budget well enough to use part of that allowance for gas as well.

• I also received notification that I've been conditionally approved for a student LOC of $5600. I'd have to send verification of employment and income to release the funds, but I've decided not to do this as I've already got the money I need thanks to the increase in my regular LOC.

• My VISA has a ZERO balance!!!!! I used my LOC to pay this off, then transferred the funds from my school account to pay the LOC back.

• I'm sure Gail would have a fit about the money shuffling going on here, but my LOC now stands at $1500, as I put another $2k (from school account) onto it to pay it down. The school account is down to $2,070 - winter term tuition and an extra $400 for anything I may have overlooked to this point. I'm pretty much set for general school supplies, but do need a few more things that I can easily purchase over the summer.

• I have 1.5 days extra work in June, plus a stat holiday to account for, so that will help boost my savings and pay down my LOC.

• I can't forget that while I am currently getting out of consumer debt, I am still, technically, in debt. The RRSP needs to be paid back once I start working again, as will any money from the LOC that I use while I'm at school. The training allowance will help defray some costs, and I am planning on getting p/t work as well. There is also the possibility of getting a roommate to  help with the costs of living (I'd prefer an ESL student in this scenario).

Spending wise the past week or so has been good and bad. My biggest expense, of course, was my school registration. I put it on my MC and just transferred the full amount from my school account to cover it. Also: Note how much I spend on FOOD*:

Tuesday, May 29

*Groceries: $30.32

Wed, May 30

Tire change: $157.50

*Groceries: $6.31

Thursday, May 31

NO SPEND! :)

Friday, June 1

*Groceries: $26.19

- cucumber: $2.29 

- chocolate bar: $1.59

- red pepper: $2.77 (.315 kg @ $8.80/kg) - that's ONE (1) pepper, folks.

- green pepper: $1.41 (.230 kg @ $6.15/kg)

- milk: $3.99 (2L)

- bread: $4.79

- carrot: $1.69 (small bag baby carrots)

- springmix salad: $3.79 (sm container)

- spinach: $3.79 (sm container)

Sat June 2

Gas: $75.00 (55.188L @ $1.359/L). Currently I can generally get a month's worth of driving out of this amount of gas, but I'm aware that will change once I start school, but hopefully not too drastically. I'm going to focus on riding my bike when/where I can until September.

Sunday, June 3

NO SPEND! :)

Monday, June 4

School registration: $1,750 (fall term)

*Tim Horton's: $3.85 (tea, maple cinnamon bagel)

Tuesday, June 5

*Groceries: $28.17

Wednesday, June 6 

*Groceries: $34.49 (even while I'm sick!)

- cat litter: $14.99 (7kg container - outrageous. I went to the local grocery store, and this is the result. I generally buy a 15kg box for $7.99 elsewhere. But I needed it, so...)

- strawberries: $3.79 (1kg)

- Realemon juice, lg container: $4.08

- honey, 1kg: $10.88

You'd think I'm always eating, or actually eat all of this stuff. Unfortunately, neither is true, so I have to start paying some serious attention here, as this is really where the majority of my money goes (and to Tim's, but I do - usually - budget for that). I simply can't afford to shop like this for the next year, or throw out the amount of food that I do. I really don't think about it - consciously at least - so have to start tracking this stuff and really sticking to my lists when I shop.

I get my new bed (double, for second bedroom) on Saturday and my new roomie on Sunday. Prior to that I'll be making sure the place is tidy and clean for her.

Have a great weekend everyone!