Daily Tracking - May 31st

As I posted earlier, I didn't spend or drive today. I needed the numbers to attain my no spend goal! It was a miserable day weather wise, but overall was pretty good :-) I had my little cousin over for a couple of hours, he's 3 and just starting to talk a lot... what a cutie! He left with a piggy bank, I had one I wasn't using, so I hope that gets him started with saving money ;-)

I tabulated the numbers and I was over my budget by $3.94... not bad at all!! This was with income I'd predicted bringing in, but I ended up with $889.39 more than I thought :-) Because of the lack of hours in June, I am sweeping the $889.39 and using that to start the month of June. I also earned $250 at my on call job, the check should be in mid-June, I'll add it to my Paris fund then.

I'll update all the numbers tomorrow, when the interest has posted in my accounts. Rates are lower, but I should get $30-$40 extra with the interest.

So for the last time, here are my numbers for May:

No spend: 16/16
No drive: 9/6
No books/mags: 152/366

May goals - results

My goals this month are:

• 16 no spend days - Yes! Today should be a no spend so I got 16 exactly.

• 6 no drive days - I finish with 9 days where my car was parked, not using expensive gas!

• finish decluttering magazine piles - Uhmmmm the pile is just as high. But I did declutter some of my books :-)

• walk and maybe bike (!) for exercise - Not much of this. I worked in the yard more... I fail in this category.

• drink more water, less pop - Doing better! I am going to buy a nice drinking bottle to get me even more motivated. Drinking water's a lot easier in the summer too.

So I do better with the financial goals than the other ones... I do want to get more balance in my life, and that includes good health and serene surroundings. I'm not gonna quit because I didn't do so well this month!

I also reached debt free status this month, so that is a huge accomplishment I am proud of :-)

Last day of May!

I can't believe I slept in until 10 am this morning........... I obviously needed it, but I still rarely sleep in past 8:30 or so. Twas a busy week though, so it probably made me more tired. It will be a very rainy day, which seems to be the norm on weekends. I always feel bad for campers and golfers!!

I want to give my best wedding wishes to fellow pf blogger J. Sexy from the blog Budgets Are $exy. Today's his big day!! If you haven't already checked out his blog, it's a great read. You can also send him wishes on this post here.

I'm trying to log into my credit union's online banking site but it's down... I am setting aside a couple hours today to crunch my numbers for sure. I am assuming I won't be spending anything, but if I do I can always edit my numbers. And when you use spreadsheets, it's sooo easy to modify!

Daily Tracking - May 30th

I worked a full day today, thought it was just til 12:30 but worked til 5... I do have the weekend off so I'll catch up on blogs then!

I did spend today:

$3.15 office supplies
$20 Chinese food (rare splurge!!) This was my share and there are lots of leftovers :-)

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 15/16
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 151/366

Hope I can have a no spend day tomorrow so I can meet my goal!

Have a great weekend everyone :-) I'll be back tomorrow to do evaluate how I did in May...

Daily Tracking - May 29th

Just a short post to enter my numbers... I didn't spend today but I drove to work. I picked up a full morning tomorrow, so I was glad! I often worry for nothing!!!

Gas is now up to $1.33/L, and that works out to $5.04/gallon. Scary, isn't it?! Diesel is $1.55/L or $5.87/gallon. I know a lot of folks who are waiting about twice as long to mow their lawns now...

I'm off to soak... still have lots of bath bombs to use up! I think once I've used up my stash, I'll look into these products from Frilly Lilly. Has anyone ever tried them??

Here are my numbers so far... the end of the month is so near:

No spend: 15/16
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 150/366

Daily Tracking - May 28th

Definitely a spend day, I put gas in before it goes up by 3cents/L tomorrow. I really haven't driven far, something like 250 km yet it cost $35.50. OUCH. My trips are mostly short but a lot of stop and go.............. I still came under budget for the month in the gas category: $108.50/$120.00.

I also picked up milk, $6.50 for 4 L of skim milk and bananas, $1.20. The gas station sells them for cheaper than the grocery stores, so from now on I'll get them each time I fill up. We are serious banana eaters at our house.

The outdoor work came to a halt as they ran out of materials... they will be coming back Monday when the rest comes in. It's looking really great :-)

I still haven't ordered the bubble, the last couple days I've used a hair dryer, so I may wait a little while to see how I can do without.

I'm totally confused about what day of the week we are... today seems like Thursday to me!! I do get paid tomorrow though so I'm hoping by Friday at the latest I can do my end-of-the month wrap up and work on June's spending plan.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 14/16
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 149/366

Daily Tracking - May 27th

I knew the work drought wouldn't last long (I was hoping it wouldn't!!) as I've now picked up hours for the rest of the week (not full days, but work every day at least) and Monday. It just takes 1 person being out sick or injured and everyone gets shuffled around...

Work continued outside here and it's advancing really, really fast. We made the final material selections and I predict by tomorrow at dinner everything will be done, except for a couple finishing touches (materials that won't be in for a couple days). I don't think I could handle month-long renos... it's stressful!

On the financial front, I'm seriously looking at my credit.......... and what I'm going to close or lower. I've been talking/thinking about it for a couple months but haven't done anything yet. I have $40,700 in available credit, which is more than I grossed last year!! I don't need that much for sure.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 14/16 (today was a no-spend too... I didn't order my bubble yet!)
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 148/366

So the Crimson tote it is :-)

The votes were tabulated and this is the one you guys picked:















The hard part will be picking the color!!!

Thanks again to everyone who voted :-)

Murphy struck this morning...

I fear that now that I'm debt free, lots of things are going to break down or happen to eat up my extra cash. I was right.....

This morning, what I call my bubble died. It's a hair dryer like you see at the hair dresser's, only it sits on a table top and is portable: see this pic here for a better idea. I have very very limp hair, so I add rollers just about every day to add volume. I got my bubble 8 years ago and it has worked so well, even when I brought it with me when I moved to a couple apartments. On Friday, it kind of smelled funny towards the end, and this morning, it just wouldn't turn on.

I know I can use a regular hair blower, which we have a couple already at home, but I love using a bubble. I can sit under it for about 6-7 minutes and it dries my hair perfectly. I usually eat my breakfast during this time or read the paper, so there isn't wasted time in the morning.

I do have funds in my household account, so I guess I'll pull the money from there... I'll order it tomorrow, and report it in my tracking then....... I hate when things just die out of the blue like that though :-(

Daily Tracking - May 26th

Today was a no spend day, but I drove... I saw on the news that gas is inching close to $1.50/L in Quebec ($5.69/gallon) so I'll be putting gas for sure before the price changes on Thursday. I still have money left in my budget, but only because I'd increased it by $40...

I have been waiting for a rebate from Intuit, where I bought my income tax software from... I'd submitted everything online (you got $10 if you e-filed... they called this making the eco-choice since it uses a lot less paper). I waited what I thought was a reasonable amount of time (6 weeks) and emailed to see if they had my submission. They were extremely quick to reply that they hadn't and told me what to fill out so I could get it. I got confirmation within like 10 minutes that it has now been taken care of. $10 isn't much, but I think it is worth inquiring about.

Which brings me to my pay stub... I got that via email again and it's got like 3 or 4 errors on it. It is even too confusing to figure out today so I'll print out the last 2 and see what wasn't amended from the last one and what was messed up on this one.

The porch work started and is going well.... but the poor cat is sooooo confused!! Gotta keep an eye on him to make sure he's ok. At 14 years of age, he's pretty set in his routine!!

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 13/16
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 147/366

Daily Tracking - May 25th

I've been a busy bee today, anticipating the loss of the clothesline for a few days. I did several loads, including sheets and quilts. I love doing laundry, I don't mind hanging it up to dry (and I feel so good about the energy savings when I do it) but I hate, really really hate, folding and putting away. Wish I had a magic wand I could wave and have it all done.

I stayed home all day, didn't spend or drive. It's funny but I'm far away from the stores I can think up of many things to spend money on. Yesterday's list was just yard stuff, but I do have another little list for things in the kitchen:

• Bread maker
• Waffle maker
• George Foreman grill (which will double as a panini maker)

and while we're at it, why not:

• new cabinets
• new flooring
• new appliances!

Realistically, I don't think the kitchen remodel can happen for another 2-3 years. Especially not with the Paris trip. I just don't make enough $$ to save enough for 2-3 big ticket items at a time.

I kinda wish we could skip over June... as I mentioned in previous posts it's not looking too good income wise. I did bring in $880 extra in May than I figured (thanks to an extra paycheck on May 29th) and I'm thinking of taking that whole $880 and use it to budget for June, plus the odd hours I'll get here and there. Then things should get back to normal in July, August and so on.... I also have to take into consideration the full 2 weeks during my trip that there won't be any income... I don't get paid vacation as I'm just a term employee... (I get the 6% added to each paycheck). Will have to adjust the budget accordingly then.........

I guess this is proof that the exact same budget month after month will not work for everybody. I've pretty much stuck to a number ($1,800 in my case) and budget from that. Whatever's left over I then decide where to send after I've examined the big picture. Some of you may do very well with the same budget for the year, but it just wouldn't work for me at all. And I'm glad it's like this, cuz it keeps my calculating skills sharp since I have to do some figuring each month to make things balance.

Anyway here are the numbers so far:

No spend: 12/16
No drive: 8/6
No mags/books: 146/366

Daily Tracking - May 24th

Today's been a good day... very slow at work and a lazy afternoon at home. My dad's been very busy with the porch destruction.... there were a lot of rotten beams (the house is over 100 years old, after all), so it's a good thing it's being redone!!! Supposedly the work is going to start Monday.

This is definitely the time of year for garden and yard work... I am starting to make a list of things I want:

• Outdoor fire pit (they have such neat ones here)
  
• Adirondack chairs
• Bistro table set
  
• Landscaping bricks and/or rocks.... about 50 feet worth!
• A couple new trees
  

Realistically, I think I can only afford one of those things... I can see how outdoor remodeling can be as expensive as redoing a room in the house!

I stuck to making a want list, stayed out of the stores... it's cheaper that way ;-)

The Stanley Cup final starts tonight, for all the hockey fans. Even though I'm Canadian, I admit I'm not much of a fan. If I had to pick a team I'd go with the Colorado Avalanche (as they were the old Quebec Nordiques), but don't ask me to name more than 3 or 4 players on their team as I can't................... The only sport I really enjoy is horse racing :-)

My numbers so far are:

No spend: 11/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 145/366

Daily Tracking - May 23rd

Today was busy! I was back and forth between job sites... I guess busy is good in this case cuz I didn't spend anything.........

I work again tomorrow then don't have anything until June 6th... I'll have to watch every single penny!!!

Thanks again to everyone for the congratulations! And I may have done a happy dance in private yep ;-) Thanks also to all those who voted on the purses... if anyone is looking for the 3 choices, the post was here.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 10/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 144/366

Daily Tracking - May 22nd

First of all, thank you for the congratulation messages below! It feels great to blog about personal finance with all of you guys :-) I had a great day, a lil extra bounce in my step it seems!!

I spent, went by the grocery store so I went in for a few ingredients:

$3.18 cottage cheese
$2.63 cream
$2.60 whipping cream (for recipe)
$2.00 loaf of bread
------
$10.41

Then I went into Shoppers Drug Mart, and bought some treats:

$6.96 Life Brand European soda (yummmmy!)
$0.30 bottle deposits
$1.69 Fruit & Nut bar (to eat)
$1.69 dark chocolate (to bake with)

and

$1.76 postage stamps, 3

Yes, I know. Almost all of the above are wants, not needs... I'm tracking everything and am still within my mad money limit for the month.

There was a surprise from my credit union this morning... a $25.01 deposit. I added it to my Paris fund.

My numbers didn't change from yesterday, except the no books/magazines one.

No spend: 9/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 143/366

The Grey's Anatomy finale is on tonight... I can actually watch it in 2 time slots... first from 7-9 pm on a Canadian network then from 10-midnight on ABC... it'll be good for sure! (I'll probably pick early time slot since I have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow!

It's official... I'm debt free :-)

The payment finally posted .............................. last payment date (dd/mm/yy)	20/05/08
last payment amount	1,720.00
available credit	5,000.00
total current balance	0.00

Now I have to make sure I stay that way.... I celebrated debt freedom once before, in 2005, paying off close to $45,000 in student loans, cc debt and my car.... then I went to the bank in 2007 for a loan to boost my RRSP (retirement) as I am playing catch-up. I borrowed a bit over $7,000 and it's been a slow payoff ever since. But right now nothing that comes in has to go to a creditor.... feels so great :-)

Daily Tracking - May 21st

Today I was lucky enough to pick up extra hours... it is turning out to be a pretty good week after all! I'm glad because this week's and next week's hours are going to be paid in June, so I'll have something to budget with. I also picked up a call from my summer job, will go do that tomorrow. So far, I'm about where I was last year when I compare number of calls.

I made my phone/internet/cell phone payment, $75. I will also make my monthly donation, I know it's going to be for the Relay for Life, I have 2 cancer survivors I want to sponsor... it's so easy doing it online!!

I am frustrated with PC Financial... or I should say PC Mastercard. It's taking so long to get my payments processed. I also have a BMO account and MC... when I make a payment with my online checking, it takes less than 24 hours. With PC Financial, it's taking about a week. I know there are many of my fellow Canadian pf bloggers who love PC Financial, but I am really not a fan. I just opened an account to get the 1.97% rate... but I'm thinking of closing both the card and the savings accounts.

Tonight's the Criminal Minds season finale, can't wait. I really enjoy that show... it's neat too cuz they have season 1 translated and showing on a Quebec tv station. You know a show is popular when it's translated like that :-)

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 9/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 142/366

Environmentally disrespectful

So the phone repair guy is here to move the wires from where the construction will take place on the porch to a safer place. His van is sitting out in the driveway, idling for the last 45 minutes. Idling and spewing fumes in the environment.

He goes to the van maybe once every 20 minutes.

Why does he leave it on????!!!!

He's obviously not footing the fuel bill, but geez.

Daily Tracking - May 20th

A spendy day today:

$31.00 gas (and I put some in last Wednesday and didn't drive far at all)
$5.93 contact lens solution
$7.99 miscellaneous (dark chocolate bars for a recipe I want to try and a bottle of Italian soda)
$51.48 groceries

Here is what I got for that amount at the grocery store:

Groceries:
$0.00 Coffee Mate (I had a coupon for $5 off... will give this away)
$0.60 x 3, canned mushrooms
$3.00 Cheez Whiz x 2, (my sister loves this stuff)
$2.15 Large eggs, 1 doz
$2.50 orange juice, 2L
$0.10 deposit
$2.50 orange juice, 2L
$0.10 deposit
$0.30 x 4, tomato soup
$3.19 Bagels
$6.36 skim milk, 4L
$3.49 pineapple cream cheese
$3.19 baked Old Dutch chips

Meat:
$2.99 bacon, 1 lb

Produce:
$1.99 fresh mushrooms
$2.32 sweet potatoes

Frozen:
$4.79 ice cream treats
$2.99 pop sicles
$1.00 x 4, frozen dinners (sister's lunches)

I just realized typing that list out that most of that (the bagels, orange juice, cream cheese, frozen dinners, cheez whiz) is stuff that my sister requested. And not a lot of healthy stuff either, just 2 items under produce. Not good!

I am still under budget though for the month.... I have $46.93 left to spend.........

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 9/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 141/366

Daily Tracking - May 19th

I'm glad today was a holiday, it was nice to have a 2.5 day weekend (since I worked Saturday). This week is going to be busy as I'm working split shifts all week and I have a Saturday morning shift also. I am not going to complain since after Saturday, I have no work scheduled for 36 days! Yikes. I know there will be some, but how in the heck am I going to budget for June with so many unknowns???

Today I slept in :-) and since it was rainy in the morning, I just did housework. It stopped raining at noon so I went outside and transfered all the perennials to another spot so when the porch work starts, they won't get trampled on. The contractor was by today with the stuff we need to buy, we'll go select the railings and posts and all that sometime this week. The outdoor work wore me out though!!!

I spent money without leaving the house... My mom called that they were getting some fresh scallops... There was a $0.50/lb discount if you bought more than 5 lbs. Anyway, I spent $20 on those and am debating whether to take that money from groceries or mad money....

I didn't drive though...... I'm over my goal already :-)

Thanks to everyone who's voted in the poll... I can't wait to buy one!!

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 9/16
No drive: 7/6
No mags/books: 140/366

Menu Plan Monday - May 19th

Another week of meals... I hope I can stick to my plan this week :-) Check out lots of other menu ideas on the I'm an Organizing Junkie blog.

Sunday: Lobster rolls and fries.

Monday: Homemade french bread pizzas (add your own toppings).

Tuesday: Chicken fingers with peanut apricot sauce, rice and salad.

Wednesday: Balsamic glazed scallops, brown rice and a veggie.

Thursday: Homemade manicotti and green salad.

Friday: Leftovers (working late)

Saturday: Blue cheese burgers and oven baked fries (regular or sweet potatoes)

Help me choose... poll is open!

I posted yesterday that I am looking for a new purse... and definitely buying from Espe.ca . They are a great Canadian company and I just love their designs. My sister got a wallet from one of her friends for Christmas and I've been jealous ever since.

Here are the contenders:






This is the Crimson Tote available in orange, blue, brown and green.













This is the Sprinkle Tote... available in black, red, blue and white.












This is the Luv tote... available in red, green and brown.






I am unsure about color... I will definitely not have matching green or orange shoes. Do women really match both these days??? Thanks for any feedback and for voting in my first poll!

[Sorry for the text on the bottom of the poll on the right hand side being a greyish color and not visible... I can't change it!]

Daily Tracking - May 18th

I had a great day... nothing planned at all so I did what I wanted :-) I slept in... til 10 am yep, I admit! I sipped my coffee as I caught up on blogs and just stayed leisurely all day. My sister was working an extra shift, that's why it was so peaceful. She was complaining about going in during the day today instead of tonight, where she would have been paid time and a half.... today was just regular @ like $34/hr!

I didn't spend or drive... I did a bit of looking online, have to place orders for my dad's Father's Day gifts [a book called Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America and a Clydesdale tshirt from Budshop (Budweiser apparel)]. He is incredibly easy to shop for! I also found some shoes and a purse I wanted..................... will see if I decide to treat myself :-) For the purse, I want to buy from Espe.ca ... but I can decide which one. I should set up a poll here and ask my readers :-)

I'm going to re-watch the CNN program I mentioned in a previous post, We Were Warned: Out of Gas.

Here are my numbers :

No spend: 9/16
No drive: 6/6
No mags/books: 139/366

Adding another savings goal

Everyone who reads my blog knows I'm trying to save $5,000 for my upcoming trip to Paris. So far, I have 60% saved and I don't anticipate any problems reaching my goal.

I will shortly be officially debt free... it's taking forever for the last payment to post though!! (It is a bit frustrating... but it'll get here soon!). I will free up a lot of money and since my living expenses (including groceries, giving, gas and a few other things) are so low, I should be able to repay my savings (I borrowed from myself to boost my retirement fund in February and also to pay off this last debt).

I think I will also be creating a summer travel fund. I love going to Prince Edward Island and spending a weekend there. I have gone every year since I was a little girl, almost always for a few days, but last year we only managed to go for a daytrip. I may also go to Maine at the end of September, early October, so I am thinking a $600-$1,000 summer travel fund should be sufficient.

I'll update my side bars once I set a goal. I'll also have one for the money I borrowed from myself, as I want to boost my savings now more than ever. Interest rates are low, but I still make some money each month on savings.

We Were Warned, on CNN

I watched a great program on CNN last night, part of their Special Investigations unit. It really, really scared me!!! I am pretty sure it's the same program that's going to air tonight, Sunday. You can read all about it here.

The title is We Were Warned: Out of Gas. Definitely a must watch!

Daily Tracking - May 17th

I am so glad this is a long weekend for us... I feel so drained today after the late night yesterday. It's not a good weekend for outdoor activities though, lots of rain and it is chilly. I stayed home after I got back from work and I didn't spend anything today.

With 2 full weeks left in May, I'm hanging on to my mad money a little tighter. My sister bought some lobsters for herself but I passed for tonight... they are around $8/lb... I'll get some when I really feel like eating them.

The highlight of my day was watching the Preakness... even if it's not the type of racing our horses did, it's still a lot of fun to watch... and it would be awesome if Big Brown won the Triple Crown, as I don't remember the last time it was won... I was only 4 or 5 and not quite into horse racing then ;-)

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 8/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 138/366

Daily Tracking - May 16th

For the first time since I started this blog, I didn't post yesterday... there was very little time between work and an evening party and when I got home I just wanted to crash cuz I knew I had to get up early this morning.

Yesterday I spent $12.00 as my part of a gift, and this comes from my Freedom Account. And I drove too. I did get 1 call for my on-call job too, but will do that over the weekend or Monday.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 7/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 137/366

Daily Tracking - May 15th

I ended up with some work today after all! I didn't mind being called at the last minute :-) I will have put in a pretty good week after all.

I did spend for postage, I sent a parcel to a friend and another document via Xpresspost. I had some stamps already, so the total for both things was $16.07. Most of my mad money is going to postage this month!!!

I also have to say that I'm behind on my blog reading. If I haven't commented on your blog in the last few days, it's because I haven't had a chance to visit. Hopefully I can catch up this weekend...

Something weird that happened this morning... I posted at the beginning of the year how I got 2 checks of around $50 (slightly lower because of the exchange rate) from Global Test Market. I hadn't had many opportunities in the last 2 months... I did get 2 this week but when I checked my account last night, I was at 996 points. Most surveys are for 50 to 75 points. I didn't know when the next opp might show up. Well this morning, actually overnight sometime, 5 points appeared mysteriously and I had 1001 pts, enough to cash out. While it'll take 5-6 weeks for the money to show up, I'm thrilled! This is such an easy way to earn a few bucks :-)

I'm off to soak, probably will use another Lush bath bomb. I have a tendency to buy a lot of stuff at once then not use it (so I don't run out....). But this company uses pretty natural products so I don't want to have the stuff go bad on me (it was pretty expensive to begin with!!). Then it's the Grey's finale (?? tonight or next week ??) and the CSI finale on at the same time. Oh, what's a girl to do?!

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 7/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 136/366

Chartered flights?

Has anyone traveled overseas on a chartered flight? I was talking to someone today and he strongly suggested looking into it. A quick search shows that it would be a lot cheaper... I just looked at Air Transat... but are there other suggestions?

(I think our best bet is traveling to Montreal using airmiles, then getting a chartered flight from Montreal-Paris).

Daily Tracking - May 14th

I had a full day today, worked at my main job then 2 hours at my p/t job, to do the April month end stuff. I love when things balance on the first try!! I get paid tomorrow and still need to complete a couple transfers to savings... hate letting money sit idly in my checking!

I spent $10.44 on postage today, I had to send my letter of interest to my supervisor and sent it Xpresspost with signature required. I'll put the other one for 2 other positions in the mail on Friday.

Also, gas is supposed to go up by 5¢ per L tomorrow... so I put in $42 worth and still had 1/4 tank when I filled it. I hope I can go 2 weeks on this tank...

Thanks for the comments about my goddaughter yesterday. I am now definitely looking for a gift for her. Her dad (my godfather) gave me a ring for my graduation, so maybe I could do the same (jewelry) or something else that won't gather dust. I'm all for gifts that are wearable/usable. I have a month to think about what to get...... and I'll write in her card that there will be cash for books or tuition help if/when she goes to college.

So far tomorrow I don't have any hours scheduled but I should be working on stuff for my p/t job that I can do from home. Then I work Friday and Saturday morning, off til Tuesday (Monday is Victoria Day). There's also the retirement party Friday night and lots and lots of gardening planned since the porch work is supposed to start soon and my poor plants all have to be moved!!!

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 7/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 135/366

Daily Tracking - May 13th

I posted my totals at the grocery store below, that is all I spent today. I didn't drive though as I tagged along to town while my mom was going to the dentist. I didn't work today, but I have a full day tomorrow...

I learned today that my goddaughter booked a flight out west to visit a guy she "likes". She's going along with a friend and this is a local guy working in Calgary, but I don't think leaving on a 1 week trip the day after her graduation (if she graduates at all) is a good idea. When I was that age, I wanted to work the most I could during the summers to save money for college. But since she's not even sure she's graduating, she hasn't applied to any colleges at all.

I had thought about giving her cash for her graduation present. First I thought it'd help with books and tuition, but now I'm wondering what to give her. I would hate to give her cash and have her spend it on booze or something while she's on her trip.

Her parents aren't encouraging her with school or college. I find this soooo sad :-( I've tried to encourage her but it seems she's OK with working at a minimum wage job all her life. I know I'm only her godmother, not a parent, but I still wish there was some way to knock some sense into her.

Anyway... nothing much I can do about that... I'll move on to my numbers to date:

No spend: 7/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 134/366

Gahhh she drives me nuts!!

It's been all over the news here that flight prices are going up... domestic flights will now have fuel surcharges added too. I have told my sister since Friday that I want to book our flight.... I can't very well book my flight before she does since we're going together and obviously want to sit and travel together... Well this morning, sure enough, flights are about $100 more expensive.

Argggh!!!

Grocery update

Here is what I got from the grocery store:

Groceries:
$0.89 Whipped topping (the envelopes)
$0.89 Whipped topping (the envelopes)
$2.15 Lg eggs, 1 dozen
$2.59 Ice cream cones, 1 box of 36
$2.50 pkg of 12 ff pudding cups
$2.50 pkg of 12 ff pudding cups
$0.59 spaghettini
$6.36 4 L skim milk
$3.19 Old Dutch creamy dill baked chips
$0.99 bbq sauce
$0.99 bbq sauce
$2.09 brown sugar, 1 kg
$2.00 Second Cup granola bars (Moccaccino)
$2.00 Second Cup granola bars (Vanillatte)
$0.99 evaporated milk
$0.99 evaporated milk

Meat:
$2.99 bacon, 1 lb

Produce:
$3.96 oranges, 1 dozen
$2.27 Royal Gala apples
$0.99 container of mixed greens
$3.46 red globe grapes
$2.31 bananas
$2.21 hot house tomatoes
$1.58 kiwis (4)

Frozen:
$3.00 Chapman's frozen yogurt, 2 L (this is my sister's favorite... I bought some for $4.49 Thursday)
$2.00 popsicles
$2.00 Chapman's Ice Cream (2L brick)
$2.00 Chapman's Ice Cream (2L brick)
$2.00 Chapman's Ice Cream (2L brick)
$2.00 Chapman's Ice Cream (2L brick)

Deli:
$2.29 Fajitas (kit to make 6)
$2.29 Fajitas (kit to make 6)

Meat:
$8.37 chicken breasts
$9.52 chicken breasts

Other:
$0.99 PC reusable bag
----------
$89.21

Yes, I know it's a lot of food and there seem to be a lot of treats. In the spring/summer, I will often offer ice cream to visitors. Either when my dad comes work in the garden or with the horses or when my little cousins visit or friends with their kids... So I stocked up on the sale :-) I also buy a few things that my sister can grab for her lunches (the puddings, the granola bars) so it costs a bit more for the convenience stuff.

I should be all set for a week... We have a holiday in Canada on the 19th and I hate going in the stores before and after a holiday as the lines are long, so hopefully we won't need anything else.

The reusable bag I'll probably keep in the grocery total for this month, as I'm only using it to bring my groceries or my lunch. I had much bigger ones but this small black one from President's Choice is quite cute.

So far this month:

Week 1 (May 1-3): $79.51
Week 2 (May 4-10): $52.87
Week 3 (May 11-17): $89.21

This totals: $221.59... and I divide this by 2 (my sister's share and mine) so I'm at $110.79 and my goal is $160......... still around $100 total left to spend. I'll have to be careful!

Daily Tracking - May 12th

I couldn't fall asleep last night, I think I got like 5 hours of sleep, so I had to sip a couple extra cups of coffee... I bet that doesn't help me to sleep tonight ;-)

I got my pay stub and there was 1 hour missing... and this time it's my immediate supervisor's mistake, she left it off completely. It'll be adjusted on the next pay... I really hadn't had any problems for the last 6 weeks though.

Remember when I complained Saturday about another employee with more seniority getting a full day this coming Friday? Well I got a full afternoon 2 minutes from home... At the other place I would have had to drive 25 minutes each way... so I'm OK with the way things turned out.

We had the guy for the porch come by and his estimate was much lower than we thought!! And he's done work at the house before as well as a beautiful wrap-around porch at a nearby house, so we know his skill level is great. Surely we'll have some money left over for a couple nice chairs at least and hanging baskets :-)

I didn't spend anything today, I did make a grocery list to pick up sale items and fruit/veggies for the week though. I'll probably go tomorrow.

Here are my numbers so far:

no spend: 7/16
no drive: 4/6
no books/mags: 133/366

Oh yeah, if you check out my side bars for debt payoff, I was only able to send $1,000 to pay it off then...... the rest of the money has a hold on it. I dunno why, it's the first time it's happened (this is through PC Financial). I just hope I can pay it off this week sometime!!!

Menu Plan Monday - May 12th

Here is my menu for the week. The days I make them might change, depending on my work schedule.

Sunday: Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies and coleslaw.

Monday: Homemade scallop burgers, tartar sauce and oven baked fries.

Tuesday: Cranberry meatballs, rice and corn.

Wednesday: Ham, potatoes and cheese casserole (using leftover ham)

Thursday: Turkey Cobb salad.

Friday: Chicken in soda/ketchup sauce, rice and corn.

Saturday: Coconut shrimp (oven baked), rice and salad.

For other great ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's site.

$100 richer :-)

I won the Survivor pool!! All the money's going to the trip fund, no doubt about it :-)

Yay!

Daily Tracking - May 11th

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who read this blog :-) I know there are a few... hope you let yourselves be spoiled today! I think my mom was happy with the cash we gave her to pay her trip... and I made a baked ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies and pina colada squares. She really enjoyed.

I didn't spend anything today as I had everything on hand. I didn't drive either as my parents came to eat here. My goddaughter came by too, so it was a bit hectic for a while. The weather was nice which was surprising, they had called for rainy weather for about 10 days.

I've checked my account and the transfer still hasn't posted for the payoff, I'm sure there is a weekend delay......... it'll come soon enough I guess :-)

Tonight is the Survivor finale, I will watch the first 2 hours but have to get up at 6:30 so will skip the 3rd hour (reunion show) since it's on from 11pm til midnight here. A bit too late to stay up or I'd be majorly cranky in the morning!!

After 11 days, here's where I stand:

No spend: 6/16
No drive: 5/6
No mags/books: 132/366

I'm probably going to stop at the garage tomorrow or Tuesday... my car is still making a noise when I make a sharp left turn... I have to get it checked out before I make it worse :-(

Daily Tracking - May 10th

I worked a short shift this morning (Saturdays are 9-12) and ran my errands while I was out. I was a bit discouraged to see someone else's name on the schedule at that office for Friday, a full day. I go back Monday morning (short shift) and next Saturday (again, short shift), but the boss gives the full day to someone else *sighs* I know the other person has more seniority, but still... I would have given it as a package deal. I guess if I had enough hours scheduled, I wouldn't worry, but so far I have less than last year.........

This is what I spent today:

$1.13 card
$5.00 for 50/50 tickets (money stays in my community, this is good for 5 weeks)
$10.00 baby gift
$20.00 Survivor pool (I have Parvati, so it'll be a miracle if I win the $100 bucks!)

and I took the cash out for my mom's Mother's Day gift.

That's about it for now... I'll update my numbers too (I sent a bit to the Paris fund to finish off my contribution this month, $68 and change)

No spend: 5/16
No drive: 4/6
No mags/books: 131/366

Daily Tracking - May 9th

I sometimes make stupid moves... like transferring too much money out of my checking account that I am cash poor until next payday. I wanted to get cash out for my mom's Mother's Day gift, pay my share of a baby shower gift and pay up the $20 for a Survivor pool we have going. Up until last night I thought I had a chance to win, I had Erik and Parvati, but the way Erik played last night I'm glad he's gone. Could anyone be so gullible??? Unreal. There is $100 up for grabs, so I was disappointed.

Anyway, I rearranged things a bit and I can take the cash out tomorrow. And then I get paid on Tuesday. But I hate when I do that... enough money, just no immediate access to it when needed.

We had a guy at the house tonight to rebuild the porch, he'll bring an estimate mid-week. I told them (my dad and my sister) what I could pay, from my Freedom Account. I'd rather save for the kitchen remodel which should be done within the next 2 years... My sister mentioned having the bathroom redone also. I'm not made of money!!! I know we are so lucky to not have to pay rent or a mortgage, and even luckier that my dad still helps with renos, but I'm thinking maybe it would be wise to pretend we have rent to pay and put $400-$500/month into a renovation account. Our house is so old (around 100 years) and some of the stuff was redone cheaply over the years... If we plan to live here another 20 years, we'll have to do some major work.

Sooooo today was a no spend (no choice!) but I did drive to work. And I go again tomorrow, in the morning. I will run my errands on the way back.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 5/16
No drive: 4/6
No mags/books: 130/366

Now I'm off to watch back-to-back episodes of Til Debt Do Us Part!

Transfer initiated

So this morning I saw that $3,008.00 had been transfered from my HSBC.ca online savings account. It should take the weekend to transfer into my checking (and then a couple extra days from there to the CC to be paid off), but it feels great to know that part 1 was taken care of. I am going to miss the 4.75% I was getting in that account, just for the month of May on $3,000 I got over $10 in interest..........

And as J. Savings from Budgets Are Sexy posted in the comments, I'm going to feel sexy for at least a day when this debt is paid off........... I'll be able to call myself debt-free again!

Also, with the balance of the transfered money (a couple hundred), I'm going to put that back into either ING or ICICI. I'll keep the online savings in just 2 accounts, not 4 like I did. Much easier to manage that way!!

Daily Tracking - May 8th

I spent $34.37 on groceries tonight... no driving though as I caught a ride with my sister to town. I had to go to a site for my on-call job but it only takes a few minutes, so we combined errands tonight.

Here's what I got for my money at the grocery store:

Grocery items:

$1.39 can chickpeas (to make homemade hummus!)
$2.29 melba toasts
$0.50 corn
$0.50 corn (canned)
$1.49 chocolate chips
$2.15 eggs, 1 dozen large
$2.69 almond slivers
$2.00 hamburger rolls, 12
$2.69 cream (1 L, 5%)
$3.19 Old Dutch baked chips
$2.00 Bull's Eye bbq sauce

Produce:

$0.39 coleslaw mix
$3.96 oranges (5 lbs)
$3.18 Golden Delicious apples
$0.79 lemon

Frozen foods:

$4.49 Chapman's frozen yogurt (cappuccino)

I'm under $150 so far for the month, so not bad...

Here are my challenge numbers:

No spend: 4/16
No drive: 4/6
No mags/books: 129/366

Daily Tracking - May 7th

I wish I could say today was a beautiful day... well it started out nice and warm, I spent a bit of time outside working in my plants, saw my first blue jay and hung some towels out to dry. There were some thunderstorms and a lot of rain in the afternoon, so that made me cancel my afternoon plans... I don't mind the rain so much, but thunderstorms suck!

I didn't drive today, but I did spend, $6.50 for milk. With the 12.00 I spent on Sunday for drinks, my total this week so far is $18.50 for groceries.... beverages only! Weird. I'll probably pick up stuff either tomorrow or Friday to make a Mother's Day meal and dessert, I will ask my mom what she wants. On Father's Day we always get lobster for my dad, but my mom doesn't care too much for it. I suggested a cheesecake for dessert, I have a killer recipe that's a huge success every time I make it, but she said maybe something less fattening might be better. At least she's sensible, unlike me!!! I always use the "special occasion" excuse to make some fattening desserts ;-)

Sooo my numbers so far are:

No spend: 4/16
No drive: 3/6
No mags/books: 128/366

PS: Thanks for all the comments on the I'm very tempted thread... I will be paying off my debt tomorrow!!!

Daily Tracking - May 6th

Wow, May's going by so fast!!

I am seriously thinking of paying off my loan, as I posted about below... and I think within the next couple of days, if I can talk to my sister for more than 5 minutes at a time (she's working nights and will be working an extra shift so we often just cross in the bathroom or kitchen!!) we'll book our flight. The price of the actual flight won't budge much I don't think, but I'm scared the fuel surcharge is going to go through the roof! It's high enough as it is (more than $300 for an overseas flight).

There's also my car insurance bill I posted about, $818, that needs to be paid by the end of the month. May is going to be a month where a lot of money leaves my accounts!! And maybe not so much goes in, since I don't have any work tomorrow and Thursday, unless I get calls for my on-call job.

I didn't spend today but I know there will be stuff to buy tomorrow. I have a baby gift to buy, my mom's mother's day cash to take out (she takes an annual trip each September so I give her cash to help pay this with... since it needs to be paid mid-May) and a retirement gift, all within the next 2 weeks. What do you buy for a retirement gift anyway??? It's for a 55 year old man who has plenty of money but not many pastimes. I'm thinking of buying some booze!! One of those fancy Crown Royal bottles or something......... any other ideas???

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 4/16
No drive: 2/6
No mags/books: 127/366

I'm very tempted...

... to pay my debt off once and for all.

On Thursday, after the interest posts in my HSBC.ca account, I'm transferring $2,990+ back to a higher paying account. It has to go through my checking first. I'm so very tempted to take that money and pay off my loan, current balance $2,720............. and then I'd be debt free again :-)

What would you do... keep the money in savings? Or pay off the debt and then repay myself back, asap???

Daily Tracking - May 5th

I had a split shift type work day... it keeps me from getting bored at one place I guess. The lady I worked with this morning is our union rep and knows everything that's going on regarding transfers and promotions and new job appointments, and she gave me a few tips. Supposedly there will be not one, but two of my co-workers being promoted, so she strongly urged me to write a letter of interest to our manager to let him know I'm interested in the ones that will be vacant when they move up. I just hope this doesn't take a year like some other stuff has taken.

I didn't spend today... we are down to the last bag of milk and I'll need some cheese for my manicotti this week, but I'll get that either tomorrow or Wednesday. I needed hair conditioner and cheated a bit, I borrowed a bottle from my mom. She had a stock of bottles and I'm not picky about brands, so next time it's on sale I'll buy a replacement bottle for her.

The weather is nice again here, the pasture is drying and the horses are happy cuz they will gain access to a bigger area. Up til a week ago, the big draft horse was sinking almost knee deep in some areas. Ick. My plants seriously need tending (and dividing), but I can't find my sheers and refuse to buy a new pair as I only use them about 1 week/year. I'll search more tomorrow.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 3/16
No drive: 2/6
No mags/books: 126/366

Menu Plan Monday - May 5th

I'm a bit late with my planning... but better late than never :-)

Sunday: KFC and homemade potato salad (I just added eggs, relish, red peppers and onions)

Monday: Grilled sausages, leftover potato salad and grilled veggies

Tuesday: Baked fish (store bought) and fries

Wednesday: Roast chicken and sweet potatoes... with cranberries! (1 dish meal)

Thursday: Homemade manicotti and salad (a big fave!). I just use jarred sauce (Ragu), cottage cheese that I've put through the blender (or ricotta), peppers, onions and mushrooms... and lots of cheese, of course! I even prefer this reheated.

Friday: Stuffed pork chops (I use Stove Top), mashed potatoes and veggies

Saturday: Probably leftovers!!

For more great recipe ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's site.

Daily Tracking - May 4th

Another great day here, weather wise for sure and also because I had nothing planned... I love to just wing it.

I wasn't going to spend but my friend was coming back from the city asking if I needed anything... there was a big sale on drinks at the pharmacy, some water I like and some soft drinks, I admit. Then she mentioned picking up KFC... yeah I know, not the healthiest, but once in a while right?! I'd made potato salad, so it went very well with the chicken.

She didn't want to take $$ for dinner, but I put a $20 bill in her purse, it'll cover the drinks for sure ($12 or so) with $8 for the chicken.......... that's how I'll divide it up in my budget anyway.

I didn't need to drive though so that was appreciated. I have enough driving to do tomorrow!! I work at 2 different places, opposite directions. Not good.......

Here are my numbers up to May 4th:

No spend: 2/16
No drive: 2/6
No books/mags: 125/366

Books #17, #18, #19 and #20

So I've been able to do a lot of reading lately... and I admit the books I've picked are fast reads:

Number 17 was Steamed, by the mother-daughter team Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant. It was a fun murder-mystery set in the restaurant scene and there were bonus recipes at the end of the book.








Numbers 18, 19 and 20 were all in the Jaine Austen series by Laura Levine. Those were all the ones of hers that I had on hand. They are soooo much fun and very fast reads. I've said it before, but those of you that enjoy the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series would really enjoy these too. In each one of these, Jaine, the "heroine", gets caught up in a different murder and takes it upon herself to investigate.


Here is #18: Killer Blonde












#19: Shoes to Die For












and finally, #20 for the year, The PMS Murder:












While I realize these have nothing to do with personal finance, to me seeing this list means I'm reading the books I have in my personal stash and not buying any new ones. My goal of 50 books read in 2008 is still quite attainable. And for those of you who think I can't possibly have 30 more unread books at home?? You are mistaken! I probably have enough on hand to read for 2 more years. Yes, sadly, in the last couple of years, I seriously overspent on books. That's why it was so important to me to stop buying new ones... just to get caught up here and to stop cluttering the house!!!

Daily Tracking - May 3rd

Finally a really nice, sunny day :-) I put a full line of clothes out on the line... they smell so nice when I bring them in... and the $$ savings have to be substantial at the end of the month...

I didn't spend or drive today... I spent some time outside and also watched the Kentucky Derby. Sadly, the horse that finished 2nd was euthanized right after the race, on the track even... I can't imagine how the owners must feel. In all the years we've had horses, we only had 2 have accidents during a race, and thankfully there were no really bad injuries. But there's always a major risk. And with this filly, Eight Belles, it was a post-race mishap where she broke her 2 front ankles. Soooo sad :-(

I gave buying some CDs some thought, I know now's the time to buy cuz I have a feeling by Monday the rates are going to go down again. I just don't want to lock more of my money in... I already have close to $8,000 in CDs... I hope I don't regret this decision.

Here are my numbers so far:

No spend: 2/16
No drive: 1/6
No mags/books: 124/366

From 4.75% to 3.00% overnight

HSBC.ca had a promotional rate for the last few months, 4.75% on all new money. I thought that was a wonderful rate and took advantage of it. The rate expired at midnight, and it is now 3.00%. You can bet I'll be transferring funds as soon as the interest posts on May 8th... (why they do this 1 week into the month, I don't know!).

ICICI is still offering 3.60% on all savings and 3.90% on 1 year CDs. That's definitely where the bulk of my cash is and where I'll be transferring what I had at HSBC.

So it pays to be a rate chaser when rates are so low and one bank clearly is standing out. It still sucks though to be punished on our savings in this struggling economy...

Daily Tracking - May 2nd

I was called at the very last minute this morning to go in to work within an hour... the lady I was replacing had to go for an emergency dentist appointment. I picked up another day later when she goes back for a root canal. Ick. So far there is nothing scheduled for tomorrow, then I work the next 3 Saturdays. When you're a casual employee like me, you work a lot of Saturdays in the summer!

I didn't spend today but I was very tempted by chocolate... specifically the Caramilk bars. I ate those with my eyes, they were so tempting. I couldn't have a repeat of last week happen, where I bought 3 and didn't share with anyone. Stupid PMS.

Tomorrow and Sunday I'm hoping to do some work around the house, both indoor and outdoor. The weather's been cool and rainy the last couple of days, but should be nicer tomorrow. I have a couple loads of laundry to make and hang to dry, plus some flowerbeds to clean up. My dad informed us this week he'll more than likely redo the porch this summer, and my flowerbeds are around the porch on 2 sides, so I bet you those are going to be trampled to death. I wonder if I should relocate my perennials for 1 year??

Here are my numbers so far this month:

No spend: 1/16
No drive: 0/6
No mags/books: 123/366

May goals

My goals this month are:

• 16 no spend days
• 6 no drive days
• finish decluttering magazine piles
• walk and maybe bike (!) for exercise
• drink more water, less pop
  

Daily Tracking - May 1st

I feel like a serial poster today ;-) Actually there is always so much to take care of at the beginning of the month........

I bought groceries, as I posted below. I always post full amounts then split them in 2 at the end of the month when my sister pays me back. So today's shopping trip was $79.51. I was in town for my on-call job, so I figured I'd go in. For a few things. And walked out with all that.......... Oh well. I think 95% of the time I start out the month with a spend day.

Here are my goals for the month:

No spend: 0/16
No drive: 0/6
and so far this year I have:

No mags/books: 122/366

Grocery budget - $320/month

So I cut back our grocery budget by $30 this month, from $350 to $320. My sister and I pay half but I do most (95%) of the shopping and give her a bill at the end of the month. This works out best for us because she doesn't know prices and she hates to shop so...

I noticed my grocery bill is divided up into different categories, and I think I'm going to keep track of what I buy for the month:

Groceries:

$2.15 lg eggs (1 dozen)
$4.99 old cheddar cheese, 540g
$4.29 1 box brown rice
$1.89 1 dozen hamburger rolls
$3.19 Old Dutch baked creamy dill chips
$5.99 2 kg jar peanut butter
$3.89 Liberty dulce de leche yogurt

Meat:

$2.79 mild italian sausage
$2.79 org. bratwurst
$6.16 pork loin
$17.99 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3.05 lbs)

Produce:

$2.49 8oz mushrooms
$1.49 carrots
$1.45 sugar snap peas
$3.11 sweet potatoes
$3.30 sweet red peppers (3)

Frozen:

$2.89 Superfries (I wanted to try these out)
$4.89 Michelina rice bowl (3)

Other:

$2.89 parchment paper

Total bill was $79.51... I didn't buy anything that I could use coupons for.

May 2008 Spending Plan

I decided to just stick with my $1,800 budget, in case that's all I bring in.

Fixed expenses

* Freedom Account : $400
* Loan repayment: $150
* Repaying myself: $420
* Utilities: $150

Variable expenses

* Phone, int., cells: $100
* Groceries: $160
* Mad money: $100
* Gas: $120 (increased this by $40)
* Giving: $100
* Vacation: $100