Give Me Back My Five Bucks

Well today I had to spend some money, but it was all on necessities, so I don't feel so bad.

• $8.45 at Canadian Tire for 2-stroke motorcycle oil for my scooter.
• $5.64 at London Drugs for Sensodyne toothpaste. I'm mad at myself because Sensodyne is super expensive as far as toothpaste goes, and I had a $1 off coupon that my dentist gave me yesterday at my check-up b/c she knows I'm allergic to an ingredient found in most toothpastes, and have to spend more to get the good stuff. It's just a buck, but still. I need to actually start using the coupons I have. And the great part about London Drugs is they will allow you to use as many coupons for one product as you want, as long as they're all different coupons. Even if the product is on sale or on clearance! When I used to work at LD, there were people who bought their month's worth of beauty supplies and whatnot for practically nothing!
• $27.30 for groceries this week. The BF and I split groceries right down the middle, and we always buy what's on sale, so unless we swing out to Costco to pick up bulks, our weekly groceries don't cost that much. This week was actually more expensive than normal b/c we picked up some toilet paper and some ice cream. A wonderful combination. :)
• $150 rent.

Oh, and yesterday I spent $4 to take the bus downtown ($2 each way), and $1.70 at Starbucks for a tea. I was already over budget for March's dining out budget, but I couldn't very well sit outside in the gorgeous sun for a few hours with my friends without sipping on something yummy. I even debated whether I could just ask for some hot water, and bring my own tea bag, but that seemed like taking frugal too far. Plus I bet they wouldn't let me use their cream and sugar. Or at least frown at me if I did it.

I'm going to try and be a hardass this month, what with me being so close to being debt free. The only difference this month is I anticipate going out for my friend's birthday, so I'll up my $30/month dining out budget to $50. I might not need the $20 breathing room, but at least it's there!

April 2007 goals:

• Pay off the rest of my student loan (!!!). I will achieve this by April 13th. HOORAH!
• $1,200 towards my line of credit. I will try to contribute more, if possible.
• $100 towards RRSP. I want to up my contributions to $150+ bi-weekly in order to exceed my 2007 goal of $3,000, but won't be able to do that until I finish paying off my line of credit. So until then, I'll just contribute my regular $50 bi-weekly.
• $200 towards Condo Down Payment Fund.
  
• $200 into Emergency Fund.
  
• Stay completely on budget for the month. This means not one single penny over (except for the dining out budget change). The past few months, I've been going over budget in certain categories. $5 here, $10 there, and that adds up to a lot!
• Find out whether the client is ready for me to start working on her project. If she has not made up her mind by the end of April, then I will start to take on other projects if they are presented to me.
  

I got paid today, so I updated the sidebar! $1,000 towards my student loan, $25 to my condo down payment fund (almost not even worth contributing, but at least it's something), and $50 into my RRSP. The Emergency Fund won't get much love for a while, but I'm not that concerned. I don't foresee any major emergency that could cost me over $500 anyway. Plus, it'll only be for a month or so until I'm completely out of debt. I also paid $150 rent, and $35 for a new field hockey skirt that my team ordered.

My boyfriend and I live in a basement suite that my parents rent out. I lived here rent-free while going to college though. Our total rent is $500 (all utilities included), and since my parents own it, I pay significantly less than market value for rent. So does the BF, but I still pay way less than him. Suites in a college town like this usually go for at least $800-$1,000/mo. It's a pretty sweet deal. 1100 sq/ft, with in-suite laundry, and 2 bedrooms (one is converted into our gym). The only deal is I've gotta be out when I turn 25. My birthday is in October, but my contract runs out at this job in November. So my parents decided I can stay until I've found another job. Since I am looking to move to Edmonton after this job is over, it would be very hard to find a place that would let me move in on a month-to-month basis.

Anyway, it's the end of the month, so it's time to take a look at the monthly goals I set for myself!

March Goals (end of month review):

• Talk to potential client for my graphic design business, and get a contract signed. She definitely wants to go with me as her web designer, but she is still getting herself (and her budget) finalized. She wants to make sure she has the money to pay me before I start doing any work. It's taking forever to get this finalized, so it's a good thing this is my side job, and I'm not counting on the income. It's just a pain because I've turned down a few potential contracts b/c I thought I'd be working for this woman by now.
  
• Take on a 3rd job that will yield 10-15 hrs/month or less. I'm honestly not sure if I want to take on the 3rd job. It doesn't pay well, so is it really worth my time? I'm already busy practically every night of the week. I don't think I'll pursue this goal any further unless I start to have some free time. Because really, I already work up to 50 hrs/week, not including my design business.
  
• $2,000 towards my line of credit. I put $900 towards it, which is still pretty good. But since I've revised my goals a bit in order to pay off my student loans faster, this debt will have to sit as is.
• $1,000 towards my student loans. $2,000 towards it! Only $1700 remaining!
• $150 towards RRSP. Done!
• $75 towards Condo Down Payment fund. I'm happy to report I've contributed $200!
• $300 into my Emergency Fund. I was only able to contribute $200.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful month. I spent more than I wanted to, what with my dental surgery costing me $200, 2 birthday presents, and my accountant's fee of $95 for doing my taxes.

This is along the lines of NIUiceprincess' post.

I know this person in my life. I would consider her to be one of my good friends, but I worry about her. She has no concept about finances and she is definitely not planning towards the future. She has nothing saved for retirement, no emergency fund, at least $15,000 worth of debt, and just bought a new car. Oh, and she's unemployed.

This frightens me, but I never want to talk about it with her, because she can get quite defensive. It makes me upset. I've been planting seeds, like Nancy suggested; mentioning an emergency fund, casually bringing up retirement, etc. Nothing is working, and I don't want to see her ruin her future just because she doesn't want to think that far ahead. I also don't want to become the snooty friend who only cares about pinching pennies and having no fun, because that's not fair. When I owe money to someone else other than myself, it's my duty to become best friends with my money. That's not being a downer, that's just being fiscally responsible.

I don't know what to do. I guess it's none of my business, and I shouldn't stress out about it, but I want what's best for her. I don't even know if she reads this blog (in a way, I hope she does, but mostly I hope she doesn't) ... and maybe I should just let it go. Some people just don't care, afterall. But I can't help but cringe when I think about all those pay cheques gone to waste and all the frivolous stuff she buys. A fraction of that amount could have gone into an RRSP and she probably wouldn't see any change in her lifestyle at all. And what about all those years she was working full-time and not going to school? She wasn't able to save a penny? I mean, sure her clothes are nice, and she has a nice car, but none of that's going to matter 30 years from now.

That little bit of student loan debt has been driving me INSANE. So to stop me from going crazy, here's what I propose to do over the next 2 weeks:

I currently owe approximately $2,700.

• This Friday is pay day, so I'll pay $1,000.
  
• I'll throw in my entire tax refund of $1,300.
• April 13th pay day, I'll pay the balance off of around $400!!!

So that means it will have taken me one year to get rid of that dumb student loan debt. One year on the dot, as a matter of fact. The seemingly unbelievable goal will be obtained! I can't believe it! WAHOO!!!

I will now be completely debt-free by the end of May! :)

Well, I went and blew my $50 budget on the BF's birthday present. There was this book he really wanted, but after shipping, it was a little over $100. Why was it so expensive? Because it was independently published and not many copies were printed, so the costs are higher. But he really wanted it ... and he had only mentioned it a million times to me last week. Plus, it's apparently a really informative book on the career that he wants to get into, and since it's such a huge change in careers (from a computer programmer to a helicopter pilot), I want him to be as prepared as he can get. At least my sister will be contributing $25 to the present, so it'll really only cost me $75. And that's only $25 over my budget.

My sister and I also split a present for my boss at the arena. My boss always buys us chocolates and little presents for the holidays, and since her birthday is coming up, we bought her some gormet tea from Murchie's, and a box of chocolates. My share of the present came to $10, so that's not bad.

I've been trying to keep this blog anonymous, but I'm not sure how anonymous it really is. For a brief few hours, I had a link to this blog from my regular blog on a different site, and then thought better of it, and took it down. But a few hours is enough time for a couple of friends to click on the link and wander over. Plus, based on the details of myself on this blog, I'm sure it'd be pretty darn easy to figure out who I am, where I live, and what I ate for breakfast.

And my boyfriend now knows I have this blog, and desperately wants to read it. He's really into personal finance as well, and he's very "fiscally responsible," as he likes to describe himself. But, I'm reluctant. I like how this blog is my very own, and to my knowledge, nobody in my real life knows about it.

But I guess I have nothing to hide. Having this blog forces me to be open about my finances, and that's what I wanted from the beginning. My boyfriend is fully aware of my financial situation (although he was definitely against me buying that new computer), and sometimes I try to talk shop with my friends, but honestly none of them have any interest in finance.

It's also an issue of security. Is it smart to tell the world how much money you have? I know most PF bloggers have a sidebar that tracks their finances down to the penny, and a lot of them even have pictures of themselves. Is this safe? Are they scared of getting stalked and robbed? Or have their identity stolen?

I don't really know what I'm trying to say. My other blog has gotten me into some weird situations in the past (a very famous music magazine took a paragraph word-for-word from my blog, for starters, and that turned into a little bit of a fiasco with a famous band, but I digress ...), and I like the idea of having a completely anonymous blog ... but on the other hand, maybe one of my friends will get inspired by reading my blog, and decide to start one up of their own.

So right now, to my knowledge, nobody I know in real life has ever read this journal (p.s. if any of my friends are reading this right now, please leave me a comment). But how about the rest of you PF bloggers? Do your friends and loved ones know about your blog, and if they do, do they read it? How do you feel about it?

I can't help but rant about my mom and my sister.

I'll talk about my mom first, because she should really know better. She has a lot of money invested in these weird bonds that yield only 2% interest annually. I asked her why she didn't invest in at least a high interest savings account (4%), or GICs, where the interest rate could be as high as 6%+, depending on where she invested. She said she's "always had" the bonds she currently is investing in, and doesn't want to go through the hassle to switch. This is coming from a government finance manager, and the woman who has constantly advised me to invest my money for the future.

Then there's my sister, who is 20, and is going to college. She has over $7k in her savings account, but her interest rate is a paltry 0.1%. That's not a typo, it's actually 0.1%. I asked her why she didn't just put that money into a high interest savings account at 4%, since she wasn't needing the money anytime soon. She looked at me, and said that she isn't concerned about money like I am, and she doesn't think it's necessary. Granted, when I was her age, my bank account was empty and I was carrying a balance on my credit cards. But still. Gah!

It's not like I'm talking about investing in the stock market! I'm talking about a savings account, and GICs! The least riskiest things around.

Now I know it's none of my business, and I wasn't about to argue with them about how they're going to invest their money ... but they're essentially throwing away free money every year in interest they could be earning. This infuriates me! Maybe they aren't as concerned about making money, but if anyone, my mom should be actively looking to invest as smartly as she can, what with retirement just around the corner.

It's not my place to say anything, and when I mentioned it to them, they both got super defensive ... so I've dropped the subject for now, but I just wish they could see it from my perspective. I just want what's best for them, that's all.

I just got back from the Nelly Furtado concert with my sister. Because we both work for a professional hockey team, my boss got us both free tickets to the show. They were great seats, but I was a little disappointed in the concert. This is her home town, afterall. If anything, this should be her most energetic show of the whole tour! (On a side note, Nelly graded from my high school, and her aunt used to be my hair dresser. Way back in the day before she became famous, whenever I was in the salon, Nelly used to come by with a basket of her independent CD, asking if anyone wanted to buy one for $20. I obviously said no every time, because who the heck did she think she was, anyway? Now that I look back on it, that $20 would have been a huge investment! She's so famous now, and that CD would be a collector's item). Anyway, it was a great way to spend an evening for free with my sister.

Although I guess the evening wasn't exactly "free." I wasn't going to mention anything, but this blog is here for me to be open and honest about my spending. I spent $17.40 on food tonight with my sister. We went to a local sushi place, and paid $14 each for dinner (including tip), then I bought us both teas at Starbucks ($3.40 total) while we were walking to the concert. This outing puts me around $14 over my dining out budget for March of $30. My only saving grace is that each month I budget $10 for entertainment, and I haven't used a single cent of that category this entire year.

Well, I'm only getting a refund of $1,300, but that's still a decent amount of money. So, what should I do with it? Should I put it all towards my debt? Put it in my emergency fund, or stick it all in my condo down payment fund? Or split it up a few ways?

Right now, I'm leaning towards getting my emergency fund up above $1,000, so I can put $500 towards that, which will leave me $800 to go towards my debt. Is that a reasonable thing to do? It'd be nice to get my condo down payment fund going though ...

The old me would have gone out and spent it on some hot new work outfits from Jacob, or some of the cute designer boutiques around town. But not anymore. Any excess money I have will go towards something useful like my debt, or my savings. Still, I'm so tempted to go shopping. I really want to get a professional black suit for interviews, etc. I don't need one at the moment, but I know it's one of the essential things a professional woman has to have. But I can't let myself fall back into my old habits! If I let myself slip now when I'm weak, then in the future I'll look back to this moment and realize I have no will power. I need to stand up for my money and protect it from my evil self!

Saving money to me is kinda like running a race; if you let yourself stop and walk (spend money), you'll find it nearly impossible to get the motivation to run in the race again, because you've experienced the feeling of rest, and it's not straining you. Walking and resting just feels nice. So the key is to always keep running - even if you have to slow it down to a jog ... as long as you never stop, you'll always feel motivated to run. It's an internal battle, and a test of how strong your mind really is. And since I'm so competitive, it's like I'm in a battle with my mind versus my body. I can't let myself down and lose this war! At least, that's how I motivate myself every day on that darn treadmill! :)

Anyway, I kinda went off on a tangent there. Bottom line is: my refund is not going into any cash register as long as I'm alive ... I just have to figure out what the heck to do with it now!

Some of you may know I'm currently on a one-year contract maternity leave position with a municipal government. I've been here since November, and I've learned a lot. But I'm beginning to realize that this job isn't going to last forever (not that I'd want it to, but let's just keep that between you and me). There is one co-worker I really get along with, and we've been talking about the job market, and what's out there. She asked if I was actively looking for another position, and when I told her I wasn't, she was shocked. She said that most people who are on contract are always actively looking for permanent work, that's why it's so hard to fill contracted positions. Which may explain how in the heck I ended up getting such a good job with no experience!

I thought about what she said, and she's right! What am I going to do, wait until the very last minute to try and find another job? So as of today, I'm on the search for a new job. But because I have until November, I can (and will) be picky. I'd like to work in the public sector for a while - to build up the experience and earn that degree you guys rightfully convinced me I need to have. :) So I'll try for the provincial government again (I worked there on contract from July-Nov last year) - tons of holidays, flex days, and an education fund to help pay for the degree I can't afford.

I was thinking yesterday, is it a smart move to pay off my debts as fast as I can? Should I be saving more aggressively for my condo down payment?

Every pay cheque, after taxes, I make around $1,500. Currently $1,000 goes towards my debt, $50 goes towards my RRSP, and whatever is left goes towards my condo down payment fund after I've paid off all my bills and expenses. My plan is to put at least that $2000/month into my condo fund as soon as I finish paying off my debts. But, it occurred to me yesterday - is this the smartest idea? Since I want to buy in about a year (and I need to be out of my current place by this time next year), should I be saving up as much as possible now? If I stick to my plan, by this time next year, I will have saved $20,000. That' s a lot to save in just one year!

The biggest reason why I've been paying off my debt as aggressively as I have been, is because I hate paying interest. HATE it. And I hate the fact that I'm in debt, and my net worth in Quicken is still in the red. But maybe it's better to pay a little interest, and stay in debt a little longer in order to secure my short-term goal of buying a condo.

My friend who's a mortgage broker told me to get rid of all my debts as fast as I can, and then build up a down payment. He said it's easier to get approved for a mortgage with a smaller down payment and no debt, than with a larger down payment and a little debt. Is that true? Because if it isn't, then I've been doing this whole debt reduction thing backwards from the beginning. Over the past 8 months, I've put $12,000 towards my debt. If I just paid a little over the minimum payments to my student loans, I could have saved up $10,000 of that money by now. And if that's what I should have been doing all along, then I think I'm going to have to go throw up a little.

Apart from my full-time and part-time jobs, I also run my own graphic design business on the side. I have spent the last 6 months building my online portfolio, networking with potential clients, and creating an "image" for myself. I'm not a high end designer, and I never want to make it my full-time career, but I did get professionally trained in it, and it's a good way to make some extra money.

Websites aren't exactly my strongest skill, because there is so much technical knowledge that I just don't have. I'm much stronger in the design and layout aspect of graphic design. I want to specialize in brochures, pamphlets, advertisements, logos, etc.

That being said, I've been talking with a real estate agent for the past month about building her a website. After she went and got quotes from the big graphic design companies in town, she decided to go with me. Mostly because I'm cheaper than everyone else, but also because I came highly recommended by a friend who graduated in the same year as me.

This is all very exciting for me! I quoted her $2,000 for the base website (I know, I could have charged way more ... but I'm just starting out, and she knows I'm not as advanced as some of the big design companies). I think when it's all said and done, it'll cost her around $3,000. I will also be maintaining the site after it is complete for $60/hr. (1/2 hr. minimum time blocks) ... and if she needs any photographs taken of the properties, I'll also be charging $60/hr.

If I could just get two contracts like this a year, that's an extra $6,000 of income I can bring in! :)

Well I spent $65 on my sister's birthday present, $15 over budget, but that's okay. I got her an awesome zip-up jacket at 50% off, so I only paid $45 for it. Then I bought her a photo storage box, and filled it with little odds and ends I know she'll enjoy. Even though I spent a little more on her, I don't feel bad about it. She's the only sister I have, afterall! :)

I don't think the BF wants anything fancy for his birthday. He wants to go with me to MEC and pick out a bell for his bicycle, and maybe a pair of cheap cargo shorts, because he likes to wear them over top of his bicycling spandex. I kinda went overboard on his Christmas present anyway, so I think I'll be able to stay within my $50 budget for him.

Okay, so today is pay day. Unfortunately because I work for a professional hockey team (farm team to an NHL team) as my part-time job, they were away for the past two weeks, so I didn't get any shifts. Just one pay cheque today, but that's okay.

The sidebar is updated with new totals. I paid off my doctor's bill of $200 for my surgery. Then I put $100 into my emergency fund - yahhh I'm over $500 now too NIUiceprincess! :) I put $125 in my condo down payment fund, and $50 into my RRSP contribution. Unfortunately, because I didn't get a second pay cheque, and because I had that doctor's bill, I'm now off track for my monthly debt repayment goal. I wanted to put $1,000 away every pay cheque, but I'll have to settle for $700 this time. I'll try to make up the extra $300 on the next cheque, but that might be pushing it a little too tight.

March Goals (mid-month review):

• Talk to potential client for my graphic design business, and get a contract signed. I have yet to touch base with the client, though I do know that she is finalizing her budget for the year. I should be hearing from her soon.
• Take on a 3rd job that will yield 10-15 hrs/month or less. I spoke with the supervisor of the organization I want to work for, and he told me to fill in an application and submit my resume, and he'll get the ball rolling. There's a 95% chance I'll get hired, so I'm not really worried. But I still should get on submitting that resume.
• $2,000 towards my line of credit. Currently, I've put $700 towards the LOC. $1300 to go, and one pay cheque remaining this month.
• $1,000 towards my student loans. DONE!!! :)
• $150 towards RRSP. $100 contributed so far, so I'm right on track.
• $75 towards Condo Down Payment fund. I'm happy to report I've contributed $200 so far!
• $300 into my Emergency Fund. $200 so far, so I'm on track for this one.
  

I am not a University graduate. I have 2 1/2 yrs. completed towards a B.A.A. in Sports Marketing (double-minors in journalism & athletic coaching) from Central Michigan University. I was on a full athletic scholarship to play field hockey at an NCAA Div.1 school, but I left after my sophomore year. I guess I was homesick and burnt out from training so intensely for so many years. Looking back, it wasn't anything I couldn't suck up for another 2 years ... but back then, quitting and going home seemed like a matter of life or death. I was such an idiot!

And I can't go back there and finish up my degree because I refuse to play elite level sports again. I still play field hockey 3 or 4 times a week, and I still go to the gym almost every day, but I don't obsessively train for 5-6 hrs a day like I used to (in the summer it was 8 hrs/day!!!). I think that might kill me! Anyway, to go back to CMU without a scholarship, as an international student, it would cost me $36,000 for tuition and board alone.

Of course, it's easy to reflect on how stupid I was, now that I've taken myself far away from that situation. And it's not like I fully regret quitting, because I wouldn't be where I am today if I had stayed ... but I'm upset that I had a FULL SCHOLARSHIP (i.e. free money), and passed it up because I believed I was too tired to train, and too homesick to continue.

I have a college diploma hanging up on the wall behind me from a 2-year program I graduated from last year. At least that's something. And it's transferable, so I only have to take 2 more years to earn my B.A. in Communication Studies. That was the plan. I have an acceptance letter from Athabasca University's distance education program sitting in a folder at home, and I had every intention of taking classes as soon as I gained full-time employment after college. So a year later, why haven't I taken a single class?

The big barrier is money. Isn't that always the case? :) Other priorities came up for me, namely paying off my student loans. And now, saving up for a down payment on a condo. It's approximately $650 for each class through Athabasca, all distance-ed, so I could still continue to work full-time. I need 20 classes. $650 x 20 = $13,000.

I really really REALLY don't want to take out student loans again if I don't have to. So is it worth it? Is it worth $13,000 for a university degree? Is it really going to help me out in the job force?

The job I have now required a university degree and 3 years of experience - I have neither and got the job. So can experience outweigh education? Or was it just a fluke that I got hired here? In the future, are my resumes going to be tossed out as soon as they're received because I don't fit the educational mold they're after?

If an employer is looking for someone with a degree, and all I have is a diploma and a bunch of experience, is that employer going to pick the person with the degree and little to no experience? Because if that's the case, I don't want to get screwed over, and I'll go get that degree. But if it's just a matter of digging a little more and applying to more places before an employer decides to considers me, then maybe it's not worth it. What do you think?

Well, so much for the whole "saving on busfare" streak I was on. I was set to ride my scooter this morning, but I woke up and my jaw still hurt. A lot. I took some of my pain meds, and decided riding down the bumpy countryside roads today was not going to happen for me. And since I didn't have any bus tickets, I had to fork over the full $2.75 each way! Grrr!!! Mental note to pick up some bus tickets today before I transfer buses downtown to get home.

Also, I ended up buying my lunch at work today. I know, I've been so good resisting temptation for the past 4 months (only went out for lunch once with a co-worker b/c we were running errands all around the peninsula that day). There is a cute farm-fresh bakery & deli called The Roost just down the road from where I work. Anyway, I spent $5.50 and bought a delicious bowl of soup and some bread. Way too much to spend on a meal like that, but what's done is done.

Yesterday I miraculously found 2 bus tickets in my jacket pocket, so I didn't have to go to the store and buy a $25 sheet afterall! And, since I had to take the bus to work again today, my sister lent me her college bus pass. That's a savings of $10 in 2 days!

However, I'll have to spend some money in the next week or so. My sister's birthday is this Saturday (yup, St. Patrick's Day), and my boyfriend's birthday is next Saturday. I'm going to try and spend $50 on each of them, which is a far cry from what I bought them last year! For my sister's 19th birthday last year, I took her to Vancouver for 2 days/1 night, and we saw the Death Cab For Cutie/Franz Ferdinand concert with some friends. And for my boyfriend's birthday last year, we went to Vancouver for 3 days/2 nights, and I bought us 7th row tickets to a Canucks game for $350 off eBay. And that was a good deal on the tickets too! Anyway, they can forget about that kind of present this year.

Trouble is, now I have no idea what to get them! Gift certificates are out, because those are lame and thoughtless ... and going out for a nice dinner with the BF is out (he's not really that kinda guy). I wanted to get him tickets to see the FIFA U-20 soccer tournament being held here, but those tickets are like $180 each! I might just resort to getting my sister some band merch online, and the BF some bicycling gear from MEC. We'll see.

Well I decided to take the plunge and check out my credit score on Equifax. Since I'm looking to buy property in the next year, I want to be able to give myself enough time to fix any errors I find on my report, as well as boost my score. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it's also not that great either. Okay, so it's 727. There, I said it. It's out in the open for the whole blogging world to see. Not that a lot of people read this blog, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I've noticed some errors in my report ... a few accounts that have been paid off, some closed accounts that still say they're open. I'll have to find my documentation and send it in so I can get that junk off. I think that once I finish paying off my student loans, and not apply for anymore credit, I'll be fine. 727 isn't bad, is it? I mean, I know it's not great, but it's not exactly a double digit number.

But as for my accounts that have been paid off and I don't use anymore, should I close them? One of them is a joint account that my dad helped me set up, and I really want to close that one off since I haven't even used it in like 3 years. But it's also my oldest account, so I'm not sure. I think I'm going to spend some time today researching up on credit scores, because I don't want to do anything that could affect my score in a negative way.

In other news, I'm finally going to see my accountant on Friday to file my taxes. I'm hoping that since I have a bunch of unused education credits from previous years, and I'm writing off a bunch of business expenses, that I get a good sized refund. I should, since I was still in school last year, but you never know!

I hate taking the bus. Not only is it always crowded (and I always have to stand for the entire 1 hr. trip), but it always smells like rotting fish. Always. It's also expensive! It costs me $2.75 for a one-way fare to get to work, so that's $5.50/day! Even if I buy the discount ticket sheet at $25 for 10 tickets, that's still only a savings of 50 cents a day. Considering it costs me approximately $7/week in gas for my scooter, I try not to take the bus at all. However, sometimes it's unavoidable.

Tomorrow I'll have to take the bus, and since I'm out of bus tickets, that means I'll have to stop off at the store and buy a $25 sheet before work. I'm still on meds from my wisdom teeth surgery, and the weather forecast says 60-90 km/hr wind warnings, and there is no way in heck I'm riding in a wind warning. The last time I did that, I nearly got blown into on coming traffic!

In other news, I have decided not to go to the Vancouver International Field Hockey tournament that my team enters in every May. Last year we won the whole thing! :) But after tournament fees, hotel, and travel costs, it's about $200 ... which is pretty good for a 4-day tournament ... but that's also not including food. Since we stay at a hotel, there's no kitchenette, or even a microwave, so that pretty much eliminates making my own meals. Plus, since we're there as a team, everyone likes to go out for team meals, which equals $$$ in a big way. Anyway, last year I think it ended up costing me a little over $400. I only budgeted $400 for all field hockey expenses this year, and I've already allocated all of it to the fees for the 3 leagues that I play in. :( So unfortunately, no fun tournament for me this year. That makes me sad, but the debt takes priority. Hopefully I can go next year when I'm out of debt.

That means the only time I'll get off this island this year is in the end of June, when a friend and I are going down to Seattle for the Canada Day long weekend. I'd better make the most of that trip!

I have a problem. I've noticed that I'm constantly going over my "Personal Care" budget of $10/month, which basically includes all bathroom products, make-up, etc. Now, I don't know if it's because my $10/month budget is too small, or if I just buy products that are to expensive. When I created the budget, I figured it'd be enough. But now that I think about it, I don't think it is. Actually, I know it's not enough. Not with the products I buy.

$10 will buy me a bottle of the shampoo that I like, but what about the matching conditioner? Mascara costs me $10 a tube, and so does my hair straightening balm. And what about feminine products every month? Or hair-cuts? A hair cut, after tip, costs me $68 at my salon. I only get my hair cut twice a year, but that's $140 right there, and that blows my Personal Care budget for the entire year already. And that doesn't even include all of my skin care products. I used to work as a "Beauty Advisor" for a part-time job, so I know how important it is to take care of my skin. But when I worked there, I'd get my products for free whenever I attended beauty school classes, or got product bonuses for selling x-amount of something. It's not so fun paying for Lancome, Lise Watier, or Elizabeth Arden products out of my own pocket. I also have really sensitive skin, so it's not like I can just go down the aisle of Wal-Mart and pick out some random face cream for $5. The good thing is I probably have a 5 month supply of face cream left, but I'll be out of my Lancome 3-in-1 toner soon, and that's $40 right there.

So do I concede the fact that I need a bigger Personal Care budget, or do I do everything in my power to keep to my $10/month? I know that since I'm in debt, I shouldn't be wasting money on expensive beauty products ... but I also don't want to look like a disgusting mess b/c I don't take care of myself. And it's not like I'm going totally over my set budget (I probably spend $15-20/month on average), but still. What should I do?

Behold the beast that put me $3k+ in debt. Now that I actually have it at home, I can safely say that it was worth every penny. I mean, look at it! It's gorgeous. For those who are unfamiliar with iMacs, the viewable screen area is 24", and the machine itself is about 1.5" thick. The computer is built into the back of the screen, so there isn't a tower that goes with it. Basically what you see is what you get. The laptop beside it is what I've been using for the past 1 1/2 years, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I am so glad I switched. I thought it'd be had to switch to an Apple, after having used PCs all my life, but this computer is so much easier to use! It's so intuitive; No more messy program installations, no more clutter, and everything is so graphic-oriented. I. LOVE. IT. Plus, it comes with a built-in webcam (see black square at the top of the computer), and a remote that can control music/dvds/photo slideshow/etc from across the room (see white thin thing on the right side of the comp - when I'm not using it, it's held there magnetically). My BF's computer is in a nook to the right of my desk, and every so often, I see him glance over at my beautiful iMac with a look of jealousy. Anyway, I could talk about my computer all night, so I'll just stop for your sake. :)

In other news, I had my surgery done yesterday afternoon (it's like 2am, so technically it was yesterday). The procedure took 2 1/2 hrs b/c the said they ran into some difficulties with my bottom 2 wisdom teeth, and said I would feel more pain than normal in the days to come. They've been drugging me up pretty good, so I haven't felt much discomfort yet, but we'll see. The BF made me scrambled eggs for dinner, and jello for dessert since I can't really open my mouth very wide, and chewing is out of the question. I put the $200 cost on my Mastercard, and will pay it off next Friday.

Financially, the TSX has made some major ground the past few days, and I was able to recoup some of the losses I suffered last week in my portfolio. I can only hope this continues!

Well, it's not a big change b/c I don't have a lot of money left over from Friday's paycheque (I already put $1,000 towards my student loans), but I managed to put an extra $50 into my condo down payment fund, and $200 towards my line of credit. That'll stretch me thin until next Friday, but since I'm getting surgery done tomorrow, I'll be stuck in the house for at least 4 days. I have $50 left in the chequing account, and I'm sure that's more than enough to last me. In fact, I'm positive.

Last night, the BF and I went to watch Happy Feet at the IMAX. For Christmas, he bought us both an annual membership to IMAX for $45 each. To see a movie without a membership is about $15, so it's a pretty good deal. Anyway, whoever's seen Happy Feet before knows how ridiculously cute it is. Too bad the BF didn't like it (his idea of a good movie involves lots of violence, helicopters, and guns), but what did he expect? I told him it was an animated movie about a dancing penguin, so he knew what he was getting himself into when he took me to see it!

Also, I hate how my sidebar looks in Internet Explorer. I use Firefox at home, and the status bars look perfect and nice, but when I get to work and look at it through IE, it looks like someone crapped all over it. And I know it's due to my poor coding, but to be honest I'm just too lazy to fix it. So I guess it'll stay ugly like that until I can get the % amount high enough in the bars to accomodate the actual number. Some website developer I am!

Well, there goes my dream of getting a free computer. The transaction finally posted to my Visa, which is making me pretty depressed. Just when I was less than $3k in debt, I had to go and double it. I don't regret the purchase, because I know I'm going to love it, but still. At least on a positive note, by May 25th at the latest, I should be completely 100% out of consumer and student loan debt. So the computer basically added on 6 weeks more of living with debt, and when I think about it that way, it's not so bad after all! :)

I met some really important deadlines at work today, which I've been stressing out about for the past few weeks. To congratulate myself, I went shopping online. Well, not really. I didn't buy anything, I just lusted after things. Clothes, mostly ... but also funky accessories, and home items I'll never be able to afford. Browsing online was probably the worst thing in the world I could have done for myself, because I love shopping. So to calm myself down, you know what I did? I logged onto my city's public library site, and put Shopaholic & Baby and Save Karyn on hold. Normally, I would have just popped down to Chapters and bought myself both books, but I saved myself a ton of money and will borrow them instead. Even though I'm hold number 196 of 196 for the Shopaholic book, and they haven't even gotten any in circulation yet since it just got released. Sigh.

After I finished torturing myself by pretend-shopping online, I went pretend house-hunting online instead, and hit up my favourite real estate sites, MLS.ca and comfree.com. Most of the homes in my price range are ugly and dated, or super small and cramped. But there are some gems out there. I am really looking for a chic loft in the city, or a condo/townhouse in the suburbs that isn't completed dated. At this point in my life (while I'm young and just starting out), I think the city loft sounds more appealing, but most of them are so small (500 sq. ft or less). I guess you have to sacrifice space to get city living.

1. Scream and jump up and down.
2. Call my boyfriend.
3. Scream and jump up and down some more.
4. Pay off all debts. ($7,000)
5. Max out emergency fund: 6 months worth of income. ($18,000)
   
6. Buy a new 2 or 3-story detatched townhouse in my city. ($400,000)
7. Buy the dream car: Mini Cooper S convertible. ($45,000)
8. Take distance education courses to obtain my B.A. in Communication Studies. ($20,000)
9. Set $$ aside to go travelling once I've obtained permanent employment. ($10,000)
10. Talk to a trusted financial advisor, and invest the remainder. ($500,000)

With the recent beating my mutual fund porfolio has taken, I've decided to look into a more secure form of investing to off-set the riskiness of it all, namely GICs. I've been researching into Outlook Financial (a Manitoba-based credit union), and their rates are pretty unbelievable compared to the major banks in Canada. I mean, granted, they are GICs, and compared to the return I could be making elsewhere, it's not a lot. But it is a guranteed investment contract, afterall. And you certaintly can't say the same thing about stocks.

I think they require a $1,000 minimum deposit, but I can start saving up now. Ideally down the road, I'd like to have 3 to 5 GICs on a rotation, so that every year, one of them is up for maturity. Then I can either re-invest the GIC, or invest in something else. It seems like a good idea, but I'll have to research a little more into Outlook Financial, as well as if it's in my best interest to go this route.

Recently, a few people have asked me how the heck I've been able to decrease my student loan debt in such a short period of time ... so I figure I'd blog about it instead. :)

My goal from the moment I first took out a student loan was to pay everything back one year after graduating. I heard stories of people taking 15 or 20 years to pay it all off, and I did not want that weight on my shoulders, even though I knew it was "good debt."

I didn't actually start paying off my student loans until July 2006, when I got my first pay cheque from my first job after graduating. I had 3 loans: a student line of credit (approx. $7,000), a provincial student loan (approx. $2,000), and a federal student loan ($5,000).

My full-time job paid me approximately $2,100 monthly after tax. But from Sept-April every year, I have a part-time job which yields probably about $200-250/month. Not a lot, but every little bit counts. I decided to put at least $1,200 of my income towards my debt every single month, sometimes more. After rent, groceries, RRSP contribution, putting money into savings, and other miscellaneous things, that didn't leave me with too much left over, but I was okay with that.

In October, I decide my full-time job needed a huge upgrade, so I started applying for other positions. Miraculously, I landed a job I really didn't have the educational qualifications for (I had the skill-set they were looking for, at least), and at a much higher salary. So now, I was making over $3,000 after tax each month (crappy higher tax bracket!) ... since November, I've been putting $2,000 or more towards my debt every month ($1,000 bi-weekly).

When I've told my story to other people, they seem to think I'm some crazy budgeting queen who must have to sacrifice every last penny in order to make it work. But I haven't. I enjoy Quicken as much as the next person, but I'm not psycho about it. Since I was a student for so long, and working a part-time job that only gave me $200/month, it's not like it was a huge life change I had to make. I went from going to school full-time and having a part-time job, to going to work full-time and having a part-time job. I guess I just never got out of poor-student mode, which is good for me, because once I finish paying off my debt, I'll have an extra $2,000 worth of income every month I can stash away for a down payment for my condo. And that's income I never really utilized to begin with, so it's not like I'll be missing it.

I didn't receive any monetary "gifts" or anything like that, and it's not like I'm making a ridiculous amount of money either. It was good ol' fashion budgeting, and the determination to meet the deadline I had set for myself. So there you have it! The story of my student loan debt. I only have a little ways more before it's out of my life forever! Let the countdown begin!

This is strange. So I bought my computer last Sunday. A few days later I went to check my Visa online. I saw that the entire $3100+ was pending, and the available credit reflected that amount. But it hadn' t actually posted the transaction yet. That seemed normal. However, now all of that credit has been released (the CC is back to its original amount of ZERO), and I don't have any money pending. What happened? How did it go from reflecting the purchase on my card, to no sign of the purchase at all? And according to FedEx, the package has been shipped and is set to arrive on Tuesday, so my payment must have gone through (otherwise they wouldn't have shipped it) ... maybe it's too early in the morning, but I'm in total WTF-mode.

Maybe my wildest dream has really come true - there was a glitch in the system, and I'm really going to get the computer for free! Oh, wouldn't that be the greatest thing in the world? Sigh, but it's probably not true. Visa's probably just teasing me. Damn you Visa, DAMN YOU!

I got paid today (hoorah!), so I updated my totals on the sidebar. You might notice that my line of credit is still sitting at 0% paid off. I put my new computer purchase of $3,152 onto my Visa card last week, with the intention of paying it all off with my line of credit. However, the transaction has yet to post to my Visa, so it leaves me in financial limbo at the moment. As soon as it posts, I'll transfer the entire balance over. But since it hasn't for this pay cheque, I'm not going to make a huge payment to my LOC, which currently has a zero balance. So instead, I put $1,000 towards my student loan debt, and now it's over 80% paid off! w00t! In 2 weeks when I get paid again, I'll make up for it by putting $1,000 towards the line of credit debt.

My direct transfer contributions to my RRSP and my Condo Down Payment fund will happen tonight, so I"ll post the updated numbers tomorrow. Hopefully the TSX isn't such a bitch today.

I'm on my boyfriend's health care plan from his work. So the plan costs approximately $100 per month to be on for the both of us (which is still cheap as hell), but he only has to pay the taxes on the cost of the plan. So taxed at a rate of 22% (it gets taxed as income on his paycheque), it only costs us $22/month for full health care for the both of us, including dental, and a $35 deductible on prescriptions. The prescriptions alone are worth it.

Anyway, the reason why I bring it up is because next Wednesday I have to go in for my wisdom teeth surgery. I know, I should have gotten it done a billion years ago ... but I moved to Michigan for University before I could even really think about it way back when I was 17. The surgery without health care would cost over $2,000, but it is fully covered under my medical plan ... all except the general anesthetic, which I'll have to pay $200 for, because apparently it's not considered "essential" to the surgery. It's a far cry from having to pay $2,000, but considering it a non-essential is pretty bold. I mean, would anyone in their right mind have their wisdom teeth taken out without being put under? Honestly, it seems so ridiculous.

There goes another $200, plus any lost wages from days I miss off work ... damnit!

I wish I knew 5 years ago that I'd want a condo eventually. I really wish I had thought things through. Planned ahead. I wish I had saved up a ridiculous amount of money, so that when I did get to the stage where I could actually afford mortgage payments, I'd be okay with the 25% down payment to avoid that nasty default insurance.

But, I didn't.

So here I sit, 24 years old, twiddling my thumbs and frantically trying to save up money as fast as I can. I wish I were like my sister. For some reason she has the "spend less, save more" gene I apparently don't have. I wonder what made her the way she is, and made me the complete opposite. While I try to play catch-up with my finances, by the time she's my age, I betcha she'll be all set to go, without a financial care in the world.

The thing is, with our combined income, I know my boyfriend and I could easily buy a brand new condo right now in the downtown area, and be living quite comfortably - even in the hot real estate market we live in (the average house here costs over $500,000!) ... but it's tricky. Buying property with someone is a huge investment not only financially, but also in the relationship. I always thought that I'd buy my first condo by myself, and then buy my first house when I got married. Now that I'm in a relationship, and we're looking down that long-term road, I don't know if I like what I see.