I have been speaking with someone who might hire me to do some contract work on an on-going basis. It will pay $25/hr, and I'd basically be creating book layouts in Adobe InDesign for offset printing, or digital print-on-demand. The pay isn't that great as far as contract work goes, but a few of my friends work full-time for a publishing company doing book layouts, and they only make $12-14/hr. Plus, I'm just getting started. Fingers crossed that I get the job!
Last night, I made Texas chicken pizza for dinner. There's just something about rolling out my own pizza crust that is just so satisfying. I'd much rather spend the time to make my own pizza than get one delivered. It's not only healthier when I make it at home, but it's also a lot cheaper.
Today, the BF is going fly fishing while I'm here at work. Hopefully he'll land a nice fish for us to eat for dinner. We used go to every lake imaginable to fly fish last summer, but I still haven't bought my fishing license for the year, and I'm not sure if I'm going to. Both the fresh water and salt water licenses aren't that expensive, and I have all my own gear, but it's the gas that's the killer. We love going exploring into the logging roads, and reaching remote fishing/camping locations ... but after we buy food, and spend the money on gas, it can get pretty expensive. I'll leave the fishing to the BF if it means it'll save me a few hundred dollars in gas this summer.
I bought sunglasses today for $239.45, and I'm going to pay for it out of my Emergency Fund.
Before you go and think I've fallen off the frugal wagon, it's not what you think. I can justify my purchase! I wear glasses pretty much 24/7, so when it gets too sunny out, I've been having to wear regular sunglasses ... and I'm getting really dizzy and sick walking around with blurry vision. No, I didn't have to get the fancy Ralph Lauren glasses, but $200 of the cost will be covered by my medical plan, so I figured I might as well get the ones I look best in. Plus, they were 50% off! Once I get the $200 reimbursement, I'll stick it right back in the EF, and I'll throw in another $40 just so I'm not cheating myself out of my EF money. And let's face it, $40 is cheap for a pair of sunglasses as it is, never mind prescription sunglasses.
The BF and I had a coupon for two free lunches, so we hit that up today, and then afterwards we went and watched two IMAX films for free with our annual pass. We had a pretty good Saturday, and the only money we spent was for my sunglasses ... well, and for groceries. But that only came to $22 for my share for the week.
It's so nice out today, so I'm about to go for a walk with my sister, and then come back to watch some NHL playoff action. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend as well!
This will be a tough month because my part-time job with the hockey team has ended for the season. Today I'm submitting my application for an usher at the arena, but I doubt it'll bring in the $250-300/month I was making with the hockey team. Granted, that's not a lot of money either, but it's more than the $100-$150 I plan to pull in with the ushering job. I still make a comfortable amount with my full-time job to not really need a part-time job when it comes down to it, but every dollar counts!
May 2007 goals:
- Pay off my Line of Credit. I should be able to do this with my May 8th pay cheque. And then (deep breath) I'll be D.E.B.T F.R.E.E!!!!!!!!!!!! I never thought this day would come.
- $100 towards RRSP. I changed my mind, and I'm just going to keep contributing $50 bi-weekly. I talked to my Mom about it, and she said I shouldn't start contributing more until I have a permanent job. Instead, I should put the money into my Emergency Fund because I can always make a lump sum deposit into my RRSP when I'm doing my taxes next year. That seems logical. It also makes me nervous that she's right - my job situation is so up in the air right now, and my contract at my current job is up in almost 6 months.
- $500 towards Emergency Fund. I will try as hard as I can to contribute more, because I'm pretty sure I'll need to come up with the money for that dental work I've been talking about. And with this $500, that'll completely wipe out the EF. :( But it needs to get done.
- $300 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. Once I'm debt-free, I'm going to pour money into this fund like it's nobody's business. But until then, I'm stuck contributing pennies.
- Find another part-time job. If for some reason I can't do the ushering thing, then I've got to find another part-time job. I don't know if I'm allowed to be picky, but I'm going to be anyway. I won't work in a mall, or in a restaurant ... and I don't want to be stressed at all at the job. I really just want a job that will pay me to hang around. That's why the ushering job is perfect. :) We will see!
Today was pay day, so I updated the sidebar. I put $800 towards my line of credit (almost have that paid off!), $150 for rent, $50 into my RRSP, $150 into the Emergency Fund, and $175 into the Condo Down Payment Fund. I also had to pay my cell phone bill of $42.
The rest of my money went to pay off the charges on the credit card that I've spent over the last two weeks, but that was only $158.05 - and that was ALL of my spending for two whole weeks, including groceries. I think that's pretty good! Anyway, I'm one of those people who charges everything to a credit card, and then I pay the balance off every 2 weeks. With my Visa, I get 1% back on all my purchases, and my Mastercard I get 10 points for every $1 I spend. Once I get 10,000 points, I get $10 worth of groceries. They also give you points for paying bills online, getting pay cheques automatically deposited into your account with them, etc. The BF has the same bank, so we end up combining points. We find that every 3-4 months, we can get $40 worth of groceries. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure feels nice to get a free week's worth of groceries once in a while just for spending money we would have spent regardless.
Without further ado, my monthly review ...
April Goals (end of month review):
- Pay off the rest of my student loan (!!!). I achieved this on April 13th. HOORAH!
- $1,200 towards my line of credit. I was able to contribute $1,455, so I'm happy.
- $100 towards RRSP. DONE. I know I don't pay enough into it. For May, I'm going to increase the amount to $300/month.
- $200 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. I was able to deposit $300.
- $200 into Emergency Fund. I was able to deposit $250.
- Stay completely on budget for the month. Well, as we all know, I went over budget on my dining out budget. As of right now, I stand to be $6 over, but I'm going for lunch with the BF today, and then going for a cup of tea at Starbucks with my friend.
- Find out whether the client is ready for me to start working on her project. Well, she is not ready for me to start working yet, because she doesn't know if she has it in her budget to pay me. She suggested that I take on other contracts in the meantime, and once she's ready, she'll wait for me to become available.
Today's goal at work: get rid of all the clutter piled up on my desk! It's amazing how disgusting my office got in just a week of intense work on a project. Now that I'm finished, it's time to de-clutter and organize ... then get working on all the crap I've been ignoring!
Tomorrow, I'm going for coffee with a good friend that I've blogged about before. I have a sneaking suspicion she's living off of her credit cards, and transferring balances around to make minimum payments, but I hope I'm wrong. When I see her, I'm not going to try and make her see differently (because that isn't working anymore), I'm just going to be her friend and hopefully she'll turn things around on her own.
Hoorah! About a month ago, I entered a photography contest with a photo I took while the BF and I were on a fishing/camping trip up at the north end of the island. It has the river, mountains, forest, and really pretty hues of blue - and it even has a bald eagle soaring through the air in it. When I showed it to the BF after the trip, he said it looked just like something you'd see on a postcard, or in a travel magazine. And to be fair, it does. But it's not exciting. Nothing's happening, except for the eagle. I don't even know why I submitted it. It wasn't even the best photo I took on that trip.
Anyway, I just got a letter in the mail today saying I was selected as a semi-finalist! :) The grand prize is $10,000, and there are a bunch of smaller prizes. I don't expect to win anything, I just think it's cool that they thought my photo was good enough. (Although, the $10k would be nice!)
Pay day is on Friday, so I'll be updating the sidebar, reviewing my April monthly goals, and setting new goals for May! Stay tuned.
An open letter to the asshole in the maroon SUV on W. Saanich Rd. yesterday @ 4:10pm:
Thanks for endangering not only my life, but the lives of everyone around you because you're an arrogant prick who thinks he owns the road just because you drive a gas guzzling SUV.
It is NOT okay to ride my back wheel in order to pressure me to go faster. How do I go faster when there's another car in front of me?
It is NOT okay to try to pass me ON MY LEFT-HAND SIDE IN SINGLE LANE TRAFFIC by straddling the double solid yellow line, with cars going by in both directions, then cutting me off (causing me to almost run off the road and into a ditch), and squeezing your fat SUV ass into the tiny space between me and the next car. All the while, cars going in the opposite direction are honking and screaming at you because they have to slow down and move over to accommodate the fact that you've invaded their lane.
And then when I honk at you for cutting me off and almost killing me, it is NOT okay to roll down your window, tell me to "F-off" and "get in the bicycle lane." Then when the car in front of you turns off the road, it is not okay to speed off just to prove your point that your SUV is indeed more powerful than my scooter.
First of all, scooters are considered motor vehicles, and it is illegal for a motor vehicle to be in the bicycle lane. So F U. Second of all, I wasn't even slowing down traffic at all. I was going 55 km/hr in a 50 km/hr speed zone. When a scooter can go 62 km/hr, it has every right to be in a traffic lane.
I could have understood if I was completely slowing traffic down, and going less than the speed limit. But I was in the middle of traffic, going above the speed limit, and the douche has the audacity to nearly kill me, then tell me to fuck off? I hate drivers like that!
Arggg now I'm all angry again after typing all of that out. Time to sit and fume in my office for the next few minutes.
As a very proud Asian-Canadian, it really gets my blood boiling to read things like this.
I've been a victim of racism before, so I know what it feels like. It's fine to poke fun of ethnicity in a harmless way, like Russell Peters does in his stand-up comedy act (which I find hilarious), but to do it at someone's expense when they don't even know that you're making fun of them, and to that degree, is derogatory, demeaning, and just plain cruel.
I hope both of them get fired, and find out what it feels like to be on the receiving end of their "shock jock" tactics.
I've been going to the same hair stylist for about 5 years now. I love her, and I even went so far as to not cut my hair for 10 whole months while she was away on maternity leave last year. When I finally went to see her, you should have seen her face! hahaha my hair was so tragic. Anyway, it costs me $70 (including tip) for a haircut each time, which I think is really reasonable compared to other places, but it's still expensive with my new frugal lifestyle.
Before her, I went to this Asian woman who cuts hair out of her basement. It seems shady, but my entire family goes to her, and she only charges $12 for a woman's cut. I stopped because 1) she never took enough time and care with my hair, since she wanted to pump out as many customers as possible, and 2) my hair always looked like crap afterwards.
With summer coming up, I want to get my hair cut. I'm scared to go with someone else because I've been with my stylist for so long. I know places in the mall charge $35-40, and those SuperCut places only charge like $20. But I don't want to come out with a mullet (which has happened to me before!!! Note to readers: never get your hair cut at JC Penny! hahaha).
Should I just suck it up and pay the $70 like I usually do? Or should I venture into cheaper territory to save money?
Lately, I've been pondering what to do with saving up for my condo down payment.
Currently, I plan to save $2,000/month towards my down payment. I'm investing half of that money towards the down payment in a non-registered mutual fund. The other half is going in a high interest savings account of 4%.
I want to increase my RRSP contribution to $300/month in May. But, am I better off increasing my RRSP by a lot in order to put myself in the next lowest tax bracket (and get a huge tax refund next year)? I would sacrifice saving money towards my down payment, but I figure I could borrow the money out of the RRSP for the First Time Home Buyer's Plan, and have a big tax refund that I could put towards the down payment as well (or help fund my RRSP contribution for the following year). It would mean repaying back my RRSPs, as well as continuing my contributions, but I think I have 15 years to do that.
This is the plan the BF wants to do with his finances, but I've always heard horror stories about borrowing from your retirement. And when you do it, are you obligated to get a mortgage with the bank that holds your retirement account? That's what my financial advisor hinted at the last time I went to meet with her, but at the time I was still in a lot of student loan debt, and didn't feel like I was really in a position to ask more questions.
I think the smart thing to do is keep contributing $100/month for now, and then when it comes time to do my 2007 taxes, I'll let my accountant figure out how much I would have to pay into my RRSP in order to get myself into that lower tax bracket. Because I run my own little side business, I do get the tax perks of being self-employed.
But, I want to get the most bang for my buck, and I'm not sure if this is the best way.
So I finished filling out the application to become an usher at the arena. The pay is horrendous at only $8.00/hr. I've never been paid minimum wage before, so that's a big blow, and a huge drop from what I make at my full-time job.
I spoke to the supervisor at the last hockey game, and I've basically got the job ... but he seems to think that I'd be more suited for a position at Guest Services - or at least he thinks I'd be happier there. That's the information desk in the lobby of the arenas. Truthfully, that' d be more "my style," based on my current hockey job at the arena ... but then I wouldn't be able to see the concerts and events! Guest Services pays $9.50/hr, which is pretty bad, but still a lot better than being an usher. But I think I'm willing to take the pay cut just to get to watch the concerts for free. And to be honest, if I'm only working 15-20 hrs/month, that extra $1.50/hr isn't going to make much of a difference. But then again, money is money.
I'm hoping to keep the ushering (or Guest Services) job for as long as I can, and work some of the events in the arena that aren't hockey games (since I'll have to work my regular part-time job at those). The great thing about the ushering job is it's super flexible. You can either work an event, or not. And there's no penalty either way. That means come September, I'll have 3 jobs again ... 4 if you count my side business. It'll mean long ass days and long ass commutes, but also bigger pay cheques. And I might as well do this while I'm young enough to have the energy to run around from job to job.
For all you frugal Canadians out there, I have another awesome site for you to check out: Save.ca
Basically it's a coupon site, where you select the coupons you want, and they'll mail it to you for FREE! They even pay the postage! I don't exactly know what's in it for them, but I think the manufacturers must provide them a spin off for giving away coupons for their products to consumers who are most likely to buy them.
Anyway, I wanted to test it out and see if it worked, so I ordered a $2-off coupon for Pantene Pro-V Expressions. I've never tried the stuff before, but I feel like it's really close to the John Freida Brilliant Brunette stuff that I've been spending $10/bottle on for the past few years. The coupon came right away, and it was colour-printed on really nice, glossy paper. I went to use it at a local box store, and ended up only paying $4.98 for the bottle! That's practically giving it away. I know there's a lot of cheaper alternatives I could be buying, and that I could probably buy shampoo and conditioner for the $5 I spent on one bottle, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take that next frugal step just yet. I went from spending $25 for the salon stuff, to the $10 Brilliant Brunette, and now to $5 Pantene ... I"ll eventually get there! LOL. :)
If I like the stuff, I'm going to order another coupon in the next few weeks so I can "stock up" on it. I think the coupons on the site rotate as new products are introduced, so I should get some more before the deal vanishes.
Two minutes ago I had my finger on the trigger, and was going to buy those John Fogerty tickets. It was going to be such a great concert, and I could just see myself dancing along to "Centerfield," but I couldn't do it. Instead, I'm here. In a rush of guilt, I closed the page down, took a few deep breathes, and came here instead to blog. That was a close call.
The cheap tickets were pretty far away from the stage when I saw how the arena was going to be set up, and I got to thinking ... would I rather go see Fogerty now, or save that $60 to go towards my condo down payment? As soon as I thought about it that way, I knew what I had to do. I feel good about my decision. As much as I wanted to go to the concert, I want other things a lot more. I think I just might be a little proud of myself! :)
Plus, if all goes according to plan, and I take on that ushering job at the arena (just until the hockey season starts up again in the fall), I'll be getting paid to watch the concert anyway.
Alright, time to get back to work.
I just found out that John Fogerty is coming to my city! O.M.G!!! Maybe I'm too young to have listened to his music when it first came out, but I'm not too young to know that he's a god.
We've been getting kick-ass concerts at the arena lately. First BB King next weekend, Willie Nelson early this summer, and now this concert on August 1st. Not that I'm going to any of them, but still. It kinda makes up for the fact that we also have Incubus coming to town in the summer, and really, who likes them anyway? I bet the concert gods sent Fogerty my way because I was on my internship in Northern Alberta during the summer of 2005 and missed the Bob Dylan concert when he came to town. BOB DYLAN! Come on!
Tickets are $49.50 + service charges, etc. and they go on sale tomorrow. Now I have to convince the BF to go with me! :) I figure after everything is said and done, both tickets will come to $120 or so. But he'd pay me back for his. Crap. I did not budget for this.
What to do, what to do ...
I've come to realize that I'm impatient. Very impatient.
Right now, to go along with trying to get out of debt, get a permanent job, buy a condo, get caught up with my RRSP contributions, go back to school (?), and establish an emergency fund, now I want a car. I know I can't possibly do all these things at once; it all comes one step at a time. But I want all of it now! LOL! Buying a car is definitely at the bottom of the priority list for me right now, but I can't help but dream. I miss my old car. It's a treat to me whenever I even get in a car nowadays. Not that I mind riding my scooter - it's helping me achieve my goals by saving me money ... but a scooter isn't really that practical in the long run, and certainly isn't going to do me any good if and when I move.
Of course, my dream car just happens to be a MINI Cooper S convertible - which is so completely out of my price range. But when I get one, I'm going to drive it into the ground. That's how I'll justify the purchase. I don't want to buy a new car I'll be just okay with for the next 20 years - if I'm going to buy it, I'm going to buy exactly what I want. And I know cars are the worst investment ever, and this is a total want vs. need scenario, but a gal only lives once!
I know I'll probably buy used. A car that's 1, 2, or even 3 years old doesn't really bother me. Heck, I drive a scooter right now, so any car is better than what I've got (which is nothing!). According to Mini.ca, a brand new, bare bones MINI Cooper S convertible costs $36,600 not including tax, freight, etc. That's a lot of money! Ones that are a few years old are going anywhere between $20,000 - $30,000 on Craigslist in the Vancouver area. I know I won't be buying a car until 1) I'm out of debt, 2) I already have a mortgage, and 3) I have at least $10,000 saved up for it. So I figure that'll be at minimum, 2 years away anyway. And maybe I can hold off longer than that ... all I know is before I turn 30, I must have this car.
And you know what? I even feel guilty for even writing this post. I feel guilty for wanting something so expensive - for even looking at their website! I even thought about deleting the post, but that's what this blog is for, isn't it? The new frugal me says I should never buy a car this expensive because I'll be right back in debt again, but the practical me says that it's not that expensive if I plan on saving for it, and keeping it until it dies. Right?
Ugg, maybe I should plan on buying a fugly Yaris instead.
I've recently come upon a great blog that is dedicated to posting all sorts of different deals for Canadians. It's called SmartCanucks.ca, and it's fab. I've had it in my Google reader for a while now, but haven't posted about it until now. If you're Canadian, and love a great deal, then definitely go and visit the site. They have links to tons of great online flyers (definitely helpful to have all these flyers in one place, instead of trying to search each of the individual websites), tips and tricks, coupons, and info on big sales coming up. It's worth a look!
I was particularily excited about the sports "fan packs" that teams apparently offer. I had no idea you could just e-mail a team, and they'd send you loads of free stuff! We certainly don't do that in my city. Anyway, I e-mailed the Calgary Flames, and they e-mailed me right back and said I'd have my very own "fan pack" in 6 weeks or less. Sweet!!! :)
The good news: I only spent $5 last night at the bar for a pint of Race Rocks.
The bad news: We lost. :( It's really disappointing, and I maintain that if it weren't for our shaky goaltending, we would have gone all the way. But, it was a fantastic season. I'm proud of them, and I'm proud to be a part of the hockey club!
As some of you may know, I'm trying to move to Alberta by early 2008. It's hard. I don't want to give up this part-time gig with the team. I don't want someone else to do my job - I'm the only one to have ever held this position (the team is only 3 seasons old). We have loyal fans, and I've come to know a lot of the season ticket holders by name. People randomly come up to me on the street, and they start talking hockey with me. I like that feeling - the feeling that I belong to something that's huge, or at least has the potential to become huge. I like being the "face" of the team during the games. I want to be a part of it when we make it big; when we finally win the Cup. I've never become so attached to a job before, and I don't want to lose that feeling of truly loving my job (even though it's just my part-time job).
I'm almost positive that no job would make me as happy and satisfied as working with a professional sports team. That's something I can believe in, and something I've always been passionate about. So I guess it's a matter of sacrifice - I've got to quit the job I love so much to have a shot at something bigger down the road. This team I work for is the biggest thing this city has to offer, and the only professional sports team we have. I have to move if I want something more ... yet I'm reluctant to.
But I shouldn't be reluctant. This is just a part-time job, afterall. And I can't wait around and hope that my boss quits so I can take her job. But I'm afraid if I don't wait around to take her job and gain that experience, I won't have the qualifications to get that better job with a bigger team. And then I'll just be sitting at a desk with a boring government job, pushing paper, and going crazy for the rest of my life!
Argghh! This is stressing me out. Time for the gym.
I got through the weekend without spending a single dollar. Well, other than groceries, that is. Tonight, the BF and I will probably be going to a bar to watch the hockey team I work for play in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs. It's in Alaska, and is only broadcasted locally up there, or over the internet, but you have to pay to watch it online. Thankfully the bar will be showing it on their big screen! They are down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, so if we lose, then we get eliminated. :( But I believe in our guys, and even if we don't win, it's just been one of those amazing Cinderella-type seasons. We will try not to spend any money, because as you know I'm already over my dining out budget for the month ... but it's not very polite just to sit in a bar for 3 hours and not even order a beer. In fact, I don't even know if they'd let us do that. But the beers will only be $3.75, and that's pretty good.
Speaking of hockey, my Div.1 and Div.2 field hockey teams made it to their respective league championship games yesterday. So I played two back-to-back games. Needless to say, I'm pretty sore today. :) We lost our Div.2 game, but we won our Div.1 game 2-1 in OT! It's a nice feeling being the Div.1 champs, because it's pretty much the highest level of field hockey you can play here ... and on paper, the team that we beat should have destroyed us. Player for player, they are a lot more talented than us, but I guess we wanted it more than them!
Damn! I was checking Quicken last night, and I'm already $1 over my dining out budget for April. And it's only the 14th! Okay, I know, it's only a buck. But still. Being over budget already makes me think that it's already a lost cause, and it doesn't matter how much I spend on food anymore, because I'm already not going to achieve my target. I even adjusted my dining out budget to $50 this month too, so it makes me sad. It was one of the challenges I set for myself this month: don't go a single dollar over budget. I really thought I could do it too! I guess it was because I was going from one job to another, and 14 hr. work days ... just didn't really think to pack a lunch and a dinner on those days.
It is going to be so hard not to buy a single cup of tea, or a snack or anything for the rest of the month. Two weeks. I wonder if I can do it! I guess that'll be my new challenge for the month. If I can do it, and only be off my goal by $1, then I won't feel so bad.
Well, I got paid today, so I updated the sidebar.
I paid off the rest of my student loan, so that is gone forever! :) Anyway, $100 went to my Emergency Fund. I said I was going to put it off for a little bit, but I need to start stashing away cash so I can pay for my stupid dental work. $50 went into my RRSP and $125 into my Condo Down Payment fund. I also paid off $665 of my line of credit.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that my debt wasn't as bad as a lot of other people's, and I should be grateful that I only ended up with $14k in student loans ... but spending and personal finance in general have never been my strong point. I was one of those people who wouldn't even open bills when I received them. I just threw them out. Before I started this blog, I had just finished paying off my credit cards (which I always carried a balance on), and I was even sent to collections once for unpaid parking tickets! That was really embarrassing. Anyway, hopefully with this blog, and this new PF blogging community I've found, I'll be able to keep up and achieve the goals I've set out for myself!
NIUicepricess from Life and Debt in Chicago has just tagged me for the Frugal Living Meme. My first tag ever! This gal is moving up in the PF blogging world! :)
The meme is to write a post about one thing you do well, and one thing you do poorly with respect to saving and spending money.
What I do well: I'm super organized when it comes to managing my money, and making sure everything gets paid on time. Quicken has become my best friend for the past year, and I've also developed Excel spreadsheets to track my daily mutual fund growth, grocery expenses, and gas consumption. I basically know where every single penny of my money goes.
What I don't do so well: I like high quality things. When I buy something, I end up buying the more expensive one, or the trusted name brand item, because I feel like it'll last longer. It'll be like an investment. That goes for everything - clothes, shoes, appliances, make-up, dishes, food, flowers, electronics, etc. Everything. I got this habit from my mom, and I'm trying to control it. Sometimes it's good to buy the more expensive item if the quality is there, but I need to learn how to scrimp, and buy the less expensive thing more often than not.
So now I'm going to tag:
Matt's Money Blog
Well-Heeled: twentysomething life & money
(although I don't know if either of those two read my blog on a regular basis ... the only 2 that are regular visitors here have already been tagged!)
Meme Rules:
- Write a blog post based on this meme’s theme. See above.
- At the top of your post please link to this post and mention that you are participating in the Frugal Living meme.
- Feel free to add a comment.
- Also, please link back to the person that tagged you for this meme, if anyone did, in order to return the favor of their tag link to you. It’s not necessary to be tagged in order to participate.
- Tag some other bloggers to get them to write about their own spending habits. It’s certainly okay to participate even if you are new at blogging and are not yet comfortable tagging anyone. I think just about everyone has good and bad monetary habits, so this meme should not be limited to only frugality bloggers.
I borrowed Save Karyn from the library this weekend, and read it in one sitting. It was a pretty cute book, and much like the Shopaholic books I secretly love so much (speaking of which, I'm on the hold list to borrow the newest Shopaholic & Baby book from the library ... but the last time I checked I was hold number 187 of 325, so I doubt I'll be reading it anytime soon!). I saw it on sale at Costco for around $17.50, and was tempted to buy it, because at Chapters it was $34.99 or something like that ... but it's not a life or death situation. I will live if I don't fill my Becky Bloomwood addiction right away. :)
They decided to jack up bus fare starting back on April 1st, which angers me a lot. It's only 25 cents, but now I'm paying $2.75 for a one-way ticket, and that's just ridiculous! I remember back in the day, it was only a dollar. A dollar! God I'm old.
I was cleaning out a drawer in the washroom last night, when I uncovered a huge stash of (unopened) beauty products that I got for free when I was a beauty advisor while going to school. I found a $45 tube of Dermaglow hand cream (the best stuff in the world), Lancome face self-tanner and the body self tanner, Biotherm waterproof eye make-up remover, and some random Avene creams (including a sunscreen). Do you think they're still good to use?
My boss just told me that he'd like me to attend a one-day marketing seminar in Vancouver next month. Awesome! 1) I've never been away "on business" before, and 2) since the seminar is on a Thursday, and I get Friday-Saturdays off, I'm just going to stay and spend some time with friends and family on the mainland. Going to Vancouver can get pretty expensive, which is why I rarely ever go. But since it's for business, I would get to use my company credit card to reimburse me for the ferry, and transportation to and from the ferry. I also think I get a meal allowance for the day of the seminar as well, but I'll look into that. Anyway, the trip isn't confirmed yet, but I hope I get to go!
In other news, I applied for a job in Alberta with a hockey team. It's for the exact same position my boss has at the arena, except that it's with an NHL team. I don't have any expectations, and I don't even expect to get an interview, but still ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one! They want 3 years experience, and I only have 2, and they probably already have somebody in mind, so we'll see.
Got my quarterly GST cheque today for $74.45! I also qualify to receive it again this fiscal year, except I'm not sure how much it'll be. I'll deposit it on Friday when I get paid, and it'll go straight towards my debt.
Last night the BF and I decided to go see Blades of Glory with a friend of mine who was in town for the long weekend. It was a great movie, but definitely didn't even come close to touching Anchorman, which is clearly the greatest movie in the history of the world. It's gotten so bad, that my friends and I will have Anchorman quote battles, to see who can recite the most lines in a row without messing up. Blades of Glory had some good quotes too, and it was nice to see Jon Heder in another movie. All in all, I'd say it ranks pretty close to even with Talladega Nights.
We had a free movie pass from a cereal box, as well as a $5 gift certificate, so the total for the both of us was $4.95. Which is the same price we would have to pay to rent the movie from Rogers or Blockbuster when it got released. Pretty good for a night out!
Jimmy: I see you got fat!
Chazz: I see you still look like a 15-year-old girl, but not hot.
Also, today I went shopping at the mall with my mom. We went into RW&Co because she had a $100 gift certificate. While we were there, I made the mistaken of trying on a really nice short sleeve blouse for $45. I hadn't bought any clothes this year so far, and most of my clothes don't fit me anymore since I've lost some weight, so I know I'll have to buy some spring/summer clothes for work sooner or later. I was just hoping for later. Anyway, I wasn't going to buy it, but my mom only ended up spending some of her certificate, and she let me have the rest of it! So after taxes, the blouse was only $12.44! Score!
The wisdom teeth surgery that cost me $200 last month seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the $1,300 I'm going to have to fork over in the next few months!
Back in 2000, I got my front teeth knocked out with a field hockey stick by a teammate at practice. No, I wasn't wearing my mouthguard (the only time I've ever NOT worn my mouthguard, so how's that for ironic?). Yes, it hurt a lot. And the amount of blood pouring out of my mouth was horrifying. I even had to go to my recruitment visit to CMU without teeth! Anyway, after a week of sexy toothlessness, the dentist screwed metal bars into the root of my front teeth, and fitted me with ugly looking temporary teeth. They were meant to stay in for no longer than a year, b/c they aren't strong enough for me to bite down on anything hard, like apples or carrots. Well, 7 years later they're still in my mouth!
A couple weeks ago when I went to get checked up, the dentist said that in a few months after my gums have completely healed from my wisdom teeth surgery, she wants to book me in and fix my front teeth. Fine, I've been putting it off long enough, but I had no idea it would cost me so much, and that $1,300 is after my insurance company covers their portion!
DAMN.
I subscribe to a ton of PF blogs, and lately a lot of them have been talking about debt reduction strategy and student loans. Most of my friends are paying either the minimum or slightly above minimum payments. A lot of finance books are also talk about not paying much more than minimum towards student loans, and I wonder why. They say it's because it's a low interest loan, and you would be better off investing that money at a higher return.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I've always thought that any debt is bad debt, whether it's credit card, student loans, a car loan, etc. My student loans have a 9.5% interest rate, and that's practically the same for every student in Canada, I would imagine. Is that considered a low interest loan? To me, it's highway robbery! For a while, I was paying $2 a day in interest!
Anyway, reading all of this has gotten me doubting my debt payoff strategy again, and it's not like I can just take back all the money I've paid towards my loans. It makes me nervous that while I'm pouring every last cent into my student loans, the next person is paying the minimum, but socking away all that extra cash into investments, emergency funds, etc.
I know everyone has their own way of paying off debt, but it still makes me stop and think about if I'm making the right choices. I wish there was one solid set of rules that everyone followed regarding finances. That way, if you deviated from the rules, you knew you were screwing up. But I guess that's just not how life works! :)
Spent $22.16 Friday night for me and the BF on drinks and appys for my friend's birthday. I budgeted an extra $20 out of my dining out budget this month b/c of her birthday, so I don't feel badly at all! Plus, that's not a lot of money for 2 drinks and 2 appys anyway. Although, the nachos were a disappointment! :)
Yesterday, I spent $7.16 at Starbucks before we had to go to the arena. I bought my usual tea for $1.70, but my sister bought a fancy drink. I didn't mind though. We also got an oat bar to share.
I'm at work right now (yes, on Easter Sunday), so I don't have access to my Quicken data, but I'm pretty sure I've spent $36.02 on food so far in April, and it's only the 8th! Since I budgeted an extra $20 to cover my friend's birthday, I still have $13.98 for the month.
In other news, I'm still on the fence about taking the 3rd job as an usher at the arena during concerts and events. My job with the hockey team will be ending for the season soon, and that means I'll only have my full-time job from now until September. That's no good. I've always had 2 jobs, even while going to school. It feels weird not to. So, I think I'll go for it. It'll only be a few shifts a month, and the hours are super flexible, so it's not like it'll be too bad. Plus, free concerts! And a couple hundred extra bucks a month would definitely help.
I just got my tax refund today, so I updated the sidebar. I put the entire $1300 towards my student loans, and now I'm at 97% paid off!! HOORAH!!! Next Friday, they'll be gone forever!!!
Since I'll be out of debt soon, and will be saving $2,000/month for my condo down payment, I've decided to try using TD eFunds and open up a non-registered account. Basically in exchange for a low MER (yay!), I'll have to manage my portfolio online - which is fine, because I want the freedom to choose what I invest in anyway. Plus they give you a really handy "portfolio planner," which assesses your risk tolerance and suggests how you should allocate your money. Then you can choose eFunds that match the suggested percentage.
My condo down payment fund is currently being held with TD in a non-registered Balanced Growth mutual fund at a 2.14% MER, so I'll just convert it over. It seems easy enough, and my MER will drop to well below 1%! Part of the reason I want to switch is because I want to get more for my money, but the biggest reason is because I want to try to take control of my investments, instead of paying someone a percentage of my earnings to do it for me. Plus, I'm scared of the stock market. :) My BF has most of his money in stocks right now, but that's just too much for me right now. Baby steps!
My RRSP is also with TD in the Balanced Growth mutual fund, with the same 2.14% MER. I'm going to keep it like that for now, and see how I do with handling my own portfolio. If I feel comfortable with it, then sometime this year I'll convert that one over as well.
So, starting in May, $1,000 of my money will be direct deposited into my TD eFund (where I hope it will earn more than 10% interest), and the other $1,000 will go into a high interest savings account, earning 4% interest. These numbers may change, depending on how much risk I want to take, how well the eFunds are doing, and how good I am at investing. :)
I think I love my part-time job more than my full-time job. With my part-time job, along with coordinating my staff, and making sure all the promotions in the arena run smoothly and on time, I'm also on the microphone. Have you ever been to a sporting event, and during TV timeouts, there's someone on a microphone in the crowd talking to someone, doing a contest, asking a trivia question, etc? Well, that's me. I'm also out on the ice during the intermissions. The reason why I mentioned this is because this Saturday, for our last regular season game, we sold out the arena! For the first time in franchise history (we're only 3 season old)! This is huge, especially going into the playoffs. But it also gives me butterflies in my stomach just to think how many people are going to be watching me out there, and making fun of me if I screw up or slip and fall! LOL fingers crossed that doesn't happen!
Anyway, my career goal has always been to work in communications/marketing/promotions for an NHL team. So basically I want to do exactly what my boss is doing, except we're two steps below the NHL. Well a few weeks ago, my boss hinted that she wants to leave before the season starts again in September. It dawned on me that I'd be the most likely candidate to take over her position. I wouldn't need to be trained, and I'm already comfortable with everyone that works there.
If she left, and I was the successful candidate for the position, even though it would look good on my resume, I don't know if I would take the job. Since this league is only 2 steps away from the NHL, it would be beneficial to get a few years of experience under my belt in a managing position ... but for all the 12 hr days and the stress involved, it sure doesn't pay a lot. Taking her position would mean a 27% pay cut from my current salary at my full time job, and that's huge! Plus, I wouldn't have a part-time job anymore. I know I have to start somewhere and pay my dues, but it seems like such a step backward in my career. And then could I afford a mortgage?
Anyway, I've even thought that if I were offered the job, I would ask for a salary match to what I currently make. Or at least as close as I could negotiate to it. I'd say it'd be worth it to them b/c I would save them money in the end since I don't have to be trained at all. Plus, I could design the game day programs and do some of their marketing that they currently contract out. Keeping production in-house can save a company a ton of money! I'd write this all out as a business proposal of course, so it'd be official and put together.
But that's getting ahead of myself at the moment. I'll keep you posted!
Yesterday I left the office a few minutes early to check out two open houses I saw signs for on my ride out to work. I know it's premature to even think about buying anything, but it's nice to get a feel for what an open house is like, and how much my money will buy me.
The first house was a cute townhouse for $310,000. It was built in 2005, has 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, a garage, and a really nice kitchen. Granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. It was the townhouse closest to the street though, but it had a cute enclosed backyard to make up for it. I really liked it, but clearly it's out of my price range for the time being.
The second house was just across the street, and it was a condo for $217,000. This is in my price range. It was built in 2004 (or 2005, I forget), has 1 bedroom, 1 bath, and an "office nook" which is attached to the main living area. A nice kitchen, too. The place was okay, but not spectacular. In my opinion, it's overpriced for only 700 sq. ft., but it's in a nice area. The strata fees were almost $250/month.
It's kinda depressing that $220,000 will only buy a tiny condo in this city. If I bought with my BF, we would definitely have more money to work with (combined, we make over $110k annually), but I really want to buy by myself, and build up my own equity. Plus, if we ever broke up, neither of us could afford to pay for the mortgage of a more expensive property. I guess big decisions and changes lay ahead of me in the next year or so!
I'm really wanting to buy in a year, but I'm also thinking about renting in order to save up more money. If I rent for a year or so, I would be able to save up at least $1,000 a month if I find a job that pays me what I'm making now. It would be great to be able to put down the entire 25% down payment required in order not to pay that stupid mortgage insurance, but I doubt I could save up that much, that fast. But I guess it depends on what the market is like, my job situation, and other variables.
I went to A&B Sound on Friday and spent $15 to buy Jeremy Fisher's newest CD, "Goodbye Blue Monday." It wasn't an impulse buy - I knew I was going to buy it as soon as the release date was announced.
*SWOON* Sorry I have to have a complete "girl moment" right now. I have such a thing for cute acoustic guitarists. :) ESPECIALLY cute Canadian acoustic guitarists who care about the world and are trying to do what they can to make a difference. (I mentioned it before that he helped me with my HIV/AIDS Sexual Awareness campaign!)
I could have just waited a few weeks and try to scoop his CD off the internet for free, but that's just mean. He doesn't sell hundreds of thousands of CDs like those famous artists do, and I want to support what he does. For him, every CD sale counts. I figure if I like someone's music enough to want it on my iPod, I should be willing to pay for it. That being said, I haven't purchased a CD in a long, long time. I can't even remember the last one I bought. And CDs seem like such a waste of money b/c I'll just rip it to my iTunes, and the CD itself goes and sits on a shelf, never to be seen again. I guess I could just buy the songs off iTunes, but I like the liner notes. :)
When I bought Jeremy Fisher's last CD, it came to me in a bubble package that was personally signed by him. "Thanks Krystal! (Heart) Jeremy Fisher." Could you see Britney Spears or anyone else super famous personally addressing and autographing every CD they sell? That little touch goes above and beyond what he had to do, and by doing that, he is able to establish a personal relationship with his fans. It gave me the impression that I had sent my money directly to him, and he popped down to the post office the next morning and mailed it off himself. Chances are that's not what happened, but it gives the illusion that it could have happened. And that's just good marketing. Plus, I still have the signed bubble package!
Grassroots artists. I love it!
