I've had a few questions about how I manage my money, and how I'm partitioning my funds. Basically, for every sidebar listed, I have a separate savings account. I also have a chequing account, which holds anywhere from $10-$600 at any given time. That money is always fluctuating, so I don't bother listing it on the sidebar, or in my NetworthIQ.
- Emergency Fund - PC Financial Interest Plus Savings Account
- Condo Down Payment - PC Financial Interest Plus Savings Account
- Travel Fund - ING Direct Savings Account
- Gift Fund - PC Financial Interest First Savings Account
- Retirement Portfolio - TD Canada Trust e-Funds
I really love Quicken because I can get as detailed as I want to get with my money. I like how it will graph out my progress, remind me of upcoming bills and transactions, show me my net worth, and help me maintain my budget.
Before I used Quicken, I was tracking all of my spending through a really complicated Excel spreadsheet that I created. Once I switched to Quicken, managing my personal finance became FUN. Seriously. And it was way more motivating to see all of my money and progress listed in a real, professional program. As opposed to Excel, which is pretty ghetto compared to Quicken. Sometimes, I would just explore Quicken for hours, figuring out my debt totals, creating debt reduction strategies, playing around with a budget, and scheduling transactions. It's awesome!
Anyway, if any of you have any more questions about how I'm managing my money, please let me know. :)
So yes, I've decided to stay in Vancouver. And out of this whole salary review process, none of it would have happened had I not spoken up and initiated the conversation. If this had happened a year ago, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to ask for the raise/salary review, even though I was entitled to one. Which goes to show you that you won't get things in life if you don't grow a pair and ask for what you want.
I worked for a local music store PT, off and on for about 5 years ... and not once did I receive a performance review or a salary raise. In 5 freaking years! I made $8.50 the entire time, and sure I wanted more money ... but I couldn't bring myself to ask for a raise. In the end, it was worth it for me to make a crappy $0.50 above minimum wage just to avoid that confrontation.
But not anymore. Last summer, I decided to make a life change. Along with getting my finances in order, I wanted to be happy with my life ... and a big concern was making sure I'm able to stand my ground and believe in myself. I needed to become more confident. I also wanted to always speak my mind when something was bothering me. Not just professionally, but also financially, and in my personal life. There were going to be some big changes.
And now, I notice the changes at work. I'm more assertive. If my boss is giving me too much work, or I'm frustrated with the way he's treating me, or the way something is being handled, I'll tell him. Not in a rude way, but things like that need to be said ... otherwise I'd be miserable at work. I also think my boss appreciates my honesty.
Of course I notice the difference in terms of personal finance. I didn't like the way I was being treated at TD Bank, so I peaced out and switched to PC Financial. I didn't like the funds my Financial Advisor was putting me in, so I dropped her and am managing my own portfolio now. If there are charges on my cell phone bill that I disagree with, you can bet I'll call them up to ask for a credit. Even if it's just for 10 cents, I'm still going to do it. Last month, I got $13.54 taken off my bill b/c of something I disagreed with.
I also notice a difference in my relationship with J, compared to past relationships. If something is bothering me, I'll tell him. And we'll talk about it. Probably longer than he'd like to talk about it, but the point is he knows how I feel. :) Perhaps it's a testament to his understanding nature, but in the past, if something bothered me, I would have kept it to myself. And that's just not a healthy thing to do.
I think we all deserve to be happy in our lives, but it's up to us to make that happen. If you don't like something, don't just complain about it. Do something about it. Take charge of your life. It's amazing the difference it will make.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant. All I wanted to say was that I'm frustrated that nothing would have gotten done if I hadn't spoken up and asked for what I was promised. That's all.
WAHOO! We're done! :) Now it's time to focus on the May Grocery Challenge. Have you signed up yet? If you haven't, today's your last day!!! So far, we have 56 64 particpants, making this the biggest challenge yet!
How did you do this week, and what did you think of this particular challenge? Was it easier/harder than you expected? Did you learn anything from this experience?
I learned that I need to be a little more disciplined with my dining out, and I need to plan things better. When I'm hanging out with J, I never really know what we'll end up doing ... so it's hard to keep within a set budget. Especially b/c he doesn't budget for things like this at all. I would do better with an overall budget, I think ... but I really like setting these goals for myself, and it helps to keep Personal Finance challenging and fresh and exciting.
Clothing
- Dolly Iris - $10/$100
- change is a good thing - $23.97/$50
- krystalatwork - over/$50
- pennypincher - over/$100
- BeachGirl - $91.57/$150
- Frugaleconome - $137/$150
- L@SpillingBuckets - $247.61/$250
- Natalie - $223/$200
Other
- Tough Broad - $1,359/$1,200 (towards CC debt)
Well, since I'm done my probation period, and since I've accepted the new salary offer and am staying in Vancouver ... I should probably change my cell phone number over.
My cell phone bills have been around $10-15 more per month due to LD charges. When I answer my phone here, I get charged 10 cents/min (billed by the second) ... but I can make local calls for free. It would be a lot easier if I just switched over to a Vancouver number. At the very least, I would be saving money.
It shouldn't change my current cell phone plan ... and if it does, then I'll have to think long and hard about switching my number. My plan right now is so sweet. And if I had to pay for everything that I get, it would cost me more per month than the LD charges I'm paying right now.
Isn't it funny, that something so trivial can make you feel connected to where you came from? I remember when I moved to Michigan to go to university, there was a 3 hr. time difference ... and for the first 4 months I was there, I refused to change the time on my watch. It made me feel connected to who I was, and where I came from. Even though having the wrong time confused the hell out of me, and every time someone asked what time it was, I must have looked like a moron just staring at my watch, trying to subtract 3 hours (and then when I finally switched my watch over, I still kept subtracting 3 hrs., which probably made me look even more like an idiot). For some reason, it was a huge deal for me to finally give in and switch it to the proper time zone. It's the same thing with my cell phone number. By switching area codes, I'm finally giving into the fact that I live somewhere else now, and I no longer live in my hometown.
So I'm going to add it to my May Monthly Goals ... to figure out my cell phone predicament.
May is going to be a pretty good month for me, I think. There's not much going on. I'm traveling home for 2 of the 5 weekends for sure. I might go back for a 3rd weekend since J is leaving around March 23rd to go to Alaska for 3 weeks, and I will probably have work at the arena.
Also, I have a field hockey tournament on the May long weekend here in Vancouver, so I'm really excited to see my teammates and play again. I basically missed the entire 2nd half of the season since I moved over here. We are the defending champions of this tournament, and our team is killer this year, so I hope we can pull through again.
Anyway, on with my monthly goals.
May Monthly Goals:
- Make an extra $100. I don't have anymore PPP opps coming in, so my online income source has sort of dried up until I can get back on the wagon again.
- $200 into Travel Fund. I've decided to reduce my contributions from $300, since it looks like I will not be taking my vacation at the end of the summer, like I had planned. If I do decide to go on a smaller vacation, I will have more than enough.
- $400 into Retirement Portfolio.
- $200 into Emergency Fund. It scares me not to have a significant EF in place, especially b/c I'm paying "real world" rent now.
- $200 into Condo Down Payment Fund.
- Successfully complete the May Grocery Challenge. My usual grocery budget is $150 for 1 month, so for May I'm aiming for $125.
- Switch my cell phone over to a local Vancouver number. Or figure out what exactly I'm going to do with my plan.
- Get my dry cleaning done. Seriously. How many weeks have to go by? There's no place that's open past 5pm (within walking distance of me), so I'm thinking of bringing it all home with me this coming weekend, and then picking it up the following weekend when I'm back home.
Well, today my boss came to me with a figure just over $45k. That's about a 12.5% raise from what I'm currently making (around $40k). He also said that I would be looking at another raise come September/October at the end of our fiscal year, provided I hit all of my measurable targets.
The initial offering from the job in my hometown was for $48k.
Not taking money, benefits, or anything else into consideration, I would like the job in my hometown better. That being said, I would learn more if I stay at my current job. This organization is very dependent on a few key organizations in terms of sponsorships and marketing (an aspect of this line of work that I want to gain more experience in), which isn't the case with the new job. Sure, my boss is kind of a jerk, but I really like the professional-quality design pieces I'm getting to create, and that is going to look a lot more impressive in my portfolio than a bunch of brochures and posters printed off on an office photocopying machine (which is what would happen if I took this new job). The new job is much like the previous position I had within government. So, my current job wins in terms of the experience I'll gain.
In terms of whether I'd be happiest in my hometown, or in Vancouver, that's such a tough call. I personally think that I would be happier in Vancouver over the long term. Going back home is the easy thing to do. And sure, my friends and family are over there ... but it's not like they're that far away. I'll make new friends here. My career is really important to me right now, and if I want to get ahead, Vancouver is the place to be. I know there's no shame in going home, but it's important to me that I live in Vancouver. I want to show myself that I can do it in a big city, and I want to see how far I can grow my career and my contacts in the time that I'm here.
So, this afternoon I will officially be offered this new salary by the Executive Director, and this evening I have a lot to think about. J still thinks I should move back home. He thinks he's holding me back. It kind of hurts that he wants me to leave (it actually hurts a lot) ... but I don't really think he understands why it is I'm here in Vancouver, or why I'm 95% sure I'm going to stay, whether we are together or not.
I will be posting Week 4 of the April Budget Challenge on the last day of this month. :)
For those of you who haven't signed up for the May Grocery Challenge, there are 2 days left! So far, we have 43 53 participants!
It's a wonderful day today on the island. Just beautiful. J was supposed to be on a ferry over here this morning, but he's not feeling well, and I'm not sure if he's going to make it at all. :( I was really looking forward to spending the weekend with him, and I bought him 2 tickets to the local hockey game for tomorrow night, which are non-refundable. Anyway I guess I'll just have to hope he's feeling better this afternoon.
This morning I had a meeting with the Executive Director of the organization in town. It went well. In the short term, this position would be the best fit for me. It's about 5x bigger than the organization I work for right now, but it's not as high profile. I would get paid about $8-10k more per year to start than my current job, 4 weeks vacation, and an amazing extended health package. Plus, since I'd be management exempt, I wouldn't have to pay union dues. Basically, I would be a one-woman show in terms of the marketing/communications department, whereas at the job I have now, there are 3 of us, plus 1 intern. I told her that I would let her know my decision about taking this new job by Monday or Tuesday.
Anyway, that's the update here. I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend! :)
I'm slowly getting my budget under control, and along with all of the OT I put in, plus my huge tax refund, I was able to achieve all of my savings goals.
April Goals (end of month review):
- $200 travel costs - NO. I didn't anticipate traveling an extra weekend this month. I will be going over in travel costs by a little bit, but not that much.
- Make an extra $200 - Check! I made $507 from my PT and OT from the FT job. I also got a GST cheque in the mail for $90.50, and made $177 through PPP. That's a grand total of $774.50 in extra income I earned for April! :)
- $200 into Travel Fund. Check! I added $800 this month!
- $150 into Emergency Fund. Check! I added $350.
- $250 into Condo Down Payment Fund. Check! I added $800.
- $350 into RRSP Portfolio. Check! I added $2,625. :)
- $150 grocery budget. Check! I spent $140.80, even with a last-minute $50 Costco run. I was able to do this b/c I just skipped buying groceries for an entire week, and it really wasn't that hard either.
- Successfully complete the April Budget Challenge. NO. I failed. :(
- Make firm plans to celebrate my sister's birthday. Pending. We can't plan anything right now until we can figure out our work schedules. And since the PT job is so up-in-the-air, I can't commit to any weekend for sure.
- Create a budget for my proposed vacation in September. Pending. I still don't know if I am going on this vacation. Right now, I'm leaning towards not going.
Today was pay day, so my sidebars and NetworthIQ have been updated.
Here's a breakdown of what I did with my money:
FT job: $1,644.66
PT job: $44.22
- $400 - Condo Down Payment fund
- $50 - Emergency Fund
- $150 - Travel Fund
- $200 - Retirement Portfolio
- $500 - May rent (saved $100 from previous pay cheque = $600 rent)
- $68.15 - Shaw Cable/Internet
- $187.93 - Visa bill
- $86.20 - MasterCard bill
I wasn't paying attention, and filled my water bottle to overflowing.
Now my shoes and nylons are all wet.
I just spent the last 10 minutes frantically searching for my glasses around the office ... until I realized I was wearing them.
This has been a crazy day, so I'm glad that it's almost over. My boss never talked to the ED, since she was away for the entire day for meetings ... so I hope he gets a chance to talk to her tomorrow. He's not here on Friday, so tomorrow's the last day to get anything done before the weekend.
Last night I reunited with an old friend I used to live with. We met when I was doing my internship in Northern Alberta a few years ago, and I haven't seen him in at least a year. So he's picking me up after work, and we're going to a local pub for a beer. Or two. I'm excited to catch up with him, and put this day behind me.
In other news, it turns out I have 2 shifts scheduled for this weekend at the PT job in my hometown. J and I had plans to go camping this weekend. I personally still want to go camping, since the next time we'll be able to go won't be until mid-June, at the earliest ... but J thinks I should work. I got annoyed with him when he said that, but I know I probably should. It's an extra $100 I could earn, and I want to be there for my team. But if I do that, it means I'd have to either take Friday off as a holiday, or only work for a few hours in the morning ... and then I'd have to take the very last ferry back on Sunday night. Plus, I don' t know if that means J would come over to the island to meet me there, or if he'd stay here in Vancouver. We'll have to figure it out pretty soon.
My review is supposed to be in 30 minutes, and my boss has been in a horrible mood all day today. Damnit.
I kind of wish he reschedules it again.
Things I need to get done:
Renew my prescription.- Get 3-4 things dry cleaned.
- Deposit some $$ into my bank account.
- Apply for a passport (I let mine expire a long time ago).
- Contact a client about the website I'm building him.
- Buy cleaning products. My place is still kind of gross.
- Pay my Shaw Cable bill.
- Find out when my benefits kick in (I think it's on May 1st).
On Friday, I will be getting paid about $450 extra for all the OT I've put in over the past 2 weeks. That's a nice chunk of change above and beyond my regular wages, so I'm really happy.
The entire amount will, of course, be going into my Condo Down Payment Fund.
I've been mulling over my vacation plans for the end of the summer. I really want to go still, but 1) the price of gas is going up, 2) I'm not really fond of the impact I would make on the environment by driving a car nearly 2.5 weeks straight, and 3) in a couple of years when I leave this job, I just want to go traveling around the world for months. At least, that's what I'm thinking of doing. (And yes, I know the environmental impact I would have by flying around the world would be much greater than driving my car around for a few weeks, but for some reason it still bothers me to be driving for so long and buying so much gas).
If I keep on saving at the pace that I'm saving, I will have enough to go traveling for a decent amount of time. Not long enough to jeopardize my career by being out of the industry, but maybe 4-6 months. Maybe shorter, maybe longer. It depends. If I spend all my $ now on this road trip, and have to start again with saving, I won't have enough.
And to be honest, saving more money and going on a bigger, better, longer vacation is a lot more appealing. I just really like the idea of growing my money for a few years, then doing something awesome like a round-the-world trip before I turn 30 and buy a house, or settle down in whatever city I settle in, or potentially have children.
It's a hard decision to make. I've always wanted to do this road trip, and I told myself that I'd do this before I ever step foot off this continent ... but I'm not sure if a road trip is the smartest thing to do. Perhaps if gas weren't so expensive, and I could rent a Smart Car (none of the car rental places have them yet) ... but I can't, so I'm not sure.
So maybe I should tone down my current vacation plans, and do something a lot smaller and less expensive. Or maybe I should just go for it. I'm not sure, just thinking (typing) out loud at the moment.
This was a pretty good weekend.
Friday night, J and I went to a CD release party. It was filled with typical 'indie' bands - some were a lot better than others. It was kind of cool to see bands I've never seen before though, since I'm used to the music scene on the island. I was exhausted, and was pretty much falling asleep by 1am. But it was good times.
Saturday, we went for a delicious sushi lunch, where I blew the April Budget Challenge, and J ate so much that he could barely drive home. Later, I went grocery shopping, watched a few hockey games, and then watched Broken English, starring Parker Posey (I adore Parker, but the movie had a dumb ending).
I also tried to watch In Debt We Trust, but I couldn't get through the first 30 minutes. The entire thing was people whining about how it's so easy to get credit, and then how they ended up abusing it and getting into massive amounts of debt. It seemed like they were blaming it on the banks and credit card companies, when instead they should be blaming it on themselves. There's no doubt that the banks and CC companies are evil, but it's our responsibility as consumers to understand the game they're playing, and beat them at it. There was this one girl who maxed out all of her credit cards, and then decided she couldn't pay them off, so she filed for bankruptcy at age 21. She said she wasn't working, so she couldn't pay them. It kind of made me angry that she wasn't taking responsibility for her actions. If she got herself into that kind of mess, it was her problem to get herself out of the mess. She didn't even TRY to pay them off, and was so nonchalant about filing for bankruptcy. As if it were no big deal. Frickin' get a job!
Annnnyway, Sunday I bussed out to J's house, and we did a Costco run. He made me lunch, then we went on a 12km walk in some park. It was really nice, and I'm glad we did it ... even though I missed my Flames win Game 6. :) Afterwards, he made me dinner (what an awesome BF!), and then we went back to my place.
I do not want to be at work this morning. But today at 4pm is my 3-month review. Fingers are crossed!
Well, as you all know, unfortunately, I failed in the April Budget Challenge. :( But just because I didn't hit my target doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I'm still going to try as hard as I can for the rest of the month not to spend any money on dining out.
I find that sometimes when I'm not able to meet my target, or my credit card bill seems awfully high one month, I seem to get into this whole "it doesn't matter if I spend a few dollars more" mode. I feel like when I don't hit my goal, then it doesn't matter anymore, and I can feel free to spend how I please. I need to really control that thought process, otherwise I'll just get carried away. I remember one month a few years ago, I gave myself a $50 clothing budget, and I ended up spending way more money on clothing that month than on my rent. I remember I had just passed the $50 budget limit with about a week left in the month ... and instead of really trying to stop shopping, I went with a girlfriend to the outlet mall in Washington. Seriously. I spent so much money, it wasn't even close. So as long as I keep in mind that I'm stronger than that, then I will be fine.
How did the rest of you do this month? Better than me, I hope! :)
Beauty/Health Products
- Ginger - $35.95/$60
- Dolly Iris - $0/$100
- change is a good thing - $23.90/$50
- krystalatwork - over/$50
- Mary Sue - over/$80
- Rhonda - $23.49/$30 for lunch
- pennypincher - $89.51/$100
- HighClassLowIncome - $81/$180
- BeachGirl - $73.07/$150
- Frugaleconome - $94/$150
- L@SpillingBuckets - $90.56/250
- Natalie - $93/$200
Other
- Hyperchondriac - 3/2 (Starbucks coffees)
- Meli - 2/1 (snacks per week)
- Tough Broad - $650/$1,200 (towards CC debt)
I haven't gone grocery shopping in 2 weeks, so I expected today's trip to be a fairly expensive one. Even with a few extra treats (3 mangoes, package of strawberries, and juice), I still only spent $32.95! :)
Asian Grocery Store
$1.00 - 1 can of chickpeas
$0.42 - 1 red onion
$0.82 - 2 Braeburn apples
$0.65 - 2 Pink Lady apples
$1.29 - alfalfa sprouts
$1.39 - 1 mango
$0.37 - 1 orange pepper
$0.23 - 1 hot pepper
$0.96 - bag of mushrooms
$0.39 - 1 zucchini
$0.49 - 1 bunch of green onions
TOTAL = $8.01
Safeway
$1.68 - 1 jar of relish
$3.00 - 3 cans of spicy thai tuna
$3.00 - carton of green tea
$1.99 - sour cream
$2.69 - naan bread
$0.46 - 2 bananas
$2.00 - 2 mangoes
$2.50 - strawberries
$4.29 - Bolthouse clementine juice
$3.00 - POM green tea juice
TOTAL = $24.94
I'm wondering if I can drastically reduce my grocery budget each month if I just shop every 2 weeks, instead of every week. I mean ... I guess I ate dinner at J's house a couple of times this week, and we went out to eat a few times, so maybe it's not possible. I'll definitely consider it and might try it out for the May Grocery Challenge.
Well, I'm out of the April Budget Challenge.
And it was all in the name of sushi. Delicious, face-stuffing sushi.
Damnit.
Today could not be going by any slower, and I have no motivation to do anything here at work. Nobody is in the office, and I've been here since 7:30am ... so I think I'm going to leave early. Even though, technically, it's not really leaving early, as I've already put in 8.5 hours.
A group of girls from the office have invited me to go to a local restaurant with them next Thursday. Apparently, reps from this popular restaurant came by with a huge goodie basket, and offered to treat 5-7 of us to dinner (including booze) for free! We'll even be served by the manager. I'm not one to say no to free food and drinks, so I'm pretty excited. Especially b/c this is the first social thing I've done in Vancouver with new friends. Not that I would want to become good friends with co-workers ... but I'm happy that I'll have an opportunity to get to know them better.
Anyway, it's past 4pm now, so I should get out of the office. :)
I feel really happy about my decision to stay in Vancouver. Thank you to everyone who commented, made suggestions, and posed questions. That really helped me determine what I value right now in my life. I feel really confident going into my 3-month review with my boss on Monday, and I'm hoping that I will be able to bargain for what I believe I'm worth.
Last night, I went over to J's house, where we watched the new episode of The Office, and rented Juno. He also made some yummy Indian food for dinner, since for some reason we were both craving it (even though we just had a huge Indian buffet the previous night).
Tonight we're going to J's friend's CD release party at some bar. I'm always one for live music, so I'm pretty excited to go. I'm not sure if there's cover or anything - I would assume that there is, considering it's a release party. Will have to look into it.
Tomorrow, I'm going to go for a run, and then clean my place up. It's been a disaster all week. I'll probably also go grocery shopping. I didn't do my usual shopping this week (too many good hockey games on TV after work), so I haven't bought any groceries for about 2 weeks now. I've been eating freezer reserves this entire week, since I ran out of fresh produce. :) All in the name of watching hockey playoffs. I'm so lazy.
Then on Sunday, J and I will probably do something. He wants to go hiking, but I'm so out of shape that I'll probably embarrass myself. At any rate, it should be a cheapo weekend. I only plan on spending $$ on groceries. Although, I need to renew a prescription and get a few things dry cleaned. We'll see.
It's only been 2 days, but we already have 24 36 participants for the May Grocery Challenge!!!
Have you signed up yet?
At the beginning of April, I was interviewed by The Globe and Mail about how blogging has helped me achieve my goals. Well, today the article has hit the newsstands. :) You can read the entire article, Blogging to a better you, but I will also copy and paste it here.
A shout out to Erik over at The Captain is out to Lunch for his contribution to the article as well!
Blogging to a better you
From losing 212 pounds to erasing $17,000 of debt, bloggers are making their personal goals public, hoping to boost resolve
BY WENCY LEUNG
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver resident Krystal, 25, found it uncomfortable discussing her money troubles with friends. So instead, she created a blog last February titled Give Me Back My Five Bucks and disclosed all her personal finances over the Web.After three months of writing about her mission to get out of the red, she paid off the last of the $17,000 debt she'd incurred from student loans and credit cards, and is now very publicly saving for a down payment on a condominium.
"If I hadn't [started a blog], I think, eventually, I would have gotten out of debt, but it would have taken a really long time because there just wasn't that extra push," said Krystal, who, despite divulging all her bank statements and spending habits, declines to disclose her full name.
"If I set goals for myself and I write it on the Internet and everyone's reading it, I'd be embarrassed and really down on myself if I didn't achieve that goal," she said.
Forget private diaries and life coaches. Bloggers, tackling everything from debts to diets to addictions, are posting their personal goals online, hoping to boost their willpower by publicly documenting their achievements and failures.It's a twist on the old talk-therapy concept, said Matt Fields, 24, founder of Bellevue, Wash.-based mySoberLife.com, a new website where people with drug and alcohol addictions blog about their experiences with recovery.
Sharing your story allows others in the same boat to relate to it and give you motivation and insight, especially during your weakest moments, Mr. Fields said. At the same time, he added, it allows you to process your thoughts.
Openly failing, however, is a big risk. That's why the blogosphere is rife with goal-setting blogs that have been abruptly abandoned, and why - combined with the stigma attached to certain personal problems - many bloggers opt for anonymity.
The use of blogs for addiction recovery is still new, so there is little research about its efficacy in helping people stay on track, said Mr. Fields, who has worked with young people dealing with substance addiction.
But those tackling other goals through blogging swear by it.
"I definitely would recommend blogging," said Jennette Fulda of Indianapolis, who is documenting her dramatic weight loss on her blog, Half of Me (pastaqueen.com). "The more I wrote about my fat issues, the more confident I became."
Ms. Fulda started blogging on and off in 2004, and began losing weight in earnest a year later, when she also committed to blogging regularly.
After shedding an average of a pound or two each week through diet and exercise, the 5-foot-9 Web developer has slimmed down from 372 pounds (169 kilograms) to about 180 pounds. Her goal is to reach 160 pounds.
"On TV, you see a lot of 'before' and 'after' photos, but you never see the 'during,' " Ms. Fulda said, noting that blogging fills this gap for her readers and helps them understand the process.
Although her site started with only a handful of visitors, it now attracts close to 50,000 unique visitors a month.
In one recent entry, she wrote about exercising at a local YMCA. In another, she wrote about struggling with the urge to overeat.
A section of her blog also allows readers to see three-dimensional photos of herself at various stages of her weight loss - imperfections and all.
"You can check out my fat ass from eight different directions," she wrote.
While it can be scary to expose all your flaws and confess your mistakes, Ms. Fulda said, she receives some of the best feedback from readers when she posts entries that make her feel vulnerable.
She acknowledges that she gets the occasional nasty comment, but for the most part readers cheer her on.
"Sometimes they'll even guilt me into exercising," she said, by commenting about how inspirational she has been to them.
Like many other bloggers, Erik Price, 27, of New York started blogging in secret, since none of his peers seemed to share his concerns.
He kept his debt blog, the Captain is Out to Lunch, from his friends and even his girlfriend, whom he had been dating for years.
"I think at first I wasn't sure if putting everything out there was such a hot idea," he said. "[Debt] went from something I was dealing with on my own entirely to something I was broadcasting to the entire world. It would have been a major leap for me to stick my face on it right away."
As his blog gained exposure, however, his embarrassment about his finances faded.
With more than $33,000 (U.S.) in student loans left to pay off, he doesn't expect to reach his goal any time soon.
But blogging has helped him stick to a budget and put him in touch with an entire online community willing to offer support, advice and occasional criticism, he said.
Now that Krystal, the Vancouver blogger, has reached her goal of becoming debt-free, she has set up new financial targets, such as contributing to a retirement portfolio, an emergency fund and the down payment for a condo.
"There are always more goals to set," she said.
She acknowledged blogging is not for the faint of heart, and advised: "If you're not going to set up a blog, at least write your goals down and make sure you're accountable to those goals. Because if you keep ... saying 'next month I'll do it,' it's never going to get done."
I'm declining the new job offer.
Yesterday during my lunch hour, I spoke on the phone with my mom. She thinks that I should take the job and come home, which I knew she would. Her mindset is having her children close to her, and while I value her opinion a lot when it comes to career choices, I know that her thoughts were skewed with the vision of me being around more often.
During the evening, J and I discussed the situation. He said that if it were him, and he was in my situation, he'd take the job without a doubt. But that being said, he doesn't want me to leave. At all. The decision I have to make isn't based on my relationship with J, but it sure does play a huge factor. We would obviously stay together if I moved, but I'm at the age where relationships don't just come and go. When I'm with someone, it's because there's the possibility that they could be "the one." And I know that a strong relationship will survive something like this, but I sure would be miserable without him.
K thinks I should take it. But he's always been about the money, so I'm not sure if I trust his opinion.
This choice has nothing to do with money, because in the big picture, over my career, $10k is nothing. And if it were truly about the money, I would be living in Northern Alberta right now. This choice is about experience and the direction I want to take my career. And after weighing the pros and cons of both jobs, I can honestly say that I don't think there is a right or wrong decision. I think that either choice would eventually get me to where I want to be career-wise. Keeping in mind that in order for me to pursue the career of my choice in the field of my choice (which is probably one of the most competitive industries around), I absolutely 100% cannot live in my hometown. I must be in Vancouver to accomplish this.
That being said, I could go home and take this new job. I could gain all that management experience I could in 2-4 years, save up a ton of money, and then move back to Vancouver. With that management experience, I would automatically become a more desirable hire, but I would have to start again in regard to networking with contacts and trying to meet the right types of people. And, this particular position is less interesting than what I'm doing now. It's a lot less graphic design, and more writing ... and this organization is just based within one city, whereas the scope of my current job is province-wide.
So if I stayed here in Vancouver with my current job, I would be able to keep up with my contacts and slowly build up a network of people, and increase my salary. This is a very good and highly respected organization to be working for. By staying here, when I do eventually decide to leave, I would become very marketable. And in terms of actual workload, my current job lets me utilize a broader range of skills (design, marketing, communications, event planning, writing, etc), whereas the new job would be mostly writing press releases and articles (boring!). Plus, I just got here to Vancouver. Out of all my frustration, I like my job. I like making a difference. I don't especially like my boss, but I like the people here.
The bottom line is, I don't want to leave. Even though you all might think I'm crazy for not taking this great opportunity, I'm going to trust my instincts. Just like I trusted my instincts when I was unemployed and kept turning down all those job offers because I knew something better would come along. My heart says I should stay. I think this organization and my life in Vancouver has a lot more in store for me than I can see right now, and my feeling is that I'm supposed to be here right now. So I won't leave.
On Monday when I have my 3-month review with my boss, I'm going to bring up several things:
- Salary increase up to $45k (I'm pretty sure he will offer $42k, but I'm prepared to counter, and if I have to use the job offer as leverage, then so be it). My boss knows that at my previous job, I was making over $50k, and that I am not happy at all making the $41k I'm currently earning.
- Education allowance. I want to get going with my degree program, but I don't have the resources to save for it right now, and I am 100% not taking out student loans again. EVER.
- Potential to change from Coordinator title to Manager. I am about to start managing an intern - and also I do manage a lot of volunteers that we have. Plus, I'm going to start managing a huge on going provincial-wide special event project. Not sure if that gives me a case for a title change, but it might.
Last night J invited me to go watch his friends play music at an Indian restaurant in Kitsilano. Wednesday nights are charity nights, so for a minimum donation of $35, you get access to an awesome buffet and live music. The atmosphere was pretty cool, and I would have enjoyed the music more if we weren't sitting in a little cubby corner, where I couldn't see a fricking thing. Anyway, it was a fun night and the food was delicious! There was a wide variety of things to choose from, and they even had a yummy dessert table too. And all throughout the night, there were just about a million waitresses carrying around free cups of chai - there were so many kinds to choose from!
Even before he came to pick me up, I knew I would be willing to blow my $50 dining out budget to go to this. You all probably think I have no will power, but it's not very often at all that we do things like this. At any rate, when we got to the restaurant, J whipped out his wallet and paid for me, even before I could say anything. That was really nice of him. :)
I always feel bad when I go to buffet-type dinners, because I never eat my money's worth. Ever. Last night, I ate one full plate, and then picked at a sad, half-hearted side plate ... most of which J ate anyway. And dessert? I took a bunch of things, but when it came down to the task of actually consuming those desserts? That was a challenge I just wasn't ready to face. J, on the other hand, powered through his dinner and dessert. The amount of food men can consume at a buffet has always amazed me. It's like they were genetically built for buffet eating.
Interesting. I was an INTJ on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test that Meli gave me the link to. Nancy and Tough Broad also came out scoring INTJ.
I wonder what other PF bloggers come out with ...
Take the test and post your results!
FinanceDaily has rated Give Me Back My Five Bucks as one of The Best Finance Blogs on the interweb. Thanks! :)
Also making the list are some of my frequent reads:
Back in December, I interviewed for a Communications Manager position with a local community services organization in my home town. I really liked the organization (at my last job, I worked with them a lot), but in the end, they went with someone who had a ton more experience than me. The job posting stated 5+ years of experience, so I was surprised that I even got an interview.
Anyway, the Executive Director e-mailed me back a few weeks after the interview, and said that out of all the candidates, it had come down to me and the person they hired. I was surprised when she said that, because I thought I bombed the interview, and the 2 assignments I had to do were of poor quality in my opinion. I mean, I didn't even know what I was writing about ... not to mention that writing isn't exactly my strongest point. At least, I don't think it is.
Well, she just called me this morning and said that the person they hired wasn't working out, and she was prepared to straight-up offer me the job ... wait. WHAT?!
I'm in shock, and I really don't know what to do. This position is a massive step up from what I'm doing now ... but I know that if I go back to my hometown, I'll never leave. EVER. Even though I know that I need to be here in Vancouver to pursue the career I want to pursue, I'm so comfortable in my hometown that I'll just never leave again. It's hard to uproot and move away (albeit, just across the water, but still...), and I've already done that ... but if I have to do it again? I don't think I would. I don't like Vancouver, but I'm glad that I'm here. Am I even making any sense?
Being in Vancouver is good for me. I'm slowly making contacts in my field, and I like being close to J. Living in Vancouver, not knowing anyone, it's making me more independent and it's helping me grow as a person. I know that I've often complained about being lonely and not having any friends, but given time, I know those things will come around. I've only been here 3 months, after all.
But this position - this Communications Manager position - it would be amazing. At least I think it would be amazing ... and it would most definitely mean a $10-15k raise in salary, which is pretty significant. Although I know that money isn't everything (since I turned down that job in Northern Alberta, and they were offering an amazing package to me) ... it's just really difficult to say no to moving back to the island, where all my friends and family are, and I can go back to working more at the arena ... which to be honest, is the most appealing thing to me.
And the job I have now here in Vancouver? I would be lying if I said I haven't looked at online job sites once or twice since I've been here ... but really, out of all of my complaining about this job, this is one of the best organizations I could work, if my objective is to network with the most influential people in Vancouver. And yes, that is my objective. :)
Logically, I can't take this new job. I'm just coming out of my 3-month probation period here, and while I'm often frustrated with the job I have now, I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to become a Manager. It would basically be the job that my boss has now, but with a bigger organization. Why they want anything to do with me, I'm not sure.
I told her that I was living in Vancouver now, but that I would be open to moving back to the island (well, I would be open, but it's not likely I don't think). She is going to e-mail me the job description and some notes about the position.
I don't know what to do. :( What would you do if you were me?
***EDIT***
The reason they are getting rid of the previous person is b/c that person only wants to work on a contract basis, whereas this organization really wants someone who will be a permanent, full-time employee.
Note: the following post is sponsored
I try to chat with my good friend in Michigan at least once every couple of months. I've known him for almost 8 years, and since I moved back home, I've only seen the guy twice. TWICE! So we've been keeping in touch with e-mails, Facebook, and phone calls. It really should be more frequent though. Last fall, he had free LD on his work line, so we'd chat often - maybe once a week - during his lunch breaks. It was awesome. Now that he's decided to go back to school (to obtain a 2nd degree), he doesn't have the $ to be calling me so often, and my cell phone only offers 10 cents/min. to the USA (which is still pretty good by cell phone standards).
So, then I decided that we should maybe both get phone cards, so that we could talk on a more regular basis. I checked out www.therichcom.com, and seriously, there are cards that cost less than 1 cent/min. to call to Canada. There aren't even connection fees, and you earn cash back when you purchase your card via the website. No joke. I didn't even know that kind of price existed. It's incredible, and kind of ridiculous.
I'm thinking of purchasing a calling card for him as a birthday or Christmas present. I mean, I know he could pay for one himself, but he's mired in the land that is student loans, and he's working a crappy PT job ... so it's the least I can do. And at any rate, it will be cheaper for me to buy him a $20 calling card, as opposed to spending the money to call him at 10 cents/ min.
Note: the following post is sponsored
I am addicted to Facebook. I'll admit it. Can't get enough of it. When I first met J, he HATED Facebook with a passion, and refused to sign up. So one day, we made a bet: we would play Boggle. If I lost, I would have to show him a picture of me with a perm (yes, unfortunately I had a perm for many years), and if he lost, he would have to sign up for Facebook. Well, needless to say, he too is now addicted to Facebook. Probably even more so than me.
I came across 3GB Community today, which seems like it has the same feel as Facebook, except it has a cool mp3 music component to it that really got my attention. If you're interested, you can join 3gb community www.3gb.biz and see what it's all about! It's a relatively new site (with less than 500 members at the moment), but I'm sure that it will be growing rapidly over the next few weeks. I'll keep my eye on it.
So, May's challenge is getting back to the basics - grocery shopping!
This month's challenge is to set a monthly grocery budget for yourself, and stick to it! If you would like to join me in my challenge, please leave a comment and indicate how much your budget is for.
I think this is a great challenge because not only will it make us think about the price of food that we're buying, but it's also going to make us more aware of what we're eating. I know that before I gave myself a $150 monthly grocery budget, I was buying such random things. Now when I go shopping, I know exactly what I'm going to buy.
I also found that by paying close attention to what I was buying, I end up eating a lot healthier. And that's really important to me. For example, now that I'm examining the price of the food that I'm buying, I'm also looking at the ingredients. The general rule of thumb for