May is over already!

Where does the time go?!

I've actually managed to complete several things from my lengthy work-in-progress to do list that I posted several weeks ago.

Car:
Change tires over: CHECK! $157.50. Apparently this has gone up $50, so I'm going to have to look for somewhere cheaper to do this in the fall. Most likely this will be Wally World. I also have a $300 estimate for replace a ball bearing in the right front wheel, which is causing the wheel to "shudder" and is a safety concern. This will have to be done before the winter change over. *Le sigh*

Oil change: CHECK! $75.06 Again, a little more expensive than anticipated, but only by about $10.

Tenant Insurance:
Still need to do this!

Bank:
RRSP #1: Still on auto-deposit. I'll change this at the end of August.
RRSP #2: Need to phone and inquire about this.
EFund: I've moved around a little bit of money to bump this up a bit (shaved $$ off the gift fund, and put it into my EFund instead. People won't expect big gifts - or possibly any - as long as I can say I'm a poor student). Will have my $1K well before the end of summer.

School:
Financial aid: Dropped off my form for training allowance today.
Payment/registration: MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've decided I will use my new M/C (no-fee, 5.99%) to pay for this and then just transfer the funds from my ING savings. This will also save me $6 or more for a bank draft fee.

I called the bank today to check up on my Student LOC and it turns out they don't fund certificate programs! I wasn't aware of that, so instead I'm looking into upping the limit on my regular LOC. I've spoken with a couple of people and so far it looks like there aren't any problems - I make enough, my credit is good enough, my account activity is good - so I'm hoping I'll be approved. The rate is 6.99%, which is still reasonable. So I guess that's a CHECK.


*Update: it's all a go, so it's a definite check. The best thing for me to do at this point is to pay off my VISA card, then transfer the excess from my ING account to pay most of this off. As this is my "wage" through school - for the most part - I will be paying interest only, which is easier to work with than larger sums of money.

Bills:
Cell phone: CHECK! I've cancelled this and just made the final payment. Will save me $30 p/mo.
Internet/landline: Still need to call and chat, but I can do this a little later in the summer.
Groceries: I'm watching carefully where I spend my money. My friend who was here last week is excellent at shaving $$ off her budget (she spends $30 a WEEK on food for herself...I'm pretty confident I can't do that up here, but I definitely have a lot of room for improvement) and she helped me by giving me some ideas and tips to try.
Heat: This is still too high for my liking (last bill was $90) and although I'm in a decent credit situation, I'd still like to work to keep the cost lower.

Gift Fund:
Reduced this to $300. Put $125 into my EFund. The other $75 will go towards groceries this week.

LOC:
Down to just over $3500. Payments are now $66 bi-weekly, which will help lower the interest over the summer. I'm considering using this to pay off my VISA card, then concentrating on just the one debt over the summer. The interest rate is less than half of the CC, so it would make sense to do it that way.

Job:
I'm going to talk to my boss at my p/t job and see if there's any way I can stay on during my schooling. My hours at school are 8:30 - 3 every day, so there's lots of time for p/t work outside of that, depending on what's going on. They're only open until 5pm every day, so I might have to pick up something else, but we'll see.

Will:
Still have the cash sitting in my account and still need to finish off the paperwork...

Other:
I've stocked up on soap (currently have 18 bars); toothpaste (great deal at the grocery store of all places: $1.37 for the 130ml tubes, so I picked up 6. I now have 9 tubes of toothpaste!); and laundry detergent (I got a new bottle for $15 - 210 loads according to the label). The old one is still not finished and it's going on two years. That works out to about 0.72 cents a MONTH for detergent, which is pretty fantastic (if I assume 18 months. I got the original bottle on sale for $12.99).

I've got a list of a few items still to stock up on, but there's no rush and I'm keeping my eyes peeled on the flyers that show up at the house. Nothing pressing just yet.

I'm feeling pretty good with my progress despite the news that I don't qualify for a Student LOC. I had a moment of panic, but Plan B was to (hopefully!) raise the limit on my regular LOC, so I'm good.

Having my friend here was terrific. It was wonderful to see her and she had a great time. We managed to squeeze in quite a bit: the Wildlife Preserve, The Stairs (225 steep stairs up the cliff face to a path that runs around the airport), eagle spotting, a couple of walks and lots of relaxing. She also helped me get rid of a few things that I've been keeping around for far too long. They were all donated to the free store at the recycling centre: a set of plastic bowls, a big mug and saucer set, a couple of frying pans, a spice rack, two votive candle holders, an iron and several other items. It was a good drop off! The rest of the things I still have hanging around I'm going to try and sell. I'd like to make some cash from my DVDs in particular.

It was also a very spendy two weeks. I'm not sure of the exact numbers yet, but I'll figure it out and post it on the weekend. Part of it had to do with the fact that I set my kettle on fire (!) and had to replace it, a stove element and the metal thingy that goes under the element on the stove. *Sigh*

T minus 8 hours...

...until my friend arrives! I've been awake since 6am - haven't been sleeping well the past week or so, but not quite sure why. It could be the 20 hours of daylight we currently have, although I've done what I can to minimize that. It's no trouble falling asleep, it's staying asleep that I'm having difficulties with. Waking up at 2:30 or 3:30 or 4:30. It's just frustrating because it means I'm yawning and ready for bed by late afternoon!

I took Dinah to the vet this morning for an insulin curve. She's diabetic and her blood sugar levels need testing occasionally, like a human's would, to make sure the glucose levels are where they should be. She's been lethargic the past several days, hasn't been eating properly - and has been eating the boys' food instead of her own - and just hasn't been herself. They'll test her blood sugar every hour and let me know if she needs an insulin adjustment. Right now her shot is one unit, twice a day. I'm sure she'll be fine, but I just want to make sure.

Apart from that, I'm feeling a bit restless and anxious and have been puttering around the place half-heartedly doing...things. I'm just SO EXCITED about my friend arriving tonight, I can't really focus and concentrate!! I used my new steam mop to clean the floors, did the dishes, and vacuumed the second bedroom. I've done one load of laundry and when Bylaw decides he's had enough snoozing under the duvet, I'm going to do a second load. I've got to clean out the fridge of perishables and put them in the compost and I've been collecting bits & pieces of recycling and trying to organize it. Tomorrow I've got loose plans to take her to visit the SS Klondike  on its opening day and then run a couple of errands, including groceries. I know! I sure know how to show my visitors a good time...

This week's spending looks like this:

Monday, May 14
Cat food (x 6 tins): $22.05
Canadian Tire: cat litter (4x15 kg @ 7.99 ea) & Shark steam mop, on sale $99.99: $138.55
Dropped my recycling off as well.

Tues, May 15
Groceries: $17.82
- sourdough: $3.49
- poppy seeds (for baking): $4.88
- lemon yogurt: $6.79
- bananas (.870kg @ $3.06 kg): $2.66

Wed, May 16
Gas: $80.55
Groceries: $17.56
- 2 x box mac & cheese: $3.49 ea
- 2 x bags frozen potato wedges: $4.49 ea
Tim Horton's (tea & bagel): $3.85

Thurs, May 17
Oil change: $75.06 (advised to go by the kms (5k) rather than the date, as the oil was still very, very clean). I can now check this off my 'to do' list!
Groceries: $6.65
- milk: 2L $3.99
- oat bran: $2.66 (for baking)

I spend altogether far too much money on food and I waste far too much to justify spending so much on it. This is something I have to start paying serious attention to, as I want to try to keep my grocery spending to $60 p/wk once I start school, and use the extra $40 for gas (from my $100 weekly training allowance).

I'm looking at my sidebars and my remaining debt ($4600) and my wheels are whirring. Jane posted last week about emptying her savings accounts to pay off her debt and while, at this point at least, I'm not entirely comfortable with doing that, I AM thinking of an option that will considerably lower my debt while plumping up a couple of savings accounts at the same time. I'm less than $200 from my EFund goal of $1k and I'd like to cut the $30 auto-deposit sooner rather than later, so will make some adjustments that will make me happier.

We're supposed to finally get double digits as of Sunday, so welcome spring! At last! Have a great long weekend everyone!

Every single time...

...I think it's time to change my tires over, Mother Nature throws a curve ball and I end up keeping my studs on for longer than I planned.

Yesterday evening when I got home and before I sat down, I put my tires in the back of the truck so they'd be ready to get changed today.

Whitehorse has "light flurries" this morning according to the radio news.

8 inches of fresh powder is "light flurries?"

I'll take a photo and post it later. It looks like December out there!!

** Update: Here's what it looked like this morning. We had a record setting 22.5cm (in some areas) last night!

Sunday chit chat

Pretty much everything made at Braeburn Lodge is this size, not just their famous cinnamon buns!

It's time for Carla's Sunday night chit chat!  Join us!

What are you…

Reading?  “Old Haunts” by E. J. Cooperman. The third in a series about a haunted guest house on the New Jersey shore. I read the “Hunger Games” last Sunday afternoon, which was really enjoyable – both the afternoon spent reading and the book itself! J

Watching?  It’s getting into re-run season, but there’s generally something I can find to watch. I started watching “My Ghost Story” on the Biography network last night, but had to turn it off because it got too spooky! I love that stuff, but I have my limits.

Listening to? Nothing much. The furnace (still!) switching on and off. I've had my windows open for a couple of days and slept like a log last night because of the fresh air. :)

Cooking/Baking?  Not really anything, although I was looking through cookbooks the other day to see what I could bake as snacks for work. I found a good, low fat lemon poppyseed loaf recipe I used to make often, but still need a couple of things for it.

Happy you accomplished this week? Pet care for Joey. He’s doing well so far and barring any complications, his sutures should be dissolved in a few more days. I have lovely soaps on the way and I got some extra hours at work, along with a few hours at my p/t job.

Looking forward to next week? My friend arrives Friday evening!!! Will also get tires changed on the car and an oil/fluid change, plus work on crossing off items from my “to do” list.

Thankful for today?  Plenty of cups of tea, working on my finances and organization for school, my cats, my awesome home, friends, family and MOMS!!

**********************************

Today I made a couple of inroads on my lengthy “to do” list I posted yesterday. I’ve adjusted my sidebars to reflect more reasonable goals in most of my accounts. I maxed out my gift fund using some of the money I got from my RRSP and cancelled the $16 bi-weekly auto-payment. I then readjusted my LOC $50 bi-weekly auto-payment to $66 bi-weekly ($50 + $16 = $66), so that I would be able to knock a little more off by the time fall rolls around. The final auto-payment at that amount will be September 5, my last full paycheque from work. I’ll adjust the payment amount after that, but need to stay focussed and bring it down as much as I can before that, so the monthly payments will be as low as possible.

I also cancelled my cellphone. The contract was actually up in March, so I’ve been paying on a month to month basis since then, but as I said yesterday, I so rarely use it, even for texting, it’s not worth it for me. It takes 30 days for the change to take effect, but will save me $30 a month in the long run, so I’m pleased. I can always call and reactivate it when (if!) I feel the need to. My final bill will be May 24 and I will get a bill in June that should read $0 and reflect the cancellation.

I realize I’ve got all summer to focus on this stuff, but the sooner I get things crossed off, the better. The summer will be gone before I know it and if I have unfinished items hanging around, I’m liable to panic and that’s what I’m trying to avoid.

Saturday update

Overcast, cool and breezy here today - it's been a cool spring so far, but I'm hopeful that the temperatures will creep up and the sun will soon be out more often. My friend arrives for her visit on Friday and the last thing I want is for it to be raining the whole time she's here. But I can't control the weather (yet!), and the time I spend with her is more important than what we do anyway, although I'd like to take a day trip somewhere and at least get out for a couple of walks around the neighbourhood, if not further afield.

I'm feeling very good about where my debt-load currently stands (although I've just made a $100 donation) and am confident that I will be able to bring it down even further before school starts in September. This month is a three-paycheque month, which will help now. I'm currently making a list of things I need to do - some of which will cost me money and some of which won't - over the next few months, but hopefully not more than I anticipate.

Need to's:

Car:
Change tires to summer ones: $100
Oil change: $65 (approx.)
Car account: only $10 in it right now, but will need to boost that substantially before September. I'll  need a winter oil change, plus another 2 tire changes and, of course, a lot of gas to get to school. I'm hoping there will be several people from my neighbourhood in the class and that we can perhaps car-pool, saving us each some gas, wear and tear and driving. I will forgo another oil change, however, until I'm finished classes next spring. I'll have to monitor my own fluids and hope that no serious issues arise (but that's also why I want to get my Efund up, too).

Tenant Insurance:
1 year: $250? (I really have no idea what it'll cost for a year - depends what I want for coverage I imagine). I'll be looking into this on Monday. My landlady wants a copy of it, so I have to get it done.

Bank:
RRSP: $100 auto-pymt every month. I have to halve this amount ($50 is the min to keep it open)
RRSP #2: $60 auto-pymt every month. I'm not sure what the minimum is on this, or if I have to have one. All it will take is a phone call and a short meeting to figure this out. If I can put a temporary hold on it, that would be ideal, but the next best thing would be to lower the monthly deposit to the absolute minimum.
EFund: $30 auto-pymt every month. I want to get this to $1k+ before the end of summer and then cancel while I'm at school. I add over and above that amount each paycheque anyway, so I think I have a good chance of reaching my goal. I did add to it when I got my RRSP payout, too, so need less than $400 to achieve this.

School:
Financial aid: filled out a form for a training allowance - $100 p/wk for food - and will drop that off on Monday on the way to work, along with a copy of my official acceptance letter.
Payment/registration: starts Monday, June 4. Need to call and find out if a bank draft will suffice as payment (would be hugely surprised if it doesn't, but you never know. Best to check).
I've also sent off a form for a student line of credit ($10k) for the year. The rate is prime + 2% (5%?) for any monies borrowed. Paying down my debt through the summer will go a long way to needing a lot less of this.

Bills:
Internet: not many options, but will call the service provider and discuss options for lowering the cost of my monthly bills (currently $125-ish a month) while I'm at school.
Heat: increase monthly payments through September, to keep credit balance high, which will help keep costs lower during the winter
Groceries: this cost will be covered by the financial aid above. I will likely have a more regular schedule so can cook/bake more often and won't need to buy food at the college. I'd like to keep this as low as I can, so I can direct some of that cash towards other things.
Cell phone: currently $30 p/mo. I use it so rarely it's just not worth it. I'll look into cancelling it, but I'm pretty sure the contract is up this month anyway.

Cats:
Cat/vet account: ensure there is a cushion in here to cover food, litter, vet visits. This will be the area where there could be the most unexpected expenses. Best to cushion it as best I can now. $1k should suffice.

Gift fund:
Monthly auto-deposits: $32. This will also have to go on hold while I'm at school, but again, will continue while I'm working.

LOC:
Payments: $50 bi-weekly. Continue this through summer, then drop it to the absolute minimum I can. By that time, the interest payments will be lower and I can probably get away with about $30-$40 p/month.

Job:
Part-time: I'm hoping my current p/t job will continue through the rest of the year. The wage is good, I enjoy it and even if I only do a couple of days a month, that will help to keep costs down while I'm off. If not, then there are possibilities at the college itself (library, bookstore, etc).

Will:
I have the money already set aside for this - for almost 2 years! - and need to just sit down, focus and get the forms complete. I need to get out of the way.

Other:
Stocking up (reasonably) on little things like laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc while I'm still working. This will save some $$ over the year. I'm currently nearing the end of some laundry detergent that I bought nearly two years ago, so it's time I picked up a new jug anyway.

So that's my list so far. It will fluctuate as I find add and remove things, but I'd like to check off a number of them before the end of August, so that I have a little breathing space before classes begin.

I do have to remember that I added an "overage" to my school account (approx $3000) as a cushion for any supplies I will need, any unexpected costs or even to continue my education afterwards. This money could also go towards cost of living if it gets really tight, so I don't have to set my panic meter ready to go just yet. I don't want to touch it, but it is there if I run into troubles.

My weekly spending isn't too bad, considering the vet visit for Joey.

Monday, May 14
No spend! :)

Tuesday, May 15
Tim's (tea & bagel): $3.85 <-- also something I need to knock off this summer.
Vet: $523.85

Wednesday, May 16
Soap: $97.40 (my friend will bring this with her; I've sent the cash for payment)

Thursday, May 17
Shoppers: $28.57
- milk: $4.59
- magazine: $3.99 (yes, splurge)
- rubber gloves (2 pair): $3.89
- clearasil: $6.99
- toothpaste (2 x 130ml): $2.29 ea
- frozen entrees (2 x $1.99): $3.98

Groceries: $19.36
- cheese (x 2): $14.38 ($7.19 ea - cheese is so outrageously expensive, but so GOOOOOOOD!)
- salad: $3.30
- apples (x 2): $1.46

Friday, May 18
Shoppers: $14.69
- ice cream (Ben & Jerry's "Red Velvet Cake"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!): $10.00, sale price 2 for $10
- magazine: $3.99 (for a friend)

Groceries: $26.63
- sausages: $3.44
- sausages: $4.03
- Krema Lemon yogurt (greek, no gelatin, 500ml): $6.79
- broccoli florets (frozen, organic): $4.59
- supersweet corn (frozen, organic): $3.99
- sourdough bread: $3.49

It seems kind of outrageous to spend so  much on frozen veggies, but they're equal to the cost of fresh up here (and sometimes in much better shape!). A variety will last me much longer, too, as I won't eat them all at once, or I can use them in a tuna casserole or something.

Today is a putter day, although I haven't done much so far. I'm looking into the value of a steam mop (Cdn Tire has one on sale for $99.99), and am organizing laundry, cleaning the bathroom, dusting and what to do with all the things on my dining room table that need to be cleared out...

Only Wednesday?

It feels like it should be later in the week for some reason. It started off awkwardly enough when I got asked for coffee by a patron on Monday. I was handed a paper with the question and simply handed it back without responding after reading it. It felt that weird. And weirder that I've had a feeling for a while that it would happen.

Anyhoo...

I made some decisions and took some action today about my debt and my cash. I have a little less to work with as I had a rather unexpectedly expensive vet visit yesterday ($523.85), but there we are. Joey had surgery on his paw to remove "something" from it that was causing the problem. The infection had cleared up for the most part, but the vet didn't quite know what it was that she removed, although she got all of it out. It's going to a lab Outside for testing. I'm curious to know and want to ensure it's not something serious. Poor Joey! Now I have to give him medication every 8 hours for a couple of days, but it's liquid, which is much easier to dose him with. He's doing pretty well for the most part and slept well last night after his traumatic day yesterday.

My debt looked like this:
M/C: $255
Visa: $2504.19
LOC: $4000

And now looks like this (or will, once the payments clear):
M/C: $0
Visa: $1000
LOC: $3750

I'm hoping to completely pay off the Visa by the time school starts and knock another $500 from the LOC. I'm going to adjust some auto-payments (RRSP, EFund, LOC) starting in September, so that I'm not leaking cash unnecessarily. I can easily put these things on hold, and even saving $80 a month will go a long way towards paying my rent and bills while I'm studying. In the meantime, I'm aiming for $1k in my EFund, and will look into switching over my Internet to cable (get more GB for the same price I'm paying now) or changing to a lighter/less expensive package temporarily.

I also have several things I need to do in the next couple of weeks. I need to change my winter tires over ($100) and get an oil change ($65), as well as pay a friend for some lovely stained glass she made for me last year ($150). She's been very good about this, but I'd like to get it paid and not worry about it anymore - I'm forgetting about it more often than I like as it is!

I splurged on some soap today and called Victoria to buy it. My friend will bring it up for me when she comes next week, so I'm saving on shipping, got 10% off my purchase because I bought so much, and actually got a new "flavour" to try - Vanilla Coconut! My cost for 17 bars of Salt Spring Island Soap is $97.40 (including tax). I adore this stuff, and it's so dry up here that having soaps that are made with coconut/palm/olive oils make a huge - and noticeable - difference for my skin.

It's time I was off to work...

Saturday Sidebars

Yes, another horse photo! That's Monaco being interested in my friend. She was lovely - she's not really a horse person, has never been around them, but accompanied me on my Oregon volunteer weekend from Vancouver. She really enjoyed herself, learned a lot and we had an awesome time travelling together. So much fun!

I've updated my sidebars to reflect my current state of affairs and while I'm happy to see some of the numbers go up, it's a bit of a shock to see the big drop in others (namely, my RRSP). The fact that I'm using my retirement funds for school is a bit of a balm, but it's still scary, particularly because there's no guarantee that I'll find something better. But at least I'll have a job to return to when I'm finished, which is a very big deal in this economy.

I'm still pondering the debt aspect of things. It would make sense to get rid of what I can, while I'm able to. My MC debt is actually less than HALF of what I posted yesterday (I set up an account online this morning, so I can monitor it), so that will definitely get paid off. A big THANK YOU to Reyna and Karen for their thoughts and input. Much appreciated! I will be spending this weekend thinking and considering, writing out pros and cons, as well as filling out financial aid forms, and searching - again - for bursaries, grants and loans. I'm also going to call my MC company and see about switching cards. I got this particular card probably 10 years ago, when I was drowning in terrible credit and debt, to try to recover my credit rating (it's a secured card). While I was online this morning, I took a little quiz and found several other cards that could work better for me: much lower interest, no fees plus a little reward action. I'm going to call them today to see if I can "exchange" my current card, which has outrageous interest PLUS a $6 per month fee. 21.99% to 9.99% or 5.99%? Yes, please! I have a great credit rating now, and because it costs nothing to ask, I might as well try.

I went for a short bike ride this morning, just one loop of the riverside trail, but the wind made it more difficult. I was going to try for two, but figured I added at least another 1.5km to the ride by taking the long way round to get on the trail, so I headed home again. Tomorrow I'm going to head out earlier and then go to the gym afterwards. It should be quiet early in the morning.

Dinner last night was a lot of fun. It was just me and four Germans, so we spent some time on YouTube afterwards and watched East German, Russian, Czech and German "filler" cartoons, short, two minute ones that filled the spaces in between commercials in the former Soviet bloc. It's all reminiscing for them, but all new to me. All I could share with them was the Friendly Giant! And Jerome! And Rusty! ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!

**Update: I called my MC company and got approved for a new card. I can't "exchange," but I could apply for a new card (5.99% p/a, no annual fee, no rewards), then once I have it, I call and cancel the old card. I'm sure the credit rating will take a bit of a hit, but that's okay. Plus I'll save myself $72 a year in fees. Every little bit helps!