Award

My pal over at The Quest to be Financially Abundant listed my wee little blog in her list of 10 blogs that she loves. Thanks P! :)

I thought I would join along as it has felt like ages since I've posted. (No need to worry, just life getting busy on us.) So without any further ado, here is me playing along, for the fun of it.



10 Blogs that I love:

1. Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Just like I can't imagine starting my morning without a cuppa, I also can't imagine starting a day without a daily dose of Gail wisdom.
2. My Half Dozen Daily is the second blog I read daily. She's a SAHM who homeschools, and is currently trying to sell a chameleon so her teenaged daughter will come home, lol!
3. Over at When I get to Where I am Going , J udy is an avid knitter, who attends school, is paying off her debt, all while running a household of adult and teenaged kids, a husband, and her mother. Update: Judy has taken down her blog. I'll miss her posts. :(
4. Saving for Travel or SFT for short, keeps us up to date on her travel around the globe (I'm so jealous!) and is our gracious host for The Sealed Pot Challenge 2013. She hosts weekly updates on this for those who are interested.
5. Sharon at MidLifeMomMusings just recently moved to her own domain and Wordpress after deciding to commit to blogging. She always has something good to share.
6. The Warm Hands Network is a charity knitting blog that chronicles the yearly shipments of knitted good to some needy children right here in Canada. Not only do they take knitted items from a specific list, they also accept Canadian Tire money toward the purchase of boots for folks who live in an area where the temp can drop to -40 C (that's the same as -40 F).
7. $lay the Monster  is B-Kat's blog. She paid off her $148,000 mortgage  in ten years. Nowadays, she works diligently to keep out of the clutches of the Debt-Monster.
8. Jolie writes Shaking the Money Tree, and I love reading about her life.
9. I love to read alottastitches where Linda crochets one child sized blanket per week for children entering foster care. That on top of the knitting, sewing and other crochet projects she has going.
10. Sass writes about her life with Princess Penelope (her daughter) and her two pups, Thing 1 and Thing 2 over at Getting Us There. I love her pictures of her shopping trips.

7 Things about me:

1. I love to observe people. By nature, I'm kind of quiet, a little bit shy, and would much rather sit and watch people at a party or gathering than getting involved in conversations.
2. I am a member of the Bear Clan of the Oneida First Nation people. To me, this means that I have a strong connection to family (by birth or by choice) and will do most anything I can for them. It also makes me want to sleep a lot in the winter time.
3. My self-esteem has bipolar disorder, I think. I either have all the confidence in the world in my strengths and abilities, or I have the worst self-esteem in the world. Depends on the day, I guess.
4. I do have a strong personality with some very strong opinions on things. I find that people either really, really like me or they absolutely hate me. I have learned to live with this and not to worry about those who don't like me.
5. I'm learning a lot about myself through knitting. I used to think knitting was all about the end result, the item I made, but it's become more about me just doing the knitting and what occurs in my head while I'm doing so.
6. Some of my favourite music is fairly heavy. Like heavy metal heavy. I don't seem the type at all, lol.
7. I want to get a dog in the worst way, but until we are in an actual house and not an apartment, I won't do it. It wouldn't be fair to the dog.

Rules if you want to play.

1. post awards on blog
2. thank person that nominated you, that would be me, but your blog is thanks enough!
3. List 10 blogs you love
4. list 7 things about you
5. List these rules
6. tell people you nominated by posting on their blog

A Drive and A Good Talk

Every once in awhile, I have the pleasure of being able to bring Hubby with me to work. I especially love it when we have to go out of town, so I have his undivided attention for a few hours. We usually take this time to reconnect through conversation, and the other day was no different.

I was finally able to tell him my concerns about a work situation. I know that no one has any true security in their job anymore, and I am no exception. Thinking about the very real possibility of job loss, I wanted to talk about what we could and would do if one or both of us were to lose our jobs through no fault of our own.

As much as I love my Hubby, I know that he is a typically pessimistic person and that he usually brings my optimism down a notch or three. So for this conversation, I was not particularly looking forward to having it, nor was I thinking it would be a good one.

I was wrong. (And that does not happen very often.)

Hubby talked about the situations going on at his place of employment, and how it could possibly end up with him having a job loss. Please understand, that since he was 16 years old, Hubby has never been without work for more than a week, so unemployment for any length of time would be a whole different thing for him.

We talked about his options: going back to school for trade specific training, or for a whole new line of work altogether. He said he was willing to take almost any job that paid more than minimum wage, and if necessary, would take a min. wage job too.

We also talked about my options should I become unemployed. I offered a few suggestions of where I might also apply to work to stay in the same field, along with what I could do to increase business should I decide to stay self-employed. If worse came to worse, I would take whatever job I could in order to keep our family afloat.

Things that we could do financially to keep us going were a big part of the conversation. We talked about reducing cable, cellphones, and other variable expenses would be our first line of defense. Preparation was also a main point in the conversation. We agreed that we have been lax in the area of saving up enough money to see us through a rough patch, and have resolved to fix this as best as we can. So on Sunday, I sat down with the budget and financial plan and re prioritised our 2013 goals page. I will sleep better at night once we have at least $1000 each in our Emergency Fund and Emergency Essential Expenses accounts. As for the taxes owing, well, the sooner I get that paid off, the better we will be all the way around. I will be posting occasionally about how we are bumping up these funds and paying off the tax man.

We are no longer burying our heads in the sand. We're thinking like optimists but planning like pessimists.

Have you put any thought into how your family budget would survive a job loss or god forbid, a double job loss? What would you do?

Frugal Cooking

Hubby came home from work today, not feeling so well. I think it may be the dreaded flu that's going around and kicking everyone in the butt! I don't really want to spend a whole lot of money these days (the CRA thing has got me terrified) so I thought I should be a good girl, and make something yummy for dinner.

Enter Club House Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup Starter. I have several of these in the cupboard that I bought on sale last month. I wish I could upload a picture of the package, or even find one online to show you, but alas, I cannot. Try googling it. It comes in a pretty blue package.

I had some leftover chicken breast in the fridge, so I chopped that up. I had to purchase some veggies for the soup, but I did manage to snag 2 celery bunches (heads? stalks? ribs? WTH is the correct terminology anyway?) for 99 cents on the reduced rack, and a package of baby carrots for another 99 cents. I also had to buy egg noodles which was on sale for $1.47. Between the celery, carrots and noodles, I should be able to get another 3 or 4 batches of soup out of what I have. :) I'll be chopping the remaining veg, cooked chicken thighs (I already had theses in the fridge) and putting one cup of each into freezer bags, so when I want to make more, I can just dump it, with the seasoning package and water,  into the crock pot and I'm set for the day.

Now, let's see if I'm any good at math:

~ package of chicken thighs (on sale) : $ 4.07
~ celery: $ 0.99
~ baby carrots: $ 0.99
~ onions (on hand)
~ egg noodles: $ 1.47
~ seasoning package: $ 1.25 each, so $ 3.75

$11.27 for three batches of Crock pot Chicken Noodle soup. Give or take. I had onions already and one cooked chicken breast, so add another $3 onto the total. About $15 for several meals.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

They also have a Vegetable Beef Soup Starter for the crock pot that I will be trying out sometime this month. I'd love to try lots of different kinds of recipes for my crock, but I live with some really picky eaters. I am on the hunt for good crock pot meal recipes, so if you have a favourite, please share with me.

Now if I could only find the Crock pot cooking liners in any store around here. Maybe I could get a friend from the US to send me a pack?

December Goals Update

1. Add $279.50 to any one of my RRSP accounts. This will round up my contributions for the year to a full $1200. $195 / $279.50.
2. Add $100 to the Emergency fund. Slow and steady wins the race. Done.
3. Add $50 to the Emergency Essential Expenses Account. $5 added.
4. Set aside $400 for the new van payment.
5. Pay $200 toward Income Tax owing. $50 paid.
6. Get $1000 RSP loan from bank. Applied, I think.?
7. Open TFSA account at CIBC for accelerating van payments and adding to house down payment fund. Done.
8. Get credit report and score so that I can do yearly update. Bank is getting this for me.
9. Add DD2's account to my 'bill list' to do online transfers for her savings account. Done.
10. Pay off $79  $231.76 owing on credit card by due date, Dec. 20/12. Paid $50.

I met with my rep at the bank this week to apply for the RRSP loan. I could just make a $1000 contribution, but I want to do it as a loan for a couple of reasons; the bank has a promotion going on that if you have three of the qualifing products, you get a reduction in bank fees across all your accounts - the only one I don't have already is a mortgage or loan, so I opted for the loan. Tax reduction is self-explanatory, and saving for retirement/home down payment are bonuses. :)

I also opened a TFSA account with CIBC so that I could set money aside as a buffer for the van payments. However, using my online banking, I am not easily able to transfer money to this account, so I will have to check to see how I am able to do that.

I'm only $84.50 away from my yearly RRSP contribution goal that I set for myself so long ago. I want to hit this goal in the worst way!

I'm adding to many of our savings accounts now while I am able to. There is already $100 in the account for Christmas 2013. The emergency fund has been added to. I've put money in both of the kids bank accounts. Money is set aside for upcoming auto maintenance and licencing. Vacation account has a little something to get that one started. I've increased the monthly contribution amount for the kids RESPs.

I also paid some bills before I went shopping. Oh shopping, how I love thee. But that's a whole post for a different day.

Sealed Pot Challenge

Thanks to SFT for being the gracious host of the Sealed Pot Challenge, where you seal a tin or pot or container of some kind, add your small change, some bills, or financial snowflakes for one year, and then use it for something you want or need.

I'm horrendous at making a decision on almost anything that is not work related so I've flipped and flopped on my decision on what to do with our money.

At first, I thought buying meat to fill the freezer would be a good plan for it. Then I thought that putting it toward my RRSP would be a good idea as well. Then I thought that we should do something fun with it, like spend it on a getaway to somewhere warm.

Sigh. There are so many good things to do with this money. So I'm putting half of the tin's contents toward my RRSP, and the other half will purchase meat for the freezer. The getaway to somewhere warm will have to wait until next year, which I will start saving for the instant I'm finished counting up the 2012 Tin amount.

So, here is the grand total of our 2012 Sealed Pot:

 

$200.00 !!!

 

 

There were some coins left in each denomination left over except for twoonies. I've left these extra coins in the tin to start of the 2013 savings with something. :)

 

 

So, have you all opened your tins or pots? If you took part in this challenge, leave your link to your post about the results please.

Sealed Pot Challenge

Do you remember reading about the sealed pot challenge last year? SFT over at SFT's Life After Mortgage asked those who wanted to participate to find a jar or pot, put a hole or slot of some sort in the lid (for putting money in) and sealing it closed.

The idea is to add bits and bobs of money to your pot to accumulate over the year for a special treat of your choosing. Some folks are using it for a weekend getaway, others will use theirs for Christmas or New Years, and others won't make that choice until they know how much money is in their pot.

Reading back over SFT's posts, I realised that I never officially signed up last year, although I did get a tin ( a Christmas Kit Kat tin with slot already provided). I had taped the lid shut, but at some point over the year, I opened it and never resealed it. To be honest, I can't even remember what I opened it for (I presume I needed cash for something). I know I stopped adding to it for awhile because money was really tight. But I have since started adding to it again.

Well, the time is almost upon us to open our little jars of gold and see what we have managed to squirrel away over a year. I believe I had said (wherever I posted it) that I would like to purchase meat to fill the freezer to get us through the winter. Another post, I mentioned that I was waffling between a meat purchase and making an additional contribution to my RRSP. I'm still not sure what to do with the money. Both are really good ideas.

Have you done a sealed pot/tin before? If not, would you consider trying it?

Coming Back and New Goals

I have missed the blogging community greatly. I felt like I was part of something, and then I was missing out on the friendship and sharing. But it had to be done. I had so much to say, but I was under wraps for awhile (self-imposed). I know me. I have trouble keeping my mouth shut, lol. But now, I can talk a little more freely about what has been happening.

The big news is that the company I work for has opened an office location right here in London. I'm still working part-time hours, and if all goes well, I should be out from under my probationary period in the next week or so. This will enable me to serve my client families more efficiently.

My goals for working with this company are to become a full-time employee, to gain status as a managing director, and eventually be able to 'buy-in' as silent ( Ha- who am I kidding? I'm never silent!) partner for this location.

In anticipation of major changes ahead in the next few years, I'm forging forward with personal and financial goals also.

Toward the beginning of the year, I opened yet another RRSP account at my bank. I put a small deposit in, and left it be. No further deposits to date. After thinking about it for a time, I realised that I could use this account as my 'Home Down payment Fund'. Using  the Home Buyers Plan, I can 'borrow' my own money from my RRSP, up to $25,000 toward the purchase of a home. Meanwhile, any deposits I make will count toward my RRSP contributions for that year, giving me a small break on the amount of tax I will owe.

Still with me this far? Good.

I will still have to 'pay that money back', but since it's mine, there won't be any outrageous interest fees associated with it (at least none that I am aware of). Just a repayment schedule that the government defines.

So off to the bank I went, and signed a paper to say that they could take $25 per pay out of my chequing and put into the 'House RRSP Fund'. I know it will take me a hundred years or so to save up a down payment at that rate, but it's a starting point, ya know?

Seeing as I've hit the big 4-0, I've been thinking lots and lots about where my life is headed, where I am right now, and where I want to be in the future. I want to have a home of our very own, however modest it may be. I want to have money in the bank should the day ever come that I want to semi-retire. (I'm pretty sure if I ever fully retire, it will be due to health reasons only.) I'm putting away money to help partially pay for my kids post-secondary educations. Our debt is almost gone...Can you say U-RAH to that!!!! We've finally gotten that consumer debt monster down to something manageable.

On the other side of the coin, it looks like we will be shopping for a newer vehicle this year. Well, we have been looking for awhile, and I have absolutely nothing saved up for a new van, but we will need to replace it I think. A van is vital to my employment, so hopefully we can get a good deal on a 1 or 2 year old used one. I'm hoping for a Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow-N-Go seating, but we will see. I will not be taking out another 7 year long, $28,000 car loan, that's for sure.

One of these days, I will get around to updating my reading list. I've read a ton of books over the last little while, which has certainly helped my keep my shopping habit under control. Speaking of shopping, I'm working at the couponing again to keep our grocery costs down with budget limits. I think this is the first May in the last 5 years that we have stuff in the pantry, cupboards and freezer and I don't feel like an unfit parent. I'm anticipating what we will need over a given period and stocking up (not extreme couponer style) some of the things that we regularly use when its on sale.
I'm feeling good about life these days. I hope it lasts.

What are you feeling good about today?

My Hands Have Not Been Idle

Cub modeling a 'hat'. It isn't a hat really, but it sure looked like it at the time.

Shortly after our trip to visit with Gail Vaz-Oxlade , she posted about her love for knitting. This is something that we definitely have in common. Gail doesn't use patterns, instead changing up the yarns and needle sizes to create as she goes along.

I, too, am a renegade knitter at heart. I despise following even the simplest pattern. But I will use one until I am understanding how a piece is put together (like the Swiffer cloths) and then recreate it with my own imagination and creativity.

2012 is the year I decided to work through my enormous stash of yarn and crafting supplies. I promised Hubby I would not buy any more yarn until I got rid of what I already have. (This may have been a mistake, but oh well.) I got the idea from Creating A Family Home who is, for various reasons, trying to work down her stash.

The 'hat' that Cub is wearing above, is one of those stash busting projects. The charity I work with, Keeping Kids Warm is often gifted the stashes of family members of the donors. This often includes lots of little balls of leftovers from long ago finished projects. Not wanting these little bits to go to waste, I have gathered bags and bags of them to make something with. Some of it will be for using with plastic canvas. Some bits are so small though, it's difficult to figure out the perfect project for them.

Enter the "Rainbow Snake' idea.

Some time ago, the volunteer knitters at KKW used several balls of yarn in varying colours and textures, knitting in the round, to create a yarn snake that grew several feet long. To complete it, it was stuffed with batting, and sealed on both ends. The flexible finished product called the Rainbow Snake, was then donated to a children's facility where it has been laid upon, jumped on, sat on, twisted into varying configurations and loved fiercely by many a baby and toddler. So much so that the facility has requested another one as it is getting worn from so much love.

I started working on a new snake, when DD2 took a keen interest in what I was making. I explained how it would be stuffed and sewn up as a plaything for some babies. She mentioned that if it was the appropriate size, even a young lady such as herself would like a 'pillow' made in a similar manner. She thought that lots of folks might like to have such a creation as well. My biggest worry was what to call it. A Pillow-something? Rainbow something?

We went to the park during some really nice weather the other day. I was thinking about our family, and all of the great-nieces and great-nephews I have. I've tried to give them all a special nickname from Auntie, and I started thinking about those nicknames. One jumped out at me....Inchworm. That's the special name I have for my great-niece whose name is Alaska. Her and Cub are only a few months apart in age. Inchworm Pillows. They grow inch by inch on my needles, made with only a few inches of yarn at a time. How fitting.

I'll post pics when I have one or two finished. I think the first one should go to DD2 and the second to Inchworm - as thank you for their inspiration.

Are your hands creating anything these days?

I'm Still Here

I haven't been posting very much lately, but I wanted to let you all know I'm still here and doing OK. It's been a bit of an adjustment the past couple of weeks 'going to work' everyday. Then Cub got sick. Nothing major, but he needed his Mommy. Then Hubby was 'on vacation' from his regular job for a week. I loved having him around everyday,and in a much better mood too! It reminds me why I work so hard, and so many hours - so I can earn enough money that he can give up the job from that horrible place. Next week, I have DD2 home for March Break all week, and Cub will be home Thursday & Friday. Next Saturday is Cub's 4th birthday and we're going out for lunch.

I really struggled with the 'budget' for the new paycheque. I figured out how much I am getting paid every two weeks ($686.73) and how to break that down for the four piles of money. Every other week, I will be putting $70 into the Emergency Fund, $ 68.75 into Planned Spending/LTS, which leaves me $547.98 for Cash Flow. Out of the CF, $ 482.85 will go to pay rent which will leave me with a whopping $ 65 for everything else - groceries, fuel, bills, etc.

I have to be honest - this very first paycheque, I treated myself. I went clothes shopping. After I set aside all the amounts that I have to set aside, I went to Talize for some work shirts. Being the size that I am, most women's clothes don't really fit right, so I headed for the men's section. I bought 6 short sleeved shirts (collars and buttons down the front), 1 vest, and 1 long sleeved shirt. I also bought 2 work out videos on VHS and a CD for Hubby. I paid a total of $34.23 for all of it. Oh, how I love thrift stores! We also went to an outlet store this week to see if I could find a new suit for me. Well, I found 2 that fit reasonably well (the pants will have to be hemmed though) and looked decent. That store was having a 'sales event' so I paid $144.47 for two matching suit jackets and pants. Ouch! I don't regret it though, as the suits will likely last me for at least 3 years.

My stock up item for the week was bodywash. I hate running out of bodywash and I so dislike using soap. We typically only use Ivory Bodywash, because it doesn't leave a flowery scent on your skin which is important to Hubby because of his allergy to bee stings. Flowery scented stuff tends to attract bees, and he could very well die if he's stung a couple of times. I would rather not take the risk. I haven't seen that brand of bodywash on sale for a good price in a long time, so when I saw it itn the No Frills flyer for $2.99 for the 705 mL bottle, I knew I'd be buying several. I was going to buy 12 of them, but seeing as there was only 12 on the shelf, I only took 8. I don't want to be the 'shelf clearing' kind of buyer. I also managed to snag a good 'sale' on Pull-Ups this week for Cub. ( Good lord, isn't that kid potty-trained already?!) I had an email coupon from Shopper's for $10 off the purchase of $50 or more, and the larger packs of Pull-Ups were marked down from $27.99 to $19.99. I bought 3 ( after going to the 3rd store to find them), used my coupon and paid only $52.97. One of the stores that didn't have any on the shelves gave me a raincheck for two packs. The raincheck is good for 30 days, so its like extending the sale for me. :)

I'm hoping to get the paperwork together to file our taxes this week. I still have lots to do in that department, but with only DD2 home this week, I should be able to take a big chunk out of the preparatory work. Cross your fingers for me!

Today's agenda includes grocery shopping, laundry, making bread, and cleaning the kitchen. I don't know how much of that will get done, but I'm going to give it the old college try.

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and don't forget, clocks go forward one hour on Sunday.

Little Ways To Pad Your Emergency Fund

An Emergency Fund is an essential part of a solid financial foundation. It is a cash cushion that you have accumulated over time. It should be easy to access, and to be used only for an emergency.

Some so-called experts will say that you should have 6 months worth of salary in your Emergency fund. Others say that having only $500 to $1000 set aside is a good start. You have to decide what amount is right for you and your family. I am rebuilding my Emergency Fund after having to use it this past fall. I’m starting small, with a goal of $500 by the end of February.

Here are some Microsavings tactics to help pad your Emergency Fund:

·       Automated transfer $25 from your paycheque. You have to start somewhere.

·       At the beginning or end of the week, transfer the last three digits of your bank balance over to your E-fund. (If your balance is $542.68, transfer the $2.68.)

·       Save your pocket change. 50 cents a day can add up over a couple of months.

·       Sell something and put the proceeds in your fund. Kijiji is my personal favourite to sell unwanted items.

·       Add government cheques like GST/HST or your income tax refund.

·       Add amounts equal to your ‘spending – savings’. If you buy groceries and reduce your out of pocket expense by using $7.50 worth of coupons, transfer that amount to your Emergency when you get home from the store. Same goes for your loyalty rewards points accounts.

·       Have a No Spend/Low Spend month to reduce your variable expenses and deposit the difference.

·       Round up your budget categories. If you spend $146.50 on cable/internet, budget $150. At month’s end, sweep remaining funds into your emergency fund account.

·       Replace one bad habit with a good one: If you smoke ( or whatever your vice is), smoke one less cigarette a day, and put $0.30 into your change jar. At month’s end, deposit into your E-fund.

·       Make something you can sell; sewing, knitting, woodworking, and card making are all viable types of side income for boosting your e-fund.

·       Do some babysitting, pet-sitting, house sitting, snow shovelling, attic cleaning or whatever to earn a little extra funds to pad your account.

·       Reduce your consumption of meat for a week or a month. Whatever you would have spent, add to your E-fund.

·       Skip a take-out meal or two (or a month). Save your money instead.

To have a fully funded emergency fund, you have to start somewhere. I am a firm believer that having an Emergency fund is part of a healthy financial plan. I won’t tell you how many months worth of expenses you should have, only that you should have an Emergency Fund. So should we.

Here’s to starting over, in a new year, with renewed hope, and renewed focus. 51 days to $500.

Are You Talking To Me?

" You cannot save $10,000 until you have $1,000. You cannot save $1,000 until you save $100. You cannot save $100 until you save $10. Getting from where you are now to where you want to be requires that you do something differently. Do you have the guts to change?" - Gail Vaz - Oxlade

I was flipping through Debt Free Forever to find the answer to a question posed by Sam. In just reading a couple of paragraphs, I was amazed at the amount of inspiration I was getting by reading just a wee little bit. I always hear her voice in my head when I'm reading something she has written, so that part didn't surprise me.

What did surprise me was that it felt like an epiphany. Gail was reaching through the internet, via Sam's question, that made me grab her book so she could speak directly to me.

And I hear you loud and clear, Gail!

In two days time, I will begin a new chapter of my Life Journey, that starts with some of my most ambitious savings and financials goals of my life. (See page entitled 2012 financial Goals.) To truly focus on putting together all the skills I have acquired in the past couple of years, and to focus on attaining my goals. To have some money to retire on one day. To have some money to give my kids when they venture off to college. To find some balance in my life, financial and otherwise.

Here's to the first $1 of the first $10 of the first $100 of the second $1,000 of my first $10,000. Here's to taking control of my money and my life.

My Focus in 2012: Living Within Our Means

Gail posted a great article found here that can help you determine if you are living within your means. Some of her benchmarks are as follows:

• Are you saving 10% of your net income?
• Are the balances on your credit cards or lines of credit rising?
• Are you missing payments on bills?
• Are you taking cash advances on your credit cards?

I know what my answers are to these questions, and it ain't pretty. We still have two cancelled credit cards with balances that we are paying down. Then there is the enormous tax bill I owe to Revenue Canada. That pesky overdraft has got to stop also.

For the most part, I'd like to think that we live within our means, but when gauged by someone else's measuring stick, maybe not so much. So I think what I need to do is to define 'Living Within Our Means' for our family. You know, the personal in personal finance.

I've set some financial goals for 2012. I would love to be completely out of debt in the next 12 months, but that is highly unlikely. I'd love to have saved up enough to buy a newer used vehicle, and to take my family to Disney World next winter, but I'm pretty sure that's out of reach too. Maybe if I can just make through to next Christmas with having put some money in my RRSP and being able to keep current on our bills, that will have made me feel like I've accomplished something.

My RRSP Strategy for 2012

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was looking at the idea of a RRSP Catch up Loan to assist me with some tax benefits. I received a comment that they were a very, very bad idea. I'm not one to jump to conclusions, so I took this under advisement and did some research. Of course, I turned to Gail's blog.

Borrowing more money while you still have debt is never a good idea. Borrowing money to invest for the long term has some benefits, but not enough for me to consider it at this point.

Borrowing to contribute to an RRSP only makes sense if you’re in the highest tax bracket AND you can pay off the loan within one year WHILE making monthly contributions to your current year’s RRSP. ~ Gail

So what's a gal to do? I get that borrowing the twenty something thousand dollars in contribution room I have available is not really an option for. Sure, I could borrow it and pay it back within a year, but my cash flow will take a huge hit, and I just can't live like that, nor can I expect my family to.

Taking on too much debt for the sake of some other objective is a sure way to mess up your cash flow and rob you of sleep. ~ Gail

I value my sleep too much. I don't do enough of it as it is. The sense of peace I have knowing that I am doing the best I can financially is not something I'm willing to give up either.

The most important part of my financial well being is to find balance. Saving for the long term takes time and discipline. Time I have. Discipline, not so much. But I'm getting better.

If you want to catch up your RRSP unused contribution room, trim back on your expenses or make enough extra money to sock away what you want. Don’t borrow it. ~ Gail

Oddly enough, I can hear her voice saying this directly to me. It's like she's right here in the room with me, telling me not to be a dummy, and that there is a better way to do this.

On Gail's advice, I will not be taking out an RRSP loan, catch-up or otherwise. My goal for 2012 will be to put $2500 into my RRSP, or $208 per month. That's the maximum amount of loan repayment monthly that I would be comfortable making. OK, maybe a little outside my comfort zone, but whatever. If for some crazy reason I am unable to make that 'loan' payment in a given month, my credit history won't go to hell in a hand basket and I won't be getting any nasty phone calls from the bank. It would mean that I would just have to deposit that much more the following month. I'll have no interest costs with this method, and all my money will be working for me right from the get go.

I feel like I'm behind the eight ball with my retirement contributions. I may very well be. But if I don't start somewhere, I will never be able to retire, and that is just not an option. With how much I've contributed to CPP as a self-employed person, and no pension to speak of, when I'm 65, I'll be eligible for about $32 per month. Lol!

Aim to set aside 10% of your net income every year until you retire. ~ Gail

The thing with RRSPs is that they market them to make you feel like you aren't contributing enough, and that without the help of financial institutions, you have no hope in hell of ever accumulating the astronomical cash projections that they say you need to have. This puts people in one of two mindsets. They either fall for the hype and take out 20 year RRSP loans without ever really getting ahead, or they give up hope of ever retiring comfortably, and choose to ignore the situation.

I'm choosing neither. I will forge my own path, by making contributions on my own schedule that will take into account that my income fluctuates greatly. I have goal number in mind for 2012, and I will make sure I hit that goal at all costs. I'm working on all our financial goals for 2012, so adding this in will be another part of the budgeting process for us.

What's your retirement savings strategy? Do you have RRSPs or have you ever used a RRSP catch up loan? I'd love to hear about your experiences with this.

Month End Report

I didn't do this last month because I was in such a depression over our finances. It hasn't been, nor still is pretty, but we are slowly figuring it out. Here are the numbers.

TFSA/ EEE Account $41.71 (down $418.83)
Xmas Fund/Car Fund $50.02 (down $1553.70)
RRSP Savings Acct. $160.07 ( up $52.88)
Vacations Account $4.01 (down $44.64)
RRSP MF Acct. $1,757.93 (up $70.18)
RESP MF Acct. $1,529.47 (up $157.72)
Emergency Fund Account $24.51 (up $15.57)
House Fund $10.04 (up $5.01)
Biz Savings/5 Categories $50.90 (down $78.17)
Canada Savings Bonds $1,745.00 (up $140.00)
B's Savings Acct. $19.69 (down $39.41)
$5 Bill Laptop Fund $0 postponing this for now


Personal Loan: $6,120.50, up $465.00
MBNA Card (27.98%): $1,063.16, down $150.57
Capital One Card (19.8%): $2,809.19, down $138.96
CIBC Visa (19.99%): $346.70, new account
Overdraft 1: $621.32,down $27.26
Overdraft 2: $396.99, up $396.99
Tax Owing: $9,692.82, up $6,501.56 (correct as of Nov.21st)

Our current total Debt owing: $21,050.68

Total Debt owed January 1, 2011: $23,861.01
Difference since January 1, 2011: $ 2,810.33
Difference since last report: + $ 7,393.46

YIKES!

That is a huge difference in only 60 days, but we knew it was coming. The reality is, in the past I have not been setting money aside for tax obligations, and now it is catching up with me. I have incurred more debt by means of a new credit card (to start rebuilding my credit), using my overdraft again (I know, not good at all), and reborrowing from the 'personal loan'. All the work we have done to pay down and off our debt has come to a screaching halt. It looks as though all we have paid off in 11 months is a mere $2,800. But we are determined now more than ever, to see this thing through.

In the last 60 days, I have cut back on the household spending, cancelled services, stopped pre-authorised withdrawals for RRSP & RESP (until our cashflow can handle it again), and reduced the daycare expense. In the coming week, I will try to reduce our cellphone bill (again) and pledge to put something into each of the savings pots.

Our expenses for December far outweigh our income, so we will absolutely do our best to pay what we can and make a gameplan for 2012. We are considering RRSP catch up loans. I will talk more about that in an upcoming post.

So that's it in a nutshell. It isn't pretty, but it's all ours. ;)

Shopping and Dinner

I went shopping yesterday.

I had read all the flyers and made a careful list. I need to stretch every dollar I possibly can right now. I wish the budget wasn't so darn tight but it is what it is.

I got Palmolive Dish soap, 1.1L for $1.73 at Canadian Tire yesterday. I bought 4 of them. I love stocking up on things when I find a great deal. I also picked up some Christmas wrap that was on sale, and a few stocking stuffers there. Who would have thought that CT would have good prices on seasonal candy?

Next stop, No Frills. They are having another one of their $1, $2, $3 sales and some of the deals were hard to pass up. While there, I realized that lean ground beef was on sale as well, so I bought two of the family sized packs. I used one for dinner, and split the other one up for the freezer.

When I got home after picking up the kidlets, I put stuff away, and packed up two reusable grocery bags of foodstuffs for DD1's house. She has recently gone back to work full-time after mat leave, and they are struggling once again. Her BF is having trouble finding and staying employed, so they have opted for him to stay home and look after grandcub while DD1 works to provide for their little family. They have exhausted all of their resources, and are grateful for any help in the next month while they are adjusting to the new schedule.

I wish I could have run to the bank, and taken out money for them to survive, but I can't. I want to fix the problem for them, but I can't do that either. But I realized that having stocked up on all the sales I can, I am able to help them with pantry items that I have. Baby wipes, t.p., soups, jam and bread from the freezer, peanut butter, sugar, cereal, rice mixes, all gleaned from our cupboards. It made me feel better and they were very grateful for the help.

Anyway, for dinner I made homemade burgers, with all the fixings. Mine ended up being a mushroom bacon cheeseburger. With fries, pickles and olives on the side. :) For dinner we had 3 adults, 2 tweenagers (DD2's fave girl cousin of the same age is here for the weekend), 1 toddler, and a 10 month old. All fed and happy on under  $20 worth of groceries bought on sale over time.
I. Love. That.

I am still making (knitting) gifts for my family to reduce costs. This is likely going to be our most frugal holidays ever. But it will be ok. Everyone knows that we are struggling financially, and are not so worried about stuff. We watched "The Grinch That Stole Christmas" after dinner, and it led to a discussion about 'Christmas not coming from a store'. That it was about being together with the ones you love, and who love you. The tweens seemed to 'get' it, and that's all I can hope for.

Happy Friday

" Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

There has been lots going on in my head, and with me in general.

I cleaned out the freezers and took some time to do some stocking up on items that we will use for the next few months. Here are my purchases over the last couple of days:

1x Sirloin Tip Roast, $ 11.66
1x Package Ground Beef, $11.06
8x 1 lb Unsalted Butter, $23.04
2x McCain Frozen Cream Pies, $2.58
1x 10 lb bag potatoes, $1.88
3x 1L Oasis 100% juice, $2.97
3x Pillsbury Apple Turnovers, $6.00
8x Dr. Oetker Frozen Pizzas, $24.00
4x Knorr Rice/Pasta Mixes, 4.00
1 each chicken & beef bullion cubes, $3.00
3x Glad Cling Wrap, $3.00
3x Oatmeal Crisp Triple Berry Cereal, $9.00
2x Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, $3.74
2 lb bag Macintosh Apples, $2.00
3x 90-100 count bagged frozen cooked shrimp, $9.00


There was a lot more, but I don't want to bore you with the details. However, I'm not done with the shopping just yet.

Tomorrow and Sunday, Shopper's Drug Mart is having a 'Spend Your Points Event' , where you get additional dollar amounts in free purchase if you redeem your points over 50,000.
I've combined their sales items from the flyer, along with redeeming 50,000 of my accumulated points. If I've done my math correctly, I will get $100.99 (before taxes) of products for $14.12.
I like to think of it as my version of Extreme Couponing, without the actual coupons, lol!

Products purchased will be:
4 x 2kg bags of sugar @ $1.99 each
4 x Life Brand 2-roll paper towels @ $0.49 each
4 x 24 roll Royale Toilet Tissue @ $5.99 each
2 x Oral B Children's Toothpaste @ $1.88 each
2 x Herbal Essences hair care @ 2/$5.00 each
4 x Vim Cream Cleanser @ $0.99 each
1 x Aleve Tablets @ 9.99
1 x 4 pk Tic Tacs @ $3.49
1 x 320 count Pampers Baby Wipes @ $9.99
2 x Sunsilk shampoo (with free 355 ml conditioner) @ 3.99 each
2 x Balea 2-in-1 Kids Shampoo/Bodywash @ 3.99 each
1 x Trident gum, 4 pack $2.99
2 x Pringles Chips @ 1.99 each

This will give me a head start on some of the stocking stuffers that I typically buy for Christmas, along with a few things to stock up on.

I'm hoping that this weeks shopping excursions will help to lower our costs overall for grocery spending and planned holiday spending.

Have you been shopping this week?

Are You Saving for Retirement?

Here in Canada, we are fortunate to have a fantastic registration program known as the RRSP, or Registered Retirement Savings Plan.

Unfortunately, lots and losta people have almost no idea what they are talking about when it comes to their retirement savings.

"Hey Eboo! I just invested in an RRSP!"

Me: "Um. No you didn't. You invested in a savings account, GIC, mutual fund, etc. and registered it."

I have understood the basics of RRSPs since I first heard about them, thanks to a swell guy named Dave F. who took the time to explain it properly to me.

When we head into that time of year when the financial institutions start flogging their RRSP products (read loans), you should have a basic understanding of how it works before you even give them the opportunity to confuse you. Because they will.

Here is a great article that my hero and financial Sham-Wow, Gail Vaz - Oxlade wrote on her blog to help explain it in the simplest of terms. Please take a minute to go read it, and tomorrow, I will post more on the RRSP and how to use it to your advantage.

Month End Report - September

Let's review:

September goals:

1. $75 for the pager; this will pay up the account until June 1/12 No
2. Continue making small-ish deposits to Emergency fund, EEE Account, House fund, Vacation fund, car fund, and laptop fund. Sort of.
3. Start 2 new funds for Business Equipment and Dental Work. No 
4. Our Insurances are coming due. Pay off #1 & #2. 1 of 2 paid
5. Catch up with all paperwork for business. o_O Halfway accomplished.

OK, so I didn't accomplish much this month or so it would seem. I did pay the contents insurance on our apartment for the year, and I did get the dreaded Income Tax filed (finally). I so dislike doing that. Of course, the result wasn't favourable, which is probably why I dislike doing it so much. Everything seems to be on hold until I can get a grip on the finances. Paying out an additional $600 per month for childcare is something that is hard to get used to. If I don't start getting more work soon, I may have to pull him from daycare.


Ok, on to the Month end report:


TFSA/ EEE Account $460.54 (up $23.70)
Xmas Fund/Car Fund $1603.72 (up $0.10)
RRSP Savings Acct. $107.19 ( up $25.08)
Vacations Account $48.65 (up $2.80)
RRSP MF Acct. $1,687.75 (down $20.84)
RESP MF Acct. $1371.75 (down $24.11)
Emergency Fund Account $8.94 (down $991.46)
House Fund $5.03 (down $114.99)
Biz Savings/5 Categories $129.07 (down $2291.07)
Canada Savings Bonds $1605.00 (up $140.00)
B's Savings Acct. $59.10 (down $184.41)
$5 Bill Laptop Fund $60 (up $35.00)




Personal Loan: $5655.50, down $160.00
MBNA Card (27.98%): $1,213.73, down $267.64
Capital One Card (19.8%): $2948.15, down $125.93
Overdraft 1: $648.58,down $260.86
Auto Loan: $ 0
Tax Owing: $3191.26, up $8.73 (correct as of Sept. 19th)


Our current total Debt owing: $13,657.22


Total Debt owed January 1, 2011: $23,861.01
Difference since January 1, 2011: $ 10,203.79
Difference since last month: $ 908.49


The auto loan was paid off, finally. I got my credit card balance under $3k, and hubby's credit card balance is approaching 3 digits instead of four.It is going to be a rough few months for us if I can't get more money coming in. Hopefully, October will be a good month income-wise.

Points On Purpose

Gail on Reward Program savings ( from Moneysense.ca article):
Don’t forget the next important step: For every dollar you save by using your points, open up a “points savings” account and deposit the money. Now each time you use your points for anything—groceries, gas, travel, whatever—deposit the equivalent amount in real dollars into this savings account. Now you’re really saving with those points!

This is something that has been on my mind the last couple of weeks.

We have 2 Petro Points cards with the points going to one account. I never though much about the points until the other day. We had enough points to get not one but two Fuel Savings cards. By cashing in 15,000 points, we are entitled to save 5 cents per litre of fuel purchased, to a maximum of 200 litres. Times 2, that's 400 litres of fuel savings. (5 cents X 400 litres = $20)
When we've used all 400 litres of fuel savings, I will be making an additional $20 to my RRSP account.

We also have a Shopper's Optimum account, again with 2 cards. I usually wait until around the holidays to make use of those points. With some good luck with timing, if I hit a sale on staples like sugar, flour, etc., I can stock up for free, lol! I'm no extreme couponer, but I do love me some points cards. The next time I cash those out, it should be around the $60 mark, so I can drop $60 into our Car Fund. :)

The other 'savings points' program that I use is PC points. I have cashed out 20,000 points before for $20 worth of free groceries. I bank with PC Financial, so I deposit the grocery amount to the account, and pay with debit. I get points for spending amounts and extra points for bringing my own bags to the store. I won't likely have enough to cash out again on this one for awhile, but when I do, I will be sure to transfer $20 over to one of our long-term savings accounts.

How about you? Do you really save the money you 'saved' with your points programs, or does it just get funnelled back into your spending?

A Matter of Choice(s)

Thanks to Makky's Mom, I felt compelled to post about the choices that we all have with regard to our own wishes for our funerals.

Basically, you have two options: Cremation or Earth Burial.

Here's a list of things you need to think about with regard to both options.

Burial:

• casket type
• service details
• cemetery property
• monument (headstone)
• reception after service

Cremation:

• container/casket type
• service or memorial details
• type of urn
• what to do with the cremated remains after all is said and done
• reception after service memorial

Typical caskets are constructed from wood or metal. Cremation containers can vary from  cardboard to the most elaborate wood casket you can find.

You need to think about if you want a service of any kind. This can range from no service of any kind, a memorial service with or without casket/urn present, to a full traditional-type funeral service with visitation.

Your casket can be buried in the ground, or put in a mausoleum. Both can be costly.
Your cremated remains can be put in an urn, and kept by family members for private disposition. Or you can have them buried, put into a niche in a columbarium, or scatter them in a certain area within some cemeteries.

Cemetery property can be expensive, even if you are only buying one plot for cremated remains in an urn.

I am only aware of one Green Cemetery in Canada, located somewhere in British Columbia. This page can provide you with more information.
Biodegradable caskets come in all shapes, sizes and differing construction materials.

So do Urns. Here are some examples.

Taking an example of a friend of mine, even with choosing lower cost options, they are looking at $1800 for cremation and professional services, $1900 for one plot, $400 for an Urn, and $7000 for a monument. Add in about $850 for a memorial service, and $600 for a cheap-o reception, they are looking at a total cost of about $15,000 for two people.

There are so many choices to be made. Funeral service or cremation. Which cemetery? Burial or scattering? Embalming or no embalming? To have a visitation (viewing) or not? Should there be flowers? Memorial donations? Which Funeral Home to involve?

Consider this. Most funerals/cremations are paid for by way of a funeral/insurance plan, life insurance proceeds, and on a credit card.

A Credit Card?!?!

Yep. A credit card. Lots of folks have credit limits that could swallow the cost of an entire funeral service, with, excuse the term, all the bells and whistles. Most funeral service establishments require some type of deposit before services are rendered. Anywhere from 50% of the total and up.

Would creating a Funeral Fund seem morbid to all you PF-ers out there?

I'd rather be morbid than have my spouse or kids put my casket on their credit card, and end up paying it off for the next 30 years, with interest.

What say you, readers? Have you ever even given your final wishes any thought?

Note: After I wrote this post, I found an interesting article on cremation. Of course, it doesn't cover every last detail, it will give you a good idea of what to think about. http://blog.yourmoney.ca/2011/08/cremation-costs.html