March Month End Report

Here's how the numbers sit as of February 28, 2011:
TFSA      $88.96 (up $1.00)
Xmas Fund  $34.70 (same)
RRSP Savings Acct. $10.00 ( up $5.00)
EEE Account $10.03 (down $45.00)

RRSP MF Acct. $1,210.83 (up $3.02)
RESP MF Acct. $0 New Account
Emergency Fund Acct. $91.09 (up $60.00)
House Fund $40.00 (up $15.00)
Biz Savings/5 Categories $225.00 (up $126.02)
Canada Savings Bonds $735.00 (up $140.00)
B's Savings Acct. $85.21 (up $31.05)


HBC Card (28.8%): $406.86, down $34.24
Personal Loan: $6445.00, down $160.00
MBNA Card (27.98%): $2,117.14, down $151.47
Capital One Card (19.8%): $4,119.24, down $72.04
Overdraft 1: $799.39, increased by $299.39
Auto Loan: $1,199.23, down $194.97
Tax Owing: $4,385.82, down $250.00
Biz HST:  $4,839.00
Dental Bill: $1,301.10
Overdraft 2: $380.80, decreased by $88.24


Total Debt owed on January 1, 2011: $23,861.01


Our current total Debt owing: $21,874.34


Difference since January 1, 2011: $1,986.67


Good things this month:

• I got a bank account and RESP Mutual fund account opened in Cub's name
• In a month that is historically bad for income, I brought in over $3000
• I have $1100 of outstanding invoices that should be paid next month

Things that aren't so good:

• Knowing that I have to pay off $4800 of debt in the next 110 days
• Still paying off credit card debt that I incurred over 3 years ago
• Needing work done on my van that is going to cost me in the $3000 range

We could have done a lot better this month. We paid over $950 toward our debt this month. It seems to be moving so slowly. Seeing the numbers gives me incentive to get these debts over with! Hubby's car payments will be finished by September, and then he is planning on saving the equivalent of the amount of those payments in a seperate account toward the purchase of a newer vehicle.

Learning from Our Mistakes

What mistake have you made financially that caused you to learn the most, turn around your life/way of thinking? What could you change if you had a financial do-over?

There were a few things that happened in succession that made me realize we were in deep, deep doo-doo. First of all, we were on the brink of becoming homeless. We weren't able to meet all of our financial obligations, and something had to give. I mistakenly thought that not paying the rent would be ok, and that somehow the money would magically appear out of thin air. Ha ha!

Secondly, we were getting repeated phone calls from collection agencies. The phone never rang anymore for a mere conversation. It was depressing.

We had just had a baby, hubby's income had decreased by some 55%, and then he was hospitalised for an injury. Our child was hospitalised shortly after being born. Our life was falling apart in every way possible. I stopped watching the cash flow. I was primarily concerned with making sure my guys lived through their respective medical crises.

Then the electricity got shut off. And the gas. Really cold showers and an inability to cook a meal made life very difficult for us. It was sort of a 'rock-bottom' for us.  I knew things had to change, and quickly. We were headed for financial ruin a.k.a. bankruptcy.

There was no single big financial mistake that we made that I would take back if I could. Most of my financial mistakes were caused by ignorance. I had no idea what I was doing. I had never budgeted, and had never learned how. I had no idea how to run a business from a financial perspective. If I could go back in time, I would definitely have gained more financial knowledge earlier than I did. I think though, that the rough times we had were not only the catalyst for change, but also gave me the drive to learn a better way. If I had learned the lessons earlier, perhaps things would have been better, but having tough times helped me to internalise the lessons that I needed to learn.

Today, most of the original debt has been paid off. There's only about $6,000 of it left, and is on the chopping block to be paid off this year. Over the last three years, we have incurred more debt, but from completely different sources. Yes, it would have been optimal to not incur any more debt, but it was not realistic for us. At least it's not credit card debt, being spent on stuff that we didn't want or need.

I look back to where we were three years ago, and think of how much has changed over that time, specifically with our mindset. We're both thinking about buying newer vehicles. But this time around, it's with a plan in place to save a majority of the purchase price first. I have money in retirement savings for the first time in my life. We are setting aside money for the kids post-secondary educations. We have a small emergency fund. And we sleep better at night.

And that, my friends, is what makes the whole journey worthwhile.

Have a great Tuesday.

Because it made me feel good

Hubby and I went downtown last week for our Gail meeting, and were about an hour early. We decided to walk a couple of blocks down Dundas Street, from Wellington to Richmond and back to kill some time. Unfotunately, most of the shops that I wanted to browse in were closed already (most of downtown shops close by 6 pm), so we looked in through windows to see their wares.

Headed back toward the coffee shop, there was a man sitting on the sidewalk, holding his ball cap upside down to catch change that passersby may toss to him. He didn't outright ask for money, but we knew what he was asking anyway. As we got closer, I noticed he had a cut on his head that sported about 7 stitches, and the side of his face was bruised. He was of Native Canadian background. his clothes were slightly dirty. He just looked down on his luck.

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I don't like to just give money to beggars, panhandlers or whatever they're called these days. I prefer, if I'm going to just give someone my money, to give it to someone who shows a bit of entreprenurial spirit. The squeegee kids who wash my windshield at the red light I'm stopped at for example. At least they're willing to do *something* to try to make some money. But for folks just looking for a handout? Not blinking likely.

Something about this fella just spoke to me inside. Maybe it was because he's of native decent. Maybe it was the cut on his head. I'm not really sure why, but as we were about to pass him, I pulled my arm away from hubby's, stopped and crouched down to actually speak to this man. I wanted him to see me. I wanted to look into his eyes. I wanted him to know that he wasn't invisible to me.

Me: "How's it going buddy?"
Him: "Not bad. Kind of a slow night."
Me: "Are you doing alright?"
Him: "Not too bad."
Me: "Hope your night gets better. Take care of yourself, alright?" (As I press a $10 bill into his hand.)
Him: "Yeah. Ok. Thanks."

I stood up and smiled at hubby. We resumed our walk. Hubby says, "Why'd you do that?"
I just smiled and said, " I dunno. Because I felt like it." I shrug away the question.

Since then I've been thinking and thinking about why I did. Why that man in particular. He may have been looking for enough money for his next fix, or another bottle, or rent money for all I know. I didn't ask why he needed it, I just know that he needed help. And I needed to make a connection with him, if only for a second. I needed him to know that I knew he was there. I needed to touch his hand briefly while I was handing him the money, making human to human contact. Truth is, I think my need to give freely was greater than his need for the money.

The more I think about it, the only real answer I can come up with as to why I did it is simply because it made me feel good.

Proud of My Bug

My almost 12 year old daughter came to me this week with something that she needs some help with. Her, and a group of her friends in Grade 6, decided that they would like to hold a fundraiser to help with Relief efforts in Japan. This is the second social activity that my Doodle Bug has been involved in organising this year. She's a little social butterfly, friends with everyone. You'd never know how shy she really is! Anyway, she asked about help with making of a cake, and some items for a basket for raffles they will be holding. All proceeds will be going to a charity that is helping with relief efforts.

She's at her Dad's this week, so I'll be busy preparing a basket for her, without her knowing. She's coming back home a day early, so that Thursday night, we can bake and decorate a cake. She thought it would be a good idea if we frosted the cake to look like a Japanese flag to keep with the theme. She also printed out Japanese symbols earlier this week, snagged from the Internet, like peace, love, courage, faith, pride, strength, hope, serenity, and believe. These printings will be their 'decorations' for the dance area. Now she has volunteered to come up with some appropriate music from Japan.

When she watched the news reports about the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged parts of Japan, she cried. It bothered her greatly to see the devastation and how many people have lost everything due to the disasters. We talked about it, because I know that her dream in life is to go to Japan, and study there. She wants to study anime and use it to develop video games. Although I think her dreams will change in time, her desire to visit Japan will never change. There is something about Japan that is magical to her and means a lot. So the disasters occurring there really hit home with her.

She's already showing such wonderful qualities in a human being and I couldn't be more proud. How'd I get such a great kid?