Putting the Plan Into Action

Now that I've had some time to internalise everything that has happened last week, I'm ready to start putting our Action Plan into place. Hubby and I have talked and talked about what we can do to keep things on an even keel around here until I find somthing else to bring in an income. The way I figure it, we will have a reduced income until February 28th, and then after that, who knows? There is so much that is unknown and to tell you the truth, I'm a little bit scared. But now is the time to really prioritise what is important to us and what is just 'nice to have'. Even when we had gobs and gobs of debt, I wasn't as willing to let go of things as I am now. Knowing that there is *some* money in the bank to see us through is certainly helping me to sleep at night.

Here's a list of actions I'll be taking to reduce our expenditures:

• go to the bank and temporarily stop RRSP, RESP and House downpayment contributions.
• calling cellphone provider and reducing plans to something more affordable.
• make a freezer and cupboard inventory; we need to eat what we have to reduce grocery costs.
• inventory items that can be sold to list on Kijijii and other sites.
• list items on Kijijii; have already started with two.

As for looking for other work, I have an appointment on Wednesday to get some help from an employment counsellor. Also, I had an unexpected tip on a possible job lead kind of within my field, but not quite. However, I will be in contact with them to see if they are interested in hiring me. Fingers crossed.

I'll be going over my invoicing tomorrow to see how much money that I am owed from various companies, as well as making sure that I pay any outstanding invoices from my business. I'd like to get as close to a clean slate as I can, before we start feeling the pinch of living on one income.

Choosing a New Direction

As some of you may remember reading, about 10 days ago Hubby and I had the big talk about what our plans were should one or both of us became unemployed. I initiated this conversation because of a couple of things I 'heard' within my industry, and also because I had a niggling feeling that I couldn't quite ignore. Something was on the horizon, I was sure of it.

Gawd, I hate being right ALL THE TIME.

We didn't have much time to implement our plan of action to have the appropriate amount of funds set aside. I got caught off guard when the call came. I lost my job. There's a lot about it that bothers me now, like not having a manager or the owner tell me they were letting me go. Like them trying to weasel their way out of not having to pay what is due to me. Like them not telling me I'd been replaced, and letting me find out when I walked in to the office to find the replacement sitting there in the office. Nice touch, huh?

Yesterday I was angry and grieving on every level possible. I have to admit I cried, said a few choice words (not to any of my former colleagues though), and was so angry, I almost let my temper get the better of me. But I didn't. I held it together just long enough.

Then Hubby and I talked about our next steps, seeing as we were a little unprepared for this (as in not enough money in the bank to weather the storm). We're going to be selling some things on Kijijii, and reducing our expenses every which way but loose. I have about 30 days or so to find some other employment, and to tell you the truth, I think I need a break from Funeral Service.

I really have no idea what else I am qualified to do, so I'm going to do a little bit of soul searching, and using the free services of a local employment agency. I can't imagine that job hunting in this economy can be any fun. Hopefully I can find something that will give me some amount of flexibility that I'm accustomed to for my kids and will pay close to the pay grade that I've had previously.

In the mean time, there is a lot of stuff for me to catch up on around the apartment, and I have a gazillion blog posts that I'll be writing. I think you may see me on here a lot more often.

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?

About the New Van

If you read my December mini-goals post, you'll have noticed that we bought a new van. Brand new. Less than 50 km on the odometer when we drove it off the lot. The 2013 model. Really, really new.

So here's the breakdown.

The total price of the van before financing, but after trade-in allowance, deposit and discounts, including taxes and assorted fees, was  $31,775.25.

It is financed at 4.9% per annum over a period of 96 months. The total cost to borrow is $6104.43.
That leaves the total amount to be paid as $37,880.64.

We had to sign that we would be making monthly payments of just under $400 ($394.59 to be exact) but really want to split that into bi-weekly payments of $200. We can do this, but have to wait until after the first monthly payment has been made.

The good news is, the loan agreement does not have any sort of penalty for paying the loan off early or for making any additional payments over the life of the loan.

With the current/original repayment schedule, it will be fully paid for in November of the year 2020. I'm so not OK with that.

If we put an extra $600 per year (that's $50 per month) toward the loan, we can have it paid off in November of 2019, which is 12 months early.

If we pay an extra $1200 per year (or $100 per month) toward the loan, we can have it paid off in February of 2019, which is 22 months early.

Hubby and I will be spending the next couple of weeks figuring out how and when we will be paying down the loan faster than the original schedule. I know that paying it bi-weekly will also pay it down faster, but I'm not sure how to calculate that. Can some one recommend an online calculator that can do that? Now that I've had a taste of being consumer debt-free, I want to be back there.

My reasoning for incurring new debt is because a van is necessary for producing an income for me. My justification (rightfully or wrongly) is that the difference in fuel costs alone should be enough to meet the new payments. I still have to find out what the difference in insurance costs will be.

After the end of this month, I will be setting aside $1000 (already budgeted for) as a buffer in the account that the payment will be coming out of. That way, if we are having a difficult month (or two) we have enough already set aside to meet our obligation. I cannot see this happening, but one never knows, right?

Murphy Strikes Again!

I knew that our van wasn't feeling so well. She'd had a few hiccups over the last little while, so I knew that I had to take care of some things sooner rather than later. While working yesterday, she suddenly and unexpectedly stopped working altogether. Darn you Murphy! This was going to be the month of putting away extra savings toward our goals, not shelling out every bit of money I have on repairs and a rental!

I have no idea what's wrong with the van. It just won't start. Insert key, turn, and hear awful clicking sound. I'm no expert, but I'm fairly certain it's not a battery thing. Nothing that simple ever happens. At least not to me. Call a tow truck. $60 - something just to tow the thing to the mechanic who won't be in until Tuesday morning. Give me strength.

I call the car rental place. I need a mini van, and I need it now. Preferably a Dodge with Stow 'N' Go seating. All the locations are already closed ( it was Sunday afternoon already) and only one is opening on the holiday Monday. I book a rental (it better be the one I want) for three days. Cross my fingers that it long enough to repair my poor van. The agent tells me I will have to give a $750 deposit and bring in my insurance paperwork, not just my pink slip, otherwise I'll be paying an additional 25% for insurance. I can already hear my bank card crying.

We beg a ride from our MIL back to our place to get our working vehicle, drive to home of colleague who has allowed us to borrow his van for a couple of hours. Take borrowed van to do work, and then drive it back. I'm already 4 hours behind schedule now. Please pass the Advil.

Needing to start the next part of work, I realise I need to eat something or I'm going to be sick. The burgers we had at this little pub on Richmond Street was the highlight of my day. They were delicious!

I finished up working somewhere around 10 o'clock last night. But there is more to be done over the next couple of days, and I have to go pick up a rental.

Towing costs, rental vehicle costs, and likely a hefty repair bill. Thanks Murphy. Just thanks.

Who wants him next?

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?

A Promise Kept to Myself

It wasn't all that long ago when I sat down with mounds of paperwork to do the preparation for my taxes. I had to call in some help (my sister) because the task was just too overwhelming. When it was finally all finished, I ended up filing several months past the date that they were due. My procrastination cost me hundreds of dollars in late fees to the government. I promised myself that I would not let that happen ever again.

In Canada, anyone who files a business tax return has until June 15th each year to file. I usually consider this my deadline, but this year, I'm taking a different approach. This past year, I think that my income from all sources may have surpassed Hubby's income. Some of our deductions go to the lower income earner in the household, so this year it will be more of a surprise to see if it will go to me or to Hubby.

I learned some things during last years tax difficulty. I need to keep thing separated by month and not just by category. Doing this somehow makes it easier for the tax preparer. It also makes it easier for me to compare with annual numbers from past years, and to make some budgeting predictions for the coming year.

This activity will takes a few hours each day over several days to complete. Then I go over everything one final time, just so I don't miss anything. This task usually involves a lot of swearing, coffee drinking and chocolate eating to get me through it. But this year, I have healthy snacks at the ready, and the coffee pot full.

Wish me luck! (If you don't hear from me in the next couple of days, that will be because I'm buried under a pile of paperwork.)