Goals Update

I have been thinking that since I have so many goals it would be a good idea to do a goals update once a month to help keep me on track to accomplishing them. Anything written in blue will reflect a status update on that specific goal.

*** I have been trying to get this post ot since Sunday! So sorry its so late, days have just flown by.

Financial
1) Pay back money owed to Retirement fund $353.58
2) Pay off ALL OSAP by May 2012
3) Get cat fund up to $1,500 and keep it there for as long as possible cat fund at 700ish
4) Save $700 in Christmas fund
5) Pay off $15,000 of Student debt (not including minimum payments)
6) Sort out cell phone iphone fund at 400ish put GST and a little snowflake into fund
-buy cell phone out right
-change cell providers
-get cheaper plan
7) Start stock portfolio

Personal
8) Get braces in January and pay for them in full in cash top set on Jan 25, and first payment of 500$ paid in cash
9) Reduce ownership of Crap by 50% 
10) Write will and living will
11) Sort out American citizenship before April 2012 went to embassy have a lot of paper work to read
12) Read 12 books from Canada or Ontario History section of my Library
13) Decide if Accounting is for me
14) Change jobs for better pay within Company
15) Expand and dedicate more time to blog
- Finish blog conversion and change sites (No later then August)
-Network more with other bloggers (friends)
-Attend Canadian Personal Finance Conference 2012
16) No Macdonald's Fast food for 2012 (drinks excluded) [This is a joint venture with my BF] 1 month down 11 more to go
17) Finish 2007 trip scrapbook
18) Renew sponsorship

Travel
19) Go to Salem Massachusetts with sister
20) Go to Fort York with BF
21) Go to Fort Erie with BF
22) Go to Niagara with BF
23) Go to Denver for Financial Blogging Conv. (I think)
24) Take an unplanned trip

Are you a Clutterbug?

I confess I am a bit of one. But I am working on my 'aditction' so that I never become a hoarder. Though I can't live like that any ways so its not ever going to get that far. But its always good to take a proactive approach to make sure it doesn't happen.

Why bring it up you as?

Because I am joining Carla's February  de-cluster challenge.

Here’s how the Decluttering challenge will work:

1. There will be 4 main challenges for the month. I pick the theme, you pick the challenge!

• Week One: Personal Space Challenge
• Week Two: Family Space Challenge
• Week Three: Productivity Challenge
• Week Four: The “Dreaded” Challenge

2. Bonus Challenges!

- I will be giving you 4 *bonus* mini challenges throughout the month! Fast & easy to accomplish!

3. Purging!!

- Toss, sell, or donate 29 items! One item for every day of the month in February… Easy as pie! 

4. The Proof is in the pudding!

- If you have a blog, before & after photos of your decluttering projects would be awesome please!!

So are you in?? 

if so click on Carla's name to join!

My New Tittle

Do you remember this show? I never really got into it. But its a good name for me. I got my first row of braces on my top teeth today. In a few weeks after the Dentist figures out how to fit the bottom row on my  teeth I will get the second set.  The first bill was $500 which I expected to put on my credit card and than when the insurance kicked in, in a few weeks pay it off with what was returned to me and the difference coming out of my dental fund. This didn't happen. If you look to the right you will notice that I have a note under my Other Funds section. This note says:  Dentist fund owes the Vet bill fund $15.00. Between the time that I went for my first appointment and my appointment today the dentist stopped excepting credit cards unless the client excepts the 2% charge that the credit card company charges the merchant for the use of service. So since I didn't have exactly $500 floating around in my chequing account I asked the receptionist to use her computer to move money around. I took the full amount from the Vet bills account for simplicity and when I got home I moved the money from the dentist account to pay the vet bills account back. Without the insurance money I am am a bit short and now owe my Vet bills account 15$. Ah the joy of juggling accounts and money. 


I will say though that its a good thing I can type because I am still learning how talk with these things on. 


PS: today my sister got her braces off, ironic eh!

Bi-Weekly Spending Recap January 9-22

January 9
No spend Day
January 10
No Spend day
January 11
No Spend day
January 12
No Spend Day
January 13
No Spend Day
January 14
No Spend Day
January 15
No Spend day
January 16
$10.17~Body Shop
January 17
$41.68~ Gas
January 18
$5.63~ Value Village
$11.28~ Value Village
$5.64~ Talize
$4.20~ Liquidation world
$3.39~ Dollarama
$11.87~ Chapters
January 19
$38.00~ movie tickets *on visa
January 20
No spend Day
January 21
No Spend Day
January 22
$10 flea market and home hardware


~~ I think this might have been my  best two weeks ever!!

I think I am Cracking!

I think I am cracking under the pressure of my budget and its not even the end of the month. I spent to much money yesterday. Yesterday I drove downtown to go to a jewellery and watch store that is closing in the spring....

Don't worry I didn't buy anything from them!

Afterwards I did a run to Good will. Last Sunday mom and I started on the basement. One car load of stuff gone and more still to go though. After dropping stuff off at their drop centre I decided to go in. That mushroomed in to a 4h hunt. I went to one place after another and spent money on clocks, and other trinkets. I have been slowly getting in to the hobby of Steampunk  I like the idea of the challenge and the fact that its all based around one of my favourite time period in history is a bonus! Than last night I was looking at patterns and I found the most lovely dress pattern! I want it so badly! Let me show you:

Don't you think it's lovely!!! And how amazing would it look on!! It's only $19 which is exactly the balance in my chequing account.

Problem?

My mom's birthday is today and I'm paying for  myself, my sister and my mom to go to a movie which is never cheep!  Truth is I didn't budget for it and that's just bad planning on my part.

Here's the thing by the end of this month I will have put over 1100$ into student debt which is great but also very suffocating. I am starting to resent being on such a tight budget. I want to be able to buy the pattern and the material without even thinking about it.

I keep telling myself that its short term pain for long term gain. But I feel like its not short enough.  This summer is coming up and while I don't have any large trips planed there are lots of little trips I want to do with my BF and other people. I just don't want to feel as though I can't take them.

Mom says she's worried that after I am done paying of my student debt that I will be to ridge with my money because I'll be so use to it by then. She thinks that I might make it impossible for another person or significant other to live with me as a result. With the way I am feeling I don't know if that's possible. I really want to take next pay's money that's allocated for OSAP and get just blow it on the pattern and material.

La sigh.....

On a more positive note my BF now 'follows me'  *giggle* and he's also commented on one of my posts  you can read the post and the comment here. It's a serial but good feeling to know he's 'following me' lol

Sunday Catchup

It has been a busy 3 days for me. on Friday I worked a 10h shift. I switched with another co-worker to get his earlier shift which he was willing to do. Than Saturday morning I was up early to referee three games 8 am, 9 am and the 10 am. It was cold and windy but it was lovely. The league I ref for plays on an outdoor rink and despite the weather it was lovely to be outside. After I came home I had a shower and lunch before going to work. I worked another 10h shift 2-12am. In total I was up from 6:25am-1:30am yesterday. I wasn't moving to fast today. But once mom and I finally got up and at we got started on the basement. We now have a large pile of Goodwill stuff to be dropped off and a few other piles of things that we have to go though. Mom has china and we both have stuff from my Aunt to go though. As I write this at the kitchen table mom is cooking dinner. I am not even sure if I am up for eating, I am feeling very bushed. All I really want to do is curl up with a good book. However Robby is coming over later tonight we have salsa practise. Ah well at least I can't say life is ever boring.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Recession Lessons From Gen Y

I am excited to write this post. You see, you always read articles about self indulgent  Gen Y’s (20 year olds) in fact Gail has a whole show about it called Princess though in the show’s defense they are not discriminating on age. Any ways I have felt for a while that I can’t be the only 20-something person in North America who is taking their money seriously.  I know that the people in the PF world that are my age are of course. But we can’t be the only ones. And it seams that my assumptions were right!  An article that came out in U.S. News & World Report showed that “A new survey from TD Ameritrade found that one in four 20-somethings funnel money into not one, but two different types of retirement accounts, a 401(k) or 403(b) as well as an IRA.” I know your saying but that’s American how does it apply to Canada? Well the truthfully it doesn’t but it’s an indication that all the nay sayers about the Gen Y’s money management skills haven’t got all the facts.

 The article goes on to talk about the importance the recession has had on my generation. I believe that history recycles itself in 3-4 generations. Let me explain Generation 1) suffered though WWI then the Great Depression and again WWII. Realising the importance of safety nets and saving, when the time changed this generation put in to the place the largest safety nets creating our cradle to grave society.  Generation 2) benefited from both good jobs, social safety nets and the experiences of their parents. Generation 3) has not so good/stable jobs but safely nets that are becoming excessively costly and cumbersome to the society. As this point generation 3 is to far away from ‘remembering’ or ‘hearing stories’ about how difficult it once was and start to question the reason for all the expressive programs. By the time that Generation 4 comes around things are tight again. And watching money is no longer an option but a reality.

I think my Generation has seen the deteriorating of social and ‘the norm’ and are pessimistic about whether any kind of social service or program will be around when they hit old age. I know I am. Also the fact that nothing truly guarantied anymore means that we have to take matters into out own hands.  “Gen Y has accepted the reality of the past few years, and rather than being discouraged, they’ve changed their behaviours and are using what they’ve witness to their advantage,” says Nicole Sherrod, managing director at TD Ameritrade. “This is something that older generations could benefit from,” she adds.

The recession has been a great eye opener to many of my generation and the stats are more reflecting this “One in three respondents told Scottrade that they've learned more about how the economy works because of the recession and a similar percentage said they've become more familiar with their own personal finance situation. Those are higher percentages than any other generation.”

There are the links to the articles that I quoted. I strongly encourage you to read them they are very interesting!!

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/alpha-consumer/2011/01/20/recession-lessons-from-gen-y
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/gen-y-saving-more-retirement-213303344.html