Well, I think we've all figured out that I'm the Queen of Procrastination. Recently I've been perfecting the art of procrastinating about posting on my blog. But today was payday and it's a day when I try to do some things I've been putting off. So here I am.
It's late. I'm tired. I have a lot going on, both at home and at work. But I need to get a sense of how I'm doing and to remember that I actually have goals other than getting through the day in one piece. I have a variety of bills to pay, though I'm not behind on most of them at this point. But I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and am therefore not paying too many things today.
I am on track with one thing. I've put away $50 into my TFSA each paycheque so far. That's good. I've also kept on track with adding to the Emergency Fund but I'm not giving myself much credit for that because I'm planning on breaking into that money soon to help pay for my daughter's birthday party and dinner. I realize that birthdays come around with predictable regularity and that they aren't normally considered emergencies (unless you're giving birth while driving to the hospital).
However, after the party was all planned (including guests coming from the States) the money that was expected to cover it suddenly and unexpectedly wasn't there. A paycheque of a certain regular size has shrunk to pure commission without any warning. I'm just not going to explain to an 8 year old that she can't have the party we've spent weeks planning with family and friends. Yes, we'll be tightening our belts somewhat afterwards. But you can't just cut everything, especially when kids are involved. And, no, it's not a three ring circus. It's just at an outside venue because of our constant, ongoing renovations. And some close friends are coming up from the States.
So, if our financial world is in a bit of upheaval, how am I doing with the non-financial goals I set on January 1st? The rural house goals are also on hold, but more because of the state of the roads than anything else. It is winter, and we do travel through 2 mountain passes to get to the house.
That leaves 2 physical goals. The first was to go out to exercise at least 1 x week. The second was to exercise at home all the other days. I'm happy to report that I have, in fact, gone out to exercise at least once (usually twice) each week. What about at home? Well, I'm not perfect, but I have managed to exercise at home when I haven't gone out on all but 6 days so far this month and most of the days I missed were during the time we had company staying over. Not bad.
Showing posts with label Won't Wait Wednesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Won't Wait Wednesday. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friday, June 25, 2010
School's Out...For Summer!
Yesterday was the last day of school. This summer I'm lucky, in that my Eldest Daughter is home on maternity leave. That means Dear Child will hang out with her. (Not sure that Eldest Daughter considers herself lucky, since that leaves her with 4 kids every day, and 5 if my Number One Son's daughter comes too, as she did some of the time last summer.)
Next year will be a much bigger financial burden for all of us, as she'll be back at work and all the girls will have to go to day camp right through the summer. As it is, we are putting them in a couple of sessions of swimming lessons (necessitating me leaving work to pick up and drive everybody to and fro). The lessons are 4 days per week for 2 weeks (but only 1/2 an hour per day) and we hope that the sustained amount of pool time will enable everybody to move up at least one level. Last session (which was 8 classes once a week) nobody passed, although they all made progress.
DC will go to day camp for 2 weeks this year too, as my granddaughters' other grandparents are taking them out of town for 2 weeks. That will give my daughter the relative quiet of only having her nursing baby at home.
Yesterday was payday. I paid some stuff then and some more this morning. Right now I'm pleased to say that I'm current on all my bills (paid the water today) and that I have $651.14 in my TFSA, right on track for the year. Property taxes for the rural house are due next week. I have to check, but I think I have enough in the rural credit union to pay them. Yay, me!
I went away to the house last weekend and spent some money, money on myself (gasp!) as well as gas. But I just have the $50 odd dollars I charged for gas on the way back to pay back still. And I made the regular $90 payment on the credit card anyway.
So, I have to pay for swimming lessons and I'm going to start some exercise stuff of my own that I'll also have to pay for. And I only have about $150 left in my chequing account for food, etc. for the next 2 weeks. But all in all, I'm not doing too badly. And my hubby should be transferring some money over to me at month end.
Next year will be a much bigger financial burden for all of us, as she'll be back at work and all the girls will have to go to day camp right through the summer. As it is, we are putting them in a couple of sessions of swimming lessons (necessitating me leaving work to pick up and drive everybody to and fro). The lessons are 4 days per week for 2 weeks (but only 1/2 an hour per day) and we hope that the sustained amount of pool time will enable everybody to move up at least one level. Last session (which was 8 classes once a week) nobody passed, although they all made progress.
DC will go to day camp for 2 weeks this year too, as my granddaughters' other grandparents are taking them out of town for 2 weeks. That will give my daughter the relative quiet of only having her nursing baby at home.
Yesterday was payday. I paid some stuff then and some more this morning. Right now I'm pleased to say that I'm current on all my bills (paid the water today) and that I have $651.14 in my TFSA, right on track for the year. Property taxes for the rural house are due next week. I have to check, but I think I have enough in the rural credit union to pay them. Yay, me!
I went away to the house last weekend and spent some money, money on myself (gasp!) as well as gas. But I just have the $50 odd dollars I charged for gas on the way back to pay back still. And I made the regular $90 payment on the credit card anyway.
So, I have to pay for swimming lessons and I'm going to start some exercise stuff of my own that I'll also have to pay for. And I only have about $150 left in my chequing account for food, etc. for the next 2 weeks. But all in all, I'm not doing too badly. And my hubby should be transferring some money over to me at month end.
Friday, March 5, 2010
February Goal Review and March Goals
Yes, it is a new month and yesterday was payday. Sounds like a good time to see how I did with my February goals and maybe set some new ones for March.
First of all, what were my goals for February?
1. Pay for Dear Child's birthday party.
2. Pay at least $229.75 to MasterCard
3. Stay current with all the other bills.
4. Get the treatment plan for DC's dental surgery and figure out how to pay for that.
5. Make arrangements for Dog's Passover vacation and pay at least $100 towards that.
Those sounded pretty reasonable. How did I do?
1. Dear Child's party was held at the community centre with an hour in the gym and then food upstairs. Given that my Eldest Daughter's baby was overdue at that point and we were doing renovations both upstairs and down at home, it was the only logical choice. She didn't have a party the previous year and had been promised a nice one this year. I charged the party on my MasterCard and paid for part of it in February. I finished paying for it today.
2. I made a number of payments to MasterCard in February, as well as at the beginning of March. I paid both the $229.75 and $90 (my regular payment) on 17 Feb, then paid $62.50 towards the cost of the party on the 22nd or 23rd. I paid another $90 yesterday and $400 today.
3. I am current on all the usual bills like internet, water, credit card, cell, set-asides into my credit union account, ING emergency fund, etc. It feels good.
4. Dear Child had her surgery and I charged the first of 3 monthly payments for it to my MasterCard at the beginning of the week when the surgery took place. The total bill was a little under $1,800 and each payment is between $500 and $600. $200 of the $400 I paid today was towards the dental charge. I'll have more to put towards it when my hubby gets paid again. I want to pay each dental charge off before I charge the next one.
5. I wrote to reserve Dog's place today and will send a cheque for $100 once I hear back.
All in all, I did very well! Now, what do I want to choose as goals for March (bearing in mind that Passover falls at the end of March this year and is both hectic and expensive). Let's keep it very simple.
1. Stay current on my bills this month.
2. Pay at least half of the cost of Dog's vacation ahead of time.
3. Pay down the cost of the first dental charge before the end of March.
I could add more, but I know just how much of a challenge those will be.
In addition, I'm on track with my TFSA. I've been putting in $50 each payday and it's currently sitting at $250.18. I've also got an automatic transfer of $10/week to my ING Emergency Fund. There's $251.56 in there as of today, close to half the $520 I listed as a goal for the year. Yes, I realize it's not enough but the money in the TFSA can also be taken out for any reason at any time, so it can also function as a sort of emergency fund too. I'll be happier when I have at least $1,000 put away between the two funds but right now I'm just trying to find some kind of balance and form regular habits.
First of all, what were my goals for February?
1. Pay for Dear Child's birthday party.
2. Pay at least $229.75 to MasterCard
3. Stay current with all the other bills.
4. Get the treatment plan for DC's dental surgery and figure out how to pay for that.
5. Make arrangements for Dog's Passover vacation and pay at least $100 towards that.
Those sounded pretty reasonable. How did I do?
1. Dear Child's party was held at the community centre with an hour in the gym and then food upstairs. Given that my Eldest Daughter's baby was overdue at that point and we were doing renovations both upstairs and down at home, it was the only logical choice. She didn't have a party the previous year and had been promised a nice one this year. I charged the party on my MasterCard and paid for part of it in February. I finished paying for it today.
2. I made a number of payments to MasterCard in February, as well as at the beginning of March. I paid both the $229.75 and $90 (my regular payment) on 17 Feb, then paid $62.50 towards the cost of the party on the 22nd or 23rd. I paid another $90 yesterday and $400 today.
3. I am current on all the usual bills like internet, water, credit card, cell, set-asides into my credit union account, ING emergency fund, etc. It feels good.
4. Dear Child had her surgery and I charged the first of 3 monthly payments for it to my MasterCard at the beginning of the week when the surgery took place. The total bill was a little under $1,800 and each payment is between $500 and $600. $200 of the $400 I paid today was towards the dental charge. I'll have more to put towards it when my hubby gets paid again. I want to pay each dental charge off before I charge the next one.
5. I wrote to reserve Dog's place today and will send a cheque for $100 once I hear back.
All in all, I did very well! Now, what do I want to choose as goals for March (bearing in mind that Passover falls at the end of March this year and is both hectic and expensive). Let's keep it very simple.
1. Stay current on my bills this month.
2. Pay at least half of the cost of Dog's vacation ahead of time.
3. Pay down the cost of the first dental charge before the end of March.
I could add more, but I know just how much of a challenge those will be.
In addition, I'm on track with my TFSA. I've been putting in $50 each payday and it's currently sitting at $250.18. I've also got an automatic transfer of $10/week to my ING Emergency Fund. There's $251.56 in there as of today, close to half the $520 I listed as a goal for the year. Yes, I realize it's not enough but the money in the TFSA can also be taken out for any reason at any time, so it can also function as a sort of emergency fund too. I'll be happier when I have at least $1,000 put away between the two funds but right now I'm just trying to find some kind of balance and form regular habits.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Review Day & February Goals
It was Wednesday. It was payday. And my Hubby had transferred money to my account. Guess what I did this morning before breakfast? I paid bills, of course!
That made me think about my goals for the year. How am I doing with those? What should I work on this month?
Overall, I'm doing well with the money. Both the Home Depot payment plans are history. That's just over $1,500 worth of debt we've paid off between about November and now. I have post-dated cheques for another debt we're chewing away at and I'm on track with that. I've opened a TFSA and there's already $150 in it. I have $10/week going into my ING Emergency Fund. No, that's not a lot but it's going in there nice and regular. The IKEA account is all paid off and can no longer be used because they changed companies that provide the credit card services. As of today, I think I'm current on all my bills. The one thing I still need to do for this pay period is to go to the credit union, take out $45 in cash and then deposit it into my other credit union via the ATM. That's the set-aside money each payday for my electric bill, garbage, property taxes and fuel oil at our rural home. Next winter, when it's time for a fuel oil delivery, I'll have the money all saved up.
On the other hand, I've been charging stuff for the city house on my MasterCard. In fact, Capital One put a fraud hold on my card after the third time I used it in 2 days! What did I buy? I spent $20.11 at IKEA on 4 D cell batteries, 10 votive candle holders and a pair of sheer drapes (2 panels). I bought $129.37 worth of DriCore (including a levelling kit) at one Home Depot and, the next day at a different Home Depot, I spent $229.75 on tiles for the foyer and 3rd bedroom, as well as concealing film for the bedroom windows, a closet pole that will fit Dear Child's closet at the rural house (it's an odd size) and a grouting sponge. Bad? Not really. I had to buy the reno supplies before the end of January to be able to cash in on the home renovation tax credit. And I needed the supplies to finish important projects that will make our part of the house a lot better looking. Plus, I've paid down $149.48 of that already today.
The fraud thing was actually pretty funny. I've barely used the card over the past year or more, so 3 transactions in 2 days was obviously suspicious! I got that all straightened out with a quick phone call.
What are my goals for February?
1. Pay for Dear Child's birthday party.
2. Pay at least $229.75 to MasterCard
3. Stay current with all the other bills.
4. Get the treatment plan for DC's dental surgery and figure out how to pay for that.
5. Make arrangements for Dog's Passover vacation and pay at least $100 towards that.
Got any goals for February that you'd like to share?
That made me think about my goals for the year. How am I doing with those? What should I work on this month?
Overall, I'm doing well with the money. Both the Home Depot payment plans are history. That's just over $1,500 worth of debt we've paid off between about November and now. I have post-dated cheques for another debt we're chewing away at and I'm on track with that. I've opened a TFSA and there's already $150 in it. I have $10/week going into my ING Emergency Fund. No, that's not a lot but it's going in there nice and regular. The IKEA account is all paid off and can no longer be used because they changed companies that provide the credit card services. As of today, I think I'm current on all my bills. The one thing I still need to do for this pay period is to go to the credit union, take out $45 in cash and then deposit it into my other credit union via the ATM. That's the set-aside money each payday for my electric bill, garbage, property taxes and fuel oil at our rural home. Next winter, when it's time for a fuel oil delivery, I'll have the money all saved up.
On the other hand, I've been charging stuff for the city house on my MasterCard. In fact, Capital One put a fraud hold on my card after the third time I used it in 2 days! What did I buy? I spent $20.11 at IKEA on 4 D cell batteries, 10 votive candle holders and a pair of sheer drapes (2 panels). I bought $129.37 worth of DriCore (including a levelling kit) at one Home Depot and, the next day at a different Home Depot, I spent $229.75 on tiles for the foyer and 3rd bedroom, as well as concealing film for the bedroom windows, a closet pole that will fit Dear Child's closet at the rural house (it's an odd size) and a grouting sponge. Bad? Not really. I had to buy the reno supplies before the end of January to be able to cash in on the home renovation tax credit. And I needed the supplies to finish important projects that will make our part of the house a lot better looking. Plus, I've paid down $149.48 of that already today.
The fraud thing was actually pretty funny. I've barely used the card over the past year or more, so 3 transactions in 2 days was obviously suspicious! I got that all straightened out with a quick phone call.
What are my goals for February?
1. Pay for Dear Child's birthday party.
2. Pay at least $229.75 to MasterCard
3. Stay current with all the other bills.
4. Get the treatment plan for DC's dental surgery and figure out how to pay for that.
5. Make arrangements for Dog's Passover vacation and pay at least $100 towards that.
Got any goals for February that you'd like to share?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Steps Forward and Back
I had some ambitious goals for 2010. My first payday for the year was yesterday. How am I doing?
First of all, I took one fairly big step backwards at the end of December when we were going away to our rural house. I bought discontinued bedframes at IKEA for $170.98 and charged it on my MasterCard. Yes, the card I've barely used in over a year, the same card that just increased my credit limit by $3,000. I'm really glad I bought them though. We've been sleeping on mattresses on the floor at the house and it's not that comfy. Having the bedframes will really help. We got them to the house in our car by putting down half the back seat and running them up between the front seats. There wasn't time while we were there to put them together but I hope to do them on the next trip.
Then we were at the house for the weekend and I charged groceries and birthday presents for Dear Child to the tune of $159.14. I did have money left in my chequing account but I thought that a cheque I'd written for $162 hadn't cleared yet. I didn't want to end up bouncing a cheque, so I charged it all. Turns out, luckily, that the cheque had cleared and I just hadn't noticed.
So, the net result was that my card balance went up from $5,868.52 to (gulp) $6,198.64, almost $200 over my old limit and $330.12 higher in total. And it will be worse in a couple of days when the interest hits my account.
However, there is also good news on the horizon. First of all, I got a raise! Okay, it's not huge, just 2% but there were no raises last year so this is good. I've paid the $159.14, plus paid the water and made a payment to Home Depot. Oh! Oh, oh, oh!!!! I almost forgot! I paid off the first Home Depot payment plan on December 31st! That's one of my goals for the year (because it was due January 1st).
I also took a big step toward another one of my goals today. I had to go in to the credit union to activate my new, permanent debit card (the temporary card they gave me when my card was skimmed was only good for 30 days) so I opened my Tax Free Savings Account at the same time and put $50 into it. My goal this year is to get it up to $1,300 by the end of the year. Yes, I know that you can put in $5,000 per year (and that my eligible amount for this year is $10,000 because unused amounts carry forward from year to year) but let's be realistic. It'll be a stretch to make my goal. There's no way I'd ever be able to put $416.66 away each month, unless I did it at the expense of paying down debt. How dumb would that be? Ooh, I'll earn maybe 2% on $5,000 of savings while paying 17% on $6,000 worth of debt. Don't think so. On the other hand, having an extra grand or so in an account that can be accessed if I need it is a good add-on to the ever-underfunded Emergency Fund.
While I was at the credit union I deposited cash to my rural credit union account (via the ATM). Why cash? Well, I pay to order cheques and they take a minimum of 5 business days to clear from the one credit union to the other. Cash should clear once the amount of the deposit is verified the next business day. The cash was for all the rural set-asides I've created. That includes the electric bill, property tax, garbage pickup and fuel oil. When next December rolls around and I need another tank of fuel oil the money will all be there. How grown up and responsible is that?
So, all in all, I'm doing fairly well in the financial area. And I've been walking for half an hour 5 days out of the past 7 (yet another goal).
First of all, I took one fairly big step backwards at the end of December when we were going away to our rural house. I bought discontinued bedframes at IKEA for $170.98 and charged it on my MasterCard. Yes, the card I've barely used in over a year, the same card that just increased my credit limit by $3,000. I'm really glad I bought them though. We've been sleeping on mattresses on the floor at the house and it's not that comfy. Having the bedframes will really help. We got them to the house in our car by putting down half the back seat and running them up between the front seats. There wasn't time while we were there to put them together but I hope to do them on the next trip.
Then we were at the house for the weekend and I charged groceries and birthday presents for Dear Child to the tune of $159.14. I did have money left in my chequing account but I thought that a cheque I'd written for $162 hadn't cleared yet. I didn't want to end up bouncing a cheque, so I charged it all. Turns out, luckily, that the cheque had cleared and I just hadn't noticed.
So, the net result was that my card balance went up from $5,868.52 to (gulp) $6,198.64, almost $200 over my old limit and $330.12 higher in total. And it will be worse in a couple of days when the interest hits my account.
However, there is also good news on the horizon. First of all, I got a raise! Okay, it's not huge, just 2% but there were no raises last year so this is good. I've paid the $159.14, plus paid the water and made a payment to Home Depot. Oh! Oh, oh, oh!!!! I almost forgot! I paid off the first Home Depot payment plan on December 31st! That's one of my goals for the year (because it was due January 1st).
I also took a big step toward another one of my goals today. I had to go in to the credit union to activate my new, permanent debit card (the temporary card they gave me when my card was skimmed was only good for 30 days) so I opened my Tax Free Savings Account at the same time and put $50 into it. My goal this year is to get it up to $1,300 by the end of the year. Yes, I know that you can put in $5,000 per year (and that my eligible amount for this year is $10,000 because unused amounts carry forward from year to year) but let's be realistic. It'll be a stretch to make my goal. There's no way I'd ever be able to put $416.66 away each month, unless I did it at the expense of paying down debt. How dumb would that be? Ooh, I'll earn maybe 2% on $5,000 of savings while paying 17% on $6,000 worth of debt. Don't think so. On the other hand, having an extra grand or so in an account that can be accessed if I need it is a good add-on to the ever-underfunded Emergency Fund.
While I was at the credit union I deposited cash to my rural credit union account (via the ATM). Why cash? Well, I pay to order cheques and they take a minimum of 5 business days to clear from the one credit union to the other. Cash should clear once the amount of the deposit is verified the next business day. The cash was for all the rural set-asides I've created. That includes the electric bill, property tax, garbage pickup and fuel oil. When next December rolls around and I need another tank of fuel oil the money will all be there. How grown up and responsible is that?
So, all in all, I'm doing fairly well in the financial area. And I've been walking for half an hour 5 days out of the past 7 (yet another goal).
Friday, December 11, 2009
Won't Wait Thursday?
Yeah, that's not so great with the alliteration but I didn't really accomplish that much yesterday. I ended up going out unexpectedly in the evening and then fell asleep in front of the computer after I got home.
It was payday yesterday so I have money to pay some bills. I've paid my cell bill in full (and it wasn't due until December 24th)! I also paid CapitalOne and Home Depot the amounts I'm putting towards them every pay period. I went to the bank and took out $144 in Loonies as Hanukkah gelt to give the girls! My purse is now a deadly weapon because it's so darn heavy. I've bought a present for my son's roomie (the name I drew in our gift exchange) and told my Hubby what to buy the person whose name he got.
I went to the deli and got food for Shabbos and put $20 worth of gas into the car. I've been buying gas at PetroCan and using their points card (and gave Hubby a secondary points card a month or two ago, along with instructions to only buy gas there). We've got almost enough points (assuming they haven't raised it again) to buy a gas card that gives us $0.05 off our next 200 litres of gas. Prior to this I used Shell in order to get Air Miles but getting cash off gas purchases has become a higher priority.
I also logged onto ING and set up my credit union account as a linked external account and wrote the void cheque I have to send in to complete the process. Once they have that in their possession my automatic transfers of $10 per week into the Emergency Fund will restart. And then I wrote a series of post-dated cheques for another (non-credit card) debt we have. We'd run through the previous series of cheques and I had had to order cheques from the credit union in order to be able to write these.
I'm pretty darn proud of myself! I think I accomplished a lot today both in getting prepared for Hanukkah (which starts tomorrow night!) and in working towards financial goals. I'll try to finish getting my 2010 goals into shape to be posted after Shabbos or on Sunday (even though Sunday is when we're having our family party).
I'll get out of debt and be able to buy my land yet!
It was payday yesterday so I have money to pay some bills. I've paid my cell bill in full (and it wasn't due until December 24th)! I also paid CapitalOne and Home Depot the amounts I'm putting towards them every pay period. I went to the bank and took out $144 in Loonies as Hanukkah gelt to give the girls! My purse is now a deadly weapon because it's so darn heavy. I've bought a present for my son's roomie (the name I drew in our gift exchange) and told my Hubby what to buy the person whose name he got.
I went to the deli and got food for Shabbos and put $20 worth of gas into the car. I've been buying gas at PetroCan and using their points card (and gave Hubby a secondary points card a month or two ago, along with instructions to only buy gas there). We've got almost enough points (assuming they haven't raised it again) to buy a gas card that gives us $0.05 off our next 200 litres of gas. Prior to this I used Shell in order to get Air Miles but getting cash off gas purchases has become a higher priority.
I also logged onto ING and set up my credit union account as a linked external account and wrote the void cheque I have to send in to complete the process. Once they have that in their possession my automatic transfers of $10 per week into the Emergency Fund will restart. And then I wrote a series of post-dated cheques for another (non-credit card) debt we have. We'd run through the previous series of cheques and I had had to order cheques from the credit union in order to be able to write these.
I'm pretty darn proud of myself! I think I accomplished a lot today both in getting prepared for Hanukkah (which starts tomorrow night!) and in working towards financial goals. I'll try to finish getting my 2010 goals into shape to be posted after Shabbos or on Sunday (even though Sunday is when we're having our family party).
I'll get out of debt and be able to buy my land yet!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
How to Spend Money
What's that you say? You don't have any problem spending money? Well, neither do I. Sometimes I spend it intelligently; sometimes not so much.
Today was a good day, moneywise. I got paid and promptly turned around and paid a whole bunch of bills. I paid my cell, water, internet and IKEA in full and am totally current on those. The IKEA card is closed now because they switched providers and I haven't filled out another application. I paid $90 to MasterCard, which covers the interest with a dollar and change left over and I'll keep paying them $90 every payday. (My big problem with them has been that I've only been paying once a month when money has been tight and, at that rate, I should have the card paid off in 500 years or so!) And I paid Home Depot $106, right on track to have the first of two purchase plans paid off just before it comes due at the beginning of January.
There's a few things that come out automatically, either as pre-authorized charges or as post-dated cheques and the money is in place for all but one of those. My hubby will have to transfer money into my old bank account when he gets paid at the end of the month and that will cover the service charges and that pre-authorized payment.
Then I went out after everybody got home and bought $50 worth of groceries to last us until Monday and $25 worth of gas. I'm pretty much broke again but it feels really good to have taken care of all the important things. I feel today was a success.
Today was a good day, moneywise. I got paid and promptly turned around and paid a whole bunch of bills. I paid my cell, water, internet and IKEA in full and am totally current on those. The IKEA card is closed now because they switched providers and I haven't filled out another application. I paid $90 to MasterCard, which covers the interest with a dollar and change left over and I'll keep paying them $90 every payday. (My big problem with them has been that I've only been paying once a month when money has been tight and, at that rate, I should have the card paid off in 500 years or so!) And I paid Home Depot $106, right on track to have the first of two purchase plans paid off just before it comes due at the beginning of January.
There's a few things that come out automatically, either as pre-authorized charges or as post-dated cheques and the money is in place for all but one of those. My hubby will have to transfer money into my old bank account when he gets paid at the end of the month and that will cover the service charges and that pre-authorized payment.
Then I went out after everybody got home and bought $50 worth of groceries to last us until Monday and $25 worth of gas. I'm pretty much broke again but it feels really good to have taken care of all the important things. I feel today was a success.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Won't Wait Wednesday, Remembrance Day Edition
Today was Remembrance Day. It was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week but it's serious business as to why we have the day off in the first place. I hope you took time today to think about the brave men and women who have fought on your behalf through the years. Here's a link to last year's Remembrance Day post.
Today was also Wednesday and payday, although it was a pretty sad cheque. I really hated taking that time off being sick because I knew it was going to hurt all over again come payday. And it did. The money came into my account. I logged on, paid as many of my bills as I could and I'm broke again. If I'd had a full paycheque I'd have been okay. I mean, it wouldn't have been tremendous but it would have been enough to get by on until my next cheque. As it is, we'll just have to see how things go over the next 2 weeks.
I'm really pleased that I'm getting all the bills under control again. I'm really frustrated that this cycle keeps repeating. I think it's important that I keep picking myself up and starting over. I mean, it would be great if I could finally figure out why I keep finding myself back in the same place pretty much every year but at least I don't give up.
I haven't posted in the past couple of days because I've been really tired but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Trent quoted a comment of mine in his Monday Mailbag. It was about being PC (or not) and was the part of the post this week that was clearly intended to generate a lot of comments. And it did.
I'm tired again so I'm heading for bed. Sorry if this post sounds disjointed. I'm still not 100% and I spent a couple of hours out with my Eldest Daughter today, buying baseboards, a rug and some smaller items. I think it just wore me out. Oh, if that wasn't clear, I didn't buy stuff. She did. I drove and carried things. My big luxury today was getting a 2 piece covered butter dish at IKEA. It was discontinued and cost a whole $1.50. I love it because it's just the right size for the sticks of butter we use. We always keep a stick out so it's soft and I really like having a cover for it!
Today was also Wednesday and payday, although it was a pretty sad cheque. I really hated taking that time off being sick because I knew it was going to hurt all over again come payday. And it did. The money came into my account. I logged on, paid as many of my bills as I could and I'm broke again. If I'd had a full paycheque I'd have been okay. I mean, it wouldn't have been tremendous but it would have been enough to get by on until my next cheque. As it is, we'll just have to see how things go over the next 2 weeks.
I'm really pleased that I'm getting all the bills under control again. I'm really frustrated that this cycle keeps repeating. I think it's important that I keep picking myself up and starting over. I mean, it would be great if I could finally figure out why I keep finding myself back in the same place pretty much every year but at least I don't give up.
I haven't posted in the past couple of days because I've been really tired but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Trent quoted a comment of mine in his Monday Mailbag. It was about being PC (or not) and was the part of the post this week that was clearly intended to generate a lot of comments. And it did.
I'm tired again so I'm heading for bed. Sorry if this post sounds disjointed. I'm still not 100% and I spent a couple of hours out with my Eldest Daughter today, buying baseboards, a rug and some smaller items. I think it just wore me out. Oh, if that wasn't clear, I didn't buy stuff. She did. I drove and carried things. My big luxury today was getting a 2 piece covered butter dish at IKEA. It was discontinued and cost a whole $1.50. I love it because it's just the right size for the sticks of butter we use. We always keep a stick out so it's soft and I really like having a cover for it!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Slow Progress
Well, I'm still plugging along slowly. I didn't post for Won't Wait Wednesday yesterday because I fell asleep. Woke up about 4 am and turned the computer off, then went back to sleep.
It was payday yesterday but all my money (and then some) is already earmarked for bills, etc. I did go grocery shopping but I made sure I ate dinner first! I spent just over $106 on food for the week, $20 on gas and about $23 on my prescriptions. Again, that $23 wasn't in the original budget for this pay period. Yet another thing to mess with my house of cards.
Today, I took money from my main account and moved it to my other credit union account and my old bank account for various things that are coming out, as well as lent Hubby $20 for a day. I'm supposed to get it back (along with another $80 he needed previously) tomorrow afternoon.
I won't be able to do too much more until after the 7th when I'll have another $400 to play with. And I do hope Green Shield hurries up with that cheque for $127 for the dental. I'll be paying a couple of bills with that.
It was payday yesterday but all my money (and then some) is already earmarked for bills, etc. I did go grocery shopping but I made sure I ate dinner first! I spent just over $106 on food for the week, $20 on gas and about $23 on my prescriptions. Again, that $23 wasn't in the original budget for this pay period. Yet another thing to mess with my house of cards.
Today, I took money from my main account and moved it to my other credit union account and my old bank account for various things that are coming out, as well as lent Hubby $20 for a day. I'm supposed to get it back (along with another $80 he needed previously) tomorrow afternoon.
I won't be able to do too much more until after the 7th when I'll have another $400 to play with. And I do hope Green Shield hurries up with that cheque for $127 for the dental. I'll be paying a couple of bills with that.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
It's Been a Busy Week
Today was my fave kind of Wednesday: Payday!
It's been a really busy week. Last weekend was the 2 holiday days that finish off Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah is when we rejoice with the Torah. We finish the cycle of the year's reading with the end of Devarim [Deuteronomy] and begin again with Bereshit [Genesis]. At Simchat Torah there's singing & dancing with the Torah, a lot of l'chaims [toasts] and it's always fun. Dear Child had a great time dancing with 2 of her school friends. They were all over the place, dancing in a circle or a line with hands on each other's shoulders, on both the men's and women's sides. She also went outside with her Abba when they took the Torah out and danced it around the major intersection just outside the shul doors.
Sunday night, as soon as the holiday was over, we took down the sukkah (in the dark) and loaded it into the van. We got everything together and headed out for our rural home. It was late when we got there and it was pretty cold because we keep the thermostat at 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) when we're not at the house. We cranked it up and got to bed pretty late but DC and I were still up by 8:30 am Monday morning.
We did a lot in one day. I weeded all over, pruned my lavender, did laundry, shrinkwrapped DC's and the spare bedroom windows and put together one of two IKEA bookshelves. Hubby did the lawn, watered and took out 2 dead cedars. We loaded everything up and drove home again, arriving just before midnight. It was one busy day.
Anyway, back to today. Did I manage to accomplish as much today financially as I did physically on Monday? Well, not exactly. I did a lot of food-related things though.
First of all, I somehow didn't get the form for hot lunch. It was due this morning so I had to go into the school office and fill out the form and pay for it. After school Dear Child and I went grocery shopping. We got pretty much enough food for meals for everyday for 10 days or more and half a salmon, which is 2 Shabbos meals (but I don't usually use it even 2 weeks in a row, let alone serve it twice on the same Shabbos). So, I have at least one more Shabbos meal to figure out before Friday afternoon but that's not too bad.
We got breakfast cereal and oatmeal, snacks for DC's lunch for over a week and some paper goods. Actually, I spent $10 on facial tissue. Does that sound like a lot of money, just so we can blow our noses? At Safeway one box usually costs about $4. Now, that's a lot. Today, they had bundles of 6 for $9.97. That's only $1.66 each. But it gets better. The bundles were Buy One, Get One Free. I ended up with 12, count 'em, twelve boxes for only $0.83 each! All in all, I spent about $200 on food and household products but that included a couple of pricy items, like a big jar of decaf coffee, that will last much longer than 2 weeks.
On the way home I put $40 worth of gas into the car, which was almost empty. It didn't fill it totally but it's now over 3/4 full. I still have a couple of bills to pay over the next day or so but it's good to know that I won't be running out of food or gas anytime soon.
It's been a really busy week. Last weekend was the 2 holiday days that finish off Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah is when we rejoice with the Torah. We finish the cycle of the year's reading with the end of Devarim [Deuteronomy] and begin again with Bereshit [Genesis]. At Simchat Torah there's singing & dancing with the Torah, a lot of l'chaims [toasts] and it's always fun. Dear Child had a great time dancing with 2 of her school friends. They were all over the place, dancing in a circle or a line with hands on each other's shoulders, on both the men's and women's sides. She also went outside with her Abba when they took the Torah out and danced it around the major intersection just outside the shul doors.
Sunday night, as soon as the holiday was over, we took down the sukkah (in the dark) and loaded it into the van. We got everything together and headed out for our rural home. It was late when we got there and it was pretty cold because we keep the thermostat at 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) when we're not at the house. We cranked it up and got to bed pretty late but DC and I were still up by 8:30 am Monday morning.
We did a lot in one day. I weeded all over, pruned my lavender, did laundry, shrinkwrapped DC's and the spare bedroom windows and put together one of two IKEA bookshelves. Hubby did the lawn, watered and took out 2 dead cedars. We loaded everything up and drove home again, arriving just before midnight. It was one busy day.
Anyway, back to today. Did I manage to accomplish as much today financially as I did physically on Monday? Well, not exactly. I did a lot of food-related things though.
First of all, I somehow didn't get the form for hot lunch. It was due this morning so I had to go into the school office and fill out the form and pay for it. After school Dear Child and I went grocery shopping. We got pretty much enough food for meals for everyday for 10 days or more and half a salmon, which is 2 Shabbos meals (but I don't usually use it even 2 weeks in a row, let alone serve it twice on the same Shabbos). So, I have at least one more Shabbos meal to figure out before Friday afternoon but that's not too bad.
We got breakfast cereal and oatmeal, snacks for DC's lunch for over a week and some paper goods. Actually, I spent $10 on facial tissue. Does that sound like a lot of money, just so we can blow our noses? At Safeway one box usually costs about $4. Now, that's a lot. Today, they had bundles of 6 for $9.97. That's only $1.66 each. But it gets better. The bundles were Buy One, Get One Free. I ended up with 12, count 'em, twelve boxes for only $0.83 each! All in all, I spent about $200 on food and household products but that included a couple of pricy items, like a big jar of decaf coffee, that will last much longer than 2 weeks.
On the way home I put $40 worth of gas into the car, which was almost empty. It didn't fill it totally but it's now over 3/4 full. I still have a couple of bills to pay over the next day or so but it's good to know that I won't be running out of food or gas anytime soon.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The Return of Won't Wait Wednesday
Today is Wednesday. What does that mean? Well, it must be Won't Wait Wednesday! That's right. The day I'm supposed to be taking care of some unfinished business. I haven't done a Won't Wait Wednesday post for a few weeks, not quite sure why. Well, maybe because for a while the only business we were taking care of was the car and I was tired of talking about that. So, what have I done today?
Here was my To Do List:
1. Pay MasterCard
2. Pay cell bill
3. Pay IKEA
4. Go through the fridge and toss anything that looks like it might talk to me
5. Finish a load of essential laundry
6. Get some groceries
I had a little glitch in that my Hubby transferred money to the account I no longer use (because it's at the same bank that he uses) and I didn't get out in time to my bank. I could put cash in at the ATM but I wouldn't be able to access it for at least a couple of days! Not really a good plan. But, my old bank has MasterCard set up as a bill payment so I decided to pay the credit card from there and my IKEA bill from the credit union (because I already had the money for MasterCard in there). There isn't enough left for the cell phone bill there though and it's not set up at the old bank so I'll wait on paying that until I can deposit money when the credit union is open tomorrow.
Are you confused yet?
I got the laundry finished and I cleaned out the fridge though! And I'm on my way out the door to get some groceries. You know, little things like milk, cream, protein drink and root beer. Hmmm. That's all stuff to drink. Maybe I'm thirsty and that's why I can only think of liquid items. Anyway, I'm heading out before my get up and go gets up and goes.
Here was my To Do List:
1. Pay MasterCard
2. Pay cell bill
3. Pay IKEA
4. Go through the fridge and toss anything that looks like it might talk to me
5. Finish a load of essential laundry
6. Get some groceries
I had a little glitch in that my Hubby transferred money to the account I no longer use (because it's at the same bank that he uses) and I didn't get out in time to my bank. I could put cash in at the ATM but I wouldn't be able to access it for at least a couple of days! Not really a good plan. But, my old bank has MasterCard set up as a bill payment so I decided to pay the credit card from there and my IKEA bill from the credit union (because I already had the money for MasterCard in there). There isn't enough left for the cell phone bill there though and it's not set up at the old bank so I'll wait on paying that until I can deposit money when the credit union is open tomorrow.
Are you confused yet?
I got the laundry finished and I cleaned out the fridge though! And I'm on my way out the door to get some groceries. You know, little things like milk, cream, protein drink and root beer. Hmmm. That's all stuff to drink. Maybe I'm thirsty and that's why I can only think of liquid items. Anyway, I'm heading out before my get up and go gets up and goes.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Black Hole aka The Car
I am fed up to the teeth with cars and car repairs. Hubby took the car in to have the bushings done and ended up going to a different place than at first (one that had been recommended though) and there's both good news and bad news.
The good news is that this place will do the bushings and tie rod for less than we were first quoted. Much less, like half the original quote. The bad news is that the bushing repair is the least of our worries. This place actually *looked* at the car obviously (unlike every other place we've been to for the past year it appears), because they figured out what's wrong with it and told us why it's been going through rear tires at a rapid pace.
The. Back. Axle. Is. Bent.
Yes, bent. They asked if we'd been in an accident. Uh, no. They showed Hubby the damage and he says it's pretty clear. Too bad we don't know what caused it. The only thing I can think of is the time last winter when we bottomed out badly in the alley about a block from our house during that bad snow. It took me several hours to dig the car out because it was actually wedged onto that icy snow so badly that the wheels weren't quite touching the ground (like by a fraction of an inch). Maybe we bent the axle when we bottomed out?
Regardless, now we know what the problem is and the solution is clear. It's not going to get better unless we replace the axle so that's what we're doing. It won't be ready until some time tomorrow and we're getting a "good" price on the work but it's still going to cost $1,000!
I've mostly finished hyperventilating (although we'll see if I manage to sleep through the night or wake up with an anxiety attack). What's really crazy is that I was looking back through my own blog archives to see what my menu was for last Rosh Hashana and I realized that it was at this very time last year that the water pump problem manifested. That repair ended up costing us $2,000! What is it about this time of year? This is also when both the fire and the flood happened in the condo I used to own.
As for Rosh Hashana, I got paid today and went grocery shopping. When the dust cleared I'd spent $300 and I have food for the holiday this weekend plus another 4 or 5 meals. Actually, $50 of that is a payment for food I charged 6 months ago at Pesach, so it's not quite as bad as it sounds but I still don't have enough money to pay all my bills, let alone do anything much extra. I'm very pleased that this is a 3 paycheque month. If it wasn't, I'd be in big trouble.
What did I get? Round challahs, salmon and a brisket. I was pretty dead on with my cost estimate too. The brisket cost just over $57. Half a salmon was just over $20. I got the items for the various simanim too (carrots, dates, pomegranate, squash, etc.) and all the disposable table items for the meal, as well as some everyday food needs, things for Dear Child's breakfasts and lunches, etc. And some junk. Hey, I've been waiting a very long time for the full size Oreo cookies to be kosher and they were all labeled with the OU dairy today! I bought a package of them, but they were on sale too. But I figure the healthy stuff, like the cheese sticks, cream cheese and yogurt balance the cookies out.
I have to get the kitchen ready tomorrow and we're closing the office at noon on Friday so I'll be cooking then. Luckily, Eldest Daughter will also be home so I won't be cooking with kidlets underfoot. Candlelighting is at 7 pm so I should have enough time to get it all done....
Before I close, I'd just like to say something to each one of my readers. If I've upset you this year, hurt your feelings in any way or whatever, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Have a happy and healthy year full of all good things!
The good news is that this place will do the bushings and tie rod for less than we were first quoted. Much less, like half the original quote. The bad news is that the bushing repair is the least of our worries. This place actually *looked* at the car obviously (unlike every other place we've been to for the past year it appears), because they figured out what's wrong with it and told us why it's been going through rear tires at a rapid pace.
The. Back. Axle. Is. Bent.
Yes, bent. They asked if we'd been in an accident. Uh, no. They showed Hubby the damage and he says it's pretty clear. Too bad we don't know what caused it. The only thing I can think of is the time last winter when we bottomed out badly in the alley about a block from our house during that bad snow. It took me several hours to dig the car out because it was actually wedged onto that icy snow so badly that the wheels weren't quite touching the ground (like by a fraction of an inch). Maybe we bent the axle when we bottomed out?
Regardless, now we know what the problem is and the solution is clear. It's not going to get better unless we replace the axle so that's what we're doing. It won't be ready until some time tomorrow and we're getting a "good" price on the work but it's still going to cost $1,000!
I've mostly finished hyperventilating (although we'll see if I manage to sleep through the night or wake up with an anxiety attack). What's really crazy is that I was looking back through my own blog archives to see what my menu was for last Rosh Hashana and I realized that it was at this very time last year that the water pump problem manifested. That repair ended up costing us $2,000! What is it about this time of year? This is also when both the fire and the flood happened in the condo I used to own.
As for Rosh Hashana, I got paid today and went grocery shopping. When the dust cleared I'd spent $300 and I have food for the holiday this weekend plus another 4 or 5 meals. Actually, $50 of that is a payment for food I charged 6 months ago at Pesach, so it's not quite as bad as it sounds but I still don't have enough money to pay all my bills, let alone do anything much extra. I'm very pleased that this is a 3 paycheque month. If it wasn't, I'd be in big trouble.
What did I get? Round challahs, salmon and a brisket. I was pretty dead on with my cost estimate too. The brisket cost just over $57. Half a salmon was just over $20. I got the items for the various simanim too (carrots, dates, pomegranate, squash, etc.) and all the disposable table items for the meal, as well as some everyday food needs, things for Dear Child's breakfasts and lunches, etc. And some junk. Hey, I've been waiting a very long time for the full size Oreo cookies to be kosher and they were all labeled with the OU dairy today! I bought a package of them, but they were on sale too. But I figure the healthy stuff, like the cheese sticks, cream cheese and yogurt balance the cookies out.
I have to get the kitchen ready tomorrow and we're closing the office at noon on Friday so I'll be cooking then. Luckily, Eldest Daughter will also be home so I won't be cooking with kidlets underfoot. Candlelighting is at 7 pm so I should have enough time to get it all done....
Before I close, I'd just like to say something to each one of my readers. If I've upset you this year, hurt your feelings in any way or whatever, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Have a happy and healthy year full of all good things!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday Once Again
Today was Wednesday and payday. Usually I'm busy getting things done, paying bills, figuring out what needs to be taken care of and so on.
Today, not so much. I'm still having a hard time getting off my rear end and doing anything. My resistance is getting worse, if that's possible. I wrote a lot of cheques the other day and in some way my mind is telling me I've done a lot and to chill. There's money in the bank to pay the cheques that are coming through right away so that's fine, but I have bills I should have paid and I haven't done so. That really sucks.
I finally forced myself to go look at my account online and it's not too pretty, for a couple of reasons. First, the cheque I wrote for the dentist came through just before my paycheque hit the account and put me in the red. Luckily for me, they just charged me a few cents interest and didn't hit me with an NSF! The $360 or so is a problem because I won't get any of that money back from extended medical. The second issue is the money I've been spending on physio. Now, I will get most of that back, but I need to get the receipts together, fill out the form and send them off. This is a task I'm definitely not good at and I know it. Paperwork, especially financial paperwork and I are not the best of friends. But, if I don't send it in, I won't get any money back. It's a pretty simple concept. And I can't keep spending $100 to $200 per month on physio if I'm not going to do what I need to do in order to get reimbursed.
So, I can tell that I don't have enough money in the bank right now to pay all the bills and that makes me crazy. It's lucky that this month is one of the two times a year that I get 3 paycheques. That will help get me straightened out but I need to do more.
I need to cut down some spending. I know that the one area where I'm really bad is with food I eat out of the house. It's probably lucky in some respects that we keep kosher because I can't just eat out anywhere. There are only 5 places in the city where I can eat a real meal. Four of them I never to seldom eat at. Ah, but that fifth one is a killer! It's the cafe in the building where I work. I always used to have breakfast before I went to the office, mostly my protein drink, which costs about $2.50 per serving. Then I started "forgetting" to buy it or not having enough time to have it at home but "forgetting" to bring it with me. And, wonder of wonders, I discovered how much I liked the coffee and giant cinnamon bun at the cafe. Of course it costs more than my protein drink. I think it costs $4.25 but I'm not positive because, worse than having it on a regular basis, I also tab my breakfasts and pay my tab (or pay it down) when I get paid.
Okay, that's bad enough. Then there's lunch. When I'm home I usually make myself a couple of pieces of cinnamon toast and a cup of coffee. Sometimes I have a couple of cookies or brownies too. Other times I barely remember to eat.
When I work the better part of the day at the office I'm usually ravenous by about 11:30 am. And the cafe has really nice food. Sushi ($7.50), a great sandwich ($7.50), salads ($4.95 to $6.95). I think even the cheese pizza is now $2.95 (and I'm not really full afterwards) and the cold drinks are about $2.50. I've been gradually spending more and more money at the cafe, particularly when I have both breakfast and lunch there and I realize that it can't continue at this rate.
No, I'm not going to suddenly start brown bagging it. Sorry. I've tried it and it doesn't work well for me. I never have the time to make it, we don't keep a lot of food on hand like fruits, veggies and salads because They. Always. Go. Bad. Always. In fact, that's probably my second biggest waste of food money. I keep thinking that "this time" I'll really eat that bag of salad (and I'm not talking the family size bag, just the one for one or two people) but I always end up throwing out a half empty bag of liquified lettuce! I'm wasting both food and money. At least, when I eat at the cafe, I'm eating every bite.
But here's what I'm planning to do. Cut out the breakfasts. Just drink my protein drink. It's cheaper, better for me and probably has less calories! For lunch I'll either have a slice of pizza or a $4.95 salad. This again is cheaper than a full meal because I won't buy a pop or a lemonade or Snapple to go with it and it's healthier (the salad at least) because I never eat veggies at home. And it also has less calories. Do you think that possibly those 2 pounds that snuck onto my body recently could have come from all that food I'm eating at lunch?
So, for now, this is the plan. We'll see if it works or if sometime next week I suddenly crack and start stuffing cinnamon buns down my throat! If I just save $5 per day, that's $100 or more every month! And, just maybe, I might finally be able to lose a pound or two.
Today, not so much. I'm still having a hard time getting off my rear end and doing anything. My resistance is getting worse, if that's possible. I wrote a lot of cheques the other day and in some way my mind is telling me I've done a lot and to chill. There's money in the bank to pay the cheques that are coming through right away so that's fine, but I have bills I should have paid and I haven't done so. That really sucks.
I finally forced myself to go look at my account online and it's not too pretty, for a couple of reasons. First, the cheque I wrote for the dentist came through just before my paycheque hit the account and put me in the red. Luckily for me, they just charged me a few cents interest and didn't hit me with an NSF! The $360 or so is a problem because I won't get any of that money back from extended medical. The second issue is the money I've been spending on physio. Now, I will get most of that back, but I need to get the receipts together, fill out the form and send them off. This is a task I'm definitely not good at and I know it. Paperwork, especially financial paperwork and I are not the best of friends. But, if I don't send it in, I won't get any money back. It's a pretty simple concept. And I can't keep spending $100 to $200 per month on physio if I'm not going to do what I need to do in order to get reimbursed.
So, I can tell that I don't have enough money in the bank right now to pay all the bills and that makes me crazy. It's lucky that this month is one of the two times a year that I get 3 paycheques. That will help get me straightened out but I need to do more.
I need to cut down some spending. I know that the one area where I'm really bad is with food I eat out of the house. It's probably lucky in some respects that we keep kosher because I can't just eat out anywhere. There are only 5 places in the city where I can eat a real meal. Four of them I never to seldom eat at. Ah, but that fifth one is a killer! It's the cafe in the building where I work. I always used to have breakfast before I went to the office, mostly my protein drink, which costs about $2.50 per serving. Then I started "forgetting" to buy it or not having enough time to have it at home but "forgetting" to bring it with me. And, wonder of wonders, I discovered how much I liked the coffee and giant cinnamon bun at the cafe. Of course it costs more than my protein drink. I think it costs $4.25 but I'm not positive because, worse than having it on a regular basis, I also tab my breakfasts and pay my tab (or pay it down) when I get paid.
Okay, that's bad enough. Then there's lunch. When I'm home I usually make myself a couple of pieces of cinnamon toast and a cup of coffee. Sometimes I have a couple of cookies or brownies too. Other times I barely remember to eat.
When I work the better part of the day at the office I'm usually ravenous by about 11:30 am. And the cafe has really nice food. Sushi ($7.50), a great sandwich ($7.50), salads ($4.95 to $6.95). I think even the cheese pizza is now $2.95 (and I'm not really full afterwards) and the cold drinks are about $2.50. I've been gradually spending more and more money at the cafe, particularly when I have both breakfast and lunch there and I realize that it can't continue at this rate.
No, I'm not going to suddenly start brown bagging it. Sorry. I've tried it and it doesn't work well for me. I never have the time to make it, we don't keep a lot of food on hand like fruits, veggies and salads because They. Always. Go. Bad. Always. In fact, that's probably my second biggest waste of food money. I keep thinking that "this time" I'll really eat that bag of salad (and I'm not talking the family size bag, just the one for one or two people) but I always end up throwing out a half empty bag of liquified lettuce! I'm wasting both food and money. At least, when I eat at the cafe, I'm eating every bite.
But here's what I'm planning to do. Cut out the breakfasts. Just drink my protein drink. It's cheaper, better for me and probably has less calories! For lunch I'll either have a slice of pizza or a $4.95 salad. This again is cheaper than a full meal because I won't buy a pop or a lemonade or Snapple to go with it and it's healthier (the salad at least) because I never eat veggies at home. And it also has less calories. Do you think that possibly those 2 pounds that snuck onto my body recently could have come from all that food I'm eating at lunch?
So, for now, this is the plan. We'll see if it works or if sometime next week I suddenly crack and start stuffing cinnamon buns down my throat! If I just save $5 per day, that's $100 or more every month! And, just maybe, I might finally be able to lose a pound or two.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday and Posting Works
Okay, I'm opening this in Firefox again on a different computer and it works. I guess I'm going to have to try putting Firefox on my laptop (I normally use Internet Explorer) and see if it works consistently. Right now I have a sample of 2 attempts, 2 successes. Interesting, but not statistically significant.
Today is Wednesday and I just got paid. I've been working a bunch of extra hours because my co-worker has been taking vacation so why don't I have very much money? I got my vacation pay for the year on my last cheque and didn't transfer it right away into ING (bad girl). I wanted to do that today, but that will only leave me with just under $600 and all my bill payments and end of month/beginning of month expenses that come out automatically total more than that! Plus, it might be nice to be able to buy groceries and gas for the next two weeks and I'm planning to go to the house for the BC Day long weekend just prior to when I get paid again. Translation? I've been spending my vacation pay and I'm not going to be able to fix it until after the next payday (which will also be for more hours than normal). What I really should do at that point is to transfer the money as fast as I can, because what's sitting in ING can't be frittered away.
I'm actually going to pay the bills from my laptop later (because I then save a print screen of the confirmations) but here's a list of what I'm planning to pay today (although not the exact amounts because I don't have them with me).
MasterCard $90, my usual every 2 weeks payment
Shaw internet ~$45
Bell cell ~$90
H2O ~$40
IKEA ~$45, the full balance owing from my trip there a couple of weeks ago
In other words, just over $300 worth of payments. And I want to get to my credit union so I can deposit my BC Benefit and another small cheque into my rural credit union account to cover my monthly service charge and the electric bill that will be coming out shortly. I think that's pretty good for today.
EDIT: Okay, I didn't get to the credit union (truthfully, I forgot all about it) but I did pay a total of $334.91 on those 5 bills and the 2 cheques to be deposited are sitting in my purse. I've been looking at my MasterCard statements and I see that sometimes (more often than I had realized) I only pay once, which really just takes care of the interest. I've made reducing my MasterCard debt by at least $100/month one of my mini goals now and I'll be keeping a closer eye on it. I actually want to get that card down below $5,000 before the end of the year. That would mean I'd have to pay off a little less than $900 in 6 months time ($150/month). We'll see how that goes.
Today is Wednesday and I just got paid. I've been working a bunch of extra hours because my co-worker has been taking vacation so why don't I have very much money? I got my vacation pay for the year on my last cheque and didn't transfer it right away into ING (bad girl). I wanted to do that today, but that will only leave me with just under $600 and all my bill payments and end of month/beginning of month expenses that come out automatically total more than that! Plus, it might be nice to be able to buy groceries and gas for the next two weeks and I'm planning to go to the house for the BC Day long weekend just prior to when I get paid again. Translation? I've been spending my vacation pay and I'm not going to be able to fix it until after the next payday (which will also be for more hours than normal). What I really should do at that point is to transfer the money as fast as I can, because what's sitting in ING can't be frittered away.
I'm actually going to pay the bills from my laptop later (because I then save a print screen of the confirmations) but here's a list of what I'm planning to pay today (although not the exact amounts because I don't have them with me).
MasterCard $90, my usual every 2 weeks payment
Shaw internet ~$45
Bell cell ~$90
H2O ~$40
IKEA ~$45, the full balance owing from my trip there a couple of weeks ago
In other words, just over $300 worth of payments. And I want to get to my credit union so I can deposit my BC Benefit and another small cheque into my rural credit union account to cover my monthly service charge and the electric bill that will be coming out shortly. I think that's pretty good for today.
EDIT: Okay, I didn't get to the credit union (truthfully, I forgot all about it) but I did pay a total of $334.91 on those 5 bills and the 2 cheques to be deposited are sitting in my purse. I've been looking at my MasterCard statements and I see that sometimes (more often than I had realized) I only pay once, which really just takes care of the interest. I've made reducing my MasterCard debt by at least $100/month one of my mini goals now and I'll be keeping a closer eye on it. I actually want to get that card down below $5,000 before the end of the year. That would mean I'd have to pay off a little less than $900 in 6 months time ($150/month). We'll see how that goes.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Yet Another Payday Wednesday
I got paid today. What did I do with it? And what else did I accomplish?
Well, Dear Child had to be up and in the van at 6:45 am this morning so her brother-in-law could drop her off at her sister-in-law's house on his way to work. She spent the day there both yesterday and today, playing with her niece who is also 6.
I didn't have to leave until 8 am, so I paid a whole raft of bills before I even went to work. I paid the water bill, MasterCard (the $90 I pay each payday plus $20 to cover the $20 in new charges that I'd put on it), my cable internet, a majority of my cell bill (the balance I have to ask about because I don't understand the charges) and my garbage bill for my rural home. Yes, it didn't have to be paid until August, but I paid it now.
I felt good! Then I drove Eldest Daughter to work, took her 4 year old to summer camp and went to work. At 1 pm I picked my granddaughter up from camp and drove her home. A friend of Eldest Daughter was here looking after Boo Boo (the 2 year old), so I dropped the older girl off and went back to work. I was so busy that I worked late!
Well, Dear Child had to be up and in the van at 6:45 am this morning so her brother-in-law could drop her off at her sister-in-law's house on his way to work. She spent the day there both yesterday and today, playing with her niece who is also 6.
I didn't have to leave until 8 am, so I paid a whole raft of bills before I even went to work. I paid the water bill, MasterCard (the $90 I pay each payday plus $20 to cover the $20 in new charges that I'd put on it), my cable internet, a majority of my cell bill (the balance I have to ask about because I don't understand the charges) and my garbage bill for my rural home. Yes, it didn't have to be paid until August, but I paid it now.
I felt good! Then I drove Eldest Daughter to work, took her 4 year old to summer camp and went to work. At 1 pm I picked my granddaughter up from camp and drove her home. A friend of Eldest Daughter was here looking after Boo Boo (the 2 year old), so I dropped the older girl off and went back to work. I was so busy that I worked late!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Payday and New Glasses
Today was payday Wednesday. What did I accomplish?
Well, for starters, let's look at a couple of things that didn't make it into my previous post. When I went to our rural house this past weekend I got to catch up on 6 or 7 months of mail! Fun. I really don't get a lot of mail there. There's my monthly statement from my credit union there, but I can check that online. And there's a bunch of stuff from the guy who is the MLA for that constituency, some of which is interesting to read because it brings up issues that are local to that area (things I don't see on TV or read in the paper in the city) but it's all just FYI stuff.
Then there's the "boil water advisory" from the local water system. I wasn't around for that, or the rescinding of same, but reading it (there's at least one at some point every year) reminds me of why I use bottled water. Okay, that and looking at yellow water with stuff swirling around in it when I take water from the tap.
But the most important mail that arrived in my absence was from the government: my property assessment, my property tax assessment and my rural garbage bill. I paid my property taxes a couple of months late last year and somehow never got around to paying the garbage bill. This year it's been rolled over onto my property taxes, which are due July 2nd. My assessment was interesting. The value of the property went up last year by a few grand but I'm paying property taxes this year based on the previous year's lower value. This has to do with the whole real estate decline and the economy. For this year, they're looking at both years and just charging based on whichever was the lowest year. That's fine with me!
The garbage bill bugs me. I'm rarely there. We put out garbage or recycling there maybe 6 or 8 times per year, but I have to pay for weekly pickup because there's no provision for pay-as-you-go. Last year it was about $120, or $10 per month. Since I'm behind on last year's payment I now owe about $133, what with penalties and interest. This year's bill is $165 or $13.75 per month. It's already due, but it has to be paid by the end of August or there's a penalty. The tax bill, including last year's garbage bill, has to be paid by July 2nd or there's a penalty on that.
So, how am I going to pay these? My original "plan" was to put money away for this every month. That hasn't happened on a regular basis although I have some money. I also got a very nice bonus, in that a cheque from Terasen was sitting at the house, waiting for me. Remember how I was getting billed for gas last year even though I couldn't possibly use it? Well, I had successfully argued the bill and it was eventually reversed. However, I'd already paid over $60 in gas bills initially. The cheque (which luckily wasn't stale dated yet) was a refund for all that! The night that I went into town I popped that money into my rural credit union account along with the BC Benefit cheque I regularly direct into there. Now I have to remember to transfer money into there from ING to pay the balance owing on the property taxes. I'm going to be out there from July 1st to 5th, so I'll go into town on the 2nd and pay my taxes in person on their due date.
As for this year's garbage bill, I'm going to have to come up with money for it by the end of August and I'll probably wait until close to that point to pay it. Okay, so that catches me up on the rural finances. Let's get to payday!
I worked slightly fewer hours than usual this pay period and my cheque reflected that. However, I also got a cheque for a side project I'd taken on. My regular cheque will cover the usual end of the month/beginning of the month bills. The extra cheque means that I'm finally getting my new glasses!
I went for an eye exam this afternoon and Dear Child helped me select my new frames at Lenscrafters! If I had simple vision problems and a mild correction I'd have my new glasses by now but, alas, I have to wait 10 days. I have astigmatism, am severely near-sighted, have also become far-sighted in my old age and have corneal issues. However, the lenses were currently 50% off, so my expensive lenses now cost what normal lenses usually cost. And I wouldn't look at frames that cost over $200. That limited me quite a bit, since I also can't wear the kind that has a plastic bridge. The little nose piece has to be adjustable because the bridge of my nose is quite narrow and, even with high index lightweight lenses, they're fairly heavy. Glasses with a molded plastic bridge continually fall down my nose and I'm perpetually pushing them up.
The total cost of the glasses was just under $450, including tax, and the eye exam was $95. We have a glasses clause in our extended medical through Hubby's work that pays $150 toward glasses every couple of years. I'm not sure if the eye exam is also covered or not, but it was worth it to me to have it today. I couldn't get into my opthamologist until mid-September and I've already been putting up with these broken glasses for 3 whole months. I'm tired of them falling off when I bend my head and I'll really feel safer driving when I replace them!
My cell bill is due, but I need to call them and make them explain $25 odd in extra charges (minutes that were billed at .35 per minute). Since almost all my calls involve my Fab Five or whatever they call it, I can't imagine how I have calls that exceed my basic number of minutes. The one thing I liked better about Fido (okay, there had to be *something* good about them) was that every single call was listed on the bill, in or out, with the number of seconds and how much, if anything, I was charged for it. What I may do is just pay the regular amount owing, plus my .70 in long distance charges and then dispute the balance. But, at least, I'll be mostly current.
So that's it. I spent a huge amount of money on myself today and, yes Abby, I feel guilty! But we are supposed to get $150 of it back and I haven't had new glasses in at least 5 years and maybe as long as 8 years. I know I needed them, but it would have been nice to pay down debt instead.
Well, for starters, let's look at a couple of things that didn't make it into my previous post. When I went to our rural house this past weekend I got to catch up on 6 or 7 months of mail! Fun. I really don't get a lot of mail there. There's my monthly statement from my credit union there, but I can check that online. And there's a bunch of stuff from the guy who is the MLA for that constituency, some of which is interesting to read because it brings up issues that are local to that area (things I don't see on TV or read in the paper in the city) but it's all just FYI stuff.
Then there's the "boil water advisory" from the local water system. I wasn't around for that, or the rescinding of same, but reading it (there's at least one at some point every year) reminds me of why I use bottled water. Okay, that and looking at yellow water with stuff swirling around in it when I take water from the tap.
But the most important mail that arrived in my absence was from the government: my property assessment, my property tax assessment and my rural garbage bill. I paid my property taxes a couple of months late last year and somehow never got around to paying the garbage bill. This year it's been rolled over onto my property taxes, which are due July 2nd. My assessment was interesting. The value of the property went up last year by a few grand but I'm paying property taxes this year based on the previous year's lower value. This has to do with the whole real estate decline and the economy. For this year, they're looking at both years and just charging based on whichever was the lowest year. That's fine with me!
The garbage bill bugs me. I'm rarely there. We put out garbage or recycling there maybe 6 or 8 times per year, but I have to pay for weekly pickup because there's no provision for pay-as-you-go. Last year it was about $120, or $10 per month. Since I'm behind on last year's payment I now owe about $133, what with penalties and interest. This year's bill is $165 or $13.75 per month. It's already due, but it has to be paid by the end of August or there's a penalty. The tax bill, including last year's garbage bill, has to be paid by July 2nd or there's a penalty on that.
So, how am I going to pay these? My original "plan" was to put money away for this every month. That hasn't happened on a regular basis although I have some money. I also got a very nice bonus, in that a cheque from Terasen was sitting at the house, waiting for me. Remember how I was getting billed for gas last year even though I couldn't possibly use it? Well, I had successfully argued the bill and it was eventually reversed. However, I'd already paid over $60 in gas bills initially. The cheque (which luckily wasn't stale dated yet) was a refund for all that! The night that I went into town I popped that money into my rural credit union account along with the BC Benefit cheque I regularly direct into there. Now I have to remember to transfer money into there from ING to pay the balance owing on the property taxes. I'm going to be out there from July 1st to 5th, so I'll go into town on the 2nd and pay my taxes in person on their due date.
As for this year's garbage bill, I'm going to have to come up with money for it by the end of August and I'll probably wait until close to that point to pay it. Okay, so that catches me up on the rural finances. Let's get to payday!
I worked slightly fewer hours than usual this pay period and my cheque reflected that. However, I also got a cheque for a side project I'd taken on. My regular cheque will cover the usual end of the month/beginning of the month bills. The extra cheque means that I'm finally getting my new glasses!
I went for an eye exam this afternoon and Dear Child helped me select my new frames at Lenscrafters! If I had simple vision problems and a mild correction I'd have my new glasses by now but, alas, I have to wait 10 days. I have astigmatism, am severely near-sighted, have also become far-sighted in my old age and have corneal issues. However, the lenses were currently 50% off, so my expensive lenses now cost what normal lenses usually cost. And I wouldn't look at frames that cost over $200. That limited me quite a bit, since I also can't wear the kind that has a plastic bridge. The little nose piece has to be adjustable because the bridge of my nose is quite narrow and, even with high index lightweight lenses, they're fairly heavy. Glasses with a molded plastic bridge continually fall down my nose and I'm perpetually pushing them up.
The total cost of the glasses was just under $450, including tax, and the eye exam was $95. We have a glasses clause in our extended medical through Hubby's work that pays $150 toward glasses every couple of years. I'm not sure if the eye exam is also covered or not, but it was worth it to me to have it today. I couldn't get into my opthamologist until mid-September and I've already been putting up with these broken glasses for 3 whole months. I'm tired of them falling off when I bend my head and I'll really feel safer driving when I replace them!
My cell bill is due, but I need to call them and make them explain $25 odd in extra charges (minutes that were billed at .35 per minute). Since almost all my calls involve my Fab Five or whatever they call it, I can't imagine how I have calls that exceed my basic number of minutes. The one thing I liked better about Fido (okay, there had to be *something* good about them) was that every single call was listed on the bill, in or out, with the number of seconds and how much, if anything, I was charged for it. What I may do is just pay the regular amount owing, plus my .70 in long distance charges and then dispute the balance. But, at least, I'll be mostly current.
So that's it. I spent a huge amount of money on myself today and, yes Abby, I feel guilty! But we are supposed to get $150 of it back and I haven't had new glasses in at least 5 years and maybe as long as 8 years. I know I needed them, but it would have been nice to pay down debt instead.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Two "Wednesdays" This Week
And another week goes by....
At least I've been busy the past couple of days. I know yesterday was It Won't Wait Wednesday but some of the tasks got carried over to today. What all did I do?
I got paid and took cash out of the credit union to deposit into my bank account. I also wrote a cheque to myself at my other credit union and deposited it through the ATM so there'd be enough in the account to cover the service charge at the end of the month. The cash I took out couldn't be deposited until today.
I also went to the gym, but not to work out. My 18 month membership ends May 1st and I wanted to cancel. I hate gym contracts. It says you can't cancel until the anniversary date but then it says you have to give 30 days notice. After the "free" 18 months (that I paid $500 for up front) they start charging your credit card $29.95/month on the first of each month. You have to give 30 days notice too if you change your credit card or there are chargebacks. The credit card I gave them in 2007 was changed by the credit card company about a year ago to a totally different number.
Anyway, I went in and filled out the required form in person but they couldn't do anything about the credit card issue except tell me that I was going to get charged one month's fee before I'd be free of them. They suggested I call the head office and gave me the number. When I called today I got a recording and had to leave a detailed message. I'll try to call again in the morning because I want to take them the cash and have them sign off that I'm done. Of course, that's going to mean driving out to Richmond on Friday afternoon (at least half an hour each way). At least Shabbos doesn't come in early!
I went to my doctor's appointment today. She sent me for blood work (to check for obvious things like anemia or thyroid) and is going to set up an ECG and a treadmill stress test. However, she thinks I need to exercise more! (Right, just as I'm cancelling the gym membership.) Then she said I might be tired because I'm always so super-busy. And, if I'm so busy, just when am I going to exercise? Besides, this isn't just being tired. This is stuff like being too wiped to lift my arms to put them on the steering wheel. I think it's a little more than "de-conditioning". I went to the lab after the doctor and had 2 tubes of blood drawn. Then I walked across the street to the bank, deposited the cash and updated my book.
Tonight I did my husband's taxes although not my own. Why? Well, technically speaking, you only have to get your stuff in by the deadline (which was midnight) if you owe Canada Revenue Agency any money. I can't remember the last time I ended up owing them anything. Usually I get somewhere between $30 and $100 back. Hubby, on the other hand, always owes money. And not a tiny amount either. It's usually $700 and up! Last year he ended up owing over $1,000 and he hasn't paid off much of it, maybe a couple of hundred dollars. If you owe money you still pay interest and all but there's no 5% penalty if you at least file on time.
So, I did his return. I was hoping it would be better this year because they have a new accountant at his office and because there have been a few positive changes in the tax rules. How does almost $1,000 back sound? Of course, they pay off any outstanding stuff first but he'll still get a cheque for $200 or $300! Actually, I would have done my taxes too but I boxed up most of the paperwork I need for it before Pesach and it wasn't where I thought it was. I'm not worried. If he got a refund I'm probably getting a bigger than usual one myself. I'll try to find the missing papers over the weekend and do it then.
Of course, once I finished the good copy of his taxes I had to get in the car and drive it out to the Taxation Centre in Surrey before midnight. I got it in with about an hour to spare.
At least I've been busy the past couple of days. I know yesterday was It Won't Wait Wednesday but some of the tasks got carried over to today. What all did I do?
I got paid and took cash out of the credit union to deposit into my bank account. I also wrote a cheque to myself at my other credit union and deposited it through the ATM so there'd be enough in the account to cover the service charge at the end of the month. The cash I took out couldn't be deposited until today.
I also went to the gym, but not to work out. My 18 month membership ends May 1st and I wanted to cancel. I hate gym contracts. It says you can't cancel until the anniversary date but then it says you have to give 30 days notice. After the "free" 18 months (that I paid $500 for up front) they start charging your credit card $29.95/month on the first of each month. You have to give 30 days notice too if you change your credit card or there are chargebacks. The credit card I gave them in 2007 was changed by the credit card company about a year ago to a totally different number.
Anyway, I went in and filled out the required form in person but they couldn't do anything about the credit card issue except tell me that I was going to get charged one month's fee before I'd be free of them. They suggested I call the head office and gave me the number. When I called today I got a recording and had to leave a detailed message. I'll try to call again in the morning because I want to take them the cash and have them sign off that I'm done. Of course, that's going to mean driving out to Richmond on Friday afternoon (at least half an hour each way). At least Shabbos doesn't come in early!
I went to my doctor's appointment today. She sent me for blood work (to check for obvious things like anemia or thyroid) and is going to set up an ECG and a treadmill stress test. However, she thinks I need to exercise more! (Right, just as I'm cancelling the gym membership.) Then she said I might be tired because I'm always so super-busy. And, if I'm so busy, just when am I going to exercise? Besides, this isn't just being tired. This is stuff like being too wiped to lift my arms to put them on the steering wheel. I think it's a little more than "de-conditioning". I went to the lab after the doctor and had 2 tubes of blood drawn. Then I walked across the street to the bank, deposited the cash and updated my book.
Tonight I did my husband's taxes although not my own. Why? Well, technically speaking, you only have to get your stuff in by the deadline (which was midnight) if you owe Canada Revenue Agency any money. I can't remember the last time I ended up owing them anything. Usually I get somewhere between $30 and $100 back. Hubby, on the other hand, always owes money. And not a tiny amount either. It's usually $700 and up! Last year he ended up owing over $1,000 and he hasn't paid off much of it, maybe a couple of hundred dollars. If you owe money you still pay interest and all but there's no 5% penalty if you at least file on time.
So, I did his return. I was hoping it would be better this year because they have a new accountant at his office and because there have been a few positive changes in the tax rules. How does almost $1,000 back sound? Of course, they pay off any outstanding stuff first but he'll still get a cheque for $200 or $300! Actually, I would have done my taxes too but I boxed up most of the paperwork I need for it before Pesach and it wasn't where I thought it was. I'm not worried. If he got a refund I'm probably getting a bigger than usual one myself. I'll try to find the missing papers over the weekend and do it then.
Of course, once I finished the good copy of his taxes I had to get in the car and drive it out to the Taxation Centre in Surrey before midnight. I got it in with about an hour to spare.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Not a Wednesday to Write Home About
I went to work for a couple of hours. I came home. I slept for a while. I packed the contents of the dairy pots and pans shelf. I did some banking. I picked up Dear Child and came home, then went back to work after dinner. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. And I should be asleep now but I'm blogging instead.
The weather was disgusting. It snowed. Not much, and very wet snow, so it didn't stick. But really. It was April 1st. If I wanted to live somewhere where it snows in April I'd be in Minnesota or New York State or Toronto.
Today was Wednesday. Next Wednesday night is the first seder. I am so not nearly ready that I'm starting to have panic attacks. That was why I forced myself to get up and pack that box. I should have done the meat shelf at the same time and then scrubbed out the cupboard. But I didn't and I'll pay for that tomorrow or later this week. I did do a ton of work on Sunday but I've been feeling sicker ever since then and I'm tired all the time.
I work all day tomorrow and then am home all evening. I really need to do a lot of work then in the kitchen. Right now, just packing up all the everyday stuff so I can scrub everything down and then get out the Passover pots, pans, dishes, etc. is the most important thing. Friday is the last day I'm cooking. After Shabbos I have to clean the stove and self-clean the oven to clean it. Sunday night I have to self-clean it again to make it kosher for Pesach. Monday I have to start cooking for the seders and Shabbos. Plus I have to finish cleaning the rest of the house and be finished by Tuesday night!
The weather was disgusting. It snowed. Not much, and very wet snow, so it didn't stick. But really. It was April 1st. If I wanted to live somewhere where it snows in April I'd be in Minnesota or New York State or Toronto.
Today was Wednesday. Next Wednesday night is the first seder. I am so not nearly ready that I'm starting to have panic attacks. That was why I forced myself to get up and pack that box. I should have done the meat shelf at the same time and then scrubbed out the cupboard. But I didn't and I'll pay for that tomorrow or later this week. I did do a ton of work on Sunday but I've been feeling sicker ever since then and I'm tired all the time.
I work all day tomorrow and then am home all evening. I really need to do a lot of work then in the kitchen. Right now, just packing up all the everyday stuff so I can scrub everything down and then get out the Passover pots, pans, dishes, etc. is the most important thing. Friday is the last day I'm cooking. After Shabbos I have to clean the stove and self-clean the oven to clean it. Sunday night I have to self-clean it again to make it kosher for Pesach. Monday I have to start cooking for the seders and Shabbos. Plus I have to finish cleaning the rest of the house and be finished by Tuesday night!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Payday Wednesday and Some Progress
I got paid today and received the pay advice while I was at work (usually it's sent to my home). I opened it and just about had a heart attack when I looked at the amount. I knew the cheque was going to be a little smaller than my past few cheques because I didn't work quite as many hours as usual but I wasn't expecting it to be around $250 smaller!
I pulled up my time sheet and compared it to my pay advice and discovered it was 9 hours short, compared to what I'd actually worked. That'll do it. I called the accountant at our Head Office back east and she promised to correct it tomorrow. So I'll have a cheque for roughly the net difference in my hands sometime on Friday (G-d willing).
Regardless, I still needed to take care of some business today. My son-in-law was off, so I was able to work until 2:30 pm. Dear Child was having early dismissal again today, so I picked her up and went to update my passbook. We went to Pini's Pizza on the way home (our local kosher pizza place) but not for pizza. They also stock groceries and I wanted a few very specific things for Passover before they disappeared from the store.
When I went through my menus from last Pesach and the notes I wrote just afterwards I saw that we had bought and enjoyed fish sticks with a potato coating twice last year. So I bought another 2 boxes, double bagged them and stuck them in the freezer. I also bought shmurah matzo meal, a special (stricter) form of matzo meal where the grain used to make the matzos was watched from the time it was harvested to make sure it couldn't have gotten wet (which would disqualify it from being used for Passover). And I bought us each a small package of cheese puffs, which are almost never available (at least not kosher). Those we ate in the car before we ever got home! Hey, everybody needs a treat now and then.
When we got home I made chocolate chunk cookies with DC and my 4 year old granddaughter because I'd promised we'd do it today before I got so sick. After that I went to bed for a while and Hubby took the girls to Play Dome (a spring break midway under the dome at BC Place). I lay around with the TV off, read some blogs, had a cup of chai tea and just generally tried to get a bit of rest. Well, I started a load of laundry too, but that just takes a couple of minutes.
When they came home I got dinner started (veggie cheeseburgers with mushrooms on challah buns) but turned the final part over to Hubby and went back to bed until it was ready. After we ate I rebooted the laundry and did a bit of work in DC's room. I got 3 or 4 more boxes into her closet, verified that 6 other boxes in her room contain fragile items that are supposed to go in the glass front cabinet (assuming it ever gets attached to the wall) and went through part of a box of clothes. Her room still isn't done but it's looking a little emptier every day. As for working on my bedroom, that was kind of what the load of laundry was all about. The clothes were all scattered about and now they're a) clean and b) not lying on the floor.
I paid the overdue portion of my cell bill and wrote cheques for Dog's upcoming boarding (or as we like to think of it, his vacation). Oh yes, and I cleaned out most of the fridge. When you consider how sick I am, I really accomplished a lot. Too bad there's still so much more to do.
I pulled up my time sheet and compared it to my pay advice and discovered it was 9 hours short, compared to what I'd actually worked. That'll do it. I called the accountant at our Head Office back east and she promised to correct it tomorrow. So I'll have a cheque for roughly the net difference in my hands sometime on Friday (G-d willing).
Regardless, I still needed to take care of some business today. My son-in-law was off, so I was able to work until 2:30 pm. Dear Child was having early dismissal again today, so I picked her up and went to update my passbook. We went to Pini's Pizza on the way home (our local kosher pizza place) but not for pizza. They also stock groceries and I wanted a few very specific things for Passover before they disappeared from the store.
When I went through my menus from last Pesach and the notes I wrote just afterwards I saw that we had bought and enjoyed fish sticks with a potato coating twice last year. So I bought another 2 boxes, double bagged them and stuck them in the freezer. I also bought shmurah matzo meal, a special (stricter) form of matzo meal where the grain used to make the matzos was watched from the time it was harvested to make sure it couldn't have gotten wet (which would disqualify it from being used for Passover). And I bought us each a small package of cheese puffs, which are almost never available (at least not kosher). Those we ate in the car before we ever got home! Hey, everybody needs a treat now and then.
When we got home I made chocolate chunk cookies with DC and my 4 year old granddaughter because I'd promised we'd do it today before I got so sick. After that I went to bed for a while and Hubby took the girls to Play Dome (a spring break midway under the dome at BC Place). I lay around with the TV off, read some blogs, had a cup of chai tea and just generally tried to get a bit of rest. Well, I started a load of laundry too, but that just takes a couple of minutes.
When they came home I got dinner started (veggie cheeseburgers with mushrooms on challah buns) but turned the final part over to Hubby and went back to bed until it was ready. After we ate I rebooted the laundry and did a bit of work in DC's room. I got 3 or 4 more boxes into her closet, verified that 6 other boxes in her room contain fragile items that are supposed to go in the glass front cabinet (assuming it ever gets attached to the wall) and went through part of a box of clothes. Her room still isn't done but it's looking a little emptier every day. As for working on my bedroom, that was kind of what the load of laundry was all about. The clothes were all scattered about and now they're a) clean and b) not lying on the floor.
I paid the overdue portion of my cell bill and wrote cheques for Dog's upcoming boarding (or as we like to think of it, his vacation). Oh yes, and I cleaned out most of the fridge. When you consider how sick I am, I really accomplished a lot. Too bad there's still so much more to do.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
It Wasn't Even Wednesday
But I still got a bunch of outstanding things done!
Today was Purim, so it was crazy. We barely made it to shul to hear the megillah for the second time. (You have to hear it once by night, once by day and you need to hear every single word both times or you have to go arrange another reading so you do hear it all.) We arrived and they announced that they were about to start. Whew!
After the reading we started giving out shalach manot, the gifts of food that are mandated in the Book of Esther. I spent a crazy amount of time with the 3 little girls in the van, driving around, dropping off shalach manot for people (both personal ones and ones for the school fundraiser). I took a break at home in the middle and took care of some bill paying.
I had already made a payment to both my cell bill (way overdue) and my MasterCard (not overdue, but overlimit) a few days ago. Then hubby transferred money to me, which hit my account today. So I paid the next month owing on the cell and another $90 on the MasterCard.
Then I called MasterCard bcause today was the due date for the statement. I told them about the new payment and then, because 444 suggested it, I oh-so-casually asked if the guy I was talking to had the authority to reverse that overlimit fee I was whining about back on February 23rd. He looked at my account for about a minute and DID IT! Woo hoo! $29 less debt with just one little question. Thank you, thank you 444! I would never even have thought to ask if it weren't for you.
Today was Purim, so it was crazy. We barely made it to shul to hear the megillah for the second time. (You have to hear it once by night, once by day and you need to hear every single word both times or you have to go arrange another reading so you do hear it all.) We arrived and they announced that they were about to start. Whew!
After the reading we started giving out shalach manot, the gifts of food that are mandated in the Book of Esther. I spent a crazy amount of time with the 3 little girls in the van, driving around, dropping off shalach manot for people (both personal ones and ones for the school fundraiser). I took a break at home in the middle and took care of some bill paying.
I had already made a payment to both my cell bill (way overdue) and my MasterCard (not overdue, but overlimit) a few days ago. Then hubby transferred money to me, which hit my account today. So I paid the next month owing on the cell and another $90 on the MasterCard.
Then I called MasterCard bcause today was the due date for the statement. I told them about the new payment and then, because 444 suggested it, I oh-so-casually asked if the guy I was talking to had the authority to reverse that overlimit fee I was whining about back on February 23rd. He looked at my account for about a minute and DID IT! Woo hoo! $29 less debt with just one little question. Thank you, thank you 444! I would never even have thought to ask if it weren't for you.
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