I think the first thing to do as I try to figure out what direction I'm taking with this is to haul out my list of long term goals and take a good, hard look at them. Right now they just sit there in that sidebar, mocking me. Am I still interested in them? Am I still working towards them? Is there something else that should be on that list? In other words, is this still a goal, or not?
So that leaves me with 4 out of my 10 goals that I can use or rework. I'm going to add one more now that will take me up to 5 goals and then I'll rework all my microgoals.
1. Become fluent in Hebrew.
2. Grow lavender.
3. Find a way to partner with others to develop a kosher wine business, including the possibility of fruit wines.
4. Get totally out of debt and stay there!
5. Develop at least two alternative income streams (in addition to my current employment) and use the money I make to accomplish my other goals, starting with getting out of debt.
So, my microgoals are the small steps I will be taking *now* in order to move ahead with each goal.
1. Go back to Rosetta Stone and figure out how to log in again.
My Dear Child and I wanted to get ahead in Hebrew, so I bought the Rosetta Stone course a few months ago when it was on sale. We tried it a few times and then got really busy. Now I don't remember our log in. If I can't figure it out, I'm sure there's a way to reset it.
2. Go to a few gardening centres (like Home Depot, Art Knapp's, etc.) and look at lavender plants. Only buy if I find the types of lavender I'm looking for.
3. Get together with someone who expressed interest in this project.
Maybe meet for coffee and discuss the project? This person suggested another mutual friend and perhaps that would be the first thing for us to follow up on.
4. Stay current on the regular bills, paying things every payday.
5. Go to the start up meeting for 31 Canada in BC on April 7 and enroll that night. Do as much pre-planning as possible ahead of time so I can start strong.
Not bad. I think I can live with these goals for now. The underlying theme behind these goals is happiness, something I would like to expand upon soon. For now, I think I'll just finish getting this post up and editing the sidebar. It is after 2 am, after all.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Payday & Procrastination
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.
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.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Goals for 2010 and 2011
Happy New Year! I'm here, let's see if I can keep it up. I wanted to take a look at my goals for 2010 and see how I did with them, as well as set out some more goals for 2011.
Here were my goals for 2010, along with how I did:
Financial Goals
Pay down $1,300 directly in credit card debt. Pay down $1,500 in other debt. Pay down $1,080 in regular credit card payments. Total: $3,880. Round up to $3,900. Even with paying down as much and as often as possible, I'm basically $3,000 deeper in credit card debt. I paid down $1,375 in other debt. I made almost all the regular credit card payments.
Open a TFSA and put $1,300 into it. I opened an account and put $1,200 into it.
Put a minimum of $520 into the Emergency Fund. I pretty much cleaned out my Emergency Fund when I went to the US for a wedding but there's $1,236.72 in it at the moment.
Put a minimum of $520 into my RRSP. I put $350 into my RRSP.
Keep putting money into my set aside accounts, rural credit union account, etc. I was inconsistent with this, though better than in any recent years.
Keep current on all my bills. Not always.
Come up with $3,000 for Dear Child’s dental surgery. Well, we paid for it although a good chunk of that is the increase on the credit card.
Pay off both Home Depot payment plans on time. Done!
Rural House Goals
Plan out and create a garden in the front of the house (south west side of driveway area). Nope.
Plant lavender border. Nope.
Go to house 2x per month in summer. Nope.
Physical Goals
Get weight down to 120. Nope, still sitting at 132, but some of that is now muscle. Not all though....
Walk for at least a half hour per day (or use elliptical for same length of time). No way!
So, I won some and I lost some. What are my goals for 2011?
Financial Goals
Rural House Goals
Physical Goals
Here were my goals for 2010, along with how I did:
Open a TFSA and put $1,300 into it. I opened an account and put $1,200 into it.
Put a minimum of $520 into the Emergency Fund. I pretty much cleaned out my Emergency Fund when I went to the US for a wedding but there's $1,236.72 in it at the moment.
Put a minimum of $520 into my RRSP. I put $350 into my RRSP.
Keep putting money into my set aside accounts, rural credit union account, etc. I was inconsistent with this, though better than in any recent years.
Keep current on all my bills. Not always.
Come up with $3,000 for Dear Child’s dental surgery. Well, we paid for it although a good chunk of that is the increase on the credit card.
Pay off both Home Depot payment plans on time. Done!
Plant lavender border. Nope.
Go to house 2x per month in summer. Nope.
Finish new floor in master bedroom. Nope.
Walk for at least a half hour per day (or use elliptical for same length of time). No way!
So, I won some and I lost some. What are my goals for 2011?
Financial Goals
- Pay off all our outstanding debt. Not as insane as it sounds, as we are expecting a small inheritance shortly.
- Put $1,300 into the TFSA this year.
- Increase the Emergency Fund by at least $520.
- Put a minimum of $520 into my RRSP.
- Put the set-aside money into my accounts regularly.
- Get current and stay current on all my bills.
Rural House Goals
- Go to the house a minimum of once per month when the weather is decent.
- Build the bedframes that have been there for a year now!
- Step up the search for land once we have the money for a down payment.
Physical Goals
- Go out to exercise at least once a week.
- Exercise at home every day that I don't exercise elsewhere.
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).
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Starting 2010 the DIY Way
Well, as I was writing in the response I made to RivkA's comment to my previous post, I have to decide whether or not we're going to replace Dear Child's floor once we get access back to her room (since right now it's taped shut with clear tarp over the door, closet and dresser). I think it will probably cost about $400 for both the DriCore and the flooring itself. Oh, and baseboards.
It's certainly the right time to do this while all the furniture (except the dresser) is already out of the room. And there's no question that the horrible carpeting that was here when we moved in should go. Even if it was nice carpeting I'd want to replace it with wood because of my asthma. And, believe me, it's not nice. I had a very large straw mat I got in Fiji probably 25 years ago down over most of the exposed floor surface before and a small sheepskin right by the bed. Wood would be so much nicer. Wood is good.
However, it's money I hadn't planned on spending and it would end up going on yet another no interest payment plan at Home Depot. Now, it's true that it looks like my Hubby's commissions are picking up somewhat and he has a big job or 2 in process right now but probably won't see money for them for a couple of months. It doesn't make sense to wait until the money is in hand though from the point of view of getting our daughter back into her room. And getting our living room, kitchen and dining table back to normal.
I also have to think about how long it's going to take to actually do the floor. I'm not the fastest person at these things but I do a good job. Probably a couple of evenings for the DriCore and about the same for the floor (although if I go with engineered I'll be gluing it, which takes longer and also needs an extra day to dry). I don't want to do the baseboards. I hate the mitred cuts. If my Son-in-Law will cut the baseboards that will be okay. He did a pretty good job of them in the girls' room upstairs.
So I think I've rationalized myself into an additional reno job over and above the ones I really need to do around here (like finishing the bathroom or redoing my kitchen cabinets, or putting in the tile floor). And this is after I laid the floor in the girls' room with my Eldest Daughter's able assistance (also not something that had been on my list). I'd ask her to help me with this one in exchange but I feel guilty about asking someone who's 8 months pregnant to help lay a floor. My Hubby is totally not handy with renos and my S-in-L has more than enough renos to do in his part of the house right now. Sigh.
And from a financial viewpoint I do worry to a certain extent about the effect of taking on additional debt just as I'm paying off some from last year. It's not that I'm worried we won't have the money to pay it off when it comes due. I'm actually pretty good at that. It's just that I hate to be moving in the "wrong direction" if you know what I mean. I guess I just have to be really vigilant about paying other stuff when I'm supposed to, setting aside money for things that will come due later, putting that little bit away every week into the Emeergency Fund, etc. etc. You know, all those good habits I said I was going to develop this year.
And I did pay off the first of the 2 Home Depot amounts. On time. The next one is due in February and will be more challenging but I'm sure we can do it.
It's certainly the right time to do this while all the furniture (except the dresser) is already out of the room. And there's no question that the horrible carpeting that was here when we moved in should go. Even if it was nice carpeting I'd want to replace it with wood because of my asthma. And, believe me, it's not nice. I had a very large straw mat I got in Fiji probably 25 years ago down over most of the exposed floor surface before and a small sheepskin right by the bed. Wood would be so much nicer. Wood is good.
However, it's money I hadn't planned on spending and it would end up going on yet another no interest payment plan at Home Depot. Now, it's true that it looks like my Hubby's commissions are picking up somewhat and he has a big job or 2 in process right now but probably won't see money for them for a couple of months. It doesn't make sense to wait until the money is in hand though from the point of view of getting our daughter back into her room. And getting our living room, kitchen and dining table back to normal.
I also have to think about how long it's going to take to actually do the floor. I'm not the fastest person at these things but I do a good job. Probably a couple of evenings for the DriCore and about the same for the floor (although if I go with engineered I'll be gluing it, which takes longer and also needs an extra day to dry). I don't want to do the baseboards. I hate the mitred cuts. If my Son-in-Law will cut the baseboards that will be okay. He did a pretty good job of them in the girls' room upstairs.
So I think I've rationalized myself into an additional reno job over and above the ones I really need to do around here (like finishing the bathroom or redoing my kitchen cabinets, or putting in the tile floor). And this is after I laid the floor in the girls' room with my Eldest Daughter's able assistance (also not something that had been on my list). I'd ask her to help me with this one in exchange but I feel guilty about asking someone who's 8 months pregnant to help lay a floor. My Hubby is totally not handy with renos and my S-in-L has more than enough renos to do in his part of the house right now. Sigh.
And from a financial viewpoint I do worry to a certain extent about the effect of taking on additional debt just as I'm paying off some from last year. It's not that I'm worried we won't have the money to pay it off when it comes due. I'm actually pretty good at that. It's just that I hate to be moving in the "wrong direction" if you know what I mean. I guess I just have to be really vigilant about paying other stuff when I'm supposed to, setting aside money for things that will come due later, putting that little bit away every week into the Emeergency Fund, etc. etc. You know, all those good habits I said I was going to develop this year.
And I did pay off the first of the 2 Home Depot amounts. On time. The next one is due in February and will be more challenging but I'm sure we can do it.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A Little Math
I mentioned paying down money on my credit card in two ways in my last post. I haven't yet started making the direct payments I listed as a goal but here's an update on the regular monthly payments I'm already making. I (aim to) pay $90 every 2 weeks and last month I was charged $87.36 in interest. So I lowered my credit card debt by a total of $92.64 last month. The previous month I only made one of the 2 payments because I was juggling a lot of other bills and was trying to get current on everything. I paid $88.19 in interest and therefore my $90 in payments lowered my debt by a whopping $1.81 that month. So I was charged $0.83 less in interest this month than in November.
In January I'll be charged less interest than I was this month and so on. So, when I say that I'll pay down $1,080 in regular credit card payments, that means just one of my $90 payments each month will reduce my debt by that amount. My other payment each month goes mostly towards interest at this point but a couple of dollars of that are going towards reducing the debt too and that amount is rising by close to a dollar per month. I'm definitely no math whiz and won't even take a crack at figuring out what the interest charge will be a month from now (and therefore the difference between the $90 paid and the interest charged), but lets ballpark the difference at $3.50. Then, in February, it would be around $4.50, in March around $5.50 and so on up to $14.50 in December of next year. It will be more than that because of the way compounding works, but I'm trying to keep it simple. Add all those small amounts together and I get $113 extra in debt reduction over what I budgeted for in my goals!
It gets even better. I overlooked the fact that I pay every 2 weeks, not twice a month. That means there are 2 extra payments per year or another $180 that I'll be automatically paying down that I didn't even think about when I first wrote out my goals! That's almost another $300 I'll pay down without even doing anything different. And, when I start making those extra payments of $50 every two weeks, that will bring down my balance even faster, meaning even smaller interest charges every month than I had figured on! I love to see compound interest working in my favour for a change. And what I had originally dismissed from my calculations as an almost immaterial amount will snowflake gradually into a serious amount of money by the end of next year!
Of course, all this is contingent on making the payments as planned and not charging anything new (or paying it off within the month, which would have a minimal effect on the interest charged). But just running these numbers, rough as they are, makes me feel so good! I really can make significant progress in reducing my debt! I'm going to get out of debt as soon as possible and buy my little piece of land (and then pay it off before we hit retirement age).
In January I'll be charged less interest than I was this month and so on. So, when I say that I'll pay down $1,080 in regular credit card payments, that means just one of my $90 payments each month will reduce my debt by that amount. My other payment each month goes mostly towards interest at this point but a couple of dollars of that are going towards reducing the debt too and that amount is rising by close to a dollar per month. I'm definitely no math whiz and won't even take a crack at figuring out what the interest charge will be a month from now (and therefore the difference between the $90 paid and the interest charged), but lets ballpark the difference at $3.50. Then, in February, it would be around $4.50, in March around $5.50 and so on up to $14.50 in December of next year. It will be more than that because of the way compounding works, but I'm trying to keep it simple. Add all those small amounts together and I get $113 extra in debt reduction over what I budgeted for in my goals!
It gets even better. I overlooked the fact that I pay every 2 weeks, not twice a month. That means there are 2 extra payments per year or another $180 that I'll be automatically paying down that I didn't even think about when I first wrote out my goals! That's almost another $300 I'll pay down without even doing anything different. And, when I start making those extra payments of $50 every two weeks, that will bring down my balance even faster, meaning even smaller interest charges every month than I had figured on! I love to see compound interest working in my favour for a change. And what I had originally dismissed from my calculations as an almost immaterial amount will snowflake gradually into a serious amount of money by the end of next year!
Of course, all this is contingent on making the payments as planned and not charging anything new (or paying it off within the month, which would have a minimal effect on the interest charged). But just running these numbers, rough as they are, makes me feel so good! I really can make significant progress in reducing my debt! I'm going to get out of debt as soon as possible and buy my little piece of land (and then pay it off before we hit retirement age).
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Goals for 2010
Okay, so here are my financial goals for 2010, with a few goals for our rural house and my fitness thrown in. There are a lot more goals here than last year but many of them should be relatively easy to carry out. For instance, I already wrote and sent in all the post-dated cheques for that $1,500 of debt and the $1,080 in regular credit card payments will happen if I just pay $90 every 2 weeks. In fact it will be more than that but I don't know exactly how much more. Last month I paid just over $88 in interest, so there's about an extra $2 that I'm paying down, plus the interest I'm charged goes down every month as my balance declines.
Just before I start listing goals I wanted to share that I logged onto my credit card website the other day to see if my most recent payment had posted and if the statement was available. It wasn't, but I got a shock when I looked at my available credit. I guess starting to pay $90 every 2 weeks has had an effect. My credit limit has just been increased by $3,000! You keep hearing about the opposite happening these days. People are complaining that their credit limit has been cut or that their interest rates have increased. Well, not only has my credit limit increased, but I've noticed over the past several months that my interest rate actually declined at least twice!
Financial Goals
Rural House Goals
Physical Goals
Okay, so there are my goals. How about yours?
- Pay down $1,300 directly in credit card debt. Pay down $1,500 in other debt. Pay down $1,080 in regular credit card payments. Total: $3,880. Round up to $3,900.
- Open a TFSA and put $1,300 into it.
- Put a minimum of $520 into the Emergency Fund.
- Put a minimum of $520 into my RRSP.
- Keep putting money into my set aside accounts, rural credit union account, etc.
- Keep current on all my bills.
- Come up with $3,000 for Dear Child’s dental surgery.
- Pay off both Home Depot payment plans on time.
- Plan out and create a garden in the front of the house (south west side of driveway area).
- Plant lavender border.
- Go to house 2x per month in summer.
- Finish new floor in master bedroom.
- Get weight down to 120.
- Walk for at least a half hour per day (or use elliptical for same length of time).
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!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Preparing to Create Goals
When I was looking back at my goals for 2009 the other day I wondered why I hadn't succeeded with them. I've been thinking about that quite a bit ever since and I came up with a couple of thoughts.
The first thought is not original in the least. I think about this every time it happens, then develop amnesia until the next time I end up majorly off track with my goals. I forgot about them. On the face of it, that sounds pretty darn dumb doesn't it? I forgot that I planned to pay down 1/3 of my total indebtedness? I forgot to keep current with my bills? But it happens to me all the time. I set a goal. Sometimes I even plan out how to get to the goal. I start off well. Then I forget. It's like falling asleep, waking up and not being able to recall the dream you just had. Over the years I've come to realize that this zoning out or forgetting is a form of resistance. What I haven't figured out is why I have such strong resistance to so many types of positive changes (because I'm not just talking about financial issues here). And why do I forget instead of just rebelling? Is it a way to be passive-aggressive with myself?
My second thought was more practical. I need a way (or ways) to help me stay focused on the goal so that I will work toward it and continue to do so until I achieve it. What will kep me headed in the right direction? Accountability strikes me as a likely possibility. Really? Knowing I'd have to admit failure here on the blog didn't help me keep up with my goals this year, did it? So maybe I have to be accountable on a more regular basis, like monthly or weekly, or even twice a week. If I know that every Sunday and Wednesday I have to address how I'm doing maybe I'll actually stay on task. Setting monthly goals is also an idea, but monthly goals that relate to the overall ones directly instead of additional random goals.
In the end, what got me fired up enough to write this post was going online and looking up a property I had considered earlier this year. It was smaller than I wanted but in the right price range and I might have done something about it if I'd been able to easily access the money we have tied up in my Eldest Daughter's house. I didn't because they weren't in a position to refinance and take out that chunk of equity now that my daughter will be going off on maternity leave in the New Year. In fact, they won't be able to do that until she goes back to work at the end of her year-long leave. They can't make the ratios while she's only getting 57% of her usual salary. So I know that my dream is kind of on hold for a year. And this property isn't on the market currently. I don't think it sold; I think it was just taken off because there wasn't enough interest in it.
Anyway, I'm using it as a bit of a focal point. I looked up what the mortgage on it would be and then got serious about figuring out how to pay down some of our debt because I also need to come up with another $4,000 to $5,000 over what I can eventually access. I looked at how fast I could just put it aside versus paying down debt and then saving, versus doing both at once. Once I pay off my credit card debt I can take that money and add it to the mortgage payments. Basically, it looks like I can do this in 18 months to 3 years and then pay off a 25 year mortgage in 5 years. In the end, I've decided that doing both at once provides me with psychological benefits so that's what I'm planning to do.
Now, I realize I don't have this piece of land and that it may not be available once I reach the point where I'm ready to move on it. But there have been a few pieces of land in that same price range over the past year so I'm willing to trust that there will be another one if this particular property isn't available. At least, once I pay down debt and save up that money I'll be prepared to jump on something when it comes up. Otherwise, the best deal in the world could come around and I wouldn't be in a position to accept it.
I'm still working on refining my goals a bit. I'll put them up soon, along with how I'm planning to keep myself accountable.
The first thought is not original in the least. I think about this every time it happens, then develop amnesia until the next time I end up majorly off track with my goals. I forgot about them. On the face of it, that sounds pretty darn dumb doesn't it? I forgot that I planned to pay down 1/3 of my total indebtedness? I forgot to keep current with my bills? But it happens to me all the time. I set a goal. Sometimes I even plan out how to get to the goal. I start off well. Then I forget. It's like falling asleep, waking up and not being able to recall the dream you just had. Over the years I've come to realize that this zoning out or forgetting is a form of resistance. What I haven't figured out is why I have such strong resistance to so many types of positive changes (because I'm not just talking about financial issues here). And why do I forget instead of just rebelling? Is it a way to be passive-aggressive with myself?
My second thought was more practical. I need a way (or ways) to help me stay focused on the goal so that I will work toward it and continue to do so until I achieve it. What will kep me headed in the right direction? Accountability strikes me as a likely possibility. Really? Knowing I'd have to admit failure here on the blog didn't help me keep up with my goals this year, did it? So maybe I have to be accountable on a more regular basis, like monthly or weekly, or even twice a week. If I know that every Sunday and Wednesday I have to address how I'm doing maybe I'll actually stay on task. Setting monthly goals is also an idea, but monthly goals that relate to the overall ones directly instead of additional random goals.
In the end, what got me fired up enough to write this post was going online and looking up a property I had considered earlier this year. It was smaller than I wanted but in the right price range and I might have done something about it if I'd been able to easily access the money we have tied up in my Eldest Daughter's house. I didn't because they weren't in a position to refinance and take out that chunk of equity now that my daughter will be going off on maternity leave in the New Year. In fact, they won't be able to do that until she goes back to work at the end of her year-long leave. They can't make the ratios while she's only getting 57% of her usual salary. So I know that my dream is kind of on hold for a year. And this property isn't on the market currently. I don't think it sold; I think it was just taken off because there wasn't enough interest in it.
Anyway, I'm using it as a bit of a focal point. I looked up what the mortgage on it would be and then got serious about figuring out how to pay down some of our debt because I also need to come up with another $4,000 to $5,000 over what I can eventually access. I looked at how fast I could just put it aside versus paying down debt and then saving, versus doing both at once. Once I pay off my credit card debt I can take that money and add it to the mortgage payments. Basically, it looks like I can do this in 18 months to 3 years and then pay off a 25 year mortgage in 5 years. In the end, I've decided that doing both at once provides me with psychological benefits so that's what I'm planning to do.
Now, I realize I don't have this piece of land and that it may not be available once I reach the point where I'm ready to move on it. But there have been a few pieces of land in that same price range over the past year so I'm willing to trust that there will be another one if this particular property isn't available. At least, once I pay down debt and save up that money I'll be prepared to jump on something when it comes up. Otherwise, the best deal in the world could come around and I wouldn't be in a position to accept it.
I'm still working on refining my goals a bit. I'll put them up soon, along with how I'm planning to keep myself accountable.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Falling Short of My Goals
Time seems to be getting away from me. Tomorrow is Friday (well, technically it's already Friday but I haven't been to bed yet, so it doesn't count). Where did the rest of the week go? And how did it get to be the middle of October so fast? The year will be over before I know it and I don't feel like I've accomplished too much.
I set very few financial goals for myself at the end of 2008 and I haven't really looked back at them. Let's see how I'm doing. Just to refresh everybody's memory they were:
1. Pay down a minimum of $6,000 of debt in 2009.
2. Have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund by the end of 2009.
3. Establish an account for "Set Asides" (otherwise known as a Freedom or Escrow Account).
4. Get current and stay current with all the monthly bills.
Have I done any of them?
1. We paid off about $1,800 in debt at Home Depot but have charged about $1,600 more since then. Of course, I had put in a limitation that new debt for the house renos didn't count and about $600 is for our bathroom reno, with the balance for our storage shed. The credit cards are still close to being maxed, if not maxed. Am I going to have a big chunk of money come in with which to pay down debt? No, I had that a couple of months ago and then we had to sink close to $2,500 into the car instead.
2. I have about $130 in my EF right now and I stopped the automatic transfer a few months ago because I was going to switch the bank it was coming out of. Only I never started it up again from the new account.
3. I haven't done a thing about a setaside account.
4. I'm working on getting current again but I was 2 to 3 months behind on most bills as recently as 2 weeks ago.
Clearly, it's not going too well. And I don't know how much I can accomplish in the next 2.5 months. I have to try something though. What actions can I take now?
1. The most important at the moment is having the money in place to pay Home Depot when the 2 payment plans come due. The first one is for $528.44 and is due January 1st. I literally have $0.69 in the Home Depot fund right now. I have 5 paydays between now and the end of the year. I obviously need to transfer $106 each paycheque in order to have enough. Wow. I don't have the date for the other one in front of me right now, so we'll leave that for another time.
2. I have to start up the automated weekly transfers into my ING account from my credit union. I don't think I can go back to $12 per week just at the moment but I think $5 is workable. At least it will be something. And when I'm done with Home Depot I can increase it.
3. I have to set up at least one set-aside account and put money into it once a month. I think it should be for property taxes and that I should deposit $10/month. (Yes, my property taxes for my rural place really are that low.)
4. I have to pay a couple more bills to get current (or closer to current). And I have to pay my Eldest Daughter back the $100 she fronted me for gas money for the trip last Monday. That $100 also gave us enough for a week's worth of gas for the van.
That's 4 simple steps for me to take to get back on track.
I set very few financial goals for myself at the end of 2008 and I haven't really looked back at them. Let's see how I'm doing. Just to refresh everybody's memory they were:
1. Pay down a minimum of $6,000 of debt in 2009.
2. Have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund by the end of 2009.
3. Establish an account for "Set Asides" (otherwise known as a Freedom or Escrow Account).
4. Get current and stay current with all the monthly bills.
Have I done any of them?
1. We paid off about $1,800 in debt at Home Depot but have charged about $1,600 more since then. Of course, I had put in a limitation that new debt for the house renos didn't count and about $600 is for our bathroom reno, with the balance for our storage shed. The credit cards are still close to being maxed, if not maxed. Am I going to have a big chunk of money come in with which to pay down debt? No, I had that a couple of months ago and then we had to sink close to $2,500 into the car instead.
2. I have about $130 in my EF right now and I stopped the automatic transfer a few months ago because I was going to switch the bank it was coming out of. Only I never started it up again from the new account.
3. I haven't done a thing about a setaside account.
4. I'm working on getting current again but I was 2 to 3 months behind on most bills as recently as 2 weeks ago.
Clearly, it's not going too well. And I don't know how much I can accomplish in the next 2.5 months. I have to try something though. What actions can I take now?
1. The most important at the moment is having the money in place to pay Home Depot when the 2 payment plans come due. The first one is for $528.44 and is due January 1st. I literally have $0.69 in the Home Depot fund right now. I have 5 paydays between now and the end of the year. I obviously need to transfer $106 each paycheque in order to have enough. Wow. I don't have the date for the other one in front of me right now, so we'll leave that for another time.
2. I have to start up the automated weekly transfers into my ING account from my credit union. I don't think I can go back to $12 per week just at the moment but I think $5 is workable. At least it will be something. And when I'm done with Home Depot I can increase it.
3. I have to set up at least one set-aside account and put money into it once a month. I think it should be for property taxes and that I should deposit $10/month. (Yes, my property taxes for my rural place really are that low.)
4. I have to pay a couple more bills to get current (or closer to current). And I have to pay my Eldest Daughter back the $100 she fronted me for gas money for the trip last Monday. That $100 also gave us enough for a week's worth of gas for the van.
That's 4 simple steps for me to take to get back on track.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A Learning Goal for 2009
On January 1st Trent posted a great article entitled "What Will You Learn This Year?" and it has inspired me to make a decision that I've been going back and forth on for a while.
The basic idea behind his post was that he was challenged to choose something to learn well by spending an hour a day at it for a year. Trent's decision to master solving the Rubik's Cube in under 3 minutes struck me as a little frivolous and was challenged by a number of commenters, although I understand that he chose it as a "parlour trick" that was portable, could be easily demonstrated and documented via YouTube updates.
I used to be able to solve the Cube in 3 minutes when it was first popular. I had a book on how to do it, which was very useful for the lower layers. Getting one side all one colour is not that complex, but getting the next 2 layers done without permanently undoing what you've already completed is the challenge. I eventually came up with a sort of "cheat sheet" on binder paper with little diagrams to help me remember some of the key moves and I memorized others. It was fun, but not particularly useful and I certainly don't remember how to solve it now. I could probably pick it up again in a week or two but that's not my learning goal for 2009!
I first started doing a particular daily religous learning, known as Chitas, a little over a year ago. CHiTaS is an acronym for Chumash [Bible, specifically Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible], Tehillim [the Book of Psalms] and Tanya [a kabbalistic book in several volumes written by the Alter Rebbe]. It takes me about half an hour (sometimes longer) to read the daily Torah portion with Rashi's commentary, the day's portion of Psalms and the day's portion of Tanya. I try to do it first thing in the morning (before I get Dear Child up for school) because if I don't do it then it really tends not to get done. I did fairly well with it last year, although there were times I fell behind and had to play catch up.
I did have a concern that I should be learning in the evening as well and considered moving the Chumash part of it to nighttime because it can be very variable in length, especially the amount of commentary. I also checked out another program called Nach Yomi which takes you through the other two parts of the Bible (Navi [Prophets] and Ketuvim [Writings]) by reading a chapter per day for two years. The OU started doing this at the beginning of November 2007 and all the shiurim [lectures] are available online with new ones added daily.
I thought it would be appropriate to start it at the beginning of November 2008 (so that it would be very easy to listen to the appropriate class by just clicking on the current date, albeit a year out) and did try for a while but was falling behind and getting discouraged.
I've also been taking a weekly university level class in Biblical Hebrew. I like the class but I don't have good study habits and am always flying by the seat of my pants. I find it particularly challenging because I went to school at a time when grammar was considered to be a non-essential subject and this course is heavily grammatical. I don't always understand what the instructor means when she talks about the difference between certain types of clauses (for example) and I feel stupid asking in front of the others (the class includes college instructors).
However, the reason for taking Biblical Hebrew was twofold. It was to help me with my translation of Chumash and to help me decide whether I want to pursue an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. As tough as it is, I'm feeling more and more drawn to pursuing the degree.
Maybe I'm crazy. I work more than half time. I look after my granddaughters more than half time. I blog. I have other commitments and may be adding some additional work that I could do at home (in my "spare time" ha, ha) for more money.
But if I don't do this now, when will I do it? When will there be a better time? When I'm also managing my land from 4 hours away? When I'm also making wine or setting up a website to sell lavender products? My Dear Child has just started her way through the educational system and is learning Hebrew and studying Torah. By actively learning myself I provide her with the best possible role model.
I've put off making this decision but Trent's post made me really sit down and think about the whole thing. Not just from a time or tiredness point of view but with an eye to what I want in the long term. Who do I want to be? What value do I really put on learning? What middot [character traits] to I want to develop within myself? Where am I strong? And where am I lacking?
Ultimately I've decided to set a learning goal for 2009 of studying religious subjects for at least one hour per day. I don't expect it to be easy. I believe the hardest part of it will be developing the self-discipline necessary to actually do it every day. But I believe it will be valuable on many levels.
The basic idea behind his post was that he was challenged to choose something to learn well by spending an hour a day at it for a year. Trent's decision to master solving the Rubik's Cube in under 3 minutes struck me as a little frivolous and was challenged by a number of commenters, although I understand that he chose it as a "parlour trick" that was portable, could be easily demonstrated and documented via YouTube updates.
I used to be able to solve the Cube in 3 minutes when it was first popular. I had a book on how to do it, which was very useful for the lower layers. Getting one side all one colour is not that complex, but getting the next 2 layers done without permanently undoing what you've already completed is the challenge. I eventually came up with a sort of "cheat sheet" on binder paper with little diagrams to help me remember some of the key moves and I memorized others. It was fun, but not particularly useful and I certainly don't remember how to solve it now. I could probably pick it up again in a week or two but that's not my learning goal for 2009!
I first started doing a particular daily religous learning, known as Chitas, a little over a year ago. CHiTaS is an acronym for Chumash [Bible, specifically Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible], Tehillim [the Book of Psalms] and Tanya [a kabbalistic book in several volumes written by the Alter Rebbe]. It takes me about half an hour (sometimes longer) to read the daily Torah portion with Rashi's commentary, the day's portion of Psalms and the day's portion of Tanya. I try to do it first thing in the morning (before I get Dear Child up for school) because if I don't do it then it really tends not to get done. I did fairly well with it last year, although there were times I fell behind and had to play catch up.
I did have a concern that I should be learning in the evening as well and considered moving the Chumash part of it to nighttime because it can be very variable in length, especially the amount of commentary. I also checked out another program called Nach Yomi which takes you through the other two parts of the Bible (Navi [Prophets] and Ketuvim [Writings]) by reading a chapter per day for two years. The OU started doing this at the beginning of November 2007 and all the shiurim [lectures] are available online with new ones added daily.
I thought it would be appropriate to start it at the beginning of November 2008 (so that it would be very easy to listen to the appropriate class by just clicking on the current date, albeit a year out) and did try for a while but was falling behind and getting discouraged.
I've also been taking a weekly university level class in Biblical Hebrew. I like the class but I don't have good study habits and am always flying by the seat of my pants. I find it particularly challenging because I went to school at a time when grammar was considered to be a non-essential subject and this course is heavily grammatical. I don't always understand what the instructor means when she talks about the difference between certain types of clauses (for example) and I feel stupid asking in front of the others (the class includes college instructors).
However, the reason for taking Biblical Hebrew was twofold. It was to help me with my translation of Chumash and to help me decide whether I want to pursue an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. As tough as it is, I'm feeling more and more drawn to pursuing the degree.
Maybe I'm crazy. I work more than half time. I look after my granddaughters more than half time. I blog. I have other commitments and may be adding some additional work that I could do at home (in my "spare time" ha, ha) for more money.
But if I don't do this now, when will I do it? When will there be a better time? When I'm also managing my land from 4 hours away? When I'm also making wine or setting up a website to sell lavender products? My Dear Child has just started her way through the educational system and is learning Hebrew and studying Torah. By actively learning myself I provide her with the best possible role model.
I've put off making this decision but Trent's post made me really sit down and think about the whole thing. Not just from a time or tiredness point of view but with an eye to what I want in the long term. Who do I want to be? What value do I really put on learning? What middot [character traits] to I want to develop within myself? Where am I strong? And where am I lacking?
Ultimately I've decided to set a learning goal for 2009 of studying religious subjects for at least one hour per day. I don't expect it to be easy. I believe the hardest part of it will be developing the self-discipline necessary to actually do it every day. But I believe it will be valuable on many levels.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Go for the Goals 2009 Edition
Well, I've finally decided on my 2009 financial goals. I may post another time about non-financial goals.
1. Pay down a minimum of $6,000 of debt in 2009.
That's about 1/3 of our total consumer type debt, which would mean that we'd be debt free in 3 years. I'd rather get rid of it faster but I'm being realistic given the economy, etc. This specifically does not include any kind of debt we may take on that's related to buying our land or anything to do with the structure of the house.
2. Have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund by the end of 2009.
I have a regular $12 per week transfer into my ING emergency fund. Fifty two weeks times $12 is $624 and I currently have some money in there. I just can't seem to get onto the site at the moment to check on the actual amount, but I'll try to remember to edit this later. (It's actually $98.40.) Anyway, I'll have to come up with some "extra" money to add to what I'm going to have if I want to hit $1,000 but I think it's doable. (Of course, I'm hoping we won't have a series of emergencies like we've had in the past.) And once we have $1,000 in there I'm not going to stop the weekly transfer. The plan is that it will just keep growing slowly.
3. Establish an account for "Set Asides" (otherwise known as a Freedom or Escrow Account).
I used to do this a number of years ago and I wish I'd never gotten away from it. Once I have the account in place I can just transfer the appropriate amount of money into it every payday. What goes into a Set Aside Account? Money for gifts, holidays, property tax, annual garbage fees, you name it. I used to set aside money for my car insurance and then purchase it for the year but my hubby just pays monthly (which is really a form of financing).
4. Get current and stay current with all the monthly bills.
I'm getting closer to being current on things (and some bills are never late) but there's still room for improvement right now.
So, there we are. Not too many goals. Not too unreachable. But I feel these are goals that will improve our day-to-day life and give us more security.
1. Pay down a minimum of $6,000 of debt in 2009.
That's about 1/3 of our total consumer type debt, which would mean that we'd be debt free in 3 years. I'd rather get rid of it faster but I'm being realistic given the economy, etc. This specifically does not include any kind of debt we may take on that's related to buying our land or anything to do with the structure of the house.
2. Have at least $1,000 in an emergency fund by the end of 2009.
I have a regular $12 per week transfer into my ING emergency fund. Fifty two weeks times $12 is $624 and I currently have some money in there. I just can't seem to get onto the site at the moment to check on the actual amount, but I'll try to remember to edit this later. (It's actually $98.40.) Anyway, I'll have to come up with some "extra" money to add to what I'm going to have if I want to hit $1,000 but I think it's doable. (Of course, I'm hoping we won't have a series of emergencies like we've had in the past.) And once we have $1,000 in there I'm not going to stop the weekly transfer. The plan is that it will just keep growing slowly.
3. Establish an account for "Set Asides" (otherwise known as a Freedom or Escrow Account).
I used to do this a number of years ago and I wish I'd never gotten away from it. Once I have the account in place I can just transfer the appropriate amount of money into it every payday. What goes into a Set Aside Account? Money for gifts, holidays, property tax, annual garbage fees, you name it. I used to set aside money for my car insurance and then purchase it for the year but my hubby just pays monthly (which is really a form of financing).
4. Get current and stay current with all the monthly bills.
I'm getting closer to being current on things (and some bills are never late) but there's still room for improvement right now.
So, there we are. Not too many goals. Not too unreachable. But I feel these are goals that will improve our day-to-day life and give us more security.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
