robex's Personal Finance Blog

...and another one's gone and another one's gone...

So, on Tuesday last week I gave in my notice of resignation and today one of the other coordinators came into my office to tell me that she was giving her notice today. She's only been there for 5 weeks but our boss, who can be a bit difficult, is driving her crazy and she doesn't want to put up with it any longer. WOW. There are only 3 coordinators in the office, so to lose 2 is a huge deal.

This is going to be a very interesting month. When I spoke to one of the managers at our head office, she told me that 's--t is going to hit the fan' when the president finds out.

I really wanted to leave without drama. Too much office drama is one of the reasons I decided to quit and stay home...just not into all that!

I deposited a cheque today for $65 from Dh's work...money refunded from petty cash. Usually we refill our envelopes every Friday but I'm going to be away for two days for work and won't be back until Saturday. I didn't want to leave Dh short on cash so I took care of it today.

Dh--$100
Me--$100
Kids--$100
Groceries--$200

I have money accumulated that I haven't spent so I'm up to $390 in my spending envelope. When I finish work in a month, I'll reconsider the amounts. I know that I can go lower on our grocery bill and, most likely, my spending money and the kids money (that's used for school things, lunches, clothes, birthday parties etc.). I know that we have a HUGE amount to play around with each week and am fortunate for that.

Hey everyone! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted on here but I have been dropping in every once in awhile to catch up on what you all are up to!

Things are going well for us. Today I quit my job...time for me to stay home with the kids and spend more time down at their school helping out. My last day is on November 15. It was a hard decision to make but we can afford for me not to work for a while so I thought I would take the opportunity while I have it. My husband is supportive but, I think, a little freaked out. We've had two incomes the entire time that we've been married...18 years.

I inherited some money a year and a half ago and we paid off the remainder of our mortgage, took a nice holiday, put a chunk into a savings account and invested the rest for retirement (not that last week helped that account any). We're going to be fine.

Good to be back here!

My boss told me yesterday that I'll be getting a $1.00 an hour pay raise in September when I re-sign my contract (I work September through June). Yay! The other 11 Coordinators who hold my position will be getting .50 cent raises, so she suggested to me that I not share my increase with anyone so as not to cause waves...as if I would share that information with anyone I work with!

I used to work for a large company and the pay scale widely varied. Many problems occured when employees would spout off on how much they made...problems
galore would ensue. I'd definatley prefer to avoid that.

I spent last week at camp with my oldest son and the three grade 7 classes from his school. It was an absolute blast. The camp was actually a ranch and we went rock climbing, horse back riding and did archery. There was an amazing challenge course there where we had to climb over walls, shimmy across things, balance on swinging ropes etc. We had a great time.

I spent a fair bit of time with the grade 7 girls, which was very interesting. They were quite eager to share all sorts of 'gossipy' items with me...who likes who, things the kids have done through the year that their teachers are completely unaware of etc. I learned a lot from them.

The ranch has staff that do all the cleaning and cooking. The food was outstanding and it was so nice not to have to plan menus and spend any time in the kitchen...we just got up in the morning, went into the hall and poured freshly made coffee. I could have stayed up there another week!

I transferred money from our checking into our savings yesterday and we now have our emergency fund full again. This was after my little car repair in March and the new car purchase in April when I had to borrow from the account. I always feel so much better when I have a full 3 months of savings in the bank, and easy to access. We don't have anything unusual coming up in June...can't plan for surprises that I don't know about, of course. Property tax is due in July, but I have the money for that in our sinking funds, along with our holiday money for our vacation in August.

I really wanted to have an extra $2000 saved in another account because I won't be working all summer, and I don't want to penny pinch. I'm at $700 right now. I think I'll have $400 more at the end of this month to add to it. June is a 3 paycheck month for me, so that will almost fill it up. If I run out of summer money I have do have 3 options:
1)...borrow from the emergency account until September when I go back to work;
2)...find something to do that will make a bit of money to cover the difference, or;
3)...spend less.

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a new summer purse. My winter handbag is big and black...not acceptable for summer clothes and weather. So far, nothing had caught my eye~until yesterday. I drove my brother to the airport and one of the kiosks there sells purses. There it was, on a stand. A beautiful light blue, swirled with pink and decorated with tiny beads...my purse!

And it only cost $13.50! Ha! What a steal.

Of course, it'll probably only last one year, but it's going to be gorgeous while it stays clean!

We got a letter yesterday from the high school stating that our 13 year old ds has qualified for the Honours Program in all academic courses! Woo Hoo! I am so proud of him...This means that he will take honours English, social studies, math, French and science and have regular phys ed. and elective courses. The honours program only takes 60 kids and, because it's the only program of it's kind in our city (leads to the International Baccalaureate program in grades 11 and 12), all grade 7 students can apply to the program, and not just those living in the school catchment. This will be super for ds because he'll meet a lot of new kids whom he probably wouldn't have had the chance to meet otherwise!

We have $40 left out of our $300 this week. Dh will probably take $10 or so, and I need to pick up a few things for dd's birthday party on Friday night. Ds7 has a friend's party to attend on Saturday, so we'll have to get a gift for that as well...I may take our weekly $300 out on Thursday instead of Friday this week, just to be on the safe side.

I'm working mainly from home today. Tomorrow will be a really busy (and long for me) working day, so I'll try not to worry about getting too much done today workwise. Besides, our house needs a cleaning...the bathrooms especially!

It should be a fairly relaxed day. Dh and I are planning to go for a walk in the evening. We make sure everyone's had their bath, leave ds13 in charge, and go walk and talk for about 45 minutes.

So, my $300 is all used up for the week...right down to the crunch!

Thank goodness a new spending week starts today. I'm off to the bank to take out our money and I do have to pick up a few things from the grocery store, but nothing major until tomorrow or Sunday after I've done the meal plan and grocery list for the week.

This should be a fairly quiet week...and I can't think of any unusual expenses. I do need new running shoes, but I have a gift certificate for $25 and I'm sure that I can find something suitable for close to that price!

It was dd's birthday yesterday...she's now 11...where did that time go? She is a wonderful, sunny personality child and we know that we are blessed to have her. She chose to go out for Japanese food for her birthday dinner and we'll be having a sleepover party for her next week. She's invited 9 of her giggly girl friends!

I opened the mail today and my Dad sent me an envelope with a cheque inside for $5000...no note or anything.

I talked to him later in the day and he said it was 'just because'. Hmmm...now he does do this every so often, but it's usually because he's sold some property, or lent my brother some money so he's trying to be fair. This was for no reason other than he felt like it. My Dad doesn't have any money worries and has done extremely well for himself.

We'll just tuck the money into the ef for now. It's fully funded back up to 3 months of expenses (and then some), but since I won't be working in the summer and won't be bringing in any money, I'm sure it will come in handy. What a guy my Dad is!

I told Dh that I was taking the cheque, cashing it in, and going on a HUGE spending spree. He didn't even blink--knows me and my frugal ways too well!

Yuck! It's Monday...

We had such a nice weekend that I didn't want it to end and just knowing that I have an extremely busy week does not help matters.

Dh and I had a wonderful walk on Saturday and we went for lunch at very good Greek restaurant. We came home and relaxed, went and helped ds with his paper route, made mussels in garlic butter for dinner and ds and I picked up a movie. He chose 'Borat'...yeah. There were some really funny parts in it, but it was a little inappropriate for a 13 year old to watch. I asked him before we rented it if any of his friends had seen it and he told me that just about all of them had and that J.'s mom (whom I have known for 13 years and parents very much like us) thought it was funny.

Yesterday ds had a hockey game about an hours drive away, so we went in for that. They lost 5-1. We got Slurpees, came home, tidied up the house a bit and started dinner. My dad and stepmom brought the youngest two kids home at 5:00 and we all visited and enjoyed dinner together. My brother came over to watch the hockey game with dh and stayed for dessert.

Everyone went home at 8:00, and the kids had their baths and went to bed. Ds13 is having lots of trouble sleeping these days so I bought him some 'relaxing lavender' bubble bath and after his bath he had a glass of warm milk. I don't know how quickly he fell asleep, but hopefully it worked. Poor guy!

I'll be popping into work at 9:00 this morning, then going to a school, and then back to work until 2:00. The kids will be picked up at 2:30 and ds has an ortho appointment at 4:20. I hate days like this because I feel like I'm all over the place. Tomorrow will be even busier!

I took out $290 yesterday for the week, spent $140 at the grocery store and gave $50 to Dh.

It's going to be ahrd to spend anymore money because I'll have to break my $100 bill.

Youngest ds and dd are going to their grandparent's for a sleepover today. Dh and I are going to go into Vancouver and walk the seawall ( a beautiful walk along the ocean and through Stanley Park). We'll crash at home tonight--maybe get a dvd with ds(13). Tomorrow, ds has a hockey game and then my dad and stepmom will bring the youngest kids home and stay for dinner.

It's going to be an extremely busy week coming up...3 long working days, one field trip and the staff appreciation luncheon that I organize at the elementary school (for 40 teachers). I do get lots of help with it and it's lots of fun, but still takes time to plan and set up!

Another no spend day for me...mainly because I have no money to spend until tomorrow. Yesterday I was treated to lunch by our company (sushi--yum!) and so I haven't actually spent any money in 4 days. Tomorrow is Friday so I'll start off with $290 (still owe Visa $10 for my brother...see previous post!). $50 goes to Dh, $140 for groceries, $15 for Ds's grade 7 grad photos and that leaves me with $85. Ds(7) needs some new t-shirts and shorts so I'll see what I can pick up for him and that's it for the rest of the week...I think!

Yes he did. He cheated and used the Visa! What a brat. He and my brother went to the bar to watch the hockey game on Monday and Dh paid for their drinks and snacks with the Visa. He told me this yesterday and was quite pleased with himself because he paid and now I don't owe my brother $30 anymore!

He knows about the weekly $300 and I gave him $50 on Friday and we agreed that he would make sure it lasted because that was it for the week. I hate having to play the parent. There was no reason why they couldn't watch the game at our house and save kaboodles of cash by having a beer (or two) and snacks here. GEEZ!

I'm going to put the $30 in the bank and still start off next week with $290. Why? Because I am a responsible adult and I will spend my money wisely and be a good example to my children. Plus, I get to play the martyr and torture Dh for a few days...

Today my boss is treating us to lunch out at a Chinese/Indian fusion restaurant. I've been so looking forward to going and trying this place out. I really enjoy the ladies that I work with and I'm sure we're going to have lots of laughs and a great afternoon.

I have tomorrow and Friday off...pretty excited about that. Next week I've taken Wednesday and Thursday off. The best thing about my job is the flexibility of the hours and the fact that no one questions me at all if I come in late, leave early, work from home, or don't work. As long as I'm getting everything done that I need to, they don't ask! I love that...

My brother and I went shopping yesterday for stepmom's 60th birthday gift...ended up buying her two antique perfume bottles (she collects them) and a large bottle of the new Starbucks coffee liqueur (yummy!). The total cost was $60...my brother paid and now I owe him $30, which is slightly ironic since I only had $20 left for the week. Now I have negative $10 and I'll start Friday with $290! That is, if nothing else comes up this week that will require money. I don't have anything on my end, but I can never guarantee the kids won't bring home field trip notices etc.

We went to ds's hockey game yesterday and they lost 7-1. He was pretty choked. The goalie is new this year and, although he has played hockey, has never been a goalie. I think they're going to have some tough times. They lost their game last Wednesday 6-1.

Stepmom loved her birthday presents. Sil made a wonderful dinner of salmon, baby potatoes, broccoli, beans, buns and salad. I made a birthday cake and decorated it with some plastic clowns, balloons and ribbons, that I had at home. It was a nice evening. We got home around 8:30, popped the two youngest into the bath, tucked everyone into bed and went to sleep.

This week should be pretty relaxed. I'm taking Thursday off to go on youngest ds's field trip with his class and he's pretty excited about that. Otherwise, it's dance classes, Girl Guides and hockey for the kids and working 9:00-2:00 the other days for me.

Uh Oh! Yesterday was not good for my weekly $300! Youngest ds had a haircut ($12.00) and I bought 3 hot dogs and a DVD at the neighbourhood garage sale ($5.00). I took Ds13 shopping and bought him 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, and a newspaper cart for $80.39. I gave him $20 for his friend's birthday gift (a $20 bill put inside a huge blown up balloon) and I now have $22.36 left to last for the week. This is including the $40 I had in the hidden envelope!

My brother and I are going shopping today to get something for our stepmother's birthday. We're having a dinner for her at my brother's, but all I have to bring is dessert so I'm baking a birthday cake.

Oops! This is going to be a looong week!

Yay! The weekend is here! I couldn't wait to get here...long week.

I took our $300 out for the week yesterday and added it to the $10 I had in my wallet. Youngest ds and I did the weekly grocery shopping...spent $140 there. Put $20 in the hidden envelope, and gave $50 to Dh for his spending money.

I have $100 to get me through this week...plus the $40 in the hidden envelope, but I'd really like to not spend that. Dh has added 'flowering plants' on the list of things he would like to get this week and this comes out of joint money, not his spending. Yikes! Add that to haircuts and new clothes for oldest ds and oops! I may have to use some of the $40.

I ended up being treated to breakfast yesterday, so it was at no cost to me. I didn't spend any of my $17! However, Dh took $15 to buy beer for himself and my brother...hockey game was on and Canucks were playing. So, I'm down to $2 plus the hidden $20. We made it through the week on $300!

So, I'm starting the weekend with $322. I will tuck $40 away, give $50 to Dh, $20 to ds's friend for his birthday gift and the remainder will go toward groceries, shorts for ds (13) and a haircut for ds (7). I can't think of any expenses that I or dd will have this week...

Dd and I had a challenge that if we both ate 5 fruits and vegetables for 20 days we would have sushi. We made our goal yesterday and so it's sushi time. I asked her last night if she cares whether we go out or make it ourselves, and she told me it doesn't matter to her because it tastes the same anyways. I love my kids! Homemade California rolls here we come...

WooHoo! I made Dh breakfast this morning...coffee, orange juice, poached eggs and toast. We then went out for a 10Km hike, walked around some antique stores, looked at a couple of new houses for sale and came home for lunch!

Dh had a evening meeting last night and they'd ordered in Chinese food (his business paid)and Dh brought home some of the leftovers, which we enjoyed for lunch.

I didn't spend ANY of my $17.00 so I am very happy. I'll spend a little bit tomorrow for breakfast and I have to pick up some margarine. Other than that, I should get to Friday with money in my wallet to add to next week's $300!

So, I left off on Sunday with $63.00 left of our $300 for the week. I tucked $20 away (just in case), spent $6 on tickets for the school musical, and gave $20 to Dh. I have $17 left in my wallet...plus the hidden $20 if I need it.

Dh and I both have tomorrow off of work and are going for a 2 hour hike. I would pack a lunch, but I know that Dh would much prefer to eat out. Maybe I'll see if I can find a coupon or convince him to go somewhere really cheap--Costco or McD's. I'm still going out for breakfast on Thursday, so I have to make my $17 last...

We are back to cash only. We have slipped up a fair bit the last few months and haven't put as much in savings as I like.

I will be taking $300 cash out of the bank every Friday and that will be it for the five of us for the week. This will include groceries, clothes, eating out, entertainment, kids' activities, and dh's spending money. It will not include gasoline because both Dh and I are compensated well for our gas and mileage and the amount is almost always more than what we spend on gas in a month.

So, we started this weekend. I spent $160 on groceries, $17 at the movies for ds and I, $20 went to ds for babysitting, $20 was used as a birthday gift for dd's friend (a $20 bill rolled up and put inside a roll of toilet paper and then wrapped nicely), and $20 went to Dh.

I now have $63 in my wallet. I'll be spending $6 on 3 tickets for the school play, and will be going out for breakfast with some coworkers on Thursday. Dh will most likely require $20 today or tomorrow, so I should get to Friday and still have money in my wallet. Both sons will soon need some shorts for summer as they've outgrown everything from last year. I can buy the youngest one's at thrift stores, but ds13 has asked me to not buy him second hand clothing anymore. He doesn't want name brands, new from Wal Mart is fine, and I can go along with that. I remember being 13 and feeling the same way. Dd (10) doesn't care...she actually prefers hand me downs, because she can 'get more variety'. Funny, funny kids!

Next week, I have a birthday gift to get for ds's friend and my wonderful stepmom. We'll have a dinner for her at our house, and don't have to buy anything expensive, but I would like to get her something nice from the kids, at least. So, if there's some money left from this week, that would be great!

Well, I'm going to pretty much work from home today. I have two schools to visit, one this morning and one right after lunch and both are pretty close to my house so I'll come home inbetween and do some work.

We're having chicken soup for dinner and I think I'm going to bake some muffins and cookies this afternoon with the kids. I do have a meeting to go to this evening, but it's not mandatory, so I'll play it by ear.

We had a great weekend. Didn't do anything on Friday night...just relaxed. Youngest kids and I lay in my bed and watched an old Sophia Loren movie 'Houseboat'. They enjoyed it and I fell asleep. On Saturday I was down at the school between 9:00-2:00 organizing the clothing drive. We collect items from the neighbouring houses, donate them all, and receive $2.50 for each large garbage bag full. At 4:00 I took dd to a birthday party, picked up ds's buddy and took them to their hockey game. After that, we picked up some groceries for dinner and oldest ds had two friends sleep over. I picked up dd at 10:00 and went to bed. Sunday morning, Dh made a huge breakfast for us and all the kids, and then I went grocery shopping. I took oldest ds and his friend to see 'Blades of Glory'...pretty funny movie in a dumb kind of way...and then we came home.
Dh made a roast chicken, potatoes, carrots and peas for dinner. We made lunches, the kids had baths and then watched 'The Amazing Race' with me. Next weekend is another 'no plan' weekend and I am already looking forward to it!

A friend of the now infamous Honda mechanic came by today to look at my van. He's also a mechanic, but on the side he buys old vehicles, fixes them up and sells them. He offered us $700 for it. Now, seeing as how it's not running, and not going to be running unless I feel like paying $3000 to get it to do so, I think this is a pretty good deal. SOLD!

Tonight my friend is coming over and we're transferring all the ownership and insurance papers for her Honda into my name. Yay! I'll have a car again.

I did work from home today and, yes, I did actually work. I got tons done and am completely caught up...that is, until I go into work tomorrow. The Administrator emailed me this afternoon to tell me I have 3 more files to pick up and start working on. Oh, lucky, lucky me!

I posted yesterday that I would be taking Ds out to buy some new hockey gear...always an expense I so look forward to every year! Anyways, he tried on all his equipment and everything from last year fit except for the gloves (even the helmet fit which really surprised me). But Dh had a brain wake-up call and had Ds try on his gloves and they fit! Ta-Da! No hockey expense this year...unless the helmet really is too small and Ds didn't tell me because he wanted to go play football at the park with his friend and not go shopping. We'll see if he has a headache after practice tonight!

I've had four no spend days so far this week. Tonight I'll be buying the Honda so that will make up for every no spend day I've had in the past 2 years!

So, I've decided to buy the Honda from my friend. Her husband has taken it to work to do an oil change and put on the all season tires. He'll take it through air care and then it will be all mine. We'll switch ownership and insurance on the weekend and I won't have to worry after that. I will be driving a reliable vehicle.

Today I am borrowing my sil's car to get to work and then Thursday and Friday I'll use my brother's because he's going to Australia for the week. I plan on using his as little as possible...the muffler is going and, not only does it sound like a race car, I don't want to deal with the muffler falling off while I'm driving the little wreck!

It's another super busy day around here. Work, paper route, and grocery shopping...oh, and ds(13) starts his spring ball hockey tomorrow and we need to go through his equipment and replace a few things. This will be costly because I know for sure that he needs a new helmet, cage, and gloves. I love spring hockey...just not the expense!

I'm browsing on the internet instead of working from home. I did do 3 hours today, but am feeling so unmotivated...I just need to crunch down to it.

I have TONS to do. O.K., that's it, I've talked myself into it and now I'm going to go get started. I'll be back later this afternoon when I've put in 3 hours of actual work! This will be my reward--the only thing that would be better would be if I got a monetary reward.

Oh, wait a sec. That's what the paycheque is, isn't it?

We went looking for a new car for me yesterday and I had my eye on a gorgeous cherry red 2003 Saturn Vue. The tiniest detail really flagged me, though. The asking price was $16990 and I only have $6000 in cash. Can you say 'Car Loan'? No, we cannot. Good thing that Dh was with me and pulled me off the lot!

Today I will be taking a friend's 1993 Honda Civic for the day to test drive it. Her husband is a mechanic for the local Honda dealership, so you can bet that this little vehicle is in tip top condition...and, of course, it is a Honda. Dh's was a 1990 and it had 460,000 km on it before it finally died. The asking price is $1500. Definately affordable and will get me from point A ot point B on low gas mileage.

New to me car...$1500. Knowing I'm staying debt free...priceless.

Yeppers. That's where Dh and I will be going today. The transmission on the van is shot, and we've had nothing but problems with that vehicle for the past year. I don't want to fix it and then have something go wrong next week. We'll go take a look at what's out there...

I am going to have to use our emergency fund to pay for the new one, though, and that really ticks me off. I'm wondering how long Dh and I can get by on one vehicle...probably not very long since I really need a car for work and he needs to get to work! Opposite directions, three busy kids etc. Oh well, I do appreciate the fact that we have the money and, hopefully, we won't have to take out any kind of car loan. My dad really sweetly told me to let him know if we need to 'borrow' some money. I'm 40 years old...I really don't plan on borrowing money from my dad to buy a car. But it was nice of him to offer.

So, the only money that we'll be spending today will be on toilet paper and milk...and possibly a new vehicle!

I'm pretty sure that the transmission on my 1996 Dodge Caravan needs to be replaced. YIKES! I've spent $3000 on various repairs for this vehicle in the past 9 months. If it needs a new transmission, then I think we'll be getting a new to us vehicle. I don't trust that something else isn't going to go wrong next week.

We have some money in our emergency fund...the problem is that Dh's car died in November and we replaced it in January, using some of the money that was in there and some from a 'car account'. Now there is zippo in the 'car account' and the emergency fund still isn't fully funded. Well, I guess that's why it's called an emergency fund and this certainly qualifies as one. I need to have a vehicle for work.

Thank Goodness it's a long weekend and we'll be able to think on this for a few days without having to rush out and make a quick decision!