Woo, tomorrow is payday for the third time this month. I love 3 payday months. They just don't happen nearly enough. Anyway I have not been getting very much work with having to take some time off for interviews and Easter holidays. I'm finally teaching tomorrow. Not for my favourite class but I'm glad I'm getting some work for my next paycheque which will be quite small.
My job "interview" in the trees went well today, she is going to contact people shortly to come in for formal interviews. I think they are going to hire pretty much anyone that applies for the job, there were 12 of us today. I wonder what the rate of pay is. It sounds like a pretty interesting job at least and it's not too far from my house driving. I am still going to interview for the waitress jobs I applied for as well. I am sort of hoping to get one of those to get waitressing experience and tips!
I took our dog to the pet store today to get something for her skin since she is scratching a lot lately, she is not used to the heat in our house. They LOVED her there and gave her a couple of treats. All of the staff came over and were petting her, even other customers kept commenting on her, it was pretty cute and she was just loving it.
I also added $600 to the TFSA, $100 to the Computer Fund (now stands at $600), and $100 to Travel (now stands at $900) today. Woo.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Job Searching
I've been looking for a summer job for the past few weeks. I had today off and decided to take the smart-serve test. It's good forever at least and most restaurant jobs require it. It was about $40 after HST.
I've applied to a ton of places and have a job "interview" tomorrow at a tree-top trekking place and we are actually going trekking during the interview. It will be interesting. I also have another one for a serving position on Saturday. I've never served before so that should be interesting as well.
I hope to hear back from a few more of the places I have applied to, I'll keep you updated with the search.
I've applied to a ton of places and have a job "interview" tomorrow at a tree-top trekking place and we are actually going trekking during the interview. It will be interesting. I also have another one for a serving position on Saturday. I've never served before so that should be interesting as well.
I hope to hear back from a few more of the places I have applied to, I'll keep you updated with the search.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Here She Is....And Other Updates
This is my inherited dog. She is about 3.5lbs and will be 7 years old this summer. My cousin thinks she looks like Scrat from Ice Age mixed with a deer.
Lol, she's sort of squinting due to me taking so many pictures of her. I really should have included something in the picture that would give you an idea of how small she is.
Anyway, she's been doing well and she loves everyone. She uses the kitty litter and we have been on several walks. Right now she is curled up next to me.
Other updates. I went to Niagara Region with D this weekend to visit his family for Easter. He has such a nice family :) We went down on Friday afternoon and came back yesterday evening. We ate a TON of food, played a bunch of games and watched some hockey. On Sunday we had an Easter egg hunt. Yes, the youngest grandkid is in high school and the oldest is 27. It was a ton of fun.
Last night we went out for a coffee and I got a hot smoothie! Then we watched an episode of the Pacific which was pretty good.
Today I plan on updating my resume and hopefully applying to a few more jobs. I am really thinking about getting my SmartServe so I am able to apply to restaurants in the area. Not REALLY a job I want, but it would give me more options. Hmmmm, I'll think about it. I also want to make some supper today. D's friend just returned from school on Friday so I might invite him over to apply to jobs and do some cooking with me.
I did not get a lot of work last week. Short week and it included a snowday! This week I only have Friday booked so far.
It's supposed to rain a lot here today. April showers....bring May flowers!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Test Driving
My brother and I took my grandpa's car for a test-drive. It's sooo nice. I wasn't too fond of hatchbacks before, but it's really easy to tell where you are when reversing. The car is soo quiet. I like all the automatic features like locks, windows. It has a CD player and air conditioning and even heated seats. My current car does not have ANY of that!
My car has some "tricks" to it. It cannot be locked because the keys do not open the doors. It has no CD player. It has no automatic locks. It has ROLL-DOWN windows. It's loud. The back speakers do not work. It does have a CASSETTE player, how many cars still have those?! Ahhh silver lining...
Anyway my brother mentioned that he really likes the car and is thinking about buying it. I really like it as well but if he wants it I'm not going to get into any type of argument over it. It will also give me more time to save up for a car of my choice that I think I will get next spring. Come on make it to next spring!
My car has some "tricks" to it. It cannot be locked because the keys do not open the doors. It has no CD player. It has no automatic locks. It has ROLL-DOWN windows. It's loud. The back speakers do not work. It does have a CASSETTE player, how many cars still have those?! Ahhh silver lining...
Anyway my brother mentioned that he really likes the car and is thinking about buying it. I really like it as well but if he wants it I'm not going to get into any type of argument over it. It will also give me more time to save up for a car of my choice that I think I will get next spring. Come on make it to next spring!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
What Would You Do?
So I have something to think about but the decision does need to be made relatively quickly. My grandpa's car is being sold.
It's a KIA Rio hatchback. It has about 60,000km and it's a 2008 car. It's silver (he even got seat warmers for the dog).
My family is being offered first dibs on it if we want it. The cost: ~$8000. My uncle and my mom seem to think that if it's being sold to a family member that there are no HST costs (that's pretty huge to be able to save 13%). It also has about 2 to 2.5 years left on the warranty.
I have been thinking about purchasing a new car and was set on buying one for next spring if my current 1999 Toyota Tercel would make it through another winter. My current car is at 225,000km. My mom thinks that I could sell that one to my brother for $1000 (although I'd probably go for less).
The thing is, it would completely wipe out my TFSA savings. My insurance would also go up. Hmmmm things to think about, what would you do?
It's a KIA Rio hatchback. It has about 60,000km and it's a 2008 car. It's silver (he even got seat warmers for the dog).
My family is being offered first dibs on it if we want it. The cost: ~$8000. My uncle and my mom seem to think that if it's being sold to a family member that there are no HST costs (that's pretty huge to be able to save 13%). It also has about 2 to 2.5 years left on the warranty.
I have been thinking about purchasing a new car and was set on buying one for next spring if my current 1999 Toyota Tercel would make it through another winter. My current car is at 225,000km. My mom thinks that I could sell that one to my brother for $1000 (although I'd probably go for less).
The thing is, it would completely wipe out my TFSA savings. My insurance would also go up. Hmmmm things to think about, what would you do?
Friday, April 15, 2011
Spent A GRAND!
......On RRSPs! Wooo!
I put in one for a 5 year GIC at 3.5%, and another for 2 years at 2.4%. Both for $500 for a total of $1000 in RRSPs! That's a total of $1250 for RRSPs this year. I'm hoping that will help for tax season next year!
Met another goal! Really going to focus on getting that TFSA up to 100% now. I think I'll also continue to contribute to some of the other funds. Might as well go over on them if I'm able to! Especially computer and travel. Might even start a furniture fund.
I put in one for a 5 year GIC at 3.5%, and another for 2 years at 2.4%. Both for $500 for a total of $1000 in RRSPs! That's a total of $1250 for RRSPs this year. I'm hoping that will help for tax season next year!
Met another goal! Really going to focus on getting that TFSA up to 100% now. I think I'll also continue to contribute to some of the other funds. Might as well go over on them if I'm able to! Especially computer and travel. Might even start a furniture fund.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Update
First I want to say thank you so much to all those that commented on my last post. I really appreciate your condolonces. It was a hard few days but it was really nice to share memories with the family.
This past weekend was the weekend we had scheduled to go ATVing. My mom told me I should go even though I was reluctant to go. But I'm really glad I did go. It got my mind off things and it was a lot of fun. We went for about 7 hours on Saturday and I drove my own bike. That night and Sunday we played games with D's family.
Tuesday was the funeral. It was a hard morning. D came along and I really appreciated his support being there. It was tough because it was the first time he has met my extended family. He did well though. It was really nice to share stories and memories and see pictures. After the funeral we met up at a hall and had some food. I was happy to see a lot of people come. There was quite a few Deaf people there as well. I had a chat with one cute lady that was Deaf. She met my grandpa at the same place I went to learn ASL in February.
That evening we met up at my grandpa's house and talked some more. My aunt showed us some pictures and quotes that grandpa had kept of things he thought were funny that family members had said. It was really nice. That day the family also decided that grandpa's dog would come stay with us!!!
She's a toy fox terrier. VERY SMALL!! She's 7 years old and so cute. Her name is Georgette (hehe I know!) and was the second love of my grandpa's life (first being my grandma). I'm SO happy we got her. My dad was very reluctant at first, hoping that another sibling would take her but she really grew on him over the past week and I think he is secretly pleased we ended up with her.
Now that my brother has moved out, she gets her own room! She is very curious and I'll have to upload pictures of her one of these days so you can see her. :)
This past weekend was the weekend we had scheduled to go ATVing. My mom told me I should go even though I was reluctant to go. But I'm really glad I did go. It got my mind off things and it was a lot of fun. We went for about 7 hours on Saturday and I drove my own bike. That night and Sunday we played games with D's family.
Tuesday was the funeral. It was a hard morning. D came along and I really appreciated his support being there. It was tough because it was the first time he has met my extended family. He did well though. It was really nice to share stories and memories and see pictures. After the funeral we met up at a hall and had some food. I was happy to see a lot of people come. There was quite a few Deaf people there as well. I had a chat with one cute lady that was Deaf. She met my grandpa at the same place I went to learn ASL in February.
That evening we met up at my grandpa's house and talked some more. My aunt showed us some pictures and quotes that grandpa had kept of things he thought were funny that family members had said. It was really nice. That day the family also decided that grandpa's dog would come stay with us!!!
She's a toy fox terrier. VERY SMALL!! She's 7 years old and so cute. Her name is Georgette (hehe I know!) and was the second love of my grandpa's life (first being my grandma). I'm SO happy we got her. My dad was very reluctant at first, hoping that another sibling would take her but she really grew on him over the past week and I think he is secretly pleased we ended up with her.
Now that my brother has moved out, she gets her own room! She is very curious and I'll have to upload pictures of her one of these days so you can see her. :)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sad Day :(
I had my interview today for the census position. The interview was at a house in town near my grandpa's house. On my way to the interview I passed my mom, she smiled at me. Unusual to see her mid-day Friday driving. I assumed she was visiting him or something had come up and he was in the hospital again. He was in the hospital for 8 days and came home at the beginning of April for congestive heart failure.
I did the interview not thinking much about my mom or grandpa. It went well. I then come home and see both of my parents parked in the driveway. Again unusual because it was just after 2pm on a Friday. I knew that it must have had something to do with my grandpa at this point.
I ask my brother what's up and he wouldn't say. I ask if it has something to do with grandpa and he says yes. I ask him if he knows what it is and he tells me that he died. I didn't even believe him at first and turn to go talk to my parents and on the way realize he must be telling the truth. I see my parents and immediately start crying and run into my mom's arms. She cries and tells me he is in a better place now, with his wife.
He was my dad's dad, my last grandparent. He was 80 years old and 1 month.
My dad was the one that found him. I don't know what will happen now. He lived alone with a small dog. My dad has 2 brothers and 1 sister. There are 11 grandchildren. My dad has the horrible job of calling his siblings and informing them. He met with the police and the coroner today already. I think these next few days are going to be hard.
My grandpa lost his hearing when he was 9 years old. He learned sign language with my grandma and made me love the language. I am still going to continue my ASL learning. When my brother found out he passed away he told my mom that he will be able to hear now.
I did the interview not thinking much about my mom or grandpa. It went well. I then come home and see both of my parents parked in the driveway. Again unusual because it was just after 2pm on a Friday. I knew that it must have had something to do with my grandpa at this point.
I ask my brother what's up and he wouldn't say. I ask if it has something to do with grandpa and he says yes. I ask him if he knows what it is and he tells me that he died. I didn't even believe him at first and turn to go talk to my parents and on the way realize he must be telling the truth. I see my parents and immediately start crying and run into my mom's arms. She cries and tells me he is in a better place now, with his wife.
He was my dad's dad, my last grandparent. He was 80 years old and 1 month.
My dad was the one that found him. I don't know what will happen now. He lived alone with a small dog. My dad has 2 brothers and 1 sister. There are 11 grandchildren. My dad has the horrible job of calling his siblings and informing them. He met with the police and the coroner today already. I think these next few days are going to be hard.
My grandpa lost his hearing when he was 9 years old. He learned sign language with my grandma and made me love the language. I am still going to continue my ASL learning. When my brother found out he passed away he told my mom that he will be able to hear now.
Shopping BINGE
Oops. I may have overspent yesterday shopping. I don't get to the city very often and we don't have any malls or even clothing stores that interest me around here really so it was easy to get carried away. And carried away did I get...
Here's what I hauled home.
Duvet cover, sheet set, 2 pillow shams. 3 cookbooks, cake pan, sillocone muffin cups, 2 pairing knives, coffee, baby toy, towel, pillow and 5 handsoaps. 4 zip-up shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 tank tops (2 plaid, one for going out, and 2 plain), 6 t-shirts, 8 pairs of underwear, and 2 plaid long-sleeve shirts.
That's it..... :| Eeek, k maybe a little overboard?
However....the home items minus the towel were for my brother and his girlfriend for their housewarming. I am going to put them together a baking gift basket. I also want to pick up a spatula and maybe a mixing spoon as well. The soaps were for them but I also gave 2 to my mom. I bought my mom a t-shirt as well. I bought my roommate the baby toy because I have an idea for her wedding shower. Gifts I spent $72
The rest....it was for me yep.
The bedding was originally going to cost $179 for the duvet cover, $119 for the sheet set, and $44 EACH for the shams (I got 2). However the lady asked me if I wanted to sign up for an HBC rewards card and save 10%. I said sure, don't worry I've never done this before, and it would only be my second credit card. Anyway they weren't able to bring up my credit report or something so she asked me to come back in an hour once she faxed a form. I came back an hour later and she said that it still is not fixed but because of the problems she would give me 30% off. SWEET. Just then she gets through with the person on the phone and it was approved so she gave me an additional 10% as well. I ended up saving about $150 :) I paid $274 for everything (including taxes).
The clothing I am ashamed to even admit it....but I spent $484. AHHHHH. No more shopping for a long, LONG time!
Do I feel guilty? Not really. I got A LOT of things on sale, pretty much every item was on some sort of sale or another. I am also not going into debt for this. Yes I will have to rearrage a few things, and push back the necklace purchase but I am fine with that. And most importantly I am still going to be able to make my savings goals for this month!
Here's what I hauled home.
Duvet cover, sheet set, 2 pillow shams. 3 cookbooks, cake pan, sillocone muffin cups, 2 pairing knives, coffee, baby toy, towel, pillow and 5 handsoaps. 4 zip-up shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 tank tops (2 plaid, one for going out, and 2 plain), 6 t-shirts, 8 pairs of underwear, and 2 plaid long-sleeve shirts.
That's it..... :| Eeek, k maybe a little overboard?
However....the home items minus the towel were for my brother and his girlfriend for their housewarming. I am going to put them together a baking gift basket. I also want to pick up a spatula and maybe a mixing spoon as well. The soaps were for them but I also gave 2 to my mom. I bought my mom a t-shirt as well. I bought my roommate the baby toy because I have an idea for her wedding shower. Gifts I spent $72
The rest....it was for me yep.
The bedding was originally going to cost $179 for the duvet cover, $119 for the sheet set, and $44 EACH for the shams (I got 2). However the lady asked me if I wanted to sign up for an HBC rewards card and save 10%. I said sure, don't worry I've never done this before, and it would only be my second credit card. Anyway they weren't able to bring up my credit report or something so she asked me to come back in an hour once she faxed a form. I came back an hour later and she said that it still is not fixed but because of the problems she would give me 30% off. SWEET. Just then she gets through with the person on the phone and it was approved so she gave me an additional 10% as well. I ended up saving about $150 :) I paid $274 for everything (including taxes).
The clothing I am ashamed to even admit it....but I spent $484. AHHHHH. No more shopping for a long, LONG time!
Do I feel guilty? Not really. I got A LOT of things on sale, pretty much every item was on some sort of sale or another. I am also not going into debt for this. Yes I will have to rearrage a few things, and push back the necklace purchase but I am fine with that. And most importantly I am still going to be able to make my savings goals for this month!
Money Spent, Money Saved
Today I saved some money yay! I added $1000 to TFSA! Woooo. I also added $200 to Travel, and $200 to Christmas. Now Christmas is another fund that is at 100% of my goal. I think that $800 will be sufficient to cover Christmas gifts and related Christmastime costs so I am not going to add to it for the rest of the year. Nice to be done that one in April.
Travel is over the limit now, but I am completely fine with that. I will now just slowly add to it. It's no longer a priority of mine until I at least have something in mind. So now, my savings goals are going to be focused on the RRSP, and the TFSA.
The RRSP should be completed this month. I will have the funds to do so as long as I don't spend too much on other stuff. Speaking of spending on other stuff...
Travel is over the limit now, but I am completely fine with that. I will now just slowly add to it. It's no longer a priority of mine until I at least have something in mind. So now, my savings goals are going to be focused on the RRSP, and the TFSA.
The RRSP should be completed this month. I will have the funds to do so as long as I don't spend too much on other stuff. Speaking of spending on other stuff...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Received the Income Tax Cheque, Going Shopping!
Yesterday was great! I worked all day, then tutored in the same town (yay for saving gas, which is 129.9 by the way!!!! grrrr). I then picked up D who stayed late at work to practice some welding (he has an upgrade test today, good luck D!).
We decided to go out for supper. We went to Crabby Joe's. I really like it there, they have an extensive menu which is awesome. We got calamari for an app, I got a garlic chicken pasta dish, D ordered a pulled pork sandwich, and we had an amazing reeses pieces pie for dessert.
After dinner we stopped by the bank and I deposited my income tax cheque. It was $2024. Woooo! So now I am going to follow through will all my savings goals of this month. BUT I also want to do some shopping. I have a new bed (one from school) in my room now and would like to get a new sheet set and duvet cover.
So I think I am going to go shopping today since I unfortunately have the day off. See what I can find, and look for some clothes too. I will let you know how I make out!
We decided to go out for supper. We went to Crabby Joe's. I really like it there, they have an extensive menu which is awesome. We got calamari for an app, I got a garlic chicken pasta dish, D ordered a pulled pork sandwich, and we had an amazing reeses pieces pie for dessert.
After dinner we stopped by the bank and I deposited my income tax cheque. It was $2024. Woooo! So now I am going to follow through will all my savings goals of this month. BUT I also want to do some shopping. I have a new bed (one from school) in my room now and would like to get a new sheet set and duvet cover.
So I think I am going to go shopping today since I unfortunately have the day off. See what I can find, and look for some clothes too. I will let you know how I make out!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Summer Jobs
I want to work this summer, but am trying to figure out where! When you live in a small town there are not a lot of options.
I applied for a census position but I'm pretty sure that job ends about the time summer starts. I wrote the test for it yesterday and have an interview for it on Friday. I wonder what they will ask! I hate interviews!!
I also applied for a road crew job with the local construction company. Ideally I would like to be a flagger. It pays a decent amount (i.e. not minimum wage), it's long WEEKDAY hours (overtime and no weekends), and it's fairly simple (don't get run over). I haven't heard back from them yet though and I think they mostly hire students. D and other people are trying to tell me it's not a good job, but it's only two months, I think I can handle it for that long.
I applied online to become a respite worker as well. It would be working somewhat within my field. I really hope I get called for an interview with this as well. I think I might do a follow-up e-mail or call next week to ask if they are actually hiring anyone for the summer.
I have a few other places I think I will apply, including a landscaping company. I would ideally like to have weekends off, but that might be difficult. I can also only work July and August until school starts up again. I asked another supply teacher what she does in the summer and she said that she babysits and goes on EI. What do other teachers do?
I applied for a census position but I'm pretty sure that job ends about the time summer starts. I wrote the test for it yesterday and have an interview for it on Friday. I wonder what they will ask! I hate interviews!!
I also applied for a road crew job with the local construction company. Ideally I would like to be a flagger. It pays a decent amount (i.e. not minimum wage), it's long WEEKDAY hours (overtime and no weekends), and it's fairly simple (don't get run over). I haven't heard back from them yet though and I think they mostly hire students. D and other people are trying to tell me it's not a good job, but it's only two months, I think I can handle it for that long.
I applied online to become a respite worker as well. It would be working somewhat within my field. I really hope I get called for an interview with this as well. I think I might do a follow-up e-mail or call next week to ask if they are actually hiring anyone for the summer.
I have a few other places I think I will apply, including a landscaping company. I would ideally like to have weekends off, but that might be difficult. I can also only work July and August until school starts up again. I asked another supply teacher what she does in the summer and she said that she babysits and goes on EI. What do other teachers do?
Monday, April 4, 2011
Weekend Update
My brother and his girlfriend moved out. They are now all set up in their new apartment. It makes me jealous. I haven't even seen the place yet but I've heard it's pretty nice. I will have to get them a housewarming gift and visit it this week!
It made me look up places online. Yep still nothing I would be able to afford by myself. One day....It might be fun to move in with D as well, but I don't think we are at that stage yet. So for now I'll continue saving money at home.
I applied to a couple of jobs today, will do more tomorrow. Tomorrow I am writing a test for a census job I applied for. Hope it goes okay! I don't think it will take very long so I am going to hopefully apply to jobs afterward.
Friday was my first of 3 paycheques this month. From it I put $150 into Christmas savings, $100 toward the Computer fund, and $150 into the Travel Fund. This means I have completed TWO goals already this month.
I'm thinking I'm also going to increase my travel fund goal to $1000 this year from the original $500. I do not have any travel plans this year but would like to be able to do something if the opportunity arises and it's something I'm interested in. Or I can carry it over for another year and go on a nicer vacation!
It made me look up places online. Yep still nothing I would be able to afford by myself. One day....It might be fun to move in with D as well, but I don't think we are at that stage yet. So for now I'll continue saving money at home.
I applied to a couple of jobs today, will do more tomorrow. Tomorrow I am writing a test for a census job I applied for. Hope it goes okay! I don't think it will take very long so I am going to hopefully apply to jobs afterward.
Friday was my first of 3 paycheques this month. From it I put $150 into Christmas savings, $100 toward the Computer fund, and $150 into the Travel Fund. This means I have completed TWO goals already this month.
I'm thinking I'm also going to increase my travel fund goal to $1000 this year from the original $500. I do not have any travel plans this year but would like to be able to do something if the opportunity arises and it's something I'm interested in. Or I can carry it over for another year and go on a nicer vacation!
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