Try saying that 5 times fast!
I do not know how to copy and paste my excel worksheet like some of you. So if someone can tell me how to save it properly so that I can add it to my blog that would be oh so helpful!
Anyway this is the monthly budget broken down as Budgeted/Actual
Transportation 100/26 (my brother filled up my car twice for me, such a nice guy)
Food 25/56 (I bought groceries for some family meals I cooked, and spent $17 on lunches out)
Entertainment 87/59 (Going out with the boyfriend, and playing bingo with my mom)
Clothes & Gifts 60/96 (I bought a hoodie for a football game, and a few bingo tickets for my parents)
Everything Else 23/62 (Bank fees, fabric and batting for sewing projects)
Okay yes some sections are way over and others are way under, but overall this month has Put me over budget by $4. So close.
Also in October was the Shopping Trip Budget which was $1000, I spent $837. However afterward I also bought the boyfriend an anniversary gift for $74, and his family's Christmas gift for $143. So originally I was under budget with the Shopping Trip, however since then I have gone over it with the Christmas shopping by $54.
Now technically this does put me over budget. But I am almost done my Christmas shopping now, just need to buy for my brothers, my dad and something small for two friends of mine and have not included the Christmas budget I have for that. So if I can purchase the rest of the gifts with $256 ($300 minus the $54 I was over budget on the shopping trip) then I am set. I figure I will be under budget with this. I hope you do not consider this "cheating."
In addition, I paid $1500 to OSAP this month. Where I only made $1200 plus $30 babysitting and $74 GST cheque. So overall I may have gone a few dollars over budget but I think it was still a successful month. Bring on November!
For November I think I will keep my budget the same, although I think I could change some things around. Also I think I want to keep track of my no-spend days and aim for 20 days this first month.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Lump Sums
Today was payday. I got paid $480. And for one of the first times I didn't make a lump sum payment toward OSAP. Pretty much every payday since July 2008 I have been making extra payments on my student loan based on what I could afford until next payday. But now I am going to be watching my account grow until I have $5000 to give to my family. They gave it to be at the end of Feb 2009, so my goal is to have it paid back at the end of Feb 2010, giving just over $100 in interest. They said no interest, but it's a small way to say thank you. I'll likely have a debt-free party then too and take them out to dinner.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Almost Pay Day!
With my bi-weekly payment schedule, tomorrow is payday. I only taught two days in that time-period but I worked one full day at the rec centre so I should bring home $440 not great for two weeks but not bad for three days of work. I already have enough left-over in my account to pay off the rest of my OSAP. I am soo excited. OSAP sent me a message yesterday saying that because the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, my payment will be taken from my account on Monday. So that's it, Monday I will be done my student loan!
It's then on to the $5000 loan I owe my family. I think I should be able to do this by the end of February. Sooner if the supply calls continue to come regularly and I work at the rec centre full time over Christmas break. However, I am going to give them one big lump sum payment at the end of February instead of paying once or twice a month. This way I will soon be able to maintain a $1500 balance in my chequing account at my bank and therefore waive the $3.95 per month fee.
By the way, I watched the movie UP today, and I highly recommend it. It is sooo funny and sweet I nearly cried!
It's then on to the $5000 loan I owe my family. I think I should be able to do this by the end of February. Sooner if the supply calls continue to come regularly and I work at the rec centre full time over Christmas break. However, I am going to give them one big lump sum payment at the end of February instead of paying once or twice a month. This way I will soon be able to maintain a $1500 balance in my chequing account at my bank and therefore waive the $3.95 per month fee.
By the way, I watched the movie UP today, and I highly recommend it. It is sooo funny and sweet I nearly cried!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Let's Talk About Life
In my last post I briefly touched upon some of the goals I have for myself. I would like to one day, hopefully sooner than too much later buy a house, get married, buy a new (used) car, purchase furniture for the house, and still be able to pay my bills and have a bit of a life.
Let's break down the cost of those items:
House - or I should say downpayment. Now the downpayment can vary. But if you can pay 20% or more then you can avoid purchasing the high-ratio mortgage insurance (which can range from 1-3.5% of the principal amount of the house). Let's say I want to purchase a $250,000 home with a $50,000 (20%) downpayment, that would work out to be (at 6% interest) $1288 per month, or $595 bi-weekly after the downpayment and we are living there.
Wedding: I would like to have an average wedding. Nice but not too over the top. Still either way, weddings are expensive! Considering everything involved (minus honeymoon and engagement ring) I think $15,000 would be reasonable.
Furniture: Seeing as though I currently have almost nothing except what I had as a student, almost everything would need to be purchased except kitchen supplies. How do you estimate the cost of that? Let's say $5000 to begin with, I am sure if we needed things that family would be willing to give us some of their things.
Car: I would definitely buy used, not too old but not too new either. I think $12,000 would be reasonable for a good running vehicle. I bought mine for $2000 and it's working well but it has some issues and will need to be replaced eventually.
Let's say I want to get married, move into a house, have furniture and a car in three years...That would mean saving a total of $2278 each month starting now. Which is NOT going to happen. Let's say all of those in 5 years, well that is $1367 per month. Much more reasonable, but by then I will be 29 and wanting to have kids, which are another major expense....does it ever end? Compromise, and say 4 years, that is $1708 per month. Split between myself and my boyfriend that is $854 each per month but neither one of us will be able to start that for several months at least. However when he graduates this June he will also owe about $35,000. So that means that we either have to push back plans or decrease the downpayment, find a cheaper house, or make more money. How do you do it?
I do eventually want to move out and live in an apartment with my boyfriend which also costs rent, furniture expenses, and everyday household expenses. I do not like not knowing what will happen because I am a planner...Still, I look forward to the future!
Let's break down the cost of those items:
House - or I should say downpayment. Now the downpayment can vary. But if you can pay 20% or more then you can avoid purchasing the high-ratio mortgage insurance (which can range from 1-3.5% of the principal amount of the house). Let's say I want to purchase a $250,000 home with a $50,000 (20%) downpayment, that would work out to be (at 6% interest) $1288 per month, or $595 bi-weekly after the downpayment and we are living there.
Wedding: I would like to have an average wedding. Nice but not too over the top. Still either way, weddings are expensive! Considering everything involved (minus honeymoon and engagement ring) I think $15,000 would be reasonable.
Furniture: Seeing as though I currently have almost nothing except what I had as a student, almost everything would need to be purchased except kitchen supplies. How do you estimate the cost of that? Let's say $5000 to begin with, I am sure if we needed things that family would be willing to give us some of their things.
Car: I would definitely buy used, not too old but not too new either. I think $12,000 would be reasonable for a good running vehicle. I bought mine for $2000 and it's working well but it has some issues and will need to be replaced eventually.
Let's say I want to get married, move into a house, have furniture and a car in three years...That would mean saving a total of $2278 each month starting now. Which is NOT going to happen. Let's say all of those in 5 years, well that is $1367 per month. Much more reasonable, but by then I will be 29 and wanting to have kids, which are another major expense....does it ever end? Compromise, and say 4 years, that is $1708 per month. Split between myself and my boyfriend that is $854 each per month but neither one of us will be able to start that for several months at least. However when he graduates this June he will also owe about $35,000. So that means that we either have to push back plans or decrease the downpayment, find a cheaper house, or make more money. How do you do it?
I do eventually want to move out and live in an apartment with my boyfriend which also costs rent, furniture expenses, and everyday household expenses. I do not like not knowing what will happen because I am a planner...Still, I look forward to the future!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Life Is So Expensive!
I going through Gail's website last night and came across the questions page. This one woman asks how to prioritize the things she wants in life, wedding, house, car, retirement savings, etc, in addition to having a small student loan. I think about this a lot in my own life. How am I ever going to be able to start life?
Supply teaching is great, but the paycheques are irregular which makes it difficult to stick to a savings budget. I would like to save for a downpayment, house furniture, have some money in retirement savings, and get married within 2 years, but is this possible? I will have to do some calculating to see what I need to save in the next 24 months to have some of these goals possible. Will post more on that later.
In the meantime, check out the beginnings of my quilt. Look past the uneven squares and the lack of ironing!
Can someone help me to rotate these pictures? That is not how I took them, and not how I have them on my computer, only on blogger...hmmm.
Supply teaching is great, but the paycheques are irregular which makes it difficult to stick to a savings budget. I would like to save for a downpayment, house furniture, have some money in retirement savings, and get married within 2 years, but is this possible? I will have to do some calculating to see what I need to save in the next 24 months to have some of these goals possible. Will post more on that later.
In the meantime, check out the beginnings of my quilt. Look past the uneven squares and the lack of ironing!
Monday Already?
Sorry, I have not taken the time to take and upload pictures of my sewing adventures yet. I started working on the borders on Saturday and let me tell you, they are tricky to do! Yesterday and today I didn't do anything on it. But today I worked in the city and picked up some more fabric (40% off!). I might even make some Christmas pillowcases for my friends. I will get some taken and uploaded soon...
It has been busy though lately. Today I worked a full day just over an hour from home. I had such a nice Grade Three class!! Then I volunteered after work for 2 hours with my Brownie group. Tomorrow I am working another full day a town 25min from here, after work going to bingo with my mom (maybe I'll win big, ha). Thursday I am working a half-day morning 40 min from here. That is the price you pay living in a small town, you often need to travel for work. Seems like work is picking up at least! Means paycheques will also be picking up. I received my paystub by e-mail today and it's going to be a small one - $360.44, oh well, that will cover the rest of my OSAP and then I can start saving to pay off my family loan!
It has been busy though lately. Today I worked a full day just over an hour from home. I had such a nice Grade Three class!! Then I volunteered after work for 2 hours with my Brownie group. Tomorrow I am working another full day a town 25min from here, after work going to bingo with my mom (maybe I'll win big, ha). Thursday I am working a half-day morning 40 min from here. That is the price you pay living in a small town, you often need to travel for work. Seems like work is picking up at least! Means paycheques will also be picking up. I received my paystub by e-mail today and it's going to be a small one - $360.44, oh well, that will cover the rest of my OSAP and then I can start saving to pay off my family loan!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
My First Sewing Project!
Tuesday night my mom taught me how to use her sewing machine. I had told her that I wanted my own for Christmas and she said that we really don't have the space in our house (very true) but she would teach me how to use hers. Deal!
After a quick 20 minute lesson, I felt like I had the basics. That night I went on E-bay and found a cute baby quilting kit that came with all the fabric you need for the front, back and border of a baby quilt, and supposedly with instructions. Yes I wanted my first project to be a quilt, my mom thought I should start with a pillowcase...noo not I. I picked up the kit yesterday after school and was excited to start. I soon realized there was no instructions. The pattern it showed on the packaging was kind of boring as well (had 12 squares in random order (boring!). I thought I would wing it and make it a little nicer.
I decided to skip the washing fabric, drying fabric and even ironing fabric before starting. What can I say, I was anxious to get started. I began by cutting fabric using a rotary cutter (a lot harder than I thought it would be, that thing is sharp, and fabric stretches quite a bit). I cut 3 inch squares. Then arranged them into 3 different patterns until I found something I liked. Then I started the sewing...
I wasn't exactly sure how to start a quilt, do you start from the top, the bottom, the middle? I decided to start my way from the top row and work my way down. After some frustration I started to get the hang of it and it started to go a bit faster. Looking back I should have ironed those squares. I probably should have pre-washed the fabric as well because it might shrink a bit when I was it. Oh well, a beginners quilt is supposed to look like a beginner's quilt right??
I lost my thread from the needle too many times to count, and once stiched an entire row before realizing my bobbin was out of thread. But I think overall it turned out fairly well. I am only done the top of the quilt, so I still have to add a border and backing. Because I didn't use the giant squares the picture the kit came with my quilt is quite small. My mom also doesn't like the border fabric it came with, so I might run out some point today or tomorrow to get nicer border fabric (the closest fabric store is a 30 minute drive). I am quite excited to finish it. I will try and post a picture of my progress so far.
After a quick 20 minute lesson, I felt like I had the basics. That night I went on E-bay and found a cute baby quilting kit that came with all the fabric you need for the front, back and border of a baby quilt, and supposedly with instructions. Yes I wanted my first project to be a quilt, my mom thought I should start with a pillowcase...noo not I. I picked up the kit yesterday after school and was excited to start. I soon realized there was no instructions. The pattern it showed on the packaging was kind of boring as well (had 12 squares in random order (boring!). I thought I would wing it and make it a little nicer.
I decided to skip the washing fabric, drying fabric and even ironing fabric before starting. What can I say, I was anxious to get started. I began by cutting fabric using a rotary cutter (a lot harder than I thought it would be, that thing is sharp, and fabric stretches quite a bit). I cut 3 inch squares. Then arranged them into 3 different patterns until I found something I liked. Then I started the sewing...
I wasn't exactly sure how to start a quilt, do you start from the top, the bottom, the middle? I decided to start my way from the top row and work my way down. After some frustration I started to get the hang of it and it started to go a bit faster. Looking back I should have ironed those squares. I probably should have pre-washed the fabric as well because it might shrink a bit when I was it. Oh well, a beginners quilt is supposed to look like a beginner's quilt right??
I lost my thread from the needle too many times to count, and once stiched an entire row before realizing my bobbin was out of thread. But I think overall it turned out fairly well. I am only done the top of the quilt, so I still have to add a border and backing. Because I didn't use the giant squares the picture the kit came with my quilt is quite small. My mom also doesn't like the border fabric it came with, so I might run out some point today or tomorrow to get nicer border fabric (the closest fabric store is a 30 minute drive). I am quite excited to finish it. I will try and post a picture of my progress so far.
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