Last Years Budget and Spending

Well I tracked my spending last year for 10 and a half months. I stopped in November when Excel no longer let me input numbers. I purchased Excel and have the CD but no longer have the product number so the CDs were useless.

Anyway, this is what 10.5 months looked like for me:

I spent approximately $2800 on my car!! Eeek, hopefully less this year. No major car repairs *crosses fingers*

I spent just over $600 on eating out. Most of this was spent in the summer months when D and I went on more dates.

I spent a little over $300 on food. Most of this in the summer and early fall when I did a lot more baking.

I spent about $1000 on CLOTHES?!? Eeek this cannot happen again. I did buy some shoes, and a couple of coats last year but I can't even REMEMBER any other big ticket items! That is just sad.

I spent just under $200 on Education which includes my membership fee, applications, etc.

I spent about $1000 on Personal/Medical which includes prescriptions, dental, make-up, hair. I don't think this will change for 2011.

My phone was about $550. This will likely go up for 2011 if anything if I decide to get a new phone and I added text messaging to my plan last summer.

I spent about $800 on GIFTS. Eeek that seems high too. But I include when I take someone out for lunch or dinner. Also had birthdays, special occasions and a close friend's wedding.

The worst one was $1500 on what I labelled "Everything Else." I cannot even tell you everything that this contained. It was mostly entertainment though (books, going out, drinks, wii and board games, gym, fabric, crafts, toys, movies). Definitely too high. I need to track this one better this year.

I paid off $5000 in debt!

I made the most money in April (income tax!) and least amount in January.

I spent the most money in May. I saved the most money in April and the least amount in January and June (tied).

Hopefully I can do better in 2011!!

Not-So Planned Spending

My brother asked me to take him to the city yesterday because he had to do a medical for the Army. I agreed as long as he paid me gas money. So I dropped him off at 10 and had until 3pm to occupy myself. What did I do?

I went shopping :S

I went to the mall AGAIN! Yikes, good thing I live an hour from the mall because it could be detrimental. Anyway, I did pretty good, I bought a tank top ($12.99) and a backpack. I've been looking at backpacks for a while now that mine has a broken zipper. I've had my old Jansport since I was 13....that's 12 years!! It was time for a new one. I bought a Burton on sale for $59.99. Hopefully it will last me another 12 years.

After the mall I headed to Futureshop. I had a giftcard I received from XBF for Christmas and wanted to look at the GPS's. There was a Tomtom on sale so I got it. It came to $46 after the gift card was used. Not too bad, hopefully I won't be getting lost as much now! My brother programmed it on the way home and it seems pretty easy to use.

After Futureshop I had lunch at The Great Canadian Bagel mmmm love that place! Lunch was $2 something. I brought a few snacks and water of my own.

After lunch I went to the beach. I brought the book I'm reading and laid down on the sand to read. I was only there for a few minutes though when my brother called me to pick him up. He gave me $70 for driving him, I said I don't want that much but he made me take it.

Overall, probably another too big of a spend day. But I already paid off my credit card today. Plus I made $70 for driving him.

Next week I am heading back to the same area Monday to Thursday for some school workshops. Gas is going to be difficult, and I am not going to allow myself to go to the mall!

Phone Plans and Big Spend Day

Yesterday my mom and I both had the day off. We decided to go SHOPPING!

We went to Winners, and then to the mall, then out for lunch, and then to Costco. I bought a dress (lol I thought it was cute, although I don't have any event to wear it to, it was only $35 and could be worn multiple times). I also bought a casual shirt, and a couple of work shirts, two white undershirts, two bras, a calendar, a giant bag of chocolate chips (for baking), a couple boxes of tea, a hoodie, and a DVD player (mine broke last week).

Total cost was $250 yikes!!

I owe my mom $125 for the Costco trip. Then I also owe her $30 for some long distance calls darn. I know I have made a number of calls from my cell phone this month too, definitely not looking forward to that bill. Oops! *Actually I just looked it up online and it was double what it typically is. Ouch!!* Maybe I need to look into updating my plan to include more minutes.

What is your phone plan like? I am currently with Bell. I have 200 minutes, 500 texts, call display, and message centre. I think that's it. What got me this month was the 200 minutes. If I go over then I am paying $0.20 per minute!!!! Long distance is only $0.10 per minute. Typically I pay $45 with taxes etc each month and this month is going to be $90.

Do You Gamble?

I gamble every once in a while. I like to buy the occassional scratch ticket, and I buy Tim Horton's hot chocolate only when the Roll up the Rim to Win is taking place. I have been to the casino twice in my life. Once when I turned 19, and I broke even. One other time I went with BF, and I spent about $10 but we listened to a cover band so it was fun.

My roommate and her boyfriend are coming up to my town on Friday. She has mentioned to me in a text that she wouldn't mind going to the casino that is about 45 minutes from my house. I haven't replied. I'm not sure if I want to go really. She said she wants to play the tables, I don't even know how to play any of those games! I might tag along for fun and play a bit. I'll limit myself though, $20 perhaps. Hmmmm.

Have you ever gambled? Do you gamble often? How much do you usually spend when you go to a casino? Have you ever come home with more than you left with? Do you play the tables or the slots?

Weekend Spending

Another weekend of spending. I seriously need to just lock myself in the house on the weekend and then no spending will be done. I went to Toronto on Friday. We stayed at a hotel (BF covered it) until Sunday there. We met in Toronto because it is about the half way mark between BF and I. It worked out well because his grandpa's birthday was on Sunday and we were supposed to meet his family there for a b-day lunch.

Saturday we went out shopping. My goal was to find a dress for his "prom" (graduation formal). I tried on a bunch, and found one I liked but it was a bit too casual for a formal. I did buy it though ($45 from Sears) to wear in the summer, maybe even to the wedding we are going to in July. We also went to a Corelle store and I told BF I would buy him a housewarming gift and I wanted it to be new dishes. I love corelle, and so we picked some out. In total I spent $179 there, along with a few handy kitchen tools and some corningware. We went out for lunch and supper that day too, breakfast was continental at the hotel (thankfully).

Sunday we woke up early, although with the time change it wasn't THAT early. BF got a call from his family saying his grandpa wanted to call off the b-day because he wasn't feeling 100%, so we were kind of in Toronto for no reason this weekend but it was a fun getaway for us. We went shopping again that morning to find that dress! That's when we looked at engagement rings (sigh) and I bought a couple of work shirts ($33). Then finally we found another mall (there are tons of malls in Toronto!!) and it had a Winners. There I found a dress I liked!!! Yay, and it was only $33! What a deal, thanks Christina for reminding me about Winners :)

I spent more than I wanted to this weekend because of the dishes, but less than expected on the dresses! Next weekend I'm staying home, no more spending!! Hope you all had a great weekend.

February Spending, March Goals

February was an expensive month. I spent a total of $1669 eeeeek! The breakdown:

Expenses (Total $959)
Car - $506 (I had some repairs, an oil change, not typical)
Food - $4
Restaurant - $22
Clothing - $0
Gifts - $6
Personal - $77 (pills and some foundation)
Education - $50 (applied to several jobs)
Phone - $42
Everything Else - $252 (this was for some books, $26 mailing fee, fabric, and some CC payment leftover from Jan, no interest was paid at least)

Debt (Total $300)
Family loan - $300

Savings (Total $410)
Christmas/Gifts - $60
TFSA/E-Fund - $250
Travel Fund - $100

Wasn't a great month with car expenses and buying books I really didn't need.

Looking forward to March, I want to spend way less on my car. At least $300 to my family loan again. I'm hoping at least $400 also to savings. I also want to get my hair cut and highlighted. I hope to be busy with work this week to help with these things!

Life Sure is Expensive!

Yesterday Asian Pear talked about how working is expensive. Today SS4BC discussed how dating is expensive. Life in general is so expensive!!

My two university roommates are coming up this weekend. I have not seen them since the summer so it will be nice to catch up. However, I already know it's going to be a costly weekend. I went to the grocery store to get the basics (some snacks and pizza) and it was over $40. I know we will end up going out for supper, and tubing. Hopefully we can stay in as well to play some board games and hang out. Friends sure are expensive. Anything social can be expensive!

Once in a while it's worth it though, worth the extra splurge on a weekend to have some fun.

I am working tomorrow, just for a morning, so that makes 2.5 days this week, not too bad. I only have 2 days available to work next week as I am working at the rec centre on Wednesday and then I am driving my parents to the airport to go to Florida then going to see the BF and staying for the weekend since it's on the way.

We are going to see a concert on Thursday night, Friday we are having a party with some of his high school and university friends, then Saturday we are going to see a play that he got me tickets for back in November. It will be a busy weekend, but good. He has also promised to take me out for dinner and a lunch. YAY!

In other news, J.D. Salinger, the author of "The Catcher in the Rye" passed away today at the age of 91. That is my favourite "real" novel! Real means something other than chick-lits. He was a very reclusive man, and I read that he continued to write a lot but did not have them published because it was writing for pleasure. He locked up these books in a safe in his house. I wonder now that he has passed away if they will ever be published and if they will be as good as "The Catcher in the Rye."

Also in other real news, did you hear that they found another person buried in the rubble in Haiti yesterday? A 16 year old girl, Darlene Etienne. 15 days after the intial earthquake. How amazing is that!! They said it was unlikely she would have survived even a few more hours. Really puts things in perspective doesn't it? I hope she and all the other survivors are doing well and getting aid.

This and That

Yesterday I got a new book from the library. I hope to finish it before the end of February and be on my way with my 12 books new years resolution. 1 down so far.

Yesterday I also needed to get oil for my car. I was browsing the winter coat section again at Canadian Tire and saw that the one I liked was still there. I received a $25 gift card for Christmas and decided to get it. It was $99.99. It is a very quality coat which will be good for playing in. I have not had a new winter coat (other than one professional one) since 2001! So it was time, and I think it's a good deal for a quality coat.

My roommates from university are coming up to visit me this weekend and we plan on going tubing so I will get a chance to test it out. It will be nice to see them, I haven't seen them since the summer, so I'm excited!

Today I also attempted to make sushi for the first time. MOST of them turned out. There were a few that were hard to pick up because I did not roll them tight enough. I think I might take a few in my lunch tomorrow.

I completed Day 8 of the Shred today, and I am feeling so much better doing it now. No pain the next day, and it's much easier during the process too. Loving it!

Expensive Habits

Everyone has these. I love eating out and I enjoy buying the occasional video game or book. If you look at it though these habits can add up to a lot over the course of a year!!

My dad smokes (gross and expensive habit), he spends approximately $7 a day on smokes. That is $2555 over a year! Yuck!

Alcohol is another big one. Although I will usually only drink twice a month, those that drink more it can add up. A case of beer (or a nice bottle of wine) is about $35 and doing that every weekend is $1820 for the year. Then going out for drinks at at least $5 each on top of that, not including cover and coatcheck.

Who is a big coffee/latte drinker? At about $4 a day that's $1460 just in drinks for a year!

DVD or Blueray collectors? It's hard to keep up with the changing forms! Or do you enjoy going to the show each week? Buying a DVD or going out to a theatre each week for $20 is $1040 for a year. Doesn't even include popcorn and drinks!

Another expensive habit that a lot of people have (myself included) is eating out. I do not enjoy packing a lunch, but a typical lunch is $5-10 not including gas expenses. I do splurge occasionally on a lunch or dinner, or delicious snack! Spending just $50 a week in eating out is $2600 for a year.

Books! I am a big collector of children's books. I have spent more money on them then I wish to calculate. If I spend $10 a week on books, that's over $500 for the year. Yikes! I don't even have kids, or a classroom haha.

What about clothes, shoes, jewellery, make-up, furniture, gambling, golf, dry cleaning, computer/video games, sports, etc.

Wow the cost of life sure is expensive. But it's good to know what you are spending your money on, and see if you really can afford it. If you can, then go for it, if it's cutting into other expenses or savings maybe it's a good time to look at cutting a few things back a bit. Maybe only go out for lunch/supper one day a week? Or making your own hot chocolate/coffee at home every other day. A book only once a month? May be tricky but I think I'm going to try a few in the new year. Everything I save from cutting back can be snowflaked into debt or savings.

Do you have any expensive habits?

Almost Done...

Last night I wrapped our anniversary gifts and a few Christmas presents. I finished all my pillowcases as well. They look very comfy. I got a new pillow a few days ago and it is a "queen" size pillow so I made an extra long pillowcase for it and it's very comfy! I realized though after finishing ALL of the pillowcases that I was measuring the pillowcases on one that my mom made a few years ago. Apparently it is about 2 inches short. So now my pillowcases are also about 2 inches short. Darn. Still covers the pillow at least.
Yesterday I went shopping as well I got several small things for my friends, my mom and my boyfriend's family who are now all done and now I am done my dad, and half of my brothers. I had a $100 gift certificate for this place and so with everything I got I only paid $47. I bought the gift certificate in the summertime for this purpose and it was only $40. Fantastic!

Now I am going to watch some TDDUP as I pack and then I'm off to the big city for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Birthdays, Christmas, Spending...

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday the big 56! I am going to get his gift today and also withdraw the money that I owe for the snowtires etc. Novemeber is an expensive month, I am wayyy over my budget already. If I do not include Christmas and tires then I am doing fine. But because of tires I could only contribute $300 this past paycheque toward the family loan.

This week I have also not received any supply calls. I am thinking that my goal of having the family loan paid off by the end of February might be more difficult than the original difficulty level I thought it was going to be! I am not going to change it though, I will just have to be very careful and get as many additional hours working at the rec centre as I can over Christmas break.

On the bright side, with the time off I have been able to get in some more sewing! Some of which I am going to turn into Christmas gifts for friends if it turns out :)

Cars are expensive!!

I just got an oil change at the beginning of the month ($56) and this weekend I just got snowtires for the first time. At first I was against them. They are so expensive! But since I am supplying quite a bit and often have to travel long distances I think they are a good thing to get. Some provinces even make snow tires mandatory to have (Quebec). The tires I had to get were just under $100 each. I got four put on for $420. Ouch. But my mom just won a draw last week and won almost $2000 and said she would pay for half. So that is very very helpful. However, when the guys were putting on the tires they had a look at my old tires and said that two of them are just terrible and need to be replaced. They discarded them there! So come spring I am going to have to buy two more tires....it's never ending. I also need new windshield wipers, please nothing other than gas until spring!!

Weekends Should Be Longer!

Had a great weekend, short but sweet. I worked Friday and the boyfriend met me at the school I was at. I was finished before 4:00 so we went to the closest Fabricland and I bought some material, to make him a gift and enough fabric to make some friends a couple of comfy winter pillowcases. They didn't have the right green I needed though so I will have to visit another Fabricland soonish. Total cost for that was $23.

The rest of the evening we spent eating supper, playing wii, and chatting with family. Saturday we went to paint ceramics. This took a lot longer than expected. He painted a football character, and I painted a purse box. We had to leave them there because the owner takes them and then fires them up and then will call us to pick them up. These were about $20 each. A little pricey but was still a fun afternoon. That night we had supper and then watched 5 or 6 episodes of Dexter. Anyone else watch this show??

Today he left early. He had to go to play soccer at 1:00 and he lives 4 hours away. I will be going there next weekend, as it will be our 6 year anniversary. Woohoo!

Haircut!!!

I got my hair cut today! Highlighted too, so although it was $90 with tip, I think it is worth it. I have not had my haircut since the beginning of June so it was due. I got it thinned out too, so it's so nice and light. I love when they straighten it for you! Of course I could be frugal and highlight it myself and just go in for a cut. Without blowdry etc is a lot cheaper. But a girl has to spoil herself every once in a while. I have never had a manicure/pedicure, or anything done at a spa, so my hair cut/highlights 3 times a year or less are a treat!

How Much Would You Pay....

Fabulously Broke made a post yesterday asking how much would you pay for
-a purse?
-a winter jacket?
-a pair of boots?
-a casual (not formal) dress?

Reading the comments, it actually surprised me by how much some people would spend on these items. For me (these would be the max I would spend on each):
purse: $50
winter jacket $200
pair of boots $120
casual dress $70

I am from the southern end of "northern Ontario" and we get a lot of snow, I would invest some money in quality boots and coat, but still I think if you shop right you can find some great quality items without spending an arm and a leg on them. Is there anything else that should be added to this list that you think you might pay more (or less) on than the average person?