Saving4Later

Relaxing day off

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:42:00 +0000

I stayed up late last night, so enjoyed sleeping in this morning til 8:30 (as opposed to 6:35 am)... I finished my book (#2 this month), enjoyed a mega cup of coffee and watched some of the Remembrance Day celebrations. We're still enjoying beautiful weather so this afternoon I brought the rest of the yard and garden stuff in.

For dinner, I made a super easy chicken recipe (chicken breasts smothered with mayo, parmesan, garlic and worcestershire sauce... reserve some for dipping!) and I have my lunch made for tomorrow.

Tonight I'll watch part 2 of the CSI trilogy (Miami, NY and Vegas!)... I almost never watch any of them anymore, but I like watching special shows like this. Monday night's was really good. I think my favorite new show this year is The Good Wife. No bad episode yet!

I didn't spend or drive, I really enjoyed my day off and I'm ready for my last stretch at work before the lady I'm replacing comes back. She goes to her doctor on November 23rd, but the insurance company guy told her she could be off til the 27th... Either way, that'll be my last week of full time hours until the week before Christmas probably. Unless someone else gets sick or divorced!!

Paid days off ROCK!

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Most of us Canadians are off tomorrow for Remembrance Day... I'm very grateful for the paid, mid-week break! And the sleeping in :-)

Sunday I didn't spend or drive. Monday was a no spend day also. Today I was bad though... I went and got groceries (just a few items we needed: oj, crackers, lettuce, cocktail sauce) and threw in a magazine. Have you checked out the magazine racks lately?? I love the glossy covers full of holiday recipes and treats. I think with taxes it came to like $6... ouch. I remember when magazines were like $2 each. Total bill, including the mag and a $2 donation, was $19.60.

I spent a couple hours after work helping my mom can some bar clams. They come in 5 pound bags that just need to be cut in smaller pieces, then rinsed a few times, put into pint-size jars and on the stove for about 3 hours. I did the math and when they're bought prepared like this (as opposed to bought as a whole clam in the shell and having to do all the dirty work) it works out to about $5.60/pint. Bought whole would have saved maybe $1 to $1.50/pint. And if we were to buy a jar from a fish market, it'd be at least $8-10. They are very, very good in chowders, dips and casseroles so definitely worth the splurge once in a while. We still have some from the last time we bought some, so I didn't go in with my parents this time, but my mom said she'd drop off a couple pints tomorrow :-)

I need to give my Christmas shopping more thought as I only have 20 days left to finish!! I'll probably put the tree up on December 5-6th, then I hope to only have to think about food until the 25th!! Stress-free holidays are the way to go!

Lost my checkbook

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:48:00 +0000

And I refuse to pay $31 for new checks.

I was just at my credit union website and clicked on the link to order new checks. Well the cheapest ones were $21 for 100 (plus tax of course) and other fancier models were $24+ for 50 checks.... And shipping was over $6......... and I know for a fact it costs less than $2 to mail since there is no tracking number on the boxes, just regular postage.

I found a full box of checks I got for free when I opened my PC Financial account. While I'm not using it as my main checking account, I think I'll send $100 there for when I want to write checks... about 1 usually...

Hopefully I'll find the lost checkbook, I know there are still about 10 left in there, and I will have saved $31 by using what I have at home.......

Monday afternoon update: I found the checkbook!! Still 20 checks in it, so I'm set for a couple years! Whew :-)

Saturday sweets

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

I was a bit nostalgic on Saturday so made the dessert I made a year ago in my cooking class in Paris:

The list of ingredients is simple...

6 oz dark chocolate
6 oz butter
6 oz brown sugar
6 eggs
3 oz flour
(extra butter and flour for the molds)

1 avocado
1 banana
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp orange juice
sugar to taste
1/4 cup water

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat.

Mix flour and brown sugar together in separate bowl.

Add in 6 eggs.

Mix well (I use a whisk)

Add the flour/sugar mixture

Mix well...

Butter and flour the cups

Pour into 4 cups, then put in fridge for at least 1 hour

Ingredients for the sauce

After it's been blended

Right out of the oven, centers still a bit gooey

This is what it looks like, unmolded

Yummy dessert with a twist!

These are very expensive to buy in restaurants, some places as much as $10/serving! I figure it cost less than $2/serving when you make it at home, depending on the chocolate you use...

Week one results

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:27:00 +0000

So far so good for November, I'm still tracking everything. Here's a recap:

Sunday

$20 food and snacks (miscellaneous fund)

Monday

no spend 1/18

Tuesday

$2.17 groceries

Wednesday

no spend 2/18

Thursday

no spend 3/18

Friday

$41.01 gas
$54.41 groceries
$10 miscellaneous money ($5 bake sale items, $5 fundraiser ticket for cancer patient)

Saturday
no spend 4/18

I'm pretty satisfied with my results... November's a long month though, 3 more full weeks to go, a lot can happen.

I also finished one book, so I'm 1/7 for that goal.

Back-to-back no spends

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000

I didn't spend Wednesday or Thursday so I now have 3/18 no spend days in November. Not bad, but I know I'll be spending tomorrow. I need gas (it went down by a couple cents/L this morning) and a few things at the grocery store. I have something work-related to do tomorrow after my regular shift ends at 4, so I'll run my errands once I'm all done.

Thanks for all the feedback about the Kitchenaid mixers :-) I've been wanting one for years and years but could never justify paying so much for it when I needed other things more. I dream of making meringues and whipped concoctions in there most! I will start a side bar to track my amazon.ca gift certificate balance!

[I tried to email a commenter who left a message saying she has one for sale... the address bounced back so I'm letting her know that while I appreciate her letting me know she has one for sale at a good price, I want to see if I can manage to get one for free on my own... I love challenges!]

Just 2 days to go, one and a half actually (Friday and Saturday morning shift) but I do need to work lots on my part time job as my boss needs to crunch numbers with the accountant. I work best when given a deadline, so by Monday I want to get everything finished. Next week will be a weird week with a holiday right in the middle!!

New fun goal

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:49:00 +0000

I just noticed on the Amazon.ca website that we can now buy home and garden things. We use to only be able to get books, cds and dvds from there. A lightbulb clicked immediately in my head as I remembered Saving Diva's quest for an iPod!! I don't want an iPod, I want a KitchenAid Stand Mixer!!! I love to cook and bake and do have a lot of gadgets, but this is one I never splurged on.

There are extremely neat colors, such as tangerine, pear and pink, but I'd probably go with metallic chrome:

I plan on hanging on to my redeemed Swagbucks and all survey rewards (I wouldn't mind another $75 survey like I did in the spring, on garden catalogs!) and seeing how long it takes to get this... with taxes it'll be close to $400!! (that's why I don't have one yet............) Hopefully in one year I can get it, so my goal is by December 2010, a Christmas gift from me to me :-)

Staying on track (Sun-Mon-Tues)

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Honestly, Sunday I spent some money I shouldn't have... bought dinner (was only $6.78) and I gave the rest to my mom who picked up some sodas for me, 4 six-packs of 750ml bottles of 7-up. I figure these might come in handy if we get sick and some nights I like a soda without caffeine to keep me up. Total spending: $20.

Monday was a no spend (1/18 this month)

Tuesday: I picked up bananas. It is my #1 breakfast choice, along with a coffee. I go to work on an empty stomach (bad, I know!) and eat my banana and have my coffee about an hour after I get there. If I only go in to work later on, I never eat bananas!! Weird, I know! The bunch I got was $2.17.

Work's keeping me busy and I'm also trying to finish some bookkeeping stuff for my pt job.

Yesterday I talked to a guy who works for Air Canada reservations and he told me they are starting a direct flight from Toronto to Brussels in June 2010. I'm pretty sure that is going to be my next destination (sadly just in September or October 2010 though..... sooooooooooooo long to wait!!) The flight news is exciting though, as I already have to connect in Toronto, so hate making 2 stops instead of just 1.

Sunday treats

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures of my 2nd attempt at crème brûlée. I got the recipe from the instructor of my cooking class in Paris. We didn't make this in class (we made the molten lava cakes with avocado sauce) but he shared the recipe with us anyway.

The ingredients are super simple:

6 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar (white)
1 tsp vanilla or 1/2 vanilla bean

Heat cream and vanilla until it boils. Beat eggs and sugar together in a separate bowl. Pour hot cream mixture over the eggs, slowly. Stir until nice and smooth. (I use a large measuring cup with a spout to pour into my ramekins, no mess!)

Bake 45 minutes at 220 degrees F. Let cool on the counter for 1 hour and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

This is the pan before it goes back into the oven to make the brulee part. I prepared them around noon, cooked in a water bath, then let them set on the counter for an hour, and then settle in the fridge for 3 hours.

I sprinkled brown sugar on top:

Set them in the oven on Hi broil:

This is the finished product, uneven (darker on left side)

The verdict: Good, but not as good as last week's (that one had maple syrup in it!). This was runnier and tasted like "pudding", according to my sister. I has happy with the caramelization part though... last week my dad was over here with the blow torch and it didn't work as well because I had put too much brown sugar and it didn't melt and get hard like I wanted.

And here's what I treated myself to for dinner... a yummy donair from Pizza Delight! I'd been craving one for a month!

November goals

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

As I posted, the last couple months have been full of expenses. Planned, yes (vacation, window replacement) but it still hurts to see my savings balance decrease significantly. I made some goals to get on the right foot in November:

18 no spend days (I need 36 before the end of 2009 to reach my goal!)
5 no drive days
read 7 books (I have cut back on reading quite a bit! Need to get back on track)
donate a couple more boxes to the library
finish my Christmas shopping and stay ON BUDGET!

November budget

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:35:00 +0000

I haven't posted my budget in a while... it rarely changes though from month to month:

I figure I'll bring in around $2,380 after taxes but feel safer to budget from $2,200. Anything extra will be swept to savings.

Fixed expenses

$650 Freedom Account (a big pot of money divided amongst a bunch of subaccounts)
$325 household expenses (1/2 of cable, phone, cell, internet, power)

Variable expenses

$150 groceries (1/2 of total household amount)
$100 gas
$100 miscellaneous (spending money)

Giving and saving

$100 TFSA (funding 2010 account already)
$350 retirement (2 x $100 sent to mutual funds plus $150 sitting at ING until Feb 2010)
$200 giving
$225 vacation

----------------------

Finally Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

I'm excited because the end of the month is near... I love when the interest posts in my accounts, when I can move some funds around, make some new goals and begin anew. I have to say that the last couple months have been hard on the wallet... I have totally sucked on the no spend days (I probably just got a handful all month).

Today I bought candy and drinks for Halloween, and I'm combining it with the bars my sister got the other day. We only get about a dozen kids, so we hand out a small bar, a small bag of chips and a drink (orange or apple juice boxes). We weren't here last year (didn't celebrate Halloween at all in Paris) so I hope the kids stop by again ! I bought a couple other food items (brown rice, eggs, avocado, salad and romano cheese) and I think the bill came to $24 something. I really need to sit down and total everything...............

I work again in the morning, a short shift (I'll be home by 11)... it sucks that I have to get up for it though!!! only 4 more Saturdays to go then I hope to be done for the winter. My regular hours are Monday to Friday, no Saturdays, so it sucks a bit that I have to go in...

Also, I canceled a hair appointment for next week since my hair is really not long enough (i.e. it's not bugging me yet!).

I'll post November goals tomorrow!

One for her, one for me...

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:18:00 +0000

I bought my first Christmas gift yesterday, and I'm hoping to be done all Christmas shopping by November 30th. Not that I buy a lot, but I don't want to be stuck at the last minute making impulse (and expensive!) purchases. I admit while I was buying my sister's favorite soap, only available during the holidays (from Lush), I put some things in my virtual cart for myself also.

My budget for everyone on my list is $700... I also have 3 birthdays in January to consider, so there will be a few bucks added to my gift account.

I stopped at the store to get some bananas (absolutely want one each morning for breakfast!) and I ended up buying stuff to bake over the weekend... either some more crème brûlée or some molten lava cakes. I can't seem to find my receipt but I think the total was around $18 for bananas, cream, baking chocolate and a big thing of maple syrup ($9!!).

Finally, I got my amazon order yesterday and I LOVE Pioneer Woman's cookbook!! It is soooo full of great pictures and recipes (many of which can be found on her blog though) that I know I'll refer to it often.

Mid week spending

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:38:00 +0000

I filled my car again as the price is going up again tomorrow... $13.99. I also got cravings for junk so I spent $2.33 at the corner store for trail mix and a Coffee Crisp chocolate bar!! I felt bad eating it, but I know it's my hormones "talking"

I feel much better after a good night's sleep. I rarely get headaches but I had a splitting one last night. Tylenol PM (which I get in the US) really, really helps. I try not to take a dose more than once a month, but when I do I sleep like a baby!

We fall backwards this weekend, don't we???? That'll suck after dinner, dark around 5ish here... oh well.

Small boost to vacation fund

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:58:00 +0000

There was an extra $117 on my paycheck from an adjustment that was made on rate miscalculations or something of the sort... it's not a huge amount, but every little bit helps :-) I will just transfer it tomorrow, and will adjust my sidebars then too.

Today was a no spend day, as was Sunday, but I've spent every other day since the 18th. Yesterday I bought a reusable bag and some postage stamps. Today I made a trip to the library, but didn't spend anything (resisted the urge to just go browsing).

I feel a bit under the weather but hope that a good night's sleep will help. The one thing (only thing?) I hate about my job is if I can't go in I need to find a replacement... in this case it would be the replacement looking for a replacement... that means maybe having to go in for an hour or 2 then getting someone to fill in for me. I hope it doesn't come to that...

I honestly can't wait to get into November... calculate my net worth, get rid of my $7,120 credit card bill (yes, it will be paid in full) and set some new goals...

Slight less bummed... by shopping!

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:10:00 +0000

So today wasn't my happiest day... I woke up with a backache, in a bad mood after a fight with my sister last night (a childish fight... over hockey or horse racing!) and I was desperately wanting to get on a plane and leave the country! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen again (dinner was great... chicken wings and Pioneer Woman's onion strings) and I decided to do a bit of shopping:

Using my Swagbucks, I got these 4 books for free through Amazon.ca :-)

Pioneer Woman's cookbook is finally coming out in 2 days :-)

And these ones, just for fun reading! I love mysteries, and combined with food, it's a nice bonus :-)

One of my favorite series! Murder She Wrote: A Fatal Feast

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn

This has cheered me up a bit :-)

Now I might go to the Lush website to get some Christmas shopping done... for others and a couple treats for myself :-)

A year ago today...

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:15:00 +0000

I was putting the final touches on my suitcase and getting ready to drive to the airport for a fantastic 2 week trip to Paris and Bruges. I'm dying to go back, to visit more places, but it just didn't work out this year. I'm bummed because I don't have any single friends to travel with, all my good friends are parts of couples who pretty much only travel together.

And I'd go travel with my sister any time, but she kept her vacation time to travel with her buddy in 2010 (travel buddy is off from January-September) instead, and she says that she won't go back to Paris anyway.

Oh well, I'm saving my $$ and will figure out a way to go back in 2010 :-)

Rainy weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:03:00 +0000

I haven't posted my spending much this week, but I did part with money every single day... even today, I didn't need gas, but I topped up my gas tank ($22). I really am looking forward to November where I'll be much more aware of my spending (I seem to have a what the heck mentality in October).

The weather's been grey and rainy, and most of the leaves have fallen off the trees... we had a bit of snow yesterday so it made the drive to work a bit tricky (as first snowfalls always do).

After work this morning I baked coconut cupcakes for a bake sale (proceeds going to sick neighbors) and I tried a couple new recipes (sticky maple ribs and a different recipe for crème brûlée)... that kept me pretty busy in the kitchen. I don't want to overdo it though as my better eating has paid off with a 6 lbs weight loss. Probably 5 of those 6 pounds were lost by skipping my evening snacking and giving up ice cream... My sister had her traveling buddy over discussing trips they are going to make in 2010 so I thought they'd enjoy the treats too...

Trimming more fat out of the budget

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:47:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who answered the H1N1 question... it's amazing how opinions vary! I went from being very sure I was going to get it, and now I'm not so sure. I did get whooping cough when I was 16, that was pretty awful, but other than a couple head colds in the last 4-5 years, I'm usually really healthy. I'm sure the vaccine is going to be the talk of the neighborhood in the next few weeks........

Tonight I inquired about transferring my internet from one land line to the other in my house, and canceling line #2. At first, the lady was telling me I'd have to pay $91 for a service call, but when I explained that I have 2 jacks that are side by side (this was done about 12 years ago for free, services we have to pay for now!) she said all it took was work done outside the house and it wouldn't cost anything. I just need to get my dad to come here when I make the call to cancel, as the main phone I'd be putting the internet bill on is still in his name.... I will be saving $28.25/month for a line I never, ever use anymore.

That just goes to show that there are still things to cut out of the budget when we think there is nothing left to cut. I closed a bank account last month saving $4/month, trimmed my main banking plan by $4.55/month and hopefully by Monday I'll get rid of $28.25/month. Total savings: $441.60/year !

Decisions, decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:28:00 +0000

Next week we can start getting vaccinated against H1N1 if we want, but I'm still undecided. There are a lot of conflicting reports, and it changes almost daily. I think I'll decide for sure the day the shots are given!!

What are you guys doing? Is anyone getting one?

The last couple days I ran errands at lunch and spent $78 or so at the grocery store. I've been buying a lot of fruits and veggies and today stocked up on steak and chicken (love beef stir fries). I have to pick up Halloween candy on sale next week so I don't end up getting it at the convenience store an hour before the kids stop by!!

Work's still keeping me busy, I hope to set up my end of the month transfers and stuff on the weekend... I have gone to a smaller plan at my credit union so have to combine some transactions (12 per month, used to be 40!). I save almost $5/month so it's worth it!

Going bi-weekly

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:33:00 +0000

I met with my advisor at the bank tonight and he suggested I go back to doing weekly or bi-weekly contributions to my retirement fund (RRSP). I did that in the past, once per month, then got scared about my cash flow (when I changed careers) and started just saving on my own and doing 1 yearly contribution only.

I think doing $100 every 2 weeks is going to be easy enough, plus I'm going to save some extra on my own in a different account, to make up the difference ($350-$400/monthly) that I usually saved.

I spent $40.04 in gas today, my car was close to empty. Hopefully this lasts a bit more than a week.

Can't believe how fast October is going!!! As SS4BC posted, we are 80% done with 2009!! Unreal.

Planning ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +0000

I haven't really tracked for months now... I do count my spend/no spend days, but I don't keep track in my Excel sheets. I have no idea how much I spend in gas, groceries, miscellaneous. And I noticed that I am somehow missing $115.04 in my Emergency Fund. How did that happen? I bet I made transfers without paying attention to which category I was pulling from.

November will be a good paycheck month as I'm working 39 hour weeks for those 2 pay periods. I already have a good idea where I will be telling my money to go and I'll post the actual budget on November 1st. I figure it's the best way to finish out the year...

I also have a good idea what to buy for my holiday gifts, and I'm hoping to be done by December 1st. I don't plan on buying more or buying less than in 2008... but I'm making sure I buy what the recipient will want/need (hope so anyway!).

Relieved

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Saturday turned out well after the "emergencies" in the morning. I realized too I had a few more documents (especially tax stuff) to back up before the laptop decides to die again, so this was a good warning.

I spent $35... $25 on postage and a mental health donation and $10 for a community dinner. As far as I know, Sunday should be a no spend. It's a cloudy day but actually not too chilly, so I'm going to spend a bit of time outside... I love walking in fallen leaves and especially enjoy breathing in the cool, clean air. As long as I don't run into the bear that's been seen hanging out back a couple times!! We should be safe this winter when he's hibernating though :-)

Dodged a couple more bullets

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:30:00 +0000

I know my luck is going to run out soon...

The washing machine that smelled like it was burning is still working very well :-)

This morning, I woke up to no hot water. My sister actually washed her hair, I don't know how she did it! Thankfully mine was looking half decent, so I went without washing. My dad had someone working in the basement yesterday on something related to the horses' automatic water bowls, he wants to try another setup and that's where the electrical box is. Anyway he must have done something to the hot water tank, cuz when he came back this morning, it just took one quick flick of a switch to work again. Phew! (the hot water tank was replaced in February after the other one caught fire!)

And.... when I got back from work at noon my computer was giving me some kind of fatal error, needed to re-install windows, wouldn't let me get into safe mode at all. I got on my sister's laptop and googled a few things.... didn't dare do them because I didn't want to lose everything. The most important thing on my laptop (and honestly the only thing I'd cry over if I were to lose everything) is my collection of my Lab's pictures. I have already saved to an external hard drive PLUS a couple cds, but I'd still hate to lose them on the puter.

After an hour I got it to work again (miraculously!) and all seems well now.

I refuse to put one cent for repairs as my laptop will be 5 years old in November. I do have the funds for a new one, but only when this one dies completely. I will make due with this one even if it is a bit slower.............

Hoping for no more bad things to happen, but still so glad everything worked out!!

Uneventful week

noreply@blogger.com (Canadian Saver) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:32:00 +0000

I haven't posted all week but it's been very quiet... I just go to work, run a few errands before coming home then settle in for the evening in my pjs, next to the fire. It's gotten a lot chillier, and there's frost and ice to scrape off my windshield in the morning. Yuck.

Today was payday, there's some left over that I'm leaving in there for a cushion, and I'll sweep most of the next pay (the 3rd in October) to savings.

I was quite reasonable with my spending, Tuesday I paid my lottery tickets to the office pool, Wednesday was a no spend, and today I spent $40ish on groceries.

I'll post more on the weekend where I'll have more free time, hopefully!