Birthday Love

I haven't had much opportunity to write lately because of the demise of my laptop. Right now it's almost 6:00pm on a Friday and I can't wait to get out of the office so this will be a short update.

It was S's birthday this week! The extra $$$ I needed was all included in my secret b-day budget this pay period. Because I budgeted, I was able to get him some great gifts and still keep my bank account afloat. For a mid-thirties b-day, S got:

*a cd case for the collection of indy rock he keeps in his car
*a nose hair trimmer (asked for) - yes, we are married now so this is ok apparently (ha!)
*a fishing mapbook to show where the best places to go fishing in Ontario are
*a $100 gift certificate to a local sport fishing shop so he can get a new fly rod
*dinner with his me, bro & bro's wife
*delicious cake & wine
*lots of kisses

The nose hair trimmer is a bit of a hilarious gift. It's not like he really needs it but then again, it will probably come in handy one of these days. Is this the men's equivalent to a woman getting a blender or a vacuum? In any case, he asked for it soooooo..... yeah. Potentially it was a bit of a domestic gift but we've got to take care of each other so that's o.k.

Today my bank account is at 143.22. That's $8.77 below my minimum bank balance for the day but given what a big week it was with the b-day and all, I think that's pretty good. Next pay period, I'm really going to need to get my laptop fixed - stat!

I Can't Wait To Get Home!

On the May long weekend, I'm heading back to Vancouver to see my friends and family! I cannot wait. The last time I saw everyone was at Christmas time but I'm super close to everyone and missing them has been my biggest challenge in moving to Toronto. My ticket was $499.45 and my parents and S are both going to give me $100 each so I'm heading to Vancouver for about $300 which is an wonderful.

S is leaving for Europe for three weeks to finish his MBA at that time anyway, so since I'd just be at home missing him, this works out really well.

Unfortunately, I had to put this ticket on my Visa so it's now maxed again. But on the upside, I'm planning on dropping a large payment of $750 in my next pay period. Plus the $200 from my familia and it should be back down to a respectable amount very soon. I'm also going to make an effort to put some extra money on it.

It's actually a good thing that my Visa was maxed this morning because I was playing around online and ended up designing my own business cards on vistaprint.ca. They look great! And were only $50 including shipping but when I went to process the order my Visa got declined. Although I think it's a really, really good idea to have a personal business card and I will probably process them in future, this morning it definitely would have been a complete impulse buy.

Bi-weekly Budget

So far I'm finding it easier to budget on a paycheque to paycheque basis. Potentially I might try doing a full monthly budget in May but doing it by pay period makes me feel like I have more control. Plus, my inner geek now loves budgeting so I get to do it more often.

Tuesday, March 31st to Tuesday, April 14th

Income $2,636.31 * Incl. $1,100 from S for Rent & Util.
Groceries (100.00) *April 5th
Internet (34.84) *April 1st
LOC (210.00) *April 2nd
Rent & Utilities (1,790.00) *April 1st
Visa (53.00) *April 10th

Total $448.47

Days In Pay Period, 15
No Spend Days, (5)
Save as Much as Possible Days, 10

Max Spend per ok to spend Day, $44.85

Minimum Bank Balance Per Day

Tuesday, 31-Mar $2,636.31 *no spend
Wednesday, 1-Apr $766.62
Thursday, 2-Apr $556.62 *no spend
Friday, 3-Apr $511.78
Saturday, 4-Apr $466.93
Sunday, 5-Apr $322.08
Monday, 6-Apr $277.24
Tuesday, 7-Apr $277.24 *no spend
Wednesday, 8-Apr $232.39
Thursday, 9-Apr $232.39 *no spend
Friday, 10-Apr $134.54
Saturday, 11-Apr $89.69
Sunday, 12-Apr $44.85
Monday, 13-Apr $0.00
Tuesday, 14-Apr $0.00 *no spend
Wednesday, 15-Apr Pay Day

My mininmum bank balance takes into account my budgeted expenses, then deducts my ok to spend amount on my ok to spend days. So far I prefer the flexibility of a budget like this rather than breaking down a specific amount for clothes, entertainment, etc. As long as I keep my account above my daily minimum's, I'll reach my current goal of paying off Visa #2 by the end of September.

For my planned purchases (right now: hot yoga class card, yoga mat on sale, ski helmet) I was originally going to put all the $$$ I could on my Visa and then for planned purchases, just use my Visa. But I'm changing that plan. Now that Visa #2 balance is starting to come down, I don't think I could handle seeing it increase again - too anti-motivational. Since I need to change my financial habits anyway, I'll save up my ok to spend amounts instead for these purchases rather than resorting to plastic.

Today, my bank account balance is $2,666.31 - I'm $30 over my minimum but the $20 I budgeted for March bank fees hasn't come out yet so technically, I'm probably only about $15 over (hopefully bank fees won't be the whole $20). Have a great day everyone!

Weekend Money Merengue

I had such a great weekend, this weekend - despite being totally foiled by the weather!  I decided to clean house on Saturday (picture perfect sunshine), so that I could relax and have some fun on Sunday. Then on Sunday it poured!  Lucky for me the Vancouver roots kicked in and it ended up feeling pretty refreshing.

S and I have a pretty good division of chores going on right now. We alternate weeks, cleaning the house and grocery shopping. Cleaning has never exactly been my strong point but Karma was my friend when I met S - a cleanoholic.  I get a lot more pleasure from grocery shopping because I'm a label reading fanatic.  For any entrepreneurs out there, I think you should open an ethical grocery store that doesn't stock any products with trans fat in it. I wonder what that would look like...

Anyway, money-wise the weekend was not too shabby. I didn't spend any cash on Saturday and on Sunday my expenses broke down like this,

1.5 hour Hot yoga class (including mat & towel rental) $22

Sushi lunch $19

Salsa practice $10

Total: $51.00

Looking back it seems kind of frivolous.. Since I'm going to hot yoga every Sunday now, I'm going to invest in a class card so I don't have to pay the drop in rate. I'm also going to check Craigslist for a reasonable yoga mat (new). I shouldn't have had to pay $2 to rent a towel but I forgot mine.

$19 is pretty expensive for lunch, not sure how that added up so quickly. I haven't been eating out much lately and have stopped buying work lunches cold turkey so I'm not going to beat myself up over it but looking back, I'm definitely wincing! I have to do better on being more price sensitive if/when I do eat out.

Salsa practice! I found this fantastic new salsa spot not far from my place. Thrilled!!! Best $10 spent all weekend.

When I was a little kid, I had this green Snoopy sign above my bedroom door that said "To Dance is to Live, To Live is to Dance".  I still think that :)

Cashing Out on Fashion Week

Yesterday I had a real dilemna on my hands... to go to the Calvin Klein fashion show (which would have blown my budget) or stay in and save my cash. It was particularly hard given that I was on the list to bypass the line and had a super discount on tickets.

Old me:

$30.00 - order in Thai food before leaving for the show
$10.00 - taxi to get there
$10.00 - entry to the show
$20.00 - drinks
$10.00 - taxi home
$80.00 (probably on my trusty plastic)

New me:

$0.00 - cry a little inside as I decide not to go to the show
$0.00 - feel a bit relieved and happy with the decision
$0.00 - make dinner for S & I with food we already have in the fridge (yum!)
$0.00 - Catch up on some reading, snuggle with S
$0.00 (I'm up $80!)

We're heading up to my second favorite Canadian city this weekend, belle Montreal, for the St. Patrick's Day parade festivities so I need to save my pennies.

Today's bank account balance: $392.08

By the way, I am so so sad for Liam Nieesen and his family with the passing of Natasha Richardson. Usually I don't ski with a helmet on although had been having second thoughts about that recently. Before I go skiing again, I will most certainly invest in a good quality helmet. If you're a non-helmet skier like I was, click on the link above and read what can happen if you don't wear one. Let's all protect our heads.