Yes, tomorrow is pay day! This one isn't as exciting for debt repayment because most of that happens in the middle of each month. This time I make the minimum payment on my smallest balance credit card ($30 - such a tiny little sliver on the status bar) and a car payment ($363). Well, actually now come to think of it the $250.00 payment for my misc loan technically is taken off my pay for next month as well so I'll include that too. A little more exciting than I thought. :)
On top of those two items my jars look like this:
God's Money $130
Gas for Car $30 (already used $20)
Groceries $60 (it's low from overspending last pay)
Animals $165 (it's high to pay back from overspending last pay)
Entertainment $15
Savings looks like this:
Emergency Fund $200 (This brings the total to $750!!!)
Dog Vet $100 (for an upcoming annual. This brings the total saved to $200 and I think it is enough)
I'm going to have to really watch my spending for the next 2 weeks. It will be tight but doable. After reading a blog post (Thanks to Niki now I know the post was a guest post on Budgets are Sexy) about a young pregnant lady living on $20.00 a month for groceries, I am not doing too bad at all with $60 for 2 weeks. I had to re-boost the animal fund after borrowing from it. But I need dog food ($74), bunny litter (which is wood stove pellets) to last over the summer since they don't stock these in the summer (I'm thinking about $30).
I'm still trying to come up with some ideas to boost my efund and get it to $2000 as quickly as possible. I am waiting on better weather to have my yard sale. Any suggestions for me?
In other news:
I had a test and an interview for the job with the census but haven't heard anything further. Someone mentioned that maybe they are waiting until after the election to go ahead with that. I know they called my boss for a reference as well.
One thing I'm finding a little hard is that I have the money to pay off my student loan ($300.00) and it would be gone but I can't do it. It's my emergency fund money and I can't touch it. It just bugs me to know that it could be gone today if I did it. But I won't. Just had to get that off my chest.
Thanks for stopping by!
Little Lamb
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A couple of good things
Tires are on the car! It cost $10.00 less than I budgeted. Score! Efund boosted! Now it's $550.00
One of my credit cards has an annual fee of $59.00. This fee was added along with the interest yesterday. I called and asked if they would waive it and they did! Score! Saved increasing my credit card debt by $59.00!
Every little bit counts!
On a non-PF note my very first half marathon is on Sunday. I'm not looking to try to break records, just finishing will be great!
One of my credit cards has an annual fee of $59.00. This fee was added along with the interest yesterday. I called and asked if they would waive it and they did! Score! Saved increasing my credit card debt by $59.00!
Every little bit counts!
On a non-PF note my very first half marathon is on Sunday. I'm not looking to try to break records, just finishing will be great!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Changes.
Hello all my PF Blogger Friends.
Sorry for the confusion with changing my blog name and address. Personal reasons. I am trying to make sure I don't lose any of my previous blog list and favourite blogs. I didn't realize they would be deleted when I changed the name. I don't know how to make this change over any easier.
If anyone knows anything about changing blog names/address and updating as a result, your advice would be greatly appreciated! If you don't see your blog on my blog roll please let me know so I can add it.
Thanks for all your support!
Little Lamb
Sorry for the confusion with changing my blog name and address. Personal reasons. I am trying to make sure I don't lose any of my previous blog list and favourite blogs. I didn't realize they would be deleted when I changed the name. I don't know how to make this change over any easier.
If anyone knows anything about changing blog names/address and updating as a result, your advice would be greatly appreciated! If you don't see your blog on my blog roll please let me know so I can add it.
Thanks for all your support!
Little Lamb
A little frustration...
I planned to take my car to the garage today to have the summer tires installed. I got up early on my day off and got on the road. The garage is in another town and a bit of a drive. I should also mention that since gas prices are what they are and payday is this Friday my tank is very low (again). I knew I had enough gas to get there and home and probably do me until Friday. I had preordered a rim because I damaged my old one just when winter started. When I got there the rim hadn't been delivered. So I went over to the shop I ordered it from to get it. Well they had no idea where it was. Long story short the rim wasn't there and they had to order another. Won't be in until tomorrow. Ugh! I left my rims and tires at the garage so they can get them done and then when I go back out it will be a quick change for the winter/summer tires. I'm frustrated though because I either have to come up with gas money early or wait until after payday to go back out and the shop that messed up the order didn't give me a deal or anything. Lesson learned from this: I really need to reconsider my gas budget because I have been running on fumes just before payday the past few times. *end rant about tires.
I sold another item I had up for sale and made $130.00. That boosted my efund to $540.00.
On another note I have totally blown my budget for this pay period. I'm over by $45.00 so far and like I mentioned, payday isn't until Friday. I'm not overly concerned because I have tweaked the numbers for next pay and have made up all but $10.00 of it. I am still frustrated that I have gone over by so much though. But the debit card and credit card have remained untouched and for that I am thankful.
It's not an easy road and it's one that is less traveled but I'm staying on it. I have a wonderful family, great friends and an awesome PF blogging community to support me on my journey. Thanks to all of you!
I sold another item I had up for sale and made $130.00. That boosted my efund to $540.00.
On another note I have totally blown my budget for this pay period. I'm over by $45.00 so far and like I mentioned, payday isn't until Friday. I'm not overly concerned because I have tweaked the numbers for next pay and have made up all but $10.00 of it. I am still frustrated that I have gone over by so much though. But the debit card and credit card have remained untouched and for that I am thankful.
It's not an easy road and it's one that is less traveled but I'm staying on it. I have a wonderful family, great friends and an awesome PF blogging community to support me on my journey. Thanks to all of you!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Why?
I've been thinking lately about why I want to be debt free. Of course there are lots of reasons and we probably all share many of the same. Things like: freedom from being a slave to the lender, I want to control my money and not have my money control me, I want to be able to make some dreams come true and I want to get rid of the stress. After listening to some of my Dave Ramsey cd's I realized that I am really excited about the ability to be able to give when I am debt free. It thrills me to think that I could anonymously give money and pay for something really needed for someone. Stopping to think about the reasons behind what is driving me to be debt free will help keep me going when the impatient part of me is whining.
I was able to boost by efund by an unexpected $70.00. It's growing.
What is your why? What excites you about becoming debt free?
I was able to boost by efund by an unexpected $70.00. It's growing.
What is your why? What excites you about becoming debt free?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Pay Day!
Well here's how the budget looks for the next two weeks:
So there's the budget. I zero balance my budget each time so it is what it is. I also went for a test for a job with the census today. It was a pretty easy test and only 12 questions. Now to wait and see if I get a job from it. Its just a temporary part time job which would be perfect to put my efund. The pay is 14.72/hr.
So do my budgets look reasonable?
| God's Money | $115.00 |
| Student Loan #2 | $50.00 |
| Student Loan #1 | $150.00 |
| Gas Bill | $71.00 |
| Hydro | $59.22 |
| Cell Phone | $93.15 |
| Satellite | $43.66 |
| Internet/Home Phone | $46.26 |
| Animals | $80.00 |
| Gas for Car | $50.00 |
| Groceries | $75.00 |
| Entertainment | $20.00 |
| register for 1/2 marathon | $40.00 |
| Emergency Fund/Tires | $160.00 |
| Dog Vet | $100.00 |
So there's the budget. I zero balance my budget each time so it is what it is. I also went for a test for a job with the census today. It was a pretty easy test and only 12 questions. Now to wait and see if I get a job from it. Its just a temporary part time job which would be perfect to put my efund. The pay is 14.72/hr.
So do my budgets look reasonable?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, Monday
Well I get paid in 4 days. Yay! Although I really long for the day when I no longer live payday to payday.
So here's how the jars are:
Gas: EMPTY! and I have very little left in the tank... sigh
Groceries: $3.60 that's fine because I don't need anything.
Entertainment: $3.50 - I may get another coffee or two this week
Animals: $63.00 which is great because prior to keeping track on the jar system it was always empty. It's important to keep extra in here because of larger purchases like bags of dog food ($70.00).
I am still hoping the road bike sells so I can really boost my efund. Also this month I need to get my new summer tires put on the car and get a new rim (since I damaged the other one). So that will cost me about $134.00. I have $100.00 in the bank for this and will set aside the rest from this coming payday. I have to set aside some money for Bella's (my dog) yearly vet visit. I also will be budgeting $40.00 to register for the half marathon I am training for. (We did a 19k run on Saturday)
On a personal note, a good friend of mine started her travels for a move today. She is moving back to her home town of Winnipeg. I'm really happy for her. She just finished school and will be looking for a job in her field as soon as she arrives. Its a long drive so I sent her with some Dave Ramsey cd's to listen to on the way. :) I told her she's not allowed to get in the mess I did. All the best, my friend!!! I'll miss you lots!!!
So here's how the jars are:
Gas: EMPTY! and I have very little left in the tank... sigh
Groceries: $3.60 that's fine because I don't need anything.
Entertainment: $3.50 - I may get another coffee or two this week
Animals: $63.00 which is great because prior to keeping track on the jar system it was always empty. It's important to keep extra in here because of larger purchases like bags of dog food ($70.00).
I am still hoping the road bike sells so I can really boost my efund. Also this month I need to get my new summer tires put on the car and get a new rim (since I damaged the other one). So that will cost me about $134.00. I have $100.00 in the bank for this and will set aside the rest from this coming payday. I have to set aside some money for Bella's (my dog) yearly vet visit. I also will be budgeting $40.00 to register for the half marathon I am training for. (We did a 19k run on Saturday)
On a personal note, a good friend of mine started her travels for a move today. She is moving back to her home town of Winnipeg. I'm really happy for her. She just finished school and will be looking for a job in her field as soon as she arrives. Its a long drive so I sent her with some Dave Ramsey cd's to listen to on the way. :) I told her she's not allowed to get in the mess I did. All the best, my friend!!! I'll miss you lots!!!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Finding ways to save money.
I was reading some PF blogs this morning, and saw a post by Big City...Beer Budget. She just purchased a new cell and got a pretty good deal on a plan. Well, a much better plan than the one I was on. I was just looking at my budget last night and this morning wondering where else I can make cuts or savings. So after reading the post I decided to call and see if I could get a better deal on my plan. Well much to my surprise I not only got a much better plan (way more for my money and much the same plan as BC...BB) but I am also saving $20.00 a month!!! THRILLED. And the CSR was so nice (and I think so happy that I was so happy) he even gave me a credit on my account since I am a few days into my new billing cycle. He said this would cover any cost that might show up from my previous plan!
Moral of this story: It never hurts to ask. I think I might call some of my other providers and see if they can do anything for me cause it never hurts to ask!
***Update*** I just saved an additional $7.00 on my satellite bill!
***Update # 2*** Mini Fridge SOLD!!! $75 for Efund!
Moral of this story: It never hurts to ask. I think I might call some of my other providers and see if they can do anything for me cause it never hurts to ask!
***Update*** I just saved an additional $7.00 on my satellite bill!
***Update # 2*** Mini Fridge SOLD!!! $75 for Efund!
Monday, April 4, 2011
OP Build Emergency Fund is underway!
God is good. I didn't think I would be able to add a cent to my emergency fund until next pay day. However, here is how the weekend turned out.
I went to coffee with a friend who is going to start an ING tfsa. I gave him my orange key so we can both get $25.00. Sweet!
Another really good friend of mine needed help installing her wireless router and she asked for help and I was happy to be able to. She said she would pay but I couldn't take payment, she's done so much for me. She said she would be able to write it off as a business expense and it wouldn't cost her anything. She paid me $40.00.
Another friend of mine was storing a few things in my basement and this weekend her and her bf came to pick them up. They gave me a $100.00 Walmart gift card! Wow, I didn't want anything, I was just helping a friend.
I am so thankful and appreciative for both of these gifts. Since I buy veg for my bunnies at Walmart and some groceries there I exchanged the cash in my jars for the gift card and will put the cash equivalent into my emergency fund. Since I have $28.00 in there from before, adding the 140.00 (plus $2) will mean there is now $170.00. And once my friend signs up for the tfsa that will add another $25.00.
I have put a few items on kijiji to try to sell them and have a sizable pile of yard sale items for next month. One of the items I put up for sale is a road bike I purchased last year. I don't want to sell it but I know it's for the better (if I am even able to sell it). It's a higher priced item and will make a big dent in the emergency fund. I am taking Dave Ramsey's advice and trying to get that emergency fund built very quickly.
A huge thanks to Sarah at Digging out of Debt, one spoonful at a time and Antie Eboo at My Life Journey for helping me with the blog roll and progress bars!!!
Keep on keeping on!
I went to coffee with a friend who is going to start an ING tfsa. I gave him my orange key so we can both get $25.00. Sweet!
Another really good friend of mine needed help installing her wireless router and she asked for help and I was happy to be able to. She said she would pay but I couldn't take payment, she's done so much for me. She said she would be able to write it off as a business expense and it wouldn't cost her anything. She paid me $40.00.
Another friend of mine was storing a few things in my basement and this weekend her and her bf came to pick them up. They gave me a $100.00 Walmart gift card! Wow, I didn't want anything, I was just helping a friend.
I am so thankful and appreciative for both of these gifts. Since I buy veg for my bunnies at Walmart and some groceries there I exchanged the cash in my jars for the gift card and will put the cash equivalent into my emergency fund. Since I have $28.00 in there from before, adding the 140.00 (plus $2) will mean there is now $170.00. And once my friend signs up for the tfsa that will add another $25.00.
I have put a few items on kijiji to try to sell them and have a sizable pile of yard sale items for next month. One of the items I put up for sale is a road bike I purchased last year. I don't want to sell it but I know it's for the better (if I am even able to sell it). It's a higher priced item and will make a big dent in the emergency fund. I am taking Dave Ramsey's advice and trying to get that emergency fund built very quickly.
A huge thanks to Sarah at Digging out of Debt, one spoonful at a time and Antie Eboo at My Life Journey for helping me with the blog roll and progress bars!!!
Keep on keeping on!
Friday, April 1, 2011
I'm doing it all wrong!!!
"They" always say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. **Insert lightbulb over my head!** I'm doing the same thing with my finances over and over and expecting that I can get out of debt this way! Ain't gonna work!
In the past week and a bit I have had to put $900.00 on my credit card that would have come out of an emergency fund if I had one. So that $1200.00 I paid on my student loan in March really only brings me $300.00 closer to debt free. Plus the credit card has a MUCH higher interest rate than the student loan. SO..... I am done snowballing the debt until I have an emergency fund! Otherwise I am going to stay in the same boat I am already in. And I don't like it here. I want to jump on over to that DEBT FREE boat. But in order to do that I need my life jacket (AKA emergency fund). So no more risky business, OP Build Emergency Fund is underway. Well ok as soon as I get paid again. Seeing as I just got paid yesterday and paid that extra $200 on my student loan I now have to wait until mid-April for my next pay. But at least I have a plan and I think that could be seen as setting a goal. Which brings me to my next revelation.
Goal Setting - All the other PF blogs I read set and review their goals. I am not nor have I really ever been much of a goal setter. I'm not sure why but it could be link to fear of failure or something of the like. But for whatever reason, goal setting and I haven't really gotten along. Yes I suppose I do have goals and have achieved things I wanted to do in life so I'm not a "goal setting-a-phob". I am currently training for a half marathon. However, I think that in order to achieve my debt free goal I need to set little goals along the way to keep me on track and help me measure my success. Ugh!
But how do I start? What do I set as my goals? Ok here's where you come in.... Help! :) Please.
Oh and if anyone can help me figure out how to do the status bars on the side so I can track the %, that would be awesome! And I'd love to start a blog roll and add you to it as well, can you help with that too? Thanks!!!
In the past week and a bit I have had to put $900.00 on my credit card that would have come out of an emergency fund if I had one. So that $1200.00 I paid on my student loan in March really only brings me $300.00 closer to debt free. Plus the credit card has a MUCH higher interest rate than the student loan. SO..... I am done snowballing the debt until I have an emergency fund! Otherwise I am going to stay in the same boat I am already in. And I don't like it here. I want to jump on over to that DEBT FREE boat. But in order to do that I need my life jacket (AKA emergency fund). So no more risky business, OP Build Emergency Fund is underway. Well ok as soon as I get paid again. Seeing as I just got paid yesterday and paid that extra $200 on my student loan I now have to wait until mid-April for my next pay. But at least I have a plan and I think that could be seen as setting a goal. Which brings me to my next revelation.
Goal Setting - All the other PF blogs I read set and review their goals. I am not nor have I really ever been much of a goal setter. I'm not sure why but it could be link to fear of failure or something of the like. But for whatever reason, goal setting and I haven't really gotten along. Yes I suppose I do have goals and have achieved things I wanted to do in life so I'm not a "goal setting-a-phob". I am currently training for a half marathon. However, I think that in order to achieve my debt free goal I need to set little goals along the way to keep me on track and help me measure my success. Ugh!
But how do I start? What do I set as my goals? Ok here's where you come in.... Help! :) Please.
Oh and if anyone can help me figure out how to do the status bars on the side so I can track the %, that would be awesome! And I'd love to start a blog roll and add you to it as well, can you help with that too? Thanks!!!
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