Debt Free Kid

Hello! Happy New Year! Happy Easter! Like usual, I've been updating my sidebars but not any actual content with this blog. Everything is still going swimmingly, as we just keep swimming, just keep swimming, further into middle age (me), adolescence (Bean) and adult kittyhood (Baxter and Link). Bean is turning eleven at the end of this month! I know! I started this blog when he was three - although you wouldn't know I've been at it for eight years judging by the sound of crickets around here. He is very much a "tween" with his headphones on and his jeans showing his ankles since his legs are growing out of them. I was very fortunate when he was little, since his great-aunt handed down all the clothes her grandson - two years older - outgrew. But for the past couple of years this source dried up, and luckily I now make a little bit more money than I did when we were younger. We found a pair of jeans that he loved at The Children's Place and would buy three...

So far not off to a great start. I misread a letter from the student loan company and was $4 short for one of my payments. I started off the new year with a $45 NSF fee in my "no-fee" account. It was a really stupid mistake, since the line of credit they granted me is sitting there unused, and I could have transferred an extra amount from there just in case ... could have, should have. The mistake will eventually be forgotten, but not my grudge against that bank. I have already pulled almost all of my money from it to use another no-fee bank that is serving me much better. It felt great to end 2015 with all my bills paid, thanks to the "Xmas Saving" account I set up, where I deposit a small amount each month to cover December (extra) spending. However, I forgot to leave a little bit in there to visit a friend before New Year's, and ended up having a larger than expected credit card bill to pay in January. So I'm playing a bit of catch-up this month and not...

Yesterday I posted about my recent experience purchasing - and using - travel insurance. The bank did not give me a policy number at the time of purchase, and the overseeing insurance company did not receive the paperwork in a timely manner because of the holiday on July 1st. Something that made me smirk during the whole ordeal, was that I did have a policy number for the cat. Yeah. A couple of days before we left, I called the number on his collar tag to make sure his microchip was programmed with our current address. During the call, the nice representative managed to sell me an annual pet insurance policy for $20. I thought it was a good idea, mostly because I had a student staying at our house while we were away, and I wanted to minimize the effects of any emergency our adventure-loving kitten might encounter out in the wild. So when the NY hospital asked me for the policy number for Bean's "broken" arm, I checked my phone and found the pet insurance policy number...

I get paid on the 28th of each month, and sometimes, like this past January, it feels like weeks between payday and the beginning of the next month. I have about three months worth of pay saved up so I'm never quite short on funds, but I do try to make each current pay last till the end of the month (the 30th or 31st, rather than the 28th), Since February has only 28 days (normally) it is a nice feeling to head right into March with a full paycheque. This month, to make it even sweeter, I have declared it "no spend month." This means that all non-essential spending (groceries and gas excluded of course) is to be delayed for four short weeks. And I am not allowing myself to cheat by using a credit card and paying it off next month. Half of my January pay went towards a hefty credit card bill from December spending, even though I had a christmas savings account set up. Still, it is nice to check my credit card statements and see that zero balance. Since I am single agai...

We have been in the house less than three weeks and we are ecstatic. Bean's new favourite word is "Newhouse." On the weekend I noticed the tray under the hot water tank is full of water, and slowly starting to leak onto the concrete basement floor. I put newspapers around it, and they dried, and Baxter (the kitten) decided to take them skating around. The basement seems to be his domain, because his litter box is down there. I called the utilities company, and they are sending a plumber this afternoon to replace the tank. Before the old one is removed, I will have to sign a five-year contract for the new tank. I balked at the commitment. The rental is $12.35 (10.93 + HST) per month on my hydro bill. In five years the cost of the rental will be over $3200, if the price does not increase. I could probably have three tanks purchased and installed for that price, but then I would be on the hook for all the repairs. I spoke to the plumber, and he assured me that rentin...

Time seems to speed up when you have a kid, and even more so during the summer. I am already solidifying plans for the first week of September when the students arrive back at the university. We took our holidays right away, leaving for New York state two days after grade two ended for Bean. I had paid for the retreat with my income tax refund back in March, so we needed U.S. cash only for gas and meals along the way. We decided to leave a day early and break the trip up into two parts, with the first night spent in a pretty cheap motel across the border. I think that was Bean's favourite part of the trip, because he loves hotel swimming pools! I was quite impressed with the scenery along the way south: what a beautiful part of the country! Once we arrived at our retreat, we parked the car for the entire week. Meals were covered, and were deliciously vegan. We have decided to go vegetarian since our return, which coincides with the need to bring our grocery bill down to $75 a w...