Debt Free Kid

It took me half a year to figure out that I might run out of money before year-end. According to my spreadsheet, overspending and indulging has left me with only $1300 to cover groceries, gas, and spending money for the next five months (Aug - Dec). It shocked me to see this, since I don't feel like I live an extravagant lifestyle at all. I haven't bought any new clothes or shoes for myself in 2016, and I last had a cheap haircut in August 2015. I still haven't called the plumber in to fix the leak in the bathtub / kitchen sink either. I did move $1000 from a savings account onto the car loan back in April. And I plan to do so again in August. I really want to get rid of the car loan. Some expenses have gone up, such as house and car insurance, property taxes, and hydro but heating gas has gone down by half to make up for it. I have my 2017 spreadsheet all set up and if I stick with it properly, everything will be covered, including savings goals AND I will st...

  http://play.nintendo.com/themes/holidays/nintendo-valentines-day-theme-2016/ Bean has decided that he is a geek/ nerd, and I'm having fun indulging him with comic books and watching great superhero TV shows with him. We don't have cable TV, so we wait until the shows air and then catch them online the next day.  He loves the Nintendo characters (even though I bought him an XBox last year - d'oh!) and I printed off a bunch of free Valentines from the link above for him. Tonight we are going to watch The Flash, glue the Valentines onto construction paper hearts, and make sugar cookies for his classmates. I received statements for two of my four student loans the other day, and the smallest loan was at $1650 at the end of December. I'm tempted to use part of one my savings accounts to pay the loan off completely. It's been a part of my life since I started college in 1996, and I want to see it gone. Twenty years! Currently, I'm in an assistan...

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...