Debt Free Kid

It took a few months for me to figure out that the theme for 2016 is "Make Do." Because I have compulsive spending habits (that got me into over $20 000 in credit card debt), I have to be very careful with my idle time. If I am on a computer I have to avoid online shopping, and if I have a few free hours on the weekend I have to avoid the shops. It is not made easy when my newest credit card allows me to designate three shopping categories to receive my 2% cash back each month. Since January, one of my self-selected categories is "Drug Store." I have been out of my nice face serum since late 2015, and it has been so tempting to go into the drug store and purchase another $50 bottle, knowing I will get $1 back for the purchase. But I have avoided the drug store and saved the money, and I am instead using up a jar of $50 cream that I purchased last year. Making do with what I already have. I am similarly avoiding Sephora, since I have at least 10 lipsticks and liner...

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...

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...

For a couple of years I have been telling Bean that his first job will be a paper route. Most semi-responsible people I have encountered started their employment history this way, so it seems like a good thing to do. Kind of like what working at McDonalds was when I was much younger (except now anyone under 18 rarely gets to work in food services, since adults moved into that sector when the good jobs disappeared). I even bought him a wagon for xmas in 2012 to encourage him, and figured we would have a route by his 7th birthday. However by that date I didn't think he was ready and would find it more of a curse than a blessing. Also I'm still a bit hesitant because as kids, my sister had a route but pawned it off on me (without pay!) so I know how much work can be involved. And I never knew how low the pay is! The route I have a lead on is for "the free paper" in our town. We will deliver to 27 houses on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and the pay is $22 for ...

... or maybe this should be filed under stupid spending mistakes? Read on ... I knew I shouldn't have, but I clicked on the link from Paypal offering me a $25.00 credit from shop.ca. I have never used shop.ca, so I took a look. The selection was overwhelming, so I went to my two favourite lurking categories: wristwatches and handbags. I wasn't thinking when I selected one of each for my cart. The minimum purchase was $75, so I picked a $25 bag and a $50 Timex watch. I clicked through ... order went through ... no $25 credit added. Oh great, now what have I done? I mindlessly bought two things I don't need, and didn't even get the discount that brought me to the site in the first place. I clicked help, and saw that the order could be cancelled within two hours. So I cancelled it. Goodbye new bag, goodbye new wristwatch. It was a short fling. Emails came through confirming first the purchase, then the refund. Then an email from Paypal: here is the $25.00 credit! Wha...

My kid turned eight years old a couple of weeks ago. I booked him an amazing party at the local laser tag place for under $400. He invited eleven friends, and they all showed up! He got a lot of Lego, which he was thrilled with. I got him a new two-wheel bike, because his old one was getting too small. I also bought him new soccer cleats and shin guards, but I would have bought them regardless of his birthday. It was an expensive weekend! Spending on my kid now has its own category in my spreadsheet. I track all the expenses in their own categories (daycare/camps; sports; RESP; life insurance - something I would not purchase now but I bought the policy when I was less informed, and it is universal life, so I keep paying for it - only $24 a month; misc - includes birthday party and more frivolous expenses like tiny shopping sprees). I add up all the amounts and apply it against the amount of child support I get each month. If there are any funds leftover they go into his savings accou...

Each year I come up with a personal spending rule for myself, and my partner and I come up with a house rule. Last year my personal rule was to buy no new clothes. I am permitted new underwear and footwear (hopefully only on a replacement basis: one-in, one-out rule), but shirts, sweaters, skirts, dresses, pants, jeans, coats and jackets, are purchased second-hand only. I can't recall if I followed my personal rule perfectly in 2013, but I might have come very close, especially since a co-worker went on a few closet purges of her own and I became the lucky recipient! Prior personal rules were to cut out daily take-out coffee and limit take-out lunches. I did succeed with those, and now find the same $20 bill in my wallet for weeks. I now bring snacks and leftovers from home and use the department coffee maker each morning when I get in to the office. Our house rule for the first year of co-habitation was "no more Wal-mart." This rule became especially important to u...

So far in 2014 I have saved $1000. Go me! I have spent a little bit too: - a trip to Build-A-Bear with Bean (I gave him $40 in gift cards for xmas, and I had around $40 left over from January budgeting, so I let him pick a few extra things for his cute cute rainbow bear); - a trip to Sephora for me ($55 on a new foundation, plus another $60 on an exfoliant, from which I will use house-funds, and share the tube with my partner - see what I did there?); - and a trip to the Shoe Company for a pair of Pods (fake Bogs) which were 30% off and another $10 off when I used up my points with them (total was about $55 - but I used a credit card where the payment will not be due till end of Feb, thus using March funds - see what I did there?). I'm not paid to endorse any of the above shops. I have doubled my student loan payments in the hopes of having the bulk of them paid off in five years. I am still saving for a mortgage down payment, but I am getting discouraged by what is on t...

I mentioned  in my previous post that I won a gift certificate from Squirrelers' Thanksgiving contest. It was for $20 at Amazon.com. I normally order from Amazon.ca but xmas was arriving quickly and I thought I'd redeem it for something for someone I love. I had a harder time than I thought I would. Shipping from the U.S. is expensive and since I had left it so late, nothing I chose would be here in time for xmas. A couple of toys I had picked out for my son would not ship to Canada at all. I finally chose a backpack for my bro-friend but before I hit the switch I decided to check locally. I found the same pack for the same price at a shop in town and avoided shipping altogether. Last week I decided to buy a book with it. The book cost $10 and the shipping was $11! I couldn't bear to spend more on postage than on the book itself, so I went with my original plan and offered the gift certificate to a friend in the U.S. Since I had carelessly applied it to my own account ...

Happy New Year everyone. I have been working on my budget for 2011 and I am confident that I will have the last of the credit card debt gone by the end of the coming year. I can't say I will be debt-free because I will then have the $30 000+ student loan debt to tackle, however I am feeling pretty ecstatic to see the end of the credit card era of my life. It was nice to receive my paycheque on the 28th of December and be able to allocate it entirely into my new budget. I didn't have any credit card bills to pay since I managed to use some savings for all my xmas gift purchases. I also bought way less this year than in previous years. My sister and I agreed to buy nothing for each other and instead got together on xmas eve for a nice visit. I also didn't buy for any of my step-siblings' kids (of which there are now 6) because they keep multiplying while I responsibly keep my number of offspring to just one :) I kept my traveling to a minimum this xmas and when I di...

The health food store near our apartment has a customer appreciation day on the last Tuesday of the month: 10% off all purchases. I try to get a list going and when I direly need something I'll try to time it to make it over on this special day. Last Tuesday I noticed I was running low on Vitamin D. I take Vit. D, a multi-vitamin, and fish oils every morning. I was also feeling a little under the weather, so I thought I'd pick up a natural cold remedy while I was in there picking up the Vitamin D. When I got to the store I noticed the "Customer Appreciation" sign wasn't up on the door but I decided to go in anyways. You know where this is going. I walked out with Vit. D, echinacea, (EDIT: AND more fish oils), a bottle of Floradix (liquid iron supplement), two bags of organic cereal, a bottle of shampoo, a box of rice milk, and a bottle of China Cola. I spent almost $80.00. When I got out to my car with my bag of stuff, I remembered that customer appreciation...

I did it. I said I wouldn't, but I pulled the trigger. I bought a netbook. Actually, more than a netbook. About $300 more. I put in some overtime hours and instead of putting the extra money onto my debt I used it to buy myself an early birthday present. A $600 early birthday present. A little laptop, that had all the specs I had been researching for the past six months. I tried to wait another month to see if the price would drop for xmas, but I gave in. It's an Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T. I'm going to write a proper review for the Future Shop site and I'll copy it here too. So far, a fun little toy. Please don't judge me :) Seriously, Karissa PS: I also bought a new winter coat for $89. It's goose-down. Hopefully it lasts the season. It has been years since I bought a proper winter coat. PAID OFF. PPS: I also bought a gym membership for $40 a month. So far I've been going to yoga twice a week and it's totally worth the money spent. Dedu...

For me anyways. Bean seems to really enjoy it so I guess they're doing something right. We had a communication breakdown on the second day that wronged me and alienated me from both the JK teacher and the principal. I thought about boycotting the Welcome Back BBQ scheduled for this evening, but decided to go anyways, have a hot dog, and see if the teacher or principal would approach me. The invitation to the BBQ didn't mention anything about paying for the hot dog. I knew there were raffle tickets, since I was asked to donate candy for a prize basket (which I did, so much for my boycott), so I knew I would have to spend some money there. In the end I bought only one ticket, because a hot dog for me and Bean each, plus a drink cost me $4.50. If the food had been free, like I thought it was supposed to be, I would have spent $6 on raffle tickets instead of only $1. Then I had the pleasure of dragging Bean out of there, who insisted on staying until they drew his name for...

Bean starts Junior Kindergarten tomorrow, bringing a new responsibility for me that will also require a change in the budget: the school lunch. For the past three+ years we have been fortunate to have the daycare provide a hot lunch every day, and I knew it was a matter of time before this luxury came to an end. Not a complete end, as for the next two years Bean will attend JK every other day, alternating with daycare days. So I will have to be hyper-vigilant about remembering what day it is. If it's a "school day" we will have to pack a lunch and take a walk up the hill to the public school. If it's daycare day then we can leave empty-handed for the bus - or the car if it gets fixed next week like it's supposed to. Now to go make some jam&banana sandwiches, peel some carrots, and pack some crackers. Seriously, Karissa

My passport expired in May, and I've been slowly working on the "simplified" application for renewal. I finally had some time to get the photos taken, and for some stupid reason I chose to go to Walmart. They weren't very friendly, but they took the pics and when I asked the price I was told there was a "special": two pics and a passport wallet for $19.99. In disbelief I asked what the regular price was and was told $23.99. I told the lady I was sure I had never spent more than $10 on passport photos and she acted like she didn't believe me. I handed over my card and she handed me a plain black passport wallet that smelled slightly of gasoline. I then went across the street to Shopper's Drug Mart to mail the small package to the passport office. Next to the postal outlet was a photo area, with a sign that said, "Passport Photos $9.99" which made me feel slightly sick to my stomach. I hardly ever go to Walmart any more and now I remember...

So my Ford is still sitting in my parking lot, and I'm still driving the borrowed Honda. I can't say I've saved much money, since I have paid $130 for a new (used) tire and a replacement brake line. Both situations leading up to these repairs were costly in terms of stress and slight trauma as well. I have a feeling I should bring the Honda back to it's owners' house and say "thanks!" If I do that I have three choices: 1) Get back on the bus 2) Buy a new(er) car 3) Repair the Ford The mechanic who installed the Honda's new brake line said more lines are rusty and are going to break, and will need replacing. He's willing to take look at the Ford for free. He thinks $3000 was a high quote for the repair, but admitted that it will still be expensive. I hope to have the credit card balance down to $7000 and in a couple of months I will transfer it back to the LOC (5.5%), before the interest rate on the card goes back up to it's normal 19%....

Because I may be buying another car soon, I put off the new laptop purchase for a while. While Dell has deals for back-to-school and Mac is "giving away" Ipod Touch, it seems like the computer I want is only going up in price while the weeks of summer dwindle away. A month ago it was in stock and $599, now it's back-ordered and $692. Grrr. So I'm looking at Dells again but the reviews aren't great, and I even contemplated a Macbook because there's one with an 11" screen, and Bean would LOVE an Ipod because his cousin has one. Any feedback on netbooks or small-screen notebooks (I'd like Duo Core rather than Atom) is much appreciated. CAR UPDATE: just got off the phone with a mechanic (who fixed a rusty brake line on the Honda I've borrowed, which is a scary story in itself) who said that my Ford may have been misdiagnosed and he might be able to replace the timing belt and get it running again. He's going to research a bit more and get b...

To do tomorrow: have the Ford towed back to the parking lot of my building. The mechanic of the lot where it sits now quoted me a $3000 repair bill, and then offered to sell me a 96 Corolla for $1500. He said the timing belt went, exposing valves, bending them, and frying the engine. As it stands now I owe them $120 for the diagnosis, and tomorrow I'll pay them and have CAA tow my baby the hell out of there. My sweetheart stopped there last night to remove the boy's car seat and found both doors unlocked and the key in the ignition (not that the car would start to go anywhere, but still). What a mickey-mouse operation. If I decide to get the car fixed, I won't do it there. In their defence, I did say I'd be by to settle up by Wednesday or Thursday so maybe they just forgot to lock up after I didn't show up on Wed. But still. So for now I have a 30-day bus pass and a plan to use next month's gas money to buy a toy shelf for Bean's bedroom. He is just re...

Jolie wanted to know how the cash jars are going so here's an update. We're going into week four with the cash jars. So far I think I'm getting used to it. One problem I can see so far is with gas money. For the past three months I have spent around $80 on gas for the car, so for this month I budgeted $100. The whole amount was spent a week ago. I suspect it's because I am using a full-serve station now and maybe they aren't very honest at the pump. I can't think of another option because my son is usually in the car when we fill up and I used to rely on pay-at-the-pump with my credit card. I'm thinking of going back to that. For groceries the cash only seems to be working though, and we still have $60 out of $200 remaining with just over a week to go. I don't have any of my $100 personal spending money left but that's to be expected. I sold my sister my crappy cell phone and all its accessories for $50 and I still have $40 left from that. In...

I opened my first savings account when I was six years old. My mom was a bank teller and she set my sister and I both up with Calculator accounts at the Royal Bank. I loved playing with my passbook, pretending to push the little buttons on the cover. I loved rolling up pennies and giving them to my mom to deposit, watching the typed numbers increase in the passbook. I always had a little bit of cash, even as a little girl. I got an allowance of $2 a week and I liked to spend it on books (usually Judy Blume). I remember coming up with extra chores lists, and would charge my parents 25 cents for anything above and beyond my usual chores. My sister always spent her money right away and would come to me to "borrow" my money because she knew I always had some. I had an ATM card when I was twelve, and used it wisely. I knew how to write a cheque. I took a business class in high school, with a component in personal finance and did very well. I took business math and marketing an...