Give Me Back My Five Bucks....One of my Fave Bloggers Does It Again.

Krystal over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks (see Blog Roll for her site) did this awesome post today wherein she asked questions of her readers. 

Yours truly has left a comment...look it up to see a little more about me. 

Here's a link to the posting:  Give Me Back My Five Bucks.


Check it out!!!


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Don't Quit Yer Day Job.

So trying to be all PF geek and economical last night, I decided to give myself a mani.

O-M-G.  *Canadian Girl.  Do NOT quit your day job.  Yeah, I'll admit it's tougher to paint your own nails with a darker colour, but my nailpolish got all bubbly and gross.

I googled and figured out that it's because I didn't let the colour dry enough before painting the next coat.  Balls. 

That's the last time I try to be economical.

The colour I used is my absolute FAVE, which is called Suzy Says Da from OPI's Russion collection, I believe.

<----It's this gorgeous brown colour.  I luuurve brown.  Not black, but brown.  When you paint a few coats, it looks all black and goth and Lauren Conrad.  Love it!  Despite the job, it does look pretty sexy on my talons.

Here's a pic of the worst nail.  The bubbles are killing my OCD self.  Do I remove it and re-paint?  F**k no!  I don't have time for that.  I'll just have to live with it as long as possible.

Anyone want a manicure done by yours truly?  Didn't think so.

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Hello. I am Canadian Girl, and I'm a Personal Finance Geek.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a total personal finance geek.  How does one become a PF geek, you ask?  The simple answer is: debt.

I have a list of blogs that I read (check the blog roll!) and among them are a few of the top PF bloggers in Canada.  They’ve been featured in the Globe and Mail, and have umpteen followers reading their musings on a daily basis.  We all live in different places, attended different schools and do different things for a living.  However, what do we all have in common: we are or were in debt and wanted to get out of it as soon as we could.  I’ve read almost every post in these blogs.  Why?  I wanted to educate myself and NEVER be in the hole again.  I wanted want my bank balance to be in the black forever.  I’ve soaked up their techniques and knowledge, and tweaked their advice to suit my own lifestyle and preference for managing my spending.  

Here’s a little breakdown of how I’ve made it work:

Comparatively speaking, I know I’m not deep in debt.  I started out with just over $13,000 and have a little left to pay off (more on that later in this post).  But it’s made me obsessed with watching my bank balance, noting all of my spending and making every penny count.  Not bad traits, I’d say.  I’ve tried not to cheap out where it counts, like for gifts and when I truly need a fun night with the girls after a long week at work, and I think I’ve done a good job overall of curbing my spending and paying down that debt vigorously.

Here I am, less than 2 years after graduating (yes, a hint at my age!) and I’ve only got $ $2,975.78 left to pay.

I’d say that’s pretty damned good.  Considering the only debt I’ll have left is my mortgage (there was no getting around that one, unfortunately) and have some savings in the bank for a trip and for any potential emergencies, I’m going to be in great shape really soon.

I’ve cut coupons, taken {almost} anything that’s free, and live on less than $400 per month.  Yes, that’s right: I live on a mere percentage of my monthly income.  Why?  So the rest can go to savings, and debt repayment.  Once that debt is clear, I’ll never have to worry about that again, and all that extra left at the end of the month can simply go into various accounts.  I think I will set them up as follows:

• Mortgage (lump sum, yearly pay-off)
• Property tax (should be less than $1,500 per year, so I can get this beefed up in no time)
• Fun
• Emergencies

Those four categories should suffice, for now at least.  I’m thinking of setting up an RRSP as well…but since I have a pension with work, I’m debating about waiting until I move to a higher tax bracket and really need the cut in taxable income.  That’s something that could be added as a 5^th account, or I’ll wait it out.  I’m sure there will be more on that later.

Based on my calculations below, I will be completely debt free in April.  Holy eff!  I didn’t anticipate that being so soon, but I’m not gonna complain.  The chart below assumes $26 per month in interest {should be less, but let’s err on the side of caution}, and $1,000 per month payoff, except for this month due to covering my puppy’s vet expenses and the leftovers from my holiday spending:

I’m going to use this as my inspiration to keep me on track and to be 100% consumer debt free less than 2 years after my university grad.  Happy 2010 to me.  This is gonna be a great year.  I can feel it in ma bones!!!!!

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

More Money Blunders. Eff.

Just got my mortgage statement in the mail.

WTF??? 

I’ve been consistently paying the mortgage – over $500 a month – and I still have only paid off just over $460 in interest.

This is ridic. I’m moving into a box.

The cost of living will be cheaper that way.


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Epic Holiday Fail

Christmas/Holiday spending was OUT OF HAND!   

Well, not completely, but I went o-v-e-r the budge.

(*budge = budget.  Why?  Don’t know.  It just sounds cooler, ok?).

 Here’s a breakdown of the spending:

Mom - $93.80

Stocking/small gifts: $24

PJ’s (her fave – flannel nightgown that I looked everywhere for): $28

DVD (may I note that I bought her this one last year.  Time to come up with new gifts!): $13.80

Return the gift: -$13.80

Replace DVD with gorge sweater from Banana Republic: $41.80

Work - $15

Small gift for our assistants

Dad - $26.80

Sweater: $0 (this is $0 because I’d bought it for the ex, but didn’t get to give it to him.  Gorgeous Banana Republic deep green argyle…it was a sunk cost, essentially)

Book: $16.80

Gift certificate: $10

Other - $440.46

This includes holiday party wear, last minute gifts and food.  Breaking down each individual cost would not only bore you, but I’m sure I’d break down and cry.

Total spending: $576.06

Total saved before the season: $230

Surplus/Defecit: $346.06

EPIC FAIL!  Hey, Canadian Girl, note to self: start to save before the season hits next time.

How did your budgets go?  On target or way off the mark or do you just not wanna think about it?

Here’s another sorta resolution for me:  be smarter with money in 2010.  I will keep you all posted and let you know how that goes.

Meanwhile, I’m off to sob while looking at my credit card bills.  Eff.

Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

Happy. For now.

Remember the dude from my birthday?  The one who I was all upset didn't text me back, and then I find out his cell was broken?

Well...we spent New Years together, which was also his bday.  Let me tell you.  It was so low-key and so much fun.  It was the best New Years I've had in a while. AAANNNNNDDDD....he called me his girlfriend! 

Now, this doesn't mean I'm losing sight of my whole lets-take-it-slow-so-we-last mentality, but I sure am happy to have someone calling me that again. 

He's super sweet, treats me so well, is affectionate, funny, a good dresser, ambitious and successful.  All the things I've been looking for.  Oh, and he's tall and athletic too.  This seems too good to be true.  Let's hope I don't fuck this one up. 

Hooray for 2010!!


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl

2010: New Year, New Me

Hellllowwwwwwwwwwwww!


I'm back from my winter slumber. I have to say, I'm well rested and ready for 2010.  I had a great holiday with the fam (minus the extended fam at the actual holiday celebration, but this is neither the time nor the place to get into that icky fam shiz) and feel like I've had a vacation.  Not one of those hot, tanned, drinking your face off vacays, but I'm def ready for what 2010 throws my way.

I don't really make resolutions.  It's not that I think they're stupid, and I certainly don't knock anyone who does.  They're just not for me; I find that the trouble I have keeping them only compounds to make me feel worse about not being able to reach my goals.  So, this year, I'm doing something different.  I'm resolving one thing and one thing only: to make myself happy.  Simple, you say.  So it may seem.  But it's not that easy for me, and it's going to take a lot of time and effort to change the way I think, act, and live in order to achieve my "resolution", for lack of a better term. 

As simple as it seems, I'm going to evolve as a person this year, and make 2010 the best year for me.  I don't know what it has in store but I'm excited for what changes the year may bring.

Happy 2010 to all of you.  Any resolutions?


Hugs,

*Canadian Girl