Surprises can be great - surprise birthday parties, free puppies, lotto wins etc. but they can also trip you up. In budgeting I have it literally down to the dollar what I can spend each month and the rest goes to debt repayment. A slip-up in planning or a surprise (large or small) throws the plan off quite significantly.
I know that I will be getting a healthcare bill in the next couple weeks for my monthly contribution to the provincial medical plan. I've never had to pay it before because I was in school and didn't make enough money to HAVE to pay for it (I was exempt when I was po') but a downside of sending in my tax return was that now the tax man and the medical people know how much I made last year and now it's a little too much so I have to pay up for the medical services I don't really use. (knock wood)
It's retroactive to the beginning of the year so it'll be about $250. That's a big chuck of my monthly taking and pretty much what I spend on groceries, so if I had to come up with it out of the blue it would be quite a hardship, and this isn't even that much money! If that's not a reason to have savings I don't know what is! There's a distinction to me made here.
I have two savings accounts. One is for "fun" like flights and trips and one is for emergencies. A medical bill, which if I was paying attention at all when I signed up with the plan I should KNOW the bill is coming, is not an emergency. I can easily pay the medical bill with my money in savings, but it's coming out of the fun pile. Emergencies are just that, unpredicable expenses which come out the blue.
See you later $250, I'll just stay closer to home this summer :( whamp wammm - At least I get to eat next month!!
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Did anyone sign up for some WeSeed.com stocks? Mine tanked today!
Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Grow Spring Grow!
When I headed out to my mini deck garden today to get some parsley for my lovely rice soup I realize this could be a good thing to share with you.
Not only does having plants improve your life it's also a great way to save a buck or two if you focus on cultivating a vegetable garden (for those with time, patience, and a green thumb) or some potted herbs and a lovely rosebush for people like me!
I grew 5 different kinds of herbs last year, but I never used them enough to keep them from overgrowing, so I decided on two this year - Parsley and Cilantro(Coriander.) It's been working out great and it's so nice to just grab a tablespoon or two and not waste half of a huge bunch.
I bought the plants for 3 or 4 bucks each and used 39 cent planters to give them bigger pots. I'll have nice fresh herbs all summer long and hopefully into the winter! What a savings!
With Vancouver's community gardens program, potential green thumbs would get a kick out of a great space work work on your craft, even if you live in an apartment.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Capers/Whole Foods on Cambie is 25% off today and tomorrow
I bought all these things for 25% off! I saved about $10.I tried to get only things I use on a regular basis i.e. nut thins, mayonnaise... But some juices and gluten-free mac & cheese snuck in there too!
Please note - there are no potatoes or candies! I showed much restraint. Potato Chips wouldn't be worth it, for one.. because 25% off for chips isn't really a deal. Wait for the 2 for 1 deals!
Living on cash really restrained me. Sure I wanted 2 bottles of the Naam's Miso Gravy, but I know I would regret buying them when I'm eating brown rice and frozen peas for lunch all week.
Yay money!
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Oh yea! They're having this mega sale (25% on ALL Products!!) because they're moving to Cambie and 8th into the new Crossroads building.
Monday, April 13, 2009
I Hate Tax!
So I signed up for 2 Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)!
They're a great option when you need some accessible income (but not that accessible.) Interest rates are taking a dive so it's a sad 1.75%, but never fear, I have faith that it will rebound in the future.
There's a $5000/year max on deposits, but as I mentioned to the Vancity Clerk, I don't make enough for that to be an issue.
As usual, I've been agonizing over my budget and an Easter weekend-long 'Til Debt Do Us Part Marathon I've been eeking out tips to help me out. It's difficult to do this because anyone with as much debt and as little income as I have would be told to declare bankruptcy, but because my debt is Student debt (and Good Debt to boot!) I have no choice but paying it off. I'm trying to do that ASAP, but I need to eat, sleep, and play sometimes too, so working out a budget is challenging. I continually feel strained to live within my budget, but I wanted to get out of debt in 5 years MAX. So, short of moving back to my Mom's basement in Ontario (and share with my college-grad brother?) I've got to spend less or make more money.
Spend Less:
I'm already pretty frugal as it is, but I feel that sharing with more than one person or living in the suburbs wouldn't be worth the sacrafice while I'm sacraficing everything else. My monthly budget is $630 including food, entertainment, clothing, gifts, sports, bank fees, cell phone, medical, personal care. Anything that's not rent, savings, or debt really. To ensure I'm on target I am going back to living on cash - attempting to track spending a bit better this time. I feel like I could cut back even further and cut out sports and never eat out, but since I'm already spending 31% of my income on debt repayment, bending over backwards to pay off Good Debt seems harsh.
Make More Money:
I'm looking for a part-time job!
- I got a job working the Provincial Election in May ($260 one time)
- I have an interview to be a ESL tour guide this Tuesday (not super psyched..)
- Applying for a job taking minutes at Board Meetings (~$240/m)
- Pimped myslef on online job search sites!
I figure I have many skills to offer (since I am pretty great) so hopefully something pays off. Even an extra $150 a month will help me pay off my debts a year earlier!
Do you have any ideas I can do for more money?
They're a great option when you need some accessible income (but not that accessible.) Interest rates are taking a dive so it's a sad 1.75%, but never fear, I have faith that it will rebound in the future.
There's a $5000/year max on deposits, but as I mentioned to the Vancity Clerk, I don't make enough for that to be an issue.
As usual, I've been agonizing over my budget and an Easter weekend-long 'Til Debt Do Us Part Marathon I've been eeking out tips to help me out. It's difficult to do this because anyone with as much debt and as little income as I have would be told to declare bankruptcy, but because my debt is Student debt (and Good Debt to boot!) I have no choice but paying it off. I'm trying to do that ASAP, but I need to eat, sleep, and play sometimes too, so working out a budget is challenging. I continually feel strained to live within my budget, but I wanted to get out of debt in 5 years MAX. So, short of moving back to my Mom's basement in Ontario (and share with my college-grad brother?) I've got to spend less or make more money.
Spend Less:
I'm already pretty frugal as it is, but I feel that sharing with more than one person or living in the suburbs wouldn't be worth the sacrafice while I'm sacraficing everything else. My monthly budget is $630 including food, entertainment, clothing, gifts, sports, bank fees, cell phone, medical, personal care. Anything that's not rent, savings, or debt really. To ensure I'm on target I am going back to living on cash - attempting to track spending a bit better this time. I feel like I could cut back even further and cut out sports and never eat out, but since I'm already spending 31% of my income on debt repayment, bending over backwards to pay off Good Debt seems harsh.
Make More Money:
I'm looking for a part-time job!
- I got a job working the Provincial Election in May ($260 one time)
- I have an interview to be a ESL tour guide this Tuesday (not super psyched..)
- Applying for a job taking minutes at Board Meetings (~$240/m)
- Pimped myslef on online job search sites!
I figure I have many skills to offer (since I am pretty great) so hopefully something pays off. Even an extra $150 a month will help me pay off my debts a year earlier!
Do you have any ideas I can do for more money?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Saved!
Since I'm not contributing to a retirement or pension plan through work, nor do I have any RRSPs yet, I save $300 a month for savings: $200 for emergencies and $100 for other. Emergencies are just that, hopefully I'll never have to use it, but things come up, in a big way, and if you're prepared somewhat financially, it won't rock your budget boat. Other includes everything else, usually fun voluntary things. I don't have any room in my budget for airfare, vacations, Christmas presents etc. so I need to have this extra cash in hand and that's what the other savings account is for.
Like your chequing accounts, all savings accounts are not created equal, so shop around! I started a few Jumpstart High Interest Savings accounts at Vancity (a credit union) a few years ago and they've been great to keeping my money close, but far away enough from my regular account that I didn't dip in without forethought. At 3% at the time, their interest rate was the best deal around, but now they've moved down to 1.75% in light of the economy. Find a deal that suits you. You should be able to save with little or no fees (especially if you do the bulk of your work on the internet), since they make money of your savings, so read the fine print.
Get saving! Not in the mattress or the piggy bank but that's not a bad start.
Do you have any tips for saving money?
Right now (after the tax refund comes in) my savings look like this:
Semi-serious: $565.47
Serious: $1630.98
Semi-serious: $565.47
Serious: $1630.98
Come October, I'll be making a fair amount less because I'll FINALLY have benefits (get ready teeth!) and so I'll lose my pay in lieu of benefits AND begin contributing 7% of my pay to a pension plan and 1.5 % to a mandatory savings plan my workplace matches. It's a good deal but will be an adjustment to lose the extra money so in the mean time I'm keeping the same monthly budget I will need then as far as discretionary expenses (so it's not a shock when I have $300 less a paycheque) and I'm making my own savings plan. By October I'll have $2700 in serious savings and around $1300 in semi-serious. Pretty darn good if you ask me.
If this hasn't been clear, I think having savings and some money on hand in case of emergencies is extremely important.
If you're in debt, do what you can. I've decided on paying a slightly lower amount each month on my line of credit in order to have more money to put into savings. Otherwise I would be savings free and giving away all my money and in case of emergency I would be stuck and emergencies happen! I did the calculations and by paying off my line of credit in 5 years ($650/m) instead of 4 ($800/m) I will be paying about $800 more in interest but would have also saved $9000 over that period. If you aren't sure how to proceed at least save some money for emergencies, $100-200 per month. You will appreciate it when your car breaks down, your kid needs braces, or you have to fly home for some emergency.
If you're debt free I would aim to be saving up to 30% of your income to savings:
10% to a retirement plan that you never ever touch (except if you're using it for a down payment on a mortgage, where the government give you a break on the withdrawal)
10% to a easily accessible high-interest savings account for emergencies (home repair, job loss)
10% for semi-serious savings in a high-interest savings account (vacation, new computer)
If you're in debt, do what you can. I've decided on paying a slightly lower amount each month on my line of credit in order to have more money to put into savings. Otherwise I would be savings free and giving away all my money and in case of emergency I would be stuck and emergencies happen! I did the calculations and by paying off my line of credit in 5 years ($650/m) instead of 4 ($800/m) I will be paying about $800 more in interest but would have also saved $9000 over that period. If you aren't sure how to proceed at least save some money for emergencies, $100-200 per month. You will appreciate it when your car breaks down, your kid needs braces, or you have to fly home for some emergency.
If you're debt free I would aim to be saving up to 30% of your income to savings:
10% to a retirement plan that you never ever touch (except if you're using it for a down payment on a mortgage, where the government give you a break on the withdrawal)
10% to a easily accessible high-interest savings account for emergencies (home repair, job loss)
10% for semi-serious savings in a high-interest savings account (vacation, new computer)
Once you have 3-6 months of your regular income saved for emergencies, you can keep on saving or invest that 10% for retirement or other long-term savings goals. You should keep in mind that your emergency money for 3-6 months will need to be added to as your wages and responsibilities increase, so it would need to be evaluated over time to ensure you have enough piled away.
Like your chequing accounts, all savings accounts are not created equal, so shop around! I started a few Jumpstart High Interest Savings accounts at Vancity (a credit union) a few years ago and they've been great to keeping my money close, but far away enough from my regular account that I didn't dip in without forethought. At 3% at the time, their interest rate was the best deal around, but now they've moved down to 1.75% in light of the economy. Find a deal that suits you. You should be able to save with little or no fees (especially if you do the bulk of your work on the internet), since they make money of your savings, so read the fine print.
Get saving! Not in the mattress or the piggy bank but that's not a bad start.
Do you have any tips for saving money?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Taxman Cometh
Well I made it to the end of March relatively well with limited overages. One thing I have to say is that when last Saturday rolled around I official began April budget-wise, and now, one weekend and 2 surprise house guests later I'm already down about $100 in borrowing from April's money. Bad Jen! Bad.
I will never, ever stay within budget if I begin the month in a handicap, so I'm using the lovely tax refund I will receive to beef up my emergency savings and a small amount of it will go to even out April's budget and perhaps buy me some badly needed work shoes, my $20 Payless flats have been rocking some massive holes for a few months now. I think it's time.
I sent my taxes in via Netfile last Friday so I should be getting my return soon. I'm getting about $2400 back this year which is awesome. I had planned to pay off most of my outstanding OSAP loan from University, but since my job future is questionable (whose isn't?), I thought that making some savings should be a priority. So I'm sending $1000 to my super serious savings account and $500 to my semi-serious account since it was recently depleted when I jumped on airfare for two upcoming trips (May and October, what can I say, I'm a planner).
The other $900 will go towards doing something I've meant to do for months. My bank account is a no fee account if I have a balance of over $1000 in my account. Because this has never been consistently the case, I also have overdraft protection. The regular account fee is about $4 and overdraft is $3. If I just keep $1000 in my account and get rid of my overdraft (having created my own cushion) I will save $7 a month or $84 a year, or $840 in 10 years. Small peanuts? I think not.
I would encourage people to see how much you can save with reading the fine print on your bank statements or your banking website. I've given up using my debit card for everyday purchases so I have the lowest cost account possible (which gives me 10 free transactions) and now it will be free. Some companies like PC Financial and different credit unions offer free accounts with no minimum. I'm in the interest of keeping a great relationship with TD Canada Trust for now since I've been there for 14 years, but look at your options.
As far as your tax return, don't delay! You pay something like a 5% penalty if you submit it after April 30st, so get on it.
I make doing my taxes a delight every year by taking extra money off each of my paycheques ($40/pp) so I don't have to pay anything at the end of the year, even if I do a bit of freelance work on the side. It guarantees that for now, while I'm mortgage and investment free, I'll get back at least $1000 a year. It's only so much higher this year because didn't work full time the whole year and I still have some school and tuition credits from last year since I was finishing up my degree. Yay money back! I'm pleased I'm spending it wisely too, it's not getting my OSAP paid off, but I sure have some good piece of mind.
I will never, ever stay within budget if I begin the month in a handicap, so I'm using the lovely tax refund I will receive to beef up my emergency savings and a small amount of it will go to even out April's budget and perhaps buy me some badly needed work shoes, my $20 Payless flats have been rocking some massive holes for a few months now. I think it's time.
I sent my taxes in via Netfile last Friday so I should be getting my return soon. I'm getting about $2400 back this year which is awesome. I had planned to pay off most of my outstanding OSAP loan from University, but since my job future is questionable (whose isn't?), I thought that making some savings should be a priority. So I'm sending $1000 to my super serious savings account and $500 to my semi-serious account since it was recently depleted when I jumped on airfare for two upcoming trips (May and October, what can I say, I'm a planner).
The other $900 will go towards doing something I've meant to do for months. My bank account is a no fee account if I have a balance of over $1000 in my account. Because this has never been consistently the case, I also have overdraft protection. The regular account fee is about $4 and overdraft is $3. If I just keep $1000 in my account and get rid of my overdraft (having created my own cushion) I will save $7 a month or $84 a year, or $840 in 10 years. Small peanuts? I think not.
I would encourage people to see how much you can save with reading the fine print on your bank statements or your banking website. I've given up using my debit card for everyday purchases so I have the lowest cost account possible (which gives me 10 free transactions) and now it will be free. Some companies like PC Financial and different credit unions offer free accounts with no minimum. I'm in the interest of keeping a great relationship with TD Canada Trust for now since I've been there for 14 years, but look at your options.
As far as your tax return, don't delay! You pay something like a 5% penalty if you submit it after April 30st, so get on it.
I make doing my taxes a delight every year by taking extra money off each of my paycheques ($40/pp) so I don't have to pay anything at the end of the year, even if I do a bit of freelance work on the side. It guarantees that for now, while I'm mortgage and investment free, I'll get back at least $1000 a year. It's only so much higher this year because didn't work full time the whole year and I still have some school and tuition credits from last year since I was finishing up my degree. Yay money back! I'm pleased I'm spending it wisely too, it's not getting my OSAP paid off, but I sure have some good piece of mind.
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