Tax refund part 3

A few weeks ago I wrote about our tax refund this year. Well, I thought they had been mailed off but apparently my father-in-law was still playing with it and trying to get us a few more dollars back. Turns out...he did! He just gave us the officially finished documents last night and we will be getting:

4,818.78

I am still planning on doing essentially the same things:

1. $2,500 to Alberta condo
2. $1,500 to vacations
3. $500 to heloc (this is an increase from $300)
4. $318.78 for the household furniture.

The only thing I changed is to put more money towards the heloc. Now though, I am wondering....should I put that $500 towards my chequing account so that my buffer increases from $500 to $1000? Unfortunately, it's not until my account hits $2,000 do the fees get waived.

What do you think? Heloc or chequing account?

Getting back into sports.

I have always played soccer. Well, since I was 4 years old at least. I played from age 4 to 17, then again from about 23 to 26. I had taken a break during university and then it took a while for me to get back into it.

Then when we moved from Alberta I had to give up my soccer team. I figured I would play right away in BC but...I procrastinated. To be truthful, I really wasn't feeling social after the move. I was exhausted and stressed and just not in the mood. Looking back, I can see I was overwhelmed by the move and all the change in my life. New friends were not something I could handle.

But, it's been almost 2 years and I am so ready! I've been trying to find a team for the last few months but the soccer seasons out here aren't what I was used to so I missed a cutoff point. However, I have now found myself the perfect league!

It's a co-ed team where you must have 5 women on the field at all times. It's also a truly recreational league so they don't even keep score. And...no practices!

This is perfect for me. I like to play but I don't take it very seriously so a low commitment, fun group is really what I was looking for.

Best of all, it's only $70 and that gives me 21 games! That's just over $3 for each game (if I go to them all, which never happens). In Alberta I was paying $125 and I thought that was cheap. This is great!

My first game isn't until April 15th so I have some time to build up my cardio/endurance. This is also good because it will help motivate me to keep going to the gym. I admit to having slacked a bit lately since the snowboard trip is over and therefore the motivation has gone. But, I'm back at it now!

Job loss for others

After having gone through a lay-off with Boris over Christmas I have a new appreciation for the stress and anxiety associated with a job loss.

Today, my co-worker's husband lost his job.

It's almost an identical situation as to what Boris went through. They were warned that a potential lay-off was coming and yet when it happened, she was surprised. She was shocked. She was scared and hurt. All the things I felt when it first happened.

There were tears, as there was with me.

I took her out for a coffee and a walk to take a break from work and try to settle things down.

They are in a very different situation than Boris and I. We are younger, have better paying jobs, but more debt (mortgage). My co-worker and her husband are older (50s), have slightly lower paying jobs, no mortgage (they just paid it off) but I assume they still have some debt for cars or something. They also have two children in university. Fortunately, they received an inheritance last year and he will likely receive at least 1 year of severance pay.

However, I realized that regardless of your situation in life, a job loss is heartbreaking. It strikes at your own self-worth. It makes you feel completely powerless in life because even if you are a stellar employee you can get laid off. Boris lost his job because he had very little seniority. My co-worker's husband lost his job because the division was shut down. Both were great workers whose employers seemed to value. But, sometimes nothing you can do will save your job.

It was difficult to talk to her about the job loss but she seemed more willing to share with me because I went through a similar situation recently. Financially they will be ok. It's the emotional side of things they will have to deal with.

Once again, a reminder as to how important it is to have an emergency fund. I am still working on mine and eventually it will get there. Little by little.

Movie review for Alice in Wonderland

Tuesday night my friend, Boris and I went to Alice in Wonderland...in 3D!

I loved it!

Granted, I have always loved the story and I grew up watching the cartoon movie. I was really excited for this movie but also nervous. I was concerned that they were going to get the characters "wrong" or at least they wouldn't turn out like how I've always pictured them.

Instead, they got it right!

They even used voices like I always imagined. The Mad Hatter was actually better than I always pictured him in my head but of course...it was Johnny Depp.

As this is a finance blog I should touch on the cost. We went on a Tuesday so it was "Telus Tuesday". This means that your ticket includes a regular size drink and popcorn. I also wanted to see it at the big theater (aka Silver City) so it was the full price theatre for $13.95 each. My verdict = 100% worth it!

So, if you are an Alice in Wonderland fan then this is the movie for you! On the other hand, if that sort of film isn't for you then the 3D and special effects might not be enough to sustain you. Boris claims to enjoy but his more common phrase is, "I'm really glad you liked it so much". I interpret this to mean that it wasn't up there as a great movie in his mind but he enjoyed it enough and liked the 3D. So cool!

As I will be in Banff tomorrow there will be no post but I will be back on Monday. Have a great weekend and go see Alice!

The generosity of parents.

I've touched on the subject of parental generosity before so you already know what I tend to receive from my parents. I would say they are fair but not necessarily generous. Yes, they did pay for my university education and the majority of my wedding costs and that was great. However, due to their income bracket I really needed them to pay for my university. Basically, they made too much money and in order for me to qualify for student loans I would have had to move out (which they didn't want). As for the wedding, that was fantastic!

However, they are not generous on a day-to-day basis, nor do I expect them to be. For example, they often don't pay when we go out to eat dinner, they do not give me cash gifts, they do not give me gifts (other than birthday and christmas of course). I'm not saying "poor me" or anything of the sort (in fact I think just the opposite). Just explaining how my parents behave.

Boris' parents are a very different sort. They like to give during the year and give more modest gifts at birthday's and christmas. So for example, they take us out for dinner or to shows during the year for no reason at all. Very nice. When they travel they also tend to bring us back gifts.

However, they recently exceeding anything I would have ever asked for or expect. They gave us 1 week of accommodations in mexico! I should explain that they do have a timeshare and they've decided to give us 1 weeks worth for 2011! How great is that? We will still pay for our own airfare and expenses while there but a condo will be ready for us!

A small caveat is that we do not share this information with anybody (namely his siblings). For reasons I don't know (but can speculate) they are only giving us the 1 week and nobody else. Probably the most likely reason is we are the only ones who live in the same province and city as them so we simply know them better. They are just so pleased to have us live here that they tend to spoil us a bit. This time though they are spoiling us a bunch!

So, I thought I would do a little happy dance for myself.

It's clearly a long way off and we have no idea when we would go but it's nice to know it's there for us. :D

Tax refund part 2.

After looking at my post from yesterday I realized I probably didn't explain my tax refund very well. So, here is part 2. This post is intended to explain why on earth I have such a huge freaking return! I have broken it down into 5 reasons:

1. It's actually a tax return for two people (Boris and I). We file together so I always forget to look at the individual and instead focus on the total. I realize now it may have looked confusing without explaining that.
2. We contributed $12,000 towards RRSPs between the two of us. I figure that must be a big part of the return. (plus I have a pension)
3. Boris used his vehicle for work purposes for 7 months of the year. I don't understand it all but things like gas, repairs, insurance, the purchase of the car, etc all gets factored in equalling more money in my pocket.
4. Our condo in Alberta was a big source of the refund because according to tax rules it is essentially a business. This means that expenses get written off. Examples are: interest on the mortgage, condo fees, management company fees, insurance, etc.
5. My father-in-law does our taxes and he rocks and he doesn't charge us (although I hear rumours that he is looking for a case of beer).

And that's that. I hope that clears up any confusion as to why our refund seems to big. (for other reasons related to moving...last year we got over $8,000 back!)

Tax refund here I come!

Taxes are complete and sent away. Are you ready for the total refund? I am!

$4,624.21

Stunning isn't it? Before you go saying that I should get my monthly taxes reduced I say wait! I have two valid reasons for why I don't. 1) I'm just not smart enough to figure out how much I will get back from year to year so I can't predict it and 2) Alot of this refund depends on how often my condo in Alberta is rented out so again, it's variable.

So, what am I going to do with this tax refund? A few things:

1. Put $2,500 into the Alberta condo bank account. This will cover property taxes for this year (which the rent doesn't quite cover) and it provides for a 1 month buffer. This will help alleviate any stress I have. Just in case it's vacant for a month. It's sort of like an emergency fund of sorts.
2. Put $300 into our HELOC.
3. Put $1,500 into our vacation fund. It's not quite as healthy as I like it to be so this will help us. I know, I know...not responsible. I should probably put this towards my HELOC or mortgage but I already make extra payments on those and I want to live a little.
4. Put $324.21 into my hot little hands and spend it. You heard me right. We've had our eyes on a new piece of furniture and this will totally cover it.

Just so you know, these plans of mine are actually very very different from what I normally do with tax refunds. Typically I put 80% to savings and 20% to fun money. This time I am putting 61% towards responsible saving/spending (condo account) and 39% towards fun (vacation and furniture).

Is this crazy? Do you think I should be more responsible? Am I making a huge mistake?

It feels right to me and I am comfortable with my decision and boy does it relieve me of stress that I didn't even know I was carrying around. But hey, I'm open to discussion.

Another snowboarding trip.

Next week at this time I will be on yet another snowboarding trip! Fortunately, this one will be mostly paid for. I should back up a bit though and tell you about it first.

My dad, sister, sister's boyfriend, Boris and I are going on a snowboarding/ski trip together. This time, we are going to Banff, Alberta and skiing at the lovely Sunshine Village. This is the mountain I am the most comfortable with as I've spent most of my time there back when I lived in Alberta. Of course, Sunshine Village is typically anything but sunny! I'm just hoping for alot of snow and anything but a deadly freeze! It should be too late in the year for anything really bad though.

So, at Christmas this year, my parents gave us all a gift of this ski trip. Basically, we get ourselves there, pay for our own food and drink and we are set. My parents are picking up the tab for lift tickets, hotel accommodations, and travel within Alberta. In reality, they will likely pay for most of our meals too. I assume we'll pay for our own lunch on the hills and likely half our dinners. We purchased our flights awhile back when there was a good seat sale so while we did pay for it, it is now in the past and therefore not to be of concern. So, for food and unforeseen expenses, I am estimated about $200 for the two of us. Not bad for 3 days of snowboarding huh?

So, I guess snowboarding is nearly over for the year. A few more days at the local mountain here and that's about it. :( sniff sniff.

Are you going to miss the winter too?

Who knows the real me?

I've seen some discussions lately regarding whether or not people keep their blogs anonymously (namely: Jessie's Money, Give Me Back My Five Bucks, and others).

Quite clearly, mine is anonymous. I've left a few hints lying around that would lead you to know the general geographic area I live in, if not the actual city. You also know I am a female in my twenties who works in human resources. I think I've left it pretty broad. Of course, if you need to address me by name, please call me Natasha.

The only person who really knows about my blog is my lovely husband Boris. Of course, I'm not sure he has ever read my blog although I leave it available for him to peruse whenever he may choose. His view though, is that this is essentially a diary and he doesn't want to intrude. It is his choice but he knows what I write about anyways.

Then, my younger sister asked me recently if she could have a link to my blog. I admit it...I avoided answering. I think it took me a few days before she finally pestered me for the link.

I debated. It's not like I have anything deathly personal in here. Yet, at what point do you share details as to your debt or your income or priorities with others? It's one thing to be vague (i.e. oh, I have 2 mortgages) than it is to be specific as to dollars and cents. So, I debated.

In the end, I relented and shared the link with her. I'll have to come up with a name for her soon if I keep talking about her. I did ask her not to share it with anybody else we know though as I'm not quite ready to open the floodgates that much. In fact, I partly shared it with her hoping that she may pick up a tidbit or two and learn from mine and others mistakes.

Let's hope I don't regret sharing. If you do share your blog with those you know...do you like it? wish you hadn't?

February Results

I just realized that I never summed up my February results. I guess my vacation has thrown me off a bit. So, here we go:

1. Only go grocer shopping at the new grocery store I found and perhaps 1 trip to Costco. FAIL. Total fail. With Boris being sick and me realizing that while the grocery store is pretty great...it just doesn't carry all the products I want so I am forced to supplement a bit at a regular grocery store. Good learning experience though.
2. Put $400 towards the HELOC principal. Total fail. I am embarrased to say that only $100 went towards the HELOC principal. I'm not totally sure why. I just know that money seemed to be tight this month.
3. Make 2010 budget. Sort of Fail. I have done up a budget for now but in one month Boris will be getting pension taken off his cheque so until I know what that looks like I can't do an official budget.
4. Pay off snowboarding trip. Fail again! I didn't realize that I wouldn't get billed for the trip until early March (now) so I didn't pay for it in February. I paid for it in March though.
5. Continue working out 3 times a week. Also fail! I went 3 times a week for the first two weeks and then twice and then once!

February was a total fail month. I wonder what went wrong....

Teeth Whitening

Have you ever whitened your teeth?

I have...and I do.

When Boris and I got married in 2007 one of the gifts we received was teeth whitening. Sounds strange doesn't it? Well, Boris' brother is a dentist so it was a fitting gift. And I love it!

I had always wanted to whiten my teeth because I felt they were a bit yellow. I now realize that they probably weren't but they weren't as white as I wanted them. However, I was too nervous to try over the counter type whitening and too cheap to purchase it from the dentist ($300 to $400!).

There are alot of different types of whitening so I'll explain what I have. The dentist had to make moulds of my teeth and then gave me the whitening solution. I put a tiny amount of solution into the moulds and put the moulds in my mouth for 1 hour. No more than 1 hour. I am only allowed to do it once per day.

When we first did it I used the whitening everyday for about 7 days and stopped. I didn't want my teeth to glow white! Since then, every 6 months or so I do a touch up for a few days.

Due to my increased tea drinking though I am noticing more stains on my teeth so I am going to whiten them again.

However, once you whiten your teeth you must be very careful of what you eat or drink for the next 2 weeks or you are at a heightened risk of re-staining them. The reason is that the whitening process opens the pores of your teeth temporarily and is actually more susceptible to staining. This means no tea, coffee, red wine, or other type products for 2 weeks. That will help me keep my coffee purchases to a minimum.

I feel very fortunate to have teeth whitening products that I didn't have to pay for.

If you are thinking about whitening your teeth, I would encourage you to look into your options. It really does work and as long as you are using a reputable product it isn't a risk to your teeth.

I am back!

I have returned from my fantastic trip to Big White which is just outside of Kelowna.

We arrived on Saturday, February 27th. First of all, I had no idea just how big the village at Big White is. It's huge! Hotels and condos and pubs everywhere you turn. It was so easy to get confused. Our condo was quite luxurious. We were in a one bedroom condo that had a balcony with our own private hot tub! That hot tub was needed everyday after snowboarding. We also had a full kitchen and fireplace. We ate the majority of our meals in the condo but we did eat out about...4 times.

On Sunday, we only snowboarded for half the day because of the gold medal hockey game. I can see from all the blogs I've read just how excited everybody out there was so I don't need to go into that (but it was pretty awesome). Monday and Tuesday we went snowboarding all day. It was exhausting!

Wednesday was our day-off, which was much needed. It was also so fogged in that we couldn't have snowboarded safely if we wanted to. We splurged and indulged in a 1 hour and 45 minute stone massage for each of us. Using my VIP card, I received 20% off so including tip and taxes the massages were $150 each. Expensive yes, but totally worth it. At this point my legs were on fire and needed a little attention. It was great. Wednesday night my parents arrived to spend the last half of our trip with us. My dad skis and my mom likes to hang out in the condo and read.

Thursday we went snowboarding (my dad skied).

Friday we went to Silver Star to snowboard for the day. Big White and Silver Star are sister mountains so the lift passes are transferable. Anyways, we shouldn't have gone. It was so slushy and true spring skiing that it wasn't worth it.

Saturday, we were back at Big White for our final day and it was great. At the end, my parents drove us to the airport saving us the shuttle ride. They continued on to ski at Sun Peaks before returning to their home.

Overall, the snow was good but not great (not much new powder while we were there) but the trip was fantastic. We got a much needed break from work doing something we loved.

Also, my workouts were great and allowed me to be a much stronger snowboarder than in the past, although my last day was a bit weak.

I haven't worked out the costs yet but I think we were pretty good about being cheap. We rarely ate out and our accommodations, lift tickets, and transportation costs were already paid before we left.

whew. Now to plan for the next trip right?