the Financial Catastrophizer

Oh how I feel poor!

2011-05-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

I just paid my $5,900-ish tuition payment. My second payment of a total of seven that will occur throughout the program. When did education get this expensive?

Well, as my professors have explained it, when it comes to graduate degrees in business, law, medicine and maybe a few others, the universities in Canada actually charge you what your degree is worth. As in, the cost for the rooms, materials, professors, energy for the classrooms, etc. The gist of it is, the government does not subsidize these programs. So, my undergraduate degree which cost about $20,000 was probably worth closer to $40,000 in actual costs but the government picked up the extra expense.

I totally understand the logic that these types of graduate degrees will pay for themselves later but seriously. I think the high cost is actually a deterrent for people to go to school. Unlike full-time students, part-time students don't have the same options for student loans, bursaries, scholarships, etc. We are pretty much on your own. So, unless you are willing to take the plunge and risk $40,000-ish dollars for a graduate degree, you don't get to go. I don't think that's fair. Somehow, I think we should be encouraging everybody to go to school.

If people don't get a chance to go, then think of all the potential opportunities the world is missing out on. I for one would like to know what all those smart cookies out there could do for the world with just a wee bit more education.

(again, I understand that education is not for everybody or for every job but I think it should be available for those who want it)

Summer soccer

2011-04-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Summer soccer has started. For a low-low cost of $70 I get something like 24 games, of which I anticipate being able to play in 20 of them.

I played my first game last night and my oh my! I forgot how much harder it is to play on a knobbly grass field at a school than it is to play on turf (like in winter soccer). The grass field has pot-holes, sprinklers, divots, hills, mud, etc. Nothing consistent at all. This plays havoc on my poor weak ankles! It always takes about 3 or 4 games before all those tiny muscles in my ankles get strong enough to handle the strain. But...I love it! Small pain for big money savings!

My summer soccer is about $200 less than my winter league because we play on these grass fields instead of turf. To me, that is totally worth it.

Still waiting.

2011-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

I don't remember exactly when we took our tax return in but it feels like we should have gotten the money by now. Of course, I think I always feel that way when money is owed to me. It just can't get here soon enough!

Thankfully I don't need the money, but I sure do want the money.

Got a new credit card

2011-04-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

Boris and I recently got a new credit card. AND, it has a fee! boo you say?

Well, I am not a huge fan of the credit cards with fees but sometimes they really do work out. We went and got an Alaska Airlines Mastercard. It costs us $75 per year. The benefit is that once per year we can purchase a companion ticket for $99 (plus tax). This year we already purchased our tickets to Puerto Vallarta in May. Normally the flights would have cost us around $1,800 but instead it came to $1,218.66 + the $75 fee, which brings it to a total of $1,293.66. That is still saving us roughly $500. Not too shabby huh?

Of course, you have to actually fly on alaska at least once per year as a couple for it to make sense. If we end up not wanting to go somewhere at some point then we will just cancel the card.

I'm feeling pretty good about this card!

Blinds are pricey

2011-04-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever purchased blinds? Up until about a week ago, I had not. I had no freaking idea that blinds are so expensive.

Unfortunately, my condo came with some terrible blinds that malfunction all the time. We've put up with them for the last 2.5 years but now they are actually breaking. One has literally fallen off the window and two have simply stopped going up or down. sigh.

We decided to go "all-out" and get some fancy cordless blinds for the two bedrooms. They are cellular blinds without cords. yay! For our enclosed balcony we chose to simply replace what we currently have. They are standard aluminum blinds that are extremely long! We only replaced the two that are broken, but there are actually 8 of them in total.

For the 4 blinds (1 in each bedroom and 2 for the enclosed balcony) came to a whopping $896 (including tax). AND it was 20% off! holy crappola! The price was so high because we got pretty sweet blinds for the bedrooms and the ones in the balcony are just so huge.

I even shopped around and couldn't find anything cheaper. I looked into ordering them online but the shipping would have killed me. I guess this is just the cost of blinds. Live and learn huh?

What have I learned so far?

2011-04-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Next month my second payment for my MBA program is due. It will be payment #2 of 7 that will take place over the next 2 years or so. That means that by the end of the month I am approximately 1/7th finished my degree. Doesn't sound like much does it? Well, it equates to over 100 hours of classroom time, a bazillion hours spent in group meetings and another bazillion hours on my own reading and doing homework. So surely I must be learning right? Well, here is my list of things I have learned:

managerial accounting is nowhere near as scary as financial accounting
I can easily get along with just about anybody but that doesn't mean I like them
I don't have to like my teammates or co-workers
it is easy for people to coast in groups if the other teammates allow it. In other words, everybody is responsible if somebody is coasting
strategy is more than just a word that gets thrown around in every other sentence. It actually has meaning. Of course, that doesn't mean that people using that word have a clue
other people may appear to be more confident than me...but they aren't
intelligence is required for a top business school but equally as important is an individual drive to succeed
MBA programs are actually difficult
there are still idiots in an MBA program. I have no idea how they got in
I really do like HR and not just because it's easy. It's easy because I like it.
the act of learning gives me an energy boost while simultaneously depriving me of energy

You'll notice that the above list doesn't include very much about my actual courses. I guess it's because I feel like I could learn that information anywhere (like in a book) but it's the actual experiences that are teaching me the most. It's interesting. Is it worth the extensive cost? Yes, I think that it is.

Wendy the writer

2011-03-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to write a post that is a little different from ordinary. I hope you will indulge me.

I want to tell you all that my sister, Wendy, is a fantastic writer. (I would share her awesome blog with you but then you would know who I am...so I won't) Last week, she sent me a story she wrote and told me that she was thinking about submitting it to her university. I didn't know this, but every year the university compiles various works of art from students and publishes a book. I don't really know what all goes in it but apparently short stories is one of them. Let me tell you...the story was awesome!

I really enjoyed it when I first read it but since then, I've been telling so many people about it and how neat it was. It was only like 500 words but it was so good that you felt like you were in the story. So neat. I am totally and completely jealous of her abilities.

Now to tie it back to money because that's what this blog is all about right? Well, this got me thinking that one day, when she's graduated, she will be able to do what she loves AND get paid! How great is that?

It was a message that my mom always repeated to me and wanted us to experience but now I can really see Wendy embracing that concept and doing it. I've always known she was a great writer but I couldn't see how that would translate into getting paid. I mean, you always hear about people who are going to become authors but then they never get their book published right?

Well, Wendy is smarter than that! Who knows, maybe one day she will get a book published but her degree is going to allow her to use her writing skills in someway that will get her a job! In fact, I also didn't know what technical writing was until her program but it's actually some pretty cool stuff and I bet it pays well.

It's really nice to see somebody working at something they enjoy (even if the actual classes might suck) where at the end of the day...you will get paid for it! I am so sick of hearing about people getting some kind of artsy fartsy degree that does nothing for them after graduation. Not Wendy though, she's a smart cookie and I am really proud of her.

Did your degree get you a job?

NOTE: I think there is a time and place for "artsy fartsy" degrees but if that is what you chose and you can't find work...don't come crying to me!

Tax Return

2011-03-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

I love tax time! I get my money back! I know it would be smarter to have my employer reduce the amount of tax they take off but...I never know what I'll get back and I would rather get money back then have to pay it at the end.

So...between Boris and I we are getting....$3,626.12!

Sounds awesome huh? So what are we going to do with it? Well, we are going to get our tv mounted to the wall. I know we could do it our selves but honestly, I just don't have the time or the skills or the tools to do it. I think after I bought or rented the tools, made mistakes, fixed them, etc, I would be so angry that I would never want to see that tv again. So, we've decided to be frivolous and have our tv professionally mounted. I don't even know what that will cost so I have to do some research to find out.

The rest of the money will go towards our Alberta condo. Currently we are losing about $100 a month plus we will have to pay approximately $1,700 for property tax in June so this will cover our property tax and a month or so of paying the bills without a tenant (if that were to happen).

It's not fun and it's not what I want to do but it's what I need to do. What I wanted to do was pay down the HELOC further to help pay my tuition fees this year.

Instead I am crossing my fingers that tuition credits will count for alot next year and I can pay back some tuition bills then. :)

What are you doing with your tax return? Or...do you have to pay? :(

What would you do?

2011-03-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever mentioned it before but my job is quite unique. Not so unique that nobody else in the world does it but it's a job that only exists in very large companies and usually only 1 or 2 people do it. So, it's pretty unique. Therefore, it requires a unique set of skills and education. Ok, it doesn't require it but it's helpful.

This means that I have 2 designations and a degree (and now I am getting a second degree) plus I have experience in a specific industry. This makes me fairly marketable. And yet, I choose to work for a company that doesn't pay me as much as I could get elsewhere because I believe in my job and think that I make a difference in the world by working for this company. (very lofty of me huh?)

The other day, I got a call from a head hunting company. I usually get a few per year. Not because I am looking but because there are so few of us out there that our names get around and we get calls. This one wanted me to move back to Alberta and pay me a crap load of money? I make about $75,000 gross per year now and the job the head hunter was talking about starts at $110,000 plus bonus!!!!!

holy poop!

I declined. Mostly because I am in school right now and I love where I live. I'm not loving my job these days because I'm not as challenged as I would like to be but I think that in the next two years things will improve and I can take on more responsibility.

So, I said thanks but no thanks. And it has been eating away at me every since. Not that I want to change my mind but I sure would love to earn $110,000 per year! But I don't want to live in Alberta, I want to keep going to school in BC, and I really like my boss and co-workers.

What would you have done? Would you have pursued it?

Boris is all set!

2011-03-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

That's right. Our work worries for Boris are officially over. He starts with his new employer on April 1st and with a raise! Granted, it's a raise we knew was coming. He is unionized so it is all laid out in advance. This raise is the cost of living increase (2% I think) and this past January he got his seniority raise (they get one every year). So things are looking up in this house!

Plus, I have noticed a HUGE change in our credit card spending since I began school. It is in the tank! We barely buy or do anything because I am so busy at school that our bill was literally half of what it used to be. I guess being bored is expensive.

I am feeling rather good these days and I am trying to be here more often.

New couch day!

2011-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

Today my new couch arrived! And I love it. LOVE it! :D

Of course, in order to get the new couch in we had to get the old couch out. There is one problem with that plan. The old couch is too big to fit in the elevator or staircase! We got it in the building by hoisting it up and over the balcony as well as having a window temporarily removed. Instead of doing that again (especially since the couch was going to the dump - not good enough to donate) we took care of business!

Yep, it had to die. We chopped that sucker up!

Apparently, it also saved us some money because we didn't have to pay for a couch disposal at the dump but instead paid by weight.

We have a new plan!

2011-03-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

Boris and I have always been very aggressive with our RRSPs. How aggressive? Incredibly!

I started contributing when I was 23 and since then, every time I got a raise, I put half the net amount towards RRSPs. Boris started contributing a little bit when he was about 25 but it wasn't until he was about 28 that he became aggressive about it. The end result is that for the past few years we put $500 bi-weekly towards RRSPs (that's $13,000 a year).

Plus, Boris has always been able to put some of his paycheque towards RRSPs and his employer matches it. Last year, that was an additional $2,500 (approximately) plus the $2,500 his employer matched. That's a whole lotta RRSPs man!

But now we have realized that we have been a little bit blinded by our goal to prepare for retirement and we haven't been focusing on paying off our HELOC very well. We've been putting $200 bi-weekly to the HELOC plus another $200 bi-weekly for the last few months of the year because our paycheques get bigger then. It ends up being about $8,000 a year. Basically, we suck.

We have decided to only put $300 bi-weekly towards RRSPs (down from $500) and increase our HELOC payments to $400 bi-weekly (up from $200).

Our RRSPs will still be healthy, plus Boris will still contribute at work, AND we will put a major dent into our HELOC.

I feel so much better about this more balanced approach (and I feel silly for not thinking of it earlier). Ok, I admit it...this is all Boris' plan and it's awesome!

So as of today, we have a new plan.

Want to help me do some homework?

2011-02-24T18:44:00.001-08:00

Then take my survey! It's just quick, anonymous survey about your coffee drinking preferences. I just need as many data points as possible so that I can analyze it. Please help a blogger out!

The life of a student..

2011-02-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

I have learned a valuable lesson in the past 2 months. School.is.harder.than.I.remember. So much harder than I remember.

I was completely unprepared for this level of intensity. What did I think would happen while working full-time and getting an MBA part-time? I have no freaking clue what I was thinking. It is so much harder than I thought.

I spend two to three hours per day on school work! This simply cannot be normal can it? It is brutal. I do my best to live in the moment during my life because I can't fathom living like this for the next years. I've been told that it's only this bad for 1o months. I am really holding onto hope that it's true.

I just need to learn some efficiencies. And you know, I think I am already. The fact that I am able to sit here and write something says a tonne. Prior the last few days, I had been so busy that I didn't have time to even do my own banking!!! How stunning is that?

I just couldn't spare the time. This has resulted in Boris taking on a larger role with the finances. It scares me to let go of anything and he is so hesitant to take the responsibility that we are struggling with the transition. It's still going well though, just a change we didn't anticipate.

I have learned that it is both relaxing and scary to be less involved. I'm also learned that Boris is more on-top of things than I ever gave him credit for.

It's been a really interesting few months. I hope I will be around more in the future.

Things are looking up

2011-01-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my great absences lately. I am just barely managing to keep myself together at the moment. With work and school and being sick and whatever else is going on....it's been a rough month so far but I am surviving!

Anyways...

As you know, Boris has received a lay-off notice because his company lost the contract to provide services for an institution. But, now the new company has been announced and they have asked that all current employees who are interested in working for the new company sign a release form. The form is just saying that Boris allows his current employer to share his personnel file with the new employer. Hopefully this means that he will get to keep working!

Of course, we have absolutely no information about how much will change with the new employer. I am curious to see what might change because it's still a unionized environment and they are still going to be covered by the same union. So how much can really change?

We shall see.

I got a deal

2011-01-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

on my dream couch! So, it is $3,499 regular. Crazy huh? Well, I was able to get myself 25% off! Plus a $70 delivery charge.

When all is said and done it will cost $3,017.56.

What I did was I called around and found another store that sells the same furniture. They told me that they also were having a 15% off sale but additionally, any floor model could be sold for 25% off. So I went back to the original store and asked if they would match it. I told them that I hadn't even gone to the other store so I couldn't say for sure what their floor models were but that if they had the couch I wanted then I was definitely going to buy it at 25% off. So, he hummed and hawed and eventually agreed. 25% off!

I had him write it down and he said I have until the end of the month to purchase. I am going to wait until my credit card statement is onto the next month. Not because I carry a balance or can't pay for the couch or whatever but because that way I don't have to pay any actual money until March which means my savings can make a few more dollars in the meantime. I do this all the time for big ticket items.

On an interesting note, I was telling a co-worker about how I got this 25% off deal and she said, "what do you mean? Isn't the price the price?" She had no idea that furniture was something you could negotiate. So I listed the items you could negotiate and I wondered if I was missing something. So take a look at my list and let me know if you have ever negotiated something else:

clothing that is slightly damaged in a store
furniture
cars and other vehicles
mattresses
cell phone bills
cable bills

did I miss anything?

Seems impossible...

2011-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

but Boris has been officially laid off...AGAIN!

sigh.

It's a bit demoralizing to get laid off over and over again. This time it was as expected. His company did not win the bid to continue providing the service. There is still a chance that the new company will want to keep him on but we won't know about that till...till they tell us I guess. We don't even know who the new company will be.

He is for sure working until the end of February...maybe March. Plus we do have $5,000 in our emergency fund which would cover about 2 months of expenses.

It just sucks. He's great at what he does and we were finally starting to feel like we were getting ahead.

Only to get pulled back down.

I don't think I'm catastrophizing too much. It just sucks. But we will be ok. we will.

I want what I want when I want!

2011-01-05T21:29:00.001-08:00

That's right. I am having a little temper tantrum over here. I am holding my breath and stomping my feet until I get what I want!

or maybe not.

The point is that I really really really want something! Specifically, I want a couch. Not just any couch but this couch:

http://www.gusmodern.com/products1/sofas/jane-bisectional/jane-bisectional.shtml

It's awesome. It's canadian made and it's FSC certified wood (responsibly forested wood) so I don't feel bad to the environment. I LOVE it. It's exactly what I had pictured in my mind before we went out shopping and it's so nice to touch and sit in. It's awesome. The cushions are even button-tuffed on both sides which means you can switch the chaise to be on the left or the right side. Totally reversible! Did I mention that I love it?

The problem is that it's priced at $3,499. BUT, it's 15% off right now but then once you include the 12% HST you are pretty much back at the start. sigh.

There is one other store in town that sells this brand so I am hoping that I can get them to play against each other and go down on the price. So far the closest store I am dealing with is not budging. sucks.

Oh yeah, my budget was $2,500 for a couch. Not $3,499. sigh.

I want it now.

sick...

2011-01-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a chance to go insane yet because I've been so sick. Today is day 2 at home. I just hope that I feel better for this weekend. First weekend of classes and I can't afford to be ill. bah

Thankfully I get paid for sick days. I get 6 days per year of fully paid sick time so it does suck to use up 2 at the very beginning of the year but hopefully this will be it. Last year I wasn't sick once.

back to bed for me.

Welcome to the New Year...

2011-01-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

and welcome to my month of insanity. Yep, I am planning on losing my mind this month.

I am working as usual. Well, I will be taking every Friday off work but I still have to do my regular job so I'll probably just work longer hours Monday to Thursday.

Then, I am also staring school this month. Normally, my program will have me in class every third week but for the first month I have to go every week! I will have class Friday evenings and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. Oh, and did I mention that my school isn't in my own town so I have to travel and stay with relatives.

Then I also intend to keep going to soccer practices and work out at least one other time a week just to keep myself healthy.

That's right. I have one month straight were I don't actually have a single day off. I am stressed just thinking about it.

I haven't even looked at my finances lately. Let's hope I can keep it together.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T23:26:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I am outta here for the next few days for the holidays. I will be back next week.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with whatever it is that is important to you.

I got the scholarship!

2010-12-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yep, $7,500 baby! The rules are it can only be used for tuition and books. No fees of any kind. Theoretically I will get this amount every year for 3 years but technically I have to reapply each year. I've been told it's essentially a rubber stamp. As long as I continue to be a good employee and keep passing my classes then I get the money.

Thank goodness!

The price of this program is excessive! But, with the scholarship money and the gift from my parents I will be out about $14,000. Insane huh? I am hoping that in one year from now I can get a bit of a promotion at work. I've already talked to my boss about a small restructuring that would give me more responsibilities and he seems to be on board with it. The only reason it isn't happening now is out of respect for a few of my coworkers who will be retiring in 1 year. The idea is that the new people would report to me. :) Obviously I am hoping for a raise to come with that. And if that happens then it makes the school fees much more palatable.

I am such a planner!

Are you done Christmas shopping?

2010-12-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

Christmastime means Christmas shopping. In the cold. With the crowds. At full price.

Well, this year Boris and I decided not to give each other presents and his family did the same thing. We decided to do this because we are all going away for the holiday. This meant I had a few small gifts for co-workers, friends, and my own family to buy for. It's been easy breezy.

However, it's also made me a bit unaware that it was Christmas already. Without all the pressure to make sure I get the perfect gift for Boris...I didn't realize it was almost here.

That makes me a little sad to be honest. Why should the act of buying make me feel like it's christmas? Isn't that completely against the holidays?

It's made me think that maybe we won't buy each other gifts next year either. We'll see.

How do you feel about gift buying for Christmas?

Overwhelmed by pins!

2010-12-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

I have too many freakin pin numbers and passwords!! I have them on my bank card, my credit cards, my online bank accounts, paypal, various other websites, work, phone, work phone, etc.

And of course each pin number is supposed to be unique and not written down anywhere. Well I am a good pin user and I would never write them down.

So when I got my ING bank card so I could use my thrive account, I dutifully memorized the pin number and then shredded it.

I then used my card the next day to ensure I had it memorized.

Then I went on vacation.

Then I tried to use my ING card and...nothing.

I forgot my pin!!!!!

So I called ING to get it reset and guess what. They don't reset pins! Instead they had to cancel my card and now they are going to mail me a new card and mail me a new pin. I was told to expect my card and pin within 2 to 3 weeks and if I want to change my pin then I have to use an ING bank machine (none exist within 3 hours of me).

GRRRR!!! I am so annoyed.

Trying to get more life insurance

2010-12-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Recently, Boris and I decided that we were underinsured. I am covered for $80,000 and he is covered for $50,000. Clearly not enough.

So, I've applied to increase mine to $230,000 and Boris' to $100,000. If we ever have kids we will have to revisit that but for now it's ok.

We applied. We filled out the paperwork and sent it off. Now we have the craziest things to do.

I have to take a pee test where they will send a "paramedical service" to my home or work, whichever is most convenient for me. How weird is that????

Boris has to fill out an additional questionnaire. So weird.

Have any of you had to do this?

Time for an experiment

2010-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Boris is a thin man. Not stick thin or anything but we typically weigh the same even though he is 3 inches taller than me. And I'm not overweight. In fact, a few years ago he was in his swimsuit standing next to his older brother (also in a swimsuit) and I asked his nephew, "do you think your dad and Boris look the same because they are brothers?". And this cute little 5 year old said, "yeah, but I know they're different because I can see Boris' spine". yikes!

He is thin not because of a good diet or active lifestyle. I would say he is average in those categories. However, he is thin because food makes him sick.

It always has.

We've never been able to figure out what was making him sick. At least until I went away to Mexico and left him to fend for himself for a week. Instead of making proper meals he ate fruits and vegetables for a week! And you know what...he wasn't sick!

I get home and we decide to have pizza and guess what. Yep, he got sick.

It finally dawned on us. He's sensitive to gluten (aka wheat)!

The last two weeks we have had him on a gluten free diet with fantastic results. Not sick! He feels so much better.

The downside...gluten free products are expensive. Obviously we are going to have to simply change our eating habits (mostly him) but in some instances we will just have to buy the gluten free products.

Yay. Boris is going to be healthy! And maybe we won't have to see his spine anymore.

How did I not know that???

2010-12-14T19:24:00.001-08:00

So far for school I have paid a $2,500 deposit, $800 towards optional classes, and about $500 for books. Nothing unreasonable yet. In January I will owe another $3,000 and from there the costs just keep on coming! I can handle it though (with some work subsidy of course).

What I didn't realize was that I can claim all this stuff on my taxes!!! I didn't realize that! I guess for my undergrad I just never got to use my tuition credits because I didn't pay for my undergrad (my parents did). Since my parents paid, they got to use my credits. fair is fair afterall.

This will be my first opportunity to do that. I am feeling better and better about this.

Look at that...I'm being optimistic!!!

How can this be possible?

2010-12-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

Last year Boris was given a lay-off notice twice! That's right...twice.

The first time Boris was laid off, he had been in the job for 4 months and was given 2 months working notice. Before he was laid off, he found another job!

Yay!

Then after about a month he was given a lay off notice again. This time though it never came to be. You see, his company works on a contract and every time the contract is up they have to bid for it again. Because the company doesn't know if it will win the bid for the next year, they give a lay off notice to all employees, just in case. So this past year, they ended up winning the contract so nobody was laid off.

Now we are going through the same process again. If they lose the contract then Boris will be out of work at the end of February. Of course, if they win the contract then nothing will happen and he will keep working. As a third option, it's possible that his company will lose the bid, lay him off, but the new company may hire him on.

Too much to worry about right now. So, I'm just not going to. It's unlikely he would lose his job, he has a marketable skill, AND our emergency fund will now cover about 4 months of expenses (with my salary to supplement).

I am doing just fine this time. Did I mention how much I love emergency funds?

Can you believe it is December?

2010-12-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know what happened. I swear it was September yesterday and all of a sudden I find out it's December! Crazy how things seem to go so quickly.

I feel that way about my money lately.

It.goes.so.quickly.

It seems like I decided to buy a new tv, buy new living room furniture AND go back to school. Am I crazy?

Yes, I think I am.

I am going to be out of pocket about $6,000 in school fees in the next few weeks (unless I get that scholarship from work). Then I'm going to be out the $1,200 we already spent to buy the tv, cables, etc. Next I am going to buy some living room furniture which we have $2,300 budgeted for. I hope to get a couch, tv stand, and some kind of shelf or shelving unit. whew.

By the time Christmas comes around I might be all shopped out. I guess that's a good thing though because I won't really have much money left!

How is the ~~shopping~~ christmas season treating you?

Say hello to a new student...

2010-12-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

ME! That's right. I am officially a student. I begin classes in January! Eeks!

Now I am waiting to find out if I got the scholarship through work. I find out within the next two weeks.

So excited!

I am the boss

2010-11-25T05:17:00.000-08:00

I've had an employee for 6 months now. It's been a pretty easy transition because I am fortunate enough to have a very happy and personable employee. In fact, the two of us are quite friendly. We don't spend time together outside of work but we still get along great. To be honest, the only real issue I've been struggling to overcome is where to draw the line in our discussions. Depending on what we are talking about she might be my friend or my employee. Sometimes there are things I would want to tell my friend but then I have to remember that she is my employee. I must not chat too much.

Otherwise, things are pretty easy. Although, it was only the other day when it really dawned on me that she is my employee. She asked me if she could use some vacation time to go home early for some personal issues. My gut response was to ask her what was wrong. Then, I quickly remembered that as her boss, it's really none of my business what her personal life is or why she needs to use vacation time. Instead I told her that it was her vacation time and if she was able to use it responsibly (i.e. not skipping out on a meeting) then she could use it. I also reminded her that if it was applicable she could use special leave if it was warranted (i.e. sick kid, death in family, etc). But, I did not ask what she was doing. I simply left it out there for her to decide whether it was vacation time (in which case she wouldn't have to tell me what she is up to) or if it was special leave (in which case she would have to tell me).

It was strange to talk around the issue without actually addressing it. In the end she voluntarily told me that she had a childcare issue and needed to leave a bit early (therefore vacation time) but she did not have to tell me that and I didn't ask. Totally her personal life and her decision.

Do any of you face this issue at work? I hope that I get better at this whole management thing and that eventually I just know what to say or not to say.

Thank-you ING!

2010-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to ING's new chequing account my emergency fund has skyrocketed! How does that happen you ask?

Well, at TDCanadaTrust I was forced to let $2,000 sit in my stupid account and do absolutely nothing! Nothing! Well, I guess it did help me avoid paying fees.

Now, with ING I don't have to keep a minimum balance AND I still don't have to pay fees. win-win situation or what????

This means that I got to transfer that money into my tax-free ING account. sweeeet! I am that much closer to having my emergency fund built up to my ultimate goal ($9,000).

Although, I suppose you could argue that nothing has really changed because I don't actually have any more money in my pocket than I did yesterday. But I feel like I have improved. Of course, I will now be getting some interest earnings (tax-free too!).

I sure feel like a winner!

Interview is over

2010-11-23T15:40:00.001-08:00

So, I just finished my interview. I wish I could say that I rocked it but I'm not quite sure. I don't think I bombed it though.

It's so hard to tell with interviews. I was asked the following types of questions:

- in one minute tell me why we should select you

- tell me about a time you worked on a team where you faced difficulties. What were those difficulties and how did you handle it.

- tell me about a time you lead a project that didn't go as planned. What did you learn from it and what would you do differently

- why is an mba the right thing for you

- what is your schedule like now and what do you think your schedule will be like if you are accepted.

and so on.

It was actually really short though. 30 minutes top. Stressful though. sigh.

I find out in the next week or so by email first and then I get an official letter in the mail if I am accepted. blah! I want to know now!

going for an interview!

2010-11-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like I have made the first cut in my quest to become an MBA student. I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow! eeks! I hope it goes well. I'm not quite sure what they will ask. I mean, they can't exactly ask why I'm the most qualified for the job because it's not a job. I am curious to see what they do.

I'm not nervous. More excited. but yeah!

New living room!

2010-11-20T17:28:00.001-08:00

Boris and I are not huge fans of our living room. Once upon a time we were happy with it but now...not so much.

I'll start by describing our current set up.

Our entertainment centre is a massive behemoth that consists of 2 towers, a base and a hanging arch thing in the middle. Our tv is a big old fashioned 27 inch tube thing that weighs as much as I do (or more). Our couch and foot stool are the same ones that Boris grew up with and are incredibly faded with small stains. classy huh? Oh, if you sit in the middle cushion for too long you will have a sore back because the springs are totally shot as well. Then we have our coffee table and couch table which were born along with the couch and have been severely damaged over the years. The only things we have in the room that we like is a fancy barcelona chair, area rug and 2 lamps from wal-mart.

It is soooooo time for an upgrade. We've decided to go modern/clean lines/minimalist (ish). We have been saving up for forever to do this but we still aren't exactly rolling around in money so we have to be responsible.

We've already sold our monster of an entertainment centre for $250! Sweet!

Of course, now our tv is sitting on our coffee table. I hope we figure out what we want soon because I miss a coffee table.

Oh, to make it more expensive, we are also going to get a fancy new tv. They've come way down in price over the last few years so it's now more affordable. We've decided that we have a budget of $1,200 for the tv (including cables and such). I'm super duper excited about a new tv!

I think we will wait until the boxing week sales before making the big purchase but man oh man I can hardly wait! We have grand plans!

When was the last time you redecorated?

miss me?

2010-11-17T22:14:00.001-08:00

I missed me! Thing have been so busy lately that I have barely had time to sleep let alone blog! I feel so left out on all the gossip!

Things like how is school going for for The Asian Pear? or how is Girl Makes Cents coming along with her quilting goal? or perhaps, has Jessie figured out her joint budget or wedding plans? or how is Fabulously Broke doing? I am so behind!

And what have been up to? SO MUCH!

I'll start by saying that my trip home to Alberta was good. busy but good.

Next...instead of a trip with my girlfriend (due to some difficulties with her personal life) I am instead going to Mexico with my brother! I'm not going to lie....I would have rather gone with my friend or with Wendy but hey...my brother will be good too. He never gets to travel as much as he likes and we were able to get a good deal so he could afford it. I think it will be good. I hope so.

So excited! I leave next Friday!!!!

Plus, I only actually had 4.5 days of vacation left for the year and I am going to take off 6 days so I was planning on taking 1.5 days as unpaid time but my boss said that I can have those 1.5 days as paid time!!! I guess it's in recognition of my hard work on my exam and school preparation and stuff. yay for me!

Although that brings up a question...if my boss gives me an extra 1.5 days of vacation but tells me not to tell anybody and not to record it in the official system....is that theft?

Going to Alberta

2010-11-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Next week I am going back "home" for a visit. This trip really snuck up on me. I've had it planned and paid for quite a while and then got so busy with my exam and school applications that I have practically forgotten about it.

Anyways, this got me to thinking. What is "home" really? I have a hard time with that term.

I always thought my parents house in Alberta was home to me but now I'm not so sure. For example, when I am traveling to another country and I say that I want to go home...I don't mean Alberta. I mean BC.

But, as soon as I turn down my parents street...I feel at home. I feel comfortable and ready to relax.

BUT, once I get inside the house and realize that it doesn't look like mine anymore and that my bedroom isn't mine and I don't even know where to throw my garbage away (a whole other story right there)...I just don't know. Where is home to me and what makes it a home.

What makes a home for you?

Application for scholarship

2010-10-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today I am applying for a scholarship through my work to assist in funding my education. If I am approved, I will get $7,500 per year that can go towards tuition and books ONLY. No other fees or travel or whatever.

I really hope I get it. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to hear back though. If I don't get funding I'm not sure what I would do. Would I go through with the schooling anyways? maybe. I just don't know. for now, I'm not going to worry about it.

Tomorrow I am paying the actual application fee for school and they also say it will be 4 to 6 weeks before I hear back but I suspect it will be faster than that since classes start in January.

Anyways, these are the things that are on my mind these days.

how plans change

2010-10-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

I've been gearing up to start school a year from now right? Yeah, until yesterday!

I was calling to check in with my top pick of a school about when I can apply for next year and they told me that they've extended the deadline! That means I can apply in the next two weeks and potentially start school in January. It's a bit crazy and a major shift in my plans but...I'm going to go for it!

I am now madly updating my resume and writing my sample papers. it's a lot of work that I hope to finish over the weekend so I can apply ASAP!

can you feel the stress?

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-10-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear meeeeeee....happy birthday dear me!

All together now! (just kidding).

It's true though, it's my birthday today.

So, what do I get for my birthday? Oh right, a $75 fee to get my driver's license renewed. yuck.

Plus I'm sure other sorts of goodies that I don't know about and hopefully will be better than that.

Travel plans

2010-10-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

As I've been hinting at lately...I am going on a trip!

You know that little side bar I have for a girls' weekend getaway? Well, it's now a girls' week getaway! After looking into various weekend options and the flights involved (we live in different provinces) we realized that it would simply be cheaper to go to an all-inclusive somewhere.

We had no real plans because we figured we would get to it. However, my boss recently told us that due to budget constraints we have to use up all our vacations this year. That means I have to use those 5 days NOW!

So, where I am going? Not totally sure but it looks like Cuba. It will actually be my third trip to Cuba but that's ok. My friend is a bit of a nervous Nellie when it comes to travel so it helps that I have been there before because it will keep her calm.

This is why I had to get my passport renewed. We are planning on going the end of November or early December and with my passport expiring in March, I had to get it renewed. So, voila!

A trip is in the works!

fees, fees, and more fees!

2010-10-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

So, as part of my insane list of things to do, I went to the passport office today to get my passport renewed.

First, I had to go pay for new passport photos. Cost: $22. Gone are the days you could go to one of those cheap booths in the mall and get it done. Now you MUST go to a professional place who can officially stamp the back of the photos. sigh.

Next, I had to stand in line to get my passport renewed. Oops, I guess I only got to stand in line to get my documents confirmed.

Now, I get to wait to stand in line to get my passport renewed. The woman goes through my documents and after 15 minutes of fumbling with photos and scanners and signatures she does 2 things. First, she stamped "cancelled" all over my current passport and cut a chunk out of it. Made me sad but I guess it has to be done. Then, she charged me $96! Sadly, I had to pay an extra $10 to pick it up in person because of a trip I am going on and the time constraints (more on that tomorrow).

The most annoying thing about it is that my passport doesn't actually expire until March 2011 but because my trip is occurring within 6 months of the expiry date it's essentially expired. blah!

busy week!

2010-10-24T22:35:00.001-07:00

Here I was, blissfully thinking that since my exam is over I can finally relax right?

Wrong! I am so booked up this week! Here are my non-work related items that are happening:

need to get passport renewed (why? I'll tell you in another post)
renew my driver's license (why do they make the expiry date the same as your birthday??)
go to a university open house to see if I like their MBA program
have my birthday (serious stuff)
go to soccer practice
redo my tortoises bedding
go to Octoberfest night
have a physical (puke)
pick up package from fedex

I am swamped! But hey, at least most of these items are fun (mostly). Want to see what I am picking up from the postoffice? Here is my new snowboard jacket (similar):

My new snowboard pants:

Let's hope it all fits!

I did it!

2010-10-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

I passed the GMAT! And by passed, I mean that I got the score I wanted! woohoo!

I end up getting the following scores:

essays: won't know for a month or so but I am confident that i did just fine
quantitative: 42 which is the 61st percentile. I wanted the 50th percentile so I am thrilled!
verbal: 38 which is the 83rd percentile. I wanted the 90th percentile but hey, as long as I got the math section I could care less what the verbal was
overall score: 660 which is the 82nd percentile which is well above what I needed.

I am so relived to have a life again! whew! We celebrated with a bottle of sparkling wine (aka cheap champagne).

This weekend we are off to a fancy hotel to celebrate the end of the exam, our anniversary and our birthdays (mine is next week so you better go get me presents!).

Yay! I am off to a great weekend now!

Today's the day

2010-10-21T05:16:00.000-07:00

It's test day! I am so stressed!!!!

I took yesterday off work and today. Just time to relax. Not to study. I have avoided cramming for the test because at this point I don't think I can learn anything new. I just need to get into the right frame of mind.

The last week I have written 3 practice exams in preparation. The first exam did not go well. Did NOT go well.

The second and third exam gave me exactly the score I am looking for. Exactly the right score.

You may want to know what that score is. So, I'll tell you!

The GMAT is in 3 parts:

Essays. You write an essay on an issue and a second essay on an analysis of an argument. You have 1 hour to do this...30 minutes each. In this case you get an overall score out of 6.
Quantitative. Math. yuck. In this one you are given 75 minutes and 37 questions. In this section you get a score out of 51.
Verbal. This is reading comprehension, sentence correction, etc. You are again given 75 minutes but this time 41 questions.

What schools want to see:

Essays: 4. They don't care if you write great essays. They just want to know that you can write something cohesive.
Quantitative: at least the 50th percentile, which is 38
Verbal: at least the 50th percentile, which is 29
An overall score of at least the 50th percentile, which is 550

What I want is:

Essays: at least a 4.
Quantitative: I need a 38.
Verbal: Personally, I would love to get a 41 which is the 92 percentile.

Basically, my verbal is pretty awesome and my math is pretty crappy. I have nothing to worry about in regards to verbal but that is the section that brings my overall score up. I just need that damn 38 in the math!

In my practice tests I got exactly these score. perfect. Let's just hope I can do that again today and then I can forget about all this crap! ;)

Wish me luck!

New chequing account!

2010-10-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yay! I have made the cut! ING has invited me to open up one of their new Thrive chequing accounts! No fees baby! Well, I suppose there are fees for things like NSF or other stuff but in general...no fees!

I plan to use it initially as my own chequing account and if that goes well then Boris and I may switch over and make it our joint account as well.

The most exciting part for me is that I have been keeping $2,000 in my chequing account with TD for about 6 years now. 6 years! And while I haven't had to pay any fees in that time I haven't exactly earned anything on that $2,000. Now I can!

Seriously, I am thrilled.

Are you going to get a Thrive account?

Birthday!

2010-10-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday dear Boris.

Happy birthday to you!

Yep, it's Boris' birthday today.

I am making him my most spectacular dinner that I know how! Honey garlic ribs and cheesecake for dessert!

I made the cheesecake yesterday and the ribs will be made tonight.

In addition, he is going for a massage right after work. Fortunately for us, massages are covered by our benefits! yay. Otherwise I bought him 2 gifts. The first is a rain coat for his bike ride to work. The rainy season has begun and he doesn't own a suitable rain coat that is long enough to cover his bum! I also bought him a watch box. It's basically a jewelry box for watches only...and of course it is very manly. :D As always, I am paying for these gifts out of our gift fund. We have been putting $30 a paycheque to the account for a while now. I can pay for these gifts and have money left over that will be used at christmas time. Have I mentioned how fantastic a gift account can be????

So, that's my plan for the evening. I hope he likes his massage, dinner and gifts! Spoiled or what?

What do you think about co-habitation agreements?

2010-10-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

My friend is planning on buying a house with her long-term boyfriend. They are not married and they don't plan to get married in the near future. She makes about $100,000 a year and he makes about $300,000 a year. Crazy amounts of money but true.

So, they are buying a house. In order to protect his substantial assets, he wants to sign a co-habitation agreement (aka: a pre-nup for unmarried people). She is totally fine with the idea behind a prenup and in order to demonstrate that she really isn't after his money (she really isn't). She is quite happy to sign one.

However, what she feels is fair and what he feels is fair are quite different things. She thinks that things should be proportional to income and he thinks they should be 50-50.

I tend to side with her on the issue and not just because we are friends.

Apparently it has gotten so heated that while reviewing the agreement, her lawyer (they each have their own lawyers) raised a good point. He said that based on a 50-50 arrangement she would have to work 1 day to pay her half of the utility bill but he would only have to work for 30 minutes to pay for his half. Is that fair? I don't think so. And neither does she. Basically, her lawyer said that the agreement is legally written and fine but that he advised her to seriously consider whether this is a relationship she wants to be a part of.

She is wondering if it is.

What do you think? Either for her situation specifically or for co-habitation agreements in general?

Why are people rewarded for bad behaviour?

2010-10-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Why is it that people get rewarded for doing bad things? I'm talking about family members here. It seems like a common occurrence in the personal finance world that one sibling is responsible and the other...not. Why is that? I think it's because parents seem to think that the least responsible child needs help and obviously they must need money. Seriously, that seems to be the line of thinking.

So, I thought I would share a bit about my family. This happened almost 6 years ago exactly. Here is my story...

6 years ago I broke up with my boyfriend and asked my parents if I could move back home temporarily (I was 22, out of university for 1 year and working full-time). They were ecstatic. They never liked my boyfriend and were thrilled to have me come home. In fact, they offered to come help me move right then and there. lol They were also hoping I would be a positive influence on my little sister Wendy as she was a little out of control in those days (she was a teenager in high school).

Not only was my younger sister Wendy there but my older brother James (he would have been 24 at the time). My brother James was/is a bit of a drifter. He didn't/doesn't work very often and when he does it's for short spurts until he gets laid off and then goes on employment insurance for a while before beginning the cycle again. Ultimately, he's a bit lazy and unmotivated in life. So, he was still at home.

Anyways, I move back home and things are good. After a few weeks my mom comes over to me and says, "it's fine for you not to pay rent yet but in a little while when you are back on your feet we'll have to talk about it again.". ok, no problem right? Except that my older brother had never moved out, never gone to school, never got a real job, never helped out, never did anything....never even paid rent! So, I told my mom, "no problem. That it completely fair. However, I will only pay rent if James pays rent and I'll pay the exact same amount he does". Fair is fair right?

Their response? Instead of making us both pay (which would have been the right thing to do) they didn't make either of us pay. And you know what...James is now 30 (almost 31) and still lives at home. He did end up going to school for 8 months but that's about it. Same cycle, same story, no responsibilities. Me, I moved out within 6 months. Not because I didn't like it there. It was awesome! No rent, no bills, I had lunch made for me, etc. Instead, I was terrified I would become apathetic as well!

Makes me insane! Don't my parents realize that they aren't helping him?

Do you have a similar story?

Why women make less

2010-10-13T07:52:00.001-07:00

For years it has been a well known fact that women earn less than men. That's even when you take into account differences in age, education, occupational choices, time off for maternity leave, etc. And yes, we still make less. why?

I've always had a theory. I believe that when I woman takes 1 year off for maternity leave (often more than once) they are penalized for it. Is it fair? I think so.

I believe that women who choose to have children and take 1 year away from work are not entitled to return to work at a rate they would have earned had they never left. For example, imagine a woman was making $50,000 a year and then went on maternity leave for one year. During that one year, all of her coworkers received a merit increase of 4% for their performance. When she returns, I believe she should continue to get $50,000 and not the $50,000 plus 4%. Why should she? She wasn't there to improve her performance.

In fact, I think she should be pretty darn happy to return to work at $50,000 a year. Depending on her line of work, she may have actually lost some of her skills during that year. I'm not saying this is true for everybody but I do think it affects some.

To be clear, I think this should hold true for anybody who takes a substantial amount of time off work. Not just maternity leaves.

I know this can be a bit of a controversial topic so...bring it on!

I am embarrassed...

2010-10-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

I have a secret that I have to admit. An icky secret that isn't actually a very well kept secret.

Are you ready?

I have dandruff. It's embarrassing and horrible and annoying and expensive! It started in June or so and I have done everything I can think of to get rid of it. I am going broke spending money on hair products trying to get rid of it! ok, maybe not broke but it's waaaaaay more money than I ever spend on hair products but I am running out of ideas.

I actually have to avoid wearing dark clothing because it shows up. One woman at work actually brushed off my back and shoulders because she thought I was covered in pollen.

I think it has gone on long enough. I am caving and going to the doctor. Granted, I have to go for my yearly physical anyways so I may as well bring this up.

I hate this!

Anybody have tips for me?

Math sucks

2010-10-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

That's it. It sucks. I don't get it. I never have. At this point, I'm not sure when I'll figure it out...if ever. All I know is I have to get good enough to pass this test in two weeks time.

2 weeks! yikes!

I guess I know what I'm doing for the long weekend.

what are your plans?

3 years already?

2010-10-06T07:48:00.001-07:00

Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary. Crazy.

It was a great day. Looking back, there is very little I would have changed about our wedding day. There is one or two tiny tiny things but that's it.

Year 1 was a bit crazy because that's the year we decided to move out west. That made it a bit stressful. Year 2 was tough. We had moved to a new city and Boris was stuck in a job he hated. Then he fell and had a serious concussion that took months to heal. It was a hard year. Year 3 was much better! Boris got a job he loved but then he did get laid off. Then he got a new job that paid better but he doesn't like it as much. Still ok though I think. My job has taken off and I'm working towards going back to school.

Things have been busy. We've had more tough times than I thought we would but we went through it all together and I think that's what matters. Plus, our tough times never involved problems between us but more how we would deal with things that were happening to us.

Well, I look forward to year 4!

New laptop?

2010-10-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Holy poop do I love Apple! I do I do!

I love my ipod touch. I loved my ipod nano before that. I love my Mac desktop. I even love my previously owned 2004 ibook.

Now that I am planning on going back to school, although not for a year or so, I know that I will need a better laptop. My little ibook is brutally slow and doesn't handle graphics very well any more. Just try to watch a video clip and you may loose your mind! Plus the battery doesn't hold a charge beyond 40 minutes anymore.

So, I know that I will need a new computer but since there is no need at the moment, I've simply put that thought to the back of my brain and I'll worry about it later.

But then...my mom came to visit me this past weekend. I assumed she would be bringing me a gift because my birthday is at the end of the month. But she had no present! lol. Turns out, she offered as a combination birthday/christmas gift to buy me a laptop for school!

How sweet is that???

As much as I want a new laptop now, I am going to wait. I will wait at least until I am accepted into a program because I won't know what kind of computer I need until then. Most schools are flexible but I have seen one or two where they don't allow apple computers.

Plus, if I do get a macbook then it only makes sense to wait until the summer to get a computer because Apple always has student discounts and then tend to throw in a free ipod. :D

I am so excited!

Friday!

2010-10-01T07:25:00.001-07:00

I've decided to sum up my week for you with 2 positives and the 1 thing I could have done better. My friend's family does this with her kids.

1. I had a great meeting this week where I stood up for what I believed in (tactfully of course) and I was able to keep control of my project because of it.

2. I've really improved my math this week by studying really hard!

The one thing I wish I could have done better: Slept more. I had so much studying and cleaning and Boris was sick so I ended up having 3 really late nights and now I am beat!

Tenacious!

2010-09-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

That's me. Boris always tells me that he can't believe how tenacious I am...and I think he's right.

I've always had a ridiculous work ethic and once I've decided to do something, well, I'm gonna do it! And, I'm not going to half-ass it either. I just can't handle knowing that I could have done better. I am not a perfectionist because I don't need 100%. I just need to know that I put forth my best effort.

So, let me have it.

What is the one word you would use to describe yourself?

To visit

2010-09-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Following The Asian Pear's lead, I thought I would do my own world map:

visited 8 states (3.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World

I have been to a mere 3.55% of the world! (this includes: Canada, US, Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Ecuador, England, Norway) I need to do more!

My 10 places to visit within the next 10 years (in no particular order) are:

Spain
France
Boston
San Francisco
Amsterdam
Peru
Washington, DC
Quebec (Montreal and Quebec City)
Columbia
Turkey
Greece

What about you? Where do you want to go?

I am committed!

2010-09-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Whether I like it or not, I am committed...to writing the GMAT that is! I've been putting off scheduling it because then it's like, for real. eeks!

Today, I booked it.

I will be writing the GMAT on October 21st. That is less than 1 month away!

It's the date I always figured I would write it on but now there's no turning back. Unless of course I want to pay $50 to reschedule it. And I don't think so!

On the money side of things, my boss thinks he can get approval for the $250 US fee. That would be pretty sweet. I'm not expecting it and I didn't ask but if it happens then it's a pretty good bonus.

sigh. I will feel so good when it's all finished. For now though, it's back to studying. I have 3 classes left and then I am on my own for study time until the dreaded exam finally happens.

STRESS!

What was your worst job?

2010-09-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Last Friday's post got me thinking. What was your worst job?

Worst can be defined as lowest paid, most demeaning, whatever. It's your definition so you tell me. what was your worst job ever?

For me, it's tough to say. The 10 day job I had when I was 16 was pretty bad. I worked at a fair grounds picking up garbage. That's right. We worked from 6am to noon picking up garbage from the grounds before people were let in for the next day. At noon, when the people were there, we were then sent into the neighbouring community to pick up garbage from their lawns or streets. The idea was to keep the neighbours happy. The best part of the day was when we would find a used needle that the street addicts would use. You see, we were deemed to be too young to pick that up by ourselves so we had to call for our boss to come and get it. That alone gave us a good 20 minute break. Oh, we also had to work in pairs because sometimes picking up garbage meant accidentally disturbing some homeless people who would be less than thrilled with us. Why did I do it? I got paid $12 an hour at a time when the minimum wage was $5!!! I was making big bucks! lol Plus, I knew it was only for 10 days.

Yep, that is likely my worst job. What was yours?

What work is beneath you?

2010-09-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today, we are having an open house at work. We are inviting all employees to come by and learn about what we do. We have games and food and information for them all.

The only problem is that we had to make everything ourselves. We made posters and name tags and games. We sat around with scissors, glue, tape, etc.

Did I mention that I get paid $42 an hour? (well, I'm management so I don't really get paid by the hour but you know what I mean)

I gotta say, I feel like this work has been beneath me. I'm not saying that I'm better than it or that people who do this kind of work are less worthy than me. Not at all. What I'm saying is that I am paid too much money for my organization to see me sit around and cut and glue stuff. Personally, I feel like my skills and abilities could be better used elsewhere. Like, you know, doing my job!

This got me to thinking. What kind of work is beneath you?

I feel sad

2010-09-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier this week that I saw my ex, Mark, last week. He doesn't live in the same city as me but he's close and I was in his city for work the other day. Usually, I give him a call when I'm in the area and take him out for a meal.

You see, we broke up 6 years ago but on very good terms. We simply became friends and lost whatever affection there may have been. So, we've remained distant friends (aka facebook friends). lol Well, he moved out west shortly after I did because he decided to become an actor.

An actor? Seriously?

Yeah.

This is a guy who not once mentioned any interest in acting while we were together (for 7 years mind you) but oh well. Acting it is. I hope he makes it.

In the mean time, he is struggling. Initially, he moved out west without a plan. He was actually living in a car. That's right. He was homeless.

Then he got some roommates but that didn't work out.

So, last week I saw him and he gave me an update on his life. Now he is homeless again but this time without a car. As I mentioned in the previous post, he stopped paying all bills (except his cell phone) about a year ago. He is hiding his car so that the repo-man doesn't get it. He said he plans to make it big and pay off all his bills, including the car. I do my best to stay out of it. It's not my business.

He is homeless.

A man I lived with is now homeless.

He sleeps in a shelter.

I am stunned.

I just don't know what to say. His mom gives him money on a semi-regular basis so he can eat and whatnot. Honestly, he doesn't look homeless at all. He is clean, he gets his clothing washed. He gets haircuts, etc. Totally normal looking. But homeless.

I wish I could help him but in many ways he is where he wants to be. He is going to auditions, meeting agents, playing bit parts in things and so on. He truly believes he is going to make it and he appears happier than I have ever seen him. He is so excited about the future.

I just can't stop thinking about it. He is homeless. I just can't seem to get my mind wrapped around this.

Studying takes over

2010-09-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

You all know I am studying for the GMAT. I've been doing my course for 4 weeks now which means only 2 more to go!

I haven't booked the exam yet but I think I am going to book it for October 21 at 1pm.

That means I have just over a month to prepare. So far, I've been doing the course for 6 hours a week plus about 10 more hours of regular studying.'

it's tough.

And this will sounds stupid but, it hurts my brain! It's like my brain hasn't had to do math in my head in forever and is struggling to remember how. Thankfully, it is starting to come back to me. I'm no wizard by any means. In fact, I barely get half the questions right but you know what? That's an improvement! lol

If I could get in the 60th percentile for the math section and 80th percentile for the verbal section, I would be pretty psyched. :D

It's nice to study again and a nice little trial as to what going back to school might mean for me. It's a good experience

When the debt collector starts calling me

2010-09-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

...about my ex!

It's true! (don't tell anybody Wendy)

I was at work last week when the phone rang. The conversation went like this:

Natasha (me): " Hello, Natasha speaking"

Detective Collector: "hello? Um...who have I called?"

N: "you've called Natasha and I work here"

D (in very official sounding voice): "Do you know a Mark James White?" (totally made up name)

N: "um...yes" (it's my ex in case you weren't paying attention)

D: "I understand you can get in contact with Mark?"

N: "maybe...um wait...who is this?"

D: "this is Detective Michael Anderson"

N: "okayyy....how did you get my name and what's this about?" (like...is it the cops????)

D: "I have your name on file as going to high school with Mark and we are trying to get in touch with him. Can you do that?"

N: "um...I didn't go to high school with him"

D: "errr...I meant you went to a high school in the area as him"

N: "um...no I didn't."

D: "oh weird. not sure how that happened. Anyway, can you contact him? I understand he's moved to city X"

N: "oh, I don't really know" (actually I saw him last week).

D: "no problem, I'll be calling his brother then"

N: "oh, which one?"

D: "uh...there's more than one?"

It's at this point that I finally convinced myself that this guy was not in fact police but some shady character. Why my name would show up on anything to do with Mark is beyond me. We broke up 6 years ago! I'm married to somebody else now. I live in a different city.

Crazy.

I immediately contact Mark to tell him about this and he lets me know that it's the bank trying to find him so they can repossess his car. I guess he stopped paying his bill about a year ago! A year ago!!!!

How on earth can people be so irresponsible? So crazy? sigh.

All I could think was how this had better not happen again and how happy I am that I'm not with him anymore. Selfish?

Surprising information...

2010-09-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

So, I have an employee. I think I've mentioned that. Well, she's only been my employee for 4 months because she just returned from maternity leave and things were only starting to pick up speed. We were getting into a rhythm together and her work was really improving. Things were great.

She and I talk about her experiences being a new mom and how she's really enjoying work. She said that work allows her to be herself; her own independent person. She loves being a mom but she just doesn't want to be a stay-at-home-mom. She also wants to enjoy having just 1 child for a few years before having another. Plus, she's not sure she could afford more daycare.

So, I bet you can imagine my surprise when she told me she was pregnant!

I bet you can imagine my even greater surprise when she started crying and said she didn't know how it happened. She kept repeating phrases like "not yet" or "I'm not ready" or "how could this happen".

I think it was just the shock. It's been a few days and she's starting to perk up about it.

Of course, it's all I can think about now. What would I do if that was me? How would I react?

Wow, I am so not ready for kids...yet.

MIA

2010-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

That's me. Missing in action. I'm not sure why but I'm starting to really question my having a PF blog. I mean, I've never been in debt like most of you so I don't truly comprehend the difficulties most of you have gone through, which means you probably aren't overly interested in my blog. Plus, sometimes I have completely non-finance related items that I would like to blog about but don't because it wouldn't be relevant to my blog.

I'm not gone yet and I keep reading all your blogs everyday but I don't know how much longer I will still be around.

Stupid, stinking, $&#@ing vehicles!

2010-08-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Our lovely 2003 Blazer, Benjamin is at 100,000 km.

Boris bought Benjamin when he was a brand new baby in 2003! He was smart and purchased him with 0% financing and Benjamin has been completely paid for since June 2008. Ever since then, we have been car-payment free. sweet!

Yesterday, we took Benjamin in for his 100,000km check-up. It included so many flushes and cleanings and rotations of stuff that I can't even list it all.

Then, at 9am I get a call from the shop. This can't be good right? Well, it wasn't. We had serious brake issues, suspension problems, other flushes needed...blah, blah, blah.

In the end...a disgusting $2,200 bill was waiting for me. $@#&!!!!

All I can do is tell myself...it's still cheaper than buying a new vehicle. sigh. I guess these things happen.

Unfortunately, I don't exactly have $2,200 sitting around. crap! So, I will be putting it on my HELOC for now. sigh.

I do have a payment plan all figured out though. Normally, we put $200 bi-weekly to the HELOC. The other day, I discussed that since my EI and CPP is paid up for the year that I would be tacking that onto the HELOC as well. That's another $150 bi-weekly. Finally, we put $275 bi-weekly into ING to pay for home and vehicle repair/upgrades. It's depleted right now due to my dental bill and last year's vehicle bills. So, I am going to stop the ING transfers and put that $275 right onto the HELOC for the next 8 paycheques (December 10th is the last date).

That means I will be putting a total of $625 onto the HELOC each and every bi-weekly pay period. It sucks but it needs to be done.

crap crap crap

First...and last camping trip of the year!

2010-08-17T19:55:00.001-07:00

That's right. Boris and I have been quite the slackers this summer. We kept saying we should go camping but neither one of us got off our butts and did anything to make it happen...

until last week.

This weekend we are going camping! It will be my first time camping at the ocean...well within a very short trail to the beach. We aren't actually on the sand or anything as this is good old fashioned "drive-in" camping. weeeeee!

Unfortunately, due to the horrible fire season going on in BC, it is highly unlikely that the government will be lifting the fire ban. I guess it's stove camping for us. I'll miss the campfire and I'll continue to cross my fingers but with zero rain in the forecast for foreseeable future, I don't anticipate that it will be relaxed at all.

oh well

Time to get menu planning huh? Any favourite camping meals out there?

bye bye gym...

2010-08-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

for Boris. After not going to the gym for 4 months straight...Boris finally quit. He quit the gym! I did my best not to nag him about HIS stuff and HIS memberships. It took him longer than it would have taken me but...he quit! That's an extra $40 a month saved. Yay

Plus, he is still riding his bike to work about 4 days a week so he's actually getting more exercise than he ever did from the gym. He is so not a gym guy.

Quitting can be a good thing.

Wendy is coming to visit!

2010-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

My sister Wendy (you remember her right?) is coming the BC to visit me! She has never been to the city I live in so I'm excited to show her around. Hopefully she appreciates it as much as do.

Plus, she's bringing her boyfriend...shall we call him Peter (as in Peter Pan)? Yes, I think we shall.

So Wendy and Peter are going to be here for 5 nights! Oh the things I have planned.

Although, Wendy is about to go back to school and Peter has been working hard to save up some money to one day move out so we'll be doing things cheaply.

We'll do free outdoorsy stuff (of which there is lots to do) plus we will eat and drink at home quite a bit to save on eating out. Oh, and their accommodations are covered because they will be staying my in-laws for most of the time and here for a bit.

Should be a fantastic little vacation. Plus, it gives me an excuse to take a few days off work. :D

I picked a course!

2010-08-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Since I've decided to take a course for the GMAT exam I thought it was high time I booked one!

I decided on the $1,200 option that I would take as a live, on-line course. I will officially be in class starting on August 23. I will be "in class" every Monday and Wednesday for three hours in the morning for seven weeks! seven weeks! That's a heck of a lot of learning going on.

Of course, I talked to my boss about it and he is in full support. He said that since they couldn't afford to pay for the course (fiscal restraint and all that jazz) he could at least afford to give me the time to take the class. So I will actually be getting paid while learning. I will be sitting in my own home, looking at my own computer, learning...and getting paid!

Plus, for some random reason I thought to myself...I wonder if there are any discount codes online for this course. So I did some top secret sleuthing (aka googling a basic search) and voila! A code!

In the end (after stupid shipping costs) the $1,200 course actually cost me $1,116. Not too shabby huh? I wonder if this is something I can write off on my taxes...hmmmmm.

So, if anybody out there is going to take a Veritas Prep course...let me know and I can share the code AND my email address which would give you an extra $100 off!

I'm feeling good about this.

Home reno anybody?

2010-08-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe some of you are handy people. I think I am. I am slowly learning tools and things but so far...pretty good.

If you were to ask Boris if he was handy what do you think he would say? If you think he would say "I sure am handy dandy" you would be right (ok, he wouldn't quite say it like that but you get the idea.

If you were to ask me if I thought Boris was handy...do you want to guess what my answer would be? It would be a diplomatic, "well, Boris sure thinks so". Translation: No, I do not think Boris is overly handy.

I don't think he is inept but for whatever reason...things often don't turn out quite right or if they do, there is alot of swearing and frustration involved.

So about two years ago he decided that he wanted to replace our kitchen dimmer switch. I have been good about persuading him to "hold off" for now. This past weekend, we could hold off no more! Boris wore me down and I agreed that we were smart people and certainly we could replace one dimmer with another dimmer right? right?

So, off we go to Home Hardware. We buy a fancy looking dimmer ($30), electrical tape ($2), an electrical checker thing-a-ma-jiggy ($15), some wire ($1), marettes ($3 - things to hold the wires together), and oily stuff ($4 - to keep the wires from sparking).

I know...I'm not very handy with proper names for stuff but hey...I know what I'm talking about at least.

We go home and attempt this job. Three hours later we put it all back together feeling proud of ourselves. We were very frustrated and weren't sure if we did it right but we think we did. We flip the power on and...NOTHING! In fact, our hallway lights were no longer working. grrrreat. Just my day.

Sigh, so I called an electrician to save us before we really did some damage. Plus, while he was here I also had him fix a microwave problem we had been having.

In the end, our cheap DIY job cost us $223 for the electrician and $55 for the parts (which did get used) for a total of $278.

Not exactly the cheapest home reno ever is it?

Remember the other day when I was talking about how sometimes it's worth it to pay an expert to do the job (the $2 seamstress). Well, this time I don't know the answer.

Yes, we called an electrician in the end but we still did use the parts that we purchased. IF we could have figured it out on our own it would have been cheaper. AND, we didn't actually damage anything by trying.

I might try this again in the future but maybe I'll start smaller. Are you handy?

Emergency fund is so close!

2010-08-09T05:32:00.000-07:00

I am a mere few dollars away from meeting my second stage of Emergency Fund goals! Yay.

It was about a year ago (October 27, 2009 - my birthday to be exact) when I first discussed my emergency fund need. I didn't have one and with all my over-inflated ego, had never even thought to think that I might need an emergency fund. Those things were for other people. Not me. Nothing bad could happen to me.

Of course, Boris was then laid off his job. Granted, he was never actually a day without pay as he was able to line up another job rather quickly but it was still stressful. The uncertainty of it all.

Since then, I have been putting a bit of money into my tax free account at ING and have not touched a dime of it...not once!

I started with zero and made myself a few short(er) term goals:

$1,000
$2,500
$5,000
$10,000

It will take me a long time and I don't have an end date in mind. More of a "I'll get there when I get there" kind of attitude. I also assume that I will tack on higher figures as time goes on because well...life gets more expensive all the time doesn't it?

The point is...I am about to reach goal number 2!!!! Yay me! Pretty freaking exciting isn't it?

Where is your emergency fund at today? What is your ultimate goal?

Pay Day!

2010-08-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

And guess what? I am totally finished paying my EI and CPP for the year!

Par-tay! Extra money in my pocket! Actually, it's extra money to my stupid dentist bill that I didn't know I owed. Although after 2 paycheques that will be gone and then I will start putting the extra bit onto my HELOC.

Hopefully Boris will be finished his taxes soon too so that we will have even more money to put on the HELOC.

I feel some serious momentum coming my way!

Happy Friday!

Did you say $2?

2010-08-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

I bought a dress from Club Monaco last Christmas. It's a cute little summer t-shirt dress with buttons all down the front. It was actually from their summer 2009 line but I didn't see it until Christmas. By then, the $150 price tag was down to 50% off. Then, it went down to an additional 25% off the last price and then because a button had fallen off, I was able to get an extra 10% off. This brought the price down to $50.

Even better, I bought it slightly tight and told myself that by the summer of 2010, I would be able to wear it comfortably.

And I can! Yay!

Of course, as with many items I have purchased...it isn't quite right. In between two buttons, it seems to pucker a bit. Not because it's too tight but because the buttons are too far apart. It had to be fixed.

Yes, I know I could figure out how to put a new button hole into the dress but seriously....like I have that kind of time! It would probably take me 2 hours to figure out how it works. So, I caved and went to this fabulous tailor in my city. She is a friendly asian woman who knows very little english. She works out of her home in a cash only business.

I took my dress to her and explained what I wanted through a series of pointing and sign language and asked, "what will this cost?" I need to know how much cash to bring back on Thursday when I pick it up. her response was "two dollars". uh? I proceeded to clarify with her not once, not twice, but three times!!!

I just can't believe she is only going to charge me $2 for something that would have taken me hours to do myself!

I guess sometimes it really is worth paying for the expert. Let's hope she does it exactly as I want.

I could be rich!

2010-08-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

All I have to do is sue somebody....Over the fabulous long weekend, I went to an awesome pig roast. Delicious.

Unfortunately, the homeowner's dog bit me.

Here's the story:

Boris and I were driving up to this house based on very poor directions. We had never met these people but my friend Jane had invited us anyways. We get to the house and Jane and her dog (Dalmatian) and another dog I had never met (Rottweiler) came outside to greet us. I bent over to the new dog to say hello. He sniffed my hand and licked me. I then reached out to pet him and he let me. As soon as my hand went onto his back, he glared at me. I then had that split second to decide what to do (kick him on the off chance he is going to bite me...or turn around and run away). In fact, all I had time to do was to turn my back to the dock who promptly bit my upper thigh. Right below my butt. Yes, indeed.

I actually had to say, "Boris, he bit me!" because it happened so quickly that Boris and Jane weren't even aware it had happened.

Apparently, Jane forgot to mention that this dog doesn't like to be pet on his back. well, thanks for the warning!!!! CURSES!

The rest of the day I had to deal with the questions and showing the bite, and so on. I also had to make the call...do I make a big deal out of it or not?

I chose not to. Ultimately, I am not permanently injured, it doesn't affect my livelihood, it's not disfiguring, and so on. It just sucks.

Although, I wish I could report it so it would be on record for when that dog bites somebody else. Apparently, I am at least the second person to be bitten by the dog.

I'm just so annoyed that the owners knew they had a dog with a history of bitting and they chose not to lock the damn thing up before people started arriving. There were about 80 people there eventually and trust me...if that dog didn't bite me, it wold have bitten somebody else.

looking at courses

2010-07-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

And so begins the costs of going to school.

Up until, oh yesterday, I was determined to study the GMAT on my own and do great on the test. Great I tell you.

Then, I realized that I've been studying for about a month (not very consistently though) and I am so stumped on the math. I am stumped. I am also going at a pretty slow freaking rate.

What's a girl to do?

Suck it up? hah! Instead, I've been looking at the various GMAT prep courses that are out there. They are expensive ($1,500 seems to be the going rate) but I do believe they would help. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have sessions in the city I live in! curses! They do have them in a nearby city (3 hours away). Anyways, here are some rough options:

$1,500 - two back-to-back weekends of full day courses (9:30am - 7:30pm each day)
$1,200 - live, on-line (3 hour sessions, twice a week for 7 weeks)
$800 - pre-recorded on-line sessions (do at your own pace but set up like option 2)

So, what do you think? Ideally I would take option 1 even though it's the most expensive. I learn best in a classroom setting...especially for something I struggle with like math.

However, the cost of getting to the nearby city and the hotel is a bit daunting. Plus, so much information packed into 2 weekends!

For option 2, I'm not totally convinced that I would find the live, on-line session any more useful than a pre-recorded on-line session. Has anybody out there ever done a course that was live and on-line? I suppose they would be more responsive to answering questions but is it really that much better?

Oh the choices!

I have a team!

2010-07-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I asked you all for opinions on whether or not I was being insecure about my soccer dilemma.

Turns out...you were right!

I saw the coach of the team again and he said, "I didn't know you needed a team. Do you want to play on mine?" Woot woot! Hell yeah I do!

So, I am officially on a soccer team for the fall!!!!!

Bad news...it's expensive!

Coach doesn't know the exact fees yet but last year it was $270! Yikes. I guess that's the price you pay for a good field (turf) that has lights. We will have one practice and one game per week. Although we start practices in mid august and do that for about a month before the games actually start.

But hey...I am so excited to have a team that I don't have to try out for! Plus, I already know about 5 of the players so I won't feel too out of place.

Today was a good day.

A little apathy

2010-07-27T04:35:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling pretty apathetic these days. In general. You could say I am apathetic about fitness, about money, about whatever. I'm not quite sure what has gotten into me but it's hard for me to care enough to follow some of my plans through.

For example, we went to the bank a bout 2 weeks ago and she gave us some "homework" for Boris to do in regards to his RRSPs. Clearly I know they are important and that we should do our homework. And yet...meh.

In fact, I seem to be veering from feeling apathetic to overwhelmed. I guess I don't get my to-do list completed because I feel apathetic and then I end up feeling overwhelmed that nothing is getting done.

I'm spinning in circles I suppose. Like a big stinking wheel. spin.spin.spin.

What do you do to get out of a funk?

Culture and money

2010-07-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

I have an employee. Just one. I will call her May. She is a junior level professional employee and I am trying my best to develop her and give her all sorts of opportunities. It's exciting because she is my first official employee. Sure, I've "lead" or "mentored" others but she is officially mine (not like I own her or anything weird though). She has been my employee since June 1 when she returned from her maternity leave.

When she returned, I took her out for lunch as her new boss. (she was my co-worker before her maternity leave). I paid as it was a boss thing I was doing. She tried to pay but I insisted and explained that it was my treat to welcome her back.

Then the next week she asked me out for lunch. I said sure. When the bill comes, she insists on paying. I said something like, "no, it's okay, I can pay for myself". And she kept insisting that she was going to pay because I paid last time. I kept arguing that it was different because I took her out for lunch as her boss then and now, we are going for lunch as friends. But she pushed and pushed until I relented.

Since then I've noticed that if I give her a little something like coffee or a muffin, she insists on buying one for me the next day! I'm trying really hard to just be nice and treat her once in a while because that's what my bosses have always done for me.

But she keeps on paying!!!

So I was telling Boris about this problem and he just rolled his eyes at me and said, "well, what do you expect? That's her culture. You should stop putting her in a difficult position". I think my well thought out response was something along the lines of, "huh?"

Yes, she is chinese. She is a first generation Canadian who didn't learn english until she was in grade 1. I have heard that in the chinese culture they must reciprocate gifts or something along those lines but I don't really know that for sure.

I admit it. I don't really get it. And I'm not sure what to do. Do I stop paying for small things for her? Am I making her uncomfortable?

I want to be a good boss damn-it!!!

To be or not to be...

2010-07-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Actually the more appropriate question is: to move my debt around or not to move my debt around?

Here's the situation:

At the bank last Friday our banker took a look at our interest rate on our home. At the moment we owe approximately $251,000 at 3.3% (prime plus 0.8%). We put $700 on an accelerated bi-weekly schedule. We also have our HELOC at approximately $73,000 at 3.5% (prime plus 1.0%). We put $100 per week towards the principal.

She offered to-refinance our mortgage for a one time fee of $440. What did she offer?

She suggested we move $10,000 to $20,000 off our HELOC and onto our mortgage and by doing so we qualify to "re-finance" at a rate of prime minus 0.2% which at the moment is 2.3%. That's 1 whole percentage point below what we currently pay! AND, it's on our largest debt!!

Sounds good to me!

The problem is, I'm not quite sure of the math I should be using. From my best estimates it looks like it would save me money...but I can't quite quantify how much. And therefore, I can't decide:

Should I do it?
If I do, how much should I move over from the HELOC? $10,000? $15,000? $20,000?

What do you all think?

Surprise!

2010-07-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

Just the other day I blogged about my potential renewal of my mortgage for my alberta condo. I even laid out the details as to what I was imagining would happen.

Well, it went sort of to plan.

We did renew the mortgage but we did NOT get a fixed rate mortgage! WHAT???

We went it as planned and the bank lady started talking to us about the benefits of a variable rate mortgage. All I could think was "duh! If only you knew I was a PF blogger". And then when I really thought about it, all I could think is, "what the hell am I thinking? I know that a variable rate is the better way to go. What am I being stupid about?"

So, we went with the variable rate. Yay! We got a 0.2% below prime which as of yesterday was 2.3% (now that the Bank of Canada has raised their rates I am waiting for our bank to do the same).

Sounds great huh? 2.3% is much better than the 4%ish I was thinking we would get.

But now I feel robbed! I went onto ING to check my regular bank balances and I notice that they have a variable rate of 0.6% below prime! CURSES!!!!!

How could I be so stupid? I didn't even investigate the rate! I was so blinded by the 2.3% that I forgot that other banks might beat that rate.

Hit me upside the head now will you? I am feeling rather taken.

Condo fees going up!

2010-07-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

What come up must come down, except that in the land of expenses, what goes up must stay up and up and up.

I just received a letter from my Alberta condo board for our rental property and it looks like the condo fees are going up by 4%. They seem to have a pattern. One year they go up by 4% and the next year they stay the same, then up by 4%, then stay the same, and so on.

It's made me wonder...what does go up AND come back down? The answer: gravity. That's it. That's all.

Why oh why can't costs and fees be like gravity while income and savings be like helium???

If only I was able to re-write the laws of nature or physics or whatever it is (math isn't really my strong suit). In the meantime, I'll just dream of a world where I am in control and until then, I suppose I will just focus on trying to outsmart gravity.

What are you trying to outsmart today?

Performance Plan

2010-07-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! No, not Christmas...not summer, keep guessing! It's performance planning time! yay! um...what???

You betcha! Every year at work, I have to write out my intentions for the year. I am supposed to fill in a form that says what my objectives are for the current fiscal year, when I expect to be finished and finally, what will I have to show at the end of the year. I also have the option to include potential career goals. You don't have to...but if you want to get money for learning or opportunities for promotions then you should definitely think about it.

Well, this means I had to talk to my boss about doing my MBA. Without his approval to put it in my performance plan as a career goal, I can't get any money towards it. Not a dime!

I was so nervous talking to him about it. I was worried that he would find me presumptuous to even think about considering assuming that my company would be interested in funding my education. So, I walked into his office for our meeting to discuss my plans and I started by saying something like this: "so, I'm not sure how to put this in my plan or if it would be supported or how it works or anything but I want to get my MBA". To which he responded by sitting in silence. lol I think I really surprised him. Then, he got all excited and started discussing options and funding and how he would go about supporting me (even giving me some time off once in a while to study). How awesome is that?

In the end, if I am approved (up to executives), I could get $22,500 over the course of the program! Add that to my parents generous offer of $10,000 and I am sitting pretty at $32,500! The university I am most interested in is about $40,000 plus books and other fees. I'm anticipating that my portion will likely be about $15,000 including books and fees and laptop and travel, etc. I can live with that.

I am now even more excited than before! I feel like I can do this!

Oh right...I have to keep studying for the GMAT. It's just so hard to get motivated with such nice weather and the summer and all that. Bah, enough procrastinating I suppose...

Bank visit tonight...including a potential mortgage renewal!

2010-07-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight (Friday) is part 2 of my bank meeting. A few weeks ago we were only able to get through a few items because we ran out of time.

Tonight, I hope to talk about Boris' RRSPs, our Alberta mortgage, and who knows what else. I'm sure she has more in mind.

I'm excited to find out what she'll offer for the mortgage. In preparation, I went to a few bank sites to see what else is out there. Here is what I found:

BMO: 3.99% on a fixed 5 year rate (only for "special" situations which I think I would qualify for)

ING: 4.49% on a fixed 5 year rate

TD: 4.39% on a fixed 5 year rate

I want a fixed rate because it's a rental and I need the certainty. Plus, our current mortgage is at 4.6% and I was pretty happy with that. All of the current rates posted are lower than that. So, I'll be pretty pleased.

I've also done some math to see what my interest vs principal payments would be over the 5 year term (amortized at 20 years and starting balance of $121,680) at the various rates. Here is what I found:

BMO:3.99% - $4,044.40 interest/$4,771.01 principal - payment $734.62/month - owing $99,602.88 at the end
ING: 4.49% - $4,584.21 interest/$4,613.00 principal - payment $766.43/month - owing $100,533.38 at the end
TD: 4.39% - $4,475.75 interest/$4,644.43 principal - payment $760.02/month - owing $100,349.42 at the end

As it is a rental property, I don't anticipate making any extra payments so this really does reflect reality for me.

It's interesting to see just how little the difference is for a low-ish mortgage amount when you are only paying monthly and amortizing over 20 years. crazy huh? But hey, if I can get the 3.99% rate versus the 4.49% they will likely offer me, I save $1,523.85 ($304.77/year). And you know what...I will take it!

The real question is...can I stick to my guns and not sign for anything above 3.99%??? Especially when it's soooooo easy for me to stay with TD.

I'll let you all know what happens. Also, if you have tips for me or know the inside scoop on what they may offer...do tell!

Emergency Fund update

2010-07-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

As you can see from my pretty little bar on the right hand side --->

my emergency fund is slowly growing. I am feeling good about it. I've only been accumulating this money since last September (ish???) and I think it's pretty decent. I haven't once touched it. Not once.

I am still a long way away from having 3 months saved up. sigh. But baby steps right? They'll get me there eventually. My long term goal is to have $9,000 and right now I am not even 1/3 of the way there. And yet, I feel good about it. I am on track and I don't foresee needing it in the near future (knock on wood or something right?).

I just wanted to share my satisfaction with you all and hope you are all having at the very least...a satisfactory Thursday. :D

Work pisses me off sometimes

2010-07-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

As part of my job in the human resources world, I get to see what everybody in my very large company (over 30,000 employees) earns.

And my everybody, I mean everybody. All the way from student workers to the top of the company. All of them. Generally, I see enough salaries that they lose all sense of meaning to me. Whether somebody is earning $40,000 or $140,000 is pretty much meaningless to me. I see it, I use it for whatever my needs are, and I move on. I don't even remember what most people make on any given day.

I also get to see their raises, technically, I get to see the executive raises. In fact, it's part of my job to review the executive raises across the organization to ensure they are appropriate, fair and don't break any of our rules.

Well, the other day, I had an important meeting with my executive. She told me that my project just can't go ahead yet because of the cost. Big money. I agree. It can't. But, we can take steps to get things ready so that when we are in a better financial situation, we can do the pieces that cost money. We agreed and I felt good about that.

Then, I go back to my office and review the increases. She.just.got.a.HUGE.increase! And this is on top of her already enormous salary! That just ticks me off! She tells me in one breath that we don't have the money, and then I turn around and see how much she just freaking put in her pocket!

If she is going to toe the corporate line and tell me we have no money and that we all need to make sacrifices, shouldn't she be waiting before taking a sizeable increase? Isn't that the morally correct thing to do?

And the worst part is that I can't say a thing! I can't complain to anybody about it. I can't comment to her that it's wrong. I can't do anything because it didn't break any rules and isn't any worse than what other executives have been getting lately!

Why are the executives getting increases but the rest of us peons are getting NOTHING????

And it's not the fact that she's getting more money that bothers me. It's that they tell us to our faces that they have nothing to give and then they turn around and give themselves more money!

Don't you hate hypocrites?

Jane needs advice.

2010-07-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

I have a friend, who I shall name Jane, who has asked me for some advice. Unfortunately, it's something I don't know a whole lot about. Maybe you do?

Jane is 29 and has had a pretty stable life the last 3 years. She's almost finished her journeyman's certificate in her trade and come this fall she will get a good bump in salary. Things are looking good for her.

Unfortunately, prior to three years ago she made some foolish choices. She essentially ran away from life and tried to live off the land or something weird like that. I'm not quite sure where she was but she left society for 6 months. And it's not like she planned that very well. She literally walked away! As in, she didn't pay her bills or tell anybody she wasn't going to keep paying them.

So her credit history is in the tank. It sucks. It sucks so badly that she can't get a credit card. Which means she also can't get an itunes account, rent a car, get a hotel room...anything.

oh, she also lives in a house her parents own and pays $350 a month to rent. However, she would love to save up enough money to one day own her own home.

She also has the following debts: $20,000 on a vehicle loan which has a high interest rate and $1,000 on her credit card.

She is about to come into an inheritance. $64,000 to be exact.

So, she's asked me...what should she do with it? She wants to keep building her credit so that she can get a credit card and in a few years a mortgage.

The problem I am having is...I don't know very much about how to build credit. If she paid off her high interest car loan....is that ok for her credit? If she does get rid of it, how should she go about building credit?

Any thoughts?

How much is the stuff in your purse worth?

2010-07-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Fabulously Broke did a fun little exercise that she picked up from others about how much the stuff in your purse is worth. She goes on to explain that women carry about $500 worth of stuff everyday!

So, what is in my purse?

- cell phone $100 (approximation based on what it would cost me to replace it)

- ipod touch $300 (it's still new!)

- keys $100 (it would cost that much to get new keys cut AND re-purchase my key fob for my car. FYI if you have a chip- key for your car that will cost you about $200 to replace!)

- wallet $100 (Dooney & Burke - gift from Boris)

- purse $150 (Dooney & Burke AND it was massively on sale at that price)

- make-up case $50 (Dooney & Burke - gift from mom)

- lipstick - $30 (one is a Prescriptives that isn't made anymore and the other is Clinique)

- lipgloss - $15 (Prescriptives again)

- powder - $15 (Prescriptives again)

- oil wipes for your face - $1 (gift from Wendy)

- chap stick - $10

- sunglasses - $40

- cards - $80 (cost to replace drivers license)

- re-useable bag - $5

- pill case - $5

- miscellaneous - $5 (button, mini sewing kit, band-aids, etc)

Total cost: $1,006

WHAT???? I am stunned! I had no idea I was walking around with that. Granted, without the ipod it would drop to $700 but still. crazy!!!! No wonder I am paranoid about putting it down.

What is your purse and contents worth?

Math is difficult!

2010-07-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased some study guides for the GMAT. I went for the whole meal deal and went for the full study guide package. Three books, some old paper exams, an online exam or two, plus more. Total cost: $217 (including shipping)

The book starts by having you take a "Diagnostic Test". It's basically a short version of the GMAT that you take before beginning to study. The idea is that based on your different scores (math vs reading) you will know where to focus your future studying. Good idea I thought.

I dove in and took the test. All the while, secretly hoping that my scores would all be perfect and I would have nothing to worry about. HAH! That was pure fantasy.

My scores looked like this:

"Average" - Quantitative (Problem Solving)

"Below Average" - Quantitative (Data Sufficiency)

"Excellent" - Verbal (Reading Comprehension)

"Above Average" - Verbal (Critical Reading)

"Average" - Verbal (Sentence Correction)

Look at that! I got every possible rating from Below Average to Excellent! 4 categories and I hit them all. I should get a prize.

Instead, I get to study more! Clearly my math skills are more than a little rusty. I need to focus there.

My comprehension and critical reading were quite good. yay.

Surprisingly my sentence correction was only average. I was actually really surprised by this one. Looks like I may have to ask Wendy for assistance studying.

It's going to be hard work to get those scores up there but I'm excited about it.

Indulging...sort of

2010-07-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

Boris has been sick the last two days. And by sick...I mean SICK! I think he has food poisoning or something like that. He's had stomach cramps, nausea (and everything else that we won't mention) and is essentially living in the bathroom.

Oh, he's also not really eating or drinking because it doesn't seem to want to stay inside of him.

The end result is that when he asks for something...anything...I get it. It could be chips or slurpee or pizza or who the heck knows what. I will go buy it and I will buy it from whatever store happens to be convenient (aka Macs). My thought process is that even if it's shitty food or drink at least it's something. Right?

I think I've spent about $30 in the last 2 days at Macs. Not like that's a huge sum of money or anything but it is out of the ordinary.

One more day and I'm making him go to the doctor. Poor Boris

Am I being insecure?

2010-07-07T04:08:00.000-07:00

My soccer season is just past half way through and so far...so good. I have been having fun and for the most part, my team is great. Fun people and supportive.

I am now starting to think about the winter season. From what I understand, the winter teams start recruiting new players in August. That's 4 weeks away!

On my current team, the girls generally belong to 1 of 2 teams. Tonight, the manager of Team 1 (also a guy on my current team who we will call John) comes over to the girl beside me (sarah) and says, "hey, are you around the September long weekend?" Sarah says yes and he responds with, "ok, I'll send you an email". that's it. Makes me curious and makes me feel a bit left out because hey...I'm sitting right here. What's going on? Oh well, I tell myself. Not a big deal and not my business.

At the end of the game a different girl on my team says, "hey why don't you come and play for Team 1 this winter?". I say, "that would be awesome! Do you have room?" and she says, "I don't know but you should ask John. We usually have a tournament over the September long weekend that we invite potential new players to come to".

Well damn it. That must be what John was talking to Sarah about. He is inviting her to the tournament but not me!!!

The question is...did he purposely not invite me? Or did he think that I am already on a team or not interested or something?

Am I being too sensitive? What do you think? I'm thinking about emailing him and just outright asking, "hey, I hear you manage team...can I play on it?"

What do you think?

Finished scrapbooking!

2010-07-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

That's right. I finished my wedding scrapbook. And oh my...it is amazing! No modesty here. I think it looks super duber fantastic. I am quite pleased with it.

But oh is it nice to be finished and to have our kitchen table back!

I wish I could show you all what the album looks like but that would ruin my whole anonymous thing.

You'll just have to trust me. It's great.

I don't remember if I said anything but the whole deal was that if I finished the wedding album I would then get to buy the software upgrade for my Mac so I can do a photo album for our trip to the Galapagos Islands that we went on last year. I am so excited to do that and it will be easier than actually scrapbooking.

YAY!

I want to ride my bicycle!

2010-07-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike! Sing it with me!

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

and so on.

This weekend I actually did go out and ride my bicycle! We rode for approximately 20 km which was perfect. Not too far, not too short. It was great.

The problem?

My gears are all shifty. And not in a good way. They are all ker-clunky and sometimes don't even shift when I want them to. Poop. Yes, poop.

I went to the local bike store and asked them about at tune-up. I guess I'm not the only one who wants to ride their bicycle because they are booked solid until Friday. So, on Thursday evening I'll take my bike and drop it off. Then on Friday they will look it over and call me with an estimate as to what the price will be to fix everything that needs fixing.

They said on average it costs about $70 but it all depends on what is wrong. I'm sure it is something I could figure out on my own and do it cheaper but you know what...screw it. This time, I am just going to pay for the convenience.

Of course, if it's really expensive to fix I may have to reassess because the bike is about 6 years old (hardly used though) and it was only $350 originally.

Boris has been riding his bike to work everyday (20km round trip) for the last few weeks so he is obviously getting his money's worth out of his bike and I'm hoping that he will spur me on to get out there more.

He's even been suggesting going on a biking camp trip. Ride 50km out to this pretty lake type setting, camp the night and then ride back. I'm not there yet, but it's something to work towards.

Needed a new look

2010-06-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

I never really liked the blog design I had. Not even when I picked it. I was simply overwhelmed by the choices and essentially, I made a random selection.

The other day I had some time to kill so I went through some of the new designs they have and I selected a new one.

I think this one is great. It has rain drops and I love the rain. Plus, it gives a bit of a dreary look which is how I often feel about finances (even when things are going well).

What do you think?

My meeting at the bank.

2010-06-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

As I discussed last week, I had an appointment last Friday with TD Canada Trust regarding our accounts.

It went well.

For the first time, the woman I met with seemed to actually care about what I was saying and interested in helping me out. She also didn't push any of the bank products on me. It was really nice to see that.

Boris and I were there for the full hour and we discussed my mutual funds, Boris' mutual funds and our overall accounts, net worth, etc. I've made some changed to my mutual funds that I had been meaning to do for quite some time. Mainly, I needed to make it more aggressive than where it's been lately. When I first opened my mutual funds (2003) I was a much more conservative person.

Then we discussed consolidating Boris' RRSPs because he has his scattered over 4 different companies because he worked for 4 different companies over the years that had a matching program. He is now starting to take the first steps to figure out whether he wants to consolidate or not. Good for Boris!

We also touched on our mortgage renewal for the Alberta condo. Even though it was the main reason for the visit, we really didn't get to it in time. So, we've set up another appointment for 2 weeks away.

I am good with that. I'm also pleased that she seemed to listen to me!

I still don't know what they will offer me for a mortgage and I am still willing to walk away from the bank if they don't give me a good rate but I sure did like her. :)

I did it!

2010-06-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

I did it!

I have saved enough money for my girls' weekend! Yippie!

Although...I now have nowhere to go.

About a year ago, my friend and I decided that we should have a girls' weekend getaway. Since I moved away we miss our girly chats.

We had a weekend all planned and set aside (July 8 - 11). Unfortunately, when all the good flight deals were coming out in March and April she was too stressed out to pay attention or focus long enough to book anything.

I was a good friend and told her not to worry and we would figure it out later. Well, it's later.

And now the flights are ridiculously expensive so we've now put the trip on hold. We are thinking September or October might work out. siiiigh.

At least I will be ready for it.

I'm thinking I will keep up my $50 bi-weekly contribution to that account though because it may come in handy for other things and at the moment I don't even notice that I do it.

Long week

2010-06-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

This has been an exhausting week. I'm not even really sure why. I just feel...drained.

I have no major plans for the weekend but I am hoping to try cooking a new recipe and hopefully go for a bike ride and go to the driving range. Oh, and of course my laundry is in desperate need of getting done. Don't you find that when the weather is nice your house turns into a bit of a pig-sty? Or maybe it's just me.

Either way, I have many things that need to get done and yet...I just want to sit outside and enjoy myself. ahhhh

Oh, and the scrapbook is now about 1/3 of the way finished. I sure am taking my sweet time on it but so far it looks great!

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

Operation Pay Less begins!

2010-06-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have made an appointment with my bank (TD Canada Trust) for Friday afternoon.

I am so excited! Excited like only a PF blogger can be! Weeeeeeee!

I plan to talk to them about so many things. Everything from our Alberta mortgage getting renewed to bank fees to HELOC interest rate to RRSPs to whatever else is on my mind.

I am prepared to renew my mortgage with TD Canada Trust because lets face it, switching banks really can be a hassle. That being said, I don't plan to get abused.

I'm going to have my game face on and engage them in a staring contest! at the very least I'll have a conversation with them. haha!

Feeling the summer?

2010-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

I know I am! It's sunny out and I'm feeling the urge to sit in the sun and bake...only I would never do that.

I am a very pale, blonde girl. Sun = red, painful skin.

So, I buy alot of sunscreen and am very sun conscious. This is just another one of those things that costs money but you know what? It's better than paying for cancer medication/treatments later in life. Or at the very least, skin care products to try to reverse the damage.

In the spirit of enjoying the outdoors I will keep this brief and say...I hope you are all enjoying the summer and being responsible. Are you?

More scrapbooking...

2010-06-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I decided it was time I do my wedding album. I'm thinking it would be nice to complete it before our third wedding anniversary!

Better late than never right?

Turns out, I have learned quite a bit since the last time I scrapbooked. That time it cost me about $170 and this time it was closer to $185 but the book is about 1/3 bigger AND I bought more items AND higher quality paper. I managed to do that by shopping around. I've also learned more about what I like and what kind of things I can do. This means that my book is taking much much much longer to create.

Last time I pretty much made a template and did the entire book in the same manner. This time, each page is a little bit different with more variety in the colours, layout, etc.

It's actually more satisfying than last time even though I am taking more time.

I still don't intend for this to become a big hobby of mine or anything. It takes too much time, costs too much money, and makes a big mess!

How did your weekend go?