Back at it again.

I've been getting some complaints/rants regarding the fact that I haven't updated my blog since the beginning of the summer. Well back I come with my tail between my legs, begging for forgiveness...mostly because I fell off my budgeting wagon.

I have found myself back to where I was a year ago (minus the owing collections agencies a ton of money). I spent the summer throwing money around, went on a lengthy vacation that was supposed to be the cheaper route to go and ended up costing much more than expected and here I sit on a Monday afternoon with $2.47 in my bank account and 4 days til I get paid again.

I had a friend ask not too long ago what was the best thing I did when I was budgeting my money. I will say this again and again and again....the envelopes. Having something tangible in my hand that I can use to trade for something that I want/need. I thought that if I did the envelopes for long enough that I would just get the hang of it and be able to take a look at my bank account on a semi-daily basis and be able to control my spending. NO SUCH LUCK.

So, starting on Thursday when I get paid, I am going back to my envelope method of living.

In the meantime, send me your stories of success and I will post them on my blog. Also, my promise to you is that I will update my blog on a weekly basis from now on.

Need ideas!

Hi everyone,

I've just been told that I'm not updating my blog enough and that people will stop reading. Problem being is what to say these days. I've been sticking to my budget; having some extra income coming in is helping with my savings, and having an automatic savings amount come out every paycheque is also helping.

So....what can I write about?
I was told about this website a few weeks ago: groupon.com
The premise is that you are emailed a coupon every day that pertains to your demographic (the area that you're in, your age, interests etc.). Today my groupon is "$12 for $25 worth of fare at The Teahouse in Stanley Park". This isn't too shabby at all. I went on the Tea House website and you can actually get a nice meal for $25 (you're only paying $12). The catch being is that the coupon is only good for that day so you need to be a fly by the seat of your pants type of person.
The other day Glen received a groupon for 1 month unlimited bootcamp, regularly $140 on for $30.

I also saved money this week by listening to the Vancouver Folk Festival from the beach instead of inside. For anyone that finds the Folk Festival too expensive (believe me, it's a great event, but sometimes it's just not in your budget; like me this year), walk down to Jericho and you'll find yourself at the secondary Folk Festival. I couldn't get over the amount of people that came down with their picnics to sit on the beach and listen to the music (which you could hear perfectly).

I'll try to write more and think of new topics to write about. If anyone has any ideas, please shoot them my way.

I didn't fall off the wagon....

I haven't posted in awhile, mostly because there hasn't been much to report.

As I said in my last post, I had one pay cheque where I didn't use the envelope method and it screwed me up big time. I realize now the importance of sticking with this method for at least 6 months.

I've been writing for an online company for the past few months and had to write an article on debt counsellors in Canada (how appropriate). I thought for awhile that these counsellors were a sham, but after researching the qualifications to become one and exactly what they do, I would highly recommend getting in touch with one. There is a site called nomoredebt.org that is based out of Vancouver and is a non profit organization. If you are in a crunch, I highly recommend contacting them for some advise. These counsellors can walk you through how to properly set up a budget, what to expect the first few months (I should have paid attention to that one) and how to start to pay off your debt and still save.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that I make a decent salary, but yet am struggling to stay afloat. I want to hit the point where I have money saved and it doesn't matter if I have a car expense (which I do right now) or a camping trip to plan for; at one point in time I hope that I won't be stressing about how to afford these things.


Keep saving and send me your comments. I promise to write more.

A sad, sad update

After weeks of being on top of my budget I have fallen off track. I don't know where I went wrong or really, what happened.
I did use my debit card to get food one day - I didn't have money in my envelope, but to be fair, I was hungry and I needed food. I get paid tomorrow and I do still have money in my grocery envelope, but these next two weeks are going to be interesting.
I decided to enroll the dog in private lessons and this has messed up my budget significantly. With this added expense I now have $50 to last me for everything over the next couple of weeks.
On a positive note I was accepted as a freelance writer for a website. The pay is by article and is only $15 per article, but I figure that if I can write 10 articles a week, I can add another $600 a month to my savings.
Wish me luck, although the next time you see me I may be gaunt from not eating for two weeks!

New Article

I feel that I'm not being honest with myself this time around about how well I'm doing with my budgeting. After last weekend my booze envelope is empty, my toiletries envelope is empty (and I didn't use that money for toiletries); luckily I have money in my grocery envelope so I can eat, the animals have full bags of food and my dine out envelope is still full (and by full, I mean it has $20 in it, so I won't be going to fancy places). I think that having a partner that is so generous makes this process tougher; I want to become financially stable and be able to take care of myself in case something ever happens, but my significant other keeps on insisting on paying for things.
On the weekend we went to the casino (that's where my toiletry money went) and he won quite a bit of money so has been paying for dinner and drinks all week. I feel a sense of guilt about this because he shouldn't have to 'pay' because he's good with money and I'm not.
Those are my thoughts for the week.

I've included a link to an article I read today. It's US based, but I believe could still be applicable to Canadians. The question being posed is can you save money by taking public transit vs. driving? Let me know your thoughts.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1771236

One small note

I got a lot of questions regarding getting your credit checked yesterday.
There are many sites that will give you your credit report for a fee, but I have included a link and download (Equifax free credit) where you can get your credit report for free if you mail your info or fax your info in. I just did this and am now waiting for my report. Will let you know how it goes.

Interesting article in the Vancouver Province

I came across a great article in The Province yesterday entitled "Rejig those debt loads". I have included a brief synopsis of the points that Terry McBride makes regarding debts and your best way to pay them off. If you'd like a copy of the whole article, let me know and I can scan it and email it to you (girlfriday1080@gmail.com).

Consolidation

- one of the most popular debt management strategies which enables you to combine various loans into your mortgage or a line of credit.
- the great thing about doing this is that you then only have one interest payment to pay off as opposed to numerous interest payments.

* I consolidated my credit cards, line of credit and car a few years back and it made a HUGE difference in my ability to pay this off. I tended to only pay the minimums on my credit card (which I know a lot of people do) and was getting nowhere. Now, I pay a bit more a month (which I have factored into my budget) and am paying everything off at the same time. Just go into your bank and ask to speak with someone regarding a consolidation - the planner will walk you through your best options (long term vs. short term payment options), will run an employment check and you'll be good to go.

Amortization

Amortization is how long you are scheduled to repay an installment of a loan. If interest rates rise, consider stretching the repayment period on an installment loan to reduce the size of your monthly payments.
A negative to this is that if you continue to make smaller payments over a long period of time you will eventually pay much more interest in the long run.

Debt snowball
A strategy for cutting down your overall debt:

- Make a list of debts and note how much you pay on each loan
- Pick the smallest debt to tackle first. Pay the minimum on all debts except your target debt (this could be included in your budgeting...putting more money aside for paying off this debt than the rest)
- Continue with this debt strategy by then choosing the next debt on your list. Pay that off. And so on and so on.

Emergency Fund

Instead of borrowing money when there is an emergency (car problems, emergency flights home etc), build into your budget an emergency fund.
A great way to increase your money is to open a high interest, tax-free savings account (ING is a great one that I have) that you cannot access by debit or credit.