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.

They keep trying to take me down....but I won't let 'em.

After another bump on my road to financial stability on Friday, I realize now the importance of checking your credit score. I highly advise you all (especially if you're in trouble financially right now) to get your credit rating and see who you owe money to.
If I would have checked mine I would have found out that I'm still being charged for my gym membership that I cancelled 3 years ago (I'm sure most of you are thinking "well, wouldn't you know if you're getting charged. No, because they were charging a credit card that I cancelled years ago".). I will keep you posted on my progress, but I may now need to add an envelope for a lawyer.

Other than this, things are still going well. I almost used my debit card on the weekend, but didn't and am happy to say that after a weekend full of friends and drinking, I still have money. The one thing I do regret doing is bringing money to the casino. I'll admit that I was under the spell of 'but I could turn this 20 into $500 just like that, and then I can buy myself a pony to ride to work'. Needless to say I rode the dog to work today instead.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Safe and Sound

Sorry for the delay this week in writing.

Well it's official, it's been one full pay period (2 weeks) and I haven't used my plastic and have stuck to my budget. I can say that I only have $2 left in one of the envelopes, but I think that just shows that it IS possible to properly budget your money.

I have to say that it felt really good not to be worried every day (or every hour) whether or not I could afford that coffee, or that soup at lunch and just waiting for the debit machine to say 'Insufficient Funds'. Amazing feeling.

The second week was definitely harder than the first, but I think this time around it will be easier because I'll have the experience of the second week.

Anyway, quick column today. Will write more over the weekend.

I look forward to more comments and suggestions from you all. Please read the comments that people are making as everyone seems to have other great ideas on saving money.

Until next time, take care.

Have a great weekend!

Hey everyone,

I've been getting a lot of great responses and feedback from everyone and it's really making me happy that I started this blog. I just wanted to thank you all for reading and supporting my journey. Please pass the link onto your poor friends (unless they're too poor to have the interweb) and people that you know that are in a crunch.

A friend of mine was telling me last night that the minimums for credit card payments is going up in Canada (from $10 to $100 in some cases) which could pose a lot of problems for those already having a tough time paying their minimums. Over the weekend I'm going to look into this and see if I can find any additional info for you all.

Until next week! Have a great weekend.

Kristy.

It's only been one week?

I'm not going to lie, it feels like I should be getting paid this week.
What can I say to you about my first week of budgeting? It's been a learning experience.

The following envelopes are empty as of last night:

1) Harmer and Coconut (my dog and cat if you do not know)
This could pose problems come this weekend when my 65 lb German Shepard runs out of food and starts eating my leg while I sleep. I may have to dip into next weeks funds to save a limb or two.

2) Groceries
This isn't as bad as it seems. As I stated last Thursday, I made myself a grocery list for the first time ever and sure enough, the groceries lasted until yesterday (with some spill over). So yesterday during some downtime at work I went to http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com and made myself a menu for everyday until pay day. I, once again made a grocery list and was able to fill up a basket and have meals for lunch and dinner for the following week for $15.50. Last night I made a delicious chickpea curry from scratch which came in at under $3.00 (and I have leftovers for lunch). It's possible to eat healthy for next to nothing.

3) Booze
This envelope isn't empty, but has $10 remaining. I figure that I can buy myself a bottle of Marcus James for the weekend and then have another drink free week (it's doing wonders for my figure!).

I do have to say that keeping these envelopes is making me VERY aware of how much I'm spending and on what. I still have most of my coffee money left; there's $40 a month that I can throw into my camera fund. Also the dining out envelope is still full. After spending a week of making delicious meals from scratch I realize that there isn't any point in ordering in pizza (made pizza from scratch on Friday and it was much, much better than ordering in), chinese food (made vegetarian ginger chicken on Thursday).

It can be done, but it is tough.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Keep your comments and questions coming.

What to do when you pay a collections agency and they don't let anyone know...

This is the predicament I'm in right now. After paying close to $1,000 to Telus 3 weeks ago, I find out that the collections agency that was so diligent in getting a hold of me, isn't being so diligent in letting Telus know that I have paid my outstanding bill.

I'm frustrated....I'm beyond frustrated, but am so upset right now that I can't even think of another word for how I'm feeling.

I'm frustrated that after trying to get my $hit together there is still someone holding me back, and I'm frustrated because I found a way to save even more money. Currently I pay $70 for basic cable and basic internet (not even wireless) with Shaw, but if I bundle the two together with Telus, I can save myself $10/month. That doesn't seem like a lot, but that's $120 a year I could be putting towards my camera.

Now my only option is to sit back and wait another few weeks and see if I get a letter from Telus unless someone has another suggestion.

Lesson of the day: collections agencies really are the spawn of the devil.