We are not poor and never will be. We are broke, not poor and there is a BIG difference between the two. Sadly, a lot of people are broke this year so there is a spotlight on people who used to have a lot and this year have less.
On the CBC Newsworld this morning there was a family that advertised on Kijiji (Canadian online classifieds) for donations because the father lost his job last month and the mother's part time job doesn't cover the basics. I understand how parents want their kids to have nice things or a nice Christmas. At some point, though, I think a dose of reality is required for the children AND for the parents.
When do you turn to the kids and say "Kids, if you don't have the money then you can't buy things." When do you turn to YOURSELF or your partner and say "no, we can't afford it."
Lest you think I am making too much of cyber begging - try typing cyber begging or online begging into your search engine and look at how many hits you get! WOW! I don't know if it all started with Karyn but I never heard of cyber begging before 'Save Karyn.'
I've heard the same rationalization over and over now for months- a person does what they have to do to feed their families. Believe me - I agree! *I* am doing everything I have to do to feed MY family, but I'm not lying, stealing or begging to do it. I am working two jobs, cutting back on everything and making a LOT of soup. That is everything that *I* can do to feed my family.
Now- I don't tell you this to illicit sympathy (OR MONEY) but to present another side to the argument.
There is poverty and there is a poverty of spirit and I fear that society has lost the ability to distinguish between the two.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
3 more sleeps until Christmas... :-)
It snowed all day yesterday and all night, too, so snow blowers and ploughs have been out all morning trying to clear it.
Today I want to get my room tidied up a little so I don't have to spend my three days off cleaning.
The big news at our house... well, okay it's the only news... is that I put $250 on the Visa and we are now one tenth of the way towards our first party.
December is always a good time for me to pick up hours so I should have a few extra dollars next month to put against the debt - so watch for that!
I accomplished my debt goals last year and I want to do the same this year. I find that I can get a lot of momentum when I start this time of year. Sometimes there is an extra cheque in December, Christmas money, extra hours, too cold to go out to the store - whatever! It usually just works out that there is a little extra then it is income tax return time.
Now - about income tax! I have my with-holding set as low as it can go, but last year I got a refund and I'm sure I will this year, too. We are also far enough north that we get half of the Northern Living Allowance. The Northern Living Allowance is a bribe from the provincial government to live and work in the north.
It doesn't work out to very much and it is a drop in the bucket when you put it against increased living expenses, BUT it does help to make the return a little higher. Those lump sums *really* make a difference when you are trying to pay down debt.
Today I want to get my room tidied up a little so I don't have to spend my three days off cleaning.
The big news at our house... well, okay it's the only news... is that I put $250 on the Visa and we are now one tenth of the way towards our first party.
December is always a good time for me to pick up hours so I should have a few extra dollars next month to put against the debt - so watch for that!
I accomplished my debt goals last year and I want to do the same this year. I find that I can get a lot of momentum when I start this time of year. Sometimes there is an extra cheque in December, Christmas money, extra hours, too cold to go out to the store - whatever! It usually just works out that there is a little extra then it is income tax return time.
Now - about income tax! I have my with-holding set as low as it can go, but last year I got a refund and I'm sure I will this year, too. We are also far enough north that we get half of the Northern Living Allowance. The Northern Living Allowance is a bribe from the provincial government to live and work in the north.
It doesn't work out to very much and it is a drop in the bucket when you put it against increased living expenses, BUT it does help to make the return a little higher. Those lump sums *really* make a difference when you are trying to pay down debt.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The darkest day...
Today is the shortest, darkest day of the year and since it has snowed all day it really has been a dark day. It was like the sun didn't even BOTHER to show up today.
Today sunrise was at 9:20 a.m. and sunset will be 4:28 pm - that is 7 hours, 7 minutes and 50 seconds for those of you who want to know precisely.
We celebrated by going to the bank to deposit Christmas cheques (THANK YOU, Grandma and Grandpa!! :-P) and by waiting in post office line to send an international parcel. Oh, and we also made a debt thermometer!
What is a debt thermometer you may well ask. Sunshine and I broke the debt into four pieces of $2500 each. The debt isn't quite $10,000- but close! We are going to mark off how much is paid each month and at the end of each $2500 we will have a party... that doesn't cost anything... :-)
I thought maybe it could cost something, but Sunshine says "no, that would defeat the purpose."
So it was a good day... A good, dark day. Don't worry- tomorrow will be SIX seconds longer!
Today sunrise was at 9:20 a.m. and sunset will be 4:28 pm - that is 7 hours, 7 minutes and 50 seconds for those of you who want to know precisely.
We celebrated by going to the bank to deposit Christmas cheques (THANK YOU, Grandma and Grandpa!! :-P) and by waiting in post office line to send an international parcel. Oh, and we also made a debt thermometer!
What is a debt thermometer you may well ask. Sunshine and I broke the debt into four pieces of $2500 each. The debt isn't quite $10,000- but close! We are going to mark off how much is paid each month and at the end of each $2500 we will have a party... that doesn't cost anything... :-)
I thought maybe it could cost something, but Sunshine says "no, that would defeat the purpose."
So it was a good day... A good, dark day. Don't worry- tomorrow will be SIX seconds longer!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sigh
There is supposed to be a wonderful picture right HERE here of Schmidt lighting the candles. Sadly, the camera battery is DEAD. If I were perfect it would only discourage you, right? ;-)
Tomorrow I'll try and be more interesting - no promises, though! Tonight is night six of my rotation (6 on, 1 off, 4 on, 3 off) and I am *ready* for a day off.
Tomorrow I'll try and be more interesting - no promises, though! Tonight is night six of my rotation (6 on, 1 off, 4 on, 3 off) and I am *ready* for a day off.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The stress free Christmas... One week to go...
Everywhere I go in real life and on the Internet there is only one question - are you ready for Christmas. Why, yes! Yes, I am! :-)
So far in the spirit of Christmas we've put fuzzy socks on the Giving Tree at the library. They collect socks, mitts and toiletries for the kids at the women's shelter. If those items are donated then it doesn't take out of the operating budget to provide them for women and children in need.
We've watched the fireplace on TV and listen to Christmas carols in English and French.
We've watched hockey in English... and French.
Schmidt (the authour) started reading about Hanukkah for a story he was writing. He asked if we could like Hanukkah candles and I said - Sure... why not! :-) No more about that now- there are pictures to follow.
Sunshine donated all her candles to the living room and we've lit them each night and keep them burning after the other candles are blown out. Something we discovered when it was colder than -40... Candles put out a fair amount of heat.
Now- how many presents have I made? None.
How many presents have I bought? None. My youngest is nearly 16 and they are all very aware of our financial situation. I told them that we would keep satellite TV for another couple months and everyone was happy with that.
Oh- and I want to say that I've checked with them and none of their spirits were crushed in the making of this stress-free, guilt-free Christmas. 'Don't Know/Don't Care' went over to her friend's house and they did a cookie exchange there. She also decorated the tree with her friend.
The kids know that any money we don't spend goes into savings and I think they are all old enough *and* mature enough to understand that.
Cards? :-) Not sending any!
Mall trips? One this month- I zipped in to check on the grain mill situation.
Travelling to family? We've been invited and declined. There is only enough room for half of us in the truck. We'll just stay home together, instead.
Decorating? None! :-) Just candles everywhere. We might still do something... but we might not.
So far, we are having a great time. This is the best Christmas of my adult life. :-)
So far in the spirit of Christmas we've put fuzzy socks on the Giving Tree at the library. They collect socks, mitts and toiletries for the kids at the women's shelter. If those items are donated then it doesn't take out of the operating budget to provide them for women and children in need.
We've watched the fireplace on TV and listen to Christmas carols in English and French.
We've watched hockey in English... and French.
Schmidt (the authour) started reading about Hanukkah for a story he was writing. He asked if we could like Hanukkah candles and I said - Sure... why not! :-) No more about that now- there are pictures to follow.
Sunshine donated all her candles to the living room and we've lit them each night and keep them burning after the other candles are blown out. Something we discovered when it was colder than -40... Candles put out a fair amount of heat.
Now- how many presents have I made? None.
How many presents have I bought? None. My youngest is nearly 16 and they are all very aware of our financial situation. I told them that we would keep satellite TV for another couple months and everyone was happy with that.
Oh- and I want to say that I've checked with them and none of their spirits were crushed in the making of this stress-free, guilt-free Christmas. 'Don't Know/Don't Care' went over to her friend's house and they did a cookie exchange there. She also decorated the tree with her friend.
The kids know that any money we don't spend goes into savings and I think they are all old enough *and* mature enough to understand that.
Cards? :-) Not sending any!
Mall trips? One this month- I zipped in to check on the grain mill situation.
Travelling to family? We've been invited and declined. There is only enough room for half of us in the truck. We'll just stay home together, instead.
Decorating? None! :-) Just candles everywhere. We might still do something... but we might not.
So far, we are having a great time. This is the best Christmas of my adult life. :-)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
On trimming the budget
A year ago this time we had about twice as much income as we do now. We also had a lot more debt and a lot more savings, but that is not what this post is about.
I flipped open my book to the budget from a year ago. First of all, it is a chicken scratch mess and I can't really tell what I was thinking at the time, but I was mostly concerned with debt repayment and the food budget.
I trimmed the debt repayment. I know that doesn't SEEM right, but the debt repayment has to fit your current income not your income today. We started started off the year with two credit cards, the line of credit and a vehicle loan. I whittled away at the lowest credit card to pay it off and saved up enough to put against the vehicle and pay it off. I did it because I knew I would be able to make those payments now. The remaining credit card and line of credit are from the same place so only one creditor. This saves a minimum of $350/ month.
Food - my food budget started at $1200+ and I *KNEW* it would be hard to cut it drastically so I did it in stages. I cut to $900, then $800, then $700 and we are down to $500 now. I always give myself a couple practice months when I'm cutting back (and save the difference) so even though I was $69 over last month - I don't beat myself up about it. I think I'm close to $100 lower than I've EVER gone.
We eat a LOT of bulk whole grains, very little bread or pasta and whatever vegetables are on sale. This week it is yams... We are going to be eating a lot of yams in the next two weeks... :-)
We also eat mostly free meat from family. This time we had to go get it (hence the increased transportation costs) but it was an upright freezer full for about $30 so it was worth it. We only eat meat a couple times a week, at most. It's not meatless Monday - it is more like meaty Monday. ;-)
Transportation- We used to fill the gas tank every other month or so. Now we are filling every 3 or 4 months. We can't let it get too low in winter, obviously, or it won't start. I was buying a bus pass every month ($54) or pass pack three times a year ($162.) Lately I've been walking or staying home. I have tickets in case it is very cold or icy. I won't endanger myself to save $1.40, but when I can bundle up and walk I do. I've walked to work 94% of the month (so far.)
Entertainment- We never were big on entertainment, but we would usually do something like get pizza once a month or something like that. One time neighbour boy and his brother were over when we ordered. The pizza place called to make sure it was a real order and not kids playing around. No... it was real alright! =8-|
Our entertainment budget is now zero. We can get movies from the library and inter library loan or DD and her friends trade. The kids are buying their own computer games (used) instead of us buying them. Between books, pizza, movies and the occasional game for the kids we save about $100-$150/ month.
School- I used to buy things every month through out the year. This year I bought in September and we haven't gotten anything else.
Clothes- It was never very much ($25- 50,) but it is zero, now, too. We buy something when it is really needed and the item it is replacing is worn out. You can get a lot more wear out of clothes than you think you can! It helps that my kids are all bigger and not growing much. It also helps that the clothes horse is buying her own clothes!
Cell phone- first we put a hammer lock on DD's thumbs then 6 months later we severed the contracts (AND talked them out of the $300 fee to sever!) This is saving us between $50 and $150/ month.
Hobbies. It was $50, but I never spent that much every month. Some months it was $30 or zero or $70... $30-$50 was more the normal average. This is now, sadly, zero. All that buying did provide a fairly healthy stash and I don't really NEED anything. I helped Brown Bear make a card for his girlfriend in Australia. I didn't even KNOW I had stickers that say Happy Birthday. I would have bet money that I didn't, but I do. Why the HECK would I need to go to the store?!
We are in the process of getting rid of the home phone. Everyone in my life HATES it and it will save about $40/ month.
We are also in the process of getting rid of the satellite. That will save $60- $75/ month depending on the package we have at the time.
So that was basically it- I trimmed and trimmed and trimmed. We are also practicing using less. Sometimes stuff only has one more day left in it and you just use it for one more day. Sometimes it has one more day left in it- three times or ten times or twenty times.
Your efforts will be rewarded. :-)
I flipped open my book to the budget from a year ago. First of all, it is a chicken scratch mess and I can't really tell what I was thinking at the time, but I was mostly concerned with debt repayment and the food budget.
I trimmed the debt repayment. I know that doesn't SEEM right, but the debt repayment has to fit your current income not your income today. We started started off the year with two credit cards, the line of credit and a vehicle loan. I whittled away at the lowest credit card to pay it off and saved up enough to put against the vehicle and pay it off. I did it because I knew I would be able to make those payments now. The remaining credit card and line of credit are from the same place so only one creditor. This saves a minimum of $350/ month.
Food - my food budget started at $1200+ and I *KNEW* it would be hard to cut it drastically so I did it in stages. I cut to $900, then $800, then $700 and we are down to $500 now. I always give myself a couple practice months when I'm cutting back (and save the difference) so even though I was $69 over last month - I don't beat myself up about it. I think I'm close to $100 lower than I've EVER gone.
We eat a LOT of bulk whole grains, very little bread or pasta and whatever vegetables are on sale. This week it is yams... We are going to be eating a lot of yams in the next two weeks... :-)
We also eat mostly free meat from family. This time we had to go get it (hence the increased transportation costs) but it was an upright freezer full for about $30 so it was worth it. We only eat meat a couple times a week, at most. It's not meatless Monday - it is more like meaty Monday. ;-)
Transportation- We used to fill the gas tank every other month or so. Now we are filling every 3 or 4 months. We can't let it get too low in winter, obviously, or it won't start. I was buying a bus pass every month ($54) or pass pack three times a year ($162.) Lately I've been walking or staying home. I have tickets in case it is very cold or icy. I won't endanger myself to save $1.40, but when I can bundle up and walk I do. I've walked to work 94% of the month (so far.)
Entertainment- We never were big on entertainment, but we would usually do something like get pizza once a month or something like that. One time neighbour boy and his brother were over when we ordered. The pizza place called to make sure it was a real order and not kids playing around. No... it was real alright! =8-|
Our entertainment budget is now zero. We can get movies from the library and inter library loan or DD and her friends trade. The kids are buying their own computer games (used) instead of us buying them. Between books, pizza, movies and the occasional game for the kids we save about $100-$150/ month.
School- I used to buy things every month through out the year. This year I bought in September and we haven't gotten anything else.
Clothes- It was never very much ($25- 50,) but it is zero, now, too. We buy something when it is really needed and the item it is replacing is worn out. You can get a lot more wear out of clothes than you think you can! It helps that my kids are all bigger and not growing much. It also helps that the clothes horse is buying her own clothes!
Cell phone- first we put a hammer lock on DD's thumbs then 6 months later we severed the contracts (AND talked them out of the $300 fee to sever!) This is saving us between $50 and $150/ month.
Hobbies. It was $50, but I never spent that much every month. Some months it was $30 or zero or $70... $30-$50 was more the normal average. This is now, sadly, zero. All that buying did provide a fairly healthy stash and I don't really NEED anything. I helped Brown Bear make a card for his girlfriend in Australia. I didn't even KNOW I had stickers that say Happy Birthday. I would have bet money that I didn't, but I do. Why the HECK would I need to go to the store?!
We are in the process of getting rid of the home phone. Everyone in my life HATES it and it will save about $40/ month.
We are also in the process of getting rid of the satellite. That will save $60- $75/ month depending on the package we have at the time.
So that was basically it- I trimmed and trimmed and trimmed. We are also practicing using less. Sometimes stuff only has one more day left in it and you just use it for one more day. Sometimes it has one more day left in it- three times or ten times or twenty times.
Your efforts will be rewarded. :-)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The new grain mill is here!
Very exciting stuff! I can convert anything to flour and it is SO exciting! I did some brown rice yesterday and it is exactly the same as what I buy in the store only it SMELLS like rice.
Okay - true confession time! I spent $569 on food this month. I did put $1300 into savings, though! I know people are going to email me at home and ask where I got it so here is the breakdown.
Extra EI cheque- $886
Rent from DD#1- $300
Skimmed wherever I could- $114
Extra expenses this month- Vet bill - $100
Transportation- half a tank of gas + 20 bus tickets put me $6 over
Food- $69...
medication- $89. I bought an extra 3 weeks for ds to keep us out of Costco and dh is weaning from one med and starting a more expensive one so there is extra costs this month.
Grain mill -$40 was the difference between Christmas money from my mom and the cost.
Grand total - $294
Now, I know people are going to say- but Kim, *I* didn't get an extra cheque this month so it is really unfair that you would say that if you can save I can save. That may be true, but I think everyone gets an equal amount of chances in life. We could have taken that money had a traditional family Christmas with it. You know - the kind with a Wii... :-) My family *Really* wants a Wii. And just as soon as dh gets a job we'll get one, but not before.
So that brings me back to my point that ALMOST every family can save. I really want want to encourage people to get in the habit of putting SOMETHING away each month. Even if it is $5 every pay cheque it is still more than zero and if you are in the habit of doing it you will save more when you have more- trust me!
Okay - true confession time! I spent $569 on food this month. I did put $1300 into savings, though! I know people are going to email me at home and ask where I got it so here is the breakdown.
Extra EI cheque- $886
Rent from DD#1- $300
Skimmed wherever I could- $114
Extra expenses this month- Vet bill - $100
Transportation- half a tank of gas + 20 bus tickets put me $6 over
Food- $69...
medication- $89. I bought an extra 3 weeks for ds to keep us out of Costco and dh is weaning from one med and starting a more expensive one so there is extra costs this month.
Grain mill -$40 was the difference between Christmas money from my mom and the cost.
Grand total - $294
Now, I know people are going to say- but Kim, *I* didn't get an extra cheque this month so it is really unfair that you would say that if you can save I can save. That may be true, but I think everyone gets an equal amount of chances in life. We could have taken that money had a traditional family Christmas with it. You know - the kind with a Wii... :-) My family *Really* wants a Wii. And just as soon as dh gets a job we'll get one, but not before.
So that brings me back to my point that ALMOST every family can save. I really want want to encourage people to get in the habit of putting SOMETHING away each month. Even if it is $5 every pay cheque it is still more than zero and if you are in the habit of doing it you will save more when you have more- trust me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)