Okay, now I'm spamming

But I couldn't resist sharing this picture of my darlings:



Hard to tell that they spent the day growling at each other, isn't it?

Interesting Corrolation

When my house is messy and dirty, I just want to bury myself in mindless activity. But when it's tidy and clean, I find myself going on an organization binge. It's 9:36PM as I post and I just finished organizing my pantry. I've been putting this off since, well, since I moved in. It took less than 20 minutes to fix!

BEFORE



Beyond the obvious 'it's messy and I can't find anything' problem, I had these issues to fix:

a) cans were making the second shelf curve and I was worried about permanent damage (pantry belongs to the owners of the house);
b) I could never find small items such as tea, spices that I don't use enough to put them on my counter spice rack, various sauces and sweetners, etc.
c) I wanted to be able to put the excess cat food in there somewhere instead of under the table.

AFTER



This should work for me!

Top shelf: bakery products
Second shelf, left side: teas and sweeteners
Second shelf, right side: various sauces, spices, condiments, etc. (the lazy susan from Ikea was used in a similar fashion at my old house)
Third shelf, left side: dried protein (beans, lentils, tvp)
Third shelf, right side: grains (bulgur, couscous, rice, pasta)
Fourth shelf: non-food items (Brita filters, temporarily empty containers, coffee filters, baggies, plastic wrap, etc.)
Bottom shelf, left side: cans (like sorted with like)
Bottom shelf, right side: cat food!

My father once looked into my pantry on a day when it was particularly full and complained that I had 'nothing to eat, just ingredients!' True; I don't have a ton of pre-packaged stuff. (By the way, miss ya, dad!)

Speechless Saturday?

to-do list

Maybe if I publicly post my to-do list for the weekend I'll actually get through some of it?

In no particular order:

-deep clean the bathroom; (done Friday evening)
-deep clean the kitchen; (finished Saturday afternoon)
-deep clean the catbox area; (done Friday evening)
-wipe down all mouldings, window sills, door tops, etc. in the house; (upstairs done Saturday morning) (finished Saturday afternoon)
-vacuum the whole house and wash all the floors; (upstairs done Saturday morning) (finished Saturday afternoon)
-get through my darning pile (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha);
-find a vegetarian sausage recipe and make huge batch of it;
-go grocery shopping (big, need to fill up the pantry, trip); (done Friday night)
-hang the curtains in the living room; (started Saturday afternoon, gave up again)
-get through all the laundry; (done Saturday morning; let me point out that we're talking a mere 3 loads here!)
-take the huge and very full 'for charity' box I have been tripping over in the bedroom for three months and *gasp* drag it up two blocks to the nearest comptoir familial; (done Friday night; mental note for next time: just post an add to Full Circles!)
-buy a shredder and shred the huge and very full 'for shredding' box I've been tripping over in the library for three months; (shredder bought Sunday morning, stuff shredded Sunday afternoon)
-finish organizing my tools in the basement;
-go pick up more cat food (quite the expedition); (ordered for pickup tomorrow! picked up between doing the laundry and cleaning the upstairs; also got litter; one hour field trip total)
-start working on my final paper for my university course. (Saturday morning, looked at the details required)

*rubs eyes*

My reading has definitely passed the 'fluffy' stage to academic. The Spiral Dance was an easy read. Drawing Down the Moon required more effort. The Triumph of the Moon is taking all my energy. Two nights in (one hour of reading), I haven't even made it past the introduction yet.

I have a BA in history, so I'm no stranger to dry as toast literature and I know that I can and will get through this book, but I can't say how long it'll take.

My reading pile is THIS high (should take a picture of it, LOL), but I'm definitely making my way through it slooooooooowly.

Travel 'damage'

Whee! I had a great trip! Whenever I 'budget' for a trip, I always add 20% for contingencies to come up with my 'real' budget. Taking that into account, I only went 60$ over budget on this trip!

It took me about 45 minutes tonight to update everything in Buddi, including entering the info for my last pay cheque, planning the next two weeks' expenditures, paying bills, and moving money. I can't believe how easy it was... and how lost I felt this weekend without Buddi at my fingertips!

I thought that doing my 'accounting' for the trip would be a nightmare. Nah! I had receipts for all my credit and debit purchases, as well as most of my cash ones. When it came time to balance, the first two did so to the penny. Cash was missing 60$, but I could account for every single penny of it--parking, shuttle transport, two coffees, one dinner, etc.

I'm so pleased with myself for keeping on top of things on my trip, having fun (ie. not worrying about money, but being mindful), and not mucking up my budget.

Too funny

I just got a letter from Staples thanking me for buying a printer from them and offering me 10$ off my next purchase of toner.

Thing is, I wound up NOT buying my printer from them!

'Traditional Values'

I became an aunt for the second time today. My sister now has two strong, beautiful, perfect little boys.

For me, I think the time to have children might have very well passed. People scoff at that because I haven't even reached thirty yet, but that strong urge I had in my early twenties is all but gone.

There are so many things that would be lovely about having a child, like being able to raise it in my faith and to share with it all the wonders I've seen.

Having children today involves too many decisions when it was just a natural and expected process until just a few generations ago. I simply could not imagine myself having a child in my current circumstance, unless one were to fall out of the sky for me; that is I was made the legal guardian of an older child or something along those lines.

Apparently, my values are very 'traditional', even 'Christian' by Wiccan standards. Others may do as they please and will think neutrally of their decisions, but for me to bear a child, it would have to be in wedlock; if a man wants my child, he can darn well slip a ring on my finger!

Another thing is that I cannot see myself raising a child in a world of daycares and babysitters. In fact, the only way I truly see myself as a mother is that of a homemaking and homeschooling mama tending her brood of eight (plus or minus a few!) on her family's partially self-subsistent homestead where hubby brings home the proverbial bacon.

I'm told that's not exactly the most 'feminist' viewpoint out there. *snorts* I'm all for feminism if it gives me the choice to be what I want. Single, I want to travel around the globe and be selfish. Married with children, I want to be glued to the hearth.

Bathroom update

I put aside some money quite a few months ago to update the bathroom. My shower curtain and towels both coordinated well with each other, but not with the bathroom, since they had tons of brown while the bathroom is white, baby pink, baby green, and grey. It looks okay, but is not my favourite colour scheme by far. I wanted dark grey towels and a single-colour shower curtain. This morning, I took advantage of a fantastic offer at Sears to get the towels, an okay shower curtain, 'fancy' hooks, and a soap dish. I also added flannel sheets to the pile.

-Towels: 50% off;
-Sheets: 25% off;
-Soap dish 50% off;
-Shower curtain and rings: full price (but...)

by buying more than 100$ worth of stuff, I got an additional 20$ off, which essentially paid for the shower curtain and rings.

I'm tickled pink with the soap dish (on which I plan to put my nail brush). Its colours (the yellows are identical!) and style fairly match the pot I bought a while back, without being so coordinated as to look silly:



(I also scooped up leather gloves and more tights at 25% off... making it worthwhile to get up eeeearly on a Sunday morning!)

We've got a couple of hours of sunlight left and a nice breeze, so my clean new sheets and towels are on the clothesline. I'm looking forward to going to bed!

Halloween disrespectful to Witches?!

http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2007/10/27/halloween-disrespectful-to-witches-really.htm

A school cancelled Halloween celebrations to avoid offending Wiccans.

What, they'll cancel Christmas next to avoid offending Christians?!

I'm out of the broom closet with my immediate colleagues and gave them all a laugh on Wednesday when I showed up wearing all black, striped socks, and a pointy black hat. I enjoyed the secular aspect of the day, but never forgot that the point of the day is religious observance. So, after the sun set, I put away my pointy hat, pulled out my robes and partied with the gods. Best of both worlds, if you ask me.

Next up is Yule, which I celebrate on my own, then Christmas, which I celebrate with my family. I really wish that people (ie. my family) could remember that Christmas is about Jesus first and foremost, and that if atheists, agnostics, and those of other faiths insist on celebrating it, they could perhaps treat it as a time for family togetherness, instead of focusing on how much money was spent on gifts. Bah, we're getting into the time of year that makes me cranky!

Tools and Sabbats

I received a truly unexpected magical gift today:



I have searched for a cauldron for about a year and a half, forgetting the magical rule that governs my life--tools come to me and will hide if I seek them out. This precious gift came to me through divine intervention, as do all tools. I casually mentioned to a new friend with certain connections that I was looking for this tool. Then I helped my friend with a deeply personal project, expecting nothing in return. I never dreamt I would have such a large cauldron, nor one with a non-typical shape. Pleased cannot describe how I feel.

The cauldron is in poor shape and I had to do some creative Googling to find a site about how to clean and season a cauldron. Really, any site about caring for cast iron would have worked, but I wanted a witchy perspective. I found this wonderful site.

First order of business: scrub a dub dub with an SOS pad and tons of elbow grease; the interior is nasty. Then wash. Then season. Then dedicate in my Samhain ceremony. How perfect is it that my new tool arrived just in time for the holiest of our Sabbats?

The wheel of the year has turned again and Samhain is once more upon us. A year that has felt like at least three is over and a new one dawns, filled promise, passion, and purpose.

This year's lesson is best summed up by Khalil Gibran:

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

This Witch's chalice runneth over.

Tights!

I don't wear pants and it's too cold to go barelegged for about six months of the year. So, understandably, I go through a lot of tights in a year. It's hard to find good tights--ones that fit, are reasonably priced, and last. Until recently, I've been going out of my way to Sears to get tights and paying about 15$ a pop for them.

Couple of weeks ago, I finally caved and decided to try Reitmans brand tights. How good could they be? They were way too conveniently located (building where I work) and very cheap (6$ a pair if you buy 3 at a time). Turns out that they fit, they're reasonably priced, and they last.

Moral of the story: just because something is way too convenient and seems too good to be true... doesn't mean it is.

21,000 steps later

My order of environmentally friendly cleaning products having arrived, I decided to walk over to pick it up. It was about a 12km round trip. With one pace being about .75 metres, I figure I took roughly 21,000 steps this morning (if my math is correct). That's not really an extraordinary figure for me, except for the fact that it's the most I've walked in one shot since my surgery.

One thing I like about walking through my cities is that I get to pop into all the little boutiques I've noticed but could never find convenient parking for as well as read historical plaques.

Grocery Deals of the Day

On the way back from dropping off a colleague after the funeral, I decided to go pick up some fresh fruits and veggies at a grocery store. Having yet to find a new favourite grocery store, I stopped at the first store that was on the way home (Loblaws), but couldn't find parking, so I headed to the Independent Grocer's across the street. IG was tiny, but they had a decent selection of products (and PC brands). I got more stuff than I'd planned, but the deals couldn't be beat:

-orange peppers, 1.99$/lb (can reach 4.99$/lb);
-'Deliosso' brand pizza, 4.99$ each (normally 7.99$ each; I bought two since frozen pizza is worth getting on sale);
-Asian five Spice sauce by VH for 1.99$ (regular 2.79$).

The latter item made my day. I LOVE Asian spice sauce and use it the way most people use ketchup, putting it on everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to (veggie) hamburgers to stir fries. As usually happens when I get addicted to something, stores stop stocking it. So, when I find some, I just about raid the shelves! I got four today since I still had a bottle and a half in the fridge (because I'd been doling it out, afraid to run out now that it's so rare, *sob*).

My big treat of the day was a loaf of fresh cheese bread. My absolute favourite breakfast is a tomato sandwich, so I can't wait to make that tomorrow with the cheese bread. Add salt, pepper, and basil and it'll make a nice treat.

A Rainy October Day...

I attended my second Catholic funeral today, so now I have a measure of comparison. They were both very similar, so I can say this, generally, about Catholic funerals:

-they're very good exercise: you stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sit, kneel, sit, stand, sit, etc., and then the practitioners have to go all the way up to the front of the church for the little bread thingie and come all the way back. Oh, and there's some genuflecting involved whenever they pass the altar;

-the prayers are lovely (I'm very partial to Psalm 23);

-the music is lovely (I particularly enjoyed 'Amazing Grace' on a violin today);

-Catholics use 'tu' when speaking to their god??? I didn't realise that they use that level of informality with him;

-incense is used for the same reason Wiccans use it; to carry our prayers to the deity on the smoke;

-they pass around a plate for donations (thankfully, I had some change on me to contribute).

A colleague thought that I was a 'lapsed' Catholic and was therefore surprised by my level of unfamiliarity with the rituals. I informed her that I was raised by the atheist branch of my Catholic family. :-)

Attitude Changes

It's been a full month now since I made some radical choices as to how I was going to manage my money. It's working. It's amazing how it's working. I'm freeeeeeeeeeee! Ahem, to a point. :-)

A month ago, my credit card balance was at a 0 balance as I had just paid it off in full, like I'd been doing for a few months. Then I had an Incident With the Car and a few unplanned events and the balance skyrocketed.

My 'normal' reactions would have been to:

a) panic;
b) say "Okay, I blew it, again, might as well start living the vida loca, again."

Instead, I used my financial planning software to map out my income for the month of October as well as my fixed expenses. October has been an unusual month in that I have three pays. I also knew that a cheque for overtime would be forthcoming this month, but I didn't count on it (yet it arrived 'on schedule').

When my credit card bill for September expenses came in, I looked at my info in Buddi to figure out how I could pay it off in full before the bill came due and I would begin to accrue interest on the September expenses. I paid off the bill in full a week before it was due. I've now done the same for the remaining portion of the bill (MUCH smaller, thankfully), due a month today.

This has meant that I've worked a huge attitude shift, in that I've lived a pretty miserly month without my usual whining of 'oh, I'm so deprived, I'll just go rack up credit card debt.' Instead, I've come out of this proud to have survived two unexpected events without racking up bad interest and by using my 'regular' cash flow so I wouldn't have to touch my 'recurring' and/or 'emergency' funds! AND I've contributed to all my savings and investment accounts, on schedule! October sure was tight, and November doesn't look much better (except, of course, for an already paid for jaunt to Halifax) since I'll need to start looking at buying holiday gifts at some point, but I'm in better shape financially today than I was a month ago!

At least, all these unexpected expenses in late September and early October mean that I'll be eligible for 50$ in gift certificates from Amazon, so I can look forward to a few treats in November. :-)

Well, I'm Not Paranoid

At least, not about this.

Since my blog is largely about my journey to frugality and simplicity and uses clean language, I thought I was a perfect candidate for the 'Frugal Blogroll.' I applied, but heard nothing. I thought I'd done something wrong in the application process, so I tried again. Still nothing.

Now that there are so many blogs on there to compare mine with, I can pretty much surmise why I've been ignored and why the organizers should be a little, ahem, precise/truthful in their advertisements, ie. non-Christians need not apply.

Pity, my blog is no different from a lot of the Christian-owned ones, filled with little domesticities, a healthy does of spirituality, and some good old frugality.

*shrugs*

Sweeeeeeeet

points.com definitely rocks!

I was already using it to exchange Aeroplan miles for HBC rewards to get Airmiles. Well, I just discovered that you can convert Hotspex survey points to HBC rewards on the site as well!

I used to be active in Hotspex until they converted to their new rewards structure and I stopped getting anything out of it. Let's just say that this discovery is going to make me return to Hotspex! I still had a balance there of a couple hundred points that got me a couple thousand HBC rewards which will get me a couple of Airmiles. Talk about tangible results for taking surveys!

Fun With Wool

My sweet potato fries being a qualified success (I'll make the sticks even smaller next time), I had a whole evening ahead of me. The logical thing would have been to work on an essay for the course I'm taking, but I was feeling brain dead. So, with winter bearing down on us, I decided it was time to start my favourite fall activity: Knitting a New Scarf. It's not quite an annual event, but almost.

I started by looking for a pattern. I tend to repeat the same favoured patterns and wanted something new and a tad challenging. I found: this pattern which seemed just challenging enough, but radically different from anything I've ever knitted.

The first challenge was to translate the pattern as I've never worked with an English pattern before beyond basic knit and perl stitches. That done, I had to find materials!

Going through my yarn bin, I found a 70% acrylic/30% wool blend in 'paprika' by 'Red Heart: Cozy Wool' in 100g (3.5oz) weight that seemed suitable, and for which I had an ample quantity in the same dye lot. The wool label recommended 6mm (10US) needles, which are my favourite size, so I went with those (I have every needle size, and more than one for the smaller sizes so I can knit in the round).

Supplies in hand (isn't it cool that I can go 'shopping' at home???), I cast on and spent a couple of pleasant hours getting a feel for the pattern. Here is the result of 2 reps of the pattern:



I can usually finish a project like this in two to three nights, so looking at my commitments for the next few days, I'll be able to wear it to work next Monday morning. I wear lots of browns and greens, so this scarf will go with most of my coats and sweaters. Probably one of the reasons I bought the yarn in the first place!

I might try to make mitts after since I have tons of this paprika left. The first (and last) time I ever tried to make mitts, I got discouraged since the second one wound up being bigger than the first. I know why that happened (too wound up for mitt #1 and too relaxed for mitt #2), so it'd be worth trying again. There might even be enough paprika left to make a tube-thingamabob ('passe-montagne' en français) that you slip over your head to cover it in lieu of a hat. That'll require knitting in the round with circular needles in a simple stockinette stitch, so it'll be more mindless than is the scarf.

Rambling on cold and wet autumn afternoon

-Cold and wet indeed. I can't believe that yesterday we beat a heat record! Considering what's going on in California, I can't complain. May the goddess protect those caught in the conflagration. Dear sweet humans, how long did you think you could abuse her before she rebelled? It is not her 'wrath' we have been seeing unleashed upon us in the past few years but her desperation. Listen to her!!! And, while you're at it, listen to the god, too!

Moving on to more mundane matters:

-Trying something new for dinner tonight: sweet potato 'fries.' I've had them elsewhere, so I know I like them, just not if I can make them. For some reason, sweet potatoes have yet to make their way into regular my diet. I think this is the second time I've ever bought them!

-For protein, my obvious choices tonight were fish or legumes. Soon as I saw the jar of lentils, my tummy rumbled, so lentils it was. I threw them in a pot with veggie broth, a bay leaf, a minced onion, and some soy sauce. *takes a moment to dash back to the kitchen to add turmeric* That's my basic 'recipe' for lentils; quick and easy and flavourful. Sometimes I make a huge pot of this and add dumplings on top. Yum! I just adore lentils; they're so versatile! And cheap! For veggies, I'll either add frozen veggies to the pot of lentils or heat up a can of beets.

Rewards Programs Updates

-Best Buy. I read the fine print and it clearly boiled down to 'spend 400$, get a 5$ gift certificate.' So, I appreciate the illogic that they just sent me 5$ for buying nothing. *blank look* An item I wanted there is on sale this week, so I'm pleased. Of course, they were probably just trying to get me into the store, but since I was going anyway, they didn't 'get' me, so I'm thrilled with the 'gift'!

-Aeroplan. Well... I signed up at points.com where you can register the rewards programs they're associated with and swap points between them. Aeroplan and HBC are both participating members. So, when I get a ton of Aeroplan points, I can convert them to HBC points which will then automatically convert to Airmiles!

-Airmiles. I almost redeemed for a 25$ gift card for Chapters when I discovered that I could get 40$ at Reitmans for just a handful of points more. Reitmans is having their fall sale. The certificates arrived today. Guess who's going shopping tomorrow? :-)

Hypothetical Situation

The wildfires raging through California have made a lot of people reflect on what they would take with them if they had a few minutes to pack before being evacuated. The only time I've ever been evacuated I knew I wouldn't lose anything, so I didn't have this conundrum. But I've thought about this scenario a lot and come up with this list of what would make it to the car and in what order:

1) the cats;
2) my Book of Shadows;
3) my purse;
4) my computer;
5) the top drawer of my filing cabinet, which holds all my Important Papers, all of which are essentially replaceable using data found on my computer.

Depending on how quickly I get the cat-kids in their carriers and how much time I have left I'd grab toiletries (I have an always packed travel kit with all the essentials ready to go); a change of clothes; and my pillow.

What would you take?

Starting to feel like work (but in a good way!)

Balancing my expenditure transactions with my bank account, that is. It reminds me of the days when I worked for accountants and had to reconcile accounts.

Work has been on my mind this week.

I have a job the likes of which I never, as a child, imagined myself having. I work in an office and stare at a computer for 8-12 hours per day analysing legal documents for the federal government. The job has its moments, but it's usually tedious, frustrating, pointless, boring, and irritating. I wouldn't have hacked it two years (and plan to keep hacking it for another year or two) if I didn't have an incredible work environment with the best boss ever. The pay cheque doesn't hurt, either.

It wasn't so very many years ago that I worked at my dream job, a job I stuck at way too long because I loved it, even though more than one financial adviser informed me that I wasn't being paid enough to live. But that was okay; work was my life and I hacked it out until the job environment became unbearable and I realised that it would nice to be able to eat on a regular basis, take vacations, buy clothes, pay down debt instead of accumulating it....

The decision was tough to make, but it was made, and I've been working in an office now for three years. I'd done some office work before, but it was not my full-time job and there was always the chance of being able to spend time outdoors.

A friend said to me a few weekends ago that she remembered a chat we had, way back when I was in school, in which I adamantly said that I would never work in an office and do the nine to five grind, and yet there I am today.

Yes, there I am today. Older, wiser, and more cognizant of the kind of life I want to lead. The life I had before, with that dream job, was just half of the life I want. The life I have now is still just half of the life I want. But of the two jobs, this current one is the only one capable of putting myself on an expedited path to the whole life I want.

Lovely weekend

I've had one of those quiet, domestic, and spiritual weekends that I love, one where I nurtured my body and soul.

The first thing I did was 'create' an entrance closet. The owners put in pegs for hanging coats and whatnot, but that gets messy fast since I have several coats, shawls, scarves, etc. It was okay for the warm months, but I needed something more aesthetically pleasing and organized for the winter. What I did was make use of a big piece of 'catchall' furniture that I had placed in the general vicinity of the entrance with the vague idea of one day doing something practical with it:



This armoire had been my pantry for five years and was outfitted with removable shelves. When I moved to this house, the owners left their pantry so I figured that I could eventually turn this armoire into a wardrobe of sorts. One trip to Réno-Dépôt and less than 9$ later, I had an entrance closet:



I already owned the fabric shelf thingamajig. The green bin is filled with all my canvas bags for shopping. My original intent was to leave the bin in the car since I never knew when I'd be going shopping, but then I realised that I hardly drive now and that I always plan my shopping. So, the bin never makes its way back to the car and I've been tripping over it in the kitchen for months. Yay for giving something a home!

Another thing I did was process a huge pile of leeks bought on mega sale. Okay, six leeks. But when you're single, six big leeks is a lot!

Here are some of the tools I use:



I start by slicing the roots off the leeks with the chef's knife. Then, I use the scissors to cut the tips off the green part. I remove a couple of outer leaves, then use the scissors again to slice the green part until I can't cut anymore. I turn back to the butcher knife and slice the rest of the green and the white into half-inch (or so) slices. I throw the whole lot into the colander and pressure wash the bits until I can't see any more dirt. Then I shake the lot and start again. When I'm done, I empty the leeks onto a grill to drain.



Once they're drained, I pat them dry with a clean towel (too lazy too take out the salad spinner!) and then bag them in freezer bags. Of course, I leave some out to make a potato/leek casserole which takes about an hour to cook, by which time the green parts of the leek have turned brown-black and crispy and oh-so-sweet. I love leeks!

While the casserole was cooking, I made some brownies but messed up somewhere since the gluten developed as I stirred the batter. So, I wound up with 15 chocolate bread buns. Still good!

Finally, after doing the usual routine of laundry, vacuuming, and floor washing, I took advantage of the fact that I'm now allowed to lift and move things again and rearranged the living room furniture. I'm not quite done yet and not entirely satisfied, but the room is awkward and I doubt I'll ever find a thoroughly satisfying layout; that is one that blends aesthetics, logic, and function. But I'm close!

Spiritually, I read, meditated, prayed, and began to create a master bibliography, using the bibliographies of the books I've read, of all the books I 'should' read at some point or another. I have so much to learn, but so far my education has been manageable as I've noticed the gods tend to parcel out the information, keeping new levels out of reach until I'm ready for them.

I also organized my songs on iTunes, which motivated me to go hunt out some pagan music when I realised that the most spiritual music on my list is country songs about Jesus!!! So, I did some research and got some names of cds I might want to try out. I think I'll go to HMV first to see if it has any of them since HMV lets you try out a cd before you buy it. If not, I'll just buy online. *makes a mental note to pick up the newest Bon Jovi cd at the same time*

Dinner tonight is spaghetti squash (for which my secret weapon is a grapefruit spoon for scooping out the innards) and some mystery tomato sauce I found at the back of the freezer when I was making room for the leeks.

A weekend like this makes going back to the weekday grind almost bearable because I'll have a clean, tidy, and organized home to return to and lots of goodies in the fridge and freezer!

Tracking My Spending

I continue to absolutely adore Buddi.

Reading about financial tracking, I've come a lot of people who can't figure out how to split the tax between items in different categories on one receipt.

Easy.

I'm tracking how much tax I pay. So, when I go to, say, Walmart, and I buy one grocery item, two household items, and one article of clothing, I put the grocery item under 'groceries', add up the total of the two household items and put that under 'household', and well, you get the picture. I then put the GST under GST and the PST under PST. Same thing for gas, I even track the FET and PFT when I buy gas. Adding all the taxes up, I have paid more than 455$ in taxes since September 22nd! That's income tax, sales tax, gas tax, and other smaller taxes!

I won't go into my usual medical rant. :-)

Books!

This morning was a lovely cool and slightly overcast fall day... and I had nothing pressing to do at home. So, after tidying the kitchen and passing the vacuum upstairs, I headed off to Chapters to check out books and treat myself to a now rare cinnamon soy latté at Starbucks. Part of the exercise was to get some exercise, so I parked about fifteen minutes from the Chapters. :-)

Chapters had nothing I was willing to pay for, their Wiccan books completely fluffy and everything else overpriced. So, I got my latté and ambled down to the Sunnyside Bookshop, the place in town for all books Egyptian. There, I found a huge pile of wonderful books at greatly marked down prices (probably remainders), so I pulled everything that interested me off the shelf and then went through the agonizing process of weeding down my selection to a reasonable total. I took a chance on An Enchanted Life: An adept's guide to masterful magick and Devoted to You: Honoring Deity in Wiccan practise. But my real find just about made me faint: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. This book retails for 95$ new and the cheapest used copy I could find was on Amazon for 55$. I got a pristine, brand new copy for... 15$. Woohoo!!! It won't be pristine for long though as I'll need to add to it by putting in the various ways things are spelled and including any other info as needed (Post-Its will be great for this), but I've FINALLY got my most coveted book. Patience pays off yet again! Thank you, lord Thoth; I recognize your doing.

Feeling... zennish

I can always tell that I'm walking my Path when I feel like this for several weeks straight: serene with a need to nest. When I start to wash my floors on my hands and knees, I know that my life is on track! LOL

This fall is crazy busy with an insane university course and tons of overtime at work. The most precious time of my days is the half hour before I go to sleep, when I'm lying in bed after a hot shower, reading something soulful and/or talking to my gods and/or meditating. The busier your day is, the more important it is that you take care of your soul.

I'm currently rereading Cunningham's Wicca: a guide for the solitary practioner for the first time since embracing my faith. I can't believe how much I've grown since I first read it! I am two years and three months older and wiser. :-) That is not to say that I dislike the book, far from it! I just recognize broader statements now and what's truly 'negotiable.'

*waves*

Wow, according to Site Meter I seem to have actual readers! Even someone in India!

If you're reading, please comment to let me know you're here.

Rewards Programs

I signed up for three rewards programs this week: Best Buy Rewards, AeroPlan Miles, HBC Rewards, and SCENE rewards.

Before that, I was only collecting Petro-Points and Airmiles (and CDN Tire money, if that counts as a 'reward').

I prefer to be 'loyal' to one program so that I can accumulate lots of points and get free stuff, rather than spreading points around. Petro-Points is my catchall reward program since I get points for anything I buy using my credit card. I double my rewards at places like Shell, IGA, and Jean Coutu to get both Petro-Points and Airmiles rewards by using both my credit card and my Airmiles card. Between both programs, I get several hundred dollars worth of rewards every year.

I signed up for Best Buy rewards because it doesn't cost anything and I shop there frequently. I doubt I'll ever get a reward since the points expire and you need to spend 400$ to get 5$, but I don't lose anything by using the card.

HBC Rewards used to be the Zellers rewards program and I was peeved when the switchover came because I lost all my Zellers points. I'd taken all the steps to have my points transferred over, but my paperwork got 'misplaced.' Since then, I've satisfied myself with the Petro-Points on my credit card. This week, I got an offer that made me look at HBC Rewards more closely and I discovered that the points can be linked to my Airmiles card, with HBC points being automatically converted to Airmiles. Great! Another place where I can 'double' my rewards.

Jean Coutu has a great selection of products, but their prices aren't great and they're not located conveniently. There's an Uniprix in my building at work and they have most of the products I want (including the only shampoo and conditioner I use) as well as great sales. I don't shop there often and it's usually for amounts too small for me to want to use my credit card, so I conceded to not getting any points for transactions there. But they recently associated themselves with Aeroplan Miles so I figured I might as well get a card. Even though it'll take forever to rack up enough points to get anything from them, it's still better than not getting anything at all!

Finally, I'm kicking myself for not getting a SCENE card sooner. You get points for both movie and concession purchases. I think that the 'worst' you can do with this program is watch 10 movies, get the 11th free. I don't see a ton of movies at full price now, favouring 'discount' cinemas, but this program seems pretty sweet, and they give you a pretty good signup bonus, so I'll probably get my free movie in 6 or 7 movies rather than 10, even if it takes a couple of years.

Ah, I love turkey day...

As is fairly customary, I was invited for Thanksgiving dinner on a Sunday to a friend's mother's home. This mother has never been fooled by my overweightedness and has always believed that I need feeding. Even though there are plenty of dishes I can eat during the Thanksgiving feast, she always insists on making me my own special meal, and then she sends me home with enough leftovers to get me to Yule (only slightly exaggerating).

One of the many offerings I left with was a margarine tub filled with the night's leftover veggies:

-mashed rutabaga
-mashed squash
-carrots
-parsnips
-cauliflower
-broccoli
-broad beans

Normally, I'd eat those veggies over the Monday and Tuesday, but today was our first cold, rainy day of the fall when I was out and about. I came home craving hot soup.

So, one tubful of veggies (see above)+1 cup of veggie broth+1 blender+1 pot=



Yum! Soooo good for you and soooo easy (and quick!) to make and non-fat to boot! The parsnips really gave it a unique flavour. I love these improvised soups; you never know what they'll taste like and you never get the same one twice. I served this with a low-fat grilled cheese--sharp cheddar in a tortilla, toasted in a non-stick non-greased skillet. Dessert was one of my dubiously healthy, but definitely low-fat, brownies. :-)

Baking

A colleague asked me to supply something for this year's charity campaign bake sale. I decided to be brave and accept; baking just isn't my thing. I made my vegan no nut brownies. These are truly 'mine'; I came up with the basic recipe and fine tuned it to the point of perfection (if I do say so myself). The theme of the bake sale is Halloween, so I ruined my brownies with icing, but I think they look pretty cute (and, okay, a tad messy). The Smarties are supposed to be the eyes and mouths of the 'pumpkins', but I ran out of brown ones, so I'll just say that the topping is Halloween candies. :-)

One nice thing about baking for charity is that you can put staple purchases such as flour and sugar under 'donations' rather than 'groceries' in your budget, leaving more money for other food. :-)

Patience pays off yet again...

I go through about a purse a season, then I lose patience with it because it starts to show wear. That's what you get with vinyl, even 'nice' vinyl. So, for some time now, I've been looking for a unique-looking (perhaps tooled?) genuine leather purse in a neutral colour such as tan. I was prepared to shell out several hundred dollars for the 'perfect' purse.

Long story short, one of my cats destroyed my latest vinyl purse last Friday (don't ask), which motivated to go 'hunting' in Toronto while on holiday there. Lo and behold, I found THE purse at Winners! I couldn't believe it! For one thing, I never, ever find anything at Winners! With tax, it came to a mere 40$! Let's just say I didn't need to think too hard about that purchase.

This afternoon, while looking at wallets at Bentley's (just looking, no hurry to replace my current one *g*), I saw that they'd brought in new leather purses. One was strikingly similar to mine, but didn't have quite as many pockets and the hardware was shiny gold, rather than the brushed bronze I favour so much that all the hardware at my old house was made of that metal! Benley's price for the purse? 100$. Sad thing is, I've been looking so long, I would have probably been thrilled with that one and bought it!

Now, I don't recommend driving 1,000km to save 60 dollars, but sometimes it's a good idea to look in new places when you've exhausted all your usual haunts.

Wish me luck with my next search: for the perfect winter coat and boots!

Financial Software Update

Well, my love affair with Cashbox was short lived. I was having a difficult time with the report functions and discovered that, lo and behold, I wanted to track my spending by very anal categories!

So, I did some more research and found another freeware app with potential called Buddi. I'm definitely at home there. It's easy to use, full featured, and the developer responds to emails very quickly. I've already made a donation, and this less than 24 hours after migrating over from Cashbox! It's even supported on a bunch of platforms, including BOTH Windows and OS X!

I recommend checking out the 'Developer's' site to download the still-in-beta version 2.9, which is much more intuitive and full-featured than the current fully tested 2.6. The developer is using the beta version for his own personal use, so that gives me confidence in it. Moreover, the more people who use the app and report bugs, the better it'll be!

One person's trash...

Whenever I see a pile of trash, especially on a non-trash pickup day, I sneak a peak. Today, I saw some cruddy looking shelving units, a filthy broom, and... a perfectly good Swiffer broom.

My house has two stories and both get coated with cat fur very quickly, so I like to Swiffer between vacuum cleaner jobs. I was thinking the other day that it would be nice to have a Swiffer broom on each level, much the way I have a cleaning supply caddy on each floor. Too often, I head downstairs to get the Swiffer, get caught up in something else, and forget to go back up with the broom.

The gods sure do work in mysterious ways! Woohoo!

Slow on the uptake sometimes...

My 5x1$ General Mills coupons were going to expire this week, so I was determined to spend them during tonight's grocery pick up. I couldn't believe that there wasn't something on my pantry list for which the coupons could apply. When I got to the end of the last aisle, I found myself looking at the Old El Paso products and debated whether I should 'treat' myself to a taco kit or two using the coupons. Then I made the connection between the shelf and my cart. Tortillas. HELLO! I buy the store brand tortillas normally, but they're just 20 or 30 cents less than the Old El Paso brand. With the coupons, the OEP tortillas became 50 to 70 cents less than the store brand (and they taste SO much better). I put five packs in my cart, patted myself on the back, and shook my head at how slow I can be sometimes. LOL

'Course, passing through the cash was a different story. Coupons are just not that common here when compared to the States and a lot of cashiers don't have the training and/or authority to scan non-circular coupons. So, checkout took a while and the cashier kept on apologizing to me when I think she should have been apologizing to the poor couple behind me! I didn't mind the wait since there was no issue with acceptance of the coupons, just how they would be processed in the computer. Someone goofed at some point because according to the receipt, the store owes me 761,367.11$... The manager who processed the coupons just looked at the before coupon total, subtracted 5$ in his head, and punched that into the Interac system. Once my transaction was approved, he said that he was going to go have fun undoing his more than seven hundred thousand dollar mistake. Hee hee.

Money 'saved' today: 10$. 5$ on the tortillas, 1$ on frozen strawberries, 4$ on cheese. Not a bad haul.

Isolation

I am five days into a spending moratorium.

That's five whole days where I haven't spent a single penny!

I've been on a whirlwind spending spree since the spring and know from experience that the best way to stop a habit is going cold turkey. I do have to say that this is a wee bit more rigourous than I'd planned, but I'm pleased. I'm taking a mini-holiday this weekend and it's nice to know that restaurants and movies will be genuine splurges.

But I do feel a tad isolated. One of my colleagues and I often take breaks together, but I've been avoiding her this week. When we go on break, we usually end up getting coffee and/or a piece of clothing at Reitmans. Yes, I am able to resist peer pressure, but it's just easier to not have the temptation in the first place.

I'm also five days into the 'diet' and can tell that things are working since I'm seriously craving McDonald's (something that normally happens every, oh, five years or so, LOL!). I just hope I can still be 'good' this weekend, although I won't be a stick in the mud when I get invited to my favourite Toronto restaurants. :-)

Money Management Software

I've been looking for an intuitive and comprehensive, simple!, money management application that could give me a realistic portrait of my financial situation. I think I may have found my home in Cashbox (for OS X.4).

Much as I like the fancy-schmancy software with a million bells and whistles, I haven't had any success with them since I haven't demonstrated the dedication needed to make such software work for me. What I like about Cashbox is that I can manage money by account rather than by transaction category. So, I sat down and totaled up all my accounts, right down to my pig (spare change collector) and Canadian Tire money!

At the end of the day, I can simply hit reports to see how my global financial situation has changed, for better or worse. If I feel like being a bit fancier, I can even give my transactions labels to see how much I'm spending on rent, chocolate, health, beer, my nails, taxes, etc.

One thing I like is that I can enter transactions before they happen, so I can enter a paycheque and then immediately allocate money to my fixed expenses so I know how much I have left to 'play' with until the next paycheque.

The ultimate benefit is seeing my actual net worth rise and fall as I invest, save, spend, and rack up debt. It makes finding a penny very exciting!

Let's see how long I manage to make this software work for me. :-)

Using a frugal attitude to lose weight

I've been struggling for a couple of years to lose the lbs of fat I have left to lose without resorting to drastic measures (little changes are lasting changes). This was working great for me until this summer. I was exercising so much and paying enough attention to what I was eating to lose about an inch around the waist per season. I was monitoring inches, not lbs, since working out was really bulking me up. My biggest clue as to my progress was my wardrobe.

My surgery meant that I had to cut out my exercise, and I'll be limited for a long time. I've been watching what I eat enough to not start packing on the lbs, but I'm not losing and I don't feel like being stuck in my current situation. I'm unfortunately at the point where every single extra fat cell is concentrated in my tummy, which poses a health risk and also makes me look pregnant. I thought clothes would fit better after my surgery, but, no. I still find myself having to wear a tent, only this time to cover my tummy instead of my breasts!

One of my big battles with food is that I didn't have enough for a long time and had to eat what I had on hand or starve. Now, I find myself thinking "Why eat the oatmeal packet at my desk when I can afford to go downstairs and get a bagel/muffin/cup of fresh fruit/piece of cheese?" Food is now a symbol of my new relative financial freedom. I have to stop this habit of acquiescing to irrational desire for more appealing food options and to start once again to look at food as being fuel.

Enter my new frugal attitude. Every penny I spend on food is penny I'm not spending somewhere else, right? Don't I prefer to drop 50$ per month on clothes than on food? Well, starting next month, I'm putting myself on a strict 100$ per month food budget. I can eat aaaaaanything I want on that budget, but once I'm done, I have to eat the oatmeal/ramen/muffins in the back of the freezer/nothing until the first pay of the next month.

That said, I do make good food choices, nutrition-wise, I just tend to be excessive about volume, so in addition to the above budget, I want to go back to a habit I had when I was poor. I'd buy the cheapest healthy thing I could that would give me a huge volume of food with little calories. Tonight, for example, I had half of a spaghetti squash (about one quarter the calories of the same amount of pasta) topped with a homemade kidney bean tomato sauce and then sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese. It's absolutely stuffing, but very cheap and comes in at only 200-300 calories (depending on the sauce and the amount of cheese) vs 1000+ calories for the same quantity of pasta!

ICICI Bank Canada

CICI is a virtual bank with a similar set up to ING Direct, but which has several advantages over the latter:

-A better interest rate on your savings (4.5%);
-Friendlier and more helpful customer service;
-Better ethics (eg. no poaching of clients).

My financial adviser confirmed that ICICI offers the best interest rate for a savings account (ING offers 3.5% to 3.75% only!).

I find it easier to transfer money between my ICICI and regular bank accounts than I did when I was with ING. The online interface for ICICI just seems friendlier.

If anyone is interested, I'll send them a referral. If my referrals sign up, we each get 20 bucks.

Attention to Detail

Through an absurd confluence of events, I wound up driving past the Wal-mart tonight so I ducked in to pick up more file folders. As is typical at Wal-mart, the shelves were disorganized, so I didn't trust that the price below the folders was their price. Using the barcode, I determined that the letter and legal sizes had been reversed and that I should be paying 2.97$ per package. At the cash, I was charged 3.12$ per package which was odd seeing as the other price was 3.47$. A clerk went back to the papetrie section with me to see what I'd used to come up with the 2.97$ price. As it turns out, I wasn't nuts (this time); the tag did say 2.97$, but the barcode was coming up 3.12$. I was sent back to the cash and there the clerk called up a manager who gave her some instructions that boiled down to my paying 2.97$ for one pack and getting the other one free!

I was tired and the traffic jam and detour that followed the Wal-mart visit negated any savings, but I like that my vigilance saved me from being scammed .30$ by Wal-mart and actually cost them. :-)

This could be a first...

I went to top up the groceries yesterday (went just 3 bucks over my new weekly limit, not bad!) and found two things on sale: tortillas and non-fried refried PC brand pinto beans. I actually thought to a) pick up both items even though they weren't on my list and b) combine them with some getting-old Colby in the fridge to make mini bean and cheese burritos! Sixteen of them. They'll be wonderful for my lunches. I just made up the packets, wrapped them up, and stuck them in the freezer.

This Week's Finds

Earlier this week, a colleague and I were taking a walk and she asked if I'd mind ducking into a nearby comptoir familial (a step below thrift stores). Inside, I found:



The colours match my kitchen, so I plan to leave this out on the counter and put onions in it.



This will look nice in my bathroom and actually fills a need--I was looking for something into which to put my toothbrush, toothpaste, and other items.

The big one was 4$, the little one 2$.

Coffee update

Last week, I started to make extra coffee and to bring it to work in a heat-retaining flask (stainless steel). It requires so little effort; I just put extra in the coffeemaker the night before, mix up my coffee in the morning, and then separate it into my mug and my flask after running hot water in the flask. Two hours later, my coffee's still hot.

This is definitely a forehead slapping revelation. Doh.

Shoe Bonanza!

I went off to a nearby mall tonight to scope out flats, ideally two pairs, one in brown, the other in black. I walked into Sears, where I rarely buy anything but undergarments, and what do I see, right there, by the front door? The perfect shoes, available in both brown and black, and for 30% off (27$) per pair!!! The closest thing Payless had were vinyl and cost 40$! But I did score at Payless. I had eyed a pair of sandals at the beginning of the summer, but wasn't willing to pay 40$ for them. Tonight, I scored their last pair, which just happened to be in my size... for 10$. My shoe budget was 100$ and I came in at 15$ less than that, woohoo!

Next on my list are an ankle-length woolen winter coat (not expecting to score on that end because deals are to be had in the spring, but I can't wait) and knee-high leather winter boots. We're talking about a real chunk of change here, but my overtime cheque for this month should cover most of this expense.

I love being solvent, being able to afford life's necessities and wants, and being able to sleep at night after a whirlwind shopping spree like tonight's.

At Last!

I have a financial adviser and a Plan. Provided I stick to it (won't be hard as it requires few concessions, with the toughest being that I stick with the civil service for another 17 years), I'll have it all--the trip to Egypt and Tanzania, the Manitoba homestead, and retirement at the ripe old age of 45 years. One thing that was made clear is that I need to move up and my salary between 39 and 45 is going to be very determinative in whether I can afford full or partial (ie. working part-time) retirement.

Provided I don't get married and/or have kids, of course, which would screw up said Plan.

iPod yay!!!

I've been tracking iPods on eBay for a few days as well as researching their cost until I had a firm idea of what a good, less than store value, price was for a brand new unit of each model type. The prize I was looking for was an 80GB classic model, for a maximum of 250$ plus less than 20$ shipping. US or CDN $ didn't matter since the exchange rate is so small, but the item had to be in Canada.

I bid on a few, but gave up when bidding went over 250$. I then started to eye the 30GB models, but they climbed over 150$ to reach store prices and I wanted better than store prices!

Today, I caught a brand new listing--new 80GB iPod for 250$, using Buy It Now, plus 16$ for shipping, located in Toronto.

All my research told me that my hard work had scored me an awesome deal, so I didn't hesitate!

The point of the story is that it pays to know the price range for a coveted item so as to recognize a real deal and not miss it.

Calculating Net Worth

Well, I'm just about done with my homework in preparation with the meeting with the financial adviser and I just have the net worth calculations to make. Every net worth calculator I find is infuriatingly imprecise. What, praytell, constitutes 'household items' that could be considered assets?! I don't have any expensive jewellery or art or antiques, but I do have jewellery, art, and antiques. What about electronics? Can my second-hand furniture in resaleable condition be considered assets? How do I calculate the value of the items? Also, how do my pension deductions fit into this calculation?

The only thing I can answer for sure for this question is that my net worth is positive. Beyond that....

This guy is either going to love me (coming in organized) or hate me (coming in fairly clueless).

Proselytism

Coming home from work this evening, I was approached by two men in well cut, sombre suits. They were holding Bibles and very intent on my 'accepting Jesus Christ as my savior.'

I understand that proselytism is a very important aspect of certain Christian sects. I can even accept that they won't take no for an answer because they genuinely believe my soul is in peril. I see some people who immediately brush off this proselytizers, and quite rudely. I, however, have no idea how to handle this sort of situation. I generally say something along the lines of "I know you need to do this, but I'm not looking to change faiths. Please move on." This tends to work in a scenario such as the one I encountered this afternoon.

Then there are cases like I had at my old house, where very persistent Jehovah's Witnesses kept on knocking. Three times, I opened the door to them and politely told them that I was not interested in changing my faith. The fourth time, I had enough and told them flat out "I'm a Witch and while I'm sure Christ was a very nice man, I have no need for him to save me." Horrified, they scurried off... only to return two weeks later!!! I pretended to not be home that day and once they left, I put a protection and banishment spell around my property! That worked, but I find it a tad extreme!

How do I balance my belief that it is the right of certain Christians to proselytize (even if I am personally against this practise) with my belief that I have a right to have my no taken as an answer? At which point does asserting my own religious beliefs stomp on that of others and become intolerance? Is it possible to be too tolerant?

My problem, I think, is that while there are certain beliefs which are absolutes and the only valid ones for me, I have no doubt of the validity of conflicting beliefs for others. So, I have a hard time understanding someone who doesn't get that I find their beliefs valid, have no desire to change mine, and cannot see things the same way.

If any of that makes any sense at all....

When Is It Okay to Spend Money on Frivolities?

I've wanted an iPod for years to use at work and at the gym. Even though a cheaper MP3 player would do the job, I want an iPod. It's completely irrational, but that's what I want because I'm such a fan of Apple. Yesterday, I put a bid on eBay for a brand new 80GB video iPod with a maximum bid of 100$. Checking prices for such an item, I doubt I'll get it for 100$, but we'll see.

This post isn't about the iPod, however. It's about spending money for frivolous things. When is it okay to do so? I have a hard time grasping that concept. People I've questioned on this topic tend to be polarized--some say that it's never okay and money shouldn't be wasted, the others say that I should do with my money as I please.

If I win this iPod (or any other iPod I might end up bidding on), it'll be paid for in cash, and this after I've spent my money on necessities like rent and contributions to my emergency fund. I have no debt except my .9% car loan, well padded emergency and recurring expenses funds, a full pantry, and I make regular contributions to various charities (in addition to volunteering). Does that make it 'okay' to 'waste' or 'spend' my money on an iPod when an other brand of MP3 player at half the cost would be suitable?

150$ later...

There's food in the house again! LOL

I focussed on sales and items I'm short on. Anything else, I'll wait for further sales. IGA had its rare 2 for 1 sale on laundry detergent (this time La parisienne) so I bought two even though I'd bought some (for 2$ off) a month ago. The max number of free containers was four, but I only do a load or two of laundry per week so one freebie was sufficient for me to get to the next sale.

I bought a few things at Zellers but find the prices too close to IGA for the most part to bother doing that again since the lineups at the cash there are ludicrous (maybe even worse than Walmart). I did stock up on white cheddar Kraft dinner (my treat of treats) since it was on sale for 99 cents per box at IGA... but 49 cents at Zellers. The six boxes I bought (customer max) will last me a year.

I had 5 1$ off coupons for General Mills, which includes Betty Crocker, Green Giant, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, and more, but I was not able to find anything worth spending the coupons on! I'll wait till the granola bars or taco kits go on sale and use the coupons then. Cereal isn't something I buy often and won't buy just because I have a coupon.

I was happy to have a 2$ off coupon for two Swiffer refills since I needed both dry and wet cloths. I don't rely on Swiffer (not too frugal or ecological) but I'm still not allowed to vacuum or mop (ie. carry a heavy bucket of water), so Swiffer is a godssend! Brita filters were also discounted at Zellers, and at a most opportune time.

Best bargain of the day: red peppers for 69 cents per lb!!!

I stopped counting my savings at 30$!!!

Free Stuff for Canadians

"I found a New Site Called Canadian Free Stuff. They are very Canadian , with only Canadians in mind. Talk about being Patriotic. And Best of all. - FREE - They have a very large directory showing you where to get everything free. From Baby samples to pet samples, Not only do they have freebies, but also list all the coupons for Canada to be found online,

They also have a very busy Message Board where participating members share in on the fun with freebie hunting, and entering in Contests found across line.

Upon Entering The Forum - You will find that they also give away a free gift to all those that reach the rank of “Smart Beaver”.

So if your Canadian and wouldn’t mind getting some free stuff delivered into your mailbox, this wonderful place to hang your hat.

If you have a Blog, You can also enter into their Contest for $50.00 Amazon.com Gift Certificate."

Credit Report, Pantry List, eBay clothes

This morning, I went to equifax.ca to get a copy of a report called 'Score Power.' It's your credit report with a breakdown and analysis of your FICO score. I'm happy to report that my score has gone up almost 100 points in less than a year! The analysis has helped me make the decision about whether or not to close one of my accounts. I'll take the report with me when I go meet with the financial adviser since there are parts of it I don't understand. I think that the 25$ cost was worthwhile to know that a) I'm on top of things, b) no one has usurped my identity, and c) my financial health is definitely improving.

Moving on...

I finished my list of pantry staples and used it to plan my (badly needed) shopping trip this afternoon. I can't believe I never thought to do this before!!! Making my list was SO easy! I was also surprised to discover that I have a much better idea of what a 'good' price is for the items that I regularly use. Examining the grocery fliers, I've decided to stick with IGA for this trip, although Loblaws has a good deal on Yves TVP. I'm just not sure it'd be worth going all the way out there, though. Before I go to IGA this afternoon, I'll stop in at the Zellers next door and price items on my list there and get anything that's cheaper.

My huge lot of clothes purchased on eBay arrived today and I am thrilled!!! Everything is as described, in great condition, and perfectly my size. WOOHOO!

Reheating Coffee?! And Raise

I'm starting to develop a two cup a day habit that involves drinking one cup at home and then buying a second one around 10. A colleague suggested that I try something she does--reheating coffee I made at home. I'm going to try this as of Wednesday (long weekend, woohoo!).

One thing I've discovered this week is that if I have a second cup of coffee around 10, I can 'last' till lunch (noonish) without having a morning snack AND I eat a smaller lunch! Is coffee an appetite suppressant?!

I drink my coffee with a splash of soy milk and about two tsp of sugar, so I'm looking at about 25-35 calories per cup of coffee, about a the same thing as a piece of fruit that leaves me hungry. Since I get in all my fruits and veggies for the day with my meals, I don't think that substituting coffee for fruit in my morning break is a huge deal.

Related to last night's post, I had an Outlook reminder this morning to enquire about my next raise which is due in three weeks rather than in December! HR is processing the paperwork to avoid what happened last year (having to cut me a 'catch up' cheque in December). I immediately called CIBC to up my bi-weekly contributions to my emergency fund by my estimated raise amount. Unfortunately, next year will be my last raise until the next union negotiations. So, in a way it's a good thing that it's next year I plan to start looking for a new job in the environmental sector since I don't want to be stuck at the same salary for five to ten years. Also, I have a vague career goal of earning 50K per year before overtime by the time I'm thirty. That said, I still can't get over the fact that my take home pay now is more than my net pay was this time three and a half years ago. It's no wonder I had no life back then.

Paying Yourself First

For the past three years, I've had a teeny weeny sum of money deducted from each paycheque for the purchase of government bonds. While making my up list of assets for the financial adviser, I decided to go see if the bonds were worth listing as assets. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I've managed to sock away more than 750$ in three years without feeling the pinch. That might not sounds like a lot, but 250$ a year was a lot considering my cash flow issues over the past few years.

We're a couple of months away to being able to update our bond deduction amounts and I'm going to up mine to 25$. I won't miss it since I'll be getting a raise a month later.

I must confess that I'm not sure how bonds work, so that'll be another question for the financial adviser. I know I can redeem now and that there's a 'maturity date', and I'm supposing that I'm best to keep the money there until the 'maturity date'...

Homework

In preparation for my meeting with the financial adviser in a week and a half, I'm trying to come up with a new spending plan now that I'm essentially out of debt (yes, yes, I know, I don't own my car yet, bug me less). I'm trying a different approach this time by breaking down my spending in an annual fashion and then bi-weekly fashion.

I started off by making note of my annual take home pay. This is my guaranteed income and does not include overtime, tax refunds, contracts, etc. I then made a list of my fixed expenses and what they cost me annually. I then divided these amounts by 26, the number of pays I get per year.

I've found it hard to 'budget' for many years now because some expenses occur monthly and others bi-weekly, and the general rule has been that one pay per month tends to be a bit short. Now, I'm trying to get a better idea of what each pay dollar should go to so that I don't have to take into account whether it's the first or last pay of the month. Sounds basic, but I'm slow at this.

For the past several years, I've been contributed an amount to a mutual fund and treating that money as my recurring expenses, rather than emergency, account. Today, I opened a high interest savings account to serve as my recurring expenses account. I'll put some money in there at every pay to cover gifts, car expenses, license and registration fees, short trips, etc. I'll talk to my adviser about what I should be using as a trip fund, such as another mutual fund or high interest savings account and how much I should I should be contributing to whatever savings vehicle I'll be using for my house fund.

Now that I know what's left after each pay, I can allot money for flexible spending, including groceries, clothes, coffee and sundries, books, dvds, etc.

This global picture really helps to set goals. I feel really guilty when I buy a coffee or the odd magazine. Now, if I know that by year's end, I'll have put certain amounts aside for medium and long-term goals, I can indulge guilt-free in day to day luxuries.

I think that sticking to a strict grocery and restaurant budget is going to be my hardest since I've never had any sort of discipline that way. Rather than set myself up for failure, I'd like to set up a solid pantry before committing myself to a set amount per pay to top up said grocery.

Rereading this post, I seem like the worst finance manager imaginable. To the extent that I've never seized any (rare) opportunities to sock away money for a rainy day, yes. But I've always had my priorities straight--my rent has always been on time and I've paid off every cent I owed when it was due, keeping a perfect credit record. My only blemish is with Hydro and Bell, but my regular late payments were more about making a statement than being short on cash. So, while I'm not thrilled with my past financial performance, I can still hold up my head. For one thing, even though no less than three financial advisers told me to file for bankruptcy for the sake of my sanity, I chose to just about starve to avoid that option.

At any rate, I'm free now and starting fresh and I guess there's no sense beating the proverbial horse over past mistakes and idiocy.

Pantry Discoveries

I go home for lunch, so I normally have leftovers or quick-to-make options at home, but that wasn't the case today since I'm in 'empty-the-pantry-and-make-do-with-what-you-have' mode. The pantry had nothing that would take less than twenty-minutes to make, so I rummaged in the freezer. Hidden in plain sight, right in front of the containers of homemade spaghetti sauce and storebought pie crust, was an unlabelled bag. Curious, but nervous, I opened it and found pierogies! I heated them up in the microwave and was happy to discover that they still tasted fresh. I still have enough for at least two more meals. I had no fruit left for dessert, not even canned pineapple, so I took stuff out of the freezer to see if I had any frozen fruit hidden under something. Behind the bags of frozen veggies, I found one of sliced strawberries, with just a pitiful handful rattling around the bottom. I nuked them for forty seconds with a bit of brown sugar. They, too, tasted fresh. Woohoo!

Tonight's dinner is either rice pie* or trout with pierogies. Probably the former since I've been eating way too much trout and that pie crust is getting old.

*Rice Pie

Cook about a cup of rice in about two cups of vegetable broth and about two tablespoons of powdered milk.

When the rice is no longer crunchy, but not yet ready, throw in a handful of mixed frozen veggies (whatever floats your boat).

When the rice is ready, mix in some strongly flavoured cheese (whatever floats your boat).

Spread into a pie crust. Top with more cheese, if you want.

Bake at about 375F for about 35 minutes, until the crust is brown around the edges. I like to broil it for a minute at the end to get a cheesy crust over the rice.

Cheap, filling, good cold and/or reheated, and makes four generous portions.

Ritual

I was looking forward to celebrating yesterday's Esbat with some spellwork, but my mother popped in to spend the night. Not being out of the broomcloset with her yet, I decided that doing so by performing a ritual in front of her would not be a good idea.

I must that I have done little in the way of formal ritual these past few months. I had my wand dedicating ceremony (FINALLY found a wand!), but that was the most notable. That said, I acknowledge the Esbats, do some prayer, light candles, etc., but I think I'm due for something bigger. What I find difficult is the lack of privacy. At my old house, my neighbours were far enough away that I could chant as loudly as I wanted, and even bring my celebrations outdoors. Here, I must be very quiet since the wall separating our houses is very thin. I also can't do my spellwork with windows open or without closing curtains, unless I want to give the neighbours a show.

Lammas wasn't a big deal this year, which saddens me since its the very first Sabbat I celebrated after choosing Wicca. I'm going to do more for Mabon. Of course, I'm already planning for Samhain, my favourite holiday. There's a womyn's festival going on just north of Toronto for Samhain and I'm thinking of attending, if there is any space left.

Even though I'm not currently satisfied with the amount of ritual I perform, I am satisfied with my relationship with the gods and how I live my faith. Prayer, study, and readings are now part of my daily routine.

That Darn Pantry

I've been trying for quite some time, since I've been able to afford groceries on a more than haphazard basis, to figure out how to build my pantry. The method I've been focusing on is meal planning: figuring out what I'd want to eat that week, then going out to buy it. That has not been working for me.

Reading some blogs last night, the answer came to me. It's so obvious I can't believe I'm only figuring this out now.

So:

Step 1: Make a list of everything that is a staple in my house. Staple is here defined as something that I buy regularly, including beer. :-)

Step 2: Take this list to all the major grocery stores (IGA, Loblaws, Metro, Maxis, Super C) and make an note of which one has the best price for each item. Go home empty handed.

Step 3: Check out the grocery fliers each week. When a staple item goes on sale for less than the cheapest price, go stock up.

We'll see if that works. I'm debating whether to add Walmart, Zellers, and Giant Tiger to my list of grocery stores. Too much choice, augh!!!

Right now, I'm trying to empty my pantry, fridge, and freezer since some stuff has been there for a while. I didn't realise that there is a term for this, "Pantry Challenge."

Reading American blogs, I'm amazed by the couponing opportunities availble there. Unfortunately, most of those opportunities, like 'doubling' aren't available in Quebec (don't know about the rest of Canada).

Surprising Myself

Exhausted, I decided a half hour ago to go to bed (yes, at 8:30). First, I stopped off in the kitchen to prepare coffee for the morning. The kitchen looked really bad--dishwasher needed to be emptied and reloaded, counters and all appliances to be wiped, floor to be swept, spots on the floor to be cleaned, and over flowing recycling to be sorted and brought to the outside bins.

Note the past tense.

NOW I'm ready for bed.

(Thank goodness for dishwashers!!!)

Environmentalism

This summer I've been reading major titles about the Craft and its history. I'm currently at Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon and came across a thought that is so obvious it made me smack my head. As someone who believes in reincarnation, positive environmental action doesn't just ensure a planet for future generations, but also for myself. I definitely need to get more involved again.

Printer

I ordered through staples.ca a printer a few weeks back, for home delivery the next day. Someone came, but obviously didn't knock very loudly and I missed the delivery (never mind that I spend my days in the front room next to the front door...). Same thing happened the following day. When I called them, Staples said that my order was canceled and I would have to reorder. It took them some time, and a follow-up email, but they refunded me my full 235$ (including tax). By the time that happened, home delivery was no longer an option since I was heading back to work.

Today, I felt strong enough to go pick up the printer in store, with the caveat that I would ask a clerk to carry it to the car for me. I went back to the Staples website to get their item number for the printer model I'd picked out and was dismayed to see that they had increased the price by 40$!

None too happy, I decided to see if other stores carried this same model for less, or else I would go back to Staples and ask (beg) them to honour their previous price.

Well, I found the printer at Best Buy... for 150$ (including tax)! The caveat was that this had to be an online purchase. I was bummed, until I discovered that Best Buy allows online purchase with store pick up! The printer was available at the store nearest me, so I ordered and waited for notification that the store was ready for me to pick up. This was supposed to come in a delay of three hours and it took less than one hour.

85 bucks saved by a confluence of events, how amazing is that?!

Updating the Wardrobe

Now that I've had my breast reduction, I'm finding that while some of my old clothes still fits (much better, though!), I do need a lot of new tops... and lingerie.

I was used to paying 100$-150$ for a bra. Now, all I need are camisoles with built-in shelf bras. I've snatched up everyone I've seen that's 10$ or less! I now have more 'bras' in my dresser drawer than I've owned in my entire life. *makes a mental note to curb her enthusiasm a tad*

As for outerwear, I made the decision quite some time ago that I buy new clothes now, as a general rule (but I still check out thrift stores on occasion). I wear the most popular size for women's clothing, so it's hard to find anything good at thrift shops. I also find that often their prices aren't that good and that I can get something new for just a dollar or two more. One of the reasons I pinch pennies is to be able to spend money on what I want to spend money on. So, fewer movies, but more clothes. How my priorities have changed over the years!

Colleagues gave me a gift certificate for my favourite store, Reitmans. That 35$ got me five tops, and then I added another 35$ for another five pieces, which averages out to 7$ per item (some were considerably less, some more).

This is a great time of year to shop because you get all of the summer stock on sale AND last winter's leftovers. While I was scooping up camis and tees, I also snagged a couple of cord skirts for 2.50$ each and cable-knit sweaters for 4$ each. Once I had done the rounds of all my favourite stores and spent less than 125$ updating my wardrobe (including underwear), I was still missing a few pieces.

On a hunch, I decided to check eBay for items from stores for which I know my size and what styles suit me, like Reitmans, Smart Set, and Old Navy. Lo and behold, I found several suitable auctions and scored at least 300$ worth of clothes for just under 20$ with shipping! One of the lots was five long-sleeved Reitmans tee-shirts for 7$, including shipping. New, I could get them for 5$ each on sale. I live in these tee-shirts in winter, layering them over a camisole and under a cardigan, so I'm glad I didn't have to pay full sale price to replace my long-sleeved tee-shirt wardrobe.

Now that I know there's a market for Reitmans items on eBay, I'm glad I didn't donate all my too big clothes to St Vincent's. I've got several pieces that look plenty good enough to sell.

Ordering Groceries Online

Since I'm still not allowed to lift more than 5lbs at any one time, I've been ordering my groceries online at iga.ca to be delivered at home. I'm really enjoying this process, which I've done three times. I haven't evaluated if I've saved any money at all, but I'm sure I have because I've avoided making impulse purchases. Even though delivery is 10$ (3$ to assemble the order, 5$ to deliver, and 2$ tip), I'm not wasting gas and I stick to my list. The site is set up to recognize if an item is currently on sale or if there is a coupon for it, so I still get the discounts I would have gotten anyway. It also gives me my Airmiles points and I pay with my credit card to get my Petro-Points.

The only thing I don't order through the site is produce, since that store generally doesn't have very good produce. Instead, I go to the local farmers' markets every few days in late afternoon to buy produce sellers would rather mark down radically than schlep home again.

Whomever puts the orders together does a very good job. There have been a few mistakes (eg. wrong flavour sent), but nothing major and I could still use the 'mistakes.' Delivery is always right on time. I also like that they actually read the comments I make. For example, I needed to top up my tomato soup so I searched for the store brand. It wasn't listed on the site, so I reluctantly ordered Campbell's (twice the cost!) and in the comment line put 'Compliments brand, please!' I received the store brand. Then there was the time I asked for one four-pack of veggie burgers... and they sent FOUR four-packs! Big expense, but I would have bought them eventually over time, and the patties freeze well.

That said, I can't wait to be able to go out to the stores again to unit-price shop for my staples, like the aforementioned tomato soup, since they're running low and I don't want to assume that the case that's not listed on the site but I know exists is cheaper than the individual cans.

But, for the moment, this is working out nicely.

Taking Advantage of the Credit Card Company

I love my credit card. The fact that I pay it off every month and haven't paid interest (at 18.5%, no less!) helps, but the rewards are even better! My card is linked to Petro-Points, which I used to rack up and then redeem for a 100$ gas gift card. Now that my gas expenses are about 20$ a month, free gas isn't the treat it used to be. Along comes a new reward... 25$ amazon.ca gift certificates!

I buy most of my entertainment goods like DVDs and books on amazon.ca. I add things to my shopping cart over a period of time. When I reach the minimum for free shipping, I complete the transaction. This is what makes the gift cards great for me. Since they're not combinable and they don't meet the minimum for free shipping, it's impossible to get something absolutely free (The Catch). But I would have bought the items in my cart anyway, so the card means that I receive my items sooner and cheaper!

How long does it take me to rack up enough points to get one of these cards? This summer, I got two in two months, thanks to my trip. But in an average spending period, I'm looking at 2-3 months. So, a minimum of 100$ in free cards in a year!!! I repeat, I get at least 100$ worth of stuff I would have bought anyway just for using my card!

I'm part of that rare breed of people for whom a low interest card makes no sense... and I'm proud of it!

Revenge of the Small Appliances

My nine and a half year old toaster, seven year old coffee maker, and forty-five year old hand mixer all bit the dust this summer.

The toaster was easy to replace. I bought the cheapest on sale brand name model with wide slots that I could find.

The handmixer will wait since I only use it about three times a year.

Now, the coffeemaker, that warrants a story! And it's quite probably my most frugal shopping experience ever!

I thought that getting a new coffeemaker would be easy. My requirements were that it be a four cup model, be programmable (so my coffee could be ready when I wake up in the morning!), be fitted (or fittable) with a permanent filter, and be a good brand like Proctor Silex or Black & Decker.

I figured that since money was not really a factor, this would be an easy task.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

The following takes place over the course of almost three weeks:

After touring Walmart, Zellers, Canadian Tire, Sears, a small appliance superstore, and the internet I came to the conclusion that the only four cup programmable coffeemaker is made by Sunbeam... not the most reliable company on the market, and it was more expensive than a plain model of a better brand. Okay, scratch programmable, reexamine the four cup models. Well, there wasn't much choice and I think GE was the most reputable brand I saw.

So, I conceded defeat and decided to evaluate the twelve cup models (too big!) before giving in to the Sunbeam model. Round and round the stores and internet I went again only to land at the Walmart where I started and where I found a twelve cup B&D programmable model on sale for half price at 19.99$. The Sunbeam was on sale for 26.99$ by this time and the GE four cup was 17.99$ (regular price). Add to that 8$ for a permanent filter.

Let's just say I can recognize the best value between three options.

So, I now have a twelve cup big ass coffeemaker on my counter. *sighs* But I can have real percolated coffee again! AND I'll be able to set the breadmaker to have my bread ready for wake up time so I can have both fresh bread AND coffee ready for breakkie. Woohoo!

Admitting that I can't give up coffee has definitely been frugal. I can't even begin to count how much money I've saved on my daily coffee runs since buying my own beans and grinding them at home.

Okay, now what

Doing some Googling and not-so-random surfing, I've come to the realisation that there is a ton of information out there for how to get out of debt, but very little for what to do after!

I'm 'interviewing' a financial advisor at the beginning of September and I hope he can steer me in the right direction. Goals include: investing a nice chunk and adding to it in view of buying another house; setting up emergency and travel funds; and coming up with a usable spending plan. I also want to discuss retirement with him; as a civil servant I have a great pension plan and I could retire at 55... but I want to retire much earlier than that! :-) Looking at this laundry list, it seems impossible--a house, a travel fund, early retirement??? But I suspect it might be possible if I remain debt free (okay, except for the car, but there's less than two years left on that) and I pay off my mortgage really quickly when I get one.

Freedom is so close I can taste it. Now, if I could just get my browser to block out eBay.... :-)

Summer's End...

It's been a most peculiar summer.

I had my breast reduction surgery immediately upon returning from my delightful, if not particularly frugal, vacation. I'd recommend the surgery to anyone whose quality of life is diminished by their breasts. Recovery is slow and humbling, however, as I can barely exercise and I need help to do such basic things has grocery shopping and house cleaning.

My two months off from work were busy indeed, even despite the fact that I was recovering from surgery. I wrote chapter upon chapter of my novel, started work on my Book of Shadows, reread all the Harry Potter novels, took small day trips to neighbouring villages, made use of free admission times at local museums, and more.

Of course, I continued my Wiccan education, reading some 'classics.' Last night, I finished Starhawk's The Spiral Dance. Tonight, I start Margo Adler's Drawing Down the Moon. One thing I have taken away from my readings is that I feel empty and purposeless because I am not serving the gods and I am working in complete solitude. I've come up with a couple of ideas on how to rectify that once I'm completely healed.

One of my favourite things I did was adopt a new cat!!! I went to the Humane Society with my list of criteria and was surprised to find a cat who matched those criteria exactly! He's a sweet seven year old brown tabby who fits into my household much better than my last cat did. His sister is slowly getting used to the idea of not having me to herself again. :-) The Humane Society loves me. Apparently, very few people walk in and say: "Hi, I'm looking for a cat. It has to be at least five years old, but seven to nine would be ideal, and I'd be willing to consider up to twelve."

The return to work has been brutal and I intend to make some major changes to my schedule come September. I don't want to quit this job, however. I think my supervisor will agree with the idea I came up with for keeping this job and still having time to do meaningful work. Some of this will depend on my meeting with a financial advisor in early September. I've been coasting along financially since late spring and I see the freedom trickling away. It's time to rein it in and come up with a plan I can live with and goals I can look forward to.