Year End Utilities Review

D keeps track of monthly utilities via a spreadsheet. His year end summary showed the financial gains we made from our frugal changes over the year.

Here they are.

1. Main House Hydro & Water -- down 19.98%. We have moved away from using our energy star dishwasher to hand washing most days. We manual turn on and off our electric hot water heater as we have found one charge can last a few days. A mild summer meant next to no air conditioning usage. (Average $105.69/mnth for a 2880 sq ft home built in 1854 that has been completely updated and restored)
2. Main House Gas -- down 8.14%. Our thermostat last winter was kept at 69 degrees F as the high when there was someone home and off at nights. We are aiming for a high of 68 F this year. Depending on how damp the air is, there are days where 63 F doesn't bother me and other days, I'm freezing. They are saying it will be milder winter... (Average $78.32/mnth)
3. Main House Phone & Internet -- down 14%. We changed service providers to a small local company from the large conglomerate. (Average $60.69/mnth)
4. Car Insurance -- down 9.62% --Despite trading in an older car for a newer one. (Average $144.10/mnth for 2 cars, 1997 Honda CRV & 2005 Honda Civic Coupe)
5. Cottage Hydro -- down 7.80% -- Having a temperate summer meant no need for air condition here either. (Average $30.15/mnth for a 700 sq ft one storey structure that isn't as well built as our house)
6. Cottage Gas -- down 11.20%. We didn't go up as often during the winter because of terrible road conditions. This winter, we are planning to not go up as often either. We are trying out the concept of using keeping it seasonal and seeing if we like it better. Gives us more time to enjoy our home. (Average $16.05/mnth)
7. Toll Road -- down 12.53%. We have been experimenting with going to the cottage via various back roads. It takes 1/2 hr to 45 min longer but we get nicer scenery and no road fees. We didn't come up with the idea until the end of the summer so next year we'll get a whole season benefit to look forward to. I draw the line when it gets dark early. Winding through pitch black country roads with lots of animals around at night isn't my idea of fun. (Average $10.56/mnth)

Total money savings translated to $702.46 for the year.

When we were doing the cottage insurance shuffle this past summer, the was a 2 month spike in expenses. When we got fed up with the Brokers and changed back, the costs went back down.

The monthly fees at the ski condo went up a couple of percent to $138.76 which includes hydro, heat and water. I still feel it is a great deal and can't wait until the day I move in there full time.

Thanks D, for keeping track!

No Sense

There is something I haven't done for my car that has been costing me more money than it ought to -- buy steel rims for my winter tires.

My car is 12 years old with no signs of slowing down. I didn't think I would still be driving my first car but here she is, still with me. So each year, twice, I pay to get my Blizzaks on and off my rims.

It costs a lot more than if I had separate rims. I just didn't want to spring for them at the time. The resulting math doesn't make sense. It takes 1 hr and about $85 to get them on and off each time. Over the years, that adds up. My appointment to get my tires on has been pushed forward to next week. Will this be the year I finally spring for rims?

The way I've let this slide added to the long look I got at work yesterday now that the word is out I will not add to my work week has made me question whether I've let my work situation slide as well.

Would I have been better off starting my own spot years ago? I tell myself that I am there for the people and my working days are numbered anyways. I hope I haven't deluded myself like the tire rims. Both situations are testing my commitment -- to my work and to my car.

Bits & Bites

This time of year I like to dream big. I think of giving beyond Christmas and Birthday gifts and just plain cash. I dream of giving of myself.

On another fun note, someone I know who works here has a free offer. Enjoy, my Canadian readers!

Remember the guilt talk I was supposed to get from my associated about working weekends? They had a perfect chance last week and nothing happened. I put it out of my mind and figured they really were scared of me after all... As Machiavelli says, it is better to be feared than loved...when it comes to business...

Well, the phone call came yesterday and it was their assistant who was asked to ask me... so they wouldn't even do it themselves...what does that say? I politely declined and said I wasn't interested. End of story.

ING finally processed my sale request of part of the gain from my non tax account. I am putting the proceeds into an RSP. That move will net me a few hundred dollars. My only issue with them is that the price of the sale is on the day they process the request, not on the day I chose to sell it. So I won't know the price I will buy at until it is processed. It is the cost of dealing with an online entity.

D has had a couple of issues with his new to him used car he purchased at the end of August. As you can imagine, neither one of us are thrilled about it. We didn't trade in a '97 CRV for a '05 Civic to have more problems. Both issues are covered under warranty but still...We decided that if one more issue creeps up, we're getting rid of it and D can drive my car until we decide what to do next.

Yes I am going to the New Moon Premiere on Thursday night! D will likely be hiding his face but he's coming too. It is possible we'll be the oldest ones there and we may not be able to handle the hoards of screaming young girls but it will be fun and make us feel crazy younger...

Memories

No, I do not believe the right word yesterday was snobby. Last year I purchased a Paris apartment coat from an antiques store. So I am not adverse to wearing used clothing.

What bothered me about the store was the quality of the clothing there. They looked out of shape, like they have been shrunk in the dryer and now are out of proportion. I'm not sure you can look presentable in it.

So the question of dignity came up. It is possible to be poor and have few articles of clothing and still look clean and fitted. I ought to know. My family was quite poor growing up ie. a few generations living under the same roof etc.

I never had nice clothes. My parents felt that as long as you and what you were wearing was neat, clean, tidy and fit, then you had dignity. I may not have had many articles of clothing and what I had wasn't trendy or cool but it was nondescript and fit.

My mother felt that a few new pieces of clothing worn over and over again was better than tattered used clothing so she never bought used clothing for my brother and I. Mind you, I think there are better used kid's clothing stores now vs. when I was growing up.

As I got older, I received hand me downs from my aunts. They were always great and fashionable. I looked forward to them.

Because I didn't have an allowance, I was taught that I could have anything I wanted. I just had to work for it. So go out and get a good education in something that will make money and the life you build will mean more than if someone just gave it to you.

I wasn't allowed to have a job either so I couldn't buy anything for myself until I was 18. By then I was busy saving money for my education as my parents couldn't afford to send both of us to school.

So I kept a mental list of things I wanted, dreams I wished to fulfil. Delayed gratification was me.

Gosh, I remember so clearly still how much more money other students had than I throughout university. I remember this guy I wanted to date and how nicely he dressed and how he had such a ease about him, like he never had to worry ever.

I felt very insignificant and backwards around him and his friends. I certainly did not look cool. To make up for it, I had a lot of dignity and confidence that I was going to make something out of my life.

We fell in love and on and off years after, I moved away for a work opportunity. Come to think of it, it was all very "Pretty in Pink".

Educational Experience

D is on a mission to find a cheesy ski sweater. Why? Because he is D and that is what comes out of him sometimes. It's his alter ego from the business D, I guess, and one of the many ways he makes me shake my head and laugh. He takes me out of my all business mode.

Me? I was on the hunt for some new sunglasses -- Serengetis -- to replace my ailing 12 year old pair. I found some I liked very much that actually fits. I have a fairly small face/head so finding sunglasses and hats are a challenge.

The ski sweater search brought us to a used clothing store. When I lived in larger cities, these type of stores were starting to be trendy. They would have period items and high end names at relatively bargain prices.

We didn't end up at one of those stores. We went in to what would be equivalent to a Goodwill store. Places where I would donate my stuff to. It was an educational experience for me.

I tend to notice the energy of places and people I encounter. The energy wasn't bad but everything looked tired, including the people there. No one smiled and it seemed like people were determined not to make eye contact with others.

I came out very happy that I donate. No where did I see anything that resembled the quality of things I give so there is a need to share and give more.

It also made me wonder what it would take for me to shop there regularly, not just for something kitschy?

Frugality isn't going to do it this time. I'll happily get my hair cut once a year for $15. Shopping there however is going to take a different kind of motivation and I just do not see it happening.

Am I being snobby about this? Is it even the right adjective?

Everyday Finance

Good news came in the mail yesterday. For some reason our property tax bill is lower than it ought to be.

I'm not complaining -- just surprised as our property assessment was significantly higher. The difference it is going to make is $8/month. I'll take it.

Each fall, D's company allows its employees to make changes to benefit/insurance amounts. We went over this yesterday. For us, we like to reassess life insurance needs.

As we do not have children, the term policies are in lieu of mortgage insurance. As our mortgage amounts decline each year, we reduce the insurance amounts accordingly.

D is older than me by 4 years so to buy the equivalent amount of money for him costs more than mine. We will be saving $95/yr for 2010 with our recent decrease.

The jury is out as to whether we will maintain a "base" amount of life insurance once the mortgages are done. Not sure if we need it. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Other than that, D is getting his winter tires put on today. Mine will go on next week.

Get to deposit my pay cheque today. Can you believe they do not do direct deposit?! I wouldn't have to juggle cash flow so much at the end of each year if I had access to my pay.

I know, I know...If I wasn't out west skiing, I could pick up my pay cheque. I would like them to get with the times, that's all.

Ski season kicks off this weekend for many places, ours included. D is super pumped about it and wishes he was out there. That is a big motivator for him moving towards work that is not location dependent.

Saving vs. Investing

In hopes of higher returns, I have been considering moving more money out of savings accounts into non registered accounts/non tax accounts. 

Our timeline for potential use of this money is 3 - 5 years at the very least.  Basically it is when the roofs may need replacing at home and at the cottage.  Makes sense right?

The panic is coming from not seeing the money in the savings accounts.  You see, I view non registered accounts as not being as accessible as a savings account even though I know is it a matter of days when the money gets into my hands, I feel as if I've "lost" it. 

Also, I've gotten used to seeing a relatively high balance in the bank and I really like that.  It is as if I was carrying it in my wallet or something.  I realize I am being mental about this.

So do I just swallow the next to nothing gain, just so I feel "richer" or do I bite the bullet and take the mental hit of seeing a 4 digit number instead of a 5 digit one? 

I believe I'll end up investing it because it is the smarter way to go.  I cannot guarantee I will not whine about it. 

Updates

Good news on the job front for D. Since his work trip to NYC, he has been considering a shift from Project Management to Consultant.

He had a meeting about it yesterday and he's officially "in". Which likely means more business trips. I am thrilled for him. Hopefully I'll be able to go on some!

It will be 5 weeks today we fly out west for our Christmas holidays. We'll be there for 3 weeks. I'm thinking I will give snowboarding a go after being talked into it by the driver who took me to the airport last spring.

My printer finally passed on and we have an ink jet now in its place. It's one of those all in one wireless copier, fax, scanner etc. things and makes a horrendous noise just getting ready to print. Had I known, I would have sprung for another laser.

I had been spoiled with mine. It was a Lexmark laser printer I bought 18 plus years ago when they first came out for the incredible sum of $2300! It took me through university and beyond. Don't laugh -- I get attached to stuff like this.

I just finished Ramit Sethi's book "I Will Teach You To Be Rich". He has a good sense of humour and pokes fun at his Indian heritage but there wasn't anything in it that has made a difference for me. Our financial account set up is pretty good.

What I really liked about his over all message is what I would call his "Middle Way" approach. He has no problem with someone buying a BMW, for example, if they have all their accounts and savings plans in order and executed.

All the "leftovers" are to be spent. What else are you going to do with it when you've already saved enough and owe nothing? Makes sense to me.

I have been asked how I was going to pay for the EVO I didn't end up buying. So here's my answer.

In order for me to have moved ahead with that purchase, I needed to find a way to fund it without changing my current accelerated mortgage plans. For me, it meant liquidating some stocks, using some cash savings and calling in part of my annuity from D early.

What is happening now, is a new account called "Car Fund" has been set up. I will put money into it for the next 3 years or so and when the times comes, if I still want it, I will buy it or spend it on something else that makes more sense. Lots of options.

Remembrance Day 2009

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Recovery Costs

Care giving is tough. It can be draining mentally and emotionally. I was tired out after yesterday's visit with my aunt. Her temporary circumstance opened my eyes on the reality of how much care is needed post surgery.

She isn't able to lean forward, lift or bend down. Therefore she cannot bath herself or reach for a pot from her upper or lower cupboards. She cannot run a vacuum or go up the stairs or take the garbage out. Thus the temporary bedroom in the living room.

Canada has good social services. So she is getting help every few days for bathing and rehab. There is a program call "Meals on Wheels" that will deliver one full meal from Monday to Friday for a fee of $7.50 a day. She still needs to fend for herself for the other 2 meals of the day and on weekends.

It is very understandable that she is very frustrated and lonely. Having been widowed for the last 55 years and not knowing how to drive, her life is quite dependent on others as it is. Now it is way worse and embarrassing. There are no family members in the same city as her. The closest is 45 mins away and I am 1 hr 15 mins away.

Had it not been for the surgery recovery, she is otherwise spry and limber for a 85 yr old woman. She cannot wait to heal up and get back to herself again.

Yesterday's visit forced me to think about elder care and the cost of it. If she was willing to, she could pay someone to clean her home and do personal care on a daily basis. Also, have prepared meals delivered for the rest of the time if she did not wish to cook. All of these services cost money and it adds up quickly.

Luckily for her, a retirement residence/nursing home isn't needed. Should it become needed, they can be really expensive, upwards of $4500 per month per couple for full meals and activities.

We do have government subsidized nursing care housing but they are run like a hospital and are for people who have no income and cannot care for themselves. It seems like that the more independent you are, the more it costs to move into a "lifestyle community".

Coordinating

Due to the increasing business expenses I have, I've decided to create a new savings account in my system to handle end of year cash flow issues and impromptu workshop expenses.

This has been long overdue. It also represents my renewed commitment to stream line work costs easier and cleaner.

I got confirmation of my article acceptance to the trade journal I subscribe to. It is going to be published in the next issue.

The cottage got closed up (plumbing wise) with great success this weekend. It would have cost us over $200 to get it done professionally. So we spent part of it going out for a celebratory dinner instead. I believe it is going to be a yummy yearly tradition.

For you foodies out there, I had a curried butternut squash soup to start, a braised lamb shank over garlic mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables and a maple walnut tart with homemade vanilla ice cream. A real stick to your bones meal and a rare meat meal for me nowadays.

I'm really enjoying being at home for this week off, though as I type this, I realize I spent very little of it at home today. I drove out to visit an aunt who just came out of surgery. She cannot move well so I brought lunch and offered to get groceries and stuff.

She isn't a true blood relative rather the aunt of a guy I used to be engaged to. When our relationship ended, I stayed in touch with her and 12 years later, her turning 86 at the end of the month, we are still going strong.

Cost of Work

Even though I know enough to plan for it by now, the end of each year is one of the toughest times cash flow wise. It isn't because we go all out for Christmas gifts, it is because of the large expenses lurking around the corner in the first week of 2010.

My licencing fee renewal just got here. For me to continue working legally, I need to pay this. This year, it will cost me $850, due in one lump sum on Jan 1/2010. I can pay it in 2 installments, six months apart for $450 each. I have refused to pay the $50 premium for this service.

When this bill comes, I then get reminded of my liability insurance notice. It will likely grace my mailbox in the next couple of weeks. Last year, it cost me $1200. If I do the upgrades that I'm thinking of, the price will be in the range of $1550 also due Jan 1/2010. There is a 4% premium should I wish to pay this in any other way than lump sum. I hate being charged extra so I too pay it all at once.

I pay my association dues monthly as there is no penalty to do so. It is about $1000/yr. These three expenses make up the core of my mandatory business expenses. And I haven't made a penny yet!

I remember this being overwhelming when I first started out because I felt already behind and real life ie. rent, car payments, food, telephone, savings, student loan repayment etc. etc. hadn't happened yet.

It is just part of doing business now and once a year, I think about it. There used to be a fourth line item called disability insurance and I got rid of it once I realized the plan doesn't cover part time work very well. (remember I got to test that out when I broke my wrist learning to figure skate a couple of years ago...)

So anyways, with us going over budget on the visa for Nov. and all these bills coming in, and not having access to my 2nd pay cheque in Dec (because we head out west mid Dec) means I have to make everything happen with what will be coming in for Nov. and the first half of Dec. It is making me juggle!

Another Day

My last day of work before a week off! Yeah!!! Not sure if it will be busy though not worrying about it either way.

We will be draining/pushing the water out of the cottage pipes this weekend thus the need for the new compressor valve. Last year's attempt was a bit of a fiasco as the valve wasn't working well (despite it being new) and overall time taken was just too long and unpleasant. I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed this year that it won't lead to divorce!

Not much to report financially today. The weeks that neither one of us get paid tend to be pretty boring financially.

The budget area we seem to be excelling in is our food/grocery account. We have been sticking with it with no whining or anything.

A reader gave a fantastic suggestion regarding our Costco membership. I did not know that we could buy gift cards that would allow us to continue shopping there for 1 year after our membership expires without having to pay to continue our membership. We could even ask friends of ours to buy such cards for us, effectively eliminating the membership altogether!

So at the very least, we had reduced membership costs to every other year. I'm in the midst of calculating our annual expenditures at Costco to decide how large of a gift card to buy by the end of this month. Thanks again for the tip!

Reining It In

I may need to revise our monthly Visa budget. It is supposed to be use for gasoline and D's monthly parking costs. If we use it for other things, then the amount gets paid for from other working accounts right away.

As of late, we've been going over in the non gasoline/parking category. That bugs me because it means there are extra things we've been buying that doesn't fit into regular spending categories. We've gotten a bit lax.

So, I'm staring at the $788 balance instead of the budgeted $180 wondering what happened?! Well, it's called by many names such as some really good chocolate, DVD's not found at the library, a couple of meals out, oil spraying 2 cars, food processor, pet shampoo, new work clothes for D and a Lego set.

It'll get paid for, of course, and I remind myself it is all within our control.

My month end numbers for Oct. came in and I seriously just squeaked by my monthly projection by $72.96 take home. A bit close for comfort and the closest yet this year.

When I was on my car hunt, we encountered 2 salespeople. The first one was terrible, the second one was the one I've been in contact with. Now, the first one will not leave D alone. I'm not sure how calling over and over again and emailing is going to motivate D into buying a car when he is not the real buyer.

It's probably just as well as I have less patience than D and would likely just tell him off. In this day and age, I cannot believe that the stereotype of the "guy" making all the financial decisions still exists.

On a really funny note, we were at "Princess Auto" on the weekend, looking for a compressor valve when I was approached by 2 farmers asking if I worked there.

I almost burst out laughing after a split second of shock because I thought they were taking the name of the shop perhaps too literally... they were pretty embarrassed when I said no.

Seriously, I was wearing a pair of 2 1/2 inch brown boots, a powder pink fitted North Face jacket and pale corduroys. I guess that makes me look like a "Princess"? ... or maybe I really did look like I knew what I was doing!

Decided

The verdict is in.

There will not be a new performance car (vs. my current get me from point A to B car) added to my life right now. Who knows if I will still want it in 3 years? (Probably, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there) It is a relief to finally make the decision.

What it came down to was my unwillingness to spend the money Right Now. (I don't usually have a problem with spending large amounts of money) The timing isn't ideal and it is as far from a necessity as it gets. That doesn't mean I've stopped lusting for it but I can control it...for now.

My H1N1 inoculation yesterday knocked me out literally by 8:30pm. I slept for almost 10 hrs and awoke to some soreness around the injection site. Shouldn't affect work today too much.

Odds & Sods

I have a confession. I just ate a coffee crisp for breakfast! Leftover loot from Saturday...

Pretty much finished the editing of the article I'm submitting for the magazine. It's going out for the first read today. The actually hard deadline is in 1 1/2 weeks but I have a week off starting this Friday and don't want to do any formal work during that time.

Going to attempt to get my flu shot today. There is apparently a shortage right now so if there is a lot of pushing and shoving at the public clinic, I'm going straight back home.

They are estimating that there is only enough to inoculate 60% of the high risk people -- of which I am considered one due to my profession. I'm just not going to worry about it, if the doesn't work out. Stressing out will only make things worse.

On my quest to get up to speed with my health appointments, I have a dental checkup and cleaning this week too. Yeah... I'm not a fan of going to the dentist...

Turandot will be shown live from the Met at movie theatres in HD this weekend. I'm going to go. It was this opera I had a ticket for but didn't end up being able to go, the last time I was in NYC.

D and I braved the crowds at Costco yesterday to load up on stuff as our membership is expiring this month. What I would like to see happen this year, is to not renew for preferably 6 plus months later, to spread the costs farther apart.

I've also been pricing out some continuing education courses and better liability insurance plans for work. They are in the fairly necessary category of things so I'll be working to build them in financially.

Happy Halloween!

This will be the first Halloween we've been around since we moved in 2 years ago. Normally we are in France. So we are currently unprepared candy wise. That'll be taken care of later on today. I'm going to insist on carving a pumpkin or 2 as well. Why not? D isn't too excited but he doesn't know who he is dealing with.

I led my high school homeroom class to 2 pizza party victories with winning the school pumpkin carving contest 2 years in a row. If you haven't gathered by now, food is a huge motivator for me....

Instead of just focusing on the pumpkin all alone, I like to create a scene. The first year, we came up with Humpty Dumpty -- so 2 pumpkins, one before, on the wall dressed up, and one after, cracked open like an egg with a "fried egg" (made of a white and yellow plastic bag) leaking out with band aids everywhere. We even had the wall, a white picket fence and fake grass!

My senior year, I was studying music history at the conservatory and a piece of music was the spark. It was Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. The last part of the fourth movement musically describes an execution via guillotine complete with the sound of the head rolling down.

I'm thinking perfect! We do that scene with a stuffed body etc and a frightened, crazed looking head rolled away with exposed "neck" and bloody hair, doorway as the guillotine, rope, blade and that segment of music playing in the background.

Great memories! Have Fun tonight Everyone!

S'All Good

Being the ever helpful guy he is, D sent me this video to help me in my car buying decision... (he knows I want to learn how to Drift). I've probably seen Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift about 5 times!

Well, I spoke with my colleague about the sudden change to working more. I was told that the owners spoke to them directly and after a lot of guilt laying about their lack of family time and the need to all of us to band together on this... they relented and agreed to do it.

Apparently they also said they would be speaking to me directly also. Nothing yet. My colleague thought they haven't done so because they were scared of me! D doesn't think they will either and just said they would in order to coerce their way. I'm mentally preparing myself just in case.

I subscribe of a couple of trade journals and this month, one of them dedicated the issue to financial preparedness in the midst of personal injury/disability. The articles really resonated with me as I have personal experience with that.

I decided to email the editor asking if they felt their readers would like to know about a first hand experience with professional disability that didn't fall into the category of making disability insurance out to be the end all and save all (as my injury didn't qualify).

The reply came yesterday and they would so I'll be writing a short article for their next issue.

Just for fun, I decided to send in my Alaska travelogue (edited to be non blog style) to a local paper for their travel stories section. The chances are likely slim to be chosen but the act of sending it made me feel good.

Last working day of the month. It is the tightest one this year billing wise. I hope I end up beating my goal.

Limbo

A number of glitches going on right now.

My houseboat and flight reservation is in scheduling limbo. D really wants to come along and is willing to put off his spring ski trip to do so. I'd like him to come too. We explore new places well together.

Technically, that wouldn't be a solo trip then... I may have to twist my own arm to find yet another place to go later on the year... I'm thinking Greece would be pretty cool! : )

On the car front, I got some info last night. Of course I would end up loving a car that is harder to find than anything else more mainstream. And of course there is only one left of of the '09 model (2008 ones and earlier are different) in Ontario in Black and the 2010 models have changed again.

I'm doing my best not letting my brain cells get themselves into a knot. What is helping is my hesitancy in wanting to fork out $55000 right now.

My associate who earlier last week said they wouldn't cave in and work any weekends have now committed to working some. So the email came addressed to all of us, thanking her for stepping up and helping out... there is only one space that needs coverage now... hint, hint... I'm going to get the story from her today.

Something New

Ideas are forming for my next solo adventure. If everything works out, it will involve a houseboat in the Netherlands. My life isn't going to stand still, new car or not! (No, I haven't made a firm decision either way)

It is also my way of letting go of the clinging to an idea or goal too hard. Whatever happens will be for the best.

D is having trouble talking his colleague into trying different foods while in NY. I'm not sure how you can be there and not end up giving something new a go. There is just so much! (See, he ought to let me go next time!)

I just sent D a link to a little hole in the wall place in Chinatown that just serves dumplings and told him to make sure to grab a hot pastrami on rye sandwich with a dill pickle (or matzoh ball soup if he really wants to get into it) at a Jewish Deli and some Soul food in Harlem before he leaves.

There's nothing "crazy" about any of the above (It's not like I suggested something more upscale like Nobu or Morimoto -- neither would be considered "crazy" in my book anyways...).

Holding Down the Fort

My blood work came back all good. Very relieved!

I went by the Mitsubishi dealership yesterday to see the EVO again. Mistake.

Now I am trying to figure out if I can afford one (and all its required upkeep) without affecting the mortgage prepayments...

It's amazing how tricky one's mind can be to come up with answers when motivated!

D's off on a business trip to NYC and I'm a little peeved that it came up last minute so I wasn't able to rearrange my schedule to go too.

I think he didn't want me to come along anyway even though I know that I would have been no trouble.

Honestly, if we even see each other, it would be amazing with his work schedule there. Plus, I know NYC well enough to occupy my own time just fine.

It would have meant free hotel stay which in NY, means a lot. I'd still have to pay for my own flight and food, which is fine.

So D, if you are reading, that's my 2 cents for next time! : )

(Maybe he has an ulterior motive, maybe he is thinking there will be a new car in the driveway when he gets home... he did sent me a cryptic email this morning wishing me good luck on whatever decision I make...he's a tricky guy, that D...)

Extremely Not Frugal!

For the first time in my life, I've been tempted by a car. D has done it now. I am falling in love (correction, Already In Love) with the EVO.

It is pretty perfect for me. I love the sport seats, the no tint part, the brakes, rims, spoiler and suspension look so cool, has a Rockford Fosgate stereo system, AWD, few people know what it is and it is subtle looking for what it can do.

I couldn't care less for the sunroof or GPS but it comes with the package. My only peeve is that the seat doesn't adjust as much as I'd want in a premium vehicle. They tell me it is a performance thing but I'm not buying it. I've sat in a WRX and it adjusts in many ways.

We test drove 2 different types this weekend "for fun" (very dangerous fun, I might add...) and both could not believe how it felt. It is liken to the take off on a plane. You are literally pushed back into your seat! Very very exhilarating.

I want one! : )

My Annuity

What to do, what to do?

D, my husband, is determined to "pay me back" for the extra prepayments I am putting towards his half of the mortgage, (remember that I've already paid for 50% of our main house and ski condo) in the form of an annuity starting whenever the mortgage is done.

Total amount will be in the $100000s paid over 7 - 8 yrs in order to keep D saving and investing.

This money isn't part of our retirement savings plan and isn't needed for such so I can save it if I wish or blow it on something if I wish. That's probably why D has been passing along links to fast cars...

Should I decide to quit my work when the mortgage is done, then I will forfeit the annuity as D would not be able to run 3 homes, save for our retirement and pay me at the same time. My time off would be the annuity then.

Time is tempting.

Some days, I wish I was more motivated by money. I like managing money, seeing how far it goes and getting great value for it but making money... it is tough for me.

I took a year off after high school and worked 3 jobs (full time job and teaching piano for 2 music schools) in order to save up enough money for university.

I made myself seriously ill and vowed then that I would not put myself through that type of craziness again. It seems I have been somewhat repelled by work since.

D's Work

I've spent a lot of time writing about what my work does to me. It wouldn't be nearly balanced if I did not mention how D feels about his work.

He is bored with his current job of 2 or so years. Having never stayed too long at any position, moving on doesn't scare him. His last position was too demanding and exploitative so he took on his first large corporate position.

It pays well and has pretty great benefits. But it is also pretty boring for him, utilizing barely 40% of what he is capable of. His brain is slowly turning into mush. The new position he has applied for will be helpful in this area, should he get it.

When we talk about our respective work, I long for less responsibility while he longs for more. I long to try something else despite the time, money and effort spent to get to where I am professionally. Sometimes it is hard to relate to each others' grievances.

On a different and fun note, D has enticed me with another car choice. A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR -- a natural competitor for the WRX STi. He has decided that his next car will be the STi so he is thinking it would be great if I replace my aging vehicle with the EVO... and we can drive them out to here and have some fun...

Rolling With It

Was very pleased to see our hydro and water bill numbers.

We used $21.29 worth of electricity, $11.50 worth of water and $16.50 worth of sewer last month. Very pleased with that.

Of course, when they add in all their fees, the bill balloons but we have controlled well that which we can.

Considering I am still using the desktop computer as my laptop is out west, I feel there is more savings available.

I had a pretty perfect work day yesterday. Something clicked as I tried to figure why I was feeling so calm and content despite working with the associate that feels I'm a slacker.

My "normal" workday is pretty intense. I solve and fix problems for a living, one on one with people in fairly small rooms with no natural light.

In a 6 hrs shift, I have no scheduled breaks and I have been known to see upwards of 35 - 40 people in that time.

Crazy field right? I'm the slowest out of the group... believe it or not!

Yesterday, I saw half of that and even though it meant less income, it felt good. Easy and relaxed. I was able to read 2 magazines, journal a bit and even check email.

I took a look at what it means for my spreadsheet and we can still manage without too many concessions.

It's too soon to tell if this is a new reality though I'll roll with it happily. It may make my dropping a day obsolete.

Options

I got the info I needed yesterday to write off the idea of changing my car stereo. Didn't realize what they would have to do (tear my whole dash apart) to get the new stereo in. The speakers are easy.

I am a bit paranoid that something will get damaged during the installation process. Last year D had some work done on his car that involved removing part of the dash and steering column and suddenly, he didn't have cruise control anymore...

The oil spray for my car was done. Cost $118. I believe it is well worth it and a reason why my car still runs and looks so well. I sent D over with his car later in the day and his was done too. Cost $100. His has never been done.

For fun last night, we looked at what type of car stereos come with which types of cars. I am slowing mentally building up a list of what I would like should the day come when I decide to replace my vehicle.

When you aren't spending any real money, the sky's the limit. I decided that it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if I was suddenly gifted an Infinity EX. It has a great Bose system standard...

On a health note, my family Dr took a lot of blood from me yesterday and is running a slew of tests. Apparently, I am long overdue. The saying about health care practitioners being the worst patients is true...

The only thing I'm wondering about is my cholesterol levels. When I'm stressed, it is the first indicator to show up. And I have been extremely stressed as of late.

He told me the results will be in today but I'll give him a couple of days to process all of his paperwork before I call. I guess it is time to get caught up with my dental, eye etc. appointments too...

On a finance front, I have been thinking about what I will do should interest rates start rising. Despite my ridiculously low mortgage rate, I still hate to pay more to the bank than I need to.

So, do I speed things up? Or do I just make up the difference and continue as normal? I'll need to think about this as I am on the verge of investing more. I may want the money to go elsewhere more assessable. (Hot off the press, the Bank of Canada rate holds as is)

Also have been running numbers on different scenarios -- D working, I'm not, D work, me work 2 days, quitting completely in 2 to 3 yrs, going back to school etc. There is a $1200/ month shortfall for D if I stop working right now because our mortgage payments are high so that is not an option.

If I work 2 days a week, we'll be fine and still be able to invest. The timeline for mortgage debt free will be extend 1 1/2 yrs, nearing 4 1/2 yrs instead of 3. I am weighing my increased well being against the extended timeline, trying to feel out what would be right and what I need from this.

Errand Day

It was a beautiful sunny fall weekend here in my part of Canada. We spent it up north. The winds were calm and the water was like glass.

D's application for the new job went in late last week. I've decided that I would like to move to 2 days a week in 2012 if I can. Not sure I can make it to 2013. Some weeks, I'm not sure I can make it to Friday!

The next Bank of Canada rate announcement is tomorrow. As usual, I will be highly anticipating the results.

Off to a Dr's appointment this morning for a checkup and then possibly to get my car oil sprayed, depending on my timing and line up.

On a car note, I'm going to be pricing out a new car stereo...

Music

My solution for getting more music in my life has worked really well. I'm getting in a few hours a day now, on top of ambient music at work.

My first impulse was to look at what I needed to buy... luckily my new frugality made surfing the Bose site a lot less fun.

My internal financial thermostat is set so differently now that I cringe at the numbers. Lucky for me, I bought my noise cancelling headphones and sound dock from them before this!

In all honestly, I would buy them again because I love the sound quality and unfortunately having a music background, I am a bit of an audiophile.

We have a pretty great surround sound system to accompany our projector too. D was betting on my dissatisfaction when he hooked his system up to our new projector 2 years ago.

He was right and a new system came into our lives that very weekend. We went with Klipsch.

So, instead of buying a mini system for my night table, I am making use of my noise cancelling headphones and my ipod more. At first, I wasn't happy with having headphones on around the house.

After a couple of weeks, I'm liking the portability for the upstairs. Downstairs, we have the sound dock and a mini system for the study and kitchen.

It is a great solution from the viewpoint that my headphones were purchased for airplane use and would sit unused otherwise. Now I feel I am getting value from them.

The problem now, after elevating my hearing experiences at home? I am not liking the stereo system in my car anymore... oops

Good Day

I'm off to the post office later this morning to ship the stuff I sold. The money order I was waiting for came in the mail yesterday. D is the other half in this business. He is make boxes out of thin air, it seems! Taking away shipping, we will net $80 on this sale.

I had a great lunch with a girlfriend yesterday. She just bought an income property, currently fully rented to 5 students. It is her first foray into real estate. It was exciting talking about it and our investment strategies.

When I got home, I found out from D an internal job posting came out which sounds perfect for him. For the same pay and basically the same position, he would get to work 100% remote from anywhere in Canada.

I am doing my best not to get overly excited about this. He is going to apply for sure and feels there is no reason he wouldn't get an interview. I'm keeping all fingers and toes crossed.

Since speaking with my girlfriend yesterday, I am looking to invest more. There is some cash I am going to move around in order to do so. I've notified my broker about it so am waiting for some suggestion as to direction.

Answers

I spoke with my associate who was the other recipient of the weekend work email and she isn't going to budge either. Interesting. I wonder what they are going to do as they have no coverage for half of the month starting Nov.

I wager that the 2 of them (partners) will step up and work it until they can hire someone else. If the find someone, then it will be the 3rd person for this position in 2 years. What does that say about what they are offering?

I wonder if it has started to sink in for them that they are not offering what they think they are. It isn't as good a position, nor profitable as they feel it is. Not likely. If I was earlier in my career, (I realize to some 12 yrs is still early...) I would consider striking out on my own.

I'm too far along it now. Plus, seeing the end in sight takes my energy away from working longer and harder.

When psychological crap like happens, I return to working on my exit strategy with a fervor. Fine tuning it, asking better questions of myself to get better more viable answers.

Revisiting Alaska: A Travelogue

I had to look back in my blog archives to see if I've already written about this and I didn't. I wrote next to nothing about it actually considering how happy it makes me feel (probably still on a high and didn't want to shake it). I'm talking about a some of my experiences in Alaska back in May. (Warning, very, very long post!)

I'm in the middle of re-reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and finally saw the last 1/3rd of the movie. I had been avoiding it for years because I didn't want to cry. The book is enough. I resonate with a lot of it. Seeing the scenery of Alaska on screen brought back some great memories.

The neat thing about solo travel is getting to meet people. I'm not the type to suddenly sit beside someone and start talking. What I mean is that I inevitably end up talking to someone in a non deliberate way.

It starts at the airport in Vancouver with me all excited and stuff. I was sitting beside an older lady who was waiting for the same shuttle. It begins with a knowing glance, a smile and shrug when we found out the shuttle was delayed yet again and the conversation began.

Turns out we are both heading to Alaska for our first time. She lives in Calgary but went to university in the same city as me. Fast forward 5 hrs and we are still chatting. I've met some members of her family and because there was another delay, I was routed with her into an express line due to her hip issues and the officials' assumption we were "together" because of how we are getting along. That move saved us 2 more hours of transit time. How lucky was that? What a blessing!

It took 2 days to get to Juneau. As I am attracted to food, I found myself following my nose to a family owned fudge store. The young people working there, especially the guys were so genuinely happy, they nearly floored me. They were humming and singing away while making chocolate not shy at all. You couldn't help but smile and be happy. It was contagious. I thought of how much fun it would be to go to school here.

Not being fudge eater, I bought 1 1/2 pds of a dark chocolate walnut maple sugar mix for a girlfriend and something choconutty to myself to munch on while I kept walking. I had lunch at an out of the way place where it doubled as a hanger for float planes. Four of them came and went while I ate. The scenery was already incredible. I couldn't believe it was going to be more and more dramatic as I ventured north.

My next stop was Skagway. Pristine is the best word I have for it. Here, I started my hunt for some art to bring home, namely a small totem pole. I cannot explain my affinity for native culture. It started during my first trip to Arizona and Utah, especially in Monument Valley.

The nice art shops were glitzy with prices to match but offered no real feel of the artist. I saw some things I liked but never returned to buy them because I would much rather buy directly from the artist if I can. But I did end up buying some coffee beans for D. I couldn't help myself -- The name got me -- 3 Peckered Billy Goat, locally made.

If I had more time, I would have liked to try my hand at ice climbing. During my last couple of years of school, a buddy and I spent some time weekly at a climbing gym for stress relief. I'm likely totally out of shape for this now but I was willing to give it a go. Next time. There were some amazing outfitters here as well as guide shops with some very fit guides.

I ended sitting at a bar for lunch in a restaurant I had read about. I hadn't had enough of Halibut yet so I ordered some more. This time, I made a comment that started a conversation. The bartender left forearm was covered with a beautiful tattoo and I told him that when he brought my lunch. He told me that his uncle drew it for him and it represented his clan -- The Killer Whale.

So we got talking about Skagway and what draws people here. The rent is very high. A camping spot costs over $500 a month! Again, the energy of the people in Alaska amazes me. He was so grounded and present. As with many things, he served as a mirror to where I was. I would like to be more grounded and present, like him.

Spent the next morning riding into a Fjord. How far in you are able to go is determined by how big the iceberg fragments got as 90% of an iceberg is underwater. You get the picture. The water looked too cold to be inviting! Saw a glacier near the end. The blue colour and a turquoise of the water reminds of Lake Louise in Alberta.

I hit the jackpot in Ketchikan. After getting lost, just wandering, I stumbled into a native artists' coop that just opened 3 days prior. I am not able to do justice to my experience there but the store is owned by a beautiful native woman who has an elderly mother to take care of. She isn't an artist but had a vision of joining tribes together through art and allowing artists to be able to make a living through their art.

So 75% of the sale of each piece goes back to the artist. She went on to tell me the biography of each artists whose work I admired. The story and picture of a female seal hunter fascinated me. This particular artist fashioned mittens, coats and other ornaments (of which I bought one) out of seal fur. No part is wasted and during the open house 3 days prior to my arrival, she was there taking people on a tour of her boat, showing them the rifle she uses and wanting people to see exactly what she does.

It was important for her that people understood how much she revered the animals that gave their life to feeding people with their meat, warming people with their skins and adorning people and places with art that is made as a tribute to the animal. I would have loved to meet her.

When you look at her picture you see strength. I bought an Eskimo ornament made by the Woman Hunter and miniature totem by a male artist from a northern tribe. Ketchikan is an active fishing port and there was a lot of boat activity in and out when I was there. It was exciting. I wanted to be on a fishing boat too.

I had lunch in a locally "famous" place for Halibut. I had gotten lost looking for this place when I ran into the artist coop. It was run out of a trailer and only had a few small tables. I shared one with a fellow. He was probably the exact opposite of what I had come to associate with Alaskan people. He was from a big city and was visibly agitated with his wait. I didn't like this sudden change in energy.

The owner/cook of the restaurant has a bit of crazy gleam in his eyes. When I placed my order, he came right up to me (very close) to verify if I really wanted a full order of Halibut, he wanted to make sure I can handle it. I whispered back that I was starving and I wanted it all. I realized quickly why he asked when my order came. I could barely finish it.

I think people were looking at my plate because it was so huge. It's kind of a serve yourself place and when I got up to throw out my garbage to let other people have the table, the owner came over and took it for me and said he thought I did real good eating all that (I'm stubborn). I told him that I felt like I just ate an entire 100 lb Halibut. He laughed and wished me well. I was near comatose.

This was as far as I got in my Alaska adventure. It was pretty tame all in all. I didn't do any trekking or anything. I didn't mind the weather at all. I was dressed for it. The food was great. Didn't get enough crab this time.

Being a huge fan of room service, I would make it a habit to checking out the menu as soon as I would enter a hotel room. One particular room service supervisor got used to my room number/name etc and took it upon himself to send me a fruit basket. I really don't know why, but perhaps it had to do with the fact I always tipped the people who deliver the room service even though it was included.

After I realized the fruit wasn't a wrong delivery, I asked that the attendant who delivered it to please give the supervisor a tip from me ($20). I know how much things cost. I then called the supervisor to thank him myself and his response was overwhelming. He told me that in his 12 years, he has never received a tip and he sent the fruit because he wanted to do something nice as I called frequently. (I though it was a nice way to say that I ate a lot...!)

I couldn't believe his emotion. I am so glad I did it. So the next couple of days, I came home to canapes and chocolate covered strawberries. When I called him to thank him again, he told me not surprise him anymore, he would not be able to take it. We laughed and I told him I will need to go on a diet when I got home.

I ventured south to check out Seattle before coming home. Again, a new place for me. It was fabulous. Spent too much money to stay at the Seattle Westin though made up for it with someone I met later that evening. The day was beautiful. Didn't know that sunny days were rare there. Pike street market met my expectations. (I have a thing for open air markets. My favorite one so far is La Boqueria in Barcelona.)

Had lunch at a hole in the wall Cajun restaurant that enticed me in with the smell (again!). Turns out it is Zagat rated! Had my first Po Boy with pulled pork. Yummy! The restaurant was run by a mother daughter team and their southern accents were awesome.

I marveled at the number of architectural bookstores and design offices. Seattle was growing on me very quickly. Had the best coffee gelato in my life at a small shop there. I have not tasted anything better in the places I've gone to in Italy.

I kinda passed out for a few hours later that day and when I woke up, I was too lazy to walk back to the restaurant I had scouted out earlier that day for dinner. So I decided to check out the hotel restaurant. Again I sat at the bar. It was a nice spot and I was definitely under dressed.

The bartender was an older man with a face that said no stress. He moved quickly and was very good at reading people. He wasn't upset when I only wanted water to drink. I asked for his opinion on a couple of dishes before putting in my order. When he came back, he lingered as it wasn't very busy, so I asked him what working for Westin was like.

His eyes lit up and we started talking. Mostly about travel and the deals they get as employees. I was jealous. Then he seemed like he couldn't hold something in much longer and told me in a low voice, that his wife and him just finished paying off their mortgage 2 weeks ago, they were completely debt free (they had had their share of financial troubles) and tonight was his last shift before flying off to spend 2 weeks in Mexico to celebrate.

They own a waterfront home in southern Seattle that has been in his family for 55 years passed down from generation to generation. I couldn't be happier for him.

In the next few hours I found out that his father passed away 1 1/2 yrs ago and his passing really rocked him and one of the things they spoke about was his writing. He wrote poetry all his life. So once he felt up to it, he gathered up his works and published it. It was hot off the press when I met him.

I told him I would be on Amazon when I got home to get myself a copy. What a great spirit he has in him. He paid me a complement before I left, 4 hours later. He said that I was the type of woman men like him write about. What a kind kind man. You can't blame me for wanting to go on this trip again.

Work

It ended up being a full and busy work day yesterday. I panicked for a few seconds before kicking up another gear.

On another selling note, I send D off to get pricing (for a couple of rings and a bunch of silver jewellery I don't wear) from a shop that buys and sells antiques and jewellery. The response was good so he left with a cheque.

It is Thanksgiving long weekend for us in Canada. We have in the past added a couple to days to it and spent it in Vermont to take in foliage and the life there.

I have zero interest in extending my hours. They have no clue to how close I am to ditching a day from my work week right now or selling everything and retiring to my ski condo.

Work Day

Back to work today. I've geared up and it will be relatively easy as it is Friday. This is the 2nd time this year I've scheduled my holidays this way, giving myself a short Friday work shift (4 hrs) as a prelude to my next week, regular work week.

I kinda like it. All my mail gets opened, the emails read and the following real work week isn't as crazy. And I get a long weekend as I don't start work til Tuesday. So technically, I've taken almost 1 1/2 weeks off with a 4 hr work day stuffed in there.

I got an offer for the stuff I put up for sale yesterday and am awaiting money, this time in the form of a money order, before sending. If this transaction goes through, it will be the first time I've sold something to someone that lives in the Northwest Territories. Pretty neat! It is on my list of places to see.

On another good news front, D and I bought our New Year flights home. There was another blitz sale and we did get the day and price we wanted. No money actually changed hands as D used a travel credit and I used my Visa travel points. Great! Now I just need to get a cat sitter.

I had just reached the end of my patience with ING yesterday as I hadn't seen the appearance of my non registered account yet online. I applied for this account at the end of Sept. Working with a brokerage has spoiled me as I am used to things happening shortly after discussion.

Perhaps this is the cost of a no fee, online only way of doing things. Just when I was itching to call them to cancel the whole thing, I got an email confirming the account. There was a minor glitch but everything is fine now.

Am supposed to see the account transaction show up next week so I'll wait til then to add more money to it. Guess it worked out better as the markets have dipped a bit so I'll be buying lower than it was 2 weeks ago.

Slow Motion

I'm back from a great time at the cottage at at my in laws. And just physically got back from the post office as the money promised by my purchaser did come through. I'm working on my next round of sale offerings but am still very much moving in a slow motion vacation mode. Lots of blog reading to catch up with as well.

Update

Just a quick post before we load the car to take off.

I did manage to squeak out an extra $553.26 out of last month projections so am very satisfied. We went out to a local family run Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate. Very yummy!

There is a ski swap in the next few weeks at our local ski club. D and I are going to put a pair each of our boots out for sale. Part of the proceeds will go to charity and part of it comes back to us. Win - win.

It has been near freezing at nights lately. I buckled and turned the heat on. For some reason, I'm not transitioning to the cooler temperatures as well as I am used to. I think I acclimatized too well to the summer!

Cooler temperatures also means using the hairdryer again. I don't like it and prefer just to let my hair air dry but it is getting too cold for that.

We've even had our fireplace on at the cottage since Labour day!

Back mid next week. Have a great one everybody!

I'm Not Being Deliberately Gross Here...

It is looking like I've made my first sale since the summer hiatus. I will be shipping once the money shows up in my account.

My 2nd week of "summer holidays" will start tomorrow. We are heading to the cottage to enjoy some fall air, colours and hearty food. There is a possibility we'll be dropping off Christmas presents at my in laws.

Yup, I am done Christmas shopping.

Because D and I spend the holiday out west, our family celebration with family is either before or after, depending on scheduling and weather. D's family lives up north, in serious snow country.

To be honest, it makes sense to me this way. This year the bonus is that we are getting to see their completed house.

They had bought 9 acres of land years ago in hopes of building their retirement home. His parents are now both retired and the house is finished. D and his brother each get 3 acres.

There isn't the build up and "forced feeling" that can happen with this particular holiday anymore. We can just enjoy the visit, share a nice meal and open gifts if we wish or save them for the "day".

This may not work if you have kids but for our adults only group, it is perfect.

Work

I'll get to see my month end for Sept tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll have squeaked by another month with some bonus extra money.

There has been another wave of job loss in my area and that can affect my business. I wonder if I will have to re-jig my spread sheet's expectations? I hope not.

I have a mild anxiety episode yesterday when I questioned myself on the sanity of moving the working account money out of a low paying savings account into something that isn't necessarily guarantee gain.

D was really funny about it. He laughed at my reaction and said that only I can get stressed out about having money...

I didn't find it very funny but I did later.

So onwards and upwards (hopefully!). I'm sticking with the latest change in plans. I have no real (only imagined) reason to panic. I'm not doing anything overtly risky.

In other news, I got the OK for adding an additional service to my business. The person who offered a similar service has left so now there isn't a conflict of interest. I am working on promotional material now.

Some days I think that my life would be easier if I could just convince myself to be happy doing the same thing over and over again.

Organization Needed

D came home with a jar of Tahini last night. We've been talking about making hummus forever and haven't moved on it and keep on buying it.

No excuses now. We don't have a food processor and will attempt it using a hand mixer (stand type). I am very excited about this!

Yesterday I realized that I don't have as much music in my life compared to 3 years ago. What happened? We moved and our current music setup is not as accessible. We also made the switch from CD to mp3 via the iPod.

I remember the day we were at Best Buy to buy our iPod. I joked with the gal that helped us (I think she was 18 yrs old) that we were probably the oldest people she has seen buy an iPod.

She was very kind about it and told us she didn't even have one yet as she was saving to pay for university!

We went big (for the time) and bought the 80 gig one. (I was peeved that they put out the 120 gig a month later...) Anyways, I digress.

Fast forward 3 years and it is almost half full and D hasn't put all of his CD's on it yet.

Now the issue is accessibility. I haven't done any play lists yet so it gets on my nerves a bit when I have to search for stuff. There is starting to be too much to sift through.

So I am now committed to making my own A - Z play list. As usual, I'm way behind D. He already has a dozen of them. Some of them near 12 hrs long and really good.

Waiting

So D convinced me not to go ahead with the flight purchases for the New Year. I've already put in for my holidays so we'll just have to see what end up happening. He is positive that we will get the flight and price we want closer to the end of the year.

Now that we've decided on moving some cash out and investing it, I know I'm going to feel a bit weird not seeing cash. I was getting used to it and it made me feel safe. It's still there, just under a different guise.

Reminding myself that the savings accounts are paying something like 1% helps. We are keeping $5000+ around still so it won't completely be emptied plus we need an everyday working account for odds and sods.

Increase Returns

The application is in. We've decided to move some of our working account money into an ING non registered mutual fund account in hopes of investment growth.

Currently it is in 2 savings accounts labeled Home and Cottage with enough in each to pay for a new roof.

There is a waiting period for the administrative account work to be done before I will see it live online. I do not expect any issues with it.

We had a casual dinner with another couple last night. They are both in their early to mid 30's and by far, one of the most responsible couples we know financially.

Hard working and frugal even though they got a head start in life in the form of an inheritance. They are within 3 years to being mortgage free and are considering starting a family and trading up to another house within reason.

It is great to see.

Drinks

Now that I have been cutting back on my meat consumption, I've noticed something a bit strange. When I do eat meat, I tend to crave it for a day or so after.

When I haven't had it for a while (4 days or so), I don't even think about it. I've not consider meat as having an addictive quality to it before. Maybe it is just me.

For now, I can definitely consider myself a part time vegetarian.

I am concentrating on curbing my tea drinking. I like English breakfast tea, with sugar and cream. That must come from my British upbringing. I drink it about 3 times a week.

Why am I making it an issue even? It is because I am fairly sensitive to caffeine. I don't like the crashing afterwards or the shakes if I have too much in me. It's too bad I love the taste of it. Same with the occasional coffee I have.

I rarely drink pop, coffee or tea and over that last 1 1/2 yrs, I've started adding it to my life. Before I used to pride myself on not needing caffeine to get through the day.

Even though I am not going overboard, I feel that I am "needing" it. Don't like that feeling. Makes me feel out of control. Plus it hides how tired I really am and allows me to keep going when I probably ought to just rest.

Add to it the green tea I am drinking for health, that is way more caffeine my system has ever seen in its life.

On the other hand, I rarely drink alcohol anymore. I went from maybe 6 drinks a year to a couple a month (for the last 6 yrs or so) and now am back down again. I feel good about that. Luckily I do not crave alcohol at all so this is an easy one for me.

Another Error

Another error found today, luckily before I paid a prepayment.

I realized that I had been lazy in my estimations. I have been using a yearly lump sum prepayment as default setting in my amortization tables. When I used the quarterly amount, even with our interest rates quite low, it still makes a good amount of difference. I found out I was over paying again!

So I made some corrections to my spreadsheet and freed up some more cash flow. In reality, we are paying prepayments bi-monthly so the final effect will still be an overpayment but the calculator I am using doesn't have anything less than quarterly.

I have been feeling nervousness about cutting things too close so I am grateful my last few errors have meant less financial tension.

Timing

My hair is pretty much shoulder length now. When I took a foot off in April to donate to the cancer society, it was jaw length. I figure by next April, I will have enough length again to repeat.

The timing is great. I prefer longer hair in the winter as it feels warmer to tie my scarf over my hair around my neck while it is nice having it shorter for the summer but long enough to tie back. I couldn't have picked a better cycle. This way, I can also enjoy all hair lengths yearly.

There is a seat sale for Jan/'10 going on right now that we are debating about. We have only bought one ways out west for Christmas, awaiting the post Christmas sale. Well, here we are but the lowest fare entails us coming home 2 days later, and 1 day before I go back to work.

Having experienced winter plane travel as one of its worst last Christmas (16 hrs for something that usually takes 5) I am hesitant to play it so close. On the way there is no issue but I am risking that there will be no big snowstorm in the first week of Jan.

The worst case? I miss my first day of work in 2010. Can I live with that? Probably. D isn't really affected because he can work remote if we are delayed. So do we keep waiting? Today is the last day for the sale...

Caught the Error

I've made a rather large error regarding mortgage prepayments.

It turns out that I have incorrectly lumped both mortgages together as having the same due dates. They do not. There is a 8 month difference even though in my mind, a mortgage is a mortgage.

My goal is not to renew either one when their term expires meaning they will be paid for in a total of 5 yrs vs. 12 yrs respectively. I didn't mean for one to end sooner than the term.

What that means is that the prepayments I've calculated for the ski condo are too high. After adjusting them, I see that there is potential for savings after all and our cash flow increases significantly.

It is really nice to have some breathing room.

Coming Together

The decision has been made. I'm postponing my driving lessons for now in order to create another $1000 cushion in our savings.

I had been mentally struggling with this one (more of a timing issue) and once the decision was made, I felt relief so I'm interpreting it as a good thing. We go to the cottage for the 5 days instead.

D is still waiting to sign his papers for his part time/contract job (15 - 20 hrs/month). He has been searching for a while now for "remote" work -- to get his feet wet in this area so that one day he will be able to work from anywhere where there is a computer. Part of our long term plan.

My job is location dependent and I am looking to add skills that are portable for the same reasons.

I'm knocking on wood as I am typing this...

The cottage this year hasn't needed much money in terms of maintenance. Am I grateful for that! Last year, we had to replace the water pump ($$). I guess we did buy a new bed but that isn't maintenance in my mind.

This year we've been focused on making it look nicer. D replaced the kitchen cabinet knobs and handles. There has been plenty of painting inside and out. It is finally coming together.

In the "love to have" category, I would love to have a new shower enclosure and a full spectrum water purifier as well as a laundry room. All of which are fairly big ticket items.

Since this year is the inaugural year for the working accounts, I am not in a hurry to use it all up for this. I'm enjoying seeing a positive balance.

Wanting What You Have

I have fine tuned the end dates for the mortgages -- June & Sept 2012. Barring any quadrupling of interest rates, we ought to get there OK.

D and I discussed the concept of value in our real estate holdings this weekend at the cottage.

Our recent foray to some open houses has helped me appreciate the amount of value we have in our properties.

For example, the one house I liked in one of my "dream" places to live was asking $410000, down from $439000 as the owner had bought elsewhere and needed to sell.

For an older brick house (80 yrs old), it was very nice. Compared to ours, it doesn't compare too well. It didn't have a garage or a main floor bathroom and the bedrooms were smaller. The walls were also still in plaster, which mean fairly high heating bills to me. It didn't give the "solid" feel that ours give off as it is triple brick thick. Though the multi-level deck, porch, kitchen and garden were gorgeous.

We have gotten used to having the original wide plank floors, having the walls redone in drywall and insulated and the architectural features re-integrated afterwards. Also, we have been spoiled with an attached 1 1/2 car garage, 2 fireplaces, main floor laundry and shower.

Those aren't features you see in a house built in 1854. Add to that 2 staircases going upstairs and one from the garage to the basement, it is hard to beat. We feel it is a great mix of old and new. And it cost $125000 less.

D found a listing last week of a possible cottage closer than our current location by 2 hrs. After dropping off our stuff home yesterday, we took off to check it out the location before getting in contact with any Realtors.

For those familiar with Ontario, the body of water it is off of is Lake Huron. Our cottage is off of Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron but farther north).

The drive took no time at all and was really easy. The price of it is $100000 more than we paid for our cottage 5 years ago. So was there enough value to justify the increase expense?

No.

The beach was smaller and that part of Lake Huron required break walls along the length of the beach due to erosion issues. It takes away from the feeling of space and expanse that I like to see. Also, you are looking at horizon. There isn't anything interesting geographically.

Where we are, you are looking at hills, rock and the sand is clean without pebbles. It gives off a rougher, harsher feel of open water. It suits me more.

So we started our day yesterday at a beach and ended our day at one. Fun stuff.

The house itself was great. It was straight out of a fairy tale. An English cottage with a detached garage. It is more of a house than a cottage and as tempting as it is to want more luxurious accommodations and lifestyle options it will not work for us.

I wanted a cottage for its environment. The living standards were not going to match our main house but it wasn't supposed to. I bought it for the sand, rock and water and for Ontario, it doesn't come much better than there. Those of you who are fans of Tom Thompson (Group of Seven) will know what I mean. So for $100000 less, we have great value.

When the hunt for our ski condo came about, I was overwhelmed at first with the number of options out there.

My initial choices were something in Colorado as I had great memories of Beaver Creek and Vail or Montana because I love it there. The logistics of getting there (plane and car) made these options not as appealing. Plus, in order to afford there, we would be looking at a timeshare instead of out right ownership.

Eventually we wanted to spend the entire season skiing so that would mean a number of timeshares. That didn't appeal at all. Europe would have been awesome but again the flight and transfers would not make it easy. It isn't easy to find something much less than a 2 1/2 - 3 hr from an airport. Driving in the middle of the winter in unfamiliar mountain terrain isn't my idea of fun. So the next step was to look in my own country.

Fractional ownership is pretty popular here. I means you "own" it for say 5 weeks plus a year depending on what plan you buy. The issue I have is that the 5 weeks are spread out and changes every year. I don't like being told when I get to go. Plus you cannot really take advantage of seat sales.

The place we found is truly a diamond. It is under 1 hr from the airport with well run shuttles so we wouldn't have to drive. It is non commercial even though it is the 2nd largest in BC. And we can own outright for the price of a fractional. It is an older solid building and cost the most per square foot ($300) of anything we own so luckily we don't need a lot of space.

We are 8000 ft up and some mornings, we wake up with views above the cloud line. I love it there. It doesn't matter that we don't have in unit laundry or a full size fridge or stove. We do fine with our bar fridge (we go to the market daily), cook top, toaster oven (we are thinking of upgrading to a convection one), indoor grill, microwave and shared building laundry.

I have a nasty habit of thinking that I haven't done enough and I didn't make the best purchase decisions. As much as I hate to admit it, D dragging me off to see these places has made me see that that is not the case. We have done well for us and I can now just enjoy it without questioning myself over and over again. It has been a well needed lesson for me.

Won't Do

There are certain things I've owned/currently own and/or have experienced that I cannot see myself spending so much to do/own again.

• a house > 2500 sq ft
• expensive hotels > $250/night
• fancy restaurant meals > $250
• expensive watch > $800
• jewellery > $15000
• expensive purses > $800
• expensive sunglasses > $350
• expensive coats > $550
• expensive hobby equipment > $800

Some may not flinch at the numbers (or consider anything above as "expensive") as I didn't either back in the day but I do now.

Fuel Mileage

I am eager to start seeing the monthly differences in our car fuel bills. We took D's car to the cottage a couple of weekends ago and I was pretty amazed to realize the mileage difference.

My vehicle has a 55 L gas tank. I can get 550 km per tank.

D's Civic has a 50 L gas tank. When we pulled into the gas station, the gas light was on and we had run 768 km already. Turns out there were still 6 litres left in the tank.

That would mean potentially we could have gone a good amount over 800 km. Pretty cool.

When I looked at the Honda Fit, it was even better. It has a 40 L gas tank and the gas mileage is the same as a current Civic (which is better than D's 2005 one). Unbelievable.

A couple of years ago, I test drove a Prius and the Camry Hybrid. I like the feel of the Prius much better and the new 2010 model even better.

I had no idea the the gap between regular gasoline vehicles and hybrids are closing so fast.

Not needing to be car shopping the last 12 years has seriously left me out of the loop.

Burnout Recovery Plans

I am forgoing the purchase of my season's pass (ski) this year. D bought his yesterday (to take advantage of the early buying rate). I am giving myself one year to feel better, stronger and well again from my chronic burnout.

This move will postpone the scaring myself to death part in becoming a better skier for a year. My recovering nervous system is already thanking me for it!

I am looking forward to lounging out at the condo for 3 weeks and doing some of the other stuff available (snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, skating, tubing! etc.) if and when I feel like it, using the money for my season's pass that will be deposited into my "dream" account. I don't want to be forced into a learning schedule this winter.

I have a growing pile of catch up stuff waiting for attention -- Bookkeeping, mail, email, phone messages, professional course considerations. Not sure if I'll be getting to all of it today but I will do my best without ruining my day off.

On a side note, there are some artistic/architectural learning opportunities coming up courtesy of my local university and museum. I'm going to look into them some more. It may be just what I need right now.

Haste

Whoops. In my haste and desire to not wait for the library, I ended up paying more for the books than I could have. I forgot to look for them used and when I did, I found out I could have bought all 4 for $50 in hard cover.... Oh well. Live and learn.

Because we pay our mortgage bi-weekly, the schedule shifts off my pay cycle (bi-monthly) over the course of the year as we have 2 months where there 3 mortgage payments. October will be it for us.

I don't miss having to have an extra payment ready ahead of time back when I was a single home owner. Because D's pay cycle matches the mortgage cycle, I don't have to worry myself about it anymore. It's great relief!

My previous investment plans have been put on hold because of our mortgage payments. What I had been on track to doing was to have my non registered investment amount match my registered.

A quick calculation this morning showed that I am about half way there. I wasn't as far off as I thought. I'm tempted to cancel my driving school plans/trip and use the money to boost the investment side of things.

Reading

I have been late getting started in this year's book club selections. One day, I'd like to make it to an actually meeting/discussion but for now, I get the list and read on my own. Lots that I would not have ever picked up. Some really great stuff.

This weekend, in between all the other stuff we had going one, I started reading the Twilight Series (non book club) for some light reading after finishing A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I've been hearing about it and decided to give it a go and not wait so long as I had for Harry Potter.

I don't like gore and horror stuff -- bad experience watching the Exorcist too young... but I couldn't put the book down (not really like that at all). The library had the 1st and 3rd books of the series and I was so taken by it (I swear, I thought I was going to have an ulcer/permanent gut wrench throughout the books) I ended up buying the 2nd and 4th books because I just couldn't wait. I was 11th on the wait list for the 2nd and 37th for the 4th.

I even went to get the movie out on DVD. Luckily I never saw it before I started reading because I probably wouldn't have. Hope the next movie is a vast improvement.

I'm going to donate my books to the library so the wait won't have to be so long for the others.

Bubbles

D and I went driving this morning, in his car so that I could show him what I think I know. It went well. Didn't stall -- to his surprise... and managed to shift up and down relatively smoothly while turning with no jack rabbiting. The second reading of my driving book will take place this week.

Yesterday was a bit uncomfortable because we went house hunting in one of my favorite cities. It was D's idea and I wasn't keen on going because I somehow knew I would end up disappointed. I've loved this particular place since I was 11 yrs old -- not thinking that it could ever happen as it is quite expensive there.

My bubble did burst yesterday. It can happen but it would require that we sell the house and the cottage in order for it to be a lateral move in price but a downsize in space and quality of house. Not something I would consider right now.

The original idea was to see if we could find something to take the place of the cottage. I would be willing to trade it for something there. The answer is no. A decent place, in a not so great neighbourhood would be less than 50% of the size of our house but the property taxes would match. Not good value.

On Being Worn Out

We will be caught up filling the hole that D's car purchase made by the end of the month. In order for that to have happened, I moved numbers around so that our massive mortgage prepayments will start in a couple of weeks. I'm excited about it starting and seeing bigger chunk changes on screen.

On an entirely different note, I recently finish a distance course on burnout, professional quality of life etc. and have been gauging my responses to life and work.

It turns out that by the end of my work day, I'm at a 9/10 stress/revved up level. That is too high. The funny thing is that now that I'm aware of that, I can isolate what parts of my day causes it to go up and down.

This past work week, I did not feel myself get above 7. I actually went through my day yesterday at a 5. Incredible.

I have been a Type A for as long as I can remember. For me to be at a 5, at first, felt like I was stoned out. I didn't believe I could even do my job in that state. D says that on his busiest day, he gets to a 4! You should have seen my face when he told me that.

I surprised myself. I was calm (even though I thought I came across like comatose...) and didn't feel rushed. My "normal" speed at work is likened to working the ER. I don't need to work that way anymore. (I interned at a hospital during the last 1 1/2 yrs of my program, that had a predominant HIV/AIDs speciality) and my speed never changed in the last 12 years.

No wonder I feel worn out. My state didn't match where I was now. What a relief to find that out and make changes to it. I'm going to be healthier for it.

Month End, Month Starts

August billings were above estimate so my extra pay for the month is $1509.08 -- already absorbed into something... making up for monies spent on D's car as well as for the upcoming road trip to driving school.

I am finding using NetWorth IQ very useful for me mentally. Sometimes the spreadsheets just do not excite me at all and feel like chores.

I am very thankful for my blogging community for all the advice and support over this last year. The biggest changes I've made this year has been courtesy of all the great advice and motivation out there. Thank You All!

Now that school has started, even though I haven't been in school for years, I still find myself with a burst of energy that the "year" has started. Goes to show you how strong that programming can be!

I'm ready to sell more stuff. Need to organize what and how.

There is an opportunity to provide an additional service for my business. An associate of mine who does the same service (we have a non competition clause) is thinking of leaving. If she does, then I may be able to step in and expand my business.

I'm going to think more about it this weekend -- pricing, timing etc. It may be just the opportunity I have been waiting for to gain a bit more market share and presence.

Surprise

Our Bank of Canada rate announcement was this morning and nothing is changing --Yeah!!! Our variable mortgage stays as is.

I just got off the phone with the automotive place my car went to yesterday to get some fluids changed because I had some questions about the bill.

When D came home with the receipt, I was in shock. It was $80 more than I had imagined it to be. It turned out that the quote they gave us did not include labour! Had I taken my car to directly to Honda (same quote, but included labour), they would have be been cheaper.

So needless to say, I was fuming. No one was open at that time last night and I was on my way out to meet a girlfriend for dinner.

Anyways, they didn't realize that they were that much more than Honda and will be investigating it further and get back to me about it.

D didn't want me to call. He wanted me not to go there for that anymore. I didn't agree with that. I thought that they ought to know why I will not be bringing my car back for those services and maybe review their business practices with respect to it.

As a business owner, I appreciate it when people take the effort to let me know.

Tough News

A couple of clients of mine have recently passed away.

One of them one her 50's, having been cleared of cancer for 3 years and it suddenly came back too strong to handle. She was just getting her life back -- back to work, back to gardening, back to vacationing...

The other one is a lady in her 90's whose family had refused to take her to the hospital claiming it was a case of "cry wolf". When I saw her last a month ago, I sent her to the hospital because she was in major trouble and she never did come back out. I feel terrible that we were too late. I've never had contact with her family but it smells like some elder abuse may have been going on.

So work yesterday started a bit rough with the news. This is one part of what I do that is the toughest. Because I get fairly involved with people, the emotional load becomes part of my work. Over time it takes a toll.

I've read that health care workers ideally ought to spend only 3 days a week in direct people contact and the rest doing something entirely different. I didn't know about this recommendation before I had gradually shaved down my work week. And vacations are recommended to be ideally 2 weeks duration at any one time.

Burn out and secondary traumatic stress (stress/trauma that is felt from hearing and handling heavy stories and cases all the time) is very high in the helping fields as well as high rates of career change. I see examples of this in and around me.

Car Stuff

My car in going in for some routine maintenance work tomorrow -- oil change, rear differential fluid change, transmission fluid change and brake fluid change. It will likely cost $200 or so by the time the dust settles.

I used to go to different places for different things and it got so that I lost track of when and where I did what. So this year I'm getting 95% done at a local mechanic and when I need the really big stuff ie. timing belt and water pump, I take it directly to Honda as they do thousands of them.

Continuing on the automobile line of thought, I've pretty much secured myself some lessons on Standard driving with a good instructor.

It has been a bit of a feat finding suitable teachers. No schools seem to teach it anymore as there isn't the demand and they don't even have the proper teaching vehicles because their insurance makes it prohibitive.

Luckily, there are 2 schools in my province that specializes in stick shift driving/performance driving and I am excited to be in contact with one of them, bought the book and have read it through once already. It is a bit technical -- I have a lot to learn! (I tried the other school but have not gotten a reply yet...)

It scares me how most of the people I know who drive stick learned it through friends and not via proper instruction. Having read the book too, D has since corrected some of his driving ways and admitted that he needs practice on some things. He first learned to drive standard taking his boss (who was drunk) home and was taught by the drunk boss en route... OMG!

My experience with it was 21 years ago with an aunt who decided to buy herself a 5 Series BMW about the same time, who ended up hating it (she was not the best driver) and paying a truckload of money to get it converted to an automatic! What a shame -- it was a great car and after the change, looked terrible!

I figure that learning how to drive properly can only help should I decide to make Rally Car Driver my next career and we magically end up with a Subaru WRS STI... : )

Long Weekend

It's a holiday day today in Canada and the US. We have opted to stay home and enjoy the relative silence as most people are away to make the most of the last long weekend before school starts and fall arrives.

This is the 2nd year we have changed things around that way. After 3 years of battling traffic and chaos en route to the cottage during holiday weekends, we have settled into a nice routine of taking holidays the week before or the week after.

We had a chance to try out 3 recipes this weekend -- homemade onion rings, chocolate cake and a very spicy beans and rice. I like to follow the recipes exactly the first time around and then make notes to our taste.

To this end, we are going to add more salt to the onion rings, more cacao to the cake and decrease the cayenne pepper with the rice dish.

All in all a really good long weekend!

Harvest

Our harvest this year leaves something to be desired.

We tried some heirloom tomato plants (read expensive!) and they have not netted very much produce despite being relatively giant looking plants to start with.

One of them is a variety from Germany that is supposed to give tomatoes the size of melons. I'm not seeing any of the blooms turning into anything remotely looking like melon size tomatoes yet.

Meanwhile our best producers seem to be the pepper plants. We have 4 different types and they have been very tasty.

The beans did not do great this year. So we've continued to buy most of our veggies while trying to be patient with our garden!

Dream Away

I sometimes think I need a carrot dangling in front of me for motivation. Sometimes I'm fine without it. Guess it depends on my motivation.

Some people's "carrots" are really big, like an expensive car or a expansive house. They claim that if they didn't have it (the debt...) they wouldn't work as hard. True?

I am certainly guilty of it. Real estate is my ultimate carrot. I love to dream of living in faraway places like France and Nfld. Perhaps debt has been a motivator for me too -- a reason to work and make money.

Lately though, especially in the last year, debt has been a deterrent. So a personal corner has been turned. I am more content with what I have. Previously, contentment was akin to stagnation in my mine, a bad word...

So my thoughts have turned to smaller "carrots" I would like someday -- like a netbook, finding the next car, various classes I'd like to take. I figure there in no harm in dreaming!

Diversification

I got a call yesterday from my investment advisor. We discussed selling 50% of a share I hold in my non reg (taxable) account when the stock rises to a certain point and investing it in something else.

There wasn't anything unusual about the call. It just reminded me of how D and I as a couple have chosen to diversify our investments.

I use an advisor. He doesn't. I invest in riskier things. He is a value investor. I like that we have taken different approaches because like most things, there are more than one answer and as a couple we get the best of both worlds.

The current economical changes have prompted us to look into no fee investing choices. We wouldn't have considered it nor thought of increasing our cash position otherwise. All in all we feel safer now financially than we did a couple of years ago.

At the risk of sounding terrible, I am happy that interest rates are low right now as I have debt to pay off, even though it mean my investments are not as high.

Everyday Living

The air is changing and starting to smell like fall around here. We actually saw some leaves turning colour already up north.

The Met (Metropolitan Opera NY) just announced its HD line up this year and I am tempted. They are featuring some real classic ones this year. I have been a bit of a snob about it since its launch a few years ago.

Since being stranded at La Guardia a couple of years ago and missing out on Turandot (my ticket cost $240!), I haven't been motivated to go back yet. If I can get my head around not being there live, I will give it a go.

Another vehicle has been added to the line up of possibilities as a future replacement car -- The Honda Fit. I had an opportunity to see and drive one (2009) and I was really impressed with how smartly designed it was. If it only came with all wheel drive, I'd be even more enthusiastic.

D got a set of Michelin X-Ice tires for his new car. He found it used (1 season), with rims for $400 to which I encouraged him to offer $300 and he got it. They are in fantastic shape. I've only ever used Blizzaks but the X-Ices are also rated really well. Otherwise new Blizzaks and rims would have come to over $800 plus tax.