travel, travel, travel

so....I have been travelling a lot!

Sunday night I flew into Saskatoon and came home on Monday.

This morning I flew into Fort McMurray and will go home tomorrow evening.

Next weekend Jordan and I drive into BC for my grandmother's 75th birthday and then Monday/Tuesday I'll be in Burnaby for work....that trend is going to continue until the first week of November.

One one hand I miss Jordan when I'm travelling a lot, but on a positive note I'll get some great networking opportunities and some overtime to boot. It's also going to be distracting me from the house - which might be a good thing because I'm so so eager to get going.

House Update Wednesday

As of Tuesday September 20, 2011, the pluming is being done in your home today.

A simple update, but a beautiful one!

We probably won't be able to get inside to have any more pictures for a while, but here's one from last week that I don't think I shared.

Debt Update

So far so good in that we're sticking to the plan, as of today we're under $10,000 - here is the debt breakdown:

This is what we have left for payments:

You can see that Jordan and My credit card are now under their 1/3 balances and we're half way their for the joint credit card.  We've received confirmation in the mail that Jordan will be receiving his grant monies within the next ten days - so that will go straight on to the joint card once we get it.

We have to make a slight adjusted to Jordan's pay off plan as something happened and there is $76 dollar's more than I thought (I probably wrote the numbers down wrong the first time or something).

Hopefully we'll get some bonus'/windfalls or some such thing to get the joint card paid of by the time we take possession of the house but I think we'll wind up having to use some of our closing cost monies (which we won't need all of for the house) as well as potentially the damage deposit from the rental that we're in now (which isn't a guarantee).

House Update Wednesday

It has been a very exciting week for the house!  Last week they had started framing and so we've got some great photo's to share.  They finished the four walls on the main floor and the interior framing on the main floor on Saturday this week.

Yesterday the builder got in touch to let us know that our framing should be done by the end of this week and they'll start on rough in's shortly!

I took this pic at lunch today - so from Monday to today they got the second floor done and the roof!

Wedding Budget

Two days before the wedding I lost my life.

That's right, the little USB that I carry around with me everywhere - it's always in my purse, always.  and...I.Lost.It.  Thankfully my mom and my Maid of Honor helped keep my head on straight and we figured out who I owed money too and what the itinerary was.  

Jordan couldn't find the USB back home and I was convinced that it was lost for good - so I kind of gave up on keeping track of the last few things we had to buy for the wedding.  I've gone through credit card statements and banking statements and tried to figure it all out.  So it's taken a little while but I've finally finished tallying all the numbers from the wedding and honeymoon. 

Guest Post: Top 3 Websites to Get Financial and Stock News

Melanie DeMonte is a retired stock broker who worked at the TSX for 15 years. She’s now a private financial adviser.

As an important factor in the increasing or diminishing confidence levels of major players in the investment world- whose collective decisions can make or break the economy- the stock market, it turns out, does matter.  A major key to our economy making a full recovery is for confidence to be restored across the board in, among other things, the stock market. In order for that to happen, it’s vital that more people understand and follow it.

As we all adjust to our new reality, featuring a world that is post-leverage and less dependent on castles in the sky, the stock market remains as forward looking a meter of the life and times of the finance world as is currently available.

If you plan to follow the stock market, it’s important that you have at least a basic understanding of what you see. Three important things to grasp that can give you a basic understanding of the stock market are 1) what the stocks themselves are 2) the reason trends are important, and 3 )the role of trading strategies.

Stocks are literally small pieces of companies that the companies have put on the market to raise extra capital. When you buy stock in a company, you go into business with that company. Although you may not know a company’s reasons for selling their stocks, it’s important to get to know a bit about any given company before investing in it.

Market trends can either work for you or against you, but either way, it’s important to understand them. Trends can help you decide which stocks to invest in for a good chance of profit and which to avoid, so keep an eye on how a stock performs over time before deciding to purchase it.

Trading strategies play an important role in the fluctuations of the stock market. Long-term strategies involve holding onto your shares for longer periods of time in order to reap long-term gains. Short-term strategies are more risky and involve keeping an eye out for stocks with sharp rising trends, buying them, making a quick profit, and then selling them before the trend ends.

Financial news websites can give you a well-rounded picture of the stock market and its current trends and climate. Here are three of the best sites where you can find solid financial news.

Globe Advisor
GlobeAdvisor.com features a wealth of relevant industry release, mutual fund, and stock market news. Market action trend graphs and crucial index levels including recent gains and losses are featured directly on the home page for easy access. There is also a list of top performing stocks and handy fund and market update alerts that you can have sent directly to your email.


The Street
Besides all the typical stock market news and trend updates, TheStreet.com features videos of stock-related newsworthy tidbits for an easier audiovisual grasp on the market. This website also features lively discussions on the latest market news that can help you become a part of the action.


Market Watch
MarketWatch.com’s specialty is its intelligent commentary on the latest market news and trends. Experts offer insight and educated views on the latest happenings completely free of charge. MarketWatch.com is a site with a great grasp on the market and what makes it tick.

The world of finance is far too complicated to be measured by any one means in a way that is comprehensively accurate, even if that one means is as far-reaching as the stock market. Still, following the stock market can give us a picture of the current financial climate that is better than almost any other available gauge.

House Update Wednesday

We went out to see how things were progressing over the weekend and were a bit sad to see that the fifth house in the row of five that they are currently constructing was being framed, but the others were not.  We did see however, a huge pile of lumber in the front and in the back of the house.

I'm so very, very excited to share with you that our update for Tuesday was a very short one:

"Framing started today!"

Little Things

As part of 'the plan' Jordan and are are going through recent credit card transactions as well as our checking accounts and looking for auto transactions that may be adding to the debt load with out us being fully aware.  In the last two weeks we've found and cancelled the following things:

The RRSPs an Allowances we did straight off the bat, but all the rest we have found during the last couple of weeks.  I'm really thankful for Jordan for these because they have all been by his initiative - without noticing those, our credit cards would have gone up by $103/month without really understanding why.

Thanks Jordan!

Fish Tacos

My best friend and I have decided to get together once a week and cook dinner together. The only rule is that it is supposed to be something new and interesting and we'll try to rotate houses and who picks what we're making.

Last week we made Fish Tacos - they were amazing! Here's the receipe:

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
Prep Time:35 min

Inactive Prep Time:25 min
Cook Time:45 min

Level:Intermediate

Serves:4 servings

Ingredients

Tacos:
1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi or orata
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped (we used just a few rounds of jarred jalapeno peppers b/c I'm a chicken when it comes to heat but my BFF and Jordan added a few to their tacos after)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (we used basil as a substitution and didn't use nearly as much)
8 flour tortillas (it actually made six good sized ones)


Garnish:
Shredded white cabbage
Hot sauce (didn't use this)
Crema or sour cream (we used sour cream)
Thinly sliced red onion (instead of onion we used apple and edible flowers from my BFF's garden)
Thinly sliced green onion
Chopped cilantro leaves
Pureed Tomato Salsa, recipe follows

Pureed Tomato Salsa:
2 tablespoon peanut oil (we used what we had handy in the cupboard)
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped (we used apple)
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 serrano chile
1 jalapeno, sliced
1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce (skipped)
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (again we used basil)
Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in a medium size dish. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, ancho, jalapeno, and cilantro and pour over the fish. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade place onto a hot grill, flesh side down. Grill the fish for 4 minutes on the first side and then flip for 30 seconds and remove. Let rest for 5 minutes then flake the fish with a fork.

Place the tortillas on the grill and grill for 20 seconds. Divide the fish among the tortillas and garnish with any or all of the garnishes.

Preheat grill or use side burners of the grill. Heat oil in medium saucepan, add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, serrano and jalapeno and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Puree the mixture with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Add the hot sauce, oregano, cilantro and lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

September Budget

...no surprises here:

September is a three pay month for me which is giving our debt repayment plan a significant boost!  This month we'll see all three credit card balances dip below the 1/3 mark of their total available credit limits as well as see Jordan's nearly paid off.

I am so looking forward to seeing a big bite be taken out of the debt this month...each payment and the knot in my chest loosens just a bit more.

We don't have our cell phone bills just yet, so those numbers may change yet.

I'm also waiting for two final cheques to clear from the wedding from our officiator.  One for the rehearsal and one for the ceremony.