Beneficiary Cheque

...no, not that kind.

Jordan is an Inuvialuit beneficiary.

Each year, the Trust that he is a member of distributes a beneficiary payment to all that are enrolled over the age of 18.

The distribution payments are based on a percentage of the average earnings for his band.  They are not huge and vary every year from $200-$900 depending on the bands profitability.  They must first ensure there is sufficient funds to reinvestment the the preservation and growth of land claim capital for future generations of Inuvialuit.

So, Jordan is happy to receive $563.20 and contribute it to our Big Backyard Project.

The Fence is Done!

Hizzah!  Our Fence is done! 

The deck would be too if it wasn't for the torrential rain storm that we are currently having, but it is on the docket for next week!  We are so absolutely pleased with how it turned out.  We chose a fence called The Fortress II.  The distinguishing characteristics are the 4x6 posts, and the 2x6 beams.  It's finished with 1x6 top center and bottom rungs.  The posts are also much deeper (by about a foot) then our neighbors, which structure is based on 4x4 posts and 2x4 beams.  

With two shepherds, we wanted to go with strength and stability.

I thought I would also give you an update on the budget since I posted The Big Backyard Project.

We were originally budgeting for the fence to cost about $7,458 and for our neighbors to chip in half of the cost on each side (which we had discussed before choosing the fence we wanted) - so a total expenditure of $4,255.  We wound up changing the length of the fence (on both sides), as well as going from 6x6 posts to 4x6 - so that affected the budget a bit.  

The largest change to the budget was the fact that one of our neighbors backed out of paying the full half of the fence.  They decided to go with the Fortress I which was $30/foot rather than $47/foot - and so were only willing to pay $15/foot on the side that we split.  Our other neighbor, while they also decided to go with a less expensive fence for the rest of their yard, honored their commitment to pay half of the full price.

oh!  We were also able to negotiate a small discount from $47/foot to $45/foot because we 'sold' our neighbors on the company we went with - so they gave us a price break.

So...here's the new breakdown:

I've included the deck/garage as well - but nothing has changed there.

Jordan and I wound up having to pay $4,037.55 which is $217.73 less then originally anticipated! 

I was pretty psyched about that - until I remembered that there are two sections of fence that still have to be done, once the garage is finished, to tie it all together...so we'll actually have to pay an extra $535.50 to wrap that up...which is only $317.77 more then we had budgeted for....not bad for an overrun, when our neighbor decided to chip in $496.12 less then we had agreed.

Questions? Comments?

Increase in Company Share Value!

Most of you know that as of yet, Jordan and I don't do any significant investing in the stock market.  We do however; own shares with the company that I work for.  I cannot share details about the structure of the program, or where I work, but I can say that the value has never gone down.  Not ever.

It's a very good investment.

The value has gone up again, from $46.36 to $51.48.  We only have 160 (so far), so the net increase in value is $819.20.

Another Fence Photo

I'm just wait to excited to post anything else today.....

Updated: The Big Backyard Project

The first deposit has been paid ($750 for the fence, and the work has begun!  Jordan and I are both working  so we can't see the work being done, but our lovely neighbor is taking photo's for us and sharing them.

Rebates

Have you ever purchased something specifically because of a rebate that was offered?

Back in December, 2012 I was purchasing contact lenses, and because of the rebate offered, I bought more than I needed immediately because I figured I would use them eventually.  I sent away for the rebate prior to the January 30th deadline and what did I get in the mail last month?

I received a letter, as well as the rebate form that I sent explaining that the program had closed and I was ineligible because I submitted after the deadline.

Well.  They also sent me the original envelope, which was postmarked with a date of January 19th.

I phoned up Bausch & Lomb and spoke a very lovely customer service agent a few days ago...and guess what?  She approved the rebate on the spot, apologized and said I would have a cheque in the mail for $40 within a few weeks.

I went from cranky to happy in about 5 seconds.

Hizzah!  Another $40 for the backyard.

April Spending Report

So, for some reason, that I can't figure out - Jordan and I spent a tonne of money on groceries in April.  Keeping in mind that our 'groceries' include toiletries, cleaning supplies and dog food - this number is still the highest I've ever seen it.

This leads me to the conclusion that we must have bought something that doesn't fall into these categories at Costco or Superstore that we've just forgotten about...time to start keeping receipts for a while I think.

I've include the year to date for each month, an average, and the percentage of total spending in each category for the average.  You can also see our day-to-day budget for each month, some are higher if there are 5 pay weeks and/or if I have 'topped up' the account if there was an emergency or money came from one of our planned spending funds.  Even still, after January, we have been steadily spending more than we intended - which has meant we're using money that was earmarked for the backyard, to avoid debt on the credit card.  

Home Maintenance for April included paint and painting supplies as well as a couple of flower pots for our newly painted bathroom.  It also includes a 'top up' on amazon.com - we bought a few things using a Christmas gift certificate and had to toss in some cash of our own.  

Eating out was high, however that tends to happen in months where we have an emergency.  My friend gave birth to her twins just under 32 weeks, it was a very high risk birth.  Mom, dad and the babies are okay now - but there was a lot of driving, eating, and feeding for our friends.

Hopefully May is a but calmer with the spending for food/booze.