Down Payments and Gifts of Equity

I've read on the forums at get rich slowly about 'gifts of equity' which is a term I've only found used in the states. My understanding is that a gift of equity is a unique way of coming up with a down payment for a home. Basically there is a sale between family members where the current value of the home is listed as well as the price they are selling it for in the sales agreement. The difference...

Making More Money!

I read Money Funk's post, about 28 ways to make more money, this morning and got an idea. I'm going to look into becoming an Avon Lady.  There's none that are active in my neighborhood, so there wouldn't be any significant competition.  How do I know that?  I've lived in my current home for nearly three years, and an Avon sales rep (let alone any other door-to-door sales rep)...

Friday Morning Funny

Just a fun comic to lighten up your morning: I will be credit card debt free in 7 da...

A Comparison - How Much Do Your Groceries Cost?

On my lunch break the other day, I was cruising the local news websites and came across an interesting report. CTV Calgary issues a grocery price comparison report each month!I was fascinated to read it because my brother and I recently had a conversation about how much groceries cost. He shops primarily...

House Fund - Update

Today is Jordan's pay day! Hurrah!  Check out the house fund tracking bar, it's steadily creeping upwar...

Can you Afford to Stay at home?

I have recently seen a few posts relating to stay at home moms and mom's who re-enter the work force. There are arguments for and against, that go around in so many circles in can make a person dizzy. Some of these posts/conversations/arguments have appeared on: Gail Vaz-Oxlade's blog - SAHM vs Working WenchesWell Heeled With a Mission- When I Grow Up I want to Be a Guiltless Mom..there were a few...

No Fee Chequing Accounts

Does anyone out there have one that you would recomme...

Credit Card Debt Repayment - Update

WOW! I'm so pumped, it's rediculous. Only one more pay period and I'll be credit card debt free!!! Just two more little itty bitty payments (okay not so little, but STILL!!). I feel like a little kid, so excited!I will be credit card debt free in 10 da...

House Fund - Update

Hurrah!So for the last 3 weeks Jordan and I have been at my aunts every Saturday and most Sundays doing yard work. There's some things that we help out each week (like mowing the lawn) but we've been working on a fairly large project. We cut back her out of control hedges which were a little horror film (about 7 feet tall) to about 3 feet tall.It was a large time commitment, but we really didn't...

Borrowing to Contribute to RRSPs

I have a LOT of RRSP contribution room, well, I think it's a lot. My 2009 limit is $13, 116. Now while I wouldn't borrow the full amount - I wonder about the advantages of 'catching up' when it comes to RRSPs. I read an article on CanadianParents.com, called Borrowing to Contribute which was written by Gail Vaz-Oxlade - and she supports it, big time! In reading the article, it would seem that the...

Thanks!

I recently started using google analytics to track the traffic on my blog, to my surprise I now have access to so much information about the folks that visit my small piece of the pf blogging world.With that said, I would like to give a shout out and a thanks to my top referring sites:Frugal DreamerShaking The Money TreeMy Pretty PenniesGive Me Back My Five BucksSaving 4 La...

Sunday Morning Funny

I thought this was the perfect picture for Sunday! I think Jordan and I might take a trip to ikea, or at the very least check out kijiji.ca for some new/used furniture. He's sooo tired of our very used, very tired couches and chairs (which were free by the way).I doubt we'll spend any $$ today on...

PAYDAY

Friday was payday, woohoo!I actually netted about $50 more then I thought I would too - which is pretty fantastic! I have updated all of my side bars, including my networth to reflect all the savings/debt repayments.If you check out my networth (about half way down on the right), you'll see that my...

Christmas - It's seriously in 126 days

Yes, I'm thinking about the holidays already.... In particular, when doing up my revised budget yesterday, something occurred to me. I've arbitrarily decided I would like to save up $500 for Christmas spending, but realistically I will spend WAYYYY more. Last year, I spent over $1,200 on gifts and over $600 on decorations. YIKES!This year I won't spend neeearly as much on decorations, but it's likely...

Yeah! ING Referrals

So thanks to my mom who used my ING referral code. I scored $25 free this morning! I've moved it into my E-fund and updated the side b...

New Budget & Priorities

It is time, i beleive, to review my budget and go about updating it now that the credit card will be paid off in full in a few weeks.A week, or so, ago, I posted my revisied 2009 goals. My first step should be to make sure I can reach these goals with said budget. These goals were:pay off my credit...

To do list...

Change my cell phone from auto-debting my credit card to auto-debiting my chequing accountChange my credit card account information with ancestry.ca to the new cardGet Jordan's school supplies organizedFigure out Christmas plan - spending and vacationNow that my credit card will be paid off in two weeks.....I need to...Review budget, define priorities, make a plan, stick to ...

New Credit Card

As some of you folks know, I recently cut up my credit card so as not to be tempted to use it while I was clearing up that pile of debt. Due to the general day to day need to have a credit card, and the want to keep my credit history that is associated with that card active - I've decided which card to use going forward.Thanks to everyone who left some tips/advise on which cards you use.I've decided...

Tuesday Afternoon Blahs

this was too cute not to sha...

Starlight - Month One

Well, it's actually been two weeks since Starlight (my horse) has moved to Calgary. I thought I would do a summary post in terms of where I stand when it comes to what I thought I would spend on her in the first month.Vaccinations were just about spot on. I still have one to give her (it's basically...

Credit Card Debt Repayment Update

Hizzah! Jordan gave me the $100 for his brother's birthday present a few other small things, and it has been put towards my visa.Current owing is now$951.0018 days until I am credit card debt fre...

Hobbies

I asked Jordan for a post idea the other day and he said I should write about Hobbies, I kind of laughed it off because I couldn't really see the personal finance angle. I've been thinking about it the last week or two, and really, what doesn't have a PF angle? I've been thinking about what my hobbies are and how much they actually cost. Here's what I've come up with in terms of my hobbies/interests:Horse...

Home Ownership - A Timeline

So we went for supper with Isabelle tonight (and then took her shopping which took like 4 hours because she's a little old lady and walks slow).... highlights at the dinner conversation included:She has some really funny stories about cats Gingerale is a good fix for a stomache acheWhen asked if her timeline for moving was 1-2 years or more like 4-5 years she gasped and said 'oh, I don't want to be...

What credit card do you use?

I've been thinking that sometime in a couple of months, I will consider getting a new credit card. I would like to have it for the odd time where you need credit to rent a car, or hotel room or other such thing. I also realized (today) that I need a credit card to get my credit score online which I like to do once a year or so.I'm wondering if I should look for one with low interest, no annual fee,...

Home Ownership - A possibility?

I few months ago I wrote about buying/renovating my Aunts place, this is still something we talk about every day. We spend a lot of time at her place taking care of the yard and doing other miscellanious things that she can no longer do for herself, and we also spend a lot of time at home depot and...

Changed to Partial RSS Feeds

A huge thank you to stackingpennies who pointed out the partial RSS Feeds are not preferred! I have just changed my RSS feed to 'Full'.Pardon my 'newb' blogger-ness, I've never paid attention to the RSS Feeds....Thanks agai...

Date Night

Jordan and I don't really have a date night, but we had a date last night! I think we ought to make it a regular thing. It was a lot of fun!I got a $50 gift certificate from Milestones, a pretty nice restaurant, from someone at work yesterday (who was just thanking me for being awesome while she was sick and away from work)... So we took that $50 gift card and another $36.50 (tip and a bottle of...

House Fund - Update

Jordan got paid today (woohoo!!) This means two things:1. I'll get utililty $ plus $100 for my visa today and 2. WE JUST BROKE THROUGH $4,000 ON OUR HOUSE FUND! YE...

Garden Update

A while back I wrote about the garden Jordan and I planted at my Aunts place. I'm pleased to say that everything is growing like mad!!The peas are ready to eat (though I'm going to let them plump up a bit) and there will be more soon!Here are some pictures:Yum! Some Strawberries are coming in too! One...

Revised Goals for 2009

I spent my lunch hour looking at my bi-weekly budgets from now until the first week of January, 2010 and I beleive the following to be some pretty solid goals that I can acheive.1. Pay off my credit card2. Have a debt free Christmas3. Replenish my emergency fund to a minimum of $10004. Start a 'future fund' and save a minimum of $500 (I will explain this more when I open the account)5. Have a minumum...

Laser Eye Surgery

Not too long ago while visiting my mom, she mentioned that if she were my age she would be saving for Laser Eye Surgery.... In thinking about this I did a little googling to see what options there are in my city.It seems there is a handful of different options the ever popular and marketable Lasik MDWestern Laser EyeGimble Eye Center, and,Demong Associate Eye CenterHas anyone either considered or...

Final - Project Overtime Update

As I'm sure a lot of you know (I'll just pretend that I lot of people read this), I've been working to put a lot of overtime in at work.My original goal was to have 75 hours banked by August 7, 2009. I came pretty darn close. I requested a 30 hour payout on July 24, 2009; and I have requested a payout of 21.75 hours for my next pay period. I was able to bank a total of 51.75 hours in about a months...

A system in Crisis?

Just a quick post to thank Frugal Dreamer for commenting on my post today. She directed me a post she did a while back (The Story of Stuff). She links to a you tube video that explains the consumption cycle - it is absolutely fascinating. I strongly encourage you to view it. The video itself is about 20 minutes long.Lindsay posted a comment about The Story of Stuff on her blog as well.My Brother...

Clothing, at what cost?

When it comes to bugeting, whether we use the magic jars, excel spreadsheets, or even just vague guidlines, we generally try to keep ourselves within certain limits for certain spending categories.For my clothing budget, I have it set pretty low. Clothes arn't high on my list of priorities so I often shop at discount stores, the clearance racks, and generally speaking, lower quality stores. I wonder,...

Good-Bye Credit Card

In efforts to stick to the magic jars and pay off my credit card, while avoiding another epic jar fail, I've decided to actually cut up my credit card. This is a big deal for me.My credit card is my crutch, it's my emergency fund, my I want it fund, it's my I didn't budget for enough groceries and I'm...

Credit Card Debt Repayment - Update

Here is an update to my credit card debt repayment progress. My original plan was posted here. It has gone through some significant morphing; however, I am still on track to have that card paid off completely by the first week of September.Wow, that's only 4 weeks aw...

August 7th - Bi Weekly Budget

It's that time again, payday!Thank you again to everyone who gave feedback on my epic jar fail. I've decided to not pay myself back the full amount I spent on my visa, and instead continue to work the jars.This is what the next two weeks will look like:Yes, there is about $230 dollars left over, that...

Benefits @ Work = Shoes?

I need shoes.I have traditionally had quite a difficult time when it comes to finding shoes. I have very high arches and heals/flats are usually uncomfortable. My mom suggested I look into my benefits at work to see if there might be any options.Well, apparently there are some options!My benefit plan states that:“We will cover 100 per cent of reasonable and customary costs (unless specified otherwise)...

Swagbucks

Well, I have finally caved. I signed up for swagbucks to see what the fuss is all about. You earn redeemable points when you search the web, have referrals, shop online (via their links) ect. I know that Dinah just signed up and isn't having much luck yet, but that Krystal over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks is having a lot of success.If you are interested in signing up, please use my referral ...

Extra Funds Coming In

I have good news on two fronts.1. My landlord has asked me to mow the lawn of her neighboring rental property. She'll give me $60/month until she finds new tenents.2. One of the other divisions in my company is behind on their filing and would like some help. I have been asked if I would put in the OT to help them out. I'm thinking of saying yes, but given that this division, is not mine, I don't...

Starlight

A few weeks (?) ago, I mentioned that I would be moving my horse, Starlight, back to within driving distance. In my post Weekend Spending Forcast, Manshu, from OneMint mentioned that he (I'm assuming, Manshu might be a she) would like to read a post about Starlight. So here it is. When I was 11, I started...

Weekend Spending = Epic Jar Fail

I am mildly saddend by the epic fail I experienced this weekend.The jars kept me on track for the first week, and I was loving it. Unforutnatly, this weekend - I wound up using my credit card more then I should have.I am not giving up on the jars as a concept, however, to dig myself out of this - I...