Share Payout

A few months back I wrote about $10,000 in shares that my employer would be paying me out as part of the separation of my employment.  This past week, that cheque finally arrived!  The consensus on that post was to keep the cash liquid until things settled down with the sale of our house, new baby, my future job prospects etc.

The decision I had to make was the best way to convert the cheque which was issued in USD to Canadian dollars.  The exchange rate is around 1.35, but most institutions charge some sort of fee.

Here is a breakdown of the rates and fee's as of Thursday last week at some local banks:

I was going to write a post humming and hawing about if I should contact other institutions or just go with Tangerine.  I had spent thirty minutes on the phone just getting these rates - which doesn't sound like a long time, but really felt like it because Little Man was crying and fussing the whole time.

So.

I'm not going to write that post, or ask for that advise.

I decided to just deposit the cheque with Tangerine.  I have to mail it because there are no Scotia ATMs where I live, and you can't use the cheque in feature with USD cheques.  Sometimes, you just have to do what works - and this time, with the level of sleep depravation I'm dealing with, this worked.

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.

CHRP - Exam One Down

On May 7th I wrote the first of two exams I need to pass before I will become a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP). These are some of the advantages of the designation as described on the CHRP website:

1. Proven Expertise - HR professionals who pursue the CHRP must meet all requirements set out by their provincial HR associations, which aim to measure their competence and experience as HR professionals. By pursuing the CHRP designation, you’ll prove your ability to tackle all aspects of HR and demonstrate to employers and colleagues alike that you are a true HR expert. Click hereto learn more about the steps to obtain your CHRP designation. 
2. Continual Learning – To maintain your designation, you will be challenged to continually update your knowledge and skills in HR. As a CHRP, you’ll gain expertise and leading edge knowledge to help you manage complex and dynamic HR issues and, ultimately, become a strategic advisor
3. Demonstrated Commitment – CHRPs must undergo rigorous studies, comprehensive exam(s) and ongoing learning. They are, in short, committed to the profession over the long-term. By pursuing your CHRP, you demonstrate your commitment to constantly updating your HR skills and highlighting your long-term passion for the profession. You join the class of HR professionals that employers seek out.
4. Knowledge Community – As a CHRP, you are part of an exclusive, nationwide community of HR experts. Through special events, conferences, publications and websites, you can connect with other HR professionals from across Canada. This powerful network proves invaluable as HR professionals look for solutions, ideas and the ability to connect with others in the field.
5. Ethical Behaviour – CHRPs commit themselves to high standards of ethical behaviour. They are held to the CCHRA National Code of Ethics that covers a range of important professional issues including confidentiality, conflict of interest, professional growth and more. You gain confidence from your employer, colleagues and peers with the knowledge that you are committed to a Code of Ethics that demands the highest standards for the profession.

Once I pass the first exam (NKE - national knowledge exam), I will formally be a CHRP candidate.  I'm excited to get my grades back....it will take 6-8 weeks!

Back in Ontario

I'll be here for another week!

Home Today

Today marks the last day of my trip, I'm heading back to my city tonight.  It will be a long day, working in the morning then dealing with the airport!  While this part of my business trip is over, I'm actually going to be coming back on Tuesday after the long weekend.  The office here has decided they need additional support and my home office is happy to support them.  So, the trip continues.  I'm super happy I get to fly home for the long weekend though!  I really miss Jordan!

This week has been pretty quiet for personal spending - for both Jordan and I.  It's done the budget good to not be trying to entertain each other.  We'll have a look at the numbers and probably post those details over the weekend.

Have a Great One!
Jessie

So far, so good

My trip so far has been pretty good.  It's been a struggle to adjust to the time difference, even though it's only two hours ahead.  I miss Jordan and my house... the quite is very strange. I'm sure the next couple of days will fly by though.

Finances wise...

I had to put my credit card on the room when I arrived, which I wasn't expecting.  So Jordan and I might not be able to pay off the bill right away.  That said, we'll still be able to pay it in full come the due date (the bill just came today).

My office is right across the street from the hotel I'm in, so I can walk in the mornings which is really nice - but it also means I don't have a reason to take a cab or rent a car.  With no mini fridge in my room - I have to eat out for every meal.  It's not particularly healthy and it's pretty expensive.  I will get reimbursed for it all, but it doesn't feel very responsible.

I'm Outta here!

There has been an urgent request to have one of our team members fly out to an office in Ontario to provide some additional support.  Due to a variety of illnesses and emergencies, their office went from six support staff to one, in a week! 

I'll be taking the red eye on Sunday night, getting to the hotel around 6:00am, hopefully I'll be able to catch a few hours sleep on the flight - because I'll have just two hours to get to work after I get situated.

It's a pretty great opportunity for me to network, help out another office - and see somewhere new.  Plus I have a cousin who lives in Ontario - so hopefully we'll get to see each other.  I've never been out there before.

This trip will be like my trip to Saskatoon not to long ago in that I don't have to pay for the flights or the hotel, but I'll have to pay for all food and transportation.  Once I get back, I'll submit all of my receipts for reimbursement.

I'll definitely be banking some over time this week.  There will be 7.5 hours today coded to travel and then regular working hours 37.50/week to the office i'm supporting.  I'll have another days worth of travel to code when I come home - and then of course any additional OT I do during the week.  My home office and the office I'll be supporting have a couple of hour time difference, so that means that I'll likely still do some work for the home office as well.

What does that mean?  I'm guessing around 20-25 hours of overtime.

Today/Monday are going to be very very long days! 

Pension Commenced!

October 1, 2010 marks the first pay which my employer starts my pension.  It's a defined contribution pension plan which means that the contributions are set in stone, not the benefit.  The benefit (after I retired) will be based on how well the money does with the investment profile I've selected.

My employer matches 5% of my gross pay, so a total of 10% - I'm pretty pleased that I'm finally putting 10% away (even if 5% of it is from my employer).  Two years after the plan starts, it will be vested - which means no matter what happens with my employment, I have 100% rights to my company's contriubtions on my behalf.  If I leave any sooner (for whatever reason) - my company will keep it's share.

While all of this is fantasitc - it puts a bit of a hitch in my pay, and the budget that I posted yesterday.  My take home pay is going from about $1450/bi-weekly to $1320/bi-weekly - a take home reduction of $260/month.  Now, don't get me wrong, I've been wanting this for a long time, it just means some re-planning.

As you can see at the bottom, we're going to be down about $220. We already wrote our mechanic the cheque, and I defn. want to pay our credit card bill off in full.

We do have about that mutch in the wedding fund - and as the c/c bill is mostly my ring anyways - I'm thinking I may pull money from there to cover the overage.

I know that we could fiddle with some of the planned spending/savings - but everything is automated, so it would be a big pain to have to stop all payments and then restart them again.

What do you think?

Business Expenses

My trip to Saskatchewan was spectacular!

The flights there and back were seamless and the cabs were available and helpful.  The local office was welcoming and I was able to get a tonne of training and work done while I was there.

I wound up spending a total of $308, this included my hotel stay, four cab rides, breakfast and a lunch.  I went out for dinner and that cost $65 (yeah, I know - for one person...pretty ridiculous...but that includes a good tip and two glasses of expensive wine...that I was planning on paying for myself)...so back to that $65...when I was checking out of the hotel the person asked how my night was.

Well, I'm a strong believer that if you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question.

I told the hotel - rep - lady that It wasn't very good.  I didn't get to sleep until 2:00a.m. because my neighbor had traffic all evening and that i could hear street traffic all night (not normal street traffic - it was loud honking/screeching-type).  That plus the entire hotel was undergoing renovations and were still charging their normal price.

I was not impressed.

I told her it was unlikely I would stay there again.

She asked if there was anything she could do.  I responded (legitimately not in an ass-type way) that I didn't know if there was.  As I had  charged my meal to the room, she said she could take that off the bill.  I said that would be fine and I appreciated it.

I really did...and I'll probably stay there again.

...Funny part of this little story: I got back to my home office and told my boss about it.  He laughed....apparently subtlety is not on my lists of strengths....but also they are okay with that.

I submitted my expenses on Friday and will get reimbursed on my August 20, 2010 pay day.  As that will go into the joint account, I used our joint CC to pay for everything (yay for bonus AIR MILES).