Budget

Budgets are a living document. They aren’t something to create once and set it for life.  Gas is on the rise and projected to be $1.50 by the end of summer, plan accordingly.  August budgets can be larger if you have school supplies to prepare for, and with summer your kid activities may be lower than the school year.   It takess a few months to get a budget going, and we still have things pop up, don’t let it turn you off of budgets.

Everyone has different categories in their budget. A great place to start is to go through your credit card bills and debit transactions and average out how much money you have spent in 3 months on each category.  Don’t worry, it takes a few months to work out the kinks of a budget, don’t give up.
Write down every source of income you have, salary, child tax benefits, and Kijiji or online sales.

You may feel that it is restrictive to be on a budget. We actually felt that way when we started too. Very quickly though we felt like it gave us permission to spend money.  When we started to get out of debt it was 10 years ago, and I was on a maternity leave and my husband was just starting his massage business and was self employed. We never would have spent money on ourselves, but the budget gave us permission to spend money on a movie rental. Yes, that’s how long we have been doing this when there was still a Blockbuster!

Before deciding how much money goes into each envelope look at the calendar and see what events are coming up for the month.
For us, June has our daughter’s birthday, Father’s Day, 2 teacher gifts, bus driver gift, and treats for dance, gymnastics, brownies and guides leaders as year end thank yous. We also have som extravehicular expenses that will be in our entertainment budget.   Look at your calendar and try to foresee any upcoming events.   

We have an envelope for the following categories:

1.                   Date Night

2.                   Kid Activities

3.                   Power Bill

4.                   Frenchies/Clothes

5.                   Car (gas, repairs, insurance and if you have a payment or save for new car)

6.                   Groceries

7.                   Lottery

8.                   Miscellaneous

9.                   Insurance (pay annually for a discount, but continue to save monthly)

10.               Cell Phone

11.               Internet

12.               Toiletries

13.               Mortgage

14.               Entertainment ( vacations are included in this section)

15.               Property Taxes (this needs to be paid 2x a year)

16.               Gifts ( we buy gifts all year long and store in a tote) 

17.               RESP/RRSP/TFSA

At the start of each month we put cash in each envelope.  That's the money for the category.  When it's gone, it's gone. All the money that was left over and not put in envelopes we used to put on the mortgage as an extra payment.  You can use the extra to pay down other debt, or as a float the first few months when working out your budget. 

You can put your receipts in the envelope or jar if you want to.  If you are using an envelope you can write on the envelopes the amount and date you spent the money.

At the end of the month there are a few things you can do if there is money left over.  You can allow the money to carry over and build up in the category. For example, the Power Bill is due every other month, this one builds up.  

We allow the car budget to build up also.  We allow this to build up for new tires, and for a new car.  We purchased a new to us 2015 a few months ago, and have a 2013. We are hoping to make it to 2023 before we get a new car, but we will be prepared.

Groceries envelope, at month’s end you may realize you have some extra money to do build your stock pile. A stock pile is the extra food you have in your home.  Some months are better than others for coupons and sales for building on your stock pile. 

Clothing, and Date Night envelopes we don't let build up.

For a challenge we have an empty envelope purposely for month end. The last day of the month we dump any left over money into it to be the fun money. This was how we afforded a get-away in a neighouring city for a night, or a movie dinner date.

After a while it became a challenge for us, and all money left over went on the mortgage.  Sometimes we skipped a date night and had an at home date. Then the money that was left in the date envelope was slapped on the mortgage.  Now we use it for our dream vacation fund. 

If you are saving for something special, say a vacation or a new purse, have an envelope specially for that item. We used to keep our money in jars, but it got bulky and took up a lot of space. Jars are a good visual to be able to actually see the money, and how fast it is being spent. 

We have a page in our Home Economy Binder with each category of our budget written down.  We used to track what we thought we would spend, and the actual money spent in each category. It helped us to tweak out the budget. 

If you are looking for an app try Dave Ramsey EveryDollar.  It is free and user friendly. I am old fashion and like pen and paper. 

Here is a link to an online resource that we used when we were just starting out. http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/interactive_budget_worksheet.html this website and budget sheet give shout the numbers you should spend on each category. 

You may remember Gail Vax Oxlade from the show Till Debt Do Us Part that aired on the Slice Network.

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS BUT TRY IT A MONTH AND YOU WILL SEE...Doing the envelope system makes us feel like we have more money.  It gives permission for us to spend money while keeping an eye on the prize. When we first started we used jars, so we could physically see the money, this is an option and may work for you.  We were stupid and went out and bought matching jars at the Dollarama lol.  I have quite the collection of mason jars and sauce jars any of those would be fine.  I also save all those pesky prepaid envelopes that come out in the mail, and use those as our budget envelopes.  

Give yourself a few months to work out the kinks.  Don’t beat yourself up about it, you are making progress!

It pays to be frugal. 

 Join Guess Who's Cheap on Facebook, and on Amazon A Penny Saved is a Mortgage Paid, and A Guide to Collecting Air Miles in Canada

 https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+penny+saved+is+a+mortgage+paid&sprefix=a+penny%2Caps%2C206&crid=R06CXF8JG0RF

https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+guide+to+collecting+air+miles+in+canada&sprefix=a+guide+to+coll%2Caps%2C211&crid=2BS1C1GT9OM2G&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aa+guide+to+collecting+air+miles+in+canada

May 24 weekend

It's Victoria Day weekend, sometimes known as 2-4 weekend.  I think that nick name is because of a flat of beer, but I don't know for sure:)
This is the weekend my husband opens up our pool for the summer.  Usually the weather is much warmer by now, it has been a chilly spring.
When we built our house having a pool was part of the dream.  The first year we lived here we had a pool budget.  Money was put away to this section of the budget, monthly money was squirreled away for this item.  After 18 months living here, we had saved up enough money for the pool, but it was the middle of summer. The price of the pools in summer is INSANELY HIGH!!!  No way were we going to pay full price for a pool.
The first thing we did was have a landscaper come to the house and build the pool pad for us. We knew the size of the pool that we were wanting to have and had the pad built for that pool.  The pad then sat empty for 9 months.  On the plus side, the landscaper told us that was a great move because it would shift and adjust through the winter and happen without the pool on top, thus a better chance the pool stays in place.
The next step was to start pool shopping. It was July when we had saved up the amount needed and started speaking to pool companies in an hour radius of our home, and also an online company.
We were direct with the salespeople and told them we had our price in our mind (we knew a ball park number from all the research).  We had salespeople take our names and email address and keep us posted if there was a sale.
We heard from each company at least once, and told it was the final price. We responded to all of them if they had any left at the end of the season, let us know and that we would be able to store the pool at our house.
One company emailed us 3 times, each time offering us a new price. The 4th time, the price we were offered was less than the price that we had in our minds! We jumped all over the offer.
To avoid delivery costs, we borrowed a truck from our friend. We gave him a Tim Horton's card and a full tank of gas and we were still ahead of the game.
We stored the pool at our house till the spring.
When Spring arrived we had 4 of our friends come over for a few hours and put the pool up with my husband. We then provided food and drinks and a massive thank you to each of them.
During the winter, my father had a pool and it was ruined during the winter.  He no longer needed his pool deck, and offered us the wood. My husband and step-father took the wood apart, and rebuilt the pool deck at our house.  Sweat equity is an amazing resource.
We have a friend that found the same pool as us on Kijij, that is also an option if you are patient.  
My husband has been busy with creating an efficient heating source for the pool.  This is the second summer of his system, and last year we noticed that it did in fact, lower our summer power bill.  He has put the tubing on top of the shed roof, and hidden from view.
Now, for the weather to heat up, until then enjoy the long weekend.

It pays to be frugal.  

Disney on a Budget, Part 1 Getting There

Congratulations,you have decided to go to Disney World!! Now how are you going to get there?
If you are like me you will need to travel quite a distance to make this journey and it comes at a cost.

Flying: If you are flying there are many ways to get there, and almost no one on the plane paid the same price.

EXPEDIA
Log into ebates.ca first, then search for the Expedia store. You will earn cash back and once $5 is in your account you can redeem as a cheque!
Or: airmilesshops.ca and search for the Expedia store and you will earn Air Miles on your flight.

Each time you go on Expedia, make sure that you clear your cookies, it remembers what you looked at and the prices rise a bit each time.

AIRMILES:
Air Miles allows you to choose redeeming Air Miles for flights.   You can redeem your Air Miles for a ticket and there is a charge to you for the taxes. For example, my family redeemed 3,000 miles per ticket and $160 in taxes. 12000 Air Miles and $640 we will be going to Orlando.

WORD OF CAUTION:  my flight that was booked with Air Miles had 5 changes, including the connection city.
Also, in my experience Air Miles flights often are the “milk run” with at least one lay over.  I suggest checking into how long the layovers are and if your time is worth more to pay for your direct flight.  For example, when I went to New York last year it cost $435 for the flight or it would have been 2100 Air Miles and $145 in taxes with a 3 hour lay over each way.  I felt that my time was worth more than 6 hours down time and paid for the flight.   Due to the time of year there isn’t a direct flight to Orlando and I redeemed Air Miles.

Air Miles also has an option to purchase cash tickets.  SOMETIMES these tickets are affordable.

WESTJET MasterCard: this credit card offers a companion flight for $99 with the purchase of a regular price ticket.   Also, with every purchase charged WestJet points are earned and can be redeemed towards your flight.

Aeroplan Miles: redeem your Aeroplan Miles for your flight.  This hasn’t worked out for me because I am a teacher and there are usually black out dates.  Our friends redeemed for a flight and didn’t have any issues with their flight.



DRIVE:
Driving may be an option to get to Disney World if you have time.  When driving try to stay loyal to a particular gas station. Many gas stations provide rewards for your purchases.  Taking advantage of these loyalty programs will earn you cash back rewards or can be combined with other rewards.

Credit cards and debit cards often earn more points at gas stations.

When driving gas,hotel and meal costs need to be calculated. We have friends that always drive, and they told me they would stop at the tourist bureau or at McDonald’s for hotel coupons.   They usually found them for under $50 and were usually between 2 hotel chains.  Again, stay loyal to a chain and earn points towards a free stay.


COMBO: Another alternative to get to Disney World is to drive to an airport in the United States and fly from there.   Sometimes it works out to be cheaper this way with the fares from American airports to another American airport. 

It pays to be frugal.
My books available on Amazon.ca