Sunday Night Chit-Chat

The beauty of Creation.

What am I...

Reading?

Right now I am not reading anything.  I just charged the Kobo and think I may purchase the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series as I hear great things about it.

Watching?

I have been watching The Vampire Diaries on Netflix.

Listening to?

My cat purring her little heart out.

Cooking/Baking?

It is rare that I bake as I live alone and do not have a sweet tooth.

Tonight I cooked lemony garlic butter sauteed green beans.  They are scrumpdillyiscious.  I also had meatballs in sauce that I made the other day for dinner.  Not really a common combination but both were good.

Happy to have accomplished this week?

De-cluttering continued and I sold a number of items on ebay.  I think this week's sales total about $150 or so.  Sales over the last month have been close to $600 between ebay and kijiji.  Several boxes and bags have made their way to Goodwill and I have given some items away on freecycle.

Looking forward to next week?

There isn't anything specific I am looking forward to.  I am planning to offer my volunteer services to a couple non-profit agencies and plan to contact them this week.

I also look forward to updating this blog more often.  I must be the world's worst blogger as months seem to go by between updates.  I think my biggest issue is that I don't really believe that I have anything to say that would be interesting for others to read.

Thankful for today?

My cat was diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago and I am thankful every day that she seems to be doing okay and that we were able to find the right insulin dosage for her fairly quickly.

Sunday Night Chit Chat - March 11



No, I haven't seen your lipstick. Why do you ask?

Reading?
I am still on The Key that I posted about last week.

I will then start on Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge.

Watching?

The TV is on in the background but I'm not even sure what's currently on.  I may watch something I've PVR'd before I head to bed.  Perhaps GCB.

Listening to?

I am on the last disc of The Key that I am listening to in the car.

Cooking/Baking?

I just had a sandwich for dinner as I didn't feel much like cooking tonight.  Since it's just me, I don't have to worry about cooking if I don't feel like cooking.

I do plan to take a turkey out of the freezer on Tuesday so it will thaw and I can roast in on the weekend.  I received this turkey from one of the managers at my part-time job at Xmas.

Happy you accomplished this week?

I wanted to tackle cleaning out the pantry this past week but that just didn't happen.  I am glad that I listed more things on ebay.  I hope to tackle the pantry one night this coming week.

Looking forward to next week?

I requested my 2011 holiday pay from my part-time job and it should be on this week's pay, unless I missed the deadline and then it will be on the next paycheque, two weeks out.

Thankful for today?

I had a nice lunch with my sister who just returned from a Caribbean cruise and my mom.

You can read more Chats if you click here for Carla's blog.

Ebay Sales - $336.98; Kijiji Sales - $85

I tend to buy things and never get around to using them, which then often end up on ebay.  I have really been working on my impulse spending and am getting much better at not buying random things I really don't need.  I also sell things on ebay or kijiji that I have used but no longer want/need.

After ebay fees and Paypal's cut, the amount back in my pocket for last week's ebay sales is $336.98.  The amount from my kijiji sales is $85.

I am not yet sure what to do with this money.  I may put it in the vacation fund or I may use some of it for a few new spring/summer pieces for my wardrobe.  Or who knows, I may decide on something completely different.

Do any of you sell on ebay or kijiji?  What do you put that money towards?

Sunday Night Chit Chat - March 4, 2012

I dream of having a gorgeous walk-in closet.  This picture gives me inspiration.  I have a walk-in closet but not one that looks like this.

from google images

Reading?

I m reading The Key:  The Missing Secret for Attracting Anything You Want by Joe Vitale

from amaon.ca

Watching?

I will probably half-way watch Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past while I do a pedicure tonight.

Listening to?

Nothing right now but I am listening to The Key as well as reading it.

Cooking/Baking?

Baja Citrus Chicken and sautéed baby bok choy are on the menu for tonight.

 

Happy you accomplished this week?

I am happy to have listed several items on ebay as taking pictures and writing descriptions can be quite time consuming.  I’m very happy with the amount of extra cash this week’s sales is putting in my pocket.  I’ll write a separate post about this.

Looking forward to next week?

Nothing overly exciting just looking forward to staying on track, which means cooking at home, not spending mindlessly and having at least one green smoothie each day.

Thankful for today?

  

Today I am thankful for having a nice relaxing day at home with my fur babies.

I’m also thankful for having a pretty good job and a (usually) good boss.  Too often I focus on the negatives of my job and not the positives and that needs to change.

Head over to Carla's blog for more Sunday Night Chit Chat.

Taxes, bonuses, RSPs, and TFSA

This past Christmas my boss was quite generous and paid for the tropical trip I was taking and also gave me a decent size cash bonus, both of which I have to claim as income on my taxes.  These combined with my part time income that has very little tax taken off and the fact that I did not put as much into RSPs this past year as in other years, means I owe the tax man a fairly large amount.

In order to off-set the amount I owe and get a few thousand back (which will go into my 2012 TFSA) I put a large amount into an RSP before February ended.  This was part of the money I have been hanging onto ever since the house I inherited sold as I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it.  I had been debating about renovating my kitchen and bathroom or investing that money.  I feel good about investing it, particularly since it will mean a large tax refund that will fund my TFSA and I still have a substantial amount left for renos, if I choose to go that route.

Has it really been a year??

Wow, I can't believe it. It has been a year since I posted to this blog. I kept telling myself that I would get back here and start updating on at least a semi-regular basis and, clearly, that didn't happen.

I am excited about 2012. I recently met with a new financial advisor and am excited about the decisions we made for my investment options for 2012.

Though I do not yet have all the slips I need to be able to do my taxes, I've prepared them as much as I can and I know the current outcome is going to be pretty close to what it will be when I submit. I owe quite a bit this year due to taxes not being withheld from a fairly large portion of my income. Oh well, it is what it is. I will put a significant amount into an RRSP before Wednesday (RSP deadline) to offset the balance owing and use the rest of the refund to fund my 2012 TFSA.

I'll write more about my 2012 plans for investing, saving and planned spending.  I've been selling up a storm on ebay and kijiji these past few weeks and will write more about that as well.

I would like to join Carla for Sunday Night Chit Chat but think that will have to wait until next Sunday as I think it's time for bed.

Recapping January

January was a pretty good month over all. I did not set goals for the month itself but did meet each of the goals I set out at the beginning of 2011, being:

Get to the end of the month before the end of the money - this was easily achieved

Pay extra toward car loan - I paid $600 on the LOC in January

Continue automatic transfers to long-term, emergency and vacation savings - check!

Buy an investment property. This is not a monthly goal but I did a lot of property searching in January and will be writing an offer on a property this week. This is scary and exciting all at the same time.

I did really well with eBay sales (was not a goal) and made $606.08 extra cash by selling things that were around the house taking up space.

I will be listing more items on eBay and Kijiji.

In the next day or so I hope to post February's goals.

My Retoroactive Raise and Other Mumblings

I found out yesterday that my raise is retroactive to Dec. 2 not Dec. 12 as I originally thought. Great! Every little bit helps. I will see on the mid-February cheque what my normal take home pay will be with this raise in place.

I bought a pair of shoes from Winners a couple weeks ago that I was not so sure about. I kept them past the 10 day return period so could only get a GC and not my cash back but that is okay as I shop there quite a bit, though not usually for clothes. I exchanged them today for a pair of boots ($39.99), a blouse($19.99), a sweater ($29.99)and two pieces of wall art ($3.99 each on clearance). I still have a little over $100 left on the GC.

I went secondhand store shopping last weekend as I wrote about doing and it just reinforced for me that I do not enjoy it at all. I was looking for Barbie Doll clothes since they are so expensive brand new but neither Value Village nor Goodwill had any. Both stores had many naked Barbie Dolls, but no clothes. While there, I looked through the women's tops but found nothing but stained or very out dated clothing. I would much rather shop at new clothing stores that have sales.

Food Baskets

Well I won't be trying out food baskets this month after all.

The baskets are supposed to be picked up on Thursdays and when they had not cashed my cheque by earlier this week, I called to ask what was happening and they had no record of me signing up and no record of my payment. After search for my cheque for some time, she called me back to say she found my envelope stuck inside her desk drawer.

I have not decided if I will get a food basket in February. I think I will most likely just continue to buy meat in bulk at Costco, where it is inexpensive, and buy produce at my really inexpensive neighbourhood produce market and the Asian grocery store. The price difference of bok choy at Safeway and at my Asian grocer is staggering!

A Raise is Always a Good Thing

Though it is not large and I likely won't see much of it after taxes, I got a raise yesterday, retroactive to Dec. 12. I am thankful for this increase and I really do not want to seem ungrateful. I still am making a lot less than what I made at my previous two positions (more than $10K less per annum - that is significant!).

I was told yesterday that I will get another increase at my year anniversary, which is in 1.5 months (middle of March). I don't know if that will be the same percentage increase or not.

My boss is very bad at procrastinating - hence why my raise is retroactive to Dec. 12 - and I really hope I do not have to remind him at the one year mark but knowing him the way I do, I most likely will and that makes me uncomfortable.

I think the best thing to do with this additional income will be to put it toward paying off my car.

Weekly eBay Sales - $148.98

This week started off slow as far as eBay sales were concerned but finished at $148.98, which is not bad at all. I have one other item that I am expecting payment for but the buyer said she cannot pay for it until late this coming week so I cannot count that in this week's total.

This extra cash is coming in very handy.

Today wasn't exactly frugal...

I spent a fair amount of money today.

Tuesday night I got home from work and my power had been out and that seemed to have zapped my digital cable box as it was dead and could not be resuscitated no matter how hard tech support tried. It must have been fried by a power surge as it was not plugged into a surge protector.

So, today I purchased a new HDPVR for $312.90 including tax. While this was totally unexpected, I can use my eBay sales to cover the cost. I don't go out much to the movies or other recreational things like that that cost money as I am happy to spend quiet evenings at home watching a very few select shows, which I am happy to watch over and over.

On occasion I would still record the odd thing on tape but I also just discovered this month that my VCR only went up to 2010 so it is not useful for timed recording any longer. So, all in all, I think having a PVR will be really useful for me and is a justifiable, if not necessary to get through life, expense.

I also spent $20.55 on mailing supplies for my eBay items, gum, a couple small items for a gift exchange and Static Guard at London Drugs.

Secondhand Shopping

I've been reading so much on various blogs and on a forum I frequent about the great deals people find at Goodwill and other thrift or consignment stores.

My idea of enjoyable shopping is not having to dig though racks upon racks of clothing to see what might be worthwhile. I don't even like doing that at Winners (Canadian arm of TJMaxx) with new merchandise (I will look at Winners for shoes and bags). The few times I have looked at Goodwill or Value Village I just have not found anything I would wear and found it to be a total waste of time. Given the number of hours I put in between my two jobs (I'm at my part-time job right now) my free time is very precious to me.

I have found the odd thing at consignment stores but, again, it is the having to dig through everything that I really dislike.

I'd love to be able to find a great dress or skirt for $3, $5 or $8 but that just never happens. Maybe if I looked at least once per week I would find something but I just don't have that kind of time.

I have this weekend off from my part-time job and live 5 minutes from both Value Village and Goodwill. Since last weekend I cleaned out my drawers and have some items to donate, I am resolved to go and give it another chance in both stores to see if I can find anything worthwhile. It would be great to be pleasantly surprised.

Tomorrow's Dinner

Ahhh, CrockPots make life so much easier. Tomorrow's dinner - lemon herb chicken - is in the fridge ready to cook on low all day tomorrow. I think I will have it with couscous and a salad.

Weekly eBay Sales - $286.95

I am very pleased with my eBay sales this week. They are a whopping $286.95.

Listing on eBay can be time consuming and I have been out and about all day driving around in the snow - it has not stopped snowing in 9 days - and now that I am finally home and the day is practically over, I do not feel like listing items on eBay. So I may not get items listed this week. We'll have to see how I feel tomorrow night after work.

I love getting bonus money coming into the house. The items I've been selling have, for the most part, just been things around the house that I have not been using, many of which I received for free.

'Free' Money - the best kind

Using some of the money from my recent eBay sales, I purchased a CrockPot, which I posted about earlier, and today I purchased a humidifier as my house is so very dry with the furnace running so often.

It's great to get some needed household items, not have them cost me anything and still have plenty of 'free' cash left over to put toward the car I recently bought.

I Love Getting a Deal

The CrockPot I wrote about yesterday that was on LD's website for $49.99 was on sale in store for $29.99. That is an amazing deal for a 7qt, programmable CrockPot with auto warming mode with BONUS Little Dipper. I was thrilled as I was fully prepared to pay the $49.99. This was paid for by items I had around the house collecting dust that I sold on eBay.

My eBay sales for this week are doing very, very well as another item sold today and I look forward to posting my sales total on Sunday.

I am inspired

I already know that I need easy dinner solutions due to my busy schedule and I have been using my slow cooker a bit but not nearly to its potential.

I have been reading A Year of Slow Cooking and am so inspired. I have printed out a several recipes and have a chicken thawing in the fridge to turn into lemon herb chicken this weekend.

London Drugs has a programmable 7 quart CrockPot with a bonus Little Dipper on sale right now for $49.99 so I am going to take some of my ebay sales money and pick one up as I don't have anything small enough to make dips and the CrockPot I do have is not programmable and does not have a "warm" setting.

This and That

When I post my ebay sales, I only include items that have been paid for. My mid-week ebay sales from items I listed on Sunday are at $216.96 so this is already a great ebay week. I hope to hit the $250 mark by week's end.

I have been really busy this week as I covered an extra part time shift on Monday, worked my own part time shift on Tuesday and had a board meeting tonight. Due to being so busy all three nights so far, I did not have a chance to cook dinners so ended up buying lunch both yesterday and today and probably will again tomorrow unless I find something in the cupboard to take for lunch as everything else is frozen. Actually, I think I have one of those microwaveable rice packages at work so could have that with some fruit or yogurt for lunch tomorrow and save some cash. I may even have one of those small tins of flavoured tuna, which would go great with crackers.

Weekly Ebay Sales - $170.15

I think I mentioned some time back that I was planning to clean out my clutter and sell as much as possible on ebay.

I have been doing that fairly regularly for years but am now again really concentrating on decluttering and bringing extra cash in to the bank account.

It is amazing how much "stuff" one person can accumulate. I listed a number of things on ebay this past week and my sales for the week are $170.15.

I will be listing more items today.