October Goals

It's been a long time since I've set some monthly goals for myself so I'm going to start off a little easier so I dont scare myself off.

1. Review and complete two 30b430 goals. If this is October it means I have one full year left until the big 3-0 and its time to get my arse in line. I made these goals before I returned home and some just dont fit. More on this later.



2. Have Chipotle neutered, tatooed and finish up his shots (need to save $300 more for this)



3. Do something fun on my birthday :)
   


4. Save $250 for BF's bday weekend surprise



5. Save $400 in RSP or TFSA



6. Set up a work space at home for crafting/blogging

TFSA ME

Well I opened a TFSA tonight with ING. It was pretty easy to get started. That's what I love about ING. One of my 30B43o goals is to have $1000 saved in that account. With 13 months to go I have full confidence I'll be able to meet my goal. I've started out with a $100 and it feels really good to be saving again. The interest rate is currently at 1.5% though. :( Still, its better than nothing.
I'm thinking I will use this as my EFund. I want to reevaluate my savings goal. Well, my goals in general. What do you use your TFSA for?

30 B4 30 Goals Update # 2

I have not been very good at posting my updates on the 30th of each month. Eek. I'm on top of it this month though! I'm very happy to share with you my progress made over the last two months since my last update. I added one more country to my list. I got to spend one full week in Mexico to participate in one of my besties wedding. It was very different from the traveling I've been used to. It was pretty awesome though. You have to love an all inclusive week with a group of amazing people. I will definitely want to go back for a more cultural experience in the future though :)

Okay so I didnt make a lot of progress but it was sure a lot of fun.

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For the month of April I would like to scratch off a goal that has been driving me crazy since I was a teenager. I need to start my retirement savings. I mean really.... what has stopped me? So if I complete only that one thing I will be happy and fulfilled but I'm hoping I can find something else to knock off as well. Its a good month to start because its a 3 payday month and I hope to start getting back on track with my money pretty quick here.

I also need to get on that goal of writing a letter to myself. April here I come.

Here I Am

Well today will be one week since I arrive back in my home town. How are things going? Ugh. Yeah, thats about it. I will go into this more later but for right now I want to focus on getting out of my funkmasteryech and back into happygoluckyland.

So what can I do to lighten the mood a little and refocus my happy juices into something more positive? How about completing one of my 30B430 goals? Yes, that sounds fun.

I need to complete goals which require me not to have to spend any money or any supplies of any sort. Sounds limiting but there are a few things that I can do.

1) Learners License - I may not be able to pay for this just yet but the study guide is free. I can pick one up and start reading to prepare myself for the test. There is also a free practice test online. :)

2) Leave "must do" lists in 5 Lonely Planet Australia books - I dont have access to a printer right now but I can write out the lists by hand and make them all pretty.

3)Write a Happy 30th Birthday letter to myself - This should probably be done sooner than later. I can write it out nicely, find an envelope to put it in and tuck it away for that special day.

So this is me giving myself some inspiration to get happy.

I ask you readers - what do you do to pull yourself out of a funk?

New Year Resolutions for 2011

This year for my resolutions I have decided on... NONE.

I have decided to just keep focused on my 30B430 goals. I want to knock most of those puppies out of the park before I move on to other things. I don't want to overwhelm myself with two sets of goals. I like my current goals and I think its a well rounded bunch so I'm going to stick with it.

If you are new to my blog you can check out the goals I have set from the above labeled tab or from my sidebar on the right.

There's also the fact that this year will be full of a lot of unknowns. I will return to Canada in February after a year of traveling. I dont know where I'll work, where I'll live, how much I will be making or anything really. So I'm not going to put any extra pressure on myself until I get settled back in.

So there you have it. No resolutions for me.

What is your number one resolution for 2011?

3 Days, 32K and Dolly Did Della

BF and I spent our August long weekend completing one of his personal goals, hiking Della falls.
This is a picture I took from the base of the falls.

Here is a picture a little farther away. There is a very stellar view point a few km away but with the heat and an unfortunate injury we didn't make it to Love Lake. Still, we enjoyed the trip and the falls were absolutely breath taking. BC Parks is no longer maintaining the trails though so it was a very rough trip. There was a lot of bushwhacking, climbing over fall trees, deep sink holes, boulders and such. There was even a point where a bridge was taken out by heavy snow fall so we had to cross through the river. It was extremely intense, especially because we have been experiencing a major heat wave on the coast. All in all Bf is happy and I'm glad to have shared in helping him meet a goal of his. Its experiences like this that bring us closer together and help solidify our relationship together.


I thought this picture was cute. These are our new hiking boots. BF purchased them at MEC a few weeks ago. Mine were a gift from him as a belated Christmas gift. He had originally promised me a Gortex jacket when I finally picked one out but decided on the boots instead.

The trip cost us $252 for the taxi boat to and from the trail entrance, $5 for moleskin, $20 for a new water bag for my pack, and I'm guessing $30 in dry food and snacks. BF paid for everything, I just had to endure the intense hike, lol.

I sure am glad I booked today off of work because I am one sore girl! :)

$250 Deposit to Australia Trip Fund

I realized today that I haven't posted any monthly goals in awhile. I seem to be getting things accomplished though. I'm filling my weekends with fun activities and trying new things. On the financial front I'm just trying to save as much as I can as fast as I can. It seems to be working out okay.

Today I added another $250 to my Australia Trip Fund. It was money I have leftover from my last pay cheque. I left $20 in my account to last me until I get paid again on Friday. I am now at 32% of my goal for that fund. Woohoo!

Thinking about the Future

Right now my main focus is to prepare for this year long journey to Australia. After that I need to have some money saved for whatever comes next. We really don't know at this time where we'll be living but there are some general goals we have in mind that we can save for.

I have thought about some things I would like to achieve in the next five years and have decided to base my financial goals around that. I don't want to overwhelm myself though so I'll most likely be focusing on one goal at a time much like how I paid off my debt.

I am going to update my sidebars to include 7 financial goals:

Australia EFund - $5000 -This is already 100% funded. I'm hoping to use this money as a reserve only in Australia. I may dip into it to help fund the van we are planning to buy to live out of and travel in over the year. The money that is left over when we return will probably be allotted to a regular EFund.

Australia Trip Fund - $3000 - This money will pay for things before and during the trip. We plan to work throughout the trip as to not dip into our reserved money. This money will include paying for my plane ticket as well.

Future Funds

RRSP Fund - $20,000 - This number is based on the amount I am currently allowed to save based on my last tax assessment. I have not yet started saving towards my retirement which is horrible because I've known the importance of this since I was 14. Bad Dolly! I do plan to put some money in this fund before I go to cover any money that may be due this next year as my taxes will be done late obviously and I don't want to pay interest.

Education/Entrepreneurial Fund - $5000 - I don't want to be a pharmacy technician my whole life. I would really like to go back to school or start up my own business. When I was younger the only thing that held me back from both of these was lack of funds. I don't want to ever come across that problem again.

Future Home Fund - $10,000 - Ten thousand dollars is not a lot I know but BF will also be saving money towards the purchase of a home. I just want to have at least some money put away towards buying a home because its a big dream of mine. I hate paying rent and not having the freedom to make my home mine. We were able to plant a small garden here but I want a place where I can plant a huge garden and build a small green house. I find some of my favorite moments with BF are spent out enjoying the yard. Plus, when we get back we want a puppy!

Wedding Fund - $10,000 - If BF and I can survive a year traveling together in a tiny van we will know we are ready to get married. We differ on our ideas of a wedding. BF wants the big church wedding and I want the small destination wedding. Hmm... we have almost come to an agreement with an outdoor wedding, lol. Problem being my family is on one side of Canada and his the other. We'll work it out some way.

TFSA - $5000 - This number will change each year as I'm allowed to put more into it. Saving for the future is important to me and I want to save what I can to make sure BF and I are secure financially.

It is quite obvious that I'm not going to be able to save all this money in the next year. These are long term goals for me. In the next few months I plan to fully fund the Australia Trip Fund and put some cash into retirement savings before we leave.

$5000 Goal Reached!

I am ecstatic to announce the completion of my first savings goal! There was a time when I had a list of debts that I would cross off one at a time. Now I'm crossing off a list of goals to make my future secure. This is the first savings goal I have reached. I have never had $5000 in savings in my entire life and I could not be any prouder of myself.

Australia is one giant step closer!

82% Freedom in Focus

I received a cheque on Monday for working the election polls on May 12th! $270 smackers to be exact. I deposited it right away but just remembered to set up the xfer today to ING.

This month I have saved $1370 towards the Aussi fund. I'm so excited! Once I hit my goal I'll be applying for my visa. My goal is to save $1500 this month but I'm secretly trying to save $1800. I'm trying really hard so that I'll only have to save $500 next month and then move onto my next PF goal.

Currently I sit at 82% of my goal.

76% There

This morning I made another xfer from my chequing account to my Aussi fund. I should have done this before the crazy drunken long weekend of camping. *sigh I managed to scrap up $350 to put towards the goal so now I just need to save another $400 to reach my goal of $1500 this month.

I worked the elections but apparently they send you the cheque in the mail and it can take a few weeks so if I get the money before the end of the month then great but if I don't I can put it towards savings next month. I am confident I can save the last $400 I need this month from my next cheque on the 29th.

PF Goal Update

I decided to get rid of the secured credit card sub account with ING and xfered the $100 to my 2009 EFund account. I now have 10% of my goal saved. This will become a priority after the Australia funds are fully stocked.

69% Reached!!!

I got my tax refund in the mail yesterday at work. I put over half into the Australia savings which means I'm now at 69% of my goal with $3457! The rest of the refund will go toward bills and such. So far this month I have managed to sock away $750. Yay for May!!

64% Reached

I forgot that I got paid today until just now. I xfered $500 immediately to my ING savings fund. The Australia fund is now at 64 % of the goal which is $3,200!

May TCOB

Hello May! I've been waiting for you.

I think May will be a great month. In May I hope to accomplish some really important tasks both financially and personally.

1) Save $1500 to Austraila Fund. I can't believe even believe that I can write that but I'm really going to go for it this month. In May I have three pay days, I will work the elections and I will get a tax return back. I would like to save $1800 which would bring me to total of $4500 and is 90% of my goal but I'm unsure of how my vacation pay will effect me so I'll stick with $1500. If I do reach $1800 I would be able to save the last $500 in June and apply for my visa a month before I expected to. :) It will be a tight squeeze though. We'll see...

2) Bring a Lunch to Work 3 Days a Week.

3) Have Entire Upper Floor of House Organized. I'm getting closer on this one. I think this goal should be attainable if I use my time at home wisely to get things done. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be sorted through, clothes that need to go to charity and a lot of my jewellry making supplies. I need to start purging for the trip.

4) Get Price Estimates for Storage Unit. We will be getting rid of a lot of stuff. If its not collapsible or irreplaceable its going. Some stuff though we do want to hold on to and so we need to be getting some prices on what storage units are worth these days. BF has some larger items like a kayak, motorcycle and truck. He'll need to get a realistic idea on the cost of keeping these items in storage for a year before he makes any decisions. The only thing I really want to keep in our new bed frame which is collapsible.

5) Visit a Dear Friend on the Mainland. My friend Nathaniel often comes to the Island for visits. I try to visit him as well because I love spending time with him but I always find it hard to get a totally free weekend to head over to Vancouver. No more excuses, I am setting aside time just to go see him this month!

6) Work the Election Polls on May 12th! Yay, this makes me very happy. Not just because of the extra dough but because I feel like I'm contributing to the process.

7) Plant Garden - We've hit the right time to xfer all of our babies outside. We've also got to get the other seeds planted for things such as radishes and corn. Mmm, I can't wait until harvest time.

8) Investigate RSP Option at Work - I need to find out whether I qualify for a match contribution or not. Every time I ask I get a different answer. I'm ready now to fill out the paperwork and get started. Might as well get what I can before I leave.



I've decided to reward myself when I complete all my goals for the month. This month the reward will be this:


It came highly recommended by a friend who did this same type of trip a year ago. She swears by it and it has great reviews. I think it would be well worth the investment so thats why I chose it for my goal reward.

April TCOB Review

• Have Niece Over For Sleep Over Party With Lots Of Fun Activities - DONE

I had a great time with my niece. We did some really fun Easter related activities like decorating an easter basket and a little gingerbread bunny hut. We also took her to see that new movie Monsters vs Aliens which was in 3D - super fun!

• Save $700 Towards Australia Fund - DONE

I am really determined to reach my goal on this one everything month. It is definitely my highest priority.

• Get Things Worked Out With Pharacare And MSP

I did my part on this one. Just waiting for my employer to finish their end. Basically I've taken it as far as I can and things will be worked out in due time. It's no longer impacting me financially and both sides are aware of the process we're going through to get everything sorted.

• Renew PO Box - DONE

I usually renew for a year at a time since that is the cheapest option but this time we renewed for 6 months because that will take us until the end of September and by then we should have a better idea of when we'll be officially leaving for Australia.

• Take Mini Vaca With BF To Okanagan - DONE

Can you say amazing? We had the BEST time. Well, mine was better than BF's because I got to take part in the partner program (paid for by BF's boss) so I had two full days of fun activities with the other wives.

• Plant The Rest Of The Garden

With all of the craziness we had going on this month we did not get around to doing this. It turned out okay though because of the crazy weather. We plan to get this done over this weekend.

• Organize And Burn Photos Off Computer

Big fail on this one... but it seriously needs to be done!

• Dig Out Bills Binder And Reorganize

Nope, nadda, not done.

• Sort Through Large Bag Of Bills And Such In Office Closet

Another important task that I didn't allot time for. Bad Dolly!

• Have A Hell Of A Great Long Weekend - DONE

It appears I succeeded on all of the more fun goals. Oops.

April TCOB

For the month of April I want to keep my goals light and airy, just like the weather we're having lately.

1) Take Niece for sleep over with lots of fun activities.

2) Save $700 in Australia Fund

3) Get things worked out with Pharmacare and MSP

4) Renew PO Box

5) Take mini vacation with BF to Okanagan

6) Plant the rest of the garden

7) Organize and burn photos off computer

8) Dig out Bills Binder and reorganize

9) Sort through large bag of bills and such in office closet

10) Have a hell of a great long weekend!

March TCOB 2009 - End of the Month Review

• Hunt Down The Rest Of My T4's - DONE
• Have Niece Over For Sleep Over Party
• Organize House With BF - DONE
• Finish Online Training
• Save $750 Towards Australia Fund -DONE
• Host St.Patricks Day Party With Friends - DONE

March was a fairly successful month for me. I was able to accomplish a lot of goals that will get me started on finishing the rest of the year on a high.

Most important was organizing the house. There are still the odd boxes to go through but the presort has all been done and all rooms look tidy and nice. We had a houseful due to the party we hosted this month and BF's friend coming from Quebec so that had us really motivated to do a deep clean. Since then we've been working as a team to keep on top of things. It's relieves a lot of stress for me personally to have a tidy home.

I think I've located all my T4's. I jumped around a lot last year and I this weird feeling I'm missing one. Probably not though. I have to write a statement for one place that paid me as a "casual worker" so I don't get a T4. I also have to check out how much money I made online.

I managed to save $750 this month towards the Australia Fund. I wish it was more but this contribution brought me to a total of 40% of my overall goal which is good. I now have saved $2300 since January and that makes me feel fabulous. I had originally wanted to save an average of $1000 a month but its been a hard task to accomplish.

I did not have my niece over this month. She's been sick on and off. This weekend didn't work for them so we made a commitment for me to take her next Saturday night. I want to take her to a movie and do some Easter projects. Sleep overs are exhausting but I know they mean a lot to her and I love my niece. I spent this last Saturday making dinner for my Grandpa at his house instead.

I haven't thought about my goals for April yet. I already know I'm going to have some financial set backs but I'm also going to have a lot of fun I think. :)

March TCOB

My February goals sunk like rocks. This has been a very stressful month for me. I did make two of my goals though. I met and surpassed my goal for my Australia Fund. I also handed in all my benefit papers two weeks ago and should be getting coverage soon.

BF and I are on a roll getting the whole house clean and organized. It's a lot of work. I have boxes that have been moved around and stored for years completely untouched. Going through it all is so exhausting and embarrassing!! BF keeps finding old pictures of me that are not very flattering. Think band class group photos and such.

I have learned recently that I will need to have to have a certified bank statement proving I have $5000 when I apply for my work visa in June.. or July(?) don't remember. So I really have to focus all of my savings towards that goal right now until I hit that mark. Then I can concentrate on all of my other PF goals.

So here are my March goals:

Host St.Patricks Day Party With Friends - I want to have a potluck dinner with some old friends and play some drinking games.

Save $750 Towards Australia Fund - This will bring me to 40% of my goal!

Finish Online Training - BORING

Organize House With BF - Ugh, but it has to be done. :(

Have Niece Over For Sleep Over Party - Usually includes a trip to the "big movies" (theater) and dinner out with Auntie and Uncle. The rest of the weekend is spent hanging around the house. These weekends are fun but tiring :)

Hunt Down The Rest Of My T4's - This is so annoying! You have my address so send it to me jerks!

February TCOB

Oh February, how did you get here so fast? It seems like 2009 is flying by faster than 2008 did. Is this because I'm getting older that time is rushing past me? I can't believe January is already past.

Anyway.. I seem to be often writing TCOB (taking care of business) posts on the first of each month without too much thought. So far its been working out alright but I think I need to start focusing a little more.

Here are my February goals for 2009:

$20 Work Week Limit - My job is very hectic and crazy, especially lately, and I often eat out and snack a lot while I'm there. I'm giving myself a $20/week budget. Once the $20 is gone I'm poop out luck. This budget will include food and snacks while working. This is going to be a big step for me. I'm going to put a twenty in vial at work in my drawer each Monday and that's all I get.

Clean Out Guest Room Closet - I'm not really happy about this, having to do it I mean, because its got a few boxes full of random crap that I don't want to deal with. Most of its from when I cleared out my personal office so its a lot of paperwork. Some of it is tools, beads, wires and such. Some of it old clothes that I don't have the heart to get rid of but never wear.

Save $500 For The Australia Fund - This will bring my total to $1100 saved in that fund. That will be 22% of my goal.

Hand In Benefit Papers - I need BF's birth certificate to get this all handed in. I'm going to ride his ass all day about it until I get it.


Save $100 For Secured Credit Card Fund - That will bring me to 40% of my goal.

Save $150 For EFund - That will bring me to 10% of my goal.

Change RSP Savings Fund to Australia Extras Fund - I found out that my employer is going to match contributions to my RSP so I'm going to find out more about that and save for retirement that way this year instead of just on my own. I'm converting the account to an Extras fund for things like my plane ticket and any small fees along the way.

Save $150 For Australia Extras Fund - This will bring me to 17% of my goal.

Bring Personal Blog Up to Date - BF and I have another blog together for family and friends since they are scattered all over Canada. I've been neglecting it probably since November. We really want to incorporate his family more into our daily lives since they are in Quebec.

Finish Online Work Training - Ugh, I don't want to do this but I know I should.