Thank you for all the notes of encouragement. I really am in the best community of bloggers. You guys are always supportive and full of kind words. Right now I'm across country visiting BF. We have a few big decisions coming up.
Speaking of big decisions I have one to make. PF blogging has been my niche for many moons now and while I love writing and reading about the all mighty dollar I feel it may be the cause of my remaining stagnate. I see a lot of people have developed new blogs this year. So the question is do I stay here and do a complete makeover or switch to a fresh new blog?

I have ideas in motion but would appreciate feedback.

Always yours, Dolly

New Excuse

So yes I'm the lamest blogger of all time but this time I have a pretty good excuse. My laptop died :(. The worst part is it died New Years day. Right after all the sales were over. I was saving up for another but there is just no good deals right now. Ugh. So for a few days I have my mom's old laptop so I can catch up on banking and other things *cough facebook cough*.
One of my besties, Nathaniel, will be lending me a laptop in a few weeks to keep me tied over until I can save up and find a good deal. What would I do without him?
So I have a lot to share in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!

Make it or Bake it Holidays

This year my family has settled on a "make it or bake it" Christmas. Pretty self explanatory. It was a combination of being jaded by endless hours of shopping and limited holiday budgets. Usually I love gift giving. I'm the person who wants to give you the perfect gift, wrapped up super pretty with a heartfelt card presented on top. Birthdays, baby showers, wedding, whatever the occasion I do my best. When it comes to Christmas though... its lost its appeal for me.

My brother is flying in from Ontario and has already stated that the trip is costing a pretty penny and he is only bringing a small carry on so he will not be exchanging gifts. I ran with it and asked around to see how people felt about a "make it or bake it" Christmas. I explained to my siblings and mother that gifts could be made or people could bring food to share while we spend time together. It was well received.

It seems to be popular this year. People around me are making choices to spend less, buy locally or to hand make their gifts. I plan to bake cookies for my coworkers and bring them in for everyone working the stat like I will be. If I have the time I might make something small for my coworkers. Right now I'm working on my handmade gifts for my niece and nephew.

I'm making a trinket box for my niece. So far I've spent about $10. I bought a wooden box from the dollar store. Now I'm painting and decorating it. I plan to line it with fabric and make it super adorable for her. I promise to take a photo.

For my nephew I am trying to make a wooden puzzle. So far I've spent about $3. I hope this works out. I'm still trying to figure it out but I feel good about it.

My sister is getting a decorated double frame with a picture of each of her children. I have a lot of pictures of her children that she doesn't have as I am the crazy photographer at all family events. I'm sure its something that will tug on her heart strings. I just need to select the two best pictures.

For my brothers I'm not really sure what I'm going to do yet. Those ideas are still lodged in the back of my think tank. Any suggestions?

BF is getting a top secret gift that I can't tell you about yet. Hehehe

For friends... I will bake some cookies but I'm considering making a few trinkets. This will really be time dependant.

Last but certainly not least... the Mom. We got together last weekend, combined our points and got a whole boatload of free stuff from one our favorite shops. I wanted a few things but we had $250 to spend. There were a lot of things my mom couldn't decide on so I told her to use up my credit and consider it part of her gift. So for her she already received a super soft blanket and a SONY digital picture frame. I only paid the taxes! I think I will surprise her with an SD card loaded with family pictures so she can set up it up right away.

Lots to do and less than three weeks to do it. The downside to all handmade gifts is how much time it eats up. Instead of knocking everything out in one day its going to take a lot of creativity and dedication but in the end I think the gifts will mean more and my wallet will be a lot happier.

How is your gift round up going?

Pepe - Our New Baby

Things That Are New

So my last post was for Thanksgiving? Ouch.. well my computer is pretty much crapped out and was out of comission for a while due to a virus. Now the fan is dead so its slowly dying and I'm trying to save for a new one. How addicted I am to internet. There is another reason why I need access to the internet now though.

BF is across Canada from me for 6-7 months. I'm three weeks in and I have to tell you that long distance sucks. Especially when we've been together so many years spending every waking minute together. He is there for work. I plan to visit in the Spring and then in the Summer we will to figure things out.

To keep my baby Chipotle from being sad and depressed at the departure of his stay at home dad we expanded our family to include a second furbaby we've called Pepper on paper but Pepe is our sweetheart name. He adds so much and really rounds out our family. Chippy could not be happier and I am very much in love with them both.

Pictures to soon come. :)

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

Yay! Happy Turkey Lurkey Weekend Everyone!!!!

I work all this weekend so we'll be having our turkey dinner next weekend. I cannot wait to make turkey stew and sandwiches. Yumscrumpdiddly!

So what am I thankful for?

1. Working the stat day and making double time and a half. Heck yeah!


2. Having two amazing men in my life - BF and Chipotle


3. A family that I love


4. Having a job, place to live, food in my cupboards and all my needs taken care of


5. Having the support from all of you amazing readers that makes me push so hard to meet my goals

Now how about you. Will you be eating a big yummy bird? What are you thankful for?

A Wild PF Blogger Shopping Spree

Yesterday when I was leaving work I felt very restless. I didnt want to rush home but the weather was crappy so I wasnt sure what to do or where to go. I wanted to blow cash. Weird, huh? It was very self destructive behavior. So what happens when a PF blogger goes bad?

She hits up the dollar store. Oh yeah! I got some awesome stuff too!!! I spent about $8. I got a new pair of super awesome gloves, a brush I love, an awesome toy for Chipotle and some other random stuff.

I had already bought a new nail file ($3) and cotton pads ($2) before leaving work so I could do my own manicure at home. Still, I wasn't satisfied with my spending spree.

Luckily there is a thrift store across the street so I skipped the next bus home and went in to check out the merchandise. I bought a bunch of books for $7. Score!

To round out my craziness I finished up with some cheap sushi and a slurpee. Hell ya! After that I was all shopped out so I took the bus home and enjoyed my spoils.

What was the last thing you splurged on?

Feeling Stressed

Lately there has been a lot of unhappy stuff happening in my personal life and today I had a little breakdown. At work. Ugh. It was a day where we were a bit overstaffed though so I was able to go home early.

Yesterday a customer called me an ignorant asshole and reported me to head office. My boss was on my side though. I do take a lot of sh*t from people at work (customers) but I think I'm just super sensitive right now. Work is usually a happy part of my day. I guess when you feel like you're getting crapped on in every direction it doesn't take a lot to break you down.

I feel like I really need a way to destress myself. I'm starting with setting up a me space where I can sit and be creative. Its one of my goals this month and I'm hoping it will be beneficial in a few ways to me.

A coworker suggested yoga to me. Another one suggested some diet changes to help me feel better. I'm just so dumpy feeling right now that I'm just feeling like hitting the couch and absorbing large amounts of the boob tube.

How do u relax or deal with pressure situations?

A Stupid Tax on Dolly

Yesterday was my youngest brothers birthday. Since he lives across Canada from me I decided to send a gift card with my card to him so he could buy what he wanted and it would less expensive to ship over. I took care of this last week hoping he would get it in time (he did not).

Earlier in the day I had bought a ton of gift cards for a coworker who is getting married this week with the money collected from everyone who works in the pharmacy. There were no extra fees on any of the cards so I figured it was the best way to go.

Staring at the wall of 5 bazillion cards I felt a little overwhelmed and I was also pressed for time. Since he lives in another province I wasn't sure if he had all the stores we have available to him. Since he also has a lot of diet restrictions I couldn't go with a restaurant chain. I figured it was best to just go with a MasterCard or Visa. So I grabbed one and purchased it with my basket of goodies for home.

When I got home I checked over my receipt and was shocked to see a $3.95 activation fee. What? I hadn't paid any activation fees on the cards I had bought before. I checked the packaging on the card and in small writing it said a $3.95 activation fee would be applied. Grrr!! If I hadn't been in such a hurry I probably would have caught it but then again I guess since I'd bought 5 other cards earlier in the day it had never occurred to me to check.

Well the card was not refundable of course and I felt so irritated. I basically paid an extra 17% for nothing. This is what I call a stupid tax because that is how it made me feel.

In the end I still think it was the best option for my brother as I'm not sure what his needs are right now and this gives him the freedom to choose. I'm not usually a gift card giver but in this case it suits the situation. I wont be fooled again though. This has taught me to read the fine print on all gift cards in the future. In case you are wondering the offender was Vanilla MasterCard. At least I know he's going to get something he truly wants for his birthday which is what is most important to me.

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

September In Review

September is the first month since I've been back from traveling that I've started to make progress on my goals. It feels good to be back on track. I have nothing to compare to from August so these will be my starting numbers. I did start my RSP and TFSA. Go me! Lets check out those numbers:

Savings for September

TFSA (New) $250

RSP $70 (1/2 employer match)

Travel Fund $250 - I will need $500 saved before Nov 4th for BF's birthday

Secured Credit Card $0

House Fund $0

Chipotle Fund $100 - His next visit in 3 weeks will be about $400

In the past I would usually have a monthly goals update but since I did not have any set for September I have nothing to report sadly. Check in tomorrow for Octobers goals :)

Chipotle Gets Poked

Today was Chipotle's first visit to the vet and our first bigger expense for him. He had an initial check up first where we got to ask a lot of questions and get some great advice. Then it was time for him to get his first shot and a deworming pill even though we havent seen any sign of a problem.

The visit went really well and I was proud of how well behaved and sweet he was while we were there. The damage was about $98 for the visit. The reception did forget to give us the second deworming tablet which we will have to give him ourselves in 2 weeks. So we'll have to go back for it and I'm not sure if there will be any charge. I'm sure it wont be much if it is.

The vet we decided to go with is the same one we used with Cherri. I feel confident that we've gone with a good clinic who actually cares for our little monster. One month from now though we will have a second visit that will be closer to the $400 mark. Eeek!

He's so worth it though :)

BF's Bday Weekend

Every year I plan something special for BF's bday. Its always different and its always a surprise. Our birthdays are two weeks apart exactly so he will be celebrating at the beginning of November. Right now I work every second weekend so if I want to do something special where we go away I will need to do it Halloween weekend. Luckily that will be a long weekend for me because I booked Halloween of weeks ago (its my favorite holiday).

There is something I've been dying to do with BF for two years now. It has to be a surprise so sadly you guys will have to wait until after Halloween to find out where we are going. I figure its going to cost me about $500 for the weekend. Eek!

Its so totally going to be worth it though. I think both he and I are going to love it. Well maybe he will enjoy where we are going but I will enjoy the peace and relaxation.

So between now and then I have to save up the money in my travel fund. I am going to call at the end of the week and cross my fingers that I can get a reservation for that weekend. Wish me luck!

A Lesson Relearned

Oh CIBC. I do not love you. You make it very hard even after all the years we've been together. I give and you take. I find you dishonest and I'm over it.

So yesterday I was looking at my charges from CIBC from last month when I saw I was paying over $30 in bank fees. Excuse me? I called them up immediately to see what the deal was. Apparently when I got the new CIBC Advantage card a few months back the girl switched me to a different plan as well without telling me of course. So I've been paying out the wazoo for all these transactions I thought were covered.

He gave me a $15 credit and was very helpful. He offered to change my plan to one that offers more transactions but since I'm going to be doing almost all my banking through ING now I actually switched to the lowest account fees possible.

After I got off the phone with him it hit me that this must have been happening for some time and sure enough when I looked back at previous months I cringed with horror. Ugh, all my hard earned dollars scooped up by the devil known as CIBC.

So I guess I needed a reminder in always checking over every statement very carefully whether its a bill or a bank statement. Stupid tax for Dolly. It really adds up too which makes me angry but I'm half to blame in not catching their error for so long.

Another $50 in the TFSA

A very important rule in both paying off debt and saving is that every little bit helps. That and pay yourself first. That brings me up to $150 which is 15% of my current 30b430 goal.

A Mothers Greatest Fear

Just a week before I was scheduled to pick up Chipotle I was struck with fear deep in my heart. Bringing a kitten into my life would be a huge commitment. I knew that I would never give him away or ignore him as he would be my furbaby forever. It was a lot to imagine after travelling with only a backpack for a full year.

There was something else though. Long term readers may remember my sweet little rat baby named Cherri. She was the apple of my eye. Sadly she was very sickly. Price was no object though and between paying debts and savings I paid for all her treatments and medications. Her life was cut short by illness and after only 1.5 years she passed away leaving me heart broken and grieving for a long long time. How could I go through that again?

Some people believe that it is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all. When I looked back on all the moments we shared together my heart fills with happiness. I still miss her and I dont regret everything I went through with her. It was worth it.

On Wednesday after a hard day at work Chipotle went missing for 4 hours. He never strays from the yard and always comes when called just like a little puppy would. We combed the neighbourhood and wooded area calling his name and shaking his bag of treats. I quickly put up posters at the surrounding apartments and bus stops. I posted on Facebook and all local city sites that he was missing with photo. I was frantic and desperate.

At 10pm we heard a crying mew from the back door which was left ajar in hopes he would make his way home. BF ran to the door and scooped him up to deliver him into my arms where I bawled like a little baby.

Where he disappeared to I will never know. I have my suspicions but this is a secret Chipotle will always hold. The experience was soul shaking. For right now we have decided to keep him inside unless closely supervised until he has all his shots, tattoo and is neutered.

Of all the financial investments I will make he brings the greatest return.

Why I Love September

Oh September. You are not usually my favorite month but this year you've managed to bring two very special occasions to my life.

1) All the kiddies go back to school. Yay! As you can tell I dont have children and do not want any in the near future. I'm happy to have them tucked away in schools instead of screaming and running around the pharmacy :)

2) 3 paydays!!!! Thats the real winner for me. Its usually October but this year its going to fall in September. I just realized this and am feeling like its time to make some progress with my savings.

Anyone else have 3 paydays this month? What will you do with the extra cashola?

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?

Introducing My Furbaby - Chipotle

So Far So Good

So I got my ING pin code in the mail and used the card yesterday to pay for groceries. It went thru without any problems. Yay. I'm wondering when I will recieve my free cheques though.

Another bonus? I got the $100 yesterday in my account as promised and without me having to inquire about it. I love ING.

So what shall I do with this $100? Well I think its time to start those retirement savings. Something that is long overdue.