Looking Ahead

When I returned home from my year of traveling I was lucky to have a good friend to stay with for a few days in Vancouver before heading home to the Island. When I walked in the door I was immediately presented with a gift. Knowing my passion for all things Gail, my dear friend Nathaniel gave me one of her books that I've been lusting over. I am now a proud owner of "Never Too Late". Yay!

The gift was totally unexpected. Also, its not only thoughtful to give me something I enjoy, it will also hopefully make an impact on my future through some sound retirement advice.

It comes at a great time too because now that I'm debt free and realized an important life goal of traveling before settling down I'm ready to take the big step of saving for retirement.

I've known since I was a teenager that saving for retirement early was key. I preached it to my friends. So what happened? I wasted the opportunity. Thats what.

Well thats all about to change. In April I will have three paydays and my finances will start getting back on track. Its time to start investing in my future.

Kick Ass Weekend Turned Long Weekend - Part One

You may have noticed that I am BIG into the holidays. Not so much Christmas or New Years. Maybe that will change when I have kids. I prefer the more fun holidays. Halloween is by far my favorite. 2009 saw a big turnout for St.Patricks though.

It started Friday night when BF's friend arrived to stay with us from Quebec. They had a little boys night out eating chicken wings and then off to play pool. I stayed at home to give them some space and to get some prep work done for the party. I made the most delicious chocolate cupcakes paired with the perfect green cream cheese icing.
Saturday was the night of the party I mentioned earlier this month. I decided to do a BYOB potluck. The night started slow as almost everyone was very late which is difficult when its a potluck. Once everyone was there it things started to go really well. BF and friend had made a ton of jello shooters which seemed to turn things up notch. Everyone was required to wear a supplied hat that was also the party favor of the night. Here is a picture of it being sported by none other than famous Vancouver journalist Nathaniel Christopher! Then is a blocked picture of BF hiding from the camera.
Estimated Party Costs
Food - $50
Party Favors - $11 (hats)
Decorations - $6
Liquor - Paid by BF

We also won in the time department. By choosing the items we did for the potluck we freed up a lot of time to be with out guests. Our contributions included 2 beer can chickens, cupcakes, jello shooters, chips and pop. All super easy and fast.



I'll post part two a little later on. I'm still cleaning up the joint and haven't been feeling well lately .

Weekend Hurry Up and Get Here

I am soooo looking forward to this weekend. BF and I are finally going to get to go away for a few days. I've got most of the weekend planned out and I can't wait to get it started. BF is also very stoked to be getting away for a bit. He's been mentioning the need for a vacation for awhile. 3 days isn't really a holiday but its a nice break from the ordinary.

I'm also looking forward to spending time with Nathaniel. He's a good friend of mine that I've known since the days of high school. We've always kept in touch over the years but the last few years we've been closer. He wrote a very touching post about me that brightened up my morning before heading to work today.

Week 2 of work is almost over. This Friday will be a payday and I'm so happy to be expecting 32 hours on my first cheque. This job will definitely help me reach my goal of being debt free before the year is over and that is my number one goal. Once that monkey is off my back I'll feel so proud of myself. I've been in debt for so long it will be a nice feeling (or strange) to not have to pay off debt somewhere and actually put that money to good use for the future.

Once the debt is paid off I'm going to set up some more financial goals for myself. Australia and the EFund will be priority for me but I'm thinking there are a few other things I need to address as well.

Nathaniel has told me that on Sunday we can do whatever I want and he would foot the bill. I suggested maybe we could go set up an EFund for him. That would be a great gift for both of us. I want to see him set up for the future too!

A Ray of Sunshine Thru The Clouds

Yesterday I returned home, after being in annoyed state all day, to suddenly perking up to have something in my mailbox catch my eye. I noticed a letter with scrolling penmanship addressed to me. Hmmmmm what's this?!

Usually my mailbox is like my inbox... full of spam. I get so much junk mail and mail from the same past tenants that I don't even look at it anymore. It piles up and eventually I throw the junk in recycling. My mom also gets tired of it and takes on the job of returning the mail to the senders. (Works for me!)

This envelope was different! It was special and it had a stamp with the Queen on it! I instantly knew it could be none other than my dear friend Nathaniel. It immediately turned up the dial on my happy meter.

Enclosed was a sweet card with the following written:

Dear Dolly,
I know you collect Canadian Tire Money so I've sent you this dollar. I got it in 2003 when I got my first DVD player.
I never go to Canadian Tire so I've gifted it to you!
May it bring you one dollar closer to financial freedom!

Love, Nathaniel