Friday Pay Woes

I'm so happy its finally Friday. It's been a heavy workload with us being one technician down at work. We have two fill in techs that usually work weekends that have been helping out. One is really helpful and is able to take on and complete tasks that we need to catch up so its great. The other... well let's just say it's not so fun.

Even though its Friday payday which usually makes me happy I was sad today to see my cheque be $240 less than I thought it was going to be. I forgot about those 3 sick days this pay period. :( I really wanted to sink some more cash into savings. I only have until October to save a massive amount of money and I hate being set back so early in the year. Oh well, I'll make it up somehow.

Besides that I'm working an earlier shift today which lets me get off at a decent time to hang out with BF so that makes me feel good. It's been hard with me working so many late shifts this month because of fill in techs. We found out two days ago the other tech is not healing properly from her surgery so we're looking at about another two weeks of crazy town at work.

$125 Added to the Australia Fund

Today I decided to make a xfer to ING direct. I had approximately $200 left in my account and I get paid on Friday so I decided to leave myself with $75 for the week just in case and xfer the other $125 to ING.

This brings my Australia Fund to $325.55. I can't wait to get paid on Friday so I can boost this number again before the end of the month! Yay!

So far I have saved $625 this year with all my savings accounts combined. 2009 is definitely the year of saving for Dolly.

Money - The New Hot Topic

I've never had a problem talking about money. I've been open with everyone I know about my finances. Even when I had huge debt with large interest rates I had accepted it. My friends, family and boyfriends over the years all knew I had debt and that it bothered me. I found that by being very frank about my own finances that people were eager to talk to me about their own with great ease.

Everyone needs support when it comes to finances. We should all be able to talk freely about money. After all, we all use it and we all are aware of the rewards and repercussions it brings.

I feel lucky to be living at a time where personal finance is such a hot topic. Thanks to people like Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Suze Orman and Alison Griffiths, to name a few, the topic of money is no longer so taboo. We are lucky to have so much information available. We can communicate and gather valuable information through blogging and online support. We don't have to be ashamed about financial problems, we just have to make a decision about it and take action.

I now have friends asking me about money and talking to me about their struggles. It feels good to know that people want to talk to me about money. I know I'm not an expert by any means but I can give some friendly advice and direct people to some good resources. I'm slowly seeing my money habits and theories playing out in the lives of people around me and it makes me feel really good. I'm happy these people are making positive steps in their lives. When your finances are in order it eliminates so much unwanted stress and worry.

When I was a little girl I used to think to myself that the one thing I never wanted to do would be to get into debt. Well... life happened, and I had to fix my mistakes. Making the decision to take hold of my finances and sticking to it was the best change I've made for myself. Money problems can make you doubt so much about yourself and can sometimes make you feel less of a person. Money should never control our emotions but we let it. This needs to change.

I am so happy and proud to be part of such an amazing blogging community. The support I have received since moving to Blogger is unbelievable. The comments on this blog brighten my day every time I log in and see them waiting for me. My only hope is that this new trend sticks around and that we are able to see many more bloggers go from debtors to savers.

Cheers to a new age of personal finance!

I Have An Amazing Sweet BF

Last night BF surprised me by meeting me at work. He had to bus there after work because our trucks starter died and we don't have time to fix it until Saturday. I was very grumpy and involved in my work when I looked up and saw him. I felt a warm rush come over me, kind of a safe feeling. He instantly made me smile. Aww..

Once I was able to free myself from the grips of the dispensary I ran over to hug him and told him what a horrid day it was. He told me he was there to surprise me by buying a gortex jacket I had been eying up since the end of November. I was shocked. I was also worried about busing not running very often that late in the evening and told him we'd miss the next one if we did that. He already had that all planned out and said he was taking me to dinner at a restaurant close by to ensure we'd have more than enough time and we'd catch a later one. Aww...

When we got to the store I tried the jacket on, like I've done a few times already, and we talked about it. BF pointed out a few things that may be lacking from the jacket. We got all the way to the register and I froze up. I asked what the return policy was and they said exchange or store credit only. On a $300+ coat? I'll pass for now.

BF seemed a little disappointed that I declined but thats just me readers. I have a really hard time pulling the trigger on bigger expenses. I get emotionally wrapped up in it. Maybe it comes from being poor and holding onto dollars when I was a kid. Maybe its from being in debt and depriving myself for so many years. We talked about it and decided it would be better to check out more coats just so I can feel more comfortable with the purchase. BF says its a gift and not to worry about it but I have to. That's just the way I am about money. Even his, lol.

After that we went to dinner and it was great. We rode the bus home together and he got a first hand experience on how much transit riding sucks for me which is good. It gives him some perspective, lol.

Overall it was a great night and on the ride home I realized how he'd planned it all out and just how sweet and considerate he was. I made sure to tell him once we got home how much I appreciated it and that just because I didn't get the jacket, it didn't mean that it wasn't a great surprise.

Oh! He just messaged me from work with links to other jackets he thinks I would like. Aww... I think this man is a keeper!

Dolly Gets Benefits!

Today my favorite lady (payroll) at work spotted me on my way in and told me she had some paperwork for me to fill out. I didn't get a chance to talk to her as I was on the phone when she dropped them off to me in a hurry at the dispensary. She quickly told me to look them over and that we'll get together on Thursday to talk about them.

I was shocked to see that there were RSP papers there. My boss had told me in the interview that he didn't think I would be eligible until I reached one year of employment (I'll almost be in Australia by then). I asked another tech and she said that you're eligible for them the same time as your benefits. YAY!!

I can't wait to learn more about this. I'm totally into having my contributions matched. Heck ya!

Song of the Day - "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez

The other day I wandered into the office and BF had this song playing on our computer. I was surprised to find out that he didn't download it because I never did. I love how there are so many random songs from random people on my computer. I have loved this song a long time and had no clue who it was. You can also hear the original version on YouTube by The Knife, but I prefer this softer version.

Move My Money

I did a little xfering to ING today. I made the following deposits:

a) I transfered $90.00 to my Secured Credit Card Fund. This brings the total to $100 which was my goal for the month!

b) I also transfered $90.00 to my RSP Fund, which is also a grand total of $100 and the monthly goal :D

c) I decided at the last minute to throw another $100 into the Australia Fund. I'm hoping to make another, healthier deposit to this fund next pay day which is still almost two weeks away. This brings the total of that fund to $200.

So today I managed to check off two goals on my January list. The first was to top up all savings categories to at least $100. I'm happy to have that completed in the first half of the month.

The second was hosting my mom's birthday party last weekend. It turned out to be a success and I think my mom had a pretty good time. Yay!

Our Truck is Sick

It seems our truck needs a new starter. We thought it might have been the battery but no... its the starter. I still love our truck though. It's a 93 Nissan Pathfinder and it suits us perfectly. We could have bought a cute car or something but it would have limited us. We love going off road and camping. We live on Vancouver Island! Who wouldn't?

Luckily BF takes car of all vehicle issues because he's the only driver.

All Is Well

I am so happy to have BF back. The last few days have been great.

I've been back at work since Thursday. It's been super busy and we are one tech done due to knee surgery so we've had fill ins all week. It's definitely crazy town at work, but I try to keep my sense of humor.

I got paid for one week because in some changes to the pay schedule today. I haven't yet checked to see how much I was paid nor have I decided how to allot it yet. I checked today and both of my new ING Direct sub accounts are now open and all my money transfered over. Yay! I have not yet checked my PO Box yet for GST. I'll try to remember that on Monday.

Tomorrow I'm hosting my mothers' birthday party at her house. It's a potluck and I've invited all of her friends. BF and I are contributing mini quiche, a salmon, two beer can chickens and birthday cake. I'm looking forward to celebrating with her and close family friends.

BF and I have made resolutions to lose some weight before the summer. We both have different strategies. I'll post more about this later.

I am glad its Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

Airport Drama

I HATE AIR CANADA!

We just drove all the way to the local airport to get a call just before we get there that BF isn't there. He said his plane was delayed from Quebec to BC and that then his flight to our hometown was canceled because of fog! Gosh darn crappy weather. He said it was his first chance to get to a phone.

Now he has to see if there will be any more flights or if he should try and travel to the ferries which is NOT fun and then take the 135 min ferry ride home. Poor guy! He also has to chase down his luggage now if he can. I was angry when I heard this because I had made him promise not to check in any luggage. If its lost this will be the 3rd year in a row!

I miss him and just want him home. Every year we have flight problems with them and every year our luggage disappears. AIR CANADA SUCKS! Now I'm stuck here waiting for him to call collect with his travel plans. :(