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.