Pay Day 1 October 2013

So my monthly pay check is in for a total of $3,598.39.  No extra money came in this month, though my work has agreed to pay for my Association fees which will be $372 that will not be coming out of my own pocket. 

Housing 40% - $1,439.35

Mortgage - $646.62

House Maintenance - $315.00

Housing Taxes - $192.00

House Insurance - $72.00

Utilities – $213.73

Total – $1,439.35

Savings 10% - $359.83 – All going to my RRSP

Debt 10% - $359.83

Transportation 15% - $539.75

Bus Pass – $0

Train - $15

Other - $0

Car Savings – $0

Total - $15

Leftover - $524.75

Life 25% - $899.63

Food - $160

Cell – $30

Internet - $50

Health Insurance – $23.52

Clothes - $10

Gifts - $10

Misc - $10

Big Ticket Item - $100

Entertainment - $10

Social/Sports - $0

Financial Planning - $14

Slush – $482.11

Total - $899.63

Goal Review End September

I was kind of curious to see how my goals list was going since I started my Masters. 

Financial

- Set up RRSP investments with my return of value pension from the military and contribute $359 a month for the year, along with any tax refunds. CHECK [I’ve started thinking about strategies for optimizing investments in my TFSA and RRSP when the new year rolls around.]

- Pay off house in 5 years.  I should be able to accomplish this by doubling up every payment and paying a 10% lump sum every year.  CHECK [Not sure what my hours are going to look like especially in the winter semester so this may slow down. On the other hand the second half of the 5 year period is post masters so I may see a pay raise for the second half.]

Educational

-Start Masters of Science / Masters of Science in Nursing in the fall.  CHECK [I’m having lots of fun, and the concepts aren’t too hard.]

Social

-Join two new clubs in the local area.  CHECK [I’m actually up to two writers groups plus quilting.] 

Other

-Have my novel accepted to be published.  I plan to have it ready by the end of the month (January), so I can start sending it out. CHECK [I have once again launched my book to two agents, one ha said no, I’m still waiting on the other.]

-Become a respite foster parent. CHECK [I’ve got my rooms ready (finally) and have spoken to my worker about possibilities for weekend placements.]

-Finish my current crafting projects.  NOPE [Well I’ve done some stuff. The only thing is that I can’t sew in 15 min intervals. I need to know that I’ll have at least an hour uninterrupted. This will slow down until my next school break.] 

A respectable 86%. For October I’m not going to worry about the crafting or where my novel is. I will be concentrating on my studies and on getting started with foster care.  

Home Remedies

As a nurse by profession I have an interesting relationship with home remedies. On one hand I want scientific proof that they work before my patients start messing with them (which few remedies have been studied.) That said the active chemical in aspirin comes from willow bark which was used in the old days for pain and fever. So it's not all snake's oil.

Last Monday though I was coming down with a sore throat and cold. Being a nurse I have seen many a patient with my symptoms and when they come to me there's not much I can do. Get lots of sleep, drink lots of water, etc. None the less I didn't want my cold to put me out of it for several days since that would put me behind in school work. So I was a bit desperate. What did I do? Salt water, lemon and honey tea.

1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp honey, 1 cup boiling water
(It tastes really good despite it's suspect appearance)

Salt water gargle is actually backed up by some science, and anyone who's had as many teeth pulled as I have knows it well. A lot of bacteria that invade our bodies can't survive salt water. While you may not want to literally rub salt in your wound (please don't it will really, really hurt, your better off with traditional antibiotics) it's perfectly good for cleaning out your mouth and the back of your throat.

Lemon and honey tea. I have no idea how bacteria react to lemons, but most bacteria aren't big on acidic environments. Add to that the fact that honey has some antibiotic properties (and tasted good) and you've got about as good a cold fighting tea as you'll get. Not to mention that warm liquids tend to sooth the back of the throat when it get's irritated.

The end results was a 2 day cold which I pushed through with only minor inconviniences.  Of course
correlation does not infer causation as we say in my stats class . . . but it helped me get through it.

My from scratch goes fuzzy

One of the (few) disadvantages of cooking from scratch is that there is no best before date. Generally this means that the first time you find out that what you made won't last that long in the fridge is when it goes fuzzy.  As evidenced by my refried beans below.

I've tried to come up with a strategy for minimizing this but the reality is I cooking in batches so that I don't have to cook every night and at some point I'm going to end up wasting some food in order to learn it's best before.

The other thing that got wasted this week was some spinach. Despite my best intentions I just didn't get around to my greens. I think that part of the problem is that they sit in an air tight plastic container with their own moisture.

Next time I get spinach I'll try moving them to a bag with a bit of paper towel to cut down on moisture.

September Mid Month Checkup

Bills/Savings Paid

Mortgage - Successfully doubled-up

Retirement Savings - On Track

Housing Taxes/Insurance – Taxes have been increased based on my predictions for next year’s bill.  Insurance is on Track

Health Insurance – Spent – but need to claim of meds in progress

Financial Planning - $1.64 left over.

Bills waiting to be paid

Cell Phone/Internet - Bills have not yet arrived, $46.89 and $50.68 respectively

Utilities – $383.86 I’m looking into price of wood for my fireplace which will take a bite out of this.

Others

House Maintenance - Savings are up to $2,385.27.

Big Ticket Items - $588.53 in savings. 

Train - $66.71 still there.  

Other Transportation - $77.72 set aside.

Food - $240.27 left.  I could throw a party! 

Miscellaneous - $28.98. 

Entertainment - $22.87. With all the time I spend studying there isn’t much time to spend.  

Social/Sports - $40, but I should need to pay a $30 club fee soon.

Clothes - $90

Gifts - $68.40.   

The perpetual Todo list

I one of those people that need to write things down. Failing to do so will have them fly out of my head. It will eventually fly back into my head, usually at an inopportune moment, normally right before I need to have the thing done. Of course there are the things that have no time line that I only remember when I don't have time to do them. So they never actually get done.

Enter my perpetual todo list. Most people find a list that never gets finished a bit depressing. I'm finding it quite useful. The perpetual Todo list rides around in my backpack and can be added to the moment that something comes up. Having it all in one place keeps track of every little thing that is going on in every little aspect of my life. What's more, because it travels around with me (opposed to sitting on my fridge) it is constantly being looked at and the things on it will actually get done. When sitting and having lunch at work I'll normally pull it out to see if there are any phone calls or e-mails that need to be done. One task per lunch hour keeps a lot of the little appointment making and getting back to people up to date.

It's also how I look at the list. I never look at it in its entirety. I don't care how long it will take me to do the whole list. Instead I take it item by item, which usually don't take a lot of time by themselves. In fact I'm regularly surprised when the dreaded phone call I have to make to the insurance company only takes 3 min to resolve.

For bigger tasks I break them down. Instead of "Claim XYZ through insurance" it will be, "Assemble insurance paperwork," "Set up insurance account login," "Fill out insurance paperwork," and "Mail insurance paperwork." That way instead of having a task drag on for a week and becoming discouraged because it never seems to go anywhere I can cross something off whenever I make even a little bit of progress which keeps me motivated. And ultimately, things get done.

No food waste, fruit tree payback

I once again am proud to announce 0 food waste. Though it was a tad close. I'm sure everyone knows at least one recipe that tastes absolutely wonderful . . . but makes terrible left overs.  One of my experiments turned out to be one of these recipes and though I will do it again I'm certainly going to half the recipe so that I don't have as many leftovers.

My lovely plum tree has finally run out of plums for me to devour so I thought I'd do a rough estimate of how much fruit I got off the tree, and then convert that to a dollar amount.

I didn't keep an accurate count of how many plums I ate but I estimate that it was four buckets full (I use a 4L ice cream bucket for my plum picking.) The bucket holds roughly 27 plums at a time which means that I consumed approximately 108 plums in four weeks. : )  (I was a bit surprised at first, but looking back I was munching on them constantly.)

Thought I'd add a picture of my plum tree in the spring so
that you could admire it!

At my local the cost for 3 plums is $1.27. Which is $0.42 per plum (1.27/3 = 0.42). Since I ate 108 of them that's $45.72 worth of plums (0.42*108).

My tree came with the house, but when it comes to buying a new plum tree the standard cost that I've found online is $20-$30. In other words a plum tree will more than pay for itself over a single season once it's mature. Not to mention the beauty of the tree, the shade that it provides and the biodiversity that it helps to promote. I would most certainly say that a plum tree is a good return on investment.

Hazard: Your Brain May Explode

I have just finished my first week of real classes at the graduate level. I managed to spend most of the last 2 days with a mildly dazed and tingling feeling going on in my brain. Oh, and I went home exhausted after a only one class and 4 hours of work completely exhausted. No I'm not sick. That's just what happens when my brain feels like it wants to explode.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my classes, new classmates and the ideas I'm being introduced to. In fact I've discovered that a week or so of oh-my-God-my-brain-is-so-full-it's-going-to-start-coming-out-my-ears every few month or so is very good for me. It's just not all that pleasant when you're going through it. (And here I am paying large sums of money to have this happen to me.)

I must admit that I've never been a big fan of higher education just for the sake of higher education; especially when it puts you into debt. But I think that I just may be starting to appreciate education simply for the benefit of learning how to think. I chose my Masters because it will help with my career progression, but I'm beginning to see that I'll be getting a lot more out of the process than some qualifications and a higher pay scale.

Sure you can get a good deal of education out side of the class room. I've learned loads from folks who haven't got a university degree and I think that practical and useable knowledge and skills are just as important as philosophical thinking. However Graduate school brings together a group of people, both students and teachers who want to be challenged, pushed and explore a level of thinking beyond what they currently use.

I'm thinking that my Graduate studies venture will be a good investment.

Over Budgeting Food

Those of you who follow me regularly will notice that I always budget $160 for food each month. What you probably don't know is that I only spend around $120 each month. That would be why I started out September with $285.11 in my food section. Why do I do such a strange thing, putting more in than I know I'll spend?

It's a luxury, which I can afford and enjoy having. When I was transitioning between jobs and had just bought a house money was a tad tight. As such I really did have to tighten down on my food budget and pay attention to what I bought. I would have two sections on my grocery list, the need to buys in order to feed myself for the next week, and the nice to haves which was treats, stocking up on food for later and so on. I kept a running tally in my head of what was in my cart and when necessary but things back or didn't pick them up to begin with.

Now I make my list, pick everything up and check out with out paying all that much attention to the cost. I still spend on average $120 a month on my food, but unlike previous months there is no pressure or worry when I shop. It's a small luxury, but it's one that I enjoy and can afford.

Obviously I will not accumulate extra food money indefinitely. One of these days (probably after Christmas) I'll cut back on my food budget and use up some of the extra in that section. But for now I enjoy the privilege of eating what I want without thought of cost.

0 Food waste and Cooking with beans

I haven't a shred of food waste to share with you this Friday. Though in all fairness I did end up eating the same meal 4 times to get through one set of leftovers. I do need to concentrate on getting through my container of spinach though . . . I've been avoiding my salads because they take time to make, it's a bad habit that I've been trying to get rid of forever.

On the other hand I thought I'd share some ideas with you about cooking with beans. They've made up a large part of my diet since I went vegetarian and I've gotten pretty good at cooking them. I use to do the canned beans thing, so simple. You just open it up and pour. But to experiment further with cooking from scratch I ventured into the world of dried beans and never looked back. For me the advantages of dried beans over canned are:

1. They are less expensive.
2. They use less packaging
3. You can buy them (and store them) in bulk.
4. You control and added ingredients, such as salt.

When I started cooking with dried beans I was looking for a standard equation of how much water and how long to cook them. Much to my dismay it doesn't work that way. Now a days cooking beans looks something like this (if I need them soft to go into the recipe, some recipes actually call for dried beans and provide specific instructions.)

Measure out wanted amount (you need to know how to convert dried to cooked) put in large bowl of water to soak overnight. Put in slow cooker in morning with as much water as it will hold (at least 3 cups of water to 1 cup of beans.) Turn on. Turn off when you get home/when beans are the desired level of mushiness (yes that is a scientific word!)

Of course this takes some preparation and planning. So does taking meat out of the freezer the night before (which I was awful at doing by the way.)

Time to hibernate!

The first day of grad school is over and done with, wow what a day. It is going to be a lot different than my undergrad, but I think it should be in mostly good ways. In my specific program there are only 4 of us and we are currently huddling together for mutual protection.

When I decided to go back to school and work 80%  I knew that I would have my plate full. I put a good deal of thought into the best way to handle the heavy work load and not be working and behind the ball the entire time. While I did enjoy my undergrad I will admit that most of the time I did little other than study, and while it was tolerable for 4 years when all my peers were doing the same I'm going to strive for a little more balance this time. I'm going to do my best to see that work and study occurs on week days. Yes, that may mean some very long days during the week but I figure since I'm home by 5:00 I can get a good 3 hours a night of Masters work in and maybe another 30 min a day of text book reading on the bus and while waiting for appointments. That's 17 hrs a week at home study for my Masters (plus 6 hours a week in class) and 32 hours a week for work. I'm hoping that 23 hours a week will suffice for my Masters so that I can confine my work to 55 hours over 5 days leaving my weekends free for foster care, house work, and my own leisurely pursuits.

The other issue that I put a lot of thought into before starting was how to take care of myself. I recon that I've done pretty well in the last year when it comes to getting decent food on the table each night, but that hasn't always been the case. I have had trouble in the past with finding the time and energy to put together a proper nutritious meal every night. It tends to be one of the things that I let slip when I'm living alone and busy. So, I decided to lay up stores in order to go into hibernation over the next 8 months. Over the summer I've been making extra foods and freezing it in portion sizes. Each portion has enough food for one supper for me and one lunch for me (since I always do leftovers for lunch.) I have currently:

15 portions of Lentil soup
8 portions of Pea soup
12 portions of Chilli
5 portions of Baked Beans

I also have roughly enough refried beans frozen to make either nachos of tacos once a week for 8 months; as well as 7 half loaves of bread. (I never thaw more than half a loaf at a time because I don't eat them that quickly.)

The idea is that between the stuff I have frozen in the freezer and making doubles of my recipes on weekend I won't have to do very much cooking during the week. Meaning that I can keep my nose to the books and stay on top of my classes.

That folks is the great Graduate study hibernation plan. I certainly hope that it works out.

Pay Day 1 September 2013

So my monthly pay check is in for a total of $3,598.39.  No extra money came in this month. 

Housing 40% - $1,439.35

Mortgage - $646.62

House Maintenance - $315.00

Housing Taxes - $192.00

House Insurance - $72.00

Utilities – $213.73

Total – $1,439.35

Savings 10% - $359.83 – All going to my RRSP

Debt 10% - $359.83

Transportation 15% - $539.75

Bus Pass – $60

Train - $15

Other - $0

Car Savings – $0

Total - $75

Leftover - $464.75

Life 25% - $899.63

Food - $160

Cell – $30

Internet - $50

Health Insurance – $23.52

Clothes - $10

Gifts - $10

Misc - $10

Big Ticket Item - $100

Entertainment - $10

Social/Sports - $0

Financial Planning - $14

Slush – $482.11

Total - $899.63

Of Note:

-Between my “Slush” category, leftover transportation money, debt repayment, and mortgage money I have $1,953.31 set aside. Of that $1,422.56 will be my mortgage payment/monthly double up and $530.75 will be for next year’s annual 10% payment.

-While I do get a “free” bus pass with my tuition I don’t get that until midway through the week. So I took out $60 in toonies and quarters. Some of it will be bus money for the first couple days and the rest of it will be bus money for when I have to take the foster kids places.