I'm not *quite* there yet...

As many of you know, I left/was laid off from my ad job this past Tuesday. I’m not thrilled that I don’t have a job anymore, but it wasn’t too bad of an exit. They didn’t really want to let me go, but there wasn’t any work at my level, and I couldn’t get caught upon the nitty gritty kind of work they needed fast enough to justify my salary.

So we mutually agreed that this situation wasn’t working out. They have paid me through to April 15th and my benefits continue until then, but I left on Tuesday (nothing to do at work). I will also get a reference from them for the right job. Nice people, it’s really too bad it didn’t work out.

Anyway, this is pretty much the first time I have ever been unemployed, so it’s a whole new world for me! I’m going to take some time to figure out what I really want to do with my life –  advertising/media was ok, but I found myself increasingly unhappy in it. I think the universe is giving me a kick in the pants, telling me to find a better career path. So that’s what I’m going to do.

Monies

So how am I going to manage my money situation while I don’t have regular income?

1. Employment Insurance

Since I was laid off, I qualify for EI in Ontario. I applied the day after I ended my employment at the agency, and I hope to hear back soon. I’ve never applied before so I’m not totally sure what to expect with this process or even how much I will receive. I think the maximum per week is around $400, which would be great if I can get that.

2. Watch the pennies

I’m going to have to be much more diligent in budgeting in the coming few months. Luckily I don’t really need to shop for anything but food coming up, but there are always going to be unforeseen expenses, so I will try to pare things down as much as possible to accommodate.

I am trying to cook more at home, as well as cooking from scratch. This will be a good chance for me to explore/practice cooking some new dishes! Since I eat so little now (due to weight loss surgery) I’ll either have lots of leftovers, or the ability to invite friends over for nice meals now, with no extra cost to me.

3. Put loan payments on hold

Luckily my current loan (to pay for my surgery) was through my granny. She is sympathetic to my loss, and I am allowed to put my loan repayments on hold until I get a full time job again. Thank goodness! If the loan were through the bank it would have been a different situation–but I would never have borrowed from a bank for this purpose to begin with.

4. Find other ways to make money

I’ve been quite involved with my bed & breakfast, and hope to continue at a decent rate. My goal is to earn $500 per month through bookings. I have started tracking all my bookings and earnings and it’s not looking too bad! If I can make at least $500 per month, it will really help me cover all my expenses.

Obviously, I am also looking for a new job. If I can’t find anything decent soon, I will start to look at part time options in industries I am interested in. If that doesn’t pan out, then I’ll start looking at retail/service-type positions (ie: Starbucks, Chapters, etc.) but I hope it doesn’t get to that point.

5. Emergency Fund

I’ve got an EF for exactly this kind of situation. It is not quite as large as I would like it to be, but it could cover my rent for 3-4 months. Combined with EI and/or B&B income, I would be able to live for that period of time or longer.

So, that’s the plan for right now. Keep costs as low as possible, and create as much side income as possible until I get a full time job. While I am prepared for a few months of living expenses, I don’t want to rely on them. I’m going to pretend that I’m hanging on by a thread so that I’ll be more motivated to find a job. A fellow blogger was prepared for a year of unemployment, but found that because she had that safety net she was less inclined to spend a lot of time and effort looking for a job. I don’t want to fall into that trap!

A shopping mall.

I went back today because it has a Walmart and I wanted to get this cheapo pair of flat boots that would fit my wide calf (as seen in the Fatshionista! community). Lucky for me it wasn’t the zoo it was on the weekend. Note to self: do your shopping on a weird day!

I ended up taking several detours, slowly accumulating bags and purchases like it was my business! (Luckily I had my trusty reusable bags with me to help carry everything, including my My Bag! You can win one from me too, you know! To help you with your shopping! Just click here to enter!)

I just finished jotting down a list of all the people/events I must provide a gift for, and it breaks down like this:

7 (minimum) xmas gifts
4 birthdays
1 housewarming

That is TWELVE gifts that I have to come up with! For me that is a simply staggering amount! I am doing everything as frugally as possible, and I vacillate between being ridiculously proud of myself and crying in the corner because I still spent so much money.

So far I have about 6 of the gifts covered, and am well on my way to finishing up the remainder.

For my friends I’m trying to be uber-frugal, but in the end I wonder how much everything is going to cost. All the little pieces, sunk costs and miscellaneous bits that need to come together for these gifts could end up being quite the investment. For wrapping, I’ve been using the little that I have on hand, and have also visited a dollar store for some interesting items. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to be baking/making little bags of goodies for everyone as the finishing piece to their gifts.

Here’s a photo of some of the things I’m giving away that I have ready to go:

Homemade apple butter & vanilla extract

I made and canned a batch of apple butter in the summer, and also made my own vanilla extract, both of which you can see in this photo.

I’m actually going to be including more stuff in each gift basket for my friends, but I don’t have it all in one place yet. Each friend is roughly going to get:

• A jar of canned fruit I grew, picked & canned myself in the summer (pears or plums)
• a jar of apple butter
• and/or homemade pickles I made at the same time
• and/or a bottle of vanilla
• a bag or two of sweets
• a pretty little basket or bag to hold it all in!

Once I’ve got it all together I’ll be sure to take some photos–if everything works out they should be pretty good-looking gifts! (Not gonna lie… when I try I am very talented at wrapping & presentation! You can see my mom’s gift in the background )

Even though I bitch and complain about putting these gifts together, I really enjoy doing it. If I had more or unlimited money I would do so much more! But I’d still probably include something handmade, and I like all my gifts to be as thoughtful as possible.

I just wish money wasn’t such a big concern for me right now. I don’t want to think about it, and I haven’t tallied anything up yet, but I have an inkling that these “frugal gifts” are actually costing me a lot more than I anticipated. Everything from the cost of the jars & wrapping supplies and the ingredients to make the goodies will eventually add up.

The question is–do I really want to know?

I started to discuss the idea of taking the car with my dad and boy oh boy did he start throwing out the reasons I should NOT take it.

I think we spent an hour going back and forth, discussing the pros and cons of having a car at this stage in my life. My dad really thinks it’s a bad idea but would still sell it to me for a song if I was insistent.

Just for the record, I was under the impression that they wanted me to take the car off their hands. Oops, looks like mom did some gum-flapping without consulting dad first. I’ll bet you they had a little talk after I left last night. Mom later mentioned that she regretted telling me about the car being for sale. I was kind of upset that she told me too since it got my hopes up.

My dad and I both had some convincing arguments, but ultimately I have to side with reason on this and have decided not to take the car. Reason being is that it truly is a bad time in the economy right now, and there’s still a chance that I may lose my job in the next few years.

Do I really want to be saddled with an old beater of a car if I lose my job? I didn’t get a raise due to a salary freeze and therefore will not have additional income to cover the insurance payments, gas and maintenance. The average cost of owning a car is just too high for me right now; especially if I want to do other things like travel, take courses and have fun in general.

Just because I CAN, doesn’t mean I SHOULD, right? It would just be too much strain and risk to take on when I really don’t NEED a car. It was really just a WANT. Toronto Transit is pretty awesome for getting around the city, especially since I work and live right by multiple TTC lines, so I really don’t have a defined need for a car, other than additional convenience and status.

I really wish I had one though. Or at least a Vespa. *sigh* maybe in a few more years…

At least in the meantime it means I can purchase a few smaller things I’ve had my eyes on. Instant gratification and all that.

• Reliable personal transportation
• Convenience
• Ability to carry stuff and people
• Can get home for visits easier, no need for train tickets anymore
• Already have a private parking spot at my apartment
• Cheap purchase price
• Cheap maintenance, well-maintained over the years, dad would help me maintain
• Low gas cost since I won’t be using it a ton
• Helping out my parents
• No more cab fares! (except when drinking)

• Have to pay for it
• Insurance costs! OMG
• Though small, maintenance costs still suck
• Gas prices suck
• Would not drive it to work
• Parking in the city is waaaayy too expensive
• Possible abuse by friends

So far the pros are outweighing the cons. I did a quick estimate of costs in my head and I think that if I were to cut back in other areas of my life I could afford to keep it; but the question is: just how much do I have to cut back on? And is it worth it?

As I was writing this I sat back and did some thinking. Insurance will cost me about $120/mo, so where in my budget can I find that? I’ve got a couple of options.

1. I could reduce contributions to my savings
2. I could cut back on eating out all the time (which would be easier since I would be able to grocery shop properly!)
3. I could cut back on unnecessary purchases

I’m not going to stop saving, that would just be foolish. So I think I might try a combination of 2 & 3 and see how that works. I don’t want to sacrifice everything I love just so I can have a vehicle. I guess if everything goes sour I can just sell the car, right?

I still have to factor in gassing it up and maintenance costs which I will talk to my dad about. I would obviously need some sort of car fund to fall back on if something went wrong. But I might also just let the car sit until I can afford to pay a repair bill since I won’t be dependent on it.

I guess I still have a lot to think about. This is a big decision!

I signed up for some clay pottery classes a while ago that are due to start at the end of March. I’ve given them my CC# but haven’t been charged yet.

I was thinking of cancelling out of this class and saving the $185 it would cost me. I would be missing a class while I was in Vegas anyway.

The challenges:
1. I actually do want to take this class
2. They would charge a $25 admin fee if I cancel

I wonder if I can afford the $185 for classes, on top of my Vegas trip? (Yes I realize there was some poor planning involved in this. I’m only human!)

What would you do in this situation? Pretend it’s a class you would actually like if you’re not into pottery.

I’ll be thinking this over in the meantime.

I’ve just updated my tracking bars on the side and have also decided to make a few changes.

Primarily, I’ve decided that right now is just not a good time to buy a Vespa, what with the economy the way it is and the chance that I might lose my job. It would involve large upfront and ongoing costs. I could handle it in a good economy, but not this one.

The decision was difficult, but I’m switching all the money I saved for travel and the scooter into my emergency fund, and my old emergency fund into my fun & travel fund.

Got that?

I feel better now, knowing that I’ve got at least two grand to fall back on. Now I just need to moderate my spending. I’m also going to try and do what everyone else in the PF world seems able to do: actually sock the money away.

I want to actually reach my EF goal, and then move onto the next one, I suppose. I will continue to simultaneously contribute to all of my accounts, but anything extra I receive will go into the EF from now on. I will also try and use it less!

The next change I made was swap the Wedding Fund account into a TFSA. We’ll see how that works out.

I also updated my networth through NetworthIQ. I am SO happy to see it starting to go up again. My RRSP’s have gone up since the huge drop in October, and my credit cards owing has also gone down, increasing my networth overall.

Thank goodness!

This year seems to be off to a good start. Now I’ve got to keep it going that way!

*Don’t forget to enter the draw for my give-away of 3 FUZE prize packs!

I also got to open some presents and cards that family sent over. Now that I’m older I don’t expect or get very much for my birthdays, but my grandparents still send me a little bit of money which is really great– While I make enough money to pay my bills and live comfortably, I don’t really have enough to buy a lot of fun and frivolous stuff.

This year, my grandparents (combined) and the GST cheque I just received (yay!) netted me just over $200. I decided to take that money plus some Christmas money and use it the way it is intended: to purchase myself something I would enjoy.

Sure, I could have thrown it at my savings account, paid a bill or put it in my RRSP, but I felt that since it was meant to be a gift (and since I’m still able to pay all my bills on my own) that I should get something cool with it.

So I bought a new iPod

I figured that it would be ok for me to get this since I’ve been planning on getting one for a while, they were on sale, and it would fit the gift intent of my grandparents.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to buy a Vespa scooter this year (which I have been saving for and really really wanted!) with the way the economy is, so I opted for something smaller that does not involve ongoing spending. *sigh* I really wish I could have gotten the Vespa though, but I just can’t risk it.

Hopefully I made the right choice. Now I’ve got an iPod and a pretty fat savings account for something else.

I guess I’ll have to update my sidebars soon, but I don’t know what I should call the old Vespa goal now!

Oh, and if you’re looking to save some money, don’t forget to enter my draw for 3 free cases of FUZE!

I figure gold is always a safe holiday choice, it matches my hair and I can wear it to my office Christmas party as well. I’d say I just killed 2 birds with one stone! I plan to pair it with black pants and the black flower fascinator I bought on Etsy.

It’s a little more expensive ($49.99) than I would have hoped, but my choices were limited and I did talk myself out of purchasing anything else. Plus, I can return it if it turns out to be a really bad choice.

I hope it’s not, though. I really want to look awesome in it