Jan-you-need-to-help-me-not-spend-money-ary

After receiving my Visa bill for this month (even though it looked like they took every Visa bill I’ve ever had, combined it, then doubled it and gave it to me), I have decided that I’m going to try REALLY HARD to not spend any money in January, and maybe February too.

Now, this is obviously going to be impossible, so I have to list some things that I most definitely will be buying that officially do not count (so don’t hassle me about them):

1. Food. I need food to live, and I’ve been looking everywhere for that bread dipper that I bought two bottles of last night, okay?!
2. Normal stuff I can’t get away from, ie: TTC pass, rent, phone bill, and so on and so on
3. Trips. Now, this might seem totally counteractive, but I just got married and I’m really tired and I 100% deserve a honeymoon. Plus, I planned on doing this in 2012, so it’s really just about committing.

Things I will not be allowed to spend money on:

1. Alcohol. We have about 39,000 bottles of white wine leftover from the wedding, as well as some vodka and tequila. And I work for a beer company, so really, there’s no excuse for me to buy alcohol
2. Clothes. There’s no getting around this one – this is where I spend my money, and yo, it is just not a good idea for me to go in any store right now (including online ones) because I have a bunch of stuff that I never even wear
3. Books. See above – too many books that I haven’t read yet sit at home. Therefore I shall not buy!

Now, this is in no way going to be easy, but considering I really do want to go on a vacation, and I just had a wedding that cost about a bajillion dollars, no spending shall be allowed!

(Gifts, however, are totally okay. Just FYI.)

Yo – You Wanna Save Some Dough?

I’m not sure if it’s the idea that things start over in January that gets people thinking about saving money, but there’s definitely something in the air. I’ve written several articles for She Does The City during the past few months about saving and making money, and it’s totally been on my brain. In fact, this past year has been really focused on paying off my debt and earning additional income.

By saving money and a few good strokes of luck, I’ve actually been able to pay off all my debt, start a Tax-Free Savings Account and start and RRSP within the past year. I’m still not sure what all those terms exactly mean, but it feels pretty good.

The best part has been that I’ve had people influencing me and helping me out along the way. He has always been pretty financially savvy, so that’s been a huge help. For Christmas He also bought me two fantastic books that I’m just plowing through – The Wealthy Barber and The Wealthy Barber Returns. Both books explain financial tips and tricks in common sense terms that even I can understand. Okay, except the section on wills and life insurance, but hey, you’ve always got to have a goal, right?

If you want to save some funds and grow your income as well, take a read of a few of my latest posts here and here.

Today, I Make Money For Free

Finally – my dream has come true. A friend has decided to open her ING account, and get herself $25 sweet, sweet dollars. Which means, I get $25 dollars too. And, it means that she can now refer people and also get $25! Also – I just found out that if you refer $10 people, you get a $50 bonus. The more people you refer, the more money you get.

AND – THEY MADE US A WIDGET FOR OUR BLOG! It’s kind of exciting.

But – I can’t get it to work.

 

Dammit.

Need It, Want It, Gotta Have It

Yeah yeah, so I’m still thinking about the green. No, not weed Mom.

Money.

There are lots of great sites about money out there, especially ones on how to save it (and how to spend it, obvi). We try to read them often, especially the ones that are written really well and in a conversational tone, like Moneyville and Give Me Back My Five Bucks.

We’re even debating cutting out really non-important spending, like buying wine just to have with our dinners of Hamburger Helper and frozen Ristorante pizzas (when they’re on sale), just to save more money so we can hopefully buy a house sooner.

I recently signed up for an ING Direct account. Because He referred me, as an existing customer, we both got $25, just for signing it. That’s $50 between the two of us! Pretty awesome. (Note – if you need people to “refer” you to get an account, just ask us – it’s a free $25 for you if you do, and you don’t have to have a set amount of money to begin with to put in, nor does it charge you anything. And, you get free cheques for signing up) I was checking it out the other day, and I also noticed that if you have your pay from work direct deposited into that account, they’ll give you $100. Not bad, not bad at all.

Do you know of any other great money blogs, or tips that save you money?

Tunes For The Week: Money

Tired of Monday before it begins? Join the club. The Monday Tunes Club that is! Every Monday, check out His, Hers and Theirs for the Top 10 hits to get you through the week.

Money is the most sought-after search term on our blog. As a matter of fact, money has led to 7,166 hits on this blog. People like money. A lot. And, since He and I thought a lot about money this weekend as we evaluated how long it will be before we get to buy a house, I thought I’d make this little Tunes for the Week alllll about money.

1. The O’Jays – Money

2. Dire Straits – Money For Nothing

3. Lil Wayne – Money In My Pocket

4. Pink Floyd – Money

5. The Beatles – Money (That’s What I Want)

6. Birdman (Ft. Lil Wayne, Drake) – Money To Blow

7. Swizz Beatz – Money In The Bank

8. ABBA – Money Money Money

9. 50 Cent – I Get Money

10. The Flying Lizards – Money 

Turns out, a lot of money songs are rap songs. Surprised? Me neither.

Babysitting – Not Just For Teens

Okay fellow readers – I’m about to get real explainy here. As we all know, I babysit. No, I’m not 12. But, a lot of people do ask me why I do it – why I dedicate hours outside of my well-paying, satisfying, and very full-time job, to caring for small, pooey little beings that on occasion, cry, throw-up, or poo.

Here is why:

1. I like it. Babysitting is fun. My mom used to administrate child care centres, so I pretty much grew up in day care. After I was old enough to not need to go anymore, at around the age of 10 or 11, I began to help out after school or in the summer, and would watch kids in the infant or toddler room. I’m an only child, so I’ve never felt like I had to take care of kids or anything – it’s always been fun. Kids are hilarious (and pooey), and they keep me entertained.
2. It’s super easy. Some people get freaked out with kids and think it’s a lot of work, but honestly, you’re just playing with them. Full-day gigs can be really, really tough, and a lot of work, but most babysitting jobs you’re just there for a few hours to play with the kids, get them ready for bed, and then you’re free to watch their cable TV, eat their grapes, and enjoy some time by yourself.
3. Oh my goodness man, the money! Babysitting can pay between $15-$20 an hour, and because it’s not crazy difficult, you’re basically making additional pocket money to play with some really cool kids toys (honestly, they have some sweet stuff now), and hang out. You go home, and you also sometimes have some really good jokes to share, or some golden lines like this one, courtesy of the four-year old I watched Friday night: “If my bum was my head, I would have poo coming out my mouth.” Me: “Yes, but you don’t have poo in your mouth.” Kid: “No, but sometimes throw-up, and throw-up is brown.”

Update: Our Giant Pile Of Money

I know we’re not at the end of the month yet, but right now, He and I are only $82.27 away from what I thought our goal was – to make $7000.00 in extra income.

Our goal, apparently, is actually to make $7000.00 each.

Regardless, look at all the formatting in this post! Cool!

Yard Sale Party = Success

It’s over! Our Yard Sale Party took place yesterday and it was a slamming success. Here’s how it went:

7:30: Wake up, decide against showering as we’re way too tired, make tea, and start hauling stuff outside into the sunny, but cold morning air

7:45: Our neighbour comes over, and asks immediately about the camera. The camera that BFF had actually told me she’d like to buy, but I put on the signs anyway, thinking it would draw a bigger crowd.

7:50: Our neighbour is a swindler. He bargains with me on some of my American Apparel clothes for his teenaged daughter. She comes over and borrows them to go try them on. They fit, they buy, it’s great. he also buys BFF old camera, and some items from our 50 cents bin. First $25 is made.

8:30: Other neighbour comes over from across the road. We end up meeting about four or five different neighbours, which is really great. They all talk to us about how badly we need to go visit the Wychwood Barns. We will, we promise. They also have  a Facebook group, which we were invited to join.

8:35: We get hungry. He treks down to Tim Horton’s to grab us all breakfast, which is really nice. We get chocolate milk, and it’s awesome.

9:23: A little neighbour kid comes over and is gaga over the Salt N’ Pepper shakers. He says he’s been wanting these forever.

9:55: A couple comes over who just moved in across the other side of St. Clair yesterday. They have two really cute little boys, about 2.5 years and 2 months. I tell them I babysit and she gets my number. $weet. She also buys a bunch of my clothes.

10:12: We crank the tunes.

10:30: We realize how early we woke up and recognize that any other Saturday, we would just be waking up now.

11:24: I sell my stereo speakers to a really nice old man who chats with us for about 15 minutes.

1:25: A friend of mine from Humber drops by, a friend of His from high school, and a friend of mine from Queen’s. Great stuff.

2:00: We decide to fold up shop and take the rest of the stuff to the Goodwill down the street.

And that was that. very successful day. Combined, BFF and I made over $300. Then she gave Him and I massages which was pretty cool. She’s actually really good, and charges way less than the Dove Spa I normally go to. And it’s 90 per cent deductible on both our health plans, so it’s all plus-plus.

Here’s what sold that I can remember:

• Stereo speakes
• About 50 per cent of all my clothes – SO HAPPY
• CD’s
• Baseball cards (kids loved those damn things)
• Books
• 50 cent junk treasures
• Purses
• Scarves
• Expresso machine
• Expensive rainboots
• Earring frames
• DVD’s
• Salt and Pepper shakers

Yard Sale Party!

Whoop whoop! It’s Friday! I know – I’m thrilled too. It’s been a bit of a crazy week at work, and I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Oh WAIT. I can’t sleep in… we’re having our garage sale tomorrow.

 Yard Sale Party!

 That’s right – we’re getting rid of all the junk we used to want but no longer want and now want money instead of it. Actually, I think it’s going to be totally fun, as long as the weather is nice to us.

Here is why it will be fun for me:

1)      BFF is coming up tonight to help out tomorrow and sell some shiz

2)      I really like haggling over prices

3)      We can meet some of our neighbours

4)      It’s something out of the norm

More importantly, here is why it will be fun for you:

1)      We will have happening tunes playing for your enjoyment

2)      We’ll be selling bevies for your refreshment

3)      BFF is a registered massage therapist, and you can get a massage after your shop that is deductible on most health plans

4)      We have some great stuff that we don’t want, but maybe you do

Here are some of the really cool things we are selling:

1)      A TV once owned by our good friend Andrew Botros. It works great, we just don’t need it

2)      A brand-new camera that we bought right before we won one from Virgin Radio. It’s a Nikon CoolPix and is really good quality

3)      Some un-worn American Apparel clothes from when I worked there that I bought and never wore

4)      Two HP printers, one used, one still in it’s original packaging, unwrapped

5)      Awesome stereo speakers

6)      Books, cds, dvds, X-Box games, all kinds of good stuff!

7)      Hand-made earring frames

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We’ll be live tweeting the event with the hashtag #yardsale party from @mulliganl and @shann_mitchell because isn’t that what everyone does these days? So come one, come all, to ourplace tomorrow anytime after 8 a.m. We’ll be there.

Month in Review: Monies Monies Monies

What up friends? April is over (thank goodness), and it’s time to look back on monies made and monies spent. Actually, let’s not look at the money we don’t have. It’s gone, gone like my favorite pair of expensive boots that ate pavement this month. RIP boots. You were awesome.

 

Again, April wasn’t the best month for me in terms of cold hard cash. My babysitting has not been in high demand, I guess since there’s no rad parties for parents to go to. He, however, has been working some awesome overtime, so he’s doing alright.

So, I just had a look at our handy income tracker Google doc, and I only added $85 bucks to my amount in April! Pathetic. Thankfully, GST refunds came in, so that counted. You know, I have no idea how GST income works. Is it like a tax refund, and the GST you spend comes back to you? Man, that’s so embarrassing. He is probably going to make fun of me a lot for that comment. Ohhh well.

I did make $4 (or rather, $3.98) in Frito-Lay coupons. I was at work about to eat a small bag of Ruffles All-Dressed chips, when I noticed that before I opened the bag, it was super light. Lighter than it should be – alarming light even. So I planned on writing a letter to the company in hopes they would send me a life-time supply of Ruffles All-Dressed chips. Our production guy at work even weighed the bag for me, which was super nice, and totally worth it, since it only weighed 14g and a normal bag is supposed to weight 28g. That’s half the g’s friends! So I mailed it in, and they sent me back two coupons for $1.99 each off Frito-Lay products. I can’t even use them together.

Anyways, back to the money. I’m currently at 29% of the $7,000 goal, while He is at 29% as well. If you go into three digits though, I’m winning. Actually, wait! I totally just remembered I got a small bonus at work for a client program yesterday! Redid the math and I’m sitting nice at 31.56%. Killer!