What’s your New Year’s Resolution? December 30, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous, relationship , 2commentsI can’t believe 2008 is already over. This year has gone by so fast – and so much has happened!
Financially, I think I’ve said it before, but I’m not in the place that I thought I’d be in. According to my NetworthIQ, my networth in January was $18,814, and my networth now at the end of December is $26,695. That’s a difference of $7,881. Not too bad considering I started the year off unemployed, moved twice, made considerably less than I’m used to for the majority of the year, and did a bit of traveling (Detroit/Toronto, Las Vegas, Edmonton, Calgary, and Seattle 3 or 4 times).
From a personal point of view, 2008 has been a great year. My relationship with BF is amazing and continues to get better, and I’ve made some good friends here in Vancouver.
Some people don’t believe in resolutions, but I think it’s nice to have something to think about throughout the year; something to improve upon or strive for.
My 2008 resolution was to speak my mind. I’ve always had a tendancy to lose my voice in relationships. I would lose who I was in an effort to make the other person happy. It left me unsatisfied and miserable. I wanted to change that, and I really think that I’ve accomplished this. I feel like I have an equal say in my relationship with BF, and in my everyday life, my motto has been that if I have the energy to complain about something, then I have the energy to try and change it. That makes me feel more productive in life, and reduces the amount of complaining I do. :)
My 2009 resolution is to try and not be so shy. With my friends and family, I am quite outgoing – but put me in a situation with new people, or in a big group, and I clam up. I feel awkward. I am sooooo much better one-on-one or with small groups. I don’t really know how to talk to people or start up conversations at parties. It all feels fake to me. Like it’s an act and the dialogue is just part of it. I need to get past the artificial stage.
And I can really psych myself out too. I will start stressing out about who I can talk to, who I’m going to know, what I’m going to say, how long we’ll be there for, etc. So when I’m actually in the situation, I get tired from stressing out, self conscious because I don’t know anyone, and grumpy because I’m not having fun and it seems like everyone knows everyone else, and everybody is talking and laughing and having a good time but me.
I think I’m getting better though. When I was home for Christmas, I spent a lot of time with BF and his relatives. I didn’t necessarily talk all that often, but I felt comfortable around them and I occassionally joined in on the conversation, which is a big step for me. Usually I feel self conscious and I say nothing.
So, we’ll see how I do this year.
Are you making a New Year’s Resolution?
Brown bagging in December December 30, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly challenge, saving money , add a commentI’ve brought my lunch to work every day this month. It was definitely a lot easier than when I did my February-March Lunch Challenge, and I feel a sense of accomplishment.
I’d like to start doing these monthly challenges again because they definitely helped me. But they were a lot of work, doing the weekly updates and posting up everybody’s progress. Perhaps if I do it again, instead of posting everyone’s progress, I’ll just write a post asking for updates, and participants can just scroll through the comments to see how everyone is doing.
But if I did a monthly challenge again, I’d probably do groceries. That, or dining out. Those seem to be my real budget busters these days.
Free entertainment December 30, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : saving money , add a commentBF has been teaching me how to play Scrabble. I just assumed I would be good at it, since I’m pretty good at Boggle. But there’s a lot more strategy involved, and the words you have to create are directly affected by what the other players are doing – which obviously isn’t the case in Boggle. I’m getting there, but he’s still better than me for now. :)
Since we’re both trying to save money this year, board games are a fun and free way to have fun for hours. We’ve been playing a lot of them lately.
What other completely free activities do you do with your friends?
A belated Christmas card December 29, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a commentOne of the realtors just gave me a belated Christmas card with a $50 bill in it, and a little note thanking me for all my hard work.
What a sweet guy. :)
Re-invested Dividends December 29, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : investing, retirement , add a commentI just checked my RRSPs, and on December 18th, I got $83.93 in re-invested dividends.
I get monthly interest from my Money Market and T-Bill accounts, quarterly dividends from 2 other funds, and an annual dividend from another fund.
Looking at my portfolio, I am a very conservative investor. Probably too conservative, given my age. In the next few weeks I should look into shifting my portfolio around so that I have less fixed income funds – right now I would say 75% of my money is in MM and T-Bills.
Back from the island December 29, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : spending , add a comment
Wow, what an amazing last 5 days. It was great to hang out with my family as well as BF’s. I ate way too much food and got completely spoiled. There was also an excessive amount of Scrabble played.
From my parents, I got a set of 8 beautiful wine glasses, a 12L stainless steel cooking pot, a bunch of stocking stuffers and $100. :) My grandma also gave me $50, and from my sister, I got 2 books, the Vancouver Entertainment Book, a stuffed animal and a beautiful tea pot and 2 tea cups.
From BF, I got an awesome bathrobe made from bamboo fibres. It’s gorgeous. I also got slippers, and snowshoes. And from his parents, I got a 7″ fighting knife (for protection in the back country), a silver bracelet, and a couple stocking stuffers.
As for Boxing Day shopping? I couldn’t resist, and I ended up buying myself that Roots leather purse that I’ve been drooling over (with the $150 from my mom and Grandma). It is regularly $198 and I got it for about $135. Not the greatest sale, but Roots bags don’t really get discounted much more than that.
Also … I bought a new digital camera. The Canon G10. If you are in the market for a high-end advanced amateur camera, this is the best there is. At least in my opinion. I was going to wait until sometime in late 2009 to buy it (for traveling), but after doing my research, I’d rather have it now so I’m fully comfortable with how everything operates and how it responds in different conditions. Since I was saving up for it with my Travel Fund, I will take money from there to pay for it. After buying the camera, 8GB card and special edition leather case (limited edition from Japan – bought off eBay), it will cost me about $675. Which is exactly how much I was expecting to pay anyway. I should feel guilty for buying such an expensive thing, but I don’t. I love the camera and I’ve got money saved up to pay for it. And even though I would have loved to buy a dSLR, the G10 is much more practical for my lifestyle.
Happy Holidays! December 23, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous , add a commentHAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!
I love the holidays, because it seems like it’s one of the only times of the year that my entire family gets together. Some of my cousins I haven’t seen since last Christmas, which is kind of sad.
Christmas Day is going to be great. In the morning, my sister and I still wake up as early as possible. We open up our stockings (the gifts are so predictable, but are very comforting – like a new pair of Christmas socks!) and we wait until 8am, which is the earliest we’re allowed to wake up my parents. It seems like such a childish thing for us to do – I’m 26, and she’s 21 – but it’s tradition! After opening presents, my dad makes us breakfast and we just hang out.
In the afternoon, my sister and I are baking pies (apple and pumpkin) in anticipation for Christmas dinner. I think the ingredients will cost around $25 – my sister doesn’t have any baking ingredients in her suite. We always host the entire family for dinner, and I think this year there’ll be around 30 people over.
Then on Boxing Day, we hit the sales in the morning, and then we go over to my cousin’s house for lunch. After that, it’s more shopping and then it’s back over there for dinner. This year BF’s coming to Boxing Day. It’s traditionally the day that all the cousins bring over their significant others. It’s an unspoken cousin rule that if you’re in a serious relationship, your SO better show his/her face on Boxing Day. Last year I went by myself, and I got harassed. It’s the running joke in the family that if the SO doesn’t show up for Boxing Day, they don’t actually exist in the minds of the cousins. Boxing Day legitimizes the relationship, I guess. It’s silly, but I love it. :)
Anyway, I don’t know how often I’ll post to this blog during the holidays. I’m sure I’ll get a few posts in.
To everyone, please drive safe in these crazy road conditions, don’t drink and drive, and have a great holiday.
More snow? December 23, 2008
Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous , add a commentYikes. We’re supposed to get another 15cm of snow tonight and tomorrow. I really, really hope that J and I can get back to the island tomorrow for the holidays!
Also, I slipped on a massive patch of ice this morning, and landed on my bum. Ouch!
