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Candie, where are you? July 31, 2009

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Ohhh no. Candie from Broke and Not So Fabulous has deleted her Twitter account as well as her blog. :(

Another PFer is gone. I miss all of you that have left.


Volunteering during the Big Trip July 31, 2009

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I’m really enjoying the book The Rough Guide First-Time Around the World. It’s really informative and helpful – and it’s geared specifically to budget travellers. The book is confirming our plan that we can indeed do this trip for around $10k each, as long as we’re willing to compromise and go with the flow (easier said than done for me, but I know I can do it).

Originally I was kind of indifferent about doing volunteering while we were away (I definitely don’t want to work for money), but the more I think about it, the more I would really like to do a 1-3 month volunteer mission somewhere. We’ll have to research this a lot more, but BF is right – it’s something we should do while we’re away. I’d like to work with other people, teaching or something like that – rather than work with wildlife. And I’d like it to be in SE Asia – preferably China. Although I wouldn’t mind Cambodia or Laos or Vietnam either.

For example, I blogged about that 3-month volunteer teaching assignment in rural China a few days ago. That would be awesome. BF thinks that a lot of our friends/family might want to donate money to us to help pay for the approx. $1,000-1,500 cost for the 3-month volunteer assignment. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I guess it’s something we should consider. I just feel weird asking people to donate money essentially to fund our trip. Yes, it will be going towards a volunteering mission, but it just seems like if someone asked me to donate money to help them travel to Africa for volunteering (for example), I’d rather donate directly to the charity they’re working with, rather than fund their personal trip – which, yes is for volunteering purposes, but let’s face it, is also for pleasure travel too.


We really shouldn’t be working out in this heat July 31, 2009

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Yesterday we attempted to go rock climbing. It was SO hot and muggy (yesterday was officially the hottest day in Vancouver’s history – and the day before was the 2nd hottest). I think I only did 4 or 5 routes before we called it quits and headed home. I wouldn’t have minded staying longer, but some people were hogging the entire other half of the gym, and I could tell that BF was getting super grumpy because it was so hot. Plus, I had already sweated through my shirt. Gross, I know.

When we got home, we bought Vietnamese take-out. It came to $21, but BF gave me $15 so my cost was $6. :) We’ve been really good this week in making our dinners at home.

The rest of the evening was spent on the couch watching bad TV, with 2 fans blowing at us.

Today after work BF> is headed to meet some friends, and I’m going to the gym. Well, at least that’s my plan right now. It depends how hungry I am. :) I’m covering at the reception desk for the entire afternoon, so I won’t exactly get a chance to eat before my work-out. And if I eat right after work, I can’t work out right away. So if that’s the case, then I’ll have to scrap the plan and just head home. Which might be the best option anyway, since I haven’t even packed for our trip this weekend yet.


My own domain name! July 30, 2009

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Well, I finally did it. I finally moved this blog over to its own domain name. I feel so legitimate now!

If you could all do me a HUGE favour and update your links, it would be much appreciated.

www.krystalatwork.com

Apparently the RSS feed should still work if you’re subscribed to the blog. Now I’ll just have to update all of the websites where I’ve listed my blog. There are so many, I don’t even know where to begin!

And also I’m a little confused about Google Adsense, Analytics, etc … so hopefully I can spend a few hours tonight figuring all of that out.


What do you do when… July 30, 2009

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My mom bought my sister and I jewelry on her Alaskan cruise last week. So obviously they are non-refundable. We each got 2 gold necklaces and a bracelet. I really appreciate the thought, but the stuff is 100% not my style at all (I’ve only seen pictures of it, since I haven’t been home yet – my sister very much dislikes hers as well). Really, really unattractive pieces that I would never wear in a million years. Ever.

So now what?

I will accept the present and be very grateful for the thoughtful gift. Then I was thinking maybe I’d wear them once or twice around her, and then just kind of let them fade away to the back of my jewelry box?


Travel Fund To Date July 30, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : saving money, tax refund, travel , add a comment

Well, according to ING’s handy dandy Goal Setter, I am right on track in my Travel Fund savings. Back in June, I plugged in $10,000 as my goal, and as of right now I’m on track to reach that goal in January 2010. And if I keep saving at this rate, I should have close to $15,000 by mid-June! :)

I also realized that I should be getting my tax refund back before we go traveling. I didn’t end up filling out those papers to deduct less tax off of my regular pay cheques. I know not to count on my tax refund as part of my savings plan, but because of my contributions to RRSPs, according to Morningstar’s RRSP calculator, I should be getting around $1,200. And then I have to factor in my graphic design business write-offs – which should be interesting this year.

I’ve wanted to have a Travel Emergency Fund separate from my personal EF. So I think I’ll put my tax refund into that. The Travel EF just a backup – in case we need an extra flight, or if we’re stuck somewhere expensive for longer than we expected … and near the end of the trip, maybe it’ll be that extra little money we use to stay a few weeks longer – or do something that we didn’t think we’d have the money for. Who knows. But it would be nice to have that cushion just in case.


My poor little iPod July 30, 2009

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I’ve been anxiously tracking my iPod and my sister’s MacBook Pro through UPS. For some reason, even though they were ordered together, they were shipped separately? According to the Apple website, my iPod was ready to ship about 24 hours before the MBP. Anyway the MBP is on it’s way from Alaska (via China), but my poor little iPod has been left behind in China due to poor weather conditions. Why!? :( It was ready to be shipped too!

There go my wild dreams of having it arriving before the long weekend. Oh well.

At least it looks like my future husband Roy Halladay (sorry BF), will be staying a Blue Jay at least until the end of the season. Crossing my fingers.


August Monthly Goals July 30, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , 1 comment so far

Okay, so here is my budget for August. It’s a little inflated due to a trip to Osoyoos this coming long weekend, my trip to Alaska, and my 1-day in Seattle. Also, I’ll be going home for one weekend.

Here are my goals for August: