Cost of prescriptions October 30, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : health care , 1 comment so farFor the most part, not having extended health benefits through my work isn’t that big of a deal. It would definitely be nice, but I’m young and in good health. I’ve never been away sick from work for more than 2 days, and I don’t have any medical problems.
It just hurts when I have to renew my BC prescription. Instead of my normal 3-month supply, I just bought out my entire 6-month prescription to avoid another $8.60 dispensing fee. Total damage? $84.11. Yuck. Although, I suppose $84.11 every 6 months is nothing compared to, you know, how much a baby costs. :)
I budgeted $50 for my prescription this month, so clearly I’m going to go over that amount. Which I’m okay with, because I’m set for the next 6 months instead of the next 3.
Oh, and another bummer for not having extended benefits through work? I have to pay MSP ($54/month). So boo to that.
Home for the weekend October 30, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : travel , add a commentHooray! Today is pay day and Friday. It’s been a long week, and I’m excited to go home and see my family (and for a belated birthday dinner). Meanwhile BF is off to Montreal/Toronto until Monday night on an NHL extravaganza with his brother – Habs/Leafs game and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jealous! (Although, not so jealous of the HHoF – I went there last year and it was just okay.)
Here are my weekend expenses:
Friday night
- $0 – Nothing planned. Maybe going to see a concert (free). But probably not. I won’t get home from the ferries until around 10pm, and I’d like to spend time with my mom.
Saturday
- $5 – coffee with a friend.
- $0 – watch 1 or 2 field hockey games.
- $0 – dinner with family.
- $0 – stuff face with Halloween chocolates & watch movies. Possibility of someone convincing me of going to the Halloween party, but highly unlikely I’ll go.
Sunday
- $15 – lunch with a friend.
- $0 – hockey game with a friend – tickets were comped (otherwise I would have paid $25).
- $0 – play Wii with sister.
So because my weekend costs are so low, I might bring my car across. I have a ton of things to bring across too, including bulky luggage (that I borrowed for the Alaska trip). It will depend on ferry traffic once I start to drive out that way.
myCELLmyTERMS.com coming to BC soon! October 29, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : saving money , add a commentFor those who are curious about myCELLmyTERMS.com, I got this e-mail yesterday:
We would firstly like to thank everyone for their support. As you are all aware we secured a deal with the Dragons for myCELLmyTERMS. We are currently in BETA in Ontario and we are expanding rapidly across Canada. Look for us in Alberta, November 15th, British Columbia by November 30th, and in Quebec and Eastern Canada by mid December. We are constantly revising and improving our site to get the best cell phone deals for our customers. Many of you have already created a proposal for wireless service. If you receive an offer that is not what you are looking for, you can use our Counter Offer feature to let the selected dealer know that you are looking for something more.We created this Free online service for Canadians so that WE can have a voice in this Industry. We need everyone’s help to make the myCELLmyTERMS movement effective. The more people using our system, the louder our voice is. We will make the Wireless Carriers hear us! Join our ever growing community and spread the word.
myCELLmyTERMS The Best Cell Phone Deal is….. Whatever You Choose!
Well that’s very exciting to know that British Columbians should have access to this website by the end of November! My current contract doesn’t expire until next year, so I won’t be able to utilize the service until then. But hopefully some of you out there will. :)
K & BF enter the civilized world October 29, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : housing , add a commentI forgot to mention that BF has informed me he is going to install a stove in our place now that we’re here for a while. A STOVE! Finally!!! I can’t wait until we can say goodbye to that skillet and cook up some real food.
He says that we’ll have it by the New Year, since he has to save up to buy the stove and then figure out the venting (that’s why we currently don’t have a stove – no venting for one). But the point is that the wheels are in motion. They’re turning! Pretty soon I can unbox all of my pots and pans and make stews during the winter, and cook proper dinners and bake to my little heart’s content!
November 2009 Monthly Goals October 29, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , add a commentHas everybody have their fill of drama from yesterday’s posts? Yes? Okay, moving on … :)
Here is my November budget and goals. The first one with my new car purchase. I net about $2900/month, so as you can see from the spreadsheet below, I have the potential to save $1,300. Not too shabby!
Note:
- Car insurance – My car insurance is fully with ICBC at the moment. My plan is to drop down to basic coverage with ICBC and go with a private company for everything else. I just need to do more research and get quotes. I’ve heard that Coast Capital is great, so I’m going to give them a call.
- Travel – I don’t plan on traveling next month, but there’s $50 to play with if I decide to take a trip home, or if we decide to go hiking for a weekend.
- Clothing – I’d like to buy a thick black belt. I’ve been looking for one for a few months, but haven’t had any luck. I think I will try thrift and consignment stores in my hometown to see what options are there.
November Goals:
- Work out at least 3x/week on my Wii. Ideally I’ll work out every weekday morning at 6am. But realistically, I’m aiming for 3 days.
- Go for a hike. At least a day hike. BF says he might be booked up for 2 weekends with work-related things, so timing is tough.
- Go rock climbing 2-3 times. We’ll end up going more often during ski season, when we go skiing for a few hours, then climb for an hour right afterward. But until then, it’s hard to get someone motivated to go. :)
- Plan Whistler ski weekend. We need to book by the 3rd week of November to get a really cheap deal for April. We’re inviting a few other couples.
- Try something new. I’d like to try out a drop-in yoga class, or drop-in pottery, or floor hockey … or some sort of fun activity. At rec centres, drop-in prices are usually less than $10. I don’t want to sign up for on going classes because I already have a climbing and skiing membership, so drop-in is the best situation.
- $450 into Retirement Portfolio. Divided into RRSPs and TFSA.
- $100 into Emergency Fund. Getting closer to $5k!
- $200 into Savings Fund.
- $50 into Travel Fund. We’ve already paid for our next 2 trips – Vegas in December and Calgary in January. I have $1,000+ in my account right now, but I’d like to keep growing it instead of dipping into it for my spending money.
- $50 into Car Fund. I don’t have to worry about maintenance at all, but I’d like to start saving for next year’s car insurance.
Thinking positively… October 29, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : blog , add a commentThe up side to this recent flurry of action on my blog is that my site stats have more than doubled my previous day’s totals. So, woo hoo! :)
Dear GMBMFB Readers October 28, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : blog , 1 comment so farA lot of people have been leaving comments about how my blog has shifted focus, how I’m spending too much, how I’m boring now, how I have a shopping problem (?), how I’m just “a regular 9-to-5 drone,” and how I’m not doing the things I was doing two years ago, or even last year. Situations change, people change, and I have to adapt.
So when I started this blog, I was in debt. Then I got out of it. Then I lost my job. Then found a new job and moved to Vancouver. Then I got a better job. All while planning this trip of a lifetime which is not going to happen next year as planned. I’ve had a lot of exciting things happen to me over the past few years. And now that my situation has changed, yeah I’ve purchased a new car that I’m really happy about. If you don’t like it, too bad. I’m working at a job, trying to earn money on the side, trying to get the best deals with everything that I buy, and saving for new goals – retirement, travel, and hopefully in the next 3-5 years we’ll have enough saved up for a place of our own.
Personal finance is different for everyone. That’s why it’s called ‘personal’ finance. We all have to make decisions that we think are best for our lives and our situation. That includes spending and saving on a big and on a small scale. I’m not going to waste time justifying my decisions and my life to those people who don’t like/agree with what I’m doing. I’ve blogged about perception so many times and have shown that even though I may be talking a lot about spending money, I’m still saving in the background.
I certainly appreciate all comments that I get, and if I lose readers along the way because I’m not going traveling anymore, or because I’m boring or because I work a regular job, or because they think I’m a shopaholic, or because I’ve changed my goals because my life has changed, unfortunately that’s something I can’t control. I’m not out to win any popularity contests – I’m out to do what’s best for my life, and I’m here to blog about it. What you see is what you get.
That’s all. :)
Krystal.
Trimming down my cell phone bill October 27, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : saving money , add a commentEver since I moved in with BF, I’ve used my cell phone less. I just analyzed my last 4 months of usage, and I’m averaging less than 150 minutes per month – TOTAL. I use my office line to make calls during the day or e-mail friends … and during the weekends/evenings I’m usually with BF.
I currently pay $18/month for my cell phone (200 anytime minutes + unlimited weekends starting at 6pm), plus $5 for unlimited evenings (starting at 6pm) and $6 for 125 sent text messages. After all fees and crap, my bill comes to around $42. Well, I could eliminate $5 just by getting rid of unlimited evenings. And as for text messaging – well I use about 60-70 text messages/month. The $3 plan comes with 60, and the $6 plan comes with 125. So I’m kind of in the middle. I don’t want to go lower with text messaging b/c it’s too expensive if some months I end up going over.
So here’s my dilemma. Should I pay the $5/month for the security that if I did ever go over my minutes, I’d have that cushion? Or do I get rid of my cushion and go bare bones. Half of me is saying, it’s only $5. That’s a small price to pay for the security of never going over my minutes. But the other half of me is saying that I never go over my minutes, so that $5 is better off with me.
