Give Me Back My Five Bucks

Today is my 28th birthday. I’ve been quite busy lately, so it sorta just sort of snuck up on me. I don’t have anything planned – not going home, because I was just there over the long weekend … and it’s too late to plan something here in Vancouver. BF said he’s going to bake me a cake and cook a delicious dinner tonight, so I’m pretty excited about that. Mostly about the cake part, because he always cooks me delicious dinners. We’ll probably rent a movie and just keep it super low key. He’s also going to come watch … Continue reading →

I haven’t bought any clothes for myself since my trip to Las Vegas in mid-July (besides my field hockey uniform, which was essential). That’s 3 entire months! Not even any sports clothes, and that is definitely my weakness. But I have everything that I need. And the things that I wished I had, I don’t really need. So, my goal is to not buy any kind of clothing, shoes or accessories until Boxing Day sales. There are a few things I want, like a pair of TOMS shoes, a Lululemon hoodie (I bought one 3 years ago & wear it all the … Continue reading →

Monday 3rd $5.25 Subway Tuesday 4th $182.57 groceries (for 2 weeks) $34.28 gas Wednesday 5th No Spend Day! Thursday 6th No Spend Day! Friday 7th $34.46 gas $23.50 pizza Saturday 8th $2.13 Starbucks Sunday 9th $13.70 ferry $8.18 Starbucks (for BF and I) TOTAL = $304.07 It may seem like a lot, but it’s not that bad. We hadn’t bought groceries since September 17th, and we won’t need to buy anything (except fresh produce) next week either. Our goal is to have a big grocery shop every 2 weeks, and during the in between weeks, just buy produce. We’ve been … Continue reading →

Well, we’ve been back for a few days now, so I thought I’d post my recap of my trip to Hawaii, plus some photos! :) Cost: $750 CDN each ($2,000 – $500 Amex rewards) — this included airfare, condo & rental car for 5 nights Spending $$$: approx. $700 for the both of us Kaanapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii We stayed about 10 minutes north of Lahaina, and 45 min. from Kahului Airport. It was absolutely the perfect location, with such a gorgeous drive up the coast. Much less busy than where my friends stayed – they were about a 60 … Continue reading →

I frequently get e-mails from readers asking for my advice on a variety of personal finance topics. I try to answer as many as I can, as well as through my Formspring account. But with my 20-something & Change blog over at Moneyville.ca, I’ve decided to do regular posting answering reader questions. So with that being said, if anyone has any questions please feel free to e-mail me, post to my Formspring account, or leave a comment here. Additionally, if there are any personal finance topics that you are interested in, or want me to write about, please let me … Continue reading →