Give Me Back My Five Bucks

So, my girlfriends and I will be invading New York City in about 6 weeks. Here’s what we have on the agenda so far: Blue Jays vs. Yankees game Mets vs. Phillies game (trying to time it to see Halladay pitch) Run through Central Park Broadway show (thinking of Lion King – thoughts?) David Letterman (we have applied for tickets, fingers crossed) MOMA Carlo’s Bakery (New Jersey) GMBMFB readers, I’ve never been to NYC before, so I need your ideas! What else should we definitely make time to do? Any places we absolutely must see? Restaurant recommendations? Things that maybe … Continue reading →

Young adults holding off on home ownership This Moneyville article is interesting. Basically, what it comes down to is that because rising home prices continue to out pace income growth, and the changes to the mortgage rules, a lot of young adults are delaying home ownership. And the ones that already have purchased their own place, are saying that their mortgage was eating up too much of their income. They are also cautioning first-time buyers to hold off and wait. I think this is a pretty valid concern, and why it’s so important to crunch the numbers and be sure … Continue reading →

It has taken almost five years, but for the first time EVER, my Emergency Fund is fully funded at $5,000. For long-time readers, you know that I’ve suffered major setbacks in trying to get to this $5,000 mark, such as being unemployed for nearly 3 months (and having E.I. take 11 weeks to get me my first payout!), ending a 1-year contract,  crashing and totaling a car (whoops), and let’s not forget last year when I found that my job was posted on Craigslist behind my back. This number is meant to represent one of the following scenarios, based on … Continue reading →

On the property search I had a great time at open houses and viewing appointments this past weekend. On Saturday, BF and I went to one open house, a presentation centre, and then drove past the buildings of a few other open houses, but we either 1) didn’t like the location, or 2) didn’t like the building. Sunday I went by myself with my Realtor to see about 6 listings. I much prefer going to showings with a Realtor because he pointed out things I wouldn’t have bothered to think about, and gave me more insight into the buildings I … Continue reading →

Monday 28th No Spend Day! Tuesday 29th No Spend Day! Wednesday 30th + $210 freelance/side income $6.36 McDonalds (lost a bet & had to buy 2 McFlurries – boo!) Thursday 31st No Spend Day! Friday 1st + $525 freelance/side income + $10 NHL survey pay out $7.83 pizza Saturday 2nd $7.32 Quiznos $43.74 The Keg Sunday 3rd No Spend Day! WEEKLY EXPENSES: – $65.25 WEEKLY SIDE INCOME*: + $745 TOTAL: + $679.75 This was a good week in terms of spending. I ate out a lot more than I normally would, but because I didn’t really spend money on anything … Continue reading →