April 2011 Goals: Recap
This was an EPIC month of change for me. Not only did I get braces during the beginning of the month (which is a huge change in itself), but I broke up with my BF of 3.5 years, and purchased my very first home by myself. But I’m feeling pretty good, and I’m really excited about moving at the end of this week.
The positives I learned out of this month are that I am stronger than I thought, I’m independent, and I can do this on my own. The negatives? Well, after some preliminary research, it turns out there are probably zero cute single guys in the Vancouver area who would want to date a personal finance geek with braces. Ha! :) Not that I’m looking. It’s just a realistic observation.
Anyway, onto the budget and goals recap for April…
OVER BUDGET:
Cell Phone - I made a few long distance calls.
Internet/Cable - Rented 1 movie from Shaw on Demand.
Travel – Two trips back home to the island will do it. Especially when I took my car over for one of the trip.
I’m happy that, even though I went over budget in a few of the categories, I was able to spend less than my monthly budget – even if you don’t factor in the car payments that I no longer have to pay for.
April 2011 Goals (link):
- $700 into Retirement Portfolio. CHECK! I contributed $900.
- $500 into Travel Fund. FAIL! I only saved $125. All available cash is currently being hoarded in my Savings Fund for expenses related to the house purchase.
- $700 into Emergency Fund (then it will be fully funded!). CHECK! I was able to contribute $900.
- $2,000 towards Property Fund. CHECK! I was able to save much more than $2,000, and I bought my first place!
- Make an additional $2,000 above and beyond my FT job. CHECK! I was able to bring in $2,314.85 :)
- Sell at least 1 thing on eBay or Craigslist. FAIL! I have been packing everything away into boxes for the move, so right now I do not have time to list and monitor items to sell online.
Figure out what kind of vaccines I will need for Thailand and Cambodia, and the cost/timelines
- Research into eReader options. CHECK! After doing some initial research, I’m still debating whether I really even need one. I love the feel of real books just way too much. And, because I stare at a computer screen for both my FT, PT and freelancing jobs, it’s nice to be able to read real, printed pages. Instead of yet another screen.
Ongoing 2011 Annual Goals:
- No buying lunch, snacks or coffee during work hours. CHECK!
- No buying clothing, shoes or accessories until May 19, 2011. CHECK!
- Work out at least 3x/week. FAIL! I only worked out 10x this month.
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I know you don't have much time until you move, but I'd encourage you to try the craigslist goal again. The more stuff you can get rid of, the less you have to pack, move, and unpack. Plus after you get it into the new house, you'll probably be busy unpacking and settling in for awhile making it less likely that the unwanted items make it out of the house.
My recent post Buy Now or Wait
Well, the only things I have to sell are super small (like a cell phone, or other small palm-sized electronics), and those are already packed away. I don't have anything big to sell. All that stuff is coming with me. Plus with only a few days left until the move, and because I'm rarely home, it is not practical at all to try to sell anything. It will have to wait.
It's amazing how much you do accumulate that you later go "hunh!" when you find them later.
I know that a garage sale or craigslist or ebay are probably the last things on your mind, but set up a box for tossing "hunh!" stuff into. Put a date on the outside and if a month or two goes by and you haven't cleaned out the box, drop it off at the local Goodwill, Value Village or Salvation Army or whoever is your favoured/closest thrift shop.
Last trip for me was five boxes of stuff. Garage sale coming up in June and the rule is "out the door, never to return…."
My recent post Getting the Christmas Bonus
Agreed. I already have a box set aside for the Salvation Army. But also, since I have moved 3 times in the past 3 years, and because I have been living in an extremely small space with very limited storage, I've been able to clear out the things I don't use on a regular basis. And also because I don't save a lot of things that I don't need, I don't have a lot of "crap" that I need to think about whether I want to keep or not. Most of my possessions I have kept for a purpose.
Hey, don't knock the eReaders, they're not that bad!
I was a little skeptical at first, but then I was gifted one and they're not at all like reading a computer screen. The eInk really does read like regular printed pages, but using buttons to flip pages takes a little getting used to.
I still use my regular printed books quite a bit, but I love my little Kobo reader for trips or just being out and about. It weighs less than most of my books and is definitely thinner! Battery is pretty decent, too. Come and check mine out when you're here before you write them off altogether… it really would be a great thing for your travels!
My recent post Finally Getting EI
Congrats on the month of changes. Can't wait to read about what's in store for you next. As far as love goes, you find it when you least expect it – braces or no braces.
what a big month for you! Congrats on your condo, I hope you will take pictures once you move in!
My recent post Maybe I should shop at Zellers more often
How do you not pay rent or only pay 150? Live with parents?
Nope, I don't live with my parents. Because I promised ex-BF that I would never discuss his personal finances on this blog, I can't say why we have such low rent, but am grateful that we had it for as long as we did, and consider myself to be very fortunate because of it. Moving forward, starting this month, I will have a mortgage and "real world" expenses to budget for.