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SINKS who can’t wait to be DINKS again August 24, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : relationship, saving money , 13comments

I feel stuck in a financial rut. I’m not going forward, but I’m not sliding backward either. This whole SINKS living situation (single income no kids) thing has really hindered my ability to save any money outside of my $600/month to RRSP and TFSA ($300 on auto-debit every pay day). Even with the extra side income from my design business or this blog, I’m still not really getting anywhere fast.

And I mean, I knew that it would happen. When you drop down to one income, that’s just how it works. But I’ve never been in this position before; where I’m not going anywhere. I’ve always been going straight downhill into debt, or going straight up getting out of debt and saving money like crazy.

I know it won’t last forever. BF is getting odd jobs here and there to help with the bills, and he will be working full-time by the spring. It’s not like it’s a 4-year degree program. When it’s all said and done, because he has so many of the pre-requisites, he will have been in school for less than a year. And it will be SO worth it. He will be almost doubling the income he was making before school, and he has good earning potential going forward. Plus, most importantly, he will be so much happier. He hated his old job and now he’ll have a real career that he loves and is proud of.

My PT job starts mid-September and I am grateful for the boost in income. I’ll be able to save all of that money and start saving more than the usual $600/month that I am right now. In fact, including my RRSP/TFSA savings, I’ll probably be able to tuck away $1200-1500/month. Which is pretty good. But you can bet BF and I are both looking forward to being DINKS again (dual income  no kids). :)


Long weekend hiking FAIL August 3, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, relationship , 3comments

So BF and I were all set to hike Mt. Sampson this past long weekend. It’s located north of Pemberton and south of Bralorne. At 2,811 m (9,222 ft), it would have been the tallest mountain I’ve ever climbed. Sadly, we didn’t end up doing it. Instead, BF read a trip report of a scramble up the side of a waterfall to an area with a few mountains we could climb. (See photo – I didn’t take this one – I stole it from the trip report link). BF really wanted to do it, and I LOVE scrambling (it’s a step lower than rock climbing – where hands are needed to climb, but rope/protection isn’t needed). So on Saturday morning, off we went!

The drive out there was about 2 hours east of Vancouver, plus 35km of logging road – the last 5 of which are 4WD. It was a beautiful day, and we were both in high spirits. That is, until we started climbing. I guess we were expecting clean rock and a pleasant climb – much like when we did Joffre last year and did some scrambling with packs on. Instead, we got scrubby granite and more bush whacking than anticipated. And let me tell you, bush whack scrambling while getting eaten alive by bugs, with a 40 lb. pack made me so ridiculously grumpy about an hour into the hike.

We still had about 4 hours left to hike until we got out of scrubby rock, and for us it wasn’t worth it. We had so many better things to do than to not enjoy a hike. But we did vow to come back to the area with light packs and make a day trip out of it. It really was a gorgeous area, and the waterfall was amazing. The picture here doesn’t do it justice. I wish I had uploaded my photos off my camera!

So, hiking was a fail. But we ended up getting a lot done this weekend. Including scrapping our old car, picking out a bicycle (post to come about what bike I got!), going on 2 bike rides, grocery shopping, and cleaning our entire place (which we desperately needed to do).


BF is officially a student June 14, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : budget, relationship, saving money , 2comments

On Friday before BF and I headed back to my hometown, he got news that he has been officially accepted into his program and he starts today (Monday). So this time next year, after his classes and internship, he should be fully certified to start his career. He’s very excited (except for being a poor student), and I’m happy for him.

He’s probably going to get a part-time job, but because his program is only 1 year long, it’s super condensed and requires a huge amount of group study and reading. So he won’t be able to work too many hours.

Which will probably mean a shift in my budget and in the amount I’m saving as I take over a bit more of the expenses. And that’s fine. It’s only for a year, and I know he’d do the same for me if I ever wanted to go back to school. Plus, it’ll be worth it once he’s finished. He’ll have a career of his own and we’ll be on our way.

I’m not sure what that’s going to mean financially, or how I’m going to set up my budget. I have no clue when he’ll be able to find a job or how many hours/how much money it’ll bring in. So my budget is going to have to be very flexible.

At the very very very minimum, I will be saving $500/month. So I guess every month my savings will vary between $500-$1000.

I’m also hoping to get a part-time job (all the income would go right into savings), and I do have a lead on something that could turn into a pretty cool opportunity, but I don’t know many details right now so I’d rather keep it on the DL. But I will say that it does involve this blog. :)


Excited about the future June 9, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : motivation, relationship , 4comments

So remember when I mentioned that BF and I might have to do the long distance thing for 3-9 months? Turns out that BF found a program that he can do in Vancouver, which will run from July-November. Which is just perfect. He might have to move away for a 6-month co-op after he finishes his classes, but he knows people locally in the industry, so we’re hoping that he can stay at least within commuting distance. Or at the very least, within a 4-5 hour drive so that he can come home on the weekends.

This means he won’t have to wait to do the program in the fall or next year, and he’ll graduate that much sooner. Which means we’re that much closer to moving onto that next step in our lives. My fingers are crossed that he’ll get accepted into the program. He seems really excited about it too.

We went to the bank last night and BF asked if I was excited to start managing the household income once he starts earning a real pay cheque. As I’ve mentioned before, personal finance isn’t exactly one of BF’s passions, and we both fully know that he’s just not very good at it. And since I love it, it only seemed natural that I take over those duties when we combine incomes. I told him that he wouldn’t like it, because I’d be putting a cap on his discretionary spending. And do you know what that man said to me!? He said, and I quote, “no I won’t, because it’s more important to save up for a house, and for retirement.” Who is this guy, and what did he do with BF?

I’m excited and positive about the future. Soon we’ll be both financially stable (each making over $50k/year), and we’re both on the same page in terms of our next stages in life - stabilizing our careers, marriage, buying property, having children. It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m exactly where I wanted to be all those years ago when I started this debt-free journey. And I cannot wait to see where we are and what we’ll be doing this time next year.


Happy birthday to BF! June 2, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : entertainment, relationship, travel , 16comments

Even though BF’s birthday is today, I gave him his present yesterday since it arrived in the mail. He has been wanting a solar charger – so he can keep his various electronic devices powered for longer hiking trips. So I got him one from MEC. I read a bunch of reviews online, and they all seemed to be positive. Plus, the charger is SUPER light and you can strap it to a backpack so that it can charge while you hike.

Tonight we’re going to dinner and a movie. :)

For dinner last night he made burgers. I decided to try something new and skipped the bun (180 calories just for a bun!). I just put some dijon mustard, ketchup and a little avocado on top of the burger patty and ate it with a fork. I’ve always thought about doing that, but didn’t think I could handle a bunless burger. Turns out I can, and I think I might even like it. Hmm.

In travel news, my business trip to Las Vegas is officially booked. I’ll be there for 5 days/4 nights in July and am super excited. Although, not excited for the weather. The other 2 times I’ve been to Vegas, it’s been in the winter. And even then, it was t-shirt weather. I don’t know how I’m going to survive in the heat of the summer. I’m not sure what my work schedule is like, but Serendipity and I are going to try to meet up for a cocktail or two. :)

Also, I’ve been trying really hard to book my f light to Toronto, but I simply cannot fathom paying $650 for round trip airfare – and that’s with a seat sale! I just won’t do it (I don’t think). I’ll keep my eye out on prices, and hope that they start to fall closer to the date that I want to travel (end of July). I might have to book everything last-minute to get a good deal. Which should be okay, since I won’t have to book any time off work to go – maybe skip out on the Friday a few hours early, but that’s it.  I was originally hoping to do the entire trip for around $900 – flight, accommodation & spending money. And clearly that’s not going to happen. So if I can’t keep the entire trip to around $1200, I’ll really have to see if it’s a smart move to go or not.

Oh, and does anyone watch Deadliest Catch? BF and I are addicted to the show now.


BF’s birthday is next week! May 28, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : relationship, spending , 1 comment so far

Okay, so BF’s birthday is coming up fast (next week!). I bought him his present (can’t say how much or what it is – although I did mention on Twitter). I’m kind of kicking myself because if I had planned it better, I could have purchased it cheaper online or even during my last trip across the border. But I waited until the last minute, and that’ll generally kill it every time.

We are also going for all-you-can-eat sushi (our go-to dinner when we’re celebrating something – about $45 after tax/tip for the both of us). And then after that, we’re going to a late show of MacGruber. No joke. The skits on SNL don’t seem that funny and I thought the movie looked kind of dumb in previews. But now, all my friends have seen it and think it’s the most hilarious movie they’ve seen since Anchorman (which is our holy grail of funny movies). And it’s also gotten decent reviews online, so now we’re both curious. Has anyone else seen MacGruber? Thoughts?


Thursday Miscellaneous May 13, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, relationship, travel , 3comments

I woke up this morning and thought today was Friday. Ugh. What a disappointment.

Last night BF and I went for a shortish 8km walk to Tim Horton’s after the Habs/Pens game (BF is a huge Habs fan, and an obnoxious one at that). I got a medium iced cap, which as usual, I couldn’t finish. When will I learn that I can only ever finish the small portions of anything? And even then, half the time BF has to help me finish my meal. My eyes are always definitely bigger than my stomach.

We also rented this crappy vampire movie called Daybreakers. BF’s pick. Has anybody else seen it before?

As for Hawaii, BF thinks that we will still be able to go, just perhaps not for as long as we had hoped. We were only planning on going for 5 nights, but maybe 3 or 4 is doable. Not ideal, but at least then we’d be able to see my friends get married.

We talked a bit about him moving away. Turns out he might have to find short-term housing while he’s there since his aunt lives 3 hours away round trip – and that might be too long of a commute, especially with an old car. And after he’s finished his course, he’ll have to work at least 6 months somewhere else in the province. We’re of course hoping it is close enough to home that he can commute to … but all of that is up in the air until he finishes his 3 months of courses.


Potential temporary LD relationship May 12, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : relationship, travel , 18comments

So. The courses BF needs to graduate from his program aren’t available in town. So he’s thinking of moving away for 3 months in the fall to compete his courses elsewhere. Otherwise he’ll have to wait until January to enroll. Which would mean a long-distance relationship and maybe no trip to Hawaii. Boo to both! :(

When BF first told me of his potential plan to move away, I was not in favour. At all. I’m trying to be as supportive as I can, because it is a great opportunity for him to get going with his career – but I hate hate hate LD relationships. I’ve been in them before. They don’t work and they put a huge strain on the relationship. Luckily this would only be for 3 months, although there is a chance he will have to do a co-op type placement for 6 months in some random town in the province. But, there’s an end in sight if BF does have to move away, and we have a solid relationship so I know we will be able to do it. It just sucks.

What does this mean? Hawaii is on hold, possibly canceled if BF decides to move. I could go by myself, and I still might … but 1) it’s much more expensive to go by myself, and 2) it was really supposed to be a vacation for the both of us – as well as being there for my friend’s wedding. Going to Hawaii by myself doesn’t really sound that great. Of course, I still want to see my friend get married, but she will be having a full blessing and a big reception in town. Which I would be okay with going to, but I know I’d be disappointed to not be there for the real ceremony. And I don’t want to be a bad friend and totally bail on her ceremony just because my BF can’t go. Not that she would mind. As of right now, BF and I were the only non-family members who were going to Hawaii – the rest of her friends couldn’t afford it. I guess I have to think about it.

BF said that if he does have to move away, maybe we could shorten our trip to Hawaii or maybe he’d be able to take the time off to go – he thinks the course might have days on and off. But nothing is finalized, and everything is up on the air. He said he’ll have everything figured out in the next couple of weeks.

45 days till Mexico!!! :)