Pier 1 Imports

We don't usually shop at Pier 1 Imports - well we used to - quite a bit - but in trying to be more frugal savvy - this store does not usually fit the bill - but they do have amazing room sprays for $10.00 each. They have an enormous amount of different scents and they smell wonderful and last a lot longer than the "less expensive" room sprays out there - in my opinion. So after 2 years of not stepping foot into a Pier 1 store we finally made a visit - as I wanted to purchase 2 more room sprays (which should last another 2 years). My favorite scent is Ember and it's chrismassy smelling - hints of cinnamon, ginger,vanilla, orange and nutmeg. As we wondered around the store we found 2 end tables for our bedroom - but the price, is of course way more than we would ever spend, but as mentioned in an earlier post, my boss always gets me something in the range of $500 for Christmas and usually asks me what I want - so if he asks, I'm going to let him know about these end tables. They are the right size, height and they have 2 drawers each and a spacious nook underneath the drawers. They are $249 each. Our budget we allotted for end tables - if we were purchasing - is $70 each - so big difference! We've been looking for about a year now, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

No Frills Grocery Store

A No Frills Grocery Store opened up this past week, so far, it's the only one is our city and it's by our house, so we went and checked it out. It really does have some great prices (especially the flyer sales). We purchased $47 worth of stuff and that equalled 5 grocery bags, so a pretty good deal. The purchases coupled with some manufacture coupons, turned out to be quite a savings for us, compared to where we usually shop. The place was very busy and actually had a nice selection of things. The produce was amazing also. We didn't' get to check everything out, as the place was packed with shoppers, but it is a place, we'll definitely be shopping at again.

Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree on the weekend. We haven't put out any other Christmas decorations yet around the house, but I love our tree. I love Christmas - I'm like a little kid, when it comes to Christmas. This is the earliest we have ever put it up, but I just felt like I needed that "joyous" feeling a little earlier this year. The Christmas season always puts me in a good mood and so I figured it could start a little earlier in our household this year. Hubby and I shared laughs and stories as we decorated the tree, sipped hot chocolate and snuggled in front of the fireplace, eating homemade cookies.

I will try to post a picture of our tree in the next few days.

What the recession taught us...

I heard on the radio yesterday morning that many companies are now reinstating Christmas bonus' and Christmas Parties due to the "better" economy.

Hubby's company has reinstated their Christmas party this year, on a smaller scale, than in past years, but still it's something.

I'm not sure if the economy is back to being as great as some people believe, but I am thankful that the recession happened. We are fortunate enough to have kept our jobs. I believe it really made us, speaking strictly for myself and hubby, to appreciate the simpler things in life and to really look at our wants and needs and measure the value for money concept in more detail. I really believe that any of the major purchases we made in the last year or two were thought out and the best value - for the money we paid for them. Yes, we do spend frivolously sometimes on smaller things (as in on our days off - see last post) but all our bills are still paid - just some months have less going into our vacation fund, when we do frivolous spending.

I've been reading some stories where people have been out of work for over a year and that scares me. I can only imagine what the emotional stress that would be for someone, coupled with financial stress. I am very thankful for my life and my wonderful husband. Here's raising a glass to having an Emergency Fund - may we never have to tap into it.

Going forward, I know that we will continue to live within our means - for the sheer fact that I'm too darned apprehensive of what the alternative is or could be. How about you?

Some days off and a revelation...

Days off are always nice and I was lucky that hubby and I were able to have a few extra days off to make for a really nice long weekend - the only problem being - is that I have made the shameful observation that when we are not working - we are spending - me so more than hubby, but I'm going to lump him into this also. I find we spend more on groceries and gasp - eating out and grabbing the odd coffee here or there. This pattern is either going to have to change or I'm going to have to budget more diligently for our "off times" - heaven forbid what will happen in the
23+ years when we are ready to retire, and we are home all the time - Yikes!!!

I have a new appreciation for "work" days now and so does our budget.

Some of my picks, for the week...

I recently signed up on the kashi.ca in hopes of getting a free sample or coupons. Yesterday in the mail, was a coupon for 1 free box of Chewy Kashi bars. I can't wait to pick up my box at the grocers on the weekend and try it. I LOVE free stuff and it's a whole box free, Wow!

I also stumbled upon a website called delongfarms.com that sell/ship Christmas Wreaths and trees throughout Canada and the US (I think). Many years ago, a lady at work had told me about them and that their stuff was beautiful and smelled heavenly. So I had purchased a wreath for my parents for Christmas and they loved it and I loved it because the company was able to deliver it to them in BC. So I thought I would see if they were still around, since, it's been years since I dealt with them. They are, and they have a contest on their website, for a free wreath. I entered. I would love to win a wreath and not have to purchase one this year.

Laundry - Oberservation

Over time I've consciously noticed that I was doing approximately 3-4 loads of laundry a week and decided, that in reality, all these loads of clothes were not "full" loads and that I was wasting water, etc doing my laundry this way. So I decided to do only 2 loads on the weekend. This helps on water consumption, electricity and laundry detergent.
BUT - I've also noticed, that it basically forces my hubby and I to actually wear our clothes in our closets and drawers, this is because, when I was doing laundry more frequently, we were always wearing the same outfits over and over again - it was so easy, they had just been washed, they were now first in our drawers or better yet, once dried, we could just wear them again without having to put them away.

This new regime, is making us mix and match more and making us realize what exactly we have for clothes. All our items are in good condition, so I'm glad we are making ourselves more aware of exactly what we have and actually getting use of them.

Annual Fees...Budgeting

I've noticed on other PF blogs that some people are saving separately into an account for annual fees such as AAA/CAA, Costco, Credit Card Annual Fees, etc. I usually know what months these are all due, and budget that particular month accordingly, but I like the idea of saving a pool of money throughout the year to cover these annual charges.

I will look into seeing if I have the money and willpower to start doing this, in the New Year. I wonder how many other bloggers actually do this and how it works for them.

Christmas Gifts from Boss

Every year my boss does something special for me, for Christmas. Which is extremely nice of him. I am blessed with a great boss. He is very easy going, jovial and down to earth. He is one of the top guys in the office that I work in, and I work exclusively for him, as his Executive Assistant.

Each year he does something special for me at Christmas. He sometimes will ask what I would like and other years he'll just surprise me. I have been with him for over 10 years and in that time, some of my Christmas gifts from him have been: a TV I wanted, the Treadmill I wanted, a Chaise Lounge I wanted, some of his surprises has been a trip to Mexico to an all inclusive resort, a trip out to a cabin in the Rockie Mountains and last year 1 kg of Silver (which has already appreciated in value).

I wonder what this year holds. This is about the time, if he's asking me I want, that he usually asks, so, I was figuring if he asked, I think I will ask for either some firewood (as we are having a lot more fires, now that we are trying to keep our Heat Thermostat down) and firewood here is quite expensive or 2 side tables (with draws) for beside our bed. We currently have side tables, but they don't have drawers and try as we might, we seem to accumulate "stuff" on top of them. I would like all our "stuff" kept neatly in a drawer. So those are options, if he asks.


For him and his wife, for Christmas we are taking them with us to the nicest dinner theatre place in our city. The shows are top notch and the food is excellent. We have it booked for Tuesday, December 21st. By going on a Tuesday evening, we were able to save $100 off the total of the tickets, (which were still just under $400) for the 4 of us, but it will be an enjoyable evening with good company.

Wishing our 2010 finances had been more positive

Our Savings Funds are still stagnant. Oh how I wish that they would grow in leaps and bounds each month, I guess only in my dreams, for now, I will have to be content with it growing by $50 a month.

This year has been a tough one - it seems this was the year for our investment property to do poorly - we've had some renters, but we've also had a few "empty" months, with has meant that we had to cover that condo's mortgage and condo fees during those times, on top of our own mortgage. The crunch wouldn't have been so bad, if hubby's pay hadn't been cut, yet again, for the second year in a row. Please don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful that we both have full time jobs to go to in these trying economic times.

It also seemed that some essentials around the house finally gave up their will to survive and work, so we had to purchase replacements. Luckily, we were fortunate to be able to replace these items, without going into any debt.

We also had to purchase a "new to us" truck that we needed to get Hubby after his ancient car finally gave out. At least we were able to put a sizeable down payment on it, but we did have to finance it at $210 a month - in the scheme of things it's not too bad. It's an excellent truck in great condition and had low kms/miles and we did our research and came out with a great purchase price on it.

I'm looking forward to what 2011 has to offer. It will be interesting to see what we actually made in total for the year. I'm on salary, but hubby is on hourly wage.

Interesting Trend...

I'm seeing an interesting trend when I'm out shopping. Perhaps I'm just being more observant of other people's spending habits, but I'm noticing more and more people are paying with cash or debit cards. I think this must mean that more people are being money conscious and living within their means - in the fact that they are not paying by credit card and then neglecting to pay the credit card bill off in full. Hubby and I are the complete opposite of the cash system. We will pay with our credit cards for everything - in order to get the Air Mile rewards - and we do pay off all our credit card bills each month. As I've stated before, we redeem the Air Miles here in Canada for Shell Gas Certificates - I haven't had to pay for gas for my SUV for almost 2 years now and we've redeemed Air Miles for a large portion of our Renovation Supplies.

Christmas Spending

I am on track with my Christmas budget. I'm not buying my family "things". They will be getting gift cards to places they like to eat and my nieces will be getting $20 in cash each, to do with it as they like, they can buy a toy, do something fun or save it. My family always used to love to eat out and in fact, every Friday since I can remember, was always a restaurant night. Unfortunately, I decided to keep this habit when I left home and so did my brother - which we then converted our spouses into enjoying. For that, we were a bad influence. So I know the "restaurant" gift cards will be enjoyed by my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. Since we have cut our "restaurant" budget drastically - and we hardly eat out anymore, I'm thinking maybe I should purchase one also for hubby's stocking...