I'm Dreaming

Because the last couple days have been a little stressful, I really wanted to do something light and fluffy. Something fun and semi-useless. I say semi-useless instead of useless, because this exercise can give you real insight into where your priorities actually lie. Sometimes that's just as useful as money. So, inspired by Money Rabbit's What I Would Do With $100,000, and Krystal at Give Me Back My Five Bucks' What I Would Do If I Won $1,000,000: 4 Years Later, here is what I would do if I had $100,000:
Credit Card - $4,300 ($95,700 left)

So long sucker. Like a bad ex-boyfriend, I won't miss you when you're gone.

LOC - $11,000 ($84,700 left)

This is like the annoying kid brother to the aforementioned bad ex-boyfriend. Less directly spiteful, but I'll be happy to not have to deal with it again either.

Car - $9000 ($75,700 left)

I still plan to sell my silvery little lemon, but in the mean time I'd rather not have the monthly payments or inflated insurance on it either. Hello extra $450 a month...

Mortgage - $48,000 ($27,700 left)

My mortgage, while it is fixed, has multiple pre-payment options including one allowing me to put up to 20% of the total mortgage down on the balance every year. That chunk right there takes my mortgage out of the oh please don't let the rates get too high category into the *breathe* category. Ah the things you learn when you're young and dumb.

New Homebuyer's Repayment - $15,000 ($12,700 left)

Because when I put money into RRSPs, I want my tax money back dammit.

Emergency Fund - $5,300 ($7,400 left)

I'd plunk the money for my goal of $4000 in there, along with a little extra just for good measure. That puts my combined cash savings and investments between $9,000 and $10,000. I'd feel pretty good about that for the time being, as that gives me several months living expenses should I need it. Or a new furnace in January. You never know.

Renovations - $5,000 ($2,400 left)

I need to finish the flooring on my staircase, and the tile in the kitchen. After that, I should have enough money left to put up the other half of the fence in my back yard.

Pantry Restock - $400 ($2,000 left)

Assorted dried/canned odds and ends, as well as 1/2 a lamb from a farming friend of mine up north. Some containers to hold dried goods in an orderly fashion would be nice too.

Grandfather's Birthday Present - $250 ($1,750 left)

Because he deserves it. I don't know yet what the exact gift would be, but I can assure you it likely includes a large Tim Horton's gift card.

Grandmother's Birthday - $750 ($1,000 left)

It's my grandmother's 80th birthday this year, and the family is all getting together in BC to celebrate. That means flights and accommodation, along with a gift for my grandmother.

Wardrobe Restock - $995 ($5)

Right now the thing I'm most in need of are a pair of gum boots (rain boots, wellies, whatever you call them). The snow is melting around my place, and the water on the sidewalks gets quite deep in some places. Other than that, some good quality work clothes to kick a couple items off my list would be great.

Starbucks Chai Latte - $5 (I'm Out!)

Because, you know, I want one.

;)


*Missed a couple several others - Oops*
Paying Myself
Finance Say What
Debt Free Kid
Fabulously Frugirl
Little Miss Money Bags
Figuring Money Out
Hi That's My Bike

Round, Round, Get Around...

I get around... Get around OOOOEEEEOOOOOooooo....

Yeah, the Beach Boys don't really come out on the screen the way they do on the radio. Oh well.

I was thinking yesterday how much my cost of transportation is about to change. I've been making the shift over to public transit for about 8 months now. I've stopped relying on my car so much, and have started looking at the bus as my main mode of transportation. January last year I would have driven my car to work, parked at the office, and then drived to where ever I felt like going after work (usually not cheap.) After the stark realization of how much this was costing me, I bought a bus pass and started taking the bus to work. Much cheaper!

After talking to a couple coworkers, I found out our company had a (poorly advertised) bus pass subsidy program, where they pay for 25% of your pass if you sign up for at least 6 months. I signed up faster than they could point to the dotted line! That meant I had my pass delivered to the office 2 weeks in advance, rather than trying to find a place that still had some left the last day of the month. Very convenient.

Fast forward to this month and I now have a student bus pass, which is leaps and bounds cheaper than any of the aforementioned options. Work is supporting me in a decision to take some more classes, and is paying for them as well. The bus pass is actually included in the course fees, but for the purpose of this post I'll pretend they aren't and I'm paying for it seperately.

January 2010 - Monthly Cost of Driving

Car Payment: $400

Car Insurance: $95

Fuel: ~$80

Maintenance: ~$40

Tires: ~$40

Downtown Parking: $230

----------------------------------

Total: $885.00

January 2011 - Monthly Cost of Taking Bus

University Pass: $22.50

Car Payment: $400

Car Insurance: $110

Fuel: ~$25

Maintenance: ~$40

Tires: ~$20

----------------------------------

Total: $617.50

May 2011 - Monthly Cost of Taking Bus

Subsidized Bus Pass: $61.13

Possible Cab Rides: ~$40

----------------------------------

Total: $101.13

My only hesitation with switching back to public transit was the limited access to my house in the evenings. As far as I knew the last bus left the transit center at 9:45, meaning I had to leave downtown at 8:45 to get there. Kind of a wet blanket when you want to go out for the evening, even just going to a movie would have been difficult! I did a little digging and found out there is a different bus which leaves the transit center at 10:30 and 11:30 in the evenings, meaning I can still get home after visiting friends. After seeing that, I'm much more gung ho about selling my car!

Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying
Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability
Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home

This Ol' Car

I'm selling my car.

Well, I will as soon as spring comes and people look at it as a viable option again.

I'm really kicking myself for not looking at the depreciation on the vehicle before buying it. Mine is a 2008 Smart Car with just over $10,000 left owing on it, with little under 30,000km on it. It has a couple parking lot dings that were covered with paint from the dealership. Looking on kijiji, I may not even be able to get what I owe on it, and I've been paying it off for 2.5 years already. The closest I've found is one in Calgary, with no dings and 8000km on it, going for what I owe on mine. Granted mine has a few extras (heated seats, air conditioning, winter tires), but I still think it would be a stretch get anything over $10,000 for it. Talk about gut wrenching. I like my car, but it's not always practical, and I know I can do without it. That, and I know the $7000 a year it would save me (payment, insurance, registration, maintenance, fuel) would go a long way. It would pay off my credit card and put a dent in my line of credit within a year, not counting any other money I put toward it.

It's just a little disappointing, because I had planned to drive it until it's wheels fell off. That, and it has caused me a little bit of grief in the past. Being made by Mercedes Benz, I expected a certain level of quality in the vehicle. Turns out the year I bought it the manufacturing of the vehicle was turned over to another company, and now Mercedes just sells and services them for the North American market. Mercedes Benz price, Mercedes Benz labour costs, not Mercedes Benz quality. Little pissed about that.

I'm going to miss my little Wall-E :(