Week 35 - Sticking to my budget

As previously noted, I closed on my cottage last Friday. After setting up the financing, I resolved to stick to a budget in August, to ensure adequate funds were in the bank to close.

I'm proud to say that I stuck to my budget, and spent less than $XXX on my credit card last month :P I still managed to put all my groceries, gas, and the usual stuff on the credit card, just stuck to "only essentials" after those usual expenses.

This week's goal is to get the necessities for my cottage, so I can have my parents up next weekend. This will also include some heavy duty cleaning.

Week 34 - Lefty Flick!

As the summer ultimate season winds down, I was looking to put one of my new skills to use, and throw a left-handed flick in a game. I've been practicing left handed throws since last winter, so I knew it was time to bust one out. The tricky part is finding the right game situation, where I wouldn't be too obvious about testing something new, that could be interpreted as insulting if we were up by a lot.

As luck would have it, we were blowing out a team last Friday, and one of my friends who was subbing had been playing left handed all night. When I told him of my plan of wanting to catch a pull, a throw a short pass to him left-handed, he was on-board immediately. He even encouraged me to continue playing lefty after the flick...which I'm proud to say was completed :)

Knowing not to push my luck, I decided to stop after completing my first in-game lefty pass, but guarantee you it won't be my last. Now it's just a matter of increasing my confidence in that particular throw to the point I'm comfortable throwing it in a higher tier, and more stressful situation.

Week 33 - James's Food Revolution

After watching Jamie Oliver's series where he tried to change the eating habbits of a college town in the states, I requested his new cookbook "Jamie's Food Revolution" at the Ottawa library, and got it this past week. I decided to test my mad cooking skillz with the Butterflied Steak Sarnie. Granted I was missing rosemary and watercress, but I took a stab at the recipe. I also substituded a whole wheat wrap for a ciabatta loaf. My steak ended up looking like this:



Not too shabby (minus the socks with sandals)? It tasted fantastic, and I'll definitely make it again since it only took about 15 minutes. The only thing I'll have to improve at with the dish is cutting the steak in half (horizontally) prior to cooking. Thank you Jamie Oliver!

Week 32 - Phone Plans

Here's the situation, I have a home phone line I barely ever use, except on Wednesdays and Fridays forwork. I also have a cell phone that I barely ever use, with a $10/month plan (I know, I know, big spender!). Between these two phones, my bills come to approximately $40 taxes included.

Which brings me to this week's goal - consider eliminating the home phone and moving to a cell phone. This required checking various plans from providers, and figuring out exactly what I would need in terms of plans.

Turns out it'd be very close to the same cost for me to switch to only one phone. Virgin Mobile would likely be my best choice, and their plan would cost about $33/month before taxes and service charges. For that, I'd get 100 minutes, unlimited local incoming calls, and 50 texts/month (plenty for me). I'd also have to switch my home phone number to a new cell (which I've been considering getting anyway).

With the cottage closing at the end of the month, I think this is something I'll put off til next summer. Even though the cost will be the same, and one phone would be more convenient, I don't have the time to go through the hassle right now. Ah well, it was worth a look!

Week 31 - Le Budget

For an accountant/auditor/finance guy, it might surprise you to know I've never followed a budget. I'm generally good at keeping my spending moderate, and haven't seen the need to stick to a constrictive plan...until now.

My offer on the cottage was accepted, and with my financing in place, I realize I have to be a bit smarter about my spending if I want to pay off the cottage in a year (my goal). With that in mind, and an August 27th closing date, I've set a "limit" on my credit card spending in the next month (mostly gas and groceries), and "capped" the amount of cash I'll be taking out of the bank each month for pocket money (mostly for food, discs, and shiney things).

Will I stick to le budget? A ce point, je suis en course, mais, si ca changera, je te rapportras!