2016 financial resolutions.

[cath007]

Making my printer working because all the coupons seems to be printables now

[cath007]

trying to do the garage sales and shop thrift store or second hand before hitting stores and pay full price.

[wimbly11]

I haven't really had anyone look at them other than my finance (and he really has very little interest-he's more than happy to let me handle the budget).I'm not sure who I could even ask. I wouldn't let our family know how much debt we actually have at the moment....

We did get interest rates lower. Put our debt onto a LOC with a good interest rate, however we are still paying down almost $18,000 in debt When we try to put every extra penny on this we are left with no savings for house renos, car, etc. I'm not sure how to make it balance and still make sure we are actually getting somewhere with the debt.

@wimbly don't get discouraged, can you go to some you trust and that won't judge to review and perhaps offer some suggestions as to re-work your #'s or have you approached a bank or something of that nature to get your interest rate lowered. I don't know your circumstances so it's hard to offer advice BUT I also find it hard to save up as something always breaks or needs to be replaced.

I find sometimes another set of eyes can offer so much help.

[jasperandchar]

UPDATED as of June Goals

1. Continue to price match and use (trade for coupons) lots of freebies this month so far
2. Continue to put dh's pays in the home renovation account (he will be off for July & August so there won't be any $ to put away those months) - saving up for the new powder room (plumbing, electrical, toilet & wall tiles)
3. Continue to save PC points, sdm points, leger surveys, amazon codes for Christmas - we saved $1200 last year at Christmas time doing this
4. Stockup on Men's hygene products with pming & using coupons

Tomorrow I will be working on July's budget

Still trying to decide where to allocate the extra from the new child benefit, I will keep putting what we used to in a family vacation account (new this month) and thinking I will tuck the difference aside for either mortgage pre-payment or something else.

During June we got so many freebies (hotdogs, prime stuffed chicken breasts, mape leaf fresh bacon, cleaners, toothpaste) I am so thankful that I re-strated couponing Mid-May, I certainly noticed a substantial difference during June and all the items I was able to get for free, cheap or reasonable using coupons & price matching. I even have dh doing errands where he is price matching & using coupons which is great as he has more access to stores in the city than where we are rural.

goals #3 Pc points $604.00, shoppers points 2 top level ($340 reg BUT more when saved for mega), leger surveys $32 - still saving up for Christmas

goal #4 STOCK UP ON MEN's HYGIENE ITEMS - achieved in JUNE , Men's body wash, men's soap bars, shampoo & shaving gel

__________________

Goals for July

#1 Continue to price match and use coupons

#2 is on hold as dh is off for the summer, will revisit once he returns to work in September

In July I want to Stock up on Toilet paper this month if sales permit & coupons

Wishing everyone a very good July financially

[Frugalbigmama]

Mid Month budget clean up!

Pushing forward $173.33 for groceries and $705.77 for Misc.!!!! Have a wallet full of change from our casino visit on Sat. so have been using that for groceries and will do so rest of week.
Don't have plans to buy much this week so should be a good week.

Love seeing my progress!! Transferred $17.13 on to my credit card just now to cover the few groceries I am picking up at lunch (Cherries at $1.88 LB at FB and a few other things at RCSS)

So carried over $230.00 for groceries to the next budget period! ( This is a bit of trying not to buy much and winning over $200 at casino so had $60 in change from that so I used that to pick up bits of groceries here and there)
$755.77 Carried over for misc.

I have no idea but had $69.50 in my account that I can't figure out why. So decided to put that on my Enbridge bill since the costs just keep going up and will help keep that budgeted amount the same until I have to up it. (I had $20 and change leftover after paying hydro and Enbridge in May that I transferred to my utilities account. Hope it can build a bit this summer to be ready for high heating bills this winter.)

SDM 240,854 ($425)
Airmiles 361 ($35 at Foodland)
PC plus #1- 722,658 ($722.00)
PC plus #2- 13,775 ($13)

[Frugalbigmama]

For July- Continue using up stuff on hand and trying to only buy fresh stuff.
DS is attending 2 week long hockey camps this summer but they are already paid for.
I have booked many vacation days off here and there to do some fun stuff. Flea markets and the beach (free basically)
We have about $170.00 in the "crap sold jar" so this will cover our zoo admission and spending money at the flea market etc.

So don't see much spending going on for the next month

[beckie.c]

My plane ticket at the start of June ended up being totally worth every penny I spent, my mom and I had an absolute blast. (DH brought me flowers at the airport when he picked me up.)

I'm almost done the "purchasing" part of our fall trip. 12 nights accommodations and 5 flights (for 2) are paid for in full I still need to book and pay for 5 nights accommodations, a 3 day vehicle rental and 2 train passes. I started saving $75/paycheck about 3 years ago for this trip, so I'm happy that it will all be paid in cash plus spending money before September. I've spent a lot of time making sure we are getting good value for our money, so I'm happy to be about 25% under what I initially thought this trip may cost us. (Thanks in large part to some great budget travel blogs.)

Saving for garage siding and that nagging student loan balance are slowly coming along. Those two goals need to be accomplished before the end of the year. The Student Loan has been going down very slowly with the little $30 - $40 extras I've been throwing at it each paycheck it has been slowly chipping away. Student Loan will be a more aggressive target in the fall/winter since I want to have nice weather for putting up siding.

DH has also committed to kicking his chewing tobacco habit. When he is successful it will mean a nice boost to our monthly budget.

[jasperandchar]

My plane ticket at the start of June ended up being totally worth every penny I spent, my mom and I had an absolute blast. (DH brought me flowers at the airport when he picked me up.)

I'm almost done the "purchasing" part of our fall trip. 12 nights accommodations and 5 flights (for 2) are paid for in full I still need to book and pay for 5 nights accommodations, a 3 day vehicle rental and 2 train passes. I started saving $75/paycheck about 3 years ago for this trip, so I'm happy that it will all be paid in cash plus spending money before September. I've spent a lot of time making sure we are getting good value for our money, so I'm happy to be about 25% under what I initially thought this trip may cost us. (Thanks in large part to some great budget travel blogs.)

Saving for garage siding and that nagging student loan balance are slowly coming along. Those two goals need to be accomplished before the end of the year. The Student Loan has been going down very slowly with the little $30 - $40 extras I've been throwing at it each paycheck it has been slowly chipping away. Student Loan will be a more aggressive target in the fall/winter since I want to have nice weather for putting up siding.

DH has also committed to kicking his chewing tobacco habit. When he is successful it will mean a nice boost to our monthly budget.

Your 3 year saving plan for this trip certainly has paid off. Where are you venturing off to and it sounds like it will be a lengthy trip.

[beckie.c]

Your 3 year saving plan for this trip certainly has paid off. Where are you venturing off to and it sounds like it will be a lengthy trip.

It feels like forever in the making, but definitely proof of concept that little bits of savings adds up over time!

Three weeks. We are flying into Krakow, Poland, travelling through a few cities in Germany (we will be in Munich for Oktoberfest) and then into France to visit Paris and some the war memorials in Normandy. My great uncle passed in WW1 and is buried just outside of Arras (Vimy Ridge area). It has been on my bucket list since I was 16 to get to visit his grave.

[Frugalbigmama]

Love seeing my progress!! Transferred $17.13 on to my credit card just now to cover the few groceries I am picking up at lunch (Cherries at $1.88 LB at FB and a few other things at RCSS)

So carried over $230.00 for groceries to the next budget period! ( This is a bit of trying not to buy much and winning over $200 at casino so had $60 in change from that so I used that to pick up bits of groceries here and there)
$755.77 Carried over for misc.

I have no idea but had $69.50 in my account that I can't figure out why. So decided to put that on my Enbridge bill since the costs just keep going up and will help keep that budgeted amount the same until I have to up it. (I had $20 and change leftover after paying hydro and Enbridge in May that I transferred to my utilities account. Hope it can build a bit this summer to be ready for high heating bills this winter.)

SDM 240,854 ($425)
Airmiles 361 ($35 at Foodland)
PC plus #1- 722,658 ($722.00)
PC plus #2- 13,775 ($13)

Payday this week so mid-month budget clean up:

No more groceries really needed this week since we are going away on the weekend so planning to use up what we have and start fresh on Sunday.
Moved $300 forward for groceries (my best yet! Have yet more change to use up so will use for the little things)
Moved $801.27 forward for Misc.

All credit cards are paid in full (both have credits on them)

Haven't used any points so the totals are the same or up a bit. (PC plus #1 was at $742,000.00 last time I looked because I paid my yearly car insurance and some other big bills using credit card - planned spending)

I have finally cleaned out my coupons and sorted them in a fantastic filing system so they are easy to organize as soon as I get them. So this should really help going forward with a bit of extra savings.

[Frugalbigmama]

End of month budget clean up.

Moved $362.79 of grocery budget forward! (Have been using PC GC I redeemed points for long ago and still trying to shop smart and use up stuff at home)
Moved $832.37 of Misc. forward (bought 2 bottles of wine for house warming for a friend)

The rest is basically the same. Credit cards always paid in full (credits on both)

Off the for vacation after today. Going to the zoo, flea market and beach. All will paid for with cash from our summer fun jar (junk sold money )

On the weekend my honey and I are having an adult date and going to the casino for dinner (free with comps) and a little gambling (I have my fun money still in my wallet from last pay and will get more Friday) Looking forward to it

[Frugalbigmama]

Pay day is coming up so will have to do an update at the end of the week. Grocery budget $ being carried over is high because I was using a gc and have been trying to use up what we have and not stocking up too much. Plan on shopping just the fresh stuff the next while which will be good for the budget.

[coupon girl]

trying to push my grocery shopping to every week and a half and not stocking up using whats in stockpile -as hubby's is off his part-time job for the summer -so managing pretty good

[sweet sparrow]

Haven't used any points so the totals are the same or up a bit. (PC plus #1 was at $742,000.00 last time I looked because I paid my yearly car insurance and some other big bills using credit card - planned spending)

$742,000.... or did you mean $742? Pretty neat if you could buy a house with PC points!

I've been busy cleaning up the budget as well. I haven't made any entries for the year and DH has been enjoying the peace and quiet of having no money discussions. Now I'm making him try to remember expenses from six months ago! I will be enjoying getting rid of all the paperwork!

[Frugalbigmama]

$742,000.... or did you mean $742? Pretty neat if you could buy a house with PC points!

I've been busy cleaning up the budget as well. I haven't made any entries for the year and DH has been enjoying the peace and quiet of having no money discussions. Now I'm making him try to remember expenses from six months ago! I will be enjoying getting rid of all the paperwork!

Whoops!! Yes an extra 0 is in there lol.