Car Shopping

Last month, the inevitable happened! Our beloved 13 year old Ford Escape was scrapped and we had to get another car asap! It was an incredibly stressful time but we were fortunate to have support from our family and friends. We survived on a Toyota Corolla rental for almost two weeks and supplemented the next few days by borrowing cars from family members. I was actually shocked that everyone in my family and Winton's offered their car to us. It was very generous!

Buying a car is a big decision and there are so many variables to factor in. We didn't want to rush in and buy a car only to regret it later on. And to be honest, any car we choose would have had significant improvements from our old one. Technology changes so fast!

After two weeks of researching, driving to dealerships and test driving cars. We decided to buy new. We narrowed it down between the Honda CRV EX or the Honda Civic SI. Winton was so in love with the Civic but I absolutely hated it. I loved the design and price but I didn't like the idea of owning a Civic because of all the stigma attached to it. All I thought was 20 year old Asian guys drag racing and souping them up, pretty much the whole Fast and Furious franchise. And other thoughts of people stealing the car or breaking into it for parts and what not. The CRV was much more practical for us. We were coming from an SUV, and didn't want to downgrade in terms of cabin space. I asked around to friends who had children with cars and many said they wouldn't survive without an SUV. Kids take up a lot of space in terms of child seats and strollers, that there would be barely enough room for the trips to Costco. And that's if we wanted kids! The CRV also wasn't too high that our short and aging parents would have problems getting in and out of the car.

All in all, we ended buying the 2015 CRV after FOUR hours of negotiations! It was brutal and honestly I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked. After all, I've never negotiated anything on this scale for myself in my life. Winton has bought a car before so he was a bit wiser on the whole process. As you know, I'm all about cents and dollars and every cent I keep is a cent that stays in my pocket.

Sitting down to crunch numbers is incredibly tedious, especially when they can literally make up any number they want and hope you settle. They added up the seven year extended warranty and minus some admin fees. They play all these mind games on you, to make you think the sales guy is helping you out and bringing the your offers to his managers to see if they would approve a lower price. It's all set up to make you feel intimidated. Why couldn't we just cut the middle man and talk to the manager directly? I was so on to them and every business class I took in school came into play.

As we were far from closing a deal, a second salesman came over to try another tactic on us. We actually found him off putting, he was too abrasive and tried to use the Asian numbers of 88 in the price to make us feel better. Not knowing that Winton and I are totally Canadianized, it totally flew over our heads and we didn't realize it until we got home. We were both thinking that isn't much savings and why the weird numbers with so many friggin' 8's? I was insistent that we were going to Toyota after this meet to crunch numbers with them and that this was basically a numbers game. We didn't care which car we got as long as it was cheaper. This was totally a lie and we wanted the CRV, but it doesn't hurt to try. I sucked up some courage and low balled them with an offer that would make me sign the contract and buy this car on the spot. They were all shocked and told me that it wasn't doable because it was below the invoice price, which is the cost the dealer pays for the car. And Bingo! So, I knew to aim for a little bit higher! After some more back and forth and all the staff putting on their coats ready to go home, the manger comes out and tells us he agrees to $1000 more than what we low balled. As we were about to shake hands, I said I wanted the cargo tray added as well! Hahaha doesn't hurt try right? But, they expressed how they are giving us the car below cost and that they couldn't do it. Our sales guy was super nice and offered us his employee discount on any Honda accessories we wanted. In the end, it was a happy ending and we got an amazing price for our car. It's been two weeks and we are very happy! After four hours we ended up saving about $4000 from the initial quoted price. Four hours well spent! I feel like each hour I negotiated I made $1000! The one thing I'm a bit peeve about was the worksheet we were working on included wheel locks. But when we signed we didn't notice they were missing on our bill of sale so we didn't end up getting them. It slightly ticked me off to have let a small thing slip when you're exhausted but it wasn't the money but the feeling of being ripped off a bit. I'm not too hung up about it as we did get a deal but it was more the principal for me. I've learned so much from this experience that I wanted to share some tip for you when buying a car.


Tips when buying a car
1. Be practical
How much driving will you be doing? Is it a gas guzzler? How much space do you need for people and cargo?
2. Budget
How much can you realistically afford? Will you pay cash, finance or lease? What are the payments, interest rate, and extras you have to pay for? Learn about compound interest. I didn't know that companies tack on about $3000 for PDI, freight, admin fees, OMVIC, and the list goes on and on. I swear most of them seem made up!
3. What features are important to you?
Back up camera for tight parking spaces downtown? Trunk space to lug groceries or kids? Air conditioning? Can you believe some base models don't even include this just so they can advertise a lower sticker price?
4. Ask everyone and learn as much as you can
Friends and family are the best! They give you an honest opinion about their cars, cars they've had in the past and their experiences in general. Take each with a grain of salt, you want an overall opinion. One person may love their car to death and the other hates it just as much! Even new cars can sometimes be lemons. We even went up to complete strangers in parking lots to ask how they like their cars.
5. Walk into the dealership from a position of power
Go in saying "what will you guys do for me to buy this car?" Remember you are paying them! They want your business more then you need theirs. Don't think they have all the power and you have to do what they say. As long as you didn't sign anything, you can always walk away from the deal.
6. Everything is negotiable
I hate that dealerships don't advertise the actual price of the car. I don't go to the mall and have to work out a price with the sales person for a dress or a smoothie? I need straight numbers so I can input them into my Time, Value, Money calculator and find out what I'm really paying over time. If you don't know why that is, google it right now! It'll help you with your budget, loans and pretty much anything that has to do with money. In our bill of sale, we saved a ton by not paying for the admin fee and various other miscellaneous and pretty BS charges they added.
7. Test Drive
It's important to try out the car before you buy it. Photos are great but they most likely will only show the highest trims. I noticed in some cars it was hard getting in and out and sitting in the driver's seat in general was uncomfortable. I'm tall so I've actually hit my head a few times getting in and out. Or if I push my seat back then the back seat passengers possibly have no leg room.
8. Read over everything before you sign
Even the fine print. Make sure everything you want is listed on the bill of sale or lease, and everything you don't want is not on there. Take your time, you shouldn't be rushed into signing a big contract that you would be held accountable for many years!

We'll here's my top points I could think of when getting a new to you car! I hope it's helpful for your search or future search. Oh, and if you're a female, think about bringing a male friend. The car industry is still very sexist. Most of the time I would walk into a car dealership first and was never greeted but when Winton walked in they would be all over him. It was really weird! I felt like I was in Asia somewhere, where people just didn't think women were people. It was really disheartening to see and be in that position. But then again, that may have been what Winton felt when we went to buy a mattress or washing machine! The world is weird!

Enjoy!

Eros and Pookie

Dealing With Anxiety

Hi! My name is Julie and I'm a worry wart!

There was a great post about worry on Gail Vax-Oxlade's blog today that inspired me to write. I've never admitted to my family and friends that I deal with anxiety but I realized recently that it is more common than I thought. I guess most people chalk it up to being impatient or anal or what not and kind of shrug it off. It really sucks that there is a lot of social stigmas telling people you deal with anxiety, only a handful of my good friends know and now you! Honestly, at first I didn't even know I had it, I just thought it was just the way I was and there wasn't much I could do about it. I figured it was how I was raised, growing up with parents who were polar opposites but both hardcore worriers. For instance, my mother is constantly late, she doesn't care who you are or where she is going, you are going to wait an hour minimum for her ALWAYS. My father strongly believes in punctuality, so he is always on time no matter what and has to leave incredibly early. I remember when we would show up to someone's house earlier than they were expecting us, that we would sit in the car and wait until it was the proper time. Honestly, I think he learned that from Uncle Bob thinking it's a Canadian custom. Uncle Bob as we affectionately call him, helped sponsor and take care of my parents when they first immigrated to Canada. He was invited for dinner one time and was seen walking around our neighbourhood cause he was too early and my dad wonder why he didn't just come over, but I digress.

My anxiety had got to the point where it became mentally and physically exhausting. Worrying about being late, having no money to cover the bills, what my parents thought about, pressures from friends and family to get a place and start popping out babies. Ummm, you need some serious dough for all that! Have they seen how much daycare is now? I grew up poor with a single mom with three kids and a grandma to support. I remember when we didn't have air conditioning and couldn't afford it, so on super hot days my mom would give me 50 cents to buy and ice cream and hang out at McDonalds and the mall for the free cool air. If I can prevent a hard life by spending a few extra years saving who the hell says I can't. I hated feeling unprepared and that the worst would happen to me if I couldn't control situations. I was having trouble falling and staying asleep, working long odd hours in the day and night, and preferred to stay home and watch Netflixs because I didn't feel like I had the energy to do anything. Overtime, I grew incredibly unhappy and I decided to change...

I sought out therapy to help me learn to chill out and enjoy life again. I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing or thinking I was a crazy person cause I had a shrink. I had let my life get out of hand and didn't know how to find my way out the mess. It was honestly the second best decision I've ever made in my life (first, was getting my money shit in order)! In a few short months, I've learned to breathe! It's amazing how learning to change your way of thinking, re-training your brain, and even challenging your thoughts can influence your life. I basically lost confidence in myself and I didn't want to admit it. I was the ambitious girl who travelled the world on my own since I was 17 and dared to rebel against my parents and their old world thinking of what women should be and do. Imagine being 12-13 years old and being told to wait outside because you're not allowed into Tip Top Tailors because your a girl and it's a man's store? WTF!?! Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I grew up with divorced parents who understood that a child needed both parents. My mom never once told my dad that he wasn't allowed to see us. I was able to call and go over to his house anytime I wanted and he always made an effort to spend lots of time with us. And I digress again! I'm good at that huh?

Anyhoo, I received tons of great material from my doc that really helped me out. I was given readings and homework to understand where anxiety came from, techniques to try, audio guides to help me relax and fall asleep. I got great tips on how to deal with stressful family relations that I just never thought about. It's hard to see clearly when you are in the thick of it, so it's nice to have a professional opinion from someone who's on the outside to help you deal with it all. Plus, it's very cathartic to get crap off your chest. I'm happy to say now that it's a lot easier for me to fall asleep and get a good nights rest. Swimming and just taking time to do thing's for Julie has really felt like an infusion of energy and happiness. I don't think I'm cured from my anxiety but I'm glad that I have the tools to help me better deal with everyday situations.

So, if you're dealing with anything like anxiety or depression, I encourage you to seek help. There are some free mental health clinics out there, but you'd have to be put on a huge wait list. If you've got any medical coverage from work, find someone who'd they cover and work with what you got. There are so many kinds of therapist out there, so you really need to research the one that's going to work with your specific needs. There's also a misconception that you have to go for a long time. You can do a few sessions to help you deal with a certain problem and cut it off after that. And if you don't have the dough to pay for sessions, some will even work on a sliding scale based on your income. You just gotta do a bit of homework and call around. Not to scare you but just an fyi, an Ontario psychologist is suppose to charge $225 an hour. And that's the fee set by Ontario Psychologist Association.

Happy Friday!


Eros And Pookie

Swimming = Increased Productivity

     Well, it's been an interesting few weeks! I've progressively adapted to my new swimming, hot tubbing and sauna-ing regime. I've been aiming to go every other day, following my hair washing schedule. It's weird I know! The pool is salt watered and apparently it's suppose to be a lot better for me sans the chlorine. If you ask me, I really couldn't tell the difference minus the salt flavoured gulps I accidentally ingest up my nose here or there. And the weird texture in my hair from all that time in the water. I feel so good after the fully body workout, swimming laps is fun for me not boring, tedious work. Change up the techniques you use and you end up working out different muscles. When, I'm tried I swim on my back so I'm still moving but not as vigorous. Plus, the whole if you don't keep going, you could drown helps keep me motivated enough to get to the other side. I use to absolutely hate swimming because I was always the smallest person in swim class. I hated certain techniques and being the one everyone had to practice "saving" from drowning. The extremely cold water was so torturous, that my lips were always a constant blue/purple hue. My teachers always asked me if I was ok, but it was brutal to swim in what would probably be equivalent to an ice cubed filled pool. You could just never get warm enough until you hit the showers.

     In the hot tub and the dry sauna, I like to bring a book and a large bottle of iced water so that I'd be able to read and have something to do. Having low blood pressure, I make sure to keep very hydrated and not get too over heated. Feeling like you're going to pass out absolutely sucks! Especially, since the saunas are in the change rooms and Winton can't come with me. To be honest, at first, I actually hated the dry sauna since I didn't seem to sweat fast enough and my skin would feel like it was completely drying and burning. But, between reading and stretching in there, I've actually learned to enjoy it. It took a few trips to figure out how long and how hot I liked it in there. I've debated a bunch of times whether or not I should pour some water on the hot rocks just for a little steam. So far, I've met a couple of interesting women in there. One woman just moved to Toronto, so I gave her some advice about what's in the area etc. Another elderly Chinese woman, ended up giving me advice on life and what to expect etc. It was pretty amusing cause there was the standard Asian parent bashing their kid. When I'm alone, I love to practice some yoga poses! I love being able to stretch further in the hot atmosphere. I'm super fidgety so sitting still and meditating doesn't work for me, but in a way I feel like being alone with no phone access in a completely quiet sauna is like meditation for me. It's Julie's quiet time, and that's what I feel like all of us are missing in our lives. Even when we are alone, we aren't really alone. It's really easy to text your friends and listen to a podcast. But, being completely alone to contemplate your thoughts is like digesting the information from your brain instead of your brain constantly ingesting information.

     The best part of this whole experience was the change in my attitude. I always thought I didn't have enough time for anything and I "tried" to make time here and there. Whereas, when I just sucked it up and went swimming and forced myself to go the first few times, I found myself coming home and it was still early to do things. I had so much time and energy to cook dinner, make my lunch and snacks for the next day. I did so much more, but didn't feel as exhausted as when I sat around on the couch and did nothing all evening. It's pretty bizarre! And now, I crave going cause I love that high you get from feeling healthier and stronger. Try something new that's good for you! I bet you'll love changing up the boring daily routine. Besides, it doesn't hurt trying to get that six pack while having fun and enjoying yourself.

Progress and Contemplation!

I've been doing a ton of learning in the past little couple weeks! I've ramped up my savings games in some areas and faltered a bit in others. I've tried to cut out all my miscellaneous spending habits, but cracked on the no junk food rule. I'm surprised I was able to hold off on buying junk food for a couple weeks but when I caved I caved pretty bad. On the bright side, packages of cookies will sit in the cupboards and eaten pretty slowly by my normal standards. With the nicer weather, I'm back to the daily 45 minute walks to work. Some people think it's excessive, but with my podcasts they feel like 20 minutes. I actually feel like I'm reducing stress on my walks, as I like to see the elderly doing Tai Chi in the park while the bright sun is shining on my face. I'm one of those people that need to be in the sun! I love basking in it and working on my non-existent and impossible tan, but that's another story! I'm also happy to report that I've survive another year biking through the harsh Canadian winter. I absolutely refuse to take the TTC home during rush hour, I just can't deal with the cramped and grumpy crowds who push and shove like it's life or death to get on the train. Weather permitting, I've biked home every single day in the blistering cold! Some days when the snow or rain falls pretty hard I will end up walking for safety reasons. Even with bike lanes, they are rarely shovelled all the way to permit us bikers to ride safely in our own lane and cars for some reason don't mind driving so close you can reach our your arm and touch them! Even with my helmet, it's not worth the risk to easily slip on some rain or snow and get into an accident.

     Last week, I started back tracking and reading all the interesting blogs from Mr. Money Moustache. He's great! If you haven't heard of him, give him a google and check out his blog. He talks about living a frugal, simple life that isn't about consumption and more about being happy and enjoying life. It made me do a lot of contemplating about my life and reinforcing what I was doing was good for me. For all the shiny things I wanted to buy, at the end of the day they didn't really increase my happiness. If I had one day left on this earth, the last thing I'd want to do is go shopping for shiny new things. So, I went out and created new experiences that would increase my happiness and hopefully my life span. Usually, on Sundays its my catch up and clean up day but instead I took out an hour or so to sit in a cafe and enjoyed a hot chocolate, my favourite crepe and start a book I bought on vacation way back in November. I took another half an hour and spent it going to the condo pool to do some laps. I HATE exercise but I love to swim! The hot tub doesn't hurt either hahaha! It was hard at first since I'm so out of shape but I've gone a few times since then I can slowly do more laps than the previous trip. Best part is it's in the condo, so I don't have to leave the building to enjoy a quick swim and post relaxing session in the hot tub. Sometimes, I forget and take for granted that we are so lucky to be living downtown and are paying for all these amenities that most people don't use. The pool is always dead and I've never seen more than 5 people or so at anytime. Most of the times we've gone, the pool is empty and that's the best! Starting this year, there also has been a myriad of fitness and fun programs hosted by the condo and they are all free! I am fortunate enough that I work from home on Mondays, which is also my errands day and it just happened that I was offered set work. I'm usually tired on Monday's but I felt a nice sense of new energy that came over me from changing up my routine. I've gone a few more times after work to jump in the pool and you really get an extra jolt of energy to get you through the rest of the day. My days are longer but they are more fulfilled and feel like I accomplished a lot more. The worst feeling for me is after a crazy long work day, and spending a few hours on the couch binging on shows you think "what the heck happened to the day?" Don't get me wrong, I love tv binging and there is nothing wrong with doing it in moderation. But, I really did notice what I could do if I get off the couch for a couple hours and do something else instead and it's great!



DIY Re-Caulking the Bath Tub
Lesson learned: Silicone is better than general caulking material

We had to caulk the tub this week since our first attempt, however well done, the material did not hold up to the water assault we gave it over a couple of showers. The tube said it was caulk made for the tub and needed 36 hours to dry. We gave it more than two days and started to notice it peel right off the wall after the first shower. I suppose the fact we picked it up from Walmart, instead of an actual home repair store should have been a sign. Luckily, we were able to still reuse the tools we bought the first time around to scrape off the off the old stuff and re-apply with the recommended silicone by the Canadian Tire guys. It was advertised as three hour ready but we gave it a good 24+ hours to fully dry. It's appears a bit shiny/wet but when you touch it it's nice and dry. It's been almost a week and it's nice and solid with no signs of wear or tear. The best $3 we spent! I would definitely recommend buying a scraper and applier, we got ours from Walmart for about $5 each. They are reusable but after two uses the scraper seems to be a bit dull. The applier tool gives you a nice professional, clean and straight look. This tool is definitely a keeper! You just need to make sure to use a wet paper towel to wipe off the excess silicone before it dries to avoid it drying up on your tool.

Tip: wipe the tool often to avoid the silicone over flowing on the sides and smearing all over your tiles and tub.


Overall, I had a very good couple of weeks! Had some great new experiences and fun, all while reinforcing my good financial habits. It's hard to start a new savings habit and the best thing you could do is start TODAY! Right now! Put away $5 into an account and once you see it grow you'll get addicted! That's what happened to me. I made a good chunk of change as a teenager but with no financial foundation I blew it all on eating out and having fun with my friends. I still regret it and wished someone sat me down and taught me about personal finance! No one will care more about your finances and future more than you will (ok, maybe your mom). But even then, if you ever get into a pickle, most people won't or can't help you. Thanks to Facebook/Instagram etc. most people seem so happy in their big houses, new cars and what not but you never see the bill attached to those items. How much debt do they really carry to keep that facade? So, what if you don't have the newest whatever! Trust me, it feels a MILLION times better to be able to stand tall and know you owe nothing to nobody! The onus is on you to take care of yourself and family (if you have one). Sadly, some people think their parents will be around forever and are so dependent on them that they never learn to grow up and become independent. So, I say STAND UP, GROW A PAIR, and GET YOUR SHIT IN ORDER!


Eros and Pookie

Diaper Cake Baby Carriages

Diaper Cakes

This week I have a couple orders for a diaper cake baby carriage.

 Above was made for a baby girl last minute. And by last minute, I mean they wanted it right now and to pick it up as soon as I was done. Luckily, I was home and it was a Saturday morning and I was able to pull it off. I've never been so happy to have sewn extra bibs and supplies already and just needed a couple hours for assembly.

This one I had ample time of just under a week! More than enough time online shop for diapers. Thank goodness for online shopping and free delivery! Unfortunately, some time after I had handed off this cake I heard that this had fallen apart. I was sad to hear that the recipient wasn't able to receive her gift as intended. I guess I should really stress to each person how delicate these are. Because they are made with completely usable baby stuff, things can not be glue or adhered to permanently in anyway that can damage anything. Since I use mostly elastics and safety pins to keep everything together, transport has to be somewhat careful. I've never had an issue with any of my previous cakes. This week I'm going to sew up a couple of extra baby stuff and give it to the woman as a nice gesture.

Low on some supplies, I'm happy to see that Fabricland has opened up a temporary shop in Honest Ed's. I was able to pick up some really nice material that was on sale this week, and I'm excited and slightly stressed to have to sew and assemble another cake for this weekend from scratch. I always thought stress was bad, but there is definitely good stress. I get a good rush from having a deadline, it keeps me on track and I gives me an opportunity to work on my time management skills.


Update
The hallways and condo are completely dry. Fans blew 24 hours for almost a full week before they were taken away. Imagine the lack of sleep I had that week! The condo replaced all the baseboards they ripped out that were soaked, however they are of a different size and colour as the rest of our place but I guess we have no say in that. We also had to deal with a broken shower handle this weekend and are waiting the plumber to come by some time today. I've never been so happy that our condo offers two different areas in the gym and pool for a public shower. And I LOVE that no one ever uses them and they are so clean! On the bright side of a broken shower, the bath tub has been dry and we spent a couple hours late one evening to caulk the tub. Another errand we had put off too long!




Eros and Pookie

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Last Friday just as dinner was being prepped, the fire alarm went off. It goes off at least once or twice a month and usually from the monthly fire alarm testing. We weren't really alarmed since 99.9% it's a false alarm and maybe someone over cooked something and the smoke got out into the hallway. After about 10 mins we heard a lot of shouting and running back and forth outside our door, so we checked it out and this is what we saw.

 I was shocked to the hallway completely flooded. We'd have some flooding previously from Rabba next door but never to this extent. We later found out because of the extreme cold, a heating pipe from the next apartment had burst and hot water had flooded her place.

 This is what it looked like after a few people had walked in and out of her apartment trying to find where the water was coming from and trying to shut it off. The steam from the hot water made it almost impossible to see. I felt like I was in a scene out of Titanic as water started slowing crawling from one side of the building and continuing down the hallway. Water then started seeping into our place and I did the best I could to control it. I spent about 2 hours putting down towels and wringing them out until my hands were raw and in pain. Lesson learned here was to use small hand towels, they make for easy wringing. Large bath towels are great to quickly soak up large amounts of water but the biggest hassle to squeeze out.

After a few hours the condo had a special company come in to suck up the water one apartment at a time, then they left us with some dryers. It's extremely inconvenient to be sleeping inside your place and have three large industrial fans running 24/7, as well as a super huge dehumidifier. I'm the super lucky one that gets to sleep within arms reach of a fan. Our place is small and space is such a valuable commodity. It's now Wednesday, so it's been almost an entire week of loud fans. Have you ever been on a plane and you hear the constant loud buzzing sound and doesn't let you sleep? That's me! Even after having been checked up upon the last two days, there still seems to be some moisture. Unfortunately for now, our new fan room mates get to stay. 

The only thing I don't understand, is why of all the base boards being ripped out, is the wall attached to our place been cut out. It's strange, you can see what looks like fluffy dirty stuffing inside the walls.

Any advice and or tips to deal with this situation are welcomed!


Thanks in advance,
Eros And Pookie

Keeping Up The Savings Game!

Hope everyone had a good week and keeping warm during these freezing times! I've been wearing long johns every day to the office to stay warm. Clothes have been a bit more snug but it beats having to go outside unprepared. I can't wait for summer!

Just wanted to give you all an update of what's been going on:

I've been pretty good at cutting out most of my miscellaneous expenses. It's brutal to walk down the aisles of a grocery store and want to buy everything you feel like eating but instead just walk away. It takes a lot of will power to keep moving on. It's horrible! I've refrained from online shopping, buying things I know I'll need eventually and just holding off until I actually need them. I've been better this week saying no to friends and functions, it's very hard when you want to be there for birthdays and to see people you haven't seen in ages but it's what has to be done until I get out of this rut. Winter months are usually the worst times for me financially and I do my best to plan accordingly. But man, when crap happens it's hard to predict exactly what you'll need to take care of it. The last two months I've had plumbing problems, unexpected health care costs, and computer issues. The one thing they don't tell you about having health care benefits from our insurance is that they make it incredibly tedious to make your claims. My doctor can print copies of his invoice for me or email them. I offered to have my doctor submit them directly to my insurance for me but unfortunately they want a physical copy mailed to them, two weeks for processing and then time to mail it back. I mailed my first bill on January 15th and I just received the first of many cheques yesterday. So, I'm out the dough until the cheques come in and its hurts my wallet so very much. I have my emergency fund to cover expenses but that's not what I want it for. It's my "I'm very sick and can't work" and absolute last resort money. Stupid stuff like this I notice will always happen and I don't want to keep dipping into other funds to cover it. My solution is building a slush fund, a buffer for unexpected expenses that aren't real emergencies. Starting one is honestly one of the smartest decisions I made and gives me a nice buffer for my budget.

Re-organizing My Saving Accounts

Did you know you can have as many saving accounts as you'd like for free? I certainly did not! I have a PC Financial Account and Tangerine Account. PC is great for daily banking and has lots of machines available in Toronto, thanks to their partnership with CIBC. I am obsessed with getting PC points for free groceries and getting a free cheque books for the odd cheques I have to write for work. I don't have a Tangerine chequing account, but it has a feature where you can take a photo of a cheque to make a deposit. With a partnership with Scotiabank it's a bit more inconvenient for me since there are not many locations around my neighbourhood. Transferring funds from PC to Tangerine takes a couple days, which at first was sort of a hassle but I like that I can't easily dip into it. I only use the Tangerine TFSA account and regular savings account. The main thing when I was figuring out how to better organize my moolah was convenience. I currently have one account and via a detailed excel sheet, I kept track of all the money in the account and which fund it belonged. I wanted to simplify everything! I want to open my account and see exactly how much money was in each fund. I believe when you make budgeting simple and easily accessible, you are more likely to keep up with it and stay on track. It's hard at first, but it gets easier and builds up the habit over time. Sometimes, I feel like throwing out my budget but it's constantly evolving and updating to fit my lifestyle. I find reading articles everyday about personal finance helps keep me motivated, educated and on track to reach my goals.

Ideally, I would have liked to go with PC for all my funds but when I spoke to them they told me the accounts could not be named and I would have to remember the account by numbers. That is really crazy when you think I'm planning to open like 10 accounts! I can't even remember phone numbers, how will I remember bank account numbers? So, when I called up Tangerine all you have to do is open up to the 5 account limit online, and they will have a manager to override the system and give you the additional number of accounts you'd like. And you can easily name them and name them in order to your preference! I had to rename some of the accounts so the important funds are near the top. Small stuff like this may seem kind of OCD, but you'll thank yourself for doing it right the first time.

Hope this helped get you a bit closer to your financial freedom!


Eros And Pookie