I drank some wine tonight and I'm feeling it and it feels lovely. Right now, I don't care how much sugar I've consumed. I'm happy the royal wedding is tomorrow because that means it will be over and I can stop hearing about it. Seriously, I don't care. I'm on Team Election. But I'm willing to bet that more Canadians aged 18+ will take the day off work and get up at 5 a.m. to watch the stupid wedding than will take 20 minutes to scratch an X on a piece of paper on Monday.
I need to go to bed now.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The only thing better than putting on last year's shorts...
...is putting on last year's shorts and finding they're TOO BIG!
That's a progress WIN!
That's a progress WIN!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Have a happy Monday with...springtime!
I think...maybe...finally...spring just might be here! I got sunburned on the weekend, which is always the biggest indicator for me that it's springtime - not to mention it's the only time of the year I actually don't mind a sunburn.I do love the springtime, with the warmer breeze, the sunnier days, even the warm rainy days that help bring the bright green leaves back. It feels so fresh and new and full of possibilities. And I feel so liberated, strapping on my sandals (no socks!) and going outside with bare legs and no jacket.
Aaaaah, spring!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Up-Down Challenge Weigh-in #11
How does Sunday always come so quickly? Feels like just yesterday I was on the scale. But I've been doing all right this past week, as can be seen by my weight: 192.6 lb. That's -1.4 lb from last week.
Must be why my jeans are fitting better.
I really wanted to be at or below 190 by the end of April, so I've got a week to hit my goal. While losing 2.5 lb might be doable, it is a bit high for what's considered healthy weight loss in a week. But I'm not going to let that hamper my efforts; I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing (as the Beau tells me regularly) and keep on reaping the benefits.
Oh, and Happy Easter!
Must be why my jeans are fitting better.
I really wanted to be at or below 190 by the end of April, so I've got a week to hit my goal. While losing 2.5 lb might be doable, it is a bit high for what's considered healthy weight loss in a week. But I'm not going to let that hamper my efforts; I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing (as the Beau tells me regularly) and keep on reaping the benefits.
Oh, and Happy Easter!
Out with the old, in with the...old
Every time a new season rolls around, I want to go shopping. I particularly like spring because of all the bright, pretty colours that come with the season and this year, coral is a big trend and my current colour obsession so all I want to do is wander around the mall and look at pretty clothes. Coral combined with stripes and my world is complete.
The problem is that my closet and drawers are filled to bursting with so many things I don't wear/like/fit/want - so today I finally buckled down and went through my clothes. Two big bags of donation clothing later, my closet and drawers could breathe again. Do you know what else could breathe? Me. In jeans that were too tight a mere six months ago.
HUZZAH!
I also discovered I can get into a denim skirt that used to be too tight and I'm fitting better into some other clothes. So here I was thinking I needed more denim - but I already have what I need and I look smoking in it too.
I've also been searching for blazers for what feels like forever, with no luck finding anything that fits. But then...on Thursday after work I stopped by the Goodwill near my office and picked up two blazers for $10 total. And one blazer is from Holt Renfrew. SCORE.
So a mere $10 and a little bit of work and I've got two new blazers, a pair of jeans and a skirt to rock this spring. That totally makes up for forgoing Easter chocolate this year.
The problem is that my closet and drawers are filled to bursting with so many things I don't wear/like/fit/want - so today I finally buckled down and went through my clothes. Two big bags of donation clothing later, my closet and drawers could breathe again. Do you know what else could breathe? Me. In jeans that were too tight a mere six months ago.
HUZZAH!
I also discovered I can get into a denim skirt that used to be too tight and I'm fitting better into some other clothes. So here I was thinking I needed more denim - but I already have what I need and I look smoking in it too.
I've also been searching for blazers for what feels like forever, with no luck finding anything that fits. But then...on Thursday after work I stopped by the Goodwill near my office and picked up two blazers for $10 total. And one blazer is from Holt Renfrew. SCORE.
So a mere $10 and a little bit of work and I've got two new blazers, a pair of jeans and a skirt to rock this spring. That totally makes up for forgoing Easter chocolate this year.
Friday, April 22, 2011
It's all about the Benjamins
Or the Bordens, seeing how I'm Canadian and all.
I had my taxes done over the weekend and I'm getting a nice little refund, which I'll be putting directly back into my RRSPs.
Or will I? I know the proper thing to do is to put the refund into my RRSP because the main reason I'm getting a refund is because of my RRSP contributions. And by investing my refund, I'm helping to cover the tax I'll have to pay once I start drawing from my RRSP. So this would be the sensible way to do things.
But I've also got some student loans that need paying off - and the sooner the better. So do I take my refund and put it towards this debt? It's a conundrum.
As well, as of April 29, I will have paid off all my consumer debt. This is pretty huge for me, as a year ago, I had about $5,000 owing on a line of credit and about $2,500 owing on credit cards. AND IT'S ALMOST GONE! Paying off $7,500 in a year is both exciting (no more debt!) and depressing (all that money that didn't go to me!) but I'm proud that it's almost behind me.
So about those loans. I have four different loans to pay off: two (Canada and Ontario) negotiated through CIBC and two (Canada and Canada-Ontario) negotiated through the National Student Loan Service Centre. The reason for four? My first year of university, student loans were negotiated through a financial institution; after that, they changed to being negotiated through the NSLSC. So I make four different monthly payments, which is so much fun.
Anyways, now that the consumer debt is done I can start paying more than the minimum on my loans. Here's where I stand:
CIBC
Canada loan: $4,136.44
Ontario loan: $1,912.78
GRAND TOTAL: $6,049.22
Knowing I paid off $7,500 in this past year, I'm confident I can take down this entire chunk of my loan between now and next spring. But - of course - there's more:
NSLCS
Canada loan: $2,743.62
Canada/Ontario loan: $6,435.35
GRAND TOTAL: $9,178.97
So my overall total owing is $15,228.19. That's a pretty big number.
But I took some time yesterday afternoon to put together a repayment spreadsheet and I've come up with a very ambitious repayment schedule. If I can stick to it, I will have all my debt paid off by the end of June 2012. Seriously - 14 months. And I've set up my budget in such a way that I still have a little slush fund every month, for those times that I blow my weekly budget or need a little extra for things (like cottage weekends or birthdays or a pretty pair of shoes). Because as much as I want to pay off my debt, I don't want it to be at the expense of my life.
So starting next month, more money will be going towards my loans. I'll be starting with the lowest balance first ($1,912.78) and doing the snowball method: as I pay off each amount, I'll roll what I was paying on that balance into the payment on the next-lowest balance until all are paid off. And so begins me seriously buckling down and focusing on my financial health this year.
Here's to June 2012!
I had my taxes done over the weekend and I'm getting a nice little refund, which I'll be putting directly back into my RRSPs.
Or will I? I know the proper thing to do is to put the refund into my RRSP because the main reason I'm getting a refund is because of my RRSP contributions. And by investing my refund, I'm helping to cover the tax I'll have to pay once I start drawing from my RRSP. So this would be the sensible way to do things.
But I've also got some student loans that need paying off - and the sooner the better. So do I take my refund and put it towards this debt? It's a conundrum.
As well, as of April 29, I will have paid off all my consumer debt. This is pretty huge for me, as a year ago, I had about $5,000 owing on a line of credit and about $2,500 owing on credit cards. AND IT'S ALMOST GONE! Paying off $7,500 in a year is both exciting (no more debt!) and depressing (all that money that didn't go to me!) but I'm proud that it's almost behind me.
So about those loans. I have four different loans to pay off: two (Canada and Ontario) negotiated through CIBC and two (Canada and Canada-Ontario) negotiated through the National Student Loan Service Centre. The reason for four? My first year of university, student loans were negotiated through a financial institution; after that, they changed to being negotiated through the NSLSC. So I make four different monthly payments, which is so much fun.
Anyways, now that the consumer debt is done I can start paying more than the minimum on my loans. Here's where I stand:
CIBC
Canada loan: $4,136.44
Ontario loan: $1,912.78
GRAND TOTAL: $6,049.22
Knowing I paid off $7,500 in this past year, I'm confident I can take down this entire chunk of my loan between now and next spring. But - of course - there's more:
NSLCS
Canada loan: $2,743.62
Canada/Ontario loan: $6,435.35
GRAND TOTAL: $9,178.97
So my overall total owing is $15,228.19. That's a pretty big number.
But I took some time yesterday afternoon to put together a repayment spreadsheet and I've come up with a very ambitious repayment schedule. If I can stick to it, I will have all my debt paid off by the end of June 2012. Seriously - 14 months. And I've set up my budget in such a way that I still have a little slush fund every month, for those times that I blow my weekly budget or need a little extra for things (like cottage weekends or birthdays or a pretty pair of shoes). Because as much as I want to pay off my debt, I don't want it to be at the expense of my life.
So starting next month, more money will be going towards my loans. I'll be starting with the lowest balance first ($1,912.78) and doing the snowball method: as I pay off each amount, I'll roll what I was paying on that balance into the payment on the next-lowest balance until all are paid off. And so begins me seriously buckling down and focusing on my financial health this year.
Here's to June 2012!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Have a happy Monday with...orange toenails
Because spring seems to be taking the long way around - and waking up to a snowstorm yesterday was a little disarming - I decided I needed orange toenails.
I've been obsessed with orange lately and even have three bottles of orange nail polish. But it's just so pretty!
(Not my nails and I decided against showing a picture of toenails, mine or anyone else. But that is the nail polish I used!)
I've been obsessed with orange lately and even have three bottles of orange nail polish. But it's just so pretty!
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