Grand Savings (And Vacation) Update

Okay, so it is that time again, when I update how my progress is going on my “Grand Savings Plan!”

Before we do, however, I would like to say that I hope everyone had a good Christmas filled with love, friendship and cheer.

Okay, so let’s see how I did . . . 

   

For review, here is how things looked from last payday . . .

   

That’s 14.8%

And this is how things look like, after the dust settled on this payday’s budget . . . 

   

 

That’s right things move up to 15.1.7% of my savings target. That means I put away 0.3% of my total Savings Target this payday.

As well, my calculated end payday was shoved forward a payday, back to July 7, 2022.

So, I guess that needs a bit of an explanation. 

The long and the short of it is that this last payday was okay but I was hit with a few “end of year” expenses and other last minute costs due to my vacation. 

Thus, there was less left over to put into savings. Yet I paid everything and I have not run any balances on any credit card, I am still debt free.

I am simply going to take this as a win anyways by looking at it as I did make 15% by the end of this year. 

I will also console myself with the fact that I am in a much better financial position than I was a year ago. I have my two year’s worth of living expenses put aside.

I choose to look on the positive and keep looking forward. I plan to keep putting cash away and building for the future rather than look at the negative and doom and gloom.

There has been a lot of speculation and predictions of a massive economic apocalypse that is just around the corner. 

I have no crystal ball, so I don’t know if one is coming next week or next century. All I do know is that I am not in a place to start my homestead yet. 

I just hope that the fiscal world keeps spinning long enough for me to buy that land and start that homestead/town. 

In reality, all I can do is keep working my plan and build my savings as long as I can. 

And, you know . . . 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Christmas Break Almost Here!

So here it is, the final work day of 2018 and I am ready to head out to my Mountain Home for my Christmas Break! 

All I have to do is get through today, which is a typical Friday of a half-day of work, and then I am off. 

I did my final running around last night, so all I have to do is get a quick bite after work and then I am out to brave the highway in hopes to beat the holiday traffic.

I will not rush, as I will drive slow and cautiously, well, not painstakingly slow but not stupidly fast either, near but under the speed limit (and yes in the right lane).

I am once again looking forward to having my well-earned break and to have it, all I have to do is get through today at work and that drive to the mountains. 

I will be settled, I will relax, and I will be fine. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

The Double-Whammy Payday!

So, tomorrow is not only the day my Christmas Break begins (after work) but also Payday (sorta). 

I get my paycheque tomorrow (yet payday is actually on Saturday) and at the same time I will be handing Boss the last Timesheet of the year. 

You see this time of year is doubly-awesome because not only do I get my Christmas Break, but also because I get a double-payday! (Sorta.)

What happens is I get paid as I regularly do (on the 22nd) yet because my holiday lasts until after New Years, I get paid shortly after coming back.

This year I start back on Wednesday the 2nd, work three days that week and then on Monday the 7th I get paid again! 

Since I am up at my Mountain Home, I don’t spend a whole lot. There are a few things to get, but nothing that great. 

I tend to budget these two Payperiods together as one long Payperiod. It’s great!

It is also nice because the Taxman bites me hard again starting with that Payday of the 7th. 

I go from around 19% taxes being taken off (tomorrow’s paycheque) to 27.5% taxes being taken off . . . that part sucks.

Yet it is all part of life and all done because the Taxman wants their money sooner rather than later (go figure).

I will focus on the happy times of my Christmas Break and that Double-Whammy Payday!

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Christmas Break Shopping Done

So, last night I went out and did my grocery shopping, and other errands that I needed to do for my Christmas Break.

There were a few things that needed to be purchased, so I went ahead and bought them now, rather than waiting until Friday afternoon. 

This way, my drinks can have a few days in the fridge to get nice and cold, so they are ready for Friday evening’s festivities. 

I am really wanting to get a jump on the holiday traffic and so I don’t want to do any extra running around, if I don’t have to.

I still have to check my mail and get a meal before I head out on Friday afternoon. (Tip: never head out on the highway on an empty stomach).

I am feeling a bit better today and have a bit more energy, but perhaps this is the excitement of being this close to the beginning of my long-awaited break.

As always: Keep your head up,  your attitude positive and keep moving forward!

Three Flops, Until the Big Flop

Okay, so I may be looking forward to my Christmas Break a smidgen. In fact I am already dragging my butt, a bit more than I was last week. 

I guess that I have been tired for a while now but just been soldering on, as I always do. So, now that a break is in sight, I am starting to slow down.

I know that I will be pretty much non-moving for the first week. It takes about that long to rest and recover, I have found.

This will leave me the last few days to actually get up and start to enjoy Banff. Ah well at least I will be rested for the New Year. 

Otherwise I am keeping going and keeping true to my plan as I live as frugally as possible.

But yes, I am counting the days until I can finally flop.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Down The Home Stretch

Here it is, the final week before my Christmas Break. So, I am holding on and quite literally “Working For The Weekend!” 

But seriously, I am just pleased that my long-anticipated break is almost here. 

As far as life is concerned, things are going okay; could be better, could be worse . . . it always could be worse.

I will continue to work and do my job, as I always do, but I will be counting the sleeps until that glorious plop-and-rest.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Accounting Bug Quashed

Okay, so this goes back to what I keep asking myself . . . “Do I need this?” The answer, in this case, is a simple “No.”

My fiscal life is still quite simple: 

1. I get paid

2. I deposit my paycheque

3. I pay what bills have to be paid

4. I gas up

5. I fund my wallets

6. I put whatever is left over into savings

7. I spend the next two weeks trying to spend as little as possible.

That’s it, that’s my fiscal cycle in a nutshell.

So, I don’t need a fancy accounting system, as I am still in my uber-stingy mode. The difference is that instead of paying off the banks, I am building up my savings.

I am still doing what I have been doing, yet I am doing it for myself rather than the banks. 

So, all in all, while it would be nice to take a step towards the next phase of my journey, I don’t need to take that step just yet. 

After all, I still have four more years before I will be ready to start that phase of my life (lotto win or crowdfunding campaign notwithstanding).

Seriously though, I just need to keep focussed on the now as I build my future. I can do that with my current cascading spreadsheet budgeter. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!