Pork, the other white meat

Last week Chris saw an amazing sale at Loblaws grocery store on pork. Remember when he did that a few years ago? Yup, well it happened again!

The best way for us to save money on groceries is to hunt through the flyers and buy what's on sale. So, if there is an amazing deal on pork, we buy it -- and buy a lot! Thankfully we have a five cubic foot freezer where we can stock up on meat and other things to freeze and so that sure helps our savings, but I gotta tell you, what we paid for the darn freezer wasn't a great savings!

We were stupid once, too y'know. Chris and I didn't know about the whole Dave Ramsey plan back and in the day, and so we saw one of those rent to own furniture places and thought we could buy a freezer through them. Well, yeah we could buy a freezer at their store, but it turned out we spent three times more money buying this darn freezer than if we had just saved up the money ourselves! Never again! Nope, nuh uh....!

Thankfully, we've moved on from such dumb mistakes, and we're utilizing this very expensive little freezer to its fullest by saving up big time when it comes to freezing food in the darn thing.

Last time we saw a sale like this we bought pork shoulders. Humongous pork shoulders! I remember that meat just lasted forever and this time is really no different with this pork. It might not be the shoulder of the pig but we still have some amazing top quality meat.

When Chris was cutting the pork chops down to size he really examined the quality of the meat and said it was a really good cut. Nothing cheap and at only $2/lbs (CDN) it was SO worth it! Yes, we got $70 worth of meat, but it'll last us at least a year with 109 pork chops! (That's 35 lbs of meat! That Chris carried home in his backpack on the bus! What a trooper that guy is!)

So, my challenge to you is to search those flyers and be willing to use a little of your food budget for the latest great sale. If it's something you know you or your family will eat, don't hesitate to stock up and freeze it.

Chris and I have decided that once we're debt-free we plan to put $20 extra aside every month just for food sales like these. Eventually having an extra $100 once or twice a year to buy an exceptional sale will save us a ton of money!

Taxes are paid!

Well, our taxes were filed two weeks ago. It was nice to get it all done in time. This year was our first full year just having our annuity income as the only source of income at all, so it was a guessing game about just how much taxes we would have to pay.

We had been paying our taxes every month, as I made an estimate as to what they would be based on discussions with our accountant and her boss. Our estimates were pretty spot on. We ended up paying, $8,573.66. You're thinking, "Holy cow that's a lot of money, Rosie!" Actually, it's not, really. I used to have to pay more than double that with the way the annuity was set up. When we renegotiated the annuity they were able to bring up our income and bring down the income taxes I'd have to pay.

Although annuities now are no longer taxable, thanks to a law change, my annuity isn't included in that law change that happened more than 25 years ago. It's very frustrating that I'm taxed, but I feel that solving the annuity is a greater blessing and so I don't complain much about the tax. It's better to count your blessings than to complain.

So, here government of Canada, take your money and I know you're not going to spend it the way I see fit. *shrugs* Hahaha...

I do hope everyone else was able to file their taxes on time. Spring is always a time for eternal renewal and hope, but yes, tax season is part of it as well. I'm not always pleased about that part and I hear many other people grumble about it as well. Just be thankful for the country we live in and that the majority of us get a tax return. Enjoy those tax returns for me! :D Hey, why don't you put your return towards debt this year? Make some big payment towards your debt and do the debt pay off dance for me!

Findings little ways to save can make big long-term changes

I've been out of sorts lately, and so I haven't posted recently. There's some medical stuff going on that's sort of taking priority in my life. It's difficult to deal with and time-consuming but the great thing is it isn't affecting us financially very much -- at least not yet.

I do know if I was still working full-time I would've had to use sick leave or quit my job, but thankfully with our income, this isn't a problem. Although that thought led me to think about all the people out there that do struggle with medical difficulties that require time away from their job and resting at home or going to doctor's appointments continuously. It made me feel so thankful and blessed by what The Lord has given me.

It reminds me how important to is to be good stewards of the money we are entrusted with. You know, whether you work for your money (like the majority of society) or have an annuity/pension (like myself) God has entrusted you to use your money wisely and not spend frivolously.

Looking back at March, we put $1,350 towards our debt. Every chance we can throw money at the debt means we're another step towards debt-freedom.

I cannot wait until that day comes.  Can...not....wait.

I think we've really begun to utilize the grocery bus service which I get every two weeks more effectively now. I pay a fee $11/trip to have a ride to and from the grocery store. We budget for this expense every month and that allows me to get out of the house regularly even in winter, icy weather which helps stave off things like depression and cabin-fever. This is the first year in over 20 years I feel more happy and productive. I think that is a small price to pay for such a significant emotional change in my daily life. It's a service primarily for the elderly. There's a big disabled services bus that come drives over from the retirement home nearby and picks me up, along with some other people in our area. We all get transported to the local grocery store (which has a chain of other stores in the same walking area to shop at) We have an hour or so window of time to do our shopping and then our driver takes us all home again. It's great!

We have a set budget for groceries at $300/mth and an "Other" category of $150/mth Chris and I then break that down into how many bus trips per month we'll be getting. From there, we know our amount of groceries and household/other things to spend and look at the Metro flyer to see what's on sale that week. We shop by sales and that's a huge savings.

Chris will occasionally go out on his own a buy a few things we also need, but we still stay in budget. If we do go over (which is rare anymore) we always make sure to take cash from somewhere else. We NEVER live on credit; ever.

Last month was a great month for shopping and I think April will be similar. We don't buy the best of everything and I can't wait to be debt-free in order to buy a few more luxury items at the grocery store, but for now, this way of budgeting and saving allows us to get debt-free as quickly as we can. I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, I encourage you to look at your flyers, shop by the sales, but most important set up your grocery/other budgets! For those who have no idea how to even come up with that number a good rule of thumb for groceries is $100 per person in the house, but with a minimum of $300 for the entire household. So, for example, if you're a family of two (like Chris and me) that's $300. If you're family of three, still that's $300. If you're family of 5, that'll be $500. You don't think you can do it. I know! I know, what you're thinking, "That's just not enough money, Rosie!" Yes, yes it is.....it really is because the more sacrifices you make in the grocery store on little things that really don't matter, the more money you can either save for future more important expenses or the more money you can throw at your debt, the more life you'll be able to live and enjoy. Seriously, it's the small insignificant changes like spending less on groceries, that actually begin to add up over time.

(As far as your household budget, look back and receipts or bill invoices, see what you bought for the house for last 3 months and it'll give you an average. We find $150/mth tight, but if we increase it too much, we just end up spending more. Being a little tight and frugal is actually a good challenge and allows us to really think about the price of laundry soap or whether we can wait another month to buy more Lysol wipes, etc.)

Before you dismiss me completely and go on to the next task in your day, think about how much debt Chris and I have paid off in the last 22 months -- and counting! It's about $50,000 now. What have you paid off in the last two years? Are you close to
getting that credit card, student loan debt, car lease debt paid off? It's life changing when you get just one major debt paid off. You can see the possibilities of your future radically change in a new way!

So try it, just try it for a week. Set your grocery budget by the week, instead of the month, and challenge yourself to only spend that amount of money for the next seven days. I believe in you! You can do it! :D Let me know how it goes! Email me! Whoo-hoo!

Saving $$$ in the Kitchen

We all like ways of saving money, right? Some of those ways are really big, giant changes that are mind blowing and other ways are really simple like...well....making bread at home.

I know! I never thought making bread at home could be so inexpensive and simple! Well, I'm here to tell you it is and it's a lot of fun, too!

Chris and I bought a bread maker, second-hand about 2 years ago. Back when we were superintendents of an apartment complex we had an elderly tenant who was moving out and selling a bunch of her stuff. We bought this brand new bread maker from her for $20 and it turned out to be a Wolfgang Puck name brand. Okay, yep.... cool!

We stuffed into the back of a kitchen cabinet and knew one day we'd get a chance to use it. Well...to be honest, two years have gone by and I still had not used it. Back then it was because our job was just so busy we barely had a chance to grocery shop and think about things like saving money and making homemade bread.

But that was over two years ago! Life just got away from us and we did almost get rid of the bread maker a few times as I just hate having things kickin' around and not being used. I didn't get rid of though, I made Chris hold onto it and knew that someday I'd use it.

Now, I'll never go back to store-bought bread! Ohmygosh homemade bread is delicious and so easy to make! We've made three loaves in the month of March and each has looked a little prettier and this last loaf just looked beautiful, if I do say so myself!

We probably spent no more than $0.75 making this loaf of bread. (Initially, we thought it was about a buck, but no, it's probably $0.50 to $0.75, including Hydro cost). That's significant savings compared to the store bought loaves if you really think about it and here we don't add preservatives, fillers or extras that are just not needed.

We are both just thrilled and I plan to make a cinnamon raisin loaf very soon just to see how that'll turn out.

So, sometimes if there's a garage sale bread maker available you may just want to see about purchasing it for $20 or less. It could be worth it to save a little money in the long run. In about 27 loaves our bread maker will have paid for itself.

Also, as a side note, the smell of baked bread on Sunday afternoon after church is just divine... Oh, what a blessing!

So, if you'd like to stop by for a warm slice of bread along with Sunday dinner just let us know. We have plenty to go around. You're always more than welcome at our table and our doors are always open for family and friends.

Two to One

There seemed to be only three major events in February in regards to budgeting. Two of them were awesome moments and one well, not so much...

Last month, we were able to put over $1,700 towards our debt! I know, I'm
thrilled about it, too! It was a lot of fun to see where we could cut back a little and move a bit of money around in order to throw more at that debt. Usually, our debt pay off number is great, but seventeen hundred is just amazing. It gave us such a thrill and made us dance with a little in the kitchen.

Then late one night, I took a look at my phone and saw I had an email from Canada Revenue Agency. groans "What do they want now?" I thought to myself. I vowed that no matter what they wanted from me, I'd do my best to see it through. That next morning, I open the letter, from the CRA website, and saw my installment reminder notice had arrived. This made me internally groan a second time. I expected this installment reminder in January but it never arrived. Here it comes, a month late, I am just dreading opening the letter up. Finally, after another fervent prayer, I open it up and read.......

Nil.

What?

Eh?

I do not owe any installment payments for the first and second quarters. Uh.......that's never happened before. Like....ever... I have to admit I sat here

stunned for a moment and had to read the letter again. No.....there it is the three letter word again.......Nil. Nothing......nada........zilch.....

Well, whoopee!!!! I think Chris and I did another kitchen slow dance for that one that day as well. Good news always makes Chris want to slow dance in the kitchen, which always makes me giggle in his arms.

We are still saving for taxes every month, just in case, it's needed for 2018 taxes next year. The annuity amount is brand new and 2017 taxes will be the first full year where we just have these payments as our own source of income, so we've already paid up for 2017 taxes and saving in advance for 2018. It's better to safe than sorry.

Okay well, two pieces of good news! Whoo-hoo! We were really on a role by this point, but then that bad news hits. Apparently, another unknown debt has cropped up on our radar. Chris had a debt he wasn't aware of, due to some very unusual circumstances. We'll be saving up a bit for this debt in a month or two and get it taken care of. Thankfully, this seems to be the last of it, but it's nice that we'll get it resolved soon and then it'll stop hurting his credit.

I have admit, both of us were blindsided by this issue. Chris had no idea that there was anything owing and had never had services with this company. In a weird set of circumstances the charges are technically legitimate but not really.....Unfortunately, we just have no way to prove they are not 100% accurate. Oh well, chalk it up to a learning curve and move on...

No one is perfect and everyone requires grace. This is why we talked it through, found a plan of action and plan to take care of it ASAP.

I will say all and all February was a great month and we even had a little Valentine's Day celebration. Nothing too fancy and extravagant but lots of laughter and fun.

Now on to March and already budgeting has been coasting along nicely. It seems the second half of the month always puts a bump in the road, so we'll just have to see what happens from here, but all and all, The Lord has given us the means to find solutions at every curve that's been thrown at us. We'll be fine. We're in this together and with daily tracking, budgeting, and financial fitness we'll get there... We'll kick this debt's butt!

Every ride has a few bumps and some amazing curves

Well, the first month of the new year went pretty well. As I look back at January I have to say I'm pretty impressed that we're spending such a significantly lower amount on our grocery bill. $250 for two people.

Now, that may not sound like a big accomplishment but hear me out. Statistics show most people spend $250 per person a month on groceries. We were able to get away with spending that same amount for two people.

How did we do that? By shopping from our own pantry and freezer first. Really Chris is quite creative with the dinner menu. He has a knack for coming up with inventive recipes for barely anything and making our food taste delicious. He's a great cook and I have to give him full credit for continuing to keep our grocery budget low month after month with his ability to use what we have to its full extent.

We are now getting to a point where we don't have to watch as closely on how we spend our money as we're able to trust the numbers that we set out for ourselves. We may go over a little here in there, but we have a bit of a buffer built in our budget and as long as we stay within that buffer it's just smooth sailing.

Are we perfect? No, we're not and we never will be nor do we ever claim to be perfect but we do take some solace that we're making an amazing headway in setting up realistic financial goals for ourselves and being able to meet them consistently.

On a more frustrating note, we still don't have clear information for Canada Revenue Agency about Chris' previous taxes as well as the outstanding balance of $1,500. We recently contacted them with questions and received very few answers in return. Thankfully, Chris is meeting with our accountant again and I'm sure soon enough we'll have a more concrete idea of what's going on. In meantime, we're just in a wait and see mode. It's not a huge deal and we're doing what we can to get it resolved ASAP.

Having said all that, I think the best part of 2018 so far (and we've only just begun!) was our chance at a little holiday. We went away for a week and hung out with family -- for FREE! I've never laughed so much over rounds of Rummy 500 or eaten apple pie that tasted so good!

We're so thankful to have been invited to a little getaway. This was the first major holiday Chris and I have had since we've been married. It felt like a little slice of heaven. So blessed.... and that helped us refocus our energies on finishing this year of debt pay off strong.

One more year; one more year and Baby Step #2 should be DONE. No more consumer debt! It's been a heck of a ride but I know we can finish it. With every curve in the road, we'll shave off another bit of that debt. Slowly, watching the numbers go down....it's such a thrill ride! The adrenaline is almost intoxicating! I highly recommend THIS type of high! Ha! ;)  I cannot wait to get the line of credit under $5,000. I'm going to do the goofy Elaine dance when that happens! We're so close! Just a few more months away from that marker, I think.

We had a goal to be done by my 40th birthday. That may not happen since I now have the dental debt for my implant, but we can still finish by December 1st -- if not before. We keep finding little ways to shave off the debt just a bit more here or there that we didn't see at the beginning of the month and every dollar we put towards our last two debts is a huge step in progress.

I only hope you guys are taking some baby steps of your own. I want to see everyone succeed in this fight against consumer debt so badly! Oh, it's like a new lease on life when you finally get it! Let me know how it's going and if there are any wins to celebrate in your life! God bless you all!

Resistant Spouses

Budgeting is hard work and it can be even harder if you have a partner that isn't willing or wanting to participate in those talks about money matters. It's never easy to make a big change, like budgeting or paying off debt, if you're trying to do it alone or if you feel like you're dragging your spouse along behind you like a reluctant teenager while you're trying to stay chipper about it all.

I remember when I first read Dave Ramsey's book "Total Money Makeover" there was a burning in my heart to follow his plan. I knew I had found the template for our financial present and future. I was hooked! I was inspired! Chris, on the other hand, just thought I was going through a phase, a crazy phase and quickly all this enthusiasm for paying off debt would fade away.

For the first 2.5 months or so he reluctantly listened to me talk about what Dave Ramsey says... I'm sure there were moments he was ready to throttle me. I was blessed though, I continued to pursue our dream and Chris, thankfully, got the fever, too. Ever since then Chris has been hooked on this journey were are on just as much as I am -- sometimes he's even more enthusiastic than I am. It's amazing the turn he's taken!

Unfortunately, that's not always the case with so many marriages out there though. There are wives who contact me who ask me how I did it. How I "persuaded" Chris to join me on this journey of debt pay off. I really don't have those answers, but thankfully a wonderful You Tuber and blogger, Brittany, whom I admire posted a video on this very subject! 11 Tips to Instantly Increase Your Success When Talking About Money With Your Spouse

I encourage you to watch it and perhaps see if you're spouse is willing to watch it with you. Working together to budget is such an important part of every marriage. I don't think our household would be as successful in our debt pay off journey if Chris and I didn't do this together. We lift each other up and encourage one another and this has been such a huge help when one of us feels like we're struggling a bit.

Also, if you need to talk I'm always here to listen. Sometimes, just having a friend pray with you, listen to your concerns can be enough. :)

Love you all, and know that you're not on this journey alone. We will all become debt-free and have a more financially sound future. The journey is not over. Keep enduring to the end!