2010 – A Year in Review

I almost began this post by saying how turbulent 2010 was for me, but considering that 2009 was even more so, I guess it’s actually a somewhat normal year by comparison. Here is a brief summary of what happened in my life.

In January 2010 I was renting a room in a house in Leslieville from a crazy neurotic landlady.  She told me when I moved in that we would split the cleaning of the house…what I didn’t realize is that her definition of cleaning the house was a weekly 3-hour scrubbing from top to bottom.  I was desperate to leave and find my own place with no crazy roommates, and I found my current abode, a 275sqft basement bachelor apartment off of the Danforth in the city’s East end.  I liked that it came with a garden, and a parking spot for the car I knew I would eventually buy.

It was also in January that I received an offer of employment for my current position.  I had actually worked for this company part time for three months, but then in October received a full time job offer, which I couldn’t turn down (I was working two jobs at the time).  They came back in January, and I was very excited to return, especially because it was in my chosen field.  So I gave my two weeks notice, and came back, this time in a higher level capacity.

For the next few months, I studied like crazy to become qualified to reach the next level.  I ploughed through the heavy course material all while working full time.  The spring and summer were lovely – I gardened all spring and played beach volleyball all summer.  It was pretty low-key, with the exception of the fact that I was working like crazy to complete my courses.

Yogic Gardening - that's me!!!

In July 2010, I finally bought my first car.  It’s a 2006 Mazda 3, and the total with taxes+an additional 3 year warranty was $14,998.  I have it financed at a 7.09% interest rate (definitely not the best…if I had to do it all again, I would take my time, not rush it, and see if I could secure a lender with a better rate).

In August 2010 I completed my courses and was officially registered.  I learned the real price of owning a car in the city.  My insurance rate is through the roof … I’m under 25 and have never been on an insurance policy.  The cheapest I could find was $237 a month, and that’s only because I bundled it with tenant’s insurance for an additional $30 a month.  It was going to be $257 anyways, so I figured, why not insure my apartment as well?

I also cropped off my long blonde hair in favour of a more professional chin-length ‘do.  I wanted to show the world that I was ready for this next step…fortunately, it complements my bone structure, or lack thereof, quite nicely.

My beautiful new piano!

In October I made my second large purchase of the year:  a brand new Kurzweil sp3x keyboard.  It has full hammer-action keys, thousands of symphonic voices (for the composing that I swear to God I’m going to get to), and plays like a dream.

The East area of my garden

Flash forward to now.  I am recently single, I have dealt with catastrophic family issues over the past few months, and I am now the proud owner and writer of Money Rabbit.  I am learning how to do EVERYTHING over from scratch, including taking care of myself as a single woman (which I haven’t been since 18,  although there was a month-long breather in between relationships there), reconfiguring my finances, and rethinking my whole life and what I’m doing with it.  Essentially, I’m plum in the middle of a quarter life crisis.  But who isn’t?!

I am looking forward to 2011 with a mixture of optimism, excitement, and trepidation.  I know that there are some really big changes in store for me, and I’m pumped/nervous to see how they will unfold.

For now, I will leave you with my new set of goals, which now match the goals on my “2011 Goals” page.

2011 Financial Goals

-Pay off remainder of car loan by December 31st 2011 (as of time of writing, it is sitting at $10,593)

-Invest a minimum of $2000 into my RRSP

-Build an emergency fund of $10,000

-Bring in an additional $5000 through freelancing and writing.

-Save up enough money to travel to Kilimanjaro in 2012 ($4000) and enough for a trip to Europe ($2000)

-Get my networth up to $35,000

2011 Personal Goals

-Get my full G license

-Meditate on a daily basis

-Travel somewhere warm and tropical by December 31st 2011 (preferably Costa Rica).

-Run a 5km race

-Go to the gym four times per week (3 times working out, 1 class minimum)

-Write a minimum of 3 posts per week on Money Rabbit

-Finish a novel

I think that these goals are a little overambitious, but I’d rather set a really high goal and maybe get 75% of the way, then set a smaller goal and meet it and be happy with just that.  I also am up in the air about my current living situation … I’m tempted to move somewhere larger (an actual living room would be nice) but in the city, when you’re by yourself, you’re looking at $1100+ (with parking included, which I need).  Even if I were to pay off my car, at this point, it would still be too expensive.  So we shall have to see!!!

I wish you all the best of luck at you embark on a fresh year.  2010 has been an adventure, and I’m looking forward to the excitement of 2011.  I know that it will definitely be an exciting year for me, and I hope it will be the same with you.

All the best!!!

Money Rabbit