My Achilles Heel – the Latte factor

I just went out and bought an extra large double double and a cheese croissant. I am nursing it as I write this and it tastes like nostalgia sprinkled with heaven. More specifically, it tastes of finality, like drinking and gorging on New Years Eve before a health kick, or my eating my Last Meal (I’m not overdramatic at all).

Coffee, more specifically Tim Hortons and Second Cup coffee, is my Achilles heel. About three to four times a week, I’ll go on a fifteen minute walk to the Second Cup, about 1.2km away from my office. I’ll get a medium flavoured coffee ($2.05, or $1.85 if I bring my travel mug). I can justify it because it gives me a mental break out of the office, and on average costs a meagre $2. Nothing, right?

Except sometimes I get a cookie if I’m hungry. Or about once a month, I’ll go to Starbucks instead and wind up getting a hot chocolate and lemon poppyseed loaf ($6.50).

Using my debt and credit card alone, over the past 12 months I have spent $200 on coffee shops. Unfortunately, this only represents what must be less than half of my expenditures, since Mint doesn’t always classify the purchases correctly, and I often use cash. So let’s just say, conservatively, that I spend $500 a year on coffee shops. That would almost cover the entire cost of one course through Athabasca.

They just finished construction on a Tim Hortons that's a four minute walk from my house. Curse you, Timmy's!!!!

This has been one money leeching habit that I have been reluctant to eliminate. In the fall, when money was super tight, I bought a $7 container of instant coffee to keep at the office, which lasted me for about 3.5 weeks. I’m not that fussy, so I didn’t mind. But I missed the smell of the coffee shop, the experience of getting a lovely fresh cup of coffee, and the inherent mental break from the office. Caffeine also provides relief from my crippling migraines and barometric pressure headaches. This past week, I was able to accurately predict each and every snowfall within hours, purely through my headaches (side note: lamest superpower ever. I’m like Jubilee in the X-Men…completely useless).

I have done a solid job of eliminating unnecessary expenses.  I pack my lunch to go to work. I don’t have cable. My gym membership has been stripped down to the bare bones, so I only pay $18 biweekly (I forgo towel service and the use of other clubs, saving me $7/biweekly). My biggest expense in December was gas for my car, since I travelled home and halfway to Montreal. I also paid $100 for a New Years return trip to Montreal (Frenchie was kind enough to cover 75% of the costs. I am such a lucky girl.)

So is a sacrifice of my coffee really going to make a difference in the long term? Well, yes. Not a huge difference, but over the course of a year/lifetime, it’ll add up. But more importantly, what I need right now is a mental acknowledgement that I am trying to achieve a goal (my education), which will require some sacrifices.

Am I kicking the habit to the curb permanently? Probably not. But from now until the end of January, I will no longer be buying coffee or any kind of hot beverage (unless it’s from the grocery store). The one concession that I will allow is a post-skating indulgence, no more than $2. I’m planning on attending several free skating events in January, and it’s always so lovely to unwind with a hot beverage.

I know. First world problems.  Look at me, such a martyr, giving up on buying coffee for a month. But believe me, this will be a challenge for me. I have leaned on coffee trips as a crutch in the past. A small luxury in a sea of frugality. It’s my cheat.  More than anything, this will be an exercise in mental mindset.

Mmmm, double double. I am going to miss you SO much.

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January 5, 2012 | Money Rabbit | 9 Comments »

Bonus Time

I finally got my bonus.  Drum roll please…

$2,775. And a Louis Vuitton coin purse.

Considering that I have only been with my boss since June 22nd, I think this is pretty generous.  He offered to only pay me half and to have me work out with the bookkeeper what I should take off in taxes, but since I already owe the government money from when I worked for my Liberty Village boss, I said I’ll take the full amount.  I think I’ll also be putting $1775 directly into my RRSP.

My goal this year was to invest $2000 into my RRSP.  I am not certain if I’ll be able to meet this goal, but I may shift some of the money I set aside for taxes into my RRSP, to get a higher deduction and to hit my goal.  I’ll be receiving that money on Monday. I think I will take the remaining $1000, set aside $300 for taxes/deductions, and put the remaining $700 into my emergency fund.  This will top up my emergency fund to $1,300, or $1,450 by Jan 1st 2012, after I add in another automated payment of $150.  Merry Christmas to me, indeed!

I've never owned a designer piece in my whole life. I almost cried.

My other goals are going to change too; I originally stated that I wanted to bring in an extra $40,000 through freelancing.  Well, folks, I have something to confess.  By now, most readers know that I was a formerly licensed realtor, who gave up selling (because I hated it) to work as an assistant to a top producing realtor in the Bridle Path. I based that goal on sales that I would do on the side, which is no longer realistic. I am guessing that were I to average out the work I’ve done on the side this year, I probably brought in approximately $150-200/month. That’s a pretty decent side hustle, and I will be looking to increase my streams of income in the New Year. I’m going to look into some tutoring, since a couple of my friends use this as their source of side hustling.

I am also putting some serious thought into a career change. I’ve been working in real estate for nearly 3 years now. I thought it was going to offer me the big city glamour and lifestyle that I wanted:

This is how I pictured my life....

When in reality, the life I actually wanted looks more like this:

I Heart My Bicycle

The same paradigm shift happened with the city of Toronto.  Toronto ain’t for me. Give me space, please.

So, what is it that I’m looking to do instead?  I was looking into writing the LSATs, and maybe going into law.  After the frustration of not making enough money, I was looking into careers that would guarantee me a higher income. But that’s not where my passion lies.  The truth is, I think that my passion may lie in a field that I swore I would never go into, since I’d be the third generation in the profession. But no matter where I go, or who I talk to, people tell me unequivocally that I give off a vibe that screams of this particular field.

I am looking into teacher’s college.

It’s not the most intelligent move, especially because it is nearly impossible to get hired ANYWHERE right now. The salary is not that great, and even if I perform extraordinarily well, I’ll make as much as the teacher in the same pay bracket who barely makes an effort.

But…I love teaching.

Crap.

Time to build up capital. Even if I don’t decide to become a teacher, I will be getting out of my industry in the next 2 years, and I will be getting out of Toronto.

Operation Life Change has begun.

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December 18, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 13 Comments »

I am a problem solver, not a problem whiner

My boyfriend recently committed to doing a 5k run with me on December 31st. He has no interest in running as a pastime, and I doubt he’ll ever lace up his shoes for fun, but the idea of accomplishing a 5k is really important to him, so he’s going for it.  Last night, we did 4.25k, at a 2 minute run/1 minute walk pace. Way to go, Frenchie!

But last night, as I drove down the DVP to meet him, I experienced an attitude shift.  I was stressing over my monthly cashflow, as per usual, when all of a sudden I thought, “what am I doing?!“   This isn’t who I am.  I’m a “make some lemonade out of those life lemons” type of girl. I am NOT a victim.

I’ve been pretty bummed the past month. Every time I needed to buy something essential, like groceries or gas, I’d cringe and check my new account balance the second I got home. I stopped exercising as much.  I wasn’t eating as well as I should’ve been, because I didn’t want to overspend. I made detailed spreadsheets and pored over them, searching for a solution to magically solve everything. My health, physical and mental, suffered.

“The only constant is change.”  – Heraclitus

The objective truth is that I’m genuinely doing my best. I correctly identified that my car is actually a huge liability and a detractor from my overall networth and well being. So even though I have to live with that decision for the next couple of months before selling (typically, you get a better price in the spring), it will get better. I have refused to accept the nonstop auto expenses, and I am taking action to prevent further loss. IT WILL GET BETTER, because I am actively generating solutions to make it so. If my boss refuses to let me part with a vehicle, I’ll start getting imaginative.  Can we say scooter, anyone?

I wish that selling my car was the key to my unending happiness. But there will ALWAYS be something that’s bugging me that I’ll be trying to improve. Once my car is sold, the next thing I want to target is ***the future***  I’ve already decided that I’d like to leave Toronto in either 2013 or 2014.  But I also am keen on getting out of the whole “assistant” thing and starting to leverage my skills in a more managerial (and higher paid) position. If you’ve met me, you’ll know that I am a time management freak, who plans things down to the minute. I’m an intellectual who likes to read and learn. I love to “host” people and make them feel happy and comfortable. I like fast-paced, exciting challenges. I’m not necessarily sold on the whole 9 to 5 thing either. I love to write and be creative.

In short, I am your typical early twenty-something, still bursting with ambition and desire to be appropriately utilized.

I’m happy to remain where I am for the next two to three years. I’m treated very well, the pay is good, and on quiet days like today I can pen a quick post.

But there will come a time when I start to go stircrazy yet again, and will start craving change, and I will start chasing a life that best suits where I want to be, geographically and professionally.

The moral of the story is that it is a very good thing that I’m constantly evolving my life to reflect my needs and emotional state. Selling my car is just one of the rungs on a ladder. The Ironman is another rung.  Moving to a new city/smaller town will be another. In order to be happy, I’ll have to be constantly in motion, and that will mean giving objects and relationships a constant reexamination.  

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November 29, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 6 Comments »

A Heart to Heart with My Car

Little Mazda 3, it’s time for us to have a sit-down.

I love you. I really do. But I have to ask myself, is this really working?

I bought my car on July 27, 2010. I bought it because I had recently attained my license in real estate, and there’s no way that you can be a realtor without owning a vehicle. My heart was bursting with pride.

But the second I bought it, I became stressed, sometimes so badly that it affected my health. I sometimes didn’t eat or sleep out of sheer financial worry. At the time, I was employed as a real estate assistant, making $30,000 per year. That worked out to a cashflow of approximately $1850/month. My car loan was $275/month. My insurance was $220/month. Gas was $120/month (since I’d go home once a month, working out to be about $40/trip). Tally it all up, and I was paying a whopping $615/month, not including parking, maintenance, etc. No matter how I budgeted, there was no way that I could go a single month without dipping into my emergency fund.

My monthly pay at my new job is closer to $2,675, which fluctuates monthly depending on bonus. I don’t have car loan payments anymore since I paid the vehicle off in full at the end of September.

Surely my life will be so much simpler now, I thought (naively). I have enough cashflow to pay for my car, in my head a mere $400 (ish) a month.

Silly, silly me.

Since paying off my car in full in September, I have been living paycheque to paycheque. I have been desperate to replenish my emergency fund, which is currently sitting at a very unhealthy $300. At first I didn’t understand.  Now without car payments, I should have been able to apply what I was paying biweekly ($137.36/biweekly) to my savings, and still be comfortable!  What happened?

Life happened. In addition to the unavoidable expenses outlined in my previous posts, I had a very minor accident. Last Wednesday in a parking lot, as I backed out ever so slowly and cautiously (I am an uber-safe driver), I somehow managed to swipe someone’s bumper who was pulling into a spot right behind me. The parking lot was exceptionally small and there was maybe $100 worth of damage done to my car, which I can fix with a touch-up pen. Hers … well, she got scratched, but not dented at all. I estimated the paint job on her car to be $300-400, right on the corner of her bumper. My boss’s auto shop offered to do the work for $385.  Because she needs her vehicle for work, I was prepared to pay for her rental car for the day as well.  I was stressed and miserable, because I was afraid it would cost $550, which is money that I simply don’t have right now.  So, after two days of research and quotes, I offered her $550 in cash to take care of the whole thing, so that I could have it over with before my birthday on Saturday (what a great birthday present to myself).

Uh oh. This lady then sends me a separate estimate for $700, which the shop left “open-ended” because she thought there may be some damage under her bumper from the force of the accident (bearing in mind that my speed was probably 5k/hour).  Not only that, but she informed me that it would take 3 days to fix, meaning I’d be paying for her rental car for 3 days. Two words: Yeah. Right.

I initially didn’t want to involve insurance because the last thing I wanted was a strike on my record. HOWEVER, after calling my insurance company and receiving their advice, I discovered that because I’m not claiming any damage on MY vehicle, the deductible does not apply. So I don’t have to pay a dime for her repairs. It will go on my record instead for 6 years, but the circumstances will be taken into effect. Namely that I didn’t hit a bus full of innocent schoolchildren. My crime is substantially less.

That being said, when my insurance renews in July 2012, I could be looking at a 10-15% increase of premiums. That would work out to be $20-30 extra per month at my current rate, which after four years will wind up being as much as I’d owe her if we didn’t involve insurance, but at least this way I’ll know that she isn’t extorting me for more than what she deserves.

The event acted as a catalyst for the vehicular frustration I’ve been feeling for the past 16 months. Which eventually left me wondering: why do I own a vehicle in Toronto?

Now that I’m working purely in administration, I still use my car for work, but rarely. Sometimes, it’ll be once or twice a week, and sometimes it will be for some time sensitive documents.  Since joining my current team in June, I’ve logged about 300k of work-related mileage on my car.

Aside from that, I really don’t like using my car in Toronto. Traffic is horrible; it can take me 45 minutes to drive 10k within the city to visit a friend. Then, I have to figure out parking. No parking between 8am-6pm, no parking between 12am-7am without valid permit, no parking on this side of the street Nov 30-April 14 (snow route), 2hr parking limit from 7pm-12am, etc.  Even after I have been so careful to park in an appropriate spot, I have sometimes come back to find a little yellow flag fluttering beneath my wiper, kindly informing me that I owe the City of Toronto $30 for improper parking.

From March to October, I prefer cycling, and always try to leave the car home, even to get groceries. Driving sucks.

But, the car has been super convenient for visiting my family.  My parents live in a remote rural area, about 2.5 hours away from the city. Owning a car gives me the freedom to visit them whenever I want. Or if I want to go to Montreal with my bf, we can just go, no planning required. Visiting other relatives is also a breeze. I really appreciate my car for out-of-city activities and travel.

And that is why God invented rental cars for weekends, and Zipcars for in-city.

So what is my car really costing me per year?

$2640/year (insurance, and that’s WITH a clean record) + $1800/year (gas) + $600/year (maintenance, cosmetic repairs, Green P parking, misc.) + $576/year (parking at my apartment)

= $5,616/year (anticipated).  Or, approximately 18% of my net income.

Versus Public Transportation, Cycling and Car Rentals

$726/year (metropass for 4 months during the winter, plus TTC tokens for rainy days) + $1200/year (renting a car every 5 or 6 weeks to go home, $30/day + taxes + gas) + $500/year (misc travel, go trains, group trips, etc.)

= $2426/year (anticipated). Or, approximately 7.9% of my net income.

The amount of money that I’m throwing at my insurance with a clean record is sickening. The sad thing is that it’s the cheapest rate I could find in Toronto, what with being under 25 and all. But my BF made me feel a lot better … he informed me of all the accidents he’s had, and how his insurance still remained reasonable since he was in Montreal at the time.

I’ll be leaving Toronto in 2-3 years. Hopefully, I’m going to travel around the world before I bike across Canada.  Then I’ll be settling in a different city, and I’ll begin to put down roots. At that point, I’d probably like a car, since my cost of living will be lower, and anywhere is better than the GTA as far as commuting infrastructure is concerned.

So my current thought is that, come spring, I will probably try to sell my vehicle.  Maybe I’ll pull a Krystal Yee and get a little scooter, so that I can still run errands for my boss from March-November, it’s going to depend on how the conversation goes. For now, I’ll at least enjoy my car throughout the bitter cold of December, January and February of 2011-2012.

I do love my car. I fought for it tooth and nail, and paid the entire thing off in 14 months. It gives me independence, mobility, comfort and convenience. But the stress of owning a car in Toronto also gives me a migraine. And with an additional cost of $3,190/year, or $265/month as opposed to cycling and public transit, I don’t know if it’s worth it. If I bank the difference of $265 a month, plus put the $8500 that I think I could net from the sale of the car, after 2-3 years I think that I could have a great down payment, or I could buy another used car with all cash. Plus, I wouldn’t have to worry about storing the vehicle while I took off for 8 months to travel and cycle the globe.

Either way, it’s been a huge learning experience for me, and I’m very proud about paying off a car in full, without any assistance. Car drama seems to be a staple of most 20-sometimes, and I am no exception.

Thoughts??

If cycling in Toronto is good enough for Rachel McAdams, it's good enough for me.

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November 22, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 19 Comments »

Boo, November

Oh, November.  Not only are you bitterly cold without the prettiness of fall leaves or the loveliness of new-fallen snow, you also financially blow.  The only redeeming factor of November is that it is my birthday month.  I turn 24 years old on Saturday. 

Just how badly has November sucked? Well, it’s time to pay the piper on pretty much every major, unavoidable expense that has been coming down the pipline for the past thirty days.  My credit card bill is a whopping $1,593.00.  Meanwhile, I have about $80 left in my chequing, $300 in my savings. My next two weekly paycheques have to go entirely  towards my rent and car insurance. My visa bill is due November 30th. Can we say FML?

How the heck could I let this spiral out of control, you may ask? Well, as aforementioned, pretty much all of this has been unavoidable.

The dentist cost $365 for an oral examination and two cavity fillings.

My Ironman enrollment wound up costing $220. No way that I wasn’t going to pay for that.

I bought a digital recording device to use for writing projects. I’ve been interviewing some first hand witnesses for a book that I’m eventually planning on writing. Since my notes look like chicken scratch, I wanted a digital recording of their testimony. That set me back $95, since the store only had the nice Sony brand available.

My car needed to be serviced and inspected for the winter. I opted for a 15 point inspection, since I wanted everything to be running beautifully before entering the season of ick. That cost $105.

I forgot about having to pay for webhosting. Money Rabbit is officially a year old as of Friday. So Blue Host added a charge of $112 straight to my credit card. This seems a little high, and I may transfer web hosts next year, since I have just paid for the entire year in advance.

I enrolled in my half marathon clinic. $80.

I enrolled in a 5k on New Years Eve, which cost $61.  This may seem a little frivolous, given my current financial situation, but the run comes with a free winter running jacket, and I plan on using it to run all season.  It’s also very special because the BF has signed up to do it with me.  He’s not a runner, and every time I mention running he grimaces, but he wanted to enroll to prove that he could do it if he put his mind to it. I’m so incredibly proud of him.

Ah.  Last but not least, my couch.  My incredibly generous and lovely parents gave me a budget of $750.00 to buy a couch as a joint birthday/Christmas gift. I started getting antsy with my smelly old couch (it literally does smell), and I wanted the purchase to coincide with my birthday, especially since I am having a party on the 26th. The couch I fell in love with was $799.00. When you factor in taxes, and an additional sealing treatment, the final bill was $924.00. 

Oh, and I still need to get my car rustproofed, and buy winter mats.  It desperately needs to be detailed (the fabric and carpets are covered in salt-stains from last year and the whole thing is kind of gross) but that’ll have to wait until spring. I also will owe $98 for my cell and internet, which will be debited from my account on November 23.

BARF.

Strangely, I’m pretty calm. Even though I’ve been meticulously poring over spreadsheets and tables, I’m resigned to the situation. I wrote a post on Rabbit on the Run about how my state of mind has improved since exercising.

I also have been excellent at controlling my expenses.  We went down to Buffalo and upstate New York this weekend, and I was St. Marianne of the Church of Not-Spending. Even though we stopped at an insanely discounted outlet mall and they had incredible stuff, I didn’t spend a cent. My only purchases were food (my God, America is the King of huge portions for cheap), gas and lodging, which I will owe to my BF since we put everything on one card to be divvied up later. Even at duty free, I passed over half price alcohol and perfumes, and instead acted as shopping consultant.

Frugalistas may criticize me for taking a trip, or for buying a couch new instead of used. Was enrolling in a half marathon clinic and 5k really that necessary?

Truthfully, I won’t be able to pay off the entirety of  my bill before the due date, but I’ll be able to cover 75%. I’ll be able to pay it in full as of December 2nd. 

This experience has scared me so much that I am NEVER doing it again. I had anticipated a good bonus at the beginning of this month that would have allowed me to pay off the bill in full, while leaving a little extra for cushioning and savings.  Obviously, that didn’t happen.  I’ll instead be receiving the money December 9th.

Moral of the story:

  • Sometimes you get smacked with unavoidable expenses (medical, transportation, education, etc.)
  • In these situations, it is incredibly important to have an emergency fund.
  • Cars suck. They are expensive money-pits that belch your precious dollars into filthy exhaust fumes. Starting January 1st, 2012, I’m going to be putting aside $40 a month into a car-specific savings account, so that all future expenses like detailing, maintenance, etc. are paid for.
  • Don’t spend more than what you earn, regardless of if you’re “sure” of a bonus or windfall.

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November 15, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 6 Comments »

The Spreadsheet Returns

I’ve never been the biggest fan of budgeting with a spreadsheet. I have a numeric, freakishly good memory that allows me to remember exact figures, dates and times. So I’ve always kept my spreadsheet in my head – I instantly know my bank account’s balance, I know what bill is coming out when, and I’m able to quickly tabulate any updates.

Unfortunately, for November, I’m relying heavily on an excel spreadsheet.

I was anticipating a nice bonus this month – about $400 on top of my normal pay.  However, because the deals that closed came right at the end of the month, I saw our bookkeeper’s spreadsheet, and I will actually be receiving this amount in the first week of December instead. That means my November bonus will be closer to $125. Although I really shouldn’t complain about receiving additional money, the problem is that I’m on a salary/bonus split. I am supposed to make $42,000 per year, TOTAL. I need that amount in order to pay all my bills, and to be able to put a little bit away into my savings and RRSP. My monthly salary reflects a $38,000 per year pay, with bonuses expected to make up the difference. So when I need an extra $4,000 per year to get by, and I only receive $125 bonus for the month, that’s a problem. Especially when I need to have my cavities filled, renew my license plate (since it’s my birthday on the 19th!), and have my car rustproofed. Gawd.

So I sat down and drafted a full excel spreadsheet, with my anticipated income and anticipated expenses. Because it’s going to be so tight, I needed to actually see the ebb and flow on paper (well, on a screen at least). Now I just have to stick to it, and be as militaristic as I can.

The good news in this is that in December, I’ll have a lovely $600 bonus coming my way, and I’m hoping for a Christmas bonus. The not-so-good news is that it means yet another month of watching my bank account with baited breath. I know have $150 biweekly being diverted into my savings account, and I refuse to sacrifice this. At present, I only have $300 in there, and that makes me incredibly nervous. I’m hoping to have it up to at least $1000 by January 1st, 2012.

I have to be patient, and give myself a little credit for being ahead of the game.  I’m 24 years old, with a fully paid off car, large one bedroom apartment, and a decent RRSP. However, being ahead of “the game” doesn’t mean that I’m kicking butt, it simply means I’m not laden with consumer or student debt like many other twenty-somethings. I am starting to mentally hold myself up against people with extremely high financial acumen, like Krystal Yee or the folks at Canadian Dream: Free at 45. For my age, sure, I’m doing pretty great. But the aforementioned writers prove that I can be doing even better if I strap down, stick to the spreadsheet, and weather the storm through tough months like this one.

I wonder how many posts I’ll write in which I say, “I only have to make it until ___________.  Then it’ll all be better.”

I am sincerely looking forward to the day when I realize that I’ll never have to write that again. Is such a thing possible?

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November 4, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 9 Comments »

Jacked with No Gym – Day 1

Last night I did my first trial at-home workout.  I loaded up my favourite heart-pumping hits (Memories by David Guetta, They by Jem, Pjanoo by Eric Prydz) and went to work.

Confession time:  I already miss the gym. 

I’ve always been an upper body/core kind of gal.  I don’t like working my legs and butt, simply because I hate feeling sore the next day; and since my legs are quite large (I’m nearly 6 feet tall), that’s an awful lot of soreness to be feeling.  When my arms are sore, I can still do basic things like write or cook.  When my legs are sore, I can barely sit down to pee. 

But with it being cycling season and all, that’s changed. My legs have finally gotten the attention that they’ve deserved after being neglected for so long, and I’ve whipped them into shape through running and cycling.

Why does that make me miss the gym?  Well, now that my body is fairly even in terms of overall strength, I miss the weights that I used to use for my arms and shoulders.  In my former life as a gym rat, you could find me amidst the muscleheads who hog the freeweights.  I’d lay out my towel, turn on my Britney, grab the set of 15lbs, and do my best to ignore the lingering scent of testosterone. 

Did you buy your tickets to the gun show?

In terms of exercise, it’s pretty easy to do lower body exercises when not at the gym.  I can squat in my living room just as well as I can squat at the gym.  Same with core; I’ve been doing the plank once a day, often at work so I don’t forget.  I’ll do the front plant for 60 seconds, and the side plank for as long as I can (usually 30-40 seconds, I hate the strain on my wrist).  I also do air bicycles and a series of other core exercises, and I’m pleased to say that you can now see some definition.

Unfortunately, my upper body is out to lunch, and the best thing I can do are tricep dips on a chair, and push ups.  At this point, I can do about 15 dude-style push ups, or 20-25 lady push ups.  To mix it up, I’ve started to do the walking version of this: I start in a full plank, do a push up, put my left hand next to my right, and move my right over a couple feet, then lower into another push up.  I walk back, pushup.  Walk to the left, pushup.  It engaged both my shoulders, arms, and core.  They’re so challenging that I can really only do three on each side, if I’m lucky.

What many sites have recommended is installing a pull-up bar above a door frame.  I reject this for two reasons; one, it costs money.  Two, it doesn’t go with my decor.  That’s right, I said it.  My apartment is so girly that a massive door pull-up would just look atrocious.  I may change my mind eventually, especially since I want to train for a Sprint triathlon, then a Half Ironman, but for now, it SO does not match the coasters. 

So right now, I have but one solution; hit the playground.  Doing body weight exercises ain’t gonna cut it, so it’s time to go back to school. I’ll be hitting the monkey bars with the vengeance of a 23 year old longing to redeem herself from a past filled with monkey bar misadventures.  This time, I’ll walk away the victor.

Only problem: my neighbourhood is filled with families, and children actually use the playgrounds.  I don’t want to show up, game face on, and start grunting like a warthog as I try to do chin-ups, while horrified children and parents look on.  Neither do I fancy a midnight trip to the playground, especially with the recent shooting in my neighbourhood (what can I say, it keeps my rent down, and if you haven’t been shot at in Toronto, you must be a tourist!  Just kidding, mom…) 

So I think I may do a run-by scouting of the local playground; if it’s covered with children actually using the equipment (heaven forbid!) I’ll come back another time.  If it’s free, I’ll do a quick set of pull ups and chin ups and walk away like nothing happened. 

Does anyone have any ideas for other exercises to do to target my biceps?  My goal is Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2.

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September 2, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 4 Comments »

Jacked with No Gym and Foster Kitty

My gym membership is going to expire at the end of this month, and I am not going to be renewing it right away.  I lucked out this year when I switched from Extreme Fitness to Goodlife, getting a fantastic deal through a corporate rate.  I have moved about two blocks away from a 24/7  Goodlife gym.  It’s the perfect situation; and yet, I’m not going to be renewing my membership.

Instead, I am going to be doing a 30 day challenge, in which I exercise every day, but I’m not setting foot in the gym. I’ll be buying no additional equipment from what I already own, which is a jump rope, a yoga mat, and Jillian Michaels/P90x workouts.

If I can look like this by December (well, my muscles, at least) I can die happy.

It’s not just about saving money, although that is important too.  It’s also about making a point that I don’t need a gym to be healthy. If I were to get a gym membership now with no corporate rate, I’d probably be look at about $50-60 a month (whatever the current Goodlife rate is). What I usually use the gym for is lifting weights.  However, I believe that I can get the same results if not BETTER if I apply a 30 day workout plan and some readers that I’m being held accountable to.

I’ve added a new page (the tab labeled “Jacked with No Gym”), and since I’m a wordpress rookie I don’t know how to add individual posts and categorize them under a page, so I’ll be updating it every day after I’ve worked out, journal entry style.

I have an idea of how I’m going to make it happen, but I want it to be a surprise, but I WILL be taking before and after shots, since I do believe that I can make some drastic changes.  I already am in pretty good shape simply from training for my triathlon, but I think I can definitely bump it up a notch and take my training to the next level.

Why bother training?  All this will help me in my activities that I love; cycling, skiing, beach volleyball, etc.  That’s why I love being in good shape, I can participate in pretty much anything that I want.

Side note:  I did my Try a Tri yesterday, the 400m swim, the 10k cycle and 2.5k run.  I did it in under an hour. I was very proud of myself, but I got really slowed down during my first transition, which cost me two extra minutes. My body also went into shock when I hit the 17C waters of lake Ontario with no wetsuit, and I actually struggled to breathe.  BUT it was a fantastic experience and I will definitely do it again, if not aim for the sprint triathlon, which is 750m swim, 30k cycle and 7.5k run.  I’ll DEFINITELY have to get a better bike though, if I had been on a road bike I would have shaved another 5 minutes off of my time.

I am also now fostering a cat, who is honestly one of the sweetest cats I have ever met.  She is usually either hiding somewhere, or curled up on my lap.  She doesn’t meow, but if she wants attention she’ll go up to you and place her paw on your arm, then start nuzzling you. However, due to allergy issues, upcoming work crazy, etc., I’m hoping to find her a home sooner rather than later, preferably in a month or two.  SO if you are in the GTA and are looking for a really great cat (she’s SOOO cute, white with tortoise-shell patches and green eyes, and is very small as far as cats go), please message me and I’ll put you in touch with the fostering/adoption agency for next steps.  I can also send you pictures and the links to her listing on PetFinder. I’m going to be donating all of her things to her forever home (her scratching post, litter box, etc.) so you’d only need to pay the small adoption fee.  She is a quiet, gentle cat who would do better in an adult home with no other pets.

Ta ta for now, keep checking my Jacked with No Gym section for updates on my progress!

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August 28, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 6 Comments »

August, the Month of Frugality

The Frenchman, aka the Banker, aka the amazing guy that I’ve been seeing over the past three months, is flying away on August 10th to the Land Down Under, leaving me on my lonesome for a full three weeks.  While he’s in Australia for a wedding, I’m going to use the time to pump up my workouts, and NOT SPEND MONEY. 

My problem is that I like spending time with him so much, that I am mostly going over to his place (it’s more convenient since I have a car), and wind up spending way more. He lives in a condo downtown, which is fantastic, but it means that when we’re downtown, we are usually eating out. He doesn’t keep a lot of food in his fridge because he is so busy with work and usually gets take-out, so our options are usually cooking with very limited means, or eating out.  We sometimes go to pick up ingredients, but we are often on some sort of adventure downtown, which doesn’t give us very much time to stay in and cook.

Next week, I’m going to try a challenge where I work out every day BEFORE work, and prepare all of my lunches at home.  I’ve been neglecting my exercise yet again because I’m tired when I come home, and since I’ve been spending so much time out of my apartment, I have barely unpacked.  I also need to start swimming, which I’ll be doing in the evenings on top of my morning exercise. I’m looking forward to posting my before and after pics, they’re going to be pretty amazing.

So even though I’m sad that my wonderful, wonderful man is leaving me for 21 days (in a land with the world’s most dangerous animals, no less), I am genuinely looking forward to spending the weekends in my own home, which in turn will translate to doing more part time work, working out, and being home instead of being out spending money. Although I’m going to a birthday party tomorrow, I’m intentionally NOT scheduling any tea or dinner dates with friends, so I can have three weeks of relative solitude, and time to work on my own projects.

I am not worried about the bf. I am not worried about the bf. Oh God, he's going to get eaten by a gator and I'm going to have to identify the remains.

Also – thank you for all your words of warning about bed bugs.  I did some research today and the first thing I’ll be doing when I get home is submerging my furniture find in some hot water.  I’m now paranoid that I may have unwittingly chosen a piece that is infested (even though the odds are very slim and I have a dust cover on my bed, I am wishing I could run home right now to check over the table for signs of bugs). It’s going to live on my balcony until I paint it, I think. Once it’s painted, any and all cracks will be sealed shut, and even if there are little buggers in there, they’ll go the way of the dinosaur.

The final bill for my camping came in.  I was expecting somewhere around $500, but it ended up being about $250 per person. Much, much better.

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August 4, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 4 Comments »

The Cost of Moving, Part 1

According to Mint.com, I have spent over $7,000 this month.  Whoa, what?  But when I break down the costs and see where it all went, it was use for mostly necessary expenses, with several hundred spent on unnecessary things like birthday dinners, movies, etc.

Just to break it down, here is a (selected) list of items detailing what my cost of moving has been, to date:

-$150 in gift certificates to the LCBO for the people I couchsurfed with for four weeks

-$50 gift certificate to my recruiter who landed me this awesome job

-$87 to rent a cube van for the day

-$1894 for first and last month’s rent

-$529 for half month’s rent, since I moved in July 15

-$50 for refundable key fob deposit

-$1,049 for new Sealy Queen mattress and dust cover

-$227 for a year’s worth of tenant’s insurance, paid upfront

-$179 miscellaneous items from Zellers, including shower curtain, bath mat, cleaning supplies, refreshing drinks for my moving team

-$120 for IKEA bookshelves (bought off of Craigslist, would have cost $230+tax brand new, and they’re in great condition)

-$40 for antique dresser

-$20 to ex-boyfriend who helped me pick up all the items, to cover his gas

There were many other small expenses that added up, hitting the dollar store for supplies, home depot, eating out while I still didn’t have my own kitchen.

This is also just the financial cost – the emotional cost has been stress, friendships, and difficult sleep-deprived days at the office.

All of this in addition to my normal monthly expenses of car (approx $650+ per month), cell phone, groceries, entertainment, and other necessities (for example, I desperately needed a wheel alignment, which cost $124).  I need to buy a new bike since mine sucks and I have my triathlon in just under a month.  I don’t know if I’m going to be able to, not until my savings account is topped up again to at least $2500. 

Well, I don't know about that...

I also haven’t paid the piper yet for my Canada Day long weekend trip to Algonquin. But, as of next week, my credit card will be paid off in full, and I don’t owe any rent money until September 1st. I’ve informed my part-time writing job boss (who is honestly so awesome, really cool lady) that I’m willing and able to take on any projects she wants to throw my way. I still have about $1800 in my emergency fund, and with the exception of a new couch, I don’t have any major expenses for finishing up my apartment. I anticipate that, including a new couch, it’ll take me another $1000 to finish up the apartment, but I’m not in a rush. I have all my necessities, I can wait for the rest. Again, I am hesitant to furnish too much, but I could ALWAYS sell everything off if I really needed to, and at this point it makes more sense to pay to move everything to wherever I end up next instead of buying new all over again.

In addition, most of my decor is going to be done on the cheap/homemade. My art on the wall is going to be pressed flowers that I plucked in the Don Valley on one of my many bike trips. The table on the balcony will be picked up from Value Village, and I’ll turn it into a beautiful mosaic table. I’m going to sand and repaint my dresser with distressing techniques to make it look shabby chic. I’m sewing my rocking chair’s slipcovers and throw pillows with fabric that I’ll pick up from Queen West. So even though I’m investing a lot of time, it won’t turn out to be a lot of money, and the apartment will be purely “me.”

As the Frenchman, always the banker, says: money comes and goes.  Just enjoy it in the moment. If it goes away, it’ll be back.

Still. Even though I’m trying to not get stressed, I’ll be looking forward to my next few paycheques, and to a stabilized “normal” month, so I can draw up a new budget accordingly. It sucks to burn through so much money so quickly, especially because it doesn’t even feel like I’ve spent a cent.

Big thanks to my parents who came, brought me a ton of beautiful furniture from home, and help me set myself up.  Also big thanks to the people who helped me move, from start to finish.  You know who you are.

P.S. Fitness update – my arms are getting mega sculpted.  BF called me a tank yesterday and wasn’t being sarcastic.  I’ll be posting (headless) before and after shots, but they are going to be dramatic!

P.P.S.  I just added this in, but the lovely Vikki Vansickle, who I am proud to have had the opportunity to speak with and become friends with, addressed city council this morning at 4am (waiting over 18 hours to be heard for 3 minutes), only to have His Worship Mayor Ford say the following comment under his breath, that really has to be heard to be believed.  You be the judge.  

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July 29, 2011 | Money Rabbit | 4 Comments »
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