Holiday Costs

So, I know this post is probably a little late in the year as most of you have probably gone on holidays but as we have not yet, here is how I expect the money to work on our holidays.

I wanted to go a big holiday this year but not too major and not too expensive.  My husband was more on the not too expensive side but he also definitely wanted to go on a holiday. 

The first possibility that  both my husband and I wanted to do was a 7 night cruise out of New York, to Halifax, NS, and St. Johns, NB and a couple other stops.  Sounds fun.  I thought so, but here are the costs.

$1,300 – Cruise

$1,100 – Flights out of Seattle

$80 – 2 tanks of gas to get us to Seattle and back

$50 – Hotel in Seattle (which would have included parking for the car)

$100 – Meals not on the cruise (2 days worth)

$75 – Dog Sitting for our dog

$300 – Estimated for trip insurance

$3,005 TOTAL

Now that was very close to our total budget for the trip and did not include any optional excursions or spending.  So, we went back to the drawing board.

Our second idea was to go to Yellowstone National Park for two weeks.  It would be a driving holiday where we tented.  It is quite a long drive for us but being that we are taking two weeks it is doable.  Here are the costs.

$450 – 9 tanks of gas

$350 – 14 nights of camping

$70 – 14 days of Breakfasts

$140 – 14 days of Lunches

$210 – 14 days of dinners

(Our plan to keep the cost of meals down is to pack granola bars, etc for breakfasts, stop at grocery stores for sandwiches for lunches and while we are there get food to put in our cooler that can be cooked on a campstove for dinner.)

$140 – 14 days of dog sitting

$1,360 TOTAL

Now that cost does not include spending or admission into attractions but since our budget was less than $3,000 and ideally less than $2,000, that still gives us lots of room to stay in a hotel a night or two if we get tired of sleeping in the tent, do fun excursions, etc... 

So, since this holiday better matched the budget this is the holiday we have picked to go on and we are leaving in less than two weeks,

So, there is our holiday plans, hopefully yours were/are going to be just as fun and within budget.

Appliances

Remember that post about the unexpected bills.  Well, we are having one of those take place.  In the last month our stove has started coming up with an error message.  When we looked it up on the internet it meant that the control panel was going.  This error message isn't that bad except that it makes the stove beep and that you can't turn on the oven when the error message is up.  OK, so maybe it is bad... 

According to the internet a replacement control panel would cost about $150.  When we took off the back of the stove to check things out, we discovered we would also need to hire a repair person to replace the control panel.  Considering the fact that our stove is six years old and appliances are expected to have a 7 – 10 year life these days, we decided to replace our stove.

So, two weeks ago we went looking at new stoves.  We found one we like in town at a price that was decent but decided not to buy it yet and see how often the error message was actually going to happen.

Well, last week we decided the stove was not going to get better on its own so we went back to that store to buy the stove, they were having an even better sale and when it actually came down to ordering the one we wanted we saved about $90 off the original sale price.  Happy for us. 

So, our new stove is on order and yesterday I made gingersnaps in the toaster oven...

More on Renovations

Today I was getting quotes on a renovation project that we are probably going to do and I was thinking that when I was working that we wouldn't have a time to do this.  So, in this short little post, my advice is do your internet research and get your quotes.  You could save a lot of money.

Ex: $20 for a new blender part vs. $50plus for a new blender....  or getting a $200 cheaper quote for a nicer front door....

Yes, those are two recent examples that I have been looking up.

Home Renovation - Edited to fix percentages

Those who know me know that I like to upgrade our house...  Well, obviously that's a bit harder to do on one income than it is on two. 

My first piece of advice comes from Gail Vaz-Oxlade (I like her advice for the most part) who has said that you should plan to put about 8% - 10% of your home's value into it every year.   So, take the value of your house, divide it by 10% (because it's easy), then divide it by 12.   (I was watching her show the other day and it's actually 3% - 5%,  (OOOPS!) so divide your 10% amount by two.  ) There's your monthly budget.  I like this advice because my husband is at the stage in his career where we could be moving within the next “however-many” years.  So, that 10% will keep our house looking decently updated and therefore if we do have to sell, it should sell for it's appropriate value and if we don't have to sell, well, then we have a nice looking house.  Also, that 10% should pay for the regular maintenance on our house.  

Just because you have figured out a monthly budget doesn't mean you have to spend it every month...  You may spend 3 months budget in one month and nothing the next 2 months... If you want to spend something the next 2 months, it should be absolutely necessary, not an “I want” item.

My second piece of advice is one that I have learned/am learning the hard way....  That is when you decide to do a renovation project, you (and, especially I, as the writer of these steps) should follow these steps:

Step 1.  Prioritize if you have more than one project that you want to do.  One project at a time here.

Step 2.  Figure out the cost of what you want and write it down. This is where you go dreaming to the store with a notepad...  Try not to buy anything this trip.  It's also a good idea to bring measurements.  If you are going to change it, measure it and, preferably draw a sketch to go with the measurements.  That way if you are lost you can show it to the sales person and they can figure out the details you didn't know you were supposed to measure/know.

Step 3.  Write all the costs you have collected down so you can see how long it will take to save up for this project – Hint – Include taxes and a contigency for the random little supplies.  This is also the time to start thinking what can I do without, downgrade/upgrade, etc.

Step 4.  Wait for things to go on sale and buy them at that point in time -  The first three steps but especially this step is where my husband and I have gone wrong in the past.  We decide we want to do a project so we go out and buy all the supplies.  BAD IDEA!  I have estimated we have spend 10%, maybe more, extra money on a project for not thinking and planning. 

Step 5.  Start and complete the project.   The complete is the big thing....  Don't start it until you know you have time to complete the project.

Now let me tell you how we are putting these steps into process.  We have decided that we want to replace our tub in our main bathroom, and, also renovate our downstairs bathroom.  So, two projects.  First we prioritized.  We want to do our main bathroom tub first.  But what about the horrible downstairs bathroom and that we have a temporary boarder coming to live with us...  Well, we took some upstairs bathroom paint (from a previous renovation project) and painted, changed some lightbulbs, took a spare shower curtain and rug and put it in.  Ta da.  A facelift for zero dollars...  No not permanent, but it will work.

So, back to the main bathroom and following the steps (or not). 

Step 2: We decided we wanted a white tub (rather than the beige that is there now).  Did you know that tubs come in porcelain and enamel?  I didn't before but while doing research I learned that and the price difference between the two.  We decided to tile the tub surround, rather than put in a new 5 piece insert.    So, what kind of tiles...  If you ever look at photos of bathrooms you know the options are many.  After looking and comparing prices we decided on big white ones with a small accent border. 

Step 3:  You know that temporary boarder I mentioned.  Well, that is what is paying for the renovation, so now we have a way to afford it outside of the 10% yearly home renovation money I mentioned. Also, we decided not to replace the tub faucet, lever, and shower head.  It seems like a lot of money for very little benefit, especially when they seem to work fine.  This is also where the contingency could come in if it turns out we do have to replace them(but apparently I don't follow my own advice and we don't have a contingency...). 

Step 4:  Just recently there was a sale on tubs, so I spoke to my parents who assured us that it was a good price, so we bought the tub.  Again, I spoke to my parents about the tile (which I know doesn't really go on sale) and they knew a place that had good priced tile so we went there and got the tile and only 2 expensive accent tiles.  This is where the calculations/measurements come in handy, as those two tiles will do one border 3 tiles wide around our tub.  We purchased these tiles on the looking trip when we probably would have been wiser to wait a month or two until we had the money in hand.  It turned out fine but still not wise.

Step 5:  This project is not even started yet as we will not have time, nor do we want to take the time to do it until the fall.

Hopefully, those steps will help make your renovation dreaming come to life.

Fruits

So, this post is actually going to include some prices which is rare for me but I think these are useful.  They are Canadian and I think they're fairly good for across western Canada.  So anyway...  A good general rule, that I have found, is less than  $1/lb for most fruit, but for berries less than $2/lb.  Fruit is best when it's cheapest and in season, which I think is super great.

Here is what I see is good prices for specific fruits:

Cherries (in season about now) - 1.99/lb
Peaches/Apricots/Plums (in season later in the summer) - the closer to .99/lb the better, if you can get them for less even better
Apples (fall) - less than $.99/lb, but the closer to $.49/lb you can get the better price they are
Grapefruits (in season in winter) - $.49/lb
Oranges  - Same as grapefruit
Strawberries (just out of season) - 1.49/lb at their cheapest, but I start buying them at $1.99/lb

Now, I know that isn't every fruit but that should give you a good starting point.

Also, last year cherries came closer to .99/lb.  It doesn't happen every year but last year, I'm pretty sure, was a bumper crop so they were in the stores longer and were cheaper than they usually are.

So, enjoy your healthy (cheap) fruit.

Unexpected Bills

For some preamble:  You may or may not know but only the last couple of months have we gone to a single income and I've become a housewife.  Now I will let you know that my husband and I have been planning since we got married just over 2 years ago that we would eventually live on one income.  Also, I like my savings accounts (I think we have about 5 plus a chequeing account.)

So, earlier this month I was thinking about something which is that in the last year or so we have had to put new all season tires on my car (approx $600) and we ended up replacing our patio door (approx $500).  Both of these expenses were paid out of my cheques when I was still working more full time.  So, now that's really not much of an option and I know that our appliances will likely need replacing sometime in the next couple of years and who knows what else.  That's where the unexpected bills account comes in.

This is a small amount (ours is $150/paycheque) that we put in it's own savings account.  This is to cover those things that we just can't cover on a paycheque to paycheque basis.   It's not meant to be dipped into every cheque, nor is it our emergency fund, nor is it for paying things like car insurance and property taxes.  These should have their own accounts.  It's for those things that aren't part of the emergency fund but still don't happen every month.  Things that I view this fund for are emergency repairs on the house and car repairs (outside of regular maintenance), other items like that.  “We want” items don't necessarily qualify. 

So, obviously this account won't be used all the time.... Hopefully, only once or twice a year.   By next summer I am hoping there will be enough money in that account that we can take a vacation with that money.  Yes, I know I should probably technically have a separate account for that but, I don't. Instead, this is the way I have chosen to do it.  Leave at least $1,000 to $1,500 in the account and then use the rest for a vacation or a “we want” item.  Peace of mind and a vacation on a single income, how much better can that get. 

Going Away on a “Quick” Day/Overnight Trip

You know those.  The ones you “have” to go to or the ones you decide you want to go to and are committed to but in the end you've been away so much you don't want to go so you make it quick.  Our situation was the second this weekend.  It was a wedding about four hours away from where we live.  The wedding did not start until 3pm so we drove down in the morning.  This is my first cost saving trip.  Can you leave in the morning?  The second and obvious cost saving tip is eat breakfast before you go or pack it with you to eat on the road, also pack your tea/coffee, etc.

Writing of food, that can be a huge expense on any trip, especially a quick trip.  Ways that my husband and I often minimize that is that we pack snacks, like juice boxes, fruit snacks, fruit, etc.  As you can see they are usually healthy “munchy” type snacks, which helps in the eating healthy on trips and on the frivolous snack spending.  

The other food thing we do is that before we go I often make a pan of granola or snack bars (there are lots of recipes on the internet – pick one that looks good).  I pack the pan and a sharp knife to cut them with.  VERY SIMPLE.  My husband and I both like to eat breakfast fairly soon after we get up and it is annoying to have to find a breakfast place so we eat the granola bars for breakfast right after we get up.  We also eat them for a sweet snack during the day.  Granola/snack bars are fairly clean to eat too when you are worried about a disaster in your vehicle..... 

The other thing that my husband and I did this trip is that we stayed overnight...  Oooh, expensive you say... Well, we didn't stay in a hotel.  We camped.  Yes, you read that right camped.  It cost a whole $20 plus tax for the night and all it required for packing was sleeping bags, our tent, foamies, and our pillows (don't forget the pillows!).  Very simple.  Easy to pack, easy to crash when you get to the campsite and are tired, simple all around. 

One thing that we did is that we stayed halfway between our house and the wedding.  So, we were going to come back after the wedding and check into our campsite then.  Instead, and this worked out to be a great stress reliever, we stopped by our campsite on the way down, checked in and put up our tent.  Then it was even easier when we came back after the wedding as the tent was already set up.

In the morning we got up, packed up and I will confess that we didn't pack a pan of snack bars for this trip so we stopped at a bakery for scones.  YUMMY and still cheaper than fast food.  Then we drove home.  Quick overnight trip done for hopefully a little less money.