One Year to Save 2016

[DnA2010]

So did you get your taxes in? I think I might have read you did. Got mine dropped off on Friday, so should hear in the next couple of days- fingers crossed right!
Were you still waiting on a new contract for DH to book the flights? I feel like I'm dropping the ball a bit- pregnancy brain I guess

 

[stayhomemom77]

Pregnancy brain! I don't miss that.

Yes, I submitted our taxes electronically and they have been received but not yet processed. They say a week or two for processing but I hope for sooner. Of course, the very next day the d@mn statement I had been waiting on arrived in the mail. Ah well...it was only $100 towards the RRSP so we will just claim it next year.

DH's continuing appointment was approved by the recruitment and retention committee and sent to the Vice Provost for approval. That's basically just a formality...it's nearly always rubber stamped at that level...so he has qualified for his promotion. However, he has to wait on budget approval now for the department to be sure that his position is still viable. If they don't have enough money to pay his salary, his position will get axed...so we're still waiting to hear on that. It's VERY unlikely that this will happen...enrolment is down for the university overall but his department (computer science) is actually doing quite well, so staffing changes for them are unlikely.

However...we are still waiting. Can't book anything until after the Vice Provost's rubber stamping and word that his position is safe budget-wise. The rubber stamping should be pretty soon but the budget thing could take a month or more. I'm hoping that cheaper hotel rooms (they usually come down if you book more last minute) help mitigate some of the flight increase cause I know those are going to go up. I knew this might happen and built a float into the budget to account for more expensive flights...but I hope we don't need to use it all.

 

[DnA2010]

Pregnancy brain! I don't miss that.

Yes, I submitted our taxes electronically and they have been received but not yet processed. They say a week or two for processing but I hope for sooner. Of course, the very next day the d@mn statement I had been waiting on arrived in the mail. Ah well...it was only $100 towards the RRSP so we will just claim it next year.

DH's continuing appointment was approved by the recruitment and retention committee and sent to the Vice Provost for approval. That's basically just a formality...it's nearly always rubber stamped at that level...so he has qualified for his promotion. However, he has to wait on budget approval now for the department to be sure that his position is still viable. If they don't have enough money to pay his salary, his position will get axed...so we're still waiting to hear on that. It's VERY unlikely that this will happen...enrolment is down for the university overall but his department (computer science) is actually doing quite well, so staffing changes for them are unlikely.

However...we are still waiting. Can't book anything until after the Vice Provost's rubber stamping and word that his position is safe budget-wise. The rubber stamping should be pretty soon but the budget thing could take a month or more. I'm hoping that cheaper hotel rooms (they usually come down if you book more last minute) help mitigate some of the flight increase cause I know those are going to go up. I knew this might happen and built a float into the budget to account for more expensive flights...but I hope we don't need to use it all.

That's very frustrating! Knowing that everything SHOULD be fine, but not knowing for SURE! I think it's great you are taking them to Europe- to be totally honest, it's not something we ever considered with DD11 yet...I think because both DH and when we have been in Europe have stayed there a long time (I went for a year of university in England and DH backpacked for 9 months) that we can't imagine going so far for a short trip, and a long trip requires big funds which right now we spend on shorter vacations...make sense?

 

[stayhomemom77]

Oops...been MIA for over a week. Dang life interfering with my DISing!

I'll get back on here later (hopefully today but tomorrow at the latest) because I am in the midst of reworking the budget and setting up an additional tracking format. It'll make sense when you see it. Anyway, it's not ready yet but might take more than the time I have to devote to it this afternoon.

I have been adding money to the funds though...

Our income tax refund was deposited to our account yesterday so I transferred that right over to the bank account. It was also payday so there was some money shifting because of that happening too.

Again...I'll update properly later but we have definitely passed the half way mark!

 

[DnA2010]

about the halfway mark! that's awesome! I was starting to wonder about our refund, then I found the form that DH needed to sign and drop off in his pants pocket they just don't get it sometimes!

 

[stayhomemom77]

about the halfway mark! that's awesome! I was starting to wonder about our refund, then I found the form that DH needed to sign and drop off in his pants pocket they just don't get it sometimes!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Since the last time I updated, I added some funds to my Disney funds but I'm not going to update properly because I am lazy...

earned $0 from quickrewards...

added $0 to the USD cash pouch...

added $0 to the Disney jar...

earned/received $0 in Disney gift cards...

added $0 to the Florida account...

So the new totals are:

$95.68 in quickrewards...
$37.05 in the USD pouch...
$4.00 in the Disney jar...
$10.00 in Disney gift cards...
$400.00 in the Florida account


...for a GRAND TOTAL of $546.73!!

March goal Florida:$600
Total Remaining: $53.27

I also added A WHOLE WHACK to my Europe funds (thanks in part to our income tax refund) because I:

earned $0 from isay...

earned $0 in credit card rewards...

earned $0 in credit card rewards...

added $0 to the Europe jar...

earned $0 thru Checkout 51...

added $0 to the Euro cash pouch...

added $0 to the Europe account...

So the new totals are:

$23.10 in isay points....
$27.37 in credit card rewards...
$5.09 in credit card rewards...
$8.81 in the Europe jar...
$13.50 in Checkout 51...
$3650.00 in the Europe account...

...for a GRAND TOTAL of $3737.77!!

March goal Europe: $1400
Total Remaining: $0


Esso Extra Points: 3378 (5000 points is $30 in free gasoline)

Shoppers Optimum Points: 40541

8000 points is $10
22000 points is $30
38000 points is $60
50000 points is $85
95000 points is $170

I'll do my new goals tomorrow...I'm still reeling from the new totals and all the math I did earlier regarding the Paris trip stuff!

However, here is how the Europe trip stuff breaks down:

Flight and hotel (will likely book together via Expedia) $4100 ($4100-$3650 <funds in the bank account>=$450)
Food (700 Euros-85 Euros=615 Euros) ~$925
Transportation (255 Euros) ~$385
Entertainment (148 Euros) ~$225
Misc expenses (165 Euros) ~$250
Airport parking $60

Grand Total Needed: $5945
Total Earned/Saved so far: $3737.77

Remaining Needed: $2207.23

**The week we go, we will have $140 of gasoline and grocery money to go towards the trip, so my goal is to earn the ~$2070 dollars we are still short between now and the end of August!

 

[DnA2010]

You are taking 4 people to Europe for a week for $1500/pp! I'm well impressed! Sounds like an awesome flight and hotel deal! I would have thought the flights alone would be over 1K! You are closer though...

 

[stayhomemom77]

Yes, I am a frugalista and I do my homework (for MONTHS) so I can get the best deal possible. We all agreed not to do Disneyland Paris on this trip though...that would have cost us quite a bit more.

The flights could easily go up (may have already, quite frankly). I priced them out about a month ago and got ~$850 per person...which is good for Paris.

I'll keep watching and calculating!

 

[stayhomemom77]

APRIL GOALS

Disney:$700

This may be a bit of a stretch. I was under my goal in March by $50 and since the focus is primarily on Paris right now...Disney has taken a bit of a back seat. However...I'll chip away at it and see how far we can get this month.

Paris:$4000

In all honesty, I'd love to have my entire $4100 (flight/hotel) package price in my savings account by the end of the month...but $4000 is such a nice round number!

I've been lax with the surveys for over a week now, so priority number one come Monday is to start generating income on my two websites once again.

 

[DnA2010]

Yes, I am a frugalista and I do my homework (for MONTHS) so I can get the best deal possible. We all agreed not to do Disneyland Paris on this trip though...that would have cost us quite a bit more.

The flights could easily go up (may have already, quite frankly). I priced them out about a month ago and got ~$850 per person...which is good for Paris.

I'll keep watching and calculating!

I think the absolute cheapest flights to Europe (London I'm sure, not even Paris) I've seen from the west is like 900-950, so I'd say $850 if you can get it is a great price!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Yeah, Toronto to London is in the low $700's round trip per person. We looked at those first back when we thought it was going to be a combo trip.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Since the last time I updated, I added $1.95 Disney funds because I...

earned $1.95 from quickrewards...

added $0 to the USD cash pouch...

added $0 to the Disney jar...

earned/received $0 in Disney gift cards...

added $0 to the Florida account...

So the new totals are:

$97.63 in quickrewards...
$37.05 in the USD pouch...
$10.00 in the Disney jar...
$10.00 in Disney gift cards...
$400.00 in the Florida account


...for a GRAND TOTAL of $554.68!!

April goal Florida:$700
Total Remaining: $145.32

I also added $5.74 to my Europe funds because I:

earned $0 from isay...

earned $3.82 in credit card rewards...

earned $0.22 in credit card rewards...

added $1.70 to the Europe jar...

earned $0 thru Checkout 51...

added $0.04 to the Europe account...

So the new totals are:

$23.10 in isay points....
$45.68 in credit card rewards...
$5.31 in credit card rewards...
$12.56 in the Europe jar...
$13.50 in Checkout 51...
$3650.04 in the Europe account...

...for a GRAND TOTAL of $3750.19!!

March goal Europe: $4000
Total Remaining: $249.81


Esso Extra Points: 3398 (5000 points is $30 in free gasoline)

Shoppers Optimum Points: 40721

8000 points is $10
22000 points is $30
38000 points is $60
50000 points is $85
95000 points is $170

Here is how the Europe trip stuff breaks down:

Flight and hotel (will likely book together via Expedia) $4100 ($4100-$3650 <funds in the bank account>=$450)
Food (700 Euros-85 Euros=615 Euros) ~$925
Transportation (255 Euros) ~$385
Entertainment (148 Euros) ~$225
Misc expenses (165 Euros) ~$250
Airport parking $60

Grand Total Needed: $5945
Total Earned/Saved so far: $3750.19

Remaining Needed: $2194.81

 

[DnA2010]

So I just got an email saying I can exchange my Shoppers points into PC points! I am so going to look into it!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Since the last time I updated, I added $26.40 Disney funds because I...

earned $1.40 from quickrewards...

added $0 to the USD cash pouch...

added $0 to the Disney jar...

earned/received $0 in Disney gift cards...

added $25.00 to the Disney account...

So the new totals are:

$99.03 in quickrewards...
$37.05 in the USD pouch...
$10.00 in the Disney jar...
$10.00 in Disney gift cards...
$425.00 in the Florida account


...for a GRAND TOTAL of $581.08!!

April goal Florida:$700
Total Remaining: $118.92

I also added $35.01 to my Europe funds because I:

earned $0.65 from isay...

earned $9.26 in credit card rewards...

earned $0 in credit card rewards...

added $0.10 to the Europe jar...

earned $0 thru Checkout 51...

added $25.00 to the Europe account...

So the new totals are:

$23.75 in isay points....
$54.94 in credit card rewards...
$5.31 in credit card rewards...
$12.66 in the Europe jar...
$13.50 in Checkout 51...
$3675.04 in the Europe account...

...for a GRAND TOTAL of $3785.20!!

March goal Europe: $4000
Total Remaining: $214.80


Esso Extra Points: 3414 (5000 points is $30 in free gasoline)

Shoppers Optimum Points: 45151

8000 points is $10
22000 points is $30
38000 points is $60
50000 points is $85
95000 points is $170

Here is how the Europe trip stuff breaks down:

Flight and hotel (will likely book together via Expedia) $4100 ($4100-$3650 <funds in the bank account>=$450)
Food (700 Euros-85 Euros=615 Euros) ~$925
Transportation (255 Euros) ~$385
Entertainment (148 Euros) ~$225
Misc expenses (165 Euros) ~$250
Airport parking $60

Grand Total Needed: $5945
Total Earned/Saved so far: $3750.19

Remaining Needed: $2194.81

**Though I planned to do my shopping on Fridays from now on...DH's final class is this week. I decided today to just run to the store and get what we needed for next week. Because last week was such a shopfest...it was only produce, milk and eggs on the list for this week. I came in about $6 under budget. YAY!

Then I got gasoline. It was a couple of days early, so it was a VERY tiny fill up...$16. Out of $50. I had $40 to throw at the vacation accounts. Plus a little more that I scraped up from the account. I split the $50 down the middle and did a couple of surveys, found a dime while out shopping and earned some automatic rewards dollars.

It was a VERY good day!

 

[stayhomemom77]

So I just got an email saying I can exchange my Shoppers points into PC points! I am so going to look into it!

Seriously? I'm very interested to hear more about this!

 

[DnA2010]

Here is what the email said:

Limited time offer for select
PC Plus™ members!
Exchange your points!

If you're also a Shoppers Optimum® member, you can exchange your points between your PC Plus™ and Shoppers Optimum® accounts!

It's easy! Click the button below to visit our Points Exchange site where you'll log into each account and select the amount of points you'd like to exchange. This offer is only valid until April 11.



And then there is a link to a log in- I haven't clicked it yet.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Weird! I would DEFINITELY switch my shoppers points to PC points if the conversion rate was a decent one. I have a plan in place to use the shoppers ones, but the groceries are not particularly cost effective there by any means. Would be better to use those points at No Frills for sure!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Since the last time I updated, I added $0.60 Disney funds because I...

earned $0.60 from quickrewards...

added $0 to the USD cash pouch...

added $0 to the Disney jar...

earned/received $0 in Disney gift cards...

added $0 to the Disney account...

So the new totals are:

$99.63 in quickrewards...
$37.05 in the USD pouch...
$10.00 in the Disney jar...
$10.00 in Disney gift cards...
$425.00 in the Florida account


...for a GRAND TOTAL of $581.68!!

April goal Florida:$700
Total Remaining: $118.32

I also added $3.58 to my Europe funds because I:

earned $0.95 from isay...

earned $1.63 in credit card rewards...

earned $0 in credit card rewards...

added $0 to the Europe jar...

earned $0 thru Checkout 51...

added $1.00 to the Europe account...

So the new totals are:

$24.70 in isay points....
$56.57 in credit card rewards...
$5.31 in credit card rewards...
$12.66 in the Europe jar...
$13.50 in Checkout 51...
$3676.04 in the Europe account...

...for a GRAND TOTAL of $3788.78!!

March goal Europe: $4000
Total Remaining: $211.22


Esso Extra Points: 3414 (5000 points is $30 in free gasoline)

Shoppers Optimum Points: 45151

8000 points is $10
22000 points is $30
38000 points is $60
50000 points is $85
95000 points is $170

Here is how the Europe trip stuff breaks down:

Flight and hotel (will likely book together via Expedia) $4100 ($4100-$3650 <funds in the bank account>=$450)
Food (700 Euros-85 Euros=615 Euros) ~$925
Transportation (255 Euros) ~$385
Entertainment (148 Euros) ~$225
Misc expenses (165 Euros) ~$250
Airport parking $60

Grand Total Needed: $5945-$240 (August money)=$5705
Total Earned/Saved so far: $3790.15

Remaining Needed: $1914.85

 

[stayhomemom77]

Since the last time I updated, I added $0.59 Disney funds because I...

earned $0.59 from quickrewards...

added $0 to the USD cash pouch...

added $0 to the Disney jar...

earned/received $0 in Disney gift cards...

added $0 to the Disney account...

So the new totals are:

$100.22 in quickrewards...
$37.05 in the USD pouch...
$10.00 in the Disney jar...
$10.00 in Disney gift cards...
$425.00 in the Florida account


...for a GRAND TOTAL of $582.27!!

April goal Florida:$700
Total Remaining: $117.73

I also added $1.37 to my Europe funds because I:

earned $0.05 from isay...

earned $0.36 in credit card rewards...

earned $0 in credit card rewards...

added $0 to the Europe jar...

earned $0 thru Checkout 51...

added $0.96 to the Europe account...

So the new totals are:

$24.75 in isay points....
$56.93 in credit card rewards...
$5.31 in credit card rewards...
$12.66 in the Europe jar...
$13.50 in Checkout 51...
$3677.00 in the Europe account...

...for a GRAND TOTAL of $3790.15!!

March goal Europe: $4000
Total Remaining: $209.85


Esso Extra Points: 3414 (5000 points is $30 in free gasoline)

Shoppers Optimum Points: 45151

8000 points is $10
22000 points is $30
38000 points is $60
50000 points is $85
95000 points is $170

Here is how the Europe trip stuff breaks down:

Flight and hotel (will likely book together via Expedia) $4100 ($4100-$3677 <funds in the bank account>=$423)
Food (700 Euros-85 Euros=615 Euros) ~$925
Transportation (255 Euros) ~$385
Entertainment (148 Euros) ~$225
Misc expenses (165 Euros) ~$250
Airport parking $60

Grand Total Needed: $5945-$240 (August money)=$5705
Total Earned/Saved so far: $3790.15

Remaining Needed: $1914.85

**It was a small earning day, but important nonetheless. Today, I passed the $100 mark on QuickRewards and cashed in for a Disney gift card. My balance is now $0.22 but I'll leave it as is until the card is in my possession and then I'll shift the $100 over to the gift card category. It's a small thing...but man, was it satisfying!!