Saving on Fuel - December Update

Well December is over and I set a goal for us to spend no more than $350 on gas in December.

Our grand total was: $385.50.  So we were $35.50 over our budget.  We spend a whole tank of gas the day we went to cut down the tree which was close to $50 - which really account for the overage.

I am going to set the $350 goal again for January and see how it goes!

Good Food Box

I recently heard of the Good Food Box in Calgary and decided to give it a try. I am trying to eat more fruits and veggies so buying a box of assorted fruits and veggies seemed like a great idea!
The smallest box is $20 and you get about 20 lbs of produce. That is pretty good considering it works out to a dollar a pound. For more information about the program please visit their website.
I was very excited to get my food box, I was counting the days. When we picked it up from our local depot, everything was very fresh and nothing was spoiled or even close to going bad.  I will be doing it again in January for sure!
My December good food box included:
1 head of lettuce
1 head of cabbage
2 green peppers
2 heads of broccoli
1 bunch of celery
3 bananas
Large bag of grapes
4 tomatoes
3 apples
3 oranges
1 onion
1 lemon
4 beets
2lb carrots
2 heads of garlic
5lb potatoes
Here is a picture if my December good food box:

We Got Our Christmas Tree!

This weekend my husband, my Dad and I went to get our Christmas tree. We drive about two hours out of the city and cut our tree from the forest.

In order to cut a tree, you need a permit. There are several places you can buy a permit - we bought ours in town before we left.

Saturday morning we headed out with our dogs, we have two and my parents have two - we had more dogs than people!
On the way, the zipper on my boot broke and we had to make an emergency stop at Walmart for me to get new boots. That was money I was not prepared to spend but it was necessary with all of the snow. We also we grabbed some fastfood while we were buying the boots - we really didn't need to buy that!

Once I had my boots and we got to the designated tree cutting place we were able to let the dogs out and run around in the snow.

There was tons and tons of snow and the dogs got tired quickly. We were able to find a smaller tree that was the perfect size for our living room.

The dogs slept all the way home, they were super tired from playing! It was dark by the time we got home and we didn't set up the tree. Hopefully we can do it tonight and get it decorated.

I've been going with my parents to cut a tree for Christmas since I was little, its one of my favourite traditions. Now I get to take my husband and perhaps we will get to take our kids one day as well!

Saving on Fuel Update

Hubby and I ran errands on the weekend so we decided to fill up on gas. We filled up on Saturday for 98.9 cents per litre which isn't bad as most of the gas stations were at 102.9. I used my handy dandy gasbuddy app on my phone to find the cheapest place which happened to be Costco.

They recently opened a gas bar at the Costco by our house so it was the first time we went. I have to say I love the way all cars go in one side and out the other! It's so organized and efficient.

We were at about a quarter of a tank when we filled up and it cost us $53.50.

So far this is the first fill up in December so we have spent $53.50/$350.

Next weekend we are going out to cut a Christmas tree. The place we are going is about two hours away so it will certainly cut into our gas budget.

$5000 Extra Income Goal - Update

Just writing a quick update on our goal to earn an extra $5000 over and above our day job income.  I started my post last Sunday, November 27, 2011 and the goal ends December 31 2012 - giving me just over a year.

This week we made an extra $394!

We were lucky to sell our deep freeze this week. It has been defrosted for awhile but we hadn't put it online to sell yet.  We ended up selling it this weekend on Kijiji.

I also got paid last week by my part time job - so that helped!

We are that much closer to affording winter tires so I am very excited!  We had a huge snowfall this weekend and I am anxious to get them!

I am hoping to post a few more things online - we really don't have anything else as big as a deep freeze.  I am also hoping to take back our bottle this week as we have grown quite the collection.

Total to date: $494/$5000

Website to Help Saving on Gas

I found this Calgary Gas Prices website and it has been helpful in finding the lowest gas prices.  Users update the prices at different gas stations.  You can type in your postal code and it shows you the cheapest places closest to where you are.  There is also a phone app that I haven't tried yet but I plan on downloading soon.

There are more than just gas prices on this website though.  One of the neat things that I have found on this website is where you can enter your make and model of your car and the addresses of your start and destination and it will calculate how much it will cost to do that drive.

For me, it costs $7 a day for a round trip to and home from work!

There is also a log book where you can keep track of your purchases.

Overall, I think this website is pretty neat and has some great information to help you save on gas!

7 Ways We Avoid Eating Out

November wasn't such a great month, but trust me - it is A LOT better than where we were a year ago as far as eating out.  I decided I would right this article to share ways we avoid eating out and as a reminder for myself as well.

1. The biggest help is my hubby.  He gets home before me, selects something from the freezer, pops it in a pan or the microwave and by the time I get home supper is either ready or very close to being ready.  This helps me because when I get home, its already done, I have no choice.  I love that because I was always the queen of persuasion and usually was the one to convince hubby we should go out to grab something or sit down and relax, now I don't get that chance.
2. Premake dinner from what is on sale.  I like to buy lots of one thing that is on sale or is a really good deal in a bigger quantity, make it into dinners and freeze it.  You are saving money twice here, once with the sale and once by not eating out!  Really, if you are making lasagna - what is the difference between making one or several?  I use those disposable metal take out containers for lasagnas, they can go right into the oven from the freezer.  I also use freezer bags and freeze my chili and soups flat, makes it super easy to stack and store.  I love the glass pyrex containers but I save them to take lunches in because they are too expensive (and I have too few) to get stuck in the freezer for months.
3. Buy pre packaged kits when they are on sale - you can get some really good deals for really easy meals this way.  For example, taco kits were on sale for $3.47 and they had a $6 off cheese coupon on them (when you buy the cheese and another kit).  So I bought one, then I went back and got the cheese that was on sale for $5.99 for free when I purchased another taco kit for $3.47. The taco kits are in my cupboard and I used the cheese to make and freeze lasagnas.
4. Precook meats.  Meat always seems to take the longest of anything to cook.  It's also the least fun because you can't sample it while it's cooking.  I precook my chicken breasts and my ground beef.  I can chop the chicken or add it to a premade meal like lasagna.  I also buy the large quanitites of ground beef from Costco and I cook the whole thing, cool it and freeze it in a freezer bag.  It stays crumbled when frozen so it's easy just to grab what you need (instead of a solid block of raw frozen ground beef!) and it only takes a few minutes to heat up.  Tacos in half the time.
5. Pick a meal plan.  The thing I stress the most about meal planning is pick what works the best for your family.  Our schedules change weekly, and to be honest sometimes you come home and just don't want to cook!  Hubby and I just kind of talk about dinners we will have the following week as we shop.  It gives us ideas but nothing is set in stone.  
6. Emergency Meals.  One of our biggest excuses was we have to run to *insert any place here*, lets just grab something on the way.  Well we now have emergency meals that really take 10 minutes or less to make and eat - fast food at home!  Now the lets just grab something excuse works at home.  Items on our emergency meal lists include: instant noodles, frozen dinners/lunches (store bought and home made), canned soups, granola bars, nuts, and depending on the day, sandwiches from what we have in the fridge.  These emergency lunches are great for the mornings you wake up late.
7. Find good excuses!  We all have excuse for why we eat out - it's easy, convenient, I don't have time, I'm tired, I don't feel like cooking. (For all of these excuses, refer to tip #6!)  Our excuse is our dogs. No matter what we do in a day, we have to go home and let the dogs outside to go to the bathroom! This means no matter what we need to go home.  So our excuse turned from let's grab something from a fast food place, to we have to go home so we might as well just grab something there.

Viola - little changes we have made in order to cut down our eating out.  We still have a ways to go but I think we are doing a pretty good job!

Good Debt vs. Bad Debt

No one wants to be in debt - well at least I sure don't!  When it comes down to it, not all debt is bad though - some is considered good debt.

Good debt is kind of an oxymoron.  It's good cholesterol is something the body needs.  Good debt isn't quite the same way - we don't need it, but it usually is adding permanent value to our lives.

Examples of good debt are mortgage and student loans. A mortgage is a house investment - you own an asset and usually the value of the asset is going up. Students loans for education is giving you skills that increase your value as an employee and lead you to having a bigger income. They say - an education can't be taken away from you..

Bad debt are the clothes, shoes, food/restaurants and cars.  I have a harder time putting cars on this list because they really are an asset - a rapidly decreasing asset, but an asset.  In my opinion, you shouldn't owe more on your car than it's worth. So if you have to get a car loan, make sure it's paid off before the car loses all of it's value!

Some debts are unavoidable, like a mortgage.  There are very few people who can buy a house and never owe any money on it!  I try to think of my  mortgage as an investment rather than a debt!

It's December!

It's December and my tight budget is already becoming tighter!  I went home from work sick today and I spent all day in bed trying to sleep.  The good news is that I am at home, not getting anyone else sick, and not spending any money!  The bad news is that I am not at work and I am not making any money!

Today was payday with my part time job and I earned a little more than I thought I was going to. I also managed to have some money left over from last week.  Hopefully both of those things will help!

Right now my only challenges are feeling better and convincing myself not to get take out for dinner....