Goals for 2008

So what are you doing this first day of the year? For many of us it is a time of reflection and goal setting and YES that is what I have been doing. Last year one of the goals I had was to get by on less and this I did all year long. I had to get creative, and smart but I managed to live off $1240 a month in Canada’s largest city. I coupon collected, I contested, I looked for freebies and cheapies and I got good at it!

This years goal is to really track it! To track my freebies, to note when I really do save, and what I win. My goal is not to spend a penny for birthdays or Christmas this year and with Roo’s birthday being tomorrow here is how I am doing her special day.

Her dad sent $50( not my money his for making her day good) so dad’s present to her is a keyboard($18) and I am taking her to Montana’s (her favorite restaurant for dinner$30-she loves the mini ice-cream cones that come with  the kids meal). I got her a Sankso MP3 player( just had to pay for the taxes($3)-got it FREE with my Optimum points from Shoppers Drugs) and 15 song downloads…all from icoke( another freebie). I made her birthday card and am recycling wrapping paper. On the 19th she gets to have a sleepover, at which we are going to have homemade birthday cake, and FREE pizza from a gift certificate that I won. We are going to do beauty makeovers and play board games –all things we have in the house. For breakfast we will do pancakes and syrup and OJ( and yes I have coupons for all of those). How is that for planning on the cheap?

To track freebies and wins at the end of my posts you will find a add-on where I report and track how it is going this year.

What sites tools am I using to make this an even cheaper year?

If you want to save $$$$ this year and are a Canadian may I recommend these sites:

1. Frugal Shopper Ca – I love love love this site! Kimberly the owner has provided a great forum for learning how to save, coupon, and contest all in a great community. I love the friendships I made there in 2007.

2. Shoppers Drugs- I have their Optimum card, and shop the bonus days and flyer’s..I can accumulate enough points that even with only 2 of us in this household I can walk away with about $300 in free stuff every year!

3.Pigsback-This site is new on the market here in Canada and is a shopping portal site where you can earn points. But wait you don’t have to shop only to gain points, do the daily quizzes and watch you maybe having a cup of Tims on them! So far I have 2 gift cards coming from them.

4. Contest Girl- a great site for keeping track of all my daily contests. Between using it and Roboform this gal is ready to contest.

5. Netwinner( not only for us cannucks)- but play Banko enough and you do get some great gift cards.

6. Craigslist and Freecycle and 2 sites I really rely on when I do need to buy-my as well try and get it second hand.

My other 2 major goals for this year.First to become a working mom and the other to move out of this basement apartment. Anyone know a good landlord in Toronto with a decent clean apartment in the East York area under 850? With that said and done I think that I have set some goals that I can really work toward. Now if you set health goals for yourself may I reccomend www.sparkpeople.com . It really is a great weight loss tool that happens to be FREE. May you have a blessed 2008! So tell me what are your goals or dreams for the year ahead?

Living on Less

Some of my regular readers know that I live on really what is very little in Canada’s largest urban center. This is what has forced me to be cheaper later maybe I can then be Cheap and after that maybe I can graduate to frugal. This week here in Toronto a study came out about poverty in Canada and more specifically here in To and the number of children. Did you know that 1 in 8 children live in hoseholds that are well below the poverty line, and that gap is growing rapidly here in the city..

I am going to give you some facts:

A single mom who is forced onto welfare( and many are because of unfair IE rules here in Canada) who has one child receives $874.00

She will then receive $ 266.00 for Child tax on the 20th

If she is volunteering she will receive another $100 for a bus pass.

So a mom with one child lives off of $1240 at the most…this is the amount that I receive.

How does that get spent here in the big city?

Here is my budget:

Rent $700 ( for a small basement 1 bedroom that is actually an illegal apt)

Phone and Internet ( the net is my only luxury but it is also a tool for job hunting and school work for Roo) $74.10

Food-$200 ( tomorrow I will write about how I make $200 stretch)

Busfare- $75

Laundry-$40

Personal Grooming and Cleaning Supplies -$15

After School Program for Roo-$10

School Expenses(field trips, pizza lunch, scholastic etc) -$20

 Clothing $25

which leaves me with just over $100 for anything else that may come up like the dentist which is not covered properly here in To for poor adults.

In 10 years Roo has never been on a vacation – she doesn’t know what they are. She has never spent a holiday with my family who live in Nova Scotia. These are the realities. Does this bug me? No it is my reality for now..

I am job hunting and luckily I have been given the tools that most months I can squeak by. I will admit with things like Christmas and 2 birthdays around the corner I do worry. I have never wanted Roo to know how poor we are so I don’t talk money with her. I try and teach her that some times mom can say yes to a request and some times the answer is a no. I am trying to teach contentment with what we have.

With that said and done I am really trying hard to live with less. I do this most months by shopping well and entering lots of contests which have given Roo and I some fun times in the city, however we would love that trip to Whistler to play in the snow, or one of the computers , which are only a couple of the contests I am entering all the time right now.

So any ideas for living on less but living well?

Fall Fair

Today was the fall fair at my daughter’s school. Because the weather was decent we were able to do it outside, but because it was a windy day can you say fly away home! I was working the raffle table all day and well we had to tape down EVERYTHING so it would not fly away home.

The goal was to have a garbage-less event and I think we did well. It was not totally garbage-less but I think we made a very good effort. Much of what was waste was compostable or recyclable so that is good. So we made a good effort in going green this year.

As I said I worked the raffle table so of course I was going to enter, right! I bought $10 worth of tickets ( 6 tickets) and ended up winning 4 of the baskets! Can you say lucky girl! I won about $200 worth of stuff from large canvas tote bag, to shopping gift certificates, to pizza certificates to a Casa Loma family pass. I couldn’t believe when our names were called that many times! Call us lucky!

Well this wind burned mom is exhausted so it is time for a bath and a cup of peppermint tea, may you all be as lucky as we were.