Goal Setting for June

I need to be realistic. Being back on salary will be nice...and tempting too. So I figure the best thing is to start with a couple of easy goals which can be carried over to July if required.

I'm not entirely certain of how the pay period works at my new job so it is quite possible that I will not see anything in the bank for a while. However, I do have a couple more paycheques from my retail job to get me to that point.

Goal #1 - Get out of Overdraft.

Goal #2- Pay off family debt ($2000 accumulated since job loss)

Goal #3 - Pay off any other debt accumulated on credit during the past six months.

What do you think? Should I set more lofty goals or are these fair?

Celebrating a New Job!

Finally. It took six long months...but I have finally found the job for me.

I start the new position on June 15th. It is unionized!! Thank goodness! Never again will I have to deal with the garbage that I dealt with in the old job.

The hiring manager went through 120 applicants before he found me. He was thrilled with my background and experience and offered me the top of the pay scale. It's a lot less money than I was making before I lost the job, but it's better than working in retail!

Am I keeping the retail job? Absolutely not. I will be back on a Monday to Friday schedule, enjoying my weekends once again. I will miss the retail discount and a few of the staff, but not much else!

I am so happy.

An Update on my Finances as I Enter Month Six

Recap:

• I lost my job December 1, 2008
• In January 2009, I obtained a job in retail making $8 something/hr
• With the minimum wage increase and an extra buck an hour for taking on an assistant manager role, I'm now making $10/hr (note* I used to make over 70K)
• I have applied for over a hundred jobs and have only been granted three interviews. I have applied for so many jobs that I've duplicated some of my applications.
  

My Debt:

At the end of 2008, I had outstanding debt of $36,900. As of the end of April, I now have $36,130 in debt remaining. At first glance, that doesn't look too bad. I have made my minimum payments but most has gone to interest. But wait! I also owe my grandmother $1000 and now my mother $1000 as well. So, in reality I now owe $38,130. The job loss has officially put me further into debt.

Savings:

What savings?! I have cashed in everything except for a sole Canada Savings Bond worth around $700. And if I don't find something by the end of the month, I'll have no choice but to cash it in.

What's next?? Do I start cashing in RRSPs?

A Pushing30 Life Update

It's been a long time since I last posted on this blog. But truthfully, I haven't had any desire whatsoever to write.

My situation has not changed much. Aside from the recent minimum wage increase in Alberta, I'm still making my measly minimum wage.

As for interviews, I've had one phone interview and one face to face with a management recruiter. The recruiter was honest with me. There aren't many postings in my area of work. As a compromise, we've decided to keep consulting as an option. This could mean short-term contracts with very little notice. At this point I'll consider anything.

As far as the Ontario job goes, I still haven't heard back regarding second round interviews. The first phone interview went fabulously so I have a good feeling about making the first cut. Now I just wait...

After many months of back and forth, I have an update on my complaint with the Labour Board. My former employer has engaged the use of a hot shot lawyer from Toronto. I researched the guy and I would be much better off having him on my side. Anyways, someone has fed him some bs and now it's been fed to the labour board. I wrote a three page letter in response and am waiting to find out if we are moving to arbitration or a formal complaint. Part of me wants to give up completely. This process has been so emotionally draining for me. All my life, I've always been an advocate for honesty, integrity, hard work and dedication. Deep down I want to prove a point. I want to prove that I always adhere to these values and no company can take that away from me. On the other hand, I'm so tired of this - I just want to say screw it. I give up. I got fired. I got nothing. End of story.

Sigh.

Anyways, I should be saying Happy Easter to my readers and I hope that the Easter Bunny was kind to you all.

Where do I put my RRSP when I Leave the Group Plan?

I have been dreading the letter I received from Great West Life ever since my employment ended back in December. Once employment with an employer has ended, one has to decide what to do with their RRSP monies which are in group savings plans. This type of decision has my hairs turning gray. With over $18,000 in the group plan, and a loss of 23% in the past year, I don't want to screw it up.

Some of the options are as follows:

• Transfer to the non-group Continuum Fund. With a rate of 2.05%, I cringe at the thought of placing all my money back in an equity heavy fund.

• Transfer to a high-interest RSP Savings Account. I use the term "high-interest" lightly. With rates hovering around 2%, what's the point?!

• Transfer to a series of GIC with varying rates, thus establishing a GIC ladder.

• Pick my own funds and hope that I choose some on their way up.
  

Any thoughts? If I only had a couple thousand, I'd probably just throw them in my ING RSP account and forget about it but - I feel that my risk tolerance has changed and with the balance being so high, I don't want to lose any more. I mean, this could be a future downpayment on a house! I welcome any thoughts or comments you may have.

Three and a Half Months Later....An Interview!

A lot of the blogs I read say you should have an emergency fund with at least one month's expenses in it. Well, I beg to differ. Three and a half months after the date of my termination, I have been offered my second interview. Yes, second. In three and a half months. Clearly, if an educated single woman like myself can only get two interviews in three and a half months, then one month of e-funds just doesn't cut it. And trust me...when I do get back on track, I will be putting a lot more cash into my e-funds as a result of this learning experience.

Anywho, back to the interview. The position I applied for is Project Coordinator and the location is back in Ontario. I am literally sick to my stomach even thinking about a move across the country and I haven't even gotten through the first round. But this is my reality. I cannot sit around waiting for a job to come about here in Calgary. And as stressful as a move might be, the best thing for me may actually be to go home. I'll keep you posted....

Where Do I Put My Tax Refund?

This will be my first tax refund discussed on Pushing Thirty. Typically, I would use the cash for a credit card payment and then a treat for myself - usually in the form of a trip. However, this year is different. I am not financially secure. I do not know what the next few months will look like. As a result, I want to make the best decision for my situation today.

The Options:

• Debt Snowball: My smallest debt is currently sitting around $650. I could easily pay it off with my tax refund which I currently estimate at $1000. That would leave me with $350 for my next smallest debt. Then again, my smallest debt doesn't make a big dent in my day to day expenses. The monthly minimum payment is only around $20 and the interest accumulating is about $5 per month.
  

• Eliminate Family Debt: Earlier I posted about asking my grandmother for a short-term loan of $1000. This tax refund would take care of it...but then again I was given the money interest free and with no repayment date. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure that would be the best choice.

• Debt Avalanche: This was my debt reduction method of choice before the whole dreaded job loss situation. But is it still the best method for me? I could easily place the entire refund on my highest interest debt and that would be a nice chunk. Not including my March payment it would account for over 8% of the debt.

• Pay Down my Debt with the Highest Monthly Payment: And yet another option...one of my debts has an average monthly payment of $350. This is basically my car payment + some other car related expenses. If I threw the refund on this debt, I would likely see a decrease in my monthly minimum. I should note that this is my best interest rate out of all my debts.
  

• Add to the Emergency Fund: My e-fund is basically paying off my monthly expenses that cannot be covered by my measly retail job. The downside to this option is that I won't make any additional debt reduction.

So what do you think, my dear readers? I really need your help here. And if you have any other suggestions, please elaborate.

Living on Tea and Oatmeal

If I had two choose a food and beverage that I could eat and drink repeatedly I think I would have to choose tea and oatmeal.

Why the strange topic? Well, I'm sick with a terrible cold and all that is giving me comfort right now are my repeated cups of green tea and bowls of warm, tasty oatmeal.

I should also point out that both items are incredibly healthy for you. And in these hard times, both are extremely frugal as well! A bag of oatmeal is a couple bucks. Apples are in season and tea can be bought just about anywhere for pennies a bag. Even pre-packaged oatmeal is pretty cheap. I've been known to pick up the variety packs so I can take them with me on the go.

What are two items you could live off of if you had to?

Photo by Prakhar

CIBC to Raise Interest Rates on Personal Lines of Credit

Ok, so how upset was I to open my monthly statement and receive this notice!!

"Effective April 6, 2009, the annual variable interest rate will increase by 1% and will apply to all amounts owing on PLC's. The annual interest rate for PLCs is determined as CIBC Prime plus a variable interest rate. This change is a result of global credit market conditions..."

How about the change to my personal finance conditions?! Like barely being able to pay my rent? And I was so happy to have this low rate PLC from CIBC. Has anyone tried to object to this increase? I think it's time to pull out my terms and conditions...

Entertainment worth Seeing!

This isn't PF related but I thought I should tell you to go see "He's Just Not that Into You" at the theatre. I had a couple movie gift certificates from Christmas so a girlfriend and I went to see the movie the day after Valentine's Day. We happily avoided the theatres on the 14th!

Anyways...the movie was really funny and definitely worth seeing. I have to admit, I rarely go the theatre. But even if I hadn't had the gift certificates, I would have paid to see this one! Oh and guys...don't shy away. You'll have a laugh as well!

Enjoy!

Lay-offs In Retail Land

As if things couldn't get any worse.

They have started lay-offs at my retail job and without warning. Luckily, a quick phone call to the General Manager of my store enabled me to pick up my fifth shift and keep my full-time hours for this week.

Although I was able to save my time this week, others weren't so lucky. Several part-time employees were let go and the other non-management full-time employees lost hours.

It's really quite sad. I sat down and talked with one of the full-timers today and she was extremely upset that her hours had been cut down from 40 to 18. I urged her to speak with the manager but she still hadn't done so when I left today. Now I'm not sure what Alberta labour law entails, but I'm pretty sure a full-time employee cannot be cut down in hours like that without notice. I would think they should offer her a lay-off instead. But I will definitely look into it.

As for next week, I have no idea what will happen. What I do know is that I cannot possibly work less than 40 hours per week with this - pardon me for saying so - crappy pay. I'd rather go back and fight for Employment Insurance.

Stay tuned...

Finding Affordable Fitness Options

Let's all admit it. One of the first things to go in a financial crisis is our fitness program. While it may be easy to replace in the warm summer season, finding an alternative to a gym membership in the winter isn't as easy.

Exercise is one of the best mood lifters. So isn't it ironic that we abandon exercise so quickly when the money runs out? Knowing that exercise lifts my mood makes it imperative to find an alternative to a pricey gym membership or expensive fitness class.

So what are the options for inexpensive winter exercise? Well, first off there is walking. But when the weather is nasty, getting off the couch and being outdoors isn't exactly a blast. There's also skiing and snowboarding but those cost even more than a gym membership. Skating is an excellent option if you can locate your neighbourhood outdoor rink. And some community centres offer cheap family skating hours for only a couple bucks if you prefer the indoors. I personally love skating on the outdoor rink instead. It gives you the best of both worlds; fresh air and exercise!

If you are a self-motivated individual you can also do fitness at home. Pick up your favourite pilates or workout video and blast those calories in your living room. If you don't already own a video, check online. There are many options for downloading free workout plans and videos. Again, not one of my favourite activities, but that's only because I have a very small apartment with very little room for exercise!

After researching many options, I finally found something that works perfectly for me. The world renowned sports facilities Talisman Centre in Calgary offers a discounted drop in rate for $5 within 90 minutes of closing. Combined with my hockey schedule which is usually 2 or 3 times a week (and already paid for...) a drop-in at the gym once or twice a week is perfect. And $5 for an hour and half of working out is definitely a deal. Sure, I can pass up on the expensive orange juice for a week.

How about you? What do you do for exercise when your finances are tight?