New Job Means I'm Meeting My Goals

Hoorah for me! Today I landed a job at...duh duh duhh...McDonalds! It's not the best job in the world, but it's a job nonetheless, and that means I will meet my goal of having an income of $500 before the end of the month!

That's actually a relief for me, but being out of the workforce for so long means I am completely nervous, yet excited that I now am finally, back in the workforce.

I'm wondering when I should tell them that I am pregnant though. I figured I will work for a couple weeks to a month before telling them and then let them know I wanted to show them that my pregnancy doesn't limit my abilities as an employee. I think they'll find that quite acceptable.

I know they won't be able to give me full time hours right from the start, but I will most likely get part time hours for sure. Let's wait to see how this goes over the next couple of weeks!

Bi-Weekly Budget - Let's See What We'll Have Left

Mike gets paid on Friday this week (hooray!) and we've been really broke since his last pay, so we're really excited, but we've probably spent all the money in our heads on stuff we really want, but don't need to spend it on. He asked me this morning to write down everything we have to pay out of this paycheck, so I figured I would make a budget, and then come back a week later and update it with how much we actually spent to see how we're doing.

So, here it goes!

Income: 1,025.00

Rent: Save $200.00
Car Payment: $180.00
Gas: $100.00
Food: $100.00
Smoking: $150.00
School Fees: $60.00
Utilities: $90.00
Actual Savings: $30.00
Debt Payment: $40.00
Miscellaneous: $75.00

Now, the reason I have Miscellaneous in there is for laundry, if Mike wants to buy his lunch a couple times over the next two weeks, and for random expenses. As you can see, we truly are living paycheck to paycheck, but luckily I get paid on the 20th, which will give us some leeway these next two weeks. Let's see how much we actually spend on these things, and if we can manage to keep that $30.00 in savings until we get our next paycheck, and manage to not spend the rent money so we're a bit better off next pay.

To Smoke, or Not To Smoke...When Broke?

That is a title straight out of a Dr, Suess book if I have ever heard one. Dr. Suess for adults, that is. We wouldn't want our children talking about smoking at that age.

Now, before I go off on what I believe will help fellow smoker's in the long run, if you don't smoke, feel free to read, but keep your comments to yourself. If you've ever eaten a piece of cheesecake, or cake for that matter, you know it's not good for you, but you do it anyways. Us and fat people just have to deal with the consequences of going out in public with our habits. So no saying "You know, smoking isn't good for you." Yes, we all know that. We hear it everyday and your one tiny opinion is just going to make us want to smoke more. You aren't doing any good.

So, let me tell you what kind of smokers we are. We're the pack-a-day, run-of-the-mill, if I don't have a smoke I am going to kill someone type of smokers. No matter how much you smoke though, it's always going to burn a hole in your pocket. Smokes are expensive, and they're only going up.

Mike happens to be a rich man smoker. What is a rich man smoker? The type of guy who buys the $13.00 per pack smokes until he really only has ten dollars left, so he buys one of the cheaper brands.

I on the other hand, am a median woman smoker, the one who thinks about how much it's going to cost me for the week and feels really guilty about wasting all my money on smokes.

Does Living Together Before Marriage Really Save You Money?

I read a post recently on Young and Thrifty about whether living together before marriage saves you money or not, and I have to say, it was more a post on whether or not you should live together before marriage, not really a whole lot about the money side of things, so let me elaborate...

Mike moved in with me literally within the week we met. This may sound odd to a lot of people, but it's what worked for us, so we've had plenty of time to know each other's habits and whether or not we can live with them. From a financial standpoint, for about six months after he moved in, he didn't contribute to rent or a lot of money for things like food, etc.

Too Broke To Afford Bills

When you only receive 2300.00 per month (mine and hubby's combined income, mostly his), what are you supposed to do with about 350 dollars of monthly minimum credit card payments?

Here's what I think we should do, but I am not sure what Mike would say about it (since it's his debt and his money.) We pay the minimum payments which is mostly interest, and it's killing us. If we keep this up I truly believe we're going to be in the same hole we're in when the baby arrives in July, and that'll be a problem with me.

Forget about the credit card debt. I say we should part of that money away into an emergency fund and to a debt account for the next while, except for paying the minimum on only his smallest balance credit card. (To help him not lose his credit entirely.) We don't need a 5,000 dollar credit card, and we'll never be able to pay it off unless we lump sum it later down the road when we both have incomes.

Monthly Goals - February

So, this is my first recap of what I have in all of my accounts. It'll be a bit boring, because I have absolutely no money to my name. I just opened three new accounts at a Credit Union.

Chequing: $0.00
Savings: $0.00
TFSA: $0.00

Income: 290.00

Goals

Chequing: $0.00
Savings: $20.00
TFSA: $20.00

Income: 500.00

Hopefully I can complete these goals by the end of the month. The reason I have nothing in the chequing account as a goal is because the rest of the money needs to go toward helping my family.

One more goal I started is to raise $1000.00 by the end of this year to help fund my soapmaking business. If you'd like to donate any amount to that fund, click here. I appreciate any and all donations, regardless of size.

What Made Me Broke In The First Place

I decided to start my own personal finance blog for two reasons, one is that most personal finance blogs I have been reading, really just don't apply to me, so I am sure they don't apply to a lot of people out there. The second reason, is that I really need an outlet and to see my habits and to see what I am doing to fix them to truly change my circumstances around.

I became a single mother at sixteen, no job, still in school, with only the help of my parents. Since then, I have been on social assistance. Let me tell you what social assistance really does. It keeps you stuck in the same place for years. Sure, it's great when you need to finish high school, but then what? Do you get a mediocre job, or stay on assistance?