2 Income Family Again

I accepted a job offer!

It wasn't the the best paying position of the three that I interviewed for, but it was the position I thought I would like first.  Negotiation wage was the most difficult part.

They were not will to match what I was making at my previous firm, but accepted on the condition that I get a performance review between 4 to 6 months with a raise.  I'm making $1.92/hour less then before.  This adds up to approx. $400.00 less per month.  However I did gain some other great stuff.  Heath, Dental and Vision benefits, life insurance, travel insurance,  and after  one year of employment I receive RSP Contributions and a health & wellness expenses account that can be used for gym passes, fitness classes or whatever promotes healthy lifestyle.  SCORE!

I start next week, and I figure I should set some goals to achieve within the first month:

• Learn how to efficiently use any new computer programs or office machinery
• Make a friend (or two)
• Be early and ready to start each day (put in extra time)
• Improve productivity each day (stay off the internet and alway from excessive office chit-chat)

After my first week I am sure I will have new and more specific goals.

Job Offer Dilemma

This week has been crazy with what seems like endless interviews.  Though the interviews have only been with 3 companies, I have had 2 rounds of interviews at each one.  The all offer something different that I am looking for. Here is the the scope of companies in order of my preference:

Pros  Cons Neutral

Company A:  

• Busy position with multiple responsibilities 
• Managed under multiple people
• Room for advancemnt
• Salary is exactly what I asked for
• Medical and Dental Benefits
• Life Insurance, Long Term Disability and Short Term Disability
• RSP Contributions after 1 year
• 3 weeks vacation + 10 personal days and 0.5 festival day of choice in July/August.
• Located downtown, public transit necessary or pay for parking $250+ per month.  
• Large firm with approx. 90 employees
• Reputable

Company B:

• Busy position with multiple responsibilities 
• Managed directly by partners
• No room for advancement
• Salary is significantly higher than asking
• No real benefit account, but $200.00/year flex account (covered under spouses benefits anyways)
• Long term Disability Insurance
• Located in suburb,  20 minute commute and free parking
• Small firm, with approx. 10 employees
• Overtime banked at 1 hour OT = 1.5 hours banked
• 2 weeks vacation (3 weeks after 2nd anniversary)
• Current staff seems significantly older in age
• Office sometimes closes early on Friday = free time off + bottle of wine from firm

Company C:

• Busy position with focus one task area
• Self Managed
• Little room for advancement
• Salary slightly below expectation
• Medical & Dental Benefits
• RSP Contributions after 1 year (group plan)
• Located Downtown, but public transit pass subsidized 24%
• Life Insurance and travel insurance
• Heath Account after 1 year (for gym passes or whatever promotes health)
• 2 weeks vacation
• Large firm with 100+ employees

My dilemma is that Company C, has presented me an offer,  however I am still waiting to hear from both Company A & C.  If I had only interviewed at company C, I would accept the position; however, there are points that attract me to company A & B.  I need to let Company C know by Monday afternoon if I want to proceed with the hiring process.  

Company A = 1st choice, but waiting for offer

Company B = an Awesome salary (money talks, right?), but waiting on offer

Company C = guaranteed employment!

Luckily I have the weekend to think about this!

Flyers - the Cost of a Bargain

I don't like flyers!  Not to be confused with the Broadstreet bullies, Philadelphia Flyers (great team), but the paper ones that overfill the mailbox.  They create a mess, extra trash recycling and deceive one into buying items that they do not need while instilling a sense of bargain.  I do LOVE a bargain though!  Who doesn't?

Flyers are a great tool for some people; however, I notice it's the opposite for most others.  In a sense, a flyer is just like a commercial, but instead of being broadcasted on television, it gets delivered to your door in paper form.  If a commercial came on and advertised a beer that made you more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex), more suave and the life of the party, would you run out a buy it right away?  Probably not.  If a flyer came to your door, and advertised that same beer for $2.00 off, that's a great deal right? some people would buy the beer because they feel like they are saving money by purchasing the same.  I don't know what alcohol prices are in other places, but in Canada, a beer loving nation, it is taxed to death.  A two-four (case of 24 beer) of a popular brand will range between $35.00-$50.00.  To save that $2.00 advertised, it is really costing a whopping $33.00 to $48.00.  

I truly believe you should always look for a deal, but only when you are making the purchase no matter what.  Once you find a good deal, save the difference.  It adds up.

When life kicks you to the ground

A total unexpected event occurred yesterday.  I was terminated from my employment after 5 years of loyal hard work.  I don't completely understand why this happened.  I was told that it was not because I was a bad employee, but because of a strenuous relationship with a coworker and salary budget issues.  Right now I feel many things:

Shocked
Embarrassed
Angry
Confused

My boss seemed genuinely upset and he had told me he was ill because he had to terminate me, but the situation still frustrates me.   I wished the best of luck and told that I would be provided with the very best reference to new prospective employers.  I was also given 6 weeks of full pay.

What do I do now??  I'm am extremely fortunate to have such a solid loving relationship with my fiancé.  He had reassured me that everything is going to be alright and too focus of the positive.  

What is the positive?? I gained:

1. 6 weeks of normal salary pay!
2. A reference 
3. A chance to change to a better position
4. A chance to earn more income
5. some time off.

Also, I'm grateful for the emergency fund that I had in my general savings account.  If all goes well, I may not even have to dip into it.

Now I am off to a new endeavour and opportunity in which I will come out ahead.

Year End Current Finances

Happy last day of 2012!  Before the new year begins, I wanted to track where I am financially now so that I may properly measure my progress throughout 2013.  By this time next year, I'm hoping that all my finical goals are met.  

Credit Card

Line of Credit

Savings - House Fund

General Savings

December 31, 2012 - Total Debt:  -$12,354.95

December 31, 2012 Total Savings: $3,250.00

Total Value:  -$9,104.95

I'm going Bananas!

Well balanced and wholesome meals are important in my household.  Most people can agree that they feel better when they eat better.  However, sometimes a bit of effort is needed to make meals complete, or to get just a little more of a particular vitamin or mineral.  I have heard from many people that it is expensive to prepare and eat non-processed high quality meals and I often argue or disagree with that statement. 

Yesterday I picked up a bunch of bananas cheap... really cheap.  They were less then $0.50/lb.  I purchased about 10 large Bananas for under $2.00.  The price is excellent, but how long will that many Bananas last? Probably not much longer than a few days before they become over-ripe.  But there is a way to stretch the life longer and therefore stretch your dollar longer.  The answer is to freeze them! 

  

All I did was throw them outside onto our balcony and let the cold winter climate take care of the rest!  Actually, I'm just kidding!  Though bananas can be frozen whole and in their peels, they often turn brown and look unappealing.  With the help of a blender, and ice cube tray, I managed to preserve this wonderful potassium right treat from nature a little longer.

 Peel and chunk bananas into a blender or container.

 Add a bit a vanilla extract and a tiny bit of water

 Blend Blend Blend.  ( I used my trusty hand blender)

Once the bananas have been puréed poor the mixture into a clean ice cube tray

Cover the tray with tinfoil (helps reduce browning) and freeze.

Once frozen, pop the banana chunks out of the tray and into a freezer bag of easy portion use.

This is the perfect way to save bananas (and money) for a quick healthy smoothie base, banana pancakes, banana bread, other banana baking or just on its own as a fresh frozen treat.

Bon Appetite!

Frugal Laundry Detergent

Part of my effort to save money and pay off debt is to become frugal in my lifestyle.  I admit that I sometimes find this to be difficult because I believe that for the most part my finacé and I are already pretty frugal.  To my delight I found a neat idea via pinterest (I'm addicted to pinterest) - Homemade Laundry Detergent!  How cool is that!?  After reviewing many many many recipes I can up with the following combination to try.  Here it is:

Homemade Laundry Detergent

• 1 box of Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)
• 1 box of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
• 1 Box of Borax
• 2 bars of Ivory Soap
• 1 container of Downy Unstopables  
• 1 large container with lid for mixing and storage

Instructions

• Grate ivory soap on the fine part of your grater and add to container
• Mix full box of Washing Soda, Borax and baking soda into container. 
• Add in a mix entire container of your favourite scented Downy Unstopables and mix

Each ingredient was easily found at the grocery store and I already had ivory soap at home.  After I had my detergent mixed up, I removed the label from the Down Unstopables container and filled it up with detergent for easy use.  I can just fill up the lid (about 1/4 cup or less per load) and use it for a load of laundry.  I expect that this amount of detergent will last about 1 year.

How much did I pay for this wonderful detergent?  

Approximately:

Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)  - $8.00

 Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) - $5.00

 Borax - $12.50

 Ivory Soap (Already had) - (about $0.50/bar)

 Downy Unstopables - $7.00

Total: $33.50 (1 year for 2 people home)

What we used to buy:

Tide Liquid Laundry Soap (50 oz ) - $12.00

Downy Fabric Softner (77 oz) -$10.00 

Total:  $22.00 (25 loads)

We usually do about 2 and half loads of laundry per week including towels and other linens.

COMPARISON PER LOAD COST:  

(based on 130 loads of laundry per year)

Homemade $0.26

Store Bought: $0.88

SAVINGS = $0.62 cents per laundry load or $80.60 per year