Oh my gosh I can’t believe it’s Thursday. I feel like I’m caught in some kind of time bubble. Yesterday it felt like the week was already over, but today it feels like it went too fast!
I’ve been pretty busy this week with work (things are finally picking up. Yay!) and with other after-work commitments. Plus I watched season 2 of True Blood which was a bit of a time vampire.
Ahahahah! I crack myself up sometimes! But seriously, that is a totally fang-tastic show! I just love it to death! If you haven’t seen it already I encourage you to rent or download the first season and start from there. It’s very interesting and is just different enough to be really awesome to watch. But not TOO different, if you know what I mean.
A little update on the financial side… has anyone else noticed that they seem to have less and less money even though their spending habits and income have remained the same? I haven’t really changed what or how often I buy things over the past 2 years (and thanks to the recession my salary hasn’t changed in the past 2 years either. Ugh) but I feel as though I have less and less money. The only thing I can think of is that the cost of living has gone up. I figure things like groceries, food, and clothing prices have all been secretly creeping up over time. Now when I buy the same item it is actually costing me more. But I haven’t had the salary increase to balance that out.
Do you think my theory would hold water?
I’ve gone back to tracking my spending again using a spreadsheet on Google Docs. It helps me see where my money is going and how much I am actually spending. No surprise, most of my money is spent on eating out, but I have been making efforts to cook at home more and have a few no-spend days, too!
No-spend days for me are basically whenever I don’t spend money on food or other random items I don’t really need at that moment. Though I doubt that I could go an entire week without spending a penny. Life just doesn’t work like that in the city.
Anyway, I am excited for the holiday season that is coming up. I’m trying to figure out who I am going to give gifts to this year, and what they will get! I wonder how much shopping I will actually have to do?
One more thing… I know I’ve been lax with the juicy posts lately, but I have a few rolling around in my head, and I’ve got a contest/giveaway coming up for those fantastic My Bag reusable bags I reviewed a while ago. I think they’ll be the perfect item to help you get your shopping done, or to give as a gift!
Stay tuned! 🙂
4 responses to “Where did my week go?”
I completely agree that food costs have all risen. Our grocery budget isn’t going as far as it used to, nor is the cable/phone/Internet.
Even rent has the yearly increase (yet no salary increase!). Clothing I don’t buy a lot of, and I tend not to eat out, but I was in a Tim Horton’s yesterday, and couldn’t believe that a donut is now 90 cents. The last time I got a donut, it was 70 or 75 cents!
And the TTC is looking to up their prices too. Cost of living is definitely increasing.
I also have No Spend days, and I have more “No Spend” days than I do “spend” days. We spend our money on groceries, movies, entertainment, meals out, and for the most part, that’s it. I don’t like to spend money on things, since I don’t really have a need for anything.
Ugh I am SO pissed about the TTC increase. It's highway robbery, that's what it is.
Obviously if people are buying the pass/discount plan they're trying to save money. Yet we're the ones that are going to have to suffer with the higher prices. Not impressed at all. They JUST raised them recently, too.
Boo-urns.
I know! I'm on the Metropass Discount Plan, and I don't know if mine will stay at the $100 for after the increase starts (I've completed more than a year, but I don't if it renews each year for a year or not).
Regardless, I'm planning on getting more fit! I'm just going to buy tokens and go back to my university mentality of walking more. It will be a 40-45 minute walk to and from work, but if I leave a little later, I can get a ride home from someone in a neighbouring office, or my boss gives me a ride home sometimes too. I'll miss the convenience of my pass though 🙁 I've come to rely on it.
Oh and don't forget the plan to merge taxes to the HST. Prices are going to jump for things there, too. GRR
After looking into the metropass program a little more, it looks like it is locked in for 12 month increments.
If you're already on it, you'll have until your next renewal point (my starting month is December) before the price will go up.
If you're already part of it, you're ok, but if you aren't part of the program, it might be too late if the fares do go up in January – your application is due by the 5th for the following month, so it's too late to apply for December.