The gift horse

My water bill arrived today claiming boldly that I have consumed -28 cubic metres of water in the past two months. I am curious as to how this is possible, and I will attempt to get more information. The amount due is showing as -$72.66. I wonder if they hold onto it for next time, or if they put it back into the account from which it was directly withdrawn.

I like the last line on the statement a lot: Credit Balance - Do not pay.

You will receive a bill every two months. Every effort is made to read your meter three times a year but you may not always receive three based on actual reads in a year. Bills based on estimates are calculated on previous seasonal water usage and do not take into account a change of ownership/occupancy or weather fluctuations from year to year. The City reserves the right to correct billing errors at any time.

Update, May 2:
I called and asked. They can't put it back. They will hold it against a future bill.

Statement balance

April 27: $2566.38.

In which the annual fee of $120 makes its appearance in the last hour.

On the bright side, the $100 universal child care benefit cheque arrived yesterday.

Update, May 1:
I have an open question here about eligibility for these UCCB cheques. My youngest turned six a few weeks ago, and I thought it would disqualify us.

Paying the blues

It is not yet Visa statement day, which is a bit of a shame as the balance sits relatively high at $2406 and discounted Bluesfest passes go on pre-sale at noon today. Last month's statement day was March 27. I intend to buy a single pass this year: $247.

That's an order

I logged into etrade this morning to accept my recent RSU grant. Much to my surprise, I found myself placing a same-day sell order on some vested options that have been sitting around for a little while. It won't yield a lot of money, with estimated net proceeds of $444.47. However, it will reduce debt. I am good with that.

Update, April 29:
Actual proceeds will be $US 495.88.

Update, May 6:
The cheque was issued for $455.61.

Fuel economy

In the city:

378 km
40.965 litres
$53.17

$1.298 / litre
Approximately 14 cents / km

9.227 km / litre

Approx 22 mpg

On the highway:

507 km
33.54 litres
$43.57

$1.299 / litre
Approx 9 cents / km

15.12 km / litre

Approx 36 mpg

The car is rated 22 mpg for city and 30 mpg for highway.

The home stretch

Yawn.

Some enchanted evening

Full moon. True story.

My youngest fell climbing up the stairs before dinner last night, and based on the plaintive wail, I suspected a broken bone. We went straight to the nearest clinic, but it was closed. From there we practically flew over to the nearest open clinic, where her Ontario health card was promptly refused. I was surprised to learn that it expired a few weeks ago.

There are many lingering complications related to my daughter's class of Canadian citizenship. When asked, I paid the $40 for the appointment. We spent our dinner hour in the clinic's waiting area, and that cost us our pocket change for peanut butter cups from the nearest vending machine (to bring my blood sugar levels up enough for the drive home.)

The injury turned out to be nothing more than a nasty bruise and thankfully did not require an x-ray. We were released by 6:45 pm and we stopped at Pesto's on the way home (an additional unbudgeted $25.) I treated her with a little Advil before bed. (supplies on hand)

This isn't a rant about unplanned costs or waiting times. It's a not so subtle reminder of how fortunate we are in Canada to not have to routinely budget for these items.

While Service Ontario was at a loss to explain what had happened with the health card, they were quick to resolve it this morning. I can get the cost of the appointment back.

Update, April 21:
I went back to the clinic with the new health card number to request the refund. They took the information that they needed to share with OHIP, and advised me to return to the clinic in 4 to 6 weeks (May 19 to June 2) to find out if OHIP had processed the refund. The clinic will repay me only after OHIP pays them.

A quick whine about wine

I took up the habit after reading about it in a diabetic magazine in 2008, and I believe that it can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. No doubt there is a relationship between alcohol and blood sugar. For various reasons not strictly limited to time and money (and insulin pump calibration), I recently managed to last ten consecutive days without wine.

Saturday night arrived and I decided to try a glass. (The nurse did not set out any restrictions when we discussed the possibility at my last appointment.) I purchased one bottle ($14.95) from the nearest LCBO, and had two glasses after dinner.

My blood sugar dropped outrageously low on Sunday morning into the category of severe hypoglycemia. I can function under these circumstances but just barely. I wasn't sure it was the wine at first, so I tried a bit more on Sunday night, yielding more dramatic results.

I'm not stocking up for a while.

Update, April 20:
I got advice from the diabetic nurse on how to handle this situation. She suggests that I turn the pump down by 25% (for the rest of the night) right before I go to bed.

Update, April 21:
It worked.

The birthday party

Today was our Mad Hatter Tea Party with nine well-mannered children in attendance. Much to my surprise, I kept this event under the $50 budget:

• Invitations made by hand from recycled materials: $0
• Pretzels, ice cream cones, ice cream, grapes, and two-bite cupcakes: $10
• Ziplocked garden seeds, kool-aid mix, and seaweed crackers for loot bags: $20
• Previously enjoyed Salvation Army tea cups and saucers: $15
• Clock craft from recycled materials: $0
• Borrowed costumes: $0

A good time was had by all.

I spent the $5 remainder on grocery store tulips. They are pink.

The savings account

I received a statement from ING Direct today, reminding me that I have been accumulating money in a tax-free savings account. I just called them. There is no penalty or fee associated with transferring funds from this account to my primary account at the Royal Bank. It takes one to two business days to complete the transaction. I'm moving $500.

Winning

Me vs. Credit Line:

Payday

The changes I made to my RRSP deduction took effect today. As expected, my take home pay is now higher. When I changed up the appropriate cell on my tracking spreadsheet this morning, I learned that I had freed up $250 to apply to my Line of Credit.

I have just reduced the amount owing to $1750, after reminding myself that I had intentionally reduced the RSP deduction for this purpose. I must confess that I was very strongly tempted to indulge in non-budgeted items when I saw the new amount.

Recap on my reasoning: 
The RSPs are currently earning 0% interest. Maintaining a credit line debt costs me approximately 6% in interest. I did not eliminate the RSP contribution entirely; rather, I just reduced it to the amount that my employer was prepared to match.

In reviewing my credit line statements this evening, I noticed that my credit line debt also costs me life insurance premiums. If there's no balance, then I don't pay them, but there is.

Next steps

1. Organize receipts and statements from last few weeks.
2. Submit massage receipt to work insurance for $85 refund.
3. Expense last week's farewell-to-coworker lunch for $100 refund.
4. Chase down unpaid invoice for 2 hours of consulting work, done earlier this year.
5. Remind self that the $883 spent to date on insulin pump supplies is reimbursable and will eventually be covered by work insurance and government grants.
6. Roof repair, sooner than later (some shingles are loose, but not off).
7. Car maintenance (but not yet, because I might still need the snow tires).

Update, April 17:
My neigbour dropped by this evening. Some shingles are now off.

Update, April 19:
My first $600 grant cheque has arrived! I'll be submitting the remaining $283 to my work insurance plan in the morning.

Update, April 27:
I took advice from my neighbour and bought shingles from Home Depot. The vent blew off my roof.

Update, April 29:
We had a big windstorm last night, which compounded the problem: many shingles blew off. Holding off the repair turned out to be okay. My neighbour bought more shingles last night, and we hired a roofer to do the repair. We shared the expense of the roofer across four attached shared-roof neighbours, and we all had the work done at the same time (keeping the cost down). When I bought this home in 2006, my real estate agent suggested I eventually replace/upgrade the vent. It went missing in the storm. Now is the time. $337.

Row by row

I just transferred $5000 from my chequing account to my credit line, reducing the balance currently owed to $2000. I have also updated my tracking spreadsheet.

Tax refund: $5550.

Miles and miles

In anticipation of scary Visa bill, I continue to look for other ways to cut back and reduce costs. I am consciously trying to limit my use of the car to situations where I am pressed for time or traveling with children. I've stopped idling too (which was pretty limited to waiting for kids to do up their seat belts). While it probably won't save much, it might save a little.

I've biked to and from the office twice this week and walked my daughter over to her daycare on those days. This week has been a good one for planning and combining trips. There wasn't much in my trunk, but I emptied it. It might help. I also set the Trip Meter to 0 km when I last filled my gas tank (45 L for $57), for a better understanding of fuel economy.

I carpooled with a coworker to a lunch event today and let him drive for a change. Lunch itself was kind of nice too - the friend we were meeting at Pesto's decided to treat!

Update, April 14:
I missed a turn (daydreaming) on this morning's drive in. I thought I could recover with an alternate route, but then I got lost and had to turn around. Sigh.

Back in the saddle

Yesterday was a really nice day here. I hauled the bikes and accessories out from the garage into the driveway and started the spring tune-ups myself. (Last year's outsourced tune-ups contributed to May's Visa statement spike.) I needed an Allen key set for the project ($5 at Canadian Tire). I went to the bike shop first, but they wanted $20 for it!

My five-year old is nearly six now. I have an old Trail-a-bike in the garage that I acquired for my eldest years ago, but I'm not sure we ever used it. I got it second hand. I wonder what I was thinking when I decided to move it from my old house to this one. My eldest would have been to big by then to use it. My youngest would not yet have been on my radar.

I was successful in locating all of the components of the Trail-a-bike and determining how they should fit together. I removed the fender from my older bike to free up space for it, but then I got stuck at the bolt for the seat post. While it seems I might need another tool to release it, I also think it's been bolted too tight.

The post needs to come off temporarily so that I can slide the hitch for the trailer onto it. At first I thought the hitch worked more like a clamp, but it has no give to it. I'm going to have to ask for help to remove the seat post, or pay someone at the bike shop to do it for me.

I ran out of wine on Thursday. I am going to let that slide for a few days and see what happens. The coffee supply dropped dangerously low as well, but I've restocked it. I have managed to cut my coffee consumption in half since starting this blog in November.

Asking for help always seems to come at a higher price.

Change of venue

I left the $40 NAC Gospel and Blues concert at intermission tonight, after paying $9.25 for parking. Not my scene and not my crowd. The pianist was fair enough, but the crowd was mostly comprised of the aging Baptist congregation from his church. I found it depressing.

From there, I headed over to the Raw Sugar Café (with free street parking), to check out their $10 act. I poked my head in the door, and it wasn't my scene either. It did not help that the bouncer hesitated when I asked if I could come in. I didn't. Sigh.

So I texted a male friend and availed myself of his white wine and a spot on his sofa. He's good company. No more, no less. Safe to say NAC is out of budget for a while.

I paid $30 for the sitter.

Another day, another bonus

Yesterday I received word that I will be granted an additional 450 units of restricted stock options in mid-April. At today's price, that could be a net gain of almost $5000 even after half of the gross value goes to a tax deduction (if/when I exercise and sell them).

No word yet on the vesting schedule.

Update, April 12:
The vesting schedule for this grant is 25% per year over 4 years from the date of grant.

Down with the ship

I tried to call in sick on Monday. My mind is still very active, but my body wasn't working quite right. I was due back at the hospital for an insulin pump adjustment, and I had to leave a sick child at home alone to attend it. One thing I have noticed recently is that stress and fatigue serve to sharpen my judgement, rather than cloud or obscure it.

The Blackberry kept buzzing. So I overrode my better judgement and went into the office on Tuesday, and sent the child back to school. I was on my way back home by 1 pm. I booked myself a massage appointment. Work insurance pays for it. That, and paid sick days, are just two of many compelling reasons to stay employed there.

The Blackberry had other ideas, and by 1 pm, I had the laptop back on, and I could not get to my appointment. Work is really challenging these days. While the company itself appears healthy, the work problems I am facing are hard to solve on a good day. We are understaffed, and creative solutions can only stretch my team so far, resulting in a lot of anger, disappointment, passive aggression, and blatant resentment. I am torn. It pays well.

Pattern recognition

Expenses I am incurring over the next few weeks will appear on my May 2011 Visa statement. I've just registered for the Army Run. Running alone (without the children) and registering early lowers the event cost. Fewer campground bookings will appear this year. The Bluesfest expense is coming due soon. The figure retells my 2010 Visa saga.

Breaking my own rules

I caved and booked two camping weekends at Ontario provincial parks today. I should have checked my calendar more closely first. The weekend that I booked (this morning) for Murphy's Point overlaps with Bluesfest! This happened to me last year too.

My hope in writing it down here is that I won't do the same thing again next year! The cost of cancelling the booking (this evening) was $16. It's become our annual family tradition to head up to Round Lake when school breaks in June. I kept that weekend booked.

First pass

I just received a draft of my tax return from the accountant. It suggests a refund of $5500. It seemed lower than I was expecting so I checked his math. I have just challenged him (by email) on Line 214 (child care). I've never done that before. If I'm right, it increases the amount of my refund by approximately $2000 and empowers me to clear the credit line.

Looking forward to his response... Seriously!

Update, April 3:
There's a cap based upon the ages of my chidren; it's not an error.

Update, April 4:
The length of time it takes the Canada Revenue Agency to process your income tax return and refund depends on how and when you file your return. Refunds for returns filed electronically before April 15 (as mine just was) are usually processed within two weeks.

Update, April 14:
My tax refund is sitting in my chequing account. Credit line, your days are numbered!

Change purse as metaphor

I started my new job in October 2009. My new boss sent me a change purse as a holiday gift a few months later, by overnight courier from San Francisco. I was very touched by the gesture. I kept the purse and started to use it, even though I'd not had need for one before.

From the card, which I kept:

We're so glad that you're here! I know it has been a big change, and that there's a lot of change here all the time. I thought I should send you a little something you can use to keep all that change in. :)

Today's horoscope for Leo

"You should keep your wallet where it belongs -- locked away in a safe deposit box -- at least until this current wave of weird financial energy passes; you'll see a sign."

I can't make this stuff up. There's 21 cents left in there, and that's my lucky number.