Where can I cut?

[Ramona]

Window insulation question:

I know the light shines through the quilted window coverings when they're closed. Does it shine through the fleece too? Or does fleece effectively block all light? This is an issue as I'm prone to depression in winter. I don't want to be in a darkened house all day.

I have white double fleece at the front door and the light comes through, it's not dark. The door faces north so the sun doesn't shine on it. If you chose yellow fleece, it would look sunny all the time .

[mommy4ever]

I talked to DH about the points cards we have and how ineffectively we're using them. He doesn't like them because they are too much bother for him. I pointed out the rewards and things they buy make nice gifts for people. I asked him to remind me to use them. I have them, I just forget about them when I go through the till! This is part of my illness unfortunately...or being over 40!

I showed him my short list of local businesses that accept Air Miles, and the online list. He was surprised by how many there were I think. So we will look at using AM more when we buy things.

Ebay and Chapters do airmiles

Use the keyfob cards as much as possible. That way they are always handy. Trick with those is put a piece of clear tape over the bar code so it doesn't wear out.

Put one on dh keychain too that way he can't say it's just too much trouble.

[mommy4ever]

one more thing, Shoppers Drugmart pharmacy - once they have your number once, it's on file No need to scan it each time. So YOU pick up dh prescription once, and he'll never need to produce a card.

When you go to redeem points, it's best to have the 90,000 best value for your points, and wait for a bonus redemption day, about every 3 months, instead of a $170 value, it's 200. AND, if you use coupons too it's even better value, so start collecting coupons now..lol.

For earning points, 20x day is the best time to shop for things. So go through that flyer with a fine too comb, and look at high value coupons, I have earned points valued at an $80 value, but spending only $50. Also, sign up for their email because they have printable coupons for bonus points to use too.

[miss_cas]

Best read ever: "It's your money or your life" by Joe Dominguez. Study financial independence as presented in this book, then size up your retirement fund.


Comment: It's so great you are out of debt before retirement. Way to go! You have a huge advantage over some other debt ridden people.

Biggest question here:
How much are you going to be bringing in from Social Security, pensions and interest/dividends from your investments when you retire?

Is this your projected budget? Is the amount of income sufficient to allow some extra for home and car repairs?

Downsizing:

Do you have any children who haven't been so successful in making a living you may need to house? Do you need more than 2 bedroom place (one master and one guest/office/craftroom combo)? It might be a better idea to move sooner if you want a smaller place and let someone else remodel the house you are living in now as long as the issue you would like to fix is just a matter of your tastes and preferences. Look around the market and see if you can find something else 'perfect' that won't require much more work.

Would you be happy with one vehicle in retirement? You could enter retirement with this paid off if you bought something new now.

[craftypam]

Thanks mis cas; I have that book and haven't read it in a long time I think I'll get it out.

[peanut]

Ramona: thanks for the idea of blue painter's tape. DH and I discussed the window situation this evening. We want to be able to open some of the windows for air circulation during the warmer days of winter. We're thinking the best thing is either the fleece insulation or window quilts from cotton. He's talking about actually calling someone in to do an energy audit to determine if the problem is air leaking through the panes of glass, or around the trim. Our house was built in 1928 and not very tight heat wise. If it's leaking in around the trim we may have to go with the plastic and blue painter's tape. It would mean taking down almost all of the drapery hardware though. Our trim is wide and the hardware is attached directly to the front of it.

Thanks for letting me know about the fleece. That leaves that open as a possibility. Though I must admit I am excited about the possibility of designing window art with the window quilts.

mommy4ever: we don't have the AM keyfob cards. Wish we did! I hardly ever buy any books anymore. I weaned myself off my $1500/year habit this year. And I bought my first thing off ebay this month!

Thanks for the points tips for Shopper's.

miss_cas: I've read “Your Money or Your Life” years ago...maybe ten or so. Excellent book! Will have to look at it again I think. I can't remember what he had to say about retirement.

In Canada it's CPP (Canada Pension Plan) not Social Security. There is no way to figure it out ahead of time. It averages $500/mth. The more you earn in a work pension, the less they give you. DH's work pension will be $24,000/year...he thinks. That's $2000/mth. If we don't earn too much money, we can also qualify for OAS (Old Age Security) which averages $500/mth. Again we won't know till retirement. The government crunches those numbers and you have no real way of knowing what you're getting without being a financial whiz. So that's a max of $3000/mth. We should be able to do it. But I'm doubtful we'll qualify for OAS. So $2500/mth. That's $30,000/year right on the money!

Yes, that was a projected budget without car or house repairs. I figured there was no way we could afford them. Car repairs usually come out of gas money though. We don't use our car a lot, being as we live so central to everything. And when we do go out we tend to do loop errands and multiple errands in one place. We walk a lot and DH likes to ride his bike, especially in summer. The only problem with the repairs this fall is that it comes fast on the heels of paying for all that gas driving around on vacation this summer. The 'gas' envelope is depleted of money. So the gasket job, if we really need one, will have to come from somewhere else...probably our savings.

Actually, yes, we are concerned about the kids. They still haven't settled in their careers. DH was older when we married and had kids. He's retiring early. So I'm kind of waffling on the house. The biggest issue though is my craft stuff. I have an art studio, a rug hooking studio, a sewing studio...in three different areas of the house. Oh, and the dining room houses my scrapbooking supplies. I do use all this stuff though, so it's not totally a waste of space. It would be nice to have an entire basement or something like that for myself though...as long as it was warm and waterproof! Ideally I'd like to earn a living doing this stuff. Just not sure how...

We only have one vehicle now, and we're very happy with it! I spoken with DH about looking around for a new-to-us car. I'd like a ballpark figure of what we need to save for a new car. He was agreeable to that. He's saying now that he'd be willing to hang onto the car for another couple years. Hmm...

[peanut]

Okay. Went to Fabricland to price a few things...

On the main floor alone I have 9 - 23" x 53.5" double hung windows, 2 - 37" x 16" fixed panes, 1- 55" x 37" half opens half doesn't (awning window), and 1 - 22" x 40" fixed pane window.

#1 window option - double layer of white fleece.

Need 10 yds. of 60" wide fleece just for the main floor windows. At $7/m (50% off) that's $70. Also, they don't have enough fleece in the store.

#2 window option - homemade window quilts

5 yds. quilting cotton $12/m (could wait for this to go on sale 50% off) = $60 or $30 on sale.
3 yds quilt batting (90" wide). Already 50% off at $15/m. = $45
5 yds. backing at $11/m. Could wait to get this 50% off, or buy used sheets at the thrift store (usually $5/sheet, would probably do 4 windows though). = $55 or $27.50 OR $20 used sheets.

That's $160 down to $95. So the fleece is cheaper...if I can get it. I think 10 yds. is roughly one bolt.

Okay, so these figures make no sense! Man, I wish I was better at math! Quilting cotton is only 42” wide, not 60”, so I'll need a lot more... 10 yds. of quilting cotton at least. That's $120, or $60 on sale. And 10 yards of backing. Two queen sheet sets should fit the bill quite nicely. That would make Option #2 $125...if I got everything on sale.

[ladytoysdream]

Peanut,

For your windows....I'm not sure why you need a energy audit. You mention they are very old. So you are loosing heat through the panes AND through the caulking. You either replace them or you cover them with something. The cheaper the cost the better for the coverings. Have you checked out thrift shops for covering material ? Do they all have to match ?

I can throw some serious thoughts at you about your budget. I tend to be blunt though. Sugar coating reality is not my cup of tea. Retirement is going to be harder than you think on a fixed budget. Do you want me to continue ?

[craftypam]

Okay, so these figures make no sense! Man, I wish I was better at math! Quilting cotton is only 42” wide, not 60”, so I'll need a lot more... 10 yds. of quilting cotton at least. That's $120, or $60 on sale. And 10 yards of backing. Two queen sheet sets should fit the bill quite nicely. That would make Option #2 $125...if I got everything on sale.

Hi
I haven't looked into it at all and I know that mat'l is bulky, but have you checked online? Is that regular fleece? Ours sells for $4 a yard at the holidays.

I keep editing this because I keep reading another post. Their is a chart; try googling it to figure out how much difference in mat'l you'll need at different widths. I'm not guaranteeing anything (LOL) but I have the chart and if I can find it I'll tell you the info.

Pam

[peanut]

ladystodream: I'm holding my breath and saying "shoot!" I know I'm a bit of a princess who wants it all. But I have no idea how retirement is really going to be...

I haven't checked thrift stores yet. I'll check today if I have time. Or this weekend. It would be nice if 10 of the windows coordinated (not necessarily matched) because they all face into one big long room. Three and four of them are really part of the same window at either ends of the room.

Course...now you have me thinking. I was going to use sheets for the backing. Why not use them for the front of the window quilts too? Then the window quilting idea sounds more affordable. That would be $40 for the sheets and $45 for the batting = $95.

craftypam: the next big sale at Fabricland (our only fabric store of consequence) is September long weekend. I'll check then and see if it's on sale any less than it was the other day when I walked in. It was labelled 50% off and was $7/m. But maybe that was 50% off the $7? Making it $3.50/m. That would be much nicer!

Okay, talked to DH. Turns out he has done the calculations for CPP etc. somewhere and this is what it looks like for the first three years of retirement...

year 1
$23,000 pension #1
$16,000 RRSP #1

year 2
$23,000 pension #1
$10,000 RRSP #1 & 2

Year 3
$23,000 pension #1
$10,000 RRSP #2

After that CPP ($9400/yr), OAS ($5800/yr) and another work pension ($4200/yr) kick in. We're okay after the first three years. It's those first three years that are troublesome. We could pull a bit more from RRSP #2, but not much. One more year would drain it too. Once CPP, OAS and the other work pension kick in, we have $40,000/year, which should be more than enough for us...I hope...

And of course things get better when I reach 65 ten years after DH retires. Then I'm eligible for government pensions too. We'll be rolling in the dough when DH reaches 72!

[mommy4ever]

In Canada it's CPP (Canada Pension Plan) not Social Security. There is no way to figure it out ahead of time. It averages $500/mth. The more you earn in a work pension, the less they give you. DH's work pension will be $24,000/year...he thinks. That's $2000/mth. If we don't earn too much money, we can also qualify for OAS (Old Age Security) which averages $500/mth. Again we won't know till retirement. The government crunches those numbers and you have no real way of knowing what you're getting without being a financial whiz. So that's a max of $3000/mth. We should be able to do it. But I'm doubtful we'll qualify for OAS. So $2500/mth. That's $30,000/year right on the money!

That's not quite true. I have gotten statements from the gov't about pension. You can also go to Service Canada, and get all the required info mailed to you to log in and you can monitor what your contributions and what your pension would be if you retired right now.

I'm waiting to get my access code,and look into that..lol

[peanut]

I think we cross posted mommy4ever. Like I said, turns out DH has done the calculations. He's much better at math than I am! I didn't know about monitoring it online though! Thanks!

Also, DH reminded me we don't need a window quilt for the kitchen window because it is a new energy efficient window just installed last year...with lots of insulation around the frame. So one less *big* window to do.

ETA: I've been cruising the Service Canada site and can't find where to sign up for monitoring CPP etc. online. Can you be more specific where I might find this information?

[peanut]

OK. I've looked into the Marketplace on FB. I already have a FB account and FB won't allow me to have a Marketplace account as well, from what I can gather. It violates their terms of use apparently to have more than one account. As my FB page is my main contact with family, and I want it to stay private, I won't drop that yet.

Instead I'll do some researching to see if I can get more out of Etsy. I've been watching videos and reading articles to get ideas. I finally found my way around their page to figure out what to do. I am also taking new photos of some products.

I'm also thinking I need to earn the equivalent of a part time job to make things work in retirement. So...off to see if that's even possible with spinning, tutoring, etc., or if I need to actually get up off my duff and go to a brick and mortar workplace.

[peanut]

Good heavens! I found the ideal job within walking distance in my own neighborhood! 25-30 hours a week, $14/hr., working in an educational setting... I didn't send a resume yet. This is a school I've wanted to connect with for a long time.

Instead I sent them an introductory email and told them I was offering my services to help teach the kids some crafting type things, or to be a 'field trip' for them. I told them my pedagogical view (as that was stressed in the job posting) and that I did not have all the qualifications for the job (no French), but I was more than willing to send them a resume if they were interested in having me apply. We'll leave it sit there and see what happens.

That is almost too good to be true. Either it's a hit, or a total miss. We'll see... I love teaching people things. I just don't have my education degree. I'd have to do a major revamp of my resume though. It's five pages long.

[ladytoysdream]

Hi .......
Okay, I was going to type up a really long response, but I think I can do it in a nutshell.......
CUT YOUR CURRENT SPENDING BUDGET IN HALF NOW.
The other half of your money, don't spend it. When you decide what you are going to do for your house, that money will be there. Sounds like you are going to have to do some repairs when you want to sell it.

Window coverings....whatever you use....try to get something you can recycle later into some other projects if and when you replace the windows. I am thinking maybe some rug projects.

Cut back hard on your craft areas. Pick one that you can concentrate on and hopefully make some future money from.
I been doing farmer's markets with my knitting and crocheting items. With winter coming, there is more interest in my items.
Yet I see other venders struggling. Last week a lady who sells pretty handcrafted items, artwork and a few vegatables, only sold $ 1 at the end of the day. Customers just don't have the extra money to buy pretty non essential crafts.

Our budget was severe last year as I had no income for 10 months. I told the hubby we were going to practice so when we get into retirement, we know how to work in a tight budget. He has less than 3 yrs to go till early retirement. He probably will continue to do some part time work. I am still trying to get that man consistently, on the same frugal page I am. His current money from his part time job is his to spend anyway he wants to. And he still thinks the household budget can fund some of his extra wants. Budget money has a name....bills. I been telling the man NO a lot. We still are making ends meet, but it's a ongoing struggle to come up with creative ways to get the extras done around here.

Inflation is going to raise havoc with a lot of budgets.
We are really in uncharted waters now. Make yourself a cushion.