Doing more with less: budgeting!

I am doing a lot better today than yesterday. I slept in very late. I actually wake up at 13 pm… The TSX is burning me. Today, the TSX gain some points and is now at 9 849.2. It’s part of the reason why I am feeling better today. It wouldn’t be the case if the TSX would had drop points again for 2 days in a row.

I took my day-time off until the month of June and it’s going to be very difficult for me to start getting up early in the morning again. But I might continue to sleep-in if it happens I can’t find a day-time job. I just got terribly lazy among the way. But not that lazy as I am trying very hard to make money online. I would very much to make a 200$ per month with Google Adsense. It’s the goal I gave myself.

For now, and let’s say if it happen I couldn’t find a day-time job in June, I would probably work at paying some debts of mine instead of investing. I am making 1460$ per month at my evening job and my weekend job is giving me an average of 620$ per month. At 2 080$ per month, my income is not that much, but its making enough to pay my usual expenses and pay-off some debts.

By “doing more with less”, I mean to minimize my expenses in other to maximize the payment of my debts. And to do so, I need to respect a tight budget.

And here it is:

Rent: 535$
Internet: 35$
Metro pass: 67$
Student loan: 150$
Groceries and coffees: 250$
TOTAL NEEDED: 1037$

2 080$ Income - 1 037$ Needed = 1 043$

This makes 1 043$ I have available to pay on my debts each month (this is the reason why I seriously need to begin job searching in June lol). I do not carry heavy debts, but it will be better if I could begin to pay-off some of them. At this time, I have 800$ in my bank account. I just received my pay from my weekend job. I currently have a balance of 645.46$ on my American Express. I like to use my American Express to received Air Miles, but at 19.99%, the interest rate is extremely high. Almost scandalous…

Anyway, I am going to send a check tomorrow to pay the balance I have on my American Express credit card. The remaining money of 154.54$ will go on my credit line at TD. For this month, it’s about all I can make as payment. But I guess I am going on the right direction.

My first article submitted to Associated Content got rejected

But good news: it wasn’t because of my poor writing skills (!!!). It’s just I had that idea to write a bit on the new Air Miles toolbar that allow users to collect Air Miles through Yahoo! Search. From there, no problems, until I submit the article – which got rejected. But I had the possibility to re-submit the article – but enough is enough, I work 5 hours on that little article lol. Gees! That’s why I post the article write here on my blog - Collecting Air Miles through Yahoo! search engine: the dream now reality. But I won’t be able to re-submit the same article to AC.

I find very cute, like the way its sound, like I am all excited about Air Miles and stuff. Just another marvelous-marvelous post of mine.

Other than getting rejected on my really first submission (which I will explain the reasons for – I didn’t read the guidelines submissions first – part one), I find Associated Content very interesting. It’s a nice way to earn a little extra income via the Internet – way better than just a way-too-boring pay-per-click program!

Unfortunately for me, because I am in Canada – Associated Content do not pay as much as if I will be a US member. It’s part of the reason why I decide just to post the article on my blog – like whatever lol. But I will try again to submit an article to AC later on.

My article got rejected because I insert a Web site address in it. That’s all.

Collecting Air Miles through Yahoo! search engine: the dream now reality

Canada's largest loyalty program now offers a new way to earn rewards! Yahoo! search engine now offer the possibility to earn Air Miles, at no price. I first learn about this exciting opportunity on the cover of free newspaper Metro.

The best marketing combination of all times: Air Miles and Yahoo!

I use Yahoo! search engine on a regular basis. I am also a user of its email and Messenger services. (...).

Air Miles is my favorite rewards program because it’s allowing to redeem loyalty points in order to receive a discount on bus tickets (among other things). Examples: For as low as 150 reward miles, Air Miles program allow users to receive 40% off on regular Greyhound Canada bus ticket. And for only 50 reward miles, it’s possible to receive 40% off on Orleans Express tickets. And here’s where the Air Miles program is getting very rewarding.

The new Air Miles toolbar allows member to collect up to 30 Air Miles per month. Which mean, each month, it makes it almost possible to reach 50 Air Miles in order to purchase an Orleans Express bus ticket at 40% off. Interesting!

Both combined, Yahoo! search engine and Air Miles rewards program are getting very powerful.

How it work?

First, a toolbar is needed. The download is free of charge! The toolbar is available at the following address:

https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/Toolbar

As an Air Miles member, your collector number will be needed. It’s actually being requested before downloading the toolbar. And if you’re not an Air Miles member yet, registered now! The new Air Miles toolbar make it even more rewarding to enroll to the Air Miles program. The toolbar download can be done through Firefox or Internet Explorer. And it takes less than 2 minutes to be completed.

Once the download is completed, restart your computer, and start searching! As soon as the minimum of 50 valid searches is completed, you will earn 5 Air Miles. It’s that easy and rewarding.

And if, like me, you like to track down your Air Miles account balance, you will no longer needed to log in into your rewards account – a simple look at the toolbar will allow you to find out how much Air Miles you have.

As a Canadian resident, I had below described my views on the Air Miles program offered in Canada. The same program is also available in the US, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Reading Derek Foster Books

I have been quite busy this weekend with work and it didn’t give me too much time to do what I really wanted to do: read Derek Foster two books I have bought from the Chapters located downtown on St-Catherine. It’s a good thing that it’s Eastern tomorrow, because I really need a brake and I really need to continue my reading.

It’s getting hard on me, since I finish work at midnight at my full-time job. And I had quite a few things to do as I didn’t receive the tax paper for ING Direct and for my Fidelity fund I have with Desjardins. As for ING, I find out that since I only made a few bucks with their interest, I won’t receive a tax paper. But the thing is I have that account with them since 2005 and since 2005, I didn’t declare any of the interest income I had received from them because they never send me a tax paper. But for this year, for a reason or another, I worried; I call, and give me the amount of the interest over the phone. So I don’t know what I going to do for 2005 and 2006, since I didn’t declare the interest gain. But does it really matter for less than 20$ per year of interest gain? I am all confused, as usual, and I don’t really need to do about it. Anyway, I am going to talk about it when processing with my taxes. So a lot is going on for me.

Unfortunately, my part-time job do not allow me to work both weekend days next week, which I don’t understand why, as they call be to come back to work. I was going to complain about this to them, but I decide to keep my mouth shut and keep them as backup. It’s really mean to them since I really was hoping to pay my complete rent with that money, but now, my hope is gone. I plan to take the day of tomorrow to apply to some part-time job. But at the same time, it’s not that a bad thing that I only work one day next week too, it gives me a little break. But at the same, I want a part-time on weekend really badly.

I was quite impress with my 2007 income, since I have earn more than 40 000$ in total. It’s quite nice, knowing than about 2 years ago, I barely hit the 25 000$. I really had a difficult time for work, as I once was in Ottawa, and before New Brunswick. I was quite happy to leave Ottawa, as I dislike their temporary contract with government agencies and their low pay. I wouldn’t like to work for the government for anything in the world. I get through a few contracts in Ottawa and I find them all extremely boring and poor work experience, as there was nothing much to do.

I want to post that final check to American Express to pay what I have left to pay, about 65$. So by the end of March 2008, I will be finally free of credit card debt. I continue to pay my regular expenses, with a Visa (I love Visa, it’s not like American Express, which seems to barely be accept where I go shopping). Only places I where able to pay with my American Express is at Wal-Mart and Reitmans. Otherwise, groceries store do not accept AE. But I like AE because of its Air Miles. And I don’t give a damn regarding that report that they didn’t want to translate in French. I just dislike living in Quebec sometime. I don’t like the mentality they have here and their law is too complicated. I just hope I will be able to do like Derek, retired early and move in another province, someplace near the sea. In a cool hot place in the Maritimes.

I really want to follow the strategy of Derek Foster to buy my first stocks and this time seems to be a good time to buy bank stocks. I begin to read The Lazy Investor, which I really like, as it’s describe step by step what you need to do to follow his strategy, which I won’t explain in much details here, as it’s his strategy. I wasn’t able to finish the book yet. And I have trouble to fully understand each steps. But anyway, I am going to study more deeply his books tomorrow. I also buy last week Stop Working, but I wasn’t able to begin the reading. Those two books are the first one I have buy since I graduated. It’s too bad I didn’t pay more attention to his work before because I could have done much better on reaching my first 50 000$. Tomorrow is Easter and it’s a good time to read, but as always, I have other thing to do. And it’s too bad stores are not open because I would had like to shop over for bargains; I need a new pair of jeans lol.