Loosing money like crazy

I gave a quick look at my investments, and I am loosing money like crazy with my stocks and if things don't get better any time soon, I will probably not be able to reach my first 50 000$. I am loosing money with my investments and also because of my employment situation.

Like today was the worst day of my life. lol. I present myself at work, and like other, we were like about 15 employees to wait outside for a supervisor. And the supervisor never shows up, I wait for about an hour before going back home. I am upset because, like those 15 others, we were told we were working today. I am upset because that's by weekend job, I am getting about 330$ bi-weekly, which is good because it help me to cover my rent and a part of my metro pass... But today, there was no work and I was told there was some for me. So at this point, I really don't know what to do. We are out of work for next week... For that I knew, but for today, it was supposed to be ok. So that is for my weekend job.

It's a bit the same situation for my morning part-time job, I am getting in and out of jobs and it makes it difficult for me to reach my goal. It's really only at my full-time jobs that things are relatively ok. So the plan is too see who things turn out in about 2 weeks from now. After what I will begin my search for at least one other part-time job. I am running out of look and I am sad because I wanted to remain at the same work place to provide some stability to my resume. But is it my fault if I suffer from a lack of work?

I enjoy my free time today. I even dye my hair, which haven't been done for about 3 months and I am looking much better now. For the rest, I will take it one day at a time, since there's overtime available at my full-time job. But refilling 11 hours in a row some prepaid accounts is just giving me one of those headache lol.

Ups and downs

I didn't blog here since a long time. I am having problem with my laptop, which just doesn't want to go under the Wireless anymore and I am pretty upset about the whole situation, as I will probably have to pay a technician for this, since I am no longer living close to my brother, which could had take care of the job. I don't really need the Wireless, but its just I like to surf in cafe and now I cannot do anything.

And just to make things worst, I am loosing money like crazy with my investments. I just don't know what is going on, but its hurting my portfolio! I do not plan to sale anything, as always, I just keep everything but I would like to have the chance to make some money from my stocks and other. Like I was planning maybe to pay off a trip to New York or Toronto, or maybe both, since I never visited and I didn't travel for quite a time. But know, I don't think I will be able to do anything at all and it could happen I lost everything.

Two people get fired at my full-time day-time job. For once of them, I truly understand the reasons why he got fired and I was quite surprised he didn't get fire any time sooner. For the second one, it was actually the person I was having difficulties with, the one with VIH, she got fired too. But for her, I was quite surprised, as she was really good and her productivity has very high. And another person left, I don't know what happen to him. Anyway, things are pretty change.

I got a big emotional break down because of that job, not because of people I know get fired, but because I had set a fix work schedule with them and they didn't respect it. The problem was resolve at the end, but the night before it get resolve, I start crying in the middle of night and I try to calm myself as I need to wake up early at 6h45AM the next morning. I was desperate no to be able to combine my part-time job with my full-time job. But know its resolve. But I keep asking myself am I next on the people-to-be-soon fired? I take it one day at a time. I am always trying to do the best I can at work, even if its a low paying job. So we will see at the end what happen but I will be very sad if I get fired too. It's just an idea that is stock in my mind...

Just to make things worst, my part-time day job is cutting on in my hours, and not only for me, for a couple of others to. At least my weekend job is still ok for now. With all 3 jobs combines, I make almost 800$ weekly after taxes. And I just want it to continue like this. Everything was going on so well, and now, it's kind of going so-so and I am kind on getting a bit depressed by looking at my overall situation at work and at my investments.

Another week

It’s been my third week working at my full and part-time job, all during week days. It’s not as bad as I taught it will be. I can actually wake up at 6h45 to hit my job at 9, work there until 13h30, run to my full-time job. My work schedule had changed at my full-time job so I might be able to set an appointment at the RBC to open my free banking account. That way, I will finally be able to take a look at my investments and see if the money is still there….

I use to work at another job during the weekend, which was my third job, but recently, I really begin to dislike it there. Today I was passing by the office and it’s seemed like they were close. I did some overtime at my full-time job today (my overtime is back). I prefer to do some overtime than continuing to work at that part-time job. Once, I had call to cancel a shift, I wasn’t able to work. But they finally never cancel the shift and they call me to know what was going on… Which I find very unprofessional since I had call and speak to someone about it. Anyway, it’s been 2 weeks since I didn’t work there.

But things are going pretty well for me anyway. I just need to keep going on like this and I will probably reach that famous first 50 000$ before the end of 2008.

I want my overtime back

I was very use to do some overtimes at my job, as they offer overtime to everyone almost every single day since I begin there, around 4 months ago. But now, for a reason or another, they don’t aloud people to do overtime now, which very disturbed the employees I know there. A bunch of people had quitted the job, some during the training, other weeks after they begin at the job.

I am staying there only to get experience in a call center. I know call center are not being consider as good jobs, it might only be the case in India, but still, I love working in a call center because there’s always or almost always work that need to be done, as you receive calls most part of the day. I previous work at place, like in government places, and in another job in translation, which I quite because I find it terribly boring and I was tired, trying to please the stupidest people of the whole world.

I won’t say things are incredibly better now, but still, when I arrived to work, I connect and I deal with customer, not with unfriendly co-worker, at least. And at this point, I really don’t pay too much attentions to details that disturbed me, because the only thing I care really about is reaching my first 50 000$. I am no longer trying to please no one and when I am not happy with something, I almost yell. Almost.

So let say that the part-time job I am starting on Tuesday just came at the right time because I was getting ready to quite my day-time job.

I am just not happy at the workplace and I want to quite working as soon as possible. Please God.

Another week at work

I have receive my pay today, another 1 000$ in my pockets. Today, the weather was so beautiful, I would have spend all day walking around and stuff but I have too much to do this morning.

I had applied on today for 2 part-time jobs and I received a response for one of them. I wasn't able to call back since I notice I had received a call around 4h30 this afternoon and I was at work at that time. So I will call tomorrow morning. I just hope there will be something for me for Saturdays and Sundays and maybe even a few mornings per week. I would like that. Because the part-time job I have right now is not very good, I am only working there this Saturday.

I notice price of units of my mutual funds want up again. I just hope it will continue like that for a while. I would like to recover from my lost. I didn't calculate my overall value for a long time and I am waiting for the good time.

In the overall, things are not going so bad, only thing is that I haven't did my taxes yet. I have one problem to resolve regarding a mutual fund, non RRSP investment I have with Desjardins. The problem is the following: I didn't receive any tax paper for the Desjardins Fidelity True North ® Fund. I have initially invest 1000$ in 2005. For 2007, I didn't receive a tax paper. So I call ACCES-D. I talk to a representative that told me that if the fund had produced an income less than 150$, than, they (Desjardins) don't produce the appropriate tax paper.

And how come?

I am a small investor, I am paying high fees for that Desjardins Fidelity True North Fund and I should receive the help I need in order to be able to fill the forms for my taxes properly. Or at least be able to make it done by someone else with the appropriate information. The problem is that the representative couldn't (or wouldn't, I don't know) provide me the information. The representative told me to call my Caisse Desjardins.

Which I did. But at the Caisse Desjardins, they told me who was kind of in-charge of my field at their Caisse. I call yesterday, left a message to the one I was supposed to talk too and in date of today, still no answer. How come an institution like Desjardins doesn't provide help to their small investors. How come they don't provide a proper tax paper?

At some point, I dislike RBC service (for a reason I didn't write about yet, but I will soon), TD (see previous post... outch) and now, it's Desjardins.

Now than ever, it's time to buy stock, following whatever strategy, and be no more under the authority of some whatever so call financial institution and declare my financial institution free freedom for the rest of my life. No more credit card debt, no more bank stupid mutual funds. JUST NO MORE.

It's going to be quite something for the tax, but I am going to do like Brian Mulroney, I won't declare my income. So it's not going to be really that of a problem next year. My hard time is over.

Of course I am not thinking a word of what I am saying.

Tomorrow, I will call ACCES-D, and ask to speak to a supervisor and drive everyone crazy with what might be an unusual request for them.

When I keep thinking about it, there might be plenty of small investors who, like me, had invest in non RRSP mutual funds. For those, when no paper is given, what are we supposed to do? Am I suppose to do like what I did for my ING Direct acount in 2005 and 2006, not to declare the income because no one ever send me a tax paper, as previously explain...

It is so complicate and I am so complicate myself.

Not easy to work 7 days a week

I was so used to have my weekend off, I find it hard now to adjust and work 7 days per week. And with those taxes thing that need to be done and everything else, I can barely catch my breath. But one good news is that it's look like my mutual funds are not doing so bad, I got my pay yesterday and I am working this weekend, and also next weekend at the part-time job.

And another good news is that I only had left 62$ to pay on my credit card. If only I had known, I would have pay that 62$, I just send a 1 000$ check a couple of days ago. But it doesn't really matter, I will pay that 62$ on this month too and I will be finally over with my credit card debt. It's so easy for me to save money that it make it very easy to pay off that credit card debt I had for too long.

It's been a too busy week as I try to do one thing per day, before hitting back to work. It's not always easy. I had plan a bunch of things that were need to be done today, and I wasn't able to do all of them, but at least I am able to go through.

I now have a part-time job

I had received the confirmation by email that I had a part-time job at a place I use to work. I was quite happy about it. I am going to work on Saturday and Sunday, but no longer than about 8 hours each day. I wonder if a lot of my late co-workers will still be there. For myself, when it happen they had a lack of work, I immediately began my search for something else and I receive my vacation pay, which help a little.

Because of this part-time job, I plan to give an extra 500$ tomorrow on my credit card and than, in 2 weeks, I will pay the rest that need to be pay and I will be finally be out of credit card debt for now. I hope to remain debt free for a long time. At least I will try.

Time pass way too fast and I just hope I will keep working at the 2 jobs for the upcoming weeks. I really need it.

I finally find a pat-time job! YE!

I didn't really find it actually, I got call back by the place I was working before. It's seem like they got a new contract or something, and they are now in need of people. I appreciate the fact they call me back to work, because I wasn't able to find a part-time job. I was going to apply to several job offers when I notice their email, at the old place, that they had send in date of today.

So I am going only work there on Saturday and Wednesday, for which I will made after taxes I believe something like 130$ weekly, which will cover my rent. I was getting tired of looking around for a part-time job and it's seem like my search is finally offer. I don't know for how long their contract will last for, but I am willing to take what they have to offer for now.

I wouldn't like to work more there than Saturday and Sunday because I already work 50 hours weekly at the other job. So let say I will have from now on a weekly income of 650$ after taxes, which is cool.

Doing it by my own

I get another 1 000$ paycheck for 2 weeks are work. And for the next pay, I am only missing 6 extra hours to reach 1 000$ for the next pay. So things are not going so bad after all. I also notice an ad in a newspaper for a part-time job that could match my present work schedule. I just need to apply to it. Since January, I have been looking around for a part-time job, but I wasn’t able to find one. So I really hope this one is the good one. I am getting use to the job I currently have, so it will make it easier for me to get another part-time job. Nothing really work out like I wanted in 2007, I just hope 2008 will be just a bit better for me, for jobs, investments, debts.

I was quite surprised to see my Visa bill of the past month: I only spend 170$ on my Visa. Which mean I only spend 170$ in groceries and other. I actually pay all my expenses with my credit card; I pay it all when I receive the bill. Or it’s what I am trying to do and I have been doing so. I scrapped my credit when I was about 24-25 by opening too much credits at the same time. Now I am 27, I don’t know what my credit is, but I keep paying each month my credit card bill, which was quite low for this February.

I am really getting good at the « non expense » thing; I am quite impressed with myself. I didn’t need to cut many things. I buy less coffee at cafe; it’s doing help a lot. I try to save as much as possible and I not having too much trouble to stop spending money around. I never had been a huge shopper, which help. I really cut on everything I could cut, that’s why my current budget for March is less than 1 000$:

Rent: 520$
Metro Pass: 67$
Other (food…): 170$
Student loans: 165$

That’s all…… It’s an inexpensive little living at 922$. I can make it with 922$ or less. Even if for this month, I would like a hair cut… ;)

Conclusion: it’s possible to make it and life with about 1 000$ if not less, even with a hair cut.

There are a bunch of things that I don’t have and I sometimes think of buying, like a microwave, a TV, a sofa, DVD, MP3, a new digital camera... But each times, I just keep looking, and I never buy. I keep thinking on how much I had to work hard for that money: that is what stops me of buying what I don’t really need. But I have to say, it could be nice to sit on a nice couch, instead of that chair that I am currently sitting on right now.

Anyway, I believe life won’t remain like this forever. The biggest challenge for now is to pay off that terrible credit card debt and to remain debt free. Even if I wrote earlier that I wanted to invest in more mutual funds, I prefer for now to just pay off that credit card debt first and after, I’ll see. I just need a part-time job and it’s too bad I cannot get quickly what I want.

Missing 18 000$ to reach my first 50 000$: can I make it this year?

If I want to reach my first 50 000$ this year, I will have to save an average of 1 500$ per month, which I find quite difficult to do, since for now I have to work 50 hours each week to receive bi-weekly a 1 000$ paycheck. Unfortunately for me, I cannot live on 500$ monthly. My average expenses for a month is about 1 200$. So I am currently able to save something like 800$ per month for now, with the one and only job I have. I now only have one job.

Starting from next week, I will have a regular schedule, which I ask for a long time ago. I am supposed to get a regular schedule, with weekend off. It will make it much easier to get another job, a part-time one. I was also thinking about trying to make money from Internet. I try it before, but it didn’t work out. But I can’t say that I really try.

To be able to save 1 500$ per month, I will need to have a monthly income of 2 700$ per month, which is not impossible and it’s quite realizable to make an extra 700$ by having a second job.

But the problem is that we are almost at the end of February, and I know I won’t be able to save this month, March and April that much. I ma trying to pay that 2 381.17$ debt I have in credit card. I paid 1 000$ this week, I will pay 1 000$ in March and in April, I will pay the rest, which should be around of 400$ or so…. It’s even more difficult to save because of this credit card debt, but fortunately, it’s not a major credit card debt.

It will be quite difficult to reach my first 50 000$ this year, but it’s not impossible. First step is to find a part-time job as quickly as possible.

My projects for 2008

Now that I am done with the 2007 RRSP contribution, I have other project I am thinking about, like paying that 2 000$ and something debt that I have in credit card and finding a second job. I have been able to get a regular schedule at work, so now it's going to be easier for me to find a part-time job.

I had previously found a part-time job, but at the time, my schedule at my first job was changing week from week. So the employer told me to contact him once my schedule get more regular, because he was only able to give a fix work schedule and once he gave a work schedule, that one is the one their employees have for 3 months. Anyway, once I got my work schedule fix, I gave him a call, but he told me he had all the staff he needed...

So now, I don't have a part-time job, only a regular work schedule. I continue my search for a part-time job, which it shouldn't be to hard to find I believe. But I am currently sick with a cold. I sleep in for most part of the day. I take a look at the performance of my funds, and I was surprise to see that everything had went up up up. I didn't completely recover from my lost, but it's a good start.