Money Monday: Sinking Funds

Do you have sinking funds? Do you know what a sinking fund is?

Sinking Funds is a savings tool for something you will have come up. You're planning for unexpected budget items that come up occasionally. Having a sinking fund allows you to put money aside for Christmas, clothing, car repairs, or medical expenses. You save for those things, so that when they do come up it doesn't throw your budget off.

Another example that you can use a sinking fund for is something that doesn't come up every month, but you know it will come up eventually; such as a yearly bill, or yearly maintenance. You can figure out how much that will be, and save for it monthly.

For example, you want to save 1000$ for Christmas and it's March. If you budget 100$ a month for 10 months. You'll have the 1000$ by Christmas. You have that money set aside specifically for Christmas and you can spend it knowing that you saved for it. No guilt!

How do you keep track of sinking funds?

Online Savings Account

I have a separate savings account for each of the things that I'm saving for. These online savings accounts do not cost money and I can transfer out money without any fees. It's really fast, and can be done on my phone. Having these separate accounts allows me to see how much is put away for each thing. I'm really not a numbers person, and having everything in one account doesn't work for me.

Cash Envelopes

You can also have separate envelopes and put money into these each month.

Spreadsheet

If you keep every thing in one account, and have a spreadsheet to track each fund that can work too.


Sinking funds have really changed the way I manage money. It has helped me prioritize, and be more in control. You want to have this money easily accessible, and the more money you have set aside, make sure it's secure. This is different from an emergency fund, because an emergency fund is money set aside for an unknown. A sinking fund is money set aside for a specific thing.

Review: Paper Princess, Broken Prince and Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Description:

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. 

Review

When I first hear fellow bloggers and Youtubers raving about these books, I really didn't think I would like it. The description doesn't sound like anything I would read. I decided to give it a try and see. Well, I LOVED them. I actually read them back to back and I never do that with a series. I read them so quickly, that I didn't get bored with the characters. 

Canada Reads 2017 Shortlist

You guys, I'm so excited! I look forward to the Canada Reads debates every year and this year is no different. These are the 5 books that were chosen from the longlist. If  you haven't heard about Canada Reads- it's a yearly "battle of the books" that revolve around a theme. This year the theme is "What is the one book that Canadians need now?" These 5 books are new to me, and I will be reading them all and listening in to the debates in March.

Here are the contenders this year:

• Chantal Kreviazuk defending The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier
• Humble The Poet defending Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
• Tamara Taylor defending Company Town by Madeline Ashby
• Candy Palmater defending The Break by Katherena Vermette
• Jody Mitic defending Nostalgia by M.G. Vassanji

Can we take a moment to appreciate the diverse group of contenders? Canada is a diverse, multicultural country and this makes me so happy. I'm so excited that Candy Palmater is on the show this year. I tweeted her last year, hoping she would host the show when Wab Kinew wasn't able to host. She's a fellow native american, and Mik'maw. 

So far, I have The Break and Fifteen Dogs. The other books are on my wishlist. I'm jumping in and starting with The Break. 

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January Reading Wrap Up

My January wrap up consists of 5 books, which I'm really happy with. Work was really busy for a few weeks, and I didn't really have the energy to read much. I hope to continue reading about a book a week. If I don't get through a book within a week, I find I get bored with it, and tend to want to move on. I will have reviews on these books coming up on the blog.

Everything You Wane Me To Be by Mindy Mejia Amazon | Book Depository
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover Amazon | Book Depository
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover Amazon | Book Depository
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse Amazon | Book Depository
Twisted Palace by Erin Watt Amazon | Book Depository


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Money Monday: Why You're not Saving Money

Priorities

If you don't make saving money a priority, it won't get done. If you put money into a saving account, and take it right back out to buy something...you're fooling yourself. You're pretending and not actually saving money.

Goals

You need to set up goals for your money. If you're scared to set a goal, start small. Decide to set aside 500 dollars, once you've made it, make another goal or boost your current goal. So many people don't have an emergency fund, because the thought of it scares them. They can't possible get 3 to 6 months of expenses set aside in an account, it's too much. Well...you have to start somewhere. Challenge yourself, you can do it!

Pay Yourself First

Don't make a budget, and at the end of the month see what you have left over. It will be gone. You need to add a "Saving" category into your budget. Figure out an amount, and look at it like it's a bill and needs to be paid. Place it into a separate account, and LEAVE IT THERE!

Stop Making Excuses

If you think you can't start a savings account, stop making excuses. Excuses are not acceptable. Things happen, appliances break, kids need things- if something turns up you can cover it with your savings.

Get Motivated 

If you're motivated and encouraged you can do anything. The same needs to happen with your money, get motivated. When you reach your first goal, you'll be so motivated to reach the next goal. Baby steps. You can do it.

Budget

A written budget is key to controlling your money. So many people have no idea where they're money is going and that's because they have no budget, and they are not tracking their spending.

Book Haul: January

I didn't purchase many books in January. After the holidays, I really tried to stay away from book buying. These are the new books that I added to my Kobo. 

Every Thing You Want Me To By by Mindy Mejia [Book Depository]

The Italian Wife by Kate Furnivall [Book Depository]

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena [Book Depository]

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid [Book Depository]

The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer [Book Depository]

I'm currently reading Every Thing You Want Me To Be and it's fantastic. I've seen it all over the internet, and I had to see for myself what it was about. 

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Review: Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

When I sat down to read Talking As Fast As I Can, I felt like I was sitting down talking to Lauren Graham. Her personality shines through and you feel like you're laughing along with her. She writes very much like how she speaks, and that familiarity wraps around the reader. Graham discusses her upbringing, being raised by her Father, her college years and her struggles with trying to "make it" in show business. She offers her advice and encourages readers to follow their dreams. She comes across as a very positive person, and someone who truly loves what she does.

This collection of essays was published at the same time as the revival was released on Netflix. I watched A Year In The Life and had some hit and misses with the show. Reading these essays, I had a new appreciation for the revival, and it made me want to watch it again. Gilmore Girls was a huge part of my life, and will always be a favorite show of mine. I really enjoyed the insight that Graham brought to the book.

This collection of essays reads very quickly and if you're a Lauren Graham fan or Gilmore Girl/Parenthood fan you will want to read this. I really appreciated the essays that Graham wrote, and I will continue to read any new releases that she put out there for us to read.

Book Depository Link

 

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