frugality

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Something I have gotten really good at in the past couple of years is living on a tight budget. Temps do not make much money, and we need to save whenever we can for emergencies since there are no benefits. Before I got my own place, I honestly never had a budget. I just paid my bills then spent whatever I had leftover on, well, whatever. I did not really think about putting money in the bank for the future or tracking how much I spent on particular things. I was also never taught how to keep a proper budget, unfortunately, so I did not have an example to go on.

Boom - then I got my own place and realized that often things cost more than you think they are going to, and dollars can start disappearing pretty quickly. I started planning my spending out a lot more in advance and being diligent about "extras" (such as shopping, going out to eat, etc). 

Having a budget has become even more imperative with my new job because I get paid only once a month. That means I have to organize all my spending for the entire month out of one paycheque.

This. Requires. Planning.

The biggest thing I have learned in this journey is that living on a tight budget doesn't necessarily have to be difficult. Trust me I am NOT an accountant, not even close. I hate math and I am not particularly good at it. I find numbers and equations very confusing. I was never taught how to keep a proper budget or balance a checkbook or anything like that.

That doesn't mean that I can't budget - it just means I have to keep it simple (stupid). Here are some (very easy) ways that I stay on track with my spending:

Use Coupons and Discounts Whenever Possible
Ok, I'm nothing like those crazy dedicated folks on Extreme Couponing or anything but I do like a good discount. I pretty much only buy things that are on sale (although there are certain things I always buy regardless, such as milk, eggs and bananas) and I grab discount codes and coupons from various spots on the Internet whenever I can. My boyfriend I have found hotel deals through online coupon codes that are right there, ready for the taking for anyone who looks for them (a quick Google search is often all that is needed). 

Some good sites for finding online coupons:
- FRUGAL DAD - He has a great section for coupons from bn.com right now (Barnes and Noble). Book discounts?! YES PLEASE!
- CHEAP SALLY - Check out her coupon codes for Target purchases!
- SMART CANUCKS - I especially like their Grocery section - food prices seem to be rising all the time so these coupons are especially useful.

Get It Down On Paper
I don't know about you, but I am a visual person. I need to SEE something laid out in front of my eyes to really get a full understanding of it. Therefore, keeping numbers in my head is no good - I need to write/type it out.

I keep my budget in a super-simple Excel spreadsheet - I have a tab for each month then within that tab I have a section for "Projected Budget" - this lists each monthly expense that I have and the amount of my paycheque that I am allocating to that expense. This helps me have an idea of how much I have to "set aside" for my fixed expenses, and in turn how much I have leftover for spending money. I also list the date each expense or bill is due to keep myself on track.

Next to this I have an "Actual Budget" section where I fill in how much each expense actually cost me in the end, as well as the date I paid the bill. Most of my bills are the same amount or at least close each month, but obviously with things like power, cell phone and groceries, the cost can depend on the usage. This helps me track what bills I have paid, and see what areas were off from my projections (this allows me to see where I have more or less money that can be added/taken away from other things). Best of all? It takes like 5 minutes to update each time I pay a bill or meet a goal.

Make Putting Money Into Savings Automatic
About six months ago, I signed up for a particular program through my bank that rounds each of my debit purchases up to the nearest dollar and deposits that extra money in my savings account. This means if I make a purchase of $20.55 on my debit card, $0.45 gets deposited in my savings account. This obviously takes a while to add up but it does over time if you use your debit on a regular basis. Plus it's completely automatic - I don't have to think about it at all. That's the key for me, and I am sure lots of others, when it comes to saving money - make. it. simple. This method does not save me huge amounts of money but it gives me at least some peace-of-mind that I am putting a little bit away. And even if I only have another $5 by the end of the month, sometimes those few dollars can be really helpful (like recently when I was a few bucks short on my credit card to buy an e-book I really wanted - I took a few bucks accumulated from my debit deductions and put that towards it!).

Everybody has to find what works for them when it comes to saving money - what works for me might not work for you. But it is definitely important to make it a priority. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can!

(Just don't be SO frugal that you never treat yourself! Everybody deserves a new outfit or a nice dinner once in a while.)

girl crush

Just when I thought I couldn't have more of a girl crush on Emma Stone, she went and pulled this out of her hat at Sunday's Oscars:

(forgive the crappy quality - it's the best I could find)  

This cracked me up, which was refreshing since (frankly) I found most of the show to be quite boring and awkward. I love that she made fun of Ben and (arguably) Anne Hathaway's fake over-enthusiasm at last year's ceremony but in a very goofy and non-threatening way. This routine really injected some much-needed fun and silliness into the broadcast and I am thankful to her (and Ben) for that. 

I have had a little girl crush on Emma since I saw her in Superbad (that glossy hair! Jealous!), but that crush has only grown watching her career take off the past couple of years. 

For one thing, she is gorgeous but not intimidatingly so - I could see myself sitting next to her in class or something (could you see yourself sitting next to someone like Angelina Jolie in class? Yeah, don't think so. She would burn little holes into the side of your head if she ever lowered herself to turn and look at you). I also have a mild obsession with redheads because I have a secret wish to have natural ginger hair. So much more exciting and vibrant than boring brown (don't we all want what we weren't born with, ladies?):

I mean, look at the colour! So vibrant and rich!

Aside from her looks, her personality is just so approachable - she seems like someone you would want to be friends with. She seems like the kind of person who would sit up until the wee hours listening to you blab on about your boy troubles and would say exactly what you want to hear - good advice but sugarcoated just enough to still be "on your side". She seems REAL. Genuine.

At the same time, I get the sense that she is someone who would always be up for a good time. She would likely spontaneously drag you out dancing just to make you feel better about a breakup. I'm sure she would spend an hour curling your hair just the way you want it and would let you borrow her new leather boots so you feel extra sexy. I bet she would make you laugh your guts out by making entertaining, sarcastic comments about everyone in the bar and would be the last one on the dance floor with you. She would also protect you from creepers - an essential quality for a bff (trust me, I know from experience).

She remains poised and down-to-earth although she is smack-dab in the middle of the Hollywood "machine", all the while appearing as though she finds it all rather amusing (and some of it silly). She gives off the vibe that she is just enjoying the ride.

She and I need to go shopping.

Besides, she made out with Ryan Gosling! If we were friends, she could tell me all about it and I could live vicariously (until he comes a-knocking on my door, of course...one day).

Do you have a celebrity "girl crush"? What is it about her that makes you love her so much? 

'gogh' rodarte

A design duo that consistently puts out beautiful collections is Rodarte. I was excited to read in the February issue of Vogue that their Spring 2012 collection was based on Van Gogh - my favourite artist!

Starry Night is my favourite painting of all time (I have it hanging in my bedroom, in fact). I also have a bag, pillow and laptop skin with the painting printed on it. Anytime I see anything with this painting printed on it, I feel compelled to buy it...

Ok, so I'm a little obsessed with Van Gogh. But how could you not be?!

I mean, look how gorg?!

Blue and yellow are common colours throughout VG's work, and this is my favourite colour combination of all time. When I was entering young adulthood and wanted to change my bedroom from its childish pink and white theme to something more "stylish", I couldn't wait to cover everything with yellow and blue. I'm pretty sure my wedding is going to include some combination of blue and yellow as the predominant theme (and sunflowers. VG and I both love sunflowers). 

Anyway, Kate and Laura's VG inspired collection is like this colour obsession of mine made real:

So many gorgeous sunflower prints. This is the perfect theme for a Spring collection because what says 'Spring' more than sunny yellow blooms and clear sky-blues?

Not all of Rodarte's pieces are exactly things I could wear to the office, even if I could afford them, nor would many of the shapes be flattering on me, but I love to look at them. They always create the most beautiful prints and their pieces are a great mixture of soft and sculptural. I mean, just look at this wheat-print dress from their Fall 2011 collection (you can almost feel the wind whispering through the stalks):

Plus, they are always collaborating outside the fashion world with the most interesting partners - they designed costumes for the movie Black Swan, and for a real-life ballet (One Thing Leads to Another), produced an art book with photographer Catherine Opie, and they are designing the costumes for the LA Philharmonic's production of Don Giovanni (Frank Gehry is designing the sets). I love that they are always pushing for inspiration while still staying in touch with their California-girl roots.

Thanks to the Rodarte sisters, I will go to sleep tonight with swirls of colour dancing through my head. Starry, starry night indeed.

*All images via Vogue

pumpkin bread

I love discovering new blogs to read, especially ones that give me great ideas for things to try (although now that I am addicted to Pinterest, it is slowly taking over in that department). One of the funniest blogs on the Internet is Nicole is Better so when I discovered she now has a food blog, I got irrationally excited.

It's called Get This In Your Mouth (which is the best name for a food blog ever, wouldn't you say. Shut up, it is).

I printed off a recipe from this blog a while back, planning on baking it "sometime" (you know those things - I have a rather large "to do sometime" pile, if I can be completely honest). I finally had the chance to try the recipe out on Saturday when I was tasked with bringing a dessert to a friend's potluck.

What was this dessert I couldn't wait to make, you ask?

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling. I love anything sweet and anything pumpkin, which is why this one caught my eye. I have never made a loaf or bread before, so I honestly had no idea what to expect.

Well, it turned out very tasty, if I do say so myself! The recipe made a huge amount of batter, so I ended up getting 3 small loaves out of it (one for the potluck, one for me, and one for choir practice Wednesday evening...gee, thanks to you planets for aligning so nicely). I have to confess - I didn't make the homemade cinnamon cream cheese icing - I bought a container of icing at the grocery store and just added the one tsp of cinnamon and one tsp of pumpkin pie spice. I know, lazy, but I just didn't have everything to make icing from scratch (nor the time).

Hi, I'm Kim and I'm sometimes lazy. Deal with it.

Anyhoo, I was worried about overcooking the bread and making it dry but it turned out perfectly moist! Love! And it really wasn't hard to make. It does take a bit more time than your average cookie just because the loaves have to cook for close to an hour, plus they take a while to cool (or at least they did for me) so it's not exactly something you can whip up at the last minute. I made the mistake of putting the icing on while the cakes were still warm (I was in a rush), and it got very melty and messy. Lesson? Make SURE the loaves cool COMPLETELY before putting the icing on, and just a tip: this cooling will take probably an hour or two.

All in all a good dessert experience, and definitely something I will make again (it was a crowd-pleaser!).

I am the first to admit that I do not love cooking - I have to force myself to do it most of the time so a recipe has to be fairly quick and easy for me to try it out - but I do feel I become more confident with every recipe I try out and find success with. Thanks Nicole - I'm glad I got this pumpkin bread in my mouth!*

Tried any cool recipes lately? Do you like to cook? Where do you get your recipe ideas from?

*Unfortunately I was not able to track this recipe down on the blog or through searches because apparently I'm a total dolt!! I printed it off so long ago I honestly don't remember how I found it the first time. However, I'm sure if you email Nicole, she could send you a copy no problem. Sorry, I don't have time for that bidness*

**PS: do yourself a favour and do a Google Image search for "Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling". Commence drooling*

best in show

The Westminster Kennel Club has officially crowned "best in show" for 2012.

Internet - meet "Ch Palacegarden Malachy" a.k.a. "Malachy,":

Just look at that gorgeous fur. This little guy is proof that good things come in small packages (ok, I'm biased since I myself come in a small package, but that doesn't make it any less true).

I really don't know anything about dog breeding or dog shows. Heck, I don't really know much about dogs period (I'm really more of a cat person *gasp* -don't tell-). But I love this dog show!

Why? It is silly and pompous in a delightful way. I mean, that dog's name! It is just so long and weird it's hilarious. What is he - half Chinese, half Irish?! And how are you supposed to fit a name that long on a dog tag? It sounds like he should be a character in the movie Clue.

(Obviously kooky names are the norm for this show though - one of the other top dogs was a German Shepherd named Captain Crunch. I can't even explain to you how awesome that is).

And it's not only the names, but these dogs are more groomed and primped than the contestants on Toddlers and Tiaras.

Whaaaaaaat? I always knew Snooki was a dog (oh snap). That is one wicked pouf. Can dogs use Elnett?

How many times a night do you think the owner of lil' Malachy brushes his/her*fur? I am guessing they (and it) are about as vain about that mane as Marsha Brady. I mean, seriously, that is some glossy fur (I want to reach out and touch it, is that creepy?). These doggies prance around with their perfect hair and their noses in the air like an animal version of Miss America (if only the bikini-barbies on MA also didn't talk-that spectacle might actually be tolerable to watch).

I also love this show for the things it has taught me - for example, did you know that the "Toy" category (where Malachy competed) is the most competitive? Makes sense, I guess, those little dogs are always the most scrappy.

Know what else is cool? The head judge of this year's competition sits on the Board of Trustees for Take the Lead, which is a foundation that "provides direct services, support and care for people in the sport of purebred dogs who suffer the devastation of life-threatening or terminal illness."

What a cool organization! And I would have never known it existed had I not decided to write/research this blog post.

So, thank you WKC and Malachy for providing me so much amusement via your slight ridiculousness and pomposity, and most of all through your enduring love and respect for dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Dolla dolla bills, y'all

 *the WKC website lists the gender as "Dog". Very helpful, WKC, very helpful
**Oh, by the way, the WKC is on Twitter! You KNOW you wanna follow them)