Saturday, June 4, 2011

May 2011 Coupon and Grocery Tally


Photo: Grebe nest below our house, 3 eggs, waiting for baby Grebes to hatch

Grocery Budget for May 2011 $450.00 plus $35.99 left from April=$485.99
Actual: 475.58! $10.41 carried forward to June.
Coupons used $48.48(year to date $265.48)


No great deals this week. I have been mostly preoccupied with the new Canon Rebel T3i I purchased. Buying this camera is part of the "Getting a life" plan that we are carrying out this year. I have an interest in amateur wildlife photography and needed the right camera to do it. Other than perhaps buying additional lenses this camera should last me 10 years.

The big plan is:

1. Sell our house and move to Vancouver Island summer 2012, house to go on market February or March.

2. Downsize our home in both space and money. Our goal? Bank some money from the sale of the current house. Buy a house with no unused space and a good outdoor area where hubby can putter and I can have a few flowers and grow some good things to eat. Smaller house means lower tax and heating bills. Sell anything that we don't love before we go so we don't have to pay to transport it to another Province. I expect we will be cutting our current possessions in half.

3. Change jobs. This means saving as much money as possible before we go to bank so that when we arrive on island we take a few months off, and then seek work that makes our hearts happy. Sounds crazy but we have planned this for several years and will have the funds to carry us through 3 years with no income if necessary. I hope to be working in the tourism field or maybe a greenhouse. I really can't see shuffling paper and working at a job where I don't make a difference any more.

4. Pursue hobbies and a lifestle that interests us and leave our old workaholic lifestyle behind. Part of this plan includes getting a dog as we will have sufficient time to spend with him. Hubby wants to start to start a consulting company. For me this means exploring my new hobby of photography and endless days exploring the seashore.

Obviously this new life means lower income, but based on always living below our means, paying cash, buying used, and using coupons completely achievable when we have no debt. No, we are not retiring, just finally getting a life.

Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

2 comments:

  1. I have a Rebel (not the T3i, unfortunately!) and I love playing around with it. Enjoy!

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  2. I just love the last line "No we are not retiring, just finally getting a life."

    I can't tell you how many times I am approached with the question "What do you do all day?" followed by "Oh...I could never do that...you'll go back to work, just wait and see."

    It's funny how people react when you try to do something out of the box. Sometimes they are defensive, other times really excited for you.
    You never know what you are going to get sometimes.

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