I’m excited about meeting with him as I’ve a number of things I’d like to discuss:

• my current debtload
• my RRSP situation

This adviser works for my current employer (remember, I work for a bank), so I’m interested to see what type of things he can come up with. I was so excited and interested to hear what he had to say that I actually showed up to the appointment a week early! (I input the date incorrectly in my calendar, so I showed up this past Thursday when the appointment’s actually NEXT Thursday.) But he was quite gracious and we had a quick chat about things while I was there. I did offer to just come back on my actual appointment day, but he said it was actually good that I was there early as he’d be able to crunch through numbers and have some good suggestions for our appointment next week. (I had brought the latest copies of all my statements with me.)

The  major thing he pointed out quickly was that as my car lease is up next year and I want to keep the car, we’ll have to figure out what to do with the lease buy out amount. Count 1 point for him, as I’d not really been thinking about this. What I’d ask him to figure out was this: Determine the best course of action for me so that I could pay off my debt as quickly as possible without severely curtailing my life, and save me money by consolidating the debt to one payment with a lower interest rate.

So while I’m pretty good at figuring out my finances, sometimes you do need to ask for professional help. Right now I’m plain tired of dealing with this on my own, so let’s see what Mr. Adviser can do for me. Stay tuned!

Edit: Had to postpone the appointment till next week as I came down with a nasty cold this week and couldn’t make the appointment. But I’ll let you know what he has to say!

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

Oh yeah, and remember how I had told you that I had gotten a deal because the colours on the mattress and box spring didn’t match? Well, if they don’t match, I certainly can’t tell. Seriously, I think the box spring might be cream and the mattress white, but they’re so close in colour I can’t tell. The salesguy had said that the box spring was going to be a darker taupy/ecru colour, which would still have been nice, but this is just as good too.

Yippie, I’m looking forward to going to sleep tonight! My joke this week has been that even though I’m not a nap person, I might just take one this afternoon. Tee hee.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

Budgets Are Sexy is a blog I started reading about a month ago, on my last spin through someone’s blogroll. This week I came across a guest post on the blog from Little Miss Fortune, the PF blogger on Glamour magazine’s site. Go on and click over to the guest post she did Budgets Are Sexy, it’s highly entertaining. And the reason I bring it up is because I learned something new from the guest post. She was talking about how to create new outfits simply by accessorizing, and it really struck a chord with me. The new job I started this spring requires me to dress in non-jeans, and because of my debt, I didn’t want to have to go and spend a fortune on a new wardrobe. I had unconsciously started doing what Little Miss Sexy advocates in her tip “Accessorize already, damn it”–I took several similar outfits (short-sleeved blouses and pants) and changed them up by pairing them with different coloured cardigan sweaters, and even a knit vest! The only new thing I bought in those outfits was the knit vest, the rest I already had, which is great. Sure, I’ve picked up the odd new blouse over the summer, but the point is I’ve probably only spend about $50 on three or four different blouses, and when paired with the sweaters and the vest, I’ve got almost two weeks worth of outfits for work! Very cool. Of course the winter is going to be a little more difficult to handle, as I’m not sure if my current roster of pants is going to hold up to a cold, Canadian winter, but I’ll get to that patch of ice when I get to it. (haha)

Seriously though, go check out the guest post, and then keep on reading both Budgets Are Sexy AND Little Miss Fortune, as they’ve always got good things to say. You never know, you might just learn something new.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

But I was pleased with myself because even though I’ve been working for more than half my life now at various jobs, and in my current field for almost 9 years now, and even though I know I’m a good, solid worker, I’ve always got that worry in my head that “they won’t like me”. I almost feel like Sally Field at the Oscars all those years ago. *sigh* I know it’s silly, but I guess that’s just me.

A friend of mine celebrated with me that day by worrying about whether or not she’d have a job by the end of the day. Most of her team had been laid off over the course of the last few months, so that right now it’s her and her boss. And her boss works out of the New York office. So she’s been super-worried for the last while. She’s a little concerned because she’s the main breadwinner in her family, and while her husband is currently employed, he does work in an industry that has been hard-hit by the downturn in the economy. That day she kept email me with updates, and thankfully, she kept her job! She’s still employed, still at the same hours, and doesn’t have to join the line up at the Employment office. Phew.

I’m excited and pleased that I’ve passed  my probationary period so that I can concentrate fully on my job, and I’m happy for my friend that still has her job.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, I know. But I’m on Week 3 of the new job, and it’s kept me quite busy. I’ve been enjoying myself immensely too, which you’ll be happy to know.

I wanted to share with you all a few ways that I’m saving money at the new job.

Money Saver #1: A public transit monthly pass

This one’s a no-brainer. Because I can now take public transit to work, I’ve bought myself a monthly transit pass. If I only just took transit to work, this would not be a good deal for me, however I also take it at least once or twice a week extra, so I come out ahead every month. PLUS, I can also claim the pass for a tax credit on my taxes next year. (Or rather, for tax year 2009, which of course I do in 2010.)

Money Saver #2: Brown-bagging my lunch

Yes I know, it’s a bit of a cliche, and I’ve talked about it before, but as long as I bring my lunch at least 3 days a week, I’m saving money. I’m actually aiming for 4 times a week, which is difficult considering all the wonderful food places in the food court in the basement of the building. There’s even an Indian take-out food restaurant! Mmm, Indian food is one of my weaknesses.

Money Saver #3: No more buying gas for my car

Taking public transit to work means I don’t have to take my car to the office, which means I don’t have to fill up the gas tank as often. When I was commuting, I was filling it up every 3 days or so, but I’ve only stopped at the gas station twice in the last 4 weeks, and didn’t even fill it up either time!

Okay, so those weren’t new or earth-shattering money savers, but it’s things that I’m doing (or not) that are helping me save money and put it where it’ll do more good: towards my debt.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.