Finance

Yesterday's post got me thinking a bit more about my finance. I told you I know where my money goes, but I didn't tell you how I know. It might be silly to tell you, because I think those who really read already know this. But here goes nothing. I have always kept some kind of record of my financial situation. When I had my dog, I had to sometimes go to the vet and ask if I could pay later because at the time I did not have enough money. I tried to avoid these situations by having at least 5 euros cash so I would have money to eat. This meant that if I had to use all the money from my bank account, I still had money to eat. And no, it was not weird! I was a student, so I had to come by with very little. Well honestly I was not yet a proper student as I was just studying languages for a year before I got to a real school. 

I had to work and pay the school to study. I also gave money to my mother and sister as I was the only one that worked  (from the three of us). My mother was studying to become a nurse and my sister was in University. We are going off rail here, so lets just skip to the end by saying that I have many years of experience of getting by with little money. 

So now I am planning on traveling back to Pensacola, to Las Vegas, Los Angeles/San Francisco, Vancouver, etc. All these plans take money. So instead of buying all at once and then have no money to spent there, I am already budgeting some of the expenses for these months leading to the trips. I might not be able to do everything I plan, but at least some of them. So basically what I am saying, is that I am doing this miracle thing called saving up. Little bit more, and I have saved up for one air fare to either Pensacola or to round trip between Las Vegas, Vancouver and Toronto or Los Angeles/San Fransisco, Vancouver and Toronto. 

I am doing the saving up in my Canadian account, so that I will have money to pay the rent whilst I pay my air fares with my credit card. So my income will go towards paying the credit card loan away. I do have some saved up in my Finnish account as well, but that is saved up towards the credit card as well. Some things can only be bought with credit card (air fares usually) thus I have to save up for them. I like to keep my credit card full, as that will be my backup if I ran out of cash. Also I prefer paying with it when travelling.

Luckily I know what expenses I will have every month, as my rent includes everything. Also my phone and internet is prepaid with unlimited calls within Canada. So I know how much money I need for each month here plus I know how much insurance fees I have in Finland as they are automated and have been so for years. This gives me the clear idea of how much money I have to spent each month. From the amount that is left (it varies month to month, depending on how much insurance fees I have to pay) I try to save half. When I have school, it is easy to save as I don't have the time to go anywhere. Now that I don't have school, it takes more effort not to buy something.