February was a good month :)

I said before that we know just how fortunate we are to have friends who were willing to help us. We're so very lucky.

We made it through Christmas - it was hard and I wasn't sure how we'd do it, but we did. We spent about $1300 on gifts which, for us, was on the low side, but apparently it's more than the average Canadian family spends. Go figure.

We had a good month this month. I worked quite a bit of overtime at double time, so I took home about $800 extra, plus I got a $1300 bonus.

• Our rent is paid for the month, but we are three weeks behind. Our landlord doesn't mind, and he always says that we are such good tenants. I really want to catch up, though. I should be able to do that in May.
• We do have one payday loan, and we pay about $120 in interest each month. I'm counting on April to get rid of that.
• Our hydro is up-to-date
• Our gas is behind, but in March we should be caught up
• Our car is up-to-date
• Our insurance is up-to-date
• Our furniture loan is up-to-date and paid off in only four months!!
  
• We have had gas in the car and groceries in the cupboards
• I started my e-fund again. It had been depleted and, although I'm only putting in 1% of my net pay, it's a small start.
• I bought new contacts and paid for them in full
• We got an oil change and took and passed our emissions test
• We paid a parking ticket and paid for our car renewal
  

I am contributing very little to savings right now, however. I am putting $15 biweekly into RRSP, and I just signed up for the employee share program at 4% of my net pay (about $50 biweekly). My company will contribute 25% of my contributions in year one, 33% in year two, and 50% thereafter. My plan will be to convert the shares to RRSP each year.

M is back to work, too, and although she doesn't contribute to RRSP yet, she just signed up for the employee share program at 2% of her net pay, so about $18 biweekly.

Oh, I also opened savings bonds. I have $50 biweekly for me, and $25 biweekly for each of the kids. The kids' can be used toward education and back-to-school time. Ours can be for Christmas next year, or for emergencies if needed. The money collects interest immediately and can be withdrawn without penalty at any time. I have over $400 in there right now, just in case.

My plan for the near future:

1. Ensure rent is paid before the first of the month
2. Get rid of that last payday loan
3. Pay off the furniture loan
4. Increase e-fund
5. Get M contributing to RRSP
6. Get the dog vaccinated and fixed

I'll be back. :)

After typing all of this out, I realize that perhaps February wasn't as productive as I had thought, but at least it felt better. I never wondered where we would get our next tank of gas or our next meal.