Week of Money: Where I spend the week doing taxes

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up to a Little Bun snuggle.

7:41 a.m. — I log in and blog very briefly (to moderate comments) as I have to do work stuff today and I don’t want to spend the whole day basically working.

7:50 a.m. — I have to do my taxes today, as I don’t want to do it after a long day at work, so I log in and start working through them. It is handy to do them in one big shot so that I remember the numbers and can catch mistakes as I go through. Then I usually print it all out, and check it manually again, reading line by line.

8:08 a.m. — Little Bun is eying me and knows he can’t bother me, so he runs off to play with his Stuffies.

9:27 a.m. — He comes back with Love notes (he makes them for me ever so often, that is how he gets distracted).

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time. I am collecting ideas of the way I MIGHT want my home and/or cloffice (closet + office) to look. I came across this one, and I think it is the rug that draws me in the most.

1:57 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap AND I AM STILL doing taxes. Almost done, almost at the printing stage.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he bounces out of the bedroom and I am knee deep in papers.

3:40 p.m. — Finally finished, I save everything, and will print it later to go through them.

5:12 p.m. — Dinner, dishes and laundry. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery.

6:25 p.m. — I am taking a break and doing a little beading. My tray looks like this:

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed after we play with the Stuffies and have them read dramatically (taking turns) from some storybooks at night. It goes something like this:

Babiest Stuffie: “TAKE THE WRENCH!”…(played by yours truly)

Little Bun: …”said Mr. Fixit’s Toolbox, and he pried away….”

It helps Little Bun read (though it is easy for him), but it also makes it super fun to read along with Stuffies being dramatic.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up, tired. I just feel like I have a lot to do this week, personally and professionally.

6:48 a.m. — I log in and blog very quickly (mostly to update Week of Money posts or else I fall behind), and then I log in to work.

7:01 a.m. — I log off and start working, I have so many emails, documents, it is kind of crazy how many documents they want.

8:47 a.m. — I finally get a tiny break.

12:52 p.m. — Lunch time, eating in front of the computer.

1:55 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap. I am finally taking my own personal lunch break late, and reading a book.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he bounces out of the bedroom.

3:25 p.m. — Little Bun is STILL NAPPING. He never naps this long, but I guess he needed it.

3:47 p.m. — He is up!

4:30 p.m. — We do a session online together with a bunch of other children virtually. It isn’t a face-chat, it is more like a messaging area, and Little Bun feels more connected to these kids as he sees them write and fight in the chat while the session is happening.

4:57 p.m. — FINALLY OFF.

5:12 p.m. — Dinner gets started, dishes and laundry. Actually, Little Bun has his own dinner first, it is a vegetable stew (never changes, and it gives him a lot of vegetables for the day), and then he has a special dinner after that. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery as he likes to do it before he eats the second, special dinner (which is my dinner of pasta today), and he doesn’t like to leave work lying around when he is about to enjoy something. He is like me – he wants to get all the bad work out of the way first.

5:54 p.m. — I lie in bed and I read. I bought this 360 degree swivel tablet stand last year and it is perfect for reading in bed so I do not need to hold my e-reader up when I am lying down in bed. The only thing is I have to still swipe the pages, and I found this remote control that I am considering buying to turn the pages. I am not above being super lazy, but I am reading that it MAY or MAY NOT work with my Kobo e-reader. I also don’t feel like I want to take the chance, and it also isn’t rechargeable which isn’t ideal.

 

While I was reading….

8:04 p.m. — We go to bed after we are reading together (individually). I am reading a book – Brazillionaires, and this whole passage got me:

I think we all know where I am going with this. There is no friendly slavery. Period.

Also, the book does go on to point out that the poor black kid in Brazil has less chances than a poor white kid there, and it’s 100% based on colour, with most of the elite there, being white.

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? — I hear him checking to see if I am awake. I can feel the deep sleep slowly leaving my body, as I rise to consciousness, though I am desperately trying to go back to sleep.

4:46 a.m. — Too late. I am up super early because of Little Bun. He woke up early and now I am up early. At least I can do some stuff in the meantime, but I am going to need to sleep early tonight. I tell Little Bun I thought today was Friday, but apparently not. He looks at me confused, as he ALWAYS knows what day it is.

7:50 a.m. — I log off and start working.

8:34 a.m. — Little Bun makes love notes for me all week. It’s really cute. It will be hearts, or just messages like this one:

It opens up to say:

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time. I head out to quickly pick up some supplies like contact lens solution, eye drops for the next year or so, as I do not want to go out often. Might as well buy it now, and I cannot order it to be delivered as they’ve run out online. I end up using my points at the grocery store that I earned from signing up for a new money account, and get a $30 rebate. – $83.48 (after $30 off via points)

A SHORT NOTE ON PC POINTS

What people don’t understand about the points program is that it only makes sense if it is relatively easy to earn and get points. For instance, the PC points program, only returns back about 1% equivalent of points, that. can only be used at their branded stores or all Shoppers Drug Mart stores.

Also, their prices in-store are inflated to make up for this points program.

Here’s the Shoppers Drug Mart / PC Points Math:

10 points = $1.

10,000 points = $10

10,000 / 10 = $1000 to be spent to earn an equivalent $10

$10 / $1000 = 0.01

0.01 x 100 = 1%

I only use the PC points that I got via signing up online for the account, and shifting a direct deposit over to them, because it was basically near to free money (about $90 worth, after all was said and done).

I would not bother using the PC Mastercard that returns 1% back on points because you’re stuck only using those points at their store, and there are other cards out there returning more than 1% in other types of points. I personally use Rogers World Elite Mastercard and they return back 1.5% in cash, to be used ANYWHERE, not just at PC stores.

0.5% may not seem like a lot, but spend $20K on the card in a year, and that’s an extra $100 back. I guess if you’re spending $20K, an extra $100 back seems like pennies, but every dollar counts.

EXCEPTIONS

I you have PC Car insurance, and you use your PC Mastercard to pay for it, you get 20 points back for every $1 spent, which is a 2% return. So… aside from that, 1% isn’t that exciting.

Or if you use your PC Mastercard at Shoppers Drug Mart or other participating stores, you get back 15 – 30 points for every $1 (it depends on which card you have), which is a 1.5% – 3% return… so equivalent to a Rogers Elite Mastercard, but with strings attached.

Thank you for coming to my TED TALK lol….

12:47 p.m. — I also treat myself to a hot sandwich. I am waiting and waiting, and I see a couple just after me, take food and leave, which confuses me as I was the one who was waiting for a sandwich the whole time. I finally ask them where my sandwich is, and she realizes she gave a free sandwich away to another couple without checking, but the worst, IS THE COUPLE TOOK IT and did not say – “Hey this is not ours”. I mean, you KNOW if you bought something or not. I wonder if they do this trick often, waiting around and pretending they purchased items, and then taking whatever comes next for free. – $5.18

1:25 p.m. — I wash the car, running the salt, dirt and crap off of it after our huge winter snowstorm. I could do it myself at home with a bucket, soap and a sponge, but I never do. This is a task and activity I greatly dislike and do not enjoy whatsoever. I would also normally pay for people to detail my car every end of winter (or before the start), but since the pandemic hit, I have not done this; it usually costs me about $250 but they’re located in the middle of nowhere which makes it inconvenient if you don’t have anything else to do afterwards but wait for the car to be conditioned, waxed, cleaned inside, etc. $20

2:05 p.m. — Home! Oh. My meeting got cancelled. I would have stayed out a tiny bit longer, or at least not rushed like crazy had I known it would be cancelled.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he bounces out of the bedroom. I guess he didn’t need MORE sleep, having slept in yesterday and now waking up before we even have the automated heating system kick in (it starts at 5:30 a.m.).

3:27 p.m. — I play Wordle, and get it on the third try. I didn’t know it was the same word worldwide, but now I know NOT TO POST IT.

5:12 p.m. — Dinner for Little Bun then he wipes down cutlery before eating his second dinner which is MY dinner.

6:25 p.m. — I am lying down in bed, I somehow strained my upper back yesterday.

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed.

Spent: $108.66

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up pretty early. I am beat. Little Bun has been doing this strange early wakeup

4:51 a.m. — I am too tired to do anything. I just watch mindless videos while I try to get through my personal To Do List. I am printing out lots of things.

6:21 a.m. — I log in and have an early meeting. It wasn’t planned (no one plans 6 a.m. meetings here), but with different time zones, this is what it ends up being. I am not salty about it, I can understand that for them, they are logged in at odd hours too, either very early in the mornings when we are in full swing, or very late at night. It should be more equitable so I don’t begrudge 6 a.m. meetings. I also encourage them to leave at a reasonable hour to live their lives, and try to give them things they can do independently so they don’t need us.

8:08 a.m. — Meetings. Solid meetings all morning.

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time. It’s Pizza today, so Little Bun is helping make it.

1:57 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he bounces out of the bedroom.

3:40 p.m. — They’re getting rid of EyEnvy serum, due to lawsuits, as apparently a lot of fake companies have popped up. They’re wasting a ton of money fighting them as this is something close to your eye and it is damaging their name. Whatever it is, I buy 3 tubes so that they will last me through the next 3-5 years. They only go bad once you open them, or so I am told. $453.91

4:31 p.m. — I AM TOTALLY INTO THIS GAME ‘WORDLE’ AS A WORD NERD. You have to guess the 5-letter word. Every brown or light puke green square means the letter exists in the word, but it is not in the right place. Every bright green letter square, means the letter is in the right place in the word. This was my first attempt. I am not very good so far, but this was just a lucky break!

5:45 p.m. — Dinner, dishes and laundry. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery as usual, and wiping the bottoms of the bowls so that they sit on the counter and dry. Once my partner asked me why I was wiping down the bowl bottoms and I told him it is because the rest of it is dry, and then I can just put it away without having to check if it’s wet or not. Apparently he does it the other way, and then wipes it when he is about to put it away.

6:41 p.m. — I have a huge To Do list. I work through all my admin tasks like downloading documents I need to keep for tax purposes, etc.

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed after reading through some storybooks and playing on “Squishy Mountain” (my duvet) with the Stuffies.

Spent: $453.91

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up “late”, and we “slept in”…!

7:25 a.m. — I print out more things (taxes, forms, slips), and then log in to start blogging.

7:27 a.m. — Little Bun: “I don’t like waking up so late, and I don’t feel really good, because when we wake up super early, it is still dark and I don’t need to worry about my pupils!” … What he means is he likes it when it is dark and gradually lightens so that he does not have to feel his pupils contract forcefully with bright light.

7:30 a.m. — I log off and start working. I always have early meetings in the morning. Today is no exception, solid until lunch time.

8:08 a.m. — Haha.. this is cute. And how I feel for 2022.

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time. Pizza again!

1:57 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap. I am in meetings. I block myself off for my own time to do things, as I also need to get things done and not be in meetings all day.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he bounces out of the bedroom and I give him a huge hug while on a call, and muted.

4:43 p.m. — DONE FOR THE DAY!

5:00 p.m. — We log into an online group, and he is very excited to see “live” children (just names), chatting and doing things in the chat, which he loves participating in.

6:43 p.m. — Dinner, dishes and laundry. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery.

7:55 p.m. — I get another love note while I am lying in bed reading:

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

7:31 a.m. — I log in and do some quick blogging. I haven’t been doing much, as I have been preparing my taxes instead of blogging (priority #1), and I cannot put that much pressure or work on myself to work a full-time job, AND blog, AND do social media AND do personal finance things. I have to pick two out of the group, three max depending on the time required, to maintain sanity.

7:50 a.m. — I log off and start working.

8:08 a.m. — Time for a quick tea.

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time, this time it’s just rice and butternut squash with eggs. Little Bun always comes after me for my eggs and he has taken to eating the squash as well, which is odd, as he (like me), dislikes strong carrot flavours, which I think is similar to squash. Not sure why we don’t like carrots. I think I find it a bit too carrot-y. Or maybe we are just odd ducks.

1:57 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he stays in the bedroom to finish his workbook. He hasn’t been able to finish it in a timely manner because he admittedly keeps getting distracted, and has been spending a lot of time wandering around and playing in between. I keep reminding him to focus when I check in on him but he just isn’t able to for some reason. Not motivated? At any rate, I let him go at his pace because in school they would have a more structured time for each activity and he would HAVE to focus, and cannot just wander around playing with toys and things. He’s pretty good at being obedient and listening, plus focusing when everyone else has to focus (like during our online group sessions).

5:12 p.m. — Dinner, dishes and laundry. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery. I do all the big pots and let him wipe them down for me, then I put them away.

6:29 p.m. — I finally track down some large envelopes and get the taxes ready. I spend the next hour reviewing them for the correct info.

7:24 p.m. — I take a break and just lie down in bed and read. I love books like memoirs on food and chefs, so this book – Heat by Bill Buford – comes pretty highly recommended, and thus far, I am enjoying it.

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed. We are reading pages from the Ocean book. We also started a new crystal growth thing (green this time), but unfortunately, it didn’t take. The crystals never ended up forming for some reason.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I wake up before Little Bun, I sneak out and finish doing my tax envelopes and addressing. I like having them ready, then when it is ready to mail, I seal them up and off they go.

6:48 a.m. — I log in and start blogging to make up for the lost time this week. Have to get back into it. Little Bun is trying to drink milk but having the morning sneezes (you know how some people wake up every morning and sneeze like 50 times? This is him.)

7:50 a.m. — I log off and start working, someone on the project told me I had to learn how to set boundaries. I told them it was hard to turn my brain off (truth), and I even think about what to do on the weekends because whatever I take on, I REALLY TAKE IT ON.

12:22 p.m. — Lunch time. Eggs, brown rice, butternut squash.

1:17 p.m. — Down for his Quiet Time / Nap, we have been starting it a bit later, and having him up a bit earlier, but generally speaking, WE ALL GET TWO HOURS OF PEACE when he is down.

2:51 p.m. — Up from his nap, he runs out of the bedroom and tells me that he finished all of his workbook pages. I go to check them.

4:00 p.m. — We log in and join an online sessions with other kids. He loves this because he can type in the chat responses, and he really enjoys seeing other kids be silly in the chat.

5:12 p.m. — Dinner, dishes and laundry. Little Bun is wiping down cutlery.

6:25 p.m. — We talk about iPad limits and he tells me he thinks it is fair that he would only get it on the weekends, but then I think it over and realize I would rather do 1 hour a day than 3 on each weekend. I tell him we are going to set time limits for when he uses it, and after the hour is up, it is done. He agrees readily.

7:27 p.m. — I finally get the iPad back out of prison from my partner, who confiscated it for a week to teach Little Bun a lesson about education motivation and willingness, and I hand it to him to play for his hour for today.

Little Bun: *looks uncomfortable* No thank you

Me: Why? Baby, you only get one hour a day, this is it before your schooling with Daddy starts.

Little Bun: But … But Mommy, it’s already night time. It is 19:00 … I thought I wasn’t allowed it at night?

Me: OH YEAH

*totally forgot my own 19:00 rule, basically once it is 19:00 you cannot have it*

He is so incredibly self-disciplined and able to handle his own regulation and rules, that I am so proud and pleased.

8:54 p.m. — Bedtime routine, and then we go to bed.

Spent: $0

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.