Phone/Internet/TV Services

Source: shaw.ca

So, I know this is a long post - but we really need help deciding what to do....all comments are much appreciated :)



Jordan and I spent an approximate combined three hours on the phone this past Saturday morning with Shaw, Bell and Telus.



We did a detailed review of our current services and then price matched with Bell and Telus followed by another call to Shaw (our current service provider) to see if we could push for any price changes on our bill.



It's a game. a very competitive one at that - and these providers know it.  They no longer are going to just drop the price, or give you a promo rate just because you ask for it - you have to know your stuff when you call in to force their hand.



....and, you have to be patient.



A part of our conversation was also a review of the need for a home phone.  Jordan and I each have a cell and we still have a home phone.  Crazy...who needs three phones, plus we each have phones at our respective offices.  I'm considering canceling my cell phone and keeping the house phone for more significant savings - really...I don't need to be checking my email when I'm grocery shopping or making a twitter update when I'm mowing the lawn.  Jordan uses his phone for work - so we're a bit more limited with cancelling his.



Here is a detailed break down of the numbers and special offers:

Overall, Telus offers the most competitive long term pricing.   You can see from my notes that Shaw is offering a six month discount, and Bell a 12 month discount - but long term, Telus beats them both. 

Bell would come with a two year contract and Telus with three years - pretty significant commitments when Shaw offers no-contract service.  They do try to sweeten the pot with the aforementioned temporary  discounts and with Telus - a $300 pre-paid Visa.

So here's where we need help.

Jordan is sold on Telus - not only is it the best pricing, we would also be able to get fiber optic services - the latest and greatest - beyond standard cable and satellite...so they say.  

I am apprehensive about the contract.  The wording in the cancellation clauses are pretty serious - basically they could bill you for any promo's you received in addition to discounts on rental receivers ect. (so that includes that $300 pre-paid visa).    They also can bill you for downgrading services - so you have to be sure when you sign up that the services will meet your needs.  So cancelling - would not be an option.

The flexibility to cancel all services should our financial circumstances ever change is pretty important to me (say a maternity leave sometime in the future for example).  However, I'm pretty sure that we would never cancel the internet...so I'm torn.

The $300 pre-paid visa would go towards our back yard fund to help pay for that project.  The 2013 savings of $742.20 would also go towards the back yard fund.

So...what do you think?  what would you do?

Utilities - 4 Year Trend

As long as I've been tracking our daily spending, I've been tracking our expenditures on utilities longer.  This late in the game, I wish I had a break down on gas, water, electricity, power, sewer, ect - but this includes it all.

Total Breakdown

Having this much data gives me a huge advantage when setting up our annual budgets.  I know, within a small margin, how much our bills will be each month.  Given that the annual monthly average was $235 last year with the smallest bill being $149 and the largest $333 - it's very helpful to know how much to budget for.

Net Worth: January, 2013

It's been quite a long time since I posted on our Networth - so I thought I would do a bit of an update.  I don't think it's worth doing on a monthly or more frequent basis because quite frankly, our finances don't change that frequently - but I think ever six months could be a bit interesting.

Yay!  It's in the positive!

p  dot s

Did you notice?

Did you?

Our credit card is 100% paid off!!! 

This Christmas

This Christmas was hard.



It was the first without my dad.  It was also the first without my brother (he's moved to Winnipeg).  It was Jordan's first without his mom and his brother (they were on a trip together).



I tried to stay upbeat and positive, mostly I faked it until I could make it.  I think for the most part people believed that I was in good spirits, and that put me in a better mood then I would have been otherwise.



I had a lot of lists.. I always do, but this year it felt a bit more mechanical.  That helped get through I think...task lists...accomplishing things.



To distract myself, I made a lot of Christmas gifts this year.  We also spent a lot - but instead of telling you how much we spent (I don't 100% know just yet... haven't added up all the receipts), I would like to share with you some photo's of my creations...

Homemade Chocolates

Hand Painted Christmas Bear

Home Made Spice Blends

Stocking Stuffer for Jordan

Scarf for Jordan's Cousin

Scarf for my Mom

Scarf for My Cousin 

Three Year Spend Trend

It’s hard to believe we’ve been tracking our spending for the last two and a half years…when I started that project, I really didn’t know how long it would go on for – turns out, it’s been an invaluable tool.

Here is a look at our spending history for the last few years:

Something key to note with both Annual Expenses and Emergencies – I am really bad at tracking those things. Typically what happens is the rest of spending (like eating out and gas w/ regards to emergencies and vehicle maintenance w/ regards to Annual) just goes up.

Be that as it may, there’s still some interesting data here.

A couple of downward spending trends that I’m happy about include gas, pets, and banking. Carpooling is working – and we stopped buying more toys then the dogs actually need. Our interest costs have gone down – but I am truly looking forward to seeing a much smaller number here next year. Like $0.

Notable upward trends include groceries, entertainment, and home maintenance. My aunt suggested that perhaps we aren’t just eating more but it could be that the cost of groceries has just gone up over the last three years – something to think about. I don’t know if entertainment has actually gone up, or again, I’ve just gotten better at tracking that. This includes things like our Netflix subscription and any fights that Jordan has rented/watched with friends at the house. Home maintenance is a biggy – we moved last year, and bought a lot of ‘things’ for the house. What is not tracked well is the amount of $ gifts which helped us make some significant purchases this year.

Does anyone have a tip on how to track spending that is unusual but was gifted?

Some up/and/down trends include alcohol, and vehicle maintenance. We tend to buy a lot of booze. That’s true. We do a lot of socializing at the house and like to have a well-stocked bar. I also probably accidently included some Christmas gifts in the Alcohol spending. Vehicle Maintenance has changed as our vehicles have changed – I expect that this will continue to fluctuate.

We’ve remained pretty consistent in our spending on medical, clothes/shoes/hair, and education. I actually think that we need to spend a bit more on clothes – I work in a professional environment and feel a bit raggedy-ann sometimes. We also need to make sure that Jordan always has proper footware for work too.

So those are the trends…here are the goals:

1. Track Annual/Emergency Expenses better 


2. Monitor Grocery budget by trying to eliminate food waste


3. Track Gift Alcohol vs Consumption Alcohol better

There will probably be  more, but that's what I have for now.

One-on-One with Senator Ted Cruz

Last week on "The Kudlow Report", I asked Republican Senator Ted Cruz if he'd go with a government shutdown if it came to it on the debt-ceiling debate.  His answer: "I think we have to be prepared to go so far as to shut the government down -- if we don't get some serious policies to stop the out-of-control spending, to tackle the debt, and to get economic growth."

It was a bold statement.  Watch the full video here:

BMO Sega....

Today, I hate the Bank of Montreal.



All I wanted to do was change the payment frequency of my auto loan...shouldn't have been a big deal. They messed it up so bad the first time that my mortgage payment bounced. thanks.



Then...then..after it was 'fixed', I found out that it actually wasn't.



As it turns out the payments we had made weren't a change to the old frequency. They had just put the old payments on hold and created new principal payments.



Seriously.



So when I called yesterday b/c Friday's payment hadn't gone through I was told that while I had made $200 in principal payments, my account was in arrears by nearly $400.



Thanks.



Plus today's $100.

Awesome.



So, I had to come up with a whopper of a payment that we weren't expecting or planning to avoid the account being sent to collections or some such thing.



We didn't even get a phone call.

And it was THEIR mistake.



Hate them.