 |
|
 |
When we arrived in Mexico it was late, we were hungry, and none of the restaurants were open, nor where there any front desk managers avaialbe.
So we all checked in and got ourselves sorted and just kind of “made do”. But when I woke up the next day I was not a happy camper. Because we are having a wedding in the resort we’ve helped to bring in more than 20 room reservations for our guests, and we have a hefty tab to cover for our reception…so why were we in this dark little room.
I woke up at 730 the next day enraged at the situtation…and quickly tried to figure out all our upgrade options and where we could move to and how much extra it would be. When I talked to the reception desk folks they were totally indifferent to my requests to get upgraded without paying since I’d help to bring in so much business.
So, our option was to upgrade our room, pay the difference and cut back the amount extra we had to pay on our room from our reception tab. It doesn’t make sense to give a resort more money when they don’t consider how much business we’re bringing in.
Happy with our solution to keep on budget, but just move up to a bigger and more expensive master suite, we packed once again and moved on. And when we got to our new suite it was wonderful!
For me it was really important to have a nice big place where people would want to come visit us, and also a place where family can gather and relax where young parents don’t have to be so on guard with their children wondering off, and in case you just want to have a relaxing time with friends and family and gather and relax together, without the million other distractions an all inclusive offers.
It really is true, room upgrades are always worth it!
|
|
|
In just under two weeks we’re getting married in Mexico. Eeeeks! Two Weeks!
We’ve got some solid plans laid out, but it’s true, destination weddings are not really for control freaks.
We had to book the wedding package we were interested in at the resort, and select a few other things like the menu and time of our reception…but otherwise it’s a total game time decision!
- We won’t know which restaurant or hotel area we’ll have our reception in until we get to tour the resort.
- We won’t know what the food is going to taste like, or even if we made good choices until we have our party…or if we are extremely lucky we will be allowed to sample some food a few days earlier.
- We aren’t sure if the dj can play our songs or accomodate our requests until we meet him on our wedding night.
But the funny thing out of all of this is that my fiance and I really like to have control of pretty much everything. Or at least he does. I tend to go from one extreme or the other…make me the captain or the servant, but god forbid I have to discuss every detail with many different people to get their approval and spend forever going back and forth. That makes me bananas! Either tell me what to do, and exactly how to do it…or let me do it my way.
So, some funny things have happened because of this. I have spent most of my wedding planning time labouring over things like colour combinations, or how I would like the print work to look like, while my fiance has spent his time emailing friends and family and reconnecting with all the guests, and continously colour coding the rsvp list.
I guess we’ve just transferred our desire to know exactly what is going on and how we want everything to work into other things…and so far it’s been okay! I guess if our guests have cold soup and terrible music we can feel some sort of satisfaction knowing that the colour pallette is pretty and we are up to date on eveyone’s business!
|
|
|
For all the budget babes out there a few simple tricks to help you live like a diva on a dime. You don’t have to become a shut-in, eat budget food only, or stop seeing your friends. You just have to make a few simple changes that let you keep more money in your pocket while also socializing, having fun and enjoying the good life.
Here are a few simple things you can do to live like a queen when you have a tight budget:
Go Out Later. If your friends are going out for a night on the town at 7 you can meet them at 9 instead. You’ll have saved two hours of cocktails which could easily save you $50…plus you’ll feel better the next day with a few fewer glasses of bubbly in your system.
Meet Your Friends For Desert Instead of Dinner. When your friends are going to a fancy dinner at that super chic new restaurant and you really want to see it you don’t have to miss out altogether. Tell your friends that you aren’t able to meet them for dinner (you don’t need to say you can’t afford it if you don’t want) but you’d love to meet them for desert.
Cook Gifts For People. Is that $25 pricetag for thank you flowers to your friend that did you a favour a bit tough to swallow? Make them some super cute cupcakes or their favourite cookies! You will save a bundle, and you get to do some creative expression with your cupcake decorating.
Double Check Your Receipts. This may sound a little stingy, but do you think the huge corporation that you buy your groceries at deserves the $5.00 they overcharged you more than you do? If you check your bills every time you’ll be amazed how much extra you are paying – so get that money back and put it to better use!
Do Your Research. Before you buy something that costs more than $100 check online to see if you can buy it at a factory outlet or a website for less. Why pay more when you get the same quality goods that you do in the store?
Find The Best Time To Make A Purchase. Lots of companies have regular sales, or days of the week that things go on sale. If you are thinking of taking a trip you may be able to save money if you buy it online after midnight in the middle of the week. Lots of other industries have similar best times to buy, so ask when the lowest prices become available and save yourself a bundle!
Photo Credit: Wisconsin Dells Attractions
|
|
|
Like many engaged women I will shortly be leaving my apartment to move in with my fiancé. The whole thing is very exciting, but even better because the recent sale of my condo turned out to be a big win.
I bought my condo in 2007, and it was a major achievement for me. It was a dream that I’d had in my back pocket for so long, but it just seemed so hard to scrape together a down payment, and then the monthly payments that seemed to last forever were also extremely intimidating.
But, despite it all, my dream came true. In August 2007 I bought my first place.
the messy kitchen that I bought
the messy sleeping area pre-renovation
When I bought it I looked at it like an investment, a necessary step to get me to the next place in my investment goals. I planned on living in my place for 2.5 or 3 years, and then I would sell it – and hopefully make a big, fat profit – or I would rent it out while it continued to increase in value.
making improvements to the apt
Two and a half years later I decided I would list it, and prey for the best.
So, in the beginning of December I put my place on the market. While the real estate market may be suffering in most of North America, things are not so bad in Toronto. Actually they are pretty good. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss out this opportunity to make money off the sale of my apartment. What if things fell sharply in the Spring? What if the new buildings in my neighbourhood – set for construction to be completed in Spring 2010 – were more appealing than my 3 year old condo? What if the economy slipped into more of a recession and nobody was buying?
I didn’t feel comfortable with waiting it out until the Spring market, so I listed it.
Thank my lucky stars it sold in one week!!!
At the end of January I will be closing the sale of my condo and moving into my fiancé’s place.
And, I have to say, buying my condo was THE BEST INVESTMENT I’ve ever made.
I made 275% return on my initial investment!
I think I might just try this again…
|
|
|
Today is Christmas Day. For some people this is a big day, with lots of rituals to follow and special things happening.
Whatever you may do this day, I hope you have a good one.
Merry Christmas!
|
|
|
Have you been a good girl this year? Will Santa reward you?
I hope Santa rewards me with a few glasses of wine and great company.
Happy Christmas Eve everyone!
|
|
|
Today’s post is a guest post from my friend Heena. Heena is a Toronto lawyer who was “restructured” earlier in 2009.
Enjoy! Ingrid
—-
When Donald Trump utters the words “Your Fired”, it makes for must-see t.v., but when your boss says, “We no longer require your services”, it’s a whole different ball game. This is exactly the situation I found myself in five months ago. I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming and the whole scenario seemed a bit surreal as I sat there, with a VP, HR and outplacement services. Once I peeled myself off the floor, consulted my lawyer and negotiated a severance package I was left with the daunting task of reconciling my feelings of hurt and anger over the loss of my job.
To put things in perspective, you probably need to know a bit about me. At age 34, I’m a successful professional woman with a condo in a swish area of Toronto, with a mortgage, student loans and other financial responsibilities of the typical 30 something set. I live a pretty good life, I like to vacation, eat out, shop and go for cocktails. Not quite the ‘Sex in the City’ life but certainly a watered down version. So being the sole income earner in a family of one, was going to throw this ‘girl about town’s’ life on its ear.
The first step was to deal with the anger. I needed to vent and vent I did. Confiding in my close knit circle of friends, I cursed, yelled and cried, until I was emotionally spent. Then I stepped back and looked at this situation for what it really was, an opportunity. As my friends reminded me, I had not been happy at my job for quite a while but had remained there out of complacency. I had been half-heartedly looking for other jobs, but I had become trapped in the comfort of familiarity and a steady paycheck. Not to mention the recent global economic melt-down had me nervous about making any risky moves.
So here I was, not of my own free-will but forced to face my career dissatisfaction head on. I let go of any feelings of inadequacy and blame and prepared a plan for moving forward. With the help of a career counselor I took stock of all of the things I didn’t like about my previous jobs, identified my key strengths and weaknesses and made a list of my interests. From there, I narrowed down my career options to four different paths and assessed their suitability by comparing pros and cons.
Once I decided on the top two options, I started doing some research and tapped into my network to see if anyone I knew was doing those jobs currently and met with them to do a bit of informational interviewing. I also met with everyone I knew to let them know that I was looking and told them exactly what I was interested in. Through networking and conventional means of job searching, I have had 7 interviews and am confident that I will land something very soon.
Being out of work is a very stressful time and it can often be difficult to remain motivated and positive. My experience has been not to fake it. If you’re having a bad day, give in to the bad day. Here are a few tips to make it through the rough patches:
- Treat yourself – “food is love”- sometimes it’s ok to indulge in that burger or piece of chocolate.
- Don’t feel guilty for not spending 24/7 in front of the computer searching for jobs – go for a walk or window shop to get some fresh air
- Stay connected with friends and family – you may have to be more frugal about spending money but that doesn’t mean you can’t go out for coffee or invite people over for a glass of wine.
- Get into an exercise routine and make sure you eat well most of the time – this will energize you and keep you in a positive head space.
- Pick up old hobbies or start a new one
- Organize your day so that you are doing a variety of activities – get started on small projects you’ve been meaning to get to but just haven’t had the time
- Ask for help – if you don’t have anyone to talk to and the stress is getting the better of you, speak with your doctor or get a counselor. We all need help sometimes and it is not a weakness to ask for it. Losing a job is right up there on the stress scale with divorce and death.
Remember, losing your job is not the end of the world. If you take this time to figure out what you really want out of life, chances are, you will end up in a much better place than where you began.
Heena
|
|
|
Since we’ve decided to have a destination wedding there are heaps and piles of details that need to be figured out.
Are we going to have an event each night for our guests?
Are we planning daily activities like boat trips, and snorkelling and cultural excursions?
Is there a theme?
How will the wedding day work?
Yup, there are many, many questions coming our way. And just about everytime we get one of those questions the answer is “We don’t know”. And we really don’t know.
But one of the cool things about not knowing what you’re going to do on our wedding day is that all your options are open.
You can look at crazy fancy decorations. Or tiny little seating cards. Or simple and sleek flower arrangements.
You can look at pretty much anything.
So until we have a budget figured out, the world truly is our oyster.
Photo Credit: Wedding Chicks
|
|
|
It’s official…the weather is getting cooler, the evenings are shorter, and it is time to start saving.
After having fun all summer long and living a carefree existence it is time to buckle down and save up. First step – set up an appointment with a banker and come up with a plan for RRSP savings.
Having been a student for so long I have always been able to use my tuition to provide me with a substantial tax return. Now, the tuition credits have all been used up and I need alternative ways to getting a good tax return and saving my money.
I love saving money and watching it grow. I find it so rewarding and I feel like I’m making some very good choices in my life.
Onwards and upwards!
|
|
|
I’m a big believer in having life goals, and working towards those goals with solid plans. But one of the funny things about achieving a dream life, is that it takes a lot of work and determination to get there. For me, buying my first condo in 2007 was a dream come true.
I bought my condo at a bit of a turbulent time in my life. I’d recently broken up with my long term boyfriend and it was a less than perfect ending, I was pulling crazy hours with a full time job and endless nights at university finishing my master’s thesis, and I was in a long distance rebound relationship. Needless to say there was a lot going on in my life, but I stayed on track so I could get that much closer to my dream life.
When I bought my place I felt so accomplished. I’d dreamed of getting into the real estate market for so long, and scrimped and suffered to save up for my down payment. It was something that I had wanted to do for years, but my long term relationship was holding me back from doing this. While I sacrificed to save up to buy a place, without a supportive partner when you are in a relationship it’s almost impossible to make your dreams a reality.
So when things ended I moved into a different phase in my life where I didn’t have to compromise my goals anymore.
Finally I was able to buy my first place. I was filled with pride that I’d been able to succeed in one of my long term dreams…and best of all, it made me realize that I am able to achieve my dream life. Not only did I feel so proud for getting my first place, but it made me realize that relationships should bring out our better selves and make us closer to achieving our dreams.
After I bought my place I was done with spending time in relationships that held me back, or didn’t enhance my life.
And that’s one of the little changes in my life that has made a huge difference overall.
