I approach everything the same...

...When I fall off the bandwagon, I don't ever seem to jump back on.

It's been a long time since I've posted here, and I appologize for that. I feel guilty when I don't post, and yet I feel guilty writing this post as I have not been an especially frugal lady these past weeks.

I bought a laptop. Yup. Brand new Toshiba Satellite A200 - whatever that means. My old laptop has finally kicked the bucket and every time I turn it on the process takes me 5 minutes and I end up worrying that it's going to explode and take all my information with it. I have started the slow process of transferring data between the two, and when I'm done, my old laptop is going to be scrap metal and working bits for the new one.

I spent $799 on the laptop. It was at the top of my range, but for the specs I was looking at, it was a very good price. Fortunatly, because of Canada Day, Future Shop was having a sale and I did save some money - the laptop was originally prices at $1045.

That was supposed to be my largest non-frugal purchase of the week...but one can never forsee one's cell phone dying as well. So, the unfortunate thing of having to replace one's cell phone is also never a cheap venture.

My phone still works, receives calls and txt messages, rings, etc. The only problem with it is that I can't hear anything when people call me or when I call people. I have a sneaking suspicion that the ear-phone peice has been damaged by all the times that I've dropped the phone. Either way, the baby has lasted me 2.5 years and it's done me good. However, it's time to upgrate.

So I visit Rogers and talk to them about upgrading the phone. (This is where I mention that I hate rogers). I'm trying to tell this salesperson that I want to buy a new phone but that I DON'T want to resign a contract. I've only got about 6 months left on this contract and don't want to renew. I'm prepared to buy a phone at the flat rate. He nods in agreement and asks what kind of phone I want. I say the Motorola Krzr (very pretty). He tells me that it's going to cost me $200 plus a $50 mail-in-rebate. I think that that's perfectly agreeable and agree. As he's putting through the sale, I casually say "So this is without renewing the contract" and he sais something like "Yeah, you'll have the same plan." So this is the point where I realize that he has no idea what I was telling him, and so I remind him that I DON'T want to renew the contract, I still want it to end in 6 months. So then...he goes "ooooh...". And explains that he's brand new and has no idea how to cancel this transaction and if I would mind comming back tomorrow to remedy this situation. I say "no" and suggest that he call someone to fix it. (BTW, without the contract, the phone would cost me over $400). He ends up calling someone and cancelling the upgrade and I walk out. Siiiigh. I would have been more pissed had he not been so obviously new and incompetent.

So, I left with my broken phone and promptly came home and searched both Ebay and Facebook. The cheapest Krzr I could find on Ebay was about $300. Fortunatly, I found a guy selling one in Calgary for only $150! He bought it, used it for 3 weeks, put a couple scratches in it and went back to his Blackberry. So, assuming that it works properly, I will have a new phone by the end of this week and no extended contract!

Stupid phone selling people... Grrr.

Aaanyways. I went down to the Stampede yesterday as well. For those who don't know what the Stampede is, it's basically an outdoor rodeo-amusement park-cheap games-creepy people-barnyard animals extravagansa. I went down with my dad, and had a generally good time. It's expensive to be at the Stampede, let's see how much I spent. $13 to get in, $1 for a slushie, $10.75 for food for me and my dad (gotta eat at Weadickville if you go, food is cheapest there!). I didn't go on rides or play and midway, which is where most of the money gets eaten up. I did go into the casino with my dad and watched some of the people there. We ended up gambling a quarter and walking away with $98.50! which was pretty sweet. My Dad's quarter, my pull - I figure I was the lucky componant of that deal, and made away with my half - $45.00! So, for the first time ever, my dad at Stampede was profitable.

Other than that things have been going okay. I've spend the last couple weeks with my very non-frugal friend, which has resulted in some less-than-frugal evenings and days, however she did drive me to and from work for a week straight (she works down the street) which saved on an entire week or bus tickets - about $20! However, she's now in Las Vegas for a week and I find myself spending most of my evenings at home, relaxing.

The bank accounts are currently sitting at:
TD Canada Trust: $813.96
VISA: $197.93
ING Savings: $457.40
ING Emergency Fund: $112.98
AmEx: $853.29

Total + $1271.36
Total - $1051.22
Total = +$183.28

So I'm still sitting in the positives. I get paid again on the 15th, so I will wait until I get paid before paying off the AmEx (which only has one purchase - the computer) on it. I will have to take some cash out to pay for the cell phone this week, which will also take a chunk out of the finances. After that we'll see about getting some more money into the savings.

Hope you are all doing well!