starchyk

Thank you for the encouragement!

I did it! Just transferred the money and I now officially have 3 months expenses in my emergency account. I chose 3 months because that’s the waiting period for LTD if I became unable to work. I have very stable employment (federal government employee in Canada) so its extremely unlikely that I would lose my job without a ton of notice, and I would have priority in hiring for other federal jobs in that case. I have healthcare, and I don’t have a house, car or kids, so that eliminates a lot of possibly pricey emergencies. That said the overachiever in me wants 6 months just to check the personal finance advice box, so I have a plan in place to build it up to 6 months by the end of 2021. My retirement is already well planned for - I have a defined benefit pension plan through my work that is mandatory so I am already paying about 12% of my income to. I suppose I could start putting another 3% into a private account, but I think I will prioritize buying a home first. I have about $32k saved for a down payment, but real estate is crazy where I live. Prices are dropping a bit but it’s still $500k plus for anything even close to liveable. So that is my next focus.

I am so sorry you won’t get to see your brother this Christmas, Delilah. This situation is really tough. the Airbnb was a budget killer- plus plane tickets... it has occurred to me that my BF and I could spend a week at a nice all inclusive instead, but damn I miss my family. Also, given the current situation, we can’t. I am glad to have $ in my travel sinking fund but it is sad to see the balance of that account go from “ready to book my big trip to Peru” to “I guess Peru is next year.” But again, given everything I can’t book that trip now anyway. So the trip to see my family is booked, just waiting on official permission to visit from the provincial health authorities, but that should come through soon. It’s absolutely nuts to have to make an application to visit my family when we are all in Canada, but PEI has been able to keep community spread from catching on. October has been a good month. My EF saving is above $8,000 now, going to meet my goal of $8750 (3 months) in November! And I have a plan to get to 6 months by the end of 2021, while continuing to save for travel and a down payment.

September was a good month, even though I spent a bit on new furniture and still haven’t gotten my desk, or the reimbursement for it. I need to get the desk and send my boss a picture before I can be reimbursed, and it was ordered (and paid for) in August but it’s shipping internationally and still hasn’t arrived! But wow, it feels good to just be able to buy the thing with savings and not even have to worry about floating it on a card while I wait for reimbursement! In happier news, it was 3 pay month in Sept, and I’ve got over $7k in my EF now! I was actually just shy of that milestone when I did my budget, so I went back and moved $10 from my clothing budget to my EF. I don’t really need much in the way of clothes right now anyway. I want some leggings and cozy sweaters, but I don’t need anything. I find I spend a lot less on clothes now that I don’t go to the office! I am glad that I have been putting $ away for travel. I have started planning to visit my family for Christmas and it’s looking like there will still be a 14 day isolation period to visit Atlantic Canada. So that’s going to be a pricy Airbnb. I can’t isolate at my parent’s place because they would need to isolate too and they work, plus we would likely kill each other. Again, I am so grateful to have savings so I can just pay for it.

Thank you all for the encouragement! September is a three pay month, and I just did the budget for tomorrow’s cheque- I will have two months in my EF once I make tomorrow’s savings transfers! And even though I bought a desk (being reimbursed by work, but no idea how long that will take, so it’s budgeted!) I will still have over 10K Total in my savings accounts!

I haven’t been as intense as I should be on BS3... I have been here for over a year and still don’t have a full FFEF. Lots of reasons, but I AM saving, and I am never going back into debt! My FFEF goal is 17,500, which would be 6 months of bare bones expenses. I want to reach 3 months, or 8,750 by the end of this year. However, I hit a milestone this week: I have just over $5000 in my EF savings account! Whoo-hoo! And looking at my budget I have a total of over $10,000 in my “short term” savings category (which is my EF plus my sinking funds - travel, gifts/Christmas, and big purchases.) realizing that in a true emergency I could draw on the sinking funds to get by gives me such a feeling of security! I also have an investment account for down payment savings that could in a worst case scenario be liquidated- it’s just over $11k right now! So I guess I actually do have 6+months available to me, even if I haven’t named it my EF. I do still plan to build up the FFEF account to $17,500, because I know I need $ named just for emergencies, but realizing I have lots of options Even while I am getting there gives me a ton of peace.

If you are staying downtown, or near to a subway stop, I would reconsider the rental car. Driving in Toronto is awful - too congested and too many aggresive drivers. Pretty much everything to see as a tourist is downtown, and easily accessed by foot, or TTC. And in the downtown area, it's often faster to walk than drive short distances, or grab a bixi (bike share). I'm in Toronto, send me a pm if you want some suggestions of stuff to see and places to eat.