Throw A Great Baby Shower On A Budget!

A guide to planning and throwing a great baby shower on a budget. The specific examples for this article relate to a baby shower, but the principles can be applied to any party. I'll show you that even though it's a budget party, it won't be a budget experience.

Are you planning a party? A couple of weeks ago I co-hosted a baby shower for a good friend of mine. I don't like spending more money than I have to, so I came up with some great ways to save when planning the party. I thought I would share my tips with you and hopefully you'll be able to save some money on your next party.

Setting A Budget

Most people think that you need to start with a theme, date or guest list when planning a party. That's fine if you want to spend a lot of money. I think the first thing you need to do is set a budget. Once you have a budget you'll know what kind of theme you can afford, the number of guests you can allow, and even the date you throw the party (if you're renting a place to hold the party, it might be cheaper to hold it on a certain day). 

It can be difficult to decide how much you're going to spend overall. I suggest you make a list of all the categories you're going to be spending money in. 

For the baby shower these were the categories in my budget:

• Food
• Drinks
• Decorations
• Prizes
• Gift

Now those are just ones I used specific to a baby shower, but they could apply to any party. The next thing I did was give each category an amount I would spend in it. I guessed how many guests would be attending and figured how much I would spend on each one. That worked well for food, drinks, and prizes. I found it much easier to decide how much I would spend on one thing rather than the whole. It's also easier to look objectively at how much you're spending. If you decide you're going to spend $100 on prizes and $100 on food, that says a lot about your priorities. You might want to split it equally or spend more on the one than the other. Splitting the money up means that you can decide how you want to spend it.

Sticking To It!

One of the hardest things with throwing a party is sticking to the budget you set. I had the hardest time seeing these really cute baby-themed decorations not to buy them. But if you want to stay on budget you have to keep track of where you are. If your budget allows you to purchase everything you see then do it, if it doesn't then don't. Very simple.

I always try and leave a little extra room in my budgets for parties because I find it is very easy to go overboard. By leaving a little extra room it is easier not to go over budget. When I was planning my wedding I added 10% to every category. I would recommend doing the same for your party. Don't forget there is always taxes and tips. Better to have too much money than too little. Plus I don't think anyone has ever complained about ending up under budget.

Buy Early

If you know you're going to be throwing a party in a few months, why not start buying supplies right away? Spending $20 a month for 5 months instead of $100 in one month is a lot easier on the budget. There is one caveat to shopping early and that is you have to be careful about tracking your expenses. If you shop too early and don't, you'll forget how much you've spent and most likely go overboard. So I would say shop early, but don't forget to track your expenses.

Shopping early means you can also look out for sales. When I knew I was throwing a baby shower I started looking for prizes very early. I had months to watch sales at stores and as a result I spend about 50% less on prizes than if I had shopped right before the party.

Get Help

A great way to cut costs when planning a party is to split the bill with someone else. You can do this by making it a potluck. If everyone brings some food then you don't have to buy as much or make it. They'll also take their dishes home with them and cut down on the dishes you have to do later. It's a win-win situation. 

Another option is to get someone to co-host with you. For the baby shower I had another friend co-host with me. We split the games, food and decorations. This not only cut my expenses in half, it also split the workload in half. Not all guests will help you set up or clean up but a good co-host should.

Some Other Odd Tips

• If you want to save money on invitations, use e-invitations rather than paper ones. It will save you the cost of paper and the postage.
• Don't buy ready-made food. Instead of buying a vegetable or fruit platter, cut your own up. It might be a little extra work, but save the money there and spend it elsewhere. 
• Re-use your decorations. If you buy decorations that are theme-neutral then you can reuse them for other parties. Instead of buying baby-themed stuff, I bought things that were either yellow or green. I can now reuse them for another party and save some money then.

It Will Be A Great Party

Not everyone has the money to throw lavish parties, but that doesn't mean you can't throw an amazing party on a budget. The key is just to know your limits and play within them as the saying goes. If you only have $10 to spend, you figure out the best way to get the most fun from that $10. If it means just buying a bottle of wine and inviting a couple of friends over, that's fine. There is no point in spending money you don't have to entertain others. If you plan well, no one will know how much you spent, only how much fun they had.

Pet Insurance: How Much Are Our Furry Friends Worth?

An in-depth look at the cost of pet insurance in Canada and the value offered. Is it really worth getting or can you live without it?

Sorry that's its been so long since I've posted anything. I just started a new job that is taking up a lot of my time. I also pride myself on writing only well-researched and thought-out articles, meaning it takes me a while to write them. If you ever have any requests let me know and I will do my best! The topic of this post was something a couple of people have mentioned to me - pet insurance. They wanted to know how much it costs and whether it is really worth it or not.

Pet Insurance: Where To Start

To start off with, insurance is just that - protection from accidents, not coverage of your pet's day-to-day expenses. Additionally, expected costs such as shots, checkups, neutering, among many other expenses, are paid out-of-pocket simply to qualify for insurance.

With that out of the way, pet insurance normally seems to be limited to either dogs or cats. Birds, rabbits, muskrats, and baby elephants need not apply. For animals such as horses there are certainly ways to get insurance for them, however for the scope of this post we'll just focus on regular household pets that qualify for regular pet insurance - dogs and cats.

Cats are generally cheaper to insure than dogs. Dogs, evidently, are more worthwhile, at least in the eyes of the insurance industry. I'm not sure the exact rational behind this - perhaps typically dogs are more prone to illnesses than cats, a little like how women drivers are cheaper to insure than men. Which is not to say men are dogs. Well, some aren't anyway.

All the companies I researched had several plans to choose from so you could decide the coverage you want and the price you're willing to pay. Most plans for cats range from $10 a month to $50 a month. For dogs the plans range from $10 a month to $110. Most of these plans are very similar to each other so that brings up the question: which plan is right for me? The thing you need to consider when shopping around for pet insurance is that you're thinking long-term. Pre-existing conditions won't be covered under a new plan so it's a better idea to start your coverage from a young age. Also, as pets get older it is harder to insure them. If you buy into a package when they're a puppy or kitten your coverage won't change. 


Methodology

For this post I chose to look at the four major pet insurance companies in Canada: PC Pet Insurance, PetSecure, Pet Care, and Trupanion. I looked at what plans they have, the coverage they offer and the associated costs.

When getting the quotes I include in this post I used a 3 year old male Irish terrier named Connor as my sample dog. In fact, Connor does exist and was at one time this young. And in truth, given his behaviour, he still may be, despite the calendar indicating he's 12. My sample cat was my 5 year old male of unknown breed named Hershey. Both live in Kitchener. The premiums listed are monthly amounts.

PC Pet Insurance

PC offers four different plans for both cats and dogs: accident; value; choice; and ultra. The accident is the base plan offered and covers accidents only to a maximum of $1500 per year. The value plan covers $1500 per illness per year and $1500 per accident per year. The choice plans also covers accidents and illnesses but up to $2500 per accident/ illness per year. The same goes for the ultra plan which covers up to $5000 per accident/illness per year. Below is a break down of the costs for these plans.

Type	Accident	Value	Choice	Ultra
Dog	10.95	23.21	38.01	47.54
Cat	9.95	18.20	26.88	34.57

*If you collect PC points you'll earn more by signing up for insurance coverage with them

Regardless of which plan you choose all of these plans come with the same "free extras". They are:

• $100 towards the cost of cremation or burial through loss of life to a covered accident/ illness. 
• Emergency kennel fess if your pet is hospitalized more than 2 days, $25 a day, up to a maximum of $500. 
• Up to $1000 towards cancelled accomodation and travel expenses due to a pet's illness/ accident. 
• $300 towards advertising and reward for a missing pet.

Reading through the fine print for these plans I learned some interesting things. First of all, while premiums do not increase as your pet ages, the deductible for an illness claim does. For dogs it starts at $100 then goes up to a maximum of $500 for dogs over 10. For cats it also starts at $100 but only reaches a maximum of $250 for cats over 10. Dog owners, evidently, are used to their animals being more of a pain. All accidents have a $100 deductible. Also there is no specific description of what illnesses are covered. Essentially it seems as though your pet has to be diagnosed and then you find out if you're covered. This seems to be a fairly major flaw in most of the plans covered here. A big FYI here is that genetic problems associated with a particular breed are rarely covered.

Petsecure

Like PC, Petsecure offers 4 different plans for both cats and dogs: Secure 1, 2 , 3, and 4. Secure 1 covers $1000 per illness and accident per year, as well as $200 towards dental coverage per year. The Secure 2 gives $2500 per illness and accident per year and $300 of dental coverage a year. The Secure 3 offers $5000 coverage per accident and illness per year and $400 of dental coverage. The Secure 4 has unlimited coverage of illnesses and accidents and $600 of dental coverage a year. Each of these plans also comes with $350 per year in alternative therapy coverage. Similarly to PC there are also additional member benefits included with every plan:

• $1000 towards boarding kennel fees if you are hospitalized
• $1000 holiday cancellation
• $1000 for lost pet advertising
• $1000 for cremation or burial costs
• $50 in memoriam donation in the name of your deceased pet

Type	Secure 1	Secure 2	Secure 3	Secure 4
Dog	33.81	44.88	60.97	92.11
Cat	19.44	25.23	33.23	48.68

Unlike other plans Petsecure 4 includes coverage of some preventative care costs. Under these plans 80% of your costs are covered after a deductible. For dogs the deductible ranges from $100 to $500. For cats the deductible ranges from $100 to $300. These deductibles are comparable to PC Pet Insurance.

Trupanion

Unlike the other pet insurance companies Trupanion has only one plan that covers 90% of actual veterinary costs with no dollar limits. Cost is determined by your pet's breed, age, gender, and your geographic area. With a $500 deductible coverage for my dog Connor would cost $49.15 a month. With the same $500 deductible coverage for my cat Hershey would cost $28.10 a month. This 90% coverage is also minus exam fees and an optional deductible. My guess would be that if you choose to have a deductible your monthly premium goes up.

Pet Care

Pet Care offers the widest range of plans of the companies studied. They have the following plans: QuickCare for Indoor Cats, QuickCare First (Young cats and dogs), QuickCare Senior (Senior cats and dogs), MasterCare (Pure-bred cats and dogs), QuickCare Plus (Dogs), MasterCare 80% (Cats and dogs), TenantCare (Cats and dogs), and EmergencyCare (Cats and dogs). Whew.

QuickCare for Indoor Cats gives about $2000 in accident and illness coverage for specific accidents and illnesses. 
QuickCare First gives $500 in accident coverage and $1000 in illness coverage. 
QuickCare Senior gives $2000 in illness coverage and $500-$2000 in illness coverage for specific illnesses. 
MasterCare has three different levels that gives increasing amounts of coverage. It ranges from $2000 to $6000 in accident coverage and $2500 to $6500 in illness coverage. There is a lifetime limit on illness coverage.
QuickCare Plus for dogs gives $500 to $2000 in accident coverage depending on the specific accident. $2000 a year is given in illness coverage with a lifetime cap of $12000.
MasterCare 80% has the same coverage amounts as MasterCare, but it only covers 80% of total costs.
TenantCare gives $500 in illness benefits and $1000 in accident coverage.
EmergencyCare gives $3000 in emergency treatments if the pet is lost. There is a $50 deductible and this costs $19.44 yearly. Choosing a plan may be more complicated than choosing a pet.

Plan	Dog	Cat
MasterCare Premiere 90%	105.45	51.70
MasterCare Premiere 80%	99.35	49.15
MasterCare Plus 90%	89.95	49.85
MasterCare Plus 80%	74.75	39.60
MasterCare 90%	69.75	34.35
MasterCare Complete	68.95	44.95
MasterCare 80%	52.95	27.35
QuickCare Optimum	38.15	31.25
QuickCare Plus	34.95	N/A
Tenant Care	24.50	18.50
QuickCare First	19.35	N/A
QuickCare Senior	36.25	24.25
QuickCare Indoor Cats	N/A	14.50

Each of their plans comes with very specific coverage for different types of illnesses and accidents. If you're interested I would suggest reading through them yourself. 

Comparison

These four companies that I've looked at are the major players in the pet insurance business in Canada. They are all competing with each other so they need to do something that sets them apart. PC offers the lowest prices for coverage. Petsecure offers low prices and lots of coverage. Trupanion offers one simple plan with lots of coverage for a consistent price. Pet Care offers a lot of different plans in order to customize your coverage. 

Having looked at all of these companies I believe that my first choice would be Petsecure. They offered the combination of low insurance premiums with good coverage. Pet medical expenses can be costly so I would feel more comfortable personally having greater coverage there. The included dental coverage is also a decided plus. Not to mention the extra features like coverage for trip cancellation and cremation costs. My second choice would be Trupanion because they have a great combination of coverage and cost. They also cover 90% where other companies only cover 80%. PC would be my third choice because of their low prices and decent coverage. I don't think I would chose Pet Care simply because I'd rather play with my pet than spend the rest of my life trying to figure out their plans for pet insurance. They offer too many different plans and I would worry that whatever illness or accident I happen to claim would not be covered simply because I didn't choose the right plan. 

It's hard to get exact numbers on the cost of accidents and illnesses for pets. But from my experience I can tell you that a basic emergency visit to the animal hospital will cost you about $1000. Last year Hershey was hit by a car and we had to take him to the animal hospital. He spent the night there and we found out he had only chipped a tooth and bitten his tongue. This cost us $1000 to find out - I can only imagine what the costs would have been if there had actually been something wrong with him. I've heard stories of people with dogs that require special treatments for cancer that range in the thousands of dollars a year. 

The important thing to ask yourself is: how much can I afford on my own? For me it was $1000. Anything more than that would have been too much. So I wouldn't get a basic plan covering my pet only up to $1000 because I would be comfortable doing that on my own. 

Insure Your Pet Yourself

If don't want to pay premiums to an insurance company for coverage, consider paying them to yourself. If you set aside $25 a month for 17 years, which is the average lifespan of a cat, you would have $4500. For your dog, setting aside $50 a month for 12 years would net you $7200. Additionally, you'll accrue interest on the money while you're at it. Think of that like an emergency fund for your pet, that you can use if you need to. Now you're banking on the fact that your pet won't need thousands of dollars of expensive medical treatments, but if they don't you're set. Consider this as an alternative to costly pet insurance, but remember you have to be responsible and set aside enough money.

There's an additional advantage to this. Spunky may qualify for coverage for a medical condition, but if it's just one of many medical conditions he's likely to encounter at the end of his life, you may decide that it would be better for him to pass on to the next world. If you have insurance, you have sunk all that money into that pet and you can't get it back. But if you save for yourself, then Spunky 2 can be the lucky recipient of $7200+ of personal pet insurance right off the bat.

Conclusion

Having looked at all the different plans I would definitely go with PetSecure if I had to get pet insurance. I like the amount of coverage they give and the premiums they charge. I also like that they include dental coverage, something no other company offered. I would go with either the Secure 2 or 3 because I want more than $1000 worth of coverage as I previously discussed. 

However, personally, the only reason I would decide to get pet insurance is if I had only one pet that I loved a lot. For people with a beloved animal as their constant companion, I can see this being a very appealing option. While most of the companies offered a multi-pet discount it starts to get costly to pay multiple premiums every month. In that case I would set aside an amount every month for emergency pet care costs.

Ultimately you have to look at your own situation and figure out what your goals are. If you love your pets more than anything else in this world and you're willing to stop at nothing to help them out, then you should get the most comprehensive insurance plan out there. If you have a pet and simply want some coverage in case of accidents or illness you should get a low-cost plan with moderate coverage. Think about what you have, what you want and what you're comfortable spending and I know you'll figure out the right answer.

Budgeting With A Variable Income

A comprehensive guide to budgeting when you have a variable income. Strategies are given to make a budget that works for different scenarios.

A lot of people have been asking me how to budget when you have a variable income. It's easier to budget when you know exactly how much money you make every month and it doesn't change. However what do you do when your income fluctuates?

I have never really ever had a job with a fixed salary. I've worked hourly, part-time, commission, and seasonal. As a result I've become very good about budgeting with a variable income. So believe me it is possible to have a working budget even though your income changes a lot. 

There is a general principle that I work with and that is that some months I'm going to earn more than others and others I'm going to earn less. I therefore need different budgets to use as my circumstances change. I have 3 different budgets, A, B, and C. The A budget is for when I'm making my average income. The B budget is for when I'm making more money than usual. The C budget is for when I'm making less money than usual.

Fixed Expenses

Several things aren't going to change with any of your budgets, these are your fixed expenses. I've already talked about them here in my post on basic budgeting. Basically your rent isn't going to change every month no matter how much you're making. Make a list of all your fixed expenses and put it into each of your budgets.

For me these are my fixed expenses (numbers are made up).

Category	Amount
Rent	950.00
Hydro	50.00
Internet	50.00
Phones	100.00
Car Loan	350.00
Insurance	150.00

While I could change my internet and phone plan in case of an emergency, I'm not going to change them month-to-month, therefore they're a fixed expense for the purpose of this budget.

Income

Before you can fill out your variable expenses you need to know how much money you're making. But that's the problem with a variable income isn't it? Assume for budget A, the one with your average income that your average income is about 90% of what you generally make. Say one paycheque I make $5000, the next $4900, and the next $4800. I would say that $4900 is my average income, but I would only budget on 90% of that. That would be $4410, but to make things simple in my sample budget I say that $4500 is my average income. For my B budget which is where I make more than usual, I estimated I made 20% more than usual, so $5400. For my C budget which is where I make less than usual, I assumed I made 20% less than usual, so $3600. I like the idea of sticking with +/- 20% for my B and C budgets because I find them to be relatively accurate percentages from my experience. That's not to say that every month I make less than usual, I only make 20% less. I could only make 10% less or I could make 50% less. The same goes with the months I make more. This will be be explained further down.

I also find it helpful to use last month's income to calculate how much I have for this month. This way I know at the beginning of the month how much I have to spend and I don't go overboard. So if I made $5400 last month, I would use sample budget B this month.

Sample Budget

Category	A	B	C
Rent	900.00	950.00	950.00
Hydro	50.00	50.00	50.00
Internet	50.00	50.00	50.00
Phones	100.00	100.00	100.00
Car Loan	350.00	350.00	350.00
Insurance	150.00	150.00	150.00
Groceries	450.00	500.00	400.00
Household Supplies	200.00	250.00	150.00
Gas	160.00	170.00	140.00
Car Maintenance	50.00	130.00	50.00
Vacation	200.00	250.00	100.00
Family/ Gifts	100.00	150.00	90.00
Discretionary Fund	600.00	700.00	400.00
Emergency Fund	200.00	200.00	100.00
Retirements Savings	400.00	500.00	200.00
House Savings	250.00	550.00	200.00
Medical	150.00	150.00	100.00
Cool Stuff	140.00	200.00	20.00
TOTAL	4500.00	5400.00	3600.00

Variable Expenses

I've told you to fill in your variable expenses last because you can't fill them out until you know your monthly income. Then it's just a matter of making the numbers work. Add money into every category until your budget balances. You know what you usually spend in each category, so that's a good starting point. My best advice is just to play around with it until you get the budget balanced.

Curveball Account

You might have been wondering from earlier, what happens if you don't make the perfect 20% more or less than average each month? How do you stick to a budget then? The answer is that you keep surplus money in your account, where it becomes part of the curveball account. The curveball account covers you when you need to make up any deficit in your budget. So say I made $4650 last month, I would use sample budget A. But I would have $150 extra. Rather than spending that I would keep it in my account and let it accumulate. This way if the next month I only made $3450, I would use that $150 to make up the difference needed for sample budget C. By also saying that your average income is 90% of what it typically is, you'll allow yourself to build that curveball account monthly.

You might want to set an amount that you will let your curveball account reach. That way  you always know you have that to use, but you can stop saving once it reaches that threshold. It's important to note that the curveball account is different from your emergency fund because you're using it for monthly expenses on a regular basis.

Two Income Household

The principles I have explained here can be applied to your situation regardless of how your household income works. If two of you contribute to the expenses and you both have variable income, you figure out your individual average income. Then you add them together and create your budgets. If one person in your household has a variable income and the other a fixed income, you use the fixed income as a fixed base. Then add the information for the variable income to that. 

Good Luck!

To all of you out there with variable incomes, I hope this helps you make a budget that works for you. The advice I've given here is based on my own experiences and situation, but it might work for you too. If it doesn't, make you own budget. I like the A,B, and C budget approach, but you might have A-Z budgets. Find whatever works for you and stick to it. Trust me you'll feel a huge sense of relief when you don't have to worry about money every time something changes with your work schedule/ situation. 

Discount Clothing at Talize

A short look at some of the great reasons to update your closet on the cheap by shopping at Talize.

I'm sure many of you are staring at your wardrobe thinking that it's time for an update. Spring cleaning and nicer weather will definitely have that effect on people. However, if you find that your budget doesn't have that much room it in, don't worry. Instead shop used at Talize.

If you haven't heard of Talize before it's a discount store similar to Value Village. They sell used and new clothing, housewares, games, books, and more. 

I personally really like shopping at Talize because I find they have great selection. Two years ago I got a Banana Republic winter coat there for $8.00. That coat has served me well and I love the price I paid for it. So let me try and sell you on the benefits of shopping at this store.

Rewards Program

Unlike many second-hand stores, Talize offers a customer loyalty program. It's a simple rewards card that you can pick up in the store. When you spend $1 you get 20 points. 1000 points can be redeemed for $1 off your purchase. So spend $50.00, get $1 off. It's important to know that at some special events they run, points aren't accumulated.

Special Events

Most second-hand stores offer special events where they will sell certain items in the store at a discounted price. The most popular and the one I'm the biggest fan of, are the 50% off nights. However, I've noticed that every week Talize offers certain items in their store at 50% off. When I went in today there was a sign at the entrance saying 50% off items with yellow tags. I personally really love getting a discount on already discounted clothing, I don't think anyone will disagree with me about that one.

Donate and Save

When you make a donation to Talize, you get a coupon for a discount off your next purchase. Today I dropped off some clothing I didn't need anymore and got a coupon for $5.00 off my next purchase of $25.00 or more. I think this is a great way to build customer loyalty and get people to keep giving them their donations. It's also a great savings for us, the customer.


The Selection is Good

In order for these types of stores to do well they need to get new merchandise in frequently. This means that every time you go there is going to be something different. I've had great luck at Talize finding some amazing items. I already mentioned the coat, but some of my other memorable finds include a Star Trek costume for husband for $8.00 and a brand-new purple dress for myself (tags still on!) for $7.00. 


Environmentally Friendly

Shopping used is one of the best ways to be environmentally friendly. Think about it, if you're buying something that's already been made, you're recycling. While it's not single-handedly stopping the production of new clothing, it does remove you from the cycle. Why not get more use out of something rather just sending it to a landfill?

It's For Everyone

Some of you may have qualms about shopping used, but you don't have to. Everything is cleaned so you don't have to worry about dirt or bad smells. There is often nothing wrong with the clothing that's been donated. People donate their clothing for a variety of reasons including weight loss/ gain, downsizing, no longer wanting it, bad break-up (get rid of the ex's stuff they left behind). This is perfectly good clothing that will be of use to someone else, maybe you. 

If you're like me and can't wait to update your wardrobe but don't want to pay a fortune, I hope you'll check out Talize. Or if not Talize, any other second-hand, vintage, use, or consignment store. Almost every town has one and it's usually not the first place people think to shop. The reason I chose to single-out Talize today, is because I think they really stand out in terms of chain second-hand stores. I think they offer superior selection at the best prices.

My last point for selling you on shopping here is this great song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. It's silly, but explains why its awesome to shop used.