Sometimes I think this blog reads like a roller coaster – up (“going to Roatan wooooooooooo”) and down (“forgot about a billion things I have to pay for boooooooooo”) over and over again. Although, when I stop to think about it, it’s really what life has been like lately so I guess at least it’s accurate…?
We are back on an UP after my lame downer about my tax miscalculations with having two jobs this year. I hadn’t taken into consideration that I wasn’t getting enough income tax deducted off my cheques (yes, I’m Canadian, it’s cheques people, because we like to pretend we are all still French explorers wearing bearskin capes and floating down the St. Lawrence in dugout canoes….end rant) so I needed to set aside some money in the (likely) event that Mr. CRA comes calling next May 1 for his dolla dolla bills. How is this an ‘up’? Well, I was making a monthly calendar (to act as a Roatan countdown/ keep track of my hours at my second job/ keep track of my hours for my online business/ keep track of my 6 hours of free time a week and what I need to fill it with…damn you laundry) and I realized I have another ace up my sleeve (three actually):
1. August. Yep. August. I have made all my budgeting for this trip based on what I can save from my jobs in a month. Well – I get paid bi-weekly, not bi-monthly, so August is one of those sweet, magical months where I get paid THREE times (the other was in March, and that paid for my diving courses in Roatan during my February trip). So I have an extra $1500 that was previously not in the budget (also because I thought I was leaving at the beginning of August). So that is pretty much awesome. That can hide away in my TFSA until I do my taxes next year (along with a bit more $$ just in case) and then if I have to pay, I will be all set.
2. I totally forgot about my HST/GST Credit that kicks back in this year because of my ghetto 2011 (ie. only working 5 months of the year) – so on July 3 I will get $128 from the government and again on October 1, January 1 and April 1! It’s not a ton of money but who’s going to say no to $128 getting deposited in their bank account 4 times a year? Not me!
3. I forgot that I have vacation pay accruing with the gelato shop job! Although I’m not sure if that one will end up ahead, because I’m taking a week off for trip to Roatan next month and I also have to take 4 days off over a weekend in July for a family wedding. But at least I might come out even, I thought I was going to be down $500-700 for taking those days off.
So that all made me happy today, as well as it being my day “off” today and tomorrow. It’s in quotations because I still have to work at the office all day but I don’t work at the gelateria at night. I told my boss I was working waaaaay too much in addition to my full-time job so he decided to give me Monday and Tuesday nights off for the rest of the summer. So I still have to work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday nights and all afternoon/night on Saturdays and Sundays. I will still be at 33 hours a week at my part-time job… so 73-hour workweeks until September. Yikes. Thank god this is temporary! I know it will all be worth it when I am sitting on the beach with a rum punch knowing I have nothing to do and don’t have to go home until I feel like it….
Expats/long-term travelers: I am looking for your stories and advice about healthcare coverage while you’re away – especially if you’re Canadian! I know that as a British Columbia resident I can leave for a maximum of 24 consecutive months every 5 years OR maintain my ‘home’ in BC and be absent for a maximum of 6 months a year (source), as long as I keep paying my premiums while I am away (currently $24/month) and that I need to buy additional travel insurance (duh). If you have any thoughts or suggestions on what insurance to buy I would love to hear it, or if you’ve stayed out of your country past the time limit for your medical insurance how you are covering yourself now.