Consumer proposal for debt and bank account change

I have been swimming in debt for a while. It felt like I wasn't progressing with the high interest that I was paying on my credit cards and loans.

I decided to get help. I'm currently in the process of getting a consumer proposal. It's a government program that involves repaying a portion of your debt. A licensed Insolvency Trustee negotiates with creditors on how much you need to repay.

This proposal consolidates the debt into manageable payments. It freezes debt interest charges. It also reduces stress.

The catch is that I needed to change banks. I can't have a credit card that is a part of this proposal with a bank account that gets my pay directly deposited. When this proposal is approved, sometimes credit card companies will take money from your chequing account to pay off the credit card before it is communicated that the proposal is official.

I had to change where my paycheque would be directly deposited. The change was straightforward through our Dayforce site. 

I was a bit stressed out that I did this change on Thanksgiving Day and it was immediately approved. I didn't know when the change would kick in. Would it be seamless or would I get a cheque mailed to me?

Well, all that stress went away. My pay was deposited last night, which was early. My payday is officially on Thursday. Bi-weekly.

I'm relieved!

I asked about how long it will take for my consumer proposal to be official. I got 1.5 weeks at least. I'm approaching one week on Friday. We had Thanksgiving Day, so I need to take that day out in my calculation.

Hair salons and Canada Day

As expected, hair salons were busy the first day out of lockdown. I did a quick look at an app that I have with my salon and there was a three-hour wait.

I will wait to get my hair cut next week at the earliest. Perhaps things will be better then.

I had a nice day doing my usual grocery run earlier in the afternoon. I ended up shopping at a couple of places that I haven't dropped by in over three months. It felt great and freeing.

My pay got deposited a day early. Today's Canada Day. Many have heavy hearts this holiday, but there is always something good to look forward to.

Pay and my bank

I like payday. It's supposed to happen every consecutive Thursday.

I also like my bank. It has always deposited my pay directly into my account on Wednesday night instead of Thursday before I wake up. It used to be after 10 pm on Wednesday. These days, it's at 5 pm.

Crazy. It's also perfect. I go grocery shopping after work on Wednesdays. I feel rich.

Visa debit and loan update

Yesterday, I paid off my loan in full. It is the first time that I have done it within two days of opening the loan account up. It feels weird, but I'm glad that I am not paying it off in 48 months.

My bank is setting up its bank cards with Visa debit. I have requested a new bank card. I was invited to make the request. I'm not sure if everyone who has a bank card gets invited and it's just a formality, or the bank is rolling this update out to customers in waves. It's be great, as I can use my debit card as a credit card should I making online transactions.

I'm waiting for the equity from my secured loan to get deposited into my account. It takes up to five business days. This loan is officially closed. I'm pleased.

It's payday!

I get paid by my employer every two weeks. Technically, I get paid every other Thursday.

I do love my bank. It deposits my pay electronically by 22:10 on Wednesday night. I spend a bit of time paying various bills based on my bill payment schedule. It's an Excel spreadsheet. I have had a number of variations over the years, but the current one has guided me out of my darkest debt stage.

It makes me so happy paying bills and seeing results. I also like that I can put money away towards my retirement and emergency fund. It was challenging doing it a year ago.

Things are looking up and good with my finances. It takes a lot of effort and planning to get out of debt. I'm so pleased that budgeting has paid off (pun intended)!

Getting a cold and getting paid early

I feel like I'm getting a cold. It's sucks. My throat is sore and I'm drinking lemony water to soothe it.

I get paid every other Thursday. What I love about my bank is that it deposits my pay on Wednesday night, just after 10 pm. It gives me time to pay my bills at home, rather than waiting to get home on Thursday night to do it.

Little things make me content.

Unexpected money

Something unexpected happened to me the other day. I'll need to explain a bit of background.

On Wednesday, I received a notification e-mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), indicating that I had a new message waiting for me. I was pretty busy with work that I didn't have a chance to log on to the site and check my account.

I check my finances fairly often. I logged into my bank account after work and noticed that I had more money than usual. I looked closer and it said that I got a tax refund. That's funny. I haven't filed my tax return for 2018 yet.

I didn't know if it was a mistake with the deposit. Years ago, my back accidentally deposited $15,000 into my chequing account. I didn't touch it. A day later, the amount reversed by my bank. I wasn't sure if it was the same thing.

I finally got around to logging on to my CRA online account. My tax return for 2017 got reassessed and I ended up with a refund, including interest. Nice!

The amount pays for my recent round-trip flight to Dallas and my car rental. Yay!

Opposites attract to a certain degree - expenses and timesheets

My guy and I get along because we are similar. There are a few exceptions, though. One of them is doing expense reports.

I am diligent when it comes to completing expense reports. I just want to get them over with, get my money back, and move on.

Then, there's my guy. 

Yesterday, he told me that he has four trips to expense. He spent some of his evening completing two of them.

"I hate doing expenses. I have to find all my receipts and enter them all," he complained.
"I don't mind helping you, provided that your money gets deposited directly into my bank account," I stipulated.

He chuckled. We are complete opposites when it comes to expenses. 

Similarly, when it comes to logging our time in our corporate timesheet application, I do mine every Monday and I don't have to think about it for the rest of the workweek. My guy forgets about doing his timesheet all the time, often getting warnings that he needs to do it after a month has elapsed.

He's sweet. I love who he is.