budget experiments

Greetings from the Canadian handbasket travelling at warp speed! Here’s some very light reading that I wrote as a respite from the news.

In lieu of a yearly budget review for 2021, I’m focusing on some experiments I’ve tried since moving to the apartment at the end of 2019.

Apple TV+. I enjoyed Netflix in WA but, after I moved back to NS in 2017, I went without any streaming service up until December 2020 when I decided, mainly due to the pandemic, to try Apple TV+ on my iPad. It costs only $5.99* per month and has the two best comedies I have seen in a looong time plus lots of other great shows. I also stream CBC for free so feel my video distractions are fulfilled for now.

Quip. This is a product subscription service that has worked well for me for over two years—for $10 (USD), I get a toothbrush head replacement, battery, and floss sent to me every three months. I prefer power toothbrushes, but the cost of replacement heads for my big electric toothbrushes always felt like a scam to me. This company did something about it.

Public Mobile. My brother recommended this discount cell phone service and I’ve been pleased with it since switching over in February 2020—I have the $25* per month plan (and have never needed extra data) and get discounts for loyalty, referrals, and autopay.

Costco. I joined Costco for a year shortly before the pandemic started to see if I would save money with the amount of nuts and frozen berries and other organic items I buy (this vegan eats a lot of nuts). Even without SIP (which reduced my travels into Halifax where Costco is located), I wouldn’t have renewed—membership was just not worth it for this one person. And, as for the nuts, my friend Leonie clued me in to a small online organic nut company in Ontario that now has my business.

Subscriptions. There are a few new yearly subscriptions I’ve tried and been happy with in the past two years: local online investigative journalism, online yoga videos, and a podcast. With all three of these, I feel like I’m getting something for my subscription but I’m also supporting good people and their good work for others to enjoy.

Internet. The high cost of internet and lack of provider choice has long been a peeve of mine. When I was living rurally, I was paying over $100/month for not-really-high-speed. When I moved into the apartment, I got a “deal” for two years with $25 off each month. Well, the two years is up and so the cost is now at $114.95*.

Rent. Nova Scotia, particularly Halifax, has such a housing crisis exacerbated by the pandemic that the provincial government implemented a 2% rent cap through the end of December 2023. Since, in my apartment complex, a comparable unit to mine rented recently for ~ $400 more than what I’m paying, looks like I’ll be staying put until November 2024. She-of-the-long-term-planning is not even trying to imagine what that next move will be.

*Plus tax, of course, which in Nova Scotia is 15%.

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