10th month's expenses

My total expense for the 10th month (1st to 31th July) is around CAD1,824, broken down as follow.

Amount (CAD) : Category

Once-off expenses

*  40 : Nursing re-entry course application fee²
*  28 : Human torso kit³
* 168 : First Aid and CPR training & certification²
*  65 : Food safety training & certification²
*  10 : Emergency Response Bag supplies

Yearly expenses

* 238 : 180 pairs of daily disposable contact lens (for 1/2yr)¹

Monthly expenses

* 500 : Room rental
*  40 : Mobile phone bill
*  61 : Medical Services Plan
* 110 : Transport - Monthly 2-Zone Farecard
* 110 : Transport - Monthly 2-Zone Farecard for next month⁴
* NIL : Transport - Others
* 229 : Food/groceries⁵
*    7 : Clothings
*  65 : Household Items (including toiletries)⁶
*  77 : Recreation/Entertainment/Restaurant⁷
*  19 : Meals/Drinks
* NIL : Personal Grooming & Make-up
*    1 : Stationery/Postage
*  56 : Others (Lottery, Souvenirs, etc)⁸

Note 1: There is a $20 (almost 10%) increase in cost compared to the last purchase of the same item in February-2011. That illustrates why it is important in retirement planning to create source of passive income that will be inflation-hedged.

Note 2: I will get partial refund for these under the Skills Connect program.

Note 3: I bought this to help in my future learning as I am a Visual-Kinestatic person when it comes to learning.

Note 4: In the same way that Medical Services Plan is pre-paid (i.e. pay in July for August's coverage), I decided to buy my Transport - Monthly 2-Zone Farecard using credit card in advance. This allows me to gather credit card reward points for this significant monthly expense.

Note 5: I stocked up on some long shelf-life food supplies as they were on promotion. I reckoned that jacked up my Groceries expenses by about $30.

Note 6: My universal travel adapter plug broke, so I had to buy a replacement for $22.39. I finally bought a plastic laundry basket that was on sale for $11.19. I had been using several large reusable bags previously. In addition, I stocked up on sanitary napkins and tampons as they were on sale, roughly 3+ months supply.

Note 7: The bulk of this cost is from a colleague's farewell dinner. I decided to give myself a treat and spent $30.82. In addition, I watched 3 movies (including the 3-D Harry Potter finale) and 2 other restaurant dinners.

Note 8: Majority spent on lottery and and scratch-n-win cards. However, this item also includes 2 farewell cards for departing colleagues, several small change donations, a Christmas gift bought in advance because it was on sale ($5 after a $10 gift card was used), and the MoneySense "Guide to Retiring Wealthy" magazine (the actual cost is $11.15 but it cost me less after using my credit card reward points). I felt that the MoneySense "Guide to Retiring Wealthy" magazine is totally worth it because it gave me a sense of where I stand if I decide to retire in Canada -- which is a decent middle-class lifestyle if my plans work out.