Lobster Shorts finances, weight loss

The Year Of Getting My Sh!t Together

The restart of my restart of my restart of my restart.

I’ve had so many attempts at weight loss over the years. I usually fall off the wagon after a month… sometimes earlier. August 4 2023 I started again. This time I’m adding better financial habits to my goal list along with weight loss/fitness.

I’ve been digging myself out of credit card consumer debt, but had a bad habit of spending everything I had paid off. In early August I started to tighten the purse strings. I am only buying things I need and have quit browsing physical and online stores. That includes thrift stores and antique shops and I do LOVE thrifting, but I always get things I don’t need – like more sewing supplies. I have an entire closet full of sewing supplies. It’s packed full. I’m not buying any more sewing stuff until I get through the piles of fabric I already have.

September I ended up at the thrift store looking for a new harness for Oliver – my big golden retriever X puppy. He’s a puller and ended up tearing right through his last one. I didn’t find a harness that would fit him there. I did however find a full set of winter dog boots which I actually would have needed for an awesome price. That was an okay purchase, but guess what wasn’t. The roll of elastic I bought – FOR SEWING! It WAS a fantastic price, and sure I’ll probably need it one day, but that wasn’t the point of this. I’m not supposed to be randomly buying stuff I don’t have an immediate need for. This was a warning for me – to stay out of thrift stores. I can’t be trusted! I discovered pressure casting posts, an item used in pen making. It’s quite expensive and I’m not buying it this year. I heard a quote but can’t remember who it was from – Ramsey? “If you can’t pay it off in a month, you can’t afford it”. That stings, but I agree. So no pressure pot. Not yet. Saving for one also gives me time to evaluate if I really want it. Making impulsive purchases and then never using the item is a bad habit I have had in the past. For example, I bought the things to make shoes with, maybe a year ago. Guess who has never made shoes – ME! I still hope to one day, but for now, it was something I shouldn’t have purchased.

The roll of elastic $10 from the thrifty thrift

As for weight and fitness, this time my spouse is also on board. He really wants to lose weight too. We’ve set a pact to be in the gym three times a week on set days. That started on the first of September and so far we are sticking to it. We don’t have a set thing we need to accomplish in the gym, right now we just have to be in there. Even stretching is acceptable, just be in there, getting a routine established and habit formed. Right now I’m doing about a 15-minute workout and nothing too strenuous, just getting used to working out again.

I’ve set a goal for myself to be able to do a push-up in a year. The real on your toes sort of push-up. I’ve never been able to do them, even at my most fit. That was probably because I always preferred jogging to weights. I’ve always wondered how does one work their way up to being able to do a push-up?

This might work. I’ve started with wall push-ups. I thought that sounded like weak sauce, but it turns out that doing 3 sets of 50 is actually pretty hard (for me). I’m not even there yet! I had to take a break after 40. I’m sticking with it. I got my 150 in and will be keeping track of how many I can do until I need to stop.

I’m calorie counting again. The goal is 1800 calories a day. I’ll stay with that and keep it up if it’s working well for me. My spouse is calorie counting too. We’ve started cooking for ourselves and that is going to work out really well for both of us. He’s never really liked veggie-heavy dishes and the carb-heavy dishes he likes I tend to overeat. This way we can both eat healthier for ourselves.

I’ve started a tracking journal and every month I update my weight and how much I’m in a financial debt hole. I realized when doing the September update that I only wrote down approximate numbers instead of the actual numbers in August. I was excited to see if I had made any progress. That will have to wait for October. I will post September’s stats as the starting point.

The Getting My Sh!t Together journal

Weight: 178lbs
Debt: -$21100
Wall pushups without stopping: 40

Cheers to improved numbers in October!

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

Out Of This World Stock

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. This my own personal, uneducated journey through the stock market. Do not use this blog for financial advice.

Let me start by saying, I have no idea if this stock is any good or not, but I bought it because it sounds exciting. I bought one share of MDA Ltd for $15.48. MDA is a Canadian company, and an international space mission partner that works with robotics, satellite systems and geointelligence. AAAANNNNDDD they are working towards moon colonies (according to this website)!!!!! I want in on that.

My previous stocks were starting to look up last week, but took a bit of a nose dive today,, so maybe it was a good day to buy that stock? Again, do NOT take financial advice from me. Consult a professional.

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

New Stocks for May 2021

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. This my own personal, uneducated journey through the stock market. Do not use this blog for financial advice.

I purchased my May stocks a couple weeks early. I bought one share each of ThredUp and Cricut, both of them new on the market. Why? Because crafty things are fun and I’m getting bombarded while I watch YouTube with Youtubers sponsored by ThredUp. I don’t think Cricut was the best choice at the moment, who has the money to buy super expensive craft gadgets in this COVID economy? But then again, one of my girlfriends recently bought one, and she’s loving it. I almost bought one myself. ThredUp is an online clothing thrift store and I’m seeing it come up a lot on Youtube through sponsorships. Because these were American companies, I had to pay a currency exchange rate on the stocks.

I’m going to post a chart of how my stocks are performing below. Under the total column you’ll see the bottom line. I use WealthSimple for my trading platform. They don’t charge broker fees, but they do charge currency exchange fees. So some of these stocks aren’t doing as bad as they seem, because if they were in USD, I had to pay an exchange fee. If it’s a Canadian company, there were no fees for me. For example I bought Vizio for $21.47, but with the currency exchange, I ended up paying $27.44. So even though I’m down $4.30, the stock has been going up. Not Wish though. Wish has been performing the worst.

The bottom line is in the total column. So far I’m down $38.81. I haven’t had my stocks for very long, so there’s still a chance that they will do great… even Wish. I also buy stocks instead of play the lottery. The stock market is gambling for me, which is why I stay close my $30 a month limit.

Stock Tracking Chart
StockStock CodePurchase DatePurchase Date PriceCurrent Price+ or –Total
GFL Environmental INCGFL01/14/21$38.17$41.67$3.50-$38.81
WishWISH02/01/21$41.44$13.69-$27.75
Bombardier Class ABBD.A02/19/21$0.84$1.12$0.28
Bombardier Class BBBD.B02/19/21$0.58$0.90$0.32
Psychadelic ETFPSYK02/24/21$10.71$8.30-$2.41
PactivePTVE03/02/21$18.64$13.94-$4.70
VizioVZIO03/29/21$27.44$23.14-$4.30
SEMrush Holdings INCSEMR03/29/21$15.30$16.17$0.87
ThredUpTDUP04/20/21$20.28$19.38-$0.90
CricutCRCT04/20/21$26.72$23.00-$3.72
Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

April 2021 Stock Purchase and Updates

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. This my own personal, uneducated journey through the stock market. Do not use this blog for financial advice.

I bought my April stock a little early, but since it is almost April, I went ahead and made the purchase. I bought two stocks and went a little over budget. Not because I was positive these were sure things, it was because I felt like it. These were both USA stocks, so I had to pay a conversion rate for them.

The first was Vizio (VZIO), they sell smart TVs. I bought one share for $21.47 with a conversion rate bringing the total for one share to $27.44. I picked this one because most people have smart TVs and I can’t see them losing popularity any time soon. The second stock I bought was one share of SEMrush Holdings Inc (SEMR) for $11.97 with the conversion rate bringing the total to $15.30. SEMrush has something to do with online marketing campaigns and ads.

I had also wanted to buy a stock in InnoVage Holdings Corp (INNV) an American company that deals with senior care, but I was over budget already. I thought this might be a good one as we have an aging population. Possibly it will be my pick for next month. I was also interested in stock in Joann Inc (JOAN), the American craft store (one share around $10.00. My instinct was to pick this one right away as I love crafts, but when I compared it to Michaels, the other big craft store that has been around forever, the stock was worth around $20.00. Although that is double the price, after I pay the conversion rate, I wouldn’t be that much ahead and that is only if the stock caught up to Michaels. I may regret that decision one day, but for now that’s what I chose to do. I really want to buy a share of MITC the 3D meat printing company (Meat-Tech), but they were currently not available on the Wealthsimple platform. This is the one I wanted the most and I’m hopeful it will available on my trading platform soon. I requested it, but they haven’t added it so far. I would probably break my budget rules (again) if it becomes available soon.

Here’s a list of how my current stocks are performing:

GFL bought January 14/2021 for one share at $38.17, currently worth $42.79.

WISH bought Feb 01/2021 it was $31.85 + conversion fees, costing a total of $41.44 for one share, currently worth $15.61. I’m getting really screwed with this one. This is the one I thought would go up really fast as Wish is such a big company.

BBD.A bought Feb 19/2021 for one share at $0.84 for one share, currently worth $1.03.

BBD.B bought Feb 19/2021 for one share at $0.58, currently worth $0.87. This one is performing surprisingly well. I’m tempted to buy a couple more shares.

PSYK bought Feb 24/2021 for one share at $10.71, currently worth $8.32

PTVE $14.51 +1.28 exchange rate fee, for a total of $18.54 bought March 02/2021 – currently worth – $13.92

Currently, I’m more in the hole than profiting, but I’m going to hold onto the stocks that are doing poorly anyway and hope they come up in value.

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

Stock Update March 2021

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. This my own personal, uneducated journey through the stock market. Do not use this blog for financial advice.

How are my stocks performing? See for yourself.

GFL bought January 14/2021 for one share at $38.17, currently worth $40.81.

WISH bought Feb 01/2021 it was $31.85 + conversion fees, costing a total of $41.44 for one share, currently worth $18.68 (ouch).

BBD.A bought Feb 19/2021 for one share at $0.84 for one share, currently worth $0.84.

BBD.B bought Feb 19/2021 for one share at $0.58, currently worth $0.57.

PSYK bought Feb 24/2021 for one share at $10.71, currently worth $9.98

Today I bought PTVE (Pactive Evergreen Inc. They are a food packaging company for restaurants) for $14.51 +1.28 exchange rate fee, for a total of $18.54. I bought it because people are eating out more often and with the pandemic they are using a lot of take out containers. I also bought it because I only had $20.00 left of my $30.00 a month stock spending limit.

Well, at least one of my stocks is doing okay lol. I can’t say the same for the rest, but again it’s early. I hope they do much better in the future. Maybe a couple of months is too soon to tell?

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

PSYK – The Psychedelic Stock

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. This my own personal, uneducated journey through the stock market. Do not use this blog for financial advice.

I bought a single share of PSYK – Horizons Psychedelic Stock on February 24/2021 for $10.71. It is currently worth $9.79 – not off to a great start. I was supposed to wait until March, this happens when I browse. I buy stuff. I’m going to make a rule for myself of no browsing stocks until the next month. If you haven’t seen my previous posts about buying stocks, I am limiting myself to $30.00 a month in stocks, since I am new and know nothing about the stock market.

PSYK attracted my attention because it was new and, well it’s about psychedelics. I believe the stock is an ETF (exchange traded fund), which I think means that it’s a group of stocks. I didn’t realize that when I bought it. There’s SO much I don’t know. The stock involves psychedelics in the healthcare sector, you can find more information about it here.

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

February 2021 Stock Of The Month

I bought my second stock, one share of WISH. One share came to $41.44 Canadian, through Wealthsimple. There are no brocker fees on Wealthsimple, but they do charge you currency conversion fees. So I ended up paying an extra $6.00 Canadian on top of the stock price, adding up to $41.44, for the one share.

I went a little over my budget this month. Wish is new on the market. I wasn’t sure if it was still relevant, but I asked one of my younger acquaintances and she said her and her friends still shop there often. I myself do not. The vendors on Wish are known for swiping photos from other stores and sending you a cheaper, crappier version of the product you thought you were buying. There are many videos on Youtube of this happening. If you do shop there, make sure there are reviews with photos.

I bought the stock because it’s a popular store and the company is worth a lot of money. The next day after I bought it, the stock dropped a lot. It went up a little bit, but I’m still down (especially with the currency conversion fees). My GFL stock dropped too, but last time I checked I was up a couple cents. I’m not a rich gal yet

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

My First Stock

I bought my first stock today! I didn’t get it until my second attempt. I learned that there is a market price, and a limit buy. If you ask the market price, you might end up paying more than you expected. With the limit buy, you put the maximum price you are willing to pay. My first try I put the limit price too low and it was cancelled, my second attempt was successful.

I bought one share of GFL this morning for $38.17, on WealthSimple (it’s up $0.05!). The reason I picked it, is because GFL is a waste management company. China stopped taking a lot of Canada’s garbage and recycling a couple years ago and we’re likely not going to be able to keep dumping our trash onto other countries. We’re going to have to start managing it here. That was my thought process, and I haven’t researched any of that. I could be completely wrong here. The stock seems to be climbing and I’m going to be obsessively checking on it. Do not use anything in my blog for advice on investing. I have no idea what I’m doing!

My lack of researching is one of the many reasons I’ve set a limit of $30.00 a month. Since I spent more than that on this stock, I can only spend $21.83 next month. I haven’t picked out the next stock yet, but I’m going to wait until February to get it.

Lobster Shorts finances, stock market

Can A Clueless Person Play The Stock Market?

Probably not, but I’m still going to do it. I started reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” (I’m still reading it). I’m a 40 something receptionist, in debt, with poor spending habits (please refer to previous blog posts of rampant shopping sprees on Aliexpress and Ebay), I have no savings, and I’m not practical. I always pay my bills on time, my credit is excellent, but I have nothing to show for this admirable credit rating, besides being a financial institutions wet dream of incessant spending, while barely topping the minimum payment.

Wealth Simple has a Trading & Crypto feature (I have no idea what Crypto is, but let’s be real, do I even have any informed idea what trading is – no). I signed up with Wealth Simple, but had difficulty linking my financial institution with the trading feature. I kept trying, doing the same thing over and over again, and it finally worked (what’s that old saying about doing the same thing over again?). I don’t know what the problem was, but I was able to add funds and now I’m waiting for them to clear.

So now I wait. I have a stock picked out (it’s a Canadian company and I’ll tell you what it is when I can actually purchase my first stock. I had initially wanted to purchase a stock for MINISO (that odds and ends store found in malls in Canada), but it wasn’t listed with Wealth Simple. No idea why some stocks aren’t there. I have no idea what any of the stock lingo means. I have a list of books I need to get my hands on this, being one of them.

It’s pretty obvious here I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s gambling. Right now I’m unable to make an informed decision, but being the overly impatient person I am, I’m proceeding. I’ve decided $30 a month is a safe enough amount to royally screw up. Some of you might be yelling at your screen… that I should apply it to my debt, and you’re probably quite right to do so, but this is an experience I want to have. Hopefully I learn a lot and get good at it!

Lobster Shorts finances, lifestyle, Uncategorized

Think It And It Will Be.

Manifest Your Dreams…

Many of us have heard of The Law Of Attraction. I watched the movie years ago, was motivated to give it a go, and then forgot all about it. I’m not convinced that this will magically turn all my dreams into a reality, but I’m also not convinced that it wont.

When I think of money, I think of horrible, old men, in old fashioned lawyers wigs (you know, the curly, long white wigs, and no, I have no idea why), and maybe that’s part of the problem. With negative associations with money, possibly I’m subconsciously repelling it from me. How can I attract something into my life that I have an aversion to?

I’m working on this. Associating money with panicked feelings of lack, are only going to perpetuate more bad feelings towards it. Now when I think of money, I consciously think of it with gratitude and positivity. I think of all the good things it can do for me, instead of focusing on what it’s like to not have enough of it.

I have fairly decent sized debt I’m focusing on paying off and there’s this tiny little thing I really want (a houseboat!). My goal is to tackle the debt first, then save for the boat. I’ve been reading a lot of financial books and it’s helping keep me motivated. They all say to stop buying crap you don’t need (guilty, guilty, guilty). I’m fully aware I do this, but after a few months I fall back on bad habits. Hobbies are a huge problem for me. If I get interested in something I’ll buy a ton of stuff for said hobby and then a few months later I’ll be bored of it. I’m going to need to read financial books until the day I pay my debt off completely. I’m OK with that.

Instead of using stuff, I’m focusing on experiences and being in the moment, to make me happy. Acquiring things has only ever made me temporarily happy (and cluttered up my home). I look forward to being free of debt and enjoying living my best life.