I have been selected to participate as one of the Canadian bloggers in the “Mom Central comes to Canada” blog tour.Yes, Mom Central is finally here in Canada too! I am excited about what this means for me as a blogger but more what it means for Canadian moms. I am looking forward to working with Mom Central in a variety of ways, and can’t wait for the journey ahead. I am sure some great opportunities lie ahead.
One of them is here right now for you my Canadian readers. One of the best things about Mom Central is getting to test products as they are launching, I have done this before and even handed out products and coupons for friends and readers of my past blog. For me being in the know and being able to give an honest review is a great thing. By the way I am not turning this into a review blog in case you are wondering, but I will partner with Mom Central and perhaps if a brand wants me to review an item I will.
The Mom Central Testing Panel ” is where Moms get to test out the latest and greatest products and services and have their voices heard by companies who care about their opinion. Moms can get involved today by clicking here to register for the Canadian Mom Central Testing Panel. If you sign-up during the month of June, you’ll be entered into the draw to win 1 of 5 awesome Canon PowerShot cameras.”
Just so you know Mom Central and I share a common vision of wanting moms to have access to common sense information, information that will make your life easier. It truly is a great resource. I am glad they finally decided to come to Canada.
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Living on Less
Some of my regular readers know that I live on really what is very little in Canada’s largest urban center. This is what has forced me to be cheaper later maybe I can then be Cheap and after that maybe I can graduate to frugal. This week here in Toronto a study came out about poverty in Canada and more specifically here in To and the number of children. Did you know that 1 in 8 children live in hoseholds that are well below the poverty line, and that gap is growing rapidly here in the city..
I am going to give you some facts:
A single mom who is forced onto welfare( and many are because of unfair IE rules here in Canada) who has one child receives $874.00
She will then receive $ 266.00 for Child tax on the 20th
If she is volunteering she will receive another $100 for a bus pass.
So a mom with one child lives off of $1240 at the most…this is the amount that I receive.
How does that get spent here in the big city?
Here is my budget:
Rent $700 ( for a small basement 1 bedroom that is actually an illegal apt)
Phone and Internet ( the net is my only luxury but it is also a tool for job hunting and school work for Roo) $74.10
Food-$200 ( tomorrow I will write about how I make $200 stretch)
Busfare- $75
Laundry-$40
Personal Grooming and Cleaning Supplies -$15
After School Program for Roo-$10
School Expenses(field trips, pizza lunch, scholastic etc) -$20
Clothing $25
which leaves me with just over $100 for anything else that may come up like the dentist which is not covered properly here in To for poor adults.
In 10 years Roo has never been on a vacation – she doesn’t know what they are. She has never spent a holiday with my family who live in Nova Scotia. These are the realities. Does this bug me? No it is my reality for now..
I am job hunting and luckily I have been given the tools that most months I can squeak by. I will admit with things like Christmas and 2 birthdays around the corner I do worry. I have never wanted Roo to know how poor we are so I don’t talk money with her. I try and teach her that some times mom can say yes to a request and some times the answer is a no. I am trying to teach contentment with what we have.
With that said and done I am really trying hard to live with less. I do this most months by shopping well and entering lots of contests which have given Roo and I some fun times in the city, however we would love that trip to Whistler to play in the snow, or one of the computers , which are only a couple of the contests I am entering all the time right now.
So any ideas for living on less but living well?