Property Tax 2020

Hay, another big gastos! We received na our property tax notice two days ago, kailangan ng magbayad on or before July 2, 2020.

This is one of the drawbacks of owning a house, may property tax na kailangang bayaran. Naalala ko tuloy when we were just renting in Surrey, ang dami naming extra money lol. Rent at electricity lang kasi ang binabayaran namin. Naisip ko na nga rin noon, what if hindi na kami bumili ng bahay forever? We can save a lot! Pero syempre at the end of the day, doon pa rin kami sa magkaroon ng sariling bahay. Iba ang sense of ownership eh, parang feeling mo may lugar ka talaga sa mundo. Pero syempre, you have to 'pay' to experience that feeling.

At eto na nga, it's the time of the year again. My husband opted to pay our property tax once a year na lang para isang gastusan na lang. Pwede rin kasing gawing monthly yan para hindi mabigat (katulad ng ginawa namin sa previouse house namin sa Edmonton).

Are you curious kung magkano ang 2020 tax nitong humble abode namin? Sige disclose ko na tutal wala naman gaanong nagbabasa nitong blog lol.

It's $1,841.86 or approximately Php73,000+.  If you divide it in 12, $153.49 (Php6,140) per month.

Actually dapat $2,686.86 talaga ang tax pero mayroong Home Owner Grant dito na tinatawag wherein makakadiscount ka ng malaking amount if you use the property as your primary residence. Kaya ayun, nakatipid kami ng $845.

Nagkausap kami ng friend ko from Edmonton and I was shocked that they are paying $3500+ yearly tax for their single detached home na may value ng at least $100,000 less than our townhouse. Ang alam ko kasi, based sa assessed value ng property ang tax. So ibig sabihin mas mahal property tax sa Alberta kesa British Columbia?

Ooops, by the way, every year we receive din a Property Assessment Notice. Nakalagay dyan kung magkano na ang current "value" ng property mo at dyan din bine-base ang tax amount syempre.

The value of our townhouse decreased by 5% this year. In general, bumaba talaga ang value ng lahat ng properties ngayon due to many factors -- law of supply and demand, government policies in home-buying, etc. Tapos siguro next year mas bababa pa dahil sa Covid?  Pero ayos lang yan, wag na lang pansinin tutal hindi naman ibebenta pa. Tataas uli yan later on.

Our water and electricity bill

Finally,  dumating na rin ang water at electricity bill namin. Medyo ilang linggo rin kaming na-curious kung magkano aabutin ang konsumo namin dito sa bahay eh.

By the way, this townhouse was turned over to us on November 14, 2018 but we only officially moved on the night of November 20. Here in Canada, every two months sila maningil ng kuryente at tubig kaya nito nga lang namin nakuha ang first ever utility bills namin.

Electricity

From November 14, 2018 to January 16, 2018, they charged us $302.44 (or around Php12,100.00). Dividing it by 58 days (instead of 64 kasi nga November 20 kami lumipat), that's around $5.21 (Php210.00) per day or $160 (Php6,300) per month.

Not bad, actually. Kasi kasama na ang space at water heating dyan. Pati na rin ang cooking (stove) at washing at drying. Winter kasi ngayon kaya 24-7 na nakabukas ang heater. Our townhouse is medium-sized kaya medyo malaki rin ang pinaiinitan. Kung ikukumpara mo sa Pinas, sobrang mura na talaga pumapatak ang kuryente dito. Imagine mo sa Pinas kung magkano aabutin ang bill mo kung maghanapon-magdamag na nakabukas ang centralized aircon. Ginto, grabe.

We'll compare sa summer kung magkano ang bill kapag hindi na kami naka-heater (pero portable aircon naman ang gumagana).


Water.

Sa water naman, $56.27 (discounted final amount) ang binayaran namin for 65 days (November 14, 2018 to January 17, 2019). Dividing it by 59 days, pumapatak na $0.95 (or Php40.00) lang siya per day o around $30.00 (Php1,200) per month. Hindi na rin masama kasi hindi naman ako nagtitipid talaga ng tubig lalo na sa paghuhugas ng pinggan at paliligo (#guilty).

Our water bill could rise up a bit siguro during the summer kung magbababad kami sa bathtub o magi-inflate kami ng swimming pool for Nathan o maghuhugas kami ng car sa labas, pero I am sure hindi pa rin ganun kalaki ang aabutin.

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So there, our water and electricity bill for the past two months. Later on, ita-tabulate ko naman ang kabuuang monthly expenses namin para magka-idea kayo how much we're spending. =)


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NOTE: Other households have natural gas connection (meron din kami nun dati sa Edmonton) for space/water heating, gas oven, barbecue grill, etc. but we opted not to get one kasi nga all our appliances naman are electric-powered. Yung barbecue grill lang namin ang nangangailangan ng gas connection but my husband is planning to replace it na lang kasi sayang daw kung doon lang namin gagamitin. May fixed fee din yata kasi kahit hindi ka nag-konsumo in a month eh hindi naman laging nagba-barbecue lalo na kapag winter o umuulan.

Daily Expenses List

We started tracking down our expenses (again) since July 1st. We did the same thing last year and it was super effective. By listing our daily gastos, we became more cautious and conscious on how we spend. Na-itemize namin lahat ng expenses - food, car, house maintenance, dining out, miscellaneous, etc. Dahil dun, nakapag-stick kami sa budget namin.

And yep, we did it the old-fashioned way. Mano-manong lista. Mas madali kasi kesa i-excel, pwede kang maglista anytime na may libreng oras ka. Hindi mo na kailangang magbukas ng computer. Saka isa pa, I am and will always be a pen and paper girl. At least nagagamit ko ang ballpens ko. Nakakamiss din kasing magsulat sa totoo lang.

Anyway, with the same intention of saving up, mukhang palpak na ang simula namin. Imagine, in 18 days, nakaka-$2100 na kami! Wala pang fixed expenses dun ha (like rent, utility bills, car mortgage, insurance), puro food, kain sa labas at luho lang. Kung kelan pa kami naglista saka pa lumaki ang gastos nakakaloka.

We started the month wrong yata kasi. Canada Day noong July 1 so naumpisahan agad ng gastos that long weekend. We went pa to Seattle Premium Outlets at nakapag-shopping ko konti. Tapos kain kami ng kain sa labas. Idagdag pa ang pag-splurge sa Paw Patrol toys ng mag-amang Coblancs (around $180 na as of this time). Tapos panay bili rin ako (guilty!).

Whew, sa bagay, ok na nga rin na nakapaglista kami. At least may idea na kami kung magkano na ba talaga ang nagagastos namin. Mahirap yung vague eh, ung alam mo lang na malaki pero wala ka naman talagang actual figure.

Tagtipid na kami in the remaining 10 days. Goodluck naman samin.

Pricey kiddie haircut

One "disadvantage" of raising a boy is the countless trips to the barber shop. Magastos! Since toddler pa lang ang anak ko at "maiyakin," we have to bring him pa to kiddie salons para "sanay sa magulong bata" ang maggupit sa kanya. Kaso nga, sobrang mahal naman.

This was actually his 4th haircut. The first was when he was one year old. The third and fourth were on June and October of last year (2016).

Two (or three?) other kids were having their haircut when we arrived at Cuts 4 Tots in Trinoma Mall. Nathan instantly panicked and wouldn't want to enter the shop. I had to forcibly sit him down in one of the 'cars.'

Thank goodness he calmed down matapos malagyan ng cape ni Manong Barbero. He was still sobbing though and just wanted to hold my hand. Manong Barbero was very good in calming him, magaling siyang mambola syempre.

Ahh, I spent Php400 for a 15-minute drill. Haircut is Php360 plus Php40 tip to Manong Barbero. Haha, masama pa rin ang loob ko. Mabilis pa namang humaba ang buhok ng anak ko.

In consolation, at least merong two "free" cars si TanTan courtesy of Manong Barbero.

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If you will ask, we spent around $23-24 (including tip) for Nathan's haircut in Edmonton and Surrey. May coupon pa yung sa Surrey ha. Sobrang namamahalan ako kaya I am tempted to learn how to use a shaver para ako na lang ang kakatkat. Maraming gumagawa ng ganun sa abroad kasi nga ang mahal ng salon services doon. Siguro when Nathan is a bit older, talagang pag-aaralan ko na.

I noticed that many boys in North America have long hair. Could it be because of haircut costs? Probably. Kaso mas gusto namin for Nathan ang short hair kaya di kami makakatipid on this aspect.