Our preset August 2019 goal was our visit to Whiterock, B.C. We went to Whiterock as part our trip to Harrison Hot Springs earlier in June, and so it ended up being cheaper than the $200 dollars set aside. We had already rented a car for Harrison Hot Springs, all that that we had to pay for, is extra gas which was $23 and food cost which was $50 dollars for a total of $73. Here are the pictures of Whiterock, B.C, the beautiful beach city that is close to U.S.A border:

We are saying a final Goodbye to English Bay by showcasing pictures we didn’t post in our earlier posts. Here are the pics:

The new area we are going to focus on for the next four weeks is Mount Pleasant. The area known as Mount Pleasant encompasses a large area in Vancouver East area. We are going to narrow our focus on a smaller area for this. The area we going to focus on is the Broadway East and West, between Cambie St and Fraser St. This smaller area represents alot of what Mount Pleasant is, which is basically a version of what Vancouver’s identity is. Mount Pleasant is an electric, vibrant, trendy, and artistic area of Vancouver. However it represents the confused identity of Vancouver. At one end, this area represents Vancouver’s love of green, the love of nature, marijuana, and all things natural. However on the other end, Vancouver’s love of the almigthy green dollar, the ritzy cafes, the upscale bike shops, and outdoor stores that can cost you a month’s rent. Here is a preview of the area with the pictures:

Generally speaking the advantage men have when it comes to dating/mating is a) their abilty to separate love and sex b) their role as choosers of relationships c) the economic advantage men have over women. The advantages women have in relationships a) their lack of dependence on “looks” as a judgement of a quality of a partner b) the easier acceptance of women into different ecosystems and cultural subgroups c) competition among men increasing their chance of finding a quality partner

In identifying this particular adventages bestowed on women, I call on women to use these advantages to find the best quality husband for themselves. In several studies conducted on how hair colour affects women access to economic resources. Among white women it was found that hair colour did not significantly affect the rate at which women got married, however hair colour did determine a women’s access to economic resources and increased access to potential male suiters. Since “blonde hair” is usually held in the white community as the standard of beauty, more men are willing to compete to get access to the “blonde women”, and therefore increasing this group of women’s abilty to secure the best option from the competition. Of course this does not in any way mean all men consider blonde women as their physical prototype.

What can we learn from studies? Competition among men is a girl’s best friend. Competition enables the women to exercise their mating/dating advantage and garner as much options so they can accept the best qualified man. How does this relate to interracial dating/mating? Simply access to all men from different races, ethnicity, and cultures creates more competition. For example if you are brunette white woman tired of having less economic advantage in the “white world,” it is your best interest to allow quality men from other groups (asians, blacks, middle eastern) , who are interested in brunette white women to compete over you, and from this increased competition your chance at securing a better quality resourced man grows

My own case study. I grew up having an affinity to celtic culture, that sort of affinity translated into a specific physical attraction to white men with unique celtic features such as auburn or reddish coloured hair and freckles. At the age of 20, when I began my journey to find a suitable partner for myself, I needed to decide how I was going to approach my search for suitable partnership. I was a black women in a city that was less than 1% black, and many people I encountered had limited exposure to black peolple or black culture expect of course what they perceived to have seen on television. I knew although I had a particular leaning interms of looks, I needed to expand my options for three particular reasons:

1. I was only 20, while I had a particular leaning in terms of looks, I had yet to experience the world and I had limited exposure to life and other people. I needed to expose myself to different men from different cultures and economic backgrounds before I can make an intelligent decision on whom should be my partner
2. Competition is a girl’s best friend. More offers will elicit better responses from potential male suitors
3. While interrial marriages are growing, It still represents a smaller portion of the marriage rate (somewhere between 3% to 17%) depending on the area one lives. I wasn’t going to put all my eggs in one basket, and in fact a smaller basket

I increased my options and competition by allowing all men of all races to compete. The competition increased my self esteem, and it also enabled me to be selective because I could compare what different men were willing to offer. So what is my advice to women seeking partnership? I do realize that are many families and many cultural practices that do not permit women to date at all or outside permited cultural groups. However, if it is not a matter of life or death, and you are able to date without sex, do so. Expand your marketability, and shop in different markets to find the best quality man for yourself.

In an expensive city like Vancouver, a person must learn how to budget in order to be able to enjoy living in the city. For me that means coming up with a budget plan for a couple. For me and my husband we spend $300 a month on groceries. We have divided the month into four seperate weeks. For the first two weeks we spend $175 and for the last two weeks we spend $125.

For the first two weeks we buy approximately 40-50 items at a cost of $140-$150. The first week is a major food shopping spree. The list includes three types of meats, vegetables and fruits, cereal, milk and fun items such as pop and chips. We make our meal plan based our choices of meats, vegetables and grains. The second week we replenish our food stock and buy needed items we run out of or items that are needed for weekly replenishment. We spend $25-35 dollars on 5-10 items for the second week.

The last weeks function basically like the first two weeks. The third week is a major shopping spree. We spend $90 to $100 buying 30-33 items. The last week we spend $25 to $35 buying 5-10 items for replenishment

Now that summer is almost over and the rainy season has started here in Vancouver, it is now time to say goodbye to English Bay and its beautiful beach. Here are a few more pics to show of English Bay

Be a tourist in your own city. Treat yourself to a nice brunch and a tourist activity in your city to enjoy a budget friendly time. My husband and I decided to save on money and budget by just doing that in the city of Vancouver. We treated ourselves to a nice brunch at the world famous harbour view center and indulged in going to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. A pricey event, but worth it, because it allowed us to enjoy our city and appreciate our lives in our city. For the both of us, it cost a total of $240. Here are the pictures:

Here a list of my favorite foody places at English Bay. Walking through English Bay you come across the most diverse food choices in Vancouver. In my opinion the best middle eastern food in Vancouver is located here at English Bay. However you can also get other foods from around the world in small area of Vancouver.

So August is over, and the question for August is did we meet our budget goals? We made $4100. However we spent $4688. We had to dip into our savings to make up for the difference. We had $1740 in our savings, so now we have $1152 in total in our savings after August. Here is the breakdown of our budget for August:

	predicted		August Figures
BC Hydro	$50			$50
Lotto	$80			$160
Fun	$40			$40
Bmo Line	$450			$494
TD paym	$121			$80
St loan	$121			$89
Bank Fees	$11			$11
RBc pay2	$200			$207
Rent	$1,450			$1,485
BMO PE	$1,200			$1,555
Cibc loan	$20			$100
RBc pay1	$220			$250
Mutual F	$25			$25
Charity	$22			$22
c rbc loan	$121			$121
total	$4,131			$4,689

I live in Vancouver. The benefits of living in Vancouver is you are close to an island for just $17 ferry ride. Vancouver Island is an Island chain that is separated from the rest of the mainland by a body of water. Most cities have an island that you can escape to for a cheaper option than flying to the Caribbean, Hawaii and Fuji. You get to have a stay vacation, enjoy staying in an area surrounded by water, and you get the pleasures of staying on budget. Me and my husband took such a vacation to Vancouver Island, to a city on the island known as Nainamo. It was a cheaper option for us for a weekend getaway. We went by bus and it cost $17 per person. We ended up staying at my husband’s parents house, and our food cost was $100. Activities were $45 dollars. The total cost of the trip was $179. Here is some pictures of the trip: