If you like the other white meat and anything pork, Gastown is the place to be. Many pig themed restaurants line the streets along Gastown. Also Gastown is Vancouver’s pub place. Like any older place, pubs are heavily featured in this part of this city. Here are my favorite food choices in Gastown:

Last week my husband lost his job after working there for more than a year. The perils of living and working for a company, because at anytime they can let it go if they feel you do not benefit them as an employee. Arguably it is the company’s right to do so. But I am here to talk about how to survive being fired as an individual and couple and how to increase your marketablity as your explore your options for another job.

1. Being fired- Being fired is a normal part of life. It is as normal as death and taxes. The first thing is to get into a good mental space. Seek outside help if that is needed. To simply put in the long run, a job is just a job and you may need a job to acquire resources. However you are more than any job and life must and should go on
2. Access your current situation: financial, emotional and mental and create a written plan of action
3. Financial assessment involves looking at the positives and negatives of your current situation
   1. Negative assessment for us were: we didn’t have three months savings yet, we still have debts to pay off, it happened too early in the year, and my husband will lose his benefits
   2. Positive assessment: I still have my job and my benefits and now we can transfer all our benefits to my plan, my husband was able to get a good severance package that has enabled us make up for the lack of savings, we are both healthy and we can find good work and tax season is coming up and we will be getting refunds that will provide us with some cushion
4. Emotional assessment: It is ok to be lose a job. It is ok to experience negative as well as positive emotions. Make sure to feel those emotions, and take time to heal your spirit as an individual and as a couple. Don’t make any snap decisions after losing your job, take at least two weeks of time to process that firing and take a mental mini-vacation if you can not afford a physical vacation
5. Mental: Seek psychological help. They are many companies that provide free counselling to their employees after they have been let go. Please take advantage of these opportunity. Lastly it may seem money is important for your survival, but it more important to be healthy and money comes and goes

Gastown fashion is a reflection of the area. It is trendy, cool, local, sophisticated, and a homage to European Influence. The clothing stores reveal a “Audrey Hepburn” type of elegance and sophistication that brings a unique flavour to the city’s fashion industry. Here are a few samples of the stores:

We enjoyed a nice trip to Whistler on budget last weekend. Whistler in all accounts is very expensive place to ski. However it is worth a trip down to Whistler to enjoy the scenery, ski and enjoy food and the best deli sandwich( I have had in the surrounding area of Vancouver). What made our trip to Whistler less expensive is we purchased our ski tickets and ski equipment before November 2019 and that gave us a 20 percent discount for the prices. We were able to save a total of $75 dollars. We also took a bus to Whistler from Vancouver at a cost $35 per person. So my advice in enjoying Whistler on a budget is to look for deals on line and purchase your ski tickets early before the ski season. Also to look into cheaper forms of transportation to and from Whistler. Here are the pics of Whistler:

Gastown is where Vancouver began. With its cobbled stone pathways, and close (alleyway) reminiscent of something out of an European city, Gastown is where you want to go to get a little bit of sophiscation in a newer city like Vancouver. We are going to be exploring this great area of Vancouver in the next few weeks and taking in all the beauty. Here are just a few pictures to begin our journey:

This week is our last week in New Westminster with our focus on the few things I haven’t posted yet. Next week we will be trekking through Vancouver’s gastown, one of the oldest areas in Vancouver. Here are the final pictures of New westminster:

I know Valentine’s day is over, but here a few ways I suggest to enjoy some romance without going over the budget:

1. Go to a public market….for me as a Vancouverite, a visit to Granville Island market and look around the place and sampling the free treats and eating at the small food court with my husband is romance at its best
2. Go for a walk in the park. If it is cold outside, bundle up and look out for local vendors where you can purchase some street food
3. Go to local pub… eat, drink and be merry while enjoying the ambience of the setting
4. Go window shopping, enjoy the beauty and styles the city has to offer, also partake in some street vendor food
5. Do something active outside… bike, roller skate, ice skate and finish that off with a nice treat like ice cream or hot cholocate

Old fashioned barber shops, thrift shops and old fashioned restaurants make up the comfortable, classic feeling of this place. Here a few pictures:

In the month of January, I made a total of $2200. My husband made a total, after paying into the benefit program for our family, made $2100. Our total family income was $4300. We ended up spending $4711. We had to take money from our savings. Our savings after December was $1700. After taking money from our savings, we now have $1289 in our savings. Here is a breakdown of our spending/savings for the month:

	predicted	actual	January Numbers
BC Hydro	$50			$50
Lotto	$80			$195
Fun	$40			$40
Bmo Line	$450			$461
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			$120
RBc pay1	$220			$250
Mutual F	$25			$25
Charity	$22			$22
c rbc loan	$121			$121
total	$4,131			$4,711

There is abundant choice of food in UPTOWN New Westminster. It is a place that offers basic, delicious offerings without all the frills and extravagrance of other areas of Vancouver. If you want good food at valued prices this is the place to go to. Here are the pictures:

YANNI GREEK RESTAURANT LOCATED@ 543 6TH ST

WHITE SPOT LOCATED@ 610 6TH ST