When carrying a large balance, all we care about is making as many big payments towards the balance as possible. We don’t stop to think: “this $100 covers that purchase at the mall 3 weeks ago” or “this $250 goes towards paying back portion of that vacation we took back in July” . All we…
Can you manage your debt without knowing how much you owe?Sure — but you won’t get anywhere. You’ll just keep spinning your wheels. Recently, a friend asked me for help with his family’s growing debt and wanted to find better, more aggressive ways to eliminate it faster. Their total debt was around $60,000, spread across…
If your next vacation is costing you and the family over $5K but have almost none of that saved, and plan to put it all on debt, stop! Yes, stop! Cancel it if you have already booked it, assuming there are no big penalties. If you haven’t booked it yet, thank goodness, that was going…
Ever heard of ‘Attention Residue’? The idea is that after a distraction – say a phone call or checking social media – it takes the average person about 20 minutes (often cited as 18 to 23 minutes) to fully regain focus on the original task. This is commonly known as “attention residue” or context switching…
So you finally did it: after years of diligently and painstakingly paying to reduce your $15,000+ credit card balance, you have finally done it. To say that the weight lifted off your back is huge is an understatement! There is only one problem: this balance was incurred after having already paid a similar balance a…
Anticipation and excitement come first, while regret and self-blame follow after the act—this is the sequence of events that occurs before and after eating fast food or a junk meal. And that is just the feeling of having eat crappy food that is not good for your health. Then there is the financial aspect, and…
When I heard about this cool savings challenge, I felt a bit embarrassed. How could I have been writing about budgeting and personal finance for so long without ever hearing about or implementing this method? So, what exactly is the 52-Week Savings Challenge, and how does it work? Simply put, you start by setting aside…
How do you achieve financial freedom and independence? Should you sacrifice it all now in order to have a better life down the road? Truth of the matter is, you can actually do both! The key is to balance aggressive saving with intentional spending to live your life while building for the future. In a…
Is it just me, or do you spend a lot more money during summer than you usually do the rest of the year? There are more things to do, more places to be, and more friends to be with. This all requires more money than you would otherwise normally spend. I am not necessarily talking…
Last week, we had Part1 of our series about mind-bending paradoxes of wealth, happiness, and economics. Given the popularity of that article, we are doing a second part, delving deeper into more intriguing paradoxes that challenge our understanding of financial well-being and contentment. Let us get into it! The Stock Market Rollercoaster: The stock market…
Social media envy is real, but for me, it’s something somewhat related: I have what I like to call ‘social media curiosity.’ While not very active on platforms like Facebook, X, and others (fact: I have never had Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok accounts), the occasional times I do go online, one very common post I…
Recently, I did the math and realized I was saving just about 21% of my net income. While this is good considering my living situation, family expenses, and other factors, I thought it would be even better to increase my savings rate to 25%. However, without making major changes or sacrifices, I couldn’t just boost…
Emergency Fund is one of the most discussed, and often very confusing topic for a lot in personal finance. Not only do some people not have one, those who do often fail to understand its basic premise and how to best use it. First, let us try and define what an emergency fund is in…
Are you a financial hermit? You know, the alternative to being labeled as cheap or frugal – someone who avoids socializing, going out, or engaging in activities that involve spending money. While maintaining such financial discipline requires hard work and dedication, it can also be draining and unsustainable. Instead of embracing financial hermitage, consider more…
If you follow tech, you will notice an interesting trend over the last 2-3 decades or so:First, you have Microsoft driving away with the personal PC operating system market, leaving Apple and others in the dust. The Windows operating system has achieved near 80% dominance in the market for over 2 decades. Then there was…
What comes to your mind when you hear the words ‘wealth’ or ‘wealthy‘? most of us likely think of money, fancy cars, big houses or mansions, yachts, humongous bank accounts and so on. Some may even have the image of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or Bill Gates on their mind. But few think of wealth…
When was the last time you said to yourself: ‘I am spending too much; I better start saving’? On the other hand, when was the last time you said to yourself: ‘Man, I am saving too much money and need to start spending more’? The first question is not only more likely for the vast…
It is a familiar scene we have all come to experience while visiting Costco at one point or another: people pushing carts full of food and other items, barely able to push them due to how loaded they are. In fact, many of us have likely seen some with two carts, as if they are…
Have you fallen off and given up on your 2024 resolutions yet? Whether you have or not, we have an easy challenge for you to follow, even if the year is already close to one month old. In fact, it’s a good idea to start this one now to get back on track in case…
There is one extremely simple strategy you can use to get you up and running early in the new year, while giving your financial confidence and momentum a huge boost. The strategy is to commit to saving for something new, even if the saving goal is simple. For example, you can commit to a new…
Have you experienced the exhilarating emotion of saving money, discovering that it’s not just joyous but can become borderline addictive? The journey begins with the initial thrill of saving, and as your consistency grows, witnessing your savings increase becomes an addictive delight, pushing you to strive for even greater financial milestones. Interestingly, as your savings…
We’ve all encountered the idea of sleeping on a decision before making a purchase or committing to a significant financial investment. Many of us have found ourselves caught in the ‘buyer’s remorse’ conundrum, regretting a decision shortly after making a purchase. But how about going out of your way to find a reason not to…
Your life or someone’s life may just be one advise or lesson away from being completely different. When it comes to financial management and freedom, never shy away from advising others, or accepting advise from someone else, as obvious as the advise may be
In our household, we proudly own two cars. The first, a 2008 model, has clocked in at a whopping 250,000+ KMs. The second, a 2012 model, boasts an impressive total mileage of over 327,000 KMs. Now, if you’re struggling to wrap your head around just how substantial those mileage numbers are, let’s dive into the…
We often associate frugality with individuals on mid to lower incomes, specifically those on tight budgets or who have lost their jobs, and so on. But what if I told you that even the super rich – those in the top 0.1% of income and wealth – practice it and are not ashamed about it?…
The current financial landscape offers a unique blend of opportunities and challenges. While soaring interest rates may pose concerns for mortgage holders, they also bring a silver lining in the form of historically high savings account rates.
In this challenging financial landscape, it’s clear that Canadians are feeling the heat of unprecedented interest rate hikes. of the last 18 months. From adjusting budgets to exploring alternative mortgage solutions, there are ways to weather this storm. By making informed decisions, seeking professional advice, and taking advantage of high-interest savings options, individuals and families can navigate these turbulent times with resilience and hope for a brighter financial future
Embracing a lifestyle of cost-effective home practices and strategic outsourcing can yield significant financial and time savings. From establishing a home gym for convenient and affordable fitness routines to brewing your own coffee, these small changes accumulate into substantial annual savings.
Getting an income tax refund is great, but deciding what to do with that refund is even more important. What to do with it and how to save it, depends on personal cirmrutances, but some combination of saving for RRSP, paying down debt, general savings, would be preferable.
Albert Einstein once said “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it” . If something has the backing of arguably one of the smartest people in history, you can surely trust it! Compounding is the process whereby interest is addedto an existing principal…
Financial efficiency is key to achieving financial freedom and climbing the wealth ladder, but it seems to be lost on many on what it means.
In 2022, I implemented a resolution to cut down on junk food spending and save that money instead. I succeeded in sticking to my goal of only buying fast food once a week, resulting in 24.5 lbs weight loss and $625 savings. Better yet, I continued this success in 2023. This resolution proves that one effective decision can have a positive impact on multiple areas of life.
There are many powerful concepts in the personal finance literature to get you to financial freedom, but none are as important as that of paying yourself first (PYF)
We have all heard of an emergency fund, where you set a set amount money on the side to use for a rainy day and the unexpected, be it expensive car repairs, medical bills, home issues or anything else that you couldn’t have foreseen and would cost money to tackle. And while most probably have…
One of my goals for 2022 is to get active with push-ups. To be more specific, I set to do 10 push-ups a day and increase that by 1 extra push-up per month. So for January, I started with 10 a day and I have since increased that to 11 a day for February. For…
On October 31, 2015, I celebrated my 35th birthday. That was also the year I had became a father for the first time. Needless to say, it was a year full of milestones, changes and things to reflect on. That evening, after having taken my 6 month old son to visit relatives for his first…
I am no slave to junk food. I may eat it once or twice a week, sometimes with the family. But despite it not being a daily habit, it still goes a long way towards causing damage to both my pocket and health, especially with the rising prices for food of late. So for 2022,…
If you get a significant pay raise, what do you do with the extra money? Say you get a 10% raise or $5K, assuming that works out to $175-200 per pay. Do you just spend it? Do you allocate to a category in your budget? Or do you pretend like you never got it and…
Our family saving approach has been pretty effective, but we though it can get better, especially if we want to save to buy a new bigger house in the future. Seeing where house prices are heading, it will take a full and committed effort from both of us to save a good chunk for a…
Do you know what TFSA stands for? ‘Tax Free Saving Account’ you say? you got it! But do you know what that means exactly? well most people think they know, when in fact they don’t. Why? the simple inclusion of the letter ‘S’ or the word ‘Savings’ throws people off. People assume and treat TFSAs…
TFSA (short for Tax Free Saving Account) was introduced in Canada in 2009, allowing each individual (18 years of age or older) to save up to $5,500 per year and earn interest on their money, without having to pay any taxes on the earned interest. As of 2013, the maximum annual amount has been bumped…
2013 is now behind us. Time to focus on 2014. Financially speaking, one of the basic and first things you should do is have a piggy bank. This is in addition to your regular bank saving account. You don’t take piggy banks seriously or think they are only for kids? think again! Personally, piggy banks…
I have been using ING bank to save money since 2008 and it is one of the biggest reasons to which I attribute my increasing interest (pun intended) in saving money. There are a lot of places you can go to open a saving account but ING is different. Different for three reasons: higher interest…
How To Create the Right Emergency Fund By: guest author ‘Alicia Sanders‘ Unfortunately, we live in complicated financial times when lots of consumers complain that they don’t have an opportunity for saving money because their budget is really tough. Many Canadian consumers don’t have any savings and that’s why when an unexpected financial problem arises…
Happy New Year! Having cleared that out of the way and all the celebrations that come with a new year, let us get down to business. Yes, right here and now, on January 1st. We don’t have much time to waste. Not even having an extra day from this being a leap year is an…
Like everyone else, I occasionally see something I really like and want to get it that moment. Problem is, it may not be anything I can easily afford. It could be something big, say a nice car, a new electronic gadget, computer etc. Call it ‘instant gratification on steroids!’ Unless I have a lot of…
Inflation? what inflation? It’s surprising to see people still paying full price for items like electronics, cars, clothing, and books. In many cases, individuals are not only paying full price but also premium rates. With intense competition from businesses today, especially for non-essential items (excluding gas and electricity), there’s no need to pay full price…
The ultimate goal of your budget is to have money left over after covering all your expenses. To achieve this, you need to maximize your income and minimize your expenses. Here’s how: Minimizing Your Expenses Maximizing Your Income These are just a few examples of how to minimize expenses and maximize your income. While it…
Did you know you can use nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies, and toonies to pay for significant expenses? I did exactly that by using change saved in a piggy bank to cover over $800 of my dental treatment for braces. It took less than 18 months to save this amount, and it didn’t feel like a…
Putting your money in a savings account is just one way to save and grow your wealth—it’s not the only method. From my personal experience, having multiple savings sources can significantly increase your savings. In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Explore alternative ways to save money. Here are some options,…