End Of September. Recap & Wrap Up.

Well, today is the last day of the month and also the end of the third quarter of the year. Time moves so fast, it feels like not so long ago I began blogging and it's already been 7 months. Wowza.

Let's first review my September Goals. Sigh. I already know how this will look(sorry was typing to myself)

• Do NO LESS than 15 sit ups daily.

Complete an utter fail. I just don't have the motivation. My mind is not in the right place and if your mind isn't there you definitely won't achieve anything. That being said, I did start off the month awesome. About for the first 10 days not only did I do the sit ups but I also did a set of push ups with them as well. Then I slacked off. Tried to pick back up but ultimately settled back to not doing them. Maybe if I had a workout partner I would be able to accomplish more.

• At least 20 blog posts for this month.

This post will actually make 20 and I know it would seem like I cheated as I am also counting spending recaps and link love but 20 post wasn't the true goal. The actual goal was to craft some quality blog post because for the previous two months I don't think I did, it felt like they I was mostly just doing mundane post like spending recaps or complaining/talking about the car and other stuff but I think for this month of September I have crafted some stellar post. This was probably the most important goal for me as I really do heart* being a part of this blogging community. Not only do I enjoy writing, I enjoy reading all of your blogs and even more than that I love the fact that we can share our opinions, help each other, motivate each other, support each other and generally just become friends and use this as an entertainment(I mean that in the nicest way it is far more than mere entertainment but it is fun) outlet. I know for some of us it is a crutch on a long hard journey but I am willing to bet this is best damn crutch you have ever used. Getting back to the goal it has been achieved and this one feels awesome.

• Make the 100% club at work.

Yip yip I did it. I got to work early every day this month and didn't miss a single day. I did come close to failing one to many times as I clocked in on exactly the minute(one day the door wouldn't open and I had to run around to the other door) but I made it and I am proud. I hate being late for work as I see work as a contract and a promise that I will be there everyday and on time so long as I am physically healthy to do so. This also means that when my 8 hours are up that I can go. Touche.

• FINISH THE ABOUT ME PAGE I STARTED SINCE JUNE 16TH!

No good excuses. I just suck and am a horrible procrastinator. In my defense though, my first project for class is to build a website about me(who would have thought) and it is due October 8th. Needless to say I am having a bit of trouble working on that as well, not because I procrastinate but I just don't know how to express myself(horrible I know). I was thinking though that I would incorporate that somehow into the about me page so hopefully I will have it finished before October can disappear like the other months.

• Make a holiday gift plan.

I did put some thought into it but I haven't come up with anything worthwhile. Right now I am just hoping for some kind of windfall and then do last minute Christmas shopping. I know it's a bad plan but I really didn't have a car in the works for this year and let alone Christmas. At least I know for next year to start early in case the unexpected happens. On top of that I have two very important birthdays coming up in November and they both still have me scratching my head. Sigh.

I think that's it for September. I don't have any specific goals for October, just continue to be early for work. Right now I am just letting my ship drift on the ocean and keeping my eyes open for the unexpected. My plan for October is just to spend less than I earn and pay bills/debt. As of right now I am feeling all cool, calm and collected. That's it for September. Bring on October and let us see how it fares.

I'm Going To Retire No Less Than Half A Millionaire

So I've been playing around with a retirement calculator and came up with some interesting results so let me break it down for you.

First off I put the starting mark at 22 years old. A year more than my current age.

Next I based it on my current contribution to my RRSP(registered retirements savings plan) which is $100.

I used an interest rate of 5%. My RRSP carries a guaranteed rate of no less than 5%.

Lastly I set the retirement age to 55 which is what I have for my RRSP at the moment but I can change it if I so desire.

Based on this info I put in, the calculator spat this out.

Calculator from Scotiabank.com

So I was playing around with the sliders(you can't see them cause I cut the picture) and the first thing I did was move the age up 55 to 60. This moved me from retiring with $98000 in the RRSP to $130000. Another 5 years(65) which is the actual age of retirement and when you can get your NIS pension(national insurance scheme - equivalent to social security for the US and no idea what the Canadians/Australians/Europeans/rest of the world call it) and that would give me $176000 to retire with in addition to NIS and whatever other investments I have made over my lifetime.

Next I adjusted the contribution amount. I took it up in $25 increments and watched the numbers changed. I stopped when I got here.

Calculator from scotiabank.com

That's right. $528000 A.K.A half of a million dollars. Can you dig it???

And all I have to do is from age 22 is contribute $300 a month to my RRSP and do nothing. NOTHING I TELL YOU till age 65.

Yes I know I will have to pay taxes on that money in the end but I am certain the tax deductions I make yearly over my lifetime will at least even it out.

The best part parts about this plan are

1. I've already started practically a year early even though with a smaller contribution
2. I have a little over half a year to make any adjustments I see fit
3. This is not my only plan for retirement. Just the one that will be automated and require the least work from me. All I will do is set up automatic contributions and just rely on the 5% growth. No busting my brains investing, no ups and downs like the stock market. No need to change it when I get older. Just a plain sweet guaranteed 5% till I retire.
4. Just to reiterate. I am going to have other investment options along with this one. So I might just end up a millionaire who knows.

Bottom line is. When I reach 22 come next year and I have no other options as yet set up for retirement. I will up my RRSP contributions to $300 monthly(given I make enough to do so) and at the very least, if this is my only retirement plan and everything else fails, once nothing happens to the credit union who houses my RRSP and I keep up my contributions. I will be half of a millionaire.

And I am OK with that. I don't believe I will need much more than that to live out a happy retirement and I will have P with me and heaven only knows how much she will bring to the relationship. If you haven't noticed I have not up to this day include anything that P will bring to our relationship and it is not because I don't acknowledge it but the time hasn't come yet. She is still at school and I can't measure her potential benefit(financially in this case) to our relationship but I can bet you my life it will be huge. I might even change plans and be a self employed, work from home dad.

But for now. If we go on just my potential alone and my plan. I will retire with a net worth of no less than Half of a million dollars. This is my plan and my promise.

With this I think future self is taken care of. Thanks for all of your input from last post. Feel free to share your retirement plan and if you don't have one. Get one. Two more days left in September. Time waits on none of us.

Who Do You Pay First?

As I was reading a few blogs I came up with another one of those crazy thoughts/opinions that ND Chic has been disagreeing with me on a lot lately(not that I mind in any way, I enjoy her comments and like to see her opinions. This goes for everyone else as well.).

Anyways, so I was thinking. One piece of great advice I always see floating around is to pay yourself first. I completely agree with this but which self would you say needs the pay more. Your present self or your future self?

The answer I have come up with is my future self. I figured that it is best to pay my future self first especially while I am younger and I say this for a few reasons.

• Future self is full of uncertainty(could be jobless)
• Future self will be older and have less energy
• Present self I know for sure is healthy and full of energy and has a job(alas more certain)
• Present self is younger and youth is powerful to have on your side(I'd say youth is anywhere under 50. No insult to anyone just a random age which I assume your energy levels start to drop)
• Present self can sacrifice sleep, hold down more jobs at the same time and really fight against the hard times
• Future self has compound interest on his side or does this belong to present self?

I think you get the point of the argument but what I really want to ask is what do you think. Let me try to explain myself using my current situation.

Right now I have a very small EF(roughly $1000) but it is enough to cover most general emergencies(to me that is mostly health related. My car breaking down really isn't an emergency, just an inconvenience)

I contribute at least $100 every month to my retirement portfolio. This is due to increase but that depends on the coming year(more on this in the future).

Lastly I have car debt.

Given those 3 attributes my thinking goes like this.

I have an emergency fund and I am contributing towards my retirement. I really hate owing money for the car and I don't really have any set in stone short term savings goals I need to meet. So right now I really want to throw all my excess money towards my car debt and have it gone asap. Because I have an EF and I am contributing to my retirement, everything else financial wise can be put on hold for the moment.

Almost always this is how I feel but I keep hesitating to put it into action because I don't know if it is the smartest thing to do. I can say that once I know money goes to my retirement I am always comfortable at the end of the day. If I do put the plan in action my future self will definitely benefit but I am not sure what it means for my present self. As with everything it all has to do with balance and I have to find it. Sometimes I feel the only self I have to look out for is my future self. Present self can roll with the punches.

I think to help me solve this I will have to sit down and really map out my future in 5 year spans. Probably make some form of milestone chart and really set some goals I want to achieve and stop keeping everything in my head.

Anyways, I welcome your opinions and advice on my current dilemma and would really appreciate it. Also which self do you think needs taking care of more, Present or Future? And for those of you who are lucky enough to be able to support both that is awesome and I really hope I can be like that soon but as it stands now I don't have an income that can support them both so I have to find a balance and sacrifice.

Spending Recap September 18 - 24

Spending Recap

Week runs form Sunday - Saturday
Days missing are no spends = 4

Sunday September 18
$8 haircut/grooming
$90 doctor/health
$122.71 cell phone bill

Thursday September 22
$40 gas
$5.02 supermarket
$2.50 bread
$7.35 deodarant
$3 donation

Saturday September 24
$9 ice cream

Total: $287.58

Pretty expensive week even with 4 no spends. Nothing much to say about it. I had my ears cleaned at the doc so nothing serious to worry about and I paid a bill. Think those were the major upsets. My goal for this week is to spend less than I did this past week. Hope everyone had a great week and let's all try to finish off September with a Bang. I've failed one of my September goals for sure. I leave that one for you to guess but I can still nail the others.

Sunday Link Love - Balancing Life & My Weekend

Just thought I would share a bit about my weekend so the link love wouldn't be so bland.

So I had my first ever after work beer with a couple of peeps from work on Friday evening. It's the first time I was invited and I was quite glad to be but sadly I couldn't stay long as I had a meeting to attend the same evening. I had one beer and I was out. Funny thing is I don't even drink but I finished the one beer. It was nice and I wouldn't mind doing it some other time, most likely I will drink coke next time though.

Moving on I got to hang out with a couple old friends and my future sis-in-law. That too was nice. Been too long since I last got out the house for something other than work. I also went out for ice cream that I shouldn't have bought because I couldn't finish it but oh well. With all of this I did more driving than I planned which was none besides going to class on Saturday(class was awesome as well by the way). Now today being Sunday, I am spending most of today doing some work for class and catching up on some blog posts since the last time I was able too was Thursday.

Now on to the links:

• Hithatsmybike had a real life stumble with balancing life. I'm just like her in that I want that happy-medium.
• Trent hits back with a post that I believe can help with that about knowing your priorities.
• I think Happy Home Owner has either found that balance or is very close to as she is taking a vacation instead of assassinating her debt.
• Little Lamb likes small rewards for reaching goals. Big or small I think you should plan a reward for yourself for when you achieve your targets.
• The great toilet paper debate. If you are really bored and need something "interesting" to look at check this out.

Lastly I don't know how many of you may have checked out TJ's Bento Log but for those of you who are interested in cooking you should give it a check out. I'm certain you may find something you like and I am certain you can shoot off an email or comment for some suggestions and TJ will certainly help. If anything she has some cool lunch boxes and here is a favourite meal of mine. Rice and Stirfry.

How was everyone's weekend?

Why 7?

I was just wondering why the number 7? Is there a specific reason? Even though I ask that I am still going to hop on the band wagon as a lot of my favourite bloggers are doing it. It's fun to learn stuff about everyone.

7 things I have done this year:

1. Started This Blog.
2. Opened a registered retirement savings account.
3. Opened a money market savings account.
4. Bought a car.
5. Decreased my wardrobe
6. Started a new class
7. Bought a new laptop

7 Things left to do this year:

1. Make a Christmas list.
2. Pay off as much as my car loan as possible
3. Decrease the amount of money I save to buy company shares
4. Pass the class with the highest mark
5. Decide if I am going to do a more advance class after this current one or something totally different.
6. Get someone to help me organize my resume better
7. Plan for 2012

7 things I hope to achieve in 2012.

1. Pay off all debt on car.
2. Save some money to go Jamaica in November.
3. Achieve stage 2 in youth group I am apart of.
4. Save at least a quarter of my yearly salary.
5. Decide on the next step in my career.
6. Start a successful side hustle.
7. Move onto next stage of my relationship.

That's it. Pretty boring and I know it is because it took me so long to come up with the ones for this year. In case you haven't seen them, check out some of the others I've found who did the list of 7. They are all cooler than mine.

First up and I believe the one who started it(correct me if I am wrong)

• Judy

Following in no particular order we have

• Little Lamb
• Michelle P
• Carla
• Serendipity
• Slay The Monster
• BTHappyHomeowner
• Frugal Forties
• Sarah
• Two Degrees

Enjoy :)

Are You Really Debt Free?

Last week I wrote a post entitled Debt is Debt. It was inspired by this post by Debt Ninja.

Believe it or not that post that I wrote was actually suppose to be this one that you are reading now, it just happened to transform as I began writing. In the post by Ninja, he said something that sparked my curiosity. He said

I am debt free sir, you are not.

Hope you don't take offence Ninja for me using you as my example and also for taking so much from your post.

Anyways Ninja said that in the context of him comparing the guy with a mortgage to himself who pays rent.

So my question is. Isn't rent equivalent to paying a mortgage? And if that is so isn't it comparable to being in debt?

Let's face it and compare?

Rent is very similar to paying a mortgage except one goes to the bank and the other to a person.

Yes. Rent gives you a little more freedom than a mortgage in the fact that you can pick up and move to a different location for whatever reason but face it. You are going to have to pay that rent anyway. Rent isn't like your cell phone bill or netflix that you can just decide that you are not going to pay it and give it up. You can even choose not to pay your utilities and have them cut off for a period but I am sure none of us will ever want to be homeless. You need someplace to live and unless family or friend decides to take you up for free you are going to have to be paying that rent every month just like a mortgage. I don't think anyone would choose to live on the streets.

I guess the only time it wouldn't be comparable to a mortgage is if you lease your home and paid everything up front. That's the only time I would say it wasn't exactly similar to a mortgage.

Don't get me wrong, I am not calling rent debt. I'm just pointing out it is a constant expense that really won't be going anywhere so you can't really say you are better off than someone with a mortgage. The only win win situation is to own your home outright and even then you have a few expenses you should cover.

Anyways just a thought I had that I wanted to share with you guys and see what you think.

And in Ninja's defense. The guy he was comparing himself to does have a car loan and that is a whole other ball game so Ninja wins hands down. Also I have nothing against Ninja he just wrote a very thought provoking post last week just like a lot of his stuff usually is.

P.S
I might have to throttle down the number of post I write depending on how I manage my time in the coming weeks. I have an assignment for class due oct. 8th that I really need to nail. I still want to reach my goal of 20 post for September(trust me, I failed at least one already) but overall I am happy with what I have produced thus far.

Spending Recap September 11 - 17

Spending Recap

Week runs from Sunday - Saturday
Days missing are no spends = 2

Sunday September 11
$12.85 misc

Monday September 12
$2.50 bread
$654.50 car insurance

Wednesday September 13
$3.45 bread
$7.50 misc
$2.25 soda

Friday September 14
$1.65 misc

Saturday September 15
$0.50 food(bill came over by 50cents)

Total: $685.20

Bullet explanations today:

• Made last insurance payment on car for the year.
• Don't know how to justify Friday.
• General spending minus insurance payment totaled $30.70.
• Overall happy with the past week.
• Don't like to keep bread in freezer. I like it fresh.

The reason I can't justify Friday is because it just seems so dumb and it could have been a no spend. A co worker asked me for a dollar and I gave him. He has no intentions of giving me back by the way. The way it is if I ever need a dollar and ask him for one he would give me it fuss free as well although that is very rare cause I really hate asking for money. I generally don't mind though but it's funny losing a no spend that way. After that another co worker came asking for change(for clarification, we have dollar coins) so I just gave him what was left in my pocket because once the dollar was gone I didn't feel like carrying around loose change.

I know I just wasted precious minutes writing jibberish and you wasted precious minutes reading it but bear with me. Nothing interesting is really going on lol.

Enjoy your week everyone.

Late Sunday Link Love

Sorry it's so late but I had a pretty busy day. Spent about two hours this morning at the doctor waiting to get my ears cleaned out then I was doing some work for my web design class(getting a little tough but awesome) and I washed the car not to long ago. Better late than never so here are some great post that are out there.

• Twelve reasons when a pay cut might make sense. More vacation time and/or good benefits and I'm all for it. Trust me.
• 29 Nevers & 29 Alwayses. 58 tips totally worth your reading time.
• Don't ever sacrifice everything because you are working to correct a "mistake". Be it debt or anything else. Friends and small pleasures you truly enjoy are worth more than you know.
• The journey to tackling debt isn't a very joyous one, but at the end of that journey there will be a pot of gold.
• Separating the urgent and the important. This can really help with your time management.

There you have it. Hope you enjoy. In case you notice. Some of these links are really old. That's because I stock up on them and hold some for a while. Still awesome though.

Hope everyone has an awesome week.

A Whole Slew Of Giveaways

No not from me sorry but from some awesome bloggers out there.

First up and time is quickly running out on this one. I think you have until tomorrow to enter for this one it is a Blog Candy Giveaway. Do this one for the cozies if anything. Thanks for this giveaway goes out to Carla of My 1/2 Dozen Daily. Don't just stop by for the competition either. Lot's of great stuff is there like for example. THIS.

Next up we have a blog anniversary celebration and they are giving away an ipad2 over at Life and My Finances. I'm new to this blog and I can honestly say I found it through the promotion but this is the first PF blog that the blogger has a degree in finance that I know of(I think). He should have an interesting take on things.

And last but not least and I don't think this one even needs much mentioning but you can get $500 just for spilling a few of your dreams in writing. That's right. The $500 Budgets are Sexy giveaway, sponsored by Life Insurance Finder is up for grabs. Since I have to post my bucket list here goes:

• Go to Australia and tour the outback just like that scene in Kangaroo Jack right after they left the airport and right before meeting Kangaroo Jack. I also want to see Sydney at night. I saw a picture of it on a friends computer and it looks surreal..
• Get married to P. My Soulmate.
• Raise a family.
• Be the bestest Dad EVER.
• Take a vacation every other year and go see some interesting places in the world.

That's my bucket list and before I go I have to mention one other giveaway. Kystal at GMBMFB is having a giveaway as well but it is open to Canadians only. So all you Canadians head on over and give it a shot. Everyone else should just head over and read one of her other really awesome post like today's one and check out her new blog design.

I know this post just seems like a promotional post and I am just trying my luck at winning one of these giveaways but it really is equivalent to me spreading a little link love. All of these except for the one new one are all blogs I read avidly and would promote anyways. They are great bloggers and they help with inspiration for my own blog from time to time so I'm more giving back a little.

Finally and Yes this time it is final, I want to leave you with a thought which will be tackled in a post next week(Tuesday I believe). Think about this.

Isn't paying rent for someplace to live equivalent to being in debt?

Debt is Debt.

So yesterday I read this post by Ninja entitled "You're not debt free if you have debt". I also read a follow up post by BTHappyHomeOwener entitled "Do you believe there is good debt"?

In essence they were both highlighting the perspective some people have in labeling some debt good and some debt bad. My take on this is... debt is debt, one isn't better than the other. A zero percent interest rate loan isn't necessarily better than a ten percent interest rate loan. A mortgage isn't necessarily better than buying a TV on credit.

At the end of the day, both affect your cash flow. You still owe someone for something but who is to say that mortgage isn't stressing you out come bill time while I am sitting enjoying my TV while paying the bill for it online without a care in the world?

Why is it that if you borrow money to go to school and I borrow money for a very nice business suit that your investment is better than mine? Why is it that because you like owning your home or more correct, the bank owning your home that it makes it good and because I like new clothing that mine is labeled as bad? We are both in debt aren't we?

Debt doesn't need a good label and a bad label. It has one already and that is DEBT.

Debt, just like money isn't evil nor is it good. It's just how you use it. The important thing to be doing is to be managing your finances. Once you are in control of that, good debt, bad debt, consumer debt, educational loans, mortgages, car loans, store credit, credit cards, money borrowed from family and anything that is equivalent to you owing money wouldn't make a difference.

Big cooperate companies borrow money all the time and they usually use this to profit. Profit doesn't have to be financial gains. Going back to my TV. I could buy my TV on credit and get real enjoyment from it and can totally manage the bill at the end of the day. Isn't it worth then? Isn't that a profit for me?

Yes I know that sometimes we make stupid decisions and go get ourselves into debt for a pair of shoes we never wear or someone sold us a unicorn, but the debt itself isn't stupid nor is it bad. The decision was a bad decision or a stupid decision or both but don't label the debt, label your decision. It can also sometimes just be a mistake. We all make mistakes.

I personally think we all should all stop labeling debt. Debt is Debt and admit it or not, it is a part of our personal finance journey and because it is personal it is your choice if to have it or not. I feel the main reason people started advocating not going into debt is because most people can't manage it so it's best to stay clear.

After this, whatever you choose to do or believe from here on out this is MY opinion.

Debt is Debt.

Weather you choose to take on debt or not do me these two favours.

1. Keep an emergency fund. (if you have debt this means having enough to pay your bills and still live normally for a few months at least)
2. Follow my golden rule of spend less than you earn. (your credit limit does not mean you have more money to spend)

S. M. A. R. T

Save
More
And
Reach
Targets

Just to be clear, I didn't come up with this myself. It's a slogan one of our local banks use to promote their suite of savings accounts. I just thought it was worth sharing.

Spending Recap & the Elusive 6

Spending Recap

Week runs from Sunday - Saturday
Days missing are no spends = check for yourself ;)

Friday September 9
$600 car payment
$115 gas
$85 supermarket
$5 lunch

Total: $805

Believe it or not. I snagged the elusive 6 no spends day. Think that is a record for me. Woot! Woot!

7 no spends was never to be as I knew I had bills coming. If only they weren't due I could have nailed it. Guess I have a goal to achieve by the end of the year and that is to nail the Elusive 7 no spends.

The lunch was also unplanned but I got called Friday night last minute and was asked to work some overtime as there was work that needed to be ready for Saturday so I gave in and went along. Of course I didn't have anything planned for lunch so I just bought a little something to hold me out.

Even with the 6 no spends the week was still expensive but I had bills and I doubled up on the car payment. I want it gone so bad I can't begin to make you understand. I love the car but having money owed for it is really getting more annoying as I can't figure out how to get it gone faster. I honestly wish I could have it over and done with by December but that doesn't look like it is to be. I'll try though.

Anyways. I had quite an amazing week last week when it came to finances. Nothing to complain about financially but I did get into a tiny fender bender. A guy ran into the back of my car. Nothing serious, just some minor scratches but that will be taken care of soon.

Hope everyone has an amazing week. September could be a good month for us all.

Link Love - Inspiration. Inspiration and even more Inspiration.

Jumping right into it here goes.

Inspiration from The Happy Homeowner

150 pounds of inspiration coming from Red. She achieved her goal, so can all of us.

Inspiration for that side hustle you are thinking about doing or doing or doubting if you could be successful. Krystal is an awesome role model to look up too.

Add this 5 card payoff to this old list of zeros and you can see what being in a relationship and a little sacrifice can do for your finances. Definitely inspiration at its brightest.

One last bit of inspiration and some help in case you are doubting you can ever land that dream job.(I am extremely excited for Bridget)

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

I want to offer my condolences to everyone who was affected and to Americans on the whole for the tragedy that took place on this very day 10 years ago. I vaguely remember going to play Halo by a friend and it being broadcasted on local t.v. Back then I was much younger and really didn't understand fully the meaning of everything but today with much more knowledge I can look back and understand so much more. I'm sorry things like this go on in today's world.

Patience Is A Virtue

In yesterday's post about the company you keep, I mentioned co worker who's goal is to become a millionaire.

In my honest opinion he is off to a good great start and not only off to a great start but on the definite path to realizing this goal. What is blinding him from seeing this though is his lack of patience.

He wants to be a millionaire but he wants it now or in the very near future. He wants high returning investments which don't exist at the moment. He wants quick money.

The problem though, is that it is not coming and he is usually busting his brain trying to find a way to make it happen and is probably just going around in circles(I assume he is going around in circles because I sometimes think about a way to make something happen that isn't happening and it usually comes back down to the same things I already know).

The reason I say he is off to a great start is because from talking to him and observing some of his habits I can see he is on the right path to achieving his millions but in the long term(probably just shy of retirement) if he does nothing else than what he already does. Here are some of the things he does that make me willing to bet he will achieve his millionaire status

• He thinks about money constantly
• He brings to work lunch about 80% of the time
• He works a hell of a lot of overtime
• He seems to be managing his debt well(really and truly I think he only has debt because he wanted more money to invest)
• He saves money and invests. He has some money in government bonds that I know of.
• He talks about money and is very willing to learn more about it.
• He doesn't place value on cars and understands that they are not an asset.
• He is furthering is education.

I keep reinforcing to him that he is doing very well and that his major problem is patience. I have been trying to help him find investments but nothing in the short term(1-5 years) is coming in over 4.5% and he really isn't looking for anything under 5. His savings account is over 3% I believe(he is lucky and has an old account from the past) and the government bonds are returning 6.5% but over an 8 year time period. We have looked into the stock market but when you live on such a small island there isn't anything to shout about. It's just buy and hold because things don't change that much not even over the long haul. They do increase but minimally so buying and selling won't be a profitable gain for the short term.

The only thing I haven't really tried to talk to him about is frugality. I didn't really see a need too as I can see it in him even if he doesn't know what it is. A simple tactic like cooking and bringing to work lunch when you can afford to eat out everyday day shows me that he knows where to save money in some areas. I assume if we delve deeper we could find things to cut back on but I don't support people giving up on things they like doing, so long as they are saving and paying off debt first. Once those two are covered you should enjoy smaller things like for example clothes shopping if it is something you truly enjoy. Also it really isn't any of my business lol. Oh and he is so impatient I doubt the slow earning frugality would suit him.

Anywhos... This post turned into more of a rambling than any real kind of advice so I just want to say. Look at those points above and see if you can in cooperate any into your daily lifestyle if you haven't already. Those are good tactics that can help anyone achieve financial success.

And have a little PATIENCE. Good things happen to those who wait(almost forgot the topic of this post). Sometimes you can't do much more than you are already doing besides wait and keep your eyes and ears and financial house in check for when a good opportunity arises.

If only I can get him to see this.

Until next time.

Enjoy.

Your Associates

Did you know that the people you spend time with can greatly influence your thinking, your future and basically your life? I guess we don't usually think about it but the people we spend time around can really guide our life for better or worst. This holds especially true for the people we work with. Most of us spend at least 8 hours a day at work and I am willing to bet for most of those hours, we have to interact with someone else in our immediate environment.

Case in point.

Me.

As you know from my most recent net worth update, I have opened a Money Market Account. The sole purpose this has happened now all of a sudden is because last week I was put to assist a fellow co worker and he wants to become a millionaire. So of course the talk is about money more often than not. So while working I was trying to teach him as much as I know about banking and investing when it comes to our little island Barbados. Throughout these chats I've told him about interest rates among the banks and I mentioned different investment houses and instruments that can be used on his journey. In fact I got so into that I started making calls and visiting the websites of as many of the investment houses as I could during work hours(I was not skipping on work, we were working as a team so we switched from time to time).

Throughout all of this it dawned on me.... I want more money as well. I want to invest and get more money so I can be comfortable(I'm avoiding using rich or millionaire). I don't want to be working hard for money the rest of my life. I want my money to work for me. I want things like interest payments and dividends to be coming in monthly, quarterly and/or yearly. I want more freedom.

But.

I wasn't doing anything about it. I knew so much about different investments and institutions who can help me grow my money but I was always making excuses, one such excuse was I didn't have enough money to invest. Turns out I was kinda wrong. The same money market account I opened was offering a 3% interest rate and credits the interest to your account daily so that your balance for the next day will be calculated higher. The bank offers 2.5% in their savings accounts. All I needed to open the money market account was one thousand dollars and all I needed to do was look. I may not have a lot or any excess cash but I did have $1000 dollars saved in my EF and I got that within a years time by putting away $20 a week. If I looked further, the wedding fund was approaching the $1000 dollar mark and this unlike my EF did not need to be easily accessible.

So I had found an extra $1000 dollars to start expanding my investment portfolio so what excuses did I have now. NONE. So I went ahead and did it. I talked to P about what I wanted to do. Got the go ahead and went at it with a fire of excitement in my heart and soul(when I get into something I get into it with everything and I go at it fully as you might have noticed since I was doing my research on work hours).

I went at it so intensely that the company I was going to had moved but did not update the address on their website so when I was going to open the account I ended up at the wrong place 20 minutes before closing time and when I called and found out the correct address I didn't think I would have made it to the correct place in time but I wanted to so bad that I tried and made it right on the closing time.

This isn't the first time I have been in this position either. It just so happens that about 2 years ago when I was just getting into Personal Finance at my previous job, a fellow co worker whom I just happened to have been paired to work with was trying to teach me about saving money in the bank to gain interest and coincidentally he was telling me about the exact same money market account and the benefits it offers. At that time we were both going to invest in it then but as you know, excuses held us(definitely me) back. The talk was there but not the walk to back it up. Who would have imagined that two years later I would be trying to teach someone the exact same thing and advising them on the exact same account I hadn't even tried myself yet.

I was like a stalled car and all I needed was a jump start. That jump start came just by being around someone with similar interest and goals and the very jump start turned me from a stalled hooptie at the side of the road in to a track blazing nascar. I can't tell you how much investing and growing my money is on my mind but you may see it coming out in the coming months on the blog.

If you've managed to read this far down they are two things I want you to carry away from this article.

1. Don't be a talker be a walker. That is to say if you have good ideas or intentions, act on them don't just sit on them and don't do anything.
2. Watch the people who you associate with the most. They can pull you back by getting you interested in things that are the opposite direction of your goals. They can be neutral and just talk about the weather all day or lastly they can influence you and guide you in a positive direction towards your goals and these are the kind of people you want to be around more often than not.

I think that's it for now. I hope everyone who reads can take something from this. More to come in the future.

Spending Recap August 28 - September 3

Spending Recap

Week runs from Sunday - Saturday
Days missing are no spends which = 1

Sunday August 28
$7.50 late fees for P
$107.30 gas
$52 drive in movies

Monday August 29
$17.80 breakfast for P
$2 parking
+$5 dad

Tuesday August 30
$4 lunch
$4.25 bread

Wednesday August 31
$14.99 drink mix
$21.10 ear drops

Friday September 2
$3.25 breakfast

Saturday September 3
$30 class manual

Total: $264.19 - $5
       = $259.19

Not bad in my opinion. P was leaving the island on Monday so that should explain the high expenses between Sunday and Monday minus the gas which would be needed anyways. I didn't have a bad week overall so not much else to say. A little on the high side but it was justified.

Hope everyone did good over the last week as well and I hope this week is a great one. I know the Americans are starting with a holiday so that's pretty awesome and Happy Labor Day to you folks.

Link Love Is Back

Let's see what I have stored in my treasure chest.

• MommaStar shares her ah ha moment. When was yours?
• Have a problem saving money and/or keeping goals. Shoppingtosaving may have the solution for you. Try charging yourself for breaking your goals.
• Saw these nails over at Fabulously Broke and thought they were cute.
• Niki wrote a B-E-A-UTIFUL letter to No.
• If you are an technology geek like I sort of am you might find this infographic interesting.

Sorry the post came out so late. I've been procrastinating all day.
Hope everyone has a great week and had a great weekend.

Net Worth: August 2011

As Sarah suggested, Let's get this month off with a bang. The goals are set now to see where I stand financially.

Assets

Liquid Cash - $2838.96

RRSP - $882.89

Stock Fund - $1020.00

Credit Union Shares - $120.00

Liabilities

Car Loan - $7150.00

Explanations

• Liquid Cash - All money that is readily available.
• RRSP - Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Current set to be released at 55.
• Stock Fund - Money I have deducted from salary to purchase shares in parent company.
• Credit Union Shares - Required Shares to be a member of the credit union that houses my RRSP.
• Car Loan - Money I own for the car. It's broken in two parts because I owe two different people.

Monthly Progress Update

I don't feel like I had a bad month but I'll test that against the facts.

For the entire month I spent $2840.35. That's about 1000+ more than my gross monthly salary so it's a heck of a lot more than I brought home. Obviously this meant money was borrowed or my savings took a hit. Sadly it was a bit of both. My savings took a hit and money was borrowed. Blame it on the car and my choice to own one.

Next up. My overall net worth.

For the month ending August it stands at $-2288.15 which means it has gone back further in the red. This is due to me acquiring part of the rest of the rest of the car loan(the part my mom had promised to supply but didn't come through) and that money went straight to paying the 2nd third of the insurance payments and buying new tires. The rest is due to come through for September and I will use some of it to pay the final insurance payment and then whatever is left I should be able to direct it to savings or increase the payment towards the car for next month. I expect a slide back in September as well but it should be the last one for the year.

There is some good news for the month though. I threw some extra money at the wedding fund and took it up to $1000. This means it's now at 12.5% to the targeted $8000. That's about a 4.5% increase or a little bit more. While speaking about the wedding fund. I must tell you that I opened a new account with an investment bank. It's a Money Market Account with a 3% interest rate. That's .5% higher than what I get on the bank. I'm testing it to see how it goes but this is what will be housing the wedding fund for the reminder of it's life.

Overall, even though my net worth may have decreased I still think I had a pretty good month. It went smooth and I am not stressed or worried about anything. I feel fully in control and things are going as plan and heading in the right direction.

I'm going to do my best to own September and the rest of the year. I hope everyone has the same in mind.

September Goals 2011

Let's get started this month with some goals. I think it is a good re-entrance to getting back into blogging.

First up -

• Do NO LESS than 15 sit ups daily.(These past couple years I've gotten quite inactive and lazy and now with a car as well I'm getting a tummy wummy and that isn't acceptable)
• At least 20 blog post for this month.(I'm coming back fully)
• Make the 100% club at work for the month of September.(This means getting to work early and being at work for all scheduled days for the month. I haven't made the cut since June)
• FINISH THE ABOUT ME PAGE I STARTED SINCE JUNE 16TH!(I am an expert at procrastination when I am ready)

That's it for now. Nothing I can't accomplish but things the must be done for the month and as always follow my golden financial rule.

Coming up I have my net worth update to post and I also have a few interesting articles to post as well. I'm contemplating between tomorrow and Monday for the net worth update(maybe one of you can pick). You can also look forward to me starting back up the link love from this Sunday. It's been too long that I've been able to spread the love properly and there is so much good stuff from so many bloggers and elsewhere to share.

Until next time.

Toodaloo.

UPDATE
So I found Michelle Parker's blog today and she has posted a September's goal list so I am stealing one of hers as it is something I have to get done which is -

• Make a holiday gift plan.(I really need one of these given how my financial situation and outlook made a drastic turn around since the car)