Category Archive

Congratulations, you’ve made the decision that you want to retire early. For most of us, this requires sacrifice and reducing most (or at least some) of the things that we unconsciously pay too much money for. The first step is observing. If you do not have an application that automatically tracks the amount that your spending (credit cards, debit cards, … Read More

Today, I wanted to write a short post just to share with you my thoughts about debt: avoid it like the plague. Apart from a reasonable mortgage, there is no reason to have personal debt. A key financial hack that everyone regardless of how they feel is the best way to save income is to spend significantly less than you … Read More

Last week we visited friends in Florida. Married, no kids, in their late 30s and full of debt – mostly consumer debt. Here’s the funny thing. You would never know. They live in a tall condo where they pay approximately $3200 in RENT and rent-related expenses. They were wearing the latest fashions and driving luxury cars. Unfortunately, their lifestyles are starting to catch up … Read More

When I first started working at the federal government a little over a decade ago, I was excited. Wow, an indeterminate federal government job. I was prepared for the job (Master’s degree, Canadian and international work experience, and a polyglot); however, I must confess that I did not have a full appreciation for the benefits I had until I had … Read More

So, you’ve found a great price BUT then you realize it’s with a “no-frills” airline. Before you hit the confirm button. Keep the following hidden charges in mind. Meals – Are there meals included in your flight? If it’s a short flight this might be ok, but if your flight is over 8 hours, you will need to determine, what … Read More

As you all know, I embrace a relatively frugal lifestyle; however, if there’s one thing that I would never give up is my love for travel. There are some things that cannot be substituted and for me, it’s traveling.  Until somewhat recently (2014), there was one category that I found difficult to find large savings and that was in the … Read More

I often think about if the $60 Costco membership is worth it considering that we do a significant amount of price matching. So, I carefully looked at some of the items that most people purchase and here are five things that you will almost win with when shopping at Costco. Lettuce mixes Regardless of how thoroughly I scan weekly flyers, … Read More