*All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars and monthly figures unless otherwise indicated. Our May 2020-April 2021 average monthly expenses were: $5460 /month ($65,525.42/year) for a family of 4, children aged 11 and 5 years old. This was a highly unusual year due to the Global Pandemic which forced many of us to delay or cancel vacations and limit spending … Read More
John Manage-your-money: Hi X, I noticed you will no longer be contributing to your employer-sponsored program, are you switching to a new employer? You: I’ve actually incorporated myself and will be working as an IT contractor, so I will no longer be contributing to that Registered Retirement Savings Plan. John Manage-your-money: Well first of all, X, Congratulations on the new … Read More
Last month, we went to Panama for a 1-week vacation. It was a well-earned and well-awaited vacation. We were tired, pale, and fed up of one of the worst winters since moving to Ottawa a little over 10 years ago. It wasnât our first time visiting the country; however, this time we decided that we will be taking a sabbatical … Read More
* Note that this is not an affiliated post. In this blog, one topic that I speak about is saving money. What if I told you that you could get a PS4 Game Console for free (or at least almost free). Would you believe me? Well, we did it last December. Here’s how…In 2016, I started to price match and use other apps … Read More
As most of my readers know, I live in Ottawa. On January 19th, 2019 we were the coldest capital in the world ( yes, you read correctly) since then, we’ve had temperatures reaching -40 with the wind chill. For those who don’t live in cold climates, think about being in a deep freezer in a tee-shirt and shorts for hours and … Read More
Junk accumulates and fast. This year we decided that we were going to earn money through minimalism. For more about that theme click here. While it’s great to unload our homes of these unwanted items, we should consider the effect that our things will have on the environment. Here are 5 things to think about: Consider reusing before recycling There … Read More
Happy Friday! Today’s post is one of reflection. Very recently, I went to the funeral of a family member. For most of us, funerals always remind us of our mortality. If this is the case, why do we go through life purchasing unnecessary items for those we love when at the end our lives, they will only remember us for the … Read More
During the first week of January this year, our family watched the Marie Kondo series that was featured on Netflix. We are not hoarders, we do not have collections of anything, and I dissuade family members from buying all unnecessary items. Despite all that, we still have a lot of things that we need to sell or donate. The more we organize, the more we … Read More
Happy New Year! Every year, I make a motto for the year. I invite you to join me this year. 2019 is The year of conscious wealth building through minimalism. We have all read about the infinite ways to build wealth. One way is not better than another. They all help us at achieving what we want – financial freedom. This … Read More
Happy New Year! Yesterday, an old friend of mine told me “Something that I find amazing about you is that your happiness is not linked to consumerism” this really resonated with me because it’s the truth. I have never been a spender apart from vacations (where Iâm still careful with my expenses). I do not get any satisfaction of spending money … Read More