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It’s Only Money…Right?

When you put it like that, its just a piece of paper (or plastic here in Canada). Someone decided it is worth something.

Just like some rocks (diamonds) and metal (gold) that have inflated values over their lesser counterparts. They are shiny and therefore worth more. WE have decreed it so.

Sorry. What?

When you break it down to brass tacks, it’s ludicrous really, but I guess it’s easier than trying to figure out how many bushels of carrots are equal to your one chicken, especially now that we all live in the cities (well, not me but… you know…) and we (you) no longer have carrots or chickens.

But who decides how much an hour of your life is worth?

The answer to this is easy.

You do.

A long time ago (2016), in a land far, far away (downtown), I was forced into a situation that made me stop short and wonder How the Heck had things gotten SO BAD?

I came back from a weeks vacation after working the Christmas and New Years silly season (as the manager of a 134 room hotel) of 45 days in a row without a day off, to find my services were no longer required.

Do not pass go.

Do not collect $200.

(As it turns out I collected a lot more than $200 but that’s a different story for a different day.)

You’re fired!

On this particularly gross day, I was faced with immediate unemployment and I wasn’t prepared.

That would have been bad enough but my Chef husband was also let go at the same time.

My eldest was only fifteen and my youngest just turned thirteen and they both attended private school!

What would you do?

Being a smart, savvy, financial person, I immediately went to war and enacted all of my insurances (What a clever little poppet I am), called all of our creditors and addressed the BUDGET.

My wonderful budget with its colour coded elements for Cash inflows and “Important Bills” that I conveniently had ignored up until now.

I applied for unemployment and I sent out my resume.. fast.

You see I knew we couldn’t make it on less than $135,000 a year income.

Don’t choke!

I know many reading this would have killed to be able to earn a six figure salary.

When six figures isn’t enough.

Our problem was that we had been spending more than we earned annually for around a decade (if not more).

I told myself that, because I had a frugal upbringing and because I had gone to school and earned a degree that I had a right to nice things, like a Big house and a shiny new car and eating out almost every night. That’s why you go to school and get the good job right?

I had earned it!

By the time our insurances had run out and our court cases were still no where near to being resolved, we owed $88,000 in consumer debt.

This is when we looked at our lives and made some radical changes.

We got out of debt.

I’d like to say we managed to do this by applying some amazing debt payoff methods but, we didn’t.

Sometimes you’re just in too deep and the only way out is the “icky” way. What I know now is that, sometimes you need professional help and that’s what we’re here for.

Been there. Done that. You’ve heard that before, right?

You can read more of our story “From a Six figure salary to the Poverty line” here.

If I’d known then what I know now.

Aah. The hindsight Tee Shirt. Fits perfectly every time!

I would never have financed vacations on a credit card or with a loan (yes – I’ve done both.)
I would never have bought more house than I could afford (or keep clean).
I would never have consolidated loans only to run them up again ..
and consolidate again.. and….
I would have lived within my means.
I would have prioritized living over lifestyle.
I would have planned for a future; that includes saving and being better prepared.

I am now Fifty years of age and the only thing that keeps me awake is the thought of retirement.

There’ll be no FIRE (Financially Independent Retire Early) here.

As Child #1 leaves the nest for school there’s still Child #2 to budget for.

RESPs will save your sanity but they won’t pay for everything.

The ONE thing we did right was to set up Baby bonds (savings plans) for each child before their first birthdays and RESP’s when we arrived in Canada 13 years ago.

These have been our Saving Grace.

Tuition, books and supplies will be covered but, what about accommodation, food?

How do you tell your kid they can go to school but they can’t afford to eat? Well, if you’re me, you don’t. It’s that simple.

So – One years accommodation was almost $8,000 and we budgeted $100 a week for groceries. Needless to say I’m not paying for parties or gallery openings or ..whatever. We were able to pay for this through budgeting for it since early 2017 but it’s been a struggle, let me tell ya!

I know I need to find another $8000 by June 2020 for next years Dorm living but, let me get her on a plane first!

I needed $300 for a flight to get her from the Island to school on the mainland. I sold a ride on mower that didn’t run anymore, a Van that didn’t run anymore and an old sewing machine that she doesn’t use since she upgraded for school. Altogether I made $430 in one weekend. I moved this to my credit card, booked the flights and have enough to check her luggage one way. Phew.

Snaps to me!

I’ve printed off the college survival manual that contains budget sheets, meal planning sheets, grocery lists, favourite recipes…I know she won’t look at any of it but it gives me peace of mind, knowing I did everything I could to set her up for success.

You can get you’re copies here. 🙂

Part of me worries that she may have inherited my disdain towards money. Part of me prays she will be more responsible than I was.

Only time will tell.

Teaching financial sense.

I often wonder why we are taught to go to a good school, study hard, get a good job, earn good money but there’s NOTHING on how to manage that money.

How to be financially savvy.

The ins and outs of Investments and Passive income streams.

Part of me knows that if they actually taught us this at school no-one would opt to “work for a living” and the world would probably stop spinning.

Let’s face it. If you knew at 16 how to generate enough money to live on without getting a job (or resorting to breaking laws) then why wouldn’t you put that plan into action and stay home all day or travel?

Teaching our kids to be better with money than we were is Crucial to our evolution.

Jobs are being replaced daily by AI.

Point in question – I decided to take a trip to Walmart to pick up a second hairdryer and curling iron for her to take to school. Don’t judge – Walmart’s cheap and 2^nd hand electrical items can be, well, dodgy.

Now, the last time I went to Wally World there were the Express checkouts, manned by humans and the regular checkouts, manned by humans. Around 14 manned checkouts in totals.

Yesterday I was stunned to see THREE manned checkouts and TWO BANKS of Self Checkout registers manned by one single hooman!

This is not the only place that has resorted to replacing us with AI and It’s only going to get worse!

The Future of our Planet.

If you do one thing for your future or for that of the next generation, WISE UP.

Do it fast.

Do it early.

Stay away from credit and from debt and live a smaller life than those of us who lived through the Eighties have done. Make a smaller impact not a bigger splash.

The one thing I tell my kids repeatedly is that I DO NOT WANT THEM TO GET A GOOD JOB, or any job for that matter.

I want them to find ways of making money were they do not have to sell hours of their lives on a regular basis. I want them to buy a small piece of land and put a small cabin on it. I want them to grow carrots and raise chickens and, when a wheelbarrow full of your pieces of paper won’t buy you a loaf of bread (Greece 2009 – 2016), I know they will be OK.

I was raised to look down my nose at the Gypsies who lived in Caravans (Romany’s) – think England in the early 70’s; those who were always travelling (travellers) around from town to town, but now it’s a life goal to live in a van down by the river!

I hope my kids aspire to this.

Hmm..I guess that’s another thing to add to the list of things I wish I’d done differently!

From One Spendaholic to Another.