Build yourself rich!!!!

Do you want a fool-proof system that will help you build wealth and stay wealthy? Get the details so you too may begin your steps toward a richer happier you. Start now and be on your way to financial independence. Anyone can follow this system and be richer.

Okay, I know you are saying wait a minute you told us there are no systems to getting rich. True, there is no system to get rich QUICK! But the steps you take are a system. I know in past blogs I have been talking about goals, but I am not using the correct terminology. We should be creating systems (or processes) and not using goals. Why you ask?

Simple, goals are temporary and are subject to our desire to fall back into old routines (or Old processes) which is just a different name for a system. We want wealth building to be part of our life not a milestone on the horizon.

Let’s use weight loss as an example. Let us say we have a goal to lose 10 pounds. We work very hard struggling, depriving and exercising to reach that goal, then what happens? We inevitably gain that 10lbs back over the course of a year or so. Then we make a new goal to lose 10lbs, and cycle begins again. Why this constant struggle, why is our hard work seemingly a failure? Because, it is a goal and not a process or system.

If we instead choose to change our lifestyle and say we will eat healthy, cut out junk food, dining out at fast food places, and add some exercise throughout our week, we have changed the process, we have created a new system that becomes routine. We will see that we lose that 10 lbs and maybe more and it stays off, because healthy eating and exercise is part of our routine it has become a fixed process in our life.

The same is true for building wealth. Often we set a goal. We want to save $5000 for a vacation or $10,000 for a new car or down payment for a home. The goal could be any amount. Then just as we do with dieting we deprive, struggle and workout financially to scrape every penny into the goal. When we are done, we fall back into old ways of spending and we wonder why we are always so broke. Why is that?

Because we always fall back into our old routines because they are what we know, goals are difficult. Yet, we see we can save the money, and for that whole time we were saving, our life did not end. So, if we make saving money part of our routine, make it a new process, over time it becomes a permanent process and soon we see that there is far more than our initial goal of $5000 or $10,000. Once you begin investing that money and see it grow, the desire to save and grow our money becomes exciting and easier because now it is a process we do automatically.

So use processes not goals.

Now, don’t get me wrong it should not be the only process in your life. You need to have a time for relaxation too. For me I have a variety of things I love to do that help me relax. I love to garden, which helps lower my grocery bill; I do all kinds of crafting, which I in turn sell to make passive income. I hunt and fish, as well as do home renovations, which helps build the equity in my home. But I do not worship at the altar of the dollar. Any person who is merely money driven is never happy and always incomplete. Yes, I can always find ways to increase my wealth though investing and passive income, but it is not the driving force in my life.

Seek balance as well. Start slow, make changes to your life processes to allow them to become permanent. Build your way up as you feel comfortable. It is like running a marathon. If you stat the race running at full tilt you will run out of steam and more than likely not even finish. You pace yourself, like the tortoise says, “slow and steady wins the race.”

Now the concept of processes over goals was something I read recently from the created of the “Dilbert” comics, Scott Adam, here is the link. Check it out.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/102964992706/goals-vs-systems

 

Next Post I will have updates on my new money saving process, and pictures of my savings thus far.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you have to break the bank!

Are you trying to make Valentine’s Day a day to remember, not sure how to do it at the prices today? Is there a better way to meet this holiday? You can do it and not break the bank. As Valentine’s rushes toward us, many are trying to decide where to make reservations for dinner and what florist to purchase roses from. Not wanting to be caught at the last minute lest they be sent to the “dog house” because they forgot the most important day of love in the entire year.

First of all, I want to make it clear, I am a hopeless romantic. I cry during movies, heck I cry during Grey’s Anatomy. I love a good romance novel from time to time, and more than likely somewhere in my psyche I long to be swept off my feet and ride off not the sunset. But HELLO! I am a realist first. I want to apologist to all the men because sadly our mothers have led us to believe that if our man does not make the herculean effort on Valentine’s Day, and does not spend gobs of money on flowers, chocolates, champagne, fancy dinners, then they are not worth the time and energy.

But then they were brain washed too by advertisements, movies and romance novels that send that exact message. It has become a very sad commentary for society, that we place such importance on such very meaningless and trivial things. I guess that means advertisers have done a very good job.

For example, I love roses, but I don’t buy them because it is a sad waste of money to pay and watch them wilt and die. Yet, recently on my Facebook page a famous floral chain has been sending out advertisements for their Valentine floral arrangements. I stop and look at them, wishing I could have one sitting here on my coffee table to smell the rich rose scents, and feel the velvety beauty of their perfect petals. And if someone were to present me with such an arrangement I know deep down I would be so over joyed. ME! The REALIST! The FRUGAL GAL! Yup, the ads tug at my deepest desires.

But not for long, I remember my goals and smile admire the beauty of the image I see and that is enough for now. But not all women are like me, not all women can see past the brain washing, and look to loftier goals. So many men and woman are slaves to the Valentine machine every year.

It is crazy that during the year you can buy a dozen beautiful roses from the grocery store for between 10 and 14 dollars. But the moment Valentine’s Day looms on the horizon the price jump to $40-120 for those roses.

I have sons and I have given them this tip to save them from the purchase of 120 dollars of soon to be compost, as that is what will become of them in about 2 weeks. I love roses it is true, and most woman do and do enjoy receiving them on Valentine’s Day. But I told my sons, if you want them to have roses, buy a rose bush for the flower garden. Write on the card, because cut roses wither quickly, a living bush will give you roses year after year! Then they can write something mushy like “as my love is yours year after year.” I will tell you that has a far bigger impact that any arrangement purchased for $120 that dies in 2 weeks.

An added bonus we have a University in our hometown that has a Memorial roses garden, a friend of mine is a grounds keeper, told me they plant new rose bushes every year, taking the old bushes out in the fall and composting them. One year I asked if I could have a few. He brought me six. I re-potted them and let them go dormant over the winter, and in February I gave them to friends with a list of instructions on how to replant the rose buses. So for the cost of some potting soil and a bit of bone meal I had excellent Valentine gifts for close family and friends.

But Valentine’s Day has more landmines than the roses. There are those incredibly expensive dinners. Those have also been flooding my Facebook page as restaurants post their Valentine menus with more food in one sitting than is healthy. I know it is only once a year, but there are many better ways to enjoy a Valentine’s Day dinner than spending $200 for dinner.

Cook for your Valentine. Create your own special menu and spend the time creating something with your own two hands. Set the table, light the candles chill the wine, play a little Barry White. You can do this for a faction of the cost.

Cook together. Plan the meal together. It’s far more special when you work together creating your Valentine’s Day memories.

Watch a movie on TV. Get together with like-minded couples and have a card party, make it potluck.

Agree to do an activity you both enjoy. And make that your Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps your Valentine and you are committed to the plan to save money to increase your wealth. Perhaps together you can agree to make Valentine’s Day about one another and not about flowers, dinner and candy.

There are hundreds of ways to do Valentine’s Day right and still keep money in your pocket. Spend sometime searching the internet, I am sure you will come up with some ideas that will suit you and that special someone in your life.

Don’t get hung up on this stuff, don’t be brainwashed. But in case you are, or your current partner is insistent that Valentine’s Day be celebrated to the extreme, find your own way that won’t break the bank.

The important thing in this plan to be wealthy is to communicate to your partner what is important. For me the money that would have been spent on the extravagances are put in the bottle. After all once I have my wealth, every day can be Valentine’s Day if I want.

Save Yourself Rich?

Is there a way you can save that can bring you closer to the ideal life of being rich? Yes and the steps are so very simple yet no one ever does it. Oh people try but give up way too soon. So I am going to provide you with some ideas that will help you save yourself into richness.

It sounds like it won’t work and for many Canadians that are not truly determined to be rich it won’t. That is the first key. You have to want this and want it more than anything. If it helps place a photo or photos of your goal on the fridge or other prominent places in your home to remind you why you are doing this. I learned this trick from a marketing seminar I attended, and having a visual reminder can really help us stay focused.

Second is to find ways to keep the money you earn in your pocket and not allow the flow of money to slip through your fingers. So I am going to list about 40 ways to keep money. Then the money you save, put it in that savings plan you have. In my last post I talked about the pop bottle plan, but use whatever works for you. As I begin to grow my savings in the bottle I will update for you with photos and ways I saved to increase my savings.

But let us first look at my 40 ways (there are literally 100’s of ways and you can check out other sources on line to help you these are just my top ways.

1. Coffee at home. I make my own and take a thermos to work. Plus I limited myself to only 3 cups a day. 2 in the morning and one after dinner.
2. Quit smoking
3. Stop buying lottery tickets
4. stop eating out for 1 year (when you have that urge, take the money you might have spent eating out and put it in the bottle.)
5. Cancel your magazine subsciptions
6. Brown bag your lunch ( I find hat I have fewer leftovers going moldy in the fridge and more money in my wallet)
7. Stop paying for entertainment, use the internet and find free venues in your area. In the summer, my home town has Concerts in the park every Wednesday, and Family movie nights on Fridays. There are so many other options out there that don’t cost you a dime.
8. Pack food for road trips.
9. Stay-cations are big, explore your own town for a change.
10. Don’t use the expensive salon products for hair and beauty, go no name when you can.
11. Cancel or change you cable or satellite packages.
12. Use the Library and read more watch less TV
13. Reduce your cell phone plan
14. Get a programmable thermostat and lower your heat when you are not at home
15. Don’t drink alcohol for 1 year ( I love my summer beverages but 1 have pledged to buy store band soda water and dress it with lime and the money I’d spend on wine, beer and spirits will go in the bottle)
16. Do your own manicures and Pedicures, or have a ladies night and your gal pals can help one another out.
17. Repair things instead of buying new. (I use the internet to help determine the problem then YouTube  to see how to fix it)
18. Buy second hand when you can. Honestly 95% of my wardrobe comes from the thrift store, and much of is is band new too.
19. Stay with friends if you have to travel
20. Wash your clothes in cold water and hang to dry.
21. Buy a water bottle and stop buying bottled water
22. Make a grocery list and stick to it. Shop in between other appointments, it will keep you to the list if you have to be somewhere else after and you have less time fo browsing.
23. Buy in bulk, but watch expiration dates and don’t just buy something because it is a great deal
24. Use the free loyalty programs at stores you shop at. I belong to one with a national drug store chain, and this past Christmas I was able to get over $300 of free products that I need and use.
25. Bring your own grocery bags.
26. Plan for the I don’t feel like cooking nights. Buy ready made pizzas, or some stores have cook food and specials each night of the week, my favorites are the Chicken dinner special and the Sushi special.
27. Get a slow cooker, be sure to check the wattage before you buy.
28. Car pool
29. Get a bike, or an e bike
30. Insulate your home
31. Replace worn weather stripping
32. Replace windows that have lost there R value. I know it sounds costly, but I recently replace my 2 front windows and I see how much that has reduced my heating costs this year.
33. Switch all your light bulbs to LED s. It was a hit to the wallet initially but the savings have been worth it.
34. Use power bars and switch them off when you are not using the items. Ghost power is a huge money drain
35. Install a low flow shower head and toilet. If you can’t afford a new toilet then place a brick in your toilet tank.
36. Get blinds or shades for your windows to help with the heating and cooling of your home
37. Use your dish washer, be sure it is full and run it at off peak times
38. Fix those leaky faucets
39. Swear off junk food for a year
40. Do the under 350kw a month challenge. This is a power saving challenge and we recently did this and i will post a blog with our results. Many of the power saving ideas on this list are what we did to use under 300kw a month we were under 200, but there are just 2 of us the under 350 is for a family of 4.

So there are my 40 ways, but I do employ a whole lot more of these, and many of these I have expanded details in my book, (not yet available for purchase). But within each of these there are dozens of ways to make it easier and so many many more ways to keep more money in your pocket and less of it flowing through your fingers. Hopefully you can apply some or even all of these into your getting rich plan. I will expand on many of these in later blogs so you can see how to extend these ideas and uncover more ways to save save save!

Getting Rich in the New Year

So we are busy making our New Years Resolutions, and we are bound and determined this year is the year we will become financially independent! Well that is an awesome goal but more often than not it fails. But I am going to tell you secret to making it work this time.

The truth is that 90% of all New Years’ resolutions fail,because there is a lot of haphazard planning for it. Only about 41 % of the population bother to make resolutions and of that group only 9.8% feel they are successful. However, for the first two weeks of the New year about 78% of those making changes, stick with it, but after 2 months that drops to 58%.

Mainly this is because they do not plan effectively for the change. Especially when it comes to money and spending.  But, in order to stick to any change, you need to plan and you need to know, it is a constant battle not to slip back in to your old ways. In fact, it takes 21 days to make something a habit, and 90 days to make it permanent.

But we’re are talking about making you rich, and so we can start of with a simple savings idea. Using a 2L pop bottle place $5 or $10 per week into the bottle. I don’t suggest a $1 a day because in Canada we have Loonies and toonies and they likely won’t drop into the bottle, but more importantly the only way to get the bills out of the bottle you would have to cut it open. So i am hoping that the process of finding scissors or a knife to open the bottle might make you stop and realize you are slipping back into old habits.

You have to also set periodic goals to mark your success, and help you to go on when it feels like you can’t do it.  Now  I realize that $5 per week is only $260 and $10 a week only makes $520, but depending on your financial state you can set your own minimum. $20, $50 even $100 the amount is up to you. My plan is between $50 and $100, but I also have an additional container that all my coins go into. Periodically I will rolls the coins and write down the new totals on a white board in the kitchen. So everyday I see how much the nest egg has grown. But the end of the year you can hope to have over $1000 or more in your bottle. Post you savings total somewhere to motivate you to keep going, often I see the total, and then I might have an extra $20 I was going to go spend on junk food, and I will add it to the bottle. Then I take the dogs for a walk. I saved myself extra calories, but added to my investment. The walk helps me focus on better choices.

The end of the year arrive.Take that money, and I know its December and you think, “cool, now we can have a fantastic Christmas with this money.” and yes you could, but remember your goal is financial independence. So take the money and invest it immediately. However you want, GICs,  RSPs  or money markets, what ever you feel comfortable investing in. My suggestion is talk with your financial adviser and explain your desire and they will work with you to help you get to that goal, and they can steer you to the investments that you will be most comfortable in.

For me, when the markets were good, I went with the more risky level of investments, but once the markets began to tank a bit I switched to  safer investments. I may only be earning a few dollars a month, but at least there is growth. When the markets recover I can change my risk level again. But remember, this has to do with your comfort level, otherwise if you go too risky you might lose sleep because you are worried about your investments, choose something you can live with.

There are several different gimmicks out there to help you save money, most popular is the 52 week challenge, were the amount you save is based on what week it is , $1 week one $2 week two, $3 week three etc. Its not too bad but I might suggest to work it backwards start with $52 then $51, $50 etc. because as you get into the end of 2017, we often find it hard to scrape an extra $50 or so bucks, but if you work the plan in reverse you are only trying to find an extra coupe of dollars. You can find many variations on this saving idea check out the internet for one that suits you.

And remember its not what you save, or how much you save, but that you do save. Then invest, invest, invest, to make that money grow. Continue to add to it and this will help get you closer to that goal of financial independence.  This is just one of many steps you will need to take, to build wealth, but you have to start somewhere, so why not make a resolution to be rich!

 

Super Deals to be found everywhere!

It’s that time of year again when people begin to go crazy about all the deals they can get on these 2 very important days in the shopping year! So much time energy and planning goes into these days but, what is the real bargain?

Now don’t go thinking that I don’t like to get a great deal. I do more than anything. However, to shop for the sake of saying you got this fantastic deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, is what I have an issue with.

Case in point. I love power tools and I have a garage full of them, and as a woman I have a hard time spending hundreds of dollars on them. So I do hunt for bargains. Now 2 years a ago, I wanted a table saw, and during Black Friday one of the BIG BOX STORE Hardware chains had a crazy price  on them 35% off. But I was working way up North and would not be able to be home for the sale, and it was an in store only purchase. So sadly my hopes of getting a table aw at a ridiculously low price were dashed.

I went home at Christmas enjoyed Christmas Dinner, Midnight mass and all the other wonderful things that Christmas is about. But before I headed back up North I remembered I needed to get a new lock set for my house in the North. So I headed down to this BIG BOX  Hardware chain to get a lock set after Boxing Day. So I had also missed the crazy Boxing Day sales too. I was walking toward the door hardware which is situated in front of power tool area and displays.

When what to my wondering eye should appear….my table saw ay 35% off. I could not believe it. So I asked the sales associate to please get me one down to put in my cart. He climbed the ladder pulled a box off the upper shelf and placed it in my cart. I was overjoyed.

It was not until I had the box sitting on my kitchen floor admiring my great deal, that I noticed in black marker the words “Black Friday” on the corner of the box. So it seemed the Black Friday sale did not sell out all the stock and it showed me that Black Friday is not the only day in the year to get a great deal. You just have to look.

You also need to be patient. We live in a time where we want everything right now. Our credit cards are full of those instant gratification purchases, and the sad thing is, that deal you got on that item, you had to have now, is lost because you ended up paying twice as much for it in interest fees.

Deals are great, but don’t just buy something because there is a sale, shop around, and believe me there will be other sales through out the year. If you don’t need it right now, wait. Maybe you will even discover you don’t need it at all.

As for me, I have made use of that table saw constantly so it was not a wasted purchase and I am glad I learned the lesson that any purchase can wait, can you?

The other side of this crazy deal weekend is waiting for the right deal. It is true I have purchased items on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but I made sure they were items I needed, not items I merely wanted. But I had needed these items for several months.Rather than run out and replace them immediately, I waited. I watched the flyers, online notifications, and waited some more, until what I needed was on sale for a great price.

Again its a waiting game and we need to exercise our patience muscle a bit more, because far to many of us have an overdeveloped impulse muscle, and it is causing a great deal of cash flow problems for us, and in some cases, the flow has completely dried up.

Stop shopping just because there are sales. Take inventory, what do you need, what can you get rid of. De clutter, maybe sell off all the extra things you don’t need, and before you go make another purchase, wait 30 days, if you still really need it then look for deal first. More often than not, you might find you really did not need the item.Then take the money you would have spent on it and pay a bill or put it in your investments. Remember the goal is financial independence, lets save and become wealthy and then we can celebrate our independence day in style!

 

 

Relationships: Invest or Not

A strange title and you are probably thinking of course I would be invested in my relationship. I do agree. If you are in a long term committed relationship you need to do whatever it takes to make that investment just as solid as your retirement plan. You wonder how is this about becoming wealthy? Well if your focus is on fixing a bad relationship it can’t be on building wealth. The photo above was a coworker of mine, we had had a very bad year at our jobs the year before and made a concerted effort to build our friendship, and it made our next year of work so much better.  I also have a friend now in another city I can call upon when I need a hand and she will be there for me. But let’s get to the message about other relationships.

There is a very wise priest whom I enjoy hearing him speak whether it’s a sermon or if he is teaching. Now don’t all worried I am not going to try and convert anyone. This priest has been around for some time in our Parish; he has married hundreds of couples and has adjudicated over many annulments. He has also provided counselling for couples in crisis. In his years of service especially in the marriage industry he has made some very good observations.

He has watched the “Bride-zillas” micro manage every single aspect of the wedding, from who will dress the ring boy, to making sure people remember the confetti policies at their venues. He has watch people marry in parks, backyards, and other unorthodox places, all trying to make that one day the most memorable. They are always trying to outdo their friend who had a horse drawn carriage, or perhaps had doves released as they exited the church. In all, he says these people put a lot of work into that day.

Sadly, they don’t put the same effort into the marriage. He has said that if couples put more effort into the marriage instead of the wedding, there would be a lot less divorce. Most intelligent people would agree. But, those same intelligent people live in the world of competition, of hopes and dreams. Most women want to be that Princess for a day. It is understandable. However, remember that line “In richness or poorness” yes we all do. When we say those words we don’t truly realize that indeed they are very literal. So if you are in one of these committed relationships, even if you are just common-law, and most especially if you have kids. INVEST IN THAT REALTIONSHIP. If it is broken fix it. If it is crippled heal it. But do something to make things better. Nothing can hurry a couple to land of DIVORCE quicker than debt.

There are many services offered at the community level to help people with relationship problems. They can also be accessed free of charge depending on your financial situation. If you belong to some in of religious organization, there is also counselling available from the leaders of the organizations; priest, ministers, deacons, and others in religious orders have training to help with counselling.

Whatever it is, just do something. It won’t mean a hill of beans if you don’t have a partner that is with you on this journey, who is there to help and encourage you. So yes, please invest in this.

Now, if you know that the inevitable is going to happen and your relationship is on its way to divorce court, then don’t prolong it. I know divorce is an emotional and painful experience and there is no such thing as an amicable divorce. Don’t get drawn into the head games, leave all communication to the lawyers. Take what is yours, including child support and alimony, and if the other lawyer tries to make you take less and threatens to go to court….call that bluff and go. The Judge is not on your side or the other side, they rule on what is right under the laws. So if you are entitled to it, you will get it. However, don’t get caught in the game of name calling, or trying to make the other person look bad, judges don’t like that either. Take the high road and get it over with as soon as possible.

Those of you who have a boyfriend or girlfriend but are not married, but are having difficulties, you need to really sit back and think about your next step. If the hassles and problems are too many to count, cut them loose. I have wasted so much of my precious time on boyfriends that gave me nothing but grief. I worked so hard at trying to please them and make them happy, I was miserable.

Unless that person is making the same effort as you, then walk away; don’t invest your time in someone that is only draining you emotionally and psychologically. You will put so much effort into that relationship that will inevitably end, that you will forget to focus on your goals. Remember that time is money and your time is valuable too.

I should also mention the same thing goes for friends. If you have good friends that are there for you when things are bad, keep those relationships healthy. However, we all have those so-called “friends” who give us more grief than anything. I worked with a young woman in the North and she could be supportive at times. But more often than that she used people and she was only out to make her life hassle-free. I am an optimistic individual and always feel there is good in everyone. Unfortunately I spent so much time trying to build that friendship that she drained my good nature. It was a “toxic relationship”

Important facts to take away from this are: focus on making the best decisions for you. Make your life as hassle free as you can. Put your efforts into viable relationships. When your mind isn’t on trying to fix a bad relationship it can be focues on your plans to build wealth.

Thanksgiving does not mean losing money

We all love a holiday, most of us,that is. A day off from work, or for those who work the holidays, it can mean time and a half or even double time and a half. Yet the holidays can mean spending money.  Some of us must travel home to celebrate the holidays and often a a great expense. So lets get to the crux of this blog, to celebrate or not.

At this time in my life I work away from home, to go home for this holiday weekend would mean over $700 in airfare. Not as much as some of my co-workers who have to travel to Southern Ontario their flights can be up to and over $1400. I use to go home for every holiday even the 3 day weekend ones until I saw how much money it was really costing me. I would put the charge on a credit card, then I was also paying interest 26% on one card! YIKES!

Now, as I said, I want to be financially independent in the next 5 years, so I have to be sensible. I give up a little something for the short term to gain a  whole lot more in the long term. You’ve heard it before, “short term pain for long term gain”!  My family has also forgone the traditional Thanksgiving feast for something cheaper and that they likely enjoy more…Pizza…hahaha! But for them that is what makes them happy.  To offset the sense on missing them and knowing it won’t be till Christmas that I see them next, there is Skype, and with the video chat its almost like being there. The beauty is no dishes in the end.

So for me I have cut back on the 5 trips home and now I am saving $3500 for the year. Money I can use to put back into my investments. And you know me with compound interest, that’s far more mouth watering than any turkey.

Oh and let us talk about the turkey. A nice size turkey for a family of 6 or on up to 12 can cost anywhere between $40-75 and maybe even more depending on where you live. Now we all make way too much food for this dinner, potatoes, vegetables (which no one usually eats), salads, ham, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, pies, ice cream, wine, and the list can go on. If we just think about the cost of a thanksgiving dinner for a family of 4-6, we spend well over $400 for the food and preparation of it. Especially Ontarians who have the highest electricity prices in the country. So now my little holiday is costing me $1200. Then there is the waste. as I say we always make too much food and although we do what we can to consume the leftovers, for many it ends up in the garbage can in a few days time.

On average 1/3 of the food we make for the holidays ends up in the trash. (I will of course have a series where I show you how to avoid that much food waste).

So for me, to stay where I am is best. I have been invited by a family here where I work to come to dinner. So I will make a dish to bring and share with the meal and my friends.However, I am not saying you can’t find a way to do this economically so you can go home. Let us begin with travel.

With so many trip sites on line these days it is easy to hunt for a deal if you are flying home for the holiday weekend. Look early, if you like a challenge you can try the standby method and get a deal that way, but I always believe you should plan early for flights. But perhaps driving is an acceptable method to go home, if the drive is no more than 12 hours. Try and get a carpool together, share the gas, and bring your snacks with you so the only stops you need to make are for gas and bathroom breaks. The less you spend the better. If everyone can take turns driving you can drive through the night and have extra time for visiting your family and friends.

Now we address the dinner itself. For my family we often find that even the smallest turkey we can get is way too much for our needs. So we often have chicken, at Easter we have ham. I always shop well in advance of the holiday. In fact, I purchased my chicken and ham over the summer during a sale at my local grocery store. I also look for deals on things for the dinner like cranberry sauce, which rarely goes on sale. As for the pies, it isn’t Thanksgiving unless there is pumpkin pie, right? Well sort of. I don’t like pumpkin pie but my sons do, but a whole pie is way too much for them to eat, and to make an entirely different pie for myself is very wasteful indeed. So over the summer, I make dozens of individual pies. This way we can each have our own favourite and there is no waste. (I will post in later blogs how to save on your grocery bills).

The trimmings, as they call them. I love them too but lets be honest many times they never make it to our plates. So we have decided to eliminate a few of the menu items just because it is practical to do so. I love perogies and cabbage rolls, and I have them in my freezer, but we opt to save them to have with an everyday meal, so we can enjoy them and not waste them. I do have salad but we make a small one, and for veggies we decide on one and only cook enough servings as we are going to eat. I still have the gravy and dinner rolls, because it still needs to be special, but I control the volume of what I make so there is no waste, and so we don’t overeat as well

And don’t go overboard on the holiday spirits, they are terrible for weight gain and too much is just bad for your health. I sick to 1-2 glasses of wine, if I want to enjoy it longer I mix it with club soda and have wine spritzers.

There are those of you sitting there right now saying…How Cheap! Yes it is, and that is the point. If you are concerned about what the family will think, then maybe you don’t want to be wealthy. If you have to put on a show for the family, then maybe this is just not for you. But then you can just ask family to bring a dish. You do the basics and then you tell Uncle Joe to bring ice cream, or tell Aunt Mary to bring her favourite casserole.

Keep your eyes on your goal, remember every penny you don’t spend is potential money that can earn you more money. Your goal is to invest as much of your spare cash as you can, to be able to do what ever you want in the long run. We are a generation of wasters, too much is thrown away or we over spend on things because we want them now. Holidays don’t have to break your bank account. Be sensible and remember where you want to be in 5 years time.

Enjoy the holidays where ever you may spend them.

 

 

You can be a millionaire in just 3 months!

There is very little work and the pay off is incredible and then you can sit back and relax for the rest of your life.

Sounds wonderful right? Wow are you ready for such and incredible offer, a way to be a millionaire in just 3 months? Sounds like heaven. With very little work that sounds like something you can do, right?

Sounds too good to be true? Well you are right it is too good to be true. I use to see those crazy ads and think I should do this I should send away for the information. The truth is that these ads are designed to reel in gullible desperate people wanting to believe in 3 months time they can be a millionaire. The truth is the person who places these sensationalized ads are the only ones who will be millionaires. The place faked testimonials on their page, and believe me they are faked. With computers, Photoshop and so much technology it is easy to fake emails, tweets and face book comments.

So you click the link and read these amazing stories how he was down to his last few dollars and then stumbled on a way to increase his wealth. So much is said with out telling you what he really did. Once they have you drooling at the prospect of all the money you can be making right today they got you hooked.

Wham, all you have to do is send away for his package to help you get started. At the low cost of $19.95 plus tax. What is in the package, oh very likely some advice on money management, but the real money making scheme is getting $19.95 out of as many people as he can he needs 50,000 to reach the million mark, 100,000 and he gets almost 2 million. Indeed in 3months time he has made his million and you have a bunch of worthless papers.

Is it legal? Well more than likely there will be many disclaimers saying that there they cannot guarantee it will work for you as it did for him. It is definitely unethical and underhanded.

I just wanted to say something because just before I was flying from my home to go to work I saw such an ad on Facebook and thought to myself, how flashy the advertisement was and how authentic everything appeared. But I know it takes work to get to the first million, it can be done but its not going to happen overnight. Hopefully you read my blog and follow the advice of the people I will talk about. If you do want to be rich you can be, if you want to wealthy you can be, but you need to put in the work.

The author if Rich Dad Poor Dad was able with just $3000 to start, to be come a millionaire in 5 years. Read his book and see, get books from those who have done it legitimately, there are no tricks or secrets, just being wise about money and hard work and patience.

I know I had promised a different post this time around but when I saw the ad I was infuriated and I got behind in my blogging. So hopefully now I will get back to posting each week to give you advice on how to keep the money you have and to make it grow so you can enjoy financial freedom. Cheers my friends.

Big Money,Like Big Foot: Elusive or just a myth

I see the picture of the Million Dollar bill and you wonder is it possible; can it be within my reach? We all want the security that big money brings, but are we willing to do, what we need to do, to get to it?

One of the first things I say is, stop wasting your money on Lottery tickets. It is sad to see how some people are literally thinking that this is their retirement plan. Just yesterday my brother came for a visit. He is a retired veteran with a good pension, he also received a great settlement from the government because he suffered and injury while stationed overseas. He should be set for life. But sadly he has invested poorly and has to work in order to pay his bills.  There he was asking me if I had bought my ticket form the big $60 million dollar draw. “Nope!” I said, “I don’t buy lottery tickets.” and he looked at me like I was crazy.

I wanted to explain to him that because I don’t spend money on foolishness like that (among other crazy stuff) I have well over 100K in my investments and a home that is almost paid for. I do spend money but on things that will help my investments, one of my best, was buying this old dilapidated house. I paid $67,000.00 for it and have steadily renovated it (That will be a entire blog of it’s own later) but the last assessment the bank did on my house, it is now worth $250.000.00. By the time I am ready to sell and move back out to the country I figure it will be close to $290,000.00 and because of where my home is located it could see a bidding war.

The point is I had to live in a very crappy little house to begin with. I cut corners where ever I could and I look back and wonder how I survived living on 20,000.00 a year with two kids. I think to myself it must have been magic, now I make three times that amount, and know if I can survive on 20,000, then I can put more in my investments. Okay, with inflation its more like 30,000 today, but still its a lot ore money I can dedicated to what I am investing in. Of course the first thing is RRSP,s and such, but I consider my house my investment as well and put money into it to increase its value for when I sell.

But let’s be real, selling one house and socking away 10% of my paycheck is not going to make me a million dollars. That is why in previous blogs I have talked about making passive income as well. All the money I make with passive income also goes into the more traditional investments. Mutual Funds , GICs, RRSPs , TFSA,and so on. It is like planting seeds. If you keep the seeds in the package they will not grow. So I got together with the investment guy at my bank and set up my investments. There is no trick to investing,  it has to be what you are most comfortable with. Warren Buffet is of the believe that you put your money into one basket and watch it diligently, while others will tell you to diversify. It is really what you feel you can deal with. For me I want to diversify, if I have a few Gics and a Tax Free Savings account I can access the accumulated money to purchase a piece of real estate. For me I am comfortable with this, as I am quite good with home renovation and my youngest son is a contractor, but I would not recommend it to someone that has difficulty hanging a picture on the wall. Some people prefer creating a business, to create more income and that is a great idea to.

My advice on how to get to the big money is find out what you are comfortable with, read some books, talk with an investment counselor,talk to someone you know that you see as a financial success, get as much information as you can; make a decision based on the information you gathered.

But start today, I read a story about a guy who had $3000 to start with. He invested it and added each month to it,he did his research found where he was comfortable with his other investments; today he is a multimillionaire. His story is Rich Dad, Poor Dad,(Robert Kiyosaki,) and it is based on the US markets, but for me it inspired me to rethink where my money was going. So now even though I contribute to my pension though work, I have also begun adding more to my investments at the bank, even if it is only $50 every 2 weeks, and to increase it when you can. When you get a windfall like your tax return or a bonus, put it in those investments. The beauty of the locked in investment is you are less likely to take the money out.

Start today, put something in an investment and set up an automatic withdrawal to continue to add each month. If you make the payments biweekly, it increases what your total is for example: if I want to invest $100 each month for the next 20 years you would end up with a total of $52,093 but if I take that same $100 and split it in half and make a contribution of $50 every two weeks it becomes $56,598, it is an addition $4000, for that same $100 contribution. It is the beauty of compound interest. Now think about how big a number it will be if you continue to add lump sums and increasing that small contribution every few years from $100 to $200 or more!!!  I just get excited thinking about how that small seed of $100 can become so much more. If you want to play with the numbers try this sit at RBC ,

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/rrsp/rsp-matic/launch.html

it helps you calculate what you could be putting away to get yourself to the big money.Like Robert Kiyosaki, says its the first million that is the hardest to earn.

So start today call your bank and start putting something there. The nest step is do your research and make your plan. Write it down, we are more likely to do something if we write it down. The revisit the plan and adjust it as you go there are times when you may not be able to increase your investments and then times will come when you can increase it so mush more.

Next Blog I hope to discuss getting things right for yourself. Happy Savings people!

Free money!!!!

A provocative title for sure, but everyone is always trying to find ways get get free money, and believe it or not there are ways to do it. There are different kinds of so called free money but people do not know how to tap into this valuable resource.

So what do I mean by free money? A better term for it might be found Money. No I am not talking about the lost treasure of Blue Beard the pirate, there is an actual category known as Found Money.

Free Dictionary defines it as 1. Money that an individual or company possesses unawares. A mundane example of found money is $5 that one finds in the pocket of the jacket one had last worn several months ago. Banks maintain accounts with found money; for instance, an individual may have opened an account and forgotten it, or one may have inherited such an account from a relative. Likewise, governments keep tax refund checks that they are unable to deliver.

2. An informal term for money one does not earn. It may apply to an inheritance, for example.

http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Found+Money

But we can’t all wait around for Old Great Aunt Bertha to will us a huge inheritance. . I am going to talk about 2 kinds of found money today. The first being literally found money.

I worked at the university in my hometown one year and in our office there was a gentleman who did the Math tutoring for the campus. I noticed he had a small margarine container with him all the time filled with coins. I just figured he was eccentric and did not like wallets, but the curiosity got to me one day and I asked about the container of money. He laughed saying it was his found money. I had no idea what he was talking about and he explained.

Now he is a PhD in Mathematics and numbers fascinated him. One day he was walking and found a quarter, he picked it up and continued to walk, after a few minutes he found a dime. So as he walked he wondered how much money a person could “find” in the course of a year. So he began to keep the money in a small baggie, the baggie ripped about a few weeks so he chose the sturdier container. Again, as a math guy he wanted to increase his odds, and when he walked (and he walked everywhere as he did not drive) he would weave through  parking lots, he would collect beer bottles, cans and liquor bottles discarded by people. He even told me that on Sunday mornings he would walk the parking lots and surrounding grounds of the University as there was usually dozens of such finds. I thought this was a bit crazy and then he told me in just one year he had “found” almost $500 that way. I was amazed. I know its not a lot of money, but since I walk my dog everyday, I have taken it upon myself to bring a bag and when I do find the odd beer can or wine bottle I collect it. Its keeping the streets clean and I am walking anyway.So in one year, just on my daily walks I made close $370. Hey that is a car payment or mortgage payment.

Okay, maybe not for everyone, but often times there is money you do not even realize in your own home.  I have friends that are always getting rid of something and I always say yes to anything they give me for free. I have gotten alarm clocks, coffee makers, slow cookers, pots, pans, dishes, all sorts of items. Yes, I take them all. I have a large garage that came with my once crappy little house, and I store all these extras in bins in the garage. I am also sure that the items are of good quality, if there are cracks, chips, bare wires or anything like that then I put that in a different bin, The bin of top quality items then become a collection for a yard sale. Every year somewhere in June I have a yard sale and sell off these items. It cost me nothing and I generate a few extra bucks to save or as I consider it found money it goes in the found money bin. In one yard Sale I made about $275. Now be careful because after a certain dollar amount you do have to claim with Canada Revenue, but again just with a bunch of free stuff, very little effort on my part, I sat getting a great tan while people came and bought the items.So for 4 hours of work I think that is not too bad.But don’t get carried away, I know friends that do yard sales every second weekend from May to August, and its more like work then. My way is less energy,  you get to clean out the garage, and its green because these things could have ended up in the landfill.

Next, how to find ways to save your hard earned dollars.