Lilly, over at The Frugal Gene, did a post about the Cast of Characters that formed the foundation of her approach to personal finance and influenced her growing up. I’ll wait here while you check it out, because it is a really great read! …
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All done? Perfect! Then you’re sort-of warmed up for what I’m about to do.
I ask this question because: I was talking to my joe-job manager recently, jokingly, about how we were going to muntiy. I would become the store manager, and she would take on the regional manager’s job, who we would promote up to the next step and so on.
But here’s the thing – if you’re a manager with most corporate retail jobs: their standards are two pay-grades above you.
What does that mean?
I have not encountered a corporate (retail) joe-job where anyone expects your life and mental health to be prioritized above the company.
‘Work doesn’t revolve around your life; you work, so that you can have a life.’
TFSA stands for Tax-Free Savings Account, and they’re a saving resource for Canadians. But WTF are they and how do they work? If you try looking at the Government of Canada website, it feels a lot like the Internet equivalent of Professor Binn’s History of Magic class.
You might have no idea what it is, or have a little bit of an idea (like me) – or you might know everything there is to know about them (in which case, please let me know if I got something wrong).
Now that I’m seriously looking into, and saving for, a home, I’m starting to think about all that dough I have in my TFSA, and how it all works. Follow me on this self-learning, maybe-educational journey about the TFSA…
Funny story – two summer’s ago my Dad tried to ‘fix’ the weeds in the grass by spraying it with weedkiller… using the reference picture above, you’ve got one guess to figure out exactly how that went. Turns out, ‘weedkiller’ was actually ‘killex’, which is much less discriminatory with what it kills. It only took two weeks for our grass to shrivel into yellow straw, but thankfully it didn’t kill the tree in the front yard.
The lesson in this? There are things you can do yourself, and things that you… can’t. Here’s a couple things that didn’t explode or die after we used the tried and true google and youtube methods!
While I definitely don’t suggest tackling things yourself that you’re not comfortable doing (I, say, would never attempt to do my own makeup, because that would be a disaster if I could actually manage to get makeup tool to face – I’m a blinker and an unconscious ‘moving away from you slowly because I’m terrified’ type of person), there’s nothing wrong with taking a whack at something you might think will be within your abilities.
I’ve got three DIY projects that were accomplished to varying success (the pizza was delicious the last time, I swear).
Summer has ended with the subtly of a 50 car pile-up on the highway, and I’ve gone from sweating to cold toes in the span of three days.
I’m not happy.
As much as I like cozying up to the fire with some tea (or coffee) and an engrossing book, cold itself is inconvenient and makes my extremities feel weird – or numb, if we’re being dramatic.
There’s a few things you can do to fight off the chill, and fight off the impulse to start happy-spending. It’s not Christmas yet folks, despite what Costco and store inventory is telling you!
Didn’t think there’d be any more stuff? Guess again!!
I went over a few things previously, but there’s so much to take into consideration. Some of this is getting into super nitty-gritty detail, and it really depends on whether or not these things would affect you. Everyone’s got their own style of what can be raggedly rich, and what can’t, and only you know what that is.
Can the principles of Emergency First Aid be relevant to personal finance? Hell yes! And how is that you ask?
(Immediate side note: I challenge everyone to find something I can’t relate to personal finance!)
The principles apply because in Emergency First Aid, the goal is to keep things simple, and literally not make the situation worse.
Disclosure: I’m not a medical professional. I’m not a Emergency First Aid professional. Using this post as your sole foundation for Emergency First Aid is like me using the real Emergency First Aid class to practise like Dr. House. Furthermore, the specifics of Emergency First Aid will vary depending on where you are and what your skills and training are. This is not a real first aid course, it’s an application of emergency first aid principles to personal finance.
Now that that’s out of the way (seriously, call 911 or your equivalent if there’s a real medical emergency!!), here’s a rundown of the A B C’s of Emergency First Aid (in my province):
And the corresponding A B C’s of Emergency Financial First Aid:
My last frugal save update was… on July 21 (Thrifty Krispies & Warranty). It’s been a while! The past month has been a rollercoaster of productivity and lack of productivity, the gruelling contract that inspired the 5-Step Guide to Clawing Your Way Back From Devastation and Heartbreak. I also had a cold right before that contract started, which made life difficult, but didn’t knock me out like colds usually do.
It didn’t take me as long as it usually does to bounce out of funks, and I find myself slipping back into the groove of things I’d established before my three-week contract quashed any and all zeal for life. I also realized that I can’t do it all under those circumstances – my general creativity and productivity are tied closely to my mental health state, and I’m trying to find strategies that’ll distance the two a little.
Was this a frugal 44 days for me? Sort-of.
What’s plot got to do with personal finance? Everyone’s financial journey resembles a story arc, complete with plot twists, plot holes, drama, and conflict. We’ve gone through how to start earning money, and some tips for that. And there was a post on building net-worth, and the steps in accomplishing that. Now we’re going to talk about retirement, and how to figure out where that climax of your financial story arc is.
How does this relate to personal finance?
Because it’s not just about finance. It’s about PERSONAL finance, and that means you. I’ve always had a knack for saving my money, and the money I have right now is a combination of that trait, the privilege of where I live, and the circumstances of my birth (parents, family, socio-political situation, etc.).
But your personal finances are just a pile of money and theory without you. You are the single most important factor in your finances. If you’re not in a headspace where you’re productive and happy, your personal finances are going to reflect that.
There’s something universal about getting stabbed in the heart. The way your chest sinks and you feel like you’re drowning in air; the weightless daze that makes the ends of your nerves tingle with an unsettling sensation that doesn’t feel normal.
It’s comfortingly human – the how and why might change, but every single person out there has experienced that emotion of heartbreak. Best friend betraying you? Significant other betraying you? Realizing things aren’t the way you thought they were? The weight of your debt finally settling on your shoulders?
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