Achieving Financial Stability By 40 Through Sacrifice

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Learn about the journey of financial sacrifice and the rewards it can bring in terms of financial stability and independence.

Mrs. CBB bought a brand new cell phone for the first time in her life, but it took her 20 years to decide.

Financial sacrifice has been a massive part of our lives since we were young.

Our frugal mindset continues today, now that we have our mortgage paid off, $200,000 in the bank, and all our investments topped up.

Considering we could have saved better using a budget earlier, it’s not much.

But to someone else, that’s a success they dream about.

Our financial success journey wasn’t easy and won’t be easy for you.

We gave up a lot to get ahead, and not a day goes by when we regret anything.

Finding Ways To Slash Our Expenses

The other day, we called Rogers, our provider for home phone, cable, internet, and Mrs.CBB’s new Samsung mobile phone.

The call was to ask about new Rogers promotions that might help us lower our monthly bill and discuss the costs of a data plan for her mobile.

We knew adding data for our holidays this year would cost us about $30 more, so any savings were better than nothing.

We trailed off topic but managed to secure even better: unlimited internet.

When I asked him about current promotions, he told me that there wasn’t anything more than we currently have.

Our existing TV promotion is better than what’s offered to current customers.

I know all those fancy boxes are out there where I pay a one-time fee, and cable is accessible.

I’m not interested at this time. My sister-in-law had it at her house and hated it, but now she’s with Bell Canada.

He mentioned that our home phone could be cut to $9.99 a month from $19.99 a month if we gave up the features and free long-distance plan.

That would take our monthly charges from $163.xx to $153.xx.

Not bad, considering I’m a negotiator.

But they’re swift with the give and take when money is concerned.

Related: You can see our budget and budget categories here.

We wanted to remove our home phone but keep it for emergencies, as I refuse a cell phone.

I don’t fancy knocking on my neighbors’ door whenever I need to make a phone call.

That would be highly frugal, and we’re not like that, although for what it’s worth, kudos to someone who can save like a shark.

Let’s Make A Deal

Since Mrs.CBB has unlimited everything on her S7 for $35 a month minus data, we decided to go for it.

Chop that home phone price in half and give us back some money!

That was short-lived.

While on the phone, we discovered that for $10 more a month, we could get the Rogers Ignite 100 plan.

Imagine that, $10. So we saved $10 and decided to go for the next level of internet service with our savings.

This package comes with fast speeds and no data caps. Not bad, considering it’s three times as fast as we had.

I know the different providers out there with cheaper plans, but so far, Rogers has been good to us and in line with our budget.

Why the data cap?

Our son is a YouTube Kids fan and enjoys learning from ABC kids.com and other educational apps.

He has excelled over the past year and is well ahead of some kids his age.

Although we monitored his internet usage, we noticed that we were getting increasingly close to meeting our data cap every month.

The extra charges are pricey, bother us, and become part of a daily routine check. In other words, a headache.

We jumped when the offer was on the table because we knew it would help remove our worry.

Boy, did it ever

Feelings Of Unlimited Freedom

Financial sacrifice means we either went without something to save money or scaled back on certain things to enjoy a balanced lifestyle without added debt.

We weren’t in that position any longer as we were comfortable being debt-free and spending money when needed to make life a bit easier.

The celebratory moment when we became debt-free was when we felt this underlying stress dissipate into thin air. It just left us.

We then experienced deja vu when we paid $10 to data cap our internet service.

It may sound corny, but I could compare unlimited internet data usage to debt freedom.

We already have a reasonably low Rogers bill compared to some we’ve seen, and that simple $10 swap made a world of difference.

It was a financial sacrifice in terms of no longer having the opportunity to save $120 a year.

However, it also eased the pain of overage fees that were capped at $100 a month.

My point is that there will always be a financial sacrifice if you want unlimited debt or freedom.

Now I sound like Justin Bieber trying to sell you on the premise of “Unlimited is more” with T-Mobile and Unlimited Moves Superbowl commercial.

It is, BUT only if you can afford to do so. If it makes financial sense and you’ve worked out the math, then you know your options.

Newlywed Financial Sacrifices

Mrs. CBB and I have been together for just over 10 years, and at that time, we made plenty of smart financial decisions, some of which were not so bright.

Looking back, we wouldn’t have changed much apart from using a budget instead of pen and paper or our head calculations.

So, after I had that feel-good rush of unlimited data, I understood that no matter how hard we try, we will always face a financial dilemma.

When you can walk up the next financial step knowing it will be acceptable to spend a bit more here and there, you know you’ve given financial sacrifice a fair shake.

You will never get rid of financial sacrifice because no matter what step you take, there will always be a more extensive quest.

It will likely not be apparent at first, but over time, you will see a change in your life and face decisions about your money.

Debt-free or not, financial sacrifice will always carry us further than spending money for the hell of it.

You might not like our decision to upgrade to a new mobile phone (which we got a fantastic deal on) or our internet and phone changes, but they work for us.

We’ve worked extremely hard over the years and can now enjoy some things we never thought possible in moderation.

Financial Sacrifice To Build Our Wealth

1. We rented a room for cheap and lived in it for 2 years to save money and complete our education.
2. We never upgraded phone technology.
3. We never bought a new second vehicle.
4. We buy almost everything second-hand if we can.
5. We don’t travel every year.
6. We don’t furnish our home with new, costly, modern, or vintage furniture.
7. We didn’t buy a big house.
8. We limited our entertainment invitations.
9. We created a reasonable adult allowance,
10. We simplified our life and started using a budget,

Are any of those a financial sacrifice?

They aren’t when you can’t afford to spend money on anything more than what you consider a sacrifice.

Living Frugally When You’re Debt-Free

You are in financial sacrifice mode when you know you have the money but choose to make wise decisions about spending it (spending less).

You could have more but choose less to build wealth to live a debt-free lifestyle before retirement.

Using a budget might not seem like a financial sacrifice to you, but it is for someone who spends freely or doesn’t save money or invest in retirement.

A zero-based budget has helped us curb the excess spending we thought we had under control without using one.

It may be time-consuming or an extra effort, but the sacrifice to be money smart outweighs the ability to spend when we want until the money is gone in the bank.

There’s never a wrong time to start making changes in your life

Financial sacrifice means you do things because you either have to, want to get ahead or move forward.

Sometimes we don’t have the option to say, sod it and start spending money like we now have, but that would only put us back at the beginning.

If you want to win your financial game, you must play it; sadly, it never ends.

The good news is that you will always be the winner if you put in extra effort.

Discussion Question: Name a financial sacrifice you made and share it in the comment section below.

Mr.CBB

CBB At Home

Hey friends,

I had the opportunity to play in a ball pit this week with our son at a free local play center, and he loved it.

The tricky part was story time at the end when he didn’t want to have anything to do with it. How do we get our child to participate in group circles?

He never seems to stay still and wants to wander off and not participate. Parenting has fun perks and moments where you want to hide in a closet.

This week, I found myself at work later than usual because I had lots of paperwork.

I’d rather stay at work and get it done than come home and fight off a two-year-old who wants to spend time with me.

Going home without the stress of unfinished work makes a world of difference to my wife and me.

Since the weather was nice, I put the Christmas decorations away and cleaned the garage.

This summer and next year, we plan to get renovations done here.

I’m cutting my hours at my second job to one day a week.

I need this time to chill out, be with my family, and get stuff done.

Other than that, a grumpy neighbor that no one likes on our street put up a sign for sale.

I’m almost sure a street party has been coordinated behind closed doors.

How was your week?

Mr.CBB

CBB Published Posts

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Top Post This Week: How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?

• 6 Simple Ideas To Generate Cash When You’re Broke
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• Crunchy Pan-fried Parmesan Crusted Hard-Boiled Eggs (Low Carb)

Weekly Fan Brag

If you have a brag that you want to share, email me at canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.ca with a photo and a short write-up of your deal.

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while, but here’s a deal that I’d love to share with everyone.

• Boxed hair color: Regular $12.97 at Walmart. PM to RCSS for $9.98 – $5.00 coupon on each – $3.00 each from Checkout 51.
  Total Out-of-Pocket $1.98 plus tax each!
  Jen P.

That’s a great deal, Jen.

Mrs. CBB bought her first EVER boxes of hair color just before Christmas.

We have yet to use them on her, though.

It’s just to cover up the bits of grey coming.

Her hair is dark and very long so that you can see it.

She’s considering leaving it now and letting the grey grow as it’s trendy.

CBB Finance Tip

Once I moved to Canada, one of the best things I did was take the initiative to get myself noticed.

When I returned to school and started a job, I would chat with everyone and laugh.

Keeping my mood high even though life was stressful helped me through the dark times of trying to work and learn about my new home, Canada.

Most of my current opportunities have come from people I have connected with over the years. Put on a smile and put yourself out there.

Frugal Recipe

Food is a big part of any budget and a struggle for so many people, so I’ve created frugal recipes for my family and yours for many years.

I have a second Facebook page called The Free Recipe Depot, where I exclusively share recipes from Food Bloggers worldwide.

This week I was over at the food blog Butter Baking where chef Natasha had me drooling after baking my favourite cookie, Chocolate Covered Hob Nobs.

You can buy them in Canada, but you’ll pay a steep price compared to what they cost in the UK. I love a nice hard cookie, and Hob Nobs are my favorite.

Thanks for a great recipe, Natasha!! GO check her blog out!

Did You Know?

Allison Bell from Ottawa, Ontario, who blogs at Aliedoesit, created this awesome coat rack from tree branches.

This would be perfect for my father-in-law, who loves the outdoors.

The great thing is minimal costs and a bit of elbow grease.

These are the best DIY projects, in my opinion.

Google Search Terms

Always begin and end your day with a SMILE!- Mr.CBB

Every week, I get tens of thousands of people visiting Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog.

Most times funny, Sometimes serious.

• I don’t care about poor people. They live a better life than you ever will, with hearts full of love and compassion.
• When do you use a Dollar Store pregnancy test?– Um, when you think you might be pregnant?
• Which car accessories are worth it? – None, invest in your future.
• Ask a millionaire for money, Canada– I guess it never hurts to try.
• How to write off an OSAP loan?– Haha, in your dreams.
• How to start seeds in ice cream cones?- Wow, that’s news to me. Has anyone else done this?
• God, I need money to pay off my debt– I’m not sure if GOD uses the internet, and I don’t have his number, sorry.

That’s all the fun for this week, thanks for dropping by and we’ll see you all again next Saturday.

Mr.CBB

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