LIFE-CHANGING EVENTS HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE AWAY YOUR DREAMS OR OFFER OPPORTUNITY.

 

I’m not selling shoes or even marketing them in this blog post. No. I’m sharing with you how important it is for you to pick the perfect pair of shoes, toughen up and find the riches that you dream of.

This is a story about two sisters 10 years apart and on two different financial journeys.

It’s tough for siblings to sit back and watch each other grow up because they venture in different directions for school, career and love. What’s even harder is being successful and then watching family members suffer financially.

It’s hard to be happy but we know that in order to change your life you have to accept failure, learn from it and move on.

How many pairs of shoes do you own and wear?

Most people have 1 pair of shoes which is really all you need to get what you want from life. Don’t let anyone tell you that in order to become successful you must look a certain way. Accessories are just that, extra stuff you don’t really need and that includes shoes. Walk in my shoes for a day and you most likely will give them back to me. (No they aren’t smelly- at least to me)

Our world revolves around the premise that having more is always better which is not true. Whether it be money or stuff neither can replace happiness. The perfect pair of shoes are the shoes you are in. As long as you feel confident and comfortable you can conquer just about anything.

 

She had it all and now it’s gone

 

While visiting the in-laws on Friday Mrs. CBB’s sister found out that she was being laid off. A planned fun couple of days turned into worry, stress and lots of eating for all of us. Apart from our own mishap which I will blog about shortly we had plenty of time to sit around and chat.

She’s 31, dating and has no kids but would like to one day. Going back to school is an option for her but she feels she has plenty of experience on her resume to get into a job that pays well. The only problem is that jobs are slim in the city where she lives because of the competition.

She was trying to convince us to open a Pizzeria back home because they are money-making machines. “I don’t know one pizza owner in town that has went belly up in all my years living here”, she laughs. She’s right pizza shops can be lucrative but even though it sounded like a plea we know that she would rather use her education to pursue her dreams.

In the meantime she’s been using her credit card in hopes that her Employment Insurance (EI) would kick in but sadly she has to wait another week. This is the time where it’s hard to hear about family who are struggling financially especially when you are doing well. We did help her financially but know it is only a short-term fix.

There are no emergency savings as her reserve was use up and retirement investments are on hold until she finds a new job. She does not contribute to her RRSP unless her employer offers investment matching program. She can’t afford it. Many people reading this today may feel they are reading about their life because this seems to be the norm for many young adults.

Right now she lives with her boyfriend who owns a house where she pays for food and other essentials but not the rent. His income is close to $200,000 a year with over-time but he’s secured a job in his field of expertise many years ago. Her car is a swanky and very costly to run. She says she wished she did more research before purchasing it as the premium gas is killing her bank account.

It’s amazing what you can learn about your spending habits when there is nothing left to spend.

 

She hopes. She dreams. She wishes

 

After years of searching for an employer to offer her a peace of mind permanent full-time job she continues to work on a contract basis. “No one want’s to hire full-time anymore”, she says. She is just one of many millennial born babies stuck in a corner with a degree and no career. Not to mention she is still paying off her OSAP loan.

Related: How to pay your OSAP loan off fast

With a car payment and no other debt besides OSAP times are still tough. She can’t afford to live on her own unless she rents a room nor can she invest in her future retirement.

Her recent employer was paying her $55, 000 a year and told her that the role was going to become permanent. They got flushed down the toilet quickly. Talk about going from a high to a low all in one month. It’s horrible when this happens.

Stop worrying about what you can’t control and work hard at what you can. – Mrs.CBB

As her phone continues to ring with opportunities from Job Agencies which she has pretty much given up on she wondered how she can change her life. Over the past 10 years she’s been flip-flopping from job to job and is now back at square one, unemployed.

Sitting across the table from us she says, “I want to change my life”. She’s sick of the self-doubt, insecurity about her career and overall stress it causes. She knows that if she wants to find a permanent job she faces having to leave her family and boyfriend to move away. This is never easy.

Being the only child to care for her elderly parents who are on a fixed income she feels compelled to stick around town. Mrs. CBB has tried to keep her spirits up and working to motivate her about not giving up.

This has caused many a riff in the family but for now we can’t move back nor can we change the situation. We also send money home for her to help care for them and take them out for lunch dates or shopping trips when needed.

She’s a smart girl who will get what she wants but in the meantime she needs to get back on track financially and change her life by rolling in a new direction.

 

Change your life

 

A change of life can mean anything from the loss of a loved one, divorce, marriage, moving away, a new career, new relationship, job loss, illness, etc. Mrs. CBB’s sister worries that she will continue to use her credit card and end up with too much debt that she has to pay back once her EI comes in.

“It’s so hard to change your habits”, she says and she’s right. The hard part is believing in yourself and taking that first step to manage your money. “I’ve worked so hard to pay off my credit cards in full and now this”.

With a bad past of debt, unpaid bills, creditors calling and a mish-mash of other things she wants desperately NOT to go down that road again.  Although hesitant we decided to work with her to understand more about her financial situation and what she would like to change about her life.

• Stop buying expensive clothes (Mrs. CBB took her to Value Village for the first time and she loved it.) The hardest part was getting her through the door for shame that someone might see her. She knows only us in our city so that was a good start. I’m sure you want to know if she bought anything and she did. A lovely once expensive black sweater that Mrs. CBB says looks amazing on her for only $9.
• Start budgeting (We hooked her up with a budget- ours of course)
• Start saving for emergencies (We talked about the ideal amount she should save)
• Invest in retirement savings
• Start cooking at home instead of eating out (Mrs. CBB and I made some homemade food for her while she watched. The food was amazing she said and wants to work harder to prep meals.)
• Putting a halt to the convenience store stops (She ensures us that she will stop)
• Quit smoking– she started again this weekend from stress. (This one is tough since it’s an addiction. After many successful quits she needs to make it a signed deal for good.)
• See the world from a different perspective. (Spending time with us and our son gave her the perspective kick that she needed in the parenting department. She would also like to go on more road trips, explore nature and just be one with herself instead of scattered.
• Buy a treadmill– Spending x amount of dollars for a gym membership only to use their treadmill seems absurd. Ideally she could run outside for free for the summer and keep saving her gym membership fee until she has enough to even purchase a second-hand treadmill. Leave that membership behind!

That’s a long list to fill but for someone in her shoes she knows that it will take time and energy which she lacks at the moment. With regular trips to the gym for a cardio session she feels energized to take on the world. She needs to get that spirit back which she plans to start doing on Monday. Setting goals is a smart way to get back up after a fall. She is paying for her $50 a month membership so she might as well keep using it.

How do I change my life? Step by Step

After a lengthy discussion and plenty of ideas tossed around I believe she is ready to change her life. It may be a day before she finds a new job or a week, month or year but in the meantime she is going to focus on finding the perfect pair of shoes.

By this she means that instead of putting on the same miserable face every day hoping that someone will call her for a job or that money will fall from the sky she’s going to hit the pavement and get it done herself.

As difficult as this may seem especially for those who are unemployed it’s important to remember that if YOU want to be successful then you have to not only dream but dream big. Waiting around only shaves time from your opportunity not only for a new job but for investing in tomorrow.

Wake up world, she’s coming for you.

In today’s up and down market, increased cost-of-living and soaring house prices it’s tough to find a place in this world. Our shoes play a big role because our footprint is the path that can either lead to gold or a pile of rocks.

The choice is yours.

Discussion Question: How did you keep motivated when you lost your job and had lots on your plate including helping your parents?

 

A week in my life

 

My week off started great and ended in a scramble to get our family home safely in time for me to go back to work. I’ll be writing a blog post about what we learned from our ordeal shortly in hopes of bringing attention to some things we weren’t aware of.

Starting Monday I’ll be working 7 days a week for 5 weeks so I’ll be in and out of consciousness on the blog and social media. I’m just swamped with work and I have a job interview in between all of this. I’ll do my best to pop around and chat.

Other than that…I cleaned out the garage not by choice the other day…more to come on that.  On a good note the wasps or whatever was hoovering around our garage is gone.

A sixth house has went up for sale on our street in the past 3 months. What….?

The price of houses are going through the roof.

Have a great week everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mother’s.

Mr.CBB

 

Top Finance Post

 

This week I read a compelling post at Mystery Money Man about a guy named Ron and how his life changed once he found out he had diabetes which later took one leg and one eye from him. What you need to know about money is more than just about money.

It’s amazing how much we focus on what we don’t have instead of what we do have. The writer of this post is right in saying that we should not only plan for tomorrow but live for today. Interestingly enough I am somewhat in the same boat as Ron’s wife. It’s not easy but it’s what I signed up for… good and bad, in sickness and in health.

 

CBB Published Posts

 

If you have a question that you would like to ask me fill out the Contact Mr.CBB form on the blog home page and I’ll do my best to reply to each question.

If you would like to share a story via a Fan Question please ensure that there is minimum 500 words and lots of details…we love details!

Contact me for more info at canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.ca or you can find me on Twitter (@Canadianbudgetb), Google Plus, Facebook, Tumblr, Stumble Upon, Flipboard.

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

• Grocery Store Etiquette and How You Can Participate For Free

 

Making a difference (MAD) 2017

 

Welcome to the 2017 Making A Difference series! Join the networking movement of Personal Finance Bloggers around the world.

If you are a personal finance blogger and would like your blog to be featured simply drop me an email. I’m currently booking June/July/August 2017-Limited spots.

Personal Finance Bloggers and Fans: I’m currently recruiting for guest posts on the blog while we go away on holidays. This is your opportunity to get published on CBB. If you have a topic idea and interested please contact me via email. canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.ca let’s talk.

Hi Mr. CBB and Fans,

Knowledge, habits and confidence.

Knowledge, habits and confidence are the three fundamentals I live and stand by. With these three fundamentals anyone can achieve their dreams and goals however they define them.

Hello, my name is Jayson Bastien the founder of Simple Money Living. I have been saving since a very young age; I started working around the neighbourhood and didn’t need to spend any of it so I saved it.

Early on I discovered PC Financial an their extremely high interest rate! I moved my savings over there and the game began. The game was to see how quickly I could deposit my money into my account and watch it grow! And grow without me even thinking about it.

My knowledge of the game turned into a great habit that has done me well into my mid twenties. Other habits have fallen into place like monthly budgeting, investing monthly and focusing on what is important to me and foregoing frivolous expenditures.

My knowledge turned great habits has built into confidence to navigate the financial world. Knowledge continues to build, new habits are formed and old ones reinforced seeing my financial confidence growth.

The difference

Simple Money Living is not just another financial blog giving you advice on how to save here and there, our foundation is strong. By combining exactly the knowledge you need to know, with great habits and stellar confidence you can achieve your goals. My hope is that I can make a truly significant impact in your financial life.

Combining my Canadian professional accounting trained background, my passion for personal finance and teacher like heart Simple Money Living is a platform you can build your financial success on.

Thank-you

Fan Brag of the Week

 

Send in your deal or brag of the week to canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.ca along with a photo and small write-up to be entered into our yearly draw.Enter as many times as you like. If your brag gets featured you get an extra ballot in the draw.

Hi Mr.CBB and Fans!

 

CBB Words of Wisdom

 

 

I Want To Eat This

 

Food is a big part of any budget and a struggle for so many people which is why 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 around the world.

Check out the Free Recipe Index on CBB compiled of frugal recipes that are 100% tested and accepted by family and friends!

This week I made a pit-stop over at the website, Plain Chicken for a bite to eat in my dreams. Take a look at this Sriracha Pineapple Grilled Chicken.

Doesn’t it look delicious and perfect paired with a garden salad of mixed greens.

Now that BBQ weather is back I’ll be experimenting as much as I can on the grill. This recipe will be on my list to try.

 

DIY Weekly

 

Over at One Good Thing by Jillie I found an article that jumped out at me only because tonight all of our packets came tumbling down out of the spice cabinet.

As soon as I saw this I thought, “Of course” and now I plan on getting this done!! How simple.

In her series “Why Didn’t I Think Of That” you’ll fine this cool idea and many more. Check it out.

Here’s a simple tip for storing spice, dip, and sauce packets in your pantry or cupboard. Stack up all of your packets and clip them together at the top with a binder clip.

Hang the binder clip from a small Command hook. You’ll always know where your packets are, and it’ll be easy to flip through and find the one you need.

 

Search term giggles

 

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

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

Most times funny, Sometimes serious.

• Parking Lot Scams Asking If Someone Has Swelling– Say what?
• What can be done with a $50,000 renovation?– Not much.
• So introverted that I didn’t say anything about wrong price scanned– Awe, it’s a work in progress. Start small and you’ll see how fast you’ll be shy no more.
• Make money from an idea in Canada– What a great idea.

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

Mr.CBB

Don’t forget to Follow me on Social Media and Subscribe to the blog.

Hey…if you see any mistakes let me know. I’m not an editor just a guy who likes to write and yes I make mistakes.

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• The Saturday Weekend Review #221 : Crazy Notions About Being Young And Debt Free
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