MANAGING MONEY PROBLEMS DOESN’T START WITH EARNING MORE. How many of you are in a state of financial trouble? I don’t want to know because that is a question for you to tackle possibly signaling time for a financial stress test. If you really want to fix your financial stress it takes more than just earning more money. Let me explain. If you answered yes to my question you might want to take a bow, raise the curtain on your debt show and start a new chapter. If you can’t make ends meet don’t sit around waiting for collapse get ahead of the game because if you suffer from financial stress now it will only get worse. Unfortunately not everyone may be able to get ahead especially if living on a fixed income. For those who are and can manage the bills with what they get financial stress looms over them just as much as the next person. If you believe you can’t get ahead because your income doesn’t cover the bills and you’re debt free then something must change. We can all say no to credit and creating debt we don’t need but we can’t all rush out […]
Poverty Stories: Growing Up Poor Made Me Rich But Not Happy
SOMETIMES WE KEEP LOCKED UP THINGS THAT HURT US THE MOST. Fan Submission to Poverty Stories My parents married when they were 17 years old back in the early 70’s and lived in a town just outside of Toronto. Shortly after I was born into what was a loving family environment that did what normal families do. This was the happiest and scariest moments for my parents because financially they were just getting started. Luckily both of their parents lived in the same city and they were able to get help from them with babysitting and anything else they needed. Both my parents are the youngest of many siblings who watched their brothers and sisters grow up to become successful in their careers. Walk down the aisle Back in the early 60’s and 70’s it wasn’t uncommon to get married before the age of 20 years old so naturally having a baby was the next step. My mother was an accomplished musician among her peers and my father followed his passion as a plumber in the trades. By the time they were in their mid-twenties they were both working steady jobs and life was getting busy. My […]
How financial management led this man to pay off $20,000 of debt : June Net Worth Update 2015 (+0.22%)
YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE When it comes to financial management of your money there is no excuse about not knowing why you are in debt, besides the obvious. Calculating personal net worth is a controversial topic in the personal finance world only because everyone calculates their worth a little different. Some people may add liquid assets such as “stuff” they have acquired over the years as well vehicles and their primary residence. Others may not. Financial management starts now Whether you hire someone to manage your finances or you do all the leg work and management yourself you know that this task never ends. Money will always be a mission on the monthly “To-Do List” no matter how rich or poor you are. It’s been years now that my wife and I have been calculating our estimated personal net worth but we never quite gave much thought to the motivational aspects of knowing “What am I worth?”. What I mean is how taking charge of our finances have influenced our mindset. Financial management of our assets and liabilities didn’t come into play until we bought our first house together after we were married BUT we could […]
Ambitious Teen helps mom with family budget
LET ME HELP YOU WITH THAT MOM There was a time in my life when I was a teenager and all I cared about was working, saving money and hanging out with my friends. I didn’t have to worry about what my parents did with our family budget nor did I care. Growing up in our household my parents were frugal to the point that if we wanted something we worked for it. They didn’t scour the weekly flyers because we didn’t have them but they would buy products reduced if mum was able to do something with them right away. My mums favourite was making pies with fruits that were ripe or ready to go off. That’s probably why I’m the way that I am in the kitchen. Being that it was Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday) March 15 in the UK yesterday this email made me remember growing up and what life was really all about in our house. My mother was and still is our rock and I can understand how this young lady is so determined to help someone so special and close to her heart. Help with the family budget I received an […]
Do you know a credit card debt victim? : The Saturday Weekend Review #111
WILL ANYONE LISTEN? We all know someone who constantly whines about money and plays the credit card debt victim role yet does nothing about it. Having credit card debt and struggling to pay it off is a stressful place to be for anyone especially if you are already on a tight budget. I certainly wouldn’t want to be that person but I would give up whatever it takes to get out of it, no excuses. One of the main reasons people stay in debt is because they spend more time trying to justify why they can’t get out of debt rather than doing something about it. I know one woman who started cleaning houses on the weekends when the kids were with their father just to get rid of credit card debt she says she created when they split up. Some people might think that I don’t know what it’s like to have limited income or debt so how could I possibly share my thoughts on the topic, but think again. I may not have had credit card debt before but I have had debts in the form of a mortgage, education, vehicle, etc. I even owed my parents […]
Parents tell son he will create credit card debt with rewards cards
CREDIT CARD BUDGET SAVINGS I talk about credit card debt on CBB once in a while and I also talk about how credit cards can easily be your friend if you use them properly. Many people use credit cards today rather than carrying cash with them. It’s simple to tap, swipe or insert and enter a pin to pay for a purchase and in most cases it gets you through the checkout faster. We carry credit cards because of ease of use and of course there are perks to using Canadian Credit Cards if you use them wisely. Credit cards have helped many people get back on their feet because they knew money was on the way. One friend of ours was in between jobs and used the credit card to get grocery rewards which helped them to buy more groceries for the family every month. One of our current rewards cards the SDM Optimum has almost 500,000 rewards points which is equal to about $1000 worth of free product. We don’t own the Optimum credit card but if you did you could get even more Optimum points faster. Credit card debt How to pay off credit […]
Is it wise to stay home and pay off my student debts?
I WANT, I WANT, I WANT Ah, the student debt fever doesn’t hit until school is done and reality hits the young adults of today. End of the school year 2014 is quickly approaching which means many graduates will be free from their education but not from their student debts. Today’s post is based on a question in the CBB mailbox from a student fan who was looking to me and all of you for some advice on what he/she should do after University because of student debt load. It’s funny how many people when given lump sums of money or money in general will live in the moment especially if they don’t have any savings to back them up. The feeling of happiness that money brings to most people overrides anything that will happen after the fact such as paying it back. I know a friend of ours who year after year gets in a financial bind and has to get a loan from whoever is silly enough to give it to them. In the months leading up to actually finding someone to give them a loan to pay off their debt they are miserable, have no money […]
The Saturday Weekend Review #19- Mothering Sunday Is Mother’s Day!
Mothering Sunday is what we call Mother’s Day in the UK, the equivalent of Mother’s Day In Canada and other places around the world. In the UK Mothering Sunday is always celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In 2013 Mothering Sunday in the UK (Mother’s Day UK) was celebrated on March 10, 2013 where Mother’s Day in Canada and the USA is celebrated on the second Sunday in May which is May 12, 2013. I call my mother my mum where in Canada my wife says her mom. I try to stick to mom so I don’t confuse people but sometimes I forget but I’m sure you all get it. We only celebrate Mother’s Day during the Canadian celebration date and my mom is fine with that. Some day soon she will get me in the flesh and blood as we hope to make a trip back to the UK very soon. We are hoping to plan something very special maybe visiting our friends in Spain, Germany and Italy. Yes. I will take lots of photos when we go and make sure we hook up with the best eats around. I’ve been to many places in this world but the wife […]
