Home Economics

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The Best Kind of Fun

May 19, 2009 in Home Economics, Thrift | 4 comments

One of the most interesting facets of the new “culture of thrift” is that the cheap-o things I already like to do have become popular with a much wider group of people.

I’ve spent years thinking about and implementing ways to spend money efficiently - that is, to get the results I want for the least amount of cash. I routinely calculate the cost per serving of the meals I make, and I have long used Amy Dacyczyn’s “cost per wow” factor in making spending decisions (things that give me a big WOW for the cost are worth it!).

It isn’t that I count every penny – I don’t – but I get a lot of enjoyment, strange as this may sound, Read the rest of this entry »

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How your finances are just like your lingerie: Part 1

April 27, 2009 in Families, Home Economics, Investing | 2 comments

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Here’s a secret: your finances are like your lingerie. How so?

In the next four posts, I’m going to give you four principles for understanding how your approach to lingerie and your approach to your finances are related.

I’ve also thrown in four secrets of financial planning designed to, well, uplift and support you in this area of life.

Principle 1: Just like your lingerie, your finances are intimate.

Our current environment is one in which almost anything is fair game for public display and comment. But even in an era of persistent, pervasive TMI (”too much information” - when everyone knows Britney Spears’…um, Read the rest of this entry »

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Hey babe, what’s your number? The Big Secret of retirement planning

April 26, 2009 in Families, Financial Planning, Home Economics, Investing, Retirement Planning, Savings, Thrift, Uncategorized | 3 comments

whats-your-number-300pxwhats-your-numberThis is the question that has been floating around me, in the air, over the last few months. People ask me this question, they tell me they lie awake contemplating it, and they want to know if I know the answer: how much money do they need to save for retirement?

What is the exact number of dollars they need to have socked away in retirement savings accounts to fund a post-work life that works?

A life that includes some luxuries, some long-hoped-for travel or the freedom to immerse themselves in a favourite hobby, while ensuring the kids (if there are kids) are fed and educated and Read the rest of this entry »

Thoughts about breadwinning & breadmaking

April 23, 2009 in Families, Home Economics, Savings | 5 comments

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I’m at home today; making applesauce, doing laundry, preparing a client’s tax return, and working through my own family’s tax returns. And thinking, as I work, about work: about the paid kind, and the unpaid kind, and how my life is balanced between these two.

Sometimes I feel as though I have “the best of both worlds” – because I am married, and because my husband has been the primary income-earner in our household in the years since our children were born, my family’s economic well-being does not teeter dangerously out of whack if I don’t Read the rest of this entry »

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Weekly mailbag

April 23, 2009 in Home Economics, Uncategorized | No comments

This week, the following questions have come into my virtual mailbag:

  • I split up with my common-law husband, and so I filed my tax return as “single.” I noticed this changed the amount of Canada Child Tax Benefit I receive. Is what I did right?
  • My husband and I have a lot of debt. But we haven’t taken a family vacation in a few years, and now that we have started budgeting, I’d like to include an allocation for a modest vacation once a year. Is it OK for us to budget for a family vacation even though we have outstanding debt to pay off?
  • What is a business number and do I need to register one? When do I need a GST number?
  • What do others do with the Child Tax benefit? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to putting it into an account in the child’s name? Would it be better to have the CCTB deposited into an RESP, tax-free savings account or something different? I’m looking for a way to save for her future that will maximize her options, in terms of how she can spend the money. What do others do?

We will get to each of those questions in turn. But in the meantime, this is my announcement that your questions about any aspect of your financial life are welcome here. What’s on your mind? What do you need to know?

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