Budgeting

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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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Lingerie Series, Part 3: Like your bra, your needs change over time

May 4, 2009 in Families, Retirement Planning | No comments

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We are looking together at how your finances are like your lingerie. Here is the third principle for understanding how these two, seemingly-unrelated parts of your life fit together:

Principle 3: Like your bra size, your financial needs change over time.
How many of us figured out our bra size at some point in the past and have continued, year over year, to blithely buy that same 34B that fit us before kids and before, erm, gravity made its effects known on our bodies?

Same thing with your finances: the mix of approaches, strategies and investments that fit you at 20 is not the same as the right mix at 30, or when your first child arrives, or when that same child hits post-secondary education, or when you 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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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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