About three years ago, I had a dream of starting a personal finance blog. My family and my boyfriend laughed at my lofty idea. I thought- I’ll show them! I can be successful if I work hard at it. It was my dream to make it successful and show the world that a female voice could swing with the big boys in the personal finance blog realm (woot!).

After two and a half years, I think I have achieved this goal. Never in a million years did I think that my blogging idol, Million Dollar Journey would link to me in his blog round up. Never did I think my name would be mentioned inGlow Magazine. Never did I think my blog would be mentioned in the Globe and Mail. David Chilton from The Wealthy Barber even had email contact with me! I have enjoyed every single minute of it and most of all, I have enjoyed making friends around the world and across Canada through people connecting with me through this blog. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity that the Yakezie has given me- I remember thinking “yeah! I’ll join this! This might be my big break to actually have people notice me!” Since then, it has been an absolutely amazing ride.

I clearly remember when I started that I thought the only person reading my blog was myself (which is 100% true). I was so excited when I got one comment. I was so excited when I got my first $100 cheque from Google. I was so excited when people actually realized my blog existed in this vast internet cyberspace. I can remember each “milestone” and these precious memories will never escape me. I’ve learned so much more than I could even imagine about investing, about personal finance, and life balance and I have you to all thank.

Despite the amazing growth of youngandthrifty.ca, this blog has grown into something so much bigger than I could handle with my current life of school, work etc. The marketing, coding, html stuff, and advertising made me feel like I was in over my head. With school, work, and relationship obligations, I wasn’t able to put in the amount of time and energy that I thought you readers deserved. Every day I spent hours working on my blog and putting the blog’s priority over my relationship and it really pained me to not have time in the day to go on my blog on a daily basis because of school.  I wonder if this is the answer to why there aren’t that many female personal finance bloggers going at it on a full-time basis. I had so many blog post ideas, but was so busy that I didn’t have time to write them. I was busy answering emails and busy trying to drive more traffic.

However, at the same time, I felt like I was being squished with my school and relationship obligations. I wanted to study more, learn more but had to commit to my blog. I felt pulled in all directions. I thought I could handle it but to be honest, it was difficult balancing everything without feeling like I was spreading too thin. I’m sure you’ve all read my constant “weekend ramblings” whining updates on how stressed I was feeling

This blog is my baby and I don’t know how many hours I’ve poured into this blog. Probably thousands and thousands of hours…It was a seriously difficult decision to make and I wanted to make sure that the new owners would take care of this blog like it was their own. I wanted to make sure the new owners would keep my voice present in the blog (basically allow me to continue to write on here).

Never did I think that my own staff writer, Teacher Man, would be interested in taking care of my blog! When I saw My University Money appear on the personal finance blogosphere, I knew they were supremely talented. So now the tables have turned and I’m the new staff writer lol. As Alanis Morisette said (by the way random fact about me: I used to be a huge Alanis fan when I was 12) “Isn’t it ironic?”

I can’t think of a better transition to this story. I am so lucky to be able to hand over my blog to a group of talented guys that I trust and I’m so lucky to be able to continue writing on here and concentrate on my true passion!

So don’t worry my friends- I’m still here. Youngandthrifty.ca will be better than ever! You’ll see me post twice a month and share my weekend ramblings twice a month (because I know some of you like my weekend ramblings- I like them too since I get all philosophical on life and I know you like that lol). I think I’ll still continue my net worth updates since I like to keep accountable with my finances and y’all help me so much in that respect (unless you don’t want me to). I know how fun it is to look at net worth updates too. I’m also still on twitter. You’ll probably not even notice that I’m not around as much. I’m excited to work with the dynamic duo at My University Money and I know that they will take this blog to greater heights. This beautiful new beginning starts tomorrow!  I’m excited to see what’s in store for youngandthrifty.ca.

Stay frugal my friends- with much much love, Y&T.

Comment on this post »

I saw the headlines yesterday about job interviewers increasingly asking for your password or for you to log in to Facebook during the interview and I thought sharing my thoughts on why I deactivated (have yet to delete, but so far, I have no temptation to go back to “reactivate my Facebook) my personal Facebook page with you would be fruitful.

We live in a hyper-connected world and it is quite unheard of for someone from Generation Y to not have Facebook.  As some of you may know, it was one of my New Years Resolutions (well, two years in a row, really) to go on Facebook less to increase my productivity.  I pretty much massively failed both years and instead of logging on online, I would log in with my iPhone Facebook app.  It got to a point that you could say I was Facebook addicted- I would update my newsfeed, oh, maybe 20 times a day, sometimes I would refresh the newsfeed it again about 10 minutes after I updated it already.  Yes.. it was that bad.

When I first joined Facebook back in 2008 it was really exciting to reconnect with long lost elementary school friends, high school friends, and even people I met briefly but wanted to keep in touch with.

However, somehow Facebook reared its ugly side and I started to question why I was addicted to Facebook so much.  So I decided a few days ago to deactivate it.

Before I clicked “okay” to deactivate my account, Facebook said “Are you sure?  _______ will miss you!  _______ will miss you!  _____ will miss you!” and I found that even more creepy that Facebook would give one last “nag” and proceeded with the deactivate account button.

So here are my reasons why I deactivated my personal Facebook page.

Privacy, privacy, privacy

I’ve always been a private person (even when I’m not blogging incognito on this blog) and I was really unhappy about the practices of Facebook where they would change the privacy “laws” or whatever, on Facebook and NOT TELL YOU ABOUT IT!

Each time, I would change my privacy details AFTER I read about it on another friend’s newsfeed, about how they changed the privacy laws and in order for your profile page not to be viewed by the public, you would need to log in and change the tick boxes in the privacy section.  I’m not sure how many times I had to readjust my settings to suit my privacy needs while maintaining a public Facebook profile (amongst my Facebook friends anyways)

The last straw for me, was this most recent update.  I make sure that my “main” Facebook profile picture doesn’t include a picture of my face in case people search for me on Facebook.  However, with this most recent update assault to privacy, ALL of your profile pictures, even the ones from years ago, are visible to people who search for you.

And there was no way that you could undo that with a privacy setting adjustment.  I ended up deleting the pictures with my face to start and to “adjust” with this new update.

Facebook is … like high school all over again

Although I didn’t have a terrible time in high school (I certainly miss the egocentricism and the lack of responsibility except to myself), because I have a lot of high school friends on my Facebook page, I found that in Facebook, people wanted to add more and more friends (I think I know someone from high school who has over 1000 friends) because its some sort of popularity contest.

The more Facebook friends you have is not an indicator of how popular you are, okay?  Some people try to add you even when you met them once.  And they never try to talk to you on Facebook.  Just stalk you.. that’s all.

My feelings also get hurt when I find out someone defriended me.  Sniff.

Facebook is Judge-Y

I’m not saying Facebook itself is judge-y, but the people on Facebook are judge-y.  Going through difficult times like having a death in your family, or being admitted to hospital (and then taking pictures of it and sharing with the world what room you’re in), or even a break up is hard enough as it is.  Yes- true story- many of my facebook friends have been taking pictures of their hospital stays and sharing their gory pictures…and even announcing what room they’re in!

You don’t need to announce these events to “your” world.

I don’t need my entire Facebook 200+ people on my friends list to know what is happening in my life.  I don’t need them to judge me even more than I’m judging myself.  Thank-you-very-much.

It’s creepy that you know what’s happening in someone’s life when you never talk to them in person

Not sure if it’s just me, but I find it kind of sad when you talk to someone, or you bump into someone, and you say “ooooh heyyyy! How are you doing these days??” and you pretend that you didn’t see what they’ve been up to on Facebook because that would make for awkward conversation.

Or when someone does mention, that they know what you’ve been up to because of Facebook.

Not sure which scenario is is more awkward.

Does Facebook bring the best in people or the worst?

Hey, I’m all for tooting your own horn, but please don’t toot it on an hourly basis.  No, I don’t need to know that you’re hungry, or you’re so excited to have the weekend off and that you miss your hubby.  No, I don’t need to hear that you are very proud of the perfectly shaped stool you produced today.

No, I don’t need to see that you’ve achieved a high score on Bejewelled, or Farmville, or whatever Facebook game you’ve downloaded.

Kony 2012.  ‘Nuff said.

Herd mentality. Facebook amplifies herd mentality- people don’t understand what they’re promoting and telling their friends to believe in.

Kony 2012 infiltrated my Facebook feed for a few days and in my ignorance and ambivalence, I did not click on it to find out more.  Just read the newsfeed headline.  First, Kony 2012 was a good cause.  People donated to Kony to help the children.  Then Kony was found to be a sham.  Then Kony was found by police and caught for another strange reason.

Facebook is Awkward (Friends, Colleagues, Family)

When a colleague adds me on Facebook I find it awkward.  Will they know that I don’t want to add them.  Will I hurt their feelings if I don’t add them?  Of course, I end up adding them and because I’m a Generation Y individual who isn’t that tech savvy (yes, I know, an anomaly) to group friends and colleagues in one group to limit what they see…

Even then when you limit what your colleagues see, they may be suspicious that you’ve blocked access to the gossip juice from the “Photos of _____” page.  Will it be awkward because they know you’ve blocked access for them?

Facebook is a Productivity KILLER!

I know that loading Facebook newsfeed on my iPhone app 20 times a day IS NOT NORMAL. Although many times I spend perhaps 1-2 minutes looking at Facebook, sometimes, I would be looking at Facebook and a friends friend would post something on a friends wall.  Then I would look at that friends friend and look through their pictures, etc.

Then it would hit me.  WTF AM I DOING?? I DON’T EVEN KNOW THIS PERSON AND I’M STALKING THEM.

Sometimes I would bargain with myself- “okay.  Just one more friend to check out and that’s it.”

When you have a blog, full time school, and part-time work, wasting time is not a good idea.

Facebook brought the Green-Eyed Monster Out

Being in my late twenties, I know that it’s “the time” for all this society approved pressures and shiznat, like getting engaged, getting married, having children, getting good jobs.

I couldn’t bear to see another person engaged.  I just couldn’t.  Although I was happy for them.. deep down inside, I was jealous.  I’ll admit it.  The selfish, whiny individual in me was jealous.

Being exposed to someone you know getting engaged, or looking at their happily married wedding pictures, or looking at status updates from being “in a relationship” to “engaged” to “married”.  It was “Keeping Up with the Jones” in a sense.  I would see the “rock and roll” lifestyle being lived out by my friends and think *sigh* I wish my life were as breezy as that.

Yeah.  I’m drinking my Haterade and I’m proud of it.

Facebook Withdrawal Syndrome

Although one day after I deleted my Facebook, I must admit, I was suffering from Facebook Withdrawal Syndrome.

FWS for short.

The signs and symptoms of this syndrome is sweaty palms, confusion as to why the Facebook icon on your iPhone is not there, and curiosity as to what the people who you don’t really talk to in person or on the phone or even associate with is up to.  The important thing to know about FWS is that it is temporary and is fleeting.  The treatment for FWS is to contact a friend or someone you actually care about and talk to in real life on a regular basis and this can be done by phone, in person, text, or by email.  Usually this treatment suffices, and in extreme cases, FWS may lead to relapse and reactivation of Facebook.  It may take multiple tries to rid the addiction to Facebook, but with support and in-person contact with real friend, full remission can be achieved.

I can’t wait to spend real-live person time with my boyfriend, my family, and my friends.  I don’t need to see what’s going on in other people’s lives.

Readers- would love to hear your thoughts.  What are your thoughts on Facebook?  Please don’t try and convince me to reactivate Facebook! I don’t need to suffer from FWS

 

Comment on this post »

I’ve always been meaning to write this post but never got around to doing it.  I’d love to hear your (traumatic) experiences as a teenager in your first or second job.  Many entry level jobs are far from glamorous and some of the ones I’ve done (and am not proud of doing) are pretty interesting.

I first started working before I was even legally allowed to work.  In Canada, you have to be 15 years old to be hired at a job.  I think I was 14 at the time but was turning 15 after the summer.  Boy, I was sure excited for my first job!  So excited that I had no idea what it really entailed.  I was just happy to get some work experience in order to move on to bigger and hopefully better things.

Harasser Canvasser

I was a canvasser (going door to door) for a charity (it seemed kind of dodgy because I don’t think it’s in existence now) that helped impoverished people and children in Canada.  I seem to recall that if we collected X number of donations (like a quota) we would get a small bonus.

I remember being rounded up in a van and being dropped off in various neighbourhoods with nothing but a donation receipt booklet and a pen.  We then met up at the end of the day and got rounded up in the van again.

I learned that some people who you would not think is generous are very giving, and some houses that look lavish and beautiful don’t actually house the most generous individuals.

The great part was I got to see these huge mansions in West Vancouver (the super ritzy area of Vancouver where all the celebrities like Sarah McLachlan and the cast of the Real Housewives of Vancouver live ) that would take me 2-3 blocks to walk up to their door and ring the door bell.  The bad part of the job was that sometimes people really hate seeing canvassers.

The absolute worst thing I can remember is after having this man slam the door on me to tell me to “go away and F@(* off”, he actually turned on the garden sprinkler on me at full blast and I got completely soaked.  This is without me provoking or harassing him in anyway.

I was shocked that people could be so mean.

Another part of the job that I am not proud to admit was that I often got people at the door asking whether I was volunteering or whether I was paid.  I suppose a young 14 year old girl canvassing at their door really tugs at the heart strings (?).  I would clench my teeth and lie and say I was volunteering (yeah, I was a somewhat rebellious teenager at the time).

To this day I cringe with the memory of me lying in order to get more donations.

Custodian

My dad owns a number of rental properties and out of love pity, he hired me to clean one of the office building areas he rented out.  It wasn’t a bad job in terms of pay.  I didn’t have to lie to anyone and I didn’t get hosed on.  I worked once a week and got paid $20 for 1-2 hours of work.  It worked out to be pretty good teenager allowance at the time.

The part of the job that I didn’t like so much was cleaning the bathroom.  I’m not trying to sound like a princess or anything, but cleaning *WARNING NON-G RATED MATERIAL UP AHEAD*

(more…)

Comment on this post »

Okay, I’m pretty sure this is going to be painful.  So put your seat belt on.

Some of you might remember my mid-year check in.  To be honest, I think I was doing better in the first half of the year compared to the last half of the year.  I blame the onset of graduate school for that.

Personal New Years Resolutions- 2011:

• Exercise more! Specifically, exercise at least twice a week (hey I’m starting off slow, they have to be achievable, right? LOL). This can be in the form of yoga, going for a run with the dog, or hiking. This was an epic fail last year, so hopefully I will be able to adhere to this resolution. I did buy a yoga DVD and I have a one month pass for a yoga studio I plan on using in February in which I will be going every day or maybe 4+ times a week.

MAJOR FAIL!!!!!!! I have not exercised one bit since September and my pants are getting tighter lol.  I suppose its due to me being so sedentary on the computer all the time.  The extent of my exercise between September and now was just ankle rotations while sitting at the computer and going snowboarding once.  I really really need to start incorporating exercise in my week.  One of my good girlfriends offered her condo treadmill (because you know I am against gym memberships) for me to use (free!), so we can exercise together and motivate each other.  I’ll let you know how this goes…!

• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff- Sometimes I find myself easily aggravated over little things, that really don’t matter in the big scheme of things. I need to be more patient and practice compassion. I know this isn’t really measurable, but I wanted to put it in here anyways.

SOMEWHAT ACCOMPLISHED:  I think I have chilled out a bit especially now that I’m working less.  I get to greet my boyfriend with a smile on my face when he comes home instead of an irritated scowl (I suppose work with a 15 minute break the whole day does that to you lol).  With school work, I try my best and I know that as long as I’m not failing or am at least average, I am happy.  I couldn’t say the same for some of my classmates- they seem quite marks- obsessed, and I’m not sure why.

• Continue volunteering- I volunteer twice a month at a soup kitchen and I also volunteered as a mentor last year for an immigrant who had recently come to Canada. I hope to continue this, but having both going on a the same time + blog + full time work + house stuff was a bit much last year.

FAIL: I had to stop volunteering at the soup kitchen   It is very sad for me to have to give that up but it was getting too difficult to fit full time school, part time work, blogging, and volunteering.  I did however meet up a few times with the person I was mentoring and it was very nice to see her progress so far.

(more…)

Comment on this post »

What I have learned

I have learned a ton of stuff about personal finance, I have learned more about budgeting, about the personal aspect of personal finance, about money and relationships, about leadership.

In these two years, I have learned more than I would ever want to know about wordpress and plug ins and PHP, about social media and twitter (yes, I must admit I’m addicted to twitter now!), and about “pillar posts”  I still have a LOT to learn (still need to fix that commenting thing where the threaded comments don’t show up).  I’m planning to redesign my blog and make it look somewhat more professional but I will need to get the guts to do that.

I have seen many blogs come and go, and have learned to support the new blogs (especially new blogs I see that are really good) because I would have liked this when I first started out   Most blogs don’t make it past the 6 month mark and now I am way beyond the “critical point” so perhaps you’ll see me for another 10 years LOL.

I have also learned to time manage (I think) but I think I have my hectic school schedule to thank for this as well.

What I am thankful for

I am thankful for all the new PF blogging friends I have made in these two years.  The Canadian ones and the Yakezie ones.  Although I haven’t met you guys, I look forward to your comments on my blog, I look forward to reading your blogs, and I look forward to bantering on twitter.  I really enjoy the conversation, even though its not face to face.

I am thankful for the Yakezie who gave me this chance 1.5 years ago to expand my blog.

I think I have become a different person since starting this blog.  I am more accountable, I am more driven, more edumacated (thanks to other personal finance blogs), and I don’t procrastinate as much as I used to.  I am thankful for this blog because it gives me an outlet from my regular job and I really enjoy expressing myself on here.

I am thankful for the media coverage this humble little blog has generated, from being in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and very soon, Glow Magazine.  I am also thankful to all the publishers to send me books to review!  And I get to give them away, which is the best part.

I am thankful for the success of this blog that has allowed me to hire a staff writer from My University Money.

Of course, last but definitely not least, I am SO THANKFUL for the readers.  Thank you for reading my blog, thank you thank you thank you!  I look forward to the conversation that this blog generates and I look forward to reading your thoughts on my ramblings and on my journey with personal finance.  Thank you for reading via email subscription, via RSS, via facebook, via twitter, and directly!

When I first started

I remember when I first started, my family and BF laughed at me when I said I was going to start a personal finance blog.  They thought I was silly for thinking I could start a personal finance blog and have it be somewhat successful.  I admit, my thoughts were the same and at some points in the early months, and I had thought about quitting many times, but I slugged through and I’m here 2 years later.  I had never ever thought that I could be mentioned by Million Dollar Journey in his round up posts (he was my blogging idol when I first started), never thought I would be mentioned in newspapers, or be voted as one of the finalists for a Plutus Award.

I remember when I first started, the sadness of writing a post and have no one comment and I used to think “who am I really talking to? Myself??”

I remember the distinct moment when the Adsense started picking up (it was at $0.06 per month for a while) and I would be SO excited if I made $0.49 in a week.  I was checking my Adsense on crappy internet connection while I was in Nepal (that was about a year ago) and was elated to find that I was getting $3 in clicks a day.  It made my trip even better knowing that some sort of passive (??) income was being generated while I was backpacking.

So with two years of youngandthrifty.ca, what has this resulted in?

• 329 posts
• almost 20,000 visits a day a month!! (sorry this is what happens when you are sleep deprived-sorry!!)
• almost 35,000 page views a day  (haha sorry I meant a MONTH!)
• 324 pages of comments (love those comments) (more…)

Comment on this post »