youngandthrifty.ca » the frugal life

Quicken Home and Business 2012 Review

young — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:59:38 +0000

One of the benefits of being a personal finance blogger is having the ability to “test drive” things to write reviews about them. I was given a copy of Quicken Home and Business 2012 to try out and review.

I was very very excited to try Quicken because I have heard so many great things about it and it almost seems that any Personal Finance Blogger isn’t really a personal finance blogger if they don’t use some sort of snazzy personal finance software like Quicken to track their spending, their budgets, and their investments all in one place.

Now, I think my review might be skewed because I have never tried Quicken before, I have used Mint.com before Quicken, and I am an extremely low-tech person (which is absolutely shocking to hear from someone who identifies themselves as Generation Y, I know).

I gave it an honest effort, I spent about 4 hours trying to figure out it, clicking on tabs, clicking on graphs, and trying to input data. Then I became extremely frustrated because I wasn’t doing it correctly and was worried that I would have to be manually inputting data on a regular basis (like correcting my mortgage remaining amount, updating my bank accounts). I manually inputted all my investments because they do not have Questrade in their database (just like Mint.com).

That would just drive me up the wall.

I tried to set up accounts but then was asked to download some sort of spreadsheet from my bank’s website (which I couldn’t find) so that Quicken could update my Quicken account. I then resorted to manually inputting my information. I gave up after four hours and left it again for a week. With fresh eyes, I tried it again and no luck, really.

Here are some of the PROS and CONS of Quicken that I have gathered in my short time trying it out:

PROS:

Really really detail oriented- if you want detail, Quicken is your software!
I really really liked the “reminders” page where they reminded you that you have X number of days left to donate to a charitable organization to receive a tax receipt, or that you have X number of days to sell your shares you want to share for the 2011 tax year.
I liked the business section- you can even create invoices. It is very detailed and “professional”
I liked that there were multiple sections, like budgeting, housing and debt, investments, spending, taxes, and business (and more…). It really felt very much like an “all in one” personal finance software.

CONS:

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found it very difficult to use. I wish there was some sort of instruction manual for it (though I must admit I doubt I would have the patience to read through an instruction manual- I barely had patience to read through the “getting started” instructions on the Quicken website)
Connecting the information in Quicken to your banking accounts isn’t as easy as Mint.com- It seemed to ask for your last statement date (I am honestly too lazy to scrounge around for my recent banking statements) and asked for you to upload a spreadsheet from your banking website to Quicken. I was unable to find the said spreadsheet or download link on many of my banking webpages.
It also slowed down my laptop (not sure if this is because I had to download a program that would allow Windows to run on my Macbook Pro)
It only works on Windows 7 or Windows XP (so no to Macs!)

Final Verdict:

Because it doens’t run on Apple computers (and doesn’t have that seamless intuitive Apple interface that I’m accustomed to), I found Quicken very non-user friendly. If it was easier to upload account information (like it is on Mint.com) I’m sure my impression of Quicken Home and Business 2012 would be different. I do not think I’ll be using it for ALL of my personal finance information and needs (I still really like Mint.com because its quick, easy, and there’s an “app for that”).

I do think I will try and include my investments in Quicken and my business information in Quicken because what I am currently using is basically archaic (notebook and pen, anyone?). I will need to delve more deeply as to how to use Quicken for these.

Readers, are you big Quicken fans? Have you tried the Home and Business 2012? If so, what do you think of it? Any tips for me as to how I can navigate it better? Do they have “Quicken for Dummies”?

2012 Personal Finance New Year’s Resolutions

young — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:04:24 +0000

Although I want to keep my personal finance resolutions as aggressive as they were last year, I know that this is not feasible and it will most likely only serve to punish me and make me feel bad come end of 2012.

Therefore, because I like baby steps (and achieving these baby steps makes me feel better about myself, thus making me want to try harder to achieve more), I’m going to try and make my financial resolutions realistic, given my recent move to working at 50% of my previous income and going to graduate school.

Without further delay, here are my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions. I’m looking forward to reviewing them in June and again in December to see how I do. Nothing compares to blogging for the world to see in order to keep yourself accountable.

2012 Personal Finance New Year’s Resolutions

Contribute $5000 to the TFSA- I plan to sell some of my Canadian non-registered stocks in order to put money into my Tax Free Trading Account. With the remaining amount, I may use my RRSP tax refund (provided I got one lol) to top it up to the $5000, for a total of approximately $20,000 total contribution in the account.

Max out RRSP allowed contributions- I set out $200 a month automatically to an RRSP TD e-series and top up the rest before the year ends. Next year will be the first year where I have to start repaying my Home Buyers Plan withdrawal. I believe I will be paying back into my RRSP at a rate of $150 a month. The remaining $50 contributed per month can be used towards offsetting taxes.

$5000 baseline for Emergency Fund: I would like to save $3300 before year end for my emergency fund, in case I need to repair my car, or pay for a veterinary bill since I don’t have any pet insurance, and other unplanned necessities.

Save up $3600 total for Travel Fund- I plan to climb the highest peak in Africa in 2013 and will need some cashola for that (not to mention get in shape)…I will try and set aside $100 a month for this travel fund (automatically). I have an ING savings account for that. This should be doable as long as I keep the $100 a month contribution to this account. It currently sits at $2600.

Pay down the Mortgage extra $200/month- We just started this before the end of the year. If it were completely up to me, I would be paying this down very aggressively and sacrificing many things for this. However, my boyfriend lives in the same roof as me and I need to make sure he’s on board with the aggressive pay down plan, and he wasn’t. I’ll need to work on him …

Slowly change most of my equities into dividend paying equities- Organize DRIPs for more investments if possible, and also arrange for a TD e-series fund for a TFSA account (though this means I would have to apply for a mutual fund TFSA account, which can be a pain in the behind).

Write down what I spend my money on daily- I’ve been terrible at remembering to do this last year- though I think I was pretty good at it up until September. I need to continue to remember to do this in order to keep track of my spending. Let’s just say December was a bit of a gong show in terms of trying to keep track of my spending, what with Christmas presents and all.

Readers, what are some of your 2012 Personal Finance Resolutions?

youngandthrifty’s 2011 Personal Finance New Years Resolutions Review

young — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:58 +0000

Part of blogging about your goals and resolutions means trying (key word, trying!) to keep accountable with them.

So I thought I would share with you how I think I did this year. As you know, I blogged about my personal finance goals for this year early in January, and also shared my personal goals. I will share how I’m doing for both.

Max out TFSA to $15000- In January, I’ll have $15,000 of TFSA space because I took out all of my TFSA’s for my down payment. I plan to sell some of my non-registered stocks in order to put money back into my Tax Free Trading Account and top it up with savings.

100% completed: I ended up transferring in kind my non-registered dividend stocks. I did receive capital gains or losses (net capital gain for this year is only about $120) because I moved them when the markets dipped to near the purchase value of what I bought them as.

Max out RRSP allowed contributions- I set out $200 a month automatically to an RRSP TD e-series and top up the rest before the year ends. I’ll need to make sure I have money for the extra contribution before the end of the year.

100% completed: I ended up contributing almost the maximum allowed RRSP contribution for my final tax deduction before next year’s tax return (2012) where I will start having to pay back my Home Buyers Plan withdrawal.

Replenish my Savings Account- Since my savings account was basically ameliorated from the down payment, I would like save at least 15% a month for this.

Goal wasn’t met: I had wanted to save up at least $5000 in my emergency fund, but I only have about $1700 now.

Save $2400 for Travel Fund- I plan to climb the highest peak in Africa in 2012 (before I turn the big 3-0… some people jump out of planes and sky dive…I hike) and will need some cashola for that (not to mention get in shape)…I will try and set aside $200 a month for this travel fund (automatically). I have an ING savings account for that

Goal has been delayed and only at 40% completion with new criteria: For some reason, I thought it would only cost $2400 to do this hike but it’s more in the tune of $4000 for this trip. I currently have $2600 saved up (were I to use the old criteria, I would have completed this goal, but because this goal wasn’t “SMART” to begin with, I need to adjust the goal). I think this should be achievable for this year since it wasn’t difficult this current year. I have also been contributing $100 a month and not $200 a month.

Pay down the Mortgage extra $500/month ($1000 total)- BF and I are going to rent out the basement and plan to use that money to pay down the mortgage and attack the beast principle amount.

FAIL: We finally have tenants but are not paying an extra $500 a month. We could technically do this, but after spending on the renovations etc. we would like to enjoy a bit more cash flow before we buckle down and pay down the mortgage more aggressively. We are paying an extra $200 a month. I am also a student now and it has changed the situation dramatically in terms of disposable income available.

Slowly change most of my equities into dividend paying equities- Currently I have some “play” money in my portfolio with which I invest in growth stocks, but I think I’m going to try and convert most of my portfolio to blue-chip dividend paying equities

Hard to measure this goal. I guess this goal wasn’t SMART I think I have bought some more dividend paying equities this year so far, but I am unsure how many. I think most of the stocks I bought were in my TFSA portfolio.

Write down what I spend my money on daily- I’ve been terrible at remembering to do this last year. I think it’s because I have the Mint app now so I’ve been bad at recording my expenses. I feel like a big hypocrite because I advocate for people to write down what they spend their money on. So to fix this- because I am a visual person, I’m going to use one of those free calenders you get from banks etc. to write down what my expenses are day to day.

Ran out of Steam: I did well with this resolution until about September, when I got a new student planner. It just wasn’t as easy to bring that out with me in my purse to write my expenses down. I know I can put it in an iPhone app or something but I’m too lazy to do that and I find that I like seeing things on paper.

Readers, how did you fare with your 2011 personal finance resolutions?

Boxing Day- Are You Game?

young — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:51:52 +0000

I used to be a huge huge fan of Boxing Day (not to the point where I would start lining up at 7pm on Christmas day in order to score a flat screen TV) when I was younger, but for me, it has lost its lustre. I think part of it is the realization that most of the merchants just put out their crap leftover from the previous year and try and sell it at deep (and lately I find, not so deep) discounts.

Uh… What’s Boxing Day?

For those of you that don’t know what Boxing Day is (which is basically anyone NOT from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada), according to Wikipedia, it occurs on December 26 and its origin is said to be from the Roman era where the more well-to-do place boxes of goodies outside the Churches for those less fortunate.

Why is it Bad?

Now it has become a mass frenzy of consumerism (an extension of the associated Christmas consumerism of course). Not only do you have Boxing Day where people line up at insane hours of the day just to wait to be the first one to get the 1 of 5 available $899 50″ flat screen television, you get Boxing Week too, which basically is Boxing Day for the entire week. It’s a sign for the public to BUY BUY BUY and… not stop buying.

It’s now EVEN EASIER (which is scary for me because I hate line ups) to participate in Boxing Day. You can do it from the safety of your own home (without having the brave the mad crowd) by participating in the Cyber version of Boxing Day. I find this much more dangerous than shopping in person because you don’t have to wait in line, you don’t have to get dressed and brave the cold, and you don’t have to find parking.

How to Avoid the Boxing Day Hangover?

In the past when I shopped on Boxing Day, I would line up for hours to go to my favourite clothing shops. Most of the clothes I bought were then final sale (because they were on sale) and I was unable to return them. I often got a Boxing Day hangover from them, unfortunately.

As the years pass (and I’m getting older, more rickety, and scrooge-like), I find myself not interested in braving the crowds, the traffic, the trouble finding parking just for a few dollars off of an item. Unless there is something I really need, I don’t think I will bother anymore. I just don’t have the patience to make the effort to wake up earlier (especially if I’m hungover from eggnog or home made Baileys) to stand in line like I used to.

I must confess, I got a Cyber Monday hangover (Cyber Monday is usually after American Thanksgiving) and ended up splurging $38 (which I thought was a good deal at the time) on a dress, a romper (which apparently is a big craze right now), and some socks from Forever 21. Yes, I was too lazy to go to my local mall and shop at Forever 21 just because there was free shipping and they had a 70% off clearance. All my usual sizes for the dress and romper were gone but I thought I’d try one size up instead, because I usually have no trouble going one size up. I measured using measuring tape (though I didn’t do it with much effort, I must say). Unfortunately, when the item came and I tried it on, the romper was way too big. It was also a huge hassle to return it in the mail so I decided to let it sit in my closet. I thought I was smart by saving $20 on something that was usually $34, but I wasted $14 instead. I got a bad case of the Boxing Day (or in this case, Cyber Monday) hangover.

How to Avoid the Boxing Day Hangover?

To me, the best way to avoid creating the shopping addiction is to avoid shopping in the first place. Don’t allow temptation to set in because temptation will most likely win (just like if you’re going on a diet, don’t walk by a delicious frosted cupcakes shop when you’re hungry). Instead, just avoid Boxing Day in general and you should be fine. This also means avoiding going online to check out the online deals available (though I must say, this is much harder!).

To avoid online temptation, perhaps writing a sticky note on your computer to remind yourself to NOT shop online for items that might be hard to gauge the fit (e.g. dresses, pants, suits) despite being non-lazy and whipping out measuring tape. I’ll try it this year and will let you know how it goes.

Readers, do you shop on Boxing Day (in person or online?)? Do you ever get the Boxing Day Hangover if you do go out shopping?

The Boxing Day Hangover

Forget about Generation Y, Are we Generation F?

young — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:14:52 +0000

Given all the recent talk and hubbub about the Occupy Vancouver/Portland/San Francisco/ New York (insert big city here) movement, I started thinking about the current state of our economy and the dismal state of our current generation. I know. I’m being a Debbie Downer.

I came across an interesting article in the local Vancouver magazine by Tyee Bridge, aptly named Going Going Gone. It is about whether generation Y is should be actually renamed generation F.

Generation F doesn’t stand for Generation Facebook, but Generation F stands for Generation F&#(d

Due to Vancouver’s rising real estate costs and general high cost of living, many young middle income earner families (whose household income is in the healthy $100,000 range) are being squeezed out of the housing market. Unfortunately, the salaries and wages in Vancouver are not increasing despite the exorbitant increase in real estate cost.

I know that in other cities with high real estate prices, like New York, or even San Francisco, the salaries and wages have kept up with the cost of real estate, but for an unknown reason, this doesn’t seem to be happening just yet in Vancouver. Many people are drawn to Vancouver’s beauty, charm, delicious food, and of course, developing hipster culture, however they are unable to afford living here.

Many families are raising their children in apartments or even basement suites due to the high cost of housing here. Either that, or they are moving to the suburbs and commuting in to Vancouver for work.

I personally believe I will never be as successful as my parents were (haha, how’s that for positive thinking?). I’m not complaining, I’m just being realistic. Inflation has gone up to extreme levels and income has not. My parents bought their home in the 70′s for $100,000 and now it is worth well over a million. I know that incomes weren’t as high then but I still think that the cost of real estate is very high relatively speaking. I am 110% sure that the home we bought recently will not be worth 10x our initial purchase price in 40 years. Personally, I absolutely love living here but I’m not sure what this place will be like in a 5 or 10 years with the rapidly changing city scene and real estate market. If we move though, we would probably end up renting out our home to keep some sort of stake in this popular city.

I know that we as generation Y are given a bad rap for not working hard like our parent’s baby boomer generation, but I do feel that it is harder to work hard and be successful in our current society.

That’s why I think it’s of even more importance for us as generation Y to be able to “think outside of the box” and generate passive income or different income streams, be frugal, and save for multiple rainy days…otherwise we would probably be even more screwed than we already are.

Readers, what do you think? Do you think we belong to Generation F or do you think there’s a glimmer of hope for us 20-somethings?

The Ultimate Peace, Adventure, and Hedonism on a Budget

guest — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:35:34 +0000

The following is a guest post (thank you Andrew for listening to my desperate plea for help LOL) from Andrew Hallam aka “The Millionaire Teacher”. I am so thrilled to have him as a guest poster as he writes articles for The Globe and Mail, he has a new book coming out in October called The Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules about Wealth You Should have Learned in School, and he is a fantastic personal finance writer. He teaches high school English at an International School in Singapore and I am envious of his lifestyle and life in general. Enjoy!

If you haven’t spent an entire month in Thailand, there’s probably one of three reasons:

The middle-aged / elderly European gentlemen who strut around with their teenaged Thai brides or “companions” give you the creeps.

Walking by bars containing nothing but slinky women playing pool in the middle of the afternoon smacks of an uncomfortable underworld Thai tourist brochure.

The costs of a month long (plus) holiday isn’t within your budget

If any of the three above are keeping you from hunkering down in the Jewel of the Orient, let me offer a solution.

Ton Sai Beach:

No arm-candy toting Teutonic Sugar Daddies

No prostitutes

Clean, off-season accommodation for $8 a night.

A haven for rock-climbers, Ton Sai Beach is a place where everybody learns your name. I’ve made roughly 20 trips to Thailand, but I’ve never found a place as homey as this. Most of the travelers staying there are (like our good host) young and thrifty—while others are just plain young and broke. But that’s the beauty of Ton Sai Beach. You don’t need plenty of money to stay there. And the accommodations are fabulous: chalets with ceilings fans, impeccably clean linen sheets, and bathrooms that are scrubbed spotlessly on a daily basis.

And here’s the best part: the (typically) dull folks who prefer to stay at the Hilton or the Shangri La don’t bother to show up at Ton Sai. Ok, perhaps I’m being a bit too judgmental, or hypocritical. My wife and I do spurge on the odd five star evening, but we’ve never left a swanky resort with a new friend.

Needing some time to chill, and a place to do put some final editing touches on a book I just finished, we visted Ton Sai in early August.

We flew to Krabi, from Singapore, costing roughly $120 return.

And from the airport, we grabbed a public tourist bus which took us to Ao Nang. The Lonely Planet describes it as a dead-end jumping point to more desirable destinations, but that’s one of the things I love about The Lonely Planet. They aren’t always right.

Offering Thai food, western food, and massages for less than $8 an hour, it’s a perfectly relaxing spot. The main drag runs parallel to a perfectly sandy beach where you can swim in some of Thailand’s most beautiful waters, or just hang out on the beach.

We spent a day in Ao Nang—enjoying three massages (yeah, we’re a couple of bums) while chuckling at some of the varying accommodation prices.

You could stay at the JMansion for roughly $12 a night (which we eventually did) or splurge on any number of places, a few hundred meters away, charging into the hundreds of dollars for a bed and pillow…for the gullible.

A word about JMansion: the Lonely Planet suggests that it’s so popular that you need to book your room with the kind of advance you’d normally reserve for a Canadian MRI. (Editor’s Note: LOL! Canadian MRI. That’s funny but sad at the same time )

But the Lonely Planet has doomed this place by putting such a coveted title on it. We nearly didn’t bother to check it out, which would have been a mistake. It wasn’t full at all…not even close.

Taking a $4 boat ride to Ton Sai Beach brought us to heaven. And before long, if you make the same trip, you’ll make lifelong friends with the world-travelers choosing to climb the amazing limestone cliffs, sometimes for months at a time.

The food is amazing, and most of the visitors at Ton Sai eat at the same alley, where you can gorge yourself on delightful Thai dinners for less than $3 a plate, while sharing stories and tips of your daily adventures.

(note* 70 Thai Baht is $2.30 Canadian)

As someone who never rides roller coasters, and whose fear of heights keeps him off ladders, I was reluctant to try climbing. But we hooked up with an eccentric, deep-thinking Australian and a Texan rock-climbing master who encouraged us to give it a whirl.

As a guy who had three ribs removed during surgery two years ago, I was pretty cautious about giving it a go. But I soon realized that I could have trusted any of those “tourists” on Ton Sai. Nobody was pretentious. Everybody was helpful. And each of them had their stories—whether they were escaping from the rat race, whether they had never entered it in the first place, or whether they were right out of high school, seeking a bit of adventure.

$8 per night

I realize one thing.

If you’re young, and you haven’t taken a trip such as this, then you must.

Life has a way of sucking you into its vortex of responsibilities.

And as much as we’re supposed to be “financially responsible” there’s something to be said for
extending yourself for a bit of adventure, even if it financially sets you back a bit.

How much would such a trip cost?

Here are my estimates for one month’s vacation from Canada or the U.S.:

Airfare: $1,400

Accomodation: $240

Food and Drinks: $450

Twenty massages: $160

Miscellaneous: $140

Grand Total: $2400

And if you do happen to see a Middle-Aged Sugar Daddy on a rock with his arm candy, take your hat off to the guy.

He’s going to be interesting.

Attention Starving Students: Show Arbie and WIN

young — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:54:30 +0000

Just an extra update this week for y’all. Since I am living the el-cheapo-no-time-to-myself student lifestyle now, and since we’re on the topic of text books and students and whatnot, I thought that some fellow students might be interested in a contest for students run by RBC (that’s Royal Bank for you non-bank connoisseurs). If you’re interested in winning $5000 (top prize), $3000 (2nd prize), or even $1000 (eight $1000 prizes) you should probably enter Royal Bank’s new contest- “Show Arbie and WIN”. In case you’re not familiar with Arbie, he’s the cute little cartoon guy in the blue suit. He wears a hat and looks uber friendly. If you’re interested in the contest (IMO, easy easy way to win- you don’t even need spend your time writing an essay LOL), go to RBC’s facebook fan page.

To enter the contest, you, as a student, will have to:

1. Like RBC Royal Bank on Facebook

2. Print Arbie (I think a colour printer might be helpful here)

3. Get creative and take a picture of Arbie that shows him how $1,000 would make your student life fantastic.

4. Upload your best photo and share it with your friends and family to get as many votes as possible (so if you have lets say, 10,000 twitter followers and 2000 Facebook friends, I think this is where it will come in handy. Facebook addicts, unite!).

Along with a nod from the panel of judges, the photo with the most votes wins $5,000! Or $3000 and $1000 if you get a lot of votes but aren’t numero uno.

Good luck!! And if anyone asks you, you’re procrastinating, but it’s productive procrastination!

Note: I received compensation from Social Media Group for this post.

Save $750+ on Shaw Cable by Being a (Starving) Student

How I Cured My Shopping Addiction

young — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:05:54 +0000

I know I may seem all pompous and superwoman-like when it comes to not splurging and not succumbing to being a victim of consumerism. I’ll have you know that this was not the case a few years ago. I was a shopping addict, especially when it came to shoes and clothes, my two greatest vulnerabilities. I would buy on impulse. I would buy clothes when I was bored. I would buy shoes when I needed a little emotional stability (aka shopping therapy). I identified with Sophie Kinsella’s Confessions of a Shopaholic. I fortunately didn’t rack up any credit card debt, though I didn’t save much money and basically spent everything I earned.

My closet was getting fuller and fuller and my bank account was getting emptier and emptier.

One day I looked in my closet and wasn’t really happy with the shoes or the clothes in it. I realized that buying for the sake of buying had to stop.

Set a Goal

What helped me stop shopping without a purpose was that I set a goal. I started setting a target amount of money I wanted to save per month. I wanted to save that money instead for a big purchase, like my first trip. The trip cost $2000 and it was set to happen right after my university life finished. I wanted to use my money for something I really valued. I didn’t value the clothes… they didn’t make me feel good. Traveling makes me feel good. So I decided to funnel my energy towards that instead.

Pay Yourself First

When I started setting a specific amount of money to save per month, I paid myself first. I moved my money from my main banking account to a high interest savings account that was only accessible online. This helped me feel poor whenever I looked at my banking account. When I felt poor, I didn’t feel justified to spend my money on frivolous non-neccessities like clothes and shoes.

Separate Needs vs Wants

I think this is key in terms of controlling your spending. I don’t need another sweatshirt, I don’t need another black dress (although there are so many different styles of little black dresses, it IS hard to stop buying more!), I don’t need another pair of jeans. Until one of these items you already has fails on you, there is no reason to buy another one. It will just end up sitting in the closet.

Avoid Temptation

For me, the biggest reason why I am “cured” from my addiction to buying is that I am not tempted anymore. I used to work in a mall, and on my breaks, the only thing I would do is go around the mall and shop. I would see something I liked and buy it. Sometimes I would have a little more discipline and buy it on the next day I was working at the mall. Just like if you were addicted to drugs and you wanted to get off drugs, you wouldn’t go into a detox program that was located in the epicenter of all the action (yup, beats me why there are detox centres for heroin and crack cocaine right in the heart of the Downtown Eastside, but that’s another topic entirely!). I’m not saying you can’t work in a mall, I’m just saying maybe you can go for a walk outside on your break instead. Or read a book. Something to distract you from the temptation.

Slip Ups Do Happen

Just when I thought I was in the clear, my friend asked me to go to this warehouse sale. Warehouse sales are my weakness, as my impulsive buying goes into overdrive. I ended up buying three dresses and one clutch there. The only thing I am happy with was the little black clutch because I needed one. I learned my lesson- avoid temptation! My friend ended up spending double of what I spent, so I didn’t feel so bad, but still….

Sometimes I look at other girls and I’m jealous of their wardrobe. They seem so stylish and always have new clothes and shoes to wear. Then I realize that even if I bought those clothes, I would still likely stick to a few key pieces and it would be pointless to buy more. I then tell myself that I have priorities, and a $150 sweater isn’t one of them. Just like with any reform from any addiction, it gets easier over time. Now when I walk through a mall, I don’t feel like I need to spend. I go in with a purpose and buy what I need and get out. I sometimes go to clothes swap parties- that’s where I can run wild- because they’re free!

Now, if only I could cure my facebook addiction….

Readers, have you ever been addicted to shopping? How did you overcome it?

Can Payday Loans Be The Solution To Credit Card Addiction?

Insurance and Why you Need It

young — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:39:24 +0000

This is a guest post written by LV.com.

I don’t think there is anyone out there who likes to think about what happens if they die or if they get into a car accident. It is human nature not to want to think about these negative feelings and thoughts. However, as much as it pains us to think about these possible scenarios, it is important to protect ourselves and our families from burden that the loss of our life or the totaling of our car entails.

Life Insurance

Many people say that it’s not important to get life insurance if you don’t have any dependents. When you do have dependents though, be it your spouse or your first newborn child, life insurance becomes much more important. We do not know where our lives may take us, we do not know how long we have to live on earth. We do know that if we die, we will leave behind our loved ones. And the last thing you want to do is leave behind debt for your loved ones. With the massive mortgages necessitating dual income earning families these days, it’s important to think about possibilities of you not being here to support your family. Certain life insurance policies can offer you one lump sum, this will help your spouse pay off the mortgage, help send your children for post secondary education, and just live life as best as possible under the circumstances. Your loved ones can try to go one with living life without having the financial burden of large debts and possibly having to file for bankruptcy. They have enough to deal with, you don’t need to let them deal with financial burden on top of grieving their terrible loss.

Another feature of a good life insurance policy is where you have the option of taking money out beforehand if you were terminally ill. Cancer is occurring at a higher and higher frequency, even in those who are young, and who we do not expect the possibility of cancer. Those who have wanted to have children, those who are diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, and those who are diagnosed when they are 50 and they haven’t gotten the chance to see their unborn grandchildren yet. Cancer is undeniably a terrible disease to have, and treatment to fight it even when you are diagnosed as terminally ill can be very costly. An insurance policy that includes payments before death occurs can be very helpful. Especially if your loved ones take time off work to care for you. Or your loved one needs to have private nursing or needs to go into a hospice. These services can be very costly.

Car Insurance

With car insurance, you want to get the most bang for your buck for less. It’s important to read the fine print and realize what your annual car insurance covers and what it doesn’t. Oftentimes, you can save on car insurance by increasing your deductible. What is the likelihood of you being at fault in a car accident? If you have an impeccable driving record, you should take advantage of increasing your deductible and paying less annually in car insurance. If you want the potential car accident to be as completely stress-free as possible, you can choose to add on extras, like a courtesy car if your car is stolen or completely totaled, you can. The best thing about good car insurance companies is that you have the option of adding on extras, and that they aren’t added on for you to start off with.

Youngandthrifty’s Take: I hadn’t needed to buy life insurance until I got my mortgage, but I want to make sure that my partner isn’t going to struggle with finances if I die. I think that’s the last thing he should have to worry about. I think it’s important to think about the “what ifs” and buy life insurance early (and remember to renew) because you never know where life may take you. With the ever increasing rates of cancer and terminal disease in younger people, I think it is especially important to protect our loved ones from financial burden.

As for car insurance, I still need to look into alternate car insurance companies other than the Crown corporation of ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia). I know that as a young driver, it is better to stick with ICBC, but now that I have 10+ years of driving experience under my belt, it may be time to look around for cheaper car insurance companies. The great thing about ICBC is that its so hassle free and everyone uses it. The bad thing about ICBC is that its a crown corporation and they were caught rebuilding cars that had been written off and trying to sell them for a profit.

Readers, do you have life insurance? What are your annual car insurance rates? (mine’s $1600 and this includes the 43% discount for 10 years of good driving experience)

The Law of Attraction and Money

young — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:59:27 +0000

I recently read both The Secret and the more recently written, The Power by Rhonda Byrne. I haven’t seen the Secret movie though. The Secret was quite painful to read actually, it was full of quotes and vague paragraphs, when I finished reading it, I felt like I didn’t get much out of it. Probably because it had so many different contributors. In The Power, it was much easier to read as it was solely written by Rhonda Byrne. It flowed well and it was very invigorating and powerful.

I must admit, I had preconceived notions about the book, and judgment towards the concept of what I thought was “visualizing your way to what you want”, and felt that the whole premise of it was selfish and greedy. I was actually hesitant to read it until recently.

However, something changed my mind and I did end up reading both books (it helps that my sister lent them to me). What I got from the books is, I would say, life changing. Or at least perspective changing. It has been very helpful for me, and it has only been a few days since I’ve read the book.

Think Positive

In the book, Rhonda basically says that if you think positive things (and truly truly think positive things), positive things will happen to you. If you are on a train wreck of negativity, then more negative things will happen to you. It’s the Law of Attraction at work, the universe is responding to your thoughts and feelings. Like attracts Like. It is something that has been discussed and mentioned in the texts of history throughout the years. She says that some people seem to have very difficult lives, they struggle with debt, they struggle with their relationships, and they struggle from day to day.

Basically, if you think about how you dread opening your credit card bills, how you dread being in debt, how you feel you’re so poor and how are you ever going to survive, these negative thoughts will come back to you and perpetuate the negative aspects of money in your life. If you feel that you don’t have any money, and you never have any money, you really won’t have any money. If you think about positive things, and have a good relationship with money, the relationship with money will strengthen and more money will come to you in some form or other.

The book basically says that there are no coincidences, and that all things happen for a reason, everything is a sign or a response to your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Have you ever had a bad day, something happens to you (like you get a flat tire) and then you feel awful about it, you’re late for work, and then more and more bad things happen to you? Likewise, when you have a good day, you are happy, radiant, positive. You think about how grateful you are to be living and enjoying life- a sequence of good things happen to you, you feel like you are on a roll. This is apparently the Law of Attraction in action.

My Experience

I have a personal example to share. Last month, I was having a “bad relationship with money” month. I had my annual huge car insurance payment ($1600 thank-you-very-much), I was going back to school in September, dropping to part-time work, waiting for renovations to be finished so we can finally rent out the basement, and anxious about how things would turn out. I think I had to even skip out on paying myself (and you guys know how much I value paying yourself automatically!) during that pay day because I needed to use that money to pay off the credit card bills. It didn’t feel very good. Thankfully I got through it somehow and began to have a love-love relationship with money again. I was determined to get some scholarships to cover some of my tuition and began actively applying. I was positive that I would get some form of scholarship.

Then a few weeks ago, I got an email from the university saying that I got a $5000 scholarship from the faculty of graduate studies. I had to re-read that email a couple of times, as I was in disbelief. I was in disbelief because I hadn’t applied for any scholarships at this point, and they just gave me that money without me doing anything for it. I might have gotten it because of my GPA going into the program, or perhaps from a recommendation from a professor, I don’t know. All I know is that it felt great! I am determined to get more award money through applying to cover my tuition for the entire program ($10,000).

Why Not?

I know it sounds quite ridiculous and hard to believe, but to me, I feel that it doesn’t hurt to think this way. So why not? Why not change your perspective from one of despair and loss of hope to one of positivity and radiance? It can only be good for you, there is no harm in doing so.

I admit that I can be a very negative person, I always tend to see the “glass half empty” side of the situation. I used to feel that the universe was conspiring against me (LOL), but now, I am trying to think positive, open my heart, and love life! It really changes your perspective on things, you become more patient, more positive, and people are more attracted to your positive energy.

Readers, have you had weird “coincidences” when you thought positively or negatively? What are your thoughts on the Law of Attraction? Have you read the book? What do you think about it?

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