Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Good morning Dinks and happy Friday, or should I say happy Superbowl weekend. As you know I’m not a big fan of sports but I’m looking forward to the Superbowl because Katy Perry is performing at the half time show.
If you’re watching the NFL this weekend, enjoy and if football is not your thing I’d love to hear what you’re doing. I have nothing to do while Nick is partaking in all the Superbowl festivities and I am open to any and all suggestions on how to occupy my time.
Good morning Dinks. As you know at any moment my company will be sold to a competitor. So am I freaking out about it? No, not anymore. My attitude is “Whatever happens, happens” which is very different from my no-so-long ago attitude of “Holy Crap I’m losing my job. How am I going to pay my bills?” As you can see, very different.
Why am I not freaking out so much anymore? Because I have a job offer. Yes it’s true! I am thankful and extremely flattered that a local start-up reached out and offered me a full time job. I am currently working with them on a freelance/part time basis and if I want to I am welcome to come on board full time.
I absolutely love the company (No I’m not going to drop their name, not just yet) and I would love to work (more) for them. However I have to wait and see what happens with my current position.
As I continue to make my pro and con lists I’ve come to learn that the number of pros far outweigh the cons. However the con is a big one – the financial stability of a major corporation is like no other. On the other hand this start-up could be the next Facebook or Apple, so who knows?
Reasons You Should Work for a Start-Up
Full autonomy. When you’re entire company is less than 20 employees everyone really has a specific job. As you know the gossip and politics in my office are a horror story straight out of a Stephen King novel. All that goes away when you work for a start-up because the odds are there’s only one of each position so it would really be my chance to shine.
Creative environment. In a start-up everything from the company’s image and philosophy to the office space are creative. I say the company is a start-up but they’ve been around for a few years and their office (yes I’ve been there) is a far cry from a Harvard dorm room or a California garage.
Workday flexibility. If you’ve read my career stories here on Dinks you know that my dream job includes travel and working from home. This new job offers both. Major pro on my list. I will get to travel to conferences as well as work from home as the head office is in another city. I will travel once a month to the head office – major bonus!
Gain valuable experience. One of the great things about working for a start-up is they aren’t set in their ways and they’re always open to new ideas. I love this because if I hear “Well that’s the way we’ve always done it” one more time at my current job I might have to hurt someone.
A really cool job title. Just as Mark Zuckerberg had “I’m CEO, bitch!” printed on his business cards you will also most likely be able to choose your own title when working for a start-up. Since I will be the Community Manager and Social Outreach person I may just choose VP of Social Media as my title. What do you think?
Good morning Dinks. How do you feel about your credit card? I love my credit card…now. Now that I’ve paid off over $50k in debt my credit card is no longer a crutch and I love it. Yes, it’s true I used to abuse my credit card and let it abuse me. Thankfully I’ve grown out of that bad behavior and learned from all my past financial mistakes. Past mistakes like shopping every weekend with my credit card, taking my credit card out to dinner and not paying it off in full after a glorious day together. Yes I used to date my credit card.
Even though I no longer have bad spending habits I’m still tempted to use my credit card every time I walk by a window and see a warm sweater or at night when I’m hungry and want to order in food. Every day is a struggle and I have to keep reminding myself that my credit card is a lot of things, but it’s no longer my financial dependence.
A credit card is not your best friend
I used to wake up on Saturday mornings, grab my credit card and go shopping. When I first moved away for college I had no friends and nothing to do. So what does a girl who lives alone in a new city do when she has nothing to do? Shop and spend money. I didn’t have anyone to call and hang out with so I spent many days and several thousand dollars strolling around town hand in hand with my credit card. I was living in the moment and I wasn’t thinking about the future impact that overspending would have on my life.
It’s not your happiness
Being alone is lonely; but I was happy as long as I had my credit card. I became so dependent on swiping my credit card that I couldn’t go a day without buying something. How sad is that? Now I buy myself something nice once a month as long as it’s on sale and as long as I have cash. I spent money on anything and everything I wanted from candles to new furniture. I lived day to day – emotionally and financially. I didn’t think about repaying the debt or getting a bill in the mail at the end of the month. Buying things made me happy and that’s all that mattered. When my credit card was maxed out I applied for another one and that’s how I ended up over $50k in debt.
It’s not an emergency savings fund
I never saved money because I had a credit card. If I wanted to go home to visit my family and friends for the weekend I would charge it to my VISA. If I couldn’t pay my rent one month (several months) I would just hit up the ABM and take a cash advance. Yes that’s how I used to live. However I’ve grown up and come to realize that a credit card is not an emergency savings fund. Just because you have a credit limit doesn’t mean you have to spend it.
A credit card is your financial life
I know that sounds extreme. Take it from me because I know firsthand that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy financial ruin. I didn’t know just how bad having bad credit can mess up your life but it does. We’re talking total financial dismay from not getting an apartment to being fired from your job as a financial planner. That’s why it’s always smart to use your credit card wisely.
Happy Friday Dinks. January is almost over, has your New Year’s bliss worn off yet? I’m not sure why but the winter blues haven’t hit me yet – fingers crossed. I’m busy working, planning my next vacation to Las Vegas and waiting to hear what’s happening with my job when my company is sold. So as you can see there’s no time to be sad about cold, snowy weather – I’m busy planning my life.
Are you getting cabin fever yet?
Enjoy these posts from our friends and have a great weekend Dinks.
Good morning Dinks. As you know in November I joined a gym and I am head over heels in love with it. I love having something to do every night after work other than come home and keep working. I like the feeling after I work out, although getting my butt out of the house and going to the gym is a whole other story. Needless to say when I’m at the gym I love it and when I’m not there it just seems like a total waste of money.
Do you pay for a gym membership?
Over the holidays my gym was open very few hours, yet I was still charged for the entire month of December. I wasn’t pleased about that but it’s only two weeks of the year so I guess I’ll let it go. I also hurt my back in the month of December and from the 23rd to Jan 3 I was flat on my back at home so that was also a waste of money. But overall I would say my gym membership is worth it.
Over the holidays I watched Bob Harper share healthy living tips on the Rachel Ray show. He said that weight loss is 80% what you eat and 20% physical activity. That means people can’t workout 4 days a week and still eat whatever they want. That’s too bad. I’m not sure which is the harder part of losing weight: changing our eating habits or getting settled into a workout routine.
A gym membership means changing our habits
I personally think changing our eating habits is easier because we eat every day, it doesn’t really take a lot more effort. We go to the grocery store anyways so it seems easy to make smarter food choices since we’re already there. However going to the gym is a whole other story. We physically have to make an effort to get out to the gym and I think that’s harder. Since I’m doing both yes I can say it’s harder to start a new habit than it is to change one you already have.
This is especially true during this time of the year when it’s really cold outside. It’s hard to get dressed and go into the cold, snowy weather when you are already warm and cozy inside your home. How do I stay motivated to get to the gym? I just think about coming back home to the warmth. I also like the physical activity of going to the gym. It’s 45 minutes 4 times a week that I can just clear my head and focus on myself. There are no bills to pay, no troubles to think about and nothing else to do but work out.
When your gym membership isn’t worth it
If what Bob Harper says is true about the majority of weight loss being focused on food the one time your gym membership is not worth it is if you don’t eat right as well. That’s what I tell myself every single time I want to eat a bagel or snack on a chocolate bar. Before I eat junk food I think “You’re paying $40 a month for a gym membership, don’t eat that piece of chocolate.” And let me tell you that’s a daily internal conversation I have with myself.
Good morning Dinks. As the end of the month approaches everyone in my office is anxiously awaiting to see where our professional fate falls when our company is bought by a competitor. We have been hanging in limbo since the announcement in September but two days ago I had an update from my boss.
As you know I work in digital marketing as the social media community manager. I’m the only social media employee in my current company because it’s new, the rest of my team works on product campaigns and the corporate website.
My boss let me know that I will be in the first wave of employees transferred to our new employer or let go with a package. By the end of this month (in only a couple of weeks) we will know the structure of our new company and the takeover will begin. By the end of next month I will most likely have a new boss, a new team and be working for a new company – or I will be writing to you from my home because I will be jobless.
But wait, there’s a twist. This week I had a job offer from a different company. I know the company well and I’ve worked with them before in my freelance business, but now I have the opportunity to work for them full time. What’s a girl to do?
The benefits of working for a big company
I’ve always worked for a big company. When I was 15 I started working at Mc Donald’s and when I was 19 I started working for a bank. Now here we are 15 years later and I’m working for an international investment and insurance firm.
I like working for a big company for several reasons such as growth opportunities, the option for relocation, the career stability (although in 2 weeks I might be losing my job), the health and retirement benefits as well as the perks of pursuing my education.
What’s the downside of working for a big company? The bureaucracy. The red tape in big companies is unbelievable. If you work for a big company you know it’s true. There’s always someone watching and when you work in an office full of people there’s always gossip. I would say the financial benefits of working for a big company far outweigh the pitfalls of always having to report your every move to someone – or do they?
The benefits of working for a start-up
The company that offered me a full time position is a start-up. To have an opportunity to be a part of something that’s growing would be amazing but I’m just not sure if that’s a risk I can take. The security blanket of working for a big company would quickly go away if I was to take a new job with a start-up. However I would finally get to be creative and do some great things on this phenomenon we call the internet.
When you work for a big company you don’t really get to be yourself. You’re encouraged to have a corporate attitude and look. Is it like this where you work? With a start-up I could be myself, not who they wanted me to be. There is something very appealing about sitting in a room with less than ten people who all have creative ideas and want to work hard to build a new company. That just doesn’t exist in a big company, everyone tries to do what’s best for them usually with the least work possible because they know the paycheck is guaranteed.
Good morning Dinks. I can’t believe it’s already January 19, 2015. I don’t know why but January is flying by this year. It feels like just yesterday Nick and I were celebrating New Year’s Eve and now here we are almost three weeks later. How has January been for you?
January is usually an awful month for me mentally, emotionally and financially. I normally hibernate during the winter because it’s cold, snowy and windy; this makes for a very long few months. I’m angry because I lack fresh air and sunshine and I’m restless because I’m confined to my apartment. If you live in cold weather how do you get through the toughest months of the year?
January is not so bad if you learn to love it
Last year I decided not to hate winter any longer. I went outside even during the coldest days of the year so I would have no excuses. If I could go out at -40 degrees Celsius then I can go out any other day of the year. When dressed properly in snow boots and a big winter jacket I have to admit January isn’t that bad. So that takes care of the cabin fever part of the winter, but what about the money?
January is what I like to call “the month of regret”. I look back on all the bad things I did in December and try to figure out ways to recover from them. Actually I should say bad things, I should say I look back in all the out-of-character things I did over the last month and try to get back on track and back into a routine.
Get spending back on budget
With gifts to buy, deserts to eat, trees to decorate and meals to cook the holidays can be expensive. Nick and I are usually very careful with our spending. Our own personal splurges come second to items we need for our apartment. Spending outside of our budget is definitely outside of our normal habits.
I like to compare spending to speeding. When you’re doing it the adrenaline is overwhelming and it brings instant gratitude and it’s very hard to stop. If you’re driving at 100 mph when you slow down to the speed limit you can feel like you’re crawling. The exact same thing is true for spending. When you get caught up in a whirlwind of sales and shopping it’s hard to stop spending money.
How do I do it? I just quit cold turkey. This year I took my credit cards out of my wallet, avoided online shopping and stayed away from malls during the after Christmas sales. It was hard but I realized that spending money is a mental obstacle, once I overcame that I just stopped having the urge to spend money.
Pay off your credit cards to $0
I know a lot of people – although I’m not one of them – who put all of their holiday shopping on their credit cards. I used to charge gifts on my credit card but that was because I couldn’t actually afford to buy them. That’s all in the past.
People get so caught up in the holiday bliss they may forget just how much money they spent on the holidays. January brings all that back to reality when the first credit card bill of the year arrives in the mail. Now it’s time to set up automatic payments or make a lump sum payment onto your credit card to get it paid off as quickly as possible and avoid interest charges.
Happy Friday Dinks. I have a question to ask, are you taking a vacation this winter? We don’t have kids and we’re not in our teens anymore so we won’t be celebrating spring break. Even so do you still feel the need to go on vacation during the winter months?
I like to take a long weekend trip just before it gets too cold, but last year I didn’t since we moved October 1st. However now I’m kind of feigning to get away, even though it’s cold. I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a winter vacation but a few hundred on a long weekend to New York City might be a good idea. What do you think?
Enjoy these personal finance posts:
Modest Money – Why You Need to Start Saving For Retirement Now
Money Talks News – 15 Simple Ways to Burn Calories Without the Gym
Good morning Dinks. Let me ask you a question, do you have an Amazon Prime account? I had no idea what Amazon Prime was until I went on a shopping binge last month and my lovely boyfriend Nick told me to sign up for Amazon Prime.
Do you love Amazon.com?
Amazon is a fantastic website. I mean where else in the world can you buy everything from kitchen tap faucets to brand new digital cameras in the same place? I think the concept of Amazon is fantastic because it’s one stop shopping for absolutely anything and everything you could ever want or need.
What’s the downside? They don’t have a rewards system. Yes there is an Amazon Rewards Credit Card and yes we earn cash back when we pay with our own credit card, but if you want to use Debit VISA or gift cards we don’t get rewards. I mean how great would it be to earn points or cash back towards your next purchase every time you shopped on Amazon? That would be great.
Do you have Amazon Prime?
When Nick told me about Amazon Prime I thought “We’ll that’s just as good as rewards”, free 2 day shipping on absolutely anything and everything I buy, that’s fantastic! Then he told me to use the 30 day free trial and be sure to cancel it before the end of the trial period because it’s $99 a year. Do you think that’s a fee worth paying?
I personally hate paying fees for anything. I avoid any type of fees at all costs – banking, shipping, credit card fees, I avoid them all. I hate paying more than I have to for an item or a service and I feel delivery fees or annual credit card fees are more than I need to pay. However I know some people feel differently.
My friend Lyanne doesn’t mind paying a shipping fee because she would rather have her item delivered right to her doorstep rather than go out, spend money on gas and look around the store for the item herself. She has an Amazon Prime account because she shops on Amazon all year round and even with the $99 yearly ($8.25 monthly) fee she feels it’s money well spent.
Is the annual fee worth it?
How much stuff do you really need to buy online to make Amazon Prime worth it? I guess if you make all your purchases on Amazon then the fee is worth it because you can spend hours travelling from store to store trying to find exactly what you’re looking for. Let me tell you that the search engine feature is way more efficient than any sales person I’ve ever dealt with.
The idea that Amazon is a marketplace is completely sold on me. I love that I can buy a new clock radio, Christmas tree ornaments, books and a toaster oven in the same place. Those are all the items I bought on Amazon last month and I was very proud that I didn’t have to pay shipping for any of them. Not only that but they were delivered within 2 business days. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime, it really came in handy over the holidays.
That being said I already cancelled my 30 day free trial because other than this one time a year I don’t really shop on Amazon too often. I like the smell of Barnes & Noble so I prefer to buy my books in person. However I was very thankful that I didn’t have to carry a toaster oven home on the subway.
Good morning Dinks. Our friend Jackie at The Debt Myth is starting off the New Year with a bang. She’s on a crusade to let people know you’re debt doesn’t have to be forever. The question I have for you is, do you think that’s true?
Debt doesn’t have to be forever, does it?
I believe specific debt such as your credit card or your mortgage won’t be forever, you won’t always be making payments onto your first mortgage. However you might get a second mortgage or buy something new on your credit card. Therefore isn’t there always an idea of having perpetual of debt in our everyday lives. If you need help with debt, the experienced attorneys at Wilkie Puchi LLP can help you look at legal options and work toward financial freedom.
Let’s say that we spend $5000 on new furniture for our new home, just like I did back in October. That debt won’t be forever because after a while that debt will be paid off thanks to my payment plan. However after that debt is paid off maybe Nick and I will buy something else on our credit card which means we’ll be back in debt. This spending behaviour supports the fact that specific debts can be paid off but the concept of debt will forever be in our lives. What do you think?
Don’t let your debt be forever
As you know I used to be in debt, like big time in debt with over $50,000 in car loans, student loans and credit card debt. It took me a long time – over four years – to pay it off. Those were the most emotionally low four years of my entire life. I was sad that I couldn’t afford to do anything other than pay my bills and I was ashamed that I let my financial situation get so out of control. I had no one to blame but myself and that’s exactly what I did. I beat myself up mentally and emotionally for several years because I was the low life who ruined her own life by overspending and underpaying.
To say that debt stresses me out would be an understatement, but to say that debt is not forever is extremely optimistic. Isn’t it? As a financial planner I always tell clients to invest regularly while they are still paying off their debt because if they wait to be debt free before they start saving they’ll be waiting forever. Part of this is true because whether it’s a mortgage, a credit card or a loan people always have some form of debt, don’t they? Even if you use and pay off your credit card in full every month for those 30 days you are still technically in debt, aren’t you?
Stress from debt – who wants that forever?!
The whole point of my yammering on about this is that debt may be forever, but the stress doesn’t have to be. If you’re in debt make a plan to pay it off. The stress of having debt comes from thinking you’re going to have it forever – and that’s not true. You can get into debt and you can get out of debt.
It’s easier to accumulate debt than it is to pay it off but it’s not impossible. Whether you get into debt for a specific reason i.e. a car loan or you get into debt because of living beyond your means it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you don’t let your debt linger forever. Make a plan, lower your expenses and payoff your debt. Don’t let the stress of your debt be forever.
About Kristina Tahnyak
