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. I am in NYC this weekend enjoying a well deserved vacation. I am back home on Tuesday but I am off work until May 20th. Isn’t that nice?!
Usually during my vacations I catch up on life, you know all the things I don’t have time to do in my normal routine. But not this time. For the next seven days I am going to do nothing but sleep in and take yoga classes.
Good morning Dinks. As you know the last few years have been both rough and totally amazing for me career wise. After working in financial planning for over a decade I decided that I had enough and I started to pursue my dream job. I no longer wanted to be in a relationship management role where I had to meet sales objectives. I always loved writing and decided that I wanted to spend my days doing it.
I already spend my night’s blogging and I wanted to spend my days writing too, while getting paid for it of course. In January 2013 I finally had the courage to leave my bank job in the world of finance that I was so accustom to. I was getting tired of working in a bank branch but at the end of the day I have to admit it was comfortable. I knew who I was working with and I knew what to expect every day when I went to the office. However I was ready to leave all that behind and start my new dream job challenge.
Last year I started working in communications for an international investment firm and this year I was just recently promoted to their digital marketing department as a community manager. I got my dream job in two years and this is how I did it.
6 steps to landing your dream job
Think about the job you want. If you are thinking of making a career change later in life you better know what you want to do. Find what makes you happy and pursue it.
Search job postings. I didn’t even know what type of qualities companies looked for when hiring employees in corporate communications, so I started looking. I went on company websites and on Workopolis to find job postings in communications to see what skills I needed.
Find out what skills you need. I quickly learned that a lot of the daily duties in corporate communications have to do with public relations and almost every job required a journalism degree.
Get those skills if you don’t have them. I didn’t have any of the skills required for my dream job in corporate communications, although I did have over a decade of experience in financial planning as well as several years of blogging experience. So I went back to school and registered in night courses to get a degree in journalism.
Gain experience to show your skills. If you want to be a writer then you need to gain writing experience. If you want to be a graphic designer then you need to gain design experience. If you want to be a mechanic then you need to gain auto body experience. You get the idea, right? So what are you waiting for? Start with your family and friends, offer your services for free and start gaining experience.
Now go and apply for your dream job. You have the experience and the education, now you are ready to go out and find your dream job. Search websites, use your network of connections and check opportunities with your current employer, you don’t always have to look outside if you want a new job.
Good morning Dinks. Here we are again. In the office with kids I don’t know. Yesterday I was coming out of the ladies bathroom at my office and there was a little boy standing there. My reaction? I immediately froze. I didn’t know who the little boy belonged to or why he was in my office, yet there he was – standing face to face with me, looking me right in the eyes.
Pro or No: Kids in the office
I’m sure this is no surprise to you but I don’t spend much time around kids. Actually I don’t spend any time around kids. I don’t know anyone with kids and the truth is kids make me very uncomfortable. They are so small and fragile and they are just all around awkward.
When I first saw the little boy standing in the hallway my first reaction was, WOW this is not the place for kids. How do you feel about kids in the office? I am not sure why people bring their kids to the office, maybe it’s because they feel they need to show off their creations. Or maybe they just want to get out of the house and can’t leave their kids at home. Either way, it makes me uncomfortable. I just politely smile, tell my co-worker how cute their kids are and I move on back to my desk.
The money obligation of kids in the office
Do people in your workplace solicit donations and sell goods for their kid’s school fundraisers? They do in my office. I don’t mind contributing every now and then but why should I have to pay for other people’s kids? I love a good box of cookies and chocolate bars just as much as the next person but I don’t like feeling obligated to donate money.
I also don’t want to be the only person in the office not contributing, so whenever my co-workers ask I give money to their kids. I don’t want to be known as the cheap girl in the office but that doesn’t change the fact that I’d much rather spend my money on myself. I want to spend my money how I want to, not because I’m forced to.
What do you say to the kid question?
As a woman in my 30s with a long term boyfriend people always ask me when are we going to have kids. They don’t ask if we want to have kids, they just assume we are going to start a family and for some reason they want to know when I am going to get pregnant. Besides the fact that it’s really no one’s business, I find the question highly inappropriate for the workplace.
I used to tell people that I didn’t want kids, but I got sick and tired of people staring at me like I was crazy. So now whenever someone asks me when my boyfriend and I are planning to have kids, my standard answer is “Soon”.
Good morning Dinks. I rent an apartment. Yes it’s true. I am 33 years old, I live with my boyfriend Nick and we rent an apartment. I like renting because it’s carefree, hassle free and it’s easy to budget. I know a lot of people think that renting an apartment instead of buying a home is a waste of money, but it’s worth it for me. Our building is safe, we have a handyman on site 24 hours a day and we only have one monthly bill to pay – our rent.
Renting may not be for me, but owning a rental property is definitely not.
Those are all the great reasons why I love renting, but sometimes I wonder if I should buy a home. Not a house because I don’t want to deal with all the maintenance that comes along with homeownership such as shovelling snow and cutting grass. But sometimes, when I’m day dreaming, I think that I would like to have a condo to call my own.
Yesterday I was in our rental office paying my monthly rent and another tenant burst into the room in a rage because there was no hot water in the building. The only thing I thought to myself was…thank goodness I’m not the landlord. This thought is reiterated in my mind every single time I watch an episode of Judge Judy and a tenant or a landlord is being sued for money owed or property damaged.
3 things you should always do if you own a rental property
I am not sure if I want to buy a home, but I know that I don’t want to buy a home for someone else. I don’t want to be a homeowner but I also don’t want to be a landlord. I know some Dinks pride themselves on their real estate portfolio but the hassle of dealing with tenants just seems like a headache I don’t need.
After observing how my landlord dealt with the outraged tenant, and of course from watching multiple episodes of Judge Judy, I learned a thing or two about owning a rental property:
Don’t take someone’s word for a problem. The landlord couldn’t be sure if the hot water was not working throughout the entire building or if it was in just one tenant’s apartment. Of course the landlord could not react before looking into the problem.
Keep track of everything. When landlords keep records they can see how often a problem in the building occurs and how often a problem with a tenant occurs. This is important when trying to determine if the situation is really a problem or if maybe the tenant is just the problem. Don’t delete anything and be sure to keep records.
Always get and give a receipt. One problem I always see on Judge Judy is people not getting a receipt. I am not sure why in 2014 people accept a gentleman’s handshake as a legal contract, because it’s not legal. I would love to save money and pay cash for everything, but when it comes to paying my rent that just won’t do. As a tenant I always want a receipt for my rent and if I was a landlord I would want to give a receipt…just to protect myself.
Good morning Dinks and happy first Friday in May. Remember my bad money day with the bad hair dye job? Well this week I finally got it fixed and just in time for my trip to NYC. Next week I am headed out to NYC with my mom and my sister for some shopping and fun.
You know I love NYC so I’m really happy to be going on vacation. I am also happy that after over three weeks of having my hair an ugly shade of red brown it’s finally back to its normal shade of dark brown.
Good morning Dinks. Let’s go back to our childhood’s for a minute. Do you remember the movie Labyrinth? It stars an extravagant David Bowie and a very young Jennifer Connelly, although back then I had no idea who she was. Labyrinth is a movie about a young girl (Connelly) who daydreams about a fantasy world full of goblins and ghouls. She secretly wishes the Goblin King (Bowie) would take her baby brother away so she wouldn’t have to babysit anymore. And eventually he does.
She has to work her way through the Labyrinth to find her baby brother and as she does there are actually some really great money lessons to be learned. You know me – I can find an underlying money tone anywhere. Next time you watch your favorite movie think about the money lessons you can learn.
Here are 3 money lessons I learned from watching the movie Labyrinth:
1. What’s said is said. In the movie Connelly wishes her brother would be taken away by the Goblin King and when he is she instantly regrets it. The same thing is true when it comes to your money. Before you make any investment decisions think about your choices wisely.
Some people rush into big purchases and regret spending the money later. Some people make investment decisions without researching their options and end up losing money. So before you give the OK to make any investment orders think about what you really want to do and don’t say anything until you are sure.
2. Be careful what you wish for. This is true for your money and for life. In the movie Labyrinth Connelly wants to live in a fantasy world and her wish comes true when her baby brother is taken by the Goblin King. She finally gets to live in her dream world, but at the price of her brother being kidnapped.
In my 20s I went through a period of about three years where I made nothing but bad choices. Now I am careful what I wish for because you just never know what you’re going to get. We may wish for more money but instead of winning the lottery we end up with a demanding job that requires a 60 hour work week. You may have more money, but you won’t have the time to enjoy it.
3. Sometimes it’s OK to daydream. We may dream to have a different family, more money or a different life – and that’s OK. But at the end of the day we have to deal with the life we have. It may not be the perfect life, but it’s ours. In the movie Connelly wishes she lived in a land far away without her step mother and little brother. In the end after she makes it through the Labyrinth and gets her little brother back Connelly is grateful for her family.
If you aren’t happy with your life, your job or your money don’t just daydream about it. Make some changes. Going back to school to learn new skills, applying for a new job and finding new ways to make money (such as a second job or a side income) will help you achieve your goals and have the life you want.
Good morning Dinks. This past weekend Nick and I treated ourselves to a mini shopping spree. We each took $150 of fun money and went shopping. We ate out, bought ourselves treats that we usually wouldn’t buy and we didn’t think twice about any of our purchases.
Every now and then we do this. A couple times a year we just let loose and have absolutely no inhibitions when it comes to spending our money – within the limit. Normally we have to spread out our personal spending so it fits into our biweekly budget. Our shopping trips usually consist of running errands on the weekend or picking up a few things on our lunch hours. They are always chores. But not this weekend. This past weekend we just had fun with our money. Do you ever just let loose with your money?
Spending some fun money to let loose
We have had our share of financial troubles in the past as we dealt with accumulating and paying off tens of thousands dollars of debt. So to avoid racking up debt again we are very strict with our money on a day to day basis.
We live on a budget that allows for a comfortable lifestyle, but our personal splurges are definitely limited. That’s how we ended up in debt the first time – and we don’t want to go there again.
Think about a world ruled by fun money
Our splurges are not a result of us wanting to go back to our old lifestyle, it’s just nice to not have to worry about money. Imagine that. Imagine a world where money didn’t matter. It would be the fairytale equivalent of Julia Roberts shopping on Rodeo Drive in the movie Pretty Woman.
Money just wouldn’t matter because you would always have more than enough to do whatever you want, and then some. Ah yes wouldn’t that be nice. That’s how I felt on the weekend. I had $150 in my pocket and nothing mattered except all the things I was going to buy with my money. Oddly enough I was actually still very responsible with the money.
Have fun, but be responsible
After all fun money is still money and I’m always looking for the best deal no matter where or how I spend my money. I was very responsible with my money. I used coupons and only bought things that I would use. OK I don’t actually need another Sephora lip gloss, but it was only $6 (usually $12) and it’s fun to shop at Sephora.
For those two days Nick and I had fun and money didn’t matter. We didn’t worry about paying bills, paying rent or anything else related to money. We were on a mission to enjoy ourselves and that’s exactly what I did.
Spending money carelessly was fun, but terrifying at the same time. It gave me a glimpse back into my old life. By the time Sunday night rolled around I was happy that my money was going back into my wallet. I don’t want to go back to spending money carelessly and living on credit. Thank goodness this time the lesson only cost me 150 – instead of the $50k in debt it cost me the first time around.
Good morning Dinks. For the last few weeks all I’ve read about on every website online from CNN to my bank is about this Heartbleed virus. So let me ask you a question, did you change all of your passwords. I certainly did. As you know I am extremely paranoid when it comes to my money. I check my bank account balances every morning and throughout the day.
I like to know how much is in my accounts, I like to watch my investment balances grow and I like to see all transactions that come in and go out of my accounts. The Heartbleed virus definitely took my daily banking habits off balance.
I avoid online banking
For the first couple of days after the Heartbleed virus broke I was a little bit paranoid about the security of my online banking. News about the virus said that it attacks your computer and obtains your secure passwords. Who knows what someone can do once they obtain that information.
I wasn’t too sure what to think about this new virus attacking computers all around the country. I wondered if it was just another scam that would quickly be shut down. But then the days went on and news kept breaking about the security of other popular sites being at risk. As the days went on more and more websites started posting messages that their connection was secure as they found a patch for the Heartbleed virus. But in the meantime I also stopped using mobile apps, just to be safe.
Life without the internet
The last few days have taken me back to a simpler time. A time when we weren’t obsessed with checking our emails as we wait in line at the post office. A time when we weren’t constantly checking our friends’ status’ online and looking at pictures of celebrities every instant.
I have to be honest, I actually enjoyed my time disconnected from the world. Although the fact that I couldn’t check my bank balances without actually going to the bank was a little unsettling.
We can all rest assure now
Wednesday afternoon news broke that the creator of the Heartbleed virus was caught by the federal government. And guess what? He’s a 19 year old computer science student from my home town. I am not sure if I should be proud or extremely disappointed. Nothing really happens in my small hometown so this was definitely big news.
I am not sure why this young man decided to create a computer virus that terrorized thousands of people for several days. But I would like to think he had his reasons. I don’t think he was trying to commit fraud, I just think he was a kid being a kid. That being said I do think he knew what he was doing, I just don’t think he meant to cause any harm.
I read that he is currently being investigated by the federal government. I don’t think they should throw him in jail, I personally think they should give him a job. He is apparently a genius; he may prove to be a very valuable asset in cyber wars.
Good morning Dinks and happy Friday. It’s the last Friday in April and hopefully these April showers will bring some May flowers. Rain in April shows signs of hope for warmer things to come. I for one love Spring. It’s probably because I love the smell of fresh cut flowers and fresh cut grass. I know it’s weird but I really love the smell of grass – even though it’s my worst nightmare for hay fever and allergies.
What do you love about Spring?
Have a great weekend Dinks and enjoy these posts from our personal finance friends:
Financial Samurai – The Best Time To Buy Property Is When You Can Afford It
Man vs. Debt – Business and Hustling Lessons from the WWE Network
Good morning Dinks. As you may remember I have always been a big advocate of couples keeping their money separate. I believe that each person in a relationship should contribute equally to all joint expenses (not necessarily personal wants) but that doesn’t necessarily mean couples have to combine their finances.
Maybe it’s because Nick and I started dating when we were 19 and we didn’t have any money. We kept our bank accounts separate because there was no need to open a joint bank account. We both had part time jobs, we both had some help from our parents and we both had individual expenses to pay; so there was no need to have a joint bank account.
A joint bank account makes life easier
Or does it? After 14 years of dating I can say that Nick and I finally opened a joint bank account. Not too long ago we made an appointment at the bank and opened a joint checking account. After discussing a variety of factors such as the cost of monthly bank fees and the bank branch location proximity to our apartment Nick and I decided to open a joint bank account with my bank. Yes that’s right, previously not only did we not have a joint bank account but we didn’t even have the same bank.
This past weekend we were at Best Buy buying some things for the apartment. When we got to the cash I had three DVDs in my hand and Nick had a game for our new Wii console as well as a power bar. The cashier asked us if we would like to pay together or separately. Normally we would pay for everything with our own bank accounts, but then I remembered – we have a joint bank account.
Keeping separate accounts isn’t a sign of distrust
My friends can’t believe that Nick and I didn’t have a joint bank account. When they asked me why we chose to keep our money separately my response was always the same “We don’t need it.” And the truth is we didn’t, and we don’t. In our relationship each of us pays our half of the expenses and that’s always the way it’s been. It’s not that I don’t trust Nick with my money and I’m sure he trusts me with his (being that I’m a financial planner), but we really have no need for a joint bank account.
We opened one because we didn’t have one, and a couple who have been together for 15 years should probably have one. But the truth is it really hasn’t changed the way we manage our money. In our house we split all expenses down the middle regardless of how we pay for them.
Maybe this is because Nick and I make approximately the same income, or maybe it’s because we have been through almost every possible financial situation together – both good and bad. Maybe it’s because we completely trust each other. But if you ask me Nick and I keep our money separately because his money is his and my money is mine. If we were to break up I wouldn’t expect to have a claim on any of his money and I wouldn’t expect him to want any of mine. Fingers crossed it never comes to that.
About Kristina Tahnyak
