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 first Friday of the New Year. I wish you all the best of love and wealth in 2014. If you are like me then you already have your entire year planned out. I can’t wait to hit up BlogHer in California in July and FinCon in New Orleans in September. I am also looking forward to growing my career and getting out of my comfort zone.
What are you looking forward to in 2014?
Have a great first weekend of the year. Enjoy these posts from our personal finance friends.
Frugal Rules – 4 Simple Ways to Make Filing Taxes Easier Every Year
Good morning Dinks. I have been reading this Wallet Crashers series over on Budgets Are Sexy and I’m absolutely obsessed with it for two reasons 1: I love watching when people’s personal space gets invaded (hence my love for reality TV) and 2: I think that a person’s wallet says a lot about them.
When people let other people invade their space it tells their story, and I love that. I like taking a peek into other people’s lives because I want to know, are they like me? Seeing someone’s home, being in someone’s car or looking into someone’s wallet lets you learn more about them on a personal level. Some people think that your wallet just holds your money, but that’s not true. Everything about a wallet from the style to the contents tell a story. So before we keep going – have a look in your wallet and think about what it says about you.
Is your wallet a designer name brand? If so then maybe you care about what other people think, maybe your image is very important or maybe you just love nice things. I personally can’t imagine spending more than $15 to $20 on a wallet because I don’t think it’s worth it because I like to change my wallet two to three times a year. Is your wallet so overcrowded with credit cards and membership cards that it doesn’t even close? If so then maybe other parts of your life are also a bit unorganized, maybe you are kind of a pack rat or maybe you just can’t prioritize.
So today I am going to crash my own wallet. You are about to take a looking to the daily life of me, Kristina. Here we go…
If you opened my wallet right now you would find:
One debit card. I honestly don’t know why people carry more than one bank card in their wallet. Even if you have money in more than one bank, you most likely have one primary bank and therefore only need to carry one debit card.
One credit card. Carrying more than one credit card, or having more than one credit card for that matter, is just asking for temptation. Keep one credit card in your wallet for minimum spending and emergency purposes, trust me you will be thankful later.
Two pieces of ID. My Driver’s License and my Health card and that’s it.
My Sephora Beauty Insider card. I don’t shop at Sephora too often, but when I do it’s usually on an impulse and that’s why I keep the card in my wallet. If I’m going to spend money I might as well accumulate rewards.
The Body Shop Love Your Body card. I love shopping at The Body Shop, but it’s expensive. So when they email me flash sales I like to stock up on my must-needed items.
My pharmacy rewards card. I never leave home without it.
A $20 bill. This is very rare for me. On a normal day I am lucky if I have a $5 bill in my wallet, but earlier today I went to the ATM. I don’t like to carry cash in my wallet in case I lose my wallet or just in case I get robbed.
Less than $1 in change. I usually empty out my change every couple of days because we keep our change in a jar. I don’t like carrying about change because it’s heavy, bulky and I just don’t care for it. Although having exact change for my purchases really makes me happy. Kind of ironic right?
Good morning Dinks. It’s that time of the year again, the time when we all promise to be better people. The time when we all want to try new things and change our lifestyle for the better. So let me ask you Dinks – did you accomplish what you wanted to in 2013?
If so maybe next year you are going to set a whole new list of goals in all areas of your life from money and friends to family and fitness. But if you didn’t achieve all your goals in 2013 maybe you are going to have a “do-over” next year.
2014 will be my year to have fun
This year I decided not to set goals – there are a whole bunch of things that I want to do in my life, but they don’t have to be this year. Now you may be reading this and thinking to yourself, “If not this year, then when Kristina? When are you going to do what you love?” Well the truth is that 2014 is going to be about me being happy and that doesn’t necessarily mean having a bunch of aggressive goals that are going to make me feel bad next December when I don’t achieve them.
So in a nutshell, 2014 is going to be about me. After almost five very rocky (and emotional) years I am finally in a good place in my life and I am going to celebrate it.
In 2014 I will travel more
I am going to take two really amazing trips in 2014. In July I will be in San Jose, California for BlogHer14 and in September I will meet you all in New Orleans for FinCon14. After spending 3 days in San Jose I am going to take a quick train ride up north and spend another 3 days in San Francisco.
Visit New Orleans is on my bucket list and although I hoped it would be in February for Mardi Gras I am happy to visit in September for FinCon. When I was a kid my parents used to leave us with our grandparents every Easter and go to New Orleans with friends on a couple’s trip. Since I was a kid I have always wanted to go to New Orleans and next year I will.
I will work less in 2014
I have been very ambitious in my freelance work over the last few years and in 2014 I have decided to continue freelancing – because I really love it – but I am not going to push myself too much. I have decided to focus on growing my freelance business and therefore I decided to stop my personal blog next year. I just don’t have the time to commit to my personal blog and I hope this will lead to fewer “burning the midnight oil nights” in 2014.
I started my personal blog three years ago because I needed a healthy outlet to express my overwhelming emotions from family issues, career forks in the road and basically a mid life crisis at 30. Now I am in a much better place and I can honestly say that blogging saved my life. I don’t know where I would have ended up if I didn’t start my blog, meet so many great people and get to travel as much as I did. My blog has served its purpose and now it’s time is done.
Good morning Dinks. The end of the year is coming up and it’s got me thinking about what I’m going to do next year. Next year I want to read six books (I already have them picked out and ready to go on my bookshelf), take three vacations (for BlogHer in California, SITS Girls in Philadelphia for Women Get Social and FinCon wherever it will be) and move into a bigger apartment.
What do you want to accomplish in 2014?
Maybe your plans are to retire next year and if that’s true let me ask you a serious question, are you ready to retire? According to Statistic Brain 80% of people ages 30 to 54 don’t think they will have enough money to support their retirement. Why is that? Maybe it’s because people are paranoid and we just never believe that what we have is good enough or maybe it’s because as we get older we realize that we should have saved more money when we were younger.
Don’t rely on government money
The average 50 year old has an average of just over $43,000 in savings and if you plan to retire at 55 that doesn’t leave a lot of time to save. As a financial planner I know a lot of clients think that the government will finance their retirement income, but I personally think it’s foolish to rely on someone else for your own money – and happiness for that matter. Statistic Brain says that 35% of Americans aged 65 and older rely entirely on Social Security.
Keep your medical costs in mind
The average length of retirement is just under 20 years and that is a lot of expenses. A lot of the time people factor the costs of their living expenses into consideration, but they don’t factor in the additional costs of medical expenses that people incur when they are older. Retirement is spent in the older years of our lives and the average couple spends over $215,000 on medical expenses during retirement. Buying medical insurance is always a good idea, but it can get very costly as we get older. Planning for the additional costs that come with getting older is a good idea because if you ask anyone who is already retired I am sure they will tell you that it’s not exactly as they thought it would be.
Think about your living accommodations
There are 6000 Americans who turn 65 years old every single day and that’s a lot of retirement. Many people only think about the financial part of retirement and they don’t think about the social aspect of retirement. When you retire where do you want to live? Maybe you want to sell your home and downsize, maybe you want to move to a warmer climate or maybe you plan to move in with a family member. No matter where you choose to spend your retirement years if you have lived in the same neighbourhood your entire life, moving during retirement can be a big change. You will have to start over in a new location with new friends – and that can be difficult, at any age.
Good morning Dinks. I hope you all had a great Christmas whether you spent it partying with family and friends or sitting cozy by the fireplace. Are you going to partake in the after Christmas shopping festivities? I definitely have a few things that I need to get but I’m not sure if I should order them online from the comfort of my own home or save on the shipping and go out to the mall and brave the cold winter.
Are you shopping today?
Enjoy these posts from our personal finance friends:
Good morning Dinks. As the cold weather sets in up here in the cold Northeast my mind can’t help but wonder to warmer climates. This time of year always makes me think about tropical places with hotter climates where the sun shines all day. Last Saturday as I was laying in bed deciding on how I wanted to spend the day I was thinking about where I want to go on my next vacation. Of course money is always a factor in where, when and how I take my annual vacation, but mostly I just pick a place in the world that I really want to go.
Where do you want to spend your next vacation?
Travel overseas. I love travelling overseasbecause life in foreign places is so different from life here in North America – or at least my life anyways. I love the water and travelling to warmer climates always makes my life better. However a plane ticket to Europe or the Caribbean is very expensive and I could definitely live without the hassle of airport security. Although I think it’s truly fascinating that we can hop on a plane and be in a totally different place only a few hours later. I also love taking pictures while travelling because it reminds me of the great time I had. In my 33 years of living I have only been to Europe twice because it’s really expensive, but in my opinion the cost is worth the experience.
Take a domestic vacation. This is usually how I spend my days travelling because it’s not too expensive to travel within North America and I don’t have to worry about the currency exchange or the language. When each vacation costs less I can travel more and that’s a win-win for me. There are so many great places to travel throughout Canada and the United States that I actually can take several vacations throughout the year and never have to actually travel too far from home. People always think that they have to spend a lot of money to go on a really great vacation, but that’s just not true. With good planning, flexible dates and discount travel websites almost any vacation is possible on a budget. Although next year I do want to go to California – which is on the completely opposite side of the country from where I live so that may be a little bit more expensive than I planned.
Just stay at home and stay in bed. Sometimes staying close to home is the way to spend a couple of weeks. A truly relaxing vacation doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Staying home, sleeping in and just doing things in your neighbourhood that you normally don’t have time to do in your busy life is a good way to spend a vacation. I will be the first to admit that getting out of bed is the absolute worst part of my day so the thought of spending some quality time resting in bed sounds ideal to me – and it doesn’t cost a thing.
So Dinks let’s hear it. Where are you planning to go on your next vacation?
Good morning Dinks and Happy Friday. There are only 5 days left until Christmas and let me ask you a question, are you ready for what’s to come? If you have a big family the planning and the parties have probably already started. But if you are like me then you are planning to spend the holidays quietly at home with your loved one. That’s how my boyfriend and I will be spending our Christmas holidays this year – 5 blissful days of peace and quiet in the comfort of our own home.
Happy Holidays Dinks. Enjoy these great posts from our personal finance friends:
LowestRates.ca is giving away $500 to one lucky Canadian. Enter to win.
Saveup – Doing What You Love: Interview with Jim Wang of Microblogger
This is a contribution by Cait Flanders at RateHub.ca
Whether we like it or not, “traditional” milestones in relationships are far from the norm in today’s society. For most, the days of getting married, then buying a home and then having kids are long gone.
In fact, a report released earlier this year by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC revealed that 24% of married couples between the ages of 18 and 34 got a mortgage together before they tied the knot. Compared to 14% of married couples aged 45 or older that bought a home together first, this shows a huge shift in the priorities of today’s young adults.
“While younger generations may be focusing more on their career, and in turn waiting longer to get married and have children, they are not delaying their dream of homeownership,” said Dr. Robi Ludwig, the lifestyle correspondent for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LCC.
The only question now is: are the couples that jump into homeownership first making the right decision? The statistics from that same report will tell you yes. Apparently, 80% of married homeowners said purchasing their home together strengthened their relationship.
“They not only learn about each other’s wishes and dreams during this process, but they also learn how to be practical with each other and compromise.”
That’s all fine and dandy but – and not to kill the mood – it’s extremely important for both buyers to be smart, understand their rights and protect their assets.
For starters, when you start shopping around for your home, look for something below your max budget so you don’t rely on both of your incomes to make your mortgage payment. Why? You probably don’t want to hear this, but there is always a chance you could break-up. (Remember, there’s no ring on it.)
If you did happen to separate, a decision would need to be made about the home: are you going to sell it or can one of you take over the mortgage and keep it? If the mortgage payments were too high, the only possible decision would be to sell. If one of you could keep the home, you could either stay living in it or try to turn it into an investment property.
Now, if you’ve already decided to take the leap into homeownership, make sure your real estate lawyer or notary assigns you both an equal amount of stake in the property; that means both names need to be on the deed and, in Canada, you each need to claim 50% of the title. Again, not to burst the love bubble, but this will ensure you both get what you deserve should you ever split and have to sell.
Finally – and this one’s important – it’s probably best not to combine your finances. Sure, you can get a joint account for your mortgage payment to come out of, but keep the rest of your money (including credit cards) in separate pockets. Separate accounts keeps each of your credit scores in your own hands only, and gives you access to your own assets should you ever suddenly split.
In the end, only you and your partner can know when purchasing a home together is the right decision. Above all else, make sure you’re both comfortable having the tough conversations that need to happen when it comes to money and love. If you’re both working towards the same goals, and can make mature decisions about the serious stuff, by all means dive in holding hands.
Good morning Dinks. We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. It’s time to start shopping, plan parties and get cooking for dinners. I was recently talking with one of my co-workers and we were discussing our holiday traditions.
I no longer spend the holidays with my family because when you are a child of divorce sometimes the holidays can be more exhausting than fun, so now I stay home and spend the holidays quietly with my boyfriend Nick. We are making our own traditions and that’s OK with me. It doesn’t mean that I don’t miss the days (many years ago) when I was a little kid waking up on Christmas morning with my parents, sister and dog – but now I’m 33 and that’s no longer a part of my life.
What are your family holiday traditions?
Christmas cards. Do you still write and send cards to all your family and friends? This used to be one of my favorite holiday traditions; I used to send out almost 30 Christmas cards to family, friends and co-workers. Now that I am older, getting lazy and not willing to spend money on the cost of postage I limit my Christmas list to about 9 people and 3 of them are my immediate family.
Christmas morning. When I was a kid I would stay in my pyjamas all day on Christmas. As a family we would open presents, eat breakfast and spend our morning calling family and friends. Then when my parents got divorced I spent Christmas morning in my pyjamas until noon when my younger sister and I would have to leave my Dad’s house and head over to my Mom’s.
My co-worker explained that Christmas at her house is “a fancy party” where everyone gets dressed up in their best outfits. Appetizers and champagne are passed around along with a cheese plate before the family sits down to a huge meal and dancing afterwards. This is definitely not the way Christmas is done in my family, but I guess we all have our own traditions to uphold.
Your wish list and gift giving. Christmas was always a big event in my house when I was a child; lots of food, lots of parties and lots of presents. I always loved seeing a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with a ton of gifts underneath. But now that I am older and a reformed spend-a-holic the event of spending the afternoon decorating the tree with my boyfriend Nick is so much more important than what’s under the tree.
The only person that I really buy gifts for nowadays is Nick, although I am participating in an office gift exchange and team lunch at my work. I really love the look and feel of Christmas so it’s nice that I still have some people on my list to buy gifts for because stores are always so festive this time of the year. However, as I get older I am becoming more and more impatient and large crowds of people are starting to bother me.
About Kristina Tahnyak
Good morning Dinks and Happy first Friday of the New Year. I wish you all the best of love and wealth in 2014. If you are like me then you already have your entire year planned out. I can’t wait to hit up BlogHer in California in July and FinCon in New Orleans in September. I am also looking forward to growing my career and getting out of my comfort zone.
Good morning Dinks and Happy Friday. There are only 5 days left until Christmas and let me ask you a question, are you ready for what’s to come? If you have a big family the planning and the parties have probably already started. But if you are like me then you are planning to spend the holidays quietly at home with your loved one. That’s how my boyfriend and I will be spending our Christmas holidays this year – 5 blissful days of peace and quiet in the comfort of our own home.
This is a contribution by Cait Flanders at RateHub.ca
Good morning Dinks. We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. It’s time to start shopping, plan parties and get cooking for dinners. I was recently talking with one of my co-workers and we were discussing our holiday traditions.