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.
Happy Friday Dinks. This weekend is BlogHer’13 in Chicago and unfortunately this year I wasn’t able to attend. I absolutely love attending conferences to learn about blogging as a business. Last year I attended BlogHer in New York City and The Financial Blogger Conference in Denver.
They were both totally awesome. New York is a lot closer to where I live and it was a lot more affordable to visit for the weekend than it will be to go to Chicago. I just couldn’t justify the expense to Chicago this year – especially since we just got back from our couples vacation in Niagara Falls.
I have never been to Chicago and I really want to go, mostly for the conference, partly for the pizza and a little bit because I heard Chicago is an awesome city.
What is your favourite city in the world?
Enjoy these great posts from our friends this week and have a great weekend.
– Savvy Sugar – 5 Reasons You’re Late – and How to Avoid Them
Good morning Dinks. You may remember that I am working towards being self employed. I wanted to be a full time writer and now I am at my 9 to 5 job. So my new career goal is to be a self employed full time writer and author.
If you are an avid personal finance blog reader then you know that many of our colleagues are self employed. Some of our blogger colleagues offer social media services some of them offer web design services, some of them own and manage several blogs and some of them write content on a full time basis for other people.
I am yearning for the day that I can say that I am officially self employed as a full time writer. I would like to write magazine articles, books and of course online blog posts and I want to do it on my own time from where I want to.
If you share the dream of being self employed use these tips to help you get there:
1. Find a niche and stay in it. Sometime people feel that they should offer every and all types of services because it will lead to more business and eventually more revenue. But the truth is that if you don’t find a community clients won’t know how to reach you. Eventually as your business grows you can branch out, but at the beginning focus on your strongest services and promote them.
2. Let people know you are out there. Get online, tweet, share and like your brains out. You may be the best graphic designer out there but if no one can see your work and if no one knows that you are the best graphic designer then it doesn’t matter. So make friends, go to conferences and tell everyone you meet about what you do.
3. Offer services for free.If you are starting out and building your portfolio offering an exchange of services instead of money is a good idea. It helps grow your portfolio and spread the word about your services. If you have a website with a product, offer your product for free when people sign up for your newsletter or like you on Facebook. It helps spread the word about your services and the quality of your work. At the end of the day it doesn’t cost you anything to offer a ready-to-go product for free.
4. Always ask for the business. At the end of each job ask your satisfied clients for repeat business and for referrals. The easiest way to get business is through referrals because when someone vouches for you it gives you credibility. If you have ever got a new client from a referral then you know this is true.
5. Use your connections. If you have friends who are in the same type of business but who are not your direct competition then you can exchange business. As a financial planner I referred clients to my friends in real estate when they were looking for a house and my friends in real estate referred clients to me when they were selling their house so I could invest the money. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
Good morning Dinks. Today we are discussing one of my favourite topics…reality TV. I am a huge fan of watching real people in their daily lives, at their jobs and with their families. I am always disappointed when I read on Yahoo! that items have been planted in a storage locker or survivors on an island actually get good and sleeping accommodations.
There is a new reality show that my boyfriend Nick watches every week on A&E called Barter Kings. It’s about two guys (and now a new girl) who own a trading post. They travel around the country trading their way up to the item that they want. As a banker – and a consumer with a former shopping addiction – I am not 100% sure that this type of transaction exists in 2013. I am not yet convinced that the barter system still works because I don’t understand why anyone would trade an item for an item of lesser value, it just doesn’t make sense.
Barter Kings is a negotiation
My dad grew up making his way through life because his family didn’t have a lot of money. My dad could get anything he needed through a simple exchange of services. If he needed something he would offer something he had or provide a service in return. When I was younger our entire kitchen floor was retiled because my dad welded together shelves in his friend’s garage. The barter system can definitely be effective if there is an exchange of services for equal or lesser value.
There is always a negotiation when services are exchanged for other services or items. I consider myself to be a pretty good negotiator – when I want to be and when I’m in my element. I have negotiated everything from the price of my lunch to the price of a new handbag. However I have never actually received anything for free unless it was just given to me without anything expected in return.
Yard sales are the modern day barter system
I used to think that a yard sale was people selling unwanted stuff, but I recently learned that this is not true. I live in the middle of downtown in a metropolis city and admittedly I don’t see a lot of yard sales. However this past weekend a lady and her daughter had a table set up in front of their condo building selling unwanted items.
I don’t personally like to buy used items, except for books. Yard sales usually have a great selection of used books. As I was paying my $0.50 for my book a man walked up to the yard sale table with a vase in his hand. He asked the woman to trade his vase for a bike she was selling and to my surprise she agreed. I am not sure if the vase was worth the same value as the bike, and if it wasn’t then in my opinion someone didn’t get a good deal. However both the man and the woman seemed happy with their trade and for the very first time in my life I saw the barter system live in action.
Good morning Dinks. So often our personality controls everything about our lives and sometimes we don’t even know it. If we have a controlling personality we most likely have other aspects of our life under control. If we like to be in control our finances are probably very in order and our spending is probably very limited. If we like to be in control our homes are probably also very clean and organized.
The opposite can also be true, if you don’t like to keep everything neat, organized and tidy then maybe your financial life is the same way. Maybe you spend and save all the money you have until you get paid again. This can be a personal and financial strategy that works for some people, but it doesn’t work for me…not anymore.
A controlled personality and controlled personal finances are not better or worse than a non controlled personality and personal finances. It honestly just depends on what works for you and what makes you comfortable in your life and in your investment portfolio.
Are you conservative by nature?
If you like to think things over and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision then maybe you don’t like to take risk with your investments in the short term or in the long term. Cash, near-cash and fixed income investments such as money market instruments and bonds probably make up the majority of your investment portfolio.
If you don’t like the unknown in your life you probably also don’t like it in your investments. People who don’t like to take risk with their investments are usually also not focused on growth. These people are willing to accept a lower rate of return in exchange for the security of their capital investment.
Does it take you forever to make a decision?
This is the category that I fall in to. I am a balanced investor with a 60% equity asset allocation and a 40% asset mix in my investment portfolio. Making a decision for me is sometimes like pulling out teeth, it’s mostly because I don’t have an opinion on the subject and it’s partially because I don’t want to make the wrong decision.
I make decisions in my life when I really want something or if I feel that the subject is really important to me, but before I make the decision I definitely think about the pros and cons. This is why a balanced investment approach best suits my personality because I don’t have to take too much risk and I really don’t have to pick or choose a side between security and growth…I get the best of both worlds.
Are you always the first one to jump into the water?
If you like to jump into situations with your eyes closed and you don’t have fear of the unknown then maybe you are also a very risky investor. We know that with big risks can come potential big rewards, but the payoff is not guaranteed. I don’t mind taking some riskswhen it comes to trying new things, but I definitely don’t want to take the risk of losing all my money.
Do you love to travel the world?
If you have a flare for travelling the world, experiencing new things and being adventurous in foreign territories then maybe you also like to invest in foreign countries. Emerging markets such as Brazil, India, China and Russia are on the radar of the investing world right now. Have you invested money outside the United States?
Happy Friday Dinks. It’s summer time and I am loving it. Even though I am a reformed spend-a-holic I still find myself spending more money during the summer than I do during the winter. Is this the same for you?
There are so many more fun activities to do in the summer such as summer vacations, backyard barbeques, pool parties, weekend road trips and of course evenings on patios drinking with friends. I love summer and sometimes a good time is just worth the cost.
What do you love about summer?
Enjoy these great posts from our personal finance friends around the web. Have a great weekend.
– Debt Roundup – Would You Go For An All-or-Nothing Investment Strategy?
– SaveUp – Making sure you budget and have fun too
Good morning Dinks. Ahhhhh this is always the big pink elephant in the room for newly engaged couples. Actually that’s not really true, whether you are newly engaged; newlyweds or a veteran married couple it seems like everyone has an opinion on the subject of prenuptial agreements.
This topic is on my mind today because last night I watched a rerun of a Seinfeld episode when George is trying to get out of his engagement to Susan. You remember Susan right? She later dies from licking the toxic glue on her cheap wedding invitations. Jerry advises George to ask Susan to sign a prenupt because he thinks the question is always a deal breaker for couples. Well, the plan backfires and Susan laughs and then agrees to sign the prenupt because she knows that George has no money.
Ok Dinks let’s hear it, how do you feel about prenupts and would you sign one before getting married? Actually a better question to ask is – would you ask your potential spouse to sign a prenupt?
It’s not about the money
Asking your fiancé to sign a prenupt can be one of the most awkward conversations that couples will have, or is it? If you are at the point in your relationship when you are about to get married then hopefully the subject of money has already come up. By this point and time you should already be aware of your spouse’s financial situation so the question (although awkward) should be no surprise.
My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost 14 years (in August) and if he asked me to sign a prenupt I would do it without hesitation, but if we were only dating for one year I might not have the same reaction. I am well aware that my boyfriend’s family money is not mine and I would not expect to have a claim on it – marriage will not change that.
If you love your spouse and it’s not about the money then why wouldn’t you just sign the prenupt with no questions asked?
It’s about the marriage
Some people feel that the biggest struggle in a marriage is money. If couples are not on the same financial page it can really put strain on a relationship. I started dating my boyfriend when we were both broke and in college so I know all about money struggles in a relationship – been there. Done that. Bought the shot glass and sent the postcard.
I don’t think that couple’s should let money ruin their marriage but that is easier said than done. Some people feel that the mere fact that their spouse asked them to sign a prenupt means that their spouse doesn’t trust them, but I’m not sure this is true.
Signing a prenupt is about financial protection. As a financial planner I can attest to the fact that money makes people do the most horrible things to their loved ones. The two times that a financial planner sees just how awful human beings can be is during an estate settlement and during a divorce.
I am not blind to the fact that people like to make a quick buck and that people do marry for money, I am just saying that if you really love someone then the money shouldn’t matter…it can just be an added bonus.
Good morning Dinks. I would like to know where you are as you are reading our blog this morning? Maybe you are in the comfort of your own home with a cup of coffee in hand relaxing on your couch. Or maybe you are in your office at work avoiding all of the tasks that you need to do today.
You may remember that a few months ago (6 to be exact) I found my dream job. I left the banking world of financial planning to enter into the financial world of corporate communications. Every day I go to work and for the majority of the day I do what I love – write.
Through the excitement of a career change I quickly came to realize that my dream job did not come without a few dark clouds. I love my new job and I am working for a really great company, but I could definitely live without a few of my coworkers.
We all need to excel at our jobs because it provides our bread and butter but sometimes it’s hard to focus on the good things when the bad things in our careers can cause so much stress.
Tips to help you shine at your work and love your job
1. Remember your coworkers are not your friends. This is one of the biggest mistakes that I made early on in my career. Some of my best friends are former coworkers, but we became friends after we no longer worked together. If you meet someone at work then your job will always take precedent, keep that in mind when you are sharing information with your friends at work.
The problem with friends at work is that everyone has a different definition of friend. There is a woman at my work who I have told several times that I do not want to be friends with outside of work, yet she continues to ask me to go to lunch and walk home together after work.
I honestly don’t know how I can be more transparent, but it’s becoming a problem. I have anxiety about having to go to lunch with her and endure the 30 minute walk (which is 45 minutes with her because she walks slowly) home with her. Any thoughts?
2. Ignore all the drama. It is so easy to focus on negativity in the workplace and when a group of angry people get together the drama can very quickly escalate. Being known as the office complainer can really hurt your career. I have come to learn that no matter what we say nothing really changes. It’s best to just keep our opinions (even if they are right) to ourselves, smile, do our work and go home at 5 pm.
3. Focus on the tasks that you really love. I love the idea of my job, but I don’t love every single task that I do every day. Instead of getting upset about the tasks that I don’t like in my job – because it makes the task more difficult to complete – I just focus on the parts of my job that I do love. I try to finish the tasks that I don’t like as quickly as possible so that I can move on to something that I do love.
Good morning Dinks. Last week I told you about my recent trip to Niagara Falls with my boyfriend Nick and I asked Dinks – how you plan your time during your couple’s vacations? Nick and I stayed in Niagara Falls for a week and we had a really great time, but that’s not to say that everything went exactly as planned.
The road trip music situation
Do you and your spouse have the same taste in music? Nick and I have very similar tastes in music but his music collection extends far beyond the playlist in my iPod. Niagara Falls is a 6.5 hour drive from Montreal and because Nick drove we listened to his iPod. Although some of his songs are also on my iPod the selection would have been very different if my play list was plugged in. How do you and your spouse decide who chooses the music on your vacation or in your home?
How do you decide where to spend your couple’s vacation?
Niagara Falls is full of fun things to do and Nick and I haven’t been in almost five years so when I suggested the trip he was immediately on board. I like travelling and I really love planning so I volunteered to take care of our travel arrangements. I searched Priceline.com and Hotwire.com for the best car rental and hotel deals and was excited to find some great prices considering we travelled on the 4th of July weekend.
However all that glitters isn’t gold. When we arrived at our hotel in Niagara Falls we were shocked to find out that it also had a motel counterpart and my great online deal was booked in a motel. Needless to say that wasn’t happening so we immediately upgraded to a better room. But my life just isn’t that easy and the only rooms they had available (remember 4th of July weekend) were junior suites, so $150 later we checked in to our hotel room. I am thankful that the hotel did have a spare room because I if they didn’t we would have had to find a new hotel and that drama could have ruined our entire vacation and it would have been all my fault.
And then there’s the money
I tried to plan our activities as much as possible before we left on vacation so that we could purchase package deals and save some money on activities and excursions. When I say as much as possible I actually mean as much as Nick would let me. He is not much of a planner so talking to him about anything in advance is like pulling teeth out of your mouth. Not planning makes me hyperventilate and it also makes me really nervous. On top of saving money planning in advance also makes sure that we get to see and do everything on our list – that is if you have a list.
For the one week vacation including everything from our spending money, travel accommodations and food we spent a total of $1500. I know this seems like a lot of money for a one week vacation but we only bought items that we needed (and at outlet prices) we stayed at a hotel right in the middle of all the action, we ate a few great meals (mostly we ate on a budget) and we had a really fun time. Nick and I don’t often travel together so this trip was definitely overdue. Of course we could have saved money on food and shopping and we probably could have gone to a way better destination than Niagara Falls for the same money – but this is where we wanted to go. I absolutely feel that the trip was worth the cost.
Good morning Dinks and happy Friday. I hope you all had a nice 4th of July weekend last week. Nick and I had a great vacation in Niagara Falls and if you read Dinks Finance earlier this week you know all about it.
How did you spend the 4th of July? Some couples spend all of their vacations the same way – with family and friends. But the 4th of July isn’t like any old holiday…it’s full of good barbeque food and lots and lots of fireworks. If you are lucky there may also be a parade involved in your long weekend.
I also love the 4th of July weekend (or July 1st in Canada) because in my opinion it officially kicks of the summer season of warm weather, vacations and lots and lots of fun.
What is your favourite thing to do in the summer?
Enjoy these posts and giveaways from our friends. Have a great weekend Dinks.
Good morning Dinks. Today we are going to discuss our jobs. Now at 32 years old I definitely feel differently about my job than I did when I was 22 years old and I would like to know if you feel the same way.
Career vs. Relationship: Where is your focus?
Our jobs are our bread and butter – they help us bring home the income that we need to enjoy our lifestyle, save for retirement and experience all of the things in life that we want to. I used to be very career focused when I was younger. After I graduated from university my job was my primary focus and my relationship took a back seat. Now that I am more established in my career I know that my younger mindset was definitely wrong – at least for me and my relationship. We will always have our job (maybe not our dream job, but there will always be a job) but we may not always have our loved one.
I am thankful that my boyfriend Nick loved me enough to stick with me when I was working 70 hours a week and working on weekends during my career driven years. Some people say that we chose to focus on our careers instead of focusing on having kids and making a family, but this just isn’t true. Our choice not to have kids doesn’t have anything to do with our commitment to our careers; it has to do with our focus as a couple who likes to live without responsibility.
Too much career = less family and friends
The more time we focus on our careers the less time we have for our friends and family and this is too bad. When I was working too much I had very little time for my friends and I lost three friends because of my lack of commitment. All of my free time was spent catching up on my sleep and honestly it was a very unhealthy lifestyle.
Now that I am older I like to keep my career completely separate from my personal life. One of the biggest mistakes that I in my career when I was younger was making friends at work. Having friends at work leads to nothing but drama. If our boss thinks that we are more focused on our friends than we are on our work we can be looked over for a promotion and it can definitely hurt our career.
The career focused bitch in your office
People who are focused on their career are usually extremely competitive people. In the world of retail banking the person who is the most career focused in our office is usually also known as the office bitch. When you work in sales the employees usually earn a commission, when money is involved the gloves come off and the knives come out – if you aren’t careful you will be stabbed in the back in the cut throat world of climbing the career ladder.
Do you think that we can be focused on our career and our relationship at the same time?
About Kristina Tahnyak
Happy Friday Dinks. This weekend is BlogHer’13 in Chicago and unfortunately this year I wasn’t able to attend. I absolutely love attending conferences to learn about blogging as a business. Last year I attended BlogHer in New York City and The Financial Blogger Conference in Denver.
