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Author Archives: Kristina Tahnyak

Avatar photo About Kristina Tahnyak

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.

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Take a “No Kids Allowed” Vacation

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couple walking on beachI don’t know about you, but there is nothing worse for me than being in a place that I love and hearing the loud cries and screams of an unhappy (or hungry) child.  When I am out eating at a restaurant, browsing new releases in a bookstore, or relaxing on a beach the last thing in the world I want to hear is the sound of a screaming child; honestly it’s almost as annoying as finger nails scraping down a chalkboard.

I know that some of us are Dinks by our own personal choice, and some of us are Dinks by mother nature’s choice so please don’t misunderstand what I am trying to say; I don’t hate kids, I am just not a big fan of unnecessary noise.

Our friends at Dink Life recently sent out an email with some links to great vacation spots that are completely kid-free. Dink Life is a website by Dinks and for Dinks. It is sort of an interactive community board where Dinks can meet other Dink couples in their area, get coupons for Dink-related products and basically discuss everything Dink-related from our careers to our relationships.

I know that the “no kids” subject can be very sensitive and before our inbox fills up with all kinds of mail I just want to include my own personal disclaimer.  I want to say that just because I don’t want to go on vacation with kids doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t like kids.  Not having kids is a personal choice that I made with my boyfriend Nick. I don’t feel bad about not wanting to be around kids because many resorts, restaurants, and hotels advertise that they are “family friendly”.  I think it’s great that these hotels are “couples-friendly”.



Check Out these Hotels with a No-Kid Policy

– The Body Holiday, St. Lucia

This wellness-focused hotel offers Yoga, Pilates, Tennis, Scuba, Tai Chi, and Golf for all of its visitors. If being active on vacation isn’t your thing you can also spend your days lazing on the beach.

– Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts, Aruba

This is Aruba’s only boutique resort with a no kid policy. Bucuti is located on world-renowned Eagle Beach; it went kid-free in 2010.

– The House, Barbados

This resort is considered to be the ultimate adult experience with complimentary champagne breakfasts, afternoon tea and evening canapés.  You will also receive a jet-lag revival massage when you arrive.

– Jade Mountain, St. Lucia

This hotel is known for its fabulous location, it sits on the edge of the Caribbean Sea with St Lucia’s magnificent Piton Mountains as the primary view. Every suite has its own infinity pool and 15-foot ceilings.

– Triple Creek Ranch, Mont.

Located in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley (about an hour south of Missoula), Triple Creek Ranch is a luxury resort. There’s a variety of on-site and off-site activities, including massages, raft trips, a cooking school, cattle drives and horseback rides.

– The Royal Cancun & The Royal Playa del Carmen, Mexico

These Royal Resorts are adult-only all-inclusive resorts. Children under 16 years old are not permitted. Single adults and couples are welcome.

– Galley Bay Resort & Spa, Antigua

This all-inclusive, adults-only, beachfront resort is situated on 40 acres of private paradise.  It is surrounded by a bird sanctuary and a three-quarter-mile-long stretch of beach on the sunset side of Antigua.

– Casa Velas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

This boutique hotel is located just five minutes from Puerto Vallarta Airport and only 15 minutes from the popular downtown area.  This hotel features 80 elegant suites, some which have private pools and Jacuzzis.

– Kenwood Inn & Spa, Sonoma, Calif.

This 29-room resort in northern California’s Sonoma Valley requires guests to be at least 18 years of age. This is a Mediterranean-style resort with three lush courtyards – each with its own exquisite saline pool.

Photo by gareth1953

Could You Live on Only $21 Per Week?

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Good Morning Dinks. Yes you read that right, today we are sharing an article from The Financial Post that tells the story of how one personal finance expert (it’s not me) lives on only $21 per week.  Twenty-one dollars is not a lot of money and some of us spend more than $21 in parking tickets each month, but nevertheless I found this article and I wanted to share it.

I know as dual income couples we all have disposable income and we can afford not to live on a budget if we didn’t want to, but we are also all saving money for our personal goals or paying off debt and that’s why it’s important to take an active role in managing our money.  Just because we don’t have kids doesn’t mean that we don’t have other financial priorities and responsibilities. After all money that is not spent is money that can be saved.

Who is this woman that lives on only $21?

Fiona Lippey lives in one of Australia’s most expensive cities, and she does it on a budget. Lippey grew up “moderately rich” and like many of us she had a rude awakening in her early twenties when she moved out on her own.  Forced to live on a strict personal budget and no money to do it with, Lippey had to quickly learn how to get the most out of life with the least amount of money.

Lippey learned to thrift shop and save money on everything in her life from clothes to food.  Lippey was accustom to a life with very nice things; but she quickly learned that those nice things cost money, money that she didn’t have as an independent young woman in her twenties.  Life was not as easy for Lippey when she didn’t have Mommy and Daddy’s money; but she made it work.  Lippey learned to cook, shop, and live on a (very tight) budget; to her surprise she was actually still happy. Does this remind you of our It’s Not About The Stuff post from a couple of weeks ago?

The $21 Challenge:

Could you do it? Could you live on only $21 per week? I don’t think that I can do it, but I am absolutely going to try.  Next Monday I am going to withdraw $21 from my bank account, and I am going to try and live on only $21 for the entire week.

Considering the fact that I eat out most days of the week I honestly don’t think that I will be able to live on only $21, but like I said, I am going to try.  I will write a post next week about how I spent the $21 and what I lived without in order to stay within the budget.

I know that this is a difficult challenge but I am going to try and do it.  I am going to think about all of the money that I will be saving, not all of the things that I will be giving up.

If you are a blogger and you want to take the $21 Challenge write a post about it and send us the link.  We will include your name and blog post in our recap.

Photo by Dan4th

Friday Roundup: Time, Food and Cell Phones

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talkingIt’s Friday and there is only ONE week left until we all meet up at FinCon12 in Denver Colorado! As you may remember I missed FinCon last year, therefore I am very excited to be attending The Financial Blogger Conference this year.

What are you hoping to achieve at FinCon?

People attend blogging conferences for several different reasons from networking for potential jobs and learning about new business strategies to socializing with old friends and meeting new friends.  I am excited to finally meet all of my online friends and colleagues in person.

I am also excited to learn tips from other bloggers and share my personal finance knowledge with others. If you are going to FinCon please be sure to say hello.

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy these great posts from around the web:

– Out Of Debt Again – Tips and Advice for Buying Any Kind of Insurance
– Yes, I Am Cheap – Food Prices Are About To Explode
– Money Crush – Hello, Future You
– The Centsible Life – Cell Phones for Soldiers & Helping Heroes Home
– Sustainable Life Blog – Save Time and Money With Good Old Fashioned Exercise

 Photo by geezaweezer

Different Strategies for Different People

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financial strategy, money strategy, finances

Good Morning DINKS.  We may all have different investments in our emergency savings fund, we may all have different strategies for our retirement savings plans, and we may all manage our personal budget differently. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we are all saving and managing our money.

Different people have different investment, budget, and savings strategies because everyone’s lifestyle is different. As an individual or as a couple we need to find the best strategies to fit our financial needs and personal lifestyle.  Some people choose to live on a cash budget and some people choose to make their home an investment.

What are your investment, budget, and savings strategies?

– Emergency Savings Fund.  An emergency savings fund is a savings account that we have and usually don’t use unless we have a last minute financial emergency. Everyone’s definition of a financial emergency is different, but it usually includes an unfortunate death, unexpected home expenses due to damage, and last minute travel plans because of family emergencies.

Some people choose to save cash in a High Interest Savings Account or invest in close to cash short term investments such as Treasury Bills and Money Market Funds or for their emergency savings fund.  This is a good idea because the funds are readily accessible if we ever need to use the money and if we don’t need the money it will still earn some interest.

Not everyone likes to have cash savings in their emergency savings fund.  Some people choose to have a line of credit as their emergency savings fund; they only use it in the case of an emergency. Some people choose to make payments towards paying off the debt if they do use their line of credit, instead of making regular contributions into a savings account.

– Retirement Investment Strategies.  Some people like to take risk a high risk approach on their long term investments inside their retirement portfolio to ensure that they have capital growth on their investments over the long term. Some other people choose to take a more conservative investment approach and preserve their capital to ensure that they have some money to retire with.

I personally like to take a balanced approach with my investments and have a 60/40 split of growth oriented equity based stocks and conservative fixed income bonds in my retirement portfolio.

Some other people choose not to save in a retirement portfolio but instead they invest in real estate as an alternative retirement savings strategy.  Then they can sell their real estate properties at retirement and live off of the proceeds, but while they are still working they collect a monthly income if they choose to rent out their real estate properties.

– Managing Our Personal Budget.  How people choose to manage their budget whether it’s individually or together as a couple varies among families. Our personal budget starts with our expenses and spending priorities.

Some people make sure they save a certain percentage of their income and then they budget in their living expenses afterwards.  Some other people pay all of their expenses first and then save whatever little bit of money they have left over. How much we chose to spend and how much we chose to save each month depends on how we manage our budget.

Due to the fact that I don’t have any children, I don’t cook very well (or sometimes at all), and the fact that my boyfriend enjoys having all of the latest electronics I choose to force my savings through employer savings plans and regular automatic contributions.  Before I wake up on pay day my savings are already transferred to my various investment accounts and therefore whatever is left in my bank account is mine to spend.

Photo by Nina Matthews

3 Insurance Myths Shattered Into Pieces

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Good Morning Dinks.  Today we are discussing an important aspect of the financial planning process and clearing up some of the biggest misconceptions in the financial industry.  There are several different aspects that financial professionals consider when providing financial planning advice such as tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, as well as the topic that we are discussing today…insurance planning.

Many people purchase home, auto, health, and life insurance because they know they need it to have it in order to protect themselves in case of a financial emergency.  But as a financial professional I can tell you that there is a lot of confusion regarding insurance policies and insurance premiums.

People purchase an auto insurance policy because we can’t drive without it, and people purchase a home owners insurance policy because they can’t buy a home without it; but not a lot of people know how their insurance premiums are calculated.  If you chose not to have insurance you should have a very big emergency savings fund that will cover all of your costs in case of an unforeseen event or loss.

TD Bank recently posted an article which discusses the most common myths about auto insurance policies. You may remember that my car insurance was one of the many expensive reasons why I chose to sell my car.  I more recently had an insurance nightmare while shopping for home owners insurance.  So it is safe to say that insurance is not always a delightful topic.  Have you ever wondered how your auto insurance premiums are calculated? We can’t tell you all of the trade secrets of the insurance industry, but we can tell you which factors are considered when insurance companies are calculating the cost of your insurance premiums.

3 Auto Insurance Myths Broken Into Pieces

1. The colour of your car affects the cost of your insurance.  It is not true that red cars have more expensive insurance premiums; it is also not true that two door cars have higher insurance premiums than four door cars.  Car insurance premiums are calculated based on the cost to replace or repair the car after an accident or loss.  They are also calculated based on the driver’s track record and the possibility of theft.

2. Parking Tickets Cost Your Insurance.  Parking tickets are not a factor when insurance companies are determining the cost of your insurance premiums.  However, traffic violations such as speeding tickets do affect the cost of your insurance premiums. Your driving record among other things, such as the value of your car, help determine the overall cost of your auto insurance premiums.

3. If You Don’t File a Claim Your Premiums Won’t Increase. If you are in an accident and you don’t file an insurance claim, your premiums could still increase.  If the other involved party files a claim with their insurance company your insurance company will be notified; therefore your auto insurance premiums could still increase.  It is best to always be honest with your auto insurance provider…just in case.

Photo by kodomut

I Only Save When I am Forced To

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saving money, saving, money saving tips

piggy bankGood Morning Dinks.  Today we are talking about our personal and couple’s savings strategies.

Some couples choose not to combine their finances and maintain individual savings accounts; this doesn’t mean that couples don’t share their monthly expenses; it just means that they save money separately as individuals. Some other couple’s choose to combine their checking, savings, and investment accounts in order to build their savings as a couple.

My boyfriend Nick and I chose to save money individually.  This is mostly because we started dating when we were teenagers and we didn’t have any savings.  Our personal banking and our personal savings accounts have always been kept on an individual basis and it doesn’t really make financial sense to change our personal strategies after all these years.  With that being said we do share our debts. When we had a car we shared the expenses and the car loan payments, we also have a joint credit card that we use to pay for our household expenses such as furniture, groceries, and electronics.

Regardless of whether you chose to save as a couple or as an individual here are some savings strategies that can help you save more money on a monthly basis:

1. Set Up an Automatic Purchase Plan.  I personally would never save if I didn’t force myself to save through an automatic purchase plan.  I set up automatic transfers from my checking account to my retirement and savings accounts on a biweekly basis.  Therefore when I wake up on the morning of my payday the money has already been taken out of my checking account; this avoids the temptation to spend the money instead of save it.  I like waking up every other Thursday morning knowing that I am saving for my retirement. I like knowing that my savings have already been withdrawn and I am free to spend the money that is in my checking account.

2. Sign Up For Your Employer Savings Plan.  It doesn’t matter if you are saving for a long term goal such as retirement or if you are saving for a short term goal such as a vacation, employer savings plans are a great way to save money.  An employer savings plan allows employees to save money through automatic payroll deductions.  The added benefit of having an employer savings plan is that your employer usually also makes contributions on your behalf.  My employer matches 50% of my personal contributions up to a maximum dollar amount. This is great because I have an automatic rate of return (in the form of my employer contributions), regardless of how my investments perform.

3. Just Forget About The Money.  If you are always checking the balances in your savings accounts and your retirement accounts you may be tempted to withdraw the money and spend it on other things. If you just forget about the money and only withdraw it for the intended purpose or when you have a financial emergency you can enjoy watching your savings grow over the years. The best savings strategy is to save on a regular basis and just forget about the money until you absolutely need it.

Photo by Images of Money

Friday Roundup: FinCon, the Plutus Awards & True Confessions

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Happy Friday Dinks.  As The Financial Blogger Conference quickly approaches next month it’s time to start booking our travel plans, it’s time to start signing up for workshops at FinCon, and it’s time to start voting for your favourite Personal Finance Blogs to win a Plutus Award.  The Plutus Awards are the annual personal finance awards that are presented to bloggers in a variety of different categories.

The winners will be announced Friday September 6th at FinCon12 in Denver Colorado.  We look forward to seeing everyone at The Financial Blogger Conference.  Enjoy these great posts from around the web. Have a great weekend everyone!

  • Donna Freedman – The Way We Work (Finalist in the PF Olympics and speaker at FinCon12)
  • Frugal Flip – 11 Frugal Things I Do For Which My Friends May or May Not Think I’m Crazy
  • So Over This – Confessions of a Reluctant Grocery Shopper
  • Frugal Beautiful – Planning A Cross Country Move On A Budget
  • Budgets Are Sexy – Welcome to Barterville: Poppulation 1?
  • Financial Samurai – “I Want To Have Fun” – One Of The Worst Excuses For Not Saving
  • Clever Dude – The 5 Biggest Wastes of Time and Money

Yes Ma’am, your credit card does expire!

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credit card advice, credit card tips, credit cards

I can’t even believe that I am saying this (or typing this rather) but can you believe that some people don’t know that their credit card actually expires? That’s right some people have a credit card in their wallet and they use their credit card on a daily basis, but they don’t know that their credit card expires, even though there is a date on the front of every credit card.

This week a woman came into our bank branch asking for her credit card to be replaced.  When the bank teller asked the woman if her credit card was lost or stolen she replied “no” and pulled her credit card out of her wallet.  When the bank teller asked the woman why she wanted to replace her credit card she replied “because it expires next month.”

I am not sure what world this woman lives in, but it is definitely not on planet earth.  She thinks that when her credit card expires she can bring it into the bank and exchange it for a new credit card which has a higher credit limit and a zero outstanding balance.  She is completely unaware that the expiry date on her credit card is just a formality.  She doesn’t know that the bank will only send her a new physical credit card with a new expiry date, but her actual credit card account with the current outstanding balance remain the same.

This woman is a long time client of our bank and she is in fact making monthly payments to her credit card through pre authorized payments, the jury is still out on whether or not she actually knows that she is making monthly payments to her credit card.

I am sure that you can only imagine the reaction of the bank teller who is trying to explain the basic functions of a credit card to a woman who believes that she can charge thousands of dollars onto her credit card and then just have the debt completely wiped out when she exchanges her credit card for a new one.

It was astonishing to learn that a woman could actually think that a bank would pay off her debt in full each and every time that her credit card expires.  However, it is more astonishing to know that she is not the only person on planet earth who thinks this could be true. Ok maybe there are not a lot of other people who think that the bank will pay off their credit card debt in full, but there are a lot of people who don’t know why their credit card expires.  There are also a lot of people (more than you think) who don’t pay attention to the expiration date on their credit card. The next time you are making a purchase and your credit card transaction is declined, don’t panic, just check the expiration date.

Have you ever wondered why your credit card expires? MSN Money recently published a post about the various reasons why credit cards expire some of which include fraud prevention, upgrades in technology, as well as new branding. I know that it’s not a major aspect of your credit card such as the available credit limit or current outstanding balance, but everyone should take note of the date when their credit card expires.

Photo by squeakymarmot

Coupon Cabin Giveaway

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i heart couponsGood Morning Dinks.  I know you have read blog posts about and seen Tweets about how much I enjoyed attending the BlogHer12  conference in New York City.  Today I am happy to announce that Dinks readers are actually going to profit from my narcosis. Today we are going to share information about a great new service that I discovered at the BlogHer conference and we are also giving away 3 practical prizes to 3 lucky Dinks Finance readers.

So be sure to share, tweet, and blog about this post and you could win 1 of 3 practical prizes from your friends at Dinks Finance and our new friends at Coupon Cabin.

What is Coupon Cabin?

Coupon Cabin is a website that features coupons and discount codes from a variety of retailers from Macy’s to Home Depot.  You can get online coupon codes, print out coupons from your favourite retailers, and also sign up for product freebies all through Coupon Cabin.

I met the team from Coupon Cabin at BlogHer12 in New York City.  They had a booth on the showroom floor with two of the most energetic people that I met throughout the whole BlogHer weekend; that is a huge compliment considering that I was in a hotel with over 3000 other bloggers.

One of the biggest attractions at the Coupon Cabin booth was the endorsement of notorious Mother Kate Gosselin from the reality TV show “Kate Plus 8.” That’s right, not only did bloggers get to hear President Obama, Katie Couric, and Martha Stewart speak at the BlogHer12 conference, they also got to meet and have their picture taken with reality TV star Kate Gosselin.

Why Should I Use Coupon Cabin?

Coupon Cabin has something for everyone and their coupon codes actually work. You can search through thousands of coupon codes, printable coupons, product freebies, and product deals all for free.

After you print and use a coupon or shop online with a discount code Coupon Cabin asks users to revisit their website and rate your shopping experience.  Coupon Cabin is so confident that they offer the best coupons and discount codes that they want users to come back to their website and let other coupon users know about their coupon and shopping experience.  When you are done shopping with a Coupon Cabin discount code or coupon you can leave feedback letting other coupon users know if the coupon and discount code worked.

Everyone likes to save money so why not visit Coupon Cabin and start searching for your local grocery coupons, coupon codes, printable coupons, product freebies, and product deals.  The website is very well presented and extremely user-friendly.

The Coupon Cabin Giveaways:

Here’s how you can enter to win 1 of 3 Coupon Cabin giveaway packages which includes a Coupon Cabin t-shirt and a reusable shopping bag:

  1. Leave a comment on this blog and tell us about the best coupon or discount that you ever used and how much money you saved.
  2. You can also send us a Tweet @dinks_finance and include @CouponCabin

Good Luck Everyone! The winners will be announced next week.

4 Easy Steps to Achieve Your Goals

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Good Morning Dinks.  As you may know from reading my daily posts, I am a huge planner.  I am border-line Obsessive Compulsive about organization and order regarding everything that I do in life.  It is safe to say that “adapts well to change” is definitely not on my resume.

I like having a plan, a routine, and a path to achieving my goals. I recently decided that I am no longer going to use the word “dreams” whenever I refer to all of the things that I want to accomplish in life because dreams may not come true, but we can work towards achieving our personal, financial, and professional goals.

Adam Baker from man vs. debt is famously known for doing what he loves.  On a side note Adam Baker is also one of the featured bloggers who will be speaking at #FinCon12 in Denver.  Adam Baker lives his life as a family man who does exactly what he wants to do in life, if he wants to travel then he travels, if he wants to start a new business venture then he puts together a new business venture.  I believe that we can all learn a thing or two about achieving personal happiness and achieving our personal goals from Adam Baker at man vs. debt.

If you are currently working towards a personal, financial, or professional goals I suggest that you make a plan by following these four easy steps.

1. Take an inventory.  What is it that you currently have and what is it that you want to achieve.  Take a personal inventory of what you have, what you want to do, and how you plan to achieve your goals. Personal, financial, or professional goals are ultimate goals that you want to achieve; but there may also be smaller goals that you have to achieve along the way to achieving your ultimate goals.  The best way to achieve a goal is know the steps you need to take in order to achieve your ultimate goal.

2. Generate Alternative Options.  Not all plans work out as we hoped they would, and the key to achieving your personal, financial, and professional goals is to not freak out when things don’t go as planned.  It’s ok to re-plan and reset your goals and target dates. If you aren’t where you want to be by the time that you want to be there just relax, re-plan your path, and reset your goals.

3. Make It Happen.  Only you have the power to change things in your life so stop talking about making changes to your relationship, to your finances, or to your career and start doing something about it. Carpe Diem!

4. Conduct Periodic Reviews. Progress reports are infamous in the business world and they can also be very helpful in our personal lives.  If you want to pay off debt then check your credit card balances and net worth on a monthly basis to make sure that you are on the path to achieving your ultimate goal of becoming debt free.

What are your personal goals right now?

Photo by pgordon

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