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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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Budget Friendly Summer Activities

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budget activities, budget-friendly summer, frugal summer

pool lounging

Good Morning DINKS.  Our great friends over at Adaptu have created a list of fun and exciting activities to do this summer that don’t cost a fortune. Adaptu shares their budget friendly ideas on everything from backyard barbeques to summer vacations.

What are your plans for the summer?

Maybe you are taking a summer dream vacation, maybe you are hosting a party this summer, or maybe you prefer to sit pool side during the hot summer months. Regardless of how you choose to spend the next couple of months, I hope that you all take advantage of the warm summer weather and not let the summer take advantage of your wallet.

Here are some tips on how to have fun and save money this summer:

Think Outside the Box for your Vacation.  Travelling to popular destinations can be fun and it may be on your bucket list of things to do in your life, but travelling to popular destinations can also be very costly.  There are great ways to enjoy your summer vacation and not spend a lot of money such as travelling by car or train instead of booking a flight , making your own themed vacation instead of travelling to a destination spot, and visiting your second or third vacation choice instead of your first.

Think About Staying Close to Home.  If you are comfy at home then consider staying at home for your vacation.  You won’t have to travel, you won’t have to pack, and you will have everything that you love right where you are. Take a vacation from your life by turning off your cell phone and your computer.  Go to a neighbourhood in your town that you have never been to before, and try something new that you have never done in your hometown.

Enjoy the Weekend. Summer is not here for very long and we have to take advantage of the warm weather and sunshine while it lasts. Saturdays should be spent outside instead of cleaning our homes and running errands; Sundays should be spent enjoying the sunshine instead of lazing around on our couch.  If we enjoy some new activities, visit new places, and take weekend road trips we can afford to take several mini weekend vacations all throughout the summer. This saves us money because we don’t have to spend a huge amount of money on just one vacation. We can save up regularly and spend a little bit of money on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis on the weekends.

Stay Cool.  It’s hot in the summer time so finding budget friendly activities to keep us cool is definitely a good idea.  It also turns out that trying to keep cool in the summer actually involves lots of fun activities such as making fruity drinks in our blender, eating popsicles, having water fights, and taking a swim in the pool, a lake, or the ocean (depending on where you live).  It’s also a budget friendly and fun idea to relax and watch a movie in an air conditioned movie theatre.

Photo by orchidgalore

My 5 Costly Bad Habits

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bad financial habits, costly habits, money management

money drainGood Morning DINKS. We may all be in the good habit of saving money on a regular basis, but let me ask you this…do you have bad habits that are actually costing you money? I am not talking about impulsive spending, personal vices such as drugs and alcohol, a gambling habit, or spending money carelessly.  I am talking about daily habits that you have which can be harmful to your personal finances.

I admittedly have a few personal bad habits that I would love to change because they are costly in the both the short and in the long term.

Do you have any bad habits that you would like to change?

Here are my 5 costly bad habits

– Leaving the Water Running.  I leave the water running when I brush my teeth, and sadly this is a bad (and costly) habit that I have recently picked up. When I was younger I remember my Dad always telling me to shut off the water when I wasn’t using it if I was brushing my teeth and for some reason I have started doing it now.  I turn the water on when I think that I am ready to rinse my teeth, but then I continue brushing. Leaving the water running is definitely a costly habit.

– Using Too Much of One Thing. I feel as if I am constantly buying household items and personal toiletries such as toilet paper, paper towels, and toothpaste.  I definitely use more paper towels to wipe things then I need to and I definitely roll off more toilet paper then I need.  This is one of my bad habits that I am trying to improve.  Toilet paper and paper towels are not cheap and this costly bad habit is costing me a fortune.

– Wasting Unused Items.  I don’t throw out a lot of unused food, but it does happen a couple times a month.  This is mostly because I may be craving a food while I am in the grocery store, but then I don’t feel like eating it once I get home.  As I move into a more minimalistic lifestyle I also find myself with unwanted clothes and accessories; however I do not waste them, I donate all of my unwanted but still useable items to charity.

– Enjoying the Shopping Experience.  This may only be a female thing and I can’t describe it any better other than saying its like shopping at the pharmacy for perfume and makeup versus shopping at Sephora. I sometimes overpay for items because I enjoy a more luxurious (and expensive) shopping experience. My apologizes to our male readers for this girly moment.

– Not Recycling. I am not referring to recycling in the eco friendly sense of the word, but instead I am referring to recycling as in finding other uses for my items after I no longer want or need them.   I feel as if I could save money if I could just be a little bit more creative and use items for reasons other than their intended purpose.  If I could reuse items for something else afterwards or if I could use one item for two different purposes I could definitely cut costs and save money.

Photo by images of money

Are You Obsessive Compulsive About Money?

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money advice, money tips, financial advice

I enjoy money, do you? I enjoy money not because I am superficial, but because it helps support my lifestyle.  Money makes my life a little bit less stressful because when my bills are paid on time I am less stressed. I work hard for my money and I enjoy knowing that I have a roof over my head and food in my fridge.  I like knowing that I can save money for retirement as well as my personal goals.  If I don’t have a lot of money left over for personal spending on a weekly basis I am not necessarily stressed out about it because spending money on materialistic things no longer makes me happy.

I used to spend money on personal materialistic things and I couldn’t pay my bills on time (or at all). That’s how I know that “stuff” is really not important in my life.  However, being financially responsible is a very important quality to have for a young professional who got a second chance at both personal and financial happiness.

I don’t mind if I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on personal things, I definitely could have more money left over from each pay check if I saved a little less but personal spending is really not important to be.  I am happy as long as all of my bills are paid on time each month, as long as I have short term savings in the case of an emergency, medium term savings for my personal goals, and long term savings for retirement.

I know exactly how much money comes in each month from my 9 to 5 job as well as my freelance gigs, and I know exactly how and where each and every penny is being spent.  I guess that you can say I have learned from my past financial mistakes and now I have become a little (or a lot) obsessive compulsive about money.

I used to be an extreme spender and now you could say that I am a reformed credit card user who likes to save. I no longer carry balances on my credit cards because I don’t spend money carelessly and I don’t care (as much) about materialistic things.

How do you and your spouse manage your spending and expenses?

Maybe one of you is an extreme saver and maybe one of you is an extreme spender; or maybe you share the exact same views about money.  If you are an extreme saver then maybe you are extreme in controlling other aspects of your life as well.  It is possible that being extreme is part of a personality pattern and you may be obsessive compulsive about other things in your life such as always eating well balanced meals, working out on a regular basis, keeping your home incredibly clean, sticking to a daily routine, or extreme organization.

If you are an extreme spender then maybe some other aspects of your life are also out of control. Maybe living care free is part of your charming personality and maybe being extreme (about anything) completely terrifies you.  This is not my personal choice as a way to live, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad way to live.  As long as your bills are paid on time, as long as you have the things that you want in life, and as long as you are happy it doesn’t really matter whether you are extreme or carefree.

Photo by Rodrigo Paoletti

Friday Roundup: Weddings, Smartphones, and Savings

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princessHappy Friday DINKS.  It’s time for the weekend and I for one am ready to relax.  Even though the weekend is only two days I absolutely enjoy not waking up to my alarm clock and not living on a schedule for 48 hours.

However, I do find myself spending more money on the weekends. On Saturday I run errands including grocery shopping and visiting the pharmacy.  On Sunday evenings my boyfriend Nick and I usually order dinner from our favourite Mexican restaurant.  I absolutely love Mexican food.

What is your favourite thing about the weekend?

Here are some of our favorite posts from around the web this week. Enjoy!

– Budgets Are Sexy contemplates wedding season in the post “BYO Wedding?”

– Credit Sesame tells us not to stress about our debts in the post “It’s OK That You Are In Debt, Now Get Out of It”

– Passive Income Now helps us refocus in the post “What to do When Your Tenant Leaves The Rental Property”

– Go Banking Rates wants us to save money in the post “Are All Natural Products Tricking You into Spending More?”

– Business Insider wants to know if you are in the market for a new phone in the post “RANKED: The Best Smartphones Of The Year So Far”

– Get Rich Slowly shares money management strategies in the post “How Saving Money Cost Me Money”

 

Photo by Barbie Fantasies

How Do You Feel About Your Healthcare?

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healthcare policy, health advice, healthcare issues

doctorGood Morning DINKS.  Today we are discussing a very interesting subject that seems to be the topic of many conversations.

Think about the last dinner conversation that you had with family or friends, think about the last topic that you discussed with co-workers at the office water cooler…what topics did you discuss?  Since I consider all of you both my friends as well as my peers, today on DINKS Finance we are discussing healthcare trends as well as tips for living a healthy lifestyle.

Many people have an opinion on healthcare in America.  Whether you feel that healthcare should be a public amenity or a private service, whether you support the federal administrations views on healthcare in America, or whether you feel that healthcare premiums are an expense that you can’t afford, you most likely have some form of an opinion on healthcare.

Living a healthy lifestyle and having a healthcare plan sort of go hand in hand because they complement each other.  One of them helps us stay healthy on a daily basis and the other one protects us in case of a health related emergency and it also covers our regular medicine prescriptions.  Healthcare can include anything and everything related to our physical and mental health such as medical conditions, visits to the dentist, as well as our emotional wellbeing.

In a recent article published on their website, TD Insurance helps readers to take charge of their personal health and their health care coverage.  It is very important for us to take an active role in our healthy living and lifestyle choices such as eating less fried foods, exercising on a regular basis, and eating at least 3 well balanced meals per day.  However an important part of taking charge of our personal health is to make sure that we have health care coverage.  Ensuring that we have the necessary insurance coverage to protect us in case of any medical expenses and emergencies is another way that we can ensure our healthy lifestyle.

Here are some other ways that we can help live a healthy lifestyle:

– Keep a Food Journal.  Sometimes keeping records of everything that we eat can prevent us from consuming foods that aren’t good for us, it can also help lose weight, and maintain a healthy diet and exercise regime.  Keeping a food journal also helps us identify patters in our eating habits and our exercise routines (or lack thereof).

– Prepare for all appointments.  We should always be prepared for appointments to ensure that all of our questions are answered and also ensure that any areas of concerned are addressed. I know that sometimes doctor’s appointments can be overwhelming and we don’t want to forget anything.

– Be honest. If there is one person (other than our priest and our spouse) that we should be honest with, it’s our doctor.  Even if something may not seem important we should always be honest about our lifestyle, experiences, and possible symptoms because it could end up being a very important piece of information that could save our lives.

– Don’t Be Embarrassed.  Trust me when I say that I am extremely private about my personal life (other than writing about it on the web of course) but I am very open with my doctor. Sometimes I am embarrassed about certain things and sometimes I may share a little bit too much information but I always say that it’s better safe than sorry. One time I had a list of recent personal encounters and various symptoms that I thought I had and my GP actually kicked me out because I was “wasting time”.

Photo by edenpictures

Online Tools to Help You Manage Your Money

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money management, online tools, money advice

Good Morning DINKS. Today we are discussing how we manage our money. It is said that we will always have money if we consistently spend less money than we earn, but how do you know how much money you are spending?  In order to always keep our bottom line in the black, we have to effectively manage our money on a daily and a monthly basis; this means that we have to track our income as well as our expenses.

Some of us may use the old fashioned paper and pen to track our spending and expenses, some of us may use an electronic spreadsheet, and some of us may use online tools from websites and mobile apps to help us manage our money.

Do you use online banking?

Most banks and financial institutions offer free online banking and mobile apps to all of their clients. Online banking allows clients to log into our bank’s website and view all of our bank accounts as well as our recent account transactions with that particular financial institution.  Online banking also allows clients to check our current account balances, pay our bills, as well as transfer money to our other checking and savings accounts.

Downloading our financial institutions mobile app allows us to check our up to date account balances, make basic money transfers between our bank accounts, as well as find the closest bank branch or ATM.

I personally love using online banking and mobile apps because I like to keep up to date with all transactions that come into and leave from my checking and savings accounts. There are plenty of mobile banking benefits. Online banking and mobile apps are useful tools for clients, but only if you want to perform transactions and view account balances on your bank accounts with one particular financial institution. If you use multiple banks or if you have credit cards with finance companies then you may want to consider using a money management website to keep track of your personal finances.

Have you tried a money management website?

Money management websites such as Mint.com and Adaptu help you keep track of your money, view your bank accounts, and manage your debts with any and all banks, financial institutions, and finance companies on one website.  Money management websites allow clients to join for free, use their service for free, as well as take advantage of their financial information and resources completely for free.

When you chose to register with a third party money management website it is basically one stop shopping for all of our financial needs.  It only takes a few minutes to sign up and we can instantly download all of our bank account balances, our bill payment histories, our credit card balances, as well as our mortgage and personal loan information. The major benefit of using a third party money management website to track our personal finances is that we can view all of our accounts with several different financial institutions. We don’t have to log into several different websites in order to keep up to date.

Money management websites like Mint and Adaptu also allow us to set up budgets, determine and work towards achieving your personal financial goals, and sometimes even get advice from financial experts by using their resource centers and financial tools.  Online banking is great for performing transactions with one financial institution, but money management websites are great for tracking all of our money, bills, payments, and goals.

Photo by erix

4 Tips to Make Your Home Comfy and Cozy

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home tips, cozy home, comfy home

home tips, cozy home, comfy home

Good Morning DINKS.  Today we are discussing the place where we lay our hats at night and where we wake up to drink our coffee or cup of tea in the morning.  Today we are discussing our homes.  The place that we call home may be a rental or it may be a place that we own.  Our home may be located in the town of our dreams, in our favourite neighbourhood, or we may still be living in our childhood home where we grew up.

What is Your Definition of Home?

Homes and housing trends are different for everyone and the word home means something different for everyone. Some people buy a home to rent to another family as a form of personal income, some people may choose to rent their home because they enjoy the flexibility, and some people purchase their home because they want something to call their own.

I will always consider my hometown as my home.  When I say that I am going home it means that I am going to my parents house.  Even though my parents are now divorced and neither one of them still live in my childhood home I will always consider my hometown as my home because that is where my childhood memories will always be.

Is Your House a Home?

The Smart Life recently published an article which helps both renters and owners make their living space a home. Even if you are a first time homebuyer and you don’t have the money to invest in making your home decor specific to your taste you can still make your house homey; even if you are renting an apartment and you don’t have the luxury of making many changes to your current living space you can still make your home a comfy place to live with some quick and easy tips.

Try to use your (limited) space as efficiently as possible.  Before you install furniture and hang pictures look at your floor plan and decide how you can use your personal living space most efficiently for maximum comfort.  It’s ok if you live in a small space as long as you make the most out of it.

Make your home yours. Even if you don’t own your home it doesn’t mean that it’s not yours, after all you are living there.  Paint the walls and get settled in by buying plants and putting up photos of you, your friends, and your family.

A large home or a small apartment can be energy efficient.  Changing light bulbs to be energy efficient, using less electricity by turning off our appliances and electronics, and not letting our water run when we are in the kitchen or bathroom are all ways that we can help the environment by reducing our energy consumption.

Buying eco friendly materials, appliances, and home decor items is also a very popular trend right now in the housing market.  Not everything in life has to be wasteful and not all eco friendly materials are low end. We can definitely purchase great quality items that have been made from recycled materials.

Photo by Celtic Visions

Is spending part of the grieving process?

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spending, grieving process, spending impulse

It has been over a month since my father in law passed away suddenly and my boyfriend is trying to get back into his normal routine, but it definitely hasn’t been easy for him to try and live a normal life after having it fall apart due to the loss of a loved one.

My boyfriend recently went on a shopping spree and I can’t help but wonder if he is trying to ease the pain of trying to continue on with his life after losing his father so suddenly.  I am lucky to still have both parents in my life and therefore I can’t even begin to try and understand what my boyfriend, his sister, and his mother are going through during their time of grief.  Since I can’t comfort my boyfriend and his family during this very difficult time, all I can do is try to make everything else in our life a little bit easier for him.

I stood by silently and without judgement as I watched my boyfriend spend money during his shopping spree on everything from expensive meals to expensive electronics.  However I couldn’t help but wonder if his recent actions are a coping mechanism as he grieves the loss of his father.  This is the first time that my boyfriend has actually lost someone in his immediate family, and I think that he is trying a variety of methods to try and maintain some sort of reality in his life which currently seems to be a bad dream.

This is not the first time that I have experienced an out of control spending spree by family member when they lost a loved one. A few years ago my Aunt lost her husband in a tragic car accident.  Not so long afterwards she took our entire family on a two week vacation to the Caribbean. The vacation was definitely the trip of a lifetime but now that I look back on the experience I couldn’t help but wonder if that money could be better spent (or saved).

There are several emotions that people experience during their time of grief such as sadness, anger, denial, and regret; but people may also lose control of certain aspects in their life such as excessive personal spending, a breakdown in their daily routine, or a change in their career as a way to cope with the loss of a loved one.  Although I am sure that there are worse ways to cope with grief other than excessive personal spending such as excessive eating or substance abuse. So in the grand scheme of things a little spending never hurt nobody, after all it’s only money and we can’t take it with us.

The need to spend money may stem from the belief that money can buy happiness and if we spend money on expensive things it may void the feeling of complete emptiness that comes from the loss of a loved one. If people receive a lump sum of money from insurance proceeds it may be hurtful to keep the money.  Holding on to money that we gained from the loss of a life may act as a constant reminder that we no longer have that person in our lives; therefore we may want to get rid of it by spending it.

What is your best advice for dealing with the loss of a loved one?

Read More:

Photo by Twon

Friday Roundup: Soccer, June, and Your Stuff

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soccerHappy Friday DINKS.

As I have been watching the Euro Cup soccer event with my boyfriend over the past few weeks I realized just how much conflict differences can create among people.  Soccer fans are some of the most passionate sports fans out there and I couldn’t imagine being so consumed by a sport that I wanted to set a car on fire, punch someone in the face, or cause a public riot.

If there were less differences in the world, would there be more peace in the world? If we only had one religion and one currency would everyone in the world get along a lot better?  Maybe if people weren’t at war because of politics, natural resources, and religion maybe we could all watch a soccer match in peace.

Have a great weekend DINKS. We hope you enjoy these posts from around the web:

– Man vs. Debt helps us clean out our lives in the post “How To Deal With Sentimental Clutter Without Feeling Guilty”

– Passive Income Now asks questions about your real estate assets in the post “Selling vs. Renting Your Rental Property”

– Clever Dude considers relocating in the post “No, I don’t want to move to your state!”

– Money Ning helps us reuse and recycle in the post “7 Uncommon Uses for Common Household Items”

– Wise Bread helps us enjoy the summer and spend some money in the post “The Best and Worst Things to Buy in June”

Photo by Ivan Walsh

The Best High Yield Savings Accounts

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savings account, high yielding accounts, money advice

DINKS Finance has to once again thank our great friends from Bankrate who have compiled a list of all the best High Yield Savings Accounts available right now for consumers. If you are like me then you find it comforting to have access to cash immediately just in case you have a financial emergency, but you also feel that your hard earned money should be earning some interest, no matter how small of an amount that it may be.

High Yield Savings Accounts are a wonderful asset to a well balanced investment portfolio. Bankrate has been very gracious and identified the top-yielding online savings accounts, some of which are currently paying over 1% interest.

If you are looking for a safe place to hoard your cash then check out this list of the best High Yield Savings Accounts:

Cit Bank is currently offering 1.05% on balances over $25,000.  If you don’t have $25,000 to save then the interest rate is 0.90% on lower balances. Cit Bank is a member of FDIC. This High Yield Savings Account has no monthly fees and does not offer checks.

Barclays is currently offering 1.00% on all deposits in their High Yield Savings Account. There are no monthly or maintenance fees. This account does not offer checks and it is FDIC insured.  Barclay’s is a member of the ATM alliance along with Bank of America and BNP Paribas.

Ever Bank is rated 3 out of 5 stars and they are currently offering 0.91% on their High Yield Savings Accounts.  There is a minimum initial deposit of $1500 required to open the account and a balance of at least $5000 is required to avoid the monthly fee of $8.95.  Checks are allowed and Ever Bank is currently offering an introductory rate of 1.05%.

Union Federal Saving Bank is currently offering 0.90% on their High Yield Savings Account.  Union Federal is a FDIC member and clients can open their account online with no maintenance or monthly account fees.

Ally Bank is rated 5 stars and they are currently offering 0.84% on their High Yield Savings Account.  There is no initial deposit required to open an account with Ally Bank and there is also no minimum monthly balance requirement.  Clients can open their Ally Bank account online and fund it with money from any other financial institution.

MetLife Bank is currently offering 0.85% interest on all balances of $10,000 or more.  You may know MetLife as an insurance company, but they also offer personal financial services. Check writing is allowed on this High Yield Savings Account.

My Bonus Recommendation:

TD Bank clients can maximize their earnings when they maintain a higher balance with tiered interest rates in the TD High Yield Savings Account.  There is no minimum initial deposit required and TD Bank offers clients who also have a TD checking account an interest rate bonus on their TD High Yield Savings Account.  The monthly maintenance fee is waived if you are at least 62 years old or if you maintain a minimum balance of $10,000. The TD High Yield Savings Account also offers free money orders, stop payments, and incoming wire transfers.

Photo by AdamB

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