Category: Shifting your Perspective

  • Think Backwards 

    Periodically, I review my items and assets and consider what I should keep and what should be sold off. Generally, the older something gets, the more value it loses, so the longer you hold onto things that are not being used, the more it costs you. Around 5 years ago…

  • Home Ownership – Not Always Better than Renting!

    There’s a general understanding that homeownership is better than renting. Similarly, people commonly believe that property values always increase. Furthermore, and as discussed here, some believe that all home renovations can increase their property value more than the cost of the renovation, thus contributing to the amount of home ‘flippers’…

  • Holiday Décor

    In the comedic movie Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold uncovers countless storage boxes from his garage, unpacks the strings of lights and festive yard ornaments they contain and spends hours decorating his house and snow-covered lawn. In the process, he has several mishaps with his ladder and at one point falls…

  • Financial Family Goal Setting

    Throughout our lives, we have various desires as individuals and as a family. It is important to set goals together with your partner to ensure that you are aware of each other’s ambitions so that you can work together to achieve them. Not only should your goals be discussed, but…

  • You’re Closer to Poor than Rich!

    The Forbes 400 is a yearly released list of the four hundred wealthiest Americans. In the 2023 issue, the richest, Elon Musk, was listed with a net worth of $251 Billion (LaFranco & Peterson-Withorn, 2023). In last place, you will find Daniel Sundheim, worth $2.9 Billion. This means that the…

  • Is it what you want, or is it what is expected of you?

    We are all influenced by those around us and what we see others doing. Sometimes, we will make life-changing decisions for no other reason than because we think it’s the right thing to do. As Don Draper asks his colleague Lane in the series Mad Men – is it what…

  • Post-Secondary Education

    Post-secondary education is generally worthwhile and earning potential increases with educational attainment. Table 13 below shows data from Carnevale et al. (2011) and indicates that over a forty-year career, someone with a master’s degree will have earned more than twice as much as someone with only a high school education.…

  • Meal Planning

    Some of my friends and colleagues go out for lunch daily. Sometimes, I join them. My typical lunch meal is $15. With tax and tips, the average meal is around $19. When considering the cost of transportation to and from the restaurant, at 5 km away (10 km round trip)…

  • Enjoy your City

    Growing up in a northern Canadian city, adventurous and outdoor lifestyles are very common. Many try to escape the city on weekends to partake in outdoor activities like going to a recreational property (lake house, cottage, cabin) camping, hunting, operating off-road vehicles, etc. I was raised in this way and…

  • Rethink Gift Giving

    In a recent four-year period, my household spent on average $3,491 on gifts per year, and keep in mind that we don’t have any children. I know this because I track my spending – visit my Track Speding post to learn how. I am providing my average spending because I…

  • Healthy & Wealthy

    Two things that every human should want are to be healthy and to have financial prosperity. Have you ever considered that these goals can work together to uplift one another? Here are some examples. Cook your own meals instead of going to restaurants to eat healthier and save money. Replace…

  • Minimalism

    Minimalism refers to minimizing your consumption of things in your life to items that add value. It is a utilitarian perspective that lends itself well to financial goals. I consider myself a minimalist, however, you will not find me living in a tiny home or with only three clothing items…