Here’s a story. My paternal grandfather was a gemologist. That’s a fancy word to say he was a specialist in precious stones and gems. He worked many years for a high-end Canadian jeweler and had a very successful career. It goes without saying, given my grandfathers position, that my grandmother had a lot of very…
I don’t know many people who, from first dollar in hand, knew exactly how to control their money. Learning how to control your finances is a learned skill. Some people are fortunate enough to have learned valuable skills from their parents or other role models while others, myself included, fumble their way through their finances…
There are quite literally millions of (legal) ways to make money. Most people get a job and work at said job as their only income source never really doing much about ways to make more money. They want more money, but few people actually do something about this need/want/desire and become proactive about it. A…
The brokerage industry has changed greatly over the last decade. It is now possible to buy and sell practically any security online, yet people still insist on paying hundreds of dollars for a broker to do it for them. I’m not saying that managing your own investment portfolio is for everyone, but for the majority…
Money is something that interests everyone. It is one topic that unites us all and most people in the world are interested in how to make more money. Some people dream about what they would do with more money while others, myself included, go out and do it. Why one chooses to make more money…
Today is part three of the ”Build a Budget That Works” series. Check out parts One and Two! Once you’ve calculated your budget based on your three expenses it’s likely now time to make some changes. Because ever situation is very personal, I can only make suggestions rather than tell you exactly what to do…
Two weeks ago I talked about the basic first step to being able to build a budget that will work. Tracking your expenses. I will reiterate how important this is if you want your budget to be successful. Trying to guess what you spend in certain categories will fail horribly. You’ll be short in certain…
If I’m being honest-and honesty is something I rely on blogging for-I didn’t have a budget most of my life. I had NO idea how to manage money. None. Zip. Zilch. I was totally clueless about money and what to do with it. Sure I knew people put money in savings accounts but growing up…
One of the toughest parts about getting out of debt is having to miss out on social events. Socializing can be very expensive depending on what you choose to do. My husband’s best friend is getting married next weekend. This past weekend was the bachelor party and a stark reminder about how expensive socializing can…
In life, we’re always taking steps to protect our assets and property. Protection is often a necessity for survival as you buy insurance to guard your health and life insurance to protect your family in the event that you pass. In much the same way, we install alarms on our homes, acquire car insurance, home…