Think Outside The Piggy Bank

it's that time of year again II

You know what I'm talking about, snort. So, are you finished? Were you finished ages ago already? Or are you still scrambling about trying to find any and all related documents? I'm talking about your income tax return of course, which I suppose like everything else, you either love, loathe, or are indifferent to. I probably fall in the first category as I think doing your taxes is quite fun, and in my case relatively simple as I don't have a business, dependents, or enough income to even have to pay tax. Last year I filed my return on February 29th, because I figured I wouldn't be able to do that again for at least four more years, and as usual went the snail mail route. There are quicker and more technologically advanced ways, but I learned my lesson the hard way one year when I filed by telephone and found out that when an error occurs on THEIR end, Revenue Canada places the onus on YOU to prove them wrong. Yikes. It took forever to clear up even though I had not been the one to make a mistake, and after that I decided that snail mail worked just fine. I usually file in early March and receive my return four weeks later (this year it took five because of Easter), thus am all set in the beginning of April when tax season is just starting to rev up. 

What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin. --MARK TWAIN

spend less than you earn

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. --CHARLES DICKENS

Clearly not a new concept, a sound financial principle, and the most important rule when it comes to money, so why is it still so hard to follow? ;)

Okay, this was going to be the end of the post until I found an article that quite persuasively argues the above maxim faulty and should instead read earn more than you spend and I'm inclined to agree. It has a lot of good tips on how to increase your income in small but painless ways; read it and tell me what you think!

Of course the best approach is to be both frugal when you can (spend less) AND seek ways to increase income (earn more) to achieve whatever your financial goals may be.

Dr. Seuss -- I love my job!

Have posted this poem elsewhere before, but always get a chuckle rereading it, so thought I'd share it here. And I wonder how many people actually DO love their jobs. I'm sure we've all heard the stats on how many people hate their jobs, which, considering how many hours they consume, is really sad. But what would a job worthy of loving look like anyway? Interesting and challenging but not unduly stressful, compensated fairly, and good people to work both with, and for. Hmmm, I've had some of these elements in all jobs, but not all elements in even one job. Too much to ask? Ah, one of these days I'll figure out what work would suit me best. Unless I hit retirement age first, snort.

How about you? Have you ever had paid work that you loved? Or figured out what elements you need in order to love a job? Or is loving your job a luxury these days that most people just can't afford? What do you think?

so where was I?

This is my official, but short, catch-up post. I've tweaked the design a little bit, so that I now have three columns instead of two, and have added a calendar in order to shame myself into posting more often. Okay, briefly:

1. I know, I made fun of Twitter and following, but you can follow me now if you like. Who knows, you might even be able to tweet me one day, snort. Just click the link in the right-hand column if you want.
2. Still hate Bell Canada, and promise that a wonderful new Bell-bashing column will soon appear.
3. The boob tube now lives in my computer. I'm not kidding. I can't believe the number of shows that I can watch via the CBC and CTV (Canadian TV network) websites. And because I have addictive tendencies and no self-control, I'm still watching way more TV than I should, even without a TV.
4. The perfect job? I did get a response, but yeah, I was too far away and too car-less. Ah well, I guess that made it a not-so perfect job.
5. At some point, I WILL be adding links to financial books and other worthwhile sites. And I'll try to make sure that more orange numbers appear in that nifty little calendar. :)

the perfect job

I'm thinking about getting a job as a bus driver. The idea of getting paid for telling people where to get off really appeals to me. --MAXINE

Snort. But seriously, I saw an ad in the local paper the other day for a job that excited me. I know, the words job and excited in the same sentence is a rarity for me, but as they say, wonders never cease!

The ad in question reads like this, Writer needs part-time assistant. Typing, internet, research, some marketing. Please fax one page to....

Now the location specified is not close to me, and there's no bus going to that area so technically the job isn't perfect, but to see something like this advertised gave me hope. And I'm going to reply anyway because what do I have to lose? The neat thing too is that I figured out pretty quickly exactly who this writer is (how? by being a smart cookie and doing some research), and I'm pleased to report that this guy is a humour writer! So those who know me well enough will realize why this job is perfect on so many levels. I'm also aware that the chances of getting this job are lessened by the fact that he'll prefer someone with transportation (needing someone to type means he may write in longhand), but at this point I don't even care because the ad made me realize that other writers need assistants too, and that there are possibilities for doing almost all of the tasks he mentioned online.

The other direct benefit is that I looked over some of my own previous writing material last night, and have decided that my short humour book You Know You've Been Unemployed Too Long When... is still darn funny even though written a number of years ago, so I'm going to be posting it on a separate page right on this blog! I mean, why not? Even though never published, it should still be enjoyed and exist right here in my own space.

the power of a penny

How much is a penny worth these days? Not much, but how much would it be worth if you doubled it every day for a month? I'll show you the calculations in a second, but take a minute to guess and then see how close you are. I've seen this chart before by the way, but found it just as amazing the second time around. Okay, here it is:

Day 1: $0.01    Day 2: $0.02    Day 3: $0.04    Day 4: $0.08    

Day 5: $0.16    Day 6: $0.32    Day 7: $0.64    Day 8: $1.28    

Day 9: $2.56    Day 10: $5.12    Day 11: $10.24    Day 12: $20.48

Day 13: $40.96    Day 14: $81.92    Day 15: $163.84    

Day 16: $327.68    Day 17: $655.36    Day 18: $1,310.72

Day 19: $2,621.44    Day 20: $5,242.88    Day 21: $10,485.76

Day 22: $20,971.52    Day 23: $41,943.04    Day 24: $83,866.08

Day 25: $167,772.16    Day 26: $335,544.32    Day 27: $671,088.64

Day 28: $1,342,177.28    Day 29: $2,684,354.56    and finally

Day 30: $5,368,709.12

Wow. Did you come close at all? Be honest! Going from a mere penny to over five million dollars is quite the feat if you ask me, and it kind of makes you think a bit differently about that humble coin you see lying on the street, doesn't it? Like the journey of a thousand miles that begins with one step, fortune can literally begin with a penny.

And on that note, this will be my last post until I am moved and settled, so hope to see you all back here sometime in July! :)

update: work

Remember how I said a couple of posts ago that I would be leaving my job at the end of April? Well, I lied, snort. Okay, not really, but as it turns out the apartment I found is not available until the middle of June, and even though I'm so ready to give up the 12-hour shifts NOW already, I decided to be pragmatic and see if I could extend my stay. Luckily my employer was able to accommodate me, thus I'll be working until the end of May instead. So, seven more weekends to go, woohoo! And to be honest work hasn't been so bad since I announced that I was leaving. Maybe it relieved the pressure, or perhaps having the end in sight makes the difference as well. Last weekend some of the residents even said they were really glad I was staying a bit longer after all, so that made me feel good too. I will definitely miss some of them, but at least I can always call them on the resident line to see how they're doing. I learned more than I thought I would in this job, but it's time to move on!

giving it up

If you have a job without aggravation, you don't have a job.    --MALCOLM FORBES

Pretty much says it all I suppose. And of course in this economy there are many unemployed people who would love to have the problem of an aggravating job, so who am I to give mine up? But that's exactly what I'm about to do. Although I haven't blogged about it, some of you know the issues involved, the work conditions I've put up with, and the attitudes I've had to endure from both staff and residents. In short I would say that over the past year I have felt increasingly overworked, underpaid, and worst of all, unappreciated. So I have made the decision to chuck it all in by the end of April at the latest. I gave my employer lots of advance warning that I'll be giving formal notice at some point, and a few days ago, she gleefully told me that she's already found a replacement! So I guess I don't have to worry about leaving her in the lurch, snort. The residents already know as well about my upcoming departure, and I have to admit that when some of them expressed genuine regret and sadness at the news, it made me feel a bit better.

So what will I be doing instead? I'm moving back to the hometown of my childhood in order to be closer to my elderly and ailing parents. They'll be turning 93 and 82 later this year, and they're starting to require more help (even if they don't always think they do). There are a number of retirement homes in the area, and I'm assuming/hoping I'll be able to find a part-time position with one of them. Thus, a new adventure will be beginning soon! This also means that I'm feeling even less able to keep up with three blogs, a Flickr site, and some other online places where I participate. What I'll do instead in the meantime is post links to interesting articles so that I don't feel overly guilty about not contributing original content, and so that this blog doesn't lose steam entirely. I'll always be interested in personal finance (although admittedly animal welfare/rights is what I feel most passionate about these days), and I'm not prepared to give up this blog/baby yet. ;)

lost one of my jobs yesterday!

Which is why I'm such a firm believer in having more than one of them. Multiple income streams, eggs are not meant for baskets, and all of that. Yes, I was taken aback at the news (the job I lost is the one where I provided before-school care as the custody arrangements in that family have changed), but I certainly didn't panic, as it wasn't my primary or largest source of income. I also kind of sensed that this position might not last that long so squirreled away some of the money for later. And the beauty of multiple income streams is that when one dries up, you focus on another one while working on adding more. In this case that means getting back into selling on eBay while I figure out my next move. There really is no job security these days (although my weekend job in the rest home is about as secure as they get), and in a sense everyone has to think of him or herself as self-employed. As they say, the only constant is change.

so I started the new job today

And boy, is it ever nice to be finished before 9am! Found myself walking home in the bright sunlight with a neighbourhood friend I had bumped into (I'd forgotten that her kids go to the same school my charge attends), said hello to Kazumi Joy when I got home (the greatest cat in the world) and fed her a second breakfast, made myself the best cup of coffee ever, and let the rest of the day (my day!) begin. Ah, what luxury. I'm starting to think I've got it made.

In my other post about this position I had wondered if I would like the reality of it as much as the idea, and I believe now that I like it even better. Getting up so early in the morning isn't a problem as my system has gotten used to getting up at five for the weekend job, and at least now I only have to work for four hours instead of twelve. I like the kid I'm looking after (at 8 years of age he's sweet, smart, and not yet influenced by those pesky pubescent hormones, snort), like being able to indulge my creative passions during day-time hours, and like having another source of income that helps me to fit work around life, rather than life around work. Because after all, isn't that how it should be? :)