Think Outside The Piggy Bank

7 links to keep you busy

I promised you links to worthwhile sites a couple of posts ago, and they're up and running now. Just scroll down the left-hand column until you hit Smart Reading. Here you'll find tons of ideas covering creativity, productivity, personal development, happiness, organization, purpose, passion, growth, and ways to keep more of your dollars in your wallets. There are of course countless blogs devoted to any one (or all) of these topics, but if you're like me and easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of sites you could potentially follow, then these select few are all you'll need to get started. Enjoy!

moneymoon: marriage and money

After the Honeymoon comes the "Moneymoon".

This phrase was part of an ad I saw for a marriage and money seminar held by a local church last month. I didn't go, in part because I'm marriage-phobic, LOL, and because I hope I already have the common-sense approach to money matters that they promised. But I wish I had as I think it would have been interesting, and I'm curious as to what they advocated.

I'm assuming of course that they talked about the need for planning, budgeting, saving, avoiding or reducing debt, and how to distinguish between needs and wants. They probably covered the importance of talking about money (which can sometimes be even more awkward than talking about sex), and the difficulty that arises when one party is more of a "saver" and the other more of a "spender". Money is one of the biggest sources of conflict in relationships, and no wonder as it's often much more than just about money itself.

I'm hoping though that what they particularly stressed is the importance of women having access to their own account even if married. While I imagine that few contemporary relationships are still based on the sexist model of men being in charge of the finances, I'm sure that they still exist, and that's pretty scary. All women in any type of relationship need to have access to their own credit card, personal and joint accounts, bills, and knowledge of all financial and legal issues that pertain to the couple. Anything else is an invitation to a control and power imbalance, and potential financial abuse.

seeing red

Almost any man knows how to earn money, but not one in a million knows how to spend it. --HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Hmmm, not one in a million? I'm assuming that he meant spend wisely, although I could be wrong. And most of us are not taught how to manage money well at all, unless we've been fortunate enough to learn by example. But luckily, more schools are catching on that basic financial skills would be valuable to add to their curriculum, because it's certainly not an innate skill. 

Hey, remember that lamp I bought? Not sure what Thoreau would have thought of my spending in this particular case, but here it is:

The halogen bulb for the reading lamp part (it swings around the other way too) cost about $3.50, and I decided to leave the red floodlight bulb on top, because well, it's different, so for under $10, I got myself a floor lamp! Below you can see it turned on, but this was during the day. Try instead to picture a room with a burgundy carpet bathed in red light, and you might just get the idea! Hey, I wonder what it looks like from the outside?

earth day

Happy Earth Day! Did you see the cool new badge? Click on it and find out how you too can contribute to one million acts of green.

My local grocery store finally got in the act today and from now on will charge five cents for every plastic bag given out. A good idea for those who don't already use their own cloth bags and maybe it will inspire less use of plastic overall. A ban on certain pesticide products is in effect here in Ontario as of today as well, and that's another step forward. Hey, have you heard about the new Disney film called earth? I really want to go see it, but I don't think it's showing at a theatre I can get to. Pity.

So I decided to post this entry on each of my blogs, as it's relevant to all three. Being environmentally friendly can be cost effective in many ways; not only can it help your wallet in the short run, in the end, the less damage we do to this planet the less we'll have to spend to clean and fix it up. Making sure our habitat becomes safer is good for all the species our earth has to support, and veganism's emphasis on compassion for all ties in neatly with environmental concern. Again, Happy Earth Day however you decide to celebrate, and think green all the way!

money, veganism, and animal rights

As some of you know I turned vegan this past summer (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy), and am increasingly focused on trying to clarify where I stand when it comes to animal welfare and animal rights. That may help explain why posting has become more infrequent of late as some of my time has gone into developing blogs on those two topics (see sidebar for links if interested.)

But what does that have to do with money you ask? Why am I talking about that here on TOTPB? Well, money has more to do with it than you may realize. First, and to my delight, I've discovered that veganism has greatly lowered my grocery bills. Although it cost a bit to initially stock my cupboards with vegan fare, the basic staples of beans, rice, pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables (I picked up a 10lb bag of carrots for $1.50 the other day) are relatively inexpensive when you compare them to processed foods. Plus you don't have to buy them as often. Items like soymilk and soymilk coffee cream do cost more than regular milk and cream, but overall I definitely don't spend as much on groceries as I used to. And on a more macro level I'm convinced that if most people switched to a plant-based diet, then a lot of money could be redirected by feeding grains to hungry people rather than trying to fatten up about-to-be slaughtered animals first. Veganism could be one pivotal way to help combat both hunger and poverty. But more about that in later posts or on my other blogs.

And when it comes to animal welfare and rights, money actually plays a key role here as well. While I don't necessarily believe that money is the root of all evil, I do think that money is at the root of a lot of animal cruelty. Dog fighting, racing, rodeos, puppy mills, just to name a few, are all enterprises where making money regardless of the effect on animals is the bottom line (not to mention the mammoth dairy and meat industries who don't care how inhumanely animals are treated as long as they earn more dollars). Because they are "just" animals, some people believe that they can do with them what they like. Even in instances where cruelty may not always be at play, money is. Take the phenomenon known as foreclosure pets in the United States. Now while I have certain opinions about what level of commitment should be required before people provide a home for pets, the reality is that many are abandoning them because they believe they can no longer afford them. Money then, is not as unrelated to these topics as may first seem to be the case. So while I'll continue to post on the topics you've come to expect, don't be surprised if my three blogs overlap at times.

Have a good weekend everyone!

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.

waste not, want not

Apparently this idiom was first recorded in 1772 (yes, I Googled, LOL), but an even earlier version "willful waste makes woeful want" (never heard of that one I have to admit) goes all the way back to 1576. So I'm certainly not the first or only person to dislike waste, but it continues to surprise me when blatant waste occurs in times that are not exactly economically healthy, or by people who I wouldn't think could afford it. For example, not too long ago I saw this woman throw a skirt into the garbage can at the laundromat. When I happened to walk by I noticed that it still had a price tag attached and was obviously brand new. In a joking manner I asked her what was wrong with it, and she replied that it didn't fit. Personally I was floored as I would have automatically tried to pass it along to someone else or would have donated it to a second-hand clothing store, but what really got to me is that this happened in a laundromat. I mean, most people who can afford their own washer and dryer don't have to go to there, or else they simply to drop off their clothes and pay someone else to do it for them. (I once peeked at someone's bag to see how much it cost and was so flabbergasted that I now don't mind paying the $3 per load.)

But waste is everywhere. While I might complain about what I consider to be major waste at the macro level (and certainly lots of people would disagree with my stance on the Olympics for example), it's everywhere you go and it drives me nuts. Now I'm not saying that I never waste anything because of course I do, but I've lost count of the number of times I've seen perfectly good couches, chairs, tables and TV's so big they dwarf my little 20" antique set, just rotting in the rain. Hello? And it's a shame because there are lots of agencies that will come and pick up your stuff as long as you call them. (Or if you want to donate more directly, post your items on Craigslist, Kijiji or Freecycle.) The other day I saw this couple literally unload an entire truck of belongings at one of those charity boxes. I actually went up to them and asked them about it (no, I don't always mind my own business, snort) and they replied that they didn't have room in their new place. The kicker though was that they looked as if they couldn't even afford the old stuff they were getting rid of. I left shaking my head.

My own personal feeling is that wasting is not only foolish, but also disrespectful. It's taking for granted what you have, and what you can acquire, and it's almost like thumbing your nose at those who may not be able to afford what you can. If you think about it, it's just kinda rude on all levels. Don't you agree?

lawn chairs in the living room

And what does that have to do with the personal finance principle I mentioned in my last post? Well, everything. You see, back in the early 70's when my family had just moved to Canada, my mom made the decision to get central air conditioning. Now central air wasn't as common back then, and it was definitely a big ticket item what with money being so tight. But mom had to work to help make ends meet for a family with five growing kids, and the humidity that she wasn't used to prevented her from getting a restful sleep. Which made it harder to work. The problem though was that there wasn't enough money for both air conditioning AND furniture for the living room. Any furniture, never mind the fancy stuff. But mom thought about the options, thought about what was for her a "want" and a "need", and made her decision accordingly.

Now I was very young at the time (and apologize to any family members reading this if I got the details slightly wrong), and didn't think too much about it, but in later years realized just how valuable a lesson this had been. Without my being aware of it at the time, mom was actually showing me that:

You can have anything you want, just not everything. At least, not all at once.

Over the years when I had to make choices as to what my own priorities were, I often found myself saying, "Well, I can always make do with lawn chairs if I have to." And while I never did end up with lawn chairs in my own living room, I certainly did reflect on what I was willing to give up in order to make room for the things that were important to me, namely, being able to work part-time so that I could pursue other creative activities. What I've also just realized, apart from how much I love the "lawn chairs in the living room" image (and possible metaphor?), is that my mom was thinking outside the box without my ever having given her credit for doing so, so hey mom, kudos to you!

p.s. I don't think those chairs from the backyard were in our living room for all that long, but I'm planning to find out.

5 tips for managing your bills

The best system that I've come up with over the years in managing my bills consists of:

1. Have as many bills as possible paid automatically through pre-authorized payments.
2. Pay as many of the others online.
3. Open up bills that come through the mail right away and put them in a designated spot. This could be a file folder, a corner of your desk, or any place that you come to associate with bills. And make sure to check that they're accurate!
4. Before putting them away, write on a wall calendar (in red) on the date you're planning to pay (if paying online make sure you leave enough time for processing), the name of the institution you're paying, and the amount. This way you can see in a glance everything that needs to get paid. I also write down when books or DVDs are due so that I don't end up having to pay late fees. And even though some bills are paid automatically, I still write them on the calendar just so that I know the complete outflow of money for that particular month.
5. Whenever I make a transaction of any kind from my chequing account or make use of debit or credit cards, I write it down in the little transaction register (banks will usually give them to you if you ask) kept in my wallet, so that at any given moment I also know exactly how much money I have left to work with.

This easy system becomes routine and takes very little time to implement, but it can save you a lot of grief. And a bit of money too.

rain cheques

You know I like coupons, and sales, and combining coupons and sales, but what I like almost even more are rain cheques. A rain cheque, as you probably know, is when a merchant has run out of stock of an advertised special, but will offer you a voucher for the sales item at a later date. I love rain cheques because while I usually want to take advantage of an item on sale, I don't always need it at that particular time, and with a rain cheque I can get it up to four weeks later. The key of course is that you have to ask for it and normally have to do so at the customer service desk, but to me it's worth the little bit of extra time. And while the clerk is often apologetic about the item not being available right then and there, I usually end up having to suppress a little yes, I get a rain cheque! whoop. Because you know, it's the small things that usually make me happy.