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

wise words

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. --RALPH WALDO EMERSON

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.

charity and pets

The problem with after Christmas sales is the lack of after Christmas money. --MAXINE

Don't know about you, but Christmas seems like a loooong time ago already. And while it's a tad late to talk about Christmas gift-giving, I came across an article that I had clipped that I still want to share. The holiday season is a time when we are more likely to donate to charity and here in my hometown this past December a few local organizations got together and came up with the idea of including pets when asking for donations. A veterinary clinic hosted a 'Fill My Tummy' drive and collected pet food, leashes, collars, treats, toys and litter for clients of two area food banks. Given that there has been a 15% increase in surrendered pets here over the past year and that people shouldn't have to choose between feeding themselves or their companion animals, this venture was a good idea, and I hope, a great success!

and so a new year begins

May you have a prosperous New Year! I may need to borrow some money. --MAXINE

Ha ha, I'm sure she's only kidding. But can you believe 2010 is here? Hope you've all had a joyful holiday season with no need to borrow, then or now. Sorry I haven't been around much. Will explain later. Or not. ;)

razor-sharp thinking

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. --WILLIAM OF OCCAM (1300-1350)

 

see Occam’s Razor

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.

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?

a cheater post

Well, I was going to write about how you should always check your grocery receipts in case the clerk has made a mistake and how that can be to your advantage, when I had a sneaking suspicion that maybe I've written about that before. And sure enough, I have! Still, it's worth rereading if you like getting things free. But, to not make this post a total waste, here's a money quote for you:

Prosperity is living easily and happily in the real world, whether you have money or not. --JERRY GILLIES

Also, this will be my last weekend of work (woohoo!), so I'll report back before I get in the throes of packing and moving to the white house. No, not THAT White House, snort, THIS white house:

  

tax time

  

I tried paying my taxes with a smile. They wanted money. --MAXINE

Snort. So, done yours yet? I always do mine early (as soon as the slips come in), and received my refund back in March already. Now they say you should be sensible and reinvest what you get back instead of spending it, but I put mine towards paying last month's rent on my new apartment. Which in a way is a good investment itself!