Author Archive
Are You Winning?
by Shaun Somers on Feb.23, 2010, under Budgeting, General, Personal Finance
It’s that time again. Over 2,700 athletes from over 70 countries are in Vancouver to compete against each other for Olympic glory. Some teams will be big, like over 200 athletes from the US and Canada; and others tiny, like the lone Jamaican and Ethiopian athletes. Some are favored to win, others are just happy to make the trip. Obviously some athletes have advantages. Aside from the obvious (coming from a country with some snow probably helps) some of the athletes have Olympian parents, corporate sponsorships, or the best possible equipment.
All of them will try their best, but in the end there will only be 258 total medals and only a third of them will be gold. When it comes to our personal finances though, all of us can win. To me, winning with money doesn’t mean having the most toys or accumulating the biggest pile of cash. It means being in control of your finances and knowing your future is secure, rather than living pay-to-pay and letting your money just happen to you. Yes, some people have higher incomes or come from wealthy families. But with hard work all of us can become debt-free, save for emergencies and build wealth for our future.
This brings us to another fact about the Olympians in Vancouver right now. All of the athletes, certainly the ones who do well, have committed themselves to hard work. They have been willing to sacrifice many things to achieve. Are you committed to working hard and sacrificing to win with money? In addition, top athletes have coaches to motivate and spur them on to their best performance. For you, this might mean finding the right books to learn from, attending a Financial Peace University course near you, or the services of a trained Financial Coach. Depending on your circumstances, one or more of these could be ideal to help you move to the financial winner’s podium!
Great news for Canadians
by Shaun Somers on Nov.09, 2009, under Uncategorized
It may soon be the case that we Canadians no longer need to have a credit card! Currently, Americans can do everything with a debit card that a credit card can do, but in Canada our Interac system didn’t work the same way. So if a Canadian wants to book a hotel or reserve a moving truck, we need a credit card (we don’t need to PAY by credit, just have it to make the reservation). Well it seems that some healthy competition is on the horizon. Visa and MC debit cards will soon be making their way to Canada. Interac doesn’t like this of course, and may try to stall or block it, but I’m certain it will happen soon. A little competition is great for the consumer of course, and I just got an email from an online retailer telling me I can use my regular Interac bank card to make online purchases! I look forward to the day I can finally cut up my last credit card for good!
Saving and the Economy
by Shaun Somers on Oct.01, 2009, under Budgeting
Americans and Canadians are finally beginning to save money again. For a few years in the mid-2000′s savings rates actually became negative in America, meaning that families on average were going more in debt each year. Thanks to the recession, people are beginning to consume less and set aside more money for a rainy day. Unfortunately there are many commentators who percieve this as a bad thing! They think that people borrowing money and spending it is what is needed to return the economy to growth. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that too much borrowing and spending (by individuals as well as governments) is what caused the current crisis; it can hardly be fixed with more of the same. The savings of today become the basis for future expansion and growth of the economy as they are put to use by entrepreneurs and investors to produce more wealth, instead of to merely spend on more stuff like the average consumer would. We Canadians are fortunate that our government has recognized the value of saving by creating the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), a fantastic vehicle that allows us to save for anything, not just retirement, and all growth is entirely tax free. Unfortunately governments the world over are also discouraging saving by setting interest rates almost ridiculously low. Even so, don’t be ashamed of saving instead of spending. Get out of debt, save an emergency fund and save for your and your children’s future; and do so knowing that it’s helping the economy more than people spending money they don’t have.
Don’t take on Student Loan Debt
by Shaun Somers on Sep.24, 2009, under Debt
Many people today seem to believe that taking on debt to cover the cost of college or university is inevitable. I don’t believe that at all. The choice really comes down to how hard somebody wants to work to remain debt free. I recently met a student who is doing a co-op term at a local youth home. This person is finishing her second college diploma in only three years of school, all while working 30-60 hours per week at a restaurant/deli. This has enabled her to pay for school without any student loan debt whatsoever. Sure, it means less partying and hanging out no doubt, but nobody said being financially successful is easy to do. Easy to understand, yes (stay out of debt, work hard and save money) – but it takes living like no one else today to live like no one else tomorrow!
Climbing Coffee Costs
by Shaun Somers on Sep.15, 2009, under Budgeting
Those of you who enjoy a convenient cup of coffee may have noticed that Tim Horton’s recently increased the prices of their coffee. At least where I’m from, the increase was from $1.45 to $1.52 for a large. That caused me to think back to when our family was working our way out from our debt load, doing Baby Step 2 – the Debt Snowball. One of the ways we reduced our budget was to eliminate takeout coffee. It’s easy to overlook how quickly that buck-and-a-half adds up! Using the new prices, if you grab one coffee on the way to work 5 days a week, and one later in the day on a break, you’re spending over $60 a month on them. If your spouse does the same that’s $120 that could be going into your debt snowball! And of course there’s the one on the weekend as you come home or head out (or both)! I’m not saying not to ever patronize your local Tim’s – but if your family is in debt then drinking homemade java is a small sacrifice that can make a difference!
