Posted by Canadian Dream on October 27, 2009
As promised here is the first of two guest posts of candidates looking to post for the blog on a regular basis. To make things completely fair I’m not giving you any names or background details on the blogger, but rather just the post. I want feedback just on the writing. The candidates of course can response to any comments but please use an alternative screen name, such as Candidate #1, rather than you usual name for commenting. Candidates should make sure to use your email address so I can verify your comment(s). Thanks – Tim
I live in a smallish 1,000 square foot condo townhouse with my wife, in a DINK* household. Neither my spouse nor I have any plans of changing our family situation in the future and are quite content of maintaining a childless household. This lifestyle is contrary to a majority of couples who feel that the point of marriage is children and a family. My wife and I don’t mind children, but at some point in visits with family and friends we are always ready to be done with their infants and children. Maybe this patience is learned, but to us, it doesn’t seem like something worth learning, and doesn’t seem to be something that would enrich our lives.
Financially, not having children makes a lot of sense, with the average cost of raising children in North America approximately $250,000 but our decision is not based on financial reasons, it is more based on happiness. We as a couple are quite content in our lives and don’t feel that children would bring us closer together, rather it seems that an addition to our family would push us apart, as time that we could spend doing things together would be allocated to doing things with a child (which I know we could do together with the child, but it would be different). There would be less sleep for a while, which is something that we both enjoy, and less time to do things that we like to do.
A childless couple can sometimes be seen as selfish, but on the flipside in a world where families are having 8-18 children and it is getting more and more overpopulated by the day, it is probably good that some couples decide not to add to the numbers. We enjoy our ability to pick up and leave for weekends with a small suitcase and a compact car, rather than loading up a mini-van with half the stuff in the house. We like to quietly sit and read at the end of the day, and wake up when we want to on weekends – essentially, we enjoy the freedom to be selfish, to do what we want when we want to do it, something I don’t think is possible if there are children involved.
Maybe in 50 years (I am 30 right now) we will regret our decision to remain childless, but I don’t really think that this will be the case, this decision was not made lightly and as agreed when it was initially brought it up, can be revisited by either my wife or I if our viewpoints change at any time.
*DINK = dual income no kids
Posted by Canadian Dream on October 26, 2009
Everyone has them. Bad habits are just there. You likely know you shouldn’t do it, but you do it anyways. Now when it comes to money that gets a bit more interesting, since some habits are really not a good idea (like paying high fees for no reason, or putting all your pension money into the stock of the company you work for).
I’ve worked hard to overcome a lot of my bad habits, but still some remain. They are:
- Quote Checking. I’m a horrible stock quote/pension plan value checker. I tend to look at least once a day despite the fact I know it’s pointless and it won’t change anything. It’s really a waste of time, but I still do it to see the trend.
- Fixating on Stupid Purchases. After spending several years cleaning up my spending habits I have unfortunately gotten into the habit of questioning every purchase I make. Do I need this? What am getting from this purchase? Instead of just letting it go and accepting it’s ok to make a impulse purchase once in a while. I need to ease off a bit more about where my spending cash goes.
- Not Filing or Throwing Out Paperwork. I must not have got much mail as a kid or something, because I tend to keep far too much paperwork. Which would not be so bad except for the fact that I’m bad at remembering to file it all. I’m currently looking at a pile about two inches thick right now.
- Playing with Online Calculators. I’m horrible for running slight modifications to my current plan when I know the answer will be about the same. When will I pay off my mortgage? About 3 to 4 years, so knowing it’s going to happen three months earlier or later is rather pointless but I would still do a run on a calculator when I get some new information.
So that’s my current list of bad money habits? So do you share any of them or what’s your worst habit?
Comments:
Filed Under: Misc
Posted by Canadian Dream on October 23, 2009
Over the years I’ve opted into several statements being paperless. Instead I view them online and print out a copy if required. Obviously this has some environmental benefits such as less resources use, but the reality is going paperless was purely motivated by other reasons. So here are some of my reasons to go paperless that have nothing to do with the environment:
- Less Filing: If you don’t get the paper in the first place you don’t have to file it. This for me is the best reason. I hate filing paper copies. Also these paperless services often file them for you online so you can view a history (length of records tends to vary from place to place).
- Less Getting the Mail: The more paperless you go the less often you really need to go check your mailbox for that latest bill.
- Less worry: If you combined paperless with auto bill payments you really don’t even think about your bills all that much.
- Email Reminders: My bank automatically sends me a notice when my statement is ready to view online. So I never have to wonder: where is my bill or statement from them?
So if you have gone paperless, why did you do it? If not, why do you keep getting a paper copy?
