Three Years By the Numbers

Posted by Canadian Dream on November 12, 2009

It’s been often said “Time flies when you are having fun.”  Apparently I must be having a blast since I didn’t realize that this last Monday was the third birthday for this blog.   WOW, I can’t believe I’ve been writing posts for three years already.

So for those that are curious the stats stand as follows:

• 2 writers as of this month
• 765 posts (including today)
• 4209 comments
• 178,942 site visits
• 344,426 page views (including 49,311 from the old blogger site)

If you estimate a modest word count of 300 words per post that would mean I’ve written about 229,500 words which would translate to a 918 page book.  Damn that’s a lot of writing, but really it’s only a fraction of what you have done in the comments.  Collectively if we assume 100 words per comment all of you have written about a 1683 page book. Yikes!

What’s really mind blowing is if you track my net worth posts to the beginning.  I started off this blog with a net worth of about $66,000 in Nov 2006 by Oct 2009 it was $281,400, which works out to a compound increase of about 62% a year.  Obviously that includes the house value going up so I can’t take credit for all of it, but I’m still blown away it is that high.

So a big thank you to each and every one of you.  For every idea, debate and laugh that you have given me over the last three years.  You really are the reason that I do this.  And to thank you all I’m giving away a $75 gift card ($ CDN) to a store of your choice to one lucky reader (provided I can order the gift card online or pick one up where I live).  To enter just leave a comment on this post before Nov 19, 2009 (8pm CST).  Limit one entry per person and please use a valid email so I can contact you if you win.  Winner will be selected by a random number generator.

Best of luck and thanks again for reading.

Remember

Posted by Canadian Dream on November 11, 2009

In honour of Remembrance Day there will be no post today (it’s the closest thing to a moment of silence I can do on a blog).  I encourage you all to reflect on those that have kept this country safe during our various conflicts in our history.  They gave all that they were and could be so we could have today.  Let us not forget them.

My Jobless Spending Plan

Posted by Dave on November 10, 2009

I have an emergency spending plan.  I hope that I will never have to implement it, but if there is ever a time where my spouse or I (or both) lose our jobs, we have discussed what actions could be taken to “get by” until the next job is found.

My current monthly budget is approximately $1,500.   If necessary there is an opportunity to reduce this number in both big in small ways, such as:

• Cable (which includes both our phone and internet):  Internet could be removed or downgraded to a lower package – if removed this would be a savings of $50.   We would probably keep a land-line, but downgrade to the lowest level and use it only for finding a new job, this would save about $5, which would mainly mean cutting long distance minutes.
• Groceries: Currently we budget around $50 per week.  This amount could be reduced significantly.  Large portions of the world survive on minimal staples of beans and rice – we would probably buy some vegetables and other small things, but if need be, this amount could probably at least be halved savings about $100.
• Gas and Electricity: These expenses are what could be called small wins.  Our house is generally fairly efficient in our usage – everything’s off and sometimes unplugged when nobody is using it, but this could probably be reduced significantly by just not using electricity and lowering the thermostat just high enough in the winter to make sure pipes don’t freeze – uncomfortable yes, but if I’m broke these are things that need to be considered.  These changes would perhaps result in savings of $25 to $50 per month.
• Automotive: If I was unemployed for an extended period of time, I would probably sell my car, which would remove insurance, fuel and maintenance costs.  The city I live in has a reasonable transit system which I would use.  This would allow for savings of approximately $200 per month.
• Subscriptions and memberships: I pay for a gym membership, subscribe to zip.ca(for movies) and gameaccess.ca(for video games).  My spouse and I also both have cell phones.  If these expenses were removed, it would total a savings of $125 per month.

There are some expenses I can’t  touch:

• Mortgage: Our mortgage expense is approximately equal to any small apartment we could find in the city we’re living in.
• Life Insurance: This expense is important to me, I would rather eat less then leave my spouse in a terrible spot if she was left alone.
• Condo Fees: If I live where I am at now, I have to pay this.
• Water Heater Rental: $25

In general, I live a pretty stripped down life to start with, I have no debt payments other then the mortgage, but I could cut approximately 40% of my monthly budget if need be.  This exercise was useful in calculating how much money I needed to have saved to survive six months or so (hopefully the maximum length of time it would take to find new employment).  Additionally, it helped me by looking at what I was spending, or in some cases wasting money on monthly expenses.  The calculation brought to light that housing costs (mainly our mortgage payment) is making up over 50% of our monthly “fixed” expenses, and gives incentive of reducing or eliminating this expense quickly.  Additionally, I’ll acknowledge there are things that I am spending money on monthly now that I would freely admit are a waste, but accept the expenses as they are essentially my entire entertainment budget.

I’m curious if I’m the only one who thinks like this.    Do you have a “Plan B” if your current income were to be reduced/removed, how much could you cut out of your monthly budget, and how quickly could you cut this out if your income were reduced (or removed)?