Posted by Tim Stobbs on October 6, 2011
It’s been two weeks now since I’ve declared my war on stuff and as if this wasn’t enough of a challenge by itself. I’ve also got sucked into a different challenge to also cut down my weight during the same time frame which largely involves cleaning up some bad eating habits that I’ve picked up recently.
Somewhat ironically I’m finding the stuff challenge easier to handle than remembering not to eat a snack in the evening (damn you chips with your salty crispy goodness). Don’t worry I’m not going to become a monk anytime soon and give up any of my remaining vices. I love the rest of them too much to do that. 
Perhaps the biggest change I’ve noticed about the stuff challenge is it is forcing me to think prior to buying just about anything. I have to review the challenge in my head quickly to determine is this stuff (can’t buy it), an experience or a consumable (can buy it). While the pause isn’t huge that habit is very useful to help screen your purchases and cut back on impulse buying.
The other very noticeable change that hit me early on in the stuff challenge was the fact how used to looking at fliers I was. I used to look at them once a week and always the electronic ones…and I wondered why I usually want to buy some kind of electronic stuff?!? *sigh* Anyways, I’ve stopped looking for the most part as unless I need something consumable there is basically no point wasting time looking at fliers. So somewhat unexpectedly that has given me a little bit more time each week which I’ve been using to start the second part of my challenge: getting rid of stuff I already own, but don’t really use.
First up was my DVD collection which I didn’t bother to count but a rough estimate would be 200 DVDs. The total purge pile ended up being 31 DVDs (which includes five TV series, which I counted as one each even if they had 4 to 7 discs). Yet rather than toss completely useable stuff I decided to put in a little effort and sell the pile. While I only been selling them for three days I’ve already sold nine DVDs and four of the TV series for a total profit of $38. I believe my success so far has been pricing them cheap enough to get rid of them quickly ($2 each, expect the TV series which were $5).
So overall I’m rather happy with my progress on my war on stuff as I’ve even managed to start a first purge on my book collection. I’ll write more about that next time.
Posted by Sheryl on October 5, 2011
This is a guest post from Sheryl (a.k.a Cdn Gwen) in Ontario, who is 40 years old with a grown daughter, and is trying to rebuild her retirement dream just 20 years too late for early retirement.
Allowing myself to allocate money for entertainment is a challenge, but I know I have to do some fun things in order be less tempted to blow the budget on something foolish. I have found that having a partner who is willing to seek out cheap entertainment with me has been a huge help. As a result of doing the free or frugal activities available, I’ve been exposed to more experiences than if I only did the things I would normally pursue.
For example, I love food, and I live near Toronto. There is a certain festival that closes off a street, and it is advertised as being a celebration of the food and culture that is most dense in that area. Most people I had spoken to said they had gone in past years and enjoyed it. I wanted to go. Now that I have someone to go with, I went for the first time last year. Admission was free, all I had to pay for was parking ( I think that was $6). The street was packed, hard to walk around, there were a few stages with performers, and all the restaurants had booths set up outside, all selling the same food for the same price (no cheaper than they would otherwise would). Yes, I was disappointed. No I would not go again, but I am glad I went, just so I knew for myself that I wasn’t missing out on anything great. I wouldn’t say I wasted that $6 (plus gas$), I had an afternoon out, weather was great, when we were done with the festival, we went for a nice walk along the lake front.
Other outings have been a lot more successful. I have been to other street festivals in the smaller towns surrounding the city, and enjoyed them. There are lots of bike and hiking trails (some free, some with a small charge) that we go to. Now that the weather is getting colder, I will be going to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) on some Wednesday nights (free admission after 6PM). Only the permanent exhibits are free, for any “special features”, they do charge to see them. I had never been to an art gallery before. I went because it is free, and something to do, and I found that I like art much more than I thought I did. Most recently, I attended to Nuit Blanche. I loved it!! Again, it was free except for parking ($8 this time).
When I go to these events, I take food and drinks from home so I’m not as tempted by the concession stands, and take photos as souvenirs and skip the pricey junk that just gathers dust when I get home.
Some other events I have gone to include low skill level horse shows, car shows (I usually stumble upon those in parking lots), turkey shoots and gun club picnics, concerts in the park, and on the rare occasion, I will get free tickets to a sporting event. I’m not a sports fan, however if tickets are given to me, I’ll go just for the experience. I like to believe that by not judging an event before I go, and just trying it (if it doesn’t cost me anything), I’m growing as a person.
What do you do for cheap fun? Will you try anything new if it is free (or at least really inexpensive)? Where do you find out about these events?
Posted by Dave on October 4, 2011
This is a guest post by Dave, who is also looking to retire no later than 45, but unlike Tim has no kids and doesn’t want any. Dave is from Ontario and is working towards his CGA certification.
I have financial tunnel vision. My main goal right now is to pay off my mortgage as quickly as possible. I’m not sure if this is the wisest way (I’m sure Nelson at Canadian Finance Blog would agree it isn’t wise) to run my finances, but to me, becoming debt free is important to my “core” financial plan. That “core” plan is to be financially free as quickly as possible, owing money on my house is not helping me become financially free.
There are several reasons I am focusing solely on paying off my house:
I don’t like debt: I understand that I could leverage the record low interest rates and jump start my stock portfolio by attaining higher than the 3.59% in interest I am paying right now. I just hate seeing the amount owing, and paying banks interest. I have never been comfortable owing money, and having tens of thousands of dollars left on my mortgage balance does not let me sleep well at night.
Compounding over time doesn’t really make a difference to my financial plan: My investment plan is based on making all my retirement investments over a 10-year period (after my house is paid off). The added 5 years would allow for some compounding, but if I left my house unpaid with an end-date 13 years from now (when I turn 45), I would need to use a considerable amount of my portfolio to pay that off. To me, this seems like a trade-off. I would rather have the entire debt paid off and just be done working when my investments have created enough cash-flow to live off of.
It seems like a safer bet to have my house paid off: If my wife and I have no mortgage payment, our approximately $25,000 per year budget could easily be supported by either one of us at a full-time job, or alternatively 2 part-time jobs (at basically minimum wage). From a financial security standpoint the lower monthly costs also provide for significantly more flexibility. The ability to change careers to basically anything I wanted to do without having to worry about money is very freeing. A mortgage and higher monthly bills reduce this ability, and force me to continue working (which is not something I’m terribly interested in doing).
As a result of these reasons, I have one goal in mind. When this goal is achieved (which should be in under 3 years from now), I will focus on saving and investing for retirement. Having paid for my house, I would hope that I will never have to pay for a roof over my head (wherever I decide to live), I would just sell my current house and find one the same price or cheaper somewhere else.
Do you have tunnel-vision with your finances, or do you have a different method to get to your goal?
