Comments for Canadian Dream: Free at 45 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com A Blog About Early Retirement and Happiness Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:27:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 Comment on The Seduction of Power or Money by Financial Ramblings http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/18/the-seduction-of-power-or-money/comment-page-1/#comment-41579 Financial Ramblings Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:42:12 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1483#comment-41579 [...] The seduction of power and money @ Canadian Dream. I think that both of them can do a lot of goods [...] [...] The seduction of power and money @ Canadian Dream. I think that both of them can do a lot of goods [...]

]]> Comment on The Seduction of Power or Money by deegee http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/18/the-seduction-of-power-or-money/comment-page-1/#comment-41561 deegee Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:45:22 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1483#comment-41561 The last time I bought a car (3 years ago), I felt kinda powerful when I walked in there on a Monday, test drove the car, haggled with the car salesman, walked in the next day with a bank check for $17k, and drove the new car home like I was food shopping. The last time I bought a car (3 years ago), I felt kinda powerful when I walked in there on a Monday, test drove the car, haggled with the car salesman, walked in the next day with a bank check for $17k, and drove the new car home like I was food shopping.

]]> Comment on The Seduction of Power or Money by Canadian Dream http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/18/the-seduction-of-power-or-money/comment-page-1/#comment-41541 Canadian Dream Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:14:33 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1483#comment-41541 Mama Zen, Mmm, I could see that one. Thanks for the story. Simple in France, Oh I pray my kid's teacher doesn't suck up to me or are instructed to do so. I'm so far up the chain I have nearly no influence in their day to day operations on a given kid. As you say: Yuck! What's really ironic is if by some means my kid's teacher ends up in front of the board on an official item I can't vote on their fate. The conflict of interest policy prevents me. Tim Mama Zen,

Mmm, I could see that one. Thanks for the story.

Simple in France,

Oh I pray my kid’s teacher doesn’t suck up to me or are instructed to do so. I’m so far up the chain I have nearly no influence in their day to day operations on a given kid. As you say: Yuck!

What’s really ironic is if by some means my kid’s teacher ends up in front of the board on an official item I can’t vote on their fate. The conflict of interest policy prevents me.

Tim

]]> Comment on The Seduction of Power or Money by Simple in France http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/18/the-seduction-of-power-or-money/comment-page-1/#comment-41538 Simple in France Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:38:02 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1483#comment-41538 Interesting take on all of this. I have to say that having been a teacher, sometimes there is an overtly stated message say from administrators: to kiss up to board members, not piss them off and not give their kids bad grades. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck. As you clearly demonstrate, not all board members behave in a way that would justify the terror of the administrators . . .maybe not even most of them do. But I've definitely seen the dynamic in action. Yes, people are impressed and influenced by power. Interesting take on all of this. I have to say that having been a teacher, sometimes there is an overtly stated message say from administrators: to kiss up to board members, not piss them off and not give their kids bad grades. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck.

As you clearly demonstrate, not all board members behave in a way that would justify the terror of the administrators . . .maybe not even most of them do. But I’ve definitely seen the dynamic in action. Yes, people are impressed and influenced by power.

]]> Comment on The Seduction of Power or Money by Mama Zen http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/18/the-seduction-of-power-or-money/comment-page-1/#comment-41532 Mama Zen Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:41:49 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1483#comment-41532 Seduced by money, no. Seduced by power, yes. When you are a young adult and a bit naïve, you are easy to fool by people you (over)estimate. Most of the time you don't even know that you over estimate them, and that they are using you to get to their goals. And, one day, you get dumped. Just like that. It is humiliating, frustrating... and a life lesson you never forget. Seduced by money, no. Seduced by power, yes. When you are a young adult and a bit naïve, you are easy to fool by people you (over)estimate. Most of the time you don’t even know that you over estimate them, and that they are using you to get to their goals. And, one day, you get dumped. Just like that. It is humiliating, frustrating… and a life lesson you never forget.

]]> Comment on Net Worth - Feb 2010 by Precious Metal http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/02/26/net-worth-feb-2010/comment-page-1/#comment-41528 Precious Metal Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:01:54 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1419#comment-41528 Why use your house as an asset or at least an asset you can spend/invest, what will you live in if you sell it and use the money for retirment income. i do not include my house as retirment asset. i am 48 semi retired, morgage free with 500k in investments. i feel i only need another 100k or so to live a good retirement. Why use your house as an asset or at least an asset you can spend/invest, what will you live in if you sell it and use the money for retirment income. i do not include my house as retirment asset. i am 48 semi retired, morgage free with 500k in investments. i feel i only need another 100k or so to live a good retirement.

]]> Comment on Interesting Implications of a High Free Cash Flow by JMK http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/17/interesting-implications-of-a-high-free-cash-flow/comment-page-1/#comment-41524 JMK Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:56:54 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1480#comment-41524 By living well below our means on 55% of our take home for the essentials, we are making excellent progress on our RRSPs, TFSA and killing the mortgage in record time. Every other year we take a major vacation with our kids - 2008 was a month in Europe (Italy, Greece and Germany mostly). This August we intend to be gone for another month. Yes we could save a whack of money by doing a more modest holiday and continuing our high savings program. Yes it would mean we would retire X months earlier. We've simply decided that these adventures with our kids are more important than saving like maniacs at the expense of everything else. We only have these years with them once. We happily skip other stuff that's just not important to us (new cars, trendy wardrobes, cable, gian TVs with 500 channels, etc) but the travel is something we've decided isn't negotiable. If we weren't feeling so "on top" of all our other savings goals we certainly would have to rethink the logic of doing trips of this scope instead of saving, rather than in addition to saving. Living well below your means gives you the freedom to live a little now and still retire young enough to enjoy yourself. By living well below our means on 55% of our take home for the essentials, we are making excellent progress on our RRSPs, TFSA and killing the mortgage in record time. Every other year we take a major vacation with our kids - 2008 was a month in Europe (Italy, Greece and Germany mostly). This August we intend to be gone for another month. Yes we could save a whack of money by doing a more modest holiday and continuing our high savings program. Yes it would mean we would retire X months earlier.
We’ve simply decided that these adventures with our kids are more important than saving like maniacs at the expense of everything else. We only have these years with them once. We happily skip other stuff that’s just not important to us (new cars, trendy wardrobes, cable, gian TVs with 500 channels, etc) but the travel is something we’ve decided isn’t negotiable. If we weren’t feeling so “on top” of all our other savings goals we certainly would have to rethink the logic of doing trips of this scope instead of saving, rather than in addition to saving. Living well below your means gives you the freedom to live a little now and still retire young enough to enjoy yourself.

]]> Comment on Interesting Implications of a High Free Cash Flow by The Rat http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/17/interesting-implications-of-a-high-free-cash-flow/comment-page-1/#comment-41501 The Rat Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:56:52 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1480#comment-41501 This may be a pretty boring story for a lot of people to read about but here goes mine: When I left the private sector in January, three discussions transpired between my wife and I: 1 - I was offered a temporary full-time position for the government (a one year term which could have kick-started a new career for me) about a month after leaving the workforce. 2 - We talked about renovating our whole downstairs in our home 3 - We talked about visiting her immediate family for the whole upcoming summer (her family lives in another province) and taking a one week vacation down south to celebrate our wedding anniversary. If I took the job, it meant she was traveling alone, I would be home for the whole summer and I wouldn't get to spend time with her family, nor enjoy our anniversary. I also would scale down on the blogging side sine a new job would take up a lot of time to get my head around. If we renovated the downstairs, we would have to scale down our summer vacation or cancel it entirely as our budgeted amount or more would have to go to renovations. In the end, we ended up discussing what was most important to us. Our home was paid off, and like you our basic needs are covered. We have no kids as of yet and there is plenty of time to renovate the basement when kids are on the way and maybe even get back into the workforce at some level. We have a golden opportunity to visit her family for the summer and it may not come again. Because we worked so hard over the past 10+ years, we're normally 'programmed' to just keep going, going, going. But this time, probably because it was the first time ever, we realized that we actually had a real choice in the matter. We chose the decision with the least financial gain because we want to be with family even though we have to budget things within reasonable levels. We are really happy with the decision to date. This may be a pretty boring story for a lot of people to read about but here goes mine:

When I left the private sector in January, three discussions transpired between my wife and I:

1 - I was offered a temporary full-time position for the government (a one year term which could have kick-started a new career for me) about a month after leaving the workforce.

2 - We talked about renovating our whole downstairs in our home

3 - We talked about visiting her immediate family for the whole upcoming summer (her family lives in another province) and taking a one week vacation down south to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

If I took the job, it meant she was traveling alone, I would be home for the whole summer and I wouldn’t get to spend time with her family, nor enjoy our anniversary. I also would scale down on the blogging side sine a new job would take up a lot of time to get my head around.

If we renovated the downstairs, we would have to scale down our summer vacation or cancel it entirely as our budgeted amount or more would have to go to renovations.

In the end, we ended up discussing what was most important to us. Our home was paid off, and like you our basic needs are covered. We have no kids as of yet and there is plenty of time to renovate the basement when kids are on the way and maybe even get back into the workforce at some level. We have a golden opportunity to visit her family for the summer and it may not come again. Because we worked so hard over the past 10+ years, we’re normally ‘programmed’ to just keep going, going, going. But this time, probably because it was the first time ever, we realized that we actually had a real choice in the matter. We chose the decision with the least financial gain because we want to be with family even though we have to budget things within reasonable levels. We are really happy with the decision to date.

]]> Comment on A Year Already? by The Rat http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/16/a-year-already/comment-page-1/#comment-41496 The Rat Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:36:55 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1476#comment-41496 Firstly, congrats on your anniversary! My wife and I got married last summer and our first anniversary is due in a few months. We also got married in the sunny south and loved it. What was great is that we knew to the penny what the wedding was going to cost us b/c of the all-inclusive package. I never ran into any surprises after we got married. We had been together for several years and we paid off our debts when we first started living together. One of the things that I felt was important for us to do was talk about finances. She dreaded the idea at first because it doesn't interest her one bit, but over time she has learned to appreciate the importance of it and we both realize its important for our relationship. A home has so many hidden costs, its unbelievable. The moment any renovations starts, expenses can fly in a lot of directions. Like your wife, my wife placed a high importance on being a home owner and didn't overly enjoy moving when I sold our principal residence on two occasions; but she realizes it was well worth it. Nice thread! Firstly, congrats on your anniversary! My wife and I got married last summer and our first anniversary is due in a few months. We also got married in the sunny south and loved it. What was great is that we knew to the penny what the wedding was going to cost us b/c of the all-inclusive package.

I never ran into any surprises after we got married. We had been together for several years and we paid off our debts when we first started living together.

One of the things that I felt was important for us to do was talk about finances. She dreaded the idea at first because it doesn’t interest her one bit, but over time she has learned to appreciate the importance of it and we both realize its important for our relationship.

A home has so many hidden costs, its unbelievable. The moment any renovations starts, expenses can fly in a lot of directions. Like your wife, my wife placed a high importance on being a home owner and didn’t overly enjoy moving when I sold our principal residence on two occasions; but she realizes it was well worth it.

Nice thread!

]]> Comment on EI Forecast by Candidate # 2 (The Rat) http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/2010/03/15/ei-forecast/comment-page-1/#comment-41495 Candidate # 2 (The Rat) Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:27:54 +0000 http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com/?p=1473#comment-41495 35% is a hefty increase over 5 years if you ask me. 35% is a hefty increase over 5 years if you ask me.

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