Million Dollar Journal

Well, it’s time for me to move again, Quebec just didn’t didn’t work out like I thought it would.
-Long commute to work
-Crazy Drivers
-and too much of a distance between good friends, nobody drives all the way to Gatineau to ‘drop in’ and hang out.

Luckily, through my awesome group of friends, I found myself another awesome roommate, and a new place back in Ottawa at an awesome price! Frugality lives on… Awesome!

The only downfall is that moving comes with a number of necessary (and unnecessary expenses). When I moved out of my first place, I was moving in to a fully furnished place so I sold all my living room and dining room furniture, so now I’ll have to purchase it all back again.
I’m incredibly particular about my living space - it’s a sanctuary - the only place I have to unwind after a long day at work, or to just relax on a weekend. It WILL be nicely furnished and tastefully decorated. This happened last time, but this time I’ll be going into it almost debt free.

Zero credit card debt makes me want a new 60” television so much more though. *Le sigh*

-kp.

thoughtsformykids:

I never quite understand why people spend more than than they earn? Do you do that?

It is a bad idea to spend more than you earn. You are robbing your future for the present. 

If you spend more than you earn I want to hear from you, why do you do this? What does it accomplish?

If you keep spending more than you earn, the inevitable is unavoidable (lots and lots of headaches in the future), why do people do it?

Anyone?

(via themoneyjourneyandshit)

I like this image, it’s funny because it’s so true but it’s also not funny at all because it’s so true.

This image depicts the scene in downtown Ottawa exactly:
-Homeless people asking for change on every street
-Business people in designer clothing
-Students with premium laptops, tablets and smartphones
-Joggers in full Lulu Lemon attire
-Young professionals parking luxury vehicles at their super luxury condos

On the one hand, when I get asked for change - I politely decline, but I think to my self “what! F*$% off, your net worth is higher than mine!” and that makes me sad. But on the other hand, I can look at all people with luxury cars, luxury homes and designer clothing and realize the truth… Very few of those people can actually afford the lifestyle they exude, and that makes me happy. Does that make me a terrible person?

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I just finished using Mint and I thought to myself: “F*$%” I love this program. It makes my financial life so clear, and now that my debts are almost paid I love looking at it even more.

If you’ve never heard of Mint before, let me just break it down for you quick:
You just have to sign up and add your accounts (chequing, savings, loans, credit cards, etc.) and Mint looks at all your transactions and automatically organizes your spending in categories like rent, gas, shopping, entertainment and more. It’s wonderfully visual and colourful - it really helps someone like me who is very goal oriented to stay focused on the big picture, and if you’re an irresponsible spender it’s very hard to ignore the numbers when they’re laid out crystal clear, right in front of your face.

Not a spokesperson:
But I am an advocate, it has helped me so much - I really had no idea where my money was going 6 moths ago, before I signed up for Mint. I thought I did, but like most people - I’m not as smart as I think I am.

http://youtu.be/rK6WLHNYjwM

Happy Budgeting
-kp. 

I’m not really a fan of new year resolutions
They seem to me like something people use to make them feel better about what the year ahead is going to be like for them. My opinion on the matter is, if you feel like you have something that you want to improve about yourself in the middle of the year, you might as well just start improving yourself in the middle of the year instead of waiting to make it into a resolution (procrastinating).

However… I have made resolutions for myself
and I have been able to follow through with them (like the year I was a vegetarian). So this year I think I will propose a resolution for myself: This year I will have all my consumer debt and OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) paid off completely, and even though I didn’t post much here last year I have been working hard at paying off my debt although there were a couple unexpected set backs. That said, it shouldn’t take me the entire year to finish paying off my debt (it better not).

Step 2 of this whole financial freedom thing: 
to have an emergency fund - which is something that everyone should have.
Right now I have an “emergency credit card,” but a line of credit is not an emergency fund, it’s new debt waiting to happen. So what is an emergency fund then? Simple. It’s six months worth of REAL living expenses. So all you have to do is figure out what you spend on average in one month (rent, utilities, car payments, debt payments, food, social life, shopping, etc.) and multiply by six. For me - I could live my life uninterrupted, without an income with an emergency fund of $7500.
Excuse my French - but *Shit!* I have a lot of saving to do.

Happy New Year.
kp. 

Free Money for my Canadian Friends

Who doesn’t like free money? This is essentially the theme of my entire blog; finding extra money where you can, and not spending money where you don’t have to…

In my last post I talked about how you can cut fees by opening accounts with an online bank (meaning that the bank has no physical branches or tellers. The huge savings that an online bank realizes is then passed on to the customer in the form of no-fee chequing accounts and higher interest savings accounts.) such as PC financial or ING Direct.

The Free Money Part
I opened a new chequing account with ING Direct, received a $50 deposit into my newly opened account and my friend got an additional $50 just for referring me. Win-win!
Because this all relates to my blog, I am offering the opportunity for you to make a quick $50 as well! (ON-WARD!)

Easy as 123!

1. Apply for an account and reference my orange key #39629907S1
2. Write yourself a cheque for $100 or more to fund the account
3. Get Paid!

Easy as that - no strings attached. Hurrah, free money!

Keep earning friends,
kp. 

A few months ago I switched my bank accounts, credit card, and direct deposit back to ScotiaBank and I’ve been kicking myself ever since; WTF was I thinking!? ScotiaBank is routinely taking anywhere between $5.95 - $15.00 from my account every month for “service charges.”

What Service?
I do everything myself online! To that end, I realize that online banking is the way of the future; bricks and mortar banks are for old people — I refuse to pay the banks mortgage — that posh marble building on sparks street is too rich for my blood.

Who really wants my business?
I simply love when someone offers to pay me for something I was going to do anyway. It is for that reason (and a few others) that I’ve elected to switch my banking, again, to ING Direct. Not only are they offering no-fee banking with amazing interest rates, but they’re giving me $50 just for opening an account and a friend of mine received an additional $50 for referring me — no strings attached. Awesome!

Imagine That.
My money will actually be working for me instead of being nickel-and-dimed away.
One of my goals for the year has been (and continues to be), to make money work for me. I have to work for it, it should return the favor; not having to pay to store it is a good start and collecting interest on it is even better, but this is just baby stuff! Collecting %1.35 interest on money that passes in and out of an account to pay bills and loans amounts to all but pennies a month.

It’s Time to Get Serious.
As I continue to pay off my consumer debt and decrease my bills and interest payments wherever I can, I’m going to start talking about what this blog was originally created to share — my journey to serious money making; which will include:

• (Hopefully) helpful tips on paying off debt as efficiently as possible
• Finding the right stock broker
• Investing to create a passive income (dividends)
• Other financial jargon that I may find interesting

Or help me keep this blog active by suggesting topics you’d like to hear about.

Thanks for reading my long rant!
kp. 

I’m coming back… yey!

I’ve been in the process of re-arranging my life in order to accomodate my savings plan AND have a social life. So far the social life part is working - the saving part… not so much.

I’m in the process of moving to a much cheaper location (rent-wise). This will allow me to follow the same savings plan I had already put in place, without sacrificing my social life and sanity (hurrah!).

How did I manage to do this you ask?
-I bought a car! :)
-This enabled me to move to a location that would not have otherwise been considered if I had to take the bus errrygoddamnedday.
-I am fortunate enough to live in a city that is on the border of another province in which the cost of housing is insanely cheap in comparison.
-The rent savings more than equal out the cost of the car, which add to my net worth with each payment (which is the ultimate goal here).
-So now, I am building net worth + I will be back on track with my savings plan!

Karl: “Wow, smart move Karl”
Karl: “Thanks Karl”
Karl: “No problem Karl, you’re a genius”
Karl: “Oh Karl, you’re too kind. But yes, I am”

Stay Tuned. 

Month 2: Finished, and not a moment too soon.

First, I’ll reveal this months results, then I’m going to take it down a notch so I can have a life again.

Month 3:
Total Debt: $6644.45
End of Month Goal: $5844.00

Result:
$5300.00 

So I beat my goal by $544.00, not too bad. This month had 3 pay periods which is lucky because I desperately needed some new jeans and work clothes. I spent a little more than I should have, but I don’t regret it.

These last couple weeks have been difficult. Work has been super stressful, and I didn’t get the job that I thought I was a shoe-in for. My French exam is coming up soon, and I spent all my time preparing for the job interview which turned out to be a waste and am therefore completely unprepared for my exam. My PartyLite business hasn’t gone anywhere, and I haven’t had any sort of social life in more than 3 months. The combination of all these things are making me grumpy, irritable and sort of depressed. SO…

Starting this month, I am dialling back the extreme budget. I realized that I don’t have to live like this. I make a good living, and I don’t think it’s fair to punish myself the way I am.

Today I went car shopping… thats right! Car shopping! I’m ditching Ottawa’s terrible public transit system, and couldn’t be happier about it.

Going forward - I will put what I can towards my debt and continue to keep a log if it on here to stay accountable.

Sorry to disappoint y’all.
kp. 

Yep.

(via princess-pervert)

I paid off my last credit card today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9v2QjcbRE 

One student loan to go…

Mint

I believe I’ve stumbled upon THEE most useful budgeting too IN. THE. WORLD.

If you’re serious about creating a budget or crazy (like I am) about knowing your entire financial situation at all times, this is the tool for you - highly recommended.

kp.

Month 3 (weeouuu!)

March should be nice for my bank balances. I mentioned this in my last post but, March has THREE pay periods rather than the usual two because of how the Fridays fall. I will post my original goals for month 3, although I suspect my month-end results will far surpass the goals this month (yay!).

Month 3:
Total Debt: $6644.45
End of Month Goal: $5844.00

There are going to be a couple temptations this month:

• The Ottawa-Gatineau auto show is this month and I’ve already be itching to buy a new car; add some sales pressure to the mix and who knows what could happen.
• iPad 3 is to be released next week, so… nuf said.

I think my will to surpass my month-end goals will be enough to keep me from buying anything stupid, but wish me luck anyways.

kp. 

Month 2: Done
This year is starting to slow it’s self down to a crawl :/ I already want this to be over… These were my stats and goals for the month of February:

Month 2:
Total remaining debt: $7,462.80
End of month goal: $6,662.00

Result (drumroll please…)

$6644.45 

OMGWTFBBQ!!! I actually beat my goal again. Although I don’t feel like I was particularily frugal this month due to a couple frivolous nights out. (“Curiouser and curiouser.”)

So, I’ve managed to pay off roughly 21% of my debt in 2 months… Feels good, but I’m starting to lose will power. I REALLY want to purchase a vehicle again.
Public transit: stop sucking!!

Anyways, March has a couple added bonuses that I didn’t factor into my debt repayment plan:

1. There are THREE pay periods, rather than the usual two because of where the Fridays fall, which is good for me since I budget all my rent/bill payments based on 2 paycheques a month. I’m still going to pretend there are only two pays this month, and 100% of that extra cheque will go directly to my evil creditors.
2. It’s tax season, and in typical Karl style, I’m probably the first one in Canada to have my taxes filed and assessed for a return of almost $400. (w00t!)
3. Actually, those are the only two things… I’m not sure why I felt the need to create a bulleted list… ahem…

More to come in March, I’m going to bed. 
Farewell for now,
kp. 

So this month I really haven’t done anything special to save money but I’m still ahead of my goals for the month in terms of my debt repayment :)

In February, I’m going to focus on starting up my new business in selling PartyLite products… Hopefully I can make something of it, I really like these products, so it’s not hard for me to sell it to potential customers. If anyone out there in internet land would like to help me out you can like my PartyLite facebook page or visit PartyLite my website.