Give Me Back My Five Bucks

Today is my last day at my full-time job. And in exactly one week, I’ll be on a plane to Europe. The excitement of this plan is gone. It was fun when we were buying plane tickets and talking about sightseeing. But now that it’s real, and actually happening? I’m feeling a nervousness that I haven’t felt in years – if, ever. I haven’t been able to sleep, and I always feel worried. I crave stability, and the decisions that I’ve made over the last month have me completely stressed out. It’s not the move to Germany – that part … Continue reading →

A huge goal of mine was to increase my income by 50% this year and bring in $25,000 in freelance/side income, and I am thrilled to say that I not only accomplished this goal, but I crushed it. Okay, well, maybe I didn’t crush it. But I definitely exceeded my expectations. In 2009 I only made a few thousand dollars in freelance/side income, and in 2010, I made approximately $8,000. It wasn’t a lot, so how was I able to jump from $8,000 to $25,000? There isn’t an easy answer to that question. I worked hard, and had a couple … Continue reading →

Well, the title of this post says it all, doesn’t it? Last week I quit my day job and booked a one-way plane ticket to Germany. Okay, you’re probably really confused. Let me start from the beginning: About 10 days ago, my boyfriend Nic asked me if I would consider moving to Europe with him. He has a 7 month break before he finishes up the last semester of his masters, and has some strong job leads in Germany. In typical Krystal fashion, I just laughed at him and told him that I couldn’t go. I have a job, responsibilities, … Continue reading →

So yesterday on Moneyville, Madhavi wrote an interesting article called “Teens think they’ll earn $90,000 a year by age 30.” According to the National Report Card on Youth Financial Literacy (.pdf), high school graduates seem to be extremely disconnected from reality. Especially when you consider the results from a survey of over 3,000 recent Canadian high school graduates: The average survey respondent expects to earn $90,735 in 10 years; roughly three times the average income of 25 to 29 year‐olds with post‐secondary degrees ($31,648). The median survey respondent expects to earn $70,000 in 10 years.  However, the median income for a 25 … Continue reading →

Well, I was super stoked about receiving my new business cards in the mail yesterday that I really want to try and attempt another vlog. But about 5 seconds into recording, it turned into a tragic mess and then it just got worse from that point on. I was originally not going to post it, but just like in real life, you can’t take back a first impression. Or in my case, a second impression. So, in an effort to stay true to my pathetic attempt at getting better on camera, here is my ridiculously embarrassing, horrifyingly awkward video (please … Continue reading →