jump to navigation

Excited about the future June 9, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : motivation, relationship , 4comments

So remember when I mentioned that BF and I might have to do the long distance thing for 3-9 months? Turns out that BF found a program that he can do in Vancouver, which will run from July-November. Which is just perfect. He might have to move away for a 6-month co-op after he finishes his classes, but he knows people locally in the industry, so we’re hoping that he can stay at least within commuting distance. Or at the very least, within a 4-5 hour drive so that he can come home on the weekends.

This means he won’t have to wait to do the program in the fall or next year, and he’ll graduate that much sooner. Which means we’re that much closer to moving onto that next step in our lives. My fingers are crossed that he’ll get accepted into the program. He seems really excited about it too.

We went to the bank last night and BF asked if I was excited to start managing the household income once he starts earning a real pay cheque. As I’ve mentioned before, personal finance isn’t exactly one of BF’s passions, and we both fully know that he’s just not very good at it. And since I love it, it only seemed natural that I take over those duties when we combine incomes. I told him that he wouldn’t like it, because I’d be putting a cap on his discretionary spending. And do you know what that man said to me!? He said, and I quote, “no I won’t, because it’s more important to save up for a house, and for retirement.” Who is this guy, and what did he do with BF?

I’m excited and positive about the future. Soon we’ll be both financially stable (each making over $50k/year), and we’re both on the same page in terms of our next stages in life - stabilizing our careers, marriage, buying property, having children. It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m exactly where I wanted to be all those years ago when I started this debt-free journey. And I cannot wait to see where we are and what we’ll be doing this time next year.


The job hunt continues March 24, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : job, motivation , 7comments

Sorry for all the boring job-related posts. Clearly I have nothing else to blog about these days. Not buying anything, not saving anything. Just kind of drifting along. Working at feeling normal again. Trying to set a workout schedule, finding a climbing partner, thinking about volunteering with my ex-ex-job at the non-profit.

As for my job search, I haven’t been applying for jobs that are beneath my skill level. I spoke with an employment advisor on Monday who told me that since I am on EI, I have the time and resources to make sure I land a job that is equal or above the job I was just at. He said that since I have almost 5 years of experience in my field, I should be looking for “intermediate” positions – or for jobs that have growth opportunities. At the very minimum, jobs that are on par with the one I just had. He said I shouldn’t sell myself short and settle for a lesser job just for the sake of working again (unless it was my dream job) … because after a few months I’d end up restless, bored and unhappy, and would be back on the job hunt anyway.

I ran salary numbers for marketing positions with 4-5 years of experience in downtown Vancouver, and I’m right on target in terms of salary expectations. I’d consider a little less money for full benefits and more vacation time, but I feel confident that eventually, I can find something in the salary range that I’m comfortable in, with the challenges and growth opportunities I’m craving. I just don’t know how long I’ll have to wait.

Prior to yesterday, I have submitted 6 resumes for jobs that I feel I am qualified for, and have gotten 2 interviews. Today I have applied for 3 more jobs. I’m not exactly qualified for one of those jobs, but figured it doesn’t hurt to throw my resume into the pile.

I must admit, it’s been really hard to stay positive. Lots of highs and lows. Sometimes I feel confident, but most of the time I feel like a failure and also, kind of a loser. Word is spreading around my circle of friends that I lost my job. Not that I really care too much because they’d find out eventually, but it kind of sucks that the small group of people I’ve told, decided to spread it around when I asked them not to. People lose their jobs all the time, I know that. And really, it wasn’t my fault that I got let go. But still, I feel inadequate. And it really makes me think hard about applying for certain jobs when I don’t have experience in a particular industry. What if the same thing happens to me again?


My motivation is a new dress January 26, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : blog, fitness, motivation , 7comments

Last night I got to thinking: I have a wedding to go to in July (in Michigan) which I’m really excited about. My best friend from college is marrying his high school sweetheart, and I’ll get to see a bunch of old college friends that I haven’t seen in years and years.

If I can exercise 5x/week until the end of June, then I will treat myself to a new dress to wear for the wedding. I’ve gained about 7 lbs. since college, so I’d really like to lose that weight as well. But the most important thing is exercising regularly and feeling good about myself.

I kind of want to do this like the Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp, where I buy a dress that’s maybe one size too small for me right now, and then my motivation to exercise is to fit into the dress. I did it a few years ago, but with a bikini instead. And that totally motivated me to get my butt to the gym! We’ll see.

So my motivation for working out 5x/week for the next 5 months is a hot bod and a new dress. That sounds fair, doesn’t it?


Question: What are my plans for the future? January 7, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : blog, motivation, relationship , add a comment

JRBN wrote me an e-mail and said:

Hi there,

I would just like to say I love your blog. I love reading your posts and it somehow gives me lots of motivation in regards my financial life. Please keep up the good job. If you do not mind, I would love to know about what are your plans for the future, in terms of personal life, career. I mean, do you intend to get married and have a family or you intend to focus on your career, etc…

Also I would suggest to post some pictures of things that make part of your daily life, such as the city in which you live, the places where you used to go, evidently being anonymous.

Anyway, I wish you all the best. Take Care.

Thank you for the e-mail!

As for my future plans, of course you can’t predict everything, but I do have some sort of direction and timeline:

In my personal life, I do want to get married and settle down. Because BF can do his work from almost anywhere and he’ll be traveling a lot, we agreed that we would try to live where I’d feel most comfortable. And while there are some places on the Lower Mainland that I feel good in, ultimately I want to be back in my hometown. So that’s our plan as of right now.

I want to maintain a career (I don’t want to be a housewife). I want to find a job in my hometown when we come back from traveling that will provide me with a steady income, good benefits, and paid maternity leave. But I also think that down the road, I’ll want to go back to school. Probably for business or marketing or something along those lines. I’m happy with the work that I’m doing right now. It’s keeping me satisfied. But I think there’s something else I could be doing. I just don’t know what it is yet.

To be honest, I’ve wanted to do so many different things in my life. For the longest time I wanted to be an archaeologist, but the lifestyle an archaeologist leads isn’t exactly what I’d want for my life. I also really wanted to be a lawyer, but again the long hours you need to put in is something I’m just not willing to do.

I’d like to own my own business. Not a design house or a marketing firm, but a store that sells goods. I’d like to own an outdoors store, or some sort of sports specialty store for a niche market. I know it’s the opposite of what I’m doing right now, and I don’t really have a clear path or a way to get there, but I have a lot of time to think about it.

Or I could take my love of personal finance and somehow spin it into some sort of job as a money coach or financial planner. That would be a dream come true.

There are so many different things I could do that it makes me really excited for the future. And if I end up finding a great company and if I end up working in marketing for the rest of my life, that’s fine too.

As for having a family, I was always unsure about wanting kids. BF definitely wants a family, and I wouldn’t be with him if I didn’t want the same thing with him. But it’s so hard to say when that will happen. We both have so many goals that we want to achieve.

Anyway, I hope that answers some of your questions. I’ll try to take more pictures too!


Putting things in perspective November 20, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : motivation , add a comment

I was talking to a friend yesterday about money. I was lamenting about not having saved as much as I would have liked to save this year. I don’t like talking about money with friends, so I didn’t really go into detail about it, I just casually mentioned it.

He told me to look at my good friends. He asked, how many of them could we really call “successful,” 2.5 years out of college. I mean, he’s right. Most of my friends are still up to their eyeballs in debt, and working low-paying jobs that they despise. Not that finance is all that determines whether one is “successful” in life.

But being “successful” in life takes hard work. For most of us, the good life won’t just appear right before our eyes. I have a friend who always says he can’t afford to do things. He says he doesn’t have the money and it’s impossible for him to save anything at this point in his life. But I know how he spends his money, so I called him on it. Not in a mean, or a preachy way. I just wanted to tell him that even when you think you can’t do something, you CAN. That’s something I learned the hard way. I told him that he IS able to save if he wants to. I showed him that if he stopped dining out so often, or drove less, or drank less with his buddies, etc. he could save. The little things make a huge difference. He might not be able to save a lot, but it’s something, and that’s better than nothing. But he’s not willing to change his lifestyle. He’s comfortable and it’s easy for him. And that’s fine, because that’s his choice. But at least now, he knows that if he’s willing to put in some hard work and sacrifice a bit now, he’ll be able to accomplish what he previously thought was impossible. Because nothing is impossible.

Sometimes when I get into these little ruts and I feel so demoralized and unmotivated, I have to put things in perspective and realize how lucky I am. I have my health, my family, my friends, and BF. And even though I’m not saving at the pace I want to be saving at, I have no debt and I work at a job that I enjoy doing. Not many people can say that, and I definitely take that for granted.


Updating my networth and reflecting on the year November 17, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : annual goals, motivation, saving money , 1 comment so far

Well, I updated my NetworthIQ. So far this month, I’ve put in $400 into my RRSPs, and it’s disappeared. At this rate, I won’t be able to see my portfolio grow to $22k (which was my goal for 2008), but at least I know I’ve contributed enough to have seen me over that amount, had there not been such a financial disaster.

Also, my cash reserves fell a bit because I took some money out of the Travel Fund to cover Vegas, and I bought BF’s anniversary present.

I feel stalled. I’m not going into debt, but I don’t feel like I’m getting ahead either. And I know a lot of it has to do with my RRSP contributions bringing down my NetWorth, but it’s so demoralizing. I’ve been staring at a $30k networth for at least half a year, and I’ve gotten so close, but I’ve yet to crack that barrier.

Life happens, I guess. Moving twice in one year, two job changes, and the falling markets really didn’t help me at all this year. Plus, living in Vancouver is a lot more expensive than my hometown. I’m paying a lot more rent, it’s expensive to get anywhere, and there’s way too much to entertain myself with. We went to Seattle three times, Edmonton once, and Calgary once. I had 2 weddings to travel to (one up island and one in Toronto), and a trip to Las Vegas. That’s a lot of traveling!!!

So as I look towards 2009, I’m going to have to really focus on my goals. I made goals for 2008, but because my life has changed so much since then, I wasn’t able to focus on them as much as I would have hoped. Which is too bad, because while I feel like overall, 2008 has been the best year ever (awesome new job, new friends and I’m with the greatest guy ever), I didn’t even come close to achieving what I wanted to achieve financially.


I’m in an emo mood today June 11, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : motivation , add a comment

I am in such a bad mood today, and I don’t even really know why.

Yesterday, Z and I hiked Lynn Peak. Well, I ran a lot of the way up. I felt great when we reached the top and saw that view. It took us just over 3 hrs … and we want to get a weekend hike in sometime soon. There are a lot of great trails up in Lynn Headwaters that I want to explore, so hopefully that will happen this summer.

BF should be home sometime today, so I should be really excited and happy. But instead, I feel kind of down. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s this job. Maybe it’s both, or maybe it’s neither. I don’t know.

What I do know is I’d like nothing more than to crawl into my warm bed and sleep for the rest of the day.

***EDIT***
What have I always said about Google horoscopes being disgustingly accurate for me?

You may have to contend with your own mood swings today as the Moon returns to your sign. But your feelings are feeding into a whole system of logic that you use to explain your behavior. Unfortunately, analyzing your emotions and reporting your findings to others is a waste of good energy now. Instead of engaging in endless discussions about the same old thing, sit back and watch how your mind jumps through hoops to justify what you do.

Google, you’re creepy.


A post about life and feeling left behind May 8, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : motivation , add a comment

There have been quite a few posts in the PF blogosphere lately about feeling left behind in life.

Confession: I always feel left behind. I feel like all of my friends are growing up and reaching these life milestones – both professionally and personally, while I’m falling farther and farther behind. I’m 25, so I’m still young … but I’m not that young.

But everything happens for a reason. I know that. All of the experiences I’ve had in my life have shaped me and made me who I am. And I know there’s a bigger reason why I haven’t reached those milestones yet that my friends are reaching. I know I’ll achieve everything I want to achieve. I’m just going to do it on my own time, and at my own pace. It can be frustrating because we live in a world where we WANT WANT WANT, and we want it all now and as fast as possible. I’m guilty of that. I think we all are. I want to achieve all of my goals right now. I want to own a condo RIGHT NOW. I want, but I can’t have. I have to earn these things, and I always have to keep that in mind.

And sure, a lot of my friends are ahead of me. At least, they seem ahead of me. They’re engaged, getting married, having kids, getting promotions, making connections. And sometimes I feel like I’m stuck on the sidelines, just cheering them on. But that’s my perception of the situation. To them, they might feel like I’m ahead of them. So, it just kind of silly to mull over these sorts of things.

This is something I’ve been really thinking about over the past few days. When I read up on my fellow PF bloggers losing their jobs, or feeling insecure about their relationships, or feeling like they’ll never be a home owner … I feel like I can connect and relate to these people, even though I’ve never met them. And it makes me feel better, knowing that I’m not the only one who feels these things. It’s hard to open up and admit these feelings that we have, and perhaps that’s why we blog. I know that’s a big reason why I blog. I like to feel connected to people who are like-minded. And if I feel the connection with other PF bloggers and those that read this blog, then surely someone (anyone) must feel a connection with me as well. And that’s a nice feeling. :)