Give Me Back My Five Bucks

I recently wrote a post for Moneyville called My money mistake? Moving out too soon, where I talked about how I should have never moved out of my parents house before I finished school. Had I taken my parents’ advice and stayed at home, I would have come out of college with significantly less debt than I had. But it was my stubbornness and naive attitude that resulted in a disastrous 8 months of living independently, and ended with me eventually moving back home. Anyway, that post generated a lot of really interesting discussion, as well as a few e-mails that came my … Continue reading →

After last month’s goal of trying to find a suitable e-reader option, I’ve realized that I value real, paper books way too much to give them up. I spend most of my work life staring at a computer screen, so in the rare moments where I get to read for pleasure, I would love to be screen-less. Plus, I love making notes of my thoughts on post-its and placing them throughout the book, or highlighting particularly interesting paragraphs (I know you can do this too with an e-reader, but it’s really not the same when you have to click buttons … Continue reading →

A reader asked me how I’m doing with my 2011 Lunch Challenge. For those who are new to the blog, one of my goals for 2011 was to challenge myself not to buy lunch, snacks or coffee tea lattes during the work week for the entire year. The only exception is for work-related purposes (which almost never happens, and even then I can write the expense off), or if I’m on a business trip and will get reimbursed for the cost. I challenged myself to this for 3 different reasons: To save money. BF and I are trying to save … Continue reading →

I recently received a comment in the about me section of this blog. I thought I’d reply to it here: I’ve read your blog and although you are full of ideas. I think you are going overboard with your frugality. Is it really worth sacrificing your lifestyle so save a bit more? You know, we only live once. From the your ideas and your writing, you seem like a decently smart person so I’m sure wealth will eventually come to you. Why not spend your efforts on something more constructive like making more money? This is why I always stress … Continue reading →

Someone on Formspring recently asked me if I ever considered moving to a city less expensive than Vancouver to save more money. The answer is yes and no. Yes, in that I have considered it, but no because I don’t think I’d ever go through with it at this point in my life. My home town is less expensive than Vancouver (though not by much). I could have stayed there, but I chose to move. And just over three years ago I was offered an amazing job opportunity to be the Communications Manager for an entire city in Alberta. Granted, it … Continue reading →