This week has everyone talking about how summer is ‘over’ but tbh guys, there’s still a bunch of nice days left. It was so hot out yesterday. It’s that perfect time of year when the days are warm, nights cool for sleeping, and there are NO bugs. As I mentioned the other day it’s a great time to ditch old habits, clean out that closet, and make a new routine.
I really need to get my ass in gear when it comes to what I’m eating and exercise. Maybe I just need to workout more? People always said that after 30 your metabolism slows down and damnit they were right!
We hadn’t planned to be at the cottage this past weekend but in a twist of events, it was vacant so we jumped in the truck and hit the road. We never stop for anything but burgers (Webers!) on the way up BUT Sean asked if I wanted to go to the 400 Market. It’s just before Barrie on the 400 HWY and neither of us had ever been.
WELL, it’s a sight to be seen. Before we event went inside the building I fell in love with this fur coat. Sean tried on an awesome leather biker jacket with a half-naked lady on the back. I wish I took a photo but only posted it on Snap. ? Sorry! Follow me over there: casiestewart. There were so many treasures in there. We got some amazing hot sauce, samosas, a couple sausage rolls, sunglasses, and a few other knick knacks.
A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on
This weekend we are back up at the cottage for the last hurrah of the ‘summer’. September weekends are some of the best though, everything is a little more calm. Except for TIFF, next weekend!I’ve got the gifting lounges and parties for days. I can’t WAIT. BEST part of September! ?
I’ve been doing TIFF for a few years now, it’s so fun. Check out some previous posts here. If you’re keen to know what goes on behind the scenes for PR, photographers, journalists, bloggers, I’m one of the leads in Behind The Red Carpet, a documentary about the Toronto International Film Festival. Get it on iTunes, Google Play, etc.
There must be something in the air bc I’m feeling really jazzed about everything right now!
Last weekend I had my first Enterprise CarShare experience. I applied for a membership a couple weeks before, then downloaded the app for iPhone, logged in using my Member ID, and started browsing cars and dates. In my experience it’s nice to have a small car for city driving that’s convenient to park and good on gas.
Mini Countryman booked w/ Enterprise Carshare App
Once my car was booked in the app I was ready to roll. I scheduled pickup for Friday at noon and arrived at the pickup location shortly after. Tapped my card on the windshield sensor and it was unlocked. Spent the afternoon running errands in Queen West then popped over to visit my sister in the Beaches. It took a few tries to get used to locking and unlocking the car but it was a breeze overall (instead of using the power locks you tap your member card to the windshield sensor).View Post
I really love award show tweeting. I joined Twitter in 2008 and since then my experience watching almost everything on TV has been enhanced. Hello, The Bachelor? In 2009 I joined Much/MTV Canada as their resident social media wizard and tweeted award shows, Jersey Shore, MMVAs, MMVAs and everything in between.
givin’ a kiss to an MTV Award at MTV Canada in 2010
This weekend I’m doing a Twitter Takeover of the Dippity-Do Gel account for the MVT VMAs. They have heaps of fun hair chalk I’ve been using since last year to make my hair violet, pink, blue, etc. It’s great bc washes out with shampoo. ??
This weekend I’m taking a little drive to Cambridge to visit my parents for a few hours and I’m so stoked. It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over! I love September, it feels like a little reset, opportunity to move forward, ditch old habits, and set new goals.
mum picking flowers for me in her garden
I talk to mum almost everyday but haven’t seen her since before my birthday in May. She spends most of the summer on her boat and I’m at the cottage most weekends. It’s also been ages since I’ve seen Dad! Neither of my parents have seen me since my BR surgery in June, so I’m quite keen to visit. I’ve arranged a car that can fit both parents and their partners so I can take the whole gang out for brekky!
It’s not THAT far away but since I don’t own a car it’s a bit of a hassle to get there and back, especially for a short visit. I’ve booked a carshare for Saturday morning and it’s pretty affordable & managed in an app.
I’m totally guilty of being ‘busy‘ all the time and the rest of the time I feel like I’m tired. Sometimes I just need to sit on the couch and do nothing or tweet alongside something like The Bachelor to give my brain a break.
On that note, I’m making more time to exercise, I’m looking to try just about ANY workout class that gets me off the couch right now. Since my surgery I feel A LOT better in workout clothes, I was REALLY self conscious before. Was gifted a 30 day membership to justtryit.ca so my plan is to try 10 classes at 10 gyms. I’ve gone to a few more aerial yoga and reformer pilates classes since my class last week. My two week pass is up on Tuesday. I really like reformer pilates I need to commit to that with my wallet and my intentions.
Coincidently I am writing this post on a rainy day, and despite always hearing this expression, I didn’t know exactly what it meant. “Save for a rainy day?” more like “save for a rainy three to six months” in case you lose your job, break a limb, or god forbid some other unexpected life moment goes down.
Over the past two years I’ve written a few posts with money tips for millennials. If you missed those, let me give you a little background on my situation, in 2005 I returned from Australia, tiny, tanned, and educated. I brought something else home with me tho, a HUGE debt. I owed over $30k in student loans and credit cards!? It was a tragic look at reality when all the bills started rolling in and I’d barely started my first full-time job in Toronto making under $30k/year. It seemed literally impossible to dig out of the hole I was in. I found myself saying “I need cash now ” more often than I wanted too. Having to find quick ways to get cash is difficult and I did struggle. Payday loans such as Fresh Loan were constantly recommended to me for a short term solution. Soon enough, I’d had enough and decided I needed to gey myself in gear. There is no way I was going to live in this debt forever. For many others it’s the same circumstance, they find themselves in a vicious circle, having to take out loans, ending in debt and hardly seeing a way to get out. Small loan lenders like this Norwegian based company, små-lån, can help people finding themselves in the same situation. Before taking out a small loan, you should read every detail carefully and fully understand your repayment methods.
Not long after that I was on a TV show called Maxed Out where I got some solid financial advice, consolidated my loads, and began my journey to financial freedom. It wasn’t easy but by the time I was 30 I’d paid back everything, boosted my credit rating, and could set new financial goals.
solo trip to Mexico at 30
In this post, I’m breaking down that age-old advice and putting some measurable ‘money hacks’ out there. According to a recent TD survey, the top three pieces of advice millennials get from parents/guardians are:
Don’t live beyond your means 55%
Saving a percentage of every paycheque 52%
Save for a rainy day 47%
Although this advice is useful, it doesn’t realllllly give us a blueprint of how to get out of debt and build that nest egg. With the help of Shirley Malloy at TD Canada, it’s time to turn those old money tales into measurable things you can implement.
Money Hacks for Millennials from Shirley Malloy at TD
“Don’t live beyond your means” What that means: “Don’t mistake credit for cash”
– Malloy suggests credit can be a valuable tool when used responsibly, and reminds us that not all debt is bad.
– A mortgage or student line of credit can be considered an investment that helps generate income in the long term and increases overall net worth. The key is to have a plan in place to pay it back. MAJOR KEY ?
– TD’s money management app, My Spend, can help track expenses and keep essential and discretionary spending in check.
“Save for a rainy day” | What that means: “Save for a rainy three to six months”
– Everyone should aim to set aside three to six months’ income to provide a financial buffer against any unexpected life events.
– Plan to save a two month buffer this year, and increase to four months once you’ve reached your goal.
– The Simply Save program is a great tool to help build savings. Every time you use your TD Canada Trust Access Card for debit purchases or ATM withdrawals, an amount of your choice is transferred into your savings account.
“Save a percentage of every paycheque” | What that means: “Save 10 per cent of EVERY paycheque”
– Malloy suggests that 10 per cent of every pay should be the goal, but start small if that figure isn’t realistic.
– Set up an automatic transfer of $50 to a savings account. Then, set a bi-monthly meeting to revisit the budget.
– Challenge yourself to reach your goal of saving 10 per cent each paycheque over time.
If reading this gives you a bit of anxiety, that’s ok. It’s uncomfortable to deal with things that take you out of your zone. Something I’ve learned is that the sooner you face this stuff head on and make a plan, the better you’ll feel about it. After a few months or years, you can look back and see how far you’ve come. Once you’ve got saving down to a science, start setting bigger goals!
* Post sponsored by TD Canada, debt story and lessons learned all mine!
