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!
Last night I went to an aerial yoga class at Fly Fitness . It was a media class and my first time trying it. Small group, couple friends in there, but MY GOD did I need that. I feel so fucking good! Seriously. I don’t usually swear (sorry mum) but that’s really how I feel.
This summer has been a life changer, having the BR surgery, recovering, reading, thinking, and setting some goals has really made me feel good. I’ve spent a lot of time cottage chilling but September is like a fresh start, a new start. Last night took me back to sitting at opening circle at Anamaya in Costa Rica. We all sat around together and had an uplifting talk about intentions, positive thoughts, it was so wonderful. We connected and smiled and tbh thinking about it makes me feel all warm inside. Yes, it’s a bit cheese but if you were there, or you have been in a moment after a great class like like that, you know what I mean.
Thank you Lisa Simone Richards for the invite. They studio gave me a 2 week unlimited pass so if anyone out there in the world wants to join me for a class I’m gonna give it a go. I’m going back for hardCORE reformer pilates tonight after I pick up Em from school.
I’m really keen to get fit again and want to keep this momentum! Also, not having to wear multiple bras makes it that much better. Ha!
When I was growing up, visiting Niagara Canada was something we did a few times a year. My parents are from New Zealand, so the wonder of the falls and all that surrounds them was something we wanted to show ALL overseas visitors.
Now that I’m a grownup, (yay adulting!) I’m looking to visit for a nice relaxing weekend of togetherness. A few years ago we went to Niagara for vacation and it was so fun driving around and discovering new things. There’s heaps of attractions in the Niagara Region, so I’m making a list of fun, couple stuff we can do together. It’s a great getaway that’s not too far from anyone living in Ontario or just over the USA border. Road trip time!
This month, Niagara Canada is stating their claim asThe 8th Wonder of the World. The region has so much to offer – it’s truly one of mine and Sean’s fav places to escape for romantic couples getaway. And of course, those falls are a massive 176 feet with 150,000 gallons of water crashing down per second, now that truly IS a wonder.
Fun Couples Things to Do In Niagara, Ontario
Nightlife – I really love casino carpets and stage shows so we definitely want to pop over to the Fallsview Casino Resort and check out one of their amazing presentations. Everyone (including us) has heard about what an unbelievable experience it is to play casino games in Las Vegas and this is something that we would love to get to do one day. Our friends can’t stop going on about it, so I can’t wait until we can join in with their conversations. I have played a few online casino games like those that involve a combination of Online Fishing, Real Money, and eye catching visuals in the past but I have been told that nothing compares to the real thing! For the time being though, we will get to play at the Fallsview Casino resort instead and we are very excited. Perhaps even more so after reading these Canadian gambling reviews that those same friends told us about to get us in the mood. We are very much looking forward to playing casino games at the next best place until we can make it over to Las Vegas. We both love theatre so I would love to attend the Shaw Festival. They’ve got a bunch of packages that include dinner and a show. The 2016 playbill features Alice in Wonderland! I would also be down to check out Yuk Yuk’s for a few good LULZ; or one of the many shows at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
I love visiting farmers markets when we’re in cottage country so before heading home I want to visit one of the MANY farmers’ markets and maybe pick up a couple pies from The Pie Plate.
Romantic Adventure – I would love to take a helicopter ride over the falls with Sean – a great chance to cozy up up to my honey and take in the beautiful views from up above! I’ve seen some amazing photos and although it might be kinda scary, I’ll do it for the ‘gram. You can also take a Whirlpool Aero Car, aka. antique cable car over the Niagara River.
Relaxation – I would love to have a relaxing day at some of the amazing beaches along the North shore of Lake Erie in Niagara’s South Coast. Earlier this year we visited Cabo and Costa Rica. On the last day of each trip I arranged for us both to have massages, such a nice way to wind down before returning to work. There are SO MANY spas in Niagara. I’ve always wanted to go to 100 Fountain at Pillar & Post and depending where we stay I’ll look into other services.
We’ve had great food, heaps of naps, swam in the lake, daily boat rides, relaxed, and caught up on work. It’s amazing what a week away will do for your health, hair, skin, creativity. Still have a few more days then back to the city by Tuesday. Our weekend guests bailed so it’s just the two of us enjoying the cottage to ourselves.
I’ve got an interview on Zoomer Radio Tuesday morning then my first aerial yoga class. Here’s to a few more days of paradise! ☀️ ILY Canada! ??
