I've been busy, retirement has done that, more time to do things and less done.
An interesting aspect of retirement is that your thought process is modified because of a number of factors. In the work environment, besides the annoying aspect of work itself, there are all the distractions of coworkers, be they friendly or hostile/toxic, they are there to break your line of thought.
In retirement, there is a lot more “me” time and that can result in a lot more in depth analysis of most things, remember that a lot of thought pre-retirement was spent daydreaming about retirement.
There are days, especially in the winter months, where there appears to be absolutely nothing to do, however, I recall days in my cubicle like that, and I know where I’d rather be. There really is no such thing as wasted time when it is time of total choice.
There are really no words to describe the feeling of turning over in bed on a winters morning and investing in another hour of sleep.
And that, is why you should have a plan.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Impossibles
The Millionaires Club exists as the brainchild of a couple of young lads, decades ago, it was always a bit of a laugh and a reason to write things down and when we achieved goals, we awarded ourselves little trinkets and souvenirs along the way to reward milestones.
The club card, the tee shirt "I'm out from under it" for destroying a mortgage, the beautiful MF bucket (mortgage free), the foreign banknote award for money in the bank, the peaked "Millionaires Club" hat and microphone all helped along the way to keep members focused.
Along the way we have grown a thicker skin to the outsiders who taunt us with the idea that what we proposed to do was impossible, that it wasn't going to work and that penny pinching was rather silly and a waste of effort.
Jimmy is a good example, and his skin must be inches thick by now because he has been the object of much ridicule in his path to early retirement, in fact sometimes even club members have debated some of his tactics, only to adopt them later.
The group of naysayers we will label "The Impossibles" because they insisted that what we where trying to do was impossible, even in the face of members actually retiring by the age of 50, the Impossibles inwardly believed that it was not so, that there must be some other reason, some hidden trick, to that achievement.
It's human nature, their belief being "If we can't do it, how can they?".
If you adopt some of the ways of the Millionaires Club, some of the tracking and penny "pinching" manners that are detailed here, then you will find your own group of the Impossibles, waiting in the wings, ready to chip away at your goal.
Don't listen to them.
The club card, the tee shirt "I'm out from under it" for destroying a mortgage, the beautiful MF bucket (mortgage free), the foreign banknote award for money in the bank, the peaked "Millionaires Club" hat and microphone all helped along the way to keep members focused.
Along the way we have grown a thicker skin to the outsiders who taunt us with the idea that what we proposed to do was impossible, that it wasn't going to work and that penny pinching was rather silly and a waste of effort.
Jimmy is a good example, and his skin must be inches thick by now because he has been the object of much ridicule in his path to early retirement, in fact sometimes even club members have debated some of his tactics, only to adopt them later.
The group of naysayers we will label "The Impossibles" because they insisted that what we where trying to do was impossible, even in the face of members actually retiring by the age of 50, the Impossibles inwardly believed that it was not so, that there must be some other reason, some hidden trick, to that achievement.
It's human nature, their belief being "If we can't do it, how can they?".
If you adopt some of the ways of the Millionaires Club, some of the tracking and penny "pinching" manners that are detailed here, then you will find your own group of the Impossibles, waiting in the wings, ready to chip away at your goal.
Don't listen to them.
I deserve this
I was going to call this entry "The Comfort Trap" but that will be a much bigger post, lets look at the "I deserve this" concept and how it can hurt your early retirement.
I've been guilty of this, and on occasion, still am. However, I'm retired and yes, I deserve this.
Starbucks and other higher end coffee houses have done a great job in bringing the daily beverage into the the destroying early retirement sweepstakes. In a world of expense, the two or three dollars we spend on a daily coffee, or a bottle of fancy water can seriously affect our chances of retiring early.
Oh, don't be silly, it's only a couple of bucks and lets face it, we work hard and by golly we deserve it.
Oh yes, you do, it's true, and well, don't deny yourself of anything.
I'll harp back to the days of my father, when mother would brew a thermos full of tea, or coffee, for his morning break. It would be a relaxing moment, cracking open that flask, pouring a slightly tinny flavoured beverage into a slightly plastic flavoured cup, perhaps not as hot as he liked, but nevertheless, a welcome break from the morning.
He deserved it.
It's something we all can do now, and with todays materials, home brewed coffee can taste just as good an hour or so later, and if we do our research, can taste better than anything the exotic coffee houses can serve up. If you like the bottled water, get into the habit of using filtered or bulk buy spring water and use a trendy container.
And the cost?, well, after the initial ten dollar outlay for your flask or stainless steel water bottle, your custom coffee or filtered water can cost just pennies a day.
Pennies a day, saving dollars per day.
I like that concept.
I've been guilty of this, and on occasion, still am. However, I'm retired and yes, I deserve this.
Starbucks and other higher end coffee houses have done a great job in bringing the daily beverage into the the destroying early retirement sweepstakes. In a world of expense, the two or three dollars we spend on a daily coffee, or a bottle of fancy water can seriously affect our chances of retiring early.
Oh, don't be silly, it's only a couple of bucks and lets face it, we work hard and by golly we deserve it.
Oh yes, you do, it's true, and well, don't deny yourself of anything.
I'll harp back to the days of my father, when mother would brew a thermos full of tea, or coffee, for his morning break. It would be a relaxing moment, cracking open that flask, pouring a slightly tinny flavoured beverage into a slightly plastic flavoured cup, perhaps not as hot as he liked, but nevertheless, a welcome break from the morning.
He deserved it.
It's something we all can do now, and with todays materials, home brewed coffee can taste just as good an hour or so later, and if we do our research, can taste better than anything the exotic coffee houses can serve up. If you like the bottled water, get into the habit of using filtered or bulk buy spring water and use a trendy container.
And the cost?, well, after the initial ten dollar outlay for your flask or stainless steel water bottle, your custom coffee or filtered water can cost just pennies a day.
Pennies a day, saving dollars per day.
I like that concept.
Water
Living on the coast it appears, at first glance, that water is plentiful.
In our daily lives we think that too, and without thinking, we waste it and along with the bathwater the baby slips away, the baby being our hard earned dollars.
If you're on a metered supply, every litre of water costs, water you wash the car with, jet wash your driveway or water your lawn with.
Common sense yes, use less, costs less.
What about your value added water? - cold water maybe costs a penny or two a litre out of your tap, maybe you filter it, adding another penny or two (if you use filters within safe limits) and what about hot water? - that basin full of water is going to be 10 cents for the water and 10 cents for the heat, and that's if you have the plug in, running the hot tap and allowing it to run down the plughole is literally throwing money down the drain.
Oh, and don't say this is petty. It's not.
The water on our planet is precious, and should not be wasted.
In your life your money is precious, and yes, pennies per day are important, so if you really want financial freedom eventually, they also should not be wasted.
Stop flushing your money away.....
In our daily lives we think that too, and without thinking, we waste it and along with the bathwater the baby slips away, the baby being our hard earned dollars.
If you're on a metered supply, every litre of water costs, water you wash the car with, jet wash your driveway or water your lawn with.
Common sense yes, use less, costs less.
What about your value added water? - cold water maybe costs a penny or two a litre out of your tap, maybe you filter it, adding another penny or two (if you use filters within safe limits) and what about hot water? - that basin full of water is going to be 10 cents for the water and 10 cents for the heat, and that's if you have the plug in, running the hot tap and allowing it to run down the plughole is literally throwing money down the drain.
Oh, and don't say this is petty. It's not.
The water on our planet is precious, and should not be wasted.
In your life your money is precious, and yes, pennies per day are important, so if you really want financial freedom eventually, they also should not be wasted.
Stop flushing your money away.....
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
It's that time again.
Happy New Year!
The month of January rolls around once again and it will soon be time for hundreds of thousands of responsible Canadian adults to rush out and "buy" their RSP.
The yearly push to the deadline, the endless line ups at midnight at financial institutions across Canada and the insidious creaking as all those professional financial advisors resurface out of the woodwork in the next few weeks.
The financial guru's of the early 1990s, such as Brian Costello and Jerry White, had their own contribution to my personal financial development. It was also good to have our Scottish member, Jimmy, around who would interpret the musings of these non certified, don't call me a financial advisor, advisors.
Costello would always give good advice, such as, make sure you make use of a financial advisor, referring to a CFA or Certified Financial Advisor. It was probably an oversight that he did not mention that he wasn't one.
This blog entry, however, is not an attack on the NCFAs of the seminar circuit, as I have indicated before, advice is advice and your job is to sift out what advice is actually good.
The good advice, that both Brian and Jerry gave, was that if you shift your RRSP contribution deadline, your money will be tax sheltered longer. There's no need to wait until the end of February in 2009 when you can make that estimated contribution right now.
Yes, your February 2009 contribution, which is the contribution for this 2008 tax year, can be deposited into your RRSP account today, in fact a week ago. It will then be tax sheltered for that extra fourteen months.
I know, your going to wriggle on this one, as potentially you're just getting ready for the psychological hurdle of your 2007 tax year contribution. Imagine, you can contribute twice as much, right now!
There will be a chorus of perceived impossibility on this one, it's a struggle to maximise your RRSP to start with and now, this nutter on the interweb is suggesting that you double up.
You only have to do it once.
If your normal contribution is $10,000 and you can bring it forward the fourteen months (and continue to contribute early), earning seven percent, the impact of this one act over twenty five years of saving will add over $44,000 to your retirement nest egg.
You only have to do it once.
The month of January rolls around once again and it will soon be time for hundreds of thousands of responsible Canadian adults to rush out and "buy" their RSP.
The yearly push to the deadline, the endless line ups at midnight at financial institutions across Canada and the insidious creaking as all those professional financial advisors resurface out of the woodwork in the next few weeks.
The financial guru's of the early 1990s, such as Brian Costello and Jerry White, had their own contribution to my personal financial development. It was also good to have our Scottish member, Jimmy, around who would interpret the musings of these non certified, don't call me a financial advisor, advisors.
Costello would always give good advice, such as, make sure you make use of a financial advisor, referring to a CFA or Certified Financial Advisor. It was probably an oversight that he did not mention that he wasn't one.
This blog entry, however, is not an attack on the NCFAs of the seminar circuit, as I have indicated before, advice is advice and your job is to sift out what advice is actually good.
The good advice, that both Brian and Jerry gave, was that if you shift your RRSP contribution deadline, your money will be tax sheltered longer. There's no need to wait until the end of February in 2009 when you can make that estimated contribution right now.
Yes, your February 2009 contribution, which is the contribution for this 2008 tax year, can be deposited into your RRSP account today, in fact a week ago. It will then be tax sheltered for that extra fourteen months.
I know, your going to wriggle on this one, as potentially you're just getting ready for the psychological hurdle of your 2007 tax year contribution. Imagine, you can contribute twice as much, right now!
There will be a chorus of perceived impossibility on this one, it's a struggle to maximise your RRSP to start with and now, this nutter on the interweb is suggesting that you double up.
You only have to do it once.
If your normal contribution is $10,000 and you can bring it forward the fourteen months (and continue to contribute early), earning seven percent, the impact of this one act over twenty five years of saving will add over $44,000 to your retirement nest egg.
You only have to do it once.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Why do you work so hard to get what you don't even want?
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do we work so hard to get what we don’t even want?
We work so hard to get ahead of the game; work half our lives until we’ve won. And then one day, we sit at the edge of our bed and think: Lord what have I done?
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do we work so hard to get what we don’t even want?
Man in a suit, comes home and kisses his babies goodbye. Daddy’s gotta go on a trip honey, oh no don’t you cry. He’s gone for a week and then he’s home for a day. Well, pretty soon the babies won’t cry when daddy’s gone away.
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
You know we go to the mall and we go from store to store, yeah. Everybody seems to be wasting time until death walks through the door. And then you look at all your merchandise and you see. We’ve paid too high a price, you’ll see....
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
Jearlyn Steele.
This is just a timely song, heard in a film called "A Prairie Home Companion" which reminded me how often we replace things we already have with things that do the same job, but "better". This endless upgrade cycle, often motivated by the need to impress "other people" is often at the root of our financial problems or shortfalls.
I know that I have been "victim" to the desire of always wanting something better, working hard at work to earn money, selling flesh, bone and time and then rushing out to quickly dispose of that paycheck on the latest temporary, fizzy gizmo.
So..
Why do we work so hard to get what we don't even want?
Why do we work so hard to get what we don’t even want?
We work so hard to get ahead of the game; work half our lives until we’ve won. And then one day, we sit at the edge of our bed and think: Lord what have I done?
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do we work so hard to get what we don’t even want?
Man in a suit, comes home and kisses his babies goodbye. Daddy’s gotta go on a trip honey, oh no don’t you cry. He’s gone for a week and then he’s home for a day. Well, pretty soon the babies won’t cry when daddy’s gone away.
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
You know we go to the mall and we go from store to store, yeah. Everybody seems to be wasting time until death walks through the door. And then you look at all your merchandise and you see. We’ve paid too high a price, you’ll see....
The day is short, the night is long.
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
Why do you work so hard to get what you don’t even want?
Jearlyn Steele.
This is just a timely song, heard in a film called "A Prairie Home Companion" which reminded me how often we replace things we already have with things that do the same job, but "better". This endless upgrade cycle, often motivated by the need to impress "other people" is often at the root of our financial problems or shortfalls.
I know that I have been "victim" to the desire of always wanting something better, working hard at work to earn money, selling flesh, bone and time and then rushing out to quickly dispose of that paycheck on the latest temporary, fizzy gizmo.
So..
Why do we work so hard to get what we don't even want?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Buy one set of pans.
The blog is not really about making lists of all the things you can do to save a penny here and there, the internet is a vast resource for that sort of advice, however, there is a trend in our consumer driven society that encourages waste, so I thought I'd catalog a few concepts based on what my mum and dad did that made perfect financial sense.
The first being that you only ever need one set of pans.
Apply this thinking to a lot of things in life. If you buy a quality set of pans, good guage stainless steel, good lids and good handles, then you should never have to buy another. Then add the advice of our Scottish member, Jimmy; "buy great pans, but buy them at the best price". As I said, apply this concept to other things, but use your noggin about what is "best" for you, don't listen to the system, listen to your financial mind.
Common sense again? - well, don't forget that it's not just parents that "teach" you common sense, in a consumer driven society the system has a hand in educating you and a lot of that valuable information is the very information you should ignore.
As an example, why buy one mop (like mother did) and use it for ten years, when you can go out and buy a "Swiffer" every two months. Mother quietly went about using that simple mopping device without "educating" the kids that it was all you need, and now, with TV and the constant onslaught of media, young adults are being told to "throw that old fashioned thing away" and get the new, convenient, easy Swiffer.
Well, I don't know about you, but to me, mopping is mopping and I'd rather buy a quality, sturdy, "old fashioned" ten dollar mop that will amortize out at a dollar a year for the next ten years, than a fragile eight dollar Swiffer, that besides needing replacing in two years, needs "convenient" refils every month or so.
It's not better because they tell you it is.
The same is true with the pans especially if the only reason you're going to buy a particular set is because Jamie Oliver endorses them as pucker. In addition, for reasons known to themselves, the big retail stores like Sears tend to occasionally offer these valuable eight hundred dollar pan sets, to the shoppers, at seventy five percent off, that is you only pay two hundred bucks.
A great deal?
You should take your time, as with all things that affect your long term financial health, do your research and due diligence and then buy once and forever at the best possible price.
The first being that you only ever need one set of pans.
Apply this thinking to a lot of things in life. If you buy a quality set of pans, good guage stainless steel, good lids and good handles, then you should never have to buy another. Then add the advice of our Scottish member, Jimmy; "buy great pans, but buy them at the best price". As I said, apply this concept to other things, but use your noggin about what is "best" for you, don't listen to the system, listen to your financial mind.
Common sense again? - well, don't forget that it's not just parents that "teach" you common sense, in a consumer driven society the system has a hand in educating you and a lot of that valuable information is the very information you should ignore.
As an example, why buy one mop (like mother did) and use it for ten years, when you can go out and buy a "Swiffer" every two months. Mother quietly went about using that simple mopping device without "educating" the kids that it was all you need, and now, with TV and the constant onslaught of media, young adults are being told to "throw that old fashioned thing away" and get the new, convenient, easy Swiffer.
Well, I don't know about you, but to me, mopping is mopping and I'd rather buy a quality, sturdy, "old fashioned" ten dollar mop that will amortize out at a dollar a year for the next ten years, than a fragile eight dollar Swiffer, that besides needing replacing in two years, needs "convenient" refils every month or so.
It's not better because they tell you it is.
The same is true with the pans especially if the only reason you're going to buy a particular set is because Jamie Oliver endorses them as pucker. In addition, for reasons known to themselves, the big retail stores like Sears tend to occasionally offer these valuable eight hundred dollar pan sets, to the shoppers, at seventy five percent off, that is you only pay two hundred bucks.
A great deal?
You should take your time, as with all things that affect your long term financial health, do your research and due diligence and then buy once and forever at the best possible price.
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