Category Archives: Money Stories

Mar 23 1 comments
Money Stories, Organize, Saving Tips

Year-Old Crackers, Anyone?

OK, just to make it clear, I’m not talking about baby red-necks in this post but actual crackers - the food.

And the story goes like this…  My mom has always liked to shop, she wears nice clothes and even hired a personal stylist to help her get the best fitting things.  She also loves to eat and entertain so she buys good food (and lots of it) so that she can have friends and family over and make everyone nice and plump.  She’s a busy woman on the go and doesn’t want to spend any time cleaning or organizing her home.  So, naturally, the clothes, bottles of half-used spices, food and other items have been piling up in her home and storage area.

A few months ago, being an empty-nester and close to retirement age, she sold her place and downsized from a five-bedroom townhouse to a two-bedroom apartment.  When she put her house up for the market, she had to clear up ten years of clutter and needed a lot of help.  She had to get 2 cleaners/helpers/packers and it took her, the cleaners, 2 junk men and a slew of family members working weekends and some weekdays 4 months to clear and organize all her stuff.

Last Sunday was moving day.  Up to the last minute she was throwing and giving stuff away, stuff she had forgotten she had.  While we were unpacking, we found that in the frenzy items that she didn’t want got packed and every time we would open a box she’d say she didn’t want it or it wouldn’t fit in her new apartment.  The worst part of it is that when when a family member got hungry, she opened a box of my mom’s crackers and after a few bites, she threw them up.  The crackers had expired a year ago!  We then discovered several boxes worth of expired food (many of them multiples of the same thing) that my mom kept and brought over.

My mom paid so much much money to move.  She paid the cleaners/packers/organizers, the junk men, she paid for a huge truck.  Obviously she wouldn’t have had to hire and pay for so much help if she had a better handle on her stuff, and she could have saved a ton of cash by not buying so much stuff in the first place, many of which just got donated or dumped.  The money instead could have gone towards her RRSPs.  And she wouldn’t have poisoned anyone with year-old crackers either.

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Jan 24 1 comments
Money Stories

Complain: Tell Them What You Really Think

Sometimes you don’t get the best service from your cable company, supermarket, dentist, bank, etc.  When this happens to me, I make sure that business and/or other people know about it.  I feel that it is important to complain for 3 reasons:

1. I want to get a good service and product for my hard-earned money

2. I want the next person who spends their money on this business to get a good product and service as well

3. I want the business to know when they are not doing a good job for their customers so that they can change and do better.

That being said, I try and be as civil about it as possible.  I put in my two cents, and if I am treated well and feel that I am being heard, I will come back to the business.  If not, I’ll go elsewhere.  If the business is some sort of monopoly like the phone or cable company, I make sure others know this business is not doing a good job -  this is where blogs, social networks and word-of-mouth come in.  But again, I try and state my case as civilly as possible because I don’t want others to think I’m some crazy loon who has nothing better to with my time.  ;-)

Believe it or not, one person can make a change;  see what happened after Jeff Jarvis blogged about his displeasure with Dell Computers.

So, next time you feel you didn’t get the best service or product from a company, stand up for yourself and do something about it. It’ll benefit everyone in the long run.

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Jan 03 2 comments
Money Stories

What I Really Wanted in Paris

A couple of years ago I spent 11 glorious days in Paris, France. It was a lucky break for me, a friend of mine who grew up there was having a birthday and decided that his big bash would be at his mom’s home. All I had to do was buy a plane ticket and he’d take care of the accommodations. I had never been to Europe before and never really had the time nor the funds to travel anywhere that far away in at least 2 decades so now was my chance! I picked up a Lonely Planet guide to Paris, decided what I wanted to do and what I wanted to see there, calculated how much cash I’d need and looked at my savings. I didn’t have enough so my boyfriend pitched in for the plane ticket (that would count as my Christmas gift that year, he said). So, on December 14 of 2006, off I went to help my friend celebrate another year on earth and see the Eiffel Tower.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I vacation with a vengeance. I guess when you hardly ever get to go anywhere, when you do get to go, you make the most of it, seeing everything the place has to offer, experiencing everything you can. Paris is a great city, so much to see and do; sight-see and take tours of the museums and landmarks, lounge in the cafes, eat at fine restaurants, and of course, shop. But that city is also pretty darn expensive. Even with my hotel paid for, I was on a tight budget. I decided what I really wanted was to sight-see so I spent my money on a metro pass, a day trip to Versailles, and tickets to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and other museums. After buying all of these, no joke, I was broke. I was so broke, I was eating one meal a day courtesy of the local street market close to the hotel where I’d buy a big wedge of cheese and wrap it in paper and hide it under my hotel room bed. In the mornings, I’d snitch a baguette from the hotel’s breakfast nook. But underneath my lightheadedness, I was truly and utterly happy.

When I got back home, I told my friends about my food and cash issues and they said, “OMG, you went to Paris and didn’t eat as much as you could or buy any designer whatever at all?!?” No, I spent all my money on what I really wanted, it was a choice I made and I was very happy with it. Why would I let anyone dictate to me how my Paris experience should look like?

I guess this brings me to the point of this post - what do I really want NOW? It’s a new year and I look back and realize that maybe I don’t want what I thought I wanted when I was younger: to own a home with the white picket fence, drive a comfy car, have a nice stable, high-paying job. I think I wanted those things because that was what society tells people they should want. But maybe I really want is to do my own thing. Maybe I want my own small business that might be a little more volatile than that high-paying job, but then I’d be my own boss. Maybe a house in the burbs is a little too much responsibility for me, maybe I’d rather rent and move whenever I take the fancy. Maybe I don’t need a car all that often, and if I do, there are car co-ops. This 2010 I’m going to truly evaluate what it is I want and live my life according to that, however unconventional it might be to others.

Happy New Year, everyone! May all that you truly desire come to you this 2010.

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Nov 10 3 comments
Affordable Gifts, Money Stories, Money and Relationships

What To Give Or Not To Give, Those Are The Questions

Some of you may have their gift and shopping list prepped already, and you may have a minimum and maximum amount of cash you want to spend per gift and an idea of what to get the people on your list; I know I do.  But I do have a friend that I  always have a hard time shopping for.

I have known my friend (let’s call her Annie) for many years.  Annie has become one of my best friends and we have always exchanged Christmas gifts.  Everything was fine in the gift-giving department until the year I started my own business and had to slash my gift budget dramatically.  I still gave Annie a very thoughtful gift that year (as I still do to this day) but I noticed that when she tore the wrapping from it, she was not happy.

Up until that time, Annie had always given all her friends the same or similar gifts each year.   But after that one gift incident, I have noticed that the quality of her gifts to me has gone down.  The first year I noticed that she gave all her friends a necklace except for me, I got a bracelet.  The year after that, I again got an inferior gift compared to our other friends.  And each year thereafter, it’s been worse and worse.  One time I got a bag of candy from a grocery store.

I believe she does this because I cannot afford to budget as much on her gifts (and everyone else’s) as I used to and she feels that she shouldn’t have to shell out as much cash for my gifts either.  I never thought to compare budgets with friends before this but maybe in her case I should?  I have always based gift-giving to friends on my budget, not theirs, and what each individual would appreciate.  I feel insulted and hurt by Annie’s actions, maybe I should stop giving her gifts altogether?  Because why bother to give a gift to a friend if it is not sincere and heartfelt?

So dear readers, what are your gift-giving rules?  Do you only give a gift if you expect one back?  Do you budget according to what the other person’s budget is?  Do you have a similar budget for all your friends?  I’d really like to know!

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Nov 01 0 comments
Cheap Eats, Money Stories, Money and Relationships, Saving Tips

A Bottle of Spaghetti Sauce

Last night my partner made dinner; spaghetti and meatballs. He used a bottle of Ragu Pasta sauce and added chopped green peppers, mushrooms and meatballs. But he also added water. It would have been an awesome meal except for the added water in the sauce. Instead of a lovely sauce that stuck to your noodles, the sauce instead was an almost tasteless soup that collected at the bottom of our plates.

When I asked my partner about it, he said he added the water because some of the thick sauce stuck to the bottom of the bottle and it was hard to get it out. The water made it soupy enough to get out. I was upset. The meal wasn’t appetizing so I felt we wasted money while trying to save a few pennies by getting the most sauce he could from the bottle.

Moral of the story? I guess my partner and I learned it’s not worth trying to save a few pennies at the risk of ruining a good deal (or meal in this case). This initial story might sound just a little bit silly but it reminds me of another. My relatives had an after-school tutor for their child to help her with Math. This tutor was wonderful, the kid liked him and her grades were improving, he got along with the parents and he came at a reasonable price. However, he was always 10 minutes late. Even when the family suggested that they bump the session times a bit later in the day, he still came 10 minutes late. After a few months, the parents fired him. They were not able to find another tutor that was as effective after that. They lost their good deal.

So, another moral might be, don’t be TOO anal about savings or getting your money’s worth. It might just bite you in the a$$.

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Oct 18 0 comments
Money Stories

If You Really Want To Change Your Money Habits, You Will

I was having coffee with a fiend of mine last week and she told me about her co-worker who earns $50,000 a year but is also $50,000 in debt.  She’s in debt because she spends too much on beauty products like $800 face creams and on $5,000 handbags.  She’s been spending this way ever since her 20’s (she’s 50 now).  According to my friend, every time they get together, this woman complains about her debt.  I think that this woman is stuck in a rut.  Rather than just complain about her situation, she truly needs to decide whether she wants to change her spending habits and her life or not.

We human beings are powerful creative creatures capable of overcoming the greatest odds.  In terms of money, there are countless rags to riches stories - Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Donald Trump, etc.  Now maybe not everyone can become a billionaire, but I believe anyone can change their money lives for the better.  I personally know someone who has once homeless and living in her car and now owns 2 houses.  Two close friends of mine have been broke and declared bankruptcy and now own thriving businesses.  Another friend has changed his spending habits and eliminated up to $30,000 in credit card debt.  If you really want something, you’ll do whatever you have to to get it.

Do you have a shopping addiction? See a psychiatrist.  Have credit card debt you want to get rid of?  Any big city will have credit counselors to help you.  Not earning enough money to pay all the bills?  Get another job or a second job, go to night school to improve your skills.  It’s not going to be easy, but whatever it takes to get you what you want, do it (I don’t need to mention that it needs to be legal, right?).  After all, it’s your financial life, might as well have one you can be content with.

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Oct 13 0 comments
Kids and Money, Money Stories, Money and Relationships

Halloween: It’s All About The Kids (and Candy)

A few years ago I was a bit down on my luck and very broke.  Looking for extra work to make ends meet was taking up all my time and attention. Until my son, who was around 5 years old then, piped up about going Trick or Treating on Halloween, I completely forgot about candy, costumes and the like.

I couldn’t even afford to go to the dollar store to pick up some items for our garb so I had to make my son wear a white trash bag (instant ghost).  He said I had to wear a costume, too so I wore a dark green trash bag with a red tie at the end - I pretended to be the grim reaper.  I know that some people have been making some great looking costumes from trash bags recently, but back then, this wasn’t in vogue and having only a couple of hours prep and no other materials to work with, our costumes were very lame.  While my son was able to pull his off because he was 5 and very cute, I didn’t fare so well.  A little girl wearing a very elaborate dinosaur costume who happened to be trick or treating on the same street kept looking at me and said, “What are you?”

I really wished I had more  cash at the time to buy or even make some better costumes but my son didn’t seem to mind the trash bag clothing.  When I asked him if had fun, he said, “Yeah!  I got lots of candy!”

Do you have young kids?  How much do you spend on Halloween for them?  Would they really mind if you spent a little less?  If so, here is a link for money-saving costumes:

http://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/halloween/costumes.htm

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Oct 11 0 comments
Kids and Money, Money Stories, Money and Relationships

Role Model Lessons For Your Kids

My partner teaches private music lessons.  He’s a great musician and teacher and he is able to connect with the kids.  Through the years many of his students have become good musicians themselves but he has a couple of kids that he’s been teaching in the last two years that have not improved much.  Being conscientious and feeling guilty that he was not doing a good job with the two kids and still taking their money, he approached the parents and said  that he might not be the best teacher for them.  The parents refused to stop the music lessons and told him not to worry about it.

He was very perplexed about their decision to keep him around.  When he told me about this situation, I realized that the parents were not paying him for the music lessons anymore but instead wanted him to continue because he was a good role model for their kids.

I had a piano teacher when I was 8-10 years old.  Every Sunday I would come to her house for an hour and make noise (yes, noise).  In the 3 years I was her student all I learned to play was Chopsticks.  This was not her fault as I have no finger dexterity, to this day I type with only two fingers.  But even knowing that I’d never be able to play another tune on the keys, my mom continued to pay my teacher for her time.  Why?  I was a difficult kid and not very likable.  Not many adults were nice to me and so when my mom found one who treated me with respect and kindness, she decided to keep paying for the lessons despite my lack of improvement.  In my mom’s mind my teacher’s real job was to be a big sister to me.

Being a parent now myself, I realize how hard it is to find a positive role model for your kids to look up to. So, when you find one you try to keep them around.  Even if it costs $60 an hour.

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Oct 08 0 comments
Making Money, Money Stories

Worst Job Ever

I don’t know about you but I think most people have had to take a job they totally hated to make ends meet.  I certainly did and had not one, but a few in my career.  The jobs I hated included retail, sales, reception, inside sales and office clerk for a financial institution.  (Hmmm, I now remember the Discovery Channel’s show called “Dirty Jobs” and I realize that I was still very lucky with my worst jobs ever, but anyway…)

As I was thinking about writing this post, I realized that it wasn’t the jobs in themselves that were horrible but the environment that my superiors, co-workers or clients made. For example, the job at the financial institution had decent pay, was close to home and low-stress for me but one day my creepy boss showed me naked pictures of Asian women and asked me which one he should take out on a date that night; I gave my two weeks notice that afternoon.

I never stayed at a job I absolutely abhorred for very long.  I think the longest was 8 months.  I hate job hunting but I never had a strong enough stomach to tolerate poopie work environments  (Given that statistically most heart attacks in North America occur at 9 a.m. Monday morning, this might be a good thing!).

So, how bad of a job are you willing to take for money?  How long are you willing to keep this job?  If you hate your current job, what are your reasons for staying?  What makes your job so horrible?  Please let me know so that I never take that job ever!

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Sep 29 0 comments
Money Stories, Money and Relationships

Paying More To Deal With Courteous People

How important is dealing with nice, courteous sales people to you?  I didn’t think it was all that important to me since I usually know exactly what I want and what I am buying before I go into a shop so my contact with the sales rep is minimal.  But then I noticed avoiding a few retail stores in the past couple of years because I thought their employees were either stupid or rude or both.

As an example, I recently brought my pants in to a Alterations Shop to get them hemmed.  I often do this because I: 1. have short legs and 2. can’t sew to save my life.  Anyway, I live in Burnaby, BC and so I go to Metrotown Mall to do this.  There’s a alterations place near Zellers on the second floor.  They have always provided me with good service in that my pants have always come out well.  There’s another alterations place in the mall near the Old Navy that I don’t often go to simply due to where it is located.  But one time I found myself shopping on that side of the mall and so I decided to go there instead of my regular shop.

At the new place woman behind the counter was cold and rude (she could have auditioned for the part of Snow Witch from Narnia) and I regret giving them my business.  The pants came out well, just as good as my regular shop and also cost me $2 less but that’s not enough to get me to back there.  I’ll pay more for the service from my regular place because it comes with nice smiles and hellos and thank you’s.

When I thought about this topic a bit more, something occurred to me.  I run a small service-based business and I pride myself for always being professional and courteous to my customers, so maybe I should raise my prices.  ;-)  But really, isn’t it only fair that I expect the same courtesy from my clients and the people I deal with daily?

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