I picked up The Wealthy Barber on a recommendation – and it was a great recommendation. This is an easy – even fun – book about financial planning. David Chilton presents his common sense guide in narrative form, which makes the first time through quick and painless. I’ll extract the basics of his plan here; [...]
Baby, it's cold inside
January 6, 2009 By 5 Comments
Cash or credit?
January 5, 2009 By 10 Comments
Recent conversations, coupled with some of the personal finance books I’ve been reading, have had me thinking about credit cards. Many personal finance books advise cutting up all credit cards. Some of my favourite money-smart people have switched from credit cards to cash, thereby curbing any budget-busting unconscious spending. It makes me wonder if I [...]
Book Review: Miserly Moms
November 27, 2008 By 2 Comments
My sister-in-law recommended Jonni McCoy’s book to me after learning about our choice to try living simply on a single income. I’m glad that she did, as Miserly Moms is packed full of ideas for living well on less. In her introduction, McCoy talks about her frugal lifestyle: There is nothing theoretical in this book. [...]
The power of snowflakes
November 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment
This week has brought temperatures of -10 C (14 F) and a fair bit of snow. My daughters have enjoyed getting bundled up and catching big snowflakes on their tongues. It’s amazing to consider the size of a single snowflake and then watch the impact that a whole lot of snowflakes have on our world. [...]
Giving generously and wisely
November 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Many of us donate to charities at Christmas, a great way to celebrate the season in my opinion. As someone who until very recently worked in the nonprofit sector, I frequently am asked to recommend charities to give to. Having seen what makes a lot of nonprofits tick, I thought I’d share my thoughts here. [...]
A preschool milestone: First allowance
November 11, 2008 By 2 Comments
This week we’re starting to give our three-year old daughter a weekly allowance. Our long-term goal is to help her manage money better than we have, so we’ve spent a fair bit of time reading, thinking and talking about this. Here are some of the questions we’ve wrestled with, and our answers to them (for [...]
Book Review: Your Money or Your Life
November 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
After seeing Your Money or Your Life crop up in different conversations about living simply, I requested it from our local library. I then had to wait three weeks for a copy to come available, and the one that finally arrived was so worn and used that the cover was entirely illegible. That was my [...]
The link between sympathy and spending
November 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment
My husband is amazing. He’s funny, intelligent, thoughtful, and sympathetic. Especially towards me. (I like this.) So today when it became obvious that the cold I had been holding at bay had finally conquered my last defenses, Hubby kicked into high-sympathy mode. I was ordered to stay in bed while he amused the girls. Hot [...]
Five strategies that cut our grocery spending by 30%
November 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
