The theme of this post is decorations! Don’t forget to include this type of thing in your budget because a tree here, some lights there and a poinsettia or two and before you know it, $200 is out of your wallet! I suppose it’s like anything else and you get what you pay for. What […]

Santa has the routine down pat and we’ve all heard of this tip to keep within a budget. Whether it is shopping for food, a new house or gifts, you can save yourself time and money by doing a little planning first. Who to buy for What to buy Where to buy How much to […]

The holiday season is just around the corner and calendars are already filling up! It can be a hectic time but with a little bit of planning you can focus on the fun, family and festivities. You may have travel plans, many gifts to buy and parties to attend but the enjoyment can be tainted […]

I was chatting to a co-worker about some of the challenges my generation faces in term of the Vancouver housing market. Specifically how much of household income goes to holding the roof over our heads…not literally as we really like our house and ‘knock on wood’, it seems to be very well made. She lent […]

It’s Financial Literacy Week so I began thinking about how I learned about money. I can think of a couple things I learned from my Mom: Keep track of the hours you work – especially if you are paid hourly (it is easy to have a conversation about a discrepancy with your pay check if […]

When I wrote Dear Piggy Bank’s business plan, I included two volunteer workshops each calendar year. The objective was to contribute to the financial literacy ‘tree of learning’. A couple weeks ago, I spent a couple hours at a YMCA Child Care Center that was designed, built and implemented to serve a community that faces […]

I am always looking for ways to increase Dear Piggy Bank’s profile and promote financial education. This summer Laura Thomas, a writer and advocate for financial literacy, was producing episodes of Money Moments and it was a fantastic opportunity to meet someone else who was passionate about making basic money management skills mainstream. Although it […]

It wasn’t that we really set a budget for Halloween this year but it turned out to be a lot of fun with great friends without much expense or aggravation. Coming from me, that says a lot. Halloween is not my favourite day of the year. Not for any reason other than I really don’t […]

Financial literacy is something I feel strongly about. Specifically the lack of it within our society. Ideally, young people would get a good start and receive the education to develop a solid foundation in basic money management skills. Not the fancy, high-faluting, high finance knowledge but the ‘get through the week’, the month, the year […]

I keep a mental tally as the month goes by but it is so easy to forget the little amounts here and there and do they add up? Why is it always a bit of a surprise when I open the bill and check the amount owing for the month? What we do right: We […]