Tag: Budget
Do We Lead an Extravagant Lifestyle?
I started out by asking myself if we lived ‘simply’ and determined after looking at our credit card bill that we don’t. Then I wondered whether we lead an extravagant lifestyle. I use the word ‘lead’ because distinguishing between our needs and wants sheds perspective on this question. Other than housing, utilities, basic food and […]
Posted: November 4th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Money & Stress
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Budgeting for UK 2015 – The Real Numbers Are In!
We had a fantastic trip and now that all the bills are in, I can tally up the cost. What I’m really interested in doing is comparing the actual cost to my estimated cost. I can’t help it – I like to know if I did a good job J I estimated a total cost […]
Posted: October 21st, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle.
Tags: Budget, Cash Flow, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning
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Our 5 Top Budget Busters
We’re well into the sunset of 2015 so it’s a good time to do a budget check. I did one before summer started but that was more than 4 months ago! In a nutshell: 1. Income As expected – no more, no less. 2. Expenses Spending too much on food, gifts, entertainment, vacation/travel and other Spending less than […]
Posted: October 7th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning, Money & Stress
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What Will Our Wonderful Trip Cost?
It’s hard to know because there are so many variables and it’s been so long since I’ve visited the UK. I have budgeted $10,000 to include flights, rental car, accommodation, food and spending. Luckily, we’re staying with family and friends for about one third of our holiday which is huge! We’ve paid for our flights, […]
Posted: August 12th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning
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What Happens If Mortgage Rates Go Up?
Many of us have never known ‘normal’ let along high mortgage interest rates although it wasn’t that long ago that 6 or 6.5% was the norm for a 5 year mortgage. When I started working at the bank (in the mid 90’s) the rates were closer to 10%! How much difference would a 1% […]
Posted: June 16th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Debt, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips, Mortgages.
Tags: Budget, Cash Flow, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning, Loans & Debt, Money & Stress, Mortgages
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An Extra $120 Per Month? I’ll Take It!
I thought the days of the UCCB (Universal Child Care Benefit) were gone once our girls turned 6. Although the $100 per child per month wasn’t much and certainly didn’t cover even a tiny amount of their child care fees, it covered half of their annual RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) – $1,200 of $2,500! […]
Posted: June 3rd, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips, Tips & Tricks.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning, Kids, Money Systems
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Money Stress – What to Do When You Lose Your Job
Even though it was years ago, I remember the collision of thoughts and feelings when I heard the words ‘we don’t have a position for you after maternity leave’. I was on the receiving end of restructuring. I found out a couple weeks before I was supposed to return to work. Wow. I don’t remember […]
Posted: May 26th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips, Tips & Tricks.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning, Money & Stress
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Wardrobe Budget Blues
We’re going through our closets in an effort to divest ourselves of some ‘stuff’ and claw back some space. We went through the girls’ closet last weekend. It’s not a job I enjoy because even though we’re lucky to have lots of hand-me-downs and I’ve carefully sorted the clothes and labeled the boxes – It […]
Posted: May 13th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Money & Stress
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Tax Refund Revelry
If you owe money to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), you’re not a happy camper but if you have a tax refund coming to you…you are likely smiling! Essentially it’s money you’ve paid to the government in one form or another but after reconciling your 2014 income and deductions with what you truly owe, you didn’t […]
Posted: May 5th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips, Tips & Tricks.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Financial Planning, Money Systems
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What do Budgets & Diets Have in Common?
Quite a lot – I think. No one likes them and neither one is the ticket to success. That’s the first question – How are you defining success? The key is to define your goal using SMART elements (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). You may begin by saying that you want to lose 10 […]
Posted: April 29th, 2015 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips.
Tags: Budget, Dear Piggy Bank, Education, Financial Planning, Money & Stress, Money Systems
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