Ok – here we go. Let’s look at the numbers.     $2,800 Flights $245 Hotel $344 Rental Vehicle + Gas $360 Gifts $100 Tourist Stuff $325 Amusement Park $500 Food, Drinks, Miscellaneous   A Grand Total of $4,674!   Ironically, my ball park estimate was the closest at $5,000 and funds saved and set […]

We just got back from a two week to visit family in Ontario and the numbers are in! Did we do a good job budgeting and saving for our trip? The key is to plan well for a big vacation because once the flight has left the airport we are committed to the majority of […]

Okay, after a small discussion and a little bit of negotiation I think we have a plan. We did it in 3 steps: Understand fixed expenses or savings that we can’t or don’t want to change. Review previous year expenses to understand where we’ve ignored our budget and seek out opportunities to cut spending. Set […]

My husband is proposing radical budget cuts and I do mean radical! He read an article about a couple that didn’t spend any money for 1 year other than rent, utilities and food. Their estimated spend avoidance was $36,000. A very tidy sum. You’d think being a financial blogger that I would happily jump on […]

I realize that I don’t always follow my own advice! What I budgeted for summer holidays and what we’ll spend are two different things…let’s see what the difference is. I budget $250 * 12 months = $3,000 which is a reasonable amount of money but it’s theoretically intended to cover the whole year. I think […]

Both of our girls are summer babies which means summer birthdays. I was always envious of my brother’s birthday in the summer because it meant fun presents like dingy boats, flippers and masks. Compared to a November birthday (mine) which is an ‘in between seasons’ birthday.   Some moms seem to plan their childrens’ birthdays […]

Summer is here! The July long weekend is fast approaching and summer plans are well underway. Summer is loads of fun but the reality is that I don’t really look at our budget while we’re in busy enjoying ourselves. I make sure the bills get paid but that’s about it. Now that we have most […]

Organizing childcare is a challenge whether you’re returning to work or it’s school break. It’s one of the most important support systems if you’re a working parent but also one of the most difficult to get! Do you know how much childcare costs your family each year? I think we’d all be surprised when we […]

No one said it’s going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy but if getting rid of your mortgage is number one priority for you, then it can be done.   There are 2 strong motivating factors to pay off your mortgage as soon as possible:     No more mortgage payments = more of your […]

I worked for one of Canada’s Chartered Banks for seven years and not once did I hand a client their mortgage discharge papers. That may not seem significant but I’ve heard stories from those in our parents’ generation who worked hard to pay off their mortgages as soon as possible, in 15, 10 or even […]