I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. We did! The weather was spectacular which is a bonus this time of year. We traveled to Armstrong for the weekend to visit with family and friends. We purposefully left Vancouver after having a bite to eat so that we wouldn’t have to make any stops and […]

Whether you’re saving for something special, something shiny and new or your future, here are a few are some tips to get you started. Do you work better with a goal? I do, I’m one of those people that likes to know where I’m going and typically I know what I want. I don’t always […]

The leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground and I see squirrels gathering fallen  nuts to store for their winter meals. I’m not sure if that’s why the Fall is also ‘investment season’ but in as much as our ancestors put a lot of energy into preparing for the winter months, we are […]

Despite best efforts, many leave post secondary education with student loan debt and the job market isn’t always so friendly. Taking a look at some numbers can give an idea of what to expect in terms of income and expenses (including loan payments). If you can earn $22/hour or $44,000/year, this will put about $3,000 […]

Just like credit cards, once the paperwork is done student loans are out of sight, out of mind … until it comes time to repay them. It’s amazing how quickly $10,000 here and $15,000 adds up to a big, big total.

One more week of summer means a last scramble to get organized for back to school. Now that you’re on your own, are you looking after yourself? It’s easy to work through the checklist of registering for courses, gathering supplies and packing your bags but have you taken the opportunity to work through the dollars […]

Dear Piggy Bank, We both work full time and we try hard not to eat out or order in too much and I think we’re doing a pretty good job. Where we are having trouble is our grocery bill. I’m not really sure how it happens but I’m surprised at the amount at the check […]

Dear Piggy Bank, I am expecting my first child and just about to go on maternity leave but I’ve been so excited about the baby I haven’t really thought past getting ready for the baby to arrive. I finish work in a couple weeks and realize we haven’t thought much (ok, at all) about how […]

Dear Piggy Bank, It doesn’t matter how old I get, I still remember the anticipation of summer holidays. The end of the school year is always the trigger! July 1st long weekend is a great way to kick things off and even though it doesn’t look like the weather is going to be stellar…it’s a long weekend […]

It didn’t take too long but a few minutes spent re-arranging the shelving unit beside my desk has made such an improvement! I knew where things were (mostly) and the biggest change was grouping ‘like’ items in the same sections. I do Lean Continuous Improvement in my ‘other job’ and a 5S can really apply […]