Random Acts of Kindness Week

I have so much to tell you guys! This week I have hit some major milestones in my debt repayment process and I am so overjoyed that I may actually wet my snuggy as I write this! Before I get to all my amazing achievements, I want to take a moment to talk about a special project that I have been up to this week. I received a cool calendar from my friend Angie, and in that calendar this week is marked off as “Random Acts of Kindness Week”. Now I don’t know if this is strictly an American thing or what, but I still thought it would be a good opportunity to stop being such a selfish a$$hole and start reconnecting with my fellow man. February has always been a rough month for me and this one has been no different so I decided to change my misfortune and spread some positivity throughout the week instead.

I guess you’re wondering why February is a rough month for me. Well, it’s mainly because I get to thinking about loved ones that I have lost who have a connection to this month. My Grandmother, who was born on Valentines Day, passed away a couple years ago, so when I see the 14^th on my calendar, it always makes me think about my family. The day serves as a reminder to my roots and where I came from, and I can’t forget how my Grandparents worked so hard to make a better life for all of us. Now we have a family full of successful and talented people who are doing amazing things all across the country. My Grandfather (on the other side of the family) passed away a couple days after Valentines Day. He didn’t have everything handed to him either. I know that he worked incredibly hard up until his retirement and made sure to be able to leave this world knowing that my Grandmother would be taken care of financially. My grandparents were great examples of how to live within your means and they have certainly inspired me to strive to have their kind of comfort when I retire.

I really feel that through kindness week I could share the love that my grandparents gave me with others and at the same time, leave me with feelings of happiness and not those so-called “winter blues”. To start out my kindness week, I spent my Saturday perusing through thrift stores and stopping by an art gallery to look into acquiring some artwork and afterward I stopped by my partner’s job to visit him at the end of his shift at the diner. I saw that he had one table left in his section so I asked my partner to give me their bill so that I could pay it. He asked me if I knew the people, but I had no clue who they were, after all, it wouldn’t be “random” if I did, now would it? I also told my partner that he couldn’t tell them that I paid for it. It was incredibly heartwarming to see their smiles when they were told that their meal was paid for. Not only were they smiling, but the staff at the restaurant were so happy to see that someone would just randomly do something like that for their fellow man without expecting anything in return.

Fight hobophobia!

I really wanted to continue on with the kindness week so on Monday I decided that I would do give some money to a homeless person (which is something I don’t ever do because I don’t believe it solves anything etc. etc.). Yes, it seems super cliché but I decided that I would give some money with a bit of a twist. I told myself that the person had to ask me for change and if they did, I would give, sort of. On my way to the grocery store, I saw a man asking for change and I decided that he would be the next random person that would receive another random act of kindness. When he asked me for some change I stopped and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any change, so I hope that this works instead” and I dropped a $20 bill in his cup. He had an expression of shock on his face as I walked away and heard him shout out “thank you” as I continued down the street. I don’t care how he spent the money; I just know that that would be enough for him to really enjoy his evening which is something that so few of us do for $20.

Yesterday I wanted to do something kind for my coworkers. Most of them are single and hate the idea of Valentines Day (rightfully so because it’s kind of a bull$hit commercial spendathon) so I wanted to lift their spirits. I decided that the best way to do that would be to buy some gourmet cupcakes and share them with my coworkers. The cupcakes were so incredibly delicious and the smiles and thank-yous I got from my coworkers made me feel like a million bucks.

Tonight I am going to write an email to someone who inspired me in my life as a way to say thank you for the impact that they had on my life today. I hope that my random email really lifts their spirits knowing what a profound impact they have had on me!

What I really am beginning to remember again is that it doesn’t take much to make someone smile and make a difference in someone’s life. Money can’t really buy happiness, but it can certainly be used to create magic little moments in someone’s life. There are still a few days left in this “Random Acts of Kindness Week” so see if you can come up with something to help your fellow man. As an added bonus, since I am feeling so kind, I would be happy to sit down with anyone of you to help you with your debt management, just give me a shout!

Ok, now to end on a super, awesome note. Today I finished paying off my MasterCard! I am so freaking excited about it! I cannot believe that in a little as 1 year and 4 months that I have paid this off! I remember feeling so overwhelmed by how much debt I had on that card so to get this back down to zero feels amazing. So what happens now that I have it all paid off? Well if you follow the rule of Gail, you start paying the debt with the next highest interest rate which is my regular line of credit, and it only has $3,400 left on it! It pales in comparison to the beast that my MasterCard was!

  

But wait, there’s more! I have now paid off more that 50% of my debt!!! Isn’t that nucking futs!? That means that if I can keep going at this pace, I will be debt free well before 3 years have passed! It’s time to crack open the booze and celebrate the best February I’ve had in a very long time! I think my Grandparents are definitely looking down and smiling on me this month. 

Now it's Personal!

See, gobbledygook IS a word!

Can you believe that January is over and my mind still wants to write 2011 instead of 2012? Does this mean I’m afraid of the future? No. No it does not. So far this year has been going relatively well, and when I say relatively well, I mean ok, and when I say ok, I mean, it could be better. Yesterday I was having a conversation with my friend Andy about my budget and my future (I’m really amazed that Andy hasn’t asked me to shut up about the budget already – gold star for Andy) and I got to thinking about where am I planning to be at the end of all of this debt repayment gobbledygook. Sure, it’s wonderful that I will have no debt and I will have more freedom to come and go as I please, but what is the point to getting this debt paid off. I really have no desire to buy a house or a condo, I don’t want a car, and there aren’t any other major life-changing purchases that I have in mind. I don’t see myself as someone who fits the same norm as most people. Even friends that I would never expect to mutter the words “I’m moving to the suburbs” are actually planning on moving to the suburbs.

So many questions!

So the big question is, is there something wrong with being happy living in an apartment downtown with cheap rent and just stockpiling a wad of cash toward my retirement? Do I really need to buy into this idea of a house and family and 2.5 kids? How do you even go about raising half a child? The point is that I have started to hit a crossroads where I want to do something that really matters to me other than paying down this budget and trying to fit into some kind of mold that is expected of me. Yes, I have a great job and I am doing well, but is this really what I want to be getting myself into until I’m 65 67? Is there something more that I should be planning to save toward?

I realize that I am finishing off my 20’s and now I’m getting to the point where I am expected to “grow up” and get ready for the future, but I still have another 30+ years of work to do and I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I was really proud of all the things I have accomplished. My creative bone is itching to be used and my heart is yearning to help people who actually need it. I think the biggest challenge that I face is that I have a great salary and a stable(ish) job and I don’t want to do something stupid to mess this up for me, but at the same time, I crave risks, I love adventures, and I hate regrets.

So what am I going to do about this? Well I guess this is where I get back into the talk about setting goals. I want to set myself up so that if I choose, I can take a large chunk of my time to either go back to school, or search for another job, move to another city, open my own business, and really take control over my life. Big things always happen to me in February so I guess I’m just getting a little antsy over the idea of going through this month.

Actually, I guess this is a good time to bring up some exciting news! Starting near the end of the February, I am beginning a yoga teacher training course as part of the “Off the Mat and Into the World” program. The classes are only going to be once a week followed by charity classes every weekend as a way for me to “give back” to the community. If this program really has an impact on me, there are so many places that I can go to work with underprivileged people around the globe and I think that it could have a profound impact on my life. As an added bonus, this training could be the start of a series of courses I could take to make me into a certified yoga instructor and I could make some extra money on the side to help me get this debt paid down faster.

Anyway, I realize that this post is pretty personal and it isn't giving you, the reader, much to use toward your own personal debt repayment planning, but I always like to highlight the importance of looking at the big picture and starting to imagine where you plan to be in the next few years, decades or even in your retirement. With the right dream and the proper plan, your potential can truly be limitless so don’t lose sight of what really matters to you. Only you know what works you so don’t always worry about doing what everyone expects you to do and live your life free of regrets. 

Another Kick in the Pants

Gal-pal and BFF, Gail

When I went to the book store today to buy my book for the book club, I saw Gail’s book “Debt Free Forever” at the till and I instantly gushed to the teller about how that book had changed my life. Can you believe the progress that I have made? I’m really enjoying 2012 so far and I can only see things getting better! As of now I have less than $20,000 of debt left to pay off and it’s only been 1 year and 3 months since I started this process. That figure is truly mind-blowing for me being the guy who could have spent that kind of money in one year normally to become the guy who is giving financial advice at parties. Thank you so much Gail Vaz-Oxlade!

A nice kick in the pants!

This week has been full of great conversations and activities. On Wednesday I met with my friend ‘L’ for lunch which she graciously paid for. She and her husband were in a similar situation as I was with debt up to their eyeballs but they managed to find a way to get back on track and fix up their credit. Listening to her story was a great motivator for me to keep this up and to continue to look for ways that I can save. Not only do she and her husband manage to stay out of debt, on top of it all they raise two adorable children without trying to keep up with the Jones’. I feel like she is a great example of someone who figured out that you need to step back and really look at what it is that you need and try to live within your means. That lunch was certainly a nice kick in the pants.

I’m continuing on with my resolution to not drink for the month of January and it has definitely been a challenge. It’s so funny how people got used to me being that guy who always had a beer in his hand at a party and how they react to me as a result. I think that some people think that there may be something wrong with my health, but I’m here to tell you, there isn’t. The biggest motivation to quit drinking is to get myself back into shape, which it is definitely doing (hello flatter stomach). Secondly, I am getting to save a lot of money from my entertainment budget. I was at the bar on Friday and I spent only $12. That’s pretty ridiculous for me since usually a few beers will bring me up into the $30-$40 range. Since I am on the subject of being sober at the bar, I’d like to ask all the non-drinkers how they do it! Sure, I had a great time being with my friends and dancing to horrible remixes to horrible songs, but I couldn’t believe how much people make out – and with multiple people! It was really quite astonishing and disgusting.

Crayon Art - Cheap and Beautiful!

Speaking of entertainment, I want to share some great low-cost ideas with you that I have participated in recently. The first was a really great idea to make artwork using crayons and some canvas from the dollar store. My friend Eric hosted me and some friends to make some crayon art by melting crayons onto canvas and it turned out really well! The best part is that it was really inexpensive and a super fun idea. Search the internet for some how-to instructions and go to town! The next cheap as free activitiy is to get out and enjoy winter. Yes, I know that it’s colder than a witch’s tit out there, but when you strap on (lol) some skates and hit up the rink, you get to have some fun for free and enjoy winter at the same time. Yes, the winter can be $hitty sometimes, but as with all things, sometimes you just need to say “eff it” and make your bad situation into a good one.

I have really noticed lately that I am becoming more positive with my outlook on life. When I get asked how I am doing, I don’t even flinch when I say that I am truly doing well and I think that my healthy financials are living proof of this. Looking back, I always sort of had an understanding of how money works and I don’t recall being taught specifically how savings, RRSPs, loans, credit cards, and all what all that other financial jargon meant, but I took some initiative and got myself informed about finances. Now I know that there are some of you out there who are pledging to get your debt paid down this year, so if you are struggling, take the time to get informed because the resources are plentiful. My methods are not going to work for everyone, but there is a way to go about this if you just commit to working hard at getting on track. Trust in yourself and there is no limit to what you can do in this world. 

Short and Sweet

Today has been incredibly productive. I cleaned my room like a mad man, hung some pictures, did 5 loads of laundry, and it’s not even supper time yet! These days are great because you feel good about accomplishing lots of tasks and the whole time you barely need to spend any money (except for the $4 per load for laundry – seriously).

All in all, this week has passed really well. I am still loving language training and not having to deal with any work situations. My stress levels are at a new low because I have been able to relax, do lots of yoga, and finally get caught up on my chores. 

The other added element that is making this time away from work feel so fruitful is that I have given up drinking alcohol for the entire month of January since I returned from my holidays. The savings alone are phenomenal! Instead of buying 2 beers at the bar, I was able to buy a new broom which I needed so badly. Not only that, I was able to go out to a couple restaurants with friends and spend under $20 (including tip) for my meals. It makes me happy to know that I can still have fun with my friends on a very limited budget AND without drinking.

All this 'no drinking' stuff is getting me set up for the big day that I completely pay off my credit card and have a party to celebrate! I have a bottle of vodka that I have been waiting to drink for that exact moment. The bottle was one of the last things that I had bought on my credit card before the big debt repayment process, so I thought it would be fitting to make myself wait to drink it until I have my credit card completely paid off! Not only will that celebration be about paying off that card, but also to celebrate my halfway mark accomplishment.

I’ll try give you guys a better entry later this week with more details about how I’ve been getting on this month!

Damn this process feels good! What are you waiting for?

Lost and Found

Whoo! Saskatoon!

My past 2 weeks of vacation in Saskatoon were phenomenal. Finally I think I can say that I was able to almost completely remove myself from thinking about work and really taking some much deserved time for myself. While I was away, I think I ate (with the exception of Christmas dinners) all of my meals in restaurants and the bills averaged out to around $50 per meal (adding in the booze and everything else). What really blew me away was the generosity of my family and friends during the holiday season. I think that almost all of my meals were paid for, in fact I went to one restaurant 4 times and only paid once after insisting on covering the bill for my friends. In the end I spent on average what I normally would in a week on expenses. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got home and had over ¾ of my paycheck still in my bank account AND today was payday which is always an added bonus.

When I was back in Saskatoon, I got to be reminded of the way that I used to spend every day. It really woke me up again and lit a new fire under my a$$ to get back in financial shape. Not only does it serve as a reminder of how I used to spend, it gives me something to look forward to when I am debt free. It’s not going to be hard to get by once I have no debt to pay for and I’m really looking forward to being liberal with my money again.  It’s incredible how much simply removing yourself from temptation can affect your spending. Being back here in my apartment typing this entry I can’t help but feel incredibly optimistic about my upcoming year. In a month from now I will have completely paid off my MasterCard and that feels incredible. Not only that, my other debt balances have each dropped by more than $1,000.

I love me some Gail time!

This month will be just what I need to get me back on track again. As of now, I am on full-time French training (yes I am procrastinating on my “devoirs”) so I am back into a manageable routine. Believe me, routines are the best thing for staying on a budget because it reduces the amount of surprise expenses such as meals with colleagues and I don’t have to always worry about bringing a lunch. Now I am able to leave school for lunch at the same time every day and the school is really close to where I work which means that I can eat all of my meals at home and catch a few minutes of Gail time! Today I got to eat delicious leftover lasagna and tomorrow I am going to make myself a scrumptious sandwich. What makes me even happier is that I finally have some time to go to yoga classes again. I’m telling you, all this wonderful routine time has definitely got my gears going toward having a schedule like this in the future. If I can manage to get my French levels for work and not have to do anymore after work classes, I am going to be so very happy.

Now for some random, but exciting news! While I was away, I received a package from Canada Post with a letter attached that reads as follows:

Dear Customer:

The enclosed item containing your identification was found loose in the mail stream. It may not have been intended for the mail, but merely dropped in a street mail box without a wrapper or postage.

As a courtesy, Canada Post Corporation is returning this item to you free of charge.

Found! So amazing!

The attached item was my lost wallet! How lovely is that? Thank you to the person who took the time to drop my wallet off for me. I never imagined that I would see this thing again since it has been several months since someone stole it from me. The best part is that the person who took my wallet only took the cash and my MasterCard, leaving me with all of my ID cards so I can rest a little better knowing that someone isn’t out there trying to steal my identity. The $hitty part is that my wallet is a little, well, disgusting and looks like it has been run over by a car. But that’s not what the focus is on here, it’s the fact that someone, somewhere decided to be kind and return something to its rightful owner, me. I feel great starting a new year with a feeling of hope in my fellow man and I can’t wait to yet another fantastic learning experience.

Happy New Year everyone!

xoxo

Last Post of the Year

My loyal readers, thank you again for all the support over 2011. I really feel like this has been my year. There are so many great things that I have accomplished. My biggest achievement was finding a permanent job that includes a great pension and benefits package that will keep me less at risk to getting into further financial trouble in the future. Not only that, I now get paid to be on vacation, which is a first for me in my entire working life. It feels great to be writing this blog post in sunny, snowy, Saskatoon while getting the opportunity to relax with my family and friends without worrying about my finances. I can't think of a better way to wrap up the year!


Being back home really reminds me how lucky I am. Not only have I come back to Saskatoon for the second time this year and I have taken trips to Halifax and Las Vegas while managing to stay right on track with my debt repayment - have you seen the numbers? It is so incredible to think that I am not far from being halfway finished my goal of paying off my debt and that I will not have any debt left on my credit card. 


All this being said, I didn't manage to do one thing which I had set out to do at the beginning of this year, and that was to make sure that I write one blog post per week. I got pretty close though, this will be the fiftieth! For someone with a demanding schedule like mine, I think I did pretty good, and my readership numbers have proven it! I'm now close to having 9000 reads which lets me know that it's more than just my friends and family who are reading about my challenge and my struggle to pay this all off in such a quick amount of time. 


The new year is going to present its own challenges for me. As soon as I get back home, I start on full-time French training! This could end up being something incredible for me since I will be one step closer to being bilingual, or I could end up feeling really high strung. I'm hoping that this will feel like a bit of a break for me though and I think it will help me get back on track with my budget because I won't have such a wonky schedule. Not only that, this should give me more opportunities to do yoga consistently again.  I know that we all make resolutions to be in better shape or to exercise more, but I'm taking this one seriously. I want to try to do yoga at least 3 times a week. I think that can be completely possible. When you undertake something stressful like debt repayment, your physical health will help you to keep focussed and deal with stress more than if you are not taking care of yourself. 


2011 was a great year for me for a lot of reasons which you can read about in my past blog entries. Taking control of your finances helps you to take control of your life. If you are thinking about what to do for your new years resolution, I highly recommend that you do this process. Not only is it possible, but you will have my support to see it through as a success. I look forward to getting back on track in the new year and sharing some new pearls of wisdom with you all! 


Happy New Year Everyone!


xo


John

Shopping Day!

Nice Package!

I woke up today to a loud bang followed by a shaking feeling thinking that a bomb had gone off, which I think was my body’s way of putting me into flight mode. Why? Because today was my big Christmas spending shopping day! Without giving away too many details, I think I may have gone a little bit overboard, but I did pretty damn good too! It’s not really a big deal that I overspent in my mind though, because I still managed to pay down a huge chunk of debt and maintain a certain level of sanity at the same time (always a plus in my book). Overall the shopping experience wasn’t too bad with a few exceptions of ridiculous shoppers and obnoxious sales staff. I do have to sympathize for people who work at a mall during the holiday season though. Usually it’s a bunch of students who are already stressed out with exams and projects to finish on top of having to be friendly with stressed out people at the same time so I wasn’t surprised when I got into a discussion about whether the colour of the item I was looking at was not black but rather a navy blue, to which she tried to tell me that navy blue is just another form of black. You’re not pulling a fast one on me girlfriend, okay?

In terms of the budget for my family get-togethers, I have done well so far. The first gift is perfect, but I’m worried that it won’t be something that everyone wants. I guess that is what makes a Secret Santa without names a little difficult. I don’t want to buy something that only the girls will like, and I don’t want to buy something that only the boys will like either. Decisions, decisions! All I have left to find is another $25 gift. I saw a few things that I know will be good, but now I need to decide which will be the best of them.  There were some other things that I wanted to get but I knew that I would be able to find them cheaper online, so I have been sleuthing around the internet and I think I found the perfect thing for the perfect price. Now it’s just a matter of whether or not I can get the item to my place in time before I leave! I hope I’ll figure it out before Christmas!

Aka, Negative Nancy

I am being faced with another little problem though. My mom emailed me and asked what my boyfriend wants for Christmas and now I feel like I need to buy something for my parents, which is not something I had planned. I don’t like being hit with unexpected surprises in my budget, but I guess that’s why Gail is always stressing that I have an emergency fund! So if I end up buying something for my parents, that’s going to add (give or take) another $100 to my spending for the holidays. Realistically that isn’t so bad, but I would rather have the money to be able to go out for dinner with my parents instead of getting them something they won’t use or remember, or even worse, return it for a god awful baby-blue-and-neon-pink sweater. Seriously, I did not approve that purchase Mom! If I do decide to go out and spend on my parents, then I will make sure to keep it smart, unlike the person I overheard at the mall saying that he had to spend at least $100 on a pair of gloves. Are you effing kidding me? I can’t believe that I used to be that person. I remember spending almost $300 on a sweater. I love that sweater to death and get complimented on it every time I wear it, but man I would gladly trade it for 6 equally nice $50 sweaters right about now.

Umm... Boney M?

Now without sounding like Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer, I am getting really excited for the holidays! There are so many frustrating moments leading up to the holidays, but maybe the past couple Christmas parties I have attended are getting me in the mood to celebrate. All I need is a little Boney M Christmas and some Christmas drinks and I am good to go. It also helps that my family has started to message me and tell me how happy they are that I am coming back to visit. A big part of me really wants to just let go of my budget while I am on vacation, and I think that I will simply because I have achieved so much over this past year. I will still stay away from credit, but I will maybe put a little less toward my debt repayment and a little more on myself. I know, I know, it’s not the best thing to do, but at this point it just feels right. Alright, I only have 4-5 more Christmas celebrations to go now! Wish me luck everyone, and see you next week!

Scare Tactics

Scare tactics are effective on the elderly

One of the most remarkable things about writing a financial blog is how open people become when talking to me about their own financial struggles. Listening to other people’s challenges and successes gives me a lot of reassurance as well as tons of hope that I can continue to get ahead with this process. A common theme in the discussions I have with people who still carry debt is that most don’t have any idea how they can get their debt paid off. Fortunately I have tons of ideas to help them out. The part that usually baffles me though is how long people are willing to wait to pay off their debt in full.

For example, when I look at my current “repayment plan” for my student loans, my lender projects that I still have another 89 months (7 years and 5 months) of minimum payments to go before I will pay this off entirely. Not only that, the amount of interest I will end up paying is $1,837.78. I hate dumping any of my hard earned money onto interest payments so when I hear about people being comfortable with paying off a small amount of debt over such a long amount of time, I want to smack them over the head and tell them to wake up. I get it, we all feel entitled to the best of the best, and since we work hard, we should be rewarded. The problem is that if you keep resorting to credit to buy everything you want, you could end up with nothing when the debt gets quickly out of control.

If you were like I was, teetering on the brink of financial disaster, you need to stop and take control of your situation before it gets unmanageable. There are some major signs that you should be weary of such as: not being able to make more than the minimum payments on your bills; not knowing how much debt you have; living paycheck to paycheck; having no savings; creditors constantly call you for payments; you remortgage your house every other year; and the list goes on. I recently read an article (I’m sorry I can’t remember where) where most financial advisors said they wished that people would have come and seen them sooner to deal with their finances rather than later because most of the time, they are too far gone to be helped and they have to file for bankruptcy. This couldn’t be any truer. If you are like I was with my money, look for something that will motivate or inspire you to get your debt repaid. For me, I can think of a lot of things I would rather do with $1,800 other than use it for interest (like a mini vacation), and not to mention how less stressed I get as the debt numbers go down. Debt repayment is work, but when you build a strong support system like I have, it is completely possible to do.

  

Canada's Debt Clock!

Ok, so you may be wondering what is with the scare tactics/pep talk? In one of the conversations I had recently with someone who I don’t even really know, she told me about Canada’s debt clock at debtclock.ca. This site has a scary tracker of Canada’s ever-rising debt total. The site claims that by March, 2012, Canada’s debt will have skyrocketed to over $585 BILLION dollars. According to the site, “That’s $61,454 per minute, $3.7-million per hour, or $88.5-million every day!” Right now that means that on average, every Canadian is carrying $16,000 of debt. Now, with spending projections this holiday season, we can only expect this increase to rise even further.

But what can we do to reduce this number, right? We can’t be responsible for other people’s neglectful spending, but we can certainly do our part to encourage others to start spending money smarter, especially over the holidays. In a country where we buy everything we want on credit, I find it surprising that people have anything left to buy for each other at Christmas that they don’t already have! Just like last year, I want to emphasize that there are so many ways that you can save money this year during the holidays.

Make a shopping list like Santa!!

When you are out shopping, be like Santa and make a list. Making a list when you shop will help keep you on track with what you want to buy for your loved ones. Try to keep the list as specific as possible, and write down the items that you want to buy even for the stores where you know what you want to buy and put a price limit on how much you want to spend. If you want to go the extra mile, look for deals online for items that you want to buy and save yourself even more money (as long as the shipping isn’t ridiculous). If you can stick to a list, you will have an easier time staying on budget.

Leave the credit card at home. This is a general rule for me everyday, but it’s even better to put into practice during the holidays. You shouldn’t have to go into debt just to buy everyone you know a gift, and nor should they. Don’t ever feel bad about giving a friend a card or simply asking your family to do a gift exchange instead of buying each of them a gift. And if you’re doing a gift exchange with friends, think doing what my friend Gigi does and have everyone re-gift something that they don’t use! This idea is not only a great way to recycle, but it is also a hilarious way to spend time with your friends during the holidays!

Be thoughtful with your gift giving. Can you think back to 5 Christmases ago and remember everything you got? Even better, can you remember all the things that you bought for your loved ones? I find that the gifts I remember the most are the ones that were made by someone.  I remember one year when my brother blew up a picture of us as kids working with my Dad. He was so moved by that photo, which it really made the whole day a wonderful and memorable experience for us all (and no, it wasn’t even Christmas day). I can’t tell you what I got for the past few years other than maybe some money but I don’t even remember the amounts. What I do remember are the fun times that I had with my family which I guess is why I go back home year after year.

The holidays can be the most stressful time of the year, or they can be the most exciting and memorable. With the debt counter climbing higher, take time to stop and think of ways that you can contribute to reducing your debt instead of augmenting it this season. The holidays will become less stressful if you plan ahead and use your own money, not the banks’. If you’re reading this and thinking, “well $hit John, it’s too late now”, then perhaps you should make it your new year’s resolution to put $25 a week into a special “Christmas Savings” account and by this time next year, you will have $1,200 to spend ‘til your heart’s content. 

Old Habits Die Hard

Yes, I look this sexy when I'm sick

You may be wondering what took me so long to write my latest blog post and the answer is simple; I was sick and avoiding having to write another fail blog. Being sick is one of the most annoying and time-wasting things, but I think getting a cold was my body’s way of telling me to slow… down. These days I have been stretching myself thin with work and French classes.

When I started this debt repayment process, I was stuck in a lot of habits like using my debit card for everything, eating out, not saving, not planning and lately I find that I have gotten back into some of my old habits that got me into debt. In my typical fashion, the week started out with really good intentions; I was ready to make a meal plan and figure out how I was going to find ways to cut my outside-of-the-budget spending. The problem is that I never got around to making that meal plan. Not only did I not do the plan, I took out my weekly allowance and still used my debit card to go out and buy $60 worth of records (I’m a sucker for Florence + the Machine).

My personal motto

Now without being too offensive to the people with kids and spouses, why is every financial book geared towards you guys? Don’t these financial planners know that I am perfectly capable of effing up my finances without a family and a mortgage? The majority of all the meal plans and recipes that I find are for families, which has pros and cons. The pro is that the meals you make will stretch out for a long time. The con is that it’s easy to get sick of something when you eat 6 portions of it. I remember seeing one meal planner for couples on someone else’s blog where she talked about going through flyers and looking at what was on sale and making a plan based on that. That is all well and good, but for me, that’s a lot of work and I don’t keep any flyer of any kind. She did have a good idea or two, which I will now steal and add into my own planning.

Anyway, I have decided to use this blog post to make my meal plan for the week. Now I have no excuses, sigh. I did do some research and I found a couple of interesting ideas from other blogs. This time of year it is more important to implement a meal plan what with all the holiday parties, pot-lucks, work lunches and so on that keep coming up, or maybe that’s even more of a good reason to be having a meal plan? The first thing to do is to get a program to make a list or spreadsheet. Certainly, it pays to plan ahead and it will save you time in the long run when you are out grocery shopping or doing something similar.

I want my meal plans to start on Wednesdays because that’s when I get paid and I find that people tend to overcrowd the grocery stores on the weekends so when I shop on a Wednesday I can avoid the clutter and find more selection. I worked at a grocery store for 4 years so I know that major grocery chains get new stock in every day, but it runs out when there are more people around and when there are sales - obviously. Usually when something runs out it’s because everyone has ordered a lot of it and they don’t have enough to distribute or else the person who does the ordering is incompetent. Imported items take longer to restock because of where they come from, so you might have better odds finding everything you are looking for if you go on a weekday. 

The ultimate time saver!

Start your list by putting in the days of the week (duh). Next, add in all of the meals that you are going to have to make. For example, each day should have breakfast (if you eat breakfast), lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks because let’s get serious; most of us have a little afternoon craving for chocolate or some other delicious food most afternoons at work. If you’re sharing groceries with a partner, then add them into your plan as well. If you know that you are going to be really busy one day, then don’t choose to do a complicated meal where you end up eating at 10:00 pm after an 11 hour day. I have had days like that where we want to kill each other over how hungry we are. So, make sure that when you plan your recipes that you look at the cooking plans or choose recipes that can be cooked in a Crockpot.

Here’s an example of how my week could look (the J is for me, the R is for my partner):

Wednesday

Breakfast: J: Oatmeal; R: Cereal (Kashi);

Snack 1: J: Banana, yogurt; R: off

Lunch: J&R: Tuesday Dinner Leftovers

Snack 2: J: Carrot Sticks with dip; R; off

Dinner: J&R: Rosemary Chicken Skillet with Potatoes (Recipe)

Thursday

Breakfast: J: Cereal; R: Toast with Peanut Butter and Honey

Snack 1: J: 2 Mandarin oranges; R: off

Lunch: J&R: Leftover Chicken Salad Sandwich

Snack 2: J: Cliff Bar; R; off

Dinner: J&R: Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Jasmine Rice

Friday

Breakfast: J: Oatmeal; R: Cereal (Kashi)

Snack 1: J: Banana and Yogurt; R: Cliff Bar

Lunch: J: Lunch with Cafeteria with coworker; R: Leftover Curry Shrimp

Snack 2: J: Banana; R; Almonds

Dinner: J&R: Butter Chicken with rice

Saturday

Breakfast: J: Oatmeal (PC Blue Menu); R: Cereal (Kashi)

Snack 1: J: off; R: Cliff Bar

Lunch: J&R: Friday night leftovers

Snack 2: R; Almonds

Dinner: J&R: Lasagna

Sunday

Breakfast: R: Oatmeal, smoothie

Brunch: J: Bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice

Lunch: R: Leftover Lasagna

Dinner: Potluck Dinner: J making Roast Turkey and Stuffing

Monday

Breakfast: J: Oatmeal (PC Blue Menu); R: Cereal (Kashi)

Snack 1: J: Bagel with Cream Cheese; R: Cliff Bar

Lunch: J&R: Leftover Turkey Sandwiches

Snack 2: J: Almonds; R; Banana

Dinner: J&R: Leftovers

Tuesday

Breakfast: J&R: Cereal (Kashi)

Snack 1: J: Oatmeal; R; Orange and Cliff Bar

Lunch: J&R: Chicken Salad Sandwich

Snack 2: J: Carrot Sticks; R: Protein Shake

Dinner: J&R: Whole Wheat Pasta with Tomato Sauce

Now you’ll notice that I don’t include drinks on weekdays in here. I have a coffee club at work, so we all just buy some coffee every month and contribute that way instead of buying a coffee out every day and the ol' balls and chain works at a restaurant, so he can get his coffee or tea there. This plan not only saves us money, but time as well. I also bought a water jug for the office so that I can have filtered water on hand to drink everyday instead of having to buy bottled water or something like that. The oatmeal is the instant kind that I bring to work. It’s really that simple, so just get it together and you can be well on your way to being a successful debt destroyer like me!

On a side tangent,

I have now paid off $15,000 worth of debt!

Isn’t that incredible?

Progress Report - NIL

This is the battle inside my brain.

Here we are, half way through November and I don’t really have a lot more progress to report on. Actually, all I can report on is the lack of progress I have made this week! Not a day goes by when I don’t consider myself lucky for all that I have (love, job, health, friends, family, stability, home, freedom, etc) but for some reason the debt constantly remains on my mind and adds that tiny bit of stress in my life. I cannot wait to have officially banished this debt once and for all but at the same time I certainly did some counterproductive activities these past few weeks that leave me feeling a little hypocritical. I really wonder if all these financial gurus ever experience the same problem or if these problems are what made them into the strong financial leaders that we have today and if perhaps one day I may become one of them. I have always had a strong desire to help people work out solutions to their problems so I guess I should never say it isn’t a possibility in the future. This blog definitely makes me feel as though I am contributing something valuable to help my readers with their debt problems.  

What really makes doing this challenge such a, um, challenge, is that I am a very social person by nature so I always find it difficult to avoid spending money on fun social events. Lately I have not really been the best example for my friends and I think that they have been paying the price inadvertently. I don’t ask them for money per se but I have been consistently bailed out by friends here and there. Ok, well not really bailed out since most of the time they will offer me a drink or a snack, or whatever, but the reality is that I should just learn to say no every now and then. Really, I ate poutine 4 times this week, which is just beyond stupid and I wonder why my waistline is expanding and why I am down to $20 in my bank account before payday.

Ugly Christmas Budget

Despite all of this, it’s worth mentioning that I have been having a lot of fun lately doing all these uncharacteristically ‘expensive’ things with wonderful friends, but now I’m feeling like I hit that point where I need to just stop and try to find fun activities that don’t cost me anything and that are a little bit more healthy for me and most importantly, activities that don’t leave others spending money on me! I like to do cheap and easy things because I am cheap and easy enjoy activities that keep me on my debt repayment path. However, what is beginning to scare me lately is that the pressure to spend seems to be rising and I think I know why – Christmas. I have gotten at least 5 invitations to Christmas parties that involve me having to buy some kind of gift or tacky Christmas sweater, or contribute to a potluck, or whatever. The point is that they all involve spending. I really don’t want to have to go out and spend anything and I’m sure I’m going to get creative and find a way to save some money by making gifts or something, but there’s always that added bit of pressure to spend.

If you take today for example, I woke up with the wrong attitude and I paid the price throughout the day and here I am writing a less than funny entry in my blog. On the flipside, if I were to approach my struggles with a positive attitude and look for opportunities to learn from my mistakes instead beating myself up over stupid and insignificant things, I will resort less to spending money on eating out or overindulging on “weekend super happy funtime” spending to cope with my stress. I’m going to really push myself this week to take some time to clear my to do list and end the week with a strong feeling of accomplishment, and if I don’t manage to do that, then I will step back and look at what it was that I did wrong.

Tonight I got home from my regular 11 hour day and ordered a pizza. Not because I really wanted pizza, but I wanted something that was convenient. I still have not sat down and made a real meal plan despite 2 of my friends sending me links to some weekly meal preparation websites. I also lived with my Aunt who spends her Sundays preparing meals for the entire week so that when she comes home from work, all she needs to do is throw the food in the oven and she is ready to go for the week. Mind you, she doesn’t really have a budget for food because she has done very well with her finances and isn’t carrying debt anymore, but it’s still a brilliant idea nonetheless.

So, it’s time that I start getting on the meal plan bandwagon, but I am going to give myself the gift of one meal out per week – I more than deserve it. Once I figure out how to get this right and make it work for me, I will report back to you on how it goes and hopefully it will help you save some money too! AND if I’m really really really good, I’ll try to get you some figures on what I spent on groceries so that you know how much this weekly meal plan ends up costing me.

Now just some random side notes about general goings on in my life. First, yesterday was my amazing Dad’s birthday! Happy birthday again Daddio! Also I am now both an iPhone AND BlackBerry user. Not exactly excited about this but I must say I still love my iPhone 1000x more than the BB. On the weekend I participated in an amazing acrobatics yoga workshop and did a shoulder-stand off some random’s lap. And finally, there was a little bit of sad news last week. My beloved Fishy has gone to the golden toilet in the sky. I had that beautiful fish for 4 ½ years too little.

He sleeps with the fishes now. 

RIP my sweet Fishy.  xo

John

Lordy Lordy, Look who's Forty (Percent Paid off)

Whoo! I'm cruising along!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very happy to announce that I have managed to pay off almost 40% of my debt now! Isn’t that incredible? It’s barely been a year! Not only that, I have paid off more than $11,000 in credit card debt! I am unbelievably happy about the way things are going with my repayment plan. Now that the interest payments are getting massacred, I am paying off more and more principle so MasterCard doesn’t know what hit them. What makes me even happier is that I bought 2 plane tickets home for the holidays for $700 each AND gave $100 to charity and despite having purchased $1,400 worth of stuff; I still managed to reduce my card to $3,558! Finally I am feeling more like one of the converted.

During this economic meltdown, I am becoming quite grateful that I started this process when I did. I can’t imagine what some people out there must be feeling with debt like I have and the possibility of losing their jobs looming over their heads. I think the message is becoming ever clearer: we need to plan better. Not everyone is going to agree with everything I say, but I think it’s about time some of us got a debt enema and cleansed out some of this $hit. I read an interview with my besty, Gail Vaz-Oxlade where she talks about getting rid of credit scores and eliminating credit card debt. She describes a generation out students that got duped into signing up for credit cards with high maximums and embarrassing interest rates.

Inspiration!

To make matters worse, the government’s student loan program has ridiculous interest rates and students are paying the price. To add to the frustration, it is getting harder for graduates to find a good enough job to even start to pay back their loans properly other than with just the minimum payment. The repayment plan is so lousy that they have people paying off their student debt for 10 years and accumulating thousands of dollars in interest. It’s no wonder this generation is not learning any positive lessons about credit. Now don’t go thinking that I’m going to be sitting in some tent somewhere protesting about the world’s inequalities and all the problems that causes (believe me, the list is huge), but I really just want to shake some sense into some people who think that it is sustainable to live the way they do and rack everything up on credit. Why do we always try to keep up with the Joneses when they are probably in just as much (or more) debt than us?

This is the part where I challenge you. In Gail’s interview, she is challenging everyone to live without using their credit cards for the week of November 13 to 19. Just one simple week and it’s so much easier than you think (believe me; I go months at a time). If you are one of the people who is automatically thinking, “no effing way John, I can’t live without my credit card, especially during black Friday”, then you probably really need to try this exercise. Really, calculate how much money you are spending every year on interest. On a card with 19.9% interest, your $100 item becomes a $119.90 item in a year. You buy a $1,000 item and that jumps to $1,199.00 for that item. In my case, my interest rate was 18.9%. I carried a $14,581.45 balance, which means that in one year, I would pay $2,755.85 in interest! It’s no wonder the credit card company kept increasing my limit; they wanted me to be able to carry more money on my card!

I think the sign is self explanitory

So here’s where I challenge you (see what I did there, it’s called role reversal); try to go a week without using your credit card, or better yet, go the entire month. Leave your card in the freezer, throw it behind a heavy piece of furniture, and just learn to leave the house without it. For those of you who are feeling extra ambitious, go the extra mile and calculate how to get rid of the balance on it once and for all.  There is a great debt repayment tool on CNN that allows you to enter as many of your debts that you have and it tells you exactly how much you will need to pay on each one of your debts. You can then set it the time you want to pay it off in and it will adjust the figures accordingly. Give it a go! You really can pay of the debt, it just takes a bit of focus but it is certainly possible.

Good luck with your challenge everyone!

John

Halloween Havoc

I love Halloween!

Don’t panic everyone, I’m still alive and well. Yes, I know it has been over a week since my last amazing and awe inspiring blog entry, but I here I am starting of year number 2 with a poor rapport with blog writing so it’s time for me to jump back on the bandwagon. Well, it’s not just the blog writing I’m struggling with, but there are couple other things as well that I’ve fallen behind on. Do you every have those days when a number of stupid little things grind your gears and everything just seems frustrating? Well that was certainly me yesterday. I really wanted to write my blog entry but I was in no mood to do anything other than eat and sleep (in that order).

Those who know me in real life and not just on this blog, know that I am generally a very lighthearted person and when you want to be around someone positive, normally I am the guy to go to. However, there are some days where I just want to say “eff it” and just go home and crawl into bed. Those kinds of days are pretty rare, but every now and then, I really need to step back and not put anyone ahead of me but myself. Truth be told, that still is one of the life lessons that I struggle to wrap my head around. Where I find the most difficulty is just being completely selfish. There’s a tendency for me to put others first but sometimes those people don’t reciprocate and I get frustrated. It’s also a huge source of why I (and others) get into debt.

In any case, I’m feeling better today and a little less strung out so I think that everything is going to work out just fine. What is at the core of my stress is my bank account. I love Halloween so much, but I went overboard on my spending again this year. I had a Halloween party at my place on the weekend and it was lots of fun and well decorated, but I certainly blew the budget. To top it off, with Christmas around the corner, my savings account got a swift kick to the chestnuts and it’s drained back down to under $500. Not really impressive in my opinion, but what’s done is done and I cannot wait to see my family again in less than 2 months! The best part is that I finally (FINALLY) get a paid Christmas vacation. Do you know how hard it is to pay bills, fly home, and buy gifts when you lose 2 weeks of salary? It’s a lot like listening to U2’s music – awful.

But there’s no point in complaining right? With all the knowledge I have, I can certainly get back up and rebuild my savings and get the debt repayment back on track. In a lot of ways, I’m really starting out year two with the same kind of problems that I had before. I have been eating like garbage, I’m not getting as much exercise as I was before, and my meal plan and fallen deep into the toilet and I have to find some extra long rubber gloves to fish it out.

Last month I finished my 30 day challenge with flying colours. I didn’t spend any money outside of the grocery store, but I think that made me go a little crazy with my spending at Halloween. My new challenge over the next couple months is going to be to save up some spending money while I am in Saskatoon, get better at making a meal plan, and find ways to stay as positive as possible while surviving the holiday season somehow - wish me luck!