Reader Question - My Financial Road

I got an interesting question this week.  

"How did you get started on your financial road? I am 51 and wanting to get things in order. "
-Anonymous

It's interesting because it's complex.  How much of my success do I chalk up to my personality, to my child hood or my planning as a young adult.  There are many, many reasons why I am in such as comfortable financial position so I've decided to whittle it down to what are (likely) the three most important factors.  

1. I was able to earn and manage money at a young age.  I learned it's value by working for it and then using it to buy what I wanted.  I also learned the importance of saving and giving it away.  You can check out detailed posts on how talking to kids about money is important, learning to handle money as a kid, and making money mistakes early on.  

2. I always lived on less than I earned.  When I started earning money as a young child 40% went to savings and 10% went to charity.  I only spent half of it.  When I earned money lifeguarding as a teenager every penny was saved.  Working for minimum wage over my university years I lived on 50% or less of what I took home and invested the rest.  Currently I live on 48% of my income and the rest either gets tucked into my RRSP or goes to building equity in my house by paying down my mortgage faster.  This may be a difficult idea for somebody who is use to living off 90% of their income, but try deflating your lifestyle a bit.  I am willing to bet that you lived on a lot less than you do now 10 - 20 years ago.  I am also willing to bet that you were just as happy 10 - 20 years ago as you are now.  So start moving back to your old spending habits.  

3. I know what I want and I plan for it.  Even though I'm not sure what my life will look like when I retire I know how much I'll need to maintain my current lifestyle and I'm working towards it.  I planed and researched my investment strategy in detail over a couple of years.  I also planned for the purchase of my house and saved for it for four years.  At all these points I knew what I wanted, where I was, and I made a detailed plan to cover the distance.  

Have a question?  I'd love to hear it!

RQ: On not having a car

I recently had the following question from one of my readers: 

Do you enjoy not having a car beside the money you save?  (You can read about my decision to go car-less here.) 

The simple answer, YES!  For a number of reasons. 

1. I like taking the bus to work every morning, it gives me a chance to sit and read.  Sure I could shave 30-40 min off of my commute every day if I bought a car, however I’d spend that extra 30-40 min a day reading so might as well pay less for that small luxury and bus it. 

2. Whenever I start thinking about my chosen modes of transportation I get a warm and fuzzy feeling.  It’s nice to know that I’m doing my own little part for the planet and not burning fossil fuels.  This way I can hopefully make sure that my grandchildren have air that is as clean, or cleaner than, mine. 

3. It’s good exercise.  I walk every week to the grocery store.  It forces me to get out into the fresh air and get some exercise.  Again, it does take longer to get the chore done every week but I have learned to enjoy it.  Most of the time I’ll take it as an opportunity to enjoy the scenery and the solitude of my own thoughts.  Other times I’ll download a free lecture from iTunes U and give both my brain and my muscles a workout. 

4. It’s stylish.  When you arrive at the grocery store dragging a wagon, which matches your jacket (it was accidental, I swear) you’re sure to be noticed.  In fact I’ve had a lady comment on how “cute” it was and wished that she had thought of it first. 

5. I don’t have to take time out of my workweek to get oil changed, tires switched, and breakdown’s fixed. 

First I went car-less for the savings.  Now I’m staying car-less because I love the lifestyle that comes with out having a car.  Give it a try, I dare you!

Got a question?  I’d love to hear it!

Reader Questions

To date most of my content has been written with based on two things.  Personal preference and reader numbers.

1) Personal preference.  It's my blog, what can I say I write about what interests me.  I am of the general impression that if you are reading my blog you are either interested in what I am saying or you want to broaden your horizons.

2) Reader numbers.  If a particular subject brings more readers I write more about it.  If a subject brings fewer readers I skip it.  Not very complicated I'm afraid.

But I thought I'd take the chance to open the floor.  I want to know what you want to know about.  So I am inviting all and anyone to submit their questions.  Simply write a comment in any one of my posts with your question and I will do my best to answer.  If you don't want your question to appear in the comments section let me know in your comment and I won't post it.  (All comments go through me for approval to cut down on spam.)

Your questions could be anything under the sun, such as:

How do you . . . (budget, invest, get around town)
Tell me more about . . . (RRSPs, TFSAs, mortgages)
What would you do if . . . (you were in my shoes, you lost your job, you had this opportunity)
What do you think of . . . (debt, education, the Easter Bunny)

Seriously, send me a comment and let me know what puzzles you, or what you've been wondering about.  I'd love to hear from you.