Building It Yourself

After becoming a home owner I have become very interested in fixing, and building things myself.  Despite my strong academic background I have always been fond of making things with my hands.  That is one of the reasons that I went into nursing.  The requirement to master tactile skills and put them to use on a daily basis (above and beyond typing of course.)

There are a lot of good reasons to learn to build things yourself.

- It tends to be cheaper to buy the components and assemble it yourself as oppose to buying the product already made.  This keeps the cash in your pocket instead of thoughtfully sending it to somebody else.

-It's good entertainment.  Any project when approached with the right attitude can be a lot of fun.  You learn and toy around with the project as you go making the process an entertaining pursuit.

-It leaves a sense of pride with you.  Not just immediately after you build the object but every time that you use it you can feel a sense of pride at what you've created; and humans were meant to create.

-If you made it you can fix it.  If you made an object you are familiar with all its components and how they are assembled.  This means that when the thing breaks instead of running to a professional to repair it or chucking the whole thing and buying a new one you can fix it yourself.

-It is incredibly empowering.  We live in an age where we depend on specialists to do things for us.  What we tend to forget is that they are humans just like us.  Now I'm not recommending that you try and take out your own appendix or anything so drastic.  I do recommend that you challenge the idea that you are not capable of what another human is capable off.  No man is an island and empowering yourself does not mean that you can't depend on others from time to time.  What is does mean is that you should be able to depend on yourself.

So go build something, learn a new skill, and enjoy what you've accomplished.

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

Retirement - Making my own Pension Plan

Following yesterday's post I'd like to address the monitory side of a readers comment.

"Keep in mind that the earlier you retire the more you have to save because you'll have a larger number of retired years to budget for. There's always the option of semi-retirement - getting a low stress part-time job where you get out of the house, have that social time and financial reward but leave behind the stress of a full-time career. Just something to think on.. "

Actually I will need the same amount of money no matter when I retire.  Allow me to explain.  

When I was in the military life was pretty sweet.  I had a defined benefits pension plan which guaranteed a certain sum every year until you died based on how much you earned just before retirement and number of years of service.  It was even indexed with inflation.  The pension plan would only fail if the government collapsed, which is unlikely.  

Upon leaving the military I knew that the chance of seeing a pension was remote which led me to the conclusion, I needed to make my own pension plan.  I need a pot of money that will sit in investments and allow me to live of the interest while never touching the principal.  It is generally accepted that 4% is a safe withdrawal rate, you can read why here.  

If, as I planned in my Early Retirement post I saved $700,000 on top of a paid off house I could safely withdraw $28,000 per year or $2,333 per month with out ever touching the principal.  The real kicker is that my current cost of living is roughly $1,440 per month.  So if I save $700,000 before retirement I could do any of the following:

a) live it up and spend an extra thousand dollars a month (unlikely)
b) take care of a lot of kids during my retirement (very likely)
c) watch my net worth grow ever month as I live on only a portion of the interest (very likely)

It will probably end up being a combination of b and c.  Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, $432,000 is enough to generate $1,440 per month of interest.  Personally I like the flexibility that my very big safety margin gives me.  

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

Retirement - The non-money side

One of the things I love about blogging is getting reader feedback.  It gives me something to think about . . . which is one of the reasons I blog in the first place.  Which is why I really enjoyed getting the following comment.  

"Keep in mind that the earlier you retire the more you have to save because you'll have a larger number of retired years to budget for. There's always the option of semi-retirement - getting a low stress part-time job where you get out of the house, have that social time and financial reward but leave behind the stress of a full-time career. Just something to think on.. "

I've been thinking about the above reader comment which was posted on Early Retirement article.  The comment has two aspects, the numbers side which I'll get to at a later date and the question of what I would do when retired.  It is true that a low stress part-time job (like being a kayak instructor or a camp councillor) gives you both meaning, social interaction, and a sense of purpose and for a lot of people is a great idea.  Personally I'm planning on taking on a high stress full-time job that costs me money instead of making it.  

In other words I want to be a parent.  Specifically I would like to be an adoptive parent.  Financially I would like to reach a point that for my retirement the number of children that I raise is limited by my energy and time not by finances.  I believe that this would give me an amazing challenge and a deep sense of fulfilment.  I am not deluded into thinking that it will be easy or that it will be all happy days, both the things in this world worth doing are seldom easy.  

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

Food Waste Friday - Too much stuffing

Meet this weeks food waste faut pas.  It may not look bad but it certainly smells off.  This was the stuffing for a stuffed red pepper recipe.  While tasty inside the pepper I had a bit leftover once my peppers were full.  Unfortunately there wasn't enough for a full meal and it's not quite snack material.  I should have seen it coming.

Mean while we're heading into the long weekend and I could use the break.  Besides my normal weekend chores I've got lots planned to do around the house now that the weather is warm.  My to do list over the next 3 days is comprised off but not limited to:

-Plant Garden
-Remove dandelions from back yard
-Mow lawn
-Add down spout to car port
-Build rain barrel
-Start refinishing dresser
-Put up clothes line

Most of the above (except 2 and 3) are new ventures for me so it should be exciting around my place this weekend.

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

May Mid Month Check-Up

Here comes the mid-month review. 

Mortgage - Successfully doubled-up

Retirement/Emergency Savings - On Track

House Maintenance - Savings are up to $1,336.49. Will probably be raided for a couple of projects around the house.  Some are money saving (clothes line and water barrel), some are essential (seriously who builds a gutter system without a down spout?) and some are just fun (gardens, lots of gardens.) 

Housing Taxes/Insurance – Taxes savings are at $873.23 with the bill coming next month, but between next months contribution and my slush fund I’ve got that covered.  Insurance is on Track

Big Ticket Items - $243.14 in savings. 

Travel - On Track

Health Insurance - Spent

Bus Pass - Spent

Cell Phone/Internet - Bills have not yet arrived, but I have a bit extra hanging around in this category just in case. 

Car Savings - Going well, I’ll be able to decrease my contributions to this in September. 

Train - $89 still there.  Almost two sets of round trip tickets. 

Other Transportation - $90.70 set aside, mostly because people have been offering rides or lending me their car when I’m out past the time that busses run.  

Utilities – I’m using more with my roommate here (obviously) mostly because she gets a lot colder than I do.  (I’m happy at 15 degrees Celsius - she’s not.)  Bills been paid, only $123.64 set aside for next time. 

Food - $198.23 left.  That will drop when I go buy seeds for my garden next weekend.  

Miscellaneous - $6.59 left.  Plus a bit in my wallet, I’m going to have to allot more next month. 

Entertainment - $9.44.  Lucky the library doesn’t cost me or I’d be broke! 

Social/Sports - $30, I’m considering a new sport so I may end up spending more.  

Clothes - $50

Gifts - $28.40.  I’m thinking my family will phase out gifts between adults over the next couple years.  We don’t need all that much. 

Financial Planning - $16.44 My monthly payments for this come out on a strange day.   

I’ve also got a steady student that a tutor 3hrs a week $15/hr.  Lots of fun and something extra for my mortgage!  Add to that $209.69 sitting in my slush fund.  

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

The Mortgage Prize

A lot of the personal finance bloggers that I read have set themselves a reward for paying off their mortgage.  Generally the month after they pay off their mortgage they will use the money that they would have otherwise been putting on their mortgage to treat themselves.  Sometimes it's a new gadget or a nice supper or a trip.  I've been putting a lot of thought into what I would do to celebrate my achievement in 4 and a half years.

When it comes to gadgets I'm not sure what I'll want in 4 years time so it's hard to pick a prize, after all the reward shouldn't be constantly moving.  I toyed with the idea of a nice time out, but I certainly don't plan on depriving myself of those in the interim.  Maybe I'll make a cake and share it with my family to celebrate but it wouldn't be a big production.  For the most part I had decided that I would just jump straight to saving more for retirement, which for me would be satisfying in and of itself.

Then I got an e-mail from KIVA.  Saying that I was among the top 1% of lenders.  It was a bit strange, at the same time I felt incredibly proud and somewhat sad.  Proud because, lets face it, everyone enjoys a pat on the back.  Sad because the money that I put in my Kiva account was earned over 3 years while I was working for minimum wage.  How could I who earned so little be one of the most prolific lenders?  Should I step up my giving since the rest of the world isn't keeping pace?  I had stopped adding to my Kiva account when the loss of my job was imminent and since then have put all my financial effort towards saving in order to build a financially stable house for as many foster kids as I can handle.

On the bright side it did solve the problem of how to treat myself for getting rid of my mortgage.  The month after I pay off my mortgage the amount of my monthly pay check that normally goes towards my mortgage (should be about $1,900 at that point) will be lent to people through my Kiva account.  So I rub my hands and plot and plan and scheme for the day that I get to pay off my mortgage and, more importantly, the day I get to make huge loans on Kiva.

FP - Junk Food

I've never been one big on junk food.  Given my preference I would take home made baked goods over something produced en-mass in a factory any day.  While I will occasionally munch on potato chips it's usually at a party instead of because I bought some myself.  So I wasn't particularly invested in finding a cheap yet healthy alternative.  But I did and figured I would pass it on to you.

KALE CHIPS

Simple yet tasty.  Just grab a bunch of Kale, put it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350.  Eat while warm.

YUMMMM!

Seriously, I think I prefer these over potato chips, not to mention that they're healthier and cost less.

Kale (enough to make the same amount as a large bag of potato chips) - $2.00 (or less if you grow it yourself.)

Chips - $3.50

Difference is $1.50 or 43% less.