This past week we started back into our fall routines; school, hockey (Cam), gymnastics (Cuyler) and dance (Eva). Our load is a bit heavier this year with Eva's dance. Last year she took jazz and acro and she absolutely loved it. She cried herself to sleep the night of her recital, when … [Read more...]
Summer Money
Aside from the kids heading back to school, September is kind of a crap month. That first month back to school is dedicated to filling out forms and writing cheques. I feel like it's September again. $175 each for outdoor soccer $100 for recital tickets for Eva's dance $250 for two weeks of … [Read more...]
Money Well Spent
The last few weeks of summer were filled with summer fun. My sister was visiting so I had been attempting to cram in every possible experience to make sure that once back-to-school hit we could look back and reassure ourselves that we did everything we could to maximize this time. And in the … [Read more...]
Show Me the Money
Last weekend my eldest daughter opened a lemonade stand for the afternoon and totally raked in the dough.She and her (totally adorable) friend made a whopping $24 in a half-hour and she was thrilled to stash the loot in her piggy bank. The thing is, she has absolutely no sense of the value of a … [Read more...]
Tiny Dancers, Huge Pricetag
I just shelled out a huge chunk of change so our two eldest girls would could do ballet next fall.If it weren't for some generous birthday money contributions, I don't think we'd have been able to afford it. And it's got me thinking about kids' activities and which ones are worth the sacrifice (of … [Read more...]
Cash only please
Today is February 1st. It's my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Billy!) and it's the day that we are starting our new budget. Technically we've been doing it for a few weeks, but February 1 was our official start date.Sean started a new job last month and we decided that it was time … [Read more...]
RRSP Contribution Deadline is March 2, 2009
Next Monday is your deadline for making an RRSP contribution that will count towards your 2008 tax return. I want to make an important clarification on how much one is able to contribute. If you look at your Notice of Assessment, which is the document that you are sent from CRA after you … [Read more...]
Chatting with the Wealthy Barber
I recently had David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber, come to Toronto to speak to my clients. His message was very timely because the one main point he makes with his book is that to achieve financial success, you must always spend less than you make. This is the lesson my parents … [Read more...]