Debt Free Kid

A Concrete Dream Goals Our desires act as fuel, propelling us toward new horizons. Without something to strive for, we stagnate and become stuck in ruts of our own making because we are unsure of what to do next. Goals are the dreams that we are willing to work for. When we set goals, we take responsibility for our lives and choose to wholeheartedly devote ourselves to our aspirations. Even if we only take the smallest steps toward achieving our ambitions, it is vital that we actively pursue our goals rather than just daydreaming about them. Having goals makes us feel good because it adds a sense of purpose and direction to our lives. When you endeavor to achieve clear and quantifiable goals, your choices and actions take on new significance. Consciously creating your goals can help ensure that the success you seek is attainable and serves you. Your plan must be conceivable, tangible, and measurable. If you cannot visualize your goal in great detail or believe that you can realize them...

This week, after being presented with a pretty good homemade shepherd's pie (if I do say so myself), my son declared that "only snacks are good." He turned his nose up after one bite of the mashed potato, ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and his favourite frozen veggies concoction and ate only a banana, a handful of cashews, dried pineapple, raisins and a few dried apricots. He asked a couple of times for "eggies" but I didn't have any prepared his favourite way: hard-boiled with the yolks removed. I'm here to ask all the mamas (and dads, if any are reading) for any and all suggestions for healthy and affordable snacks to appease my son's picky appetite. I'm lucky (so far) that he enjoys raw veggies and fruits, dried fruits and nuts and rice cakes. I'm trying to keep the dairy foods to a minimum, because it creates a surplus of mucous that leads to ear infections. I get into food ruts, which is why I haven't yet been able to stick to ...

Each year I find I am impatient for my employer to deliver my T4 slip, so that I can get started on filing my taxes. I always get a pretty good refund because I usually have tuition or student loan write-offs, as well as RRSP contributions to decrease the amount owed. This will be the third year that I will file my son as my dependent, which lowers my tax bracket. When I filed for 2007 I learned that I was still being taxed as a single person (single as in, without a dependent) and could amend my paperwork with payroll to deduct less tax, which put an extra $200 in my pocket each month. It would have been nice to continue paying the high tax and receiving the substantial refund (last year it was close to $3000 but I had to keep it in the bank to supplement my income, which was difficult), but it's much nicer to have a little more to budget with each month. For the past few years I have filed online with UFile, and this year they have emailed me a $5 off coupon, bringing the price d...

One of my goals for 2009 is to save at least $2000 and take 10% of it to make a donation to one or two charities. This is my variation on titheing. I have my mind on Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Last night I decided that I needed something to be excited about sooner, so today I am going to take $25* from my paycheque and donate it to Kiva.org . It's not really a donation, it's actually a loan negotiated through a microfinance NGO in a developing country to an individual who will invest it in a self-employment venture. Examples are a woman who will buy produce for resale in a village market, a man who will open a small mechanical shop, or a woman who will put it towards her textile business. I feel so fortunate to have been born in a developed country, to have my education and my union job at the university. Some of the big financial advisors may tell me that I should put my $25 towards debt reduction, but some of them also say that we need small rewards for incentive. My con...

There is exactly $1.50 in my coin jar right now. One loonie and two quarters. It's not what you think, I haven't been looting it for coffee money. Well, not quite. See, I despise pennies, and try to spend them right away, so they never make it into the coin jar. I have collected them in the past, but it takes so long to accumulate enough to put into a roll and then you have, what? Fifty cents. Wow. Not to mention that they are almost always grimy feeling and leave a bad smell on my fingers. Blech. So I don't save pennies. Sometimes I save nickels and dimes but again it seems to take a long long time to accumulate enough to roll. The result is a little more satisfactory, $2 and $5, but it takes a while. I do save quarters, loonies and toonies. These really add up, and I mentioned before how I managed to save up enough to buy a bass amp with just loonies (rolled up and cashed into bills, of course). However just as I moved into the apartment I realized that I was going to ha...

I am so pleased with my cordless power screwdriver. Without it, putting together our new bookshelf would have taken hours and generated sweat, blisters, and probably some cursing. Because of it I wouldn't have to wait for one of my man-friends to come over and put the six-foot shelf together for me. I had it in one piece within an hour. When I discovered that I had screwed in two of the shelves upside down, I merely chuckled and picked up my new best friend and reversed-screwed them out again. Easy peasy. Frugal tip: if you are planning to buy any kind of tool-anything from the hardware store, especially one of the big ones (I go to Canadian Tire), try to plan to go after father's day. I got my mechanical buddy there for about sixty percent off just a couple days after father's day. I guess they overstock this stuff for gifts and when it doesn't sell, it gets drastically reduced to make space for junk for Canada Day. Seriously, Karissa Dee

From Spring's Greeting Cards .com THE YEAR OF THE OX 1/26/2009 - 2/13/2010 (Earth) According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2009 is the Year of the Ox. The Ox, or the Buffalo sign symbolizes prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Those born under the influence of the Ox or Buffalo are fortunate to be stable and persevering. The typical Ox is a tolerant person with strong character. Not many people could equal the resolution and fearlessness that the Ox exhibits when deciding to accomplish a task. Ox people work hard without complaints at work or at home. They know that they will succeed through hard work and sustained efforts, and do not believe in get-rich-quick schemes.