It very much seems like the world has gone to hell in a handbasket. But a few weeks ago, prior to massive trucker convoys and the very scary war-torn images we now are seeing daily from Ukraine, it was a simpler, calmer time. And during that simpler, calmer time, I went on VACATION. This was my first out-of-the-house vacation since 2019. We were supposed to go to a beautiful, tropical destination. And yet, omicron interrupted our plans. I know, compared to a lot of the suffering going on in the world, this was not really a huge deal. Instead of basking in the tropical sun, we ended up renting ..read more

Well, it’s the start of the year so in addition to doing our financial year review for 2021, we like to kick things off by developing — what I call — our annual super fun financial plan and set our financial goals for 2022. So, what exactly are our financial goals? Financial goals pre-2022 In past years, we’ve set financial goals for a number of different things. They’ve ranged from us paying down student loans, to making extra flexible pension contributions, to maxing out our tax sheltered accounts (our Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)), to contributing towards our tax deferred accounts (our ..read more

Back in April, I wrote about how our cat, Ms. Plucky Cat, cost us more than 2.5 times what we had expected after six months of living in our household. Don’t get me wrong. Ms. Plucky Cat is now a beloved member of our family. Hardly a day goes by without me marvelling at how cute she is, how perfect her little paws are, or how soundly she sleeps on me at all times of the day. Acquiring a feline companion is a real privilege, and one we don’t regret despite the extra expense.  Meet Ms. Plucky Dog Now that it’s been more than a year since Ms. Plucky Cat has joined our plucky household, I w ..read more

Note: this article represents my own opinion; I am not being paid to promote any of the services, products or cashback credit cards described below. It’s cashback season and $560.59 has just landed in my bank account on Monday. Why? I’ve done nothing really novel to earn this money. Just simply used my credit card to make most of my purchases. (Really, I try to use my credit card as often as I can.) Even with the cash freshly arrived in my account, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a credit card better and shinier than mine that would allow me to maximize my cashback even more. A bit abo ..read more

So you might have noticed that things have gotten pretty quiet here on the Plucky Owl’s Guide to Financial Freedom and Independence. And no, it’s not because something has gone horribly wrong. It also isn’t because we’ve become less committed to our financial goals. It’s actually because we’ve been incredibly busy. No excuse not to update the website, I know, but still, it’s been hard to catch my breath. Let me fill you in… Where are we at with our financial goals? Our financial goals are impacted by a number of factors — our income, savings, net worth and spending patterns. Here is a quick up ..read more

People cite a number of reasons why they aren’t interested in Financial Independence. Don’t let these excuses stop you from being proactive with your money. Those around me usually react oddly when I say I am very interested in personal finance. It seems somewhat uncouth these days to express an interest in savings and investments. Like saying you enjoy stamp collecting. Or taxidermy.   I would argue that each and every one of us has a responsibility to improve our financial wellbeing.  For some, it may mean taking more proactive charge of our financial lives. For others, it may be p ..read more

A wise budgeter can learn a lot by comparing their household expenses with what the experts say we should be spending At several points along your budgeting journey, you ask yourself this pivotal question: am I doing this right? Assessing your household expenses, and comparing them to some benchmarks can help ensure you are on the right track.  Household expenses — how do you stack up? The wise financial gurus will tell you to stick to your lane. Every budget is unique, a reflection of one’s values. There is no “right way”… Blah, blah. So bland and boring. The truth is, it can be helpful ..read more

We have just passed a major milestone that I am super jazzed about: completing our first full year of budgeting and tracking all of our spending. It wasn’t nearly as challenging or scary as I initially thought! I wanted to share in this post our top five budget lessons coming from this experience. The reason behind it all: why not? I remember starting on this path like it was just yesterday… the pandemic giving me too much free time… Me wondering if we could do something different to help maximize our savings… Wanting to try a cool new budget app… And voilà! Suddenly, after a few online tutori ..read more

One of the main goals of running this website is to help open up conversations about personal finances and building wealth.  Because, for whatever reason, it’s still taboo to talk about money.  Maybe it’s because it can often be uncomfortable. Wanting to build financial wealth is often considered grubby.  We also invariably compare our financial lives to others. We want to know how we measure up. Or we might need some guidance but don’t know who to turn to in our circle because we’ve never had these conversations before. Money — as a topic of conversation — rarely comes up as so ..read more

It’s important to know how to — and how not to — use high interest savings accounts. In this week’s post, we cover the good, the bad and the ugly of high interest savings accounts. Before we get started: a huge thank you to @gevie_j for the wonderful illustration for this week’s post. Go check out her instagram for more of her wonderful creations. This article represents my own opinion and views that have been shaped by using the services and savings products described below. I am not endorsing these companies, services and products.  And, finally, this post is NOT sponsored, which means ..read more