Spring has finally arrived here in the Maritimes, and although the evenings are often still chilly enough for a fire, the grass is greening up and the restaurant patios are open. The new season brings on a new series of expenses, and which in turn made April a depressing month for my net worth. All in all my net worth dropped by a painful 6%. Here’s why: Taxes – I paid out $4,450 in taxes this month for my side business.All season tires – the Subie needed new tires whic cost $700.Travel – As a gift to ourselves, my husband and I are going to Montreal in August, after he graduates but bef ..read more

Every January I make a point to sit down and look back on the previous year. I check in with my goals for the year, and then I use my progress or lack thereof to help myself set goals for the upcoming years. 2018 was a little strange for me, because I didn’t set any goals whatsoever. I didn’t set goals because my husband went back to school, which meant that we’d be spending most of 2018 living on one income. I’ll be honest, the idea of living on one income for an extended period of time really made me nervous last year. I just didn’t know whether we would be able to make ends meet on my in ..read more

This blog post is sponsored by Alterna Bank. If you’re saving for a long-term goal like I am this year, you’ll want to think about where to keep your money. Particularly if your savings goals involve thousands of dollars, it’s important to choose the right account to maximize the amount of interest you’ll earn and to make sure you lose the least amount of that interest to taxes. Sure, the act of actually budgeting and contributing to your savings goals is the hardest part, and if you’re killing it on that front, you’ve already won 90% of the battle. But don’t slack off now and let your m ..read more

It’s net worth update time! I’ve been a bad blogger. I missed two net worth updates in a row! To be fair, I was super busy freelancing. So far in 2019 I’ve billed out for 50% of what I billed total in 2018. The unfortunate result of that is that I’ve had no time for blogging. Fortunately April seems like it will be a slower month, so you’ll hear from me more. If you want to check out the articles I’ve been writing, follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page, where I publish regular updates. If you want to stay up to date on my life (often not personal finance related), then Instagram is ..read more

This blog post is sponsored by Alterna Bank. This year I’m setting some aggressive savings goals. I want to pay for my husband’s final two rounds of tuition in cash. I want to add $5,000 to my emergency fund, and I want to re-start contributing to my RRSP. My goals aren’t different from how most people set their savings priorities: it’s not just one goal, but a series of goals that they want to achieve over time. But the problem with multiple goals is deciding how to save for them, and where to save for them. There are two primary strategies to prioritize savings goals: Saving for Mul ..read more