The FI life is weird. The more I delve into all of this, the weirder things seem. What do I mean by that? Each blogger has their own take on things. Some follow Mr. Money Moustache’s rules to the letter, others are doing their own thing. Some have decided the ex-pat life is for them, others are happy living in a full paid off house. Some think getting a mortgage and throwing all your spare change at it is the best idea, others think they should stay in their rental, so they’re not paying for things through their noses. Basically, each situation is different. Personally, my rent is very low con ..read more

For those of you that don’t know, house hacking is buying a home and getting enough roommates to live with you and pay enough rent so you no longer have to contribute. It’s basically living for free. While I love the concept, I very much do not like the idea of sharing my home with anyone. There’s another way around this though – buying a duplex. Where I live now (Vancouver Island), the lowest price I can find on one half of a duplex is $399,999. This means the one building will be $800,000 at a minimum to purchase both sides. To be able to house hack a building like this, in this insanity peo ..read more

We have officially made it to another year. So far, I haven’t gotten COVID, which is a damn miracle at this point. Omicron is rearing its ugly head, but that’s okay, I have an excellent immune system (which is seriously the only reason I haven’t gotten it yet). I have been thinking about this blog a lot lately. I miss getting my thoughts out and working on some financial issues that I’ve had recently. So, here’s what’s happened in the last few months: I have applied to, paid for, and then asked for a refund for, about 9 different courses. I considered graphic design, but pulled out when the fi ..read more

Just now, after opening my first ever Questrade account, I checked to see if it had been approved or not. I was expecting an email but for some reason, one didn’t come. Sure enough, it had been approved. On Thursday, I thought I’d take a look at the only retirement account that I knew existed (I have one through one of my jobs, but it’s a public service one, and they are impossible to get hold of, so I’m not even going to bother until I have more patience to deal with them) from Sun Life through my work at Shaw Cable. A mere 2 months prior, I had remembered that I’d wondered whether I had a pe ..read more

The other day, I received an email from my renter’s insurance provider. It told me that my policy was due for renewal, and that they’d made some changes to the coverage. The changes they’d made increased the monthly premium by a good $35. I wasn’t interested in that, and besides, I had some coverage I did not need, so I went in and changed it all around. I’m now paying $6 less per month than I was before, for slightly more coverage (insurance is weird). Anyway, one of the options is to send an email to your management company/landlord, letting them know that you not only have coverage, but abo ..read more

Financial Independence Retire Early. This acronym has been a part of my life for just a few months. I first heard of it via Mr. Money Mustache’s blog. I thought it was interesting enough to investigate, so I did a deep dive on both YouTube and in the blogosphere. On one of the many YT videos I watched, a couple spoke about how one member found MMM and read every single post from day one. I thought, ‘hmmm, that seems like something overly obsessive that I’d do, let’s see what this is about!’. A mere month later, and I’ve read them all. It’s important to note, I don’t agree with everything Pete ..read more

As I begin this journey, I have been thinking a lot about switching to an electric vehicle. My current 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Luxury is an insane gas sucker. I am so disappointed in myself that I trusted my sales guy to give me a good deal. The more research I do on it, the more I see how badly I was screwed. Now, one thing I can do to make this better, is to save up that $10,000 deficit I have right now, and sell it for $17,000, thus ending all outstanding loans. I know Mr Money Mustache spoke about the incentives his state and country offer for buying an electric vehicle, but here in Ca ..read more

Dictionary.com defines fear as, ‘a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.’ Fear is a funny thing. Sometimes you don’t know that it’s fear that’s holding you back. Sometimes you are acutely aware of it. For instance, I never went to school for the job I’m currently doing. I have 20+ years of experience, but no degree. I have a little formal training, but not enough to succeed in this job, or have a hope of getting another job like it elsewhere. Everyone wants to see that degree/certific ..read more

Day 1 of no more McDonald’s coffee: I spent the entire morning from the moment I woke up until I was 10 minutes before leaving the house to decide that I want some form of financial independence more than I want a McDonald’s coffee. I took my home made coffee to work, drank it, and enjoyed it. I came home for lunch, made 4 more cups, took it to work, and enjoyed it again. Day 2: I was annoyed this morning that I didn’t make the coffee so it was ready to go. Must change for tomorrow. Afternoon of day 2: It was hot in here and all I wanted was that sweet, sweet, venti chai tea frappuccino. But I ..read more

I don’t need this. I love comfort. That simple statement carries a lot of weight, because it basically defines my life thus far. In what way, you might ask? Well, look at that shot above. I have struggled since I was 12 years old (puberty) to sleep properly. I know now that it was likely undiagnosed anxiety. My mother didn’t understand why I was the way I was, and did nothing but constantly get upset with me for freaking out about literally everything. I have SO MANY memories of times she got mad at me, and I can feel the crazy panic even now. It was always weird things. One time, we’d gone up ..read more