A Personal finance blog for saving money and earning more and thus having a better life
Today we have a guest post from a reader of this blog. Enjoy this wonderful post!
There are a few things I am passionate about, and while they’re completely unrelated, finance and the outdoors happen to be two of them. It wasn’t until college that I developed either one of these passions but once I found them I was hooked.
Father’s day is around the corner. Unlike in the past where mother’s day used to be celebrated more widely, nowadays the father’s day is of equal importance to families. Children buy gifts for their dad. Mothers do buy gifts on behalf of their little kids as well. They go out they plan for that day ahead.
SB junior is just 3 years old, the gifts I’ve gotten so far were selected and paid for by SMB (wife). I got a shirt and mouse pad with embossed picture of my time together with the junior. I got a bonsai pot on the second father’s day.
In our non-stop competitive world, taking a vacation is a significantly underrated activity. Obviously, working is important. Not only does a job give you the means to pay for the essentials, but it also provides structure to everyday life and creates a sense of meaning and purpose.
Despite the importance of work, it is often far too easy to work too hard and too long without taking a vacation. The importance of heading to the best vacation spots cannot be stressed enough.
There is nothing quite as bonding in my mind than a camping trip, especially when you are not a camping family. Those of you that were raised to camp, those that know all the right ways to do things and all the right things to pack may not know what I am talking about. But I am sure that there are those of you that were not raised up camping that has tried your hand at it like we have that know firsthand what I mean.
My dad did not camp, or have picnics, or swim in public pools. He did not like to rough it, eat with ants or flies, and he did not want to swim in a public pool. I will just leave it like that; I won’t go into his explanation because it is not pretty. He did like to fish so we spent some time at the lake. Mom, on the other hand, loved to hike, picnic, garden, and generally any outdoor activity.
If someone had told me seven years ago that I’d be debt free by now, my first reaction would be to laugh in his or her face and then beg them to let me in on their secrets and tell me how this would ever be a humanly possible feat. I had just bought a sweet brand new vehicle (hello, car payments) and had moved to Vancouver, the most expensive city in Canada.
I bought the SUV before moving and believed I needed it, as I wasn’t comfortable driving hunk-of-junk cars anymore that would break down at the drop of a hat, in minus 40-degree Celsius weather, on the side of an ice-encrusted skating rink of a highway.
I realized that most of my regular readers are not struggling to meet life’s needs financially. Rather, they are quite fortunate with regards to financial health. They invest regularly and they have very stable jobs. So why not talk about something that fits the need of a financially-well-to-do?
If you are a salaried employee, like me, you must receive some end of the year bonus. Today’s topic is to invest that bonus in something luxury, like a watch, an exotic vacation experience (which is not a financial investment though), a rare picture from some famous artist, etc.
Anniversaries and valentine’s days are the times when you can get your better half a sentimental present. It is the celebration of your time together and you want to gift him something unique and personal rather than the standard gifts that are given on other occasions. Gifts that create experiences and that involve spending your time and energy rather than simply spending money to buy off the shelf are the best gifts for your loved one.
But, most women are left scratching their heads because they are unsure of what to get their husbands for Valentine’s day as they don’t want to pick something trite. I think after the anniversary and the birthday, this day is the next most important day of showing special affection for your better half.
While money can be a great tool to bring wealth into your life, being happy and successful does not always require it.
Being successful in your life begins by listening to your inner voice to discover who you are, what you want, and what makes you happy.
Monday morning I met John at the cafeteria. He was brewing coffee and I was there for a cup of tea. He sighed in between the conversation and said “5 more days”. Seeing my puzzled look, he explained further – “to the weekend”. We all wait for the weekend the whole week. Almost 60 hours of time, but most of the time we don’t really pre-plan to do anything on a weekend.
There are so much to do, there are people around, things around. You need to find time and company of your family and friends. I have prepared 51 family fun ideas, these can be applicable to your friends as well.
This is a guest post from blogger Amy Davis from Slay Your Budget. She is a former therapist, stay-at-home mom of 4 and die-hard University of Pittsburgh Panthers fan. She made financial freedom a priority after their third daughter who required a 53 day NICU stay, 14 surgeries to date, and of course, large medical bills. Hope you enjoy her personal story and her values about her worth in terms of time.
In my former work life, I was a therapist treating children and teens with various mental health challenges. After an evaluation with the psychologist deemed these kids in need of treatment, they were paired with a therapist like myself, to formulate a treatment plan and commence therapy.
