Updates: September 30 – October 6
This week’s update blurb is brought to you by CF! Lots of stuff happening in my life so thought I’d share and tell.
Real estate empire here I come…
Brian and I have made some good headway into our master plan. Have you guessed the big news? We bought a new condo! This is our second real estate purchase and its mine all mine… *hysterical laughter* We’re planning on living in this condo for the next 2-3 years and then re-evaluating our prospects. It’s a beautifully renovated unit in the heart of Vancouver’s hipster area - so lots of coffee shops, lots of healthy food markets and lots of dining and drinking options. The only downside? Itty bitty living space. It’s a svelte 500 square feet and, trust me, there is no fat to speak of. We’re excited to move in!
Taking a risk
Personal finance is a all about juggling the two basic tenets: making money and saving money. Brian and I often focus on saving money – things like bringing your lunch to work, making the most of your grocery money, and so on. But unlike saving money, there’s no limit to how much money you can make. Unfortunately, it’s often the harder of the two options because it involves risk. When I went back to school to start a new career, that was a risk. Sure, it didn’t cost me any money, but who knew if I would find a job afterwards? But it paid off – I effectively got a 30% raise with the job I found right out of school. And now, I have taken another risk. I’m quitting my job to take a new position in the same field. The upside? A salary that’s 25% higher than my previous, a nice little bundle of stocks, and (get ready for this…) overtime pay. Software developers hardly ever get overtime!
So that’s my big two pieces of news for the week! I’m going to be writing about each item in more detail in the following weeks, so stay tuned! Now back to Brian for your weekly reading!
We are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner tonight, so I’m off to the kitchen to bake the pies before moving on to the turkey. At the end of the road is perhaps my favourite seasonal beer, the Howe Sound Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale. How can you not love this?
- Plunged in Debt gets into the Thanksgiving spirit.
- Modest Money asks How Do You Envision Retirement? An excellent philosophical question that every PF blogger should spend time thinking about.
- Work Save Live give some tips on how to reduce your grocery budget. Always a favourite topic!
- Young Adult Money talks about How to Manage and Prioritize Your Time Better. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this in my professional life and it’s worth the investment.
- Tie the Money Knot looks at some suggestions for avoiding debt. After taking on another mortgage, it definitely important to limit other forms of debt!
- Eyes on the Dollar share how much it cost them to set up their first rental property. Great job guys!
- Canadian Budget Binder is also gardening this fall. Go Grow Something and Save!
- Mo Money Mo Houses provides a bit of information on buying property in the US. We’re not looking south of the border at this point, but good information!
- Ever consider investing in farmland? I haven’t! But after talking to Liquid Independence and reading his post about why people should invest in farmland, I’m tempted…
- My Alternate Life discusses the evolution of minimalism. As mentioned, we’re also moving into a tiny living space – we might with Jordann for some tips!
- Add Vodka provides some useful tips on saving money on Christmas. I liked her suggestion about buying discounted gift cards – this is something we do ourselves when we want to buy something from a specific store!
- Halloween is approaching! Do you have your frugal and fun costume ready? I love these suggestions for DIY Halloween costumes from Femme Frugality.
Thanks to everyone who included us this week:
- Canadian Budget Binder – Host our Guest Post “Get out of bed and make that change!”
- Modest Money – End of September 2012 Favorite Blog Posts
- Tie the Money Knot – Carnival of Personal Finance
- Frugal Rules - Frugal Friday: Posts That Ruled This Week
- Mo Money Mo Houses - September Link Love – Some Top Notch Posts By Some Top Notch Bloggers
- Young Adult Money – Quick Hits and Weekend Reading
- Work Save Live - Carnivals, Mentions, & Weekend Reading #32
- Modest Money – Beginning of October Favorite Blog Posts
- Eyes on the Dollar - Can’t Take My Eyes Off These Blogs #8
6 Responses to “Updates: September 30 – October 6”
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Thanks for sharing an inspiring guest post for my my fans and I. Some fans from my Facebook page have indicated they would love to make a change especially a career change and hopefully this will be motivating for them. Cheers and Thanks again for sharing. Cheers Mr.CBB
You’re quite welcome! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Congrats on the condo purchase and career change. You two are making some really significant progress. Thanks for the mention, and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner
Thanks! We had so much turkey….
Hey thanks for the mention! Also congrats on the real estate. Living in a small space can be tough, but its totally doable.
Thanks! We are excited to be able to trim down for the small space and also nervous at the same time.