Everyone Deserves to Live the dream
Are you keeping up with the Joneses |
Over the weekend, I watch the movie The Joneses. I suspected that the premise was, of course, loosely based on some version of “keeping up with the Joneses,” you know, the rich people everyone thinks they want to be! If nothing else, the movie was entertaining, but it had a profound and thought-provoking story! It is based on the fictional story of a new family moving into a wealthy neighbourhood. They had it all, the house, cars, toys, clothes….the American dream, or so they say!
In the movie, the Joneses don’t own anything. They are there to sell high-end luxury to people in the neighbourhood. Salespeople in sheep’s clothing - the perfect wealthy sales scam! The sad but actual fact is, this fictional movie is not based solely on fiction? Every day, I see people who are so disillusioned by what money and wealth really looks like, that they often believe everything is as it seems. Would we know if someone was living in our neighbourhood, buying and driving things just to sell us or promote a false reality? Scary thought, isn’t it? In our consumer-driven society, do we really know as much as we think we know? I mean, when was the last time your friends & neighbours told you that they could not pay the bills or that their business was going down fast? People are holding themselves to someones else’s standards without knowing anything about it. Do you really know who's paying for what or whether it's getting paid for at all? Do you know if someone’s house was a gift or inheritance? Do you know if their car is leased or borrowed? Do you know anything other than the version of the story they want you to know or see? But even more importantly, do you know the price they may be paying for this lifestyle? Because, let's be honest, if you did, you may think twice about wanting to have it all! Just some food for thought! Chat soon... Jo |
AuthorJodie Stauffer, CFP is a wife, mother and Certified Financial Planner. Live your authentic life! Real topics, real facts and the power to change your financial future. As a Planner, Money Coach and Financial Wellness Advocate, Jodie wants people to start talking the truth about money. She believes EVERYONE DESERVES TO LIVE WITHOUT MONEY SHAME! As a women who was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety fairly late in life, she knows that looking back at the years of chaos and shame is something she needed to talk about and embrace to help herself and others. Through writing and sharing, Jodie realized that not all people want to get their professional financial advice from a perfectly put together stuffy banker or salesperson. Some people want to get it from a funky-haired advisor that knows her sh*t and relates to the real-world in business and finance. |
Top 3 Reasons Why Experts Claim Budgets Are a Waste of Time? |
A simple google search on “why budgets are a waste of time”, will lead you to a plethora of articles. But let’s be honest, only the super rich really have the opportunity to spend without any regard for what’s coming in. Even in these cases, if there is more going out then coming in, it is not sustainable over the long term. For example, we hear about celebrities who had it all and lost it via lavish overspending. Regardless of what you call it, knowing less money is going out than is coming in is the only true road to financial freedom.
Chat soon..Jo |
|
Financial Therapy 101
|
When it comes to money and finance, everyone seems to be an expert or have that one piece of advice that they think is the secret sauce. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be things that are priceless and timeless when it comes to advice being passed from generations. Good manners and respect are examples of just a few. But when it comes to understanding and managing your money in 2020, not all advice is good advice. So here is some adviced that we should be sharing in 2020.
#1 Financial literacy is always a good investment - especially when it comes to money and finances. But as we have recently seen, cash is no longer king even know it should be! But let’s be honest, paper money is pretty icky if you really think about it. When it comes to how we earn, handle and move money things have really changed over the years. The old school piggy bank is now a debit card and allowance is now e-transferred right to your phone. Even the strategies on how we save, invest and purchase real estate have drastically changed, or at least they need to. As an example in 1980, the average household income in Alberta was about $55,000 a year. The average home price was about $80,000. In 2018, the average household income had only risen to $72,000 but house prices had risen to $372,000. What’s the point? Well, that old story that you should rent and save until you can pay cash or put 50% down on a house might be like the old school piggy bank. Between, the change in housing markets, interest rates, investment options, technology, taxes and longer life expectancy, financial literacy, coaching and professional advice is no longer a luxury, but probably the best investment in your future and life you can make or give to someone. #2 Find your passion - your career passion. As I mentioned, education is important, but things have changed and there are many ways to get an education now that can create wealth which don’t always include going to university for 4 years, just to come out with a general degree, student loans and a job you hate. With remote work, the internet, technology, online classes and a new value for actual working skills and creativity like never before, the sky is endless for anyone wanting to hustle. But probably the most notable point here is that people are living healthy active lives much longer than in previous generations. And with the advancement in technology and healthcare, this will probably be a trend that continues. Getting a job, slugging away for 35 years to retire with a pension at 55-60 is no longer a reality or even a goal for most people. Pensions are going by the wayside and so is doing a job you hate just because it pays well or is stable. Work-life balance, doing what you love and working long into the typical retirement years is something that appeals to a lot of people - including me. The rush to stop working and pressure to give up living today to have a huge nest egg that you may not ever enjoy, comes at a cost that a lot of people realize, may not be worth it. Even just working part-time in retirement gives people so many more opportunities and options for their financial plan today and in the future. When you do what you love, it no longer feels so much like work and allows people to find their passion and grow their wealth at the same time. #3 Invest in your strengths - not your weaknesses. When you focus on your strengths, you are much happier and productive, which in turn can result in higher income. This is also true when it comes to money and finance. If you are trying to save money investing in the stock market and you don’t have a solid growth plan, its costing you. If you struggle to balance your budget and are paying late fees, it’s costing you. If you are paying credit card interest and don’t have a financial strategy in place, it’s costing you. Most people don’t know their strengths and weaknesses and just keep doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result. Yep - the definition of insanity. Figure out what you know, admit what you don’t and get help when you need it. Oh, and remember, contrary to what social media says - everyone does not have it all together, they are not all living the dream, and there is no secret sauce! Chat soon... Jo -living my passion, working my strengths and still searching for a secret sauce! |
|
Cheap Family Vacations - The Road Trip |
I don't know about you, but it feels to me like my summer is cancelled. I know that's an exaggeration, but it's been a long, cold winter, and summer's my time to shine. From the tall green grass to the sandy beaches, summer is calling. How do you answer the call when you can't fly, and going out of the province is not a safe option? My vote, bring back the road trip. Packing the kids into a car and driving for hours seems like a cruel and unnecessary form of torture for some parents. For a lot of others, the family road trip seems like a thing of the past generations.
We have become a destination culture, where life doesn't start until we've arrived. You hear people say things like I can't wait to retire, or I will do that once I have made it. I am often surprised about how cranky people can be about flying to their vacation destination. For us, vacation starts the minute we leave work. We enjoy the journey as much as the destination and sometimes even more! But what if we all began to think more like a journey culture? If we took some time to stop and smell the roses a little. Maybe even enjoy life before you retire or make it - whatever that means nowadays. What if this was the year of your journey vacation, and you spent time on a family road trip going - well, nowhere? After ten years and tens of thousands on KM on road trips, these are my top 3 tips to make it a memorable yet cheap family vacation.
Regardless if your trip is a success or a wild adventure, a family road trip will leave you with memories, that I can promise. Hopefully, if nothing else, everyone will gain a newfound appreciation for the journey and not just the destination. See you on the road - Jo |
|
Death of the non-essential business
|
Recently, I spent some time thinking about where I want to spend my non-essential dollars as we prepare for businesses to slowly reopen. The fact is, some of those forced to close, will never
re-open. Those that do open, face a tough 6-18 months ahead. Many of those still may not survive under the new social distancing rules without pricing increases and extreme customer loyalty.. But what if we could help them, even just a little? Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen many people flocking to large box stores that sell both grocery and retail items. Even the big box home renovation stores are overflowing with cars in their parking lots. I understand that we need food, that contractors continue to work and maintenance still needs to be handled. And, if these stores were only selling essential items I could understand why they would be allowed to remain open But, how can clothing, patio furniture and new BBQs be essential at one place and non essential at another? Should selling groceries or lumber give you preferred treatment to also sell all your non essential items at a time when others are forced to close. This seems like a bit of a catch 22 for those smaller businesses that sell those same non-essential items, but don’t sell groceries. You have to wonder why the big box stores get to thrive with no local competition while small businesses continue to suffer? How does it make sense to allow people to shop with hundreds of others in a big box store for non-essential items, while I can’t go to my local clothing boutique with only a few people? As a small business owner myself, I truly feel for small retailers that were already competing with the big box stores on price and selection prior to this lock down. By allowing large retailers to sell non-essential items while requiring the small retailers to close, the government has made it even harder for them to survive. The fact that this decision was forced on small businesses without even giving them the opportunity to pivot to a model that could support social distancing rules, makes this even more questionable. I will be the first person to admit that over the years, I haven't always been conscious of buying Canadian or shopping local. Searching for a good deal and buying only exactly what I want is part of my cheap by choice strategy.. But, thanks to this pandemic I’ve had a lot of time to rethink parts of this strategy and our impact on the future economy.. When put into context, paying a little more to help small businesses survive seems like money well spent. If by passing on a big box sale to buy local or buying Canadian products saves just one person's job, then that's a deal even I can't pass up! Jo - patiently waiting to shop local and buy Canadian! Liar, Liar, Finances on Fire!
Today, it’s common to hear someone say they are doing a good job managing their cash flow or budget as long as they never let their chequing account balance drop below a certain level. I refer to this as False Big Bank Balance syndrome! False big bank balance people keep a minimum in their chequing account at all times for emergencies and pride themselves on never going below that level. I am not suggesting there is really anything wrong with this strategy, as long as we all recognize it for what it is. A spending strategy, not a savings strategy. Just to be clear, there is a significant difference between people who ACTUALLY have a big bank balance and those who have a False big bank balance. For starters, ACTUAL big bank balance people, have both a large chequing balance together with savings or emergency funds and no outstanding credit card or consumer debts. Often their account balance is actually growing each month. That would be a saving strategy!
A spending strategy on the other hand, is where you keep spending on non essential things until you hit your limit or till your account hits $0. The problem with the False Big bank balance syndrome, is that people have this false feeling of being financially better off than someone who actually hits a $0 balance each month. But in reality, if you don’t have an emergency fund in another account or have credit card debt, and are spending to the your minimum balance, you are potentially worse off financially than those that hit $0 each month. Here are 3 examples of why this thinking is hurting Canadians. 1) If you have credit card debts of $10,000 @ 19% interest and you keep a minimum chequing account balance of $10,000 @ 0.25% you are actually worse off than your friend that has $0 credit card balance and $0 in the bank. You both technically have $0 saved, but you also pay almost 19% interest each month. That's just bad math my friends! 2) If you have $10,000 in your chequing earning 0% interest and your friend has $10,000 in savings they are potentially earning 1-3% more in interest ($10-$30 per month). This is not helping you get ahead!. 3) If you keep $10,000 in your chequing account and don’t have an emergency fund, and your friend has $10,000 in an emergency fund and $0 in their chequing account, they typically feel more pain about having no money left over each month, then your you do. But, who is more likely to try to start saving or changing their spending? Probably them! My point here is not to judge, but educate and help! When I see clients who are NOT being honest with themselves about their financial situation and spending habits, it's not hard to see why even with a high income they are still feeling so financially stuck! Chat soon... Jo Are cheap and Budget really the scary stepsisters in your financial fairy tale?
When you think of the words cheap and budget, I bet that like most people, you cringe or have a negative reaction. You probably remember when someone called you or someone you know a cheapo, cheapskate, cheap-a$$..... You get the point! What about the time someone said “it's not in the budget” or “sorry we can’t afford it, we are on a budget”. These words have been used to indicate a lack or financial hardship for many years, but why?
In the business and corporate world, every successful company has a tight budget, they set it up annually, monitor it monthly and adjust to stay on track when needed. This is how most small businesses and large corporations grow, achieve their goals and make tons of profit. And if you think in some areas these companies are not cheap, think again. Finding ways to be cheap in business is called “cost saving” aka being cheap! My point is, how can coming in under budget and finding cost savings to meet your goals in business be so highly respected and yet be so loathed in your personal finances. Who decided that being cheap or being on a budget meant you had no money and could not meet your goals? As a matter of fact, after 23 years in banking and finance, I can tell you that most people and families who run with a goal based budget, know their priorities and are cheap by choice, are the most successful and financially stable clients I ever meet. I bet we all know that one person in our community or family, that wears velcro shoes from the 80’s, drives a beat up old vehicle, and yet is so stinkin’ rich and seems happy as a clam! That is a prime example of Cheap by Choice. For whatever reason, they have chosen not to spend money on shoes, or a fancy everyday driver, and yet seems pretty happy about their choices. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand this is an extreme example and I as a shoe lover myself, I am not saying to go find $2 velcro shoes to wear. The point I am making it that you have to figure out what is important to you. Not what’s important to the neighbors, your parents, your friends, or everyone else who’s probably living way outside their financial means. It’s time for everyone to embrace their inner cheapo, sets some goals and make a budget! Chat soon...JO (WHO’S LOVE A BUDGET) |
Money Coaching
Spending Strategy Coaching
Debt Coaching
What if you could work with a financial coach the way you work with any other coaches or trainers?
Coaching clients pay a monthly fee and know exactly how much it will cost them each month.
By setting, tracking and meeting financial goals, the coach can steer you in the right direction and assist with your goals along the way?
Coaching clients pay a monthly fee and know exactly how much it will cost them each month.
By setting, tracking and meeting financial goals, the coach can steer you in the right direction and assist with your goals along the way?
