Watch the video below (yay, Dragon’s Den for getting behind this!) Then buy this. I’m going to.

Quick —> which 5 people do you love the most?

Quick —> which 5 possessions are most valuable to you?

Quick —> have you got a will?

photo credit: Leaphart_Frank04

MY! What a quarter I’ve had! 2 months without a tenant followed by Christmas and travel, plus purchasing a new fridge and a new macbook plus a $700 vet bill plus $600 in semi-annual property taxes due plus helping out someone who needed a serious chunk of change plus the deposit on some renos LEAVES A GIRL BROKE for a bit, even if she is a money coach who sets aside funds for these sorts of things.
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So my desperately-needed winter holiday was doomed.

Or so I thought.

A colleague is moving from Yellowknife back to Halifax and because her car didn’t sell is making the drive down to Edmonton. “Anyone care to accompany me? I’ll pay for the gas!” she said. “Pick me! Pick me!” I cried.

And then despair: no good deals to fly home to be found! I mourned piteously to a brilliant and fabulous friend who brilliantly and fabulously pointed out, “don’t you have any airmiles?” I leapt up immediately to check and SQUEEE by buying a few more for $25 I had enough, just enough, to fly home from Calgary!

Joy and Rapture!

It gets better. I have some wonderful friends (ever heard of Netchick? Oh yes, I bet you have!) in Calgary to visit and who have also kindly agreed to host me!

Mostly, it’s a working holiday to work on this blog (hoping to jazz up its look) but man oh man, I’m looking forward to seeing good friends from my Vancouver days plus being in a city. A city! I love Yellowknife but there’s nothin’ wrong with a few sirens in the background. And six-lane traffic (or at least four). And Starbucks wherever your eye can see (don’t sneer til you’ve gone without one for weeks on end). And London Drugs. AND AN APPLE STORE.

I do plan to splurge a bit — a spa treatment, a dinner out, a brunch out, maybe a 3-D movie? (any recos?)

But still, this fell together in a glorious and frugal manner and to all those who made it possible (you know who you are) a big thank-you.

Readers, how ’bout you? Have you ever had an unexpected holiday or getaway that was amazingly inexpensive? (in a good way, I mean! Not like, say, losing your wallet so sleeping in your car instead.)

Are you stressed about money? You’re in good company – it’s a common thing!  Many folks respond by avoiding thinking about money altogether.  There are more productive ways to handle the stress and simultaneously re-arrange the power relationship between you and your money.

5 Actions to take if you’re stressed about money:

1. Crunch your numbers. Empower yourself with an accurate, not fear-based, picture of your financial situation. I can’t tell you how often my money coaching clients would experience a great sense of relief when they actually crunched the numbers – both the good (assets) and the bad (debts).  Once they clearly understood where they were at, they felt more grounded and could think more clearly. Extra good news: almost always the picture was brighter than they’d thought!

2.  Put yourself in charge! Stress is often a result of feeling out of control over something that matters.  If you you are held back from this either by your own thinking (I’m no good with money) or by a partner (she won’t let me), even taking incremental steps will help lower your stress.

3. Prioritize. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to solve everything.  Choose your top three (maximum!) priorities that you want to address over the next year.

4. Act! You’ve decided upon your top priorities. Now spend at least 15 minutes each evening and at least 1 hour each weekend planning (and scheming if need be!) how you will address the root causes of your financial anxiety. With the plans laid, consistently act on them until you are satisfied.   These could range from plans to increase your income to making the phone call to the cable company with a repayment plan to a conversation with your family about needed changes.

5. Give yourself a break. It’s a rare person who doesn’t have some significant money issues at some point in their life.   Don’t beat yourself up over it!  Do what is in your power to do, then carry on with your life and enjoy family, friends, whatever good things are in your life that encourage and delight you.

Photo Credit: Josef aka Hipnosato

One of the wonderful aspects of growing older is having friends over an extended time. This is one of my closest friends, of twenty-two (22!) years now. We met as university roomates and hit it off from the start. Countless walks on the beach, conversations ranging from the meaning of life, the relationship of time and space, growing our respective businesses and yes, romance (she’s been married for most of our friendship while I’ve been the serial girlfriend) she is family to me (as her husband and kids to me, and my daschunds to them!).

Anthony, I think this is what you were getting at re: not being *alone* as a single on Valentine’s Day yeah?

Readers – have you had a friendship that’s lasted over the years with whom you’ve maintained close ties?