OK.  Last Monday I vowed to monitor my eating and spend less.  Success in some fronts; a couple disasters – entirely avoidable ones, I might add.Success:  did a good grocery shop at Costco.  Nothing like a full fridge to assist home-cooked meals.  I’m sure I cut my eating out by half.
Disasters:1.  Thur.:  gave seminar from 12:30 – 2:00.  Silly me – thought I’d last til 3pm.   One $12 ‘coffee break’ later…

2. Sat:  bought my gorgeous new Mac!  and in the process all thoughts of food fled, but when I went to the bank to work, hunger struck and off to, ugh, McDonald’s.

3.  Monday:  today, again – lost in MacLand, and brought no sustenance to the bank.  So again, off to WhiteSpot this time.

Between the three, easily $30 gone in a flash.  I wouldn’t mind if it was intended – like Sunday brunch at Docker’s – but this was pure waste. Next week, I’ll post my excel results on this.  With any luck my eating-out column (the only one I’ll post!)And, I’m thinking my daschunds may need to modify their dining habits as well!  In with the homemade, out with the high end treats from the Store of Doggie Temptation, Bow Wow Haus.  

Saturday Case Studies are just that: case studies, dilemmas, issues that I have encountered with my clients (Your Money by Design)past and present. For obvious reasons, the individuals are thoroughly disguised, but the issue remains the same. Your suggestions on the issue are very welcome. The following Saturday I will describe what I suggested to the client.Case Study #1:Jack and Maria come from different backgrounds. Jack immigrated here to create a better life for himself, and he has generally succeeded at this. He enjoys a solid middle-class background. He also supports his family back in his former country. Maria is a stay-at-home-mom for now, looking after their young kids. Eventually she intends to resume her career.The issue is this.In Jack’s culture, looking out for your extended family is a high priority. He has family members who are hovering around a serious poverty line. Every time a member loses a job, or has a medical issue come up, Jack fills in the financial void. It’s just what you do, in his mind.Maria, however, is increasingly concerned that this is jeopardizing their own finances. They haven’t had a holiday with the kids since they were born. Their RRSPs are minimal. They still rent, and she wants them to own a home. While initially supportive of the extended-family needs, she is increasingly resentful, yet feels uncomfortable raising the concerns since she is not the bread-earner at the moment. Plus, she doesn’t want to be selfish.I offered one solution that worked for them (to be posted next week) but if you have ideas, please click on the “comment” link below, and write your idea!_____________________________________________________________Money Coach’s Suggestion:The advantage they both had going for them is that each ‘bought into’ the their respective values.  Maria had sincere compassion for Jack’s family.  Jack ‘got’ that their family also needed and deserved things like holidays, savings etc.Here’s what they did.  The decided upon a certain amount which would be the yearly slush-fund for Jack’s family.  Each month, Jack would set aside an amount to build up the slush fund.  Once the agreed-upon amount was reached, that was all that would be available for helping out his family for that year.  If it got depleted, it would get replenished, but not used, until the following year.In this way, Maria’s anxiety about the ongoing nature of the need was alleviated:  they would not be, at all time and in every case, diverting money aware from their own nest.  Jack also was able to feel like he was still looking out for his family, and fairly generously, but in this plan, would also be able to have funds available to build cushion for his new family. 

In the sometimes-tradition of Canadian Financial Stuff’s blog, Fridays here are about FUN with money. Sometimes we take it all waaaaay too seriously, and forget that money is here for us, not vice-versa. So for today’s fun, find out how rich you are in global terms! (click the ‘how rich are you’ link in the box)

How rich are you? >>I’m loaded. It’s official. I’m the 713,886,509 richest person on earth!

If you’re like me, you’ve had a few war-wounds with money by now.

One of my own horror stories: for a couple years I faithfully plugged away at giving a mutual fund my precious dollars. I’d invested in a fund that seemed good and no-one told me the company who sold it to me wouldn’t call me up when it was tanking (what did I know? I was just a 20-something kid at the time!). And tank it did. So I took my meagre leftovers and trustingly handed every dollar of it to a stock broker. Then he, literally, moved to the Caymen Islands. By the time the complete carnage was over, I was left with $200 bucks. Really.

Thankfully, a girlfriend coaxed me into joining a women’s investment club. Together, we Twandians learned how the market worked, and honest-to-goodness, never made less than 20% in the five years I was in the club (this includes over the disastrous 2000!)

Now, of course, I know how to choose my own stocks, and also how to keep on top of mutual funds I purchase through an advisor (and I’ve known many fine advisors who haven’t moved to the Caymens).

Financial Turnarounds. If you’d like to inspire yourself by other people’s stories of financial $(#* and back, check out the 100 most inspirational financial turnaround stories.

They’re real, their fun, and there will be a least one that will speak to your own situation. Unless you’ve had a financially perfect life.

Do I have a great prize for you! If you’re looking for a new bank, or need to set up a business account, and if you are not currently a VanCity member, I’ve got 2 great deals to give away:

1. Personal Banking at Vancity- new account. Includes these bonuses:

• 1 yr free fee chq (then I recommened their $7 electronic pkg. as long as you’re a do-it-yourself-er, it’s the least expensive banking product I know of)
• enviroGold visa – $99 fee waived first year. great points pkg.
• peferred term rate – usually available only if you have a serious chunk of change in terms (note: this is for locked in terms)
• line of credit at prime +1 (up to $10K)
• staff mtg rate
• 10% off insurance products (except life ins.)

2. Business Banking – at Vancity

• Fee free chq account for 1 yr
• $100 credit towards cheques
• LOC at prime (up to $25K)
• Expense GoldVisa card )($99 waived first yr)\
• 5% off business insurance

Interested? Here’s the deal.

1. Respond with a comment below, stating 1 thing you do to save money in greater Vancouver.

2. Then send me an e-mail stating which account you’re interested in. I’ll enter you in the draw: contest closes next Wed., June 20th. (note: you will still need to qualify for credit products – ie., credit score etc.)

ps – full disclosure: I work part-time for one of Vancity’s subsidiaries, Citizens Bank of Canada, hence I am able to offer these. It’s a staff inside-scoop.