This & That: Rock & a Hard Place Edition
Posted by Gail | Filed under This & That
G wrote: I am a single mom now since Nov 2008 (very new) and am so overwhelmed…..I cannot even balance my chequebook….and i have 2 small children who rely on me and I am afraid to let them down. I need to figure out how to manage my money and make it work for me…..on paper it kinda makes sense, but every month i am short…..i tried the jars…but, got very confused when money comes in at different time during the month and comes out from different accounts etc…..I am ashamed and am getting further in debt….i feel i may lose the house and uproot my children again if i don’t get my finances intact…..any suggestions?
G, it’s always overwhelming when life kicks you, and when you have two babies to care for too, well, it can feel like too much. But you can do this. First you need to breathe. Now you need to make a list of the things you need to do, like make a budget that works. Go to my blog page. There is a list of favorite blogs there. Read:
- Aligning Your Cashflow
- 5 Reasons Budgets Don’t Work
- Essential Emergency Expenses … One at a Time
- Starting the Jars
J wrote: I am 39, I am a single mom with 2 teens, I work but i feel i am living cheque to cheque, i have two pay periods one goes right to rent the other is for bills, food, bus tickets, gas, car insurance very minimal entertainment etc. I have no credit score as i have never own a credit card i just finished paying off my student loan. I need help i cannot save nor buy a house.
J, not everyone can afford to be a home owner. I have lots of articles on my site/blog about renting versus owning. If you’re barely able to keep it together now, why would you add the additional costs of owning to your budget. You have an emergency fund and retirement planning to think about and if you’re not saving now, those should be your priority. According to the Stats Man, 1/3 dof Canadians rent. While homeowners average about $8,200 a year on shelter, renters pay only about $5,600. If you’re determined to be a homeowner, then it will mean finding a better paying job, or a second job, to create a downpayment and save the money for closing costs. Please, don’t over-extend yourself in the name of being a home-owner. People do it. It’s dumb. Enjoy what you have.
B wrote: We have a child with autism and we have gone $25,000 deep in credit card debt in order to be able to pay for his treatment. We requested a line of credit so we can pay less interest, but were denied. The bank is offering us a loan (7.75% interest/ 5 years) with the condition that we close our credit cards. The problem is that we need access to credit in regular basis to pay for therapies. We feel trapped! my husband makes less that 45K a year and I can’t go to work because of my sons. Any hope for us?
B, my heart so goes out to you m’love. I wish I had good news. Unfortunately, dealing with a child with a significant challenge is expensive, often more than some families can afford. (I have a son with autism too, though he is high functioning and I count my blessings and his.) I do not have a solution for you. I am sure you want to continue to provide therapy for your son, but ultimately if you end up losing everything as a result, that will be no answer at all. You don’t say what the interest rate is on your credit card, but I expect it is more than the 7.75% you’re being offered on the loan, and that would cut your costs. But it would also mean giving up credit… which is a reasonable request on the lender’s part since if you rack up more debt they may not get their loan repaid. When I discovered I would have to home-school my son, we decided to sell our expensive house in the city and move to the country to reduce our expenses and free me up from work so I could take care of him. As it turned out, he went to a great school with a fab teacher who was wonderful with him. You might want to consider ways to cut your costs as much as possible to have the money you need for treatment. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I am sure you have researched the resources available to you, and are in contact with the organizations that help families to deal with autism. You need to use all your resources now.
A Desperate Mom wrote: Last night I dreamt I was being suffocated by a pillow and stabbed by a man dressed in black robes. It’s debt!! and it’s killing me! I’ll be 49 in October and live in small town Manitoba. I drive in to work in Winnipeg everyday with my daughter. My daughter (30) and her 2 girls live with me (and my boyfriend). She works and pays for groceries and gas, daycare and has debt that is growing slowly but its there. My son (25) and his girlfriend and their 2 year old son want to move in so they can pay down their debt ($27,000). I have debt ($20,500) plus regular bills and the mortgage which I refinance 2 years ago (only 6 months after I got it). The boyfriend pays for utilities and some groceries. He plans to retire in 2013 (he knows he’ll have to work part time to top up his monthly income). My kids & I have crunched the numbers and on paper it looks like we should be able to clear up our debt in a couple of years however on a week to week, month to month basis it’s just not working. I know that you focus on couples so that the money issues don’t break up their relationships but in this one we’d like the success of getting out of debt to part us! In other words the goal would be to get us to a stage where we don’t HAVE to live together. I’m begging for help.
Desparate Mom, I’m willing to bet you’re all flying by the seat of your pants. Nothing is written down. It’s all done on an as-needed basis. And because you have no plan, the whole thing isn’t working. If you want this to work, you’ll make a budget, create an account into which you all put the income you’ll use to run the house, and learn to live within your means. Write every penny you spend down. Track it all. Then tell me how it’s working for ya.
S wrote: I am 63 and can not find work. I am struggling. I live in rented premises. I have about 12k in personal line of credit. I have no pension other than government plus a plummeted $200k in RSP. Should I go for early CPP? Should I pay off my line of credit by withdrawing from RSP? Sounds crazy, but I am a CA who took long leaves from work to look after my mother and then my Dad. I have done contract assignments for 10 years. When working (if again??) I earn a lot of money.
S, it sounds like life has been a little rocky lately. I think you need to think outside the box when it comes to finding work. Perhaps you can start your own small business and do the taxes for local businesses and individuals. You’ve likely been isolated for some time as you’ve cared for your parents, and it’s time to get back out there and promote yourself and your skills. Volunteer with a local charity. Offer to do the books for a club you join. Find ways of spreading the word that you’re hanging out your shingle.
You could consider yourself semi-retired and figure out how to use government pensions and your RSP to produce an income that will sustain you as you build a client base. Or you could simply go out and get a part time job doing whatever it take to make ends meet. If you take your CPP early, know that your benefits will be reduced.
New rules are coming into effect shortly so I’ll give you both: If you take CPP benefits before age 65 your pension is reduced by 0.6% (from the current 0.5%) per month for each month before you reach age 65. Delay taking benefits and they will go up by 0.7% per month (from the current 0.5%). Yup, CPP benefits are reduced by up to 36% (up from 30%) or increased by up to 42% (again up from 30%) under the new rules.
E wrote: Love the show, and find it very helpful and useful. My wife and I are modest income earners making approximately $140 k combined. Within the last two years, we have incurred a debt of $23 000. We are currently in the process of an international adoption that has been both finically and emotionally stressful. The first $20 000 is an adoption loan with interest 0.25% above prime and the other $3 000 is on the line of credit. The adoption loan is specialized towards us, so we do not have to make payments for another year (it is nice to find a bank that will work with adoptive families). However our goal is to pay it off immediately.
Due to unforeseen circumstances our adoption has been delayed by 2 years. The emotional stress has caused us to not watch our spending for about half a year. Therefore we have incurred an extra $3 000 on our line of credit and have only saved a small amount for extra expenses ($ 4500) for the adoption. However, for the last 4 years we have been paying $800 a month (combined) towards RRSP’s.
In the last 2 weeks we have taken back control of our finances. We are doing the jars and cut most of our extra expenses (my wife actually gave up her horse). We are putting about $1 700 to the debt a month and have not changed our RRSP contribution. I realize this question is now long winded, but here is comes: We have a reasonable work pension plan that is matched by our employer and we are wondering how much we should put into our RRSP? I figured out with combined RRSP and pension plan contributions we are approximately saving 18% of our yearly income (we are currently over contributing to our RRSP). Should we decrease our RRSP’s to a 10% savings and pay off our debt faster and save more for our adoption (ie travel expenses, etc)?
E, I am sorry the going on the adoption has been so tough on you. It’s a big step, and you sound like you’re ready for the responsibility (despite the slight mis-step). Focusing on debt repayment is a good step. Then you must build a solid safety-net for your family. You should not be over-contributing to RRSPs since there are penalties that come into effect if your overcontribution exceeds $2,000. The 10% rule is meant as a guide and really applies to people who are younger. You don’t say how old you are, but if you’re 30 or younger the 10% rule should be fine. It’s great that you’re determined to take care of your futures, I applaud you. But you should be debt free and also have a significant emergency fund established. If it were my money, I would:
- Continue with the work pension,
- Focus on getting the debt paid off with that $1700 a month
- Use the existing RRSP contributions to build an emergency fund using two Tax Free Savings Accounts
- Once the debt is paid off, redeploy the $1700: resume your RRSP contributions and that will leave $900 a month to a) build your adoption fund and b) have some fun.
You have both been under a lot of stress, and it’s taking an emotional toll. You need to find ways to enjoy your life right now, together, so that you don’t let STUFF become a substitute for what’s missing. Tell your wife that I, too, had to give up my horses because things changed. It broke my heart and I miss them hugely still. I had a pony who I just adored and there was nothing I loved more than sitting in my paddock being chewed on. Doors close and doors open. Be kind to each other and know that life is unfolding as it should and it is only a matter of us seeing the good that we DO have.
Jodie wrote: If I have as much RSP as I have debt and have recently lost my job, what do I do? I have a minimal EI income to live on, but nothing extra.
Jodie, it’s time to call your creditors, let them know you’re now unemployed and negotiate the lowest possible settlement on your debt. At the very least you want them to turn off the interest clock. At best, take less money if you pay off the balance as soon as you can. Then do whatever it takes to find the money to pay off the balances you owe. If you cash out your RRSPs you will be hit with a tax bill, so keep that in mind.
Gisele wrote: Love the show and been watching for years !! Never could get my STBE to watch or get on board with the jars as I had felt we had way too much consumer debt $67000.00 and drove me nuts as he had the attitude that everyone has debt !!!. My question is how do you wrap your head around finances after husband has left after 28 years when in a few years we had planned to retire.. Now on my own to run the house and everything else and we had started to renovate some years ago and nothing is finished..urgg… I have a 17 year old son home still and will be going to university in the fall. Don’t really want to sell the house right now and turn his whole world upside down. My current gross salary is $50287 and $1000.00 child support that can be pulled anytime when my child finishes school. I have a mortgage of $134000.00 which I had to remortgage and ammortaize over 25 years now at the age of 46 and it freaks me out. I have $2500 in credit card debt. Where do I set priorities now pay down mortgage, pay my credit card or start finishing all the reno’s that were started by him before he left..which will cost about $20000.00..Am I really in a financial mess or just overwhelmed right now by everything? Need advice as my solo journey begins and I don’t want to fail or get into more debt.
Gisele, you may be in a financial mess, but you sound overwhelmed. You need to sit down with the numbers and make a plan. Do up a budget and make sure you have some money set aside to deal with the renos you must do to finish up the house. Your goal should be to have everything ready to put the house on the market and downsize as soon as your son heads off to university/college. You can still keep a spot for him, but you can probably live in much less space. Your child support probably won’t end until he’s finished school, so let him use that money to pay for university/residence/etc. while you live on your income. Get the credit card debt paid off as fast as you can. Work an extra job if you have to. A mortgage of $134K isn’t all bad — you have to live somewhere right? — and a line of credit of $20K tied to your home that let’s you get the placed finished would be a good investment.
April 7, 2010 at 8:32 am
that is great Advice. I hope that they take the advice and it leads them to a happier, more fullfilling life.
regards,
Jason
April 7, 2010 at 8:58 am
Great advice Gail! I read your blog everyday and have learned so much. I am 50 years old, in debt but now have a plan, thanks to you, to pay it off.
April 7, 2010 at 9:15 am
I am humbled by the financial distress that some people must overcome. I have nothing to complain about as I can provide for my family and save for my future. I wish these people in your blog much luck and success in sorting their financial lives out and I’m thankful they have a kind,compassionate and knowledgeable person like you to talk to and to seek advice from.
April 7, 2010 at 9:26 am
I see myself in bits of a lot of these scenarios.
Like Gail says sitting down and planning is the key. It gives you time to breath and see the steps you need to take to get to where you want to be.
To the 63 year old that says she can not find work. Since I don’t know where you live and I don’t know all the circumstances but in my area Wal-mart, Tim Hortons, and McDonalds are always looking for staff and many are older. Temp agencies will also take older workers. Good luck.
April 7, 2010 at 9:27 am
It truly does put budgeting into perspective, and some pretty good advice.
With anything, take a breathe – make a plan. And learn from the mistakes made.
Have a great day all!
April 7, 2010 at 9:36 am
@ Gisele – don’t forget too that you’re son is a man now at 17, the man of the house infact. He’s old enough to know the details of the situation and offer up ideas for help. Don’t bash the father (he’s 50% his dad, you know) but just say hey, here’s the deal. Let’s figure this out together. Best of luck.
April 7, 2010 at 9:41 am
A modest $140g income. Wow. I guess modest depends on where you live. Hubby and I and three kids are doing OK on $90g.
April 7, 2010 at 10:21 am
@ Erin – it depends very much on where you live. $140K in rural saskatechewan and $140K in Vancouver can be very different standards of living. (Dont’ get me wrong, neither are exactly poverty line but yeah, I got what the poster meant. My one son cost $16,000 in daycare costs last year, something unfathomable to my friends in Kitchener. (I’m in TO).
April 7, 2010 at 11:12 am
Gail you amaze me everyday when I read this blog. You offer so many people a ray of sunshine. I have been on a debt diet since mid Feb and using the jar method…I use pencil cases in a folding file instead. I worry about someone breaking in and seeing jars full of cash. I have paid off $1200 of my $8000 debt which with my income is amazing to me and I am saving and contributing to rrsps. Thanks for being my inspiration.
April 7, 2010 at 12:23 pm
@ Erin — I was shocked at the “modest $140k” too. My family of four seems to keep it afloat on $64K (but as a part-time work at home mom we don’t need childcare expenses). I don’t live in a cheap town, but not outrageous like Van or TO. It helps that our timing has been good, and we work very hard at keeping costs down so that we have the luxury of me at home for the kids.
My heart goes out to all those people in deperate situations forced by circumstance. Any one of us is on the edge especially when we trust our significant others will be there to help tow the line…. its a toughy!
April 7, 2010 at 12:40 pm
What I love about the show and this blog is that is that to every mess, there is a solution. Everyone finds themselves in trouble sometimes, but no matter how tough the problem, there is always a way out. Usually the way out involves a meticulous plan and a lot of hard work! But no situation is hopeless.
April 7, 2010 at 1:00 pm
For E’s question. There’s something that worries me. He says ‘our employer’ as in, singular. If he and his wife do indeed both work for the same company then I’d say they DEFINITELY need to keep saving for retirement outside of the work pension. That’s a lot of eggs in one basket if they don’t.
April 7, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Modest income….
We live in a suburb of Vancouver and I wouldn’t say 140K is a modest income even here. We are not rich but certainly do well in this area with our combined income of around 75K. It’s all in your lifestyle I think.
April 7, 2010 at 2:52 pm
140K a modest income, for two people!?! That’s an insane statement no matter where you live!!! I notice E said that his wife even gave up her horse. As a horse-owner, I can say that ownership is at LEAST a 600 dollar a month committment minimum(feed+board+vet+equipment), so maybe, because of their somewhat lavish lifestyle, it makes the money seem modest. It’s all in how you chose to spend it, and you have to be accountable for your choices. Seriously.
April 7, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I think people are getting upset that someone making $140K a year can have money issues. ‘mo money mo problems’ has been around a long time, folks. We don’t know if they have massive student loans, or were in school until their 30s, or what. I can tell you that if you live in the city of Toronto (and I mean the city, if the TTC doesn’t serve you, you don’t live in Toronto) that a combined salary of $140K a year goes very fast, especially if you have kids and bought a house after 2005. Yes, you can choose not to live in such an environment, but then you probably have to give up that salary. It’s a choice both ways.
@ Donna – out of curiousity, how much are single family detached houses in your neighbourhood? I’m guessing that house prices in Vancouver are going to shock some people here too.
April 7, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I REALLY struggled recently with the competing challenges of debt repayment, retirement savings, emergency savings, savings for post-secondary. I was doing all but the emergency and long-term savings. Gail, I finally not only heard your voice saying “a budget without savings doesn’t balance” – but really internalized it.
I have two kids with chronic health issues. This means the drug store LOVES to see me coming.
I’m a single-mom too. These stories have all reinforced to me that paying attention to my emergency and long-term savings IS mission critical – and I’ve started this month. Truth is, we just never know when life will put us on our knees and make us beg for mercy.
Best wishes to all these folks.
April 7, 2010 at 4:37 pm
@B – We also have a son with Autism…severe Autism and much of our former debt was for things/plans/programs etc for him….some of it helped and some of it didn’t but I certainly know the desperate feelings of NEEDING to do whatever you can however you can, but, eventually it all catches up…the money has dried up, and the energy is fading…some of the things we did was take a step back, a deep breath and then priortize…we learned to do as much therapy as we could ourselves…(you’d be surprised at how simple it really can be…the biggest skill you need is PATIENCE)…we borrowed books, supplies, videos etc when we could…we asked for assistance through our local Autism Ontario Chapter…through our local Children’s Center and Children’s Aid…we asked for cash gifts for Christmas birthdays etc…(Brody just likes the candles on the cake and the singing)…and when we couldn’t afford EVERYTHING we made cuts and focused on what was most important…once he started school we made sure his daily program was (and still is) tailored to his specific needs…we have a happy healthy boy who is almost 18 years old but will always seem like 4 years old…we never stop helping him to reach his maximum potential…but we do it in a realistic way…so that we ALL have quality of life…
April 7, 2010 at 5:25 pm
@ Sparky – what an amazing parent you are. You have my utmost respect.
April 7, 2010 at 5:27 pm
@Geoff…thank you!…We are this way BECAUSE of Brody…he made us better people:)…and for that we thank him each and every day…really and truly:)
April 7, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Sparky is amazing. She is an awesome mom and probably the most upbeat person I have ever worked with. I hope to retire the day before she does. We both work for a Bank and she gives 100% (as I feel I do) , despite what some people’s opinions are of bankers and banks.
April 7, 2010 at 7:09 pm
@B…stay strong. We have friends with autistic children, of varying ages and varying degrees. Two of them live locally in Peterborough and managed to find wonderful resources locally and like you and the other poster have sought additional help. Im not sure where your from but if you have the time burn up the phone checking into local schools, resources, associations etc. One of our friends stays home full-time with her son and does some part-time bookeeping ont the side. She found a great class in a local school who were investing in brining in resources like special computer programs and computer equipment for austic kids to help them learn and communicate easier. We also have friends who two sons are both autistic and through much dedication, love and effort are now living together away from home, independently with jobs well suited to them and one son is even able to drive. We’ve seen the struggles from all situations but also the small victories to celebrate. I wish you and all parents of kids with special needs the courage, serenity and wisdom for the best possible outcome. You all have my greatest admiration and respect.
April 7, 2010 at 7:22 pm
@ Geoff
We are about 30 minutes out of Vancouver. House prices in our particular neighbourhood range in price from $459,000 – 1.2 million (house age range from 25 years to new build). The million $ houses wouldn’t be a residential lot size….a few pieces of 1/2 – 1 acre properties in the area. Most building lots are starting at $300,000 and are going like crazy in order to beat the implementation of the HST July 1st.
I think lots of people live well beyond their means as most banks were very generous with mortgage amounts for a long while. We have not seen the end of an economic downturn here as we rode out the Olympic upturn for so long. As things get back to normal and the infastructure building stops I feel we will see many people in construction of all kinds become unemployed.
My husband was in the forestry industry and lost his job to a mill closure two years ago. He made a complete career change to Corrections BC and we are still recovering from the time off he has as well as the salary decrease but we still live in our 25 year old house we bought 13 years ago and plan to stay in until the kids graduate. We had many opportunities to build a new house like our neighbours and take on that huge mortgage but didn’t feel as confident as they did. We sleep better at night knowing that we have secure jobs again and that we will be mortgage fee in 7 years instead of the 40 that they are looking at. I would want to pay a mortgage 20 years after I retire….and that is what they are looking at.
April 7, 2010 at 7:26 pm
“wouldn’t want to pay a mortgage for 20 years after I retire”
April 7, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Gosh. 140k combined is a modest income???
I would love to earn 70k a year.
I have no kids, but have a mortgage and live in Sydney, which was recently voted the least affordable city for housing in the world….
I am actually looking for my second property to live in and 350k will buy you a ONE BEDROOM apartment in Sydney.
April 8, 2010 at 10:09 am
Wow Gail, I already knew that I was lucky to find your show a few months ago, but when I read that you have a son that has autism and is high functioning, it clicked for me even more why I like you and can relate to you. I too have a child on the autism spectrum who has Aspergers Syndrome (often called high functioning autism) along with a few other challenges that would be difficult for her if she had just those diagnoses. This is the first year I’ve been able to try to work while she is in school as she’s finally doing well enough that I’m not being called on regularly by the schools who have not understood her well. We move often due to my husband’s military career so it’s a constant education on my part to help people understand her. His job has its challenges for our daughter who likes routine, but it covers the bills and provides much-needed health insurance.
She actually went from her worst year to her best year and I have been able to find a part-time job during school hours which I’ve never been able to do before because she had so much trouble with school. (Doctors have always insisted she attend regular school for socialization skills but sometimes I think they were wrong and I should have home-schooled.) I’ve always tried to make the best decisions for her based on the information I’ve had and sought out, and have always been there for her but we’ve definitely paid a financial price for it. I tried home businesses but even that proved to be impossible to do well at as she was the priority.
I want to be in good financial shape for her benefit as well. I feel like it’s kind of a late start as we’re in our 40s but I guess better late than never. Being able to contribute to the family budget even if it’s just fourteen hours a week of work is great also for my sense of balance and self-esteem. I always had good intentions with my home-businesses but they seemed more of a financial drain than a help.
Thanks for sharing that personal tidbit about your son. It is inspiring to know that you have been able to find a niche and help your family too.
April 9, 2010 at 12:17 pm
To all who have children with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, have you applied for a Disability Tax Credit Certificate to aid with costs?
The CRA has the form to download (9 pages). You need a Dr. to sign the form and to indicate the nature of the disability or indeed multiple disabilities. The government will then consider your eligibility for the disability tax credit certificate and will inform you in approximately 8 weeks.
Since the parent is the caregiver in most cases (for a number of years), the tax credit would be used to reduce the taxes on the parent’s earned income.
My brother has a child with Asperger’s Syndrome and this tax credit was backdated as far as the government allowed to help with prior costs for specialized therapies.
In addition, in Ontario, there is the Ontario Disability Support Program. this program helps parents (and eventually their children when they are 18) to pay for some of the costs associated with their child’s disability – especially when it is a life long disability.
PLEASE look into these programs for your own financial consideration and the long term costs of care for your children.
April 9, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@ Donna – re: “House prices in our particular neighbourhood range in price from $459,000 – 1.2 million”
I sincerely hope that in your neighbourhood, $140K average income is considered modest, at least among the new owners. If it’s not, than your house prices are waaay out of whack with incomes.
April 9, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Hi Gail:
I’ve been watching your show for years now, and reading your blog only for a few weeks. I always feel like I am using my time wisely when I watch/read your show/blog. Thanks for your compassion to the many people who are in dire straits financially, although I love it when you ask spoiled spenders if they are nuts! Makes me laugh every time.
My hubby and I have 4 kids and also foster 2 infants. Hubby makes about 60 g per year, and although fostering certainly helps out financially it is no ‘get rich quick scheme’ either. (approximately $1/hour per child. From that, we provide food, in our case formula, clothing, cribs, strollers, etc, only diapers are reimbursed) Thank goodness for that, since these kids deserve to be loved for who they are, not for what they financially bring in.
We have our kids in a private Christian school, and are still able to live comfortably with the 8 of us on hubby’s income despite the $13,000 per school year price tag.
Yet, I often think Gail that you would do a fair bit of yelling at me. I am sure that we could trim our budget, specifically at the grocery store. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I have been known to hit the local grocery store 4 times in one day, although even for me that is a bit extreme. We rarely eat out, although hubby does have a coffee habit that gets fed every morning. We are whittling down debt incurred from previous years of living with sporadic income due to seasonal work. Thankfully, through creative spousal investments over the past 3 years, we have cashed 1/2 in and paid off all our credit cards. We still have significant over draft debt, but are tackling that more aggressively than we have ever been able to.
My question is this. From what I’ve shared, does it sound like we are living fairly decently within our means, or are we shockingly good at stretching a dollar?
I feel weird buying new clothes, although it has happened, we only tent it when we go on holidays, we drive modest vehicles that are paid in full, and we rarely eat out. Any thoughts? Would love to ‘hear’ from you! (be almost getting your autograph!:)
April 11, 2010 at 6:54 pm
@ Suzanne – I’m not Gail but I think you’re (a) doing well and (b) a great human being. 6 kids! On 60G! Amazing.
And Gail would only get upset if Money Out > Money In. Is that the case?
April 12, 2010 at 9:34 am
@Suzanne I’m not Gail either, although I’m sure if you’re in overdraft protection regularly, she would probably give hubby the business for the coffee indulgence.
The only thing that I wondered reading your post — is if you are saving for the children’s college/university? If not, I would say that the 13K spent on private school, would be better saved on college/university later on.
Especially if you’re in Canada, where RESP’s are matched by the government etc.
Good luck — you’re doing amazing!
April 12, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I just saw on the news this weekend that the average house price in Vancouver just hit $1 Million. Not being from Vancouver I don’t know where these homes are located, but the ones they showed on the news were small (think 1000 sq ft), older homes, seemingly not updated, but on huge lots. It makes me wonder how anyone could afford to live there!
In Calgary the average house price is about $450K for an average family home. Depending on the neighbourhood, of course – some are much lower, but many are much more than that.