This has been a hard year full of an absolute mess of weird financial and economic and ~~ other ~~ news, but some good things came out of it. Let’s talk about some of the coolest changes that happened in 2021 in the economy around the world.
Do you have any big money wins from this year (supported a household on a low income? saved up money? quite your toxic job? paid off student loans?) - PLEASE share them below so I can share them (first name or handle only) on the stream. I’m proud of you! NOTHING is too small.
Ended with all food and dining spending only $1/mon average more for 2021 versus 2020. In spite of rising food costs at the end, and a toddler starting to eat lots more this year. (She only ate solid food for half of 2020, and not nearly as much).
Honestly though, I think a fair bit is that my husband traveled more than he did the year before, and his work reimburse him for meals when he’s gone. He eats a lot. So that was probably the ticket to our success, but whatever, I’ll take any spending related victory I can
Stayed out of debt. Made many wedding deposit payments! We are spending in line with our values on the wedding and not letting other opinions impact our spending!
I started sending items to auction. Found two auction houses: one for the books and another for housewares. Not a lot of $, but any money is better than none and less stuff. The books were things I just couldn’t sell otherwise (the fellow who used to consign a lot of my stuff has basically stopped) and the housewares ditto. Either they would have been destroyed at the antique shop, weren’t good enough, were too good, or were too big. I got rid of most of the “white elephants” and turned them into money.
I refinanced several of my student loans into one and I’m saving money on interest! I paid off a personal loan with my stimulus money and I met my savings goal of $1800 each to my tIRA and HSA.
Paid off my mortgage! After that I increased my biweekly non-registered investments, set up a property tax savings account (to be ready when it is due as it was paid by the mortgage company before), and set up a spousal rrsp to invest in for SO.
Me 4! 66% raise on salary plus significant equity comp: enough to potentially double my salary over the next 4 years Plus I like it a lot more so I might actually stick around for 4 years!
We were able to get started with budget meetings and get on the same page with finances. This year has actually been a big spend year due to our new-to-us house needing some work. However, we had money in hand for all of it. That was a success story.
We reorganized our finances and got everything mostly in one financial institution. That has made life a lot simpler for us financially.
We’re retired, so at a very different point in life than a lot of you. We have a fixed income and, being Canadian, we have government pensions. Hubby has pensions with adjustments for inflation from a couple of previous jobs. That is the bulk of our income. I inherited a small allowance from an investment gone bad. They send a disbursement each month. I used to just spend that money. Now I am redirecting it into my TFSA. The plan is to ladder GICs inside my TFSA. That way I don’t have to pay tax on any earnings.
I also restarted my business on the advice of my accountant…for tax purposes.
My income was cut in half by a divorce. I sold the house and bought a condo. I was worried about making it but most months I have money leftover. What a difference when you have total control over your finances. I am retired and on a fixed income.
Plus I like it a lot more so I might actually stick around for 4 years!