October 2011 Budget

Okay, the time has come. By the way, I can't believe it's already been a month since I started blogging.  I honestly don't know how to even start but I assume that's how a lot of university students feel as well. I'm basically going to ballpark everything this first month and then adjust accordingly next month. The plan is to have a realistic budget by the end of the year.

Investing 101: Compounding

Let's talk about what to do with all that money that you've worked so hard on saving up. In this section titled Investing 101, I'll go over different terms and ideas that every investor should know.* Hopefully the information provided will help give you a general idea of how things work and build a foundation for you to go and further educate yourself. Welcome to class. Today's topic? Compounding.

Paid to Play

Along with saving money and spending wisely, another way to reach your goals is to increase income. One way to do this is to get an additional job, however it may be quite exhausting juggling two jobs, family, a social life, and school (if applicable...if not applicable then I envy you). So today we are going to talk about other ways to make a little side money while doing things that you enjoy.

Riding the Rocket: Part 2

The cost of commuting is a huge expense for me and this is what I had to say about it last time.

So we talked about determining whether a monthly pass was a better option than paying for bus tokens. Unfortunately we're not done for the year. We actually have to calculate it for each month. Some months have holidays and February is short a couple days as well (this could make a difference depending on which days the month falls on). This requires good foresight in terms of what you have to do in the coming month.

Investing 101: Interest

Let's talk about what to do with all that money that you've worked so hard on saving up. In this section titled Investing 101, I'll go over different terms and ideas that every investor should know.* Hopefully the information provided will help give you a general idea of how things work and build a foundation for you to go and further educate yourself. Welcome to class. Today's topic? Interest.

Brand Name Threads

Back in high school, everybody was into brand name clothing. We would buy shirts with huge logos on them letting the world know where we bought our garments from. It would let people know how well off we were and indicated status. If you had the right threads then you were the coolest. I remember buying 4 t-shirts for about $100 when they were on sale. I made out like a bandit.

Riding the Rocket: Part 1

When I first started this blog, I wanted to keep where I was from a secret. I've come to the realization that it would be pretty difficult to keep that under wraps. Besides, I wanted to talk about our transit system. So guess where I'm located. I'll give you a hint if the huge picture of one of our streetcars didn't give it away. I'm a Leafs fan. Okay, now that that intriguing mystery is solved, let's talk about the Rocket, also known as the Toronto Transit Commission.

Jobs

Admit it, some of you thought of the guy above first and going to work second. Understandable. The man put my iPod and phone into one device - he's a technological god. But seriously. Go get a job. If you want to pay down debt you'll need money. Where does that money come from? There's no money fairy (but imagine if there was!) so you're going to have to work for your dough. I started working when I was 15 and ever since, not only do I pay for everything I want on my own and I feel that I'm in control which is a great feeling. I realized how hard it is to make money so I've become more responsible financially; I try not to blow it all away and I make better choices in terms of what to purchase and when to purchase it.

Feed the Piggy

Alright so let's get started. There's a couple ways to accomplish the goal of graduating without debt. Method one is to make more money. Method two is to spend less money. The latter is sometimes known as "saving". I know that term is unfamiliar to some of you but that's okay, I never really understood it either.