It is so easy to get caught up in the flow of what everyone else is doing. It’s easier in the moment to follow the crowd rather than doing what’s best for you (assuming they may be 2 different things ).

My mother-in-law’s family has dinner together every Christmas, which ends up being a very large gathering, about 25 to 40 people. 5 years ago they decided to have a Secret Santa gift exchange to make it a little more fun for everyone. We were okay with the extra purchases, even as our family grew in numbers, which would increase our gift purchases (each family member is assigned someone else to give a gift to) – we’re up to 7 now…) More…

So recently, my daughter’s tooth came out, right in the middle of class (Grade 1) on the second day of school. Everyone wanted to see it. They were probably just curious about it, since most of them haven’t lost a single tooth yet. They were also probably too young to look at the tooth and see a golden nugget. After all, we all know that teeth are like gold because the tooth fairy will exchange lost teeth for coins while you sleep. She got her magical $1, then not a week later… #2 came out and another $1 came.

We’ve been trying to teach our kids, at a very young age, about proper money management. We give our oldest daughter (age 5) an allowance; $1/week. We sat down with 10 dimes and explained what happens with her $1/week. More…

Its a new school year. Among other things, college students around the world will be bombarded with credit card applications, offering instant credit. It feels like free money. Low introductory rates make us feel like we earned some bonus money by being accepted to our prestigious institution. Its not until months/years down the road that the real pressure comes to bear. Once those introductory rates disappear the debt will still be there and will start to crush you.

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Futureshop and Circuit City are the adult candy stores of today.

For many people (mostly male) who walk into these stores, our eyes widen with excitement… I find myself asking “Which items most badly want to come home with me?” So many new toys, gadgets and .. oh ya, they cost money… lots of money. But surely my pleasure and bragging rights will compensate for the high price, right? More…

Having a goal to become debt-free doesn’t mean you stay home and don’t do anything. It just means you keep your eyes open for ways to save while enjoying the good things of this earth. I keep an eye open for any sales, hand-me-downs, or other ways to get things at a discounted rate or free. Without expecting anything in return, I offer what I can to others in service or tangible items when I have something to offer. This has the nice effect of increasing my circle of friends and as is so often said, the goodness I send out comes back at me. More…

Every time I buy diapers for my baby or any everyday purchase, I accumulate points that will eventually get me a free movie ticket. (thanks to Scene.ca) On top of that, one of the department stores I purchase the baby items from also has it’s own point system which again I use to buy things out of their points catalog. My mother-in-law was recently surprised to see that she had accumulated a large number of points that she then redeemed for a $130 gift card. She used it to purchase clothing for her new job and a birthday gift for our daughter. I have redeemed my gas station points periodically for a car wash. More…

Often, our first thoughts on the topic of being more environmentally friendly are “How much more is it going to cost?” since energy saving items typically cost more. One way to help save the environment, and save your wallet at the same time, is taking advantage of hand-me-downs.

Since we have a large family (5 children and 2 adults), our family has benefited tremendously from hand-me-downs. My wife recently attended a back to school clothes exchange. Somebody was kind enough to bring in some ladies clothes as well so she was able to build up some of her wardrobe too. Most of the clothes were in great condition so, in combination with many other times having received bags of clothes and shoes, the kids will be ready with their wardrobe for school. My wife was about an hour too late to get a quality back pack from the clothes exchange…. we’ll have to be resourceful instead with what we have at home or keep an eye out for some good sales. More…