I’m sure that many of you know what bokeh is, but if not, I can tell you what “bokeh” means. Bokeh is the really blurry, kind of funky, background in a photo that may or may not include lights or shapes or random swirls. (If you want the official definition, may I offer up wikipedia?)
I am a bit of an academic. I skipped third grade, I was in advanced classes, I took grade eight and nine French in one year, and I was a peer tutor for algebra in grade twelve. Algebra! (Nerd alert.) My report card only ever had A (or A+) marks. I went on to become a Chartered Accountant, and I think that education is an important part of growing up into being an adult.
That all said, I have no problem taking my kids out of school to go skiing.
Moms are busy, no matter what their lifestyle, and coffee is the primary reason many of us are able to remain upright. Like you, my life is ALL-CAPS BUSY - I have three kids, five (contract) jobs, one husband, and one home currently up for sale. My husband is also working towards a Masters degree - it's a real party at my place, folks! Which means that the brunt of keeping our household running smoothly currently falls on my shoulders. Some days I feel like I'm pinwheeling through life.
Here in our great nation of Canada, our tax filing deadline for the previous year's income is April 30th. (If you're self-employed, you have until June 15th to file, but any taxes you owe are still due on April 30th, so get everything filed by April 30th to avoid interest and penalties.)
Filing your tax return can be an overwhelming matter, especially if numbers just aren't your thing. I'm a CPA, CA, and I can attest to the fact that taxes can be hard. But! Filing them is not an impossible feat, and I'm here to tell you how.
You've escaped the corporate world and made the leap to being self-employed. Or you never lived in the corporate world and are making a living. You may be a writer, a blogger, a photographer, or any of a wide array of professions. You have the freedom to work while wearing yoga pants, and you can be home when your kids get home from school. You have more freedom than when you worked 9-5, but you also have to be in charge of the administration of those dollars that get deposited into your bank account.
It's not a secret that spending time with your partner - just the two of you - is key to keeping your relationship healthy and alive. Not all of us have a lot of disposable income when we're in the throes of parenting, so we think that we can't go on dates because dinner and movie can be quite costly. Or maybe you don't have kids yet and are a student. Or maybe you chose a career that fulfills you, but doesn't bring in the big bucks. Whatever the reason, spending time with your love doesn't have to be a costly affair. Here are some fun dates for under $50:
In a perfect world, you would have started saving for retirement in your 20s. You'd be dumping excess income into an RRSP or other pension plan for a good forty years or so and be laughing all the way to sunny destinations every winter when you retire.
Last Sunday I sat down at my laptop to pay our bills. I logged into my credit card account to get the balance payable (We put everything on our MasterCard and pay it off monthly, because I like free groceries). The total alarmed me, and as I scrolled through the transactions, there were pages and pages (and pages and pages) of $11.18 iTunes charges.
We had parent-teacher interviews last month and all three of my kids are "meeting" or "exceeding" in all of their courses at school. (Our school district doesn't use letter grades in the elementary or middle schools -- they are "reaching", "meeting", or "exceeding.") While meeting with our daughter's teacher, we got talking about how many kids these days do no know how to count money, because all they experience is seeing their parents swipe a card. I dumped a bunch of change on the table and Emily counted it perfectly.
While crowd-sourcing apps to help save time and money, one name that kept coming up in my search was Flipp. I looked it up, read the reviews, and promptly downloaded it. I’m a convert. I love Flipp, and you should have the same money-saving opportunities that I do, right at your fingertips!
My husband and I do not "come from money." There are no trust funds, no inheritance awaiting us, and nobody to bail us out if we make unwise decisions. We both work hard -- always have -- and have been working since we were kids. (Paper route fist bump.) We do our best to be wise with our finances. We budget, we live within our means, we save for our kids' education, and we save for our retirement.
I attended Blissdom Canada in Toronto a few weeks ago for my fifth time—I haven't missed a year yet—and I led three micro-sessions on the topic of "Blogging and Taxes." I promised those at my sessions (and those who wanted to come but couldn't), that I would write a post here at YMC to summarize what was asked and what we talked about.
My husband and I come from middle-class families. There were no trust funds, or people in our family able to fund our post-secondary education. He took out student loans to go to school and get a certificate in Wood Products Manufacturing, and had a great career trading lumber until the market crashed. (Side note: He is now the Director of Childrens & Families at our church. Life is weird.)
If you, like me, live in beautiful British Columbia, and have kids in the public school system, then you're in the same boat as I am. Our kids won't be in school for at least two weeks, and possibly not even until October. I'm frustrated, of course, and my kids are greatly disappointed. They love school — their friends, their teachers, learning new things. I told them that I'd find them some online sites and maybe some workbooks to keep their minds sharp and to keep them from playing Minecraft for many hours a day.
I've been going to Blissdom Canada since the its inception. In the first two years, I was on a speaker on panels, and I've been a Community Leader in subsequent years.When the conference was first created, I was so excited to have a conference that was targeted to Canadians.
Erica sent me the results of a survey about how much the Tooth Fairy pays per tooth, on average, and thought I might want to write about it. She was right, because it's one of those topics that comes up often among parents. When my first child lost his first tooth, I had NO IDEA how much I — I mean the Tooth Fairy — should pay.
Being self-employed can be scary at times. Will I get that contract? Will I generate enough income? How can I take a vacation if I don't get vacation pay?
When I went to L.A. to represent Erica/YMC for the opening of the Residence Inn at L.A. Live, the trip was such a treat. My husband just started his Masters in Leadership, which means that he's up until midnight every night reading and working on assignments and papers. The trip occurred a few days before he started and it was a great time for me to recharge before taking on the task of solo parenting.
I shared my love of using PC Points a few weeks ago in order to knock chunks of money off of my grocery bill. A friend commented on Facebook about two apps she uses to save money on groceries, and I immediately downloaded them. I'm here to tell you that I love them, and I'm sure that you will too.
