Ponder Du Jour
In youth we are healthy and full of energy. Time and money permitting, there’s no better time to explore and go on outdoor adventures - and your wardrobe should not be full of useless cheap crap from mass market clothing retailers.
Yes, I owe you an apology from my hypocritical self because I often fall victim to the latest seasonal fashion trends. In fact, since my early teens, I’ve completely overhauled my wardrobe twice. Although I’m not about to attempt such a costly feat again, I’ve been upgrading it by investing in more outdoor gear recently.
Why did I ever buy that leather jacket and pea coat? The combined cash could have funded an immensely more practical GORE-TEX hard shell…
In Canada, the Penny’s Time to Shine Is Over
Jim Flaherty, the finance minister of Canada, pronounced a death sentence on the country’s penny during his budget speech on Thursday.
“Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home,” Mr. Flaherty told the House of Commons. “They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs.”
The government estimated that every penny costs it about 1.6 cents to produce. Eliminating the penny’s production will reduce the government’s costs by about 11 million Canadian dollars a year.
The Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies to banks and businesses this fall. While Canadians will be allowed to continue to use pennies indefinitely, the government is hoping that they will turn in the coins for recycling as scrap metal.
» via The New York Times
First thing I thought of:
Better start tiling before the year ends!
Is your city making you poor?
A married couple who are close friends of mine recently made a noble decision.
They enjoy the opportunities that living in a large city offers, but they constantly found themselves yearning for the luxuries that others possessed around them. It was an endless cycle of lusting after the latest…
So, I probably shouldn’t live in downtown Toronto and I probably shouldn’t live in suburbia either knowing my materialistic tendencies. I should find a nice secluded hippie area with lots of green space to settle down. But that would be far too expensive…
Fill in Online Job Application Salary Requests with $1 to Improve Your Chances of a Response
Many forms won’t let you complete them if you leave spaces blank. Hellmann advises putting in $1, $10 or $100, “anything to show you’re not listing your real salary.” Hellmann insists it’s not fair to discuss compensation before you’ve had a real job interview.
Great advice. You should never reveal your current salary when negotiating your new one. t makes no difference what you were paid previously, unless they are trying to pay you less.
“Money is not important, until there’s not enough.” What does that mean, exactly?
In this world, we often make the mistake of placing too much emphasis on making more money. We sacrifice time with family and friends, neglect hobbies that we enjoy, and constantly worry about keeping up with the Joneses. You’ll never be fulfilled by constantly chasing a bigger paycheck.
Ask any person on their death bed what they regret the most, and you’ll hear things like, “I wish I had spent more time with my kids” or “I should have learned to do ______.” You won’t hear things like, “I really should have spent more time at the office” or “I regret taking so much vacation time.”
On the flip side, failing to earn enough money has its own set of stressors. It wrecks marriages, causes depression, and leads to a life of constant strain. People often romanticize being poor, but the truth is, it sucks. You can’t enjoy life if you are constantly worrying about how to meet your basic needs.
So when I say “money is not important, until there’s not enough”, I’m referring to that middle ground. The sweet spot. The point at which you earn enough money to meet your basic needs AND have life-enriching experiences. Not necessarily enough money to have five houses and a yacht named after your Labradoodle, but just enough to be able to travel a few times a year or pay for a hobby that you love. When you get to that point, you can stop putting so much effort into thinking about money every second of the day and just enjoy life.
Hopefully now you understand why this site has a split personality. One day I may be showing you how to earn and save more money, and the next day I might be encouraging you to relax and spend money on something that other people think is ridiculous.
It’s all about balance.
Apparently, balance is achieved at $75,000 per year.
I am currently outside all three circles! Ah, yes, the student life.
