So I have been kind of busy lately and was in the midst of paying the credit card bills. It is Friday today However, it is passed 5:00pm. Usually all of the banks are closed by now and every digital bill payment you make is delayed until Monday. Basically, if you had say a payment due this Sunday and say pay your bills today through online means you are semi out of luck.

Fortunately that isn’t the case here as all of my bills have an end of the month deadline. I guess in these cases it is better to have automatic deductions at times to ensure that your payments will be made on time. I always like to verify all of my money that is coming in and out though. As well, I usually try to maximize the amount of time my funds stay in the savings to earn more interest.

Is it worth it in the end? I guess from a dollar point of view in this one scenario it doesn’t really add up to much. But this habit makes me do the same in other aspects of financial management such as ensuring I understand and verify all of my expenses and savings where I am frequently on the ball with my money.

I guess like for a health nut while it may be easier and faster to just continually have someone deliver your meals to you knowing where your food comes from everyday and being proactive with it should generally translate to a healthier lifestyle overall.

Over the past week I have spoken to a lot of people who were interested in moving to Vancouver ever since they visited here recently because of the games. It was interesting to see the different mindsets how some people would only do it when they say find a job locally. Whereas some say they always just go with the flow and things work out.

This is a lot like general budgeting I’d say where it’s’ like some people need that financial nest to go on whereas some don’t. I think in this scenario it is more about support. Example, having say friends or family members in the area that can help you out. That usually attracts the opportunities which in turn solves your financial problems.
I guess like a business too you can’t always be 100% safe as you have to be prepared to make changes on demand.

Today I heard a person saying how he could get tickets to an event where for $250 dollars you could drink as much alcohol as you want. This made a lot of people enthusiastic where they started to say how they would get “hammered” for sure and all where it was such a good deal financially. I was just thinking, how much can one honestly drink before they pass out in one day?

I guess if that is your kind of thing of having fun then that is different story. But is it really that exciting value wise? Example, if you paid $200 for an all you can eat lobster buffet how much could you really eat in a sitting? Financially speaking, to me it’s like you are just spending more per item unless you truly can consume so much within a certain time-frame.

I think in most cases like these the value is more about what you think you are getting as oppose to actual numbers I’d say. Another way I like to think about it too is that businesses are in it to make money. So that should usually make you think about the value on services like these if you think they are a true bargain. Like in many of these cases, even they know or have strategies to make sure that most people won’t ever consume the dollar amount worth of products compared to what you paid for.

Some people have been telling me about their financial resolutions for this year and a lot of it revolved around trying to avoid specific things in order to save money. For example, not dining out as much, trying to quit cold turkey on bad habits, etc. People often say that most things done in moderation is okay. Example, if you normally spent like $200/month on coffee you don’t necessarily need to avoid it all together.

When it comes to saving money on things that are clearly more of a “want” I usually just cut it out first. For example, let’s say the movie budget was the $200/month figure. If for some reason I needed that $200/month for something else I would literally just say “No more movies.”

Now you may say that is a little harsh. But again, these are non essentials in my mind. If something else truly needs the funds which would be more beneficial it only makes sense to do it. But what’s the catch? I actually enable myself to spend money on the activity again by earning it. How? I have to find a way to earn more.

Basically, I need to generate an additional income stream for it. It’s like being a kid again. If you want to spend more on those snazzy items you can do things like open a weekend lemonade stand. I think as adults the essence is the same except what we are putting our money in is a little different. I find that this forces you to mange and make money efficiently. Not to mention how much experience you can gain from it as you are more open to all the ideas that are out there.

I was hearing two sides of a debate today where some people were going to go on a two week vacation since during this time a lot of people do so. Of course, people that work a full time job get vacation pay as well. At the same time, I was hearing how some people mentioned that taking vacations like these actually cost you double and instead they just bank the vacation dollars and invest it.

I remember when I used to work at a full time job my vacation pays just kept accumulating. Basically, I didn’t even treat it as like an entitlement but rather something I ignored. So when time came to bank it it’s almost like you winning a small lottery. My decision was always to save it personally until I could find something decent to invest it with.

I know the purpose of a vacation pay is so that people don’t overwork themselves and the intent is that you take days off. In my opinion, unless you truly have no financial predicaments it only makes sense to use that money to further push yourself ahead I’d say.