My Best Personal Finance Decisions

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Here are some of what I believe to be our best personal financial decisions made so far.

The Number One Best Personal and Financial Decision I Have Ever Made

I married a wonderful man and we have stayed married. I do things every day to try to ensure that we stay happily married and so does my husband.

Best Education Decision

I majored in university in a discipline that would get me a well-paid career even though it wasn’t the subject I was “passionately” interested in. I studied hard enough to earn and maintain a scholarship and worked hard enough to be a desirable candidate for interviews.

Best Investing Decision

We started contributing to our RRSPs as soon as we graduated and started working. (There were no TFSAs then.)

Best Car Ownership Decision

I didn’t buy a Corolla until I had graduated and worked for 4 years and had saved enough to buy it with cash. (My husband had to buy a Tercel to drive to the rural facilities he worked at as soon as he graduated.) Aside from that one first car loan, neither of us has ever paid for a loan or a lease for a car.

Best Borrowing Decision

We have never had a loan for any other reason. Yes, that means we have never carried a balance on a credit card or had a line of credit. We did have a mortgage.

Best Home Ownership Decisions

  • We didn’t buy a home until we were in our thirties.
  • We did not buy a unit in a high-rise condominium.
  • We bought a home we could maintain and afford on one salary.
  • We paid for 40% of the cost of our home with cash.
  • We have always saved the entire cost of renovations, including the contingency cost, before starting any work.

Best Budgetting Decision

We always budgeted as if one or even both of us could get laid-off at any time. Given our industry, it was, and is, not an unrealistic scenario. We’ve always kept a large amount in accessible savings; the inevitable over-save has ended up in RRSPs, TFSAs and other investments.

Conclusion

I’m sure that there were other choices that we made that have helped us get to the comfortable place we’ve now reached.

We have also had a lot of luck and many blessings along the way. We give steadily and regularly because we know that anyone can need help at any time. No one is immune to suffering.

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What Should You Do If You Get an Automated Phone Call Saying Your Credit Card Has Been Fraudulently Breached?

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Normally when we answer the phone during the supper hour it is

  • a duct cleaning ad, even though we are on the do not call registry,
  • one of our children’s schools with an important message like next week is March Break (do any parents really not know this?),
  • a real estate agent offering to sell our house so they can get a huge commission, even though we are on the do not call registry and they have just guaranteed we will never use their business, or
  • a newspaper trying to get us to subscribe.

So last night’s call was a new one. An automated voice claimed that my husband’s credit card security had been breached and his card might be used for fraudulent purchases. It directed him to call a 1-866 number immediately. Continue reading →