Becoming Financially Stable Takes Purpose
Becoming Financially stable takes on various meanings for different people based on current affairs.
However, in a nutshell, it means you are debt-free and can pay for everyday needs without money stress.
The term financial stability also means you have a stable backing system or in other words a stash of cash, emergency savings or investments.
I’m not talking about being a teenager that lives at home or an adult that hasn’t left mom and pops house either.
You have to look at the big picture when it comes to personal finance and where you see yourself in 5, 10 or even 25 years.
A quick stab in the dark but I’m betting it’s not going to be living in your parent’s basement.
To be financially stable means you have to work your way up the ladder until you’re able to come down without hesitation.
Thus, retirement or for some people or an early retirement means you’ve done even better than expected with your money.
Financially Stable vs Financially Independent
I look at both of these terms financially stable and financially independent as similar but with two different paths.
Both of these paths essentially meet up and then one continues on until the end of the road, retirement.
For instance, when you move out of your parent’s house and accepted a job working in a career you went to school for.
The utility bills are now in your name and you have to maintain the vehicle and pay the rent on time.
You’re responsible for going grocery shopping, cooking and making sure your budget balances.
This to me is financially independent living your life without the assistance of mom and dad.
Of course, you may need to call home for the odd question or two but for the most part, you’re an independent young adult.
Financially Stable
Being financially stable on the other hand is far different where you have no mortgage because you’ve paid it off.
Perhaps you don’t want a mortgage but are financially stable and are fine paying someone else’s mortgage.
You also have no consumer debt such as credit card arrears and not behind on any utility bills.
Paying cash for all of your purchases is easy and if you pay by credit card for rewards purposes they are paid in full each month.
You owe no debt to family, friends or employers and your vehicles are paid off so no monthly payments.
Having emergency savings, even more savings, and investments all topped up each year including your RRSP and TFSA and perhaps a non-registered investment account and life insurance.
You’ve come to a point where you’ve dotted all your I’s and crossed all of your t’s.
That also means you’ve completed a legal will so all of your finances are taken care of when you die.
Do I think Mrs. CBB and I are financially stable?
Yes and no.
Financially Unstable Characteristics
You may or may not exhibit all of these characteristics when you are financially unstable.
The idea is to crush each one until you come out on top because it can be done.
Just take your time and find the best path to get you where you want to go.
You don’t sleep well at night and often stress about money
Your bills are never paid on time or you are shuffling money around to pay them.
There are many struggles in your life to keep a job
Credit cards are all maxed out and you’re only paying the minimum balance
You borrow money often from family, friends or get Payday loans
Rent or mortgage payments are missed or paid in partial
Creditors are calling you for payments
Your credit score is damaged and low
Friends no longer call you to go out because you can’t afford to go
You spend more than you earn and can’t control your shopping trips.
Budgeting your money doesn’t appeal to you or you struggle to complete the task each month.
Living pay to pay with nothing at the end of the month for savings
Little to no emergency savings
No life insurance or little through work benefits
Little to no retirement investments
You often have to pay late fees, bank fees and other fees that eat into your monthly net income.
14 Steps To Becoming Financially Stable
Although we have accomplished many of what I stated above we need to remember that the game ain’t over yet.
By this, I mean that I could lose my job tomorrow and although we’d still be fine our goals would not be met.
Could we hold the fort up in the meantime, of course, we could but with partial income from unemployment, we’d be eating into our savings.
You always have to consider the worst-case scenario any time you are creating a short and long-term plan for you and your money.
Are you ready for a good night’s sleep and not worrying about money as much as you used to?
Then a financially stable lifestyle is for you but it will take work to get there.
Let’s have a look at how you can become financially stable.
Find a Job that you love
Work your butt off to save money and live a balanced frugal lifestyle
Pay all of your bills in full each month
Don’t create debt anywhere and if you do pay it off in full
Pay off all debt if you have any
Buy a house and pay it off as fast as you can or invest depending on your mindset as this is a controversial topic.
Don’t buy a new vehicle and pay it off fast as they are a depreciating asset.
Invest in your retirement to the max.
Make sure you have life insurance (talk to your financial advisor to find out what is right for you).
Save for emergencies up to 1 year or even more if you can of expenses.
Have a back-up plan or a stable backing system in case you lose your job
Estimate how much money you will need in retirement and when you’ll be able to sustain that number to retire.
Consider downsizing your home and getting rid of stuff you don’t need
Go get your will done so you don’t leave a mess behind and protect what you’ve worked so hard for.
So many people are not financially stable and that’s because it’s not an easy place to get to.
In fact, most people won’t ever reach financial stability in their lives as they will live pay to pay or won’t have enough saved in retirement or even life insurance.
Like I mentioned above to be financially stable takes on different meanings for everyone but the true meaning is freedom of life without the worry of money.
Oh, and be happy in the process because being financially stable and in a mood means nothing when you don’t enjoy life.
Discussion: What does being financially stable mean to you? Leave me your comments below
Blog Posts You May Have Missed
Below is a recap of the blog posts I’ve published over the past two weeks so you can catch up on your reading.
If you haven’t already subscribed to the blog make sure to add your email to my list so you get my weekly blog posts and access to my Free Budget Resources Library.
You’ll get all of my Budget Binder Printables and Monthly Budget For Free.
How to improve your negative net worth
4 Simple ways to manage your financial priorities
Simple Indian coconut curry roasted potatoes
How to create a weekly expense sheet (free printable)
8 Romantic things to do for Valentine’s Day when you’re broke
3 Ingredient Keto condensed milk
Finance Post I Enjoyed Reading
One of my readers sent me this article she read in the Financial Post titled “Death is no excuse when paying the taxman“.
The article is about two sisters who found out they were the beneficiaries of their late father’s $200,000 Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) investment.
Once all was said and done they both received $96,641 each only to find out that Canada Revenu Agency wanted the money back.
The father had a 2011 tax year liability with the government for over $96,000 that was unpaid.
The law
Under the special non-arm’s length transfer rule, if an individual has transferred property, “directly or indirectly, by means of a trust or by any other means whatever,” to their spouse, partner, a minor, or a non-arm’s length person, the transferee and transferor are “jointly and severally … liable” to pay any taxes owing to the CRA, up to the value of the property that was transferred.
So, the CRA deemed that the sisters were responsible for paying their father’s 2011 tax year liability.
The daughters ended up challenging non-arm’s length transfer rule and the outcome was pretty much what I expected to happen.
I’ve linked the article above for you to read but the moral of the story is to be cautious when accepting beneficiary payments.
What are your thoughts on this? Leave me your comments below.
Frugal Recipe Of The Week
I found this delicious looking pineapple salsa that Serena who blogs at House of Yumm created and thought this was something you all might enjoy.
The great part is that you can make it in a blender and it takes no time at all.
I’m a fan of pineapple and it’s a great way to add sweetness to your dishes, especially chicken and rice.
This blender salsa is loaded up with fresh pineapple, tomatillos, jalapeno, and cilantro.
It’s bursting with a fresh, sweet and spicy flavor that is perfect when paired with chicken or fish.
Mr. CBB’s Motivational Corner
No matter what life throws at you and whether you have created walls around you to fight back always stand tall.
Once those walls come crashing down you will need all of your strength to continue down the path to fulfilling your needs.
In other words, don’t give up on yourself just because you don’t think you have a shot at something that seems miles away.
Have faith in your dreams and goals and push as you’ve never done before.
Whatever is trying to crush you to the floor fight back with all your might.
Gardening 101
Don’t throw your eggshells away. Save them for your garden and watch what happens.
We eat so many hard-boiled eggs in our house that during the spring and summer we save the shells and crush them in and around our garden.
You’ll find bird feeders around our property as well since we love to feed the birds in our area.
Did you know that birds love to eat the eggshells?
Sterilize your eggshells by baking them at 250°F / 120°C for about ten minutes so the shells are dry, but not brown on the inside. Then crumble your eggshells well and place them outdoors (in a feeder or even just on the ground) during the spring and summer.
Well, they do because they are full of vitamins that the birds need.
Also, eggshells are good for:
Fertilizer
Pest Deterrent
Seed Starter Pots – This is what we do and we use the egg cartons to start our seeds.
Repel Deer
Aesthetic Value
Home and Blog Update February
Here we are 2020 and a new year of our exclusive blog and home updates.
Subscribe and get exclusive behind the scene newsletter emails from me featuring photos, contests and updates not posted on the blog.
Home Update
This week has been very busy for me at work which means I’ve been getting home later in the evenings.
I have lots of paperwork to catch up with after my workday and it’s easier for me to stay at work than to come home.
Why?
The moment I walk through the door I become a play centre and our son just wants my full attention until bedtime.
With the school strike, it has made our son wanting to play more but he doesn’t fancy going out into the cold.
He’s not a winter boy and loves his summertime fun.
I’m sure many parents reading this will agree the same thing happens to them.
Don’t get me wrong I love knowing that our son loves me and wants me to play with him but sometimes daddy has to get work done first.
Most of the week I ended up eating salads, tuna, and soup which I made a big pot of early in the week for this purpose.
Soup is so easy to make and inexpensive compared to canned or pre-made soup from the grocery store.
When I make a pot it can last me a week of meals where I don’t have to think too much in terms of meal prep.
Are any of you getting ready for planting season for the garden?
What do you plan on planting?
Other than that I’ve been working slowly to get our income tax documents sorted so I can file our taxes but I’ve still got time.
I’m never in a rush to file taxes if I know I won’t owe anything.
Oh, and I’m working on getting ready to remodel the master bathroom now that the upper-level bathroom is complete.
This one might take me a while but it will be worth it especially cost-wise as bathroom renovations don’t come cheap.
I’ll keep you all updated.
Don’t forget for behind the scenes info and photos make sure you are subscribed to the blog so you get my bi-weekly newsletter.
That’s all for now.
Mr.CBB
Blog Update
Honestly, not much has happened with Sara and me as we haven’t had much time to connect.
Right now she’s designing new updated printables for me and re-working a couple of blog pages that will lead up to password protecting my Free Downloads.
I’ve also had her remove my mortgage and credit card comparison widgets from Rate Hub as they were not popular on this blog.
I thought I’d try them out but Nah, we’re about saving money and not spending it even though credit cards are a great source for rewards.
So, we’ve axed them.
If you have any ideas for CBB that you’d like to share with me send me an email and let me know.
I value my reader’s opinion so don’t hold out on me, talk to me.
Mr.CBB
Saturday Search Term Giggles
Every week I get tens of thousands of people who visit Canadian Budget Binder because they searched online and found my blog.
Yes, I can see your search terms and sometimes they are funny, educational and worth sharing.
If you see the acronym (SIC) next to a word that means I’ve copied the text exactly as it was typed in Google and it has spelling errors.
How to move out of Canada– That I don’t know but I know how to move to Canada
When poor people die we don’t care– Certainly, this is not true
I can’t afford an apartment– You could also rent a room if that’s something that works for you.
Adult Free Loaders– Yep, they are out there but how do you handle it when it’s your friends?
That’s all for this week my friends, see you again in 2 weeks for the next Saturday Weekend Review!
Mr.CBB
The post 14 Steps To Becoming Financially Stable : The Saturday Weekend Review #298 appeared first on Canadian Budget Binder.
#Purpose #TaxLiability #Debt #CRA #FinanciallyUnstable
