Behind every successful person are a financial toolkit, budget and emergency binder.
It may not be a CBB Toolkit, Budget or Emergency Binder, but it takes more than saving money to move up the ladder.
Who’s the Boss? No, not Tony Danza. It’s you.
For that reason, it’s important to work hard and take care of the money you earn.
If you don’t understand the words NEED and WANT, Google them and memorize the meanings.
A budget and perseverance are two weapons that we’ve built into our financial toolkit.
As time goes on, you will find that your financial toolkit becomes the story of your life with money.
It’s a place where you go to take care of everything related to improving your financial situation.
Today, I want to talk about your strengths, weaknesses and desire to build a financial toolkit to fund your lifestyle today and tomorrow.
Let’s go.
Understanding The Financial Equation
Budget Binder + Emergency Binder + Financial Toolkit = _______________________.
I’d consider us successful by following our visions to let go of what society tells us we should do.
For example, whenever I read that you need millions of dollars to live a comfortable retirement, I question it.
- What am I going to do with millions of dollars at age 65?
- Do I really want to save that much money?
- What if I’m sick and wasted my life saving money and not enjoying it and now I’m waiting on death’s door?
You and I both know that everyone’s definition of comfortable is different, as are our spending habits.
It’s time to buck the trend and create a life you want to live today and tomorrow.
You fill in the blank once you’ve finished reading my post today.
What Is A Financial Toolkit?
A financial toolkit is not a budget binder or an emergency binder. It’s a binder filled with your dreams.
It’s a place to write down your ideas, how to approach them and where you need to be to attain them.
Think about it as starting with an empty toolbox, and as you go along, you fill it with a hammer, then a screwdriver until the box is filled.
It’s not as easy as going to Canadian Tire and buying the tools you need because they are expensive.
Take your time and learn how to fill your toolbox without spending money on full-price items.
With a financial toolkit, you might want to jot down ways you like to negotiate and who you can negotiate with.
The toolkit is similar to a diary where you write about situations and how you handled them.
- What went wrong?
- How can you fix it for the next time?
- What went right?
- Things that you plan to do again to see if you can reproduce the same success
Understanding How To Build Your Financial Toolkit
This is NOT the financial toolkit but think about being a mechanic and how having the right tools will get the job done.
How did we manage to pay a $265,000 house off in five years and pay cash for a dealership-loaded truck?
It wasn’t easy, although once we paid our mortgage in full, everything else fell into place like a game of Tetris.
Although financial literacy began as paper carriers, we weren’t money experts.
Related: 5 Financial Resources That Helped Us along our debt repayment journey.
We laughed when we found out that we were paper carriers and had the same financial mentality.
Of course, we spoke about how the money was around $25 a week, but better than nothing.
Note, “Better than nothing,” and this state of mind is not something everyone believes in.
Often we feel we are worth more to a company than they pay us,
Parents Are Not Part Of Your Financial Toolkit
Both of our parents encouraged us to take the job to save money for our future needs.
The job had everything to do with education and surviving without financial help from our parents.
I consider parents to be influencers of financial success and not the bank of mom and dad.
The influence may also go the other way around where children want to break the poverty cycle.
Not all parents leave their children money, property or other expensive items when they pass away.
Every one of us needs to look after ourselves and not rely on what parents might leave.
Canadian Legal Wills is an inexpensive alternative to hiring a lawyer, which cost us $1000.
A friend of my wife’s ex-boyfriend does not work, smokes weed all day and plays video games.
His mentality is that his parents are rich, and when they pass, he gets everything, so he is not going to work.
Can you believe the parents pay his $3500 a month house rental?
They are enabling him by saying it’s ok, we’ll take care of you although they aren’t wealthy.
Fake Influencers Work Their Way Into Your Toolkit
At this point, money becomes interesting because so many people fall into money traps.
How? They listen to what other people tell them to do with their money because they are successful.
What comes to mind is the vast amount of people falling for phone scams and not realizing it.
Scammers are everywhere, as are people who will sell their shoes to make $100.
Unfortunately, when it comes to fake online influencers, they will say and do anything for a following.
I read an article on Investopedia about Personal Finance Influencers that are fake.
While getting free money advice from influencers can be a cost-conscious move, it’s important to know how to spot potential scammers, fakes, and frauds.
Investopedia
For example, some of my readers want to follow the same steps to become debt-free.
The 10-steps are meant to guide people; however, they depend on the ratio of cash and debt to income.
Take a concept and apply it to your situation and adjust it as needed if something is working for you.
I wrote a ten-step budgeting mini-series for readers who want to learn budget basics.
Although every money situation is different, the concepts are the same regarding debt repayment, saving money and investing for retirement.
I share experiences we’ve been through or products we’ve used and want you to know about.
Of course, a business has to earn money through ads or guest posts, but I’ve never tried to sell you anything.
Fake influencers would probably call me crazy for not creating a basic course and selling it.
Perhaps they are right, a fool and his money.
How The Cycle Of Fake Influencers Thrive
We all want something to believe in, especially when we are in a financial rut.
Some influencers earn millions of dollars, and it becomes more of a pyramid scam than anything.
Not all, but the more you learn about finance, the easier they are to spot.
For example, a financial blogger who created a course can also invite people to participate in an affiliate program.
Then the originator pays the blogger x amount of dollars when someone from their website orders their online course.
In the meantime, the blogger has to write a blog post about how fantastic the course was, and it helped them earn x amount of dollars.
They will be sweet as pie, flirty or pushy to get their amazing products across to hook people who are, in essence, vulnerable.
Online fakes basically shove courses, podcasts, programs and products they’ve created down your throat every chance they get.
Not only that, but it starts with one influencer and then more and more get involved because they all want a piece of the income.
Some of you may know this as building a business with other business owners to earn a percentage of earnings from the originator of the course.
It’s easy to believe a good talker and fall into their circle where they capture your attention by assuring them that they too can become rich.
Interestingly, some finance bloggers are teaching finance when they are swimming in debt.
Another example could be 5-star reviews on Amazon for products sent to people for free.
Be wary about what you buy, but the great news is that if you keep your receipt, you can return it.
Amazon Canada has a fantastic return policy for damaged products that don’t meet your expectations.
Getting Rich Online Scam or Real?
Is it possible?
Sure it is, as there are many very successful legitimate bloggers, YouTube stars, TikTok fanatics, and other loaded media influencers.
All they need is for their audience to watch their videos or watch the ads that pop up.
If you haven’t heard about Muckbangs or ASMR YouTube videos, search.
I’ve learned that people like to watch other people eat and earn money for doing so—lots of money.
Although many bloggers have, I’ve never once thought about quitting my full-time job to blog full-time.
The problem is whether social media will continue to fund their lifestyle.
Are they prepared not to earn as much, and what will they do next to pay the bills if they’ve just blown the money they earned.
I’ve seen fast cars, mansions, holidays, expensive clothes, and these young adults are working it hard online.
A few years ago, I bought a course from a “successful” finance blogger who also had other bloggers teach their expertise within the course.
I learned nothing from the course that you couldn’t find online or read social media websites.
Not bad, I only blew USD 135, but I chalked it up to a lesson learned from someone I trusted.
Finpowerment Is Empowerment But With Money
Over the last ten years, I’ve created finance tools available for FREE on Canadian Budget Binder that allow you to see why there is value in finpowerment.
Financial empowerment for those of you who want to know what it means.
Recently, I added a FREE Emergency Savings Binder filled with printable forms everyone should use.
These forms are not often discussed in a Legal Will before death and need to be.
We keep our legal Will, Emergency Savings Binder, Budget Binder and Financial Toolkit in our fireproof safe.
Call us crazy, but we’ve spent lots of time drawing up these important documents for our son when we’re gone.
In the meantime, they help us continue to build our financial toolkit budget binder and add to our legal Will if need be.
Through our experiences with legal wills, death and the entire process from start to finish, I’d say we did a good job.
I’ve still got lots to write about dying and making sure you document everything before you depart.
What Is Finpowerment?
Finpowerment is allowing yourself the confidence to take control of your money and conquer hurdles along the way.
The word empowerment allows you to become stronger and more confident taking control of all aspects of your life.
Understandably this is how Canadian Budget Binder came to be a diverse frugal living finance blog.
Not only do Canadians benefit from reading Canadian Budget Binder, but thousands of people around the world.
Financial Toolkit Tip – Get Your Information Together
Stop feeling sad for yourself, start working your way up, and turn around to say goodbye to the depressed, money-stressed person you used to be.
If you find it challenging to get started to become a money boss, it’s essential to find out what’s stopping you?
- Are you short on cash?
- Why are you short on cash?
- How can you increase cash flow?
Taking money matters into your own hands takes a big commitment but is well worth the effort.
Canadians Worrying About Interest Rate Hikes
In 2022, not only are Millennials working hard to get their feet wet in finance but so are all generations.
How many of you are worried more about money today than you used to be?
You all know by now that buying a house with no conditions is blowing Canadians out of the water.
Without massive savings, one or two successful income streams and a bank willing to lend you the money, you should forget about buying a house.
Don’t even bother wasting your time and see if you can move back with parents or other relatives to pay rent to or into an apartment.
This opportunity will allow you time to fill your financial toolkit with ideas that you can test.
If You Struggle To Fill Your ToolKit Move Home
A friend of my wife is 39 years old and moved home two years ago to save money to move out.
She doesn’t think she will move anywhere until house prices decrease or her savings increase.
Looming interest rate hikes have Canadians increasingly worried about making ends meet, according to an Ipsos survey commissioned for insolvency firm MNP Ltd.
Globe and Mail
Life Affordability When Interest Rates Increase
When The Bank of Canada’s interest rates rises, borrowing money from the bank is harder.
Anyone buying a house today far above the asking price or those with debt must think ahead about how this will affect them.
Can you afford to pay for your debts if the interest rates increase?
If the answer is no, call a family meeting or talk to your spouse about ways to increase cash flow and decrease expenses.
Building Your Toolkit When Starting Over
The Covid-19 pandemic has crushed, pulverized and taken away confidence from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, for some Canadians starting over is the only way to create an inch of confidence.
Many people have lost their homes, job, and businesses have closed, forcing families to move in together.
Shelters and hotels are reaching capacity forcing homeless people to live on the streets.
Put Yourself In The Same Shoes Of A Homeless Person
Not all homeless people are on the streets; in government housing, shelters and hotels are there because they want to be.
Some have self-inflicted themselves by using street drugs and alcohol or have a story that left them on pavements path.
My wife went to dinner with her friend on the weekend, and both of them had takeaway boxes of food.
Since winter, they passed a homeless man smoking and huddled in a corner with his blanket.
At that moment, Mrs. CBB stopped and said to her friend, should we give our food to him?
They wanted to but got scared because they didn’t know his reaction.
The empathy was there, but the confidence and courage were not because she felt it wasn’t good enough.
She decided to take time alone to think and write out how she could have better approached that situation.
That’s what all people need to do when building a financial toolkit; think about situations and what tools you’ll need to become successful.
As well, how can you give back to your community and help others who need it and want it?
When people stop ignoring what they see, they should change their financial story.
Watching Your Financial Toolkit Grow
I’ve mentioned before that I came to Canada with the money I earned from selling my house.
I have a UK pension from work and the government; however, it’s nothing to write home about.
After a while, the inch grows into a mile, then ten miles and then you’re unstoppable.
That’s the confidence that needs to be in your Financial Toolkit.
Start thinking about what debts you owe that would let you move one step up the ladder?
We were skeptical about working through debt, especially when I learned how money works in Canada.
I still understand why people put themselves in a debt position when they know how the story might end.
For example, using a credit card knowing they can’t pay the total amount at the end of the month.
It’s easier for someone to convince themselves that they will catch up the next month than to say no, I can’t pay it.
You don’t need to own a home to be a money boss, nor do you need to drive a fancy car.
All you need are simple finance tools like we used today that help gives us confidence.
Freedom Of Fulfilling Your Financial Dreams
Does debt-free feel good?
That’s always a question I get asked by my readers, and the answer is, it depends.
I am just kidding!
It feels great knowing that we can live a simple, minimalist life without worry.
That was our main objective, and once we completed that, we moved on to investing more money.
To do that, I had to spend two years in college and am currently finishing my upgrading for my degree.
I’m not going to lie and say it was simple, it was damn hard, and it cost us thousands of dollars.
What do you need to make your financial dream come true?
Over and over again, this question came to mind, and I just did it because I knew it was that or I give up.
You see, once you close one door, another one opens, so keep that in the back of your mind if you feel like giving up.
Finpowerment is financial literacy, a word that stood out for me while searching Pinterest for inspiration. Ya, this is what Canada needs, more of us to worry about what we can control.
Tools Needed For Your Financial Toolkit
All you need is a book or binder with paper and a pencil or pen. Create sections with tabs.
Below is the new Canadian Budget Binder, which I’m hoping to finish by the end of 2022.
Each time you learn a new tool that helped you write it down along with any problems and solutions you had. It’s a simple concept, but it’s getting into the habit of filling out your book that seems to be the problem.
Don’t let life back you into a corner and forget about your financial situation because you might find out too late that there are problems.
Tools We Use To Build Our Finances
- Time is what you need to make without excuses and if you can’t take time to build your financial toolkit you have to live with what the outcome is.
- Financial Education is so important because without it how else will you begin to pay off debt and save for emergencies and your retirement dreams?
- Canadian Budget Binder for passive income is something I’m so proud of as it has allowed us an income stream that will continue to produce even when we are gone. It’s also something our son can take over when we are gone and continue to build the business with his financial stories.
- Budget Testing then creating an excel budget for anyone wanting to use it for free as well as a printable paper budget for those of you who aren’t fans of technology based budgeting.
- Saving Money Ideas Chart allowed us to write down money saving ideas since we are always on the hunt. Our chart has since become a book because after ten years we’ve run out of room.
- Retirement Meetings withour advisor allowed us to bring forth any questions we had and allow him to tell us how our investments were doing. He also shares alternate options to move cash from our bank account into a other savings tanks. There is no such thing as a high-interest savings account anymore.
- If you are someone who thrives on investing try Questrade one of Canada’s top rated online brokers. You only need $1000 to begin your investing journey and the best part is that it’s lower fee investing. When you work with a financial advisor they get a MER which is fee for managing your mutual funds portfolio. This is something we are working on slowly and although I have it listed as part of our financial toolkit we are still new to it.
The Management Expense Ratio (MER) represents the combined total of the management fee, operating expenses and taxes charged to a fund during a given year expressed as a percentage of a fund’s average net assets for that year. All mutual funds have an MER.
RBC Global Asset Management Pdf.
- Many of my Canadian finance bloggers are amazing at managing their portfolio and taking steps towards their vision of freedom from debt and allowing them the retirement they deserve.
- Hang Out With Money Smart People is how you continue to add to your financial toolkit. You might learn something new that you didn’t know before. People who think like you will build like you but for their visions. These are the people you want to surround yourself with.
- Draw up a legal Will and update it regularily along with the Emergency Binder.
Defining The Financial Equation
At the beginning of this post, I shared an equation about finance and left the answer open to interpretation.
This is because there is no right or wrong answer based on your expectation.
Budget Binder + Emergency Binder + Financial Toolkit = The Story Of Our Financial Life.
Either you choose to work hard to build success, or you give up and blame every reason for the failure on someone or something else.
I hope you take away from the long post is how you treat the money you earn will be an equation.
Fill your financial toolkit with the right tools, use them often and brainstorm for today and tomorrow.
Lastly, don’t give up on yourself or your family if everything falls apart. Build and success will come.
Thanks for reading to the end, as most people who click on this link will not.
Mr.CBB
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I was once a scared British guy who was happy he didn’t give up on himself when he moved to Canada.
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