Several of my dear friends are hoarders. (OK, not by the extreme standards we've been introduced to via reality television programmes, but they do, nonetheless, have a lot of physical STUFF.) In many respects I am the opposite - while it's true that I like nice things, I am constantly looking for items I can donate (most often) or sell (which end up being given away/donated if no one wants to pay for them) so that I can live a more clutter-free existence. (My partner says he can tell when I'm calculating what to get rid of next.)
I think one of the elements involved in my obsession with downsizing is the amount of movement in my life, both professionally and personally; I have a career which (happily) requires me to move often, and a passion for travel which I love to indulge whenever my partner and I have the time and money. Through four years of undergraduate study I spent my academic terms in Canada (my home), and my summers in the United States (working). I moved to the US full-time in 2006 for graduate school and spent the following summer interning in another part of the country. After completing my master's in 2008, I took a job in Hawai`i which meant an overseas relocation (even though HI is a US state), followed by five moves in three years as required by my job.Throw in personal travel - which is neither quick nor painless when you live in the most isolated chain of islands in the world - and you can probably see why it's necessary for me to be able to move expediently and for as little money as possible.
The second element in my obsession with keeping STUFF down to a minimum is manifest in the way I choose to spend my money. I strongly believe that every physical item in our lives represents a choice. I didn't grow up in a household where we had a lot of STUFF - my parents have never owned a home, have only ever had one new car (which was driven for more than 500,000 km before being hauled to the scrap heap), and my older brother and I were never really given an allowance. (We began delivering newspapers seven days a week when we were around 8 and 10 respectively, which I think has to be one of the best jobs out there for kids. Exercise, responsibility, money management, people skills...it has it all! Or, at least, routes back then did.) When we outgrew our paper routes and were old enough to get "real" jobs, we both worked in a restaurant at night and on weekends. I got my lifeguard qualifications as soon as I was able, and added those hours to my schedule (on top of school, sports and my restaurant shifts). When I was old enough to be a summer camp lifeguard, I jumped at the chance. I also graduated high school early so I could work full time for a semester before going to university (which I paid for myself, save for $5,000 from my grandparents).
My first year of university I got enough scholarships and bursaries to cover my housing, and paid for my tuition and books with savings and loans. After that, I worked a minimum of one full time job (usually one full-time plus one part-time) until school was over - in grad school I worked three jobs simultaneously. When all was said and done, I had two honours bachelors degrees, a master's, and just over $16,500 in educational debt. (I was also very fortunate in graduate school to receive an additional $5,000 from my grandparents, which I put chiefly towards my job search. The field I'm in required me to attend conferences on the other side of the country, as well as fly to on-site interviews across Canada and the United States). I was also fortunate in that my parents and aunt purchased me a laptop between undergrad and grad school, which I still use today (six years later). I bought the desktop computer and printer I used throughout undergrad, but the technology changed so rapidly between 2002 and 2006 - coupled with the fact that I moved between countries and had to ship my belongings - that switching to a laptop was hugely helpful.
When I got out of grad school and landed my first professional position, I made a vow to get out of debt as quickly as possible. I sold many of my books, CDs and DVDs, walked EVERYWHERE (even 45 minutes each way to Wal-Mart for toothpaste) and budgeted my money like my life depended on it. I didn't buy any new clothes, go home for Christmas, or even take the bus - every cent I could scrape together went towards my debt. In addition to my regimented savings, I also benefited from the strong US dollar v. the loonie at the time - on average, one US greenback was paying out $1.13-$1.18 CDN upon exchange, which meant that the interest accruing on my loans was virtually wiped out. After nearly a year of tough-as-nails budgeting, I paid off my student loans in full. It was the most satisfying day of my life. I still have the letter which reads: "CONGRATULATIONS! Your integrated Canada Student Loan is now PAID IN FULL!" Someday, I'm going to have it framed.
Having worked from a young age, I know the value of a dollar. (Which is not to say I always spend mine wisely - we will definitely get into that.) I was incredibly fortunate to have my grandparents contribute $10,000 over six years towards my educational costs. Conversely, many people I know had their educations paid for completely by their parents and never considered working while in school (unless it was to offset the money they were spending on booze). In fact, several people I knew had parents who purchased a home in the city where they were going to school so they could live there rent-free whilst their roommates rent paid the mortgage. A smart investment? Absolutely. But did it teach their kids anything about working, saving and spending responsibly?
Because I had to work to be able to attend university, and because I come from a background where I have watched my parents struggle financially, my perspective on what constitutes "money well spent" is, generally, discernibly different from my counterparts. In essence, I know that at the end of the day there is no one to bail me out if I get into financial trouble. As such, I have developed a clear understanding of the difference between needs and wants.
Here's what I'm talking about. As someone who will turn 29 this year, I:
My first order of business after paying off my student loans was to save enough to fly my parents to Hawai`i for their first ever vacation. It.Was. Awesome. They stayed with me - which helped cut down majorly on costs - and we had a great time. After that, my next goal was getting myself to the two countries I wanted to visit most in the world - New Zealand and Australia. So, I priced things out, found out about options and sales, and saved my pennies. About six months prior to my departure, I booked my trip - I got great deals on flights and insurance, arranged to stay with friends in both countries upon arrival and after I finished/before my departure back to HI, and, because I booked months in advance, booked two budget tours at once (one in each country), paid in full at time of booking and booked with the company I travelled with in Europe, I saved well over $1,000.Had I not already saved the money, I would not have been able to get such a great deal!
The same goes for the 5-month trip my partner and I just completed. We booked the portion in Africa 7 months in advance and paid in full so we could get a significant discount. We camped through the first 10 countries (60 days) with an experienced over-landing company and did two more countries on our own. We then went to Europe and visited 10 countries, again taking advantage of off-season deals, staying with friends, and sleeping in hostels/eating for cheap. We paid cash for everything and maintained significant savings for our re-entry into the working world.
In my life, I have prioritised education and experiences over physical things. Sure I have some great treasures from our travels, but I shopped smart, bartered, and only bought things we really, really wanted and couldn't get anywhere else. We have the luxury of being educated and from well-to-do countries - Canada and Australia, respectively - but we both work very hard and make good decisions with our money.We're not at the stage yet where we wish to take on the financial burden of children or a home, but if we unexpectedly found ourselves expecting tomorrow, we would be able to make it work.
STUFF is all about choices. What do you need, and what do you want? How do you determine which is which? That's what we'll talk about next. :)
I think one of the elements involved in my obsession with downsizing is the amount of movement in my life, both professionally and personally; I have a career which (happily) requires me to move often, and a passion for travel which I love to indulge whenever my partner and I have the time and money. Through four years of undergraduate study I spent my academic terms in Canada (my home), and my summers in the United States (working). I moved to the US full-time in 2006 for graduate school and spent the following summer interning in another part of the country. After completing my master's in 2008, I took a job in Hawai`i which meant an overseas relocation (even though HI is a US state), followed by five moves in three years as required by my job.Throw in personal travel - which is neither quick nor painless when you live in the most isolated chain of islands in the world - and you can probably see why it's necessary for me to be able to move expediently and for as little money as possible.
The second element in my obsession with keeping STUFF down to a minimum is manifest in the way I choose to spend my money. I strongly believe that every physical item in our lives represents a choice. I didn't grow up in a household where we had a lot of STUFF - my parents have never owned a home, have only ever had one new car (which was driven for more than 500,000 km before being hauled to the scrap heap), and my older brother and I were never really given an allowance. (We began delivering newspapers seven days a week when we were around 8 and 10 respectively, which I think has to be one of the best jobs out there for kids. Exercise, responsibility, money management, people skills...it has it all! Or, at least, routes back then did.) When we outgrew our paper routes and were old enough to get "real" jobs, we both worked in a restaurant at night and on weekends. I got my lifeguard qualifications as soon as I was able, and added those hours to my schedule (on top of school, sports and my restaurant shifts). When I was old enough to be a summer camp lifeguard, I jumped at the chance. I also graduated high school early so I could work full time for a semester before going to university (which I paid for myself, save for $5,000 from my grandparents).
My first year of university I got enough scholarships and bursaries to cover my housing, and paid for my tuition and books with savings and loans. After that, I worked a minimum of one full time job (usually one full-time plus one part-time) until school was over - in grad school I worked three jobs simultaneously. When all was said and done, I had two honours bachelors degrees, a master's, and just over $16,500 in educational debt. (I was also very fortunate in graduate school to receive an additional $5,000 from my grandparents, which I put chiefly towards my job search. The field I'm in required me to attend conferences on the other side of the country, as well as fly to on-site interviews across Canada and the United States). I was also fortunate in that my parents and aunt purchased me a laptop between undergrad and grad school, which I still use today (six years later). I bought the desktop computer and printer I used throughout undergrad, but the technology changed so rapidly between 2002 and 2006 - coupled with the fact that I moved between countries and had to ship my belongings - that switching to a laptop was hugely helpful.
When I got out of grad school and landed my first professional position, I made a vow to get out of debt as quickly as possible. I sold many of my books, CDs and DVDs, walked EVERYWHERE (even 45 minutes each way to Wal-Mart for toothpaste) and budgeted my money like my life depended on it. I didn't buy any new clothes, go home for Christmas, or even take the bus - every cent I could scrape together went towards my debt. In addition to my regimented savings, I also benefited from the strong US dollar v. the loonie at the time - on average, one US greenback was paying out $1.13-$1.18 CDN upon exchange, which meant that the interest accruing on my loans was virtually wiped out. After nearly a year of tough-as-nails budgeting, I paid off my student loans in full. It was the most satisfying day of my life. I still have the letter which reads: "CONGRATULATIONS! Your integrated Canada Student Loan is now PAID IN FULL!" Someday, I'm going to have it framed.
Having worked from a young age, I know the value of a dollar. (Which is not to say I always spend mine wisely - we will definitely get into that.) I was incredibly fortunate to have my grandparents contribute $10,000 over six years towards my educational costs. Conversely, many people I know had their educations paid for completely by their parents and never considered working while in school (unless it was to offset the money they were spending on booze). In fact, several people I knew had parents who purchased a home in the city where they were going to school so they could live there rent-free whilst their roommates rent paid the mortgage. A smart investment? Absolutely. But did it teach their kids anything about working, saving and spending responsibly?
Because I had to work to be able to attend university, and because I come from a background where I have watched my parents struggle financially, my perspective on what constitutes "money well spent" is, generally, discernibly different from my counterparts. In essence, I know that at the end of the day there is no one to bail me out if I get into financial trouble. As such, I have developed a clear understanding of the difference between needs and wants.
Here's what I'm talking about. As someone who will turn 29 this year, I:
- Have never owned, leased or otherwise possessed a car (though I have been a licenced driver since my sixteenth birthday);
- Have never paid interest on a credit card (because I only ever buy things I can afford and pay the balance off immediately afterwards);
- Do not have a fancy phone, tablet, ipod (beyond my 4G Shuffle which is 2 years old and used daily), laptop (remember, she's nearly six), GPS, bluetooth device or any other kind of fancy electronic gear (although I do have a Kindle...bought the cheapest "special offers" option and have only downloaded free books and games, and share possession on a Wii Fit Plus with my partner);
- Don't have any habits which quietly suck away at my savings incrementally. Namely: coffee, smoking, drinking, eating out on a regular basis, etc;
- Have no debt, good, bad or ugly. Ignored the oft-expressed "You have the rest of your life to pay off your student loans!" and tackled the beast head on to avoid the excessive interest I would have been charged by drawing out my payments. As such, I can now put that money - and more - into savings for other goals.
My first order of business after paying off my student loans was to save enough to fly my parents to Hawai`i for their first ever vacation. It.Was. Awesome. They stayed with me - which helped cut down majorly on costs - and we had a great time. After that, my next goal was getting myself to the two countries I wanted to visit most in the world - New Zealand and Australia. So, I priced things out, found out about options and sales, and saved my pennies. About six months prior to my departure, I booked my trip - I got great deals on flights and insurance, arranged to stay with friends in both countries upon arrival and after I finished/before my departure back to HI, and, because I booked months in advance, booked two budget tours at once (one in each country), paid in full at time of booking and booked with the company I travelled with in Europe, I saved well over $1,000.Had I not already saved the money, I would not have been able to get such a great deal!
The same goes for the 5-month trip my partner and I just completed. We booked the portion in Africa 7 months in advance and paid in full so we could get a significant discount. We camped through the first 10 countries (60 days) with an experienced over-landing company and did two more countries on our own. We then went to Europe and visited 10 countries, again taking advantage of off-season deals, staying with friends, and sleeping in hostels/eating for cheap. We paid cash for everything and maintained significant savings for our re-entry into the working world.
In my life, I have prioritised education and experiences over physical things. Sure I have some great treasures from our travels, but I shopped smart, bartered, and only bought things we really, really wanted and couldn't get anywhere else. We have the luxury of being educated and from well-to-do countries - Canada and Australia, respectively - but we both work very hard and make good decisions with our money.We're not at the stage yet where we wish to take on the financial burden of children or a home, but if we unexpectedly found ourselves expecting tomorrow, we would be able to make it work.
STUFF is all about choices. What do you need, and what do you want? How do you determine which is which? That's what we'll talk about next. :)
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