2017 and still no rocketship Or Still broke after all these years.

It’s been an amazing year, pop culture news be damned. A lot of people died. A lot of people were upset and a lot of people never stopped being upset. Eventually, they will all die too as will those who weren’t that upset to begin with.

I finally got married the right way, finally pushed out of my comfort zone in work and leisure. I still found last year I was peculiarly preoccupied with proper lawn care, the SpaceX launches and how to save a buck or two on the smallest things. I continued to compare prices for groceries, popped in on the occasional garage sale and still went to wherever the price of gas was one cent cheaper. For me 2016 investing went as far as a quality pair of new sandals which I chickened out of wearing at my wedding, instead relying on a 10 year old pair of reliable work shoes that still had the sheen to them.

Missing my old 90s grunge boots...

I like to believe I’ve sacrificed nothing in trying to live within my means over the years; I’ve been fortunate to accomplish a lot of dreams that didn’t involve needing cash to do them. My latest accomplishment was falling in love and marrying the most amazing woman to share my life with, both the ups and downs, the highs and lows. We work hard together at providing the right atmosphere for our children as they grow and learn, no matter how empty our fridge has been over the years. For us, money is a means to an end and there is no end in sight.  

So let’s talk finances. For those who may not know, I’m no longer in the mortgage industry. I’m now in training to be a financial advisor for a financial institution.  They didn’t look at my bank balances or history and say ‘We NEED THAT GUY!’ but they saw something in me, either through the phone interview, the personality quiz, the blood sample, and the in-person interviews that made them think there was something in me that could help advise people the best way to maximize their dollars for the now and the future and vis a vis, help my new employer maximize their profits.

I believe honesty begets truth which begets respect which begets truth, ad infinitum. So in all honesty, I am still in wonder of how I am now in my own office, with a printer and a lunch break and wearing a tie every day. Those of you who know me longest would probably agree that two decades ago, the thought of me working in a major institution would have made us both shit our grunge pants in laughter all the way down to our awesome grunge army boots.

Yet here I am; a financial advisor. Mutual funds, TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs, MTBs, SSIs and a thousand and one other acronyms I have to organize and understand in my already pretty full brain. In the immortal words of Homer; “Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making class and forgot how to drive?"

'That's because you were drunk!'
'And how...'

Yet for all the learning, studying, quality blog entries, and mistakes I have made and will continue to make, the one thing I learned that remains constant in terms of financial success comes down to one word. It’s not compounding or budgeting or saving.

It’s about sacrifice.

That’s it.

What are you willing to sacrifice? I’m asking myself the same question as I find I am helping people make the most (or least) from their savings. Who wants to take advice from someone who still looks for a 50 cent savings on bread but still tips servers 20%?

But that’s as far as I will go today. This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a quick FYI to those who  perhaps, like me, still tend to trust those who they have known the longest. I am fortunate I have had two long-lost friends reach out and reconnect after discovering I was a mortgage broker. That was another great thing that happened in 2016. I can’t wait to see what 2017 brings no matter what the masses say I should be more concerned about. I can only do what I can to improve my own little world and if you are reading this, you are part of it.  

I’m approaching this three-year jump into the financial world from social services as an opportunity to still do what I can for those that have no voice for themselves. I’ve had a few meetings with young couples who have a very hard road ahead of them as they’ve approached my employer too late. I believe getting out of poverty isn’t as simple as ‘get a job’ as poverty itself is already economically institutionalized within our economy. However, I do believe that those kids can make their lives better if they are willing to sacrifice.    

If you have questions about your finances, banking, or planning for your future, confidentially email me and I will try my best to answer. Becoming richer isn’t something that happens overnight but with patience, practice and sacrifice, it could happen.

Have a great 2017 everyone!

jay