your-money

At about the same time my husband and I decided to make it a priority to pay off our mortgage, we started talking about retirement. When did we want to retire, and how much would we need?

When I was a kid in the 70s, my folks gave me an allowance of $1 a week and I could do what I wanted with it. I would save the dollar bills in this orange plastic wallet and watch it get a bit fatter week after week.

When it comes to tipping, I admit that I get confused. Sure, I know how much to tip at a restaurant or when I get my hair cut, but there are also grey areas -- do you leave a tip when you stay in a hotel, for example, and if so how much?

As our diseased tree languishes on the front porch waiting for pick up day, I realize I am suffering from the post-Christmas-excess blues. Which of course I thought I wouldn’t have, especially because we managed to stick to our debt diet over the holidays (mostly). But I still feel like we overdid it ...

Then last week a house around the corner sold for over $1 million – a full $200,000 over the asking price. The day after it sold, neighbours were gathered on the corner, talking about the couple who bought it, rumoured to be in their 20s with no kids. We all openly wondered, “How can they afford that?” “Who are they?” “Do they have rich parents or are they overmortgaged?” Then one of my neighbours came out and said something a few of us were thinking: “I hate them already.”