Rule #41 Choose Value over Price

"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." -Warren Buffet

One thing that has been said to me a few times is: "You can afford it so why don't you buy it?"

My father asks me almost every time I see him about something-or-other he saw on TV.  "I don't have cable Dad, I didn't see it." is what I usually say.  Dad still doesn't quite understand how we can live without cable TV.   We certainly can afford to pay the additional 30-50 bucks for the service, but why should we?  The reason we don't have cable is we focus on value instead of affordability, and we simply don't place much value on TV watching.  We usually only consider the affordability AFTER we've decided there is value in it.  Intuitively, you'd expect everyone to do the same thing, but I'm not so sure.  Using the Cable-TV analogy, how many times have you heard someone say "A bazillion channels and there's nothing on"?  or "I should get rid of cable... I wish I could just cut the cord."  I've heard it said quite a bit.  I've also heard people use the bundling excuse to justify why they have cable:  For an extra $20 a month, we'll add Basic Cable on to your internet-service bill.  Wow! Only $20!  "I didn't really want Cable TV, but this deal is pretty good, so I'll add it on."  Thats $240 a year for something you didn't really want in the first place.  Sure I want a good price, but I want to make sure we're getting good value.  I actually know of families who pay close to $100 A MONTH for a deluxe cable TV package, and still complain that there is nothing on.

Another analogy is the upsizing of portion sizes at a fast-food restaurant.  I've gone to fast food restaurants and ordered a sandwich and fries... For $0.30 more I could have ordered a combo meal and gotten the same foodstuffs with a medium sized pop as well.  But I didn't want a pop.  I know people who will always get the combo because its the better deal.  Its cheaper than if they purchased all of the items individually, so its very tempting to take the deal.  Now $0.30 isn't much money, but its for an additional item that I don't want.  Later in the day, I won't regret not buying it, and my waistline will thank me.

Memberships to the gym or joining clubs where we don't believe we will get the full value of the cost of joining are another example of things we wont buy.  If there is an a-la-carte option, we will typically take that one until we know for sure we will get good value for our money.  If I am only going to go to the gym 2 times a month, then it likely makes no sense for me to pay the monthly rate, especially if I would have make a 1 year commitment, which many gyms require.

TVs, electronics, new vehicles, dinners out are all things we could afford to do more of, but we place little value on these things, so we just dont spend our money that way.  It results in us having more disposable income and have more freedom and flexibility with our money.  Its one more way of not keeping up with the Joneses.

Thats not to say we don't spend money on things, or experiences that enrich our lives.  We try to buy things that are of high quality and will last a long time.  Because of this, we often spend more up front in order to have quality that lasts longer and requires less maintenance.  This ensures that we don't have to replace things prematurely either because of malfunction or it goes out of style.  We recently bought a $2000 couch.  It was regularly $3000 and was on sale for $2000.  The couch is made with high quality and durable leather that will last a long time.  While $2000 is still a lot of money to spend on a piece of furniture, we have two young sons who are hard on furniture.  By spending more on a quality couch, we hope to avoid having to replace that couch every few years.

Buying cheap and disposable things just isnt our style, and financially we feel it a wasteful way to spend our hard earned money.  While there are a lot of things that we can afford, we are very picky on what we are prepared to buy.

#39 Adopt an Entrepreneur/Investor mindset

Having worked in the oil patch for a decade, I know quite a few wealthy people.  My father asked me the other day how most of my wealthy friends made most of their money.  My response was that the overwhelming majority of the wealthy people that I know, became wealthy by either starting a business or by taking a financial interest in a company by buying or owning company shares.  I struggled to name anyone I know who is wealthy who got that way from being an employee.  I believe this is a important learning and it reminds me of a few books I read by Robert Kiyosaki.

I first tried reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki in 2002.  Tim, a co-worker of mine, had leant the book to me after reading it himself.  He was excited about what he had learned and suggested I should read it to learn how to become wealthy.  I got about halfway through the book and thought "Where is this recipe to building wealth that Tim talked about?".  The book doesn't specifically lay out what kind of investments to go into, it just went on talking about owning real estate and building businesses.  "Hell, I don't need this, I have a good job making good money... I don't have the time to do shit like buy rental properties.  This books sucks!"  I didn't finish the book.

The next time someone recommended I get into Kiyosaki's stuff was in 2007. By then Kim and I were well into into aggressively saving and investing our money so I was looking to maximize our investment dollars.  Another co-worker, another Tim oddly enough, was listening to self-help books and podcasts on his MP3 player and he recommended I try out Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant".  I listened to it. Then listened to it again.  This time I 'got' what Kiyosaki was saying.  The Rich Dad series is really about mindset and how you look at, and earn, money.  There is no recipe.  You create the recipe.  The focus of the book is in how somebody earns money, with emphasis on financial risk and reward.  In Cashflow Quadrant, there are 4 main earner mindsets.  They are summed up as:

Employee - You earn an income by working for someone else. You have no financial interest or risk in the success of the business.  If you stop working the money stops coming in.

Self Employed - You earn an income by working for yourself.  You take on the financial risk of your business but you also do ALL the work.  If you stop working, the money stops coming in.

Entrepreneur (Business Owner) - You earn an income by building and (possibly) operating a business.  You take on the financial risk of the business but you do some work and pay other people to do work to make the business a success.  At some point, your business may run on its own.

Investor - You earn income by investing your money in other people's business or in publicly traded businesses, such as those listed on the stock market.  You take on the financial risk of the business, but have no active role in running it.

Cashflow Quadrant from Kiyosaki.

Many people fit in to multiple earner mindsets or quadrants as Kiyosaki calls them.  The biggest learning I got out of Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant book was that in order to become Financially Independent, you need to move towards the Entrepreneur/Investor side of the spectrum.  Being an employee or being self employed earns you a paycheque but often gives you nothing more once you stop working.  It is when you get your money working FOR YOU in the form of a business or investments that you are able to step back from working.  By moving to the E/I side of earning income, you begin to detach yourself from being dependent on other people to look after you, whether that be an employer or the government.

We were naturally moving towards that mindset on our own in the early 00's but after reading Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant book, we ratcheted it up and were ready during the 08-09 financial meltdown to take advantage of investment opportunities and use leverage to buy quality stocks in the same way real estate investors/landlords buy rental properties.  We went directly to the Investor quadrant early while still in the Employee Quadrant, investing in dividend income and growth stocks.  By using our employee income to build our Investor income, we have gradually moved from one side of the quadrant plot to the other.  At present, about half our income comes from the Employee quadrant, and half come from the Investor quadrant.  At some point our investor income will be all we need to meet our monthly liabilities.  At that point we will be financially free.

By taking on an Entrepreneur/Investor mindset I believe a person takes on more risk, but acquires more freedom.  They are more in control of their life and less dependent on others.  It takes more discipline and motivation to take that path, but I believe it has been very worthwhile for us. While I do not suggest everyone go out and start a business, stocks are available to everyone once you have some savings to put to use.

Rule #29 Talk about money. Ask about money.

"Money, like emotions, is something you must control to keep your life on the right track."

- Natasha Munson

Its funny how people refuse to talk about money.  I never really understood why money got grouped in with religion and politics as things NOT to talk about when at a dinner party.  And by talking about money I don't mean comparing paycheques, bank account balances, or hourly consulting rates.  When I say "talk about money", I mean discussing strategy, risk tolerance, debt management, negotiating tactics and so on.  I believe not talking about money is one of the reasons a lot of people are clueless about money management.  I suspect people are reluctant to talk about money because they don't want to talk about all the stupid things they have done or are doing with their money.   Or, it could be that they feel they're being compared to someone who makes way more or less than them and that makes them uncomfortable.  Maybe its because they don't want to find out they could be doing something better or that they are behind all their peers, as if there is some sort of competition going on.  The fact that few people talk about money is probably one of the reasons many families, singles, seniors, kids and governments all have such poor money management practices.

I for one have always been curious about money strategies, and I've never been afraid of asking questions however basic they may be.  I'm also a big fan of the sharing of ideas and problem-solving techniques, usually over a couple of beer.  When I was in University, I remember learning the most important and practical things about life through discussions at the student pub over cheap beer and poutine dinners.  The interactive discussion is where the magic happens, not the book learnin... and I think that still holds true today in the digital age.  I've managed to connect with a lot of like-minded money-talkers over the years and we have become a sort of financial network that I tap into quite regularly.  If you want to become well versed in a particular topic, it is beneficial to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you or have varying opinions on a subject, and the topic of money is no exception, and don't forget to ask lots and lots of questions.  I always like to talk about the mistakes I have made because I am a big believer in the sharing of ideas, both good and bad, and working through problems with different perspectives.  Making mistakes, or being unhappy with your decisions, is part of the process.  For me, it is not something to hide.

The Last Defence Lounge at the University of Calgary for Poutine and Beer nights.

With regards to finances, I am fairly opinionated on those strategies that work for us and those that do not.   However, I have had some great discussions with other people who have completely different strategies, and who are very happy to learn about what we do, and are keen to share their strategies with me.    Knowing and understanding the various routes to financial independence is the first step to actually getting there.  I try and learn from anyone who will talk with me about money.  One priority of mine is to talk money with our two boys when the time is right.  A lot of kids dont get "the (money) talk" with anybody until they find themselves up to their eyeballs in debt.  And while its never too late to learn about money management, it does sting less if you learn good money management earlier in life.

Some topics that might be worth discussing with other people when the topic of money comes up: Investment styles, debt reduction strategies, how to get the right mortgage and whether to pay it down or not, how to define and limit risk, alternative and multiple income streams.  It may also make sense to contact persons you know who have good money practices or have done well for themselves financially, and ask them for some advice.  My experience has been that if you are serious and genuine in your questions, most people are pretty open about talking about their money strategies.

Rule #28 Pay No Bank Fees.

Nickel and Dime: verb. To drain or destroy bit by bit, especially financially

People complain about banks and their fees ad nauseam.  You know what I mean.. "The greedy banks are being greedy."  "I'm getting screwed by the banks in fees."  Blah blah blah.  But these folks do very little to change the fact that they're paying all these fees.... You know what I call these people?  Whiners.  Don't be a whiner.  If you don't like paying bank fees then stop paying bank fees.  

Here are some strategies we use to avoid paying any bank fees or make it so the benefits of membership outweigh the fees (as is the case in a Credit Union).

1. Use/Join a Credit Union.  Simple eh?  Well some people have been with the same bank forever and yet there are Credit Unions all over the place that you can join and get reduced rates on fees and quite often they offer profit sharing that returns some of the profits to members/shareholders.  We've been members/shareholders of a Credit Union for about 11 years and we've gotten back more in profit-sharing annually than we've ever paid out in fees.

2. Don't use Bank Machines that are not owned by your bank.  I bank at TD and I will always travel the extra distance to save on the transaction fees.  Never in a bazillion years should would I use a "While Label" machine.  White label machines are the worst! They can take a buck or two from each transaction and then YOUR bank will also charge you a buck or two on the other end.... So if you take out $20, you could pay $2-$4 in fees.  There is nothing like a 20% fee taken out with your withdrawal to erode your bank balance.  I occasionally get caught a couple times a year (usually in a pub) without any money and the bar will have a white machine instead of taking debit payments.  The pub is getting a cut of every transaction so they can squeeze you a bit more.  In this case I will pay with a credit card and then pay the bill off when I get home later that night.  Those Bank Machine fees are easy to avoid if you just make the effort.

3. Maintain the minimum balance to waive the monthly account fee.  As mentioned above I bank at TD. We have an Infinity Account with them that allows infinite TD bank machine transactions along with some other fancy perks all for the monthly fee of $14.95.  Thats about $180 a year.  They will waive the monthly fee if we maintain a balance of $3500 or more.  So that's exactly what we do.  To save $180 on a $3500 balance is about a 5% return on your money.  This is a guaranteed saving... much better than the crappy 1-2% you get on GICs these days... Before you start putting money into GIC and other pay-nothing "investments", why not play by the rules and reduce the amount of fees you're already paying.  Of course it takes some discipline to maintain that bank account at or above the right balance, but thats what managing your finances is all about... Discipline.

4. Use Pay As You Go Overdraft Protection instead of a monthly fee.  I used to pay a monthly fee of $2-$4 (the price rose over time) for the protection in case I wrote a cheque that I didn't have the money for.  Since we now maintain a balance of over $3500, we never use the overdraft anymore and if we do get ourselves in a situation where we are overdrawn, we pay a one-time fee of $5.  It's certainly a better deal than paying for something we're not using.  Add this $2-$4 we're saving on overdraft fees to the $15 we're saving from maintaining a $3500 balance and the savings are beginning to become material.

So there you have it.  Last month we paid absolutely nothing in bank fees so it definitely is possible to use a big bank and yet not pay any fees and it was actually pretty easy to do.  So while other people are moaning about paying their banks what are essentially voluntary fees, I'm financing an extra 12-pack of premium beer from the monthly savings.  Here's mud in your eye!