Spring Cleaning....

Many Saturday nights, a group of friends get together to play board games. Last night was no exception. Since everyone usually brings something in they way of refreshments/snacks/other shareables, I decided to bring some softdrinks. I usually bake something, but ran out of time on a particularly busy Saturday.

Now I don't usually drink softdrinks myself, but I do try to have a bottle or two around to serve to guests. For last night's gathering, I dug through my bottom cupboard and came across a 2 litre bottle of Red Ruby Grapefruit-flavoured Crush. The bottle was more than slightly caved/sucked in, not the usual plumped up cylindrical roundishness that one would expect. It had been there a while, as there was a funky sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Then I read the label.... there was some blurb about a contest, and how the bottlecap liner points had to be redeemed by October 31st, 2002.

Two thousand and two!

I really need to add cleaning out my kitchen cupboards to my list of my spring cleaning tasks this year. Who knows what other "treasures" I might find. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a well-stocked pantry...having to remember what you have in stock and how long it's been there is one of the downsides. Rotation, rotation, rotation!

And no, I didn't take the ancient bottle to the gathering... I dumped it down the sink, tossed the bottle into the recycling bin and popped into Costco for a yummy chocolate mousse cake instead.

That just about sums it up!

"If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep becomes your downfall".

I'm reading Larry Winget's book "You're Broke Because You Want To Be". This quote is on page 68. While the "broke" part doesn't apply to me any more (it did, once upon a time before I wised up!), I find that I am really enjoying this book. A bit of schadenfreude? Perhaps. A bit of "been there, realized that"? Definitely. I like his no-nonsense approach to life, success and everything, and think it can be applied to much more than one's financial situation:

"You're Fat Because You Want To Be"
"You're Beautiful Because You Want To Be"
"You're Miserable Because You Want To Be"
"You're Lucky Because You Want To Be"
"You're Unhealthy Because You Want To Be"

I also like his distinction between "broke" and "poor". Poor is lacking in resources and opportunity. Broke is about squandering/wasting the resources you have.

This is the first of his books that I've read, and since I don't watch tv, I haven't seen his tv show (I'd rather spend my time reading or listening to audio programs). He comes across as a hardass in the book, but for some people, the soft approach to self-help just is not going to be effective.

So far, I give this book a DC two thumbs up. I'll be checking out his other books once my current stack is depleated.

Whoo hooo! Gail's going to republish "A Woman of Independent Means"

Great news from Gail Vaz-Oxlade... she's about to publish an update to her most excellent book "A Woman of Independent Means". If you haven't already read this book, it's well worth the cover price!!! Practical, sane advice about personal finance that covers all sorts of big "life events". I've given away a number of copies over the years to women about to finish university, about to get married, about to have babies, about to deal with divorce, as there is good advice and helpful checklists of things to think about and to do in preparation for any of a number of life changing scenarios. I love the fact that this book is written from a Canadian point of view, discussing Canadian laws and institutions.

(and guys... there's good advice for everyone in that book, not just for women!)

You can check out Gail's regular blog is here: http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/