real life with (very) real debt
I don’t want to be a millionaire.
That might seem like a weird thing to say but it’s the truth so I’m leading with it.
I don’t want to be a millionaire. Seriously.
I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. Not constantly but it’s one of those things that has always sort of lingered in the back of my mind.
And now, at 30 years old, I feel confident about my conclusion.
I don’t want to be millionaire. And here’s why.
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Welcome to another edition of personal finance confessions — a totally irregular recap of things that you might not know about how I’m managing my money lately.
This is the second time I’ve done a post like this (you can find the first one here). Last time, I had four personal finance confessions to share; this time, we’re up to eight.
And, like the first time, I still think calling them personal finance confessions is a bit dramatic, but…I’m going with it.
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Do you pay into a pension?
For my entire adult working life, I have paid into some form of a retirement fund at work.
My first post-university gig offered a group RRSP, where the company matched up to a certain amount. Even though I didn’t know a lot about investing at the time, I knew enough to take advantage of that match.
And it worked out well for me — by the time I left the newspaper after close to six years, I had about $20,000 in RRSPs to take with me.
The plan at my current job is a little different: instead of RRSPs, it offers a pension.
It’s been three years since I started paying into the work pension fund. And for all three of those years, I have put off learning a single thing about my pension because….reasons? I don’t really have a good answer for why, honestly. It’s just one of those things that I have been procrastinating on for far too long.
So when the email went out about the annual meeting, I put it in my calendar.
Here’s what happened.
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To be honest, it’s a bit dramatic to call these personal finance confessions.
When I started Our Bill Pickle, the first thing I wrote about was the importance of being transparent when you write about money on the internet. At the time, I focused on being honest about privilege when it comes to personal finance.
That idea of privilege is relevant to this post, too. These “confessions” stem from one thing: how my privilege allows me to change my financial plans without disastrous consequences.
And heaven knows there were times this summer where my original financial plans went out the window.
So, in the spirit of keeping it real, here are a few personal finance “confessions” from the last few months.
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Looking to improve your finances? I have good and bad news for you.
The good news: it’s totally possible, if you’re willing to put in the work.
The bad news: getting started can be overwhelming.
Figuring out where to begin is not always easy, especially if you’re drowning in debt.
But as is often the case, there are things you can do to make the task less daunting — and start seeing results quickly.
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