I’ve moved my blog!

Guess what — I’m still blogging!  To find out my opinion about The Secret, some wicked video links to really smart people saying really smart things about money and a whole lot of other stuff, please bookmark (and visit!  and comment!):

www.nancyzimmerman.com 

Ask an Accountant: Is my car an asset, a liability or an expense?

Maybe you are applying for a credit card, a loan or a mortgage, or maybe you are just trying to get a handle on your personal finances. Where does your car belong in the financial picture?

Although it costs you money, and occasionally grief, your car itself is an asset. Anything you own that can be sold for cash counts as an asset. Even a beater can be sold for parts; and, whether it seems like it or not, it contributes to your net worth.

It’s all the other stuff car ownership entails that leads to confusion. Fuel, repairs, insurance and lease payments are all expenses – that is, costs of owning a car. A car loan is a liability, or debt. Loan interest is another expense. And let’s not forget depreciation – a car loses value from the moment you drive it off the lot. The longer you own a car, the more you will have to budget for future repairs (also a liability!) and the lower its potential selling price.

So a car may be an asset, but it’s one that incurs expenses and gives rise to liabilities over time.

Freebie (or nearly) Wednesday - see below, but I’ve moved!

Hi there! I’m updating this site for a while, but I’ve moved my blog! Pls change your address books - same address, except take out the ‘wordpress’. Ie., it’s now: www.nancyzimmerman.com

But for now, here’s the same scoop as you’ll find on my other blog:
For anyone who wants to live large (does anyone say that anymore?) without busting the bank, you’ve got a great Thursday (tomorrow) in store:

First, from one of my business’ (Your Money by Design) first alumni, the exceptionally talented Marlene Dong, of “Assaulted Fish”, live at the Fringe Festival (editor’s note - I stole the image from the internet - ignore the ‘2005′!):

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Assaulted Fish kicks off its exciting Fringe run with a SPECIAL OFFER for our fans. Be one of the FIRST 50 people to attend our opening night performance on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 @ 6:45PM and catch our special “best of” show for free!

Just give the password (“JACKIE CHAN”) to the fine Fringe folks at the door. You can demonstrate some of your Jackie Chan “hoo-ha!” too. You won’t get any extra perks but you’ll be considered an uber fan by all in attendance.

Note: You still have to pay the one-time Fringe membership ($5) but you can use it to check out other great Fringe shows or even see our show again!

For those who can’t make it to opening night, we hope to see you at one of our other performances. Bring family! Invite friends! Gather an entourage!

ASSAULTED FISH FOR YOU 2
Directed by Shane Howarth
Pacific Theatre (1440 West 12th Avenue @ Hemlock)
50 minutes/14+

Thurs. Sept. 6 — 6:45pm
Sun. Sept. 9 — 4:00pm
Tues. Sept. 11 – 6:15pm
Wed. Sept. 12 – 8:45pm
Fri. Sept. 14 – 5:30pm
Sat. Sept. 15 – 1:30pm

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and if that weren’t enough, there’s an open-to-the-public gallery reception tomorrow (Thur) as well. The Jem Gallery, located on 225 E. Broadway, is one of the newest wicked-cool and eclectic galleries in the city. Tomorrow night features the work of Joanna Bullock. Reception is from 7-11pm. I’ll be there!

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Last but not least, I discovered a great little blog written by a young just-out-of-university family who write about arts and culture available on a starting-out budget. Check out their VanCal blog for intel and ideas!

Econ 101: BC foresty issues, and why you should care

I’ve posted some pretty important data about the impact B.C’s foresty decline will have on all of us in B.C …. but you’ll need to check it out on my new domain:  http://www.nancyzimmerman.com  (no longer on the free wordpress site, although many thanks to wordpress for the past  weeks).  Please update your bookmarks and check out the new site for future blog posts about Canadians and their money!  Tx…

Practicing what I preach: the fine art of contentment in a consumer culture.

Hey — I’ve moved my blog! Please visit me at www.nancyzimmerman.com

The question I’d love you to answer is: what is priceless in your life?

(but please answer it on my NEW blog - http://www.nancyzimmerman.com - tx!

Saturday Case Study: the woman who gave too much (?)

She was in her early 50s, and her whole life had managed to attain large chunks of money every couple years or so.  Starting a business then selling it.  Buying real estate and flipping it.  But she had nothing to show for it.  Deeply compassionate towards her family, friends, and people she’d met in volunteer work in developing countries, her money flowed out to others in need as swiftly as she could bring it in.   One time her mom became close to death from an illness - the client’s money bought her the best care possible (and yes, the mother lived).  Another time a dear friend was left stranded, with kids, by her partner - the client helped her get on her feet.  You get the idea.

The client has left a beautiful legacy of people who’s lives stood a fighting chance thanks to her generosity.

But her bank account is nearly empty, she rents a small apartment in Burnaby, and she has no RRSPs to speak of.

How would you suggest she balance her care for others, with her own financial safety net?

Shameless self-promotion: smart with money seminars Sept 07, Vancouver

Ok, we interupt this progamming for an announcement from our sponsor….

Your Money by Design is my company, and we help middle-income earning Canadians take charge of their money and get ahead. Our signature seminar series, Smart with Money, starts up again September ‘07  in Vancouver. In 6 evenings over 6 months, for less than the price of most gym memberships, here is what you will learn:

1. Shifting Gears and Taking Charge: managing your cash flow effectively to ensure your goals and values are being met. Getting the data you need to make informed decisions. Finding ways to have money left over at the end of the month.
2. Debt: methods to kick the habit, for good.
3. Your Brain, Your Guts, Your money: create a powerful set of beliefs about money to prime yourself for financial success.
4. Goals and Dreams: clarifying and creating action plans for your real world.
5. Make your money work while you sleep: understanding the 101’s of investing. Passive revenue streams. Find out exactly what’s happening with your RRSPs and mutual funds
6. Lasting Change: how to keep moving forward, financially, for a lifetime.

Join us - take a 6 month period to really grab hold of your personal finances, set structures in place to get ahead, and increase your savvy… resulting in confidence, competence, control.

Visit the YMbD website for full info on Smart with Money.

Fun with Money: anyone old enough to remember Monty Python?

Thursday Guest Post: school expenses. oy, vey!

One of my favourite Canadian personal finance bloggers has agreed to guest post today on … the September costs of putting your kids in school, even if it’s a public school! I’m betting some of you parents can relate…

I was running low on ideas and asked my wife for a topic for today’s blog and she came up with the cost of our “free” education system. She had been out shopping for back to school supplies (a HUGE industry in itself) and was telling me about all the “bargains” she was going to have to find to pay for all of the unwritten educational expenses.

Not Optional

These are expenses you can’t escape from and you MUST pay:

• $45.00 yearbook & agenda/year fee which is not optional (per child). My kids in High School can’t even get their schedule before they pay this fee.
• $10.00 for the agenda at my elementary daughter’s school
• Class fees for individual classes:
  • Art fee $25.00
  • Music Fee $25.00 not to do with the instrument rental
  • Musical instrument rental or purchase which can be anywhere from $100 to $800
  • Physics Fee $10
  • Tech Fee $30
  • Music Fee $35.00

Not that much I guess around $100 - 200.00 per child all due in September.

Optional Expenses

These are the added expenses that you can try to not pay or find ways around them, but some are more optional than others. An example would be I can’t really not buy bus passes for my daughters who go to a school a 20 minute drive away, but I will include them here for the sake of fairness in the model.

• Yearbook fee of $15.00 for elementary/middle school
• $200.00 since one of my daughters plays on the school basketball team
• Food
  • Pizza $45/child/3 months
  • Juice $38/child/3 months
  • Pita Bread $40/child/3 months
• Class photos $40
• Team fees for athletics $20.00
• Team fees for football $32.00
• Team fees Curling $50.00
• Tournament fees for basketball $115.00
• Skiing $60.00 for club
• End of year camp $187.50
• Gym Fees $24.00 for self defense
• Team fee softball $45
• Monthly Bus Passes $58.00 per month Per Child
• Band shirt $25.00

The bus passes are tax deductible luckily, but a lot of the school athletics aren’t really covered under the new “active child” tax credit, and you can see these expenses can be anywhere from $100-$800.00 for a child over the year. Now this does not really include things like:

• Pencils, pencil cases, crayons and such
• Paper, binders and the like
• Computer, and computer paper
• Clothing for the start of the year

Anybody else know why I don’t have any money in September? Just take a guess.

His related articles:

Wake me up when September ends

Cost of school transit

The disappearing middle class in Canada

belated freebie Wednesdays: documentary worth watching on cbc tonight

1.  Not the usual ‘freebie Wednesday’ stuff I do, but this is worth viewing (I went to one of their comedy festivals last spring.  It was extremely funny, moving, inspiring.)

Cracking Up is a l ife-affirming documentary about people with mental illness who embark on a quirky quest to become stand up comics. The film follows 11 courageous people who suffer from mental illness as they pursue a year of stand up comedy. Part fun and part therapy, the course, entit l ed Stand Up For Menta l Hea l th is the brainchild of Vancouver counsel or, stand-up comic, and author of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead To Happiness and Success David Granirer. “It’s like ‘The Full Monty’ except people want us to keep our clothes on”, he says.