Use This Time Wisely

Gentle Reader, I’ve been working on staying COVID-free. I’ve been staying home, washing my hands, wearing my mask, and trying not to go down the What-If rabbit hole. While I wait for a vaccine/innoculation/nasal spray, I’ve chosen to use this time wisely. The pandemic will end – we will all be able to breathe around each other like the Before Times. Until then, I’m going to use my time to learn things that will save me some money.

Towards that end, I’ve decided to use YouTube to save money.

Whatever do you mean, Blue Lobster?

It’s this simple, Gentle Reader. Like the public library, YouTube is chock-full of free stuff just waiting to be learned by people such as ourselves. This summer, I learned about gardening – both flowers and vegetables – from the very sweet couple who host Garden Answer. Just this week, I stumbled upon a wonderfully soothing channel called Savor Easy, where I’ve watched videos that consist of two hands baking bread or buns. I find this channel to be the antithesis of most social media. It’s very therapeutic because there are no visual distractions. And you can practically taste the final product through the screen!

Flattening the curve and stemming the spread of COVID-19 requires us to stay home more than usual. Since you’re going to be at home anyway, why not use the time more profitably than binge-watching your favourite show?

Use this time wisely by learning how to do things that will help your finances. Baking your own bread (or cookies, muffins, cakes, pies, tortes, etc…) will save you some money. You’ll probably enjoy the results a lot more than the store-bought stuff too. The same goes for starting your own flower gardens, or growing your own herbs. Up until this year, I was a huge fan of annuals. However, spending so much time in my own backyard has forced me to re-evaluate my stance. Perennials suited for my climate will come back year after year so long as I learn how to properly care for them. And YouTube has multiple videos that will show me how to do just that.

Maybe you’d prefer to channel your energies into something that will last a little bit longer than a sheet of cookies, or a season of sunflowers. Why don’t you learn a craft? There are a ton of videos about learning to crochet or how to knit. For the record, I’m a fan of crochet simply because I never stuck with knitting long enough for my index fingers to stop being sensitive to the pointy ends of knitting needles. The only reason I stopped crocheting is because I’d run out of people to give my blankets too. That said, one of my most challenging patterns was calling my name today… so I might have a new project to tackle this winter. (I’ll figure out who to give it to later.) I’ll be home anyway and having a cozy blanket to snuggle under never gets old.

Perhaps you’d like to get into something even more long lasting. Real estate investing, anyone? You’ve heard me talk about Bigger Pockets before. I still watch the new videos posted on this channel and I learn something new each week. Even though the laws are different between Canada and the US, the math doesn’t change when it crosses the border. You might want to consider whether you can implement the principles discussed on this particular channel. Do you have the interest, desire, and finances to build your own little cadre of real estate properties?

Use this time wisely to learn something that will add a little jingle to your pocket.

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Weekly Tip: When renewing your mortgage, shop the market and ask for a lower rate. If you’re about to renew, you know that 5-year rates are under 2%. I make no predictions about how much lower a bank is willing to go, but you owe it to yourself to ask for a lower rate. Trust me – the bank won’t just give you one so you have nothing to lose by asking!