by Chris | Feb 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
I spent the morning walking through lower Manhattan, good coffee and a particularly delicious doughnut in hand.
I’m here in New York visiting my girlfriend who’s doing a gig. I mentioned recently that I am a proud member of the long-distance-relationship club (at least for most of the year) so I often find myself visiting whichever city she happens to be working in.
Whenever I come to New York (either on business or as arm candy) I fly on the wings of my Megabus chariot. Yes…. If you haven’t experienced it, it is as cool as it sounds. And no, just because I used the words ‘fly’ and ‘wings’ it doesn’t make it any less of a bus.
I’m not sure if all of you have experienced the wonders of bus travel.
They boast of their comfort, the convenience, the power outlets and wifi, and from the outside it seems… like it’ll be pretty okay.
But 12 hours is a long time to spend sitting in a seat. The power outlets and wifi are spotty at best. And as nice as everyone I’ve encountered on buses are, they’re just… really close to you… all the time.
I now have a visceral reaction to the bus… I get just a little queasy for our time together, and don’t feel quite right until I’m 10 blocks away.
But I keep coming back because simply… it’s the cheapest way to get to New York. (more…)
by Chris | Feb 14, 2015 | Relationships, Saving
My girlfriend and I spent more than half the year apart in 2014. This year we’re on pace to do at least that well.
In 2015, we have spent only 8 days together in the apartment that we share in snowy Toronto.
It’s been this way since day 1. Our first kiss was followed by her jumping on a plane the next morning.
Our relationship really started on Skype… and a big part of it continues through that magical service.
Living with that much long distance can sometimes be hard, but I’m not complaining. We’re both artists, and have to travel a lot for the work that we do. It’s a life that we want, and we knew when we started dating that long distance would be a big part of it. So after 3 years, we continue to live this crazy life and are constantly trying to find ways to make it work.
(more…)
by Chris | Feb 12, 2015 | Reference Section, Taxes
There are a lot of things to know when it comes to taxes. So it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
But don’t be!! On the surface, taxes seem weird and boring.. but I promise, knowing the basics about how they work can be really useful!
Also. Taxes are kind of fun… not like "sit-down-in-front-of-the-fire-with-a-drink-and-a-copy-of-the-tax-code" fun, but like “I-find-that-interesting-and-see-how-it-applies-to-my-life” kind of fun…
Okay. So just because I think they’re fun doesn’t mean you will, but we’re all going to be paying taxes for the rest of our lives. And for the artist/freelancer types, understanding how taxes work is really important to your business.
Most importantly, knowing how much tax the government wants from you, and ways that you can lower that amount... will save you sweet sweet dollars.
And honestly, it’s pretty easy…. Not the crazy parts (that’s why you find an accountant who just loves the stuff… like my accountant (who is awesome))…. But the basics.
Seriously. When I say it’s easy, I am speaking to the lowest bar possible. Me. I knew nothing. I mean … nothing. It’s amazing to me how much education I managed to pick up and still completely avoid any real knowledge about taxes. I honestly don’t know if that was because no one ever talked about it, or whether it was due to my amazing skills of avoidance and denial.
But now I know a little more, and it really helps.
Mainly I think it’s cool to know how it all works. You want to be cool… don’t you?
Of course you do.
So take a deep breath, and get just a little bit excited.
I promise… it’s going to be fun! (more…)
by Chris | Feb 10, 2015 | Taxes
So it’s tax season.
Well. Kind of. For us self-employed folk (at least in Canada), we technically have until the middle of June to file (although if you owe tax it’s due on April 30th… and I definitely owe tax).
But this is the season when everyone begins to talk about taxes.
And so, inevitably, I start thinking about maybe getting started…
Every year I aim to be done earlier… and well, every year it ends up being the same story; I sneak in just before the deadline.
It’s amazing how, with the sorting of the very first receipt, I’m right back in the pattern I left a year ago, the whole ‘tax ritual’ comes back to me…
So in honour of kicking off tax season, I present to you, my 5 stages of dealing with Tax Grief: (more…)
by Chris | Feb 7, 2015 | Budgets, Personal Interest
So, since I’m not really rolling in cash these days, I decided to try to see if I could cut back a bit in January. Now… my budget doesn’t have all that many things that can be cut, and my landlord didn’t seem too keen on renegotiating the rent. So I set my sight on food costs.
My perceived success, as a budgeting champion, over my foe…. food overspending!!
I’d cut most of the eating out and tried to limit my grocery spending to 55 dollars a week, which is quite a bit less than normal.
It seemed like such a good idea. It would force me to be creative, and really shop deals; To make big meals at home, instead of going out for unhealthy treats. Plus if I succeeded I would get to feel like a champion budgeter, a master of the frugal lifestyle.
Well.
I succeeded….
But somehow, it doesn’t feel at all like I thought it would. (more…)
