On February 5, 2009, we celebrated the official launch of Following The Goods: Financial Management for the Young and Ambitious. The event was held at Kultura Restaurant in Toronto and we had almost 200 people show up!

The event was a huge success. Once again I have to send a big thank you to Toronto’s newest young photographer, Kate LaRue, for coming out to the event and taking some amazing pictures.

And with that, here are the photos from the evening!

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Part of an effective budget is tracking how you spend your money, otherwise known as your spending habits.  In order to do this, you need to monitor what you spend your money on, whether it`s your monthly rent expense, your daily coffee dose, or that TV you bought six months ago.  From here, you need to figure out how much money you spend each week, month, and year, so you can track your spending and make an effective budget (more on this later).

One useful trick to help you figure out if your spending is within reason or way out of wack is to compare your spending patterns with friends.  Ask your friends how much they spend on food each week, or how much their monthly housing costs are - you might be surprised to find out their answers

But have you ever wondered what the spending habits of people in other countries are?  The New York Times has a very cool tool which will allow you to look at what people in other countries are spending on:

1. Clothing & Footwear
2. Electronics
3. Alcohol & Tobacco
4. Household Goods
5. Recreation

What`s interesting to note is that Canadians spend on average $200 - $400 per capita on electronics, whereas Americans spend $400 - $1,000 per capita, and Norway spends over $1,000 per capita.

Also of interest is that Canadians spend $400 - $1,000 per capita on clothing and footwear, whereas the Americans, Brisith, French, Italians, Swiss, Swedish, and Germans spend over $1,000 per capita.

You can also check out this NYT article on the same subject.

I’m excited to announce that I have received my first piece of press the day before my very successful book launch.  You can read all about the CJN article here.

Preview pictures from the Feb 5, 2009 book launch party at Kultura Restaurant in Toronto.  A big thank you to Toronto’s newest young photographer, Kate LaRue, for coming out to the event and taking some amazing pictures.

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I was recently at brunch talking with a group of friends when one of them started talking about frugality and how it is a good way to save money and keep within your budget. Now I`m not one to say whether frugality is good or bad, it really depends on your situation, your financial goals, and what you want out of life, but I did start thinking about how many people think that frugality = budgeting. In the past, I’ve talked about the cost of a cup of coffee, and I can see how this might lead one to think that frugality is important, but I think it’s really important to be clear - effective budgeting does not mean you need to be frugal.

When creating a budget you need to remember five things:

1. Include all of your expenses into your budget, regardless of whether it is a daily coffee fix or rent
2. Set a realistic budget - your expenses should not be more than your income
3. Remember to pay yourself 10%, and put that money to good use by using compound interest
4. Don’t live beyond your means - if you can only afford to go out for dinner once a week, only go out for dinner once a week
5. Budgets help you meet financial goals, so if you haven’t set any goals, now would be a good time to do it

At the end of the day, a budget is a tool which will help you save and spend your money, but it’s up to you to decide how you want to do it.  Frugality and budgeting are not mutually exclusive, nor are they mutually inclusive; it’s up to you to decide how you want to spend your money.  If you enjoy going out for dinner, then go out for dinner, but do it within your budget.

Just because you are following a budget doesn’t mean you have to be frugal, and just because you are frugal, doesn’t mean you are following a budget.  Living your entire life without enjoying it because you are afraid to spend money will not lead you to happiness.  So my question to you is, are you being frugal, or are you following a sound budget to meet your financial goals?