Weekly Roundup – Momentum’s Finest On Saturdays VOL 20 [JUNE 30]

Happy Saturday Momentum Makers!

Holidays are just around the corner with both Canada Day and the 4th of July coming up. Hopefully those of you in North America have plans to spend time with your friends and family. I’m sending a cheers and best wishes to all of you.

This marks Volume 20 of Momentum’s Finest! Wow time flies, doesn’t it? 

In this week’s Roundup we’ve got 17 blog posts (including mine) and 8 podcast episodes, let’s dive right in.

MY POSTS THIS WEEK

• What Is An Emergency Fund – Why You Need One And Where To Put It: This is feature number 3 in the Fundamental Money series. An emergency fund is intended to keep you afloat should an unforeseen emergency arise. How much should you save? Where should you keep your emergency fund?

• Momentum Series Interview: Winning Personal Finance – Streamline Your Finances And Reach Your Goals: This Blogger Interview is with Jason from Winning Personal Finance. It’s an awesome discussion on taking control of your finances, setting goals, making progress, blogging and a ton more.

• Month 4 Blogging Report – 78K Page Views, $500 Revenue…Feeling Of Gratitude: June marks the close of the 4th month on Making Momentum. I’ve had some small wins so far but the biggest takeaway is the gratitude I have for this awesome community (including you reading this).

• Best Of The Web: Hosted By Scott Of Making Momentum: Michael Dinich of Your Money Geek launched a new series on his blog, the ‘Best Of The Web’. I was the inaugural host! This new series on Michael’s site includes a brief introduction, 3 posts I enjoyed this week (included these below as well), 1 Making Momentum post (Waking Up At 5AM) and a geeky fact about by myself. 

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PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG POSTS

When Can I Retire? When Will I Be Financially Independent? A Retirement Calculator Guide from ESI Money

ESI Money has introduced another financial calculator to the site. This latest one focuses on the popular questions, “when can I retire?” and “when will I be financially independent?”. It’s a fun tool to play around with to get a better sense of where your financial numbers need to be for whatever your future retirement plans are. Give it a whirl and see where you’re tracking! I’m at 22 years but my biggest earning years are still ahead…but so are kids and those costs. Either way, my primary goal is to keep growing my income, increasing my savings rate and most of all, enjoy my life. Can’t wait to see what ESI comes up with next!

No One Owes You An Apology For Spending Money from She Picks Up Pennies

Personal finances are personal. It can’t be said enough. No two situations are the same and putting any negativity into the world to shame, judge or belittle another person about their financial spending seems like a too frequent occurrence. Penny from She Picks Up Pennies shares her thoughts on the increasing level of scrutiny and judgement in the money community. Par for the course with Penny it’s a great read with some GIFs, personal anecdotes and you’ll be sure to be nodding your head.

How To Get Rich With 13 No Nonsense Tips from Method To Your Money

Matt at Method To Your Money, a fellow Canadian, pulled together this list of 13 no nonsense tips to get rich. 13 fundamental money strategies and principles to support pushing your finances forward. This is another one of those posts that I wish I read when I was a late-teen or in my early 20’s. Following some standardized tips to build a framework around your spending, budgeting, investing and financial goals. If you’re able to grasp those at an early age, you’re well on your way. If you’re a little older, there’s no better day to start than today.

Big City Vs. Small Town // Which Is Better for Saving for Early Retirement? from Our Next Life

I’ve lived in suburban neighbourhoods outside a major Canadian city, a small university town and in the heart of the downtown core of Canada’s biggest city. Based on those varied experiences (and the amazing quality of the post), I really appreciate this article and the insight from Tanja at Our Next Life. Tanja breaks down some of the key factors between the big city vs. small town decision and the potential impact on saving for early retirement. This digs into economic opportunity, transportation, activities, general pricing levels and a ton more. It’s an awesome read!

17 Things To Stop Buying To Save Money from The Land Of Milk And Money

This post hit my inbox via the Rockstar Finance Daily Newsletter and as I scrolled through the list from The Land Of Milk And Money, I had flashbacks to mine and my girlfriend’s old receipts. Ahh the days of wasting money too frequently! I still spend on books…it’s my one hoarder flaw, I admit it! I love my bookshelf and proudly adding new books to it. How many of these do you fall victim to in the past or currently?

How To Become A Millionaire And Get Rich The Right Way from Listen Money Matters

Lately every single YouTube pre-roll ad I’m getting is about getting rich quick, cars in garages and making millions passively. This post from Glenn at Listen Money Matters definitely isn’t that. This is about building wealth the “right way” through a long-term commitment to saving, investing and continued improvement. It’s a long post but it pulls all those fundamental strategies and the mindset necessary into one insightful spot.

Vanguard Enters Canadian Mutual Fund Market With Four Actively Managed Funds from Boomer And Echo

Vanguard Canada announced the introduction of four actively managed mutual funds to their Canadian product offerings. Wait, actively managed?! Vanguard isn’t just a low cost ETF provider, their actively managed services have been available in the United States for years. Robb at Boomer And Echo breaks down this announcement with all the details needed. Including the 0.5 maximum basis points fee (that can skew lower). I’ll continue to be a DIY investor but here’s to hoping this move by Vanguard helps lower fees across the mutual fund market here in Canada. And if they can speak to the provider of my employer RPP (cough ManuLife cough), that would be great. Check out the post for everything you need to know about this announcement north of the border.

BUSINESS & BLOGGING BLOG POSTS

Blogger U Opens July 2nd from Do You Even Blog

This isn’t a post from Pete at Do You Even Blog. This is a shoutout and recommendation for anyone looking to start a blog or take their blog to the next level by building a foundation of knowledge on all things blogging, digital marketing and community building. Pete’s gem Blogger U is opening on July 2nd and I’d be remiss to not given him a call out here after all the amazing content he’s produced on his blog and podcast for all of us. I’ve dug around behind the scenes into the content and course offerings…wow! Head over to the landing page to learn more about the 36+ online courses and everything offered to Blogger U students.

How The “Freelance Lifestyle” Almost Ruined My Vacation from Kristin Wong

Kristin Wong sheds light onto some areas of being a freelancer and depending solely on yourself that counter the allure we often see promoted. It’s an honest, vulnerable post that I’m sure many of us can relate to even if we aren’t full-time freelancers. Sometimes we all need to step away and reset our perspective. The benefit of getting your head out of the metrics and comparison game so you can enjoy what you do have around you.

LIFESTYLE, PRODUCTIVITY & WELLNESS BLOG POSTS

27 Easy Ways To Create More Time – For A Side Hustle Or You from Tuppenny’s FIREplace

Time, time, time. The finite resource that we never have enough of. Tuppenny’s FIREplace shared this post featuring 27 ways to create more time in your life to concentrate on what matters most to you like earning some extra money. Lots of ideas here to make the most of your time, batch tasks and eliminate unproductive parts of your day.

An Open Letter to Single FIRE-Seeking Individuals Looking For Love from The Mastermind Within on Fiery Millennials

Erik from The Mastermind Within penned this open letter as a guest post on Gwen’s site, Fiery Millennials. The focus? Finding love as a FIRE focused individual that puts mastering your money and personal finance at the forefront of your own priorities. It can be a tough road out there looking for a life partner and the biggest piece of advice I can share, similar to Erik, is to BE YOU. By leaning in, putting yourself out there and being the real YOU, you’ll find the right one. It’s a great letter, kudos to Erik!

How to Overcome Your Fears from Afford Anything

Are your fears, either consciously or subconsciously, holding you back from pursuing what you might want most in your life or career? We can all struggle from feeling overwhelmed, paralysis by analysis or that our goal is too lofty and there’s no reason to even try. Paula from Afford Anything pulled together this post about overcoming those fears. The biggest takeaway? Focus on the next step. Small wins, baby steps and gradual progression will smash that fear and push you towards whatever it is you want.

TRAVEL POSTS

Why Local Adventures Matter – And Why You Should Take Them Often from Tread Lightly, Retire Early

We all love that feeling of hitting the road or sky to head off for another adventure. Bag packed, work behind you and new experiences ahead. But have you spent time exploring all that your local neighbourhood, city, state or province have to offer? Those local adventures can be more cost-effective but they can also be just as rewarding and fulfilling, if not more. Tread Lightly, Retire Early shares why local adventures matter and why you should take them often.

PERSONAL FINANCE PODCAST EPISODES

Setting Specific Actionable Financial Goals from Masters of Money

We’re going back into the vaults of Masters of Money for this one. PT Money welcomed Deanon Hayes of Well Kept Wallet onto the podcast in May of 2017 to discuss goal setting, money mindsets and his own personal finance story. PT stopped releasing new episodes on Masters of Money at the end of 2017 but if you haven’t listened through the whole 52 episode library, you’re missing out. Hands down one of the best personal finance podcasts.

What’s The Goal? from Millennial Money Minutes

Millennial Money Minutes is back! Grant and Matt are back on the airwaves to deliver their quick-hitting, highly insightful episodes. This one touches on what’s the goal? What’s the net outcome of building wealth and everything you’re working towards? This episode comes in under 8 minutes but delivers the goods. It’s nice to have Millennial Money Minutes back.

6 Most Popular Ways To Budget Your Money from Nick True of Mapped Of Money (YouTube)

Nick True of Mapped Out Money (and the FinCon Team) is one of the personal finance content creators delivering quality video to YouTube. This video from Nick focuses on 6 different budgeting strategies to better master your money. Each strategy has different nuances that might work best depending on your own unique situation. As we all know, personal finances are personal. Check out the video and rest of Nick’s library!

7 Easy Ways to Workout For Free from The Everyday Money Show

Two of my favourite bloggers teamed up this week as Mike from MikedUp Blog joined Jason from The Wealth Hound on Jason’s podcast. Mike, a former NCAA D1 football player, shares his frugal workout strategies to help you master your fitness and health without breaking the budget. Great tips and tricks to stay on top of your well being. Plus the two dive into the troublesome world of credit card debt and a recent article from Market Watch. 3 weeks into The Everyday Money Show and I’m loving this new podcast!

SIDE HUSTLE PODCAST EPISODES

Personal Trainer Pumps Up With $25,000/Month Pancake Hustle from Side Hustle School

I love these stories! Taking your passion, expertise and everyday experiences, then turning them into a budding business. This episode of Side Hustle School features Ashley’s story from ABS Pancakes. Ashley is a personal trainer and made her own protein pancakes as part of her normal health and fitness routine. One day in 2014 she questioned how she could combine her fitness and finance goals into a side hustle. Fast forward 4 years, Ashley is making $25,000 per month selling packaged protein pancake mix online.

BUSINESS & BLOGGING PODCAST EPISODES

From College Nerd To Wildly Successful Personal Brand from Smart Passive Income

Thomas Frank, creator of the College Info Geek and his uber popular YouTube channel, was this week’s guest on Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn. Even if you aren’t a YouTuber or thinking of starting a channel, this episode is loaded with business building, personal branding and productivity advice. This was definitely one of my favourite listens from this week. FYI Thomas is also the co-host of the Listen Money Matters personal finance podcast!

TRAVEL PODCAST EPISODES

How To Have Fun, Make Money and Travel The World With Seasonal Jobs from Zero To Travel

I had friends do long-form travelling for over a year in southeast Asia. How’d they go it? Making money along the way by taking short-terms jobs and building a schedule based on those opportunities. This podcast episode by Zero To Travel is with author and travel expert Susan Shain. The discussion gives insight into how you can extend your own travel journeys, get paid while travelling, how to find jobs and shifting your life to be location independent (if that’s of interest to you).

The 7 Underrated Benefits Of Location Independence from Extra Pack Of Peanuts

Speaking of location independence, this episode from Extra Pack Of Peanuts gives you the 101 on that topic the podcast above from Zero To Travel touched on. Heather and Travis have been location independent for over 6 years and they’re here to shine light on the benefits they’ve experienced from that lifestyle. I envy that freedom.

I WON A FINCON SCHOLARSHIP AND OTHER RECIPIENT SHOUTOUTS

On Monday I got an amazing email notifying me that I’d won a scholarship to FinCon! This year’s FinCon is happening in Orlando from September 26 – 29. Thanks to the amazing people at Rockstar Finance and FinCon, I’ll be going!

I CAN’T WAIT to get down to Orlando. The opportunity to learn, grow and connect with fellow content creators, influencers, sponsors and other members of the money and media community is going to be a big win for Making Momentum.

In addition to myself, some other awesome bloggers also secured scholarship passes:

• Financial Pilgrimage
• Peerless Money Mentor
• Birds Of A FIRE
• Reaching For FI
• The Wealth Hound
• Femme Cents
• Teach My Kid Money
• Every Day By The Lake
• Damn Millennial
• FI 180
• Paulette Perhach
• The Money Whisperer
• The Female Money Doctor
• Fascinated By FI
• The Frugal Convert
• Money Saved is Money Earned

Check out their blogs and send them a congratulations! I’m looking forward to meeting the whole crew at FinCon in September.

THAT’S A WRAP…

To my fellow Canadians, Happy Canada Day!

Have a great long weekend.