Moving Along Nicely

So, what's new, eh?

Well. I've received our shipments of seeds for the CSA this year - lots of goodies to grow. It's going to be a fun summer, that's for sure!

It's been.. cold here, but today has been snow, snow, snow (so not too cold - only -9 degrees C apparently!). Parts of the US are getting up to 1m, apparently. Just when I thought we might be through the worst of it! Next year I'll be... somewhere else, come February, I think.

Last weekend we went out for a nice walk - about 4km, out on some country roads in the middle of not very much. Part of the walk was on an "unmaintained road" - and I had trouble getting up it in places. But it was nice to get out, great on the stretches of flat where the snow was cleared!

What about financial independence? Coming in to land gently on that. Inching closer. I'm not quite there, but I think that, come October or December I might be - with a *very* modest monthly budget. So I'm trying to rein in my spending habits (this month: about $25 on Amazon, $60 or $80 on ebay, but mostly on things that can't be had cheaper elsewhere, and that provide a lot of value for that money. Like British comedy series for $15 - many evenings of enjoyment, for less than the price of a cinema trip.). I have books reserved with the library so my general spend is low.

Buying a car in December was a little foolish. I could've waited til March, or April. I might just keep it for the year, or not insure it through next winter. But I like it.

Investing? Yes, I'm doing some of that. Canadian brokerage firm Questrade has decided to offer commission free ETF purchases - meaning, buying index-tracking ETFs (preferably those with a really low MER, like Vanguard's ones) is - effectively - free to do!

My aim is to increase my percentage of wealth that's in CAD from GBP as, well, my bills are all in CAD. It's not that easy to do when most of my assets are... a house in the UK, though! Oh well. Hopefully the predictions of a(nother) poor year for Sterling are, um, wrong. Very wrong.

Actually, the tide probably *is* beginning to turn. Canadian personal non-mortgage debt is about $27,000 on average. That's credit card debt, loan debt (new car, whee!). Crazy. *Average*. Some of that is borrowing to invest, I'm sure (HELOC at 3%? 4%? Vs stocks at 3% dividend + capital growth... Or perhaps on an investment property?). But mostly it's probably Shiny Lump of Depreciating Metal (car, or truck) debt. Because, um, old cars are scary (??).

Anyway. We're planning a short holiday, perhaps to some mountains in the US, in April. I can't wait for the snow to melt *and stay melted*!

All too soon I will be having trouble sleeping at night due to the heat, and trying to remember what "cold" feels like. Funny.