Trev

21km under my belt. Or shoes because I wasn’t wearing a belt. Here’s what I learned after doing the long-distance run unplanned, for fun, in the rain, confined to a small soccer field.

Naysayers.

Everyone is going to say you can’t do something. Use that feedback from the naysayers as motivation to continue. I get it everyday from those who have decided to spectate, judge, bully and laugh at us. It bothers me that people do those things, but I understand their misery.

Start today.

You are more capable of achieving your goals today rather than tomorrow. We spend our entire lives thinking about the journey without doing it. Start it today and don’t stop until you’re done.

Death.

I had a rope around my neck, standing on the top of a ladder in my parent’s basement 8 years ago. No one knows this until this very post. My depression and thoughts consume me daily, hampering my ability to function with the outside world. Once you are on the verge of facing death, a breaking point, or tragedy, the rest of your life will be a breeze. Learn to battle back from hell – never, ever stay down there.

Limitations.

The doctors say I have weak joints, bad ankles (suffered a few fractures, agreed), and limited vision after losing my left eye from a detached retina at the age of 6. Without my eyeglasses I am legally blind. Despite your limitations, you are reading this, you must have a brain, which means you must be capable of telling your doctors to f&$k off and say I am limitless.

Limitlessness (is that really a word?).

I am not perfect. You are not perfect. Now let’s move on and accomplish what we want to. There are no excuses.

When you think about all of the problems you have, none of them compare to someone else in the world. All of the minutiae you are dealing with right now is trivial compared to the bigger picture.

Independence.

No one is going to support you as much as you. The finish line can be full of supporters, or it can be full of air. The motivation to do something is not based on others. The motivation is based on you, your desire, your passion to be great. Become independent of others today. Start controlling your life like a freak. No one else will.

Celebrations.

A half-marathon is incredible sh!t. 10km is incredible. 1km is incredible. The accomplishment of a goal is deserving of a celebration regardless. Go out and celebrate. Then come back and push higher.

I like goal execution and hate goal setting.

You have a bunch of ideas you will never accomplish because you decided to focus on all 100 bucket list items at the same time. Execute on a small chunk of goals and get focused on only those.

You will be in pain. Shut up and enjoy it.

15km into my run I felt some pulling on my achilles. No one was around to cradle me or watch me cry so I kept going. If you are in pain, great, you’re working towards something special.

Furthermore, the pain, discomfort and emotions you’re feeling – those are the best feelings to have. If you are comfortable right now, you’re not working very hard.

Don’t be boring.

If you do nothing, you will have nothing to say. Start ticking off these cool experiences, your social skills will thank you.

Brag about your victory.

People will either love you or hate you. Your supporters will want to hear about your success. Don’t be shy, talk about it. They might even give you positive tips to help you and push you for more victories.

Be humble.

Most successful people I know are very humble. They come off humble because they are single-mindedly focused on their goal execution. They don’t need the ra ra and excitement to accomplish amazing feats. Learn to be humble with your accomplishments because you still have lots more to do.

This may be contrary to the last section, but that one was about communicating your story – nothing wrong with a little storytelling.

That’s my rant. Get out there, make things happen, and you will change your life as a result.

In the course of my discussions with fellow millennials, I have learned that there is a lack of education around spending discipline. The amount of disposable income from millennials is astounding, yet I see countless examples of young adults living beyond their means.

Since I was five, I have learned to be disciplined with my money. I have never been in debt, even after four years of university education. I save and invest. Plain and simple. Here’s the guide to teach you.

Choose a bank.
Key word being bank here. I have opened accounts with all sorts of financial institutions and found that an established bank is hands-down the way to go, just for the peace of mind and security alone. Go with one you can establish a long-term relationship with. You will potentially be using all of their services.

Open a savings account.
Some people open chequing accounts. Not necessary. The chequing account costs more money and does almost the exact same thing as a savings account. Stick with savings at the bank you choose. Open a high-interest account that will generate additional money for you.

Avoid the fees.
I pay no fees for my bank accounts. Try signing up for a free credit card with no annual fee at the bank. By using multiple services, the bank is more likely to waive all fees.

Pay off your credit card today.
Stop accumulating interest by paying off your credit card balance before the end of the grace period.

Set a limit on your credit card.
Banks will encourage you to increase your credit limit. Do not fall into this trap. Keep it low to keep your spending in check.

Set up an investment account.
It is easy to set up an online brokerage account and get going with stock investing. Practice with a free account to start, and be aware of the risks involved. I have an automatic schedule where my savings are invested in both the US and Canadian stock exchanges as index funds. To date I’ve made 8-10% annual returns without too much risk or effort.

Reinvest.
The greatest secret to growing your money is reinvesting what you earn. Take the interest or dividends paid out and re-buy the same fund. Some plans allow for automatic dividend reinvestment. Take advantage of this.

Plan for retirement.
If your employer contributes to your retirement plan, you should join the program. Not only are you diversifying your investment portfolio, you are receiving free income. Try limiting the amount you invest here, as retirement plans limit your financial control.

Consolidate accounts.
My bank account, investment account, retirement account and advisor account all live under one financial institution. I spend less time managing funds with the added visibility of everything under one roof. Migrate any lingering balances to your main financial institution and cancel the accounts you never use.

Budget ruthlessly.
People will tell you how to spend your money. Stop listening to them and take control. If you want to enjoy the little things in life, you will need money and discipline on when to use it. Being a minimalist, I encourage you to spend less on the things that are material or impulsive and spend more on experiences. Cap your spending to a monthly amount and review your financial statements monthly to ensure you are on track. If your income grows, adjust your spending accordingly on the things that matter, such as education, self-improvement or additional investing.

Automate saving.
Every first day of the month my money automatically disappears. My savings account is nearly empty. I psychologically feel like spending is a privilege. Behind the scenes, I have built automated processes to transfer funds to my investment account to buy stocks and even pay bills and cover my credit card balance. Talk with your financial institution to set up a similar process; it costs nothing and saves you the manual labour of moving your money around.

Review your phone bill.
I recently cut down my phone bill by over 30% by removing my long-term carrier contract and reducing my data plan. Do people still need data when there is wi-fi everywhere? Not me. I now have less anxiety over the dreaded phone bill and only spend on what I need for talk and text. Go monthly to remove the handcuffs that typically come with a contract plan.

Buy groceries.
If you have a kitchen, use it. You will automatically save at least 15% of your food spending in gratuities alone, just by cooking your meals. I can make a kick-ass salmon dinner with less than $4 by buying all of my food in bulk.

Live within your means.
If you can only afford to live in a studio apartment, start there. The mansion will come eventually. I personally prefer small spaces as I like the idea of focusing more on my hobbies and less on cleaning duty. I recently managed to find an apartment that is very reasonable to own. If you have enough for a downpayment, I would encourage investing in real estate. Renting a place is like automatically throwing away money. I can only justify renting if the cost is low. Usually a low rent can be had by living with your parents or sharing accommodations. If you travel consistently, you can rent out or AirBnB your place for extra cash.

If you like these budget tips, please share with your friends.

Last month I answered a question on Quora related to grocery shopping. Here is the full interaction here.

What are the cheapest groceries one could get weekly that would supply all of a person’s nutritional needs to healthily live?

When it comes to our dietary needs, there are surprisingly only a few essentials that are needed upon arriving at the grocery store. Here are some tips to help you stay disciplined with your grocery purchases (it’s worked well for me):

Stick to the four “real” food groups – fruit, vegetables, nuts/grains and light meats.

Let’s dig deeper into these groups and where you can find them.

*Word of caution: every aisle in the middle of a grocery store is advertising noise, typically filled with high-sugar, high-salt foods disguised as something you need. Stick to the outer areas of the store to avoid the trap of unnecessary spending on these.

Fruit.
I love to eat apples, bananas (breakfast), lemons (salad dressing), and blackberries (snacking). These are the cheapest food items and they cover everything you need with regards to fruit nutrients and healthy sugars.

Vegetables.
Spinach/kale (excellent for salads), carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and brussel sprouts will cover your vegetable requirements. The greener the better. It’s surprising how many people don’t eat enough vegetables when it should make up the bulk of your meal.

Nuts/grains.
I always go with bulk bags of walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, and quinoa – actually you can almost live off of quinoa as a grain in your salads or breakfasts. These items have a long shelf life and will cover you for months of meals.

Light meats.
I used to be a heavy red meat guy, but now I’ve trimmed it down to the best three meats you could possibly buy: chicken, salmon, turkey. Ensure none of these have added breading or salt. Just buy fresh and freeze yourself. Turkey should be the lean ground variety, and is cost-effective for protein intake. While cooking you can use natural spices or lemon and garlic.

The most important food item: water.
You can cut down on eating consumption just by drinking more water. You’ll find yourself eating less snacks, your cravings will disappear, and you will lose that fatty weight in no time.

By switching to the foods on this list and eliminating the bad, sugary foods, I have lost 10 pounds of unhealthy weight in a matter of one month, without changing my fitness intensity. I also eat out less and therefore save significantly on restaurant gratuities.

All in all, my monthly food cost comes out to less than $240 for the best meals imaginable. I am also a lousy cook, so anyone can do it if I can 🙂