I’m Turning 34, Here’s 34 Things I Learned About Money
Tomorrow I turn 34, which means I am officially old enough to have strong opinions about things like interest rates and how to maximize sleep quality.
Instead of pretending I have it all figured out by now (ha! far from it), I thought I’d share 34 lessons I’ve learned about money so far. This list is a surprise-grab-bag of: knowledge that has served me well for many years, financial decisions I would go back to tell myself ‘Good job. Keep going.’, and of course more than a few lessons that were learned the hard (and occasionally expensive) way.
What's life without a little character development sprinkled in here and there eh?
Keep big life expenses like housing and cars small, and allow yourself flexibility on smaller ‘for fun’ spending. If income drops and your fixed expenses are low, pulling back is manageable. If income drops and you are locked into huge payments, it can be incredibly stressful. I have never regretted being conservative with big expenses.
The ‘spend everything on living life to the fullest in your 20’s’ narrative is bullshit. You don’t stop being interesting and wanting to do things in your 30’s. Save some money in your 20’s. It makes the next decades SO much easier and you still get to do the fun things you want to do.
Don’t doubt yourself for choosing self employment at a young age. Society will tell you it’s riskier than a traditional career path, but it was always the right option for you. Trust your gut, don't follow the crowd, learn fast, and be adaptable. Everything works out well.
Save that emergency fund ASAP. It’s the best thing you will ever do for your mental health. In the early days of running your business it gives you the feeling of security you need. As you grow, it gives you the confidence to say yes to the right opportunities and no to the ones that won’t propel you forward. Then one day you’ll realize it also gives you intellectual autonomy in your work, and there’s not much in life that feels better than that.
Be unapologetically loud about the importance of financial autonomy as a woman. Always encourage other women to protect theirs too. Society still has deeply strange expectations about women giving up money and power. Refuse to comply with what society dictates you ‘should’ do.
You can love what you do and still negotiate higher pay. Often the only ceiling is how much you want to ask for.
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want financially, and to push harder than you naturally feel comfortable doing. The world seems to reward audacity and clearly asking for what you want. This applies to increasing income, asking for discounts, or fighting for the lowest mortgage rate possible. Flexing your negotiation muscle builds confidence, and all those small wins turn into real money over time.
Learning how to clearly express your value is one of the fastest ways to earn more money! Practice this skill and refine how you communicate what you bring to the table.
Credit scores are not a reflection of how responsible you are with money. They are a reflection of how well you can play the credit score game. Learn the rules early, and actually use some credit. This will save you an embarrassing meeting with a mortgage broker when you first decide to trying buying a house and have virtually no credit score.
If a financial decision helps you sleep better at night, it’s probably a good one. It's not always about optimizing every dollar.
Always use your credit card, never use your debit card. On that note, always keep two credit cards active. That way, when one gets compromised, you can simply use the other one while you're waiting for a replacement. Definitely don't use your debit card in a sketchy New York convenience store and end up having that data stolen too. Fixing debit card fraud is far more painful than fixing credit card fraud. Trust me, that one hurt.
Do not assume anyone working at a bank has your best interest at heart. They are trained to prioritize bank profits first. Also, don't hesitate to change banks if you hate dealing with yours. Loyalty gets you nothing but higher fees these days.
Extended warranties are never worth it. Get a credit card that offers extended consumer protection warranties and just use that instead.
As a self employed person, not understanding the tax system or failing to track expenses is a massive waste of money. Learn how your taxes work, keep clean records, maximize write offs, and reduce your tax burden wherever possible. It already hurts having to play the employee AND employer portions of CPP yourself, don't make taxes cost even more than necessary.
Create an organized record keeping system. A banker’s box with receipts, tax documents, and insurance paperwork sounds boring, but you will need to reference it more often than you expect.
There are grants and funding opportunities actively looking for people to give money to. There is no reason it cannot be you. Apply. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Systems make consistency easier. Automate savings and investments wherever possible, and resist the urge to constantly tinker with those systems.
Work hard to get your first 100k invested as quickly as possible. Watching compounding take over from there is genuinely wild.
You may feel like your financial progress is slow, but time moves faster than you think. With solid systems and automated investing, one day you'll look up and realize ten years have passed and you actually have results to show for it. (Without the investing automations, those years would have passed anyways and you would have very little financial progress to show for it.)
When buying a house, stay well under what the bank says you can afford. Many people involved in the home buying process will push you to spend more, but the truth is you would hate being a homeowner if you felt trapped because your house payment ate up all the money you want for fun and savings.
Expect that more of your paycheck will go towards insurance products than 20 year old you would have thought possible. Do not avoid these expenses, (even though they feel like a deeply boring way to spend money) because they DO help you out a few times. Commit to keeping on top of the expense by reviewing policies regularly, and switching providers when better pricing is available.
Be the person who reads contracts front to back. Never sign anything without understanding every single section of that contract. Asking for clarification isn’t embarrassing, ask as many questions as you want.
Owning a home and cars guarantees expensive repair bills. (another absolutely boring way to watch your money disappear). Get comfortable learning basic fixes online. Many problems are easier to fix than you think, it’s faster and cheaper to do it yourself, and you’ll feel like a total badass when you know how to do things like replace a car battery and fix the belt on your dryer drum.
Go ahead and spend that money on renting an out-of-home office. It feels like an unnecessary business expense, but it’s one of the best expenses you will ever take on. Working from home alone does not make your brain feel good.
Don’t feel weird about planning free activities with friends. A hike or a walk beats a fancy dinner most of the time, and it saves a lot of money when you are saving aggressively in your 20’s.
When you travel, plan for unexpected costs. Delays, extended stays, and weather disruptions happen. Budget for more than you think you need.
Related lesson: having a dog makes travel significantly more expensive.
One day you will convince yourself that growing a large garden will be fun AND that it will be a great way to save money. It will not save money. It’s simply an expensive hobby.
Normalize talking about salary, taxes, retirement etc. with friends and family. Some people will hate it, some will love it. Nurture the relationships that love it, and talk the sh*t out of personal finance together. You can learn so much from talking openly with other people.
The financial system in Canada is constantly evolving. You will never reach a point where you are done learning. Stay curious, adaptable, and informed.
When comparison creeps in—especially with people in higher tax brackets—a short gratitude list resets your perspective fast and reminds you how much you have built for yourself.
Talking openly about household finances with your partner is non-negotiable. Regular conversations keep you aligned and working towards the same goals.
Taking care of your health is a strong financial decision, especially when your income depends on your body and brain functioning well.
Stop trying to save that used Volkswagen from a rusty death. Sell it and just buy the Toyota already.
I’m still learning. I expect I always will be. But if there’s one financial lesson I've noticed showing up in my life again and again, it’s this:
Money works best when it’s used intentionally to build a happy life. Not reactively, not performatively, and not in any way that keeps you anxious. Use some of it to create a little world you enjoy living in, and invest the rest, because at the end of the day gaining greater autonomy always makes you the happiest.
Here’s to another year of learning, always trying to ask better questions, and continuing to build a life that feels calm and intentional.
See you next week,
Cory