17 things we learned about money this year

Billionaires still suck plus 11 ways to set ourselves up for success next year.

Dec 28, 2023

Hi, I’m Renée, a finance and business journalist, writer, and content strategist. The Budgette is a chill newsletter about single finances and is published twice a month to more than 2,000 subscribers, some paid - thank you. I prefer to write when I have something to say and it gives me time to speak to financial, legal, and other experts. When I’m not here, I work on content strategy and execution for Canadian and U.S. publications and brands. If you want to work together, message me or you can find me on LinkedIn.

a number of golden numbers with confetti around it — Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

Well, we’re three days away from 2024. Housing is still stupid-expensive, interest rates are still high although there are rumours they might continue to fall and food is still expensive. I don’t do predictions, but here’s what I learned from 2023. A lot are very familiar.

You can’t personal finance your way out of everything. This is not a reflection on you. You can’t personal finance your way into a house if your salary legit can’t get you a down payment because housing is evil-villain expensive.
That being said, you can leverage personal finance to support the politicians who support what you support like rental control.
We’re more likely to not be able to cover our expenses than be billionaires. Aka, inequality is getting worse.
Billionaires are not money experts. Stop looking to them for advice. They just wear cowboy hats and look stupid in editorials, rename things with one letter like a cartoon character, or badly play World of Warcraft. Oh, and can’t reinvent transit.
Don’t invest in an asset if you don’t understand it, please. If you decide to, be comfortable losing it all. See, crypto, NFTs, AI? ← That one remains to be seen.
I’ve seen the saying, “It’s better to have money than to look like you have money” and I get it but does that consider social, economic and racial factors that lead to stereotyping at best?
You can’t beat the market. You can’t. What you can do, according to experts, is have a diversified portfolio that adjusts to meet your goals.
Talk to your friends about money, please. This includes salaries, bonus structures, rates, retainers, negotiations, etc. I have gotten so much information by doing this.
Vet the finance ‘experts’ before you act on their advice. A lot are just trying to sell you stuff and even more don’t have the experience or qualifications.
Have an emergency or fuck-off fund.
When you’re single, you get to make all the financial decisions. This is both the best and worst thing. Best because you get to make all the decisions, worst because you get to make all the financial decisions. Sometimes you feel tired and burnt out, which is fine. Breathe through it, give it a day or two if you can, then pick it back up. I had to remind myself of this several times when I was switching bank accounts and the numerous financial decisions I had to make this year.
You don’t need a lot of money to start investing.
Start as early as you can. It’s time in the market.
Good personal finance practices can help you manage your money to a certain extent. What it can’t do is fix systemic poverty, which is the bigger issue.
It also can’t fix the wage gap or systemic racism.
Money is politics. I said that last year, and I continue to say it.
Invest in yourself.

Friends have been asking me how to be prepared for next year. I have some suggestions but remember everyone’s financial situation is different, so give yourself and others grace.

Prep for 2024

Create a budget that works for you. It could be the envelope/jar/You Need A Budget/80-20/50-30-20/Pay your bills-put money towards retirement-spend the rest method. Whatever you choose, make sure it works for you.
Make a list of things you want this year and create pre-authorized deposits (if you can) for your bills. This could also be money towards a trip, an amazing suit, thrift shopping, or for those amazing finds like this Barbour jacket I found in Winners but didn’t buy because it was too classic even for me.
Found at a Winners.
Check your subscriptions and either reduce or cancel them.
Same for your phone and internet.
Also for your insurance.
Speaking of insurance, make sure you have the right insurance. If you’re like me and work for yourself, you might want to consider critical illness and disability insurance. (I am not saying you should have it, talk to an expert.)
Are your bank products offering their best? Can you do better?
Also speaking of, keep a list of your pre-authorized payments just in case. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I wrote about it here.)
Gather all your receipts for your taxes. The CRA likes to see receipts so have them if you’re going to claim them.
For my fellow singles: Build a team who are there to help you with your finances. We’re doing everything on our own, so getting help is something to consider.
Organize your paper. I am so bad at this, then I end up spending a few hours sorting through all the paper I get in a year into piles of recycling, shredding, and sorting for taxes. My friend Robin introduced me to the Envelope of Destruction by Pax Studio and it’s so simple, it’s brilliant.

So how was my year? It was busy as I worked three jobs but that meant I was able to build up my emergency account to a level where I was comfortable. I didn’t just work - I went to the theatre a few times, went to many museums including the Bata Shoe Museum’s 80s shoe retrospective, hung out with family and friends, and met several new people. (Hi, Herman).

I’m slowly working on being debt-free and I’m very close to that.

I also had a lot of amazing opportunities thanks to you and this newsletter. I moderated a Women and Money panel about estate panel for The Sick Kids Foundation; appeared on a panel for Zoomer TV on planning for retirement and aging and on The Social to talk about solo budgeting, which might have been the highlight of my year.

I wrote some amazing stories this year. My favourite was the Rich Aunties story for the Toronto Star because I got to tell a story that I’ve been dying to tell for years. Thank you Sarah and Jackie for being so generous with your time. Also, thank you to my Star editors for letting me write on topics like this.

The Toronto Star business page, with three drawings. — The aaaaarrrrrtt!

So what’s happening in 2024? I’m hoping to take a vacation (lol), which I will write about for subscribers. This will include where I’m going and how much was spent. Travel is not cheap so I want to be as transparent as possible. Subscribe if you’re interested.

I’m also saving for renovations to my kitchen and bathroom. They’re fine but also 30 years old, so everything looks dingy and tired. It’ll take about 18 months to do this.

I will continue to write here, of course. I also have things in the pipeline so I’m hopeful that next year starts on a positive note.

Thank you all very much for this year. I look forward to the next 365 days.

Happy New Year!