WEBVTT 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.860 Welcome to TGIF Two Girls Investing Friday. the 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:07.360 podcast that proves you don't need a finance 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:09.359 degree or a trust fund to build wealth. We're 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:11.339 just two regular girls who decided to take control 00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:13.199 of our money and now we're helping you do the 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:15.160 same. Each week we break down investing, money, 00:00:15.259 --> 00:00:17.019 and mindset in a way that's actually fun and 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:19.219 easy to understand. We are not financial advisors. 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:21.179 We're just two friends sharing what we've learned 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:23.399 on our own investing journeys. No jargon, no 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:25.440 intimidation, just real talk and real strategies 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:27.219 to help you grow your wealth and confidence. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:29.760 So grab a coffee, get cozy, and let's get into 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:36.909 it. Okay, we are back. New year. Wow, after a 00:00:36.909 --> 00:00:39.329 big break. Yes, such a needed break, but I'm 00:00:39.329 --> 00:00:41.270 so excited to be back into this. Yeah, me too. 00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:43.869 For those of you listening, Jess and I see each 00:00:43.869 --> 00:00:46.609 other usually once a week, and we were so busy 00:00:46.609 --> 00:00:48.009 in December that we didn't see each other at 00:00:48.009 --> 00:00:49.469 all. I don't think we've seen each other for 00:00:49.469 --> 00:00:51.530 like three weeks almost. At least. Which is crazy. 00:00:51.850 --> 00:00:54.250 It's crazy for us. Yeah. So we are catching up 00:00:54.250 --> 00:00:56.270 on the podcast. Yeah, we're catching up live 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:58.109 right now with you guys. Which I'm excited about. 00:00:58.170 --> 00:00:59.890 We're going to talk about our December. So today 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:01.719 we're going to talk about... what December looks 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:04.480 like for us and maybe a bit of a reflection on 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.900 what our year looked like with our finances and 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:09.780 our money. So I'm excited to get into that part. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:13.400 Let's talk about December, our three weeks of 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:17.340 like minus 45 to minus 50 degrees Celsius weather. 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:20.099 Yeah, we haven't had a stint of weather like 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:23.019 that in, not since I've been home. So I don't 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:25.260 know if listeners, if you know, but I grew up 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.299 here, but then I moved away after high school 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:29.299 to Calgary and lived there for 15 years. I've 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:31.260 been back on Whitehorse now for four years. Since 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:32.840 I've been back, we have not had a winter like 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:36.260 that at all. I think we usually get like minus 00:01:36.260 --> 00:01:38.159 20 or we would get minus 40, it'd be for a few 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:40.540 days and then it would break. This was a relentless 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:44.260 three weeks of minus 40 to minus 50 that would 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.260 not let up. Like the actual air was frozen. It 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:50.000 was ice fog. So any condensation from like car 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.200 exhaust, instantly frozen air, I could barely 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.079 see two feet in front of my car. No. And usually 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.180 for us... Like you said, when we get minus, even 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.099 minus 30 is a little bit more common than like 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:04.500 minus 50. When we get weather like minus 30 and 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:05.900 it's like that for a few days and, you know, 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:07.980 nobody's outside, but at least there's blue sky 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:10.639 and there's sun. But this time, like you said, 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:14.099 there was that ice fog and it was so cloudy that 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:16.400 you, or cloudy with this fog that you couldn't 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.560 see in front of you. And it was just, like you 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.539 said, it was relentless. Yeah. So it's not only 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:22.400 was the cold, but it was like no sun at all. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:24.699 It was like three weeks of overcast, freezing 00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:27.340 cold. People's cars weren't starting. things 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:29.479 were breaking down they couldn't do snow removal 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:31.919 at times because their machines weren't working 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.479 no nothing functions in that way nothing no things 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:38.030 are not built For that weather, or if they are, 00:02:38.090 --> 00:02:39.710 it's just for a few days. It's not for like three 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:42.169 weeks. Exactly. That's what I find is we can 00:02:42.169 --> 00:02:43.870 like withstand it for a few days and then it 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:47.150 warms up a bit. But yeah, it just kept going. 00:02:47.849 --> 00:02:50.669 And we used, for us in our house, we have a wood 00:02:50.669 --> 00:02:52.770 stove and a cold air heat pump. And the cold 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.150 air heat pump kicks out and turns into electric 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:58.789 at about minus 27, minus 28. And so we were using 00:02:58.789 --> 00:03:00.830 our wood stove to save a little bit on our heating. 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:04.310 But we used our entire winter supply of wood 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:07.389 in one month. Yeah. In three weeks. That's insane. 00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:09.409 I've heard that from a lot of people actually. 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:11.789 They ran through all their winter wood and they 00:03:11.789 --> 00:03:13.710 were out chopping at like minus 40. One of our 00:03:13.710 --> 00:03:16.530 friends was telling us about that. Yes. So it's 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:18.830 just like, it's crazy. It's like you think you 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:20.849 plan for these things, but then something happens 00:03:20.849 --> 00:03:22.569 and you're like, wow, we're not prepared for 00:03:22.569 --> 00:03:24.550 this. It's not for that long. No. And it can 00:03:24.550 --> 00:03:26.129 actually get pretty dangerous because if you 00:03:26.129 --> 00:03:28.430 run out of firewood and you have to go out cutting 00:03:28.430 --> 00:03:31.750 and you can't get wood. Or the risk of frostbite 00:03:31.750 --> 00:03:34.409 is super high at minus 40. So high. Especially 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:35.889 if you're trying to do things that you need like 00:03:35.889 --> 00:03:38.110 your hand dexterity with. It's actually quite 00:03:38.110 --> 00:03:39.909 dangerous and it's pretty risky. I don't know 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:42.110 about you, but I almost got frostbite at least 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:45.069 five different times. Yeah, same. One of them, 00:03:45.069 --> 00:03:47.930 I was taking kids to dance and I forgot my phone 00:03:47.930 --> 00:03:49.949 in the car and it was a little bit of a walk. 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:52.689 But because I walked from the dance studio to 00:03:52.689 --> 00:03:55.330 the car and back to the dance studio, my nose 00:03:55.330 --> 00:03:59.030 was so frozen. It hurt so bad for like two days 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:01.389 after. Oh, really? And I had my hood up and I 00:04:01.389 --> 00:04:04.050 had my like, my face was covered, but my nose 00:04:04.050 --> 00:04:06.849 wasn't covered. Oh my God. It was like a three 00:04:06.849 --> 00:04:09.210 minute walk. Yeah. It's scary. It's dangerous. 00:04:09.750 --> 00:04:12.250 So like for me, I find like, yeah, minus 30 feels 00:04:12.250 --> 00:04:14.509 cold. Minus 40 feels cold. They both feel cold. 00:04:14.650 --> 00:04:18.730 The difference is time because at minus 30, you 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:20.189 can walk for three minutes outside and like, 00:04:20.230 --> 00:04:22.189 you don't actually have any risk of having frostbite. 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:24.170 Yes. At minus 40, if something's not covered, 00:04:24.250 --> 00:04:26.529 you actually do have that risk of getting frostbite. 00:04:26.589 --> 00:04:28.879 Yeah. So it's like. parking at the hospital when 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.600 i was walking from my car inside i was actually 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:33.879 in physical pain and i was pretty fully covered 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.939 and my hands and my my face felt like they were 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:38.680 gonna freeze off yeah so it would have been like 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:40.540 i had to punch my coat in to get into the hospital 00:04:40.540 --> 00:04:42.819 and it like wasn't working and like because i 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:44.220 have my big mitt on i have to take my mitt off 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:47.079 to press the buttons and the buttons burnt my 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.569 hand and you can't pull the door handle open 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:51.769 unless you have a mitt on like you cannot put 00:04:51.769 --> 00:04:54.209 your bare skin on no it will literally freeze 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:55.910 your hand off it's just little things like that 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:57.370 that you're like wow i have to actually be careful 00:04:57.370 --> 00:05:00.579 like whoa by health i don't lose my fingers i 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:04.199 cannot imagine how many people were at the hospital 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.959 with frostbite over that period a lot and over 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.319 and over and over because like you said it was 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.120 like relentless it wasn't just a few days and 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.800 it it just really dragged on yeah it's crazy 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:17.839 we haven't had something like that in quite a 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:20.459 while it's just starting to break now and actually 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:22.180 like halfway through i remember we had like a 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:24.360 little break it warmed up to like minus 25 or 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.259 minus 28 yes and i was like oh my god it's so 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.699 warm I was like running around outside with the 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:32.040 dog. I'm like, I can finally walk my dog finally 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:34.240 too. Because even if he has booties and a coat 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:37.199 on, like at minus 45, like we can't go for very 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.120 long because his ears and his nose will freeze. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:41.740 Yes. It's so dangerous. My poor dog hasn't had 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:43.800 a walk in like three weeks almost. That's all 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:46.439 of us. I know. So let's talk about some of the 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:50.439 financial implications of that cold weather. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.740 Yeah. And where do we want to start? Let's start 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:54.800 with heating. yeah let's start with heating okay 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.860 yeah and then let's go to cars okay so you're 00:05:57.860 --> 00:06:01.040 on electric yeah and so just the heating alone 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:05.060 to keep the your house warm at that time is significant 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.660 it's so much so we actually got billed just for 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:09.160 this last because it's always a month behind 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.300 so we actually got billed for the month before 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:14.399 but it was still expensive it was 400 bucks and 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.860 that's not even the cold part our airbnb was 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:21.120 a thousand dollars because we had guests in there 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:22.579 for the whole month like it was like a three 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:24.120 week stint that they were in there they're a 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:26.480 ski team and i think you know they just have 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.100 the heat on there's a hot tub they're using the 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:29.740 hot tub they go skiing they want to relax the 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:32.120 hot tub our bill is a thousand dollars and keep 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:34.259 in mind that's not the cold stint yet that was 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:37.699 right before it okay so so i think the cold stint 00:06:37.699 --> 00:06:39.699 yeah i don't know the airbnb the heating cost 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:41.639 it's also electric so i think it's going to be 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.579 i mean 1200 bucks minimum at least we had less 00:06:44.579 --> 00:06:46.620 guests in there so we turned the heat down but 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:48.779 still and our house here is probably going to 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:52.980 be six at least minimum Well, and honestly, I 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:54.040 don't even know because I haven't had a stint 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.120 like that. So it's hard to say what it'll be. 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.980 And I think for you Connors, for all you Connors, 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:00.439 they're going to really feel that because it's 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:02.519 been, you know, we just had our Christmas season 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:05.480 too. So our expenses are already higher. I imagine 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.240 groceries were higher. Gas, which we'll get into. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.160 And so when we get our heating bill, electric 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.279 or otherwise, it's going to be. high across the 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:16.360 board it's going to be a hard hit for most Yukoners 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.000 so high yeah because again it wasn't a few days 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.480 it was like almost an entire month and and it's 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:23.579 warmed up now but Even when I'm saying it's warmed 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:26.779 up now, it's minus 26, minus 28. Yeah. We're 00:07:26.779 --> 00:07:30.819 not having minus 20 or warmer. Or minus 15. I 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:32.240 can't even imagine what that would feel like 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.480 right now. Like warm for us right now is minus 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.220 28. Yeah. So yeah. Warm fingers outside. What 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:39.259 a treat that would be. The other thing too, remember 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:43.439 when it was like minus 45 and the like Atco or 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:45.779 Yukon Electric was like. you guys need to like 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:47.899 turn all your lights off and try not to use your 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:50.139 dishwasher and your washing machine and everything 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.319 at the same time because the power grid was so 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.040 overwhelmed because the last time we had a stint 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.639 like this, we had way less houses in Whitehorse. 00:07:57.779 --> 00:07:59.879 We've built so many houses here. Housing is so 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:01.949 expensive. There's not enough houses. So they've 00:08:01.949 --> 00:08:03.649 been building like crazy. And they're built on 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:05.990 electricity. And all the new ones are on electric. 00:08:06.149 --> 00:08:07.730 So it's pulling so much power from the grid. 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:09.449 So they were actually worried that the power 00:08:09.449 --> 00:08:11.290 grid was going to like have a blackout or something, 00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:14.750 which in minus 45 is totally dangerous. So that 00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:16.269 was also crazy too. They were telling people 00:08:16.269 --> 00:08:18.850 to, yeah, stop using so much electricity. Luckily, 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:21.069 nothing happened. We didn't have a blackout or 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:23.529 anything. So yeah. And like I said, for us, we're 00:08:23.529 --> 00:08:26.170 on the colder heat pump that kicks into electric. 00:08:26.449 --> 00:08:27.949 And we do have an older home. So it does take 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:30.930 a lot more power to heat it. wood stove and we've 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:33.009 gone through all of our wood. And the problem 00:08:33.009 --> 00:08:36.450 with that is that there actually is no, or there's 00:08:36.450 --> 00:08:38.990 limited wood supply left in the territory. So 00:08:38.990 --> 00:08:41.730 it's not like our usual supply that we go to 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:44.049 and who we buy from, they don't have any either. 00:08:44.230 --> 00:08:47.110 Yeah. And so everyone else is, everyone's asking 00:08:47.110 --> 00:08:49.710 for it, right? Yes. Every single home in Whitehorse 00:08:49.710 --> 00:08:51.830 that has a wood stove is now out of their wood. 00:08:51.909 --> 00:08:53.950 Yeah. Oil heating was having the same problem 00:08:53.950 --> 00:08:56.090 that the guy that delivers it. I think there's 00:08:56.090 --> 00:08:57.889 like one or two people that deliver oil heating. 00:08:58.070 --> 00:09:01.279 Uh, they, were working around the clock and they 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:02.899 couldn't get to all the houses and so they're 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:04.860 still trying to catch up from that so it's been 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:06.399 an interesting winter those vehicles don't work 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.200 well in the cold either so you're going to transport 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.460 this oil and like the truck doesn't work the 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:12.220 truck's not working yeah so how do you get there 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:14.539 and i don't have oil heating so i don't know 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:16.080 the correct terminology of this but i know that 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.639 oil heating it can start to in that weather get 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:20.820 a bit like sludgy too and so you need a heater 00:09:20.820 --> 00:09:23.899 or something to cover your oil tank to also keep 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:26.799 that oil working for your house yeah i was just 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:28.820 gonna say this happened to my parents because 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:31.159 they have a cold air heat pump theirs only works 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:33.159 till minus 20 though okay so obviously they've 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.440 kicked into their furnace which is oil their 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.399 oil or whatever it is i forget it gelled yes 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:41.279 it started to gel so their furnace wasn't working 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:44.220 so my dad had to go down there get a heater put 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:46.899 like a blanket around it heat up that part so 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:49.600 that the oil furnace would run Like it's just 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:51.500 insane. Nothing functions in this weather. We're 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:53.519 not sure why we live here. Jess is going on a 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:56.419 very hot holiday soon. And I leave tomorrow for 00:09:56.419 --> 00:09:58.519 Kenya, you guys. And I'm like, get me out of 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:00.820 here. Tears of joy might stream down my eyes 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:04.080 as I take off from the airport here. Warmer weather. 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.059 Although it's supposed to break this week. It 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:09.620 is. And then two weeks, well, in like eight days 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:11.320 from now, which like who knows, they can't actually 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:13.039 forecast that far. It's supposed to be like minus 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:15.139 five. We'll see if that actually happens, but. 00:10:15.529 --> 00:10:17.830 For me, what I found was how much gas my car 00:10:17.830 --> 00:10:21.730 would go through was absolutely insane. So I 00:10:21.730 --> 00:10:24.049 at least double. Yeah. And I was driving and 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:26.730 it was about maybe five kilometers from like 00:10:26.730 --> 00:10:29.070 where I started looking at how much gas I had 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:31.409 left because I had about 90 kilometers of gas. 00:10:31.490 --> 00:10:33.090 And I was like, OK, great. I can get home and 00:10:33.090 --> 00:10:35.389 I can get back to where I need to be. I won't 00:10:35.389 --> 00:10:37.990 run out of gas. It was maybe five kilometers 00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:40.350 when I looked at it, like to my house. And when 00:10:40.350 --> 00:10:42.289 I got home, I had went through 20 kilometers 00:10:42.289 --> 00:10:46.549 of gas. Wow. Just from that short stretch. And 00:10:46.549 --> 00:10:49.230 so I said, okay, I thought I had enough gas to 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:50.649 do what I need to do because I had to take the 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:53.350 kids to their dance performance. And I was like, 00:10:53.350 --> 00:10:55.169 I'll get gas after. But I was like at this rate. 00:10:55.629 --> 00:10:58.169 I'm going to run out of gas before I even get 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:00.629 them home. Yeah. And I don't want to be surrounded 00:11:00.629 --> 00:11:03.110 at minus 50. Again, which is dangerous. Yes. 00:11:03.370 --> 00:11:07.710 So usually my tank lasts me about 10 days, give 00:11:07.710 --> 00:11:10.149 or take two days for my driving. I was filling 00:11:10.149 --> 00:11:14.759 up every four days. Yeah. Same. Same here. Yeah, 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:16.460 also because you have to like turn your car on 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:18.019 early to let it run to heat up before you can 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:19.500 drive it. You can't drive it cold or else you're 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:21.059 going to screw your car. Yes, you have to let 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:24.440 it run for at least 20. I prefer 30 to really 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.879 get it warmed up so that I'm not, so that nothing's 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.399 breaking on it. Maybe let's next episode, let's 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:32.440 go into a little bit more of the car issues that 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:34.720 we have and like the mechanical issues that happen 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.639 because yes, it's heating, but then the actual 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:38.940 like... physical mechanical issues that also 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:41.600 happen at minus 40 to minus 50 let's get into 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.740 cars yeah and kids yeah and i'll share everything 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:47.740 that yeah we had to do with ours um but i want 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:49.919 to now that it's new year and we're back i want 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.940 to do a bit of a like review of what the last 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:55.799 12 months looked like for you so think like bigger 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:57.659 picture not into like the nitty -gritty but like 00:11:57.659 --> 00:11:59.879 how did finances do how did your investing do 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:02.080 do you like is there areas that you're like okay 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:03.559 i could have been a little bit tighter here or 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:05.759 like i'm really proud of this part here yeah 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.700 for 2026 i think yeah 2026 was a big year for 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:12.000 me actually because we did a lot of things it 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:13.919 was a really good year in the stock market thankfully 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.620 so my stock investments were up which is great 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:19.879 we also decided to buy that second um the rental 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:23.379 house up down duplex which was a big decision 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:25.879 and then we had this trip to kenya so i think 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:28.840 overall i feel pretty good about it i could have 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.220 saved in a lot of areas i could have saved a 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:32.919 lot in eating out there's just there's always 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:34.460 a lot of birthdays there's a lot of things to 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:36.940 celebrate and you know sometimes on those days 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:38.740 when like like oh we just don't want to cook 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:41.720 we would go out um where i spent a lot of money 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:45.129 was traveling so Like I know, which I said before 00:12:45.129 --> 00:12:47.690 is I don't feel bad about, but a lot of my money 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:49.809 went to that. So like not even traveling internationally, 00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:51.750 but even just traveling in Canada. Like I went 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:55.210 to Ottawa. I went to Saskatchewan. I went to 00:12:55.210 --> 00:12:59.070 Vancouver. We're going on this big trip. So I 00:12:59.070 --> 00:13:01.350 flew a lot this year. So that's where a lot of 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:03.490 my money went. But overall, you know what? I'm 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:06.539 feeling pretty good. At this moment in time, 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:09.679 I feel tight because we just had Christmas. I 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.080 have this trip coming up. May, we have to pay 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.019 the rest of the down payment for the new house. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.379 So right now I'm a bit stretched. And I will 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:20.759 say, like, I know I've shared before that I hit 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.500 this milestone. Well, I had $150 ,000 invested 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:26.200 and then it... over the year last little bit 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.940 went up to 160 000 and this was just all from 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:30.639 like my hard grit and determinations it wasn't 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.940 any money that people have given me i've just 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:33.720 been like socking it away for 10 years and the 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:35.899 growth that it's had and the growth a lot of 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:38.870 that is growth yeah i actually and Once I look 00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:40.669 it up, I'll say how much of that is actually 00:13:40.669 --> 00:13:42.610 just growth from the stock market. I would want 00:13:42.610 --> 00:13:44.789 to know how much in the last year you've put 00:13:44.789 --> 00:13:47.769 in and what has been from growth. Yeah, just 00:13:47.769 --> 00:13:50.169 basically free money from investing. So yeah, 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:52.850 I know that I have that investment, but that's 00:13:52.850 --> 00:13:55.149 long -term. Sometimes even though I have that, 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.190 I feel like I don't have a lot of money sometimes 00:13:58.190 --> 00:14:01.110 because... i don't touch that in my mind that's 00:14:01.110 --> 00:14:02.690 non -touchable money that's not money that i 00:14:02.690 --> 00:14:05.350 have so my day -to -day like spending in my checkings 00:14:05.350 --> 00:14:07.470 account fluctuates and like that's what i base 00:14:07.470 --> 00:14:09.710 what i have on so even though it might sound 00:14:09.710 --> 00:14:11.389 like i got a lot of money it doesn't feel like 00:14:11.389 --> 00:14:14.389 it all the time right because i'm you know getting 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:17.370 paid and have all these expenses and this money 00:14:17.370 --> 00:14:18.809 into my investments is coming out automatically 00:14:18.809 --> 00:14:20.990 so right now i don't feel like i have a lot of 00:14:20.990 --> 00:14:22.769 money feels tight because it feels really tight 00:14:22.769 --> 00:14:24.950 yeah so a lot of it's going to this trip and 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:27.980 yeah things in the future so but overall you 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:30.139 know I would say the 2026 was a pretty good year 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.279 yeah and I think that's a really relatable feeling 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.259 for all of us whether we have debt that we're 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:37.879 paying off like I am or whether we're investing 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.440 and that money we're not touching yeah I think 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:42.860 everybody can relate that it just does feel really 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:45.600 tight yeah like sometimes I feel broke even though 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.879 I have this investment account because that I 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:50.080 know I'm not going to pull for life expenses 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.860 that's not unless I really have to you know so 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:54.929 But that's not your like today money. Exactly. 00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:58.570 When I look back at my 2025, I think definitely 00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:01.509 roller coaster, which is great. That's like normal. 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:05.529 And I also spent a little more eating out and 00:15:05.529 --> 00:15:08.370 definitely I did really good for a while cutting 00:15:08.370 --> 00:15:10.850 back on my coffees out. The month of December, 00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:13.889 I'm at the store 24 -7 it feels like. So really 00:15:13.889 --> 00:15:15.710 early mornings and late nights and I'm just not 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:19.120 home. Hey, you were there a lot. Yeah. So I also 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.779 expect that I'm going to be spending a little 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:23.259 bit more on coffees. I probably could have cut 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:25.620 back a little, but that's okay. And I think that's 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:27.799 clouding where I see the year. But when I look 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:31.860 back, I did a really good chunk down on one of 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:34.240 my higher interest debts that has been really 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.240 weighing me down. Nice. And I feel like I see 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:40.309 the... felt like I've seen the end of the tunnel 00:15:40.309 --> 00:15:42.610 on that one and I feel like I see it now. Yay. 00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:44.549 So I'm hoping by March that that one will be 00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:46.789 like cleared off. Which is, yeah. Such a great 00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:49.509 feeling. It's very exciting. So that has been 00:15:49.509 --> 00:15:51.830 really exciting for me. And I look back and I 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:54.470 talk about where I don't spend money after 6 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:57.110 p .m. And when I don't pay attention like that, 00:15:57.129 --> 00:15:59.350 if you asked me two years ago, I probably would 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:02.090 be like almost, maybe not weekly, but maybe bi 00:16:02.090 --> 00:16:04.879 -weekly. I would be buying something online at 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:07.899 like 10 p .m. Some ad that got you? Yes, an ad 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:10.679 or Amazon or even something locally where I'm 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:12.539 just like buying it and picking it up, not really 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:15.500 being super conscious of it. And I think if I 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:19.059 look back at like 2025, there's probably five, 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:21.620 maybe seven times I've done that in the last 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:24.080 year, which for me is really, really big. That 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.679 is really good. That's a huge cut. Yeah. And 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:28.679 then I could pinpoint exactly what they were. 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:31.220 I think. If it was before I was really conscious 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:32.679 about that, I wouldn't even be able to pinpoint 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:34.740 it because I'd be like, it's everything. Yeah. 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:36.340 And that's the thing. It's progress, not perfection. 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:38.159 So like you haven't eliminated it completely, 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.679 but you've cut it down way too much, which is 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:42.320 like significant. We're not going to be perfect. 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:43.779 None of us are going to do everything perfectly. 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:45.940 And I don't feel bad about any of those expenses. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:47.700 I maybe would have waited until the next morning, 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:49.659 which is what I usually do. But we're all human. 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:52.460 And we have times where we're tired or exhausted 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:55.440 or it's minus 50 and our judgment is clouded 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:57.460 by that. It's gone. There's no judgment. Yeah. 00:16:57.559 --> 00:16:59.659 So that's totally... normal but it's really cool 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:01.460 for me to look back and say okay you know you 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:04.160 actually really did stick to that for you and 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.779 yeah so that will carry forward and has been 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:10.359 impacting my finances in a good way and remember 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:12.359 all that money you saved now that you're putting 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.099 it down in your debt and then you're gonna invest 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.460 it it's actually more than just that amount say 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.619 it was like a $50 thing you're actually gonna 00:17:18.619 --> 00:17:20.900 save more than $50 in the long run yes which 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:23.039 we've talked about that like that mindset and 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.359 I think next episode let's talk about more on 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:27.619 the value of a dollar and mindset around it you 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:29.859 know being January being the new year what that 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:32.539 looks like and how you perceive that dollar so 00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:34.519 it's not just the dollar spent let's talk about 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:36.220 more on that one because I really like that potential 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:38.359 earnings of that dollar in the future yes and 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.019 changing your mindset for 2026. Yeah. Let's do 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:43.920 it. Start the year right. We're going to wrap 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:45.859 this up. So join us next episode where we talk 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:48.700 about the value of a dollar and a little bit 00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:50.480 more about expenses living in the North. Yeah. 00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:52.440 And I'm also going to tell you guys exactly what 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:54.680 a trip to Kenya costs. So if you're curious, 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:57.339 I will break down all, I'm just going to dish 00:17:57.339 --> 00:17:59.539 all the details about what I'm spending on my 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:01.880 trip to Kenya. I love it. That's it for this 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:03.759 week. Thanks so much for joining us. Don't forget 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:05.500 to follow us wherever you listen so you never 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:07.759 miss an episode. You can find us on TikTok and 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:09.779 Instagram at Two Girls Investing. If you loved 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:11.859 this episode, share it with a friend. Never stop 00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:13.240 learning, and we'll see you next Friday.