This is 1,700 words answering the fantastic Q’s you asked on my Ask Me Anything post. Sorry for being so chatty, but this was a great conversation! Here are my answers:
What are three words you would use to describe yourself? – Liquid @ Freedom 35
Loud, gregarious, optimistic.
Do you ever worry that your long hair might seem unprofessional?- Jordann @ My Alternate Life
Yes! I actually cut 4″ off before starting my MBA. It has promptly grown back in true Rapunzel-like fashion. I’ve talked about this at length (haha get it?) with my friends, and the general consensus seems to be as long as your hair is well taken care of, length is a non-issue. Personally I have to have long hair to balance out my chubby face.
Classy ponytails and braids are the best way to manage long hair in a professional setting. This is one of my favourite updos – sock bun with a small braid!
from my instagram on a good hair day
What’s the biggest financial risk you’ve ever taken? - Sarah @ Life Comma Etc
Quitting my $60,000/year job to go back to school without a firm career path in mind
Moving into an expensive apartment with a variable income and savings to only cover 4 months rent
Putting some of my scholarship money into the stock market instead of using it for necessary expenses
Asking Twitter for stock tips, and then following them
I do it all. It’s all risky.
How are you finding freelancing so far? Are you making enough to live comfortably? - Morgaine @ Morgaine and Money
It’s ok – I wouldn’t call it “comfortable”. I’ve only gone out for dinner twice in the past two months (as opposed to 4-5 times per week like I used to), haven’t bought any new clothes for 2 months, and am not planning any vacations. But I am making enough to pay all my bills, keep building my emergency fund, investing in the stock market, and put money away for retirement, which is kind of amazing. Also, I usually get an unexpected bump in income that’s enough to go out on weekends, and that makes me really happy. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t have wine with my friends on Fridays!
What’s your advice to newbie bloggers about how to build a brand? - Broke Millennial
You build a blogging brand the same way you build any kind business brand: select a niche, offer something unique, and be consistent. I could write at length on this topic but I find some people really have a knack for it and some people really don’t. It’s really important to establish what your blog is for: entertainment, information, etc. Then determine how you do this in a way no one else does. Finally, don’t stop and don’t change direction! There is a definitive line between building a business and just keeping an online diary. As soon as you find out where it is, step away from it.. but keep it in your sight, because at the end of the day readers want to connect with a real person and not a bot regurgitating the latest Financial Times article.
Have you always been this ballsy? I admire you not playing it safe and quitting a great job to pursue your passion! – Girl Meets Debt
Yes. Like that time I quit my MSc. and took off to France for a month. Truthfully, I don’t consider very many of my actions “ballsy” even when they shock my friends and family. I’m overly confident in my abilities and judgements, and that takes the edge off anything that can be interpreted as “risky” by a third party. I’m risk-blind, I only see opportunity and a good time.
Bonus question – do you really think you love Adam Levine more than me?
I love Adam Levine more than everyone.
What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a piece of clothing that you still have in your wardrobe? - Save Spend Splurge
A $600 leather jacket. Same one I made you try on in Toronto!
What is your biggest financial-related regret? - Louise
Getting too comfortable on a big salary. Before I started school, I was grossing over $6,000 per month and now I actually find it baffling how I was spending it all. You know how every personal finance blog cautions against lifestyle inflation? Yeah, I never listened to those warnings. Consequently my adjustment back to modest means has not been an easy one. I wish I had lived more modestly, saved more aggressively, and generally didn’t light my money on fire while enthusiastically yelling YOLO.
What are your favorite things to do besides blogging? – Erica
Blogging isn’t one of my favourite things! I love to write and I would say I enjoy blogging, but I wouldn’t call it a favourite thing. My ultimate favourite thing in the whole world is going out for coffee or beer with friends. In my ideal world I would have supper with 15 people every day. Second to that I love to read and watch documentaries. Maybe someday I will find a gang that just wants to drink wine and watch Netflix and ponder the meaning of life. A girl can dream.
If you couldn’t live in North America where would you want to live? - Brian
I haven’t seen nearly enough of the world to answer this accurately, but if had to choose from places I’ve visited, I really dig the Netherlands.
How are you paying for your current university courses (ie more loans, savings)? - Jess
Great question! I was lucky enough to receive a big fat entrance scholarship, so the initial cost of school was very manageable. Any gaps that have come up in educational expenses I’m currently paying for with savings and income from writing. Because my income has been so high (>$60,000 for both 2013 and 2012), I don’t actually qualify for enough student loans to pay my tuition, let alone living expenses on top of my school costs, so my only real option is to absorb the price tag myself. I’m expecting a large income tax refund to help with next semester’s costs, then I will be taking a paid internship for the summer of 2014. If school costs get out of hand I would consider using money from my RRSP (you can withdraw up to $10,000 under the lifelong learning plan) to tide me over, but I’m hoping that won’t be necessary.
When might you find yourself in Portland to visit your awesome staff writer? :) - Erin @ Red Debted
How’s 2015 looking? =p
As a community leader wanting to communicate with Millennials, what do you suggest as the best media for me to use? - Kim
Facebook is dead but Twitter can be leveraged if you make the right connections. Many of my peers use twitter just to stay current with the news, not for any interacting (which is a shame, because I think it’s such a good platform for flattening that relationship between leadership and community). I think one of the greatest things I’ve seen recently is Nenshi hosting an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. This can be challenging to pull off because it has to be well promoted enough that you get engagement, but I think it’s a really cool way to connect with people in real time.
You’ve talked a lot about choosing to be single or not necessarily seeking marriage as a life goal, which is awesome. But I want to know if you have seen relationships around you (friends, family, coworkers) that negatively influenced your view of marriage? - Sally @ Tiny Apartment Design
I hope my general aversion to marriage isn’t being interpreted as a negative view of the institution! I really like marriage, I’m just undecided about how much I like it for myself ;) I think long-term romantic relationships are something special, but I feel like culturally we place a little too much value on them, in the sense that many (many, many) people feel a sense of inadequacy or failure if they don’t “find someone”. Finding someone and building a life together is a big undertaking, and if I could simplify my view of the whole matter it would just be to say I direct my efforts elsewhere: into myself, my career, my friendships, and my family — and trust me, if you’re really doing this, it keeps you busy enough! I enjoy dating and if I stumble into love again, I’m certain it will be spectacular, but in the meantime I’m just concentrating on other things and making a point not to acquire any cats.
That said, I have seen friends and family aggressively self-sabotage their marriages and other long-term relationships. However, I’ve never taken this to have any relevance whatsoever to my own romantic life. I don’t worry about making other people’s mistakes, I only worry about repeating mine or making entirely new ones.
Now that you have switched to freelancing and blogging as your sole income, are you still hoping to increase your net worth by 25K a year? – Madeline
Not for 2014, but I expect to return to the 9-5 grind in 2015 and I’d like to increase my net worth by $30,000+ per every year of my working lifetime thereafter.
What contrasts have you noticed between Edmonton and Calgary in the context of work ethic/attitude? Would a city’s attitudes towards work affect your choice of where to move? - Greg
Calgary is intensely income driven to a level I’d never witnessed in Edmonton. The salaries here are out of control, and I’ve never seen twenty and thirty somethings with so much money. There is an expected culture of workaholicism that wasn’t quite as prevalent in Edmonton. Most people here define themselves by their jobs, and even the men I meet at bars give me business cards now instead of simply entering their number in my phone. It’s half about showing off your awesome career, and half about genuinely networking. Edmonton was a lot more casual career-wise, and I never felt pressured to make business connections on a Friday night out. Honestly, I had never considered a city’s work attitudes until I realized they were so different. I would consider it when it comes to choosing where to move.
Woot! Got ‘em all. Until next time guys ;)