[FrugalTrader]

I thought I would start a thread so that we can get to know a little about the contributing community.

I'll kick things off. I am FrugalTrader (twitter), the blogger behind Million Dollar Journey and co-founder of Canadian Money Forum. To say the least, I am a personal finance and investing enthusiast who is on a journey to financial freedom.

Tell me a little about you!

 

[CanadianCapitalist]

Great idea FT.

I'm the blogger behind Canadian Capitalist and the other founder of this forum. I've been a finance enthusiast for many years now and am passionate about helping other Canadians in their quest for financial success.

I'm an electrical engineer / software developer at my day job and live in Ottawa with my wife and three kids. I don't get to devote too much time to my other pursuits these days but my hobbies include photography, astronomy, hiking, bicycling, snow shoeing etc.

 

[Preet]

Preet from WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com

I'm Preet and I'm the blogger behind WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com.

I used to be a financial planner and stockbroker, used mostly ETFs and index mutual funds and offered investors the choice of by-the-hour, fee-based and transactional fee structures. Once I realized how rare that was, I realized I had bigger fish to fry. Now I'm working on the institutional (and retail, really) sell-side for an index fund manufacturer.

 

[mfd]

I'm a 30 year IT professional who is getting married this summer. We own a condo in Toronto. I'm a bit a foodie and spend my time trying to taste new and exotic foods at various restaurants. I also enjoy traveling, sports, and cooking.

I recently started a blog called My Findependence Day. It focuses on personal finance and I hope it will help focus my thoughts and hash out a retirement plan for us.

 

[Jon Chevreau]

I'm Jonathan Chevreau, financial columnist with the National Post and author of Findependence Day, a financial novel that was published by Power Publishers in October 2008. See www.financialpost.com/fd

I wrote a non-fiction book in 1998 called The Wealthy Boomer: Life After Mutual Funds, which spawned a magazine of the same name [now defunct but like Zoomer magazine today]. The book also led to an early financial discussion forum called The Wealthy Boomer, which ran from 1999 to 2005. For various reasons, it faded away [see the novel for some hints] and it morphed into The Wealthy Boomer blog housed at the Financial Post web site: www.wealthyboomer.ca.

Apart from a Saturday column in the paper and mid-week ones that may appear in the Post or various Canwest dailies, I do the Wealthy Boomer video interview. Preet has been one of my guests and I hope we can do more with other members and founders of this forum.

I'm new to Twitter [as JonChevreau] and am on LinkedIn. I wish the founders of this forum the best of luck: I sure don't want ever to have to moderate a discussion forum in my lifetime again but appreciate the fact that others are willing to take it on. Done right, you can achieve much good.

 

[Tim]

Excellent idea FT.

Hi! I'm Tim the blogger behind Canadian Dream:Free at 45 and as you can tell by the blog name I want to be at least semi-retired by 45. Realistic? I hope so, but life happens so if I miss it by a few years I won't be too upset. After all, my other focus on the blog is being happy.

I'm married with two boys and living in Regina, SK.

 

[moneygardener]

Hello, I am the moneygardener. I just turned 30 and I live in Brantford, Ontario with my wife and 15 month old son. I enjoy personal finance, investing, & following the stock market & the business world.

My hobbies include the 3 R's; running, reading, and red wine. At this very moment my hobby most days is playing "soccer" in the basement with my son who just does a lot of carrying around balls & laughing.

 

[Sampson]

only PF bloggers?

Hmm... I'll break the trend of PF bloggers posting (maybe this means I should start my own ).

30 year old - married for 3.5 years
Work in biotech.
I enjoy 'studying' PF because I'm sick and tired of getting the same sh*ty returns - and paying for it.

My favoruite past time is photography.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

I'm very happy to be able to participate in these communities. For the most part, everyone is respectful, and it seems that everyone just wants to increase the general knowlege pool - very altruistic.

 

[lb71]

I am 37 and work in the financial services industry. I do not have a blog, but have been a long time reader of most of the blogs mentioned above. I really don't know where you people find the time to write your blogs.

 

[Hodge]

Man, I was beginning to feel inadequate without a blog, but I'm reassured by the last 2 posts. Never really had the inclination for it and I particularly despised having to keep a personal journal back in highschool english.

Anyway, I'm a 41 yr old CAD operator specializing in structural and architectural dwgs. I was worried about possible construction slowdowns affecting my work but, to the contrary, our office has seen a real uptick in requests to quote. I think lots of people in the industry are looking forward to the upcoming stimulus spending.

Due to some instability in my personal life as well as saving for a home purchase (closed early last summer), I was heavily invested in bonds and GICs. When the time came, I also withdrew 20 grand from my RRSP mutual funds under the CMHC home buyer plan towards a 20% conventional mortgage downpayment. As a result, I was well-positioned to weather the market crash this past fall.

However, dodging that bullet was a bit of a wake-up call to pay more attention to my finances. This lead me to start reading most of your blogs above and I look forward to learning more from those blogs and this forum.

 

[Bullseye]

Some here probably know me from RedFlagDeals.com, thanks to my embarassingly high post count there, but for the rest, a big Hello!

I'm a GTA personal finance nut, co-running a finance site (see signature below) with some crazy, off-the-wall, but hopefully useful ideas.

More importantly, I'm a husband and father of two young boys (2 and 4). Most of my finance goals revolve around my spouse and I working as little as possible now, to maximize our family, friend, and hobby time. Consequently, most of my efforts (and articles) focus on cutting costs, and building passive income.

 

[UpNorth]

I'm a 31 year old civil servant living in Whitehorse, Yukon but originally from the East Coast. I spent my twenties alternating between working for non-profits, living overseas and attending grad school. My partner and I are getting married this summer, just bought a house and adopted a dog - our newfound 'settled' lifestyle both comforts us and freaks us out a bit.

I'm here to soak up whatever knowledge I can. I'm a newbie when it comes to financial planning but my partner and I have always been naturals at being frugal.

By the way, I'm happy to be part of a community that's values my frugality rather than makes fun of me for being a 'Cheap Scot' for not living beyond my means

 

[mfd]

Man, I was beginning to feel inadequate without a blog, but I'm reassured by the last 2 posts. Never really had the inclination for it and I particularly despised having to keep a personal journal back in highschool english.

Anyway, I'm a 41 yr old CAD operator specializing in structural and architectural dwgs.

Ha...maybe you should start a blog about being a CAD operator.

 

[Hodge]

Hmmmm.

I think I'd rapidly blog myself out of work. Too tempting.

Architects = Temperamental Divas
Engineers = Socially Maladjusted Geeks

Cheers,
Hodge (Just kidding. Sort of)

 

[Canadian Finance]

My blog is The Canadian Finance Blog. I started it at the beginning of February and it's been building a good following so far.

I live in Alberta, Canada and am a Financial Analyst for a major retailer. I just got married last September, moving to a new house in May and we are expecting our first child in October!

 

[maelstrom]

Hi, I'm Michelle, currently at home with the kids, working hard on getting out finances in better shape.

 

[Hazelnut]

Hi y'all: I blog too but can't call myself a pro in the area of personal finance. I'm a 52 year old teacher and single parent and am going to try to retire early on a reduced pension because I would rather have 2 extra years of retirement than a larger pension. Thus I have put myself on a 5 year plan to eliminate debt and grow my savings. As a single parent frugality is second nature plus I was raised by parents who lived through the real depression. My goal in 5 years is to sell my condo (paid off) and move to the east coast where land is still relatively inexpensive and live a self-sustaining lifestyle in the manner of a Scottish crofter. I blog about my journey somewhat haphazardly in the hope that it will help keep me honest and on-track.
In my spare time I play volleyball, cycle, spend summers at my trailer just outside of Bayfield, Ontario. My daughter has just finished her first year of university & still lives at home. I am committed to paying 1/2 of her tuition each year while she pays the other half by working at the Real Canadian Superstore. Our goal is to get her through her undergrad years without any debt. Unlike myself.
It's been a challenge living on one income but I have always been up for a challenge. I was tempted to buy a bigger home once the condo was paid off but glad I didn't as we've been able to afford other, more important interests instead, such as my daughter's 12 years of highland dancing all over Canada.
I am finding the forums here really interesting and already am pursuing leads about interest rates and car insurance. I hope to get to know some of you better over the months ahead.

 

[Rickson9]

My name is Jim. My wife Natalie and I work in the sales industry. We used to live in North York, Ontario but now live in Mississauga, Ontario. We enjoy doing many things together including working out, watching movies and travelling (cruising is our favorite). My personal hobbies include gaming (World of Warcraft) and watching the UFC.

My wife is more athletic and earns more at work than I do. She humours me by jogging 5km 3 times a week with me. She has completed a marathon in Rome, Italy.

I graduated from the faculty of engineering at the university of Toronto but no longer work in that field.

Although we became millionaires in our early 30s, my wife and I live a life very similar to when we were dating and had very little money, except that we travel a bit more now. We live in a townhome (no mortgage) and drive honda civics. We could probably live in a monster home, drive fancy cars and eat out every night, but that would be a lot of work and we're quite lazy people.

My web site is located in my sig and outlines some of my investing experiences over the years. I have been featured on television from Global TV, Rogers TV, Report on Business (ROB) TV and CP24. I have also been interviewed by The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and MoneySense magazine. These interviews can also be found on my website.

 

[Cammac46]

Starting over..... LOOKING GOOD!

Well....about 5 years ago my ex promised to put me in the gutter (we had been separated 3 years), two years later the divorce was settled and 2 months later I remarried to my current loving wife and things are going much better now that I am with a lady with much more common sense than the ex.
Yes, the last 3 years have seen huge improvements with less bills and frivolous spending than the previous 15 year relationship that was a total challenge financially and emotionally. We function as a couple with similar beliefs and it has been great! I have worked in Maintenance for 9 years and that too has been very gratifying as well. 500 co-workers and most know me so it is a good career choice...I will likely retire from this current employer, I am not looking elsewhere as I just love my job!
We love camping, surfing the net, American Idol(haha)and have many other common interests that keep our minds active. We are both approaching 53 and look forward to future successes together and things are really going well in all areas!
I will share with fellow posters here whatever I can to help you suceed with tidbits that truely work! If you have a quetion, feel free to msg me here and I will help you if I can.
Cam

 

[Emeth]

I am a 29yr old Health Care Aide living out here in Alberta.

For most of my life I was heedless of personal finance blowing almost immediately all money that came into my possession. Then about 3yrs ago I started to realize what a hole I was digging for myself. It took a lot of effort to change my bad habits but I am out of debt and am slowly working towards my goal of financial security.

I am another non-blogger but I have visited many of the blogs mentioned looking for tips.