PF Reading List #14- March Job Loss In Canada, Change Your Life Or Your Attitude!

March Job loss in Canada was a whopping 55,000 or 7.2% for Canadians, meaning that there are more people looking for work than ever. What was interesting in this yahoo article was that self-employment had risen in March by 39,000 which leads me to believe that more people are seeking out their own opportunities. After all, why wait around for the jobs when you can create your own.

Ways To Make Extra Money

Some people are starting up couponing websites to make extra cash or joining other organizations as sales associates online but with their own front line business deal, etc. I know many people have emailed me about “How to start a blog“, but sadly not everyone makes thousands of dollars each month with a blog.

Blogging as a side income is good but don’t get all wound up in the easy money ploy because it’s not. There are many ways to make extra money with passion and determination but it won’t happen overnight and nothing in life is guaranteed either.

Dig Up Your Degree!

Money Ning wrote a post about organizations wanting a BA now from candidates for jobs. Some jobs that once required nothing more than a high school or college diploma some how require the skills of those with a degree, any degree.

There are organizations that now have a pool of candidates bigger than you can imagine and many with degrees and diplomas coupled with massive OSAP loans so look out, especially if you think you are indispensable. Same thing happened in the UK and now the market is saturated with grads with a nice degree on their wall and no job. They will take whatever job they can get now.

StatsCan said the March unemployment picture includes “notable employment declines” in accommodation and food services, public administration and manufacturing.

Where does it leave all these people who are looking for jobs? That’s right, they are all standing in line at the Employment Insurance, Service Canada, hoping they have enough hours to collect some money while job hunting. They scour the job banks, online ads, newspaper ads whatever it takes in order to bring home a decent pay as opposed to a percentage that EI gives you. Although, its money we all pay into but not a place people wish to be, unemployed.

Some families who suffer a job loss are faced with potential bankruptcies and high debt loads and many questions they likely never thought they would have to ponder. Many are left with the decision to uproot their family, sell the house and move to where the jobs are. I often wonder how important it is to some families to have an emergency savings even if saving $1 a day or not buying that Tim Horton’s coffee in the morning to pack away the cash as back-up.

What’s more important, that new $800 television or having $800 in the bank in case of an emergency, injury, job loss, anything! It’s now or never for many people who are just starting to realize that they need to take ownership of their personal finances and jump on board.

I read this interesting article about the 5 stupidest habits you develop growing up poor and I realize that for some they grew up living a rough life. Do they need to follow the same path? Poor is defined differently to many people. Ask someone in a third world country if living in an apartment with a monthly cheque coming in that just covered the bills was poor and they would cry. It would likely be a dream life for them. We are all richer than we think, but never give up believing in yourself.

Heck, I didn’t grow up in a mansion with maids and butlers in the UK who were at my beck and call. No, I’m afraid I’m no prince but I have seen plenty in my days, maids and butlers that is. My parents worked hard to keep the mortgage payments up and put food on the table and struggled like many other families.

Sure they are retired now and living a good life but they planned that and worked hard for it along the way, even through all the pitfalls life throws at us. We all have tough times in our lives, it’s how we deal with them that gets us through.

Growing up poor doesn’t mean that you need to follow suit and be poor yourself just because you own that life, because you have full on experience. It should be a motivator to make a change. It was number 4 on the list of those who plow through extra money once they get it in their hands.

We have friends like this BUT it’s not just the poor it’s the people who have great careers and wages that lick up every last penny they get because they are so far in debt they can’t get out that do the same thing. There has to be a better system to manage our money and it all starts with our attitudes towards it.

I can’t speak for you nor would I try, it’s your money, your life, your decisions. I just hope that a positive message is taken from this today.

Excellent Customer Service

Just this week we were at Sears Canada to sort out some paper work later at night, right before they were closing. Typically after people work a long 8 hour shift, they are tired and some get cranky and just want to get the heck out and get home. I’m sure having us walk in 10 minutes before they closed to sort out this paper work really would just make the clerk sink in his/her shoes. Who waits until the last-minute to do these things? We do!!

As we walk in just before they close a tall gentlemen turns to us and says, “hi welcome to Sears what can I do for your this evening” and honestly that put a smile on both of our faces. I didn’t want to even go but the Mrs gave me all the reason to get it done and over while I had the time. Here we thought that we would piss someone off and he was so nice to us. He sorted out our problem in minutes and went on to tell us about how they are renovating and making changes to their store.

My wife told him a story about how her grandparents would always shop at Sears and it was tradition to go every week to the in-store café for a lunch and walk around. They said they liked Sears because it was a department store and they took good care of their customers. Now my wife has the same belief as her grandparents because Sears has been good to us on many occasions.

Mrs.CBB went on to say that she will continue to support Sears for those reasons and he said .thank-you so much. You clearly could tell that this guy was very happy to even have a job after all, “money is just a tool for getting what we want“. He was happy to hear that he had made our shopping experience a pleasant one. We also went on to validated his role with the organization an important one, because it is.

Mrs. CBB said to him how important it is to have great customer service like he gave us tonight and to see an employee talk so highly of his organization like he did. He seemed so honoured to be working at Sears and it was clear in his communications to us. Not many people aspire to work as a customer service associate, likely for minimum wage. We talked about jobs in Canada and how some people need to be happy that they can even get a job.

They are trying to educate the employees , he says by motivating us to share our knowledge and passion for our organization with the customers. Although some people will move on from this type of job as they view it as “short-term” they need to remember that their attitude is a reflective on the organization. Employees around them who may rely on a pay cheque from Sears for the rest of their working life want to continue to promote the company and give the best service to keep customers coming back, to keep their jobs.

If you don’t want to be at work, get out for the sake of all those that are happy to have a job. Don’t ruin it for the rest or make a bad name for an organization because you “expect more” or because you think the job is for uneducated people because that is FAR from the truth. I would rather have an employee that is happy, courteous and that I can train than someone who expects things to be handed to them on a platter because they have the degree or years of experience.

Those who provide a legitimate service in Canada are important to the growth of our economy from the corporate office all the way to the employees and self-employed. Don’t be fooled by the “degree will get you to higher grounds” nonsense as that is NOT always the case. An education like anything is a good thing but always a money risk you are willing to take to market yourself in the real world. Grab the bull by the horns and if you don’t get what you want in life, find a way to make your dreams come true.

Change Your Life or Your Attitude

Life is what we make of it after all, so if you don’t like it, change it and create your own opportunities. Don’t rely on others for your happiness but don’t bring others down because you are miserable in your own life. If you’re not willing to give your best, you can bet someone is waiting out the door with their résumé, ready to take your spot.

Canada needs people who are motivated and want to work like this guy we met at Sears. I’m sure Sears is proud to have him on their team and I sure know that we still we be a customer who comes back for more smiles, greetings and good customer service.

PF WEEKLY READING LIST

Here is this weeks reading list which includes some of the best blog posts from many blogs that I interact and comment on and who also have a common interest in CBB.

I hope you all enjoy this weeks round-up. There are a few more than normal that I really enjoyed so I hope you enjoy them as well!

-Mr.CBB

Winning the Lottery vs Good Old Fashioned Hard Work- Johnny Money Seed
Exercising with No Space and No Money- Making Sense of Cents
Cashing Out Your Pension, The Small Benefit Rule- Million Dollar Journey
Our Tenants Gave Us Notice, Now What?- Outlier Model
If You Could Only Eat One Thing, What Would It Be?- Reach Financial Independence
Why I Use Online Banking And So Should You- Krant Cents
Budget Savvy Costco Shopping- Plunged In Debt
It’s Never Too Late To Get With A Budget- You Only Do This Once
Financial Freedom Doesn’t Just Happen, It’s Earned- The Happy Homeowner
New Rules For Getting Rich- Timeless Finance
When Is It Time To Call In A Professional? – The Free Financial Advisor

Recipes/Frugal Blog Posts of the Week

Sweet Potato Biscuits- Aunt B on A Budget
Zesty Zucchini Sticks- Nurse Frugal
Crockpot Lasagna- Lil Suburban Homestead

Inspirational or Funniest Post of the Week

How To Get Rich Quick- Frugal Rules

Are you NEW to Canadian Budget Binder?

Follow Mr.CBB on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest
Subscribe to Canadian Budget Binder>> Everyone else has, why wait!
Do You Have A Question For Mr. CBB? The best way to get in touch with me is on Facebook