Meet a Reader | Shelagh
Last week, I put out a call asking for some reader volunteers from outside the U.S. because I thought it would be fun to get a peek into the frugal life in other countries.
Shelagh was one of the first ones to send the set of questions back, and I'm delighted we get to meet her today!
1. Tell us a little about yourself
I'm Canadian.
I grew up in a Toronto suburb but since 1999, I've lived with my husband in Cobourg; if you jumped into a boat in Rochester and headed north and slightly west across Lake Ontario, you'd land on our beautiful town beach.
Me in our lovely garden for which I can take no credit; my husband has the green thumb in this family, and creates predominantly with plants gifted or dug up beside a country road.
Our 20-year-old son has been home with us since his university shifted online in spring 2020 but he is happily anticipating returning to UBC for September.
I have the best job - I am a high school librarian.
My school year is filled with research, readers' advisory, and teenagers: while the pandemic made this past year particularly challenging, I find my work very meaningful and can't wait to be back in person with kids this fall.
I love to cook for friends; we've only just been able to get our second vaccinations in Ontario, so last weekend was our first social luncheon in well over a year.
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I've lost track of time but it's been well over a decade. My son is around the same age as Lisey and I've enjoyed watching them grow up 'together'.
I've followed a number of blogs related to personal finance for years now and find Kristen's approach to be remarkably authentic, kind and inclusive.
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
I didn't learn much about personal finance while I was growing up. After running up some credit card debt and some student loans during university, I needed a new approach and started reading finance magazines and blogs.
I am inspired by Kristen's journey along with that of Katy (The NonConsumer Advocate), Sarah (Budget Girl), and Nicole (FrugalChicLife), and the more I learn, the more excited I am about saving money.
I'm definitely not the most frugal person, but I try.
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Note from Kristen: I realized as I was putting this post together that I have met all three of the bloggers Shelagh mentioned above.
Budget Girl and me in 2019:
Nicole is in this group shot, second from the left, next to me, also 2019:
Back to Shelagh:
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
Two key things drive me.
One is best summed up by "saving money where I can so I have money for what I want", so I'm frugal in some areas to accommodate other financial goals (see Disney below).
The other is related to environment & ethics; I am very concerned about what's going into landfills, so I try to thrift for most clothes and many household items and buy high quality otherwise (eg. my Land's End swimsuit isn't inexpensive but will last for years).
5. What's your best frugal win?
I'm pretty good at avoiding food waste.
A pork chop can become a sandwich for lunch, stir-fried rice for dinner, and an omelette for breakfast.
I love roasting a chicken not only because it's delicious, but for the carcass (making stock is the best way to clean out the veggie crisper).
Like Kristen, I define breakfast very loosely, so I'm happy to eat cold curry or tuna salad to get it used up.
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
Not the worst, but I wish we'd made more lump-sum payments on our mortgage. We paid it off last fall and it feels so good, I wish we'd made it happen earlier.
I also spent a ridiculous amount of money on shoes in my 20s & 30s.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
Experiences.
I saved for 3 years for 1 week at Disney World when our son was 9 years old.
Some may argue that staying onsite was a frugal fail but it made the dream of his wonderful godmother come true and remains a treasured memory now that she has passed.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Replacing appliances before they're beyond fixing.
Besides the waste of money, I cannot stomach them going to the dump (although slightly offset by scrap metal recycling).
My longtime goal of renovating our 1953 kitchen is finally in sight, and while shiny new matching appliances would be lovely, I'm very happy to keep using what we have until they're beyond repair. And I won't be replacing them with the top of the line.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
Put it in the appliance-replacement fund for a new fridge or stove, whichever goes first.
Or the car replacement fund (we take good care of our 2007 & 2008 vehicles but know we'll need to replace at least one in the near future).
10. Share a frugal tip with other Frugal Girl readers
I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but use your public library!
People find it funny that while I'm an avid reader, I don't own many books beyond my Lucy Maud Montgomeries, Louisa May Alcotts, and my beloved vintage cookbooks.
This doesn't seem odd to me because I'm a librarian - I use the library!
Public libraries are a treasure trove of books, DVDs, magazines. thoughtful programming and more (on top of the fact that they are pillars of equitable access to information!)
Where you can find me in the summer (if you're interested, see @bookremarks on IG for what I think about what I read)
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Shelagh, thanks so much for answering my questions.
I have another one for you; I notice that the frugal bloggers you follow all hail from America. Does the advice on American blogs ever feel irrelevant to Canadian life?
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What a delightful post! Thanks for sharing, Kristen and Shelagh!
I've never been to Canada, but recently I have learned about various small places in Canada. I love looking them up on Google Maps/ Earth and looking up photos. Cobourg looks lovely! Do you get many tourists in the summer?
Librarian is my absolute dream job. How did you get on this career path? Did you get a degree in library science?
I hope I do not come across as nosy 🙂
@a curious reader, we're lucky to be a small town with a vibrant main street, aforementioned beautiful beach and a marina, so yes, quite a few tourists. However, fewer during the pandemic as the beach was closed last summer, and is only open on weekdays this summer, to manage numbers (which we support 🙂
@a curious reader, Sorry for missing your second question!
I am super lucky in always knowing that I wanted to be a librarian. I did my teaching degree for primary/junior (and decided that age group is not for me). I then did my Master of Library & Information science and worked in library software and public librarianship before coming to my current school. I can see returning to a public library once I retire - I love my teenaged students but do miss the age-range in the public world.
Hi Shelagh! This was so much fun to read. I can relate to the fact that you love your job (I work at a school and love it too), enjoy reading, and appreciate experiences with your family. Sadly, I can't relate to having a paid-off mortgage, but so admire you for having done that. I hope your son has a great time at college next year!
Nice to meet you Shelagh. I work in a public library and echo your thoughts that it is a treasure trove. I don't think people realize how much information is available beyond the obvious like data bases, testing sites, streaming music, TV, and movies, as well as, performers of all kinds, informational programs, etc. Some libraries have 3-D printers for use, catering kitchens, and lending programs for tools, musical instruments, and sports equipment. It pays to spend some time on your local library's web site to see what's available where you live.
@Live and Learn-Toss and Turn, Wow! I envy the people who live in a place with access to a library like that! However, I love my small-town library. One advantage was that they never had to suspend library service during Covid closures. They offered curbside pickup from day 1. I love my library and they save me so much money and open my eyes to so many different points of view.
Hi Shelagh! You do indeed have the best job. And since you mentioned "readers' advisory" as part of it, I have to ask you this on behalf of my two insanely voracious young readers (who are not yet in high school, but read beyond that level already): Do you have a list of books that you would recommend to every kid? Classics or otherwise? Like "every child should read these books before they reach adulthood"?
@kristin @ going country, I'm glad you agree - and how wonderful to have young avid readers in your house! What a tricky question though - 'must-read' lists are such moving targets based on reading preferences and timing. I'm happy to share our most recent summer reading lists if that helps at all; I'm a bit hesitant as everyone may not approve of the book choices, but I know this is a kind space. Know that many of the suggestions are from our students, recs are definitely for high school +, all students discuss their reading with their advisor in the fall, and our library supports diversity and choice 🙂
https://sites.google.com/tcs.on.ca/trinityreads2021
https://sites.google.com/tcs.on.ca/trinity-reads-2020
@Shelagh, Yay, I love book lists! Probably most of those are too mature in content for my sons (they're only 9 and 11, although they read books at any literacy level if I deem the content appropriate for them), but I'm definitely going to go through those lists carefully to find some books for me. Thank you!
@kristin @ going country, I was always looking for recommendations for my voracious/above-grade reader too! She ended up reading a lot of classics, and one thing I came to realize is how much it supercharged her ability to wade through long passages that were the common writing style years ago - many people have real trouble with that these days as our brains are getting conditioned to short bursts of info. So, any classics that appeal to your kids may help out with that! (I'm sure there are a million lists out there but I remember books like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Prince and the Pauper, King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc.)
@Suz, Yes! They've read alllll the classics. My eldest (11) particularly liked Mark Twain and the original Sherlock Holmes stories, while the middle son (9) has read the entire collection of original Grimm's Fairy Tales about four times (which are, frankly, pretty creepy). I think it is a great way to get accustomed to less-simplified writing, which so much of modern writing is, and it very much helps them when they start writing themselves. Their sentence structure is already definitely more sophisticated than mine was at their ages.
@kristin @ going country, Have your boys read the series by Ralph Moody? They are set in the American west in the early 1900s and are based on his experiences growing up. There is some language, but the overall moral content is high. Plus, they are just excellent stories! I believe there are about 8 books in the series. The first one was published under several different titles including The Wild Country and also Little Britches.
@Lisa, Yup! I think they're required reading here in the last remaining stronghold of the Old West. 🙂 Our school library has several copies.
Hi Shelagh,
I enjoyed your "interview", you come off as both a fun and thoughtful person. We vacationed in Ottawa a few years ago and it was our favorite vacation ever. It made me more interested in spending more time in Canada.
I love your recommendation for using the library. We borrow both books and DVDs from ours, as well as digital books. We can access Consumer Reports and I just noticed the other day that you can also access the New York Times digital edition. We don't have many books in our house either, we have shed quite a few over the years.
I'm glad you have been able to finish your vaccinations and get back to a more normal life.
Greetings from the NY side of Lake Ontario, more or less (Rochester is actually the next city over to the west from us). Back in the early 1990s, DH and I spent a night in Cobourg on our way home from a round-the-lakes trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake and Toronto, and I recall it as a very pleasant town.
Also, a question about your 1953 kitchen: Does it still have the 1953 appliances?? If so, send photos!
@A. Marie,
Sadly no. I have few regrets but one is not saving the gorgeous green Fridgidaire from my grandparents' kitchen. Between the curve-topped and the enormous finned chrome handle, I grew up thinking it was a spaceship 🙂
Librarians are some of the best people in the world. Truly, I have been influenced by so many librarians in my life (book recommendations from librarians are always spot on.) Thank you!
Wow! What a surprise to read about someone local on the Frugal Girl. While I don't live in Cobourg, I teach in Cobourg. It is a beautiful town, worthy of a visit by any of your readers.
While the question wasn't directed to me, most frugal blog advice is universal although there are some differences. Food is nowhere near as cheap in Canada as it is over the border. Pre-COVID, I would often go for the day to Watertown NY to shop, and groceries definitely cost less there. Also, Shelagh mentioned paying off her mortgage. This is my next goal too, as unlike in the US, there are no tax benefits to keeping it. Ours will be paid off in the next few years.
Thanks to Shelagh for offering a Canadian perspective - from another Northumberland County teacher 😉
@Christy, NO WAY - my goodness, the blogosphere is a small place!! Northumberland County is awesome 🙂
@Shelagh, It is! Been here since 2000 when I moved here to teach...by way of Toronto also 😉
This is the most fun thing! Thank you for this opportunity, Kristen and for everyone's comments (answers below). And your celebrity status is now verified with those blogger pics - wow!!
To answer your question - not irrelevant just sometimes confusing (what's a Roth IRA? Oh, like our RRSP), amusing (someone somewhere posted about our "weird" milk bags and I laughed so hard because it's so normal to us) and envy-generating (I dream of shopping at Aldi or Trader Joe's). But mostly it's reassuring - that my people are my people regardless of borders and I'm grateful for the opportunity to connect.
Congratulations on your second shot! Liberating, indeed!
Just a quick note to say that your luncheon spread looks delicious!
Another strong supporter of the library for many things including discount museum tickets/passes, mifi that we can check-out from the "library of things", and audiobooks for the long commute.
We cannot wait until we can travel to Canada again...
Per the appliances it is always good to check the cost to replace vs the efficiency and utility gains.
Hello from Quebec, Canada!
You asked if advice on American blogs ever feel irrelevant to Canadian life. My answer is : No! We might not have the same living costs (for example, our groceries cost much more in Canada than is the US) or services/taxes info, we still are trying to save up, be frugal and wise with our money, so any tips helps. And it's always fun to read about like-minded people. It's like finding a little tribe 🙂
Thanks Shelagh! I grew up in/outside Toronto (Scarborough, Thornhill, Willowdale, York Mills) as well but now live in Ohio.
I too can say that I have the best job - I'm an elementary school librarian. I am about to begin my 13th year in the library, and I still sometimes find myself in awe of how fortunate and lucky I am that my life journey took me on this path. Thank you for sharing your story!
Hi Shelagh! What a beautiful name! I am wondering if I am pronouncing it correctly. I also love your lunch spread for your friends and especially how each guest has a wonderful view of your gorgeous gardens. I am holding on to appliances until they are completely done as well. My washer and dryer are from 1990, and my oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher from 1992). They are all working well at this point but I know it is only a matter of time. Your city sounds lovely. I have never been to Canada. My husband has been there a few times and loved it. Hopefully I will get there some day. Thanks for this look into your interesting life.
Hi Shelagh, so nice to meet you and thanks for sharing! I especially appreciate your tip to put more money towards your mortgage. It is so easy for me to spend our money elsewhere because we have about 15 years to mortgage payments ahead of us. Thanks for the good reminder!
I enjoyed this feature so much. Having worked in libraries myself, both public and school, I echo what she says about all that libraries have to offer. I appreciate hearing about someone who lives in a place quite different from mine (suburb of New Orleans). This feature really makes us feel we are meeting people from different situations, but all who are focused on enjoying life in a not-keeping up with the Jones' sort of way. (if that makes sense.)
@Carolyn Rault, Oooh - I got to attend a library conference in New Orleans a few years ago and your part of the world is AMAZING!!
So nice that you included someone from Canada. I too am a Canadian. I live in a little village north of Toronto and Barrie, Ontario.
@Darlene, Now I'm curious - anywhere near our family in Shanty Bay? Or Coldwater (where my husband worked for years)?
Your garden is so lovely, Shelagh! And, great news that you were able to get your second vaccination & now able to slowly emerge back into get togethers with friends & the like.
Ooh, LMM (pink puffy heart). My main questions are related to her. First, which book/story is your favorite? Feel free to get a little obscure as needed. 🙂 Second, do you feel like all of Canada gets put in a box labeled "Anne," and if so, is that annoying?
@Karen, While Montgomery is my favourite author, I'm not partial to Anne (I hope I don't lose my citizenship for admitting that LOL) although I do love Matthew. My favorite book is The Blue Castle - it's one of her few standalone books and I re-read it every year; Valancy is an amazing heroine. PEI is awesome and I fangirled like the best of them when I got to visit the Green Gables heritage centre. I don't think our country is painted with an Anne brush, but for those who might, I think a key thing about Canadian literature is that I find it infused with geography; so as Montgomery speaks of PEI, Alistair MacLeod speaks of the Maritimes, Margaret Laurence speaks of the prairies, etc.
@Shelagh, hooray! I have three favorites, and Valancy is one! She is just a fantastic character. I read for character more than anything else. Also, my most favorite books have the geography/place as much a character as a character; The Blue Castle absolutely does that. So with that said, then, I'll look for these other two writers as well. (Prairie is my place, so that's exciting.) (Jane and Emily (really just the first one) are the other favorites. And Pat is a close fourth.)
@Shelagh, Another fellow Canadian here. I loved The Blue Castle when I was a kid. I haven't read it for years, but now I think I might need to see if my library has a copy!
So nice to meet you!!❤️❤️
Hi Shelagh -
It is so nice to meet you and hear a little bit about what life is like in Canada. It looks beautiful there, especially in your garden. I love your advice about using the public library. This has been one of my favorite frugal choices in the last 10-15 years that has saved me a ton of money! I am a high school English teacher and avid reader. I used to spend so much money on books, and then also have the problem of them piling up in my house. I find it just as fun to visit the library now as I used to find shopping in bookstores! And, I feel good about supporting my local library. Librarians are super important people - thank you for your work as a high school librarian!
P.S. - I also enjoyed looking at the book lists you posted in response to another comment. There are some really great titles on there!
Hello there Shelagh, I also try not to have food waste & eat random things at different meals to use up leftovers. I plan to go to Disney though never got there yet. Our daughter had the opportunity to go with cousins years ago, so that was that, guess I might have missed my opportunity. Your reading area looks amazing. I got a hammock to take camping & plan to do a little reading there. Nice meeting you, Karen
It’s nice to meet you…
What a beautiful garden! I support my public library and my librarians.♥️ I agree with you 100% about the impact of consumerism on our environment. This is also one of the reasons that I chose to live more frugality.
Kristen, I love that you are taking an international approach to frugality. I read the frugal blogs of writers who live in England and Australia. ( I haven’t found one in Canada). I have often wondered if the political and social norms in other countries support a more frugal lifestyle. I even read an article about Prince Charles wearing a suit that was visibly mended. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/amp34577049/prince-charles-on-his-fashion-style/
@Bee,
Notesfromthefrugaltrenches.com is a great blogger based in Toronto. She has health problems so doesn't update as much as I'd like.
@Rose, thank you. I will take a look.
Hi Shelagh, so nice to meet you! It's so great to hear how much you love your job. I still remember how much I loved the library at my school, and the thrill of discovering great books there. Around here it seems like the school libraries are easy to drop, especially at the higher (MS/HS) levels, so it's great that your school community values the library!
Hi, Shelagh! I hope you found it as fun and thought-provoking to answer the interview questions as I did.
I love libraries, too. And of course, books! Do you prefer physical books to e-books?
Your garden looks just lovely. My daughter and I drove up into Canada when we were on vacation in Montpelier, and we loved all the scenery there.
I'm with you on paying the mortgage off early.
I admire your willingness to wait three years for a Disney World vacation, and to hang on to quality goods instead of always upgrading. You are clearly a good fit here at the Frugal Girl!
@JD, while I appreciate how ebooks have expanded access, I'm a print girl at heart! I will read the odd ebook on my tablet if I can't get it in print, and do enjoy non-fiction audiobooks (not fiction; for whatever reason, I space out mid-story 🙂 What I find fascinating is that overwhelmingly, my teenage readers prefer print too!
I love hearing from a fellow librarian! I'm an academic librarian working at a university, and I absolutely love my job. I'm also loving all of the librarians commenting on this post - it's unsurprising we are a group of people who enjoy living frugally 🙂 I concur with Shelagh, Kristen has one of the most authentic and kind blogs on the internet.
Fabulous post as always. I learned to play Chines Ma Jong at my local library pre- pandemic. We played for over a year. It was so much fun.
Fellow Canadian, here!
There are some common topics on American financial blogs that aren't relevant to me. The most common are related to healthcare spending and to the specifics of bank accounts. Socialized medicine exists across the country but is managed provincially. For me in Ontario, all hospital care, all physician visits, and most tests (ultrasounds, blood tests, etc.) are covered. Due to my age and income, dental care, optometry, and medication are not covered. I do have some private benefits through my employer that covers most of that. So that's a major burdensome category of American spending that I don't have to think about, for which I am deeply, deeply grateful. And when people start talking about "IRAs" I have no idea what's going on haha! So I refer to Canadian-specific resources for learning about retirement and education accounts.
However! One of the reasons that I enjoy this blog is because so many of the topics ARE relevant to me! Contentment is the same everywhere. How to think about spending crosses borders, as does thrift store shopping and meal planning.
Oh, that's interesting! IRAs are retirement accounts here; how does retirement saving work differently in Canda, I wonder?
@Kristen, in Canada we have RRSP, registered retirement saving plan, we get to lower our taxes ( or get money back) if we put in RRSP at income tax time. But if we withdraw before retirement, we pay taxes, so we are encouraged to keep till retirement , hope I explained okay, or if another Canadian can help me explain better!
@Kristen,
We can contribute to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) up to a certain percentage of income each year. This creates tax benefits as well as savings. Gains are not taxed until money is withdrawn, so usually this means being taxed at a lower rate if you wait until retirement or a low income year to withdraw. It has to be converted to a RIF (Registered Income Fund) by the end of the year you turn 70, at which point there is a mandatory minimum yearly withdrawal required.
@Kristen,
RRSP are supposed to be kept for retirement, but IF you really need it you can take it out, but then you have to pay the taxes on it in regards to the bracket taxes you are on at the moment versus the taxes you will pay at retirement with the bracket you have then. Example, if your taxes are 35% at the moment, if you take out the RRSP now you will have to pay 35% on it to the gvmt as taxes. If you wait until you are retired, a.k.a less income, your taxes bracket lowers, so when you take RRSP out then it's less taxes to pay on it. RRSP are also caped, meaning you can only put a certain amount in it every year, then if you have more saving you have to invest it elsewhere. When you buy a 1st house you can also take out your RRSP without penalities (I think...) but you have to pay it back under a certain time. I'm not super familiar with it all because I'm not touching my RRSP before retirement, like the majority of people (it is the goal, after all) so I hope I'm not mistaking with my given infos......
Another fellow Canadian here. Your town/neighbourhood look lovely. Very nice to meet you! : )
Nice to meet you, Shelagh! I am a life-long fan of the library. I live in Scottsdale, Arizona but grew up in Michigan, and we visited Ontario quite often when I was growing up.
Our library has free passes for museums, access to geneology websites (I love going on ancestry.com, but don't want to pay their monthly fees), and even a summer reading program for both kids and adults. I participate every summer.
I tried posting from my phone but it didn't work .... so I apologize if somehow this gets posted twice. Anyway ... Shelagh, you may chuckle at this, but there is a character on the PBS program Call The Midwife who shares your name and spells it the same way you do. Seeing your name puts me in mind of that show. 🙂
Greetings from Michigan. I look forward to the day when we can travel across each other's borders. I have a soft spot in my heart for Canada--I've had several fun trips there and have met many nice people. Thanks for sharing a little of yourself with us. Fellow book lovers, unite!
Oh, I loved Call The Midwife, especially the first few seasons.
Thank you for sharing, Shelagh. You seem pretty frugal to me! And thanks, Kristen, for finding all these lovely people. I always get excited when I see your posts.
Thanks for sharing, Shelagh! It was fun to read about you.
I agree on libraries being treasure troves. I've been thinking of asking mine if they have a map of what all is where because we visit our library very frequently (and have for 6 years) but I am amazed at how I keep learning of things that they offer that I had no clue about!
Shelagh: Nice to meet you! Thank you for sharing.
Hello from northern British Columbia! Great to see a fellow Canadian on the blog today.
Like Shelagh, I have a collection of LM Montgomery books. Although I do like the Anne series, it is not my favourite. LM Montgomery wrote other series or individual books that I enjoyed more than the Anne series. Her other series do not include as many books as the Anne series.
I see a few people have mentioned the RRSP which is a tax deferment. Many Canadians have TFSA (Tax Free Savings Accounts which has been around since 2009 (I think). This is a better option for some, as you can take the money out anytime and it is tax free. TFSA contributions are not tax deductible like RRSP contributions are.
I have only been to southern Ontario once; when I was there I went to the beach at Cobourg. My other trips to Ontario have been to Lake of the Woods country.
@Colleen,
I’m curious to know: what is your favourite L.M.Montgomery series?
@Jem, I liked the Emily of New Moon series (3 books), but do not watch the CBC show based on this series. It is very DARK! Not like the books at all. I also liked Jane of Lantern Hill.
@Colleen,
Ooh, I loved Jane of Lantern Hill!
Still happy to contribute if you need an Australian 🙂
Completely agree with you Shelagh about broken appliances! Right to repair is gaining a little traction here - is that a thing over there too?
@Emma, Philisophically but not yet legally - looks like a private member's bill was tabled in 2019 but is stuck. A significant issue we're finding is the increasing demand for trades and not enough people going into the field - I spoke with a washer repair guy and an upholsterer (both local) lately and neither can find someone interested in apprenticing to take over their businesses.
@Shelagh, sounds very similar here. We have a terrible culture here of buy new imports instead of repair existing items - and sadly it’s often cheaper. But at least people are starting to agitate about it, I suppose!
We love our library and use it ALL the time. In fact ours has jigsaw puzzles that are used on the honor system (there isn't a time limit to have them). It's been a wonderful community project to put them together!!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Hello from Vancouver Island! Thanks for sharing. I'm also a person who has to woark hard to be frugal. It looks like you've become quite successful at it!