No Tims Tuesday

Across social media, we are being encouraged to boycott Tim's this Tuesday.  The reason is to take a stand against corporate bullying.

I think this is a great idea.  Social activism.  Making a statement where it hurts, in their wallets.  We have already seen that #MeToo can make a tremendous difference.  I hope it continues to inspire other acts of social activism.

I also want to encourage people to boycott Tims this Tuesday and every Tuesday following.  In fact, I want to encourage everyone to stop patronizing Tims all together.  And not just Tims, but Starbucks as well, and Second Cup.   I am encouraging this not for social activism but rather I am encouraging this for your own health.

We are fast becoming a society that is conditioned that in order to be a part of the workforce, we need to enter it with a cup of coffee in hand.

It is just not good for our financial health.  Consider this.  Let's say you are a 25 year old entering the workforce for the first time.  Every morning, you spend $3.00 on coffee and a snack.  No big deal right?  Well, assuming you have two weeks off of vacation, you could have put $750 in an RRSP instead of having coffee.   Let's say you work for 35 years and retire early at 60, you would have roughly $100,000 in your RRSP just for putting the coffee money towards saving.

Or, let's say, you are returning from maternity leave to go back to work.  You are a good mother so you also get a donut for your child when you stop for your coffee.  If you forego the drive-thru and put that money in an RESP, by the time your child is ready to go to university, you would be able to finance the first year solely from your "skipping the drive-thru" fund.

We live in a society where we spend publicly and save privately.  We notice when our neighbour gets a new vehicle, but we rarely have conversations about retirement savings.  Most of us have people in our lives where we can roughly estimate what they earn and wonder how they do it?  The answer is they are probably struggling with debt.

So, do something for your financial health.  Forego that morning coffee in favour of your piggy bank.  Before making any purchase, pause, and ask if that is a want or a need.  Pay yourself instead.  $5 here and $5 there adds up pretty quickly whether it be on the credit or debit side of the ledger.  If you don't believe me, start tracking your spending for a week or two.

If you are not strong enough yet to do this for your own reasons, that's ok.  You can not purchase a coffee one day and claim you are part of a social movement.  You will be surprised after you give it up for one day how easier it will be the second day and the day after that.  Your retirement and other financial goals will thank you.