July 26, 2023 • 27 mins
This week on Half Banked, we decided to have a little fun. Or at least the producers did.
As we near the end of Season 1, we wanted to take a break from the grind of interviewing experts and dissecting the latest in personal finance news and topics. So we decided to it was our hosts to take a turn in the hot seat.
Who are the people behind the voices you hear every week? This week on Half Banked, the show’s producers turn the tables on Bethan and Cadeem to ask them some big money questions that haven't been discussed on the podcast yet. At random. With no prep. From their quirkiest financial habits to what they would do with a million dollars, Cadeem and Bethan have gamely agreed to play along with their producers' antics and give their honest, unprepared answers and thoughts on various money matters.
So sit back and enjoy as we get personal about personal finance at their expense.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cadeem Lalor (00:04):
I'm Cadeem, Lalor,
Bethan Moorcraft (00:05):
and I'm Bethan Moorcraft.
Cadeem Lalor (00:06):
And this is the Half Banked podcast brought to
you by money.ca.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:09):
This week on the podcast, we've decided to
shake things up a bit.
Cadeem Lalor (00:12):
Instead of diving into one topic with the help of
experts, we're going to explorea bunch of topics, just the two
of us.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:18):
And to make things even more interesting-
Cadeem Lalor (00:20):
-That's one word for it,-
Bethan Moorcraft (00:21):
-we have absolutely no idea what the
topics are going to be. Now, I'mnot sure what we did to annoy
our producers, but they decidedto give us this episode with
very little prep time. And tomake matters worse, they're
going to throw some randompersonal questions at us as
well.
Cadeem Lalor (00:34):
This may be a payback from one producer for
not doing an episode on Magicthe Gathering cards. But
anyways, we hope you enjoy thechaos. Before us, we have the
Wheel of Finance, actually, it'sjust our computer with a topics
randomizer and a sound effects.
But hey, this is a podcast.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:47):
So what we're going to do is spin the wheel,-
Cadeem Lalor (00:50):
click a button on the randomizer -
Bethan Moorcraft (00:52):
-and then talk about whatever topic we land on.
Cadeem Lalor (00:54):
We're not going to get through all the topics, but
we'll see how many we cansqueeze into this episode.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:58):
All right, so let's spin the virtual wheel and
find out what our first topicis. Is University worth it? Ooh,
Cadeem Lalor (01:08):
That's a good one.
Bethan Moorcraft (01:08):
Yeah. I've often thought about this,
actually, I studied EnglishLiterature and Language at
university. I was a real booknerd. I loved everything about
kind of studying language, etc.
But I look back, and I think itwas a passion. And I don't know
that it necessarily took me towhere I am today. After that
undergraduate degree. I then dida master's in news journalism,
(01:30):
which was very much a kind ofskills based course, it was a
sort of nine to five, I actuallyfelt like I was a journalist
throughout that year. So thatkind of set me up for my current
career. But in order to getthere, that's four years worth
of student debt, which hurts.
Cadeem Lalor (01:49):
I think about what I did did for my undergrad as
well, like politics history withthe intention of being able to
get into that field after. But Iguess sometimes, it's not just
about the degree itself. It'skind of, you know, do you get
skills, anything applicableconnections, any work experience
as you go through that program,because in the case of me, doing
the politics history program, Iwas going to the University of
Ottawa, and I hoped to be ableto get a co op placement. But
(02:12):
it's just because not beingbilingual really hindered my
chances of doing that. And thenthat kind of took away from all
you know, a big piece of why Iwent there in the first place.
Bethan Moorcraft (02:20):
And let's just talk quickly, though, about
paying for university, we'vekind of touched on it a little
bit, but I feel the weight of mystudent debt. It's, you know,
I'm paying back to the UK, it'sa large sum, and, it honestly,
hurts myself. But it's just oneof those things, it just comes
(02:41):
out of my paycheck every month.
And there we are. But that's theother thing you need to think
about in terms of, you know, howyou finance education, and
whether you go down the routethat I have done, because while
I'm glad I did it, the interestrates on mine, are, you know,
punitive, I would say.
Cadeem Lalor (02:59):
I think a piece of that, too, is going to
university, kind of like for theright reason, because there was
a study, I looked at a whileback that said that some people
go to university just becauseit's like what they're supposed
to do after high school, they'renot really sure what they want
to do with their career, theykind of pick a random degree.
And it's just it's kind of tooexpensive to just do that just
because they're just, yeah, ifyou're not sure that you can
really use it, you're not reallysure what you want to do with it
afterwards. You're like, we justas we've discussed, you kind of
(03:22):
need to have a line in terms ofwho do you want to network with,
like what kind of companies youwant to work with, you sort of
need to know that have a senseof that, at least before you go
into it because you know,$20,000 Plus, on average for
like an average four yeardegree. And you know, more if
you're international student,you can't afford to like not
know where you want to go withit.
Bethan Moorcraft (03:37):
So question for you, then. If you could turn
back time, would you do it allagain? Or would you do anything
differently?
Cadeem Lalor (03:43):
I think for me, I definitely would try to get some
like part time work orvolunteering or definitely would
have been more proactive abouttrying to get work experience.
For my first degree, even if Icouldn't get the co-op
placements, try to network talkto my professors, the ones I got
along with better, see if Icould get some sort of work on
space, my resume. Basically,before I left that four year
degree, for sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (04:03):
I think I may have chosen a different topic to
study undergrad, but you know, Iloved my course. So, you know,
there's that too. I definitelyneeded to try a bit harder to
network and kind of build a, Iguess, like a personal
professional brand for myselffrom a younger age. That's a
(04:25):
very kind of big task to put onyourself as a 18, 19 year old.
But I think the earlier you canthink about some of those things
and be proactive about yourcareer is the better.
Cadeem Lalor (04:42):
Okay, so now it's time for one of our mystery
questions. Let's see. Socourtesy of this jar in front of
me, I'm gonna pull one out.
Let's see what we get your mostannoying financial habit. How
would your partner describe yourmoney habits slash loved ones?
Bethan Moorcraft (04:56):
Oh, I think I'm overcautious. I'm a no.
Alwyas a no, oh, no, too risky.
Oh, you know, I don't want to dothat. So I feel like that can be
frustrating. And I also if Ineed to buy something, I go
camping a lot, for example. Andthere's always something new
that you need. Sleeping mat or asleeping bag or whatever got
most of it now, but I willresearch for weeks waiting for
(05:18):
the price to change, and itnever does. There'll be a sale,
I'll wait for the sale. Whereasif you just buy it, then you can
enjoy it straightaway. So that'sprobably the biggest bugbear
against me. I'd say.
Cadeem Lalor (05:34):
That's not too bad, actually. I mean, like,
seems like you're, you know,like to definitely research the
things you buy, make sure thatthe best. So not the worst thing
in the world. Maybe there's amiddle point. But like, that's,
I think that's better than theopposite. At least, I think, in
my case, I think sometimes asmall thing I think actually one
of our previous guests pointedout, sometimes what you could do
is like you'll forget youalready have something in the
fridge or whatever, then you gobuy it again. And that just
(05:56):
kindly and I think sometimes Ihave done that. It's like I'll
buy more like blue cheese,whatever. Oh, we already have
that. Okay, I didn't know. Sosomething small like that,
basically. But I think overall,though, think partner would
describe as you know, prettycautious. But at the same time,
I think we both like going outwe both like travelling a bit
when we can. But I would sayAnnika's probably more better
with like not going out eatingas much, I think. Yeah, I think
(06:20):
with her, I definitely get wayless Skip the DIshes. So that's
a that's a good thing. So nowlet's spin the wheel and see
what our second topic is gonnabe. Okay, retirement prep versus
YOLO, trying to appeal to theyoung kids out there. So let's
dive into this one a little bit.
Bethan Moorcraft (06:40):
I'll start off by saying I say YOLO. But
perhaps that's the Brit or theWelsh person in me? Who knows?
Cadeem Lalor (06:46):
I never thought of that. Actually, do they say
"ya-low" over there?
Bethan Moorcraft (06:48):
We definitely do. Retirement prep versus YOLO?
Well, this is an interestingone, because I have never
thought about retirement prepmore than doing this job. Before
that. It was just kind of, youknow, a pension in the backseat,
Cadeem Lalor (07:04):
Yeah and maybe some RSP contribution.
Bethan Moorcraft (07:06):
....Some RSP contribution contributions. I
think my view on retirementplanning at the moment, and this
is not advice, is that I haveother milestones directly ahead
of me that require the minimalsavings that I have.
Cadeem Lalor (07:23):
Same boat for sure. Yeah.
Bethan Moorcraft (07:24):
So like Cadeem, I know you're you're
getting married this summer,that is not a small expense,
Cadeem Lalor (07:30):
Exactly, like, because I feel there's so many
different things like hugeexpenses that come up before you
get to that point. I think atthis point, when it comes to
retirement prep, it's legit,literally trying to put like,
maybe 100 200 away kind of thinga month, and then you know, like
hope that adds up. Because Ialways say, you know, $50, this
month, by the time you're 60,whatever it's gonna add up to
this much. And that's kind ofbeen the extent of what I've
done so far. Just because youthink about, you know, trying to
(07:53):
get a house and then had some ofthe costs that will come with
it. Like, obviously, being mypartner was a big piece of why
we're able to do that beingsingle, I don't think it
wouldn't have happened yet. Sodoing that, and then also costs
that come with having a houseand that kind of like the
maintenance mortgage and soforth. And then you know,
wedding now and then you thinkabout maybe kids and a few
years, possibly. And then andthen after that you're thinking
(08:15):
even 20 years down the line,you're like, Okay, now I can
start saving, but not reallybecause then you want to
possibly save up for theirschooling too.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:20):
Education...
Cadeem Lalor (08:21):
Yeah, so then it's like, okay, so when do you
really start trying to put awayyou know, huge chunks of money
just seems like the only thingthat's workable at the moment is
just a small sums and trying todo that consistently.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:30):
Yeah, definitely. The chipping away
method. We can a coin that here.
Cadeem Lalor (08:34):
Yeah, I think that's, that seems like the only
thing surmountable is like, youknow, hit that, hitting, you
know, mid six figures, and it'sall good to go. But at the
moment, it's just, that's all Ican do.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:44):
Yeah. I also, I mean, I don't know about you,
but it feels like the retirementage seems to be just drifting
further and further away intothe future.
Cadeem Lalor (08:53):
No. 100%. And it seems like, you know, because
you can take it, I think, maybeUS example, I know, you can take
it early sometimes. But thenit's like reduced benefits if
you do so you kind of ideallydon't want to do that. So I'm
just like, Okay, I guess youkind of want to stick it out.
And I guess for me, too, I'vealways thought that ideally, if
I have, you know, mentalcapacity and physical capacity
of I'll probably still do sometype of work once I hit
(09:13):
retirement age, even if it's notlike a nine to five type of
thing, have you establishedyourself where you can continue
to, you know, freelance orspeaking, whatever it is, and
still be able to have some moneycoming in. But then I wouldn't
want that to like have to befinancial necessity. At that
point. It's just kind of like,it's I want to keep my mind
active, I want to keepcontributing whatever, as
opposed to, you know, I have tokeep working, you know, until
the day I die, pretty much.
Bethan Moorcraft (09:33):
Now, I do understand the yellow mentality
too, because, you know, if youlook back to the pandemic, we
couldn't spend anything. Therewas no discretionary spending, I
was sat in my backyard readingbooks, and now suddenly,
everything's back open again, orit has been for the last year or
so. And there are opportunitiesthat, you know, I feel like I
missed missed out on some thatwas I was, you know, mid- to
(09:55):
late-20s During that time, andthat's a time where you want to
be going out with friends andthings exploring and trying new
things and new foods, etc. So Ido pretty much understand this
sort of live for today invest inyourself idea.
Cadeem Lalor (10:09):
A social piece of it, too is realizing Okay, so
getting married now and thenprobably kids the next few years
like you're I honestly don'twant to get on a plane with a
toddler I'm not bothered to dealwith it. So like, I want to try
to travel as much as I can atthis stage. And yeah, you know,
learning things to liketravelling to New Orleans and
just like seeing a new cultureand then also seeing, you know,
being able to like, see a guyslap an alligator, you know,
just interesting experiencesthat just, you know, very well
rounded. And like I said, I'mnot trying to do any of those
(10:31):
trips with a toddler myself,fiance is kind of down like I'm
not doing it. So I'munderstanding to be locked down
for a few years, try to do itnow.
Bethan Moorcraft (10:38):
Interesting that you just slapped in seeing
a guide, slap it out threw inseeing a guy slap an alligator.
Cadeem Lalor (10:44):
That's what I'm willing to invest in myself, you
know, like what I've seen thatlive, you know, a few feet away
if I had not done that I wouldnot have so.
Bethan Moorcraft (10:51):
this idea of investing yourself can expand
into so many different areas. Iknow in another Half Banked
episode, we're going to look atinvesting. But there's, you
know, that idea of spendingmoney to on self improvement or
self education or all of thesedifferent types of things, even
wellness. And you know, wetouched on some of those
episodes, in a previous episodeon mental health as well. Kind
(11:16):
of like investing in yourself inhow you're living today. I think
it's worth it.
Cadeem Lalor (11:21):
Exactly. Because a piece of it mental health,
avoiding burnout, all thingsthat relate to financial success
as well. Alright, let's pick ournext mystery question. What did
you do with your first everpaycheck?
Bethan Moorcraft (11:36):
I think my first ever job I was actually a
cricket coach. Yeah, back in theUK, I used to play a lot of
cricket. And I'm pretty sure myfirst paycheck went towards some
new gear like a bat or a newhelmet. So it was working in the
sport that I loved to fund thesport that I loved. I'm I'm
(11:58):
happy with that. How about you?
Cadeem Lalor (12:00):
That's awesome. I don't think I have a My story's
not as cool. I'm pretty surelike what like Wonderland. So
first paycheck from that wasprobably maybe going out with a
friend kind of thing. Like beingable to have like more than like
two beers without it hurting mybank account too much.
Bethan Moorcraft (12:14):
You're gonna say one of those extra large
slushies.
Cadeem Lalor (12:18):
I guess I was never into those as much. So I
think that was that was that wasmy come up basically.
Bethan Moorcraft (12:29):
All right, my turn to spin the wheel. Here we
go. Okay, financial literacy.
That's a big one.
Cadeem Lalor (12:40):
Absolutely. And I guess I'm wondering if we want
to just focus on basic financialliteracy at an early age? I
think we've touched on we alwaystry to touch on a little bit as
we're older. But I think this issomething that should apply.
Like, as you're growing up,basically,
Bethan Moorcraft (12:52):
Definitely.
Well, we should start there.
Because, you know, the earlierthe better, in my opinion.
Cadeem Lalor (12:56):
100%. So I think there's some programs from what
I know, I think across Canada,trying to, you know, put it in,
maybe like, elementary schoolcurriculums. But that's, I think
only the last like 10 years,there's really been focused on
that I remember growing up, I'dnever learned about simple
things, just like budgeting andso forth. That's all stuff. I
just kind of learned the hardway, basically, when I kind of
went off to university for thefirst time by myself at 17. So I
(13:19):
think there's definitely abetter roadmap for that. What
did you- What was yourexperience, like trying to learn
financial literacy?
Bethan Moorcraft (13:25):
I had absolutely no financial literacy
taught in school. For me, it wasvery much steep learning curves
all the way through highereducation. I remember paying my
first water bill and thinking,you know, what do I have to do?
Like, who do I call, you know,things like that. It should be
straightforward. You know, youleave home and you should be
(13:45):
equipped to do all of thesethings. But unfortunately, for
us, our age group, I don't thinkthat was well taught at schools.
I do believe there is an effortnow to improve that address that
Yeah. And we had James Battistonand one of the earlier podcast
episodes, that was about who doyou trust with your money? And
(14:06):
he said, there's actually quitea lot of educational tools and
free resources at publiclibraries and things like that.
And there's of course lots ofstuff online too. But I think
the issue is that you have tosearch that out
Cadeem Lalor (14:18):
Yeah exactly. And the searching can like be you
know, make a conscious effortand then also you know, with
online especially nowadays, likewe look at you know, Tik Tok all
these finfluencers, people whoare not really qualified to be
giving financial advice tellingkind of impressionable young
people like you know, buy thisstock, you'll get like $10,000
in one month, that digital- justcreates kind of more danger in a
sense if you don't know the goodstuff to look out for I think
(14:39):
that if you want to dive intofinancial literacy online, you
need a base level of literacy tostart with. And now I think like
social media is just kind ofmade that much harder.
Bethan Moorcraft (14:48):
Yeah, definitely. And just going back
to the school point, I just wishsomeone had dragged me into a
classroom and you know, made melearn about how to do my taxes
and what what all thesedifferent boxes mean and you
know what, what is investing inthe stock market? You know?
Cadeem Lalor (15:03):
And then also because I'm coming from the UK
as well, I mean, I think like,what was your, have you filed
your taxes for the first time,like in Canada, I'm guessing by
now?
Bethan Moorcraft (15:11):
Yes. The story behind that for people who don't
know, in the UK as a salariedemployee, often your taxes, you
pay income tax through a systemcalled P.A.Y.E or p a y e, which
is pay as you earn. And so youremployer or your pension
provider will take your incometax and your National Insurance
tax out of your wages before youget it. So essentially, you just
(15:34):
take your money and go. Sobefore I moved to Canada, I'd
actually never filed taxes. Sowhen I got my first T4 at age
24, I was like, Whoa, what isthis? What are all these boxes?
What do I do? You know, I did alot of reading. But there's
there's a lot to take inactually just to kind of
(15:55):
understand what it all means. SoI think in the end, I used some
sort of online tax prepplatform, I don't know if it was
TurboTax, and Wealthsimple, orone of those. But in the years
that have followed, I've kind oflearned a bit more. And also, I
don't know that I necessarilyoptimized my tax return by doing
it that way. And that'simportant.
Cadeem Lalor (16:15):
But that's the thing, because like, in my case,
I'm lucky that my uncle like, hehelps me with them. He's an
accountant. So he's able to getall the credits, like asked
about all the different thingsand that stuff, you also really
don't know unless you can haveto go online Google through
that, like, see what can applyto you and so forth. You know,
there's like work from homecredits and all that. But that
stuff, I would not have thoughtif I was just doing it myself.
And obviously taxes get morecomplicated if you also have
(16:35):
like a second job or you likefor at least self employed, all
that makes everything morecomplicated and stuff. But yeah,
you kind of stuck just kind oflearning yourself, or trusting
someone, at least in my casemade it easier to trust this
person because you know, relatedby blood, but not everyone
necesarilly has the luxury ofhaving the person that you're
related to and doing their taxesand so forth.
Bethan Moorcraft (16:52):
Yeah, definitely. Just kind of
building on the newcomer to getto Canada issue. I read a stat
recently, it was last week, Ithink that the Canadian
government counted more than800,000 foreign students in
Canada at the end of last year,which is a 31% increase over the
previous year. And a lot ofthose students like I love it
(17:13):
here, I'm sure they do. A lot ofstudents will stay in Canada on
a postgraduate work permit, thenthey may get permanent residency
and you know, down the line mayeven become citizens. They're
all learning a new financialsystem, when they move here, and
it's different around the world.
Like, you might think the UK andCanada is quite similar. And of
course, there are similarities.
(17:34):
But I had to learn a lot in thefirst few years when I moved
here.
Cadeem Lalor (17:38):
I mean, yeah, filing taxes. That's a huge one.
Yeah. And then even just when itcomes, I guess to like moving
somewhere else and finding likethe value of things because even
as you move from province toprovince, I have some family
that kind of lives inYellowknife the cost of goods
like you know, vegetables muchmore expensive over there, kind
of knowing good value for goods.
Basically, that's one smallthing that might not translate
sometimes, depending on whatcountry you're coming from.
Bethan Moorcraft (17:58):
The other one for me was the use of credit
cards. So when I as a youngperson in the UK, and I think
this is quite common, I prettymuch only used a debit card. It
was good for a few reasons. Youknow, I only spent the money
that I had, at a very smalloverdraft never tried to never
go into it. And what did whatwhy would I use a credit card to
(18:22):
use money that I didn'ttechnically have? That was my
thought process at the time.
Moving here, I now realize that,you know, almost everyone uses a
credit card for all things, allpurchases.
Cadeem Lalor (18:32):
And you started pretty early. Because I'm trying
to think about my first one Ihad about university. Yeah, for
sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (18:37):
Yeah. And that. I mean, obviously there
are benefits. You build up yourcredit score, you have
protections that you wouldn'thave on a debit card, all sorts
of things like that. But I dopersonally think that it may
lead to some what's the word I'mlooking for? Spending and not
(18:58):
unnecessary spending, carelessspending, maybe among young
people, I remember looking atsome students, I came to U of T
for an exchange for a fewmonths. And there were students
with huge widescreen TVs, youknow, that was me watching you
know, Netflix on my phone. Ijust thought how are you
(19:18):
affording to buy that and it'sall been put on a credit card so
I don't know for me that was abit of a culture shock a big
change but you know, everyonelearns differently.
Cadeem Lalor (19:30):
Yeah, cuz I touched on it in the very first
episode, Bank of Parents, for awhile I was like doing you know,
going out and spending for like,you know, Uber or like cab rides
at the time I guess before Ubernot to date myself too much. But
spending cab rides you know, onthe putting them on the credit
card and kind of not thinkingmuch about it, but that stuff
adds up. You know, like weekendover weekend next, you know,
it's a few hundred dollars addedup over something that you just
(19:51):
you're not really thinking aboutit because it's just so easy,
you know, to have the card, putthe code in at the time,
whatever. And then just good togo. So you know, it does make I
think piece of it aside cash, itjust makes it harder to track in
a sense unless you're actuallymaking sure you go in online
checking your statement. Andthat's something that that's a
small thing I've learned to likebe more careful of as I go
along, is now I just kind oflike have like, you know, weekly
(20:11):
or bi-weekly check in on mystatement, look into the
purchases instead of justscanning, scanning, scanning,
and just leaving it at that.
Bethan Moorcraft (20:17):
Yeah. And there are lots of apps and tools
and things like that, that youcan use to do that to keep track
of your finances in a betterway.
Cadeem Lalor (20:26):
And there are some for specifically for like
subscriptions to other which isa small point. But apparently,
like, it's pretty common forpeople to spend, you know, $50
plus one-hundred dollars plus amonth on subscriptions they're
not even using. So that's asmall thing is checking checking
for those things you don't useanymore. And again, with a
credit card, it's easy to forgetabout those expenses.
Bethan Moorcraft (20:43):
So, you know, thinking about this, would you
describe yourself today as afinancially literate person?
Cadeem Lalor (20:52):
I'm still I'm still more to learn. I think
that there's so many differentareas of financial education, I
think, I think budgeting I'vedefinitely become better with
like, just in terms of kind oflike judging the value of
something I'm buying, you know,is it worth it, kind of trying
to look long term, but alsolooking long term balancing the
short term, something I'm stillworking on, like our whole
retirement talk. But then also,I think investing is something
that I'm still, you know,definitely not very versed in,
(21:15):
so trying to get better withthat. But compared to where I
was, like, 10 years ago, milesahead, for sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (21:21):
Yeah, that's good. I would say the same. But
there's always new things tolearn, as you said, so, you
know, we're talking a few daysafter the Bank of Canada raised
interest rates to 5%. I'm notsure if you asked just the
average person on the streetthat they would understand fully
what that meant for theirfinances for future purchases
(21:43):
for loans, etc.
Cadeem Lalor (21:44):
Honestly, before I started working here, I don't
think I would have either, sothat that just shows that.
Bethan Moorcraft (21:49):
Yeah, and that's something, you know, we
can talk about financialliteracy in schools, you know,
education for newcomers all ofthese different things, and just
kind of learning throughexperience as well. But being
able to pick apart what'schanging in the current economy
is another kind of importantthing that we need to figure out
(22:10):
a better way to kind of breakdown into normal language,
Cadeem Lalor (22:14):
Because I was gonna say, if you had an
economics class, they mightteach the primary piece, but
they might not tie it back to ifyou have any sort of, you know,
mortgage and so forth. How doesthat affect you directly? I
think part of like, how you makeit more applicable is tying it
back, kind of like at thatlevel. And then you know, even
just introducing classes thatteach people things like filing
taxes, opening a bank account,budget, credit card debt, you
(22:35):
know, why you don't want it likethe interest, all of those
things that people kind of glossover when they're trying to sell
you credit cards.
Bethan Moorcraft (22:46):
All right, my turn for the jar. And our next
random question, what is thefirst thing you ever saved up to
save up to buy that you areproud of?
Cadeem Lalor (22:57):
Oh, I think what I from what I can remember, was
getting one of my mom's familyfriends, she's staying over for
a while with us. And she's justvery helpful, very supportive,
like over a summer. So when Isaved up enough, she like needed
a new robe, my mom hadsuggested. So I got her a new
one. And that's kind of my firstgift to someone else with like
all of my own money.
Bethan Moorcraft (23:16):
Yeah, kind of building on that this isn't
necessarily a gift or an objectthat I bought. But I remember
the first time I took my mom tothe ballet, right? It's just
like something that you couldexperience you can share with
someone. And often I think it iswith parents because they've,
they spend money to bring you upand take you and give you
experiences and when you cangive that back one day, it feels
(23:40):
so good.
Cadeem Lalor (23:41):
And so thanks. I thought that counts for them to
they definitely just appreciatethat gesture.
Bethan Moorcraft (23:44):
Yeah, definitely. That was a good day.
All right. And the next randomquestion from the jar. What is
the first thing you would do orbuy if you received a million
dollars?
Cadeem Lalor (24:00):
I guess my head right now goes to just like
paying off a house and agreeingto a big, but I feel like in
Toronto's like it might justlike, barely be be enough
anyway. So I guess yeah, that iswhere my head goes.
Bethan Moorcraft (24:13):
Well, I mean, I didn't want to be boring, but
I'd love to get on the housingladder. So that would help.
Let's do something a bit moreoutrageous.
Cadeem Lalor (24:21):
Exactly. So like well, we'll say housing is kind
of the default answer it has tobe especially living in GTA so
go to your real answer.
Bethan Moorcraft (24:27):
I'd buy a one way trip to Hawaii let's go...
Cadeem Lalor (24:30):
I was honestly thinking travel to like honestly
probably just want to be able tojust honestly travel a lot a
bunch of places in mind likeAustralia, Jamaica, of course.
All right, last random question.
What's the worst buyer's remorseyou've ever had?
Bethan Moorcraft (24:48):
I've bought a few bad phones in my day. I
don't know that it's the worstbuyer's remorse, but it's the
first thing that came to myhead. I refuse to spend money on
phones because... I... You know,occasionally drop them.
Occasionally leave them places.
That's just the phone is mynemesis. So I keep buying, you
know, I might buy a $200 phoneor, you know, these days to get
(25:10):
anything good. You've got tospend 500 plus. So, yes, I do
you know, I trust I have I had atrusty Samsung for years. And
then I switched over to some toanother brand. And it was awful.
I hated it.
Cadeem Lalor (25:28):
I'm trying those thankfully, I guess like a house
isn't on is my answer, thatwould really suck. That was I
guess, one of the things thatmight this might qualify and
also taught me a little lessonto like the lesson sometimes of
just like, buying qualityinstead. So like for jeans,
basically, like, sometimes I goto more expensive places like
Jack and Jones. I'm like, like$100 jeans is ridiculous. So I'm
(25:49):
like, let me just go to like,you know, Walmart or go to
wherever, and I buy those ones.
And they can fit okay, but theyjust wear out like in literally
two months, the same level ofwear, I'd get from the more
expensive ones and like a year,sometimes, you know, year and a
half. So I figured it actuallyworked out to being cheaper over
time to just buy the oneexpensive pair one time. And
then do that. I thought that wasthat was my lesson on, you know,
quality over quantity forsomething so at least.
Bethan Moorcraft (26:11):
Do you feel like you realize that at a
certain age because I I feellike I understand that and I try
to go by that these days, butprobably didn't when I was 21?
Cadeem Lalor (26:23):
No, I definitely think that definitely would have
applied I think I wasn't even inthe position to really be able
to buy quality over quantitywhen I was younger. That's a
slideshow, but there's like awhole I think there was
something Terry Pritchard wrote,Pratchett wrote about like, this
allegory of the soldier, youknow, the one who gets the
expensive boots who keep him,you know, safe from rain and all
that stuff. You can buy the onepair, they last him this long.
(26:45):
But the other poor soldier hasto buy the cheaper pair and you
cannot afford to buy anexpensive pair. But he ends up
paying more long over the longterm with a cheaper pair of
boots because he can't spend theamount for the more expensive
ones at one time. So I thinkthat kind of solidified it. But
honestly, that lesson onlyclicks with the jeans like the
last I say that's last five, sixyears. Well, big thanks for
producers that actually turnedout better than I thought it
(27:05):
would be.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:06):
Yeah, thanks, producers. That was really fun.
Cadeem Lalor (27:08):
If you're still listening to our rambling, thank
you.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:11):
topics you want us to cover, please email
us at hello@halfbanked.com Andthat was Half Banked. If you
like this episode, be sure tosubscribe rate and review us on
Apple, Spotify or whereveryou're listening to this
podcast.
Cadeem Lalor (27:31):
Special thanks to executive producer Samantha
Emann and producers KevinHamilton, Shane Murphy, James
Battiston, and technicalproducers Marie Alcober, and
Muhammad Tabish.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:39):
For more information you can check out
halfbanked.com.
Cadeem Lalor (27:42):
Until next time.
I'm Cadeem, Lalor,
Bethan Moorcraft (00:05):
and I'm Bethan Moorcraft.
Cadeem Lalor (00:06):
And this is the Half Banked podcast brought to
you by money.ca.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:09):
This week on the podcast, we've decided to
shake things up a bit.
Cadeem Lalor (00:12):
Instead of diving into one topic with the help of
experts, we're going to explorea bunch of topics, just the two
of us.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:18):
And to make things even more interesting-
Cadeem Lalor (00:20):
-That's one word for it,-
Bethan Moorcraft (00:21):
-we have absolutely no idea what the
topics are going to be. Now, I'mnot sure what we did to annoy
our producers, but they decidedto give us this episode with
very little prep time. And tomake matters worse, they're
going to throw some randompersonal questions at us as
well.
Cadeem Lalor (00:34):
This may be a payback from one producer for
not doing an episode on Magicthe Gathering cards. But
anyways, we hope you enjoy thechaos. Before us, we have the
Wheel of Finance, actually, it'sjust our computer with a topics
randomizer and a sound effects.
But hey, this is a podcast.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:47):
So what we're going to do is spin the wheel,-
Cadeem Lalor (00:50):
click a button on the randomizer -
Bethan Moorcraft (00:52):
-and then talk about whatever topic we land on.
Cadeem Lalor (00:54):
We're not going to get through all the topics, but
we'll see how many we cansqueeze into this episode.
Bethan Moorcraft (00:58):
All right, so let's spin the virtual wheel and
find out what our first topicis. Is University worth it? Ooh,
Cadeem Lalor (01:08):
That's a good one.
Bethan Moorcraft (01:08):
Yeah. I've often thought about this,
actually, I studied EnglishLiterature and Language at
university. I was a real booknerd. I loved everything about
kind of studying language, etc.
But I look back, and I think itwas a passion. And I don't know
that it necessarily took me towhere I am today. After that
undergraduate degree. I then dida master's in news journalism,
(01:30):
which was very much a kind ofskills based course, it was a
sort of nine to five, I actuallyfelt like I was a journalist
throughout that year. So thatkind of set me up for my current
career. But in order to getthere, that's four years worth
of student debt, which hurts.
Cadeem Lalor (01:49):
I think about what I did did for my undergrad as
well, like politics history withthe intention of being able to
get into that field after. But Iguess sometimes, it's not just
about the degree itself. It'skind of, you know, do you get
skills, anything applicableconnections, any work experience
as you go through that program,because in the case of me, doing
the politics history program, Iwas going to the University of
Ottawa, and I hoped to be ableto get a co op placement. But
(02:12):
it's just because not beingbilingual really hindered my
chances of doing that. And thenthat kind of took away from all
you know, a big piece of why Iwent there in the first place.
Bethan Moorcraft (02:20):
And let's just talk quickly, though, about
paying for university, we'vekind of touched on it a little
bit, but I feel the weight of mystudent debt. It's, you know,
I'm paying back to the UK, it'sa large sum, and, it honestly,
hurts myself. But it's just oneof those things, it just comes
(02:41):
out of my paycheck every month.
And there we are. But that's theother thing you need to think
about in terms of, you know, howyou finance education, and
whether you go down the routethat I have done, because while
I'm glad I did it, the interestrates on mine, are, you know,
punitive, I would say.
Cadeem Lalor (02:59):
I think a piece of that, too, is going to
university, kind of like for theright reason, because there was
a study, I looked at a whileback that said that some people
go to university just becauseit's like what they're supposed
to do after high school, they'renot really sure what they want
to do with their career, theykind of pick a random degree.
And it's just it's kind of tooexpensive to just do that just
because they're just, yeah, ifyou're not sure that you can
really use it, you're not reallysure what you want to do with it
afterwards. You're like, we justas we've discussed, you kind of
(03:22):
need to have a line in terms ofwho do you want to network with,
like what kind of companies youwant to work with, you sort of
need to know that have a senseof that, at least before you go
into it because you know,$20,000 Plus, on average for
like an average four yeardegree. And you know, more if
you're international student,you can't afford to like not
know where you want to go withit.
Bethan Moorcraft (03:37):
So question for you, then. If you could turn
back time, would you do it allagain? Or would you do anything
differently?
Cadeem Lalor (03:43):
I think for me, I definitely would try to get some
like part time work orvolunteering or definitely would
have been more proactive abouttrying to get work experience.
For my first degree, even if Icouldn't get the co-op
placements, try to network talkto my professors, the ones I got
along with better, see if Icould get some sort of work on
space, my resume. Basically,before I left that four year
degree, for sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (04:03):
I think I may have chosen a different topic to
study undergrad, but you know, Iloved my course. So, you know,
there's that too. I definitelyneeded to try a bit harder to
network and kind of build a, Iguess, like a personal
professional brand for myselffrom a younger age. That's a
(04:25):
very kind of big task to put onyourself as a 18, 19 year old.
But I think the earlier you canthink about some of those things
and be proactive about yourcareer is the better.
Cadeem Lalor (04:42):
Okay, so now it's time for one of our mystery
questions. Let's see. Socourtesy of this jar in front of
me, I'm gonna pull one out.
Let's see what we get your mostannoying financial habit. How
would your partner describe yourmoney habits slash loved ones?
Bethan Moorcraft (04:56):
Oh, I think I'm overcautious. I'm a no.
Alwyas a no, oh, no, too risky.
Oh, you know, I don't want to dothat. So I feel like that can be
frustrating. And I also if Ineed to buy something, I go
camping a lot, for example. Andthere's always something new
that you need. Sleeping mat or asleeping bag or whatever got
most of it now, but I willresearch for weeks waiting for
(05:18):
the price to change, and itnever does. There'll be a sale,
I'll wait for the sale. Whereasif you just buy it, then you can
enjoy it straightaway. So that'sprobably the biggest bugbear
against me. I'd say.
Cadeem Lalor (05:34):
That's not too bad, actually. I mean, like,
seems like you're, you know,like to definitely research the
things you buy, make sure thatthe best. So not the worst thing
in the world. Maybe there's amiddle point. But like, that's,
I think that's better than theopposite. At least, I think, in
my case, I think sometimes asmall thing I think actually one
of our previous guests pointedout, sometimes what you could do
is like you'll forget youalready have something in the
fridge or whatever, then you gobuy it again. And that just
(05:56):
kindly and I think sometimes Ihave done that. It's like I'll
buy more like blue cheese,whatever. Oh, we already have
that. Okay, I didn't know. Sosomething small like that,
basically. But I think overall,though, think partner would
describe as you know, prettycautious. But at the same time,
I think we both like going outwe both like travelling a bit
when we can. But I would sayAnnika's probably more better
with like not going out eatingas much, I think. Yeah, I think
(06:20):
with her, I definitely get wayless Skip the DIshes. So that's
a that's a good thing. So nowlet's spin the wheel and see
what our second topic is gonnabe. Okay, retirement prep versus
YOLO, trying to appeal to theyoung kids out there. So let's
dive into this one a little bit.
Bethan Moorcraft (06:40):
I'll start off by saying I say YOLO. But
perhaps that's the Brit or theWelsh person in me? Who knows?
Cadeem Lalor (06:46):
I never thought of that. Actually, do they say
"ya-low" over there?
Bethan Moorcraft (06:48):
We definitely do. Retirement prep versus YOLO?
Well, this is an interestingone, because I have never
thought about retirement prepmore than doing this job. Before
that. It was just kind of, youknow, a pension in the backseat,
Cadeem Lalor (07:04):
Yeah and maybe some RSP contribution.
Bethan Moorcraft (07:06):
....Some RSP contribution contributions. I
think my view on retirementplanning at the moment, and this
is not advice, is that I haveother milestones directly ahead
of me that require the minimalsavings that I have.
Cadeem Lalor (07:23):
Same boat for sure. Yeah.
Bethan Moorcraft (07:24):
So like Cadeem, I know you're you're
getting married this summer,that is not a small expense,
Cadeem Lalor (07:30):
Exactly, like, because I feel there's so many
different things like hugeexpenses that come up before you
get to that point. I think atthis point, when it comes to
retirement prep, it's legit,literally trying to put like,
maybe 100 200 away kind of thinga month, and then you know, like
hope that adds up. Because Ialways say, you know, $50, this
month, by the time you're 60,whatever it's gonna add up to
this much. And that's kind ofbeen the extent of what I've
done so far. Just because youthink about, you know, trying to
(07:53):
get a house and then had some ofthe costs that will come with
it. Like, obviously, being mypartner was a big piece of why
we're able to do that beingsingle, I don't think it
wouldn't have happened yet. Sodoing that, and then also costs
that come with having a houseand that kind of like the
maintenance mortgage and soforth. And then you know,
wedding now and then you thinkabout maybe kids and a few
years, possibly. And then andthen after that you're thinking
(08:15):
even 20 years down the line,you're like, Okay, now I can
start saving, but not reallybecause then you want to
possibly save up for theirschooling too.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:20):
Education...
Cadeem Lalor (08:21):
Yeah, so then it's like, okay, so when do you
really start trying to put awayyou know, huge chunks of money
just seems like the only thingthat's workable at the moment is
just a small sums and trying todo that consistently.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:30):
Yeah, definitely. The chipping away
method. We can a coin that here.
Cadeem Lalor (08:34):
Yeah, I think that's, that seems like the only
thing surmountable is like, youknow, hit that, hitting, you
know, mid six figures, and it'sall good to go. But at the
moment, it's just, that's all Ican do.
Bethan Moorcraft (08:44):
Yeah. I also, I mean, I don't know about you,
but it feels like the retirementage seems to be just drifting
further and further away intothe future.
Cadeem Lalor (08:53):
No. 100%. And it seems like, you know, because
you can take it, I think, maybeUS example, I know, you can take
it early sometimes. But thenit's like reduced benefits if
you do so you kind of ideallydon't want to do that. So I'm
just like, Okay, I guess youkind of want to stick it out.
And I guess for me, too, I'vealways thought that ideally, if
I have, you know, mentalcapacity and physical capacity
of I'll probably still do sometype of work once I hit
(09:13):
retirement age, even if it's notlike a nine to five type of
thing, have you establishedyourself where you can continue
to, you know, freelance orspeaking, whatever it is, and
still be able to have some moneycoming in. But then I wouldn't
want that to like have to befinancial necessity. At that
point. It's just kind of like,it's I want to keep my mind
active, I want to keepcontributing whatever, as
opposed to, you know, I have tokeep working, you know, until
the day I die, pretty much.
Bethan Moorcraft (09:33):
Now, I do understand the yellow mentality
too, because, you know, if youlook back to the pandemic, we
couldn't spend anything. Therewas no discretionary spending, I
was sat in my backyard readingbooks, and now suddenly,
everything's back open again, orit has been for the last year or
so. And there are opportunitiesthat, you know, I feel like I
missed missed out on some thatwas I was, you know, mid- to
(09:55):
late-20s During that time, andthat's a time where you want to
be going out with friends andthings exploring and trying new
things and new foods, etc. So Ido pretty much understand this
sort of live for today invest inyourself idea.
Cadeem Lalor (10:09):
A social piece of it, too is realizing Okay, so
getting married now and thenprobably kids the next few years
like you're I honestly don'twant to get on a plane with a
toddler I'm not bothered to dealwith it. So like, I want to try
to travel as much as I can atthis stage. And yeah, you know,
learning things to liketravelling to New Orleans and
just like seeing a new cultureand then also seeing, you know,
being able to like, see a guyslap an alligator, you know,
just interesting experiencesthat just, you know, very well
rounded. And like I said, I'mnot trying to do any of those
(10:31):
trips with a toddler myself,fiance is kind of down like I'm
not doing it. So I'munderstanding to be locked down
for a few years, try to do itnow.
Bethan Moorcraft (10:38):
Interesting that you just slapped in seeing
a guide, slap it out threw inseeing a guy slap an alligator.
Cadeem Lalor (10:44):
That's what I'm willing to invest in myself, you
know, like what I've seen thatlive, you know, a few feet away
if I had not done that I wouldnot have so.
Bethan Moorcraft (10:51):
this idea of investing yourself can expand
into so many different areas. Iknow in another Half Banked
episode, we're going to look atinvesting. But there's, you
know, that idea of spendingmoney to on self improvement or
self education or all of thesedifferent types of things, even
wellness. And you know, wetouched on some of those
episodes, in a previous episodeon mental health as well. Kind
(11:16):
of like investing in yourself inhow you're living today. I think
it's worth it.
Cadeem Lalor (11:21):
Exactly. Because a piece of it mental health,
avoiding burnout, all thingsthat relate to financial success
as well. Alright, let's pick ournext mystery question. What did
you do with your first everpaycheck?
Bethan Moorcraft (11:36):
I think my first ever job I was actually a
cricket coach. Yeah, back in theUK, I used to play a lot of
cricket. And I'm pretty sure myfirst paycheck went towards some
new gear like a bat or a newhelmet. So it was working in the
sport that I loved to fund thesport that I loved. I'm I'm
(11:58):
happy with that. How about you?
Cadeem Lalor (12:00):
That's awesome. I don't think I have a My story's
not as cool. I'm pretty surelike what like Wonderland. So
first paycheck from that wasprobably maybe going out with a
friend kind of thing. Like beingable to have like more than like
two beers without it hurting mybank account too much.
Bethan Moorcraft (12:14):
You're gonna say one of those extra large
slushies.
Cadeem Lalor (12:18):
I guess I was never into those as much. So I
think that was that was that wasmy come up basically.
Bethan Moorcraft (12:29):
All right, my turn to spin the wheel. Here we
go. Okay, financial literacy.
That's a big one.
Cadeem Lalor (12:40):
Absolutely. And I guess I'm wondering if we want
to just focus on basic financialliteracy at an early age? I
think we've touched on we alwaystry to touch on a little bit as
we're older. But I think this issomething that should apply.
Like, as you're growing up,basically,
Bethan Moorcraft (12:52):
Definitely.
Well, we should start there.
Because, you know, the earlierthe better, in my opinion.
Cadeem Lalor (12:56):
100%. So I think there's some programs from what
I know, I think across Canada,trying to, you know, put it in,
maybe like, elementary schoolcurriculums. But that's, I think
only the last like 10 years,there's really been focused on
that I remember growing up, I'dnever learned about simple
things, just like budgeting andso forth. That's all stuff. I
just kind of learned the hardway, basically, when I kind of
went off to university for thefirst time by myself at 17. So I
(13:19):
think there's definitely abetter roadmap for that. What
did you- What was yourexperience, like trying to learn
financial literacy?
Bethan Moorcraft (13:25):
I had absolutely no financial literacy
taught in school. For me, it wasvery much steep learning curves
all the way through highereducation. I remember paying my
first water bill and thinking,you know, what do I have to do?
Like, who do I call, you know,things like that. It should be
straightforward. You know, youleave home and you should be
(13:45):
equipped to do all of thesethings. But unfortunately, for
us, our age group, I don't thinkthat was well taught at schools.
I do believe there is an effortnow to improve that address that
Yeah. And we had James Battistonand one of the earlier podcast
episodes, that was about who doyou trust with your money? And
(14:06):
he said, there's actually quitea lot of educational tools and
free resources at publiclibraries and things like that.
And there's of course lots ofstuff online too. But I think
the issue is that you have tosearch that out
Cadeem Lalor (14:18):
Yeah exactly. And the searching can like be you
know, make a conscious effortand then also you know, with
online especially nowadays, likewe look at you know, Tik Tok all
these finfluencers, people whoare not really qualified to be
giving financial advice tellingkind of impressionable young
people like you know, buy thisstock, you'll get like $10,000
in one month, that digital- justcreates kind of more danger in a
sense if you don't know the goodstuff to look out for I think
(14:39):
that if you want to dive intofinancial literacy online, you
need a base level of literacy tostart with. And now I think like
social media is just kind ofmade that much harder.
Bethan Moorcraft (14:48):
Yeah, definitely. And just going back
to the school point, I just wishsomeone had dragged me into a
classroom and you know, made melearn about how to do my taxes
and what what all thesedifferent boxes mean and you
know what, what is investing inthe stock market? You know?
Cadeem Lalor (15:03):
And then also because I'm coming from the UK
as well, I mean, I think like,what was your, have you filed
your taxes for the first time,like in Canada, I'm guessing by
now?
Bethan Moorcraft (15:11):
Yes. The story behind that for people who don't
know, in the UK as a salariedemployee, often your taxes, you
pay income tax through a systemcalled P.A.Y.E or p a y e, which
is pay as you earn. And so youremployer or your pension
provider will take your incometax and your National Insurance
tax out of your wages before youget it. So essentially, you just
(15:34):
take your money and go. Sobefore I moved to Canada, I'd
actually never filed taxes. Sowhen I got my first T4 at age
24, I was like, Whoa, what isthis? What are all these boxes?
What do I do? You know, I did alot of reading. But there's
there's a lot to take inactually just to kind of
(15:55):
understand what it all means. SoI think in the end, I used some
sort of online tax prepplatform, I don't know if it was
TurboTax, and Wealthsimple, orone of those. But in the years
that have followed, I've kind oflearned a bit more. And also, I
don't know that I necessarilyoptimized my tax return by doing
it that way. And that'simportant.
Cadeem Lalor (16:15):
But that's the thing, because like, in my case,
I'm lucky that my uncle like, hehelps me with them. He's an
accountant. So he's able to getall the credits, like asked
about all the different thingsand that stuff, you also really
don't know unless you can haveto go online Google through
that, like, see what can applyto you and so forth. You know,
there's like work from homecredits and all that. But that
stuff, I would not have thoughtif I was just doing it myself.
And obviously taxes get morecomplicated if you also have
(16:35):
like a second job or you likefor at least self employed, all
that makes everything morecomplicated and stuff. But yeah,
you kind of stuck just kind oflearning yourself, or trusting
someone, at least in my casemade it easier to trust this
person because you know, relatedby blood, but not everyone
necesarilly has the luxury ofhaving the person that you're
related to and doing their taxesand so forth.
Bethan Moorcraft (16:52):
Yeah, definitely. Just kind of
building on the newcomer to getto Canada issue. I read a stat
recently, it was last week, Ithink that the Canadian
government counted more than800,000 foreign students in
Canada at the end of last year,which is a 31% increase over the
previous year. And a lot ofthose students like I love it
(17:13):
here, I'm sure they do. A lot ofstudents will stay in Canada on
a postgraduate work permit, thenthey may get permanent residency
and you know, down the line mayeven become citizens. They're
all learning a new financialsystem, when they move here, and
it's different around the world.
Like, you might think the UK andCanada is quite similar. And of
course, there are similarities.
(17:34):
But I had to learn a lot in thefirst few years when I moved
here.
Cadeem Lalor (17:38):
I mean, yeah, filing taxes. That's a huge one.
Yeah. And then even just when itcomes, I guess to like moving
somewhere else and finding likethe value of things because even
as you move from province toprovince, I have some family
that kind of lives inYellowknife the cost of goods
like you know, vegetables muchmore expensive over there, kind
of knowing good value for goods.
Basically, that's one smallthing that might not translate
sometimes, depending on whatcountry you're coming from.
Bethan Moorcraft (17:58):
The other one for me was the use of credit
cards. So when I as a youngperson in the UK, and I think
this is quite common, I prettymuch only used a debit card. It
was good for a few reasons. Youknow, I only spent the money
that I had, at a very smalloverdraft never tried to never
go into it. And what did whatwhy would I use a credit card to
(18:22):
use money that I didn'ttechnically have? That was my
thought process at the time.
Moving here, I now realize that,you know, almost everyone uses a
credit card for all things, allpurchases.
Cadeem Lalor (18:32):
And you started pretty early. Because I'm trying
to think about my first one Ihad about university. Yeah, for
sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (18:37):
Yeah. And that. I mean, obviously there
are benefits. You build up yourcredit score, you have
protections that you wouldn'thave on a debit card, all sorts
of things like that. But I dopersonally think that it may
lead to some what's the word I'mlooking for? Spending and not
(18:58):
unnecessary spending, carelessspending, maybe among young
people, I remember looking atsome students, I came to U of T
for an exchange for a fewmonths. And there were students
with huge widescreen TVs, youknow, that was me watching you
know, Netflix on my phone. Ijust thought how are you
(19:18):
affording to buy that and it'sall been put on a credit card so
I don't know for me that was abit of a culture shock a big
change but you know, everyonelearns differently.
Cadeem Lalor (19:30):
Yeah, cuz I touched on it in the very first
episode, Bank of Parents, for awhile I was like doing you know,
going out and spending for like,you know, Uber or like cab rides
at the time I guess before Ubernot to date myself too much. But
spending cab rides you know, onthe putting them on the credit
card and kind of not thinkingmuch about it, but that stuff
adds up. You know, like weekendover weekend next, you know,
it's a few hundred dollars addedup over something that you just
(19:51):
you're not really thinking aboutit because it's just so easy,
you know, to have the card, putthe code in at the time,
whatever. And then just good togo. So you know, it does make I
think piece of it aside cash, itjust makes it harder to track in
a sense unless you're actuallymaking sure you go in online
checking your statement. Andthat's something that that's a
small thing I've learned to likebe more careful of as I go
along, is now I just kind oflike have like, you know, weekly
(20:11):
or bi-weekly check in on mystatement, look into the
purchases instead of justscanning, scanning, scanning,
and just leaving it at that.
Bethan Moorcraft (20:17):
Yeah. And there are lots of apps and tools
and things like that, that youcan use to do that to keep track
of your finances in a betterway.
Cadeem Lalor (20:26):
And there are some for specifically for like
subscriptions to other which isa small point. But apparently,
like, it's pretty common forpeople to spend, you know, $50
plus one-hundred dollars plus amonth on subscriptions they're
not even using. So that's asmall thing is checking checking
for those things you don't useanymore. And again, with a
credit card, it's easy to forgetabout those expenses.
Bethan Moorcraft (20:43):
So, you know, thinking about this, would you
describe yourself today as afinancially literate person?
Cadeem Lalor (20:52):
I'm still I'm still more to learn. I think
that there's so many differentareas of financial education, I
think, I think budgeting I'vedefinitely become better with
like, just in terms of kind oflike judging the value of
something I'm buying, you know,is it worth it, kind of trying
to look long term, but alsolooking long term balancing the
short term, something I'm stillworking on, like our whole
retirement talk. But then also,I think investing is something
that I'm still, you know,definitely not very versed in,
(21:15):
so trying to get better withthat. But compared to where I
was, like, 10 years ago, milesahead, for sure.
Bethan Moorcraft (21:21):
Yeah, that's good. I would say the same. But
there's always new things tolearn, as you said, so, you
know, we're talking a few daysafter the Bank of Canada raised
interest rates to 5%. I'm notsure if you asked just the
average person on the streetthat they would understand fully
what that meant for theirfinances for future purchases
(21:43):
for loans, etc.
Cadeem Lalor (21:44):
Honestly, before I started working here, I don't
think I would have either, sothat that just shows that.
Bethan Moorcraft (21:49):
Yeah, and that's something, you know, we
can talk about financialliteracy in schools, you know,
education for newcomers all ofthese different things, and just
kind of learning throughexperience as well. But being
able to pick apart what'schanging in the current economy
is another kind of importantthing that we need to figure out
(22:10):
a better way to kind of breakdown into normal language,
Cadeem Lalor (22:14):
Because I was gonna say, if you had an
economics class, they mightteach the primary piece, but
they might not tie it back to ifyou have any sort of, you know,
mortgage and so forth. How doesthat affect you directly? I
think part of like, how you makeit more applicable is tying it
back, kind of like at thatlevel. And then you know, even
just introducing classes thatteach people things like filing
taxes, opening a bank account,budget, credit card debt, you
(22:35):
know, why you don't want it likethe interest, all of those
things that people kind of glossover when they're trying to sell
you credit cards.
Bethan Moorcraft (22:46):
All right, my turn for the jar. And our next
random question, what is thefirst thing you ever saved up to
save up to buy that you areproud of?
Cadeem Lalor (22:57):
Oh, I think what I from what I can remember, was
getting one of my mom's familyfriends, she's staying over for
a while with us. And she's justvery helpful, very supportive,
like over a summer. So when Isaved up enough, she like needed
a new robe, my mom hadsuggested. So I got her a new
one. And that's kind of my firstgift to someone else with like
all of my own money.
Bethan Moorcraft (23:16):
Yeah, kind of building on that this isn't
necessarily a gift or an objectthat I bought. But I remember
the first time I took my mom tothe ballet, right? It's just
like something that you couldexperience you can share with
someone. And often I think it iswith parents because they've,
they spend money to bring you upand take you and give you
experiences and when you cangive that back one day, it feels
(23:40):
so good.
Cadeem Lalor (23:41):
And so thanks. I thought that counts for them to
they definitely just appreciatethat gesture.
Bethan Moorcraft (23:44):
Yeah, definitely. That was a good day.
All right. And the next randomquestion from the jar. What is
the first thing you would do orbuy if you received a million
dollars?
Cadeem Lalor (24:00):
I guess my head right now goes to just like
paying off a house and agreeingto a big, but I feel like in
Toronto's like it might justlike, barely be be enough
anyway. So I guess yeah, that iswhere my head goes.
Bethan Moorcraft (24:13):
Well, I mean, I didn't want to be boring, but
I'd love to get on the housingladder. So that would help.
Let's do something a bit moreoutrageous.
Cadeem Lalor (24:21):
Exactly. So like well, we'll say housing is kind
of the default answer it has tobe especially living in GTA so
go to your real answer.
Bethan Moorcraft (24:27):
I'd buy a one way trip to Hawaii let's go...
Cadeem Lalor (24:30):
I was honestly thinking travel to like honestly
probably just want to be able tojust honestly travel a lot a
bunch of places in mind likeAustralia, Jamaica, of course.
All right, last random question.
What's the worst buyer's remorseyou've ever had?
Bethan Moorcraft (24:48):
I've bought a few bad phones in my day. I
don't know that it's the worstbuyer's remorse, but it's the
first thing that came to myhead. I refuse to spend money on
phones because... I... You know,occasionally drop them.
Occasionally leave them places.
That's just the phone is mynemesis. So I keep buying, you
know, I might buy a $200 phoneor, you know, these days to get
(25:10):
anything good. You've got tospend 500 plus. So, yes, I do
you know, I trust I have I had atrusty Samsung for years. And
then I switched over to some toanother brand. And it was awful.
I hated it.
Cadeem Lalor (25:28):
I'm trying those thankfully, I guess like a house
isn't on is my answer, thatwould really suck. That was I
guess, one of the things thatmight this might qualify and
also taught me a little lessonto like the lesson sometimes of
just like, buying qualityinstead. So like for jeans,
basically, like, sometimes I goto more expensive places like
Jack and Jones. I'm like, like$100 jeans is ridiculous. So I'm
(25:49):
like, let me just go to like,you know, Walmart or go to
wherever, and I buy those ones.
And they can fit okay, but theyjust wear out like in literally
two months, the same level ofwear, I'd get from the more
expensive ones and like a year,sometimes, you know, year and a
half. So I figured it actuallyworked out to being cheaper over
time to just buy the oneexpensive pair one time. And
then do that. I thought that wasthat was my lesson on, you know,
quality over quantity forsomething so at least.
Bethan Moorcraft (26:11):
Do you feel like you realize that at a
certain age because I I feellike I understand that and I try
to go by that these days, butprobably didn't when I was 21?
Cadeem Lalor (26:23):
No, I definitely think that definitely would have
applied I think I wasn't even inthe position to really be able
to buy quality over quantitywhen I was younger. That's a
slideshow, but there's like awhole I think there was
something Terry Pritchard wrote,Pratchett wrote about like, this
allegory of the soldier, youknow, the one who gets the
expensive boots who keep him,you know, safe from rain and all
that stuff. You can buy the onepair, they last him this long.
(26:45):
But the other poor soldier hasto buy the cheaper pair and you
cannot afford to buy anexpensive pair. But he ends up
paying more long over the longterm with a cheaper pair of
boots because he can't spend theamount for the more expensive
ones at one time. So I thinkthat kind of solidified it. But
honestly, that lesson onlyclicks with the jeans like the
last I say that's last five, sixyears. Well, big thanks for
producers that actually turnedout better than I thought it
(27:05):
would be.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:06):
Yeah, thanks, producers. That was really fun.
Cadeem Lalor (27:08):
If you're still listening to our rambling, thank
you.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:11):
topics you want us to cover, please email
us at hello@halfbanked.com Andthat was Half Banked. If you
like this episode, be sure tosubscribe rate and review us on
Apple, Spotify or whereveryou're listening to this
podcast.
Cadeem Lalor (27:31):
Special thanks to executive producer Samantha
Emann and producers KevinHamilton, Shane Murphy, James
Battiston, and technicalproducers Marie Alcober, and
Muhammad Tabish.
Bethan Moorcraft (27:39):
For more information you can check out
halfbanked.com.
Cadeem Lalor (27:42):
Until next time.
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