IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
I had the great honour of contributing to the commencement reel for a graduating class of 2021.
Given my focus is typically on financial advice it was a good place to start. Life isn't about the money. Money is simply the foundation to free you up to do the things that give your life more balance and meaning.
Let's begin with building the foundation.
NO REGRETS
Acknowledge you will never be the best. There will always be someone who is better and that's OK. What's not OK is not giving your best. When you do the absolute best you can, and things don't go according to plan (trust me they won't always turn out as you hoped), you shouldn't have any regrets because you tried and gave it your best shot. I recall one of my first presentations and while the feedback was predominantly positive, one person stated, "I didn't come here to hear you read your presentation.”
I was relying on my notes too heavily. After that I never used my notes again and today I don't use a teleprompter on air. I work hard to learn my material. Today, if that same person wasn't interested in what I had to say or how I said it, I know I did my best. No regrets.
NO COMPARISONS
Comparisons rarely drive financial success. It doesn't matter who gets the best job or buys their first home. What does drive financial success? Finding a financial role model to guide you. Be open to the basics such as building an emergency fund of three to six months’ living expenses. Start investing for the long run even if it is a small amount, and beginning with your very first job, live below your means. Simply put, spend less than you earn. My father was that role model in my life.
PASSION AND STRENGTHS
Follow your passion and get excited about the next chapter of your life. It isn't always about landing the high paying job. If the job you choose doesn't play to your strengths it could delay your progression, or worse, trap you in a field that will never make you happy. I don't know anyone who retired from a low-paying entry-level job in a field that really interested them.
My husband Jim gave me plaque, a quote from Walt Disney, for my desk. It reads: "If you can dream, you can do it."
He added the only person holding me back was me. Sometimes you have to get out of your own way and go for it.
EMBRACE LIFE LONG LEARNING
You may be graduating today, however, it is so important to embrace lifelong learning. Your human capital is your ability to earn a living. The more you have to offer, the greater the potential to earn. One day your financial capital, the money you have saved, will take over from your human capital, the money you make working.
Start tucking some money away early on, especially if your employer has some form of retirement savings vehicle. I know retirement seems miles away but this is how you benefit from power of time and compounding. Investing early and often may be the most impactful financial move you can make. As someone who has saved her whole life, I can tell you it gives you the freedom of choice and that is a wonderful feeling.
I would be remiss of course if I didn't touch on the basics of budgeting: avoiding mindless spending and getting the biggest bang for your buck. Look at your return on investment. Paying off student debt is a sure thing, investing in the market is not.
It is a tough environment for today's graduates and sadly, you can't control that, but you can control how you will respond.
In a world where you can be anything and do anything, I will leave you with two words: Be kind.
You will be surprised how far that will take you.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
In the quiet and leafy Vancouver neighbourhood of South Cambie, best known for its botanical garden, playoff fever is about to set in.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.