MeVest Delivers a View into a Simple Life

Dear clients and readers,At the present moment, I find myself leading a more simple life. Certainly, the world is spinning faster by the second with financial and health complexities, but my priorities are straightforward; family first, staying connected to clients and friends, being helpful where I can, caring for myself and showing gratitude for all of the people who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.Rather than writing a financial message to you today, I thought I’d share how simplicity is showing up in my life these days; with a frugal undercurrent, of course.CookingLast August I became a mother to a beautiful baby boy named Hank. He is backwards scooching around the floor nowadays and his favourite spot seems to be in the kitchen. Leaning into this preference, I’ve set up a command centre for him beside the fridge; play console, teething rings and a miniature piano.Living in a very busy neighbourhood, these days our grocery stores are often out of our favourite ingredients, but this has pushed Hank and I to try our hands at learning new recipes together. And, can you believe we can now bake sticky buns, roast rutabaga, poach fish and so much more.Every day we cook at home. We waste nothing because we meal plan (even Hank’s baby purees). We try new flavours. We spend time with each other.ReadingReading while caring for a small baby is a literal and figurative handful. Tim, my husband, catches up on a few pages when he’s not hosting Zoom meetings with his team in our dining room. And, I’ve been listening to ebooks for the most part, while still turning the pages of a novel late at night. I’m in the thick of Blitzscaling, The Hard Thing About Hard Things and The Da Vinci Code. And, when nap time ends, we get into Dr. Suess and Barnyard Dancefor Baby Hank.The libraries were a mainstay for our family; always have been. In fact, my first job at age 14 was at the Southwood Branch of Calgary Public Library. Though we can’t attend the magical library times for kids, or borrow the latest non-fiction hardcover, we are maintaining our family reading times to keep our imaginations sharp, and to show Hank that reading is awesome.Don’t get me wrong, we are still crushing episodes of OZARK, Tiger King and The Sinner, but we are endeavouring to strike a balance with our forms of entertainment; and maximizing the value from our streaming subscription.ExercisingFun fact about me is that I’m also a fitness instructor. Until I became pregnant, I was teaching HIIT and Pilates classes once or twice a week. Having more time at home has reinspired me to get back to my routine; albeit with Baby Hank participating in the vast majority of my fitness sessions. Sometimes I do my own thing, while other times I follow along with my favourite instructors on Pop Sugar and the free Nike Training workouts.Health is the new wealth. That’s why I keep up with my fitness.Staying connected with youI’ve been on the phone a lot lately; reaching out to our clients, our readers, taking call-in questions on CBC, Breakfast Television, Canada Now and Facebook. Many people who we are close to have been impacted by this crisis. Consistently, the message I’ve been delivering is financial hope. We are going to get through this, but we need to make smart financial decisions with our precious resources.Waste nothing. Stick to essentials only. Ask for help when you need it. Don’t worry about temporarily cancelling services, even if it’s MeVest (why not take advantage of our free stuff). When we are through this time, you can get back to spending money on what is most important to you. But for now, take care of your finances and your health. It’s that simple.I haven’t forgotten about our valued readers who are now out of work. We published a full summary of the Canadian financial aid package on our blog last week, including how to access the portals. View this important information HERE.Thank you for continuing to stay connected with us.Please reach out to me if you have questions: lesley-anne@mevest.ca. In the meantime, stay healthy.Lesley-Anne ScorgieMeVest FounderMissed our last email? Click here to read our tips for budgeting for essentials only.