Learn the Rules of the Game

Posted On 6 April 2020

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

I love playing the game of Monopoly. One of the things that make a big difference in the game is knowing the rules. It amazes me how often I am playing the game with someone and they don’t know the rules! A common rule that is not commonly known is that if all properties of the same color are owned, and not developed, the rent is doubled.

Now, studying rules and laws is usually not an enjoyable thing to do. I enjoy learning the rules so that I can make sure that I am on the right side of them and get the most benefit from the rules.

Taxes

It is said that the only two things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes. I have not died, so I will talk about taxes. As both an American and a Canadian, my wife and I have the privilege of filing taxes in both countries every year. Is it something we enjoy? No!! Since w know the rules, we file the taxes, so we can stay on the right side of the law.

There are limited options for getting Canadian and American taxes prepared at the same place, or by the same person. I have not found any software programs that will file for both countries. Since I am frugal, I have learned how to prepare our taxes myself. I use a tax program to prepare our Canadian taxes, and for the American taxes I simply fill out the forms.

I am not saying that everyone reading this should file their own taxes (hire someone if you want). The important thing is to understand how the systems work, what deductions you can claim, have at least a rough idea of the form numbers that need to be filed, keep yourself up to date about changes to the tax laws. The less I can legally pay in taxes, the better!

Banking Rules

Do you know how the fractional reserve banking system that is used in both the US and Canada works? What about how much money is insured by either the CDIC or FDIC? Do you know how many transaction are included with your bank account? These are some of the rules that must be learned in order to spend as little as possible to have a bank account.

Banks are in business to make money. I think they should make money. Now, it is my responsibility to make sure I keep as much of my money in the banking game! I encourage you to do the same.

Playing the Retail Game

The stores are experts at the money game. They are designed is to get as much of your money as possible. Retailers have teams of people working to learn about their customers and figure out how to extract as much money as possible. Stores give out free samples to drive sales. Security cameras are used to study customers’ habits. Stores know more about their customers than most people know.

It is our job to keep as much of our money as possible. When shopping I use a shopping list to make sure that I can focus on getting the items I need. It helps reduce impulse purchases. I use all the rewards or loyalty programs I can in order to get the best deals. The points are pretty good, too!

Personal

Moving on to our biggest enemy … ourselves! Do you know how much you spend in a month? I wrote about how to get a handle on spending in a previous post. Another aspect of our life is looking at what we can simplify. I would not call myself a minimalist. They do have great points, though, and less stuff requires less money!

A continual struggle for me is to keep wants from becoming needs. As humans we have a tendency to justify things. Our wants tend to morph into needs. We compare our lack to others’ possessions. And we look at others strengths and compare them to our weaknesses.

Life and money are games. They have rules. Some of the rules make sense while other rules are abstract or outright bizarre! Our responsibility is to learn the rules of the game so we can increase our chances of winning.