I met little Mr. Squirrel accidentally, he being the accidental tourist who crossed my path as I set out on my daily walk. He is a sprightly black guy, with an enormous moustache. I was hungry that evening and pulled out a snack bar, as I took the first bite I realized that I had the attention of Mr. Squirrel as he stood on his hind legs and begged for a bite. “Okay, big guy here you go!” I said and broke a bit of the bar and threw it across to him. He took the piece, winked with bright chocolate-colored eyes and ran to a hole where he dropped it in. In seconds he was back for his share of seconds. Another piece thrown into his overstretched claws found its way into a new hiding place. This charade went on—into a dozen or so hiding places—till the bar was over, and my hunger more than appeased by the cleverness of my tiny friend. As soon as he guessed that I had no more to share—I swear he bowed his head appreciatively like a Japanese businessman, and said a quick “Sayonara!” in Squirrel-ish before scampering away.

I was smiling all the way as I realized what I had learned about RRSPs, TFSAs, Stocks, and Bonds from a chance encounter. My wife nagged at me continuously to ‘save for a snowstorm’ as opposed to the clichéd ‘rainy day’ yet I never listened to her. I guess sometimes in life, it’s really important on how you convey your message to a boss, colleague or friend. In my case it was a fellow animal that helped me realize the importance of saving. Taking that creative advice seriously, I made a conscious effort to keep a track of unnecessary expenditure—it was fairly easy, and to help you my fellow LinkedIn member, let me make a public confession. Downing coffee over the counter was the first on the list to go, eating the wrong things, and eating out frequently was next—cookies, chips, and any kind of fast food followed, my weakness for electronic gadgets put on the ‘don’t do app’ , so did unnecessary colognes, and shoes (yes, smarty-pants, men like shoes too!) A lot of money got put into the piggy bank on top of our refrigerator but more importantly we adopted a little boy from India through a charity that does great work for children globally.

Encouraged by the accomplishment, I helped counsel a friend to give up on cigarettes, and to put his money towards an expensive Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend. Another couple of friends gave up on their weekly consumption of beer, saved the cash, and have since lost their beer bellies. Not to mention that they look years younger!

A colleague at work who regularly eats out complained that he was not able to save money towards finishing his basement. I suggested that he cut out his eating out altogether and then see how much he could save. No prizes for guessing that he began contracting out the work that he couldn’t DIY, and even has a tenant now that it is completed.
Another colleague is slowly giving up on her addiction—shopaholic’s disease—as she avoids online shopping like the plague and has since joined a group that implements a 12 step program like Alcoholics Anonymous.
I looked out for Mr. Squirrel last weekend. I took a couple of yoghurt bars to thank him for teaching me something new via his mime act. I also wanted him to meet the Finance Minister and politicians who run the financial gamut and a few bureaucrats who could have taken cues from his savings strategies: of strengthening the economic policies of our country and not solely depending on US businesses to keep the CAD above water. Or our food prices from skyrocketing. Unfortunately I couldn’t trace him. So I’m guessing since he’s so great at saving maybe he’s taken Mrs. Squirrel and the kids on a cruise.

I presume he has heard it through the grapevine of Mr. Chipmunk, Mr. Raccoon and Mr. Skunk (our neighborhoods midnight paparazzi) that I was going to introduce him to these politicians and decided to play hide-and-seek. Any which way I need to stay in touch with my financial advisor and have stuck a note on the local bus shelter. Hopefully he will see it despite the clutter of signs taped on to the glass—from denture specialists to No-smoking ladies-only apartments for rent to ‘helpful’ immigrant consultants.

Jude Paul Fernandes is the author of ‘Frost Bites’ which is available at the Toronto Public Library. He is currently working on a novel ‘Lonely in Mumbai’ and can be followed on Twitter @JudePaulFerns