“What a dumb mistake that was”: Dilys D’Cruz on money lessons and “painless saving”

Who are your money/finance/investing heroes?

Likely a combination of many. Warren Buffett is the obvious guru of investing, but I admire people who come from nothing; people with tremendous hardships, who work hard to achieve their wealth and, most of all, are good people. They care about humankind. I like Oprah Winfrey and Tina Turner.

How do you like to spend your free time?

Doing Pilates and hot yoga classes. I just took up line dancing, so I’m having some fun with that. And I’m going to my personal trainer twice per week, although I can’t say I like to do that.

If money were no object, what would you be doing right now?

I’d have a place on the beach in Bali or Thailand, and I’d volunteer to work with elephants in Thailand or Africa. I’d also eat my way through Italy, Portugal and Spain.

What was your earliest memory about money?

We were a first-generation immigrant family in Canada. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and my father worked two jobs to support the family. Although money was tight, he always found ways to provide us kids with the opportunity to participate in activities they were interested in. For example, I took up figure skating, painting lessons and team activities. We never had any open discussions about money. Although money was tight, I never really understood what my dad had to do to ensure food was always on the table—and to provide us with the various childhood experiences we had (eating out, camping vacations, etc.). 

So, I guess the good thing is, although we didn’t have money discussions, there was never a sense of fear or scarcity. Maybe there should have been. It would have taught me to save and budget differently and at a young age.

What’s the first thing you remember buying with your own money?

A name-brand pair of running shoes. If I told you the brand I’d give away my age. OK, it’s North Stars. It was very big in the late ’70s. 

What was your first job?

Delivering newspapers at age 13. It was my parents’ tradition that we kids had to buy the family a treat with our first paycheque. So, I went to the ice cream store, bought sundaes. By the time I walked home with them, they were melted. At least the thought was there.

What was the biggest money lesson you learned as an adult?

When I first started working at a big financial institution, I got bad advice to not invest in the company defined benefit pension plan. “You can do better by investing in yourself,” I was told by my peers. And, eight years later, I finally joined and realized what a dumb mistake that was.