I could yak about TFSAs, RSPs, ETFs, jobs and grocery prices forever
But after decades of talking about how money is made, saved and invested, it seems on brand to retire early
So I am doing it. TODAY.
"Jeannie Lee, CBC News, Toronto"
🧵How it started; how it's gone so far
I came to Canada with no English & no French & few resources except parents who worked doggedly so I could do the improbable
To break into a tough biz with zero ins; work for a national news network for 32 years AND get this nod from the best
@ianhanomansing
?
Oh, Canada! 🇨🇦
This is a million dollar home in Toronto
This is the impossible math (with $100,000 down)
Need To borrow: $900,000
Typical qualifying rate: 7.54%
Need to prove: you can afford $6,606/month
#toronto
I'm
#youpeople
and I always wear a poppy and I love Canada even with the average 5-6 unspoken
#youpeople
microaggressions I experience every day.
But the overt/ spoken/shouted
#youpeople
assaults really hurt.
No matter what we do to belong is never going to be enough?
💔🙁
Just the other day I quit a staff TV reporter job in my hometown
Did it for a chance to work for
@CBCToronto
even if just on a short contract
Tonight I got this thing
#LeapOfFaith
Born in rural China; was 2 when he lost his dad
Education disrupted by Sino-Japanese war
Taught himself to read, write; play banjo
Made it to Hong Kong; then to Canada
Worked like a fiend to bring family of six to Montreal
Did so by age 37
My Dad SG Lee ❤
#HappyFathersDay
hello fellow adults. my gf and i have a question... what is the correct amount of towels to own? i said 10 and she looked at me like i was crazy. we have zero frame of reference on the appropriate amount of towels in a household of two.
And now, old stories are new again-Inflation! Rates! Houses that LOSE value!
I am still feeling this job
But new ventures/adventures are calling my name
So is the freshly-retired
@simondingleytv
Off we go to see more of this wondrous world!
-Jeannie Lee, CBC News, Toronto
My first travel document and the most important - the one that cleared my family's arrival to Canada to reunite with our Dad
October 1st will always be our New Year's Day
#CanadaVersary
🇨🇦
A girl comes to Canada speaking no English and no French but learns both and makes words her business
What a fun honour for a word nerd and now I can die happy!
Thanks
@TorontoStar
🥰🥹
Gah I swear I had a pineapple in the background but it was getting brown and gnarly so I had it for breakfast and now I'll never know if I coulda been a 10🍍😃
Thanks!
@ratemyskyperoom
Being kicked out of the SWIFT system is like taking a financial puck to the face
Russia would lose access to instant digital international payments and have to resort to byzantine methods like (shudder)- email or fax
That's why it's been called the nuclear option of sanctions
We’re taking more action today.
We’re sanctioning President Putin for his barbaric attack on Ukraine.
We’re calling for Russia to be immediately removed from the international banking system, SWIFT.
So Ottawa may be reviving blueprints from CMHC's post-war building spree to get homes built faster now
This inspired me to look up CMHC's 1947 plans for those classic 1.5 storey places I've always admired
Small but definitely liveable, as proven by generations of families
My Dad came to Canada alone, to work, save and bring the rest of us here
In his rare time off, he taught himself English, the rules of hockey & this old banjo
I now have it on proud display at home - a symbol of his sacrifice & determination
#FamilyDay2023
Kudos to whoever came up with Jagmeet Singh's zinger on the climate plans of Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer:
"Canadians! You don't have to choose between Mr Delay and Mr. Deny."
(You just know that's going to get into every news story)
#leadersdebate2019
#elxn43
#cdnpoli
I hope you have someone in your life who will take a COVID19 test every week so they can visit you in a pandemic
This is what
@SimonDingleyCBC
has done 16 times so he can see his 93-year-old Mom
She is lucky and so am I
(group photo taken last Xmas)
#MerryCovidChristmas
My brother fiercely fought his many illnesses
But this latest battle was cruelly lopsided
He taught me to relish every day of good health and no pain
How to take interest in people that many don't bother to know
How to be choose to be happy
I'll miss him & love him forever💔
It's
#SiblingsDay
so here's a pic of my bro and me on a beach 3 years ago
He's in chronic care and immunocompromised so I can't visit
That's the hardest part of the lockdown
But I can bring care packages & we can chat & he's not in an ICU & that is everything rn
#COVID19
.
@HannahThibedeau
exudes warmth, joy and empathy on air because that's exactly the person she is IRL
Thank you Hannah for bringing so many stories to life on
@CBCNews
And for the light you are to colleagues and friends across Canada...also for almost making Andrew cry!
Hannah Thibedeau is leaving CBC News.
She's right about Andrew. He is a true gentleman. I've met him several times and he's a helluva nice guy.
If you see him on the street in Toronto don't be afraid to say hello.
Then the COVID lockdowns. More pivoting.
WFH demanded we take care of lights, audio, camera; background
Realized I had these skills from years in the field, watching the camera guys
Result: got TWO separate 10/10 from
@ratemyskyperoom
(plus an early 9/10 for rookie mistakes)
@2manycameras
It feels like you need a huge income, inheritance from dead relatives, cash from living ones, tenants, co-signers and maybe all of the above
Your kind condolences have held my heart together. Thank you.
It was hard to write my brother's obit because it made his death even more real.
But it was easy to find the words because his grace under pressure was so extraordinary:
On Day One of his retirement,
@SimonDingleyTV
is finding:
1)Breakfast is better when it’s not just gulping down scalding coffee while on the run
2) Towel-gathering is more relaxing than newsgathering
3) Getting the right clips is still pretty important
#SecondAct
Because I get so many questions about that CBC Gem:
-it's a piece of plexiglass (fitting symbol of this pandemic)
-I prop it up on various pieces of furniture
-I light it from below
-I rescued it in a recycling bin at work so it's literally priceless
#AMA
#WFH
@ratemyskyperoom
This photo taken just 2 days ago shows the Queen as frail but still spirited-even a bit mischievous
Somehow it felt instantly iconic and now it will be, as one of her last
Yes she was 96 but this is a reminder life is fragile and can change just like that 👜👑
📷Jane Barlow
I can stiff-upper-lip through a lot
But we just got word family can no longer visit the hospital where we have someone frail and elderly and now alone
The most vulnerable are suffering the most
#CoronavirusPandemic
#StayAtHome
I once ran into studio with two totally different shoes.
Yes of course it was a standing shot.
Yes it went to air.
No, no one told me.
We are broadcasters but apparently not in every situation.
#NewsroomLife
Clearly I can’t trust my
@CBCOttawa
newsroom colleagues. Unbeknownst to me I walked around the office all day wearing this “pair” of shoes. Only noticed it at day’s end. No one said a word. Ridiculous...
I might be the longest-serving raconteur ever at Newsworld/CBC News Network - have been on air here full-time since 1996
I've definitely chatted with all the legendary show hosts - Don Newman, Nancy Wilson, Bill Cameron,
@normaleemacleod
@ianhanomansing
@kathleen_petty
...
A housing pivot comes at you fast
March: This house sold @ $1.8M
($405K OVER ASKING!!! as some agents might blare)
It just sold again @ $325 K less
Plus $150 K in agents' fees & land transfer tax =
$475 K lost in 11.5 weeks or $5,900/day
*based on limited info
#torontoRE
71 days in OKA - from the first tear gas to the clearing of the 4-metre-high barricades
The dispute was profound and at times, profoundly moving
Especially when speaking with people caught behind the barricades, torn over the issues; wanting understanding, justice and peace
Just yesterday, I was still in J-school in Montreal when I landed at Pulse News, the newscast I grew up watching
My job: setting up stories for the reporters I had looked up to as a kid (PINCH ME!)
Soon I was promoted to their ranks (IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE?)
Standing room only and at one point a lineup out the door
As predicted
@SimonDingleyTV
retirement party was moist and garrulous and wow - even mildly fun
My CBC colleagues are throwing me a party tonight. I feel fortunate to have worked at CTV Montreal, Global Toronto & CBC Toronto the past 43 years. Thanks to everyone who gave me interviews & helped me. And thanks to the most important person:
@JeannieLee88
Artwork:
@BlairCrgn
He might be the boss of us but he’s still buying us donuts
Congrats
@brodiefenlon
, new Editor-In-Chief and General Manager
@CBCNews
(I got first pick because his office is 10 steps away from my desk which is as scary as it sounds)
A five-year-old immigrates from Hong Kong to Montreal
She has zero English or French but loads of hopes and dreams
But could never imagine this thing
Thanks
@ratemyskyperoom
for the 10 and for all the fun intel!
#DepthForever
Many moons ago, 2 sets of young parents decided to plant their families & their hopes in Canada.
That's how a sturdy lad from Glasgow and a Hong Kong girl (with faux pearls!) arrived, grew up & met. Every day, we live the Cdn Dream.
Thank you, parents & Canada.
#CanadaDay
🇨🇦🏴🇭🇰
My mother lived long enough to see me finish high school.
I have tried my best to live up to the examples she set in the brief time she had.
If I am at all kind and generous, especially to vulnerable people, it's thanks to my Ma. ❤💕
#MothersDay
The Temp stayed on and found a home in Business News, which not a lot of reporters love
Is it because there's a lot of math in biz reporting? Or is that just an old joke?
I'm ok with math; the rest is just good storytelling
Loved my perch above the TSE trading floor!
Then there were the times I'd get up super early to anchor the news for a mystifyingly big and loyal audience of morning people
We had five live newscasts every weekday
Peak local news, I miss you
Adapt or die definitely applies to news.
We met new directives for a faster-paced breaking news format
We picked up fresh production and technical skills to stay current
And the big one: we talked while standing😅
@TorcityD
Sure, but I'm talking about a typical qualifying rate.
Typically 5-year fixed is popular for those locking in and I found a posted 5 year fixed at 5.54%
Qualifying because you have to qualify at 2 percentage points higher than the rate you sign up for, so 7.54%
If someone had told 5-yr-old me that I would learn English & French + go to J-school + get a job
@CBC
I would have said WUT? (in Cantonese)
And to see my earpiece among those of the illustrious
@andrewcbc
@CBCSuhana
@NatashaFatah
?
I weep with gratitude 😂🤩📺
#BTS
#newslife
A blue check mark=I am me and I stand by my tweets. Other than that, losing it=Meh
I know my value- as a proud working journo
@CBC
, as a loyal wife, colleague & sister; as caregiver to my beloved brother for 20+years
And as a cinematographer with mad skillz!
Behold!
Every time Mr. Joe Schlesinger walked through the newsroom with his twinkly eyes and impeccable manners, I'd feel pretty lucky to work for an organization shaped by his stories and his heart.
Goodnight, Sir.
More
@cbcnews
Joe Schlesinger, one of Canada's foremost journalists, is dead. Schlesinger spent decades covering some of the most significant events of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Then, wow - CBC Newsworld launched four daily biz news shows and two on weekends
I got the "Working Day" slot, then added "After the Bell" and yet another - "The Money Show"
A lot of talking. A lot of math. A lot of fun
She would never broadcast this so I will!
The fantastic Christine Birak is nominated for Best National Reporter
@TheCdnAcademy
#CdnScreenAwards
SO deserved for her great work covering
#COVID19
flat out
Hope she stay humble & stays my friend 💛
Hope she wins!
👏🎉🥳
Let’s take a moment to honor this beautiful, strong woman; Meghan Markle’s Mother, Doria Ragland, who sat alone, a million miles from home, in a situation so foreign to her own life, with grace, dignity, poise & deep love for the child she raised? THAT, is royalty.
#RoyalWedding
I find most retirement parties involve way too much moist and garrulous sentimentality
But all these posters around the CBC make me feel I should drag myself out for this one
Also I hear
@SimonDingleyTV
is a great guy (or so he keeps reminding me) 🙄 ✨🎉🥳
Did a lot of wild stories-Montreal is that kind of news town
Covered many remote assignments (for a chance to use the fancy new state-of-the-art satellite truck!)
Then early one morning - got called to a story that kept me on location for most of 71 days
📸 Bill Casey
Riveted on
@_kevindonovan
's documentary The Billionaire Murders (of Barry and Honey Sherman)
Lots of insight on how police and reporters work a crime
Huge public and private resources poured into the investigation - plus dogged work by Donovan, but still unsolved
Recommend.
I had a dream staff job on a highly rated newscast in my hometown
But I wanted to prove myself in the Big Smoke
CBC Toronto was slashing jobs in the deep recession
Still, I hounded the news directors and pelted them with demo tapes
They caved and hired me - as a temp 😬
New: CDC is monitoring/investigating 86 cruise ships for COVID outbreaks (yellow alert level)
These include 4 Disney ships, 7 Celebrity, 9 Princess, 10 Norwegian and 17 Carnival branded ships
#COVID19
Some personal news!
My sister's been desperately looking for a family doctor (hers retired suddenly)
By brazenly asking everyone I know & even total strangers, I just found her one
In Ontario.
In 2023.
This may be the single biggest accomplishment of my life ☺️
#HearMeRoar
So I hoarded travel points for years and years but literally got no where - not enough points
Here's my lament in haiku form
_______
Hope dream goal Paris
End up with pan made in France
Settling c'est la vie
_____
💔💭🥺🥖🥐☕️
One more pitch for Friendly.
Every morning, the gentle giant would welcome this lonely kid from Hong Kong.
He taught me English and let me know there was "one little chair for one of you."
#CanadianTVBracket
NEW: Nordstrom to shut all its stores in Canada, nine years after crossing the border to a land that's not always an automatic win for US retail names
See:
-Bed Bath & Beyond
-Target
-J Crew
-Sam's Club
-Linens 'N' Things
#RetailGraveyard
Prepped this graphic
And realized lots of young journos will never know the unique thrill of rushing to file for the noon news
Or dream of one day being a W5 correspondent
I may or may not be talking about me and may or may not have shed a tear or several
#newslife
The reason
@SimonDingleyCBC
has lined up every 2 weeks to get swabbed-sometimes aggressively?
Eight times and counting.
It's so he can keep visiting his 93 year old mom.
She keeps saying his nostils are bigger than she remembered 😂
(Photo taken pre-
#Covid19
)
#TinyBubbles
It's
#SiblingsDay
so here's a pic of my bro and me on a beach 3 years ago
He's in chronic care and immunocompromised so I can't visit
That's the hardest part of the lockdown
But I can bring care packages & we can chat & he's not in an ICU & that is everything rn
#COVID19
As I've said,
@NightShiftMD
helped me through a very sad episode
He deserves every kindness and all the respect
In a crisis, a person's true character is revealed
Very grateful for the Paul Koblics, Brian Goldmans and all those who are shining through this dark time
#Covid19
I worked the night shift at Sinai Health System last night. Dr. Paul Koblic worked the casino shift from 9 pm to 4 am. I'm old and he's young. He offered to stay all night if necessary to do the intubations so I wouldn't have to risk getting
#COVID19
. I'm crying as I write this.
Fun facts: When Ron Charles burst onto the Montreal news scene in 1987ish:
-Céline Dion was a teen singer famous only in Quebec
-you could buy a renovated duplex in Lower NDG for $130K
-the city was served by five (!) daily papers.
Happy Next Era,
@CBCRon
!
#cdnmedia
James Murray loved
@CBC
& the news business
His eyes would light up talking shop but he had a deep interest in many topics & all people
We chatted in the newsroom, on the lockout line; on various stories
And shared the horror of an infamous murder trial
Rest easy James 😢🌹
No new cases of Covid-19 at this retirement home for awhile now
So a son can finally see and wave to his little old mother...from a distance
The lockdown here has lasted 51 long and anxious days
Thanks to the PSWs who made this happen 💛
My mother-in-law rocked every role:
-British Women's Royal Naval Service
-Stylish "Betty Draper" wife
-Doting mother to very sturdy babies
-Young widow raising boys alone
-Top real estate agent in the 80s
-Warm & loving MIL who called me her daughter
Will cherish her memory💙
This year, we can't bust our frail/elderly out of their care homes for Christmas with us
So we're schlepping Christmas to them
We're thrilled they're still alive to enjoy the day, however different it is
#MerryCovidChristmas
Met my new supervisor today
In describing my job I realized I'm now reporter,producer, writer & graphics artist
And with
#WFH
I also do lighting, audio & video
Plus set design/furniture fluffing like The Friendly Giant because everyone's upped their room game and I feel judged
Haven't made any more masks because my sisters sent me these and one of them has no sewing machine and does it all by hand and I feel loved
Wearing a mask also shows we care for others and that's the message that has to get out
#Covid19
The thing about an interest rate of 0% is you can't cut any more without a bunch of new problems. So, no more ammo there.
Which is why the Fed's also firing off some QE-Quantitative Easing. Buying/holding bonds to boost confidence and drop long-term rates also
#coronavirus
In any emergency, it is so striking how first responders seem larger than life-rescuing and protecting us at our most vulnerable moments.
They may look and act tough, but we need to take better care of THEM.
#SickNotWeak
#Mentalhealth
A year ago today,
@SimonDingleyCBC
came home after almost 4 months in hospital -
still pretty wobbly on a rollator.
This summer's version of a walker is a bit more fun.
#Recovery
Physical Distancing means a DIY home studio & setting up my own front, back & side lights
Thanks to the camera guys I've watched over the years
Thanks to clear packing tape which the pros don't use but hey, the hardware stores are shut down💡
#wfhsetup
#MacGyver
#Covid19
Xmas Eve Eve: Moderna's vaccine gets approved in Canada
New Year's Eve:
@SimonDingleyCBC
gets the consent form for his 93-year-old Mom to get the shots
Signing it tonight is like giving both 2020 *and* the pandemic a hoof where it hurts the most
#CovidVaccine
#HealthyNewYear
New: email from Mother-in-law's retirement home
Residents there and in the adjoining LTC will get the Moderna vaccine by this time next month
Also, staff and family caregivers will get rapid tests with results in 15 minutes
#Covid19
#Progress
#AlliWantForChristmas
Had to check on
@SimonDingleyTV
down in his rumpus room
Yes he's still alive
Yes he's riveted on every second of coverage
No he hasn't turned away from the screen yet
Yes he knows I can't take the sight of a grown man weeping
#19LongYears
#Leafs
If not for weddings, we'd spend every summer weekend in shorts and flip-flops and maybe not wash our faces.
Also, never buying any frock without pockets again.
#Poches
#Posh
Since March 1st, this resilient lady has:
-broken her hip -spent weeks in hospital
-moved to a home just before
#Covid19
raged through her floor
-spent 3 months in isolation
-turned 93 alone
-finally been freed to have patio lunches with her very good son
🥳🌞👏
#Resilience
My 93 year old mother with the latest CD from late British 🇬🇧star Matt Monro.
@JeannieLee88
ordered it for her.
Mr. Monro stayed with my family in the 1970’s in Canada 🇨🇦. Thanks to
@michelemonro
for telling me about
#MattMonro
’s work.
New: Air Canada makes vaccination a must for staff
Also, Delta charges unvaxxed employees $200/month for extra insurance
Krispy Kreme doubles down on free donut plan by giving vaxxed customers 2 freebies
It's getting harder out there for the unvaxxed
In which Charlie Watts tells the world he was so vastly underpaid as a Rolling Stone that he can't afford to actually own drums
Mick: Yeah well you can't always get...
#TogetherAtHome
As a pro procrastinator, I've never found it a travesty when people leave up their festive lights
This long, cold, dark
#COVID19
winter, it should practically be a requirement of good citizenship
#WinterWalk
Being swept up by the sheer beauty and artistry of
#Pachinko
Stunned it was largely shunned by
@TheEmmys
and totally ignored by the
#goldenglobes
which just erodes the credibility of those awards machines but takes nothing away from this breathtaking story and storytelling