Lifestyle
A Lifestyle Checked
My husband, Ron Zalko, and I love to go out on date nights every weekend. But the money we spend on our dates is the fruit of our labour and hard-earned money by working diligently and smartly in our fitness business — we don’t get our money from investors or by being contractors for government projects, lol! 😂 Plus our food bills don’t go into 6 digits! This article obviously relates to the sad fact that’s currently going on with the re-channelling of the flood control project funds to line the pockets of the contractors of Philippine government agencies and their ostentatious flaunting of lavish lifestyles while Filipinos suffer and struggle in their daily lives.
Photo courtesy of the author.
My husband and I earn our money by selling healthy and active lifestyles to people from ages 18-80 through fitness and exercise programs. My husband and I hustle with integrity and honesty. We believe that the real point of making money is not that you can buy everything. My husband and I are firm believers in always saving for rainy days, and we’re not big on splurging. The point of making money is so that no one can buy you. Real wealth is not about flexing with material things, it is about freedom.
For people who truly work hard for their money, the philosophy is this: the more you earn, the more you should save and invest your money so that you can create multiple income streams which can diversify your income sources and help increase your capacity to grow your wealth. You don’t want to just spend your money on frivolous things because you know that every cent is hard-earned. Having money doesn’t mean living a “rich life” by amassing designer brands, material possessions, or traveling by private jet for the sake of showing off to others. That’s not what true wealth is all about.
Photo courtesy of Pexels.
Learn from those who come from old money — they’re extremely low-key and humble. You don’t see them displaying or flexing their wealth on their social media. No photos or videos of homes, no house tours or showing off cars or constantly unboxing designer stuff — those are done by the nouveau riche. Spending to impress people keeps you broke while quiet wealth wins in the long term.
It is about having the power to say no, to walk away, to live life on your terms without being controlled by someone else’s paycheck or approval. When you chase money for status, you stay a slave to it. But when you build money for freedom, it becomes a tool that works for you instead of the other way around. The goal is not to be owned by things but to own your time, your choices, and your future. Money at its highest level is leverage. It gives you options, it gives you control, and it makes sure no one can dictate your value. Because when you are truly free, that is when you are truly wealthy.
Photo courtesy of Pexels.
Those who come from old money would rather share or post on social media about the time they spent with their loved ones over shared meals, sightseeing or doing activities together as a family, as friends or as husbands and wives. They don’t show off their homes, their cars and their designer stuff on social media because they don’t feel the need to prove themselves to anyone. Having money, especially when it’s hard-earned, means you’d rather prioritize buying precious time so you can create meaningful experiences with your family, friends and loved ones. Having money means you can live your life with purpose. Having money means you can pay your taxes on time, live without debts, and live your life intentionally and peacefully.
I’ve been filing and paying my income taxes on time since I first started working in my early 20s. I’m also proud to say that my only son has done the same thing as well ever since he started working at age 15. My husband and I also file and pay our income taxes (both personal and business) on time. Here in Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency is super strict; everyone gets audited if you don’t file your taxes properly. And the great thing about Canada is that the taxpayers’ money goes directly back to Canadians (through healthcare, education, housing, etc.).
Having money does not mean accumulating possessions. True wealth means you know and consider the real benefits of owning fewer possessions: less clutter, less to clean, less to organize, less debt, more savings, more money and more peace.
If we were to have our lifestyle checked, this is what one would see:
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
On Weekdays: My husband and I are up by 9am. We like to take our time in the morning. We watch the world news on either CNN or the BBC in bed. By 11am, we both go through our work emails on our laptops at home while having coffee and green tea. We don’t eat breakfasts. By 11:30am, we both do a thirty-minute exercise — combining both cardio and stretching exercises at home. By 12pm, we get ready for work. By 12:30pm, we do quick grocery errands at Whole Foods to buy fruits and crudités, which usually amount to $30-$50 with taxes (what can I say, Vancouver happens to be one of the most expensive cities in North America). By 1:30pm, we are both at work. My husband oversees all operations of our fitness club. I go through my schedule and attend appointments with the clients I’ve lined up for the day to sell them memberships at our fitness club.
By 3pm, my husband and I take a 15-minute break and have our first meal for the day — our lunch. We buy our daily lunch from Tractor. We usually have their Nourish bowl (with greens, no rice, with two market sides and one protein). Depending on the protein, a meal costs around $18-$21 with taxes already. During weekdays, my husband and I only eat one meal a day — we eat fruits and crudités for snacks throughout the day. By 3:30 after our lunch, I am back to selling memberships. I also make cold calls. Between 4-5pm, I visit two or three nearby establishments and do my sales pitch for their employees to join our fitness club membership programs. My husband, on the other hand, holds an hour of staff training and staff meetings.
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
Between 6-7pm, I attend my last three appointments with prospective members while my husband does his daily advertising and marketing for our fitness club. From 8-9pm, I do my daily admin work and close the batch. My husband does his daily inspections of our fitness club, making sure nothing is broken and takes note of what needs to be done in the club.
By 9:30pm, we go home and take a shower and prepare to go to bed. We watch the evening news, or our favourite shows and sometimes a movie from Netflix. By midnight, we are both asleep! Except when it’s a Friday night, my husband and I like to start the weekend unwinding over a late dinner at one of our favourite restaurants. On Friday nights, we are usually home by 11pm and in bed by either 12midnight or, at the latest, 1am.
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
On weekends: On Saturdays, my husband and I usually wake up around 10:30am. By 11am, my husband and I do our thirty-minute exercise program at home. By 12pm, we get ready to go to work. From 1pm to 2pm, I have my weekly hair appointment with Suki’s hair salon (one of my job’s perks). My husband is at work by 1pm, and he conducts staff briefings and training for an hour.
At 2pm, I’m at work attending to my appointments for the day. I schedule prospective members between 2:30pm to 4:30pm. My husband does operations duties from 2pm to 5pm. From 4:30pm to 5:30pm, I make cold calls, repeatedly calling clients who did not buy memberships or who have cancelled and offering them promos for membership renewals. Between 5:30pm-6pm, I do some admin work and I close the batch for the day. My husband does a club check from 5:30-6pm.
By 6pm, we close our fitness club. Between 6-7pm, my husband and I go to Whole Foods to buy fruits and crudités. By 7:30pm, we get ready for our dinner date.
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
We usually have dinner around 8:30pm on a Saturday, and it also happens to be our first and only meal of the day. We usually like to try different restaurants, from hole-in-the-wall types to fine dining restaurants, and we make sure that we stick to our budget (we have allocated a budget for our weekend dates). As a rule, we do not spend more than what we earn. We are usually home by 10:30pm. We get ready for bed. We usually watch a movie either on Netflix, HBO, or Prime. We are usually asleep by 1am.
On Sundays, we like to sleep in. For us, sleep is a luxury! We usually wake up around 12 noon. We get ready, and we’re out of the house by 1pm. My husband and I love to go for walks along the seawall and our neighbourhood on Granville Island, whatever the weather is. We like to go around Granville Island market to buy fresh fruits, freshly baked donuts or pastries and vegetables, and we stick to our $30 budget.
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
By 4:30pm, we go to our fitness club and speak to our staff on duty to ask how the day went. My husband goes and inspects the whole club, and we close the club.
By 5pm, we usually have our pedicure and manicure done. By 7pm, we go and meet with my only son for our Sunday family dinner. We catch up with each other and have long conversations over dinner. By 10:30pm, we’re home and getting ready for bed. We watch the late night news, and we are asleep by midnight!
Unfortunately, because we’re so hands-on with our business, we don’t get to have many vacations or frequent travels abroad. The last time we went on vacation was before Covid. We visited my in-laws in Israel. If we travel, it’s usually just once a year. We also don’t hoard designer items. My husband is so low-key, he wears the same outfit every day: black Lululemon track pants and Ironman polo shirt with his Lululemon black vest. As for me, I buy my clothes at Commense, an affordable online retail store. Before I buy new stuff, I make sure I donate my clothes and shoes to various charities. We only have one car that my husband has owned since 1988. We only own one home.
Ron Zalko with wife, Matte Laurel Zalko, lifestyle columnist for Maria in Vancouver at Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
For my husband and I, we like to treat ourselves on weekends because we both work hard and do long hours six days a week, so we make it a point to go out on dates every weekend as we are both foodies. For us, a luxury lifestyle means slow mornings, getting lots of sleep, going for leisurely walks, being able to enjoy and truly love what we do at work, going on dates during weekends, spending quality time with family and friends.
My husband and I treasure long weekends because it means we get 2 days off! We are each other’s Fridates, Saturdates, and Sundates forever! We learned that it’s important to remember that dating and keeping our connection and intimacy alive in our relationship is essential to well-being and overall relationship happiness. For us, true wealth is doing life together as a family. For us, this is what a lavish lifestyle means.
