Keeping the Cash in My Wallet

Free entertainment at your local library

2007-03-30T08:24:00.000-04:00

Something I read over at My Money Blog today reminded me that I should remind y'all about: free entertainment at your local library. They've got DVDs to rent for free, books a plenty and sometimes even storytime for the little ones.

As a teenager I was an avid reader, but after university, where I studied French & Italian literature, I was a bit book-ed out. I often had to read 5-7 novels per course I was taking, so there wasn't much time for pleasure reading.

But moving to the big, expensive city after graduation, I was reminded that there were many free things at the library. So I renewed my acquaintance & library card and was off to the races.

One of the newest things I've been enjoying is the Internet reservation system, where you can simply browse for the books online, click a few radio buttons, and voila! You've got yourself a book. Speaking of, I've actually got to go pick one up at the library today. I got a voicemail from the nice lady at the library (actually, it's an automated system), telling me my book arrived. So I'll head on over after work and see what it is. (That's another part of the fun, especially if you've got a list of things on your waiting list...you're never quite sure what's arrived till you get there. :-) )

Reward Points Exchange Bonus

2007-03-29T09:26:00.000-04:00

I just scored and extra $5 in free gas by doing a rewards points exchange! Yes. I am currently collecting RBC rewards points, as well as Esso Extra points. RBC has Esso gift certificates for free gas at Esso, and I was at the point level where I could get a $25 gas certificate. I thought about it for a moment, then decided to check out their point exchange rates. Was that ever a good move!

By converting the same amount of RBC rewards points, I got an extra $5 in free gas at Esso! So instead of just $25 in free gas, I could get $30 in free gas, which is a total bonus.

I'm also a member of Points.com, which helps link up some reward programs that aren't normally linked, but being in Canada, my choices there are a bit limited. If you're in the US though, I highly recommend taking advantage of it.

Cash Advance Interest Rates - Low?

2007-03-28T21:38:00.000-04:00

While looking at my latest credit card bill, I just realized that my cash advance interest rate is only 1.9%. That got me thinking.

Could I use a cash advance from this card to pay down some of my other debt?
Should I do that?

What do y'all think? I'm tempted to do it, as it would definitely be a cheaper option for me, as the lowest interest rate I've got somewhere is 3.9%. Hmm...

Cheap places to buy groceries

2007-03-27T17:53:00.000-04:00

Wal-Mart opened up a few of their Super Centers in the Greater Toronto Area a few months ago, and while I hate the fact that they're such a ubiquitous thing in the retail landscape nowadays, I find myself shopping there frequently. Especially right now because I'm trying to save money, I find it's the best place to go. It has surprisingly good quality fruit & veggies, and good prices on a lot of the other items I use every day.

I also like to shop at the Real Canadian Superstore as well, as it also has good prices on the things I use & buy every day. Surpringly, the Superstore in Oakville has better prices than the one in Don Mills (in general), which I find interesting. How is it that the different store managers are able to charge different prices for the same items? Is it a franchisee versus corporate store issue? Who knows, all that matters is that I can find cheaper prices on bagels and juices than elsewhere.

Where do you go shopping for cheap groceries these days?

Cutting down on the number of payments I make a month

2007-03-26T12:51:00.000-04:00

Having debt is a frustrating thing for me right now. The biggest issue, aside from the sheer amount of the debt, is the fact that it is spread out over a number of items. That is, I've got a personal loan, a credit card on which I have a balance transfer, and a line of credit. All three are at the same bank, however it's a hassle making the payments for them because I don't actually do my day-to-day banking with this bank. (that's another story) So I end up having to do some juggling between my chequing account, my savings account and these three items, and it's hard to keep all the due dates straight, even with all the various technological implements I use (my computer, my email account, my cell phone, etc.)

So I'm considering going to my day-to-day bank and see if they'll give me a line of credit, for my total debt amount and then transfer it all over. That way I've got only one place to make a payment, I can transfer money in & out as I like and it will make my life easier. My only problem is that I probably wouldn't be able to get a line of credit for the full amount due to the amount of that debt. It's a bit of a catch-22, which is frustrating. I'm definitely going to go IN to the bank to see someone about this, because given the amount of debt I have, they would be making lots of money off me in interest payments, so it would definitely be worth their while to do so. Keep your fingers crossed that I find a sympathetic banker.

Number portability and You

2007-03-25T14:23:00.000-04:00

Phone number portability has finally arrived here in Canada, and I for one, am quite happy about it. The only reason I've stayed with my current cell phone provider is because I've had the same cell phone number for the last 8 years. Otherwise I wouldn't have minded switching to another provider because the other one had better plans for me.

Considering I have been a customer for 8 years, you would think that they would've offered me a deal on something, right? Especially given that number portability has arrived, right? Wrong! I haven't been offered a single thing by my current company, which has ticked me off somewhat. So I gave them a call and asked them about it. "Well, since you're currently on contract, we cannot offer you anything," was the response I got. And this is utter hooey as well, because the contract means they can't change anything on my account without telling me. It doesn't mean they cannot offer me anything, they just can't do it automatically. Sheesh. Talk about ridiculous.

The rep then proceeded to tell me he could give me all of my extras (voicemail, caller id, etc.) for free, if I qualified. So I told him to go check...surprise! I did qualify. So I now am saving $8 a month with this little manoeuvre. He then proceeded to tell me there's a different plan that I could switch to once my contract ends that would be better suited to my calling patterns. Again, I thought it was odd that they couldn't just give me this plan now, but whatever.

Here's my dilemma then:

To get out of my current contract, I would have to pay approx. $275. Then I would have to purchase a new phone at the new provider (the one I want is $179, but there's a cheaper one for under $100 I could do in a pinch), and then switch.

Overall cash outlay: $500+
Savings per month with new provider: $25 per month (that's a savings of 50% per month)
Amount of $$$ I'd pay my current provider waiting for my contract to end: $560
Time to break even and really start saving: 11 months.

So, what do you think I should do? Do I switch now and eat the contract termination fee due to the monthly savings I could have with the new provider now? Or do I wait till my contract is up and then switch?

I think either way I'm switching to the new provider, as the plan definitely suits me better. The question is when.

Credit cards & limits - Part deux

2006-10-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

This weekend I logged in to my online banking website to check out whether my latest credit card payment had been posted to my account, and I noticed something strange: my credit limit had been increased. Now I purposefully have a low credit limit to discourage myself from spending it, as I know that I would. I even had the bank put a note on my file, telling them not to raise it without asking me first (most banks have this feature, you just have to ask). So I was a little concerned to see the increase, especially because they raised it $3000! They just doubled my limit in the blink of an eye. I was a little stunned. Then yesterday in the mail I got a letter from the head of the Customer Service department telling me about the increase, and how they did it because I'm such a loyal customer, blah, blah, blah.
I'm half tempted to get them to lower the limit again, however they're also giving me a balance transfer deal till May 2007, which would actually allow me to consolidate and cancel another card that I was only using for their low balance transfer rate. I was actually going to have the other card paid off by February anyways, so I wouldn't actually be losing any interest savings anyways. I'd just be saving on the aggravation of having so many cards on my credit history.

New Jobs & Higher Pay

2006-10-23T13:12:00.000-04:00

Life in Alberta is pretty good these days, what with all that oil money flowing around. I've seen reports of typical minimum wage jobs being left empty because employees can find higher paying jobs elsewhere, so that these places are starting to have to pay oil salaries in order to find staff! Can you imagine? A fry jockey at McDonald's making $20 an hour? It's not unheard of.

So imagine my surprise today when I see a sign here in Toronto from an employment agency advertising construction jobs in Alberta: "Work in Alberta...$10-12 an hour". Hang on a second, why should I move all the way out to Alberta for a job that only pays $10-12 an hour? I mean, I could find that type of pay rate (or better) here in the GTA. I'm sure you could find better pay rates for the same job in Alberta! What's the deal with that employment agency? I surely hope that sign was posted incorrectly, otherwise some poor schmo is going to get taken, big time!

Flip...Flop...And Back Again

2006-10-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm vacillating again between paying off my debts in order of interest rate or size. I had initially told y'all I was going to do it in order of size a few weeks ago, but then I changed my mind...and now I've changed it back again. Seeing items drop off my list is a more satisfying thing rather than paying down a higher interest rate debt. My higher interest rate ones are a higher amount, so it's more difficult to pay those off first. So, my plan is to pay off the smallest amount first, so that I can see my list of debts decrease. That's more satisfying. I recommend that to you all as well, if it's feasible.

Credit cards & Limits

2006-10-13T08:59:00.000-04:00

Horrors of horrors, I actually went over my credit card limit this week! I've never done that before, and I'm frankly, a little surprised that the bank let me do that. I consolidated my bills last month, and there was a gap between my next paycheque, my cable bill and my statement date, which is why I went over. It's back down now as today is payday so I was able to make a payment, however I'm still a little surprised that they let me do that. Is it because I've been a customer of theirs for 10 years? And why haven't they charged me an extra fee for that? (I'm just waiting for that one, as I'm assuming there is a fee for it...they've got fees for everything else.) Sheesh.

But I'm happy to note that this paycheque is the beginning of the end for my oversized debt amounts. Yes, today is the start of the Attack on my Debt! I've cleared enough space on my line of credit to start getting rid of debt products on my credit history. First to go is the personal loan. Next is low interest credit card (I'm switching it to a cash back card next month, so that I'm not tempted to leave a balance on it. Low interest just doesn't work for me. I need that threat of 24% in order to not shop. ;-) ) Then it's the low low interest credit card (they gave me a deal on a balance transfer). And finally, the line of credit itself. I'm quite excited about the prospect of knocking off the debt one by one.
Ciao!

Must-not-buy-new-computer...

2006-10-05T13:02:00.000-04:00

So my gadget gene has activated again and has got me thinking about a new computer. You've got to understand that I just bought a new laptop last December to replace my old desktop. So there is no need to buy a new one. My laptop is functioning fine and is doing all the things I need it to do. Except that I want a new one! :-D Last time I almost made the leap and bought a Mac, but then decided I enjoyed playing around with the computer too much, and bought a PC. But in recent months I've been thinking about simplifying my life in all aspects (purging old stuff, paying off debts, saving some cash, etc.), and I've now started thinking about my computer.

My remedy for this itch is this: I will start a new Mac savings fund, and when I have enough cash, I'll go buy it. Since I don't NEED the new laptop, but rather WANT a new one, it's definitely not going on credit, which I shouldn't be doing anyways, since I'm trying to get rid of bad debt, not get more.

Phew, I feel better having gotten that off my chest....

For shame Dominion

2006-10-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

So I popped into Dominion this afternoon to pick up some cereal as I ran out this morning. It's in a mall near a few seniors residences, so there are frequently tons of seniors there. (why I mention this will become clear shortly) I snag my Jumbo box of Special K Red Berries and get in line. I wait patiently in line for 10 minutes, then it's my turn. The cashier scans the cereal, and the price comes up...$7.49. Whoa, hold on a minute! $7.49? That's a whole $1.00 and change more than anywhere else, INCLUDING Loblaw's, which I thought was normally more expensive than Dominion. I left that box of cereal right there at the cash register and walked out, because that was just outrageous. I could not believe that Dominion is ripping off customers (and all those seniors on fixed incomes) like that. Sure, I can afford to go to another grocery store and buy it for $6.59, hell, I can even go to Wal-Mart and pick it up for $6.49, but what about the seniors who can't?

For shame Dominion, ripping off the little old ladies and granddads who come to your store out of convenience. For shame.

Knitting Fun

2006-09-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

All right kiddies, I've become a knitting geek. Got hooked by my sister, who inherited our mom's old needles n' things and has been knitting up a storm for the last few years. I started knitting this summer, and have finally managed to finish three whole things! Three baby bibs that can be dirtied and washed ad nauseum. hahaha Check'em out!

Right now I'm working on a baby burp blanket, and it's taken me a while to get it all sorted out. I'm not the best knitter, as I'm still a noob, so I tend to lose stitches here and there. After about 6 or 7 starts and restarts, I finally managed to get it sorted out and am on my way. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

Saving for Emergencies

2006-09-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, how many of you have an emergency savings fun? Probably not many. I have one, but only because a few years ago I was unemployed, so I know how important it is to have some cash stashed away. Unfortunately I'm not at the recommended 3-6 months living expenses level, but I figure I gotta start somewhere. I take a little bit of cash from my paycheque every two weeks, so that it grows, little by little. Again, it's not the recommended 10% of my pay or salary, but it's something at least. Plus I've got it in an ING Direct account so it's earning me 3.5%. If you want to earn that much interest too, and get an extra $13 from ING for signing up, just go to www.ingdirect.ca and sign up. Don't forget to use the referral code 13924950S1, that way we both get the $13 bonus!

Pre-authorized payments

2006-09-26T09:05:00.000-04:00

Pre-authorized payments are the best thing ever! Instead of having to pay 6 bills at various times throughout the month, a PAC payment on my Visa card means I only have to pay one bill (the Visa one) in the month. Definitely makes financial planning easier.

Credit cards & Interest Rates

2006-09-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

So this month my preferential interest rate on a balance transfer on my RBC Visa card expires. I've been enjoying a fabulously low 1.9% for the last 6 months on part of my debt, which has been nice. I have one of those low rate Visas from CIBC too, but that low rate is now at 11.5%, which isn't that low any more. Sure, it's lower than the regular 19.5% or 21% that a lot of cards offer, but it's basically the same rate as on my line of credit, so it's not saving me as much moolah as it could be. So I think I'll be getting rid of the low rate option on that CIBC card, seeing as I'm almost finished paying that one off. My PCF MasterCard is still the winner though, giving me 3.97% on the balance transfer I did when I first opened the card, and now 4.97% on some of the balance I transferred from the RBC Visa. If you thought the interest rate was good, get this: I get those low rates until I pay the balance off. Yes, you heard me! Until it's fully paid off. So I've been getting 3.97% on the first transfer for the last year & a half, which totally rocks! I can pay just the minimum or whatever I feel like, and I'm still saving money. I admit I didn't think they'd give me such a good rate on the second transfer, otherwise I would've called them up sooner!

My tip this week: if you already have a PCF MasterCard and have space left, call them up and see how much they'll charge you for a balance transfer. You might be able to save some cash. If you don't have one, and can afford to apply, DO IT! Then you'll get the preferred 3.97% on that first transfer, and save some more cash.

Bonus? I get a bonus?

2006-08-21T08:12:00.000-04:00

So today I got my bi-annual bonus payment from work. I've been at this company for a year and a half, so I'm still impressed that I get a bonus at all. I don't work in sales, or anything like that, so I'm impressed that I do get one. Hell, the entire company gets one! It's based on the company's peformance and your own personal performance, so it's definitely something that can be affected by what I do, but not entirely. This also means that I have a performance review every 6 months, which is a little nerve wracking. I don't like reviews, not that I have ever had a bad one, but just the idea of scrutiny from management makes me nervous. And being as I am already a self-introspective kind of gal, this extra review drives me bonkers.

On a happy note to the review, I actually got a promotion and a raise, which is always nice. This will definitely help out with my debt repayment, so that I don't have to get a part-time job or anything. I could've just carried on as I was doing in my repayment, but I'm getting a little tired of having it over my head, you know? So I was contemplating doing a little somethin' somethin' on the side to help out. I'm already selling anything & everything I can on eBay, which is netting me some nice pocket change, but not enough to seriously impact my debt repayment. (only about $100 a month or so, which isn't small change, just not enough to seriously dent the debt, you know?) But an extra $200 per paycheque will definitely help. (that's about how much more I'm grossing with the raise) Pretty cool.

Upon recalculating my debt repayment schedule with the new salary and the bonus payment, I think I'll be able to shave a few months off my schedule. So instead of being debt free by Aug. 2007, I should be debt free by May 2007! Yeehaw.

When travelling...

2006-08-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

I just got back from my summer vacation in NYC, which was fabulous! I got to see all the touristy things in Manhattan, and spent some quality time with some friends. We were actually staying in Connecticut, about an hour from NYC, which was great. Here I am in Soho.

The thing I was noticing was that a few of my Canadian friends were withdrawing money all the time from bank machines. While this doesn't sound like a strange thing, I kept hearing "ka-ching!" in my head each time one of them went to the ATM, because I kept thinking of all the fees they were being charged with each withdrawal. Typically there's a flat fee for using a machine out of the country, then there's an exchange fee, and then the fee because the bank wants to charge you a fee. :-) I shudder to think how much those ATM visits were costing them. I had brought a bunch of cash with me, and then was using my credit card for bigger purchases. And I lasted the entire 6 days with the cash I'd brought with me, which I thought was pretty good.

So my travelling tip to you: if possible, always bring some local cash with you, and traveller's cheques if necessary. Use your credit card when possible, like in restaurants, to keep the cash for situations where plastic isn't usable (like in a local market). And if you need to use an ATM in a foreign country, be sure you know how much it's going to cost you, and make sure you're using a reputable ATM as well, since you don't want to have the machine eat your card and theyn you're left stranded. (That's happened to me before.)

Payment Arrangements

2006-08-07T15:09:00.000-04:00

Determining how to pay off debts is one of the favourite topics among all the Reduce Debt gurus. Pay off the one with the highest interest first. Or, pay off the one with the smallest balance first. I've waffled back and forth between the two, as I see the merits in doing both, however because I don't actually see any change in my situation even though I do pay more than the minimums on things, I think I'll pay off my debt with the lowest balance right now. I've got one balance that I can pay off quickly, so I'm going to do that. I feel like I need to see some active movement in larger chunks, rather than just watching the balances go down in small movements, you know? Sometimes a person needs to see that as incentive to carry on. :-)

Having said that, have any of you heard of the Manulife One account? I'd heard about it for a while, but didn't really know what the details were, so I went to check it out on their website. The first thing I noticed, is that you actually need a mortgage to attach the account to. As I don't own my home, that was the first downside, but I carried on reading. The next thing I noticed is that it's actually one of those line of credit mortgage dealies, that let you pay off whatever you like each month, and use the extra space on the account for other purchases, or consolidating debt. Sounds like a great idea, in fact, I've got several friends who use this option on their mortgage with their institutions. Again, this is nothing earth shattering or new, so I find it odd that this account is getting touted as the be-all-and-end-all financial solution for everyone.

The intriguing part of this whole setup is that the line of credit is used more like a chequing account, in that customers have paycheques deposited in there, use it to pay bills, etc. So that got me thinking....why don't I do the same with my line of credit? Not the "use it as the everything account like Manulife One", as I tried that, and it didn't seem to make a dent. But more like get a portion of my paycheque deposited directly to my line of credit so that I save some interest over the course of the month. So I started doing that a few weeks ago, and it seems to actually make a difference.

This is my tip for today: if you have a line of credit, and your employer lets you do it, deposit a portion of each pay cheque into your line of credit, and then use the rest of your pay cheque to pay off bills, so the line of credit doesn't just go back up.

*sigh* Now it's back to work after a wonderful long weekend. I went to visit my sister, and we had lots of fun. We spent most of the weekend by her mother-in-law's pool, working on our tans, which was nice. It's good to get out of the big city once in a while for a change of scene. I also like visiting with my sister & brother-in-law, as I don't see them often. They live 3 hours away from me, so we don't see each other as much as we'd like. But now it's time to get back into work mode, which is never a good thing. ha ha

Bank Fees

2006-08-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

Beware of the evil bank fees! Banks will try to charge you for every little thing, so you've got to be on top of them every month. When they send you a statement, look at it. Most people don't, but if you do, you'll be able to keep track of what they're doing, and then take advantage of the situation to keep more money in your pocket.
Bank Tip #1: See if the chequing account package you're using is worth what it's costing you. Some banks have limited choices in packages, like CIBC. You either pay $3.95 for 10 transactions a month, or $12.95 for unlimited transactions. Other banks, like TD Canada Trust, have a variety of packages that allow you to choose a better package for yourself. Take a look at your monthly statement and count up the number of transactions. This includes all withdrawals, bill payments and transfers to other accounts. Then take a look at your bank's choices and see if there's a better one for you.

Bank Tip #2: Don't be scared to call up your bank and ask for explanations for things. A lot of the time they will actually help you out, but you have to ask first. They're not necessarily going to offer up the information to you willingly, so just ask and see what happens.

Bank Tip #3: Don't be bullied into anything you're not comfortable with or don't understand. Before signing anything with the bank, ask all the questions you want, it's your right. And if something feels a little off to you, don't do it!

That's all for today kiddies. Stay tuned for more.

Movie coupons & tips

2006-07-30T10:18:00.000-04:00

About a month ago I purchased some movie coupons from the Entertainment book for only $7 each. That's a great deal because going to the movies can cost over $10+ per person these days. But of course after I got to the theatre, I realized I was hungry, so I bought some popcorn and a drink...for $9!!! Wow, I hadn't done that in a while, and I was impressed at the audacity of the theatre to charge that much. That should teach me to bring my own snacks again. Thankfully I don't go to the theatre often, so this won't impact my debt repayment schedule, but still I was impressed.

I'm also continuing in my "sell everything in my house people will by on eBay" plan this weekend. I sold a bobble head and coupon I got for free for some pretty decent money. Earlier this year I got into a purging mode for all my stuff in my house, and I figured I'd see if I could make some cash on the stuff to help in my debt repayment. Wouldn't you know it, but I have made upwards of $440 so far! Impressive. The most impressive part is that my best ROI has been selling things that I'm getting for free. Like that bobblehead doll I got at the ball park one day last year, or coupons I get for free online. My own crap isn't getting as big a bang for my buck, my at least I'm getting it out of my house, and making some money on it. If any of you are thinking about doing this, I highly recommend it.

Debt Repayment Tip #1:
Keep an eye open for the discounted listing days on eBay, to save money when you list many items. They come up once every couple of months, so it should help you save some listing money. But don't let this stop you from listing anything at all, list away whenever you want!

One year & counting...

2006-07-28T09:12:00.000-04:00

So today is Friday, but alas, it's not a payday for me. So no paying down my debt today. But that's all right, because I did some number crunching this week, and in almost exactly one year, if I continue on my current path, I will be completely debt free. Yes, you heard me right, completely debt free! I am quite excited about this. Of course there are many things that could derail those plans, but I'm going to try and stick very hard to my current course of action, so that I can finally get rid of the evil debt once and for all. Mwuah, ha ha.

Welcome!

2006-07-27T17:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to MyLoonies, my personal financial blog. Here you'll find stories of my personal finance sagas, from paying off my debts, to switching banks, to finding good financial information for Canadians.