Million Dollar Journey

QuickTax, UFile Giveaway Winners & Links

FrugalTrader — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:30:09 +0000

Online Tax Software Giveaway

Time for a bit of housekeeping. It’s been a while since both giveaways started, but I’m only now getting around to sorting through the winners. A quick summary, both UFile and QuickTax are convenient and cost effective ways to file your taxes online. There are 10 winners of UFile, and 5 winners of QuickTax Platinum download edition (8 returns per installation). All winners will be contacted shortly.

UFile Winners (here’s my UFile Review)

Alex
Werner
Rina11
Shannon
Brock
Steve
Janis
DerrickP
TMann
Rocko11

QuickTax Winners (QuickTax Review)

Mai
Norman
Al400
Steve R
PeterL

Weekend Links

Could too many financial products be ruining your finances? Part 1 @ Thicken My Wallet

ETF Investing: Why Exchange Traded Funds Are Part of My Portfolio @ The Digerati Life

A New Direction @ Canadian Capitalist (congrats CC!)

Build Your Financial Home Brick By Boring Brick @ Lazy Man and Money

Movie Review: Capitalism: A Love Story @ Four Pillars

Planning a Cheap Night Out @ Sun’s Financial Diary

I am a Ticked off Taxpayer @ Canadian Dream

how to make money on Facebook @ Brip Blap

Michael Moore Interview With Preet Banerjee @ Where Does All My Money Go

How to Negotiate Remote Work With An Employer @ Generation X Finance

The Investor’s Manifesto @ Michael James on Money

Would You Walk Away from Your Home? @ My Dollar Plan

Property Tax Deferral For Young Families A Good Idea? @ Canadian Finance Blog

Yup! Buying Green Panda Treehouse! @ Financial Blogger

Should You Automate Your Finances? @ Money Smart Life

4 Money Lessons From the Olympic Games @ Financial Highway

Implementing PAYGO Rules For Personal Finances @ Frugal Dad

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Life’s Lessons Are Not School Chemistry Chapters

Guest Blogger — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:07 +0000

A couple I know recently welcomed their first child. The husband, an engineer by profession, was the sole breadwinner. He lost his job in this economic downturn and has been unemployed for the last few months. So? There are probably hundreds of thousands of people in a similar situation i.e., single income families, with a baby to boot, searching for light at the end of the tunnel. Yes but not many would have the small matter of a 350K+ mortgage and car payment on a shiny new Honda toy to take care of! I do not know about other debts they carry. The wife is in no position to work (with a baby to look after) and the husband is on the lookout for a job in his field, while taking heart from the fact that he has a job in customer service at the local supermarket (no offense to customer service people – I’m just highlighting the fact that he has taken a severe pay cut).

Forget about emergency funds; they may or may not have had one. They will ride it out and things may hopefully be rosy again. What irks me most is the fact that couples (single and dual income) stretch every dollar to lead a great life in the eyes of their neighbours. No, I’m not going to rant about people who keep up with the Smiths and Joneses. But, would it not be better to wait a couple of years before jumping into such expensive mortgage commitments? Would it hurt to drive a late model car for a few years and then go for a new one, once the wife gets to work again?

Obviously, it is easy for me to go on a spiel with the benefit of hindsight. The talk of emergency funds, living within your means, etc. seems to have spread like wild fire, thanks to the efforts of personal finance blogs and TV and radio shows. When the economy gets back up on its feet (yes, the stock market is running a 100-metre dash but the economy is picking up at a slower pace), however long that may take, people would do well to remember the lessons learned during the time of doldrums. As raging as the next bull market may get and as low as the unemployment rate may go, the basics still shouldn’t change. Building up an emergency fund, delaying gratification, staying out of credit card debt, making wise investment choices by keeping expenses low, etc. are time-tested methods. There is enough material available about these topics on the web that one can feed off for free!

Change is permanent but greed and gullibility seem to be constants too. I hope people don’t treat these experiences as some chapter from a school chemistry textbook that holds no value to the majority of the population in their post-school life. Will I be made to eat crow in a decade or so, when the economy is doing well and people are still living great lives by avoiding consumer debt, pursuing passion, etc.? I’d gladly do so but that’s going to happen only if people start to fear unnecessary debt (the nonmortgage, non-educational kind) and resist living to please the world!

Clark is a twenty-something Saskatchewan resident employed in the manufacturing sector. He repaid around $20,000 in student loans and has been working to build his investment portfolio as a DIY investor (not trader) while nurturing plans to retire early. He loves reading (and using the lessons learned) about personal finance, technology and minimalism, when the mood strikes – which happens everyday!

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Your Worst Enemy When Investing in Stocks

Guest Blogger — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:23 +0000

It’s not your neighbor who once gave you awful advice on a hot stock tip (you’re no longer on speaking terms, unless you need to borrow a power tool).

It’s not one of those “market pros” you read about on CNBC who seemed so sure about this one stock that he called it a no-brainer (you bought the stock and this no-brainer has gone no-where but down).

It’s not the market which always seems to be sizzling until you jump on the bandwagon and then it just crashes (must be some kind of bad luck).

It’s not your parents who tried to teach you to save money; instead, you spent all your money partying in your college days (now, you barely have any money to invest).

Nope, don’t look any further. Your worst enemy when it comes to investing… is the person in the mirror.

If you took a hot stock tip from your neighbor and bought a company you had never heard of and the stock tanked, you’re the only person to blame. The reason you bought the stock based on the tip you accepted was because you were greedy when you heard from the neighbor that the stock he bought went up in price.

If you are a regular visitor on CNBC and buy a stock on a whim because one of those “market pros” recommended the stock, you can only blame yourself. The reason you bought the stock that was recommended was because you wanted a quick gain and you relied on someone’s opinion instead of researching the company yourself.

By the way, you should know that there’s a pretty good chance those market pros already own those stocks they’re recommending and they’re doing some cheerleading. I call it a legal “pump and dump” scheme. It’s similar to those scams where the fraudsters inflate the price of penny stocks artificially through false and misleading information on the internet and sell out at a high price leaving duped investors with penny stocks that plummet in value.

If the market always seems to be crashing after you join the party, don’t blame lady luck. Yep, it’s that person in the mirror again who you need to squarely put the blame on. The reason you jumped on the bandwagon is because you could not stand to see people around you make fast money and you wanted to get your share of the fast cash.

So what’s the point of all this?

The point I’m trying to make is that until you take full responsibility for all, and I mean ALL of your investment decisions, you cannot achieve success in investing.

Successful investors always take responsibility for their actions. They make mistakes but instead of blaming the market or anyone around them, they focus all their energy and efforts on learning from their mistakes so that they can make better investment decisions in the future.

Ultimately, there’s a direct correlation between your investment knowledge and your investment success. You cannot have level 1 investment knowledge and expect level 10 investment results. It would be the same as not being a very handy person but somehow thinking you can completely renovate your kitchen without any help.

Looking back, it’s easy for me to see that when I started investing in my mid-20s, I didn’t know anything about investing. Sure, I had a few killer trades where I pocketed some serious cash in a few days but if I look at my overall returns over the period I traded in and out of stocks, I barely broke even.

I was at level 1, yet somehow I thought I could get level 10 results. Now, I’m at level 8 and getting level 8 results. I keep learning every day; I just can’t wait to get to level 9 and eventually level 10 in the near future.

Becoming a successful investor is not easy, but it is simple. The more you know, the more you grow. The more you learn, the more you earn.

About the Guest Author: Joe’s success in real estate has allowed him to become mortgage-free by the age of 32. Now, his passion for investing is leading him closer than ever to his goal of retiring before 40. Joe firmly believes that life is too short and precious to just “make a living” or have a 9 to 5 job simply to pay the bills. He wants to share with his fellow Canadians everything he has learned in order to help them achieve financial freedom as soon as possible.

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I Quit! 6 Signs It May be Time to Move On

Kathryn — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:45 +0000

It is no longer the norm in this generation to begin a career in the mail room and retire 35 years later as one of the top managers. People change jobs often and for any number of reasons. Leaving a job can be a difficult decision especially if you have a strong sense of loyalty to a company or you are dependent on the salary and benefits they offer.

If you are thinking of leaving, here are six signs it might be time to look for another job.

1. Apathy

In an ideal world everyone would do what they love and get paid for it. For some, that’s simply not the case. They needed work and they took a job. The hope is that most people would learn to like things about their job and would do it to the best of their ability until they got promoted or something else better came along. Apathy is different. Apathy creeps in when you’ve been in a job too long and you no longer care.

Signs you may be feeling apathetic include:

Total lack of stress even during difficult periods of work.
Checking out either physically or emotionally (web surfing, long lunches, coming in late).
Not caring about the general well being of the company or if reports get done on time.

2. Glass Ceiling

We all know it’s illegal to hold certain demographics back from choice jobs but we know it happens anyway. I’ve heard many a woman discuss how hard it is to get promoted during her fertile years until she announced quite openly that she was done with having children and her work would always come first. In other companies, you only have a chance at a top role if you’re over or under a specific age. No one will admit this but you can be pretty sure you’ve hit the class ceiling if you notice no one else in your demographic has ever made it higher than you currently are or if you hear the subtle comments, “We thought of you for this role but you have young kids and there is too much travel.” This one was said to me. I wanted to shout, “You have no right to decide for me what is best for my family. That is my choice to make!”. I didn’t. Instead I calmly explained that in the future I’d like to be considered if something like that ever came up again.

The glass ceiling can also happen in small companies where there is only so far you can go and only so much money that can be earned. At some point you may have to decide that you can stay at this level for life or it’s time to move on to something else.

3. Boredom

Boredom can relate to the glass ceiling. If you’ve made it as high as you can go and you’ve been doing the same thing for years with no opportunity for growth, it can be extremely disheartening. In truth, this is why I was so ready to leave my last job. I had hit the class ceiling. The only women in management roles were empty nesters. I had been with the same company for 12 years and in the same position for 6 of those years. I did my job well but I simply wasn’t using my quota of brain cells in a day. It had lost its challenge and when I suggested further training and specialization, I was told there wasn’t money in the budget and maybe in another 5 years. The thought of doing the same thing for 5 more years had me thinking there might be something else for me somewhere.

4. Emotional Leakage

Getting angry at your spouse? Yelling at your kids? Taking your work frustrations out on the dog? If the emotional baggage you are bringing home from work is leaking into your home life on a regular basis, this is a sign that things need to change. Deep seated resentments can take years to form. Cumulative stress compounds and can make your life miserable. There are times in any job where the stress will leak over into other areas of your life. If you are regularly finding yourself stressed out, angry or bitter and it’s consistently leaking into others areas of your life, it’s time to find something else.

5. Mistrust

Trust is foundational in working relationships. Has something happened that has caused you to mistrust your employer? Do you sense they don’t trust you? I can’t work in a place where mistrust is the default. If managers are constantly looking over my shoulder or checking up on me to make sure I’m doing my job properly, I don’t feel trusted. Yes, trust has to be earned but to last long term in an organization trust has to be there and it needs to go both ways. Some things that can contribute to mistrust include questionable ethics or financial statements, lying, cheating, rage or gossip.

6. A Better Offer

Sometimes a new job opportunity comes out of nowhere. A friend tells you about a job posting at his company. You happen upon a job posting and apply. Careers aren’t like relationships. Looking while still employed is ok. Be open to new opportunities along the way. If you find something better and think it will be a great fit, apply and see where it takes you.

There are many reasons to leave a job. Making the decision to leave is often the hardest part.

What are some of the reasons why you’ve resigned from a job?

Kathryn has been a staff writer for MDJ since January 2009. During the day she works in an office. In her off hours, she volunteers as a financial coach helping ordinary Canadians with the basics of money management. Kathryn, along with her husband and two children live in Ontario.

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Preparing for the Income Tax Deadline (2009-2010): Personal Taxes

FrugalTrader — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:30:32 +0000

With the income tax deadline just around the corner for tax year 2009, which is April 30, 2010, it’s time to start thinking about what’s required to file. If you are a small business owner, you have until June 15th to file, but any taxes owning must be paid by April 30th. If you are entitled to a tax refund, although the deadline is at the end of April, the sooner you file, the sooner you get your tax refund

When preparing to file, there is various paperwork required to be collected for information purposes, or even to be submitted to CRA. For me, I use a filing cabinet and separate receipts and other paperwork by category, then use a spreadsheet to summarize everything. I typically organize the spreadsheet by income, claimable expenses, small business, rental properties well before the income tax deadline. This article will focus on preparing to file personal taxes with future articles explaining small business and rental properties.

Income

The first step in organizing your taxes is adding up all taxable income for the year.

T4 – These are all sources of “other income” such as salary income, employment insurance, pension etc. The T4 slip will be provided by your employer/government.
T5 – This slip usually comes in the mail from your investment brokerage and covers your dividend and interest income.
Capital Gains/Losses – This will need to be tracked yourself and is a result of buying/selling investments within a non-registered account (or real estate). Here is an article on how capital gains tax works. As well, if you buy and sell the same security multiple times, here is how to calculate the adjusted cost base.
Universal Child Care Benefit – If eligible for this program, you’ll get a statement from the government as to the amount received for the year. This amount can be claimed under the lower income spouse.

Claimable Expenses

After figuring out the income, it’s time to get to the good stuff. That is, the tax deductible expenses to reduce income reported and tax credits to reduce income tax payable. They include:

RRSP Contributions – The RRSP contribution slip(s) that you’ll receive from your bank/brokerage are important as they may need to be submitted to CRA with your return. RRSP contributions are perhaps the largest tax deduction/deferral available for salaried workers.
Charitable Donations – Usually when you make an online donation you’ll get an email tax receipt shortly afterward. If you are a monthly contributor, then they’ll most likely send you a large donation receipt at the end of the year. Note that if you paper file, you’ll need to include donation receipts with your return. Here is more info on how the donation tax credit works.
Medical Expenses – For 2009 tax year, you’ll get the 15% tax credit for qualified medical expenses in excess of $2011 or 3% of income (lower income spouse) whichever is less. Note that health insurance premiums can be counted as a medical expense. For example, if the lowest income spouse makes $40k per year, then medical expenses in excess of $1,200 will receive the tax credit.
Home Renovations – With the new home renovation tax credit available in 2009, gather up those home renovation receipts. Note that after all receipts are added, there is a $1000 deductible, and the maximum renovation amount is $10k. So if you have $8k in eligible renovations in 2009, then you can claim $7k as a tax credit (15%).
Education Expenses – If you had education expenses such as tuition, then you may be eligible for the tuition tax credit. As well, text books, student loan interest and an education amount might be applicable. Check out this article on education tax credits for more info.
Child Care Expenses – If you have children, there are a few child care tax deductions available. If you have a spouse who stays at home, a spousal amount is transferable to the higher income partner, daycare expenses (up to $7000), children fitness programs, as well as a $2000 per child per family tax credit (~$300).
Investment Loan – For those of you who have the risk tolerance to leverage your investments, then providing that the funds were used for eligible investments, you will be able to claim the interest on the loan. Here are some key considerations with an investment loan.
Transit Pass Tax Credit – For those of you who use the public transit system, you may be eligible to claim your transit expenses as a tax credit. For example, if you paid $1200 in transit expenses for 2009, you would receive a tax credit of $180. I’ve never claimed this one (public transit where I live isn’t ideal), so make sure to do your own due diligence.

After preparing all your paperwork prior to the income tax deadline, there are a few options. You can DIY via tax online software like UFile , Quicktax, or Studiotax. Other options include doing an old school paper return, or using an accountant.

Even if you have an accountant, you’ll save them time, therefore save you money if you have everything organized before submitting to them. Personally, I think that if it’s a fairly simple return with regular salary and perhaps some investment income, then a online program would be just fine. However, as the tax situation gets more complicated (your own business etc), then it may warrant paying for professional advice.

Note that I’m not an accountant so this article should be used for informational purposes only.

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Is It Smart To Co-Sign for Your Child?

Guest Blogger — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:30:06 +0000

I imagine, from a parent’s perspective, the prospect of co-signing for a son/daughter’s credit card stirs up a number of emotions and thoughts. There could be number of reasons why a young adult might want/need a credit card, from paying their tuition, to purchasing a big ticket item like a second hand car or perhaps to even start a business. Part of the reason a number of parents eventually give in to their son/daughter’s request is because they love them and cannot say no. But reasons such as pursuing an education or starting a business can be very hard to say no to, simply because education and entrepreneurship are skills and traits that almost all parents want for their children. These and similar justifications run through the minds of parents all the time but financial experts caution strongly against parents co-signing loans/credit cards for their children.

While there are many youth who know how to be frugal and may be understanding of how credit cards work, many more will be likely to overextend their limits, miss payments, and leave mom and dad ultimately on the hook for both the payments and the dent in credit scores.

High Costs of Co-Signing

As a co-signor you are essentially agreeing to be fully responsible for payments on charges made on the card. It will not take long for a few bad financial moves on the part of your kid to ruin your own credit history. Lenders now want perfect credit before they would consider a loan to anyone. If parents are still in the market for another house or line of credit for other reasons, any mistakes on their child’s part regarding credit cards can end up costing parents much more than they anticipated. Additionally, poor payment histories or collections will remain on a credit report for years and lenders do not give one iota of thought to who is actually responsible for overdue accounts.

Teaching a Bad Lesson

Many also believe that parents who sign on a credit card for their child are setting a bad example. Kids who have mom and dad do everything for them will never learn to be self-sufficient. They may also be more careless about their credit card spending, especially during the unsupervised college years. If a child knows parents will foot the bill no matter what, they will likely not learn the necessary basics of personal finance. Parents should be working with their kids to teach them how credit works and how important it is later in life. Children who grow into adulthood understanding that credit is a privilege and not a life entitlement may grow into the most financially responsible adults.

Alternative Options

Some parents will still co-sign for a child’s credit card and hope that a strict set of spending rules and consequences will help the child to make the right choices. That is certainly an option for different families. For others, alternative plans may be in order.

Here are some options beyond plastic:

Debt Cards – Many can still be used as a credit card for purchases but there is a lesser chance that balances will be overdrawn because the money comes directly from the account. To add extra responsibility to the mix, parents can require that kids put their own money into the joint account from part time jobs and summer jobs so parents are not relied on totally for financial support.

Secured Credit Cards – Secured credit cards are essentially a prepaid credit card where all charges made are deducted from a deposited balance. Many kids can get secured cards before regular credit cards and still build up a good foundation for credit history and score since these types of cards still report back to the credit bureaus. Money must be fronted to activate the card and replenished when funds run low.

Authorized User – On a parent’s credit card account, children can be added as an authorized user. Parents are still ultimately responsible for the credit card payments but the move can help build a credit history for a young adult. If limits are crossed, authorized users can be removed fairly quickly. Some credit card companies will even allow specific restrictions on the authorized user card’s spending.

This post was written by Arjun Rudra, the founder and editor of Investing Thesis: Credits Towards Financial Freedom For more investing insights, interviews with portfolio managers and trading strategies, please consider subscribing to his feed.

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The New American Express SPG (Starwood) Credit Card

FrugalTrader — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:30:26 +0000

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of the MBNA spg credit card. With SPG and MBNA parting ways, I have been waiting in eager anticipation what the new replacement would feature. It was speculated that American Express would take over the Canadian portion of the program as they have a similar program in the US. It appears that our suspicians were correct, and American Express is now an SPG partner.

For the unveiling of the new card, an American Express representative contacted me to attend the formal dinner to give feedback on the new offering. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it, but I did manage to grab the details from their website to share with you.

If you’ve never heard of SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest), it’s a popular hotel rewards program (Sheraton/Westin/Four Points etc) that gives you great bang for your buck. In fact, the old MBNA card could potentially give you a 6% return on your spending depending on how you use the points.

Here are all the features of the new American Express SPG credit card (not yet released):

Receive 10,000 bonus Starpoints® — enough for up to three free nights.
Earn 1 Starpoint for every CDN$1 in purchases charged to the Card.
Receive a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach CDN$40,000 in purchases on the Card each year.
Earn Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach CDN$30,000 in purchases on the Card each year.
Take advantage of many American Express Card membership benefits, including Front Of The Line®* access to some of the hottest events, plus a host of travel-related insurance benefits.
Enjoy the flexibility to pay balances in full or over time.
CDN$120 annual fee.*

The Good

I like how the card gives 1 starwood point for every dollar spent from the get go. The old card gave 1 point for every $2 spent, but gave bonuses when reaching spending thresholds. Another attractive feature is the automatic Gold Status upgrade when reaching $30k in spending. Gold Status potentially gives you upgrades and late checkout during SPG hotel stays.

The Bad

Unfortunately, there are significant set backs to this new card as well. As someone who doesn’t believe in paying an annual fee for a credit card, the $120 annual fee on this credit card is as bad as it gets. Even with their attractive incremental features, they don’t justify the added fee (in my opinion). As well, even if we try to put every expense through the card, AMEX just isn’t accepted everywhere. For example, we do 95% of our grocery shopping at Loblaws who does not accept American Express as a form of payment.

Final Thoughts

I was really hoping the continuation of a no fee SPG credit card to continue my loyalty to the SPG program. However, with the $120 annual fee and the reduced AMEX acceptance, I don’t think I’ll be signing up for this card. I’m going to wait to see what MBNA does with their replacement card, then go over my credit card options from there.

For those of you already collecting points, note that your SPG points will expire 1 year from your last activity. For me, I have a substantial amount of points accumulated, so if I don’t collect any SPG points (via hotel stays/dinners) before Feb 2011, I will be transferring them to Aeroplan (20k SPG points = 25k Aeroplan).

For you SPG fans out there, what are your thoughts on the new card offering?

To Succeed Financially, You Must Know Yourself

Kathryn — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:30:21 +0000

There is no one way to wealth. Financial success isn’t about picking the right stocks or buying into the right financial philosophy. There are many a great financial mind that has written a book or given a seminar on how to get rich. To succeed financially you have to know what works for you. If you take someone else’s road to wealth you may never get there.

These are some questions you need to ask yourself to know who you are financially.

Are you an entrepreneur or do you prefer to work for someone else?

People often tell me I should start my own business. I have no desire to be an entrepreneur. The whole idea of it is stressful to me. I like working for other people. I enjoy finding a company or organization I believe in and working to make them better. I don’t want my own company. I’m happy other people do. I’m just not one of them. They can start their own business and I’ll come work for them.

I’ve had others tell me I should go into real estate or banking. I look at them and say, “Are you kidding me? Me, trying to sell something? I’d be talking people out of buying houses and financial products!” I’m not a sales person or an entrepreneur. I need to recognize that if I’m going to make it anywhere in life.

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, start your own business and give it everything you’ve got. If you’d rather work for someone else, find a company that matters to you and work your way up the ranks with them.

What is your passion?

Finding your passion in life is a great way to find financial security. There are exceptions to this including the starving artist and the hobby that costs more than it produces. If you can find something you love and you can get paid for, you are well ahead in life. You may never want to retire if you love what you do and do it well.

What level of risk are you really comfortable with?

Leveraged investing makes me break out in hives. It is simply past the level of risk I’d ever be comfortable with. I don’t like debt. Period. Even if it’s ‘good’ debt. I prepay my mortgage. I pay for cars with cash even if they offer 0% financing. I pay off my credit cards every month.

I don’t try to talk other people into living by my level of risk. I’ve read the books. I know that higher risk investments do better over the long term. I can take some level of risk but not a lot.

Knowing what level of risk you are truly comfortable with enables you to sleep better at night know you’ve made sound financial choices that align with your particular level of risk. Don’t invest in something beyond your level of risk just because someone else thinks it’s a good idea.

What are your true goals in life?

Some people have a goal to be rich. Great. In fact the whole goal of this blog is the Million Dollar Journey. The goal is right in the title. My goal isn’t to get rich. My goal is to have balance in life, to live well now and have enough financial security not to have to depend on social services in my future. Knowing that for me, the goal isn’t about the bottom line but about finding balance helps me make choices in life.

Just recently I was offered two jobs within days of each other. Making that decision was one of the most difficult choices I’ve had to make in a long time. One was a full time position with great pay and benefits but with the expectation of a lot of overtime hours. The other was a part time position that paid less, didn’t come with benefits but was with a company I believed in and wanted to be a part of. I chose the part time position. I work from 8:30 – 3:00. I’m home in time to meet the kids after school. It still gives me time to write in the evenings and pursue other hobbies and interests. Knowing my goals helped me make a difficult choice.

What gives you financial peace of mind?

I’ll admit, it’s boring. What gives me financial peace of mind is a fully funded emergency fund, a paid off car, an ever decreasing mortgage and retirement funds that grow month after month. I’m not into get rich quick schemes. I have no hope of coming in to a big inheritance or winning the lottery. I’m the turtle, slowly and incrementally saving for a secure future. Boring perhaps, but I sleep well at night. For others financial peace of mind is something entirely else. That’s ok too. What’s important is that you know what brings you security and you strive towards that in your financial goals.

Many financial writers claim they’ve found the right way to financial success. There are many ways that work and even more ways to define success.

How has knowing yourself helped you succeed financially in life?

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Feb 2010 Net Worth Update (+1.54)

FrugalTrader — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:30:59 +0000

Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey February 2010 Net Worth Update.

There was a small market correction in late January/early February but the market is still as resilient as ever bouncing back above the 50 day moving average. As a result, my portfolio numbers remained status quo.

The biggest financial move this month was that I finally opened a TFSA for myself. Late last year, I opened a TFSA for my wife but never got around to opening one under my name. However, I put some extra cash that I had and opened a new trading account. Now all I need is to sit down and determine what to invest in as my accounts are in 100% cash. Ideally, I’d like to purchase income producing REITs, but they seem a bit frothy at the moment. Hopefully we’ll get both accounts maximized by the end of the year.

As some of you know, I plan to pay off the mortgage by the end of 2010,or at least close to it. If you take a peek at the numbers below, you’ll notice that my savings amount is greater than my mortgage balance. The question you’re probably asking is why not take the savings and pay it all off? The reason is I’d like to ride the low interest environment a bit longer as my current mortgage rate is P – 0.75%. Our scheduled bi-weekly payments, which are topped up, should bring the balance down to almost zero on its own by the end of the year. After I file my taxes and sort out taxes owning (calculated behind the scenes), I will use the savings to max out the TFSA’s.

On to the numbers:

Assets: $ 503,050 (+0.99%)

Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
Savings: $31,500.00 (+6.78%)
Registered/Retirement Investment Accounts (RRSP): $76,300.00 (+0.00%)
Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA): $8,000 (+60.00%)
Defined Benefit Pension: $28,300.00 (+0.54%)
Non-Registered Investment Accounts: $15,200.00 (+0.00%)
Smith Manoeuvre Investment Account: $54,000.00 (+0.56%)
Principal Residence: $283,250 (+0.00%) (purchase price adjusted for inflation)
Vehicles: $2,000 (2 vehicles) (-20.00%)

Liabilities: $78,800.00 (-1.87%)

Tax Liability: $3,000 (-0.00%)
Principal Residence Mortgage (readvanceable): $22,100.00 (-6.75%)
HELOC balance: $53,700 (+0.19%)

Total Net Worth: ~$424,250.00(+1.54%)

Started 2010 with Net Worth: $399,600.00
Year to Date Gain/Loss: +6.17%

Some quick notes and explanations to net worth questions I get often:

The Cash

The $4,500 cash are held in chequing accounts to meet the minimum balance so that we pay no fees (accounting for regular bill payments). Yes, we do hold no fee accounts also, but I find value in having an account with a full service bank as the relationship with a banker can prove useful.

Savings

Our savings accounts are held with PC Financial and ING Direct. We usually hold a fair bit of cash in case “something” comes up. The “something” can be anything that requires cash such as an investment opportunity that requires quick cash or maybe an emergency car/home repair. We also need cash to cover any future tax liabilities.

Real Estate

Our real estate holdings consist of a primary residence plus a rental property. The value of the principal residence remains valued at the purchase price (+inflation) despite significant appreciation in the local real estate market.

Pension

The pension amount listed above is the value of my wife’s defined benefit pension. I basically take the semi annual statement and add the contribution amounts on a monthly basis.

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Platus Awards, Cheap Acts, Selling Wine and More Links

FrugalTrader — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:30:15 +0000

Million Dollar Journey was nominated for the best Canadian personal finance blog in the new Platus Awards. If you have a moment, vote for your favorite blogs here.

Cheapest thing you have ever done @ Canadian Money Forum

Selling Wine – Almost Like Blogging @ Lazy Man and Money

Why are people so bad with money? @ Thicken My Wallet

9 Tips to Stretch the Life of Common Household Items @ My Dollar Plan

Tim Hortons Brews an Expensive DRIP and SPP @ Canadian Capitalist

small human regrets @ Brip Blap

Working With Computer Nerds @ Four Pillars

8 Tips to Keep Your Credit Card Information Safe When Shopping Online @ Generation X Finance

Becoming a Ninja of Happiness @ The Financial Blogger

Guide To Sewing Buttons: How To Sew On A Button Correctly @ The Digerati Life

New Firm Focusing On Reducing Currency Conversion Fees For Canadians @ Where Does All My Money Go

Sometimes, The Best Lessons Learned in Life Are Learned The Hard Way @ Sun’s Financial Diary

Inflation up 1.9% Hold on Bumpy Ride Ahead! @ Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Justifying Poor Investment Choices @ Michael James on Money

Top 100 Commodity, Materials and Energy ETF’s @ Intelligent Speculator

The Art Of Saying No @ Frugal Dad

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5 Ways to Reduce Financial Clutter

Kathryn — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:30:42 +0000

1. Pick a bank, any bank

I’ll confess, we have too many bank accounts. Our main chequing account is at one bank. Our RESPs are at another. My RRSPs through work are with one financial institution and my husband’s are with another. It’s too many accounts! I often see worse. Many people I meet with have multiple checking accounts. Most of these have a monthly fee. It keeps things simple if you can keep your banks and financial institutions to a minimum.

2. Keep a checklist

I keep mine in a Google spreadsheet. It’s an easy way to keep track of month end balances without having to refer to all the statements.

A lot of financial clutter comes from not knowing where everything is located. Having an up to date checklist all in one place is a simple way to keep track of your accounts.

3. Use one credit card or debit card

You can have more for emergencies or if ever you find a place that takes one and not the other. I have two credit cards, a Visa and a Mastercard but I only use the Mastercard. I have the Visa in case of emergency, if the card doesn’t work, gets lost or stolen or I find a place that doesn’t take Mastercard. The less bills due every month, the less financial clutter in your life.

4. Automate as much as you can

Every bill we pay except for the Mastercard bill is paid out automatically every month. Automatic deposits are great too. Gone are the days where I had to stand in line at the bank every payday. Now I check online on the day it’s due and there it is. Automation means the only thing you have to worry about is making sure there is enough in your account to cover the bills.

5. Out with the old

In Canada, you need to keep your tax information and tax receipts for six years. After that, it’s time to shred them. I shred the 7th year file when I place the next year’s file in the filing cabinet. You can shred old cheque books. Throw out any warranty information or manuals for things you no longer own. Now that it’s possible access Visa and Mastercard information online, I don’t even keep statements. I can print a new one if I really need it. I keep receipts in my wallet. Once a month I go through them and throw out any receipts that are past their return by date. For larger items with longer warranties, I staple the receipt to the manual and keep it in the filing cabinet. I only keep ATM slips until I confirm online that the right amount was withdrawn.

Just because we’re heading towards paperless fiances, doesn’t mean it will reduce the financial clutter in our lives. We need ways of tracking and organizing our finances so we know what we have, where it is and how to find things when we need them.

How have you reduced the financial clutter in your life?

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How to Get FREE Manufacturers Coupons

Guest Blogger — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:30:04 +0000

My last guest post (How I saved 70% off my grocery bill) received many comments in regards to how I was able to find so many high value coupons to reduce your grocery bill. This article details how I was able to receive these high value coupons.

The savings of these coupons is quite high that they often enable you to get the item for free or for very little cost when combined with a sale.

There is one way to get free manufacturer coupons, simply ask them!

Manufacturers desire to have feedback of the products that they sell. They enjoy hearing about their customers experiences and receiving valuable feedback. In return for providing some information for the manufacturer, quite often they will reward you with coupons.

I had an incident with a cereal company. When I tried to use the printable coupon from their website it was not accepted. I explained that I was a loyal customer of the brand and that a retailer would not accept my printable coupon. The company responded the next business day requesting my mailing address to send a coupon for a free box of cereal.

Steps for the letter

Step 1: Find the manufacturer to contact.

Find a manufacturer whose products you use weekly and enjoy. My wife and I really enjoy Nature’s Path cereal. I had a negative experience that caused me to write a letter.

Step 2: Find the companies customer service mailing address or e-mail address.

Companies try to make it as easy as possible to contact them. Usually, you can find a “Contacts” or “Contact Us” page that either has a form that you can submit, an e-mail address, or a mailing address.

Step 3: Write the letter.

There are two approaches to take when it comes to writing the letter.

If you really enjoy the product, explain to the manufacturer about how you value it over other products, or how it meets a need that it is not intended for, or just a courtesy letter to tell them how you enjoy their product.
If you had a negative experience with the product, explain what happened and what they can do to help the situation. The company wants to keep your business so they will want to keep you satisfied.

If you are reporting a product complaint, make sure you have information about the incident. This includes the UPC number of the product, date of the purchase, price paid, and the name and address of the store where it was purchased.

It is important to be polite and respectful in this letter. It is a cliche but you catch your flies with honey than with vinegar.

If you are going to mail a letter I have an additional tip. After you use the product, cut off the bar code and attach it to the letter. It lets the manufacturer know that you purchase their product on a regular basis.

Step 4: Wait for their response.

It usually takes a few business days to receive a response. Some of these companies are large so they might have individuals responsible for certain brands. The response to you will have to be worded correctly.

Example letter

Here is an example of the e-mail I sent to Nature’s Path:

1015 Fake St,
Victoria, BC
V8V 2N7

November 15, 2009

Dear Customer Service,

I tried to use the coupon last night from your website (BOGO coupon) at Save-On-Foods (172 Wilson Street, Victoria BC). They told me that they do not accept Internet coupons even though I told them I received the coupon from the retailer. I was very disappointed. Can you please let me know how they cannot accept a coupon from the retailer if they sell your product? I wanted to purchase this cereal (haven’t tried this variety yet). I am a very loyal consumer of your brand of cereal (always good tasting with not too much sugar).

Thanks.

Steven Zussino

Conclusion:

It’s so exciting when you receive free manufacturers coupons in the mail!

I have provided on our website a new forum thread sticky that lists manufacturers that mail out free coupons. If anyone is successful receiving a coupon or even if the manufacturer gives you no response, please add it to the website.

The author is Steven Zussino, Founder of Grocery Alerts Canada – home of grocery deals, product reviews and money saving coupons. He enjoys personal finance and saving money in beautiful Victoria, BC.

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QuickTax Platinum Download Review and Giveaway

FrugalTrader — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:30:47 +0000

With tax season ramping up, the online tax preparers are out in full force! Last week, I reviewed the popular UFile, this week, it’s QuickTax Platinum, the download version (link). QuickTax offered to giveaway 5 copies of QuickTax Platinum download version to Million Dollar Journey readers (value: $69.99 each).

What’s the difference between the download and online versions? Basically, the download version sits on your PC and allows up to 8 returns per copy ($8.75 per return for Platinum). Upon completing the forms, the software will NETFILE your return.

Why would someone choose the Platinum version over the Standard version? The Platinum version offers everything Standard offers plus:

Enhanced guidance & tax-saving tips for investments

Tools to help you find deductions for your rental properties

Sales-tracking & reporting tools for capital gains & losses

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Sign up for the Million Dollar Journey Newsletter by clicking here (+1 entry)
Tell me when you typically file your taxes via the comments by clicking here (+1 entry)

The Rules

Lets go over some of the rules. All contestant entries will be shoved into an electronic hat and drawn at random. Since there are 5 prizes available, the odds of winning are relatively high.

Only confirmed (new and existing) newsletter subscribers on the date of draw are eligible.
Only 1 comment entry / person (please enter a valid email address).
To be fair to all contestants, each winner can only win once.
Only those who need to file a Canadian return can file with QuickTax Canada.
Entries will end Sat 5pm EST Feb 27, 2010 and the winners announced shortly after!

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10 Ways to Save Money on a New Car

Kathryn — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:30:53 +0000

I know all the arguments for buying a used car. Most personal finance writers will tell you that buying a two year old car with low mileage is the best way to go. I agree with them but those two year old, low mileage, accident free vehicles are hard to find at a good price. I’m not encouraging you to go out and buy new. However, if you’re already leaning towards purchasing new, here are some ways you may be able to save money.

1. Drive standard

I simply don’t understand the arguments for paying extra for automatic. Standard is easy to learn, gives you more control of the car and is simply more fun. Ok, I take that back. There are some legitimate reasons for driving automatic including any issues with your right arm that makes it impossible to drive standard. Not knowing how isn’t a reason. There was a time I didn’t know how either. It took me a couple of hours to get the hang of it but once I did, there was no looking back. Automatic transmission on most new cars is $1000 + tax extra. Driving standard comes with significant savings.

2. Think small

If you have two kids or less and no pets, you may not need a van or an SUV, even if your kids play hockey. When we began looking for cars, we did the duffel bag test. We filled 4 duffel bags / hockey bags with down comforters and pillows and tested each trunk. If they fit in the trunk, the trunk was big enough. I was surprised at the number of small cars that have a good amount of trunk space. We also drove each one home on the test drive to make sure it would fit in our single car garage.

3. Mind the upgrades

You know the deal on this one. Think through the upgrades that are important to you before you step through the doors of a dealership. It’s the salesperson’s job to up sell. It’s up to you to decide exactly what you want.

4. Use Car Cost Canada

For $39.95 you get 5 reports which detail the wholesale price any new car. Knowledge is power when it comes to car buying. It still drives me absolutely crazy that car prices are negotiable. I can’t stand the fact that someone else with better negotiating skills paid less than I did. Knowing the wholesale price gives you powerful negotiating tools.

5. Find a family connection

In our case my husband’s brother’s wife works in upper management for a car company. She was able to arrange a huge discount for us through her benefits. She is allowed one PIN number a year for a family member. She had it faxed straight to the dealership and we were able to get car at significantly below dealer costs. If you are related to someone in the business, don’t be afraid to ask. It didn’t cost her anything and it saved us thousands.

6. Think long term

I’m all about the math. I can separate myself from the enticing smell of a new car and the way the car feels. I want to know how long it will last and what the average cost per year will be. I set up a handy Google spreadsheet and began calculating what our average cost was for our previous car; a two year old car with 45,000 km when we bought it. In the end we knew if we drove this one for a minimum of 8 years and paid cash for it, we’d be ahead.

If we want to have this car 8 to 10 years from now, it has to suit our future needs. We have two kids and no plans for more. In 8 years they’ll be 17 & 19. This may be the car they learn to drive. One of our requirements was a good amount of leg room in the back so that as they grew, the car would still fit our needs.

7. Ask for ‘bottom line’ numbers

Salespeople don’t seem to like this one. They want me to fall in love with the car so that as the numbers add up and extra costs are added on, I’m already sold. I just want the bottom line figure after all taxes, freight, mandatory extras and miscellaneous environmental taxes and sales taxes are included. We had narrowed the decision down to three cars and were basing our final decision on the bottom line price. Every dealer was reluctant to provide this information but each did when we simply explained why we wanted the numbers.

8. Pay cash

Drive your cars well past the time you pay them off. Continue paying yourself the car payment. By the time you need to replace the car, you’ll have enough saved up to pay cash. A car is not an investment. Paying cash for a depreciating asset will save you a pile of money over the long term.

9. Know what your trade-in is worth

You should know the blue book (or black book) value of your car before you go. Don’t mention your trade-in until all other negotiations are finished. Use the bottom line figure including the offered trade-in value when making your choice. Again, dealers were hesitant to do this but in all three places they quoted us what they would give us for a trade-in. If it’s no where near the blue book value, you may way to consider selling your trade in privately. The advantage to a trade-in if you can get a reasonable offer is that you’ll save that much in taxes off the final price of the car.

10. Call your insurance company before you make the choice

Again, I was surprised at the difference in quotes. I explained that we were looking at buying a car and wanted to know what the rates would be for each of our three choices. The differences were substantial and played a large part in the final decision.

I’m not encouraging you to go out and buy a new car. I also recognize not everyone can drive standard or has a family member in the industry. For those of you who are looking to buy a new car, the best thing you can do is to take the emotion out of it, do the math, look at the numbers and think practically. Your car doesn’t define who you are. Its role is to take you as safety as possible from point a to point b. If you look good getting there, all the better but looking good may not be worth the financial sacrifice.

Editor’s Note: Here are more helpful articles on how to negotiate your next new car purchase and how to save money on auto insurance.

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RRSP Contribution Deadline and Giveaway Reminder

FrugalTrader — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:30:44 +0000

RRSP Deadline and Contribution Limit

A quick reminder that the RRSP deadline is fast approaching. For tax year 2009, the last day to contribute is Monday March 1st, 2010. Your RRSP contribution limit should be on last years Notice of Assessment (NOA) or 18% of your last years earned income up to a maximum contribution of $21,000 (providing you don’t contribute to a pension).

As well, if you want to contribute for the tax deduction, but don’t know what to invest in, simply deposit the cash and decide what to invest in later. Here are some RRSP discount brokerages to consider.

UFile Giveaway

With the income tax filing deadline looming, UFile has given MDJ 10 copies to giveaway. If you are interested in entering the giveaway, check out our UFile review. Hurry, entries will close tomrorow, 5pm Saturday Feb 20, 2010 .

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Ignorant, Incompetent or Begrudging?

Guest Blogger — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:30:05 +0000

Around the time of the stock market lows in March 2009, an acquaintance, who is in his mid-fifties, was chatting about the economy in general and, unsurprisingly, touched upon the market downturn. He asked about my investments and I mentioned that (since I was invested solely in stock index funds) I had a paper loss to report too. I mentioned that I am trying to learn about how the market works and analyze my stocks (not that I will ever become a trader; being an investor suits me just fine!).

His retort? “Oh, the best in business can’t pick winning stocks most of the time”. He paused and then went on “how are we (laypeople) supposed to know?”. His argument was that we should let the financial professionals manage our money and not think that we can do a decent job ourselves.

From our conversation, I learned that most of his retirement money is invested in stocks and mutual funds and so, he must have lost his share in the downturn. I do not know his exact paper loss but it could be substantial. If so, he has been ignorant enough to not have a fair share of his nest egg in conservative investments like bonds. Of course, if he had not sold during those lows, he would have been in safer territory now. In addition, he places too much faith on “the best in business”.

Now, I am not claiming to have unearthed a magical way to beat the market and its experts. The financial wizards of Wall (or Bay) Street maybe trailblazers but I’m not trying to carve a niche for thousands to follow. All I aim to do is to understand my investments. I’d prefer to learn – a little at a time – and be comfortable with my investments than trusting my cash to a mutual fund manager who will beat the market this year and possibly, lose the gains (and maybe, the principal too) in a few years’ time. If I turn out to be a damp squib in investing, I will live with the satisfaction that I tried and found my incompetence. Some people, like my acquaintance, don’t even want to try because, to them, it is a loser’s game.

Finally, it could just be that he was envious that a guy around half his age is making an effort to learn about and understand his investments. The baby boomer probably rues his lost chance and the regret manifests as discouragement to green DIY investors like me.

Make no mistake: I’m not going to understand value investing so well and follow Mr. Buffett into the annals of stock market history. But, is it illogical to trust one’s own judgment after gaining a fair share of knowledge? I’m sure you would have seen the qualities mentioned (in the title of the post) portrayed by people at different points of your life.

Have you had people rebuke your attempt to learn something (not necessarily investing) that most people leave to “expert brains”? Did you pay heed to their words of wisdom? If not, how did your attempt turn out?

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New Mortgage Rules for Canadians

FrugalTrader — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:30:31 +0000

Perhaps there is some truth to the Canadian housing bubble speculation as the Canadian government has made changes to the mortgage rules. With interest rates at historic lows, home buyers are purchasing homes at a frantic pace. Most with the smallest possible down payment and the longest possible amortization. As you can imagine, a portion of these mortgages are variable rates, which could mean trouble when interest rates rise in the near future.

To help nip excessive lending in the bud, the federal government has made slight changes the mortgage lending rules. In particular:

When applying for a mortgage, qualifying payments will be based on the current 5 year fixed rate, even if the variable, or shorter term rates are lower. I like this as it ensures that borrowers can afford higher rates should it happen.
When refinancing, borrowers can only go up to 90% of their equity instead of the previous 95%. If refinancing, I usually recommend to only borrow up to 80% of the equity as it avoids the CMHC premium anyways, so I don’t see this as a big deal.
When purchasing investment properties, the minimum that CMHC will back is a 20% down payment. This one is by far the biggest shocker of the new rules as it now makes a lot of rental properties “unaffordable” to investors.

Overall, I don’t think that the new rules are overly drastic, with the biggest change being the new investment property borrowing rule. I’m of the opinion that the borrower should take responsibility for the amount that they borrow on a home, and it shouldn’t be blamed on others (like government) when the payments get too expensive. Having said that, these new rules by the government should help potential homeowners determine their affordability levels should interest rates go up.

With regards to the investment properties down payment rule, it seems a bit excessive in my opinion. Now, even if the investor finds a cash flow positive property without a 20% down payment, they will still need to come up with a substantial amount of cash. However, if I were to buy a rental property today, I would put down at least 20% to avoid the CMHC fees regardless of the new rules.

Could they have done more? I was expecting a reduced amortization term from 35-30 years, and perhaps an increased down payment requirement. However, those measures would perhaps cool the real estate market too much, especially when interest rates start to rise in the near future.

What are your thoughts on the new mortgage rules?

UFile.ca Quick Review and Giveaway

FrugalTrader — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:29 +0000

The friendly folks at Ufile contacted me to help spread the word about ufile.ca (not affiliated). In doing so, they have offered to giveaway 10 online tax filing coupon codes for the readers of Million Dollar Journey. It typically costs $15.95 to file online which is a bargain compared to what accountants can charge.

What is UFile?

UFile is an online ”do it yourself” tax preparation service made easy. The online application will coach you through the way when filing out the various tax fields. What I like most about UFile is that you can fill in all your info and tweak everything before paying. Once you pay, everything is sent online via NETFILE to be processsed by CRA.

I have personally used UFile to file my taxes before, and I recommend the service. I currently use a Chartered Accountant for my annual taxes as my financial situation has become increasingly complex.

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Sign up for the Million Dollar Journey Newsletter (+1 entry)
Tell me how you typically file your taxes via the comments (+1 entry)

The Rules

Lets go over some of the rules. All contestant entries will be shoved into an electronic hat and drawn at random. Since there are 10 prizes available, the odds of winning are relatively high.

Only confirmed (new and existing) newsletter subscribers on the date of draw are eligible.
Only 1 comment entry / person (please enter a valid email address).
To be fair to all contestants, each winner can only win once.
Only those who need to file a Canadian return can file with Ufile.ca
Entries will end Sat 5pm EST Feb 20, 2010 and the winners announced shortly after!

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What My First Job Taught Me

Kathryn — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:30:30 +0000

One of the rules in my family was that by the time we were 16, we got a job or our allowance stopped. Counter intuitive perhaps but the idea of more money or no money had me looking for something in the months before my 16th birthday.

Now that I’m a parent I’m beginning to wonder if I should encourage my kids to get work in their teen years. Reflecting back on my experience, these are some of the things I learned.

First Impressions Matter

My first job was with a restaurant chain. There were a number of other people from my high-school who worked at the same place. One of the rules was that we were not to eat or drink anything unless we’d paid for it and we were in the staff room. On the second day of my new job, one of the more popular girls from high-school asked me to hold a drink for her while she got something. What she got was the manager who found me standing there holding a drink I hadn’t paid for. I’m a rule follower by nature. I have a good work ethic. The manager didn’t know that. Even though I tried to explain what happened, she didn’t know me. I was given a formal warning. It took nearly a year for the manager to trust me and recognize I was not who she thought I was.

Work Hard but Set Limits

I worked at this restaurant chain for two years. I was working on average 28 hours a week, Monday – Friday from 5-9 pm and every Saturday from 7-3. Many weeks I had overtime hours. During the end of my time there, we were told that every high-school student had to do one closing a week on a school night, which meant getting home around 2 am. I was already having trouble keeping up with all my homework and working. There was no way I could pull off doing a close on a school night. I began looking for a new job and found a great one in a local mall that was only open in the evenings on Thursdays and Fridays until 9 pm and closed on Saturdays by 6 pm. I needed to set limits. If I didn’t there was no way I could get the grades I needed to get into university.

There is More to Life Than This

One of the most surprising parts of my first job was how many middle aged, intelligent people were working the same job. These were hardworking people who for whatever reason found themselves in their mid life wearing a uniform and following extremely simple directions to assemble food. I knew then and there that I was going to work hard at university so that I had options in my adult years.

Minimum Wage is Good for a Teenager Living With Their Parents

The money was great for me at the time. Twenty eight hours a week, at $5 something an hour in the mid 1980’s while living at home provided me with a good amount of spending money. I remember one woman I worked with. She had two jobs, a disabled husband and four kids. She was exhausted. Minimum wage, even with two jobs, was hardly enough to make ends meet. I didn’t want that life for myself. I recognized that post secondary education would be an investment in my future.

Getting a job in high-school was one of the best things I could have done. It gave me a taste for what I didn’t want to do for the rest of my life. It was extremely motivating for going to university so that I could work in a job that I enjoyed instead of just putting in the hours somewhere.

There is a debate among parents of teens. Should teens work while in school or should school and extra curricular activities be their work?

This is a decision for each family to make. I feel torn on the issue. If my kids are putting a lot of effort into their school work and involved in extra curricular activities, I’d like that to take priority. However, if they aren’t involved in anything extra curricular and have too much free time on their hands, a job will keep them busy, give them experience and give them a little extra spending money.

Did your parents encourage you to get a job when you were a teen? Will you make your teen get a job?

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Rewards Credit Cards, DIY Will, and Bug Out Bag

FrugalTrader — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:30:24 +0000

My original rewards credit card comparison post was getting a bit outdated so I decided to update it with my new picks. Check it out to see the top rewards credit cards in Canada.

Last Will and Testament: DIY or with a lawyer? @ Canadian Money Forum

33 Essential Items For Your Bug Out Bag @ Frugal Dad

Money Making Decluttering @ Where Does All My Money Go

Be Vigilant of Car Recalls: Lessons For Car Owners @ The Digerati Life

Real Estate Agent Incentives @ Canadian Capitalist

Five Financial Mistakes That Can Cost You Significantly @ Generation X Finance

A Numbers Approach to Finding True Love @ Four Pillars

our debt to the future and past @ Brip Blap

The New Meaning of Retirement @ The Financial Blogger

Seven Things You Must Do to Prepare for An Emergency @ Lazy Man and Money

How much money do retailers really make? @ Thicken My Wallet

Do Kids Inherit Frugality? @ Money Smart Life

The Dangers of Automatic Bank Account Withdrawals @ Michael James on Money

Lessons Learned While Watching MTVs True Life: I Have Broke Parents @ The Sun’s Financial Diary

Financial Planning Myths @ Finance Highway

Should You Use Savings to Payoff Debt? @ My Dollar Plan

Would You Invest In The O’Leary Funds? @ Canadian Finance Blog

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