If you remember, a while back I interviewed the CEO of ING Direct Canada, Peter Aceto, using questions from the blog readers. The most popular question was “(when) will you be launching a no-fee chequing account?”. You can see Peter’s original answer here, but his main theme in answering most questions was that they were [...]
Special Cell Phone Deal for Readers: $60/month, 350 min, 6GB data, lots of extras
I recently picked up an iPhone 4. My contract with Rogers had lapsed and I’ve been “off-contract” for over a year. A good friend of mine, Phil, sent a message to friends about a special offer he could provide (he works for a corporate Telus dealer). One of the reasons I had been putting off [...]
CTV News Channel Appearance: Money Saving Tips
CTV News Channel asked me to give an interview on some simple money saving ideas. I chatted with anchor Jacqueline Milczarek about saving money on life insurance, negotiating discounts, and simple budgeting. The interview appeared live on Sunday at 4:15pm EST and I’m linking it here for anyone who wants to watch. You can also [...]
A Successful Wedding Plan
A friend of mine sent me the numbers for the cost of his wedding, and also included some other long term planning philosophies. I think it is a good example of how one can… have your cake and eat it too. I never said I had anything against big weddings (or other large expenses), just [...]
The Opportunity Cost of a Big Wedding
Sunday night at 9pm I chatted to Dale Curd (host of Guy Talk on Newstalk 1010) about money and weddings. On the show I threw out a simple alternative to the traditional notion of a wedding. A traditional wedding can easily run $35,000 in Toronto, with the average being between $20,000 and $30,000 across Canada. [...]
iPad Pricing and 3G Data Pricing in Canada
The iPad will be more expensive for Canadians. Here is a table that compares the pricing for Americans in US Dollars, then for Canadians in Canadian dollars, and then the pricing for Canadians adjusted for today’s exchange rate:
Credit Card Balance Protection Insurance Costs You Even If You Pay Off Your Balance
I was chatting with a friend recently who informed me that he once signed up for a balance protection offer from his credit card company. You’ve probably been offered this at some point. Someone calling on behalf of your credit card company will offer you a service that will pay your minimum payment owing every [...]
Thou Shalt Not Sign Contracts At Thine Door
I had some errands to run on Saturday morning (before tackling rebuilding the blog) and when I got back my girlfriend told me that someone had came by with a great offer to replace our 6 year old water heating tank with a rental that would cost $23.95/month and would show up on our existing [...]
Iceland's Smoke Monster
While sad, it is worth pointing out that the volcanic ash emanating from Iceland is highlighting how some people are balanced on a knife’s edge when it comes to their finances. I have read stories of how some people (who until now have been stranded a maximum of 5 days) can no longer afford to [...]
Gold Plated Member of Parliament Pension Plans
A long standing MP can collect a $100,000 annual pension. After just 6 years as an MP you can qualify for a $27,000 annual pension. What’s even more curious is that the pension benefits are secured by tax-payers. There are no actual investments, only a big IOU on paper which is guaranteed to grow every [...]
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