Posts tagged as:

savings

Smart kid. Smart money. Kayla’s story.

June 2, 2011

Consider a teenager who for the sake of today’s discussion I will call her Kayla. She is 14 years old, and she is a living, breathing example of a savvy money manager. In fact, she started demonstrating personal money management skills at age three. Does that make her a child prodigy like Pablo Picasso, who [...]

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The long, hot summer.

May 12, 2011

So I’ve come to some realizations in the last month. One is that it’s the start of the summer driving season. Second, I am not Nostradamus or anything but I know gas prices will be soaring higher.  I know this because the media tells me so. In the debate, we’ve heard in all forms of [...]

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What about them RRSP loans eh?

April 15, 2011

Oh Canada! Land of angelic bankers and borrowers! Your love of the line of credit is well documented but what about your love of the RRSP loan? An RRSP loan is used specifically for your retirement plan often with the goal of getting enough of a tax refund to pay off some of the loan [...]

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This spring, as you enumerate your finances, count your blessings.

March 24, 2011

Spring is a time to take stock and clean house. That can include sweeping out the dust that settles in the attic between your ears. It collects wherever negative, self-defeating attitudes are found – the same attitudes that make you feel miserable, indecisive, and powerless. Plus there is always the prospect for opening old boxes [...]

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BMO brings plenty of logic to customer service.

February 18, 2011

It’s fair to say that Canada’s banks enjoy a good measure of respect among the citizenry at large. Why? Well, aside from occupying Bay Street rather than Wall Street, they offer security and services quite unlike those of many of their international contemporaries. Case in point:  Bank of Montreal (BMO), which is right now advertising [...]

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Consumer debt and savings. Good news and advice.

January 11, 2011

In an era of historic consumer debt, here is encouraging news that comes to us by way of a survey from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). For 2011, debt repayment is the number one financial planning priority of Canadians.   Also near the top of this year’s money management list among citizens of [...]

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Hilarious! Pathetic! Awesome! or whatever – the Queen has money-saving tips!

December 22, 2010

Queen Elizabeth II, My British Idol, is known for her thriftiness. As an avid fan of the Royal Family, I could not agree more with some of her suggestions to save money. If she adopts the motto, ‘make do and mend’; mine is, ‘want not, waste not’.   Enjoy a good laugh or say thank [...]

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Hug a cow save some money.

November 11, 2010

I’m a vegetarian and usually get asked all sorts of questions about what I eat but the most common and surprising one is, “isn’t it really expensive to be a vegetarian?”  This line of questioning really confuses me because, unless things have changed from my meat eating days, meat is expensive.  I remember being outraged [...]

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Haggling is fun, but it is not for me.

August 25, 2010

Off on our routine 40-minute walk to our favourite coffee shop last Saturday morning, 15 minutes in and my husband says, ‘Wait a minute, let’s check out this big yard sale’. Uh-oh, what can I say, but, ‘OK, let’s go’. He was checking out a fascinating item – a little pewter collectible.  He asked, ‘How much is this [...]

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Back to school with smart savings

August 17, 2010

It’s that time of year again. Kids are getting back to the books, and if you’re a smart parent, you will take steps to keep your own books in balance by looking for ways to save while shopping. You get high marks for it in a tough economy. Start by using the best modern tool [...]

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