Perhaps, it’s just me but I just don’t understand the appeal that Black Friday seems to have for some Canadian shoppers. It totally makes sense for a Canadian on a visit to the US to get some Christmas shopping done but let’s list the steps involved for a Canadian resident driving across the border simply [...]
Netflix announced today that it is offering unlimited movies and TV streamed over the internet into the homes of Canadians for $7.99 per month. As a consumer who is tired of paying ever increasing cable bills, I watched the announcement with some interest. Though Netflix is offering the first month free, the selection of movies [...]
Frequent travelers to the US or those who incur regular expenses in US dollars might want to sign up for an US Dollar credit card. It might work out cheaper to convert Canadian dollars into US dollars using this gambit than paying a 2.5% premium that credit cards typically charge for currency conversions. Reader Andrew [...]
Son: Nice car Dad. How much did you pay for it? Dad: Ten thousand dollars. Son: I think that’s too much. Dad: Really? How much do you think I should have paid? Son: Four dollars. There are only so many harsh Ottawa winters a car can take. A few months back, I took my 1992 [...]
Costco’s low prices are one reason we are big fans of the warehouse store. Their generous return policy is another reason why Costco is the first stop for our purchases. Over the years Costco has tightened up their return policy somewhat — now, shoppers have just 90 days to return electronics goods such as televisions, [...]
A recent episode of Marketplace on CBC featured cellphone customers who claimed to have Canada’s worst cellphone bills (you can watch it here). Cellphone customers had racked up thousands of dollars in charges either in air time, texting or, what appears to be fairly common, roaming charges while traveling abroad. The typical phone horror story [...]
I’ll be participating in a live discussion on investment topics on Globe Investor on Monday, August 17, 2009 at noon. I hope you can join in. Investing is fairly simple — develop a good plan and stick to it. Many investors don’t even have a plan but even those that do have trouble with the [...]
It could be argued that we are in an economic crisis because we spent too much, saved too little and binged on credit. It is ironical, therefore, that the biggest tax measure in Budget 2009 would be a tax credit that encourages Canadians to spend even more. Leaving aside the larger question of how putting [...]
With economic conditions worsening, the best thing to have is an emergency fund that is liquid and can be accessed easily. But the reality is that not everyone is diligent with their finances. For those who have a lot of equity built in their home but are cash-poor, it may make sense to obtain a [...]
Yesterday’s post on Virgin Mobile’s recent service changes elicited a useful tip from Shane and Million Dollar Journey: Check out Speak Out Wireless, which is offered through 7-Eleven convenience stores, along with Petro-Canada Mobility as an alternative to Virgin Mobile. Speak Out is roughly the same as Petro-Canada Mobility — both piggy-back on the Rogers [...]
