Calgary Co-op Free Product Friday

I happen to glance at an email this week from the Calgary Co-op highlighting something called "Free Product Friday".

Not sure if this is every Friday but I downloaded the Co-op App and got a 3 Roll pack of Viva Vantage Towels ($4.99) for free today.  Check it out for next Friday.

Read More

Making a Budget & Sticking to it

As I posted a little previously Beau and I are making a budget as our family income is taking a hit due to maternity.  We finished the budget part last weekend.  Now we are on the sticking to budget part.

As I suspected, we already have a pretty lean budget to begin with.  More than 50% of our budget is fixed costs like house, car, insurance etc.  The only place we could cut our expenses is food and entertainment.  Food is one of our indulgences.  We love our regular restaurants and trying new ones.  Also, one of our bad habits, where a lot of our groceries goes to waste because we just forget to eat them on time.  This year we are going to cut back on this part of the budget by keeping the eating out to special occasions or outing with friends/family.  This also means we will do more meal planning and hopefully cut down on the food waste at home.

I don't want to spend too much time on tracking our spending.  I already keep books for my rentals, Beau's business, and my small business so I don't want another set of accounts to keep.  So I'm trying out Mint.com.  The first glitch with mint.com happened today when it didn't work with my MBNA Mastercard.  I submitted a ticket so hopefully they will have it resolved soon.

Read More

Updating Car Insurance

Beau and I are making a budget, because being on maternity means a more than 50% pay cut as I have wrote about before.  As we were making the budget it reminded me that I no longer drive to work everyday, this should decrease my budget.

A call to my insurance company confirmed it.  After updating my insurance I saved $300 per year.  Not a whole lot, but not bad either.  

Actually this happened when I moved as well.  I saved like $50 because apparently my new area of the city meant cheaper insurance compared to my old area.

So if you have any changes to your driving habits be sure to update your car insurance company and see if you get any savings.

Read More

PMP Certification Preparations

A month seems like a long time until you have an exam to prepare for.  I've been putting lots of hours of studying,, and as a little break I thought I would blog about my exam preparation and the cost of it.

I signed up for a Project Management Institute (PMI) membership, and it has saved me quite a bit of money and time in preparing for the exam.

First off, there is a different cost for the exam for members than non-members of PMI.  So I already made my PMI membership dues back in terms of discount for the exam.

Secondly, with the PMI membership I get a digital copy of the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge).  This saves me $40-$70 depending on where you buy the book from.  The great thing about it is that I can load it onto my iPad and read whenever I have a free moment.  And I can search/look up any topic quickly.

Thirdly, with the PMI membership I have access I have access to the E-reads and Reference section of the website, where there are great books I can use for free.  While I have lots of books marked for reading later, the ones most useful to me are the Exam Prep and Sample questions.

Something that I did 'splurge' on is Rita Mulcahy's PMP exam Prep book (~$100) and her FastTrack Program ($300).  But I have heard great things about it, and so far I find reading this book a lot easier than the PMBOK.  The PMBOK is more of the facts, where as this book is more of an explanation of why.  The FastTrack is just lots of exam questions, which I can take in a simulated exam format and then review each answer with explanations.

All in all preparation is not cheap, but it will be worth it in the end.  I'm going to save all the receipts and ask my accountant if there is anything I can write off for taxes.  I think the membership dues yes, but not sure about the others.  But it's good to save them now, rather than having to search for them next year.

Read More

Costco & Capital One Mastercard

A couple of weeks ago I saw an advertisement for an American Express card offering 1.25% cash return, which is not bad.  Especially since I shop at Costco and it only takes American Express and the True Earnings card I have with Costco is not as good for rewards.  In my research for this card, I read that Coscto has stopped advertising the True Earnings card.  Seems like everyone thought something is up, confirmed by today's news.

Costco is going to stop accepting American Express card after December 31.  Instead they will be offering a Capital One card and start accepting Mastercard.  This is great news to me.  Because I have the Smart Cash card and the Capital One Aspire travel card which both give me better rewards from my Amex card.

Read More

Shoppers Drug Mart Coupon

I try to plan my Shoppers purchases around when they have specials.  I saw this one on Smartcanucks today, and came up with this awesome plan for the weekend.

• Shoppers Drug Mart has a coupon for 8000 bonus points with the purchase of $40
• Almay has a rebate available to get a free Almay Smart Shade make up for free (about $19 at Shoppers)

This means if I buy the Almay Smart Shade make up (submit rebate after), I would get the 8000 bonus points with $21.

Read More

Canada Automobile Association Savings

With the marriage, car registration, and address changes that happened lately, I've been to the Alberta Motor Association more often then I've been in years.  This makes me appreciate my membership a lot more.

For starters, with most registries you have to pay for your fees with debit or cash, but at AMA I can pay with my credit card.

Also, I always get discount movie tickets with my AMA memebership.  But in my last visit in I just happen to glance at the rewards pamphlet while waiting in line.  I'm surprised at the savings that are applicable to me.  There was a 25% off at my regular dry cleaners, discount entry to the Zoo, discount at food places etc.  It's too much to list here.  But the point is I always thought that AMA discounts doesn't much apply to me, but I was wrong.  I'm going to add it to my list of places to check for discounts before buying anything or paying for any services.  All the discounts/rewards are posted online.  If you are not in Alberta, go to CAA Rewards and choose your province to look for deals more relavant to you.

Read More

Drive or not Drive

On the drive to work today I heard this little bit of news: number young people ages 15 - 24 with a drivers licence has dropped ~20% in the last 20 years.  One of the reasons the young people interviewed don't have a licence is the cost savings.  So I wondered what my costs are for driving.

Canadian Autombile Association  has this handy little Driving Cost Calculator which I tried out tonight.  The tool takes into account insurance, how much you drive (highway/city), maintenance costs etc. My annual driving cost is $4,758.

Cost of an adult transit pass in Calgary is $96 per year, which means a yearly cost is $1,152.

This is a savings of $3,606.  In addition there is also a public transit tax credit that can be claimed.

But not taken into account is the amount of time that is spent commuting.  For those living downtown and working downtown there may not be a major inconvenience of not driving.  Actually, I did this for a couple of years.  However, if you work in an industrial area and live in a different part of town, travel time can become quite long.  I did this as well for a little while, and it was about 2 hours of commuting daily.  So it's really an individual decision that varies depending on situation.

Read More

Landscaping

I always say, we are a family of thinkers not doers.  It's true.  We are not good with working with our hands.  But Google and YouTube have convinced my mom that we are doers. 

After much nagging, we (Beau, Bil, Sis & Dad) decided to indulge her and do a little landscaping this long weekend for her.  On one side of the house, we have to dig a little lower below the basement windows, grade it so the water flows away form the foundation, add landscaping fabric to prevent weeds, then place a pipe to help with water flow, and finally cover with bark.

Fairly simple it sounds like, but manual labor is hard work!  The materials costs us $430.  If we had hired someone to do it, this would have been a $800 project.  This means for 4 people working 8 hours, we made about $11.50 an hour per person.  That's close to minimum wage.  Not to mention the amount of additional time everyone needed to recover after and how much better and quick job a professional would have made it.

Read More

Cell Phone Plan Search

Last week I dropped my iPhone flat on its face on the pavement and the screen broke into many pieces.  My cell phone contract is up towards the end of this year, so I took this opportunity to review my cell phone needs and what options are available.

My current contract gives me the below for $45 per month

• 200 anytime minutes 
• unlimited evenings and weekends
• free Canada wide calling,
• Voicemail
• caller display
• 500 MB of data

I've been with Bell for 7 years now and have always been happy with their coverage so I called them first to see what they can do for a new plan.  They were not super helpful.  Actually I was told that the price for a similar plan has increases significantly.

I looked around.  I have Shaw Internet, which means I can get free data in quite a few places.  Therefore, I was willing to give up data, but not a data capable phone.

The best one I could find that fits my need is Fido.  They have the cheapest plan for my needs and cheapest phone.

The $34 monthly plan gives me

• 200 anytime mintues
• unlimited evenings and weekends
• free Canada wide calling
• voicemail
• caller display
• 50MB of data

With a two year contract I could get the Nexus 5 phone for $250.  Or I could add to $5 a month to my plan to get the phone for $50.  $5 per month for 24 months is $120, so I would have paid $170 for the phone instead of $250.

With this information I called Bell again to give them a chance to save the deal before I moved my contract.  What they proposed gave me more anytime minutes and data, but did not save me money.

Anyhow, before I signed up for the Fido deal I did a quick search to see if there are promos.  There is one promo for $25 credit for new customers.  To be safe, I called the customer service number to sign up instead of doing it online.  Good thing I did.  He said if I get a friend with Fido to be my referral both of us get another $25.  So I gave him one of my friend's number and name, and he said the amount will be credited in 3 months.

So in the end I got a $39 monthly fee, with a $50 phone, and $50 credit.  Savings of $144 from my previous plan.  Not a lot but not bad either. 

Note: Mobilicity has a promotion for $33 unlimited data, talk, and text.  However, I have to pay for the phone, and the phone is not compatible with all carriers.  Fido's phone is and comes unlocked.

If you don't know anyone on Fido and need someone for referral, email me and I can be your referral.

Read More

Shoppers durg mart Bonus points

Worth looking at especially for the approaching holidays.

Get 8,000 Shoppers bonus points when you buy 2 or more gift cards totalling $150 or more.  Valid Saturday November 10 to Friday November 16, 2012.

I always time my shopping at Shoppers with bonus points weekend.  Luckily I saw this offer just hours after I saw Beau's to-do list on Friday.  One of his to-do was to buy a gift card for his friend.  I texted him to wait until this offer on Saturday.  He only needed one card, to we picked another card from a store we regularly spend a lot of money on to make up the $150 limit.

Read More

Open box/display units

I’ve been a bad planner.  I completely forgot that if I renovate a kitchen and add in a dishwasher and hood fan, I actually have to buy and pay for said dishwasher and hood fan.  So this week when my renovator calls and says Rental A kitchen is now ready for installation of hood fan and dishwasher I was not prepared.  I did not do the research and price comparisons.  I don’t have time to wait for the sales and discounts.

After a  quick tour of the usual suspects like Sears, The Brick, Trail Appliances, and Ikea.  I found the cheapest and best options.  Believe it or not Sears actually have some very cheap but good appliances, if you are not looking for all the bells and whistles.  I found a Sears over the rand microwave for $200 and dishwasher for $350.  Ikea also have a pretty good over the range microwave for $200.

Sadly, Sears doesn’t carry anything in stock and it was going to be a week wait for delivery.  As I was about to grab option two – Ikea – Beau called.  He suggested looking at Future shop because he saw some that were reasonably price when he was there early in the day.  Since there is a Future shop next door I walked over.  JACKPOT!  They had a over the range that is being discontinued, so I got the display unit for $190 ($100 discount).  Also, I bought a dishwasher that was open box for $250 ($120 discount).  The sales guy took everything down and we manage to fit both into my Honda Fit.  No delivery charge.  Is it weird that saving lots of money give me a high?

Read More

Trying to find that happy medium

I was cleaning out some papers which cropped up during my move to my new place. In the pile of receipts I found the receipt for my first digital camera. I still remember buying this camera in preparation for my 3 months internship in Finland. It’s a Canon A86 and cost $416.23. Also another receipt which I got a 256MB Flash card and a battery charger for $119.32 to go with the camera.

Aside from the shock at how dated the electronics is now, I’m really surprised at how changed my attitude towards spending is. I didn’t research for this purchase. I didn’t look for sales. I basically picked a camera I liked at the camera store. Paid for it. Then I hopped over to the electronics store and bought the accessories to go with. $500+ with no prior planning or thought of how it affected my future budget.

It’s not that I wasn’t money conscious at the time. I’ve been brought up to save money for as long as I can remember. However, back then my spending was less controlled or planned. There were two sides to my money philosophy
which didn’t quite mesh. There was the side that saved as much as possible. But then there was the side that saw what she wanted, and bought it as long as there was money in the bank. I never carried a balance on my credit card, but I never had long term savings either.

Funny how perspectives change. Back when I made less than half of what I made now but I was more free with my money than I am now. Back then I dropped $500 in a day without much thought. Whereas, I’ve been agonizing more than two months over a couch because $1000 is so much money. Of course back then I wasn’t thinking about mortgage payments and RRSP savings etc.

That being said. I don’t want to be ruled by money. I think I need to find a happy medium between the then me and the now me.

Read More

How was your boxing day?

I don't know about everyone else but I did not get into the Boxing Day shopping at all. Between Redflagdeals.ca and smartcanucks.ca I was able to look at boxing day flyers at most of the stores I was interested in. It was a combination of the deals not being so great for what I want, and I am much more careful with what I spend money on.

For example, I've needed to replace my laptop for awhile now so I was looking especially close at the laptop deals. My co-worker recommended a few that are decent and within my price range. I also have the funds saved up for it. But then I asked myself if I really need to buy it now. Sure the battery and keyboard are gone, but it's still good as a desktop (with a big LCD that I bought used from a friend) and I mostly use it to browse the web, e-mail, and very rarely, word process. The longer I can delay the purchase means when I do get it I could get more for my money. So I am going to wait.

Read More

Saved $39.08

I bought a floor lamp recently. I waited as long as I could for a sale but really needed one. So I bought one I liked from Canadian Tire for about $80. Canadian Tire because I had the gift certificates I ordered.

Anyway, I kept watch on the flyers and finally a sale this week. 50% off the lamp I bought. Got it price matched today and saved me $39.08. Yay.

Read More

One month no clothes shopping & coupon

It's been one month since I've spent any money on clothes, shoes or accessories. It feels good.

I think it's a combination of having a walk-in closet where I could see how much I have all at once, and having been so busy with work and moving that I have no time to shop.

Today I broke the streak, but for good reason. I've been wanting a pair of pointed toe black pumps since this summer. However, I've been hesitant in shelling out the $80-$100 for the pumps that I like in the stores so far.

Aldo, is having a clearance sales where I've found 3 pairs of pumps I like under $60 each. They are offering free shipping, and I found a coupon code that gave me 10% off. So if there is anything you've been waiting to go on sale, check out the site and try this coupon code: 74109562.

Of course I'm not keeping all 3 pairs but I will decide when they arrive and return the rest at the store.

Read More

TD Canada Trust bonus

TD always have these promotions where new customers get a free gift like an Ipod, digital picture frame etc. I like their latest gift: money. Depending on what type of account is opened you can get between $100 to $250. I like their customer service and many, many branches around where I am.

Here is the link for those interest. Offer is available until December 31, 2009.

Read More

Garbage room finds? Would you?

A few months ago, I was with a friend - one of the most frugal people I know in real life. We were driving into her parking lot when she saw that someone threw away a ceramic planting pot outside in the alley. I ended up having to go outside with her to carry it into her place.

Her reasoning? A pot like that costs $20-$30. This one is free. All she needs to do is clean it.

I have to admit. I was a little embarrassed. What if someone saw me? What if the person who threw it away saw me?

Well as a new condo owner, I now completely understand. Things are so expensive! Yesterday I was dropping off some garbage at my garbage room downstairs. I saw someone threw out a big seagrass basket with lid. I was just looking at baskets and the cheapest ones cost $10-$20. Yep. I brought it upstairs. It's sitting outside on the balcony right now until I have time to give it a thorough clean.

To tell the truth. I'm a little proud that I could make something that someone didn't want into something nice I could use. Funny how perspectives change.

Anyone have any idea how to clean a seagrass basket properly?

Read More

Cheap Internet Found

I finally got around to getting my Internet set up this weekend. There really isn't too much choice in Internet, only two big providers. I decided to go with my previous provider, Shaw, because I liked them well enough. But I am economizing by not getting a landline or cable.

There are a few different choices for service. I decided to go with the second highest speed package because I guess I'll be doing some Internet TV watching now I that I don't have cable. Since I am opening a new account for a new address, I expected to get the special offer ($14.95/month for the first 3 months and $43.95 after). Imagine my surprise when the customer service girl told me about a different promotion ($9.95/month for the first 12 months).

Weird that I could have missed it. I checked and it's not on the website. Finally I found on a forum that it was a mail out campaign. Yay $9.95/month for a year! Worth checking it out if you have Shaw in your city.

Read More

Gift Cards to save money

I never realized how little stuff I have until I realized I have to furnish a whole apartment. This is not just the big stuff which I'm going to buy one piece a month, but little stuff like utensil, pots, vacuum, tools etc. I think I moved my clothes, shoes, and books and that's it.

I realize I will probably be making quite a few trips to the Canadian Tire. With a little pre-planning I could save more money. I ordered some gift cards from Canadian Tire through Great Canadian Rebates which gets 3.5% cash back + 1% from the credit card rewards. Also, paying with gift cards means Canadian Tire Money back with purchase.

I already have my eyes on a light, a clothes rack, and a set of glass tupperware.

Read More