Canadian Tire Gift Card Discount
Great Canadian Rebates has secured another “just in time for Christmas” deal with Canadian Tire Online to offer members 5% cash back (instead of 3.33%) on all Canadian Tire gift cards!
How do you get the rebate? Simply join Great Canadian Rebates (free), click through to Canadian Tire, and make your gift card purchase. From there, you’ll soon get 5% of your purchase deposited into your GCR account which can be withdrawn via PayPal or cheque. The 5% cash back deal is only valid until Nov 27, 2008 so make sure to buy them up soon. Remember, not only is it free to join Great Canadian Rebates, they will pay you $2 upon registration.
Also note that all Million Dollar Journey readers who join Great Canadian Rebates are automatically...
Happy Halloween! When I was younger, I loved it when Halloween fell on a Friday. The reason being is that I could stay out a little bit longer to collect more cavity inducing candy. This will be the first Halloween in our new house, and we expect it to be a busy one as there are kids everywhere in this neighborhood.
Anyways, enough rambling, here is some great articles from around the blogosphere:
The Digerati Life gives us Fun, Cheap Halloween Costumes To DIY.
Canadian Capitalist wonders, is thrift making a comeback?
Generation X Finance advises us to Set Aside $1,000 in an Emergency Fund. Now.
Lazy Man and Money lists Five Questions I Ask Myself Before Making a Purchase.
The Sun’s Financial Diary asks What Is Going on with Gold?
Frugal Dad comes up with Seven Unique Side...
Stock Trading Tools
As I have been on a stock research frenzy, it was with great timing that a representative from INO.com contacted me about their free educational stock trading offerings.
INO TV offers free online educational video seminars on stock trading. The only thing required is registration (free).
INO Trend Analysis offers free technical/trend analysis of a stock of your choice, all they require is a stock symbol and an email address to receive the analysis. This tool is good for both Canadian and U.S stocks with no abbreviations necessary. If you create a free trend analysis account, they will email you a daily trend analysis of each stock in your watch list.
Scam Alert!
A friend of mine emailed me about a clever scam going around. Apparently, brazen scam artists are...
Lazy Man and Money gives Six Reasons to Love This Economy.
The Digerati Life tell us How The State of The Economy Has Affected My Financial Goals.
Generation X Finance announces to his U.S readers that Lending Club is Now Open to Lenders Again After Completing SEC Registration.
The Sun’s Financial Diary asks How Safe Are My Banks?
Frugal Dad tells us to Pay Yourself First, and Last.
Money Smart Life explains how you can save the economy.
Brip Blap writes about how to enjoy life, or not.
My Dollar Plan lists 15 Must Do Fall Finance Tips.
Popular Posts:
Canadian Discount Brokerage Comparison
Top 6 ways to Save on Auto Insurance
High Interest Rate Savings Accounts
MBNA SPG Credit Card Review
Questrade Review
Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth it?
Copyright 2008 MillionDollarJourney - All...
Going through the archives, about a year ago I wrote about preparing for a move. I’m glad we’re not at that stage in our lives right now!
First Scotia Bank, now BMO predicts that Canada will enter into a recession.
Canadian Capitalist thinks that there might be an opportunity in real return bonds.
Canadian Mortgage Trends has a variable rate update. If you haven’t heard already, most lenders have temporarily eliminated the discounted variable rate mortgage.
Get Rich Slowly has a great discussion with his readers about what it means to be rich?
The MoneyGardener contemplates using leverage in this down market.
Stock Trading To Go lists 25 essential bear market stock tips for investors.
Popular Posts:
Canadian Discount Brokerage Comparison
Top 6 ways to Save on Auto...
It’s Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada which means a long weekend full of eating, resting and being thankful. I will be taking it easy this weekend, so no post Monday.
Before I get into the link fest, I would like to announce the winner of a free copy of “When Markets Collide“. Out of the 67 entries/comments, Larry was randomly chosen as the winner. Congrats Larry, I hope you enjoy the book.
Without further adieu, here are some highlights from The Money Writers:
Lazy Man and Money talks about Jim Cramer’s latest advice on the bear market in Jim Cramer: Sell Your Stocks.
The Digerati Life does a money analysis of Obama vs McCain: The Presidential Candidates Sound Off On Your Money.
Generation X Finance being an advisor says that “Stay the Course” is...
The News
Finally, a company who follows their word. In lieu of lower oil prices, WestJet Canada has eliminated the fuel surcharge that they imposed when oil was near $140 a barrel. This may be a good time to do a bit of traveling!
The economists at Scotia Bank predict that Canada will fall into a recession!
Because of the global market crash (too dramatic?), the Bank of Canada and U.S Fed (along with other countries) have dropped rates by 0.50%. However, the big banks have only dropped their prime rate by 0.25%. Regardless, it’s still welcome news for variable rate debt holders.
Weekend Blog Reading
Consumerism Commentary summarizes Knight Kiplinger’s Solution to The Economic Crisis.
The Financial Blogger explains how to beat inflation.
Canadian Dream questions the...
Frugal Dad lists Five Unique Strategies to Recession-Proof Your Household.
My Dollar Plan gives us another Frugal Recipe: Chicken Soup.
Lazy Man and Money has an entertaining post about Three Ridiculous and Stupid Ideas that Save You Money.
Brip Blap explains how the bailout failure affects us.
The Digerati Life has a timely post on 10 Frugal Steps To Help You Survive A Tough Economy.
Generation X Finance has some sound advice in Friends Don’t Let Friends Bail Out of the Market.
The Sun’s Financial Diary asks Is Gold a Good Choice to Hedge against Inflation?.
Money Smart Life writes about programmable thermostats and energy saving advice from home depot.
Popular Posts:
Canadian Discount Brokerage Comparison
Top 6 ways to Save on Auto Insurance
High Interest Rate Savings......
My Dollar Plan lists some Ideas for Frugal and Easy Cooking.
Generation X Finance has an Award-Winning Steak Chili Recipe to Feed a Crowd for Under $25.
Lazy Man and Money answers a common question in $700 Billion Bailouts - Is My Money Safe?.
The Sun’s Financial Diary writes about his WaMu trade in I Lost $250 on WaMu.
Frugal Dad asks Does Spending Less Money Get Easier Over Time?.
Money Smart Life explains how quitting your job can make you a better employee.
Brip Blap examines frugality versus self-sufficiency.
The Digerati Life also has an interesting question about the current economic crisis in Financial Crisis In The Media: Is The Economic Crisis Overhyped?.
Popular Posts:
How capital Gains Tax Works
How Dividend and Interest Income Tax Works
Registered Education Savings...
It appears that over 50% of homeowners with a mortgages in the U.S spend over half their income on housing. A bit on the high side don’t you think?
We’ve all heard talks of the big bailout and the markets react according to whether it’s going to pan out or not. It seems that they are currently at a roadblock, but are resuming talks today.
Consumerism Commentary explains the importance of diversification in the article “who do you blame when you lose $6 million overnight?”
Canadian Capitalist shows us how to pick a winning mutual fund.
The Dividend Guy Blog gives us The Four Most Important Metrics When Evaluating Dividend Stocks.
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity explains How To Use Safe Deposit Boxes.
The Simple Dollar lists The Twelve Biggest Personal...
Lazy Man and Money has a great guest post on 10 Ways to Get the Best Deal When Buying a Car.
The Digerati Life teaches us how to How To Sell on Craigslist: Listed Our Honda For Sale and Scored.
Generation X Finance gives us An Alternative Investing Approach For Young Investors.
The Sun’s Financial Diary reports that Chinese Stocks Surged as Government Came to Rescue.
Money Smart Life also believes that disability insurance is important as explained in his article “disability insurance - protecting your income if you are unable to work.”
Brip Blap has an interesting article on building wealth in an age of thieves.
My Dollar Plan explains 29 Steps I Took to Leave the Workforce at Age 29.
Frugal Dad shows us How to Live on Only One Income.
Wesabe Groups has a revealing...
Money Grubbing Lawyer is a new blog started by a fellow Newfie. Thus far, he has some great material with a couple of my favorites being Understanding Closing Costs and Choose Your Own Adventure, Bankruptcy Edition. Check him out!
Canadian Capitalist tells us about the implications of AIG’s fall.
Preet offers a Free Guide to Canadian-Listed ETFs.
Four Pillars has a review the new book Money for Nothing which is followed by a very detailed interview with the author Derek Foster.
Thicken My Wallet, as an employer, has some Job Interviewing Horror Stories.
The Financial Blogger answers the question “How Can Some Mutual Funds Offer A Guaranteed 7% Return As A Retirement Income Solution?”
Canadian Dream gives us an update on what he ate for the week that corresponds with...
Cheap Web Hosting
I’ve been getting a bunch of emails lately from personal finance enthusiasts looking to get started in the blog world and looking for suggestions on a good but cheap web host. I’ve personally tried a bunch of cheaper “shared” web hosting, some good but also quite a few bad ones. From my experience, the best bang for your buck web host that I’ve found is lunarpages. Their regular price / month is $6.95, but for the fall season, they are offering all 12/24 month terms the reduced price of $4.95/mo. This pricing includes a free domain name along with unlimited bandwidth/storage. For the features, reliability, available support and money back guarantee, the current pricing is a steal.
Market Correction
The current market correction has got...
It seems that these weekend posts are becoming a habit. This time around, we’ll announce the contest winners and then get into some money links from around the web.
Contest Winner
Earlier this week I reviewed the book Work The System. As we typically give away a free copy of the book reviewed, this time is no different! Out of the 93 entries, AndyBuck was randomly chosen as the lucky winner!
If you’re interested in these book giveaways, you can have our money updates delivered to your email inbox.
News and Links
The biggest money news in Canada this week was that the Bank of Canada has held interest rates steady. It’s pretty much what I expected but what surprised me was the “expectation” that they would drop rates even further.
Generation X Finance...
Hopefully you are enjoying the last bit of summer! If you are stuck indoors for a bit, here are some great personal finance articles for you to browse through:
My Dollar Plan has continued with her early retirement announcement in “Leaving the Workforce at 29: Where Do I Go From Here?”
Frugal Dad explains Why You Should Never Put Credit Cards Before the Mortgage Payment.
The Digerati Life gives us Investment Management Tips To Help You Stay The Course With Your Portfolio.
Lazy Man and Money writes on how to Save Money at Restaurants.
The Sun’s Financial Diary writes about something a little different and tells us to Avoid These Unhealthy Kid Foods.
Brip Blap gives us the truth about passive income.
Generation X Finance has an eye opening report about big American...
Cheap Banking and Books
A little birdie has told me that PC Financial is about to have some serious competition. In the fall, Citizens Bank will be offering a no fee chequing account with no minimum balanace! Including in the no fee account are free cheques, interac and ATM transactions. You can find more information about it here.
Great Canadian Rebates is offering 6% cash back from Chapters instead of the regular 4%. Hurry though as the increased rebate is only valid until Sunday Aug 24, 2008.
Friday Roudup
Canadian Dream asks when does frugal turn cheap?
Thicken My Wallet has a great article on Organizing yourself to financial success.
Canadian Capitalist warns us to beware of tax shelter donation arrangements.
Quest for Four Pillars has an educational post about dividend dates....
Giveaways
It’s been about a week now since I did a book review and giveaway draw on “The Answer”. The book giveaway received more interest than I had anticipated with over 75 entries. 1 winner was randomly chosen from all of the valid entries. The winner of a free copy of “The Answer” is… TKO from Ontario!
How about another giveaway? We are getting close to drawing another winner for a $25 gift certificate from Amazon or Chapters. For a 1 in 100 chance to win, all you have to do is signup for a GreatCanadianRebates account (free) and you’ll be automatically entered for the draw.
Weekend Reading
Thicken My Wallet has another great article that teaches Why you should negotiate face-to-face.
Consumerism Commentary gives us some Advice From Dean...
A quick reminder that today @ 5pm EST is the deadline to enter in The Answer - book giveaway.
The Restaurant Blogger writes about some memorable customers, good and bad!
Generation X Finance writes about Top 12 Money Mistakes Most People Make.
Canadian Dream explains why government bailouts don’t work.
Lazy Man and Money has a great article that explains How to Save on Gas (35 Tips Inside). Here are some of my tips on how to save gas.
Canadian Capitalist asks (and answers) how large is the Canadian bond market?
The Digerati Life shows us that Stock Market Diversification Works! The Proof.
The Sun’s Financial Diary has a short video clip that gives us A Taste of China.
Brip Blap tells us that work-life balance is a false choice.
Money Smart Life has a primer on exchange traded...
From The Money Writers this week:
The Digerati Life gives us the true math in choosing a fuel efficient car in her article “Fuel Efficient Cars In Your Future? Watch For The MPG Illusion”
Lazy Man and Money contemplates a new investing strategy in his article “Beauty Holding: Investing in Models?”
Generation X Finance explains investor emotion in From the Front Lines: Changing Your Risk Tolerance Based on a Bear Market.
Money Smart Life has a creative article from a guest poster about what the kung fu panda can teach you about personal finance.
Brip Blap gives us 5 ways to learn from others.
The Sun’s Financial Diary shows us how to Add Wind to Your Portfolio with PowerShares Global Wind Energy ETF.
My Dollar Plan has a few professional tips for us in her...
Another week has blown by which means that it’s time to review some news and articles around the web.
Lets start with the news:
The Canadian government has changed the CMHC rules! 40 year mortgages have been reduced to 35 along with a minimum down payment of 5% instead of 0%. I guess they are trying to prevent real estate speculation and avoid what’s going on in the U.S right now.
I’ve written about the iPhone 3G before and even included their disgustingly expensive monthly plans. Rogers has bowed to consumer pressure and have added value to the data package. For a limited time, consumers can now get 6GB of data/month (alot!) for $30 which can be added onto any existing voice plan. This is MUCH better than the original 400MB offered.
Onto the Blogosphere:...
Canadian Capitalist and Canadian Dream have both responded to my post on choosing between family and money. Canadian Capitalist says that “Passive Investing lets you have a Life.” Meanwhile, Canadian Dream has own thoughts in “A Reply to Money and Family.”
Mrs. Micah hosted the latest Carnival of Personal Finance. We submitted a primer on how to buy and sell shares on the stock market.
Mr. Cheap from Quest for Four Pillars has an interesting article that features an alternative to net worth. The theory is to instead of calculating total net worth, to calculate how many years you could LIVE on your net worth. Basically give those who are more frugal a higher score.
WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo has a detailed article explaining the P/E Ratio or Price Earnings Ratio....
It’s Friday already which means it’s to give attention to some great articles that I’ve read this week.
The Restaurant Blogger was dining out with his family one evening and his bill included a $4.40 charge for hot water! What would you do? Would you let it pass? Find out what The Restaurant Blogger did in his article “Hot Water Please.”
Brip Blap has a well written article on how America grew rich, fat and unhappy.
Canadian Capitalist tells us to expect modest market returns going forward as explained in his article “Bogle and Buffett’s Modest Expectations“. The most interesting part of the article is that Warren Buffett himself is a big advocate of passive indexing for most investors.
The Digerati Life has a thought provoking article...
Some highlighted articles from The Money Writers this week:
Lazy Man and Money asks Have You Decided To Be Rich?.
The Digerati Life has written about how some Japanese housewives have turned to day trading to cure their boredom in the article “Making Money Through Day Trading: The Secret Lives of Stay-At-Home Mommy Speculators.”
Generation X Finance teaches us How to Get the Most for Your Home When it is Time to Sell by Making a Good Impression.
The Sun’s Financial Diary gives us the Mutual Fund Basics: How to Use Morningstar to Research Funds.
Money Smart Life shows us how to Save Money When Buying a Diamond Ring & Avoid Going into Jewelry Debt.
Brip Blap has a great article “associating with the ‘appear-to-be-rich’ folks,” about those who pretend to...
Book Giveaway Winner
This past week, I reviewed the book “The Intelligent Portfolio” which explained how to create a risk adjusted portfolio with low fees and the reasoning for doing so. As usual, we held a giveaway for a free copy of the book. Out of the 88 entries, Terri was randomly chosen as the winner! Congrats Terri, enjoy the new book.
Weekend Reading
The Bank of Canada were expecting to drop interest rates another 0.25% on Tuesday past, but they surprised us with keeping the rates as they are due to inflationary pressure. Too bad, I was looking forward to another mortgage interest discount.
Wall Street Fighter reports that a trader made over $100k in 5 minutes doing bid/ask arbitrage on Berkshire stock!
Canadian Capitalist gives us the Five Basics for Financial...
Lazy Man and Money announces Two Years of Lazy Man and Money. Within the announcement, he confesses that he’s had thoughts of calling it quits. I think that a lot of consistent bloggers face burnout at one point or another.
The Digerati Life writes about a family friend who purchased an extremely risky $1 million dollar home along the cliff side. Find out what happens to this “investment” through the article “Bad Investment? Losing The Million Dollar House, Literally“
Generation X Finance explains that Spam Sales on the Rise, Common Sense at an All-Time Low. Seems that frugality is back in style in the U.S and one of the things that they’re cutting back on is quality meat!
Sun’s Financial Diary has a guest post that details How to Talk about...
$25 Amazon/Chapters Gift Card Giveaway
It seems to be a pattern as of late that we start off the weekend with a giveaway. No, it’s not a book this time, but a $25 Amazon or Chapters gift card/certificate.
What is this contest from? Readers who sign up for free online cash back discounts under my affiliate link automatically get put into the draw. Not only do you get to save money on your online purchases, you get the chance for a free gift card. After we get so many sign ups, we randomly pick a winner.
On the same note, Great Canadian Rebates is offering 6% cash back (instead of the regular 4%) on all Chapters purchases until June 1, 2008. Might be a good time to pick up some of those personal finance books you’ve been wanting to read.
Weekend Reading
The Restaurant Blogger...
Overbought Oil
The Globe and Mail reports that oil supplies are rising but oil prices aren’t correcting. Are we in for a big time oil price correction in the near future? Seems that something has to give. If you are a contrarian and willing to bet against the oil bull, the Proshares Ultrashort Oil and Gas on the AMEX (symbol: DUG) should do the trick. Do you think that oil will sharply correct?
Weekend Reading
Canadian Dream writes about getting beyond fear in investing.
The Financial Blogger teaches us The Importance Of Market Fluctuation.
Lazy Man and Money writes about The Future of Personal Finance Tools.
Canadian Capitalist explains the tax implications of foreign dividend investing.
My Dollar Plan teaches us to Turn Your Wasted Money Into a Debt Reduction Plan.
The...
Book Giveaway Winner
Let start off the weekend with another book giveaway winner. The prize this time is a free autographed copy of the financial and spiritual book “Does Your Bag Have Holes“. Out of the entries, Mihai was randomly drawn as the winner! Congrats Mihai, I hope that you enjoy the new book.
We typically have book giveaways a couple times/month which are drawn fairly quickly. If you are interested in participating, you can keep up with the updates by subscribing to the free daily feed via RSS Reader or sent directly to your E-mail (see our privacy policy).
New Anonymous Poll
There is an anonymous poll running on the right sidebar. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to cast your vote!
Weekend Reading
The Restaurant Blogger writes an interesting...
Million Dollar Journey was chosen as one of the "Best of Blogs" in a Globe and Mail article earlier this week. We are currently in the top 10 but with your help, we can boost that to the top 5! If you haven't voted for your favorite blogs yet, we would greatly appreciate your vote. Polls are open until May 12, 2008.
Book Giveaway Winner
Lets kick off the weekend with the winner of the book giveaway. This time around, we offered a free copy of the book "The House Flipping Answer Book". Out of the 60 + entries, Dave P was selected as the winner! Congrats Dave P and I hope that you enjoy the book.
Server Change
Million Dollar Journey has outgrown it's shared hosting platform and is now moving onto it's own...
Here are some highlighted articles from The Money Writers over the past week.
My Dollar Plan has updated their personal finance site rankings by RSS numbers. MDJ has moved up to 14th spot! If you like to subscribe to MDJ, you can subscribe via email or RSS here.
Brip Blap announces that he is the newest problogger on the block! Congrats Steve for taking the leap. Maybe MDJ is next? …. nah.
The Digerati Life has written a great article on 10 big mistakes that new entrepreneurs make.
Lazy Man and Money explains the financial benefits of being part of the U.S military. I wonder if there are any financial perks with the Canadian armed forces?
Money Smart Life has written about 10 ways to teach your kids about money.
Generation X Finance...