How to Stay out of the Poor House During the Holidays

The countdown has begun and with only three weeks left before Christmas the madness is looming at the mall. Drivers are hastily trying to find that last parking place close enough to the  main doors so they don’t get their toupee in a whirlwind as winter sneaks out to show us who’s boss. You’ve got the credit cards so you’re good to go. Sort of!

Remember last year? Has your financial situation improved or worsened since then? Get real with your finances and crunch the numbers. The first thing to do is probably to take your new year resolution early to get a  healthy financial status come January. Start with a little jogging of the memory and remember that unless you make six figure income buying $700 worth of gifts for every person in your entourage is just plain asking for it.  Who’s affection  are you trying to buy? Your kids? Within a week they’ll forget the hoopla!

How about making a difference in your family traditions. After all, when all is said and done and  you’re gone, nobody will remember the gifts you overspent on but they will remember the kindness and loving gestures you did. So, make a plan of action to stay out of debt. Think out your list first.  The mail carrier really doesn’t need a gift from you and unless the neighbour is a really close buddy, with whom you hang out all the time, a simple “Thinking of You at Christmas” card will do.

Work out the budget per person and stick to it as much as possible. Buy for the kids first and if budget permits then those that you absolutely must buy a gift for. It’s always better and certainly more fun to open up a well thought gift than just a gift card and it doesn’t have to be expensive. It says: “I care” and I took the time to do something special for you, and not just an “If I have to” gift. People can tell the difference.

If the credit cards are your demons during the holidays leave them home but if you are responsible enough to stick to the plan by all means go for it. Especially if you have a dividend type card which gives you rewards for using it.

The best way to help our economy is to shop local, small businesses. For goodness sake stay out of the dollar stores as much as possible. China doesn’t need anymore growth. So you might pay a couple of bucks more but the benefits are huge to our cities and our country. Head for the racks that are marked down and look with an open mind. Think of what that person might like and don’t be so judgemental. Sometimes we have a tendency of talking ourselves out of buying the perfect gift.

Consider a make it yourself gift. Can you bake? Do woodwork? Drawing? Painting? How about a food basket or a favorite recipe attached to some of the ingredients in a cool bowl and  cello wrapped with a big red bow? You can imitate some of those expensive gift packaging for half the price. You can do a knitter’s package with some wool and needles. How about a BBQ package with a favorite specialty sauce, some mitts and an apron. Put your imagination to work. You’ll be amazed at what you can come up with for way less than the prepackaged stuff.

Remember the needy. So if uncle Joe has everything why not donate to a local charity in their honour. The out of the cold program, the Salvation Army  and the local food banks are always looking for donations at this time of year. Create a new tradition with your family and adopt a poor family where you buy gifts for them instead of yourselves. Your local social services will have a list of people who you can sponsor.

Don’t overlook some of the gift certificates offered by online companies such as Groupons, Wag Jag, Living Social to name a few. You can get some amazing deals and at the same time support local small businesses. I just bought this amazing ….oooppppsss sorry I can’t tell you that,  the recipient might be reading this.

Hope you get the idea that there is a better way to celebrate Christmas that doesn’t need to stress you out and bring you down to the poor house. Remember what Christmas is all about in the first place. Peace and good will towards all men.

Looking to save money? www.BestMortgagesOnline.com

Top Secrets to Saving on Bank Fees

Any idea what you paid last month in bank service charges? It may be a lot more than you think. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends more per year on bank fees ($185) than they do on going to the movies ($171).

I’m sure you would  much rather go to a show than fork out more dough to the banks. Take a look as some of those bank fees. You can  pay $12.95 a month for 50 transactions on your family’s chequing account and also 65 cents for every transaction over that limit. If  both of you use your debit cards, you can be racking up about $30 a month in fees – that’s $360 a year for the privilege of accessing your own money. You can check with you  bank and switch to a $9.99 a month plan with unlimited transactions and pay $120 a year in fees instead of $360. That one simple move saves $240 in bank fees.

“Lots of people don’t realize they don’t have unlimited transactions,” says Vancouver money coach Sheila Walkington. “Often they don’t look at their bank statements properly or they are a little intimidated to ask about the fees.” Higher fees often are related to having the wrong kind of banking package. The easiest way to find the package that’s best for you is to Google the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s interactive Cost of Banking guide and use this tool to tell you what type of chequing and savings accounts best suit your banking profile.

Here are some additional tips for saving on bank fees:

Never use a bank machine other than your own
Every time you use another bank’s ATM machine, you are charged a network access fee by your own bank of $1.50 plus a $1.50 fee by the bank that operates the machine. Those ubiquitous private cash machines at convenience stores charge even more.

Make fewer withdrawals
Instead of withdrawing $60 three times a week, take out $180 once a week and you’ll rack up fewer transactions.

Pay your bills online or via telephone banking
Sometimes these services are free or the fee is much less than using tellers or ABMs.

Maintain a minimum monthly balance
Most accounts will waive all bank fees if you maintain a minimum monthly balance – usually this is $1,000 or $2,000.

Take advantage of “cash back” when you are out shopping
If you are paying with a debit card, many stores allow you to ask the cashier to add in extra money, so you can avoid paying an ATM fee.

Use no-fee banking institutions
ING Direct and President’s Choice Financial have no service fees whatsoever. They also have no branches or tellers – all banking is done by internet, phone or ABM.

Consider a low-cost account
These accounts charge less than $4 a month and most – but not all – of the big banks have them. They make sense if you are able to limit your transactions to eight to 10 per month by avoiding the tellers and bank machines and doing online and telephone banking.

Skip the insurance
If you have sufficient private life insurance coverage it’s not necessary to have insurance on any of your accounts. “A lot of people may be paying for insurance on their line of credit, for example, and may not realize they signed up for that,” says Walkington.

Now that you saved a bundle what should you do with it? Under the mattress hide away just won’t do anymore. Real Estate investment is your safest and most profitable venue to build up your stash. Call Dale Dyer, Broker and Investor himself  and let’s get started on building up your real estate portfolio. 519-241-1122.

How to Avoid 9 Common Buyer Traps Before Buying a Home. Call 1-888-465-9283, ext.48 for a FREE Recorded Message Hotline.