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Savings Tips During Holiday Season

December 3, 2011

It is the most important holiday time and also the year-end time.

As we start buying gifts for others and ourselves, here are some ways to save money.

 

  • Look for Specials

For example, this week The Superstore is offering tax-free shopping.

Shoppers Drug Mart this weekend is offering a special program on its Optimum Points. Usually, it offers 170 dollars value for 95,000 points but this weekend it will be increased to 250 dollars.

  • Price Match:

Simply, go through the flyers and see who is offering the best price. For example, if Wal Mart is offering the lowest price for the type of kitchen towels you want, get the flyer and show it to a store that accepts Price Match. This way, you don’t have to go to dozens of stores to do your shopping.

Some stores even offer a percentage discount.

  •  Tech Help

Also, when I bought a point-and-shoot digital camera, from the store itself I used my smart phone to check prices at other stores. The alternate is using bar code scanning apps.

 

  • Not All SALES Are Same

Beware of the ‘steep prices’ offers. Some times the prices are not that low, so check around.

 

So take a look at the flyers, and use smart technology to get the best.

 

 

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MBNA’s New Smart Cash World MasterCard

November 27, 2011

MBNA is offering a new card, the MBNA Smart Cash World MasterCard, with some great features.

It appears at the moment, it is only being offered to those having an MBNA credit card, and is offered for no extra fee.

The card offers, like the MBNA Smart Cash card, 5% cash back on qualifying net retail gas and grocery purchases for the first six months, and then three-percent cash back thereafter.

The holder also gets a 1% cash back on all other purchases.

 Some Additional Goodies

You can receive complimentary concierge services when you make travel, dinner or event arrangements.

Access to ‘exclusive’ MasterCard offers.

 

 

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PC Financial’s New MasterCard

November 13, 2011

President’s Choice Financial is offering a special MasterCard for some of its clients, but there is some controversy about it.

The new card offers 20 PC Points, instead of 10 PC Points, for every dollar spent at the various chains belonging to the Loblaws. The cards are being offered without the negative option billing, which is controversial.

The Toronto Star’s Columnist Ellen Roseman has an essay on this.

 More on Canadian government’s move against negative option billing.

 

 

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CAA’s New MasterCards

July 29, 2011

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) South Central Ontario division  is offering three types of MasterCards.

 

CAA Premium MasterCard.

Benefits:

  • It gives you 1.5% CAA dollars for every purchase.
  • Car rental, collision/damage waiver, flight delay and trip interruption protection.
  • Purchase Assurance & Extended Warranty. This covers you against theft, loss or damage of your purchases for up to 90 days after the transaction date, provided you use your CAA MasterCard to make the purchase. You are also covered against delayed baggage.
  • Common Carrier travel accident insurance.

Cost: $99.00 annually

 

CAA Low Rate MasterCard

Benefits

  • 0.5-percent CAA dollars with every purchase
  • Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
  • Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance

Cost: $29.00 annually

 

CAA No Fee MasterCard

Benefits

  • 1.0-percent CAA dollars with every purchase
  • Car rental collision/damage waiver
  • Baggage delay
  • Purchasee Assurance and Extended.
  • Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance

Cost: –

 

For more info, go to CAA’s MasterCard site.

And if you apply before Sep. 15, 2011, you will receive 50 bonus CAA dollars, if you make your purchase before Dec. 31, 2011.

That alone will cover your annual basic CAA membership.

One CAA $ equals 1 C$.

So, if you want to book a hotel room for C$ 100.00, you will need to spend about C$ 7,000.00 with a Premium MasterCard.

 

 

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Aeroplan Miles Transferable If Family Member Dies

April 3, 2011

Aeroplan,  the Canada-based frequent flyer program, is reportedly making a major change to benefit close family members of a deceased person from its Frequent Flyer Points System.

Accoridng to the Toronto Star, under new guidelines, close family members can transfer the deceased relative’s Aeroplan Miles by paying a processing fee of $ 30.00 plus taxes.

Until now, the relatives who wanted to transfer their deceased relative’s Aeroplan Miles had to pay at the rate of 1 cent per mile plus the processing fee.

This is the statement quoted by The Star.

“The spouse of the deceased Aeroplan member, or if there is no spouse, the surviving residual heir(s) of the estate, will be able to redeem the outstanding balance of the deceased member for a period 12 months from the declaration of death by providing supporting documentation (by mail or email) and paying a processing fee of $30 (plus taxes).”

However, the newspaper says the old system still might apply in some cases.

The full article, Aeroplan Points Now Transferable When A Family Member Dies.

 

 

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More Tips on Tax Filing

March 11, 2011

There are a number of ways to get the maximum benefit from your tax filing, as a recent posting in the Toronto Star suggests.

One of the important points, which many do anyway, is to file the return as a family. The Star article provides the obvious recommendation of preparing each return separately but file as a family. Start with the lowest income earner and working upwards on the income level. That is, if the husband earns less than the wife, then do his first, and then hers.

You can look at the returns on an individual and family-basis, to get the maximum tax benefit.

For more tips on the series, visit the Toronto Star article on Ten Tips to Save Money.

 

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Common Mistakes Made During Tax Filing

March 6, 2011

It is tax time, and filling out the tax-form is an art.

Recently, the CanadianAccountantTips blog ran a posting on some common errors many of us make:

Omitting Small Income

For example, many often do not include all their income. Many omit small amounts of income, even though they have to.

 

Claimable Expenses

Then there are expenses for which tax credits can be claimed.

 

For example:

 

Childcare expenses – Incurred due to parents working or going to school. Spouse with lower income must claim the amount unless it meets the exception rules.

Moving expenses – You moved more than 40 Km to be closer to your new work. Business. You can deduct certain expenses related to moving against the income earned in the new location. The amount that can’t be deducted can be carry forward to the next year.

Public transit amount – You can claim the amount if you have purchased monthly pass, weekly pass or electronic payment cards that meets the CRA requirement.

 

Visit the full posting Common Mistakes Made in Personal Income Tax Returns.

 

 

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Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Changes from 2011

February 27, 2011

There are some important changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) starting this year.

 

Among the most important of the changes are the amendments to the actuarial factor for early and later retirement – with the cut off point being the official retirement age of 65.

If You Are Retiring Before 65

Until now, CPP pension was reduced by 0.5% per month before age 65 that contributors started receiving. For example, if you started receiving pension at 64, you would be receiving only 94% percent of you pension (0.5×12=6%) that you would have received had you retired at 65, but under new rules, the percentage by which the pension will be reduced will increase.

From 2012, it will increase from 0.52% to reach 0.6% by 2016. That is, if you are going to retire by 64 in 2016, you will receive only 92.8% of your pension.

If You Are Retiring After 65

Until now, CPP amount increased by 0.5% for each month after 65, up to age 70 that contributors delayed receiving them. For example, if you started receiving at 66, then your pension was 6% more (106% of what you would have earned had you retired at 65). Starting this year, it will increase by 0.57% a month to 0.64% in 2012 and finally 0.7% a month by 2013. That is, if you put off your retirement to 66 years in 2013, you will receive 108.4% of what you have received had you retired at65.

For more information on this and other changes, visit the CPP Changes section on Human Resources & Skills Development Canada website.

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Rona’s Latest Promotions

December 24, 2010

Rona, the Canadian home and garden centre, is having another, week-long savings special. The savings include $ 100.00 on a Venmar Range hood to $ 15.00 on a Catalina 2-light Torchiere Lamp.

It will last until Dec. 28, 2010.

For more information, visit the Rona Website.

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New Promotion for American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card

December 24, 2010

There is a new promo for the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card. If you apply now, with the promo code given, you will earn 25,000 Aeroplan Bonus Points.

The 25,000 Aeroplan Miles are enough for a round trip long-haul Reward Seat Economy Class within Canada or to the continental USA for one person. Applicable fees and taxes are extra, and seasonal conditions apply.

20,000 Aeroplan Miles will be given upon your first use of the card, and the rest 5,000 Aeroplan Miles will be credited once you have completed a minimum 1000 dollars worth of purchases within the first three months of receiving the card.

You will also earn 1.25 Aeroplan Miles for every $1.00 in purchases of up to $25,000.00.

Beyond $25,000.00, you will earn 1.5 Aeroplan Miles for every $1.00.

One major disadvantage is the cost: $499.00 per year.

For more information, visit Aeroplan Site.

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