Scotia Momentum VISA® Card Offers 2% Cash Back – But Is It Worth It?

Scotia Launches New Scotia Momentum VISA® Card

First Published Date : August 31, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

Scotia Bank recently introduces a new VISA® card called Scotia Momentum VISA® card. Scotia Momentum card holders will be able to get cash back on purchases – whenever an eligible transaction is made.

Scotia Momentum VISA® card offers 2% cash back on eligible purchases. These eligible merchants are classified as groceries, gas stations, supermarkets, pharmacies, recurring bill payments, and so on by VISA®. Only the first $25,000 spent annually will attract 2% cash back. In addition, Scotia Momentum VISA® card offers 1% cash back once you exceed your $25,000 limit and on other eligible purchases. Cash back is not given for transactions such as cash advances, annual card fees, interest charges, etc.

Scotia is offering a special bonus for all purchases on first three statements. Purchases normally attracting 1% cash back will earn 2% during this promotion. This offer expires on October 31, 2009. All these incentives do not sound bad, after all, who does not want free money? However, if you do some calculations, you will be able to see the full picture.

Visit Scotibank’s website to find out more about eligible purchases and special bonus program

Let’s Dissect Scotia Momentum VISA® Card

You need to spend at least $1,950 to get back the annual fee ($39) you will pay
And then, you can pocket the 2% you will be making on eligible purchases (after spending your first $1,950)
Now, let’s say, you spend $3,600 annually on eligible purchases each year (that’s $300 a month)
So, the money you will be making each year = $3,600 – $1,950 = $1,650 X 2% = $33

Not bad, huh? Wait, not so fast. If you use one of the credit cards I mentioned in this post –
ADJ Picks Canada’s Best Credit Cards, you will be able to beat Momentum VISA® card by getting 1% cash back on your full $3,600 – and that works out to be $36 cash back.
However, if you spend more than approximately $300 per month on eligible transactions, Scotia Momentum VISA® card is a good bet. Here are the calculations assuming you spend $5000 annually (roughly $400 a month) on eligible transactions:

The money you will be making each year = $5,000 – $1,950 = $3,050 X 2% = $61
However, with a no annual fee 1% cash back card, you will be making = $5,000 X 1% = $50

My Take

My take is that the threshold for this card is about $300 per month. If you spend less than $300 each month, you can pick one of those I mentioned in the article above. If you spend more than $300, Scotia Momentum VISA® is an option you should look at; however, always do your own homework before making any financial decisions.

Exercising Is Good For Personal Development

Personal Development and Exercise

Personal development is not just about changing your physical self. In fact, it is mostly about changing who you are in the inside, rather than on the outside, but that does not mean exercise does not have some sort of impact on your personal development. Yes, it will help you lose weight and that can make you feel better about yourself, which raises your self-esteem and confidence, but it goes beyond that.

When you exercise, you reduce stress and stress is one of the biggest causes of diseases. Prolonged stress can lead to heart problems, weight gain and low-self esteem. However, when you get out exercising, you are releasing endorphins into your body. The release of these endorphins will make you feel happy and when you feel happy, you will be more motivated to better yourself.

If you are sad or depressed, or stressed for that matter, it is nearly impossible for you to want to go out and better yourself. The motivation is just not there and no motivation means there is any desire to embark on personal development. Of course, that being said being sad and depressed can make it hard to exercise as well. However, exercise can be something as simple as going for a walk and a walk in a park will brighten your day, while giving you exercise.

When those endorphins begin releasing, your mood will increase and you will become addicted to feeling better about yourself and exercise. That addition will lead you to going out and exercising more, which then releases more endorphins into your body.

As time goes on, you will begin to lose weight, you will find you are happier and you will continue to better yourself. When you look in the mirror, you will be happy at whom you are seeing in the reflection and you will be more apt to continue with the exercise that is making you feel so good.

In order to make sure you actually get out and start exercising to help make yourself feel better and venture on the road of self-improvement, you need to make the first step. It can be hard when you are down or sad to actually get out and go for the walk but trust us when we say that when you do start exercising, you will begin to feel good about yourself. Once you take that first step, you will know that you have made the right choice, and you will begin to believe that you are actually going to better yourself. Personal development is not a science, it is about making the effort to choose to better who you are and exercise is a big part of that.

So, today, stand up and begin walking. You do not have to walk anywhere particular or specific; you just need to go for a walk. When you are walking and exercising, don’t think about it as exercise, but as a chance to get out and enjoy the world around you.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com This article originally published on the above website on Jan 8, 2011

US Recession Finally Easing?

US Economy May Finally Be Moving Towards Recovery

First Published Date : September 6, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

Although most of the major economies in the world have been through no small amount of turmoil in 2009, most eyes have been turned towards the performance of the US economy due to the nation’s status as a world leader. This is one time when America would have been prepared to cede the limelight, however, as the financial predictions chart has constantly shown the States and the United Kingdom as the countries in deepest recession and with the latest predicted recoveries of all. Now, however, there are coherent signs that the US economy may finally be moving towards recovery, with second-quarter showings in 2009 looking better than had been expected. The economy still contracted, but only by one percent.

To make a comparison, the January through March period this year showed a retraction of more than 6%, an opening to the year which was enough to make many wonder aloud whether the US would see any kind of recovery before 2010. The fall was the worst for almost thirty years and American’s third straight contraction. This latest marks the fourth in a row – clearly not what would be desired – but the movement is certainly more positive than anyone had been led to hope. It would be optimistic to suggest that Q3 will show growth in the numbers, but Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke has been moved to suggest that the recession will be over for America later in 2009.

Reasons for the better performance are believed to be something of a mix, with businesses smoothing off spending cuts and government spending increasing. A better trade performance with other nations also helped, while consumer spending did decrease, as the results of businesses going to the wall made themselves known, people having to dip into their savings and being less able to rely on the equity in their homes for a shield against the ravages of unemployment. However, given the forecasts for how 2009 was expected to head, the news is broadly a lot more positive than could have been expected.

Some of the credit from economists has gone to the stimulus package fronted by President Barack Obama, which cut taxes and increased the level of government spending. This plan allowed the economy to stabilise somewhat by lessening the burden on services and businesses, keeping some companies alive and allowing support to be provided where needed. As yet, though, economists believe that the best of the package’s results has yet to come, with the second half of the year expected to see the outcome bloom and the early stages of 2010 considered to be the point where the full extent of the stimulus will be evident.

Economists know to couch their optimism in cautious language, and there are no guarantees as things stand, but money does not always behave like we want it to, so there is plenty of reason for cautious speaking. The advice seems to be that America should stick to what it is doing now and monitor the results. If these are as positive as expected, then 2010 will see a world in recovery, given the improvement in economies elsewhere.

How To Develop Good Habits

Developing Good Habits

If you want to better yourself and go on the road to personal development, then you need to develop good habits. These are habits that will help you become a better person, and feel good about yourself. They come down to getting your body, mind and spirit in better shape so you can meet challenges and overcome any problems that may arise on your road to personal development.

1. Personal hygiene is important because it will make you feel better about yourself, and it will keep you healthy. Making yourself look good and smell good will make you feel good and push you to better yourself.

2. Sleeping well will ensure that you are alert during the day. When you have a good night’s sleep, you will often be able to meet the challenges that life gives you with eyes wide open. As well, a good night’s sleep will keep you from becoming too lazy and not pushing yourself to better who you are.

3. Healthy eating will keep you feeling healthy and good about yourself. Being able to eat something and feeling good about what you are eating will go a long way to motive you to be a better person. When you have a salad instead of a hamburger, you will feel good about the decisions you are making and that will build confidence in you.

4. Developing the ability to meditate is important because it will keep you calm. When you are calm, you will not feel stressed and you will be able to concentrate on bettering yourself and becoming a better person. Meditation is a very important habit to develop.

5. Take the time to read and learn as much as you can. Instead of watching television, develop the habit of reading so that you can better yourself. You can learn anything that you want with nothing but a $10 library card and that will help you learn as much as you can to better yourself.

6. Practice the habit of being a more humane and better person. By helping people, being a person who socializes and who helps others, you will be able to feel better about yourself and you will be motivated to help. The better you feel helping others, the better you will feel about helping yourself.

Developing good habits is very important because it will make you feel good about yourself. Good habits also teach you to motivate yourself and better yourself. They say that you can develop a good habit in the space of a month, and that means you need to make the commitment to better yourself by getting good habits.

When you are trying to start good habits it is important to remember that you need to do the following:

1. Remember why you are motivating yourself and that will keep you on the right path.

2. Every day, make sure you remind yourself of the progress you are making.

3. Like who you are becoming and the good habits will become part of who you are.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com. This article originally published on the above website on Dec 16, 2010.

Pohutu Geyser in Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley | New Zealand

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 7

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 4

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 5

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 6

After a quick lunch, I was heading towards the Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve sites. Te Whakarewarewa Valley is a huge area spreading more than 70 hectares and there were so many points to see, that it would be impossible to do in an hour. Also, I had to video and take pictures of whatever I was seeing and that adds more time.

So I decided not to go far and stay close to see nearby points. I was worried that if I got lost, I would be late to come back to catch my tour group. I will briefly describe some of the points of interest I visited.

Natural Steam Vent Cooker – Foods can be cooked just by placing a pot on hot soil via Mother Nature.

Pohutu Geyser – The largest geyser in the southern hemisphere. Erupts twice each hour and can reach 30 meters high.

Ngararatuatara Cooking Pool – Same as the vent cooker, but here you can cook food in water as the water is boiling by nature.

Lake Waikaukau – Named after ancestor Hatupatu. Very acidic water, but birds still swim in and around the waters. Another miracle by Mother Nature.

There was so much more I missed, but what I saw was more than enough to appreciate Mother Earth and nature. Miracles exist and they are just around the corner on this earth to see.

I noticed that for safety reasons, you can only walk in designated areas within fenced boundaries. But still, the vapour and hot steam from the geyser and hot spring water can reach you sometimes. Whenever I saw steam was coming my way, I had to run to avoid it to protect my cameras.

I was able to make it on time for the tour bus. The next destination was the world-renowned Waitomo Glowworm Caves.