More Money Saving Tips

How To Save Money

First Published Date: March 21, 2009

We could all do with a little more cash in our lives. Be it due to rising energy costs, a desire for a big purchase or saving toward a holiday, there is always room for a few extra dollars. There are a few tips and tricks you can try to save yourself a little cash and invest it toward a better future.

To begin with, evaluate your outgoings. Look closely at the price plans you are on for energy and heating, as there might be a better deal available. Check comparison websites and if there is a saving to be made, switch immediately. Some people have reported up to $160 a year saving on energy bills purely because of this.

Next up, look at your home and cell phone bills. Again, there might be a cheaper tariff available. A neat trick is to telephone your current provider and inform them that you’re planning to leave and would like to cancel your contract. At this stage, you will be put through to a department – often going by the name of “Cancellations”, though they are anything but – who will try and woo you and persuade you to stay. They’ll offer deals on your plan that could save you hundreds of dollars a year, just to keep your custom.

Continuing along the same theme, check the interest rate you’re paying on any credit cards you may have. Many people remain with the same provider for years out of habit, never bothering to see if there is a better deal available. Nine times out of ten, there will be – apply for a new card with a better rating, transfer the balance and cut up your old card. Your monthly payments will reduce and you’ll be paying less interest.

With these things in check, you can move on to trying to cut your expenditure. One of the biggest, and often unavoidable, expenses is the price of gasoline. To begin, consult a website such as Gas Buddy, to find the cheapest gas station closest to you. These done, then try to fill up your tank on a Monday. Gas prices traditionally rise over the weekend and dip again at the start of the new week, with Monday being the cheapest. It might only be a small amount, but every little helps.

On more frivolous pursuits such as shopping, savings can also be made. One priceless tip to remember is that eBay is not just for used goods. Many big companies – such as IBM – run eBay stores as a way of clearing old stock. Many brand new items are available on eBay for huge discounts off their original retail price. While online and buying a new purchase, try the many comparison websites – like the aforementioned for credit cards and energy companies – to get the best price.

When it comes to health and beauty, you can also make savings. Most salons charge high prices, but will offer discount rates if a junior treats you or trainee stylist. This may sound risky, and no one wants to end up with bad hair, but a senior stylist will usually oversee the junior and if something does go wrong, they’ll fix it for free. You can also try making your own skin care products – a bottle of branded exfoliating lotion will cost anything up to $25, where a warm bowl filled with sugar and rubbed in firmly with a sponge will have the same effect.

Essentially, there are ways to save money on everything. Utilize the Internet, as it genuinely does offer some spectacular deals if you have the patience to look for them. In the same vein, learn to haggle when in store – many retailers price their items with mark ups that allow for negotiation. 99 times out of 100, you can find a discount on something – all you need is a little clear thinking and a large amount of patience.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 21, 2009.

Lots of Police Check Posts - 16 Hours Overnight Bus Continues | Cairo to Aswan

Overnight Bus to Aswan | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 3 (Part 22) 01D20

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

After a couple of hours, long bus ride fatigue started to kick in. I can never sleep when I am on the move. I noticed most of my tour mates were sleeping comfortably.

It felt like a never-ending, long, dark night. What was annoying was that every hour or so there was a police check post. Our bus had to stop and get approved by the police to pass. I haven’t seen this type of stringent police checking anywhere else. This pointed to Egypt’s large-scale problem with terrorist threats. However, this time-consuming process also in place for tourists’ safety.

At one check post, the police took the armed officer inside and hold the bus for so long that I got worried. I had a bad feeling about this long holdup. After endlessly waiting, the officer came back and the bus started again. Later on, I was told the long wait was a result of an expired bus permit, but it was resolved, and that’s what caused the wait.

We had 3 breaks overnight, usually every 2 hours. The Highway Rest Areas or highway service plazas felt different in Egypt because of their location in the middle of the desert. The first service rest area was big with lots of stores and eating places. As we moved further, the services stops were small with minimal facilities.

I got off at each stop to walked around, used the washroom, and had coffee or tea. One of the 2 armed officers kept a strict eye on me and escorted me when I walked back from the plaza to the bus. Most of the other passengers stayed on the bus and slept.

What do stars look like in the middle of the desert? Coming in the next post!

Real Estate in China

Real Estate Market In China

First Published Date: Aug 15, 2009

There will be few, if any, more important countries to the future of commerce and real estate in the next couple of decades than China. Viewed by many as a “sleeping giant” due to its immense landmass and population, but perceived insularity, there is no doubt that China is set to play a part as it increases its openness and moves ever more towards a market-based economy. The developments of recent years have led to just about every financial expert worth the name signalling their belief that China will become the world’s number one superpower by the middle of this century at the latest. A vital part of this process will be in its real estate sector.

For Western investors, there are still some sticking points when it comes to backing investment in China. Not least of these is the fact that with a population of one billion and a language that is the most prominently spoken as a first language (by numbers – of the billion plus Chinese residents, more than 900 million speak Mandarin as a first language. A third as many speak English as a mother tongue), China has little need to cater directly to foreign investors or incoming migrants. The growing policy of openness is expected to mitigate this somewhat, allowing new investors to feel confident in branching out into China.

From a real estate point of view specifically, China has also had to move from a point where most housing was state controlled to one where it is common for residents to own their own homes.  . It does seem like the country was always ready for this kind of progress and that, aware of the importance of a happy domestic population, the government has moved to give them just that. Although the overwhelming majority of home owners in China are Chinese, the incoming investor need no longer feel that there is an excessive bar to their prospective ownership of real estate property.

There are still some elements that give potential house buyers what they consider to be reasons not to invest. Although a great deal less insular than it was once considered, China is still not the most transparent place in the world for visitors. There is a large level of bureaucracy and seemingly obscure laws (from a Western perspective), but things don’t change overnight. What has happened in China in the last few decades has been more than impressive, so do not bet against things developing quickly in the future. If you are thinking of investing in Chinese real estate, the bargains tend to be outside the city centers but still close to centers of population. It is here, too, that anyone moving to the country and living there for the first time will best be able to acclimatise to the fascinating, unique nation that is China in the present day. Try one of the many Chinese real estate sites on the Internet to find out more.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Aug 15, 2009.

Credit Crisis, Canada, Real Estate, and Mortgage

Canada Mortgage

First Published Date: May 9, 2015

Canada has not been immune to the credit crisis that has hit the world over the last eighteen months, but there are many inside Canada and out who feel that of all the major developed nations things have been handled better in Canada than anywhere else. This is down, in no small part, to a sense that Canadian banks have had more sensible lending policies and that panic is something that is not a major part of the Canadian psyche. A recent IMF report has said that Canada is actually specifically well placed to handle any further economic crisis and has applauded the $400billion stimulus plan unveiled in January as being the right amount at the right time. In addition, Canada has been recognized as the last country to succumb to the crisis and is expected to be the first to lift itself out.

What this means for those hoping to buy a house in Canada is that there may never be a better time, if you currently have the borrowing power, to buy one. By taking advantage of the effects of the crisis – admittedly something that causes a moral issue for many – one can find some bargains that will begin to increase in price once the clouds start to lift. The question is, where should you go in order to borrow the money it will take to buy? With Canada less marked than other countries by the crisis – but marked nonetheless, no doubt – the banks are more willing to lend to those who can show credit worthiness than banks in other countries.

Before you decide on a mortgage, the first and most important step is to shore up your own position. This can be done chiefly in two ways. Firstly, it is vitally important to save cash for a deposit, or down payment. If you can place this in a high-yield savings account, so much the better. By putting aside more money, you will cut into how much money you have to borrow when the day comes. This can dramatically change how much you have to pay back, and bring a number of properties within your reach that would have been fantasy purchases otherwise. It will take a bit of time to make significant savings, but the base that this gives you and the difference that it makes will be well worth the wait.

In addition, you should live on credit for a while. Yes, you read that correctly, but do not make the mistake of thinking that this is advice to go crazy with your Mastercard. The reason for this possibly controversial advice is actually fairly sensible. If you make purchases on your credit card and pay them off immediately, you build up a strong credit rating. And the people with the better credit ratings get better mortgages. By  paying off credit card purchases the moment they hit your balance, you will avoid having to pay interest, so there is no penalty for use. It’s a more roundabout way of doing things, sure – but it’ll get you into that house quicker! Try to make sure, too, that you do not have high balances on any lines of credit when you apply for your mortgage – this will badly squeeze your borrowing power.

China Real Estate

Real Estate in China

First Published Date: May 11, 2015

As China becomes more and more a part of the global trading economy, it is natural to expect that its increased openness will continue increasing and that its economy will behave similarly to those of other major powers. This is not necessarily going to be the case, not least because the way that an economy behaves, its DNA, and its part in the global economy all depend on more factors than simply China’s entry to the worldwide club. So, currently, we can see that China is seeing major growth in its economy, while other nations labour under a recession or enter a cautious recovery.

The major test of China’s development as an economy will be time. It is only recently that the country has embraced capitalism, and although any interested party could not have failed to notice that it is headed squarely to become the world’s biggest economy by the middle of this century, it would be fanciful to assume that the forty years between now and then will all be smooth sailing. In ensuring that China continues to develop in the present way, it is going to be necessary to have a strong real estate sector, one which is competitive enough to bring in outside investment. Currently, the signs are good for that sector of the Chinese economy.

Looking at the major Chinese real estate companies gives some interesting results. Poly, considered one of its most prominent real estate big-hitters, recently posted its results for the first half of 2009 and, in a year which we should take care to remember has been touched by major recession, showed a massive increase in net profit. Set against the revenues of the first half of 2008, Poly posted an increase of more than 54%, taking its numbers to 8.29 billion yuan (US$1.21bn) and a profit of 1.396 million yuan (US$200m). In comparison with real estate sectors in other countries, China is certainly showing results which point to a thriving real estate economy going forward.

The most definitive question on the Chinese real estate economy, however, remains how it will deal with any bust or recession in the national economy. Perhaps due to the nascent nature of its free market economy, China has not suffered from the global financial crisis in anything approximating the same way as most of its G8 partners. This means that we have yet to see how the country, and the real estate market will deal with it should it happen again any time soon.

However, at this stage it seems only right to give China the benefit of the doubt as to its financial results. Having seen how the rest of the world does free market capitalism and real estate, China has delivered its own approximation of the medium and has shown an impressive level so far. Will this continue? As of this moment it is difficult to say, as we have not seen China’s free market operate under all conditions as we have with the more long-standing free market economies. Those tests are still to come