Money Resources

Over the years I have developed a passion for studying Wealth creation (in all it's facets but this page is about Money)!

To change our circumstances and create the physical reality of financial Wealth - we must learn to manage what we currently are bringing in, live below our means, save as much as possible and begin investing in our future starting as soon as possible. Developing the savings muscle can sometimes be easier to start with $1, or  $100 , 1% or 15%. Wherever you are able to start - starting today and building the muscle will enable you to accelerate the speed in which wealth is acquired in the future when you have more money coming in. By learning to manage when we have little, we give space and assurance to the Universe that we can be trusted to handle a lot. In additional to this trust, we are able to build systems and strategies so when the increased amounts begin to flow to us - we have the set up to manage and properly receive our deserved abundance.

The truth is, to begin to create Financial wealth - it's better to start early, and Today if you haven't started yet - with even the smallest amount, and increase the dollar or percentage of the amount over time, instead of waiting until feeling ready.

I'm on a journey to create Financial Freedom (more to come on this) and over the years I have discovered ways I can essentially bank for free, automate some savings, easily track my income and expenses (assets and liabilities!) and earn cash back on my every day purchases.

Here is a list of services that I use to ensure my money is in a healthy, improving, and increasing state, while maximizing my ability to save and invest and repay my remaining good debt.

Cash Back:

Credit Cards - Many of my purchases are done using my Tangerine World Mastercard. Not only does the card provide cash back on every day purchases, it also includes free travel perks like car rental insurance, Biongo internet, and more but I have the cash back pay out into my fun money savings account and  like to maintain, or always get back to a $500 account balance (this amount is subject to change :) )

Rakuten Canada - Over the years I've received cash back on online purchases from websites including Indigo, Gap, Kobo, Matt and Nat and more. To date I've received over $85, getting money back on purchases I would be making anyway!

Rakuten US - I have both the Canadian and US Chrome extension installed to ensure on whichever site I am purchasing from, I am maximizing my Cash back earnings based on the current offerings. Using the Rakuten US side I've received over $60 dollars back from purchases 

Banking:

Tangerine - Free email transfers, and cash withdraws using any Scotiabank or Tangerine bank machine. They offer a variety of chequeing, savings, credit and investment solutions too! Plus anyone can refer up to 3 friends a year for $50 :) (ps. my Orange Key is 41157038S1 - use it and you may just be one of my referrals for this year). 

Simplii Financial - Another option for free banking they give you access to similar products as Tangerine. They also offer email transfers and cash back through CIBC bank machines with no cost.

RBC - I still use RBC as I sometimes want to speak with a teller. Having a RBC chequeing, savings, TFSA, and credit card enables me to have the $4 month fee reimbursed. Since I use other free banking accounts for the majority of my expenses and variable spending, the limited transactions offered for that reimbursed amount is more than I need for the purpose of this account. I also have a USD savings account. An advantage to using RBC is they also have RBCBank in the US so I can have a chequeing account and credit card in addition to (and very easily connect to) my Canadian RBC accounts. The US account has a fee of (at the time of writing this page $39.99 USD after the first year, when you open a bundle account.)

Income/Expense Tracking:

Mint.com - Mint was a tracking tool that can be used to create budgets, monitor incoming and outgoing cash flow. It was recently deprecated and I am exploring new options to see what available services are most aligned with my financial goals. Stay Tuned!

Credit Monitoring:

Borrowell - over the last 15+ years I have crashed and rebuilt my personal credit score (from around 425 back up to 800 and rising) more than once. I was able to do this by living above my means, and accumulating a significant amount of bad debt with a 19.99% interest rate! At one time to the point it got so bad I was not able to consistently make all my minimum payments let alone put money towards the principle. In 2013 I started using Borrowell and it has been magnificent in helping me learn about and stay on track with improving my credit score, while giving me the peace of mind that I can see any inquiries - ensuring everything that is showing is true. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* please note that all services mentioned on this page are used by me personally. If you choose to create an account with the services I may receive a referral bonus or credit on my account. This is offered entirely by the service being used and will not cost you anything.