Allows Me to Buy in Bulk

When I was in college, I didn’t always have easy access to groceries. I lived within a 10 minute walk of a couple grocery stores, but carrying home large items was fairly difficult. So when I did get access to a vehicle and a grocery store at the same time, I liked to buy groceries in bulk. Most of the time, buying in bulk allowed me to save money, as the volume discount for items that I knew I was going to end up using saved me money over time. The best example of this would be purchasing bread. Once a month or so I would get a ride to a bakery, who had day old bread on sale. I would then buy as much bread as I knew I could fit into my fridge freezer and chest freezer ~ $1-2 per loaf – much cheaper than the original $5-6. Because I was planning on putting it into the freezer right away, there was no worry about the bread going mouldy or stale before I could use it. For the most part, I would then eat the bread as toast, or make the frozen bread into sandwiches for later that day. It worked brilliantly, and saved me tons of money.

Allows Me to Buy Cheap Meat

Currently, a large portion of our freezer space is saved for cheap meat. We have a couple of local grocers who put meat that is about to expire on sale. Usually this meat has a sell by date of that day or the day after – so it’s something that you’ll want to use pretty much right away – unless you freeze it. Meat can be frozen for months and month without any issue, depending on the meat, so it gives you months to take advantage of the sale, even if you don’t necessarily want chicken this week.

Poultry: 6-9 Months
Fish: 3-6 Months
Ground Meat: 3-4 Months
Cured or Processed Meat: 1-2 Months

You can check this website for more details on frozen food storage times.

Allows Me to Make Larger Meals

Not only does buying in bulk save me money, but cooking bulk does as well. Often my wife and I will make a dinner much larger than we need. We’ll then take the leftovers, repackage them, and use them as a next day meal. Or, if we made enough, or if we don’t want those leftovers the next day or two, we’ll just freeze the remainder. Not only does this mean that I am going to be saving money by using less resources creating new meals, but I’m also going to be saving time with meal planning by having ready made meals for the future. A great example of this is once a month where my wife does a Soup Day, where she’ll make a huge batch of soup using inexpensively sourced ingredients, and then split it up into meal sized containers and freeze it all. This makes for healthy, inexpensive meals that are available to be eaten on short notice.

Do you have a chest freezer? What do you use it for?

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Save Money, Buy a Chest Freezer originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 23, 2012.

I was browsing a bookstore the other day and picked up a decorating book by Ethan Allen. Good book as far as coffee table books go. Lots of pictures, ideas I wouldn’t have thought of myself, and in general, a good flow. But there was this one paragraph that made me so angry I slammed the book shut and left the store. Want to know what the paragraph said? I’ll tell you. It said “you must budget for decorating. Otherwise, a new couch will always seem out of reach.” That’s all it said, so you can see how my fit of rage may have been a bit out of line.

Why did I get so angry at that particular moment you ask? Well, it had to do with the fact that the week before, I had just started a “oh @#$%” fund for all the things that creep up that I don’t like. Things like parking tickets, car repairs, and dry cleaning (yes-dry cleaning). I had also decided to start a gift fund to save for the incredible amount of gifts I now buy for people.  Baby showers, wedding showers, friends birthdays, friends kids birthdays, etc. These funds were started on top of my house emergency fund, RRSP’s, and regular savings, which meant I was up to 5 savings buckets! Let me be clear here, I don’t make a six figure salary…not even close. Like most people, I’m just trying to do the best I can. So you could see how I might be a little alarmed at this decorating book suggesting I now had to make an additional savings account so my home looked magazine worthy.

Insert me slamming the book shut and storming out of the bookstore.  As I walked along the street in a huff, I realized something. Probably something you’ve already figured out. Budgeting is essential to get to your financial goals but the reason budgeting is great is because it tailor made for everyone. No two budgets are alike. If decorating isn’t your thing (like me), then there is no need or reason to budget for it. Plain and simple.

I’m never going to be one of those people who needs a new couch every few years. I like my furniture to stick around for a while and the latest and greatest just doesn’t appeal to me. But that doesn’t mean it’s not important to you! And if it is, it should be in your budget! What’s important to me is saving for a rainy day (RRSP’s and emergency funds) dining out, gift giving and not being caught off guard by a stupid parking ticket. I have tempered my budget based on the kind of risk I am ready to take and how prepared I like to be for certain situations. Your budget might include rainy day savings, a clothing allowance, a magazine subscription and a vacation fund. My budget will never be your budget and vice versa. Perhaps, after reading this you will take Ethan Allen’s advice and set aside some money for decorating. I on the other hand will throw a blanket over my couch and call it new…and the folks at Ethan Allen will just have to be okay with that.

Author Bio: She’s So Savvy is an online destination for professionals who want to live large in the city on a small budget. With so many career-focused, city-dwelling friends, Tiffany noticed they still couldn’t make ends meet while living in Toronto. As a consummate bargain hunter, she knew from experience that the deals were out there, but couldn’t find a single source of information where they could all be found. With her advertising, sales, and web background, Tiffany started She’s So Savvy as a guide for people who want to live a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget – the rest is savvy history!

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Budgeting: One Size Doesn’t Fit All Mr. Allen originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 22, 2012.

Trading Commodities Futures

For most investors, commodities trading actually means trading commodities futures contracts. While it’s possible to trade for immediate and physical delivery on the spot market, the fact of the matter is that most “regular” investors don’t have the ability to engage in such transactions. The spot market is mostly used by producers and direct commodity consumers. Instead, you are much more likely to trade on the futures market, where you will not receive physical delivery of any sort of goods.

When you trade a commodities futures contract, you are trading a contract for the price of the underlying commodity, and not buying the commodity itself. The contract is settled prior to delivery, and you end up with gains or losses, depending on when you bought, and the price you sell at. A good example of how commodity futures work is when you consider a lumber seller, or producer. These contracts are designed to protect producers:

A lumber seller may project a certain amount of wood to sell. They can sell it ahead of time, in order to cover the costs of harvesting the lumber (and perhaps make a profit as well). While it’s possible that waiting could mean a higher price, selling ahead of time guarantees that a minimum is met. The buyer of the lumber contract pays the producer, and then puts the contract with the lumber seller on the futures market. The contract can then be “bought” and “sold”. If the price moves higher, the contract holder receives profits, since the commodity has gained in value. A lower price, though, means that contract holder loses. The producer, however, has already received payment, so it’s not such a big deal.

Understand the Risks

When you are trading based on futures, you are taking risks that are considered greater than if you were to trade stocks and bonds in the traditional way. Commodity prices are volatile, and affected by changes in global supply, political upheaval, and economic changes. You should also understand the risks of leverage. It’s often possible to use a small amount of your own capital to control large positions. Your gains are magnified in these cases — and so are your losses. You need to carefully assess your situation, and understand the risks before you engage in commodities future trading.

With the arrival of commodity ETFs, many people are interested in dipping their toes in. However, it’s important to realize that, even though these investments can reduce your exposure to risk, they have risks of their own. Because the ETFs are based on futures, and not on the commodities themselves, there is a chance for a situation known as contango, and that has its own risks. Before you invest, make sure you understand the process, and that you are prepared for possible losses.

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Should You Invest in Commodities? originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 21, 2012.

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Friday Links originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 18, 2012.

In the 90s, when you ran out of money you stop doing things. -Louis C.K.-

There was a time, not so long ago, before the widespread use of credit cards, a time I like to call the green ages; a time where people carried paper instead of plastic. Now, paper itself is no better than plastic, and vice versa. However, how they are used and what they represent gives the user (you) a very different idea of ones wealth and spending capacity.

During the green ages, if you ran out of money, you stopped doing things (for a good rant on this watch “Everything is Amazing and Nobody’s Happy” on YouTube). Even if you knew that you had money coming in next month, it did not help you because you had none right now. So instead you were forced to budget and manage your money in order to do the things you wanted to do. You also had a better understanding of how much money you had since your wallet would literally feel lighter as you spent more.

Today, if you have no money to go to the movies, you would just use the credit card company’s money to pay for it instead. You would accumulate a bunch of these purchases over the course of the month, and when the money came in you would pay part of it off. Wash, rinse and repeat! Keep on doing this and you magically accumulate debt. Welcome to why the average Canadian consumer debt is 25 960$ as of February 23 2012 according to an article in the globe and mail.

Now it is so easy to say: “I’ve got a paycheque coming in, therefore I can afford this”. The problem is, you can’t. You actually don’t have the money to buy it; the credit card company can afford it, not you. Most people assume they are spending their future earnings when they use a credit card, or that they are alleviating the cost of a large purchase by paying it in smaller more manageable chunks.

The truth is that you are not spending your future earnings; you are spending the credit card company’s money (I know I’ve said it before and I will say it again). Now there are some purchases that are too large to make and require some form of debt and/or leverage combination, but lets be honest do you really need to finance your movie ticket, that new jacket you will probably only wear once or twice, those shoes you just had to add to your collection of 50?

Let me put it this way, if the general population used credit cards the way they are supposed to the credit card companies would have gone out of business a long time ago. If everyone paid their bills in full and on time, the general population would remain richer and the credit card companies would become significantly poorer. Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for you), the average person is absolutely terrible at understanding this concept.

Here it is: If you have expenses on your credit card which are not critical to your life (i.e. your life or the life of people around you) and you are unable to pay them off on time in full, chances are you are incorrectly understanding how much money you actually have.

What can you actually do about it? Well the first step is realizing how much money you actually have to spend. This is done, like in the green ages, by budgeting your money. If you don’t know how much things cost you over time, how will you ever know how much you can actually spend before falling into debt?

Secondly, realize that sometimes you actually can’t afford certain things, and most of the time those things are actually quite useless. If you took a look at your credit card statement from 5 years ago, I bet you that for half the purchases on there, you wouldn’t remember what happened to the items.

Thirdly, think forward instead of backwards. For the items that cost a lot of money save up for them instead of paying interest on them. Allow the bank to help pay for part of the cost by giving you interest on your money even if those interest rates are at record low levels. And the items that are not worth it, well if you can’t buy them with your money don’t buy them with someone else’s.

There will always be unforeseen events were a credit card will come in handy. However it should not be your main source of payment. Not to say you should not pay things with your credit card; this should be done when you have the money before hand to pay it off in order to accumulate cash back and points from your credit card company as well as increase your credit rating.

Just a little tip to get you started:

My college roommate did this, and although it was weird at the time, I have to say it is quite helpful to understand the statements I made above. If you can’t do it for the full duration, at least try it for a little while, or until you go insane and cannot go without spending someone else’s money.

The next time you pay off your credit card completely, try the following.

• Take your credit card (s), freeze it (them) in a block of ice in your freezer
• Try making your purchases for the month with the money you make and have
• At the end of the month, see how much money you have left over

This is how much money you actually have to spend, and this is what your lifestyle should actually be like. If you want a more lush lifestyle start working towards making more income, not spending the credit card company’s money (told you I would say it again).

Note: if an emergency does come up, don’t put it in the microwave to un-thaw it…. A bowl of warm water is your best bet.

Author Bio: My name is Joey Odman and the reality is that I am not a financial expert, nor do I claim to be. I studied something completely unrelated, managed to get a decent job with a good degree and quickly realized that although I was not an expert, over my short time on earth I had acquired a series of skills and convictions which made me quite good at managing money, accumulating wealth and staying away from debt. I am currently trying to teach these skills to the people around me in a way that everyone can understand and use everyday.

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The Green Ages: Life Before Credit Cards originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 17, 2012.

Item trading becomes real money

Soon, an economy sprung up around the game. Different found items had different values, the more rare the item, the more valuable the item. You would have to trade a lot of gold or other gear in order to get the best items for your character. People started to capitalize on the demand for higher end gear, and a real world economy was also formed around the game. You could go to the rather new eBay.com and purchase items for your character with real money. Once the auction was complete you’d meet the character in game and get the item you purchased – hopefully, anyways.

Not long after it was discovered that there was actual money to be made from the game, overseas companies started farming the game for higher end items, selling them in mass quantities on foreign websites. Soon you could purchase characters as well, so that you wouldn’t have to spend the time levelling up a character in order to take advantage of that shiny new axe or ring. Blizzard, the company that made the game, tried to stop the transactions, saying that these items and characters are not for the players to be bought or sold, as they are all the property of Blizzard. That shut down most eBay auctions, as they’re hosted in the US, but foreign websites still were able to make real world money off of the game.

What about selling items in Diablo 3?

With Diablo 3, Blizzard is not only seeking to control the real world economy of Diablo 3 items, they are looking to make a profit. They’ve created an auction house, similar to the World of Warcraft auction house, that will allow players to sell their unwanted items for in-game gold, or real world money. Blizzard will charge a small fee to the seller of the item, either a percentage or a flat fee depending on the type of item being sold. The upside being that there will now be a legitimate way to make some real world money off of the game.

So is there money to be made from the game? Should we all quit our jobs, buy Diablo 3, and get ready to play video games for a living? No. We should not. The problem is that there is no way to control the economy, and it will take a lot of time and investment in order to make any sort of profit from the game. Most lower tier items will sell for very little real money, so the rush will be for the highest tier, rarest item. Even if you do find one, it’s value is constantly going to plummet, as there’s no limited supply of that item. It’s just going to keep getting found by more and more people, and its rarity will simply decrease over time. Even if you do spend a ton of time on the game, farming the highest level items, getting tons of gold and selling it all through the auction house, you have to remember that Blizzard is going to be taking a cut on each item that you sell, and when you attempt to withdraw the money into your PayPal account, they’ll take another 15% as a transaction fee.

In Diablo 2, the best way to make money, at the time, was to sell character accounts. In Diablo 3, there will be no legitimate way of doing this. Each player character is tied to a battle.net account, so you’d have to purchase the game and create a battle.net account for each character that you wanted to sell. So they would start at $60, plus the value of the character(s) on the account. I expect to see some accounts pop up on Ebay or various foreign sites, but I definitely do not recommend trying to purchase from them.

Will there be crazy success stories? Yes, of course. The first person to find a particular lusted after item will probably be able to sell it on the auction house for $20 or $30, creating a frenzy of activity while people try to find that item and get similar results. As more and more people play the game, and as more and more items are discovered and sold, their value will plummet down to a buck or two. Personally, I doubt I will be spending much money on the auction house. I’d rather play through the game with the items that I’ve found rather than pay $5 and breeze through the game. If I am able to find and sell some items I don’t want or need, I may re-invest that money into the game in order to get an item that I may never otherwise find. I’m probably amongst the majority there, and I believe that this is Blizzard’s intention – simply provide a legal way of being able to make the game a little bit more fun, or a little bit easier, at a fairly small price. Which, to be honest, is a much better way of introducing an income stream to a game after it’s launch than forcing customer to purchase DLC to unlock the rest of the game they already purchased.

Are you playing Diablo 3 right now?

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The Economy of Diablo 3 originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 16, 2012.

When Tom first announced he was looking for a new staff writer for Canadian Finance Blog, we exchanged emails and he asked me to write a guest post. As I sat down to do so, I realized I was very nervous – I really wanted to write something that would impress him and you, his readers. It struck me that this was very similar to the way I felt as I prepared for a job interview, and really, that’s what this guest post is.

As I was working up ideas for this guest post, I kept coming back to the idea of job interviews. I’m currently looking for a new position, and I do a lot of hiring in my current position, and over time I’ve learned a lot about how to present well in an interview. Since an interview can make or break your chances of getting an offer, here is what I’ve learned about putting your best foot forward when preparing for an interview.

1. Be prepared. Especially for professional positions, many jobs require more than an interview these days. You may have to put together a presentation, have your portfolio ready, or be prepared to provide references. Having this information at your fingertips makes you look organized and professional. On top of this, interviews make many people nervous. Being prepared helps settle those nerves as you will walk in knowing you are ready to answer their questions.
2. Know your audience. By this, I mean research your company to learn a little about the corporate culture. Is this a conservative office job? Visible tattoos and piercings may not be acceptable. Trendy, multicoloured hair might get you moved to the bottom of the ranks. The flip side is, if this is a casual or creative position that values individuality, those same qualities might actually be helpful!
3. Dress appropriately. What does that mean? Well, if you’re applying for a professional position, wear a clean, well fitting suit. It doesn’t have to be designer, but it should be the right size, and flatter both your figure and colouring. Women should avoid going overboard on jewellery and make-up; both genders should go easy on cologne. Visual first impressions matter, so choose your clothes wisely. If you’re applying for an entry level service position, or a more casual environment, then a suit isn’t your best choice, but ensure your clothes are still clean and in good repair.
4. Be punctual. There is nothing that sends a bigger signal to me as a hiring manager that you don’t want the job than you being late for your interview. If you’re not going to value my time now, why should I expect you to value it after I hire you?
5. Research the position and company. Yes, I know this is “common sense”, but it is worth repeating. I have learned the hard way that a quick skim of a company’s website is not enough research. I had an interview years ago where I wound up looking silly because I didn’t take the time to learn the basics about the company, and I mixed them up with one of their biggest competitors. (Not surprising, I didn’t get the job). As well, learn some of the basics about the position. I have turned away people from entry level customer service jobs because they didn’t take the time to learn even a little bit about what our business and the job is about. If you want to be a barista at Starbucks, you should be able to tell the hiring manager why you’d be a good one!

So there you have it – five key points to preparing for any job interview. If you follow all five of these points, you’ll already be doing more than at least 50% of the rest of the candidates, which improves your odds of impressing the hiring managers – and you getting the offer you want.

Author Bio: I’m Kris of Balancing Money and Life. I’m a Canadian customer service manager, wife, mother and triathlete who is trying to find ways to pay down her debt while still balancing all the other aspects of her life! I blog at both my finance site and at my fitness site where I chronicle my passion for all things triathlon. Although I trained as an accountant, I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil, and through finance writing can combine both.

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Putting Your Best Foot Forward for Job Interviews originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 15, 2012.

Evolution or Devolution?

It has been fairly well established at this point that women have been biologically predisposed to wanting a partner that will provide for them. This is a leftover from our old hunter and gatherer days when the physical strength of men, as well as a certain type of intelligence was highly prized as one of the only means of providing food. Naturally chicks used to dig a caveman that could feed them, and their future children. Eventually it became instinctual (or so those science types tell me). So who can blame a gal then if she is attracted to a dude that will continue to put food on the table for the family… and a nice car… and a sweet yearly trip… and a mansion etc. It’s in the DNA for crying out loud! To pretend it isn’t there, and to try and look down on others is a bit much. All other things being equal between two potential partners, I don’t think there are too many people that would choose one with lower earning potential. There are reasons why people continue to write bestselling books about how to meet wealthy guys after all (hint: shop in the grocery store in the ritzy part of town).

Are Women The New Alphas?

One of the really interesting things to me is to watch this dynamic become sort of reciprocal as we go through this paradigm shift that is currently place within the workforce. If women’s instincts have honed over years to zero in on the dude that will let them live in style (whether that means eating meat twice a month in 10,000 BCE, or driving a BMW on Desperate Housewives in 2012), what have men’s instincts become? There is little doubt at this point that women will begin to supplant more and more of their husbands as the breadwinners in the relationship (especially in North America). Many more women are going on to post-secondary education than men are, and the traditional idea of “man’s work” doesn’t match up well with the current information-based economy. Will men begin to adapt and look for women that can provide for the family, as well as produce offspring? I know that I encourage my male high school students to pay attention in class so that they can attend university. When many of them ask why that is important, I merely reply that there are now 3 girls for every 2 guys at most North American universities. If they can’t do that math, they don’t deserve a girlfriend. Never underestimate the power of 16-year old male hormones!

Ah… High School, Some Things Never Change

In the high school world that I inhabit on a daily basis the traditional shallow values still hold sway. Alpha males are still the jocks that pick on the “nerds” and the ability to provide is still determined by who has a decent after school job. Whichever girl has the usual eye-catching attributes generally continues to rule the roost. While many adults (or at least those in the staff room) tend to look down on these relationship criteria, is it possible that the ones that govern adult relationships are just as shallow, albeit better camouflaged?

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Marrying For Money and Earning Potential originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 14, 2012.

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Friday Links originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 11, 2012.

I commute into downtown Toronto every day. And every day, I pass people on my way to and from work asking for change.  I don’t think I’ve ever donated money to them. In fact, I feel annoyed by them being there. Since I’m either on my way to my job, or leaving it, I’m not overly inclined to give the money I earn to someone who apparently can’t be bothered to get a job.

Here’s some of my rationale for why I don’t donate.

You should earn it, not expect a handout

This is not a new sentiment on my part – I remember writing a journal entry in high school commenting about how I didn’t like being asked for money. I feel if I earned it, it’s mine. If you want something, you should earn it – not just ask me to provide it.

How do I know what it’s used for?

I am cynical by nature, and tend to see the darker side of things.  I’ve witnessed at least a few occasions where someone has been panhandling on the subway. People have offered them food, and they’ve turned it down. My theory is –if you’re looking for money, and it’s not for food, it’s probably for a habit I don’t want to support.  If I wouldn’t pay for a bad habit for myself, why should I pay for it for someone else?

We have social programs

We have soup pantries, shelters, “reach out” programs, and food banks. I know in a lot of countries there’s little or no safety net, but in Canada, we have a lot of resources people can turn to. I am happy to support (by choice – not by being put on the spot!) certain programs, and realize that at one time or another, almost everyone needs a helping a hand in life. I think that if I want to give out money though, I should know where it’s going.

Does this make me a bad person?

I don’t think so, but you may disagree. I donate to a few women’s shelters every month, as well as Unicef, and do chip in when we fundraise for the United Way at work.  I’m not against helping others out – I know I’m lucky I’ve never been in a position of real need.  I just think I should get to choose when, where, and how I get to give that money out.

What do you think? Do you give money to the homeless? Why or why not?

Author Bio: I’m My Canuck Buck.  I’m a hard working Canadian (Canuck) who’s decided she wants to get more from her hard earned dollars (bucks).  I’ve recently joined the world of financial bloggers, and my goal is to learn everything I can, and share what I know, so we can all save more bucks!

No related posts.

Should You Donate To The Homeless? originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on May 10, 2012.