Month: June 2015
Our Favourite Canadian Financial Blogger: The Greater Fool
Garth Turner’s blog The Greater Fool is our favourite blog, not only for the excellent information provided, but because he speaks his mind authentically and he’s honest. Both of these qualities are lacking in the financial industry where profit motives and appearances are often given priority over bluntness and honesty.
Amazon Canada Credit Card Great for Travellers
Amazon’s Visa Rewards credit card offers a unique feature that will be of interests to Canadians who often travel outside of the country. There are no foreign currency transactions fees: “Foreign currency transactions are converted at the exchange rate set by Visa International, without additional surcharges.”
This is also a no annual fee card with offers cash back rewards (2% for purchase from Amazon Canada, 1% everywhere else) and a $20 Amazon.ca gift certificate upon approval.
Canadian Banks versus American Banks
Free 8″ Samsung Galaxy Tab A when you switch to TD Bank
There are of course conditions and requirements (open an account and complete specific tasks like a direct deposit and bill-payment) to get this promotion so do read the fine print at the TD website.
The trade off with these kind of promotions is the monthly service fees you will have to incur. Make sure you do a cost-benefits analysis to make sure you’re still coming out ahead over the long run.
We liked this deal better when it was an iPad.
MoneySense Ranks 209 Canadian Cities
MoneySense’s rankings emphasize economic considerations. This list differs from others as summarized by this statement:
We feel there is a strong correlation between the economics of a city and type of life you are able build there for your family. Everyone wants to live in a beautiful part of the country, away from sub-Arctic conditions, but we question how much you’ll be able to enjoy a city if you have to work all the time—or if you can’t find work at all.
The top ten cities are:
1. Boucherville, Quebec
2. Ottawa, Ontario
3. Burlington, Ontario
4. St. Albert, Alberta
5. Blainville, Quebec
6. Oakville, Ontario
7. Stratford, Ontario
8. Lévis, Quebec
9. North Vancouver, B.C.
10. Quebec City, Quebec
And see the complete list of 209 cities for more rankings.