Spring has sprung and I’m loving it. Do you know what I love about spring?  It’s not the cute birds or the cuddly bees or flowers or trees – what I love about spring is the electricity savings!  Yeah that’s right. Since the nice weather has come my electric bills have been cut in half  by simply keeping the windows open in the day time and then closing them at night.  It’s amazing how keeping the furnace or air conditioner off from April to June can really save you a bundle.  Below are some other electricity saving tips to get “shocking” savings and then live better with on those savings….

1. Don’t preheat the oven – unless you are baking.  It just slows down cooking times and wastes energy.  We’re all about efficiency over here.  

2. Use a BBQ for spring cooking.  It is cost effective and everything tastes better on the barbie.  My mom cooks everything including turkeys on a BBQ!  It’s amazing how well it turns out.

3. Don’t run more than one appliance at a time.  Now that spring is here you can put the wet clothes out on a line.  That’ll save you dryer energy from April to October.  Not too shabby at all.  

4. Try to run the big appliances after 8pm.  That is when you get the best rates and save the cute cuddly fuzzy monies.  

5. Change all of your light bulbs to CFL bulbs.  They save a ton of energy and last way longer.  Win win!  

6. Always unplug anything that you’re not using.  Chargers and appliances still drain energy to power their little lights when they’re plugged in and not being used.  

7. Unplug everything you can when you go away.  I travel quite a bit and when I’m out of town I’ll unplug everything I can.  Watch when your bill comes in that month to really see how much you save.  

8. Use timers for outside lights.  Having them burning away all night adds up.

9. Power bars now come with timers.  You can have them shut down when you’re asleep so that your cable boxes and stereo equipment isn’t using power when you’re sleeping. 

10. Play a game with yourself to see if you can keep dropping your electricity bill each month.  It’s amazing how much money you can find when you’re always looking for the savings.  Each month you reduce your bill reward yourself for being responsible for the environment and your money.  You deserve it Tiger! 

Have an awesome week and don’t for get to sign up for my blogs with the RSS feed,

Dave

I must have deleted this blog by mistake so after many requests here it is again.  Travel well! 

I just booked a flight to Australia to visit some close friends that moved there, and I wanted to share my tricks of the trade on how to get the best and cheapest flight.  The more money I save on the flight and hotels the more I can scuba dive, horseback ride, or visit other cities.  I always aim to have the best trip I can by saving on travel and hotel costs, then spending on the things that will make the trip truly memorable.  

Flights:

1. First, go see a travel agent and ask for the best rate from your city to the destination.  They’ll give you a price to start with.  Get quotes directly from your city and also quotes from smaller cities that are nearby.  I’m flying from Buffalo to Sydney, which is only a 1.5 hour drive from Toronto but saves me over $300!  There is a cheap bus from Toronto right to the Buffalo airport but I’m hooking a ride with my brother who wants to check out the Brooks Brothers outlet, which is a win win for both of us.  

2. Second, open a window with every cheap flight website you can find, such as expedia, travelzoo, selloffvacations, travelocity, priceline, etc.  There are even sites that will check all of the cheap flight sites for you, like cheapflights.ca, bookingbuddy.com, or farecompare.com.  Search all of them, slightly changing the departure and arrival dates until you’ve found the best price.  But you don’t book!  Call up Flight Centre with the flight still on your screen and they’ll beat the price by $10, and in my case they got my Australian Visa for me. I love my money and time!  

3. Travelling to Europe is a bit different.  Find the best rate into a hub like Amerstadam, London or Frankfurt.  Then try to get a Ryan Air, German Wind, or Easy Jet flight from the hub to your destination.  You’ll save literally thousands if you’re flying to a remote destination like I did when I flew to Malta.  That trip cost $800 to London and then $90 to Malta on Ryan Air.  That saved me more than $1,000!  
Hotels:
1. Hotels work the same way.  Open nine hundred windows on your computer and find the best price.  Google for a “promo code” for the hotel that you want and see if you can bring the price down even more.  Make sure you watch for any service fees or taxes before you book.  Click through to the page where you enter your credit card info and compare prices from the total sum. 
2. If you have a company like I do, ask to register for their corporate rate. This will guarantee you savings during the busy months when deals are scarce.  They treat their corporate clients like gold, which is a hidden plus. 

3. Whenever I travel I always aim to stay at the trendiest boutique hotels or historic hotels for less than a discount hotel.  I’ve done this in Greece, Sweden, Germany, Egypt, Malta, LA, and NYC. Why not stay at the best places in the best locations? You deserve it!
4. Get a US$ Credit Card if you stay in the US for long periods of time.  Canadian credit card companies charge 2.5% on top of the exchange rate, so if you are in the US enough to charge $2,000 in hotel and dinner expenses it will save you $50 from that 2.5% fee!  Find the best foreign exchange rate place and pay off the card when you get home.  In my experience the ULTIMATE place in Toronto to exchange money is under the Sheridan Hotel.  Tell her that Dave sent you for an extra special price  
I’ll be away for two weeks putting shrimps on the barbie, so I’ll write about all the ways I saved money down under!
Dave

If you’re an active investor like I am, days like yesterday can be a scary thing.  The DOW was down 222 points the highest one day drop since Feb.  It is easy to get swooped up with today’s news…debt problems in Spain, Greece and Portugal, a weakening Euro and China pulling back the strings on its economy to try and keep it from boiling over.  What is an investor to do to stay on top?  Here are some “zone” tips to keep you investing at your prime and profiting from it.  

1. Keep Calm, and Carry On.  The worst thing to do in markets like yesterday is to give into your fear.  Keep rational.  CBNC and BNN are all about the story and fear sells advertising and markets.  Keep your head in a good place.  Tomorrow is another day.  Take advantage of opportunities instead of running from them. 

2. Zen Zone.  Before every trading day I think about those days when I was quit witted, making good decisions, and profiting.  I remember what I was thinking that day, what my motivations were and how if felt at the end of the day when I had made all of the right decisions.  Starting that day in the “zone” is crucial to keep you on the ball. 

3. Keep Your Eye on the Ball.  Remember what your ultimate objective is and write it on a piece of paper and keep in in view.  If it is capital preservation, short term gain, or yield for the long haul, or other write it down.  When you process information when the market is crappy you’ll keep your eye on the ball and take actions to support what you want to achieve.  

4. Why do you want it?  Why do you really want the money that you’re making?  Is it family? freedom? security? achievement? or fun?  Anchor yourself to your desired future enjoying the money and re-enforce why you are going to make it or make more of it.  What that money will actually do for you and what happiness it will bring you.  

5. Celebrate!  When you’re a star in the market. Make sure you recognize it and reward yourself for being such a champ.  Re-enforce your positive actions while investing and you’ll repeat them in the future to make even more money. And you know how I love making more money.

Have an amazing week,

Dave

I’m very serious when I shop.  I don’t just buy things willy nilly or on a whim.  I shop to win.  Nothing drives me crazier than to buy something and then see that I didn’t get the best deal.  I’ve listed my shopping strategies below for everyone to use for their ultimate items and save money to re-invest in more amazing treasures.  Remember, shopping is like war.  To the victor goes the spoils (shoes). 

1.  Scouting Parties:  Shopping for the best deal is a war of attrition.  You need to scout out what you LOVE, and then keep checking back for it to go on sale.  I have a routine where I keep checking my favourite stores to see when my prize sweater or amazing shoes go on sale.  I keep my visits frequent until I don’t think my target item will go any cheaper or I risk the chance of losing my size–and then I pull the trigger.  Buy it with cash and celebrate your victory.  If it doesn’t go on sale or I lose my size–I didn’t really want it that badly.   
 
2. Love it or Leave it:  Make sure that when you buy, you buy something that makes your heart go “thump”.  Buying because you’re bored, your friend bought something and you feel you need to also, or because you just got dumped is no way to shop.  Make sure that when you try on that sweater or swirl in that dress it gives you butterflies.  You’ll wear it a hundred more times than something that you kinda like.  Plus, think of all those extra sweaters that you half-like sitting in your closet.  If you hadn’t bought them you could have allocated their costs toward your ULTIMATE something, something.  

3. Buy Classics:  Make sure that when you buy, you buy good quality, classic products that you won’t have to pitch next season.  We are all about the average cost per wear over here.  A classic piece is timeless and contributes to your clothing basics.  Keep in mind what classics you still need to buy, and when shopping hit them up first. 
 
4. Befriend the Sales People:  If you’re charming and lovely with the sales people they’ll tell you when things are going on sale, hold things for you, and invite you to the friends and family nights.  Allies are crucial in retail reconnaissance.

5. Save the Money First: Make sure you have the money saved before you buy anything.  This allows for you to truly enjoy the product without any money malice.  Open a savings account and deposit your budgeted allowance for shopping into it.  Make a list of everything that you want to buy in priority.  If you see a fierce fleecy thing – add it to the list.  When you have enough cash to buy the number one shopping priority on your list, and it’s the right price, strike!  
 
These strategies will help you to get things for the best price and guilt free.  It makes shopping more enjoyable and gets you more bang for your buck.  You are now master of your mall jungle!  

Love your money and there will be way more to love,
 
Dave

My book is here! Anyone who loves my blogs can now purchase a money manual with all of my strategies and philosophies on investing, borrowing, saving and life. Purchase it right here from my blog and you’ll receive free shipping and handling! I know you love saving money too.  

I love money. I’ve always loved money. Loving money has allowed me to start my own ideal coaching business, buy my dream car for FREE, horseback ride every Thursday, travel more, and spend time with the people in my life I truly love. You should live your ideal life too.  This book will teach you how to dream your ultimate life then realize it by allocating the financial resources. Learn to optimize everything financial in the following book chapters:

1. Love Your Money – Simplify Your Financial Life
2. Live Like You’re Already Rich – How to become wealth like rich people do
3. Setting Goals For Your Ultimate Life – Dream your ultimate life than live it
4. Budgeting For Your Goals – How to track and save to pump back into your happiness
5. How to Use Money and Credit – How to win by using cash and cards
6. Investment Portfolios – How to build a zero dollar portfolio
7. Wealth Equals Income Steams – True wealth is built on multiple streams of income and how you can do it!
8. Mortgages and Loans – How to borrow to benefit you and save tens of thousands on your current mortgage
9. Insurance – How to only buy what you need!
10. Shopping – How to shop like a pro and save
11. Money and Relationships – How to pick the perfect money match
12. Financial Checkups – How will you know when you’re wealth?

Love your money and it’ll love you back with an Ah-mazing life!

Dave

1. Set your payments from monthly to bi-weekly–or even better weekly. Bi-weekly payment means you make one extra payment per year compared to monthly. Over the amortization time of your mortgage these extra payments will save you thousands.  
 2. Round up your payments. If your bi-weekly payments are $829.68, for example, round them up to $900. The extra $70.32 bi-weekly will save you even more over the amortization of your mortgage.  

It is so hard to step away from your prime minus variable rates when they are so low. I had a rate of prime -.85 before I sold my place. If you do decide to stick to your variable rate and hope that interest rates climb slowly over the next few years, increase your payments so that you are making the payments that you would be in a five year fixed. There are two advantages to this:

1. You will be paying down your principal very quickly, which will equal less principal to pay back when rates go back up. It will save you bundles in the long run.  
2. You’ll also be used to the payments at a higher interest rate. When you need to renew or decide to go with a fixed rate, you’ll have a few years of already making payments at that higher rate.  
 
Try out some of the mortgage calculators online like the one below to see how much interest you save with the different options, along with how many years you’ll “bump off” your amortization, instead of it bumping you off. And mortgage free years are years that you can spend that mortgage money on your extra special life!  

What is that one thing that you always dream about when sitting in the car waiting for a light or having your morning coffee?  That one thing that you fantasize about?  The one thing that gets you excited about doing?  That gives you those butterflies when you spend time thinking about how great it would be?  It could be a boat, running for public office, writing a book, or taking a year off to travel the world.  Well, you’re going to do it.  That’s right.  Whatever that one thing is that you have always wanted to do, but didn’t have the money, or didn’t have the time, or didn’t have the support–you are going to do it!  
  
First, imagine that your “thing” is done.  Let’s use my example of writing a book.  I’ve always dreamt of writing a book, going on tour, helping tons of people save money to live their ultimate lives, capturing my tricks of the trade, and my life philosophy to show people how to live their best lives.  I love being able to change people’s perceptions and beliefs about money so that they can improve their and their family’s well being.  It makes me feel like a million dollars.  My book is coming out in a week, and all of these dreams and ideals are coming true for me. They can come true for you too. 
 
Right now, write down on a piece of paper how awesome it would be to complete your number one dream.  Think about the future when you have that boat, you’ve run for public office, or you’re on the trip around the world. Feel the freedom, the creativity, or that sense of accomplishment that you experience by stroking off your number one goal.  
 
Now let’s get it for you.  On a piece of paper write the very first thing that you need to do to accomplish your goal.  Let’s use the boat as an example. 1. Find my perfect boat.  Awesome! This is the fun part. Scour the internet, magazines, boat shows and dealerships for your perfect boat. Decide on the colour, size, and even the Captain’s hat you’ll get for the boat.  Taking action towards getting your boat is admiral. (Get it?)  
 
What is the next step I need to take to get that boat? I need to find a place to keep it. So figure that out. Find a garage, rent a place, a friends cottage, etc.  Your brain will come up with a million suggestions and you just have to pick the next one.

You’re on your way! What is your next step? Money. Now ask yourself, how can I possibly get this boat? How much do you have saved? How much will it cost? How many months of saving will it take to buy the boat? Is there something that I don’t want that I could sell to contribute to the boat, like a smaller boat or old tires in the garage? Keep asking how, how, how can I get that boat in a practical and responsible manner?  What resources can support me to get this boat?
  
Once you have a financial plan (see my blog on how to get a free car; it works for boats too), have the savings come out automatically from your pay. You’ll know every month that when a deduction towards your ULTIMATE dream comes off your pay, you’re getting closer to your dream. Be sure to get the best interest possible for your dream too. Shop around for the best interest rate to contribute to your goal. You’ll find yourself putting away your birthday money, working extra shifts, or cutting back on dinners out to get to your ideal future faster.  
Whatever you dream of when you’re alone, this is the day to make your very first step towards it. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  

I just got back from an ah-mazing trip and I have some quick trips to get more bang out of your buck when travelling. They will help you save money on the every day stuff while on the road so you can funnel the savings back into a better trip.  
 
1. Everyday eating:  It is so easy to eat fast food when on the run in a vacation spot.  You have so much to see and do that you it seems easy to throw down a Macers or pop in one of the over priced touristy places.  Instead, what I do is find a local grocery store get a big salad, some olives, and a cooked whole chicken, and then take it to the beach or some where scenic. This will drop your daily eating budget drastically and it will be healthier too. You can also grab a huge bottle of water and make some sandwiches for the days that you are site seeing. Throw some apples and baby carrots into your lunch bag and you’ve got snack action too.  
 
2. Fine Cuisine:  I love eating at great restaurants and I always ask the locals where they would go for a special occasion.  Normally it is a cute mom and pop shop off the beaten track that I would never have found on my own. The money that I save on lunches. snacks, and quick dinners goes toward dinners at nicer local places, where I make sure to try the local delicacies and fine wines.  
 
3. Tours: Avoid the large tours like the plague. They are way over priced and over crowded. When my family went to Egypt last Christmas, we rented a van with a guide and gave them a list of all of the things WE wanted to see. We also offered to buy them lunch if they kept us away from the tourist traps. This saved the four of us hundreds of dollars and we had private tours of all the amazing sites in Egypt. When I was scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia I did the same thing. I skipped the big tour boats for a smaller one where I got to know the hosts and went to more exotic parts of the reef to swim with the reef sharks. Amazing!  
 
4. Flights When Travelling:  I always book my domestic flights once I’m at my vacation location. I find out where I want to go and then ask a local how they get their cheapest flights. You find out about local domestic discount carriers, like Tiger in Australia. It saved me hundreds of dollars by buying my flights from Tiger instead of booking them in Canada.  
 
5. Stay With Friends: I saved a boat load by staying with friends on my last trip. And I know they loved having me, right guys? It saves you tons of money and you get to spend better time together than if you just saw them for dinner each night. However, you must obey the three day stay rule. After that there is another sofa calling your name.
  
6. Drinks!:  Another way to save a two-four of money if you love the night life is to find out what the local beverage is and stick to that. Normally I find a local beer or wine that I like. Mixed drinks can be a liquid fortune depending on where you are, and I’d rather enjoy the local ale and save money for another night out.  
 
7. Use Cash: I take all of my spending money out before I arrive and then divide it by the number of days that I will be there. You avoid the problem of not having cash at hand when you need it for a tour or a tiny shop that doesn’t take cards, and you save all of the credit card fees and exchange rates. If you’re taking out more than $1,000 you might want to do it in two ATM stops just in case you lose it or get robbed.  
 
8. Hotels: When you book a hotel go to one of our Canadian sites like Hotels.ca or expedia.ca. When you find your ultimate boutique hotel for super cheap your card will be charged in Canadian dollars saving you the exchange and the 2.5% exchange fee. $1,000 in hotels will save you $25 in fees.  
 
9. Trains: I love travelling by train. You get to relax, spend some time reading up on the next place to you’re going to visit, and plan your route of attack! It is also cheaper to get a sleeping berth on a train then a hotel. If you buy a train pass some sleeping trains are included or discounted. It can save you big bucks from pricey European hotels.   
 
10. Walk: If you can, walk to where you want to go. You get to see so much more and save yourself all of the transit fees. This works especially well in European cities. You get some great exercise, see the locals in action, and explore areas that you wouldn’t have on a tram or subway. Plus you’ll be ready for a deep sleep at the end of the day, and be ready to explore your next vacation spot with vigour in the morning. 
 
Hope you’ve enjoyed my travel tips.  Don’t forget to sign up for my RSS feed if you want my posts emailed directly to you each time I write.  My book will be published soon, so get ready for a ”guide book” to loving your money and your life.  

Have an awesome week,

Dave
 
 

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I’m sure all of you have figured out that I like to have my money and spend it too.  Here is one of my quick tips for all of those fancy coffee house latte drinkers.  You’ll get to have your lactosious delight and save $30,000 for a boat, trip to France or something awesome in 25 years!

I, like most morning warriors, love my fancy coffee drinks and realistically that is the only calcium I get each and everyday.  On Thursdays, I even order one in riding boots before I tear up to the stable for my lessons. Starbucks has a Misto that is steamed milk and bold drip coffee for $2.45 versus the $4.04 for a grande latte.  That is an whopping $1.59 savings a day!  I have them a least 5 times a week which equals $31.80 a month including tax.  Now investing that extra $31.80 at an average 8% return for 25 years and I’ll have $30,242.66.  I even like the taste of the Misto better since it has more coffee flavour and I drink guilt free because I’m not dropping close to $5 a day on just coffee.  

Plus the thought of the fun and freedom that saved money will bring me in retirement makes me happy.   $30,000 will be able to buy me something wonderful in 25 years.  Maybe my own little coffee shop in Ethiopia where coffee started?  

Now think if you did this with everything you spend money on?  Only a $31.80 month saving rewarded me with $30,000 in the future.  Where else can you save your money but spend it too?  

Keep loving those fuzzy little monies,

Dave

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As you’ve probably already read, 80% of mutual funds under perform the market.  Why would I ever pay up to 2.5% in management fees to under perform anything?  You can really see that they don’t have our best interests in mind.  When the market was correcting huge in 2008 and 2009 did any of the managers go to cash?  Any strategic moves? No way.  The reason for this is that if the market had swung upwards at any point during the correction and they had not participated in it, they would have been fired.  So over the cliff we all went.  As long as the managers stay close to the index, -30 may that be, the safer their jobs were.  

That doesn’t sit well with my love of money, and that is why I manage my own money.  I know at this point you feel queasy at the thought of going through company annual reports, balance sheets, and listening to conference calls, right?  Well it is so much easier than that.  What I do is find a mutual fund or index fund that I believe in and then I copy it and save the management fee.  I, for example, love dividend yield.  I’ll search for the best dividend funds or index funds and then rip off their top holdings for $5 a trade at my discount brokerage.  That way I’m in control of what I do with my dividends.  

There are many options when I’m in control of the dividends.  I could save the dividends up and buy another high yielding stock when I have enough funds to do so.  Which adds diversification to my portfolio for free.  I could also set the dividends up on a drip (dividend reinvestment plan) program.  My dividends would then buy me more stocks every quarter as they got paid out.  This way you naturally buy stocks higher and lower as the market changes over time. The indie term for this is dollar cost averaging. Quarterly I would receive more stocks that the following quarter would buy me even more stocks — and all for free.  This is a great way to accelerate growth over the long run. If I’m having a good month I might even pay myself my very own management fee and have an amazing dinner out with friends or family.  

If you share my love of dividends, look up the top holdings of XDV, the iShares dividend index. This ETF mirrors the 30 top stocks in the Dow Jones Canada Select Dividend Index.  You can grab the list of stocks right off their web site, plus their weightings.  To keep down my trading costs I buy just the top 15 stocks–making up 63% of the index. If you own them you’ll be participating when the index rises–in the last year it went up roughly 36%. You are given each stock’s weighting in the index which I could match, but with such small percentage differences between the top 15 I just buy them in equal weightings. If you did purchase the later you would have a 4.8% yield and some of Canada’s top dividend yielding companies.  When the dividend index is going up I know that I’m participating in the growth, and I have to keep checking back once a quarter or so to see if any of  my 15 have fallen off the list. I then simply make the appropriate trade to match the new top 15.  This is all on top of those sweet sweet dividends that are paying me quarterly.  

Make your own Mutual Funds and pay yourself instead of the managers.  You’ll love your money so much more.  
Dave