The birds are chirping and the bees are busy visiting all of the fresh flowers. The sun is staying up longer and the big sweaters and coats are about to be packed away for another season.  Time to clean out some clutter and enjoy spring with a fresh clean start.  Why not start with your wallet??!

It’s amazing what people keep in their wallets–old receipts, business cards, point cards, pictures, mints, and sometimes even locks of hair!  Cleaning out our wallets will serve the same purpose as cleaning our homes.  Let’s start fresh this spring with a new, slim, sexy, organized, and efficient wallet.

Having a wallet that you enjoy dealing with will change your mood towards the money that is held in it.  If your wallet is a cavern of slips, cards, and ATM receipts, looking into it each time you need to get your money could be a nightmare. If searching for your credit card makes you curse, it will effect your relationship with money.

So let’s spring clean your wallet and start the season in style.  Here is what you’ve got to do.

Get an awesome wallet:

First, go grab a new ah-mazing wallet.  I got a camouflaged Prada one (on sale of course).  It’s sleek and stylish and I love grabbing it off my desk in the morning and pulling it out to pay for something.  It makes me happy to deal with and it’s kinda awesome.  Buy one that reflects your personality and that makes you smile when you use it.

Organize non-wallet items:

Take everything out of your old wallet  and lay it on a table.  If there are business cards that you need to follow up on, put them in a pile and mark a date in your calendar to fire off an email for each one.  If  you have receipts, put them in your filing system.  Pictures can be stored on your phone or Blackberry.

Ditch Your Point Cards:

If you read my blogs or saw me in the Toronto Star last Monday, you’ll know that I don’t think point cards are worth it.  My wallet has my license, debit card, one credit card, my own business cards, and cash.  That’s it!  It’s lean and mean and all I need. Point programs always advertise you on a beach enjoying freedom from the work grind.  Well I enjoy freedom from point cards every single day by getting rid of them all!

Organize your wallet:

Once purged of all the extra cards, receipts, pics, etc., put one week’s cash allowance in your sleek, sexy wallet.  Put your business cards in one slot to keep them crisp and clean.  They reflect you and your trade.  Organize your bank cards so they are easy to whip out.  I have my debit, credit and license layers in order of use at my fingertips.  Quick draw!

Write three things you want:

With my cards I have written down the three things that I really really want this year.  They are on the back of one of my business cards and every time I pick a card or cash I can see them.  It re-enforces three important things to work towards that will make me happy.  I’ve been doing this for years now.  Try it.  It really works!

Your new and improved wallet will now reflect the way you see money.  Keep only what you need and organize them for easy use.  Your wallet should be enjoyable, efficient, and energetic.  Just like you!

Have an awesome week,

Dave

Share

Do you notice that credit card companies keep blingin’ up their cards. They all seem to be gold, or platinum or shiny black metallic now. They market them to be better than having a sleek Porsche.  Using them is equal to being aristocracy.  It’s like the Queen knights you every time you swipe, or so it seems.

Not only have they made the physical appearance of the card look like a shiny new car, they get us drunk on points or trips, or free things to entice us to use the card for every single purchase.  New tricks like having money-tracking reports in our statements are there so we know exactly what category we spent too much money on to feed our egos.

Now I have fallen for this trick when I was just out of university.  I had the shiniest, goldest, sleekest card they had.  It would have been worshiped as an Inca goddess if it had existed in ancient Inca society!

I swiped it on everything from bars to trips to gas and groceries – all in the name of those most precious points.  I would throw it down whenever I was at a dinner and then I would grab everyone’s cash to get the points.  Then I would spend that money I had collected and still would have t0 pay back the cost of the dinner.  In the long run, you spend more with the Ferrari of cards than you ever would save on trips or gain in prestige for having a sexy card.

That was a long time ago and I paid interest on my gold card at 18.9% interest only ONCE.  I quickly dumped every pay cheque I had on the card until the debt was gone and I have never paid credit card interest again.  I also ditched the gold card for something that would actually benefit me.

My new credit card was the crappiest look wise I could find.  It’s a no fee card that gives me an “ok” cash back on fuel and my fixed expenses like gym, cell, insurance and anything I HAVE to charge like flights or parking meters.  I went from a gold card with a spiffy design, to rocks on the face of the card.  No more blinglicious card that encourages me to spend way more than I need to.

There are better cash back cards out there but I don’t want them. Anything that encourages me to spend more than I would with cash doesn’t make “cents” to me.  I’ll save way more not using it than I would get back from using it on things that I don’t need or even want.

Ditch your  fancy platinum, gold and fierce black cards and get one with a hampster, waterfall or rocks on it.  It’ll give you what we all TRULY want,  financial savvy.

Have an awesome week,

Dave

Share

If you have a good relationship with your money you would never pay $120 to have a credit card!  You’d never be caught dead paying interest when you don’t pay it off completely! Hells no–you’d never pay foreign service fees when you use it in other countires!  You love your money better than that and because you’re a money maverick you get the cards to pay you, right?  I just had my US$ and personal MasterCard pay me $187.37 this year and I only paid a $25 fee for the US$ card  This is how I did it…

Charge All Your FIXED Costs And Big Purchases

I charge all of my fixed costs onto my no fee BMO MasterCard CashBack card, like gas, insurance, cell phone, gym, utilities, cable, and internet.  This way I get cash back on the things I need to use my card on and collect cash back dollars month by month.  I also use my card for trips, furniture, and other big one-time purchases, and it all adds up at the end of the year.  I got $83.65 back on these things this year.  That means free utilities for a month or a nice dinner with a good friend.

Use Cash To Limit Your Monthly Spending

I’m a cash king.  I use cash for my day to day spending to fix my spending and then get cash back from my fixed costs that I put on my card.  Cash is best for my variable spending on things like clothes, lunches, food, entertainment, and coffees, and is a proven way to lower your spending.  Set $300 or whatever you need a week for variable spending and take that cash out at the beginning of the week and don’t take any more out. If I have a crazy champagne and lobster night I know another $300 will come next week!

You Get Extra Perks With Your Card For Free

Gas is another fixed cost that I use my card on.  I get an extra 1.5% back when I go to any Shell station in Canada and over a year this really adds up.  When I book a trip or make a big purchase like electronics or furniture the card gives me extended warranty and purchase protection plus discounts up to 25% at National Car Rental and Alamo all for FREE.

Get A US$ Card For US Trips

Because I spend a lot of time on business in New York and Los Angeles, I also have a US$ BMO MasterCard CashBack card.  I have US$ fixed charges for my business come out on this card that added up to $103.72 – $25 fee this year.  If a trip is cheaper in US$ I will use this card, and anytime I make business trips I use this card.  It pays me with cash back plus I save the 2-3% foreign service fee my Canadian $ card would charge me each time I used it in the US.

Have Your Bank Pay Your Card For You

Many people don’t know this but you can ask your bank to pay off your balance at the end of each month right from your chequing account.  Because I know what all my fixed cards add up to I know how much will come out of my account.  I save on transactions that I would use paying each bill separately, I never pay interest by missing payments, and I know that my card will go to zero each month without me taking any action at all.  Win, win.

Get the credit card to pay you interest at the end of the year!
Have an amazing week,

Dave

Share

Fuel is on its way up and I wanted to share my strategies to save on this necessity.  Not only will it take the pinch out of the pumps but it’ll get your portfolio going.  Vroom vroom!

1. Buy a car that is fuel efficient – this will be more important as fuel breaks $100 a barrel  this year.  I love cars but I also love my money so I got the most fuel efficient but performance driven car.  I have an Audi A5 but with the turbo engine instead of the V6.  Not only is it a driver’s car but I get really good fuel economy.  That is smart for my pocket book and the environment.

2. Get a fuel cash back card and use it.  There are many cards on the market.  I use the BMO Mastercard and fill up at Shell getting 1.5% back on my fuel. Then I pay cash when I’m in the US because you save .10 a gallon.  That is around $1.50 a fill up or $78 a year.

3. Find a cheap gas station a little out of the way and make a route to hit it once a week to fuel up.  In Toronto my place is the Shell on Dupont between Lansdowne and Dufferin.  It’s always $0.05 a litre cheaper and I get my cash back when I use my BMO Mastercard.  In Silver Lake I use the stations at Melrose and Vermont.  They are always $0.10- $0.20 cheaper a gallon than anywhere else in Hollywood.

4. Buy a basket of energy trusts and collect the dividends – not only will you get the stream of income, most of the time monthly, from the royalty or energy trusts you will get all of the upside.  I have 30% of my portfolio in oil or gas stocks and as oil increases in price, it will offset the increase in gas prices.  Oil is only going up from here until we move to a new resource – and I can’t see that happening for a good 20 or more years.

5. Walk or use transit whenever possible.  It’s good for your body and wallet.  You want to keep both firm and fully packed, right?!

Love your money by being smart with oil stocks and it’ll love you back with free gas and a pumped up nest egg,

Dave

Share

Hi Kids,

What is a better gift to give than the gift of financial success!  It’s available at these fine retailers!

US Edition in book and Kindle format – amazon.com

Canadian Edition:

Book City

348 Danforth Ave, Toronto

1430 Yonge St, Toronto

1950 Queen Street East, Toronto

Nicholas Hoare

45 Front Steet East, Toronto

Ben Mcnally

366 Bay Street

Books For Business

120 Adelaide Street

Indigo / Chapters:

Montreal (St. Catherine St.)

Woodbridge

Yorkdale

Yonge and Eglinton

Bayview Village

Thornhill

Square One

Share

Hey Everyone,

Since my first print run in May I’ve already almost sold out of my first edition!  Thanks for everyone who has bought a copy. I really appreciate your support.

I’ve heard from the book store managers that the first print edition appreciates the most.  So my advice this week is to run out and get one of the last copies for the holiday, friends, kids, Nana and Papa! There are very few left so grab a first edition and profit!  :)

Here is where to still get a copy.  The second print is coming in two weeks!


Book City

348 Danforth Ave, Toronto

1430 Yonge St, Toronto

1950 Queen Street East, Toronto

Nicholas Hoare

45 Front Steet East, Toronto

Ben Mcnally

366 Bay Street

Books For Business

120 Adelaide Street

Indigo / Chapters:

Montreal (St. Catherine St.)

Woodbridge

Yorkdale

Yonge and Eglinton

Bayview Village

Thornhill

Square One

Share

I’m on a book tour and I’d love for you to come out to one of my event dates to meet me and talk money.  I’ll be signing my new book I (Heart) Money at the following Chapter and Indigo locations.  Hope to see you out and keep loving your money!

August 7th – 1pm -5pm

Chapters Bayview Village

2901 Bayview Ave Unit 132

North York, Ontario

M2K 1E6

August 21st 1pm-5pm

Chapters Woodbridge

East Woodbridge Centre, 3900 Hwy 7 West, Unit 1

Woodbridge, Ontario

L4L 1A6

(905)264-6401

August 28th 1pm – 5pm

Indigo Richmond Hill

8705 Yonge Street

Richmond Hill, Ontario

L4C 6Z1

(905)731-8771

September 25th 1pm-5pm

Chapters Woodbridge

East Woodbridge Centre, 3900 Hwy 7 West, Unit 1

Woodbridge, Ontario

L4L 1A6

(905)264-6401

Indigo Yonge and Eglinton – Coming Soon!

Chapters Square One – Coming Soon!

Share
If you’ve been following my blogs you’ll know that I prefer to use cash when I can.  I love hard currency for a number of reasons.  For instance I find that you spend less, you have a natural spending ceiling (it’s gone when it’s gone), you get better prices for big purchases, and it is harder to part with than just swiping away.
I do however use credit cards when there is a financial benefit to me.  I calculate all of my monthly expenses that can be charged to my card and have them come off automatically each month. This saves me time and service fees – I’ve made sure that I can never miss a payment now.  All my gas is charged to the card and I also charge large payments like computers, hotels or airline flights to extend their warranties and add travel protection.  My choice of credit card reward program is an annual fee free card that gives me some sort of points.  If I charge $590 a month I used to get .5% cash back on everything and 1.5% back on my gas purchases, which would give me $59.40 back a year for free just from my monthly resources not including my big purchases like trips, furniture and electronics. Remember that I didn’t pay a yearly fee so that money is all gravy for me!  I have found a new card that saves me even more which I have outlined after my expenses.
Monthly Charges:
Mobile Phone                    $60
Television/Internet          $80
Electricity                           $40
Gym                                      $50
Gas                                       $200
Car Insurance                    $145
Home Insurance               $15
Just recently I have found a no charge cash back card. It’s called the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard and it is no annual fee card that gives 3% on gas, 3% on groceries and pharmacies, and 1% on everything else.  Based on my spending it dramatically increases my cash back at the end of the year!   They even have a promotion right now where you can get 5% back on all purchases for 6 months. On the same purchases from above I’d get $118.80 a year before my large purchases.  That equals some cool shoes that I can enjoy for free based on my financial prowess and saves me a ton of time not paying all of those bills independently.  Time that I can be kickin’ back with my new free kicks.
Have an awesome Tuesday,
Dave
Share

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

Share

 

It scares me that the word “mort,” which means “death” in French, is in the word “mortgage.”  Here are a few ways to take the Grim Reaper out of your payment plans.  
 
We are at the bottom of mortgage interest rates and it is time to consider fixing your rate to save money and time off of your amortization. The Bank of Canada promised that we would have these low levels until June and June is only a few months away. We don’t know how fast interest rates will rise but we do know they will start to rise from here. The economy has shown signs that it is improving, and the major banks started raising fixed rates. It just might be time to fix.  
 
If you do choose to lock in, be sure to shop around and get the best rate. If you choose to use a mortgage broker you will be locking in for 5 years as low as 3.49% as of today. Even BMO has advertised a rate of 3.75% and it gets cheaper if you have other products with the bank.  
If you decide to lock at these super low rates make two extra steps to get the most bang for your buck and literally save thousands of dollars over the amortization period of your loan.  

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!  

Share
© 2010 I Heart Money Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha