Extra Costs

A couple of nasty financial surprises this week

24. April 2013 · 6 comments · Categories: Extra costs

I got 2 nasty financial surprises this week:

1. A $25.00 over limit feeon my “low limit” Visa

2. A call from the place I bought my car from saying they’d forgotten to charge me HST!

I have a Visa I’ve had since university with a limit of 500.00 on it. I mostly use it for online things – shopping, ordering in food, making donations, etc. And in the entire time I’ve had it, I’ve never gone over the limit before now. I used a Wagjag and paid the difference with Paypal, and that put me over. Sigh. I’d always just assumed the card would be declined if I was over the limit. So – I will be calling Visa to see about getting that fee waived. And keeping a better eye on my spending!

The other surprise was much nastier – I came home to a message saying they’d forgotten to charge me HST on the used car we bought. It’s on the bill – but just not included in the total. I did read the bill and checked all the numbers on there seemed on okay when we paid for it – but I didn’t actually double-check they added up correctly (I know, I know – what kind of PF blogger am I?!). So I ran through it again and they’re right – they put down the HST, but didn’t actually charge me for it. We have a cushion, so we’re okay – but again, if I’d been paying closer attention, this wouldn’t have happened! They were very apologetic, and apparently this is the first time it’s happened in 5 years. So I’ll go over later this week to pay up – but on the up side, I can put this on my credit card, so I do get some points for it!

What’s the nastiest financial surprise you’ve ever had?

4 Life Investments That You Can Be Saving On

08. January 2013 · 9 comments · Categories: Budgeting, Extra costs, Home, Insurance, Investing

The following is a guest post.
Without proper financial and budgeting skills, it can be tough to put enough money aside in order to make smart life investments in an effort to improve your life. However, with some due diligence and focus on saving your dimes and nickels, you can save enough money to make investments that will benefit your life, and allow you to work on your financial and budgeting skills, while saving for important investments. Four of the different life investments that you can work toward saving for by making minimal life changes include;

Purchasing a Home
Although purchasing a home can be quite expensive, many people are able to secure a home loan mortgage without offering too high of a down payment. The cost of purchasing a home can range greatly depending on the location, as well as other factors. If you have a steady job and a consistent income, putting away small amounts of money over time can allow you to save for a down payment, and subsequent mortgage payments. Try setting aside a small amount of every paycheck, or cutting back on your monthly expenses and instead using that money to invest in a home, which will likely be one of the largest purchases that you ever make in your life.

Life Insurance
Another excellent investment that you can make by making a few small life changes is the purchase of a life insurance policy. By making changes such as cutting back on your energy consumption, purchasing generic brands instead of brand names when at the grocery store, or cutting back on your entertainment spending, you can purchase life insurance relatively easy. Life insurance ensures that your family will be able to maintain the same quality of life should you pass unexpectedly, as the breadwinner in the family. If your family has no income, other than what you are able to bring in through your 9-to-5 job, it is important that you purchase life insurance in order for your family to have some sort of stability in the event that you passed away unexpectedly. Life insurance is relatively cheap on a monthly basis, and depending on your policy can cover you when a wide range of different accidents.

Investing In Stocks
One of your goals for financial stability should be to create multiple streams of income, which allow you to have some stability should you lose your job or require additional funds for one reason or another. Investing in stocks can be an excellent way to create additional streams of income, and ensure that at least a portion of your funds are earning money for you over time. Because stocks can be purchased individually, one at a time, making small adjustments to your life can allow you to set aside enough money to make small stock purchases over time, without having to save a large amount of money to start. In the beginning, you could go a small as purchasing individual stocks, and as your revenue increases, move on to purchasing handfuls at a time. Investing in stocks can be a great way to diversify your investments, and provide you with multiple streams of income.

Retirement Funds
One of the most important investments that you can make in your lifetime is investing properly into your retirement fund. Many companies even agree to match the contributions that their employees make into their retirement funds, which adds extra incentive to set aside money out of each paycheck, and make small changes in your life in order to put as much money into your retirement fund as possible. Saving $100 per month equates to $1,200 per year. When matched by an employer, that figure becomes $2,400 per year, which is $24,000 over the course of 10 years. It goes to show how large of an impact small changes in your life today could have on your future.

Author Bio: Stevie Clapton works for RentersInsurance.net, where you can find articles and assistance on finding home insurance.

Does what you buy define you?

11. July 2012 · 15 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Impulse Shopping · Tags: buying stuff you don't need, consumerism, magazines, Ophrah

I’ve been reading several Oprah magazines lately – don’t worry, I took them out of the library. I didn’t spend my hard earned bucks on them (Okay – I bought one. That’s it). It’s hard to find any kind of “Women’s magazine” that isn’t all about clothes and makeup (which I’m not really into) or children (I don’t have any, and I love my cat, but I’m not gonna get “Cat Fancier”). So, Oprah is not a bad compromise.

After reading several issues, though, I’ve noticed something. The magazine is supposed to be all about finding your true self, and empowering yourself, and in one case – de-cluttering your life! But each magazine seems to be full of pages and pages of things you can buy, in order to help you find your true self or empower yourself – or clutter up your life! And even worse than that – some of them are ridiculously expensive and a total waste. Your average reader for these magazines should not be buying 30 dollar olive oil, 5 dollar chocolate bars, and 200 hundred dollar plates.

I think what got me the most was the conflicting messages – the articles are often about people who gave everything up and made sacrifices to live their “true” life. As well, Suze Orman writes a column each month, advising people on how they can handle their money better. But then there are pages and pages of things you can buy, most of which your average person probably can’t afford and doesn’t need. There are certainly things listed in the lower price range, but still – I’m boggled by the sheer amount of stuff being promoted in these pages.

I guess you can just take the messages that you want out of the magazine and try to ignore all the consumerism that is promoted in it. I seem to be managing okay – I haven’t given in to the urge to try and purchase any crazy expensive stuff I don’t need.

Do you think it’s possible to read these kinds of magazines without getting sucked into wanting to buy things? Do you think what you buy should define you?

5 unexpected costs for your first home or apartment

12. June 2012 · 13 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Home · Tags: costs, first apartment, home, moving, unexpected costs

Now that it’s June, I’m seeing graduation gifts everywhere, and it’s made me think back to my own graduation from university many years ago. I didn’t have a lot of down time between graduating and starting my first job (and yes, I know I’m lucky to have graduated with a job waiting for me!), and I didn’t want to select an apartment in a hurry. So, I rented a basement apartment for the summer months, and then found my first real apartment over the course of the summer. I highly recommend this route for people looking to save some extra money up, or wanting to be sure they like where they are before they commit to a full year with something.

So – when September came, I moved into my first real apartment. And while I’d paid rent before, and moved before, there were definitely some costs that cropped up that I hadn’t considered before I had a place of my own.

1. Moving costs. I was extremely lucky in that my new job covered them. I’d never had to worry about them before – most places just came furnished and I moved the rest of my stuff by car. But here I took my stuff from parents as well as somethings they kindly lent me on long term loan (e.g. my dining room table).

2. Cleaning supplies. I was living across the street from a Zeller’s (for Americans, think Wal-Mart or Target), which was great, because when I got there, I realized I had nothing. No broom. No dustpan. No rags. Nothing at all. Not even a toilet brush.

3. Blinds. My new apartment did not supply blinds – you had to supply them. So, while I managed with old sheets tacked up over the windows for a while, I eventually had to break down and pay the money for blinds.

4. Laundry. Well, this one actually goes to Mr. Canuck Buck. He’d lived at home during college, and so when he got his first apartment, it was the first time he’d not lived at home at all. He was greatly shocked when he realized he’d have to pay for laundry.

5. Odds and ends. I’d realized that I’d need a couch, so I went practical and bought a futon – that way, it could double as a bed for overnight guests. What I didn’t think about was that some of those guests would actually expect sheets on it – so I had buy sheets. And they also seemed to need towels – so I had to pick up some of those. Etc. etc..

On the whole, I didn’t come off too badly – I came with a fairly good supply of second hand kitchen stuff, which helped cut down costs a lot, and my parents were willing to lend me things or find me things cheaply at garage sales (they get a lot of credit for me having any money sense at all).

So, if you’re looking for your first “real” place, do keep this list in mind when you’re figuring out everything you’ll need. If you can be prepared ahead of time, it’s much easier to find things cheaply or free, rather than running out and paying full price.

What did you suddenly realize you didn’t have or you’d have to pay for when you got your first place?

How “prix fixe” meals can end up costing you more than expected

11. June 2012 · 5 comments · Categories: Dining out, Extra costs · Tags: dining out, drinks, meals with coworkers, prix fixe, unexpected costs

For those of you not familiar with the concept, prix fixe meals (basically, it’s means fixed price – it just sounds fancier in French) are meals with a set cost and a set menu. You can pick from 1 or more appetizers, main courses, and desserts. No matter what you pick from the list, you should end up with the same total cost for the meal.

For example – I went with some coworkers to a new Italian restaurant that had a prix fixe lunch for 12.00. That’s actually quite reasonable for a prix fixe lunch (at least in my part of the world). I had fresh bread with awesome cheese (no, I can’t spell the kind of cheese I had), spaghetti with meatballs (the sauce was made on site – I hope so anyways , otherwise the tomato chunks were misleading) and cannelloni. It was great – and very filling.

However, when the bill came, on top of the charge for each bill, we had a charge for 10 dollars, for 2 bottles of water. We hadn’t expressly asked for bottled water – just “still” when asked if we wanted still or sparkling. The same thing happened when we all went to a different place for a prix fixe lunch last year. I think it’s the restaurant’s way of getting you to spend more than you intended, assuming that you won’t kick up a fuss, since you figure you got a deal on the meal anyways.

While we may have been able to dispute the charge, we’d all enjoyed our meals, and decided for the extra 2 dollars a person, it wasn’t worth kicking up a fuss. While this restaurant didn’t do so, the other prix fixe place also suggested additional food items or upgrades to the set menu options, in order to try to get us to spend more.

I’m not advocating against prix fixe meals – I think on occasion, they can be a great treat, and generally make splitting the bill easier (although it still took us at least 10 minute to do it!). Lunch is always a better option than dinner – you usually get the same food, it just costs less. And you may want to discuss up front what to do about things like water – are you all okay with tap water, or does everyone want to pay out extra for “still or sparkling”.

Have you ever had a prix fixe meal? Did you think it was worth it? Did you end up with any unexpected charges?

I can has Blackberry Playbook

28. May 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Entertainment, Extra costs, Wasting money · Tags: Ipad, Playbook

If this title makes no sense to you, then please check out this site: I can has cheezburger. It’s awesome.

While I have high hopes of winning an Ipad 3 via Praire Eco-Thrifter, I broke down and bought a Blackberry Playbook today. While I do think that the Ipads look awesome, it was less half the price for a Playbook, so I went that route.

I’ve been thinking about getting a tablet for a while, but couldn’t really justify it as I own a netbook and a smartphone, and a Kobo. Well -the Kobo I owned until recently, but I lost it. One of my worst habits is being forgetful, and I can’t even remember where I last saw it.

I know it seems like poor form to reward myself for losing my Kobo, but I give myself some comfort that I got a decent amount of use out of it, and well – not buying the Playbook isn’t going to bring my Kobo back. I’m just going to have to be more vigilant about what I do with my stuff.

I’m looking forward to my new Playbook. I take the train to work every day, and it’ll be great to be able to read or watch T.V. show or movies, and play games, all one the same device. I’m also hoping to sneak in some blog posting, or at least commenting on my lunch hour.

Do you own a tablet? If so, which one? If not – why not?

An overview of Time of Use electricity rates

07. May 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Home · Tags: electricity, utilities

After reading a great article over on Canadian Budget Binder called Get Smart with your Smart Meter, I decided it was time to sit down an read the blurb from my hydro company about the new Smart Meter and time of use rates. In a nutshell, here’s what you need to know.

There are 3 price periods: on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak. On-peak is the most expensive time (for me, almost 11 cents per kWh hour), mid-peak is next (9.2 cents per kWh hour), and off-peak is 6.2 cents per kWh. As you can see, it’s much, much cheaper to do things in the off-peak times!

So, the next question is – when is off-peak? Weekends and statutory holidays are always off-peak, as is 7 p.m. to 7 a.m, in both winter and summer. The most expensive times in the summer on the weekdays are the middle of the day (11 a.m to 5 p.m. – when it’s hottest!), and in the winter, they’re 7 to 11 in the morning, and 5 to 7 at night.

Now you’re thinking – well, this sucks – it’s the most expensive when I need electricity the most! I agree, it does suck. My husband and I are gone from 7:30 to 6 each week (and some times later than that), so the majority of our electricity use is off peak. That’s not a viable option for everyone though, and even we have days off or the odd sick day, when we’re on peak electricity time.

Here are some tips to help you cut back on use, or avoid using it entirely during peak times:

1. Use as much natural light as possible, and avoid leaving on lights that aren’t in use.

2. Put things off that don’t have to be done right away. If you have a timer on your dishwasher, set it up so the dishwasher goes on late at night. Put laundry off until the evening or weekends.

3. If you run the A/C – try to get the house cool over night and in the early morning, and then keep the cool air in (ie. avoid opening doors frequently etc). Ceiling fans can help with this. If it’s feasible, you can shut the A/C during peak periods, and retreat to the basement.

4. Review your electricity bill. It should tell you how much you’re using when. See if you can figure out what your biggest drains are and how to reschedule them or avoid them.

5. Unplug things that aren’t in use. T.V.s, video game systems, computers – the can all use up electricity even when they’re not on.

Have you been hit hard by the new time of use rates? What are you doing to fight back?

How “free” can really add up – but sometimes it’s worth it

19. April 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Entertainment, Extra costs · Tags: book signing, books, Christopher Moore, events, Toronto

Mr. Canuck Buck and I are big fans of an author called Christopher Moore, and he just came to Toronto to do a book signing. There’s no actual charge for the book signing itself, but that certainly didn’t mean it was a free day. We actually spent a fair chunk of change.

1. Train fare. About 30 dollars to get in and out for the 2 of us. Driving and parking might have been cheaper, but with 2 other events going on that day, there was no guarantee of it, and taking the train is more relaxing then driving.

2. Buying the book itself. I don’t tend to buy a lot of books, and I almost never buy them in hard cover. So – another 30 dollars on buying the new book, “Sacre Bleu”.

3. One very large Starbucks hot chocolate to keep me going while I stood in line for several hours. 5 bucks. That being said – I rarely buy Starbucks, but I love their hot chocolate. It’s amazing and I call it “Heaven in a cup”.

I did bring a bottle of water and couple of snacks.

So – the “free” book signing cost almost 70 dollars. I’m not sorry I put out the money though. Mr. Moore was a great speaker, and I even got a chance to ask him a question, which was nice. I did some thinking and realized that being frugal doesn’t mean you don’t ever do anything or spend money – it just means accounting for costs, making sure you can afford them, and that they are worth it.

I had a great day out, and I’m looking forward to reading the book. It was worth every penny!

On a side note – if I lived in town, and didn’t want to get my book signed , I could have heard him speak for free. Something to keep in mind if you’re broke, but want to attend a book signing anyway.

What “free” event have you attended that ended up costing you money? Was it worth it?

A “Buy Nothing” day – have you ever tried it?

04. April 2012 · 5 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Food, Impulse Shopping · Tags: buy nothing

Today one of my co-workers announced she was going to buy absolutely nothing. She’d gotten up early and made a big mug of tea at home (and brought it into work). She had honey, bread, and yogurt she’d already bought to use for breakfast, and she’d made some dish with quinoa to eat for lunch. As far as i can tell, she stuck to it. We went out for a short break in the morning and one in the afternoon and she didn’t spend a cent! She even managed to reign herself when we went to Winners.

I think she’s been noticing a lot of cash coming out of her wallet lately, so she decided to give this a shot. Whether she can stick with it is another matter. It certainly takes a lot more work and organization to get things prepared in advance then it does to just pick them up.

For me, the key to avoiding spending money I don’t need is to not to bring along my wallet. If I go out for a break at work, I just don’t bring it with me. I’m not going far enough I’d possibly have any emergency that I’d really need it. I particularly like to go read somewhere quiet at lunch so I just make sure I bring along my trust Kobo, and nothing else.

As I noted in my post yesterday, my problem isn’t so much impulse buying things, it’s buying food. So, if I bring my wallet with me, I’m far more likely to pick up a treat I don’t really need (or necessarily even really want) just because I can. And it definitely helps if I pack my lunch and breakfast for work, so then I have no reason to be roaming around the food court, wallet in hand.

Have you ever tried to go a whole day (or longer) without spending anything? Was it hard? How did you get prepared for it? t

How 5 minutes cost me 7 dollars

03. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Extra costs, Impulse Shopping · Tags: chocolate, Easter, junk food, Shoppers Drug Mart

On Sunday, Mr. Canuck Buck and I went to Shoppers Drug Marts to get a few prints made to send out in Easter cards. Since we had to wait a few minutes, we decided to browse the grocery aisles to see if Shoppers had any good deals on for food items.

Within 5 minutes we’d picked up 2 Easter bunnies and a bottle of honey. I don’t feel so badly about the honey – it was on sale for half price, and we did need it. But I’d fully intended to wait until the Easter candy went on sale before buying any for myself!

It’s funny, but I always think “Oh, I don’t impulse shop”. Which is generally true – when it comes to things like books, clothes etc. But food – particularly junk food – has always been a weakness for me. I’ve even made the odd trip to Shoppers on a Saturday night because I have a strong craving for cookies or chips, and everything else is closed.

I’m not sure of the best way to cure myself of this other than just not giving in. After consuming the entire Easter Bunny in one sitting (not a good idea – my stomach was not impressed!), I can guarantee you I won’t be buying any more candy. But there’s got to be a better way to cure myself of impulse food buying than making myself sick!

What’s your biggest impulse shopping weakness? Have you managed to cure yourself of it? If so, how?