I was pretty excited to see that I accumulated $1,800 in travel dollars on my visa card only to find out I'd been had! Well, maybe....
Sometimes we just accept status quo for awhile thinking we have the best financial products available or maybe we tend to give our local bank all of our business but is it always the best solution for us? Often, we do have the best product available when we first got our cards but our world is dynamic, not static, so what was the best financial product out there simply isn't any longer. With today's competitive world we have to re-think our financial picture, at least annually.
Credit cards are a hopeless mire of confusion...obviously meant to be, to confuse the consumer. I mean why have a two tiered system...." for every dollar you spend you get 3 travel points and you need 10,000 travel points to get a $50 credit towards your travel". Why not say "you have to spend $3,333 to get $50 travel points"? Because it seems like a lot to spend for such a little reward, right? Not only that but some cards offer bigger rewards for groceries and fuel as opposed to purchases made with our "disposable' income...or credit...for that matter.
If you want to do a quick comparison of what is the best deal for you, if you are interested in travel cards, check out this website http://www.rewardscanada.ca/cccompare.html
If your focus is not on travel then this website compares all the cards http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/articles/credit6/ and it takes out the ones you want to cull, based on the service provider and some of the more classic features that credit cards tend to reward it's holders with.
In the end it appears shopping "for" a credit card can be much more difficult than shopping "with" a credit card!
Showing posts with label budgeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budgeting. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Life should be stop and go!
When all systems are a 'go' you have to sometimes stop and look out the rear view mirror. Often, I see clients who are so busy chasing future dollars but they don't stop to look after the wealth that they have already created. Remember, life is dynamic not static, so once you have your financial plan in place it doesn't mean that task should be off your radar forever. As we chug along we should stop, at intervals, to re-assess the validity of our previous financial commitments. A few things to reflect are:
1) Is my Will still up-to-date? What about my Power's of Attorney, both financial and medical?
2) Is my portfolio working for me? If not, is it time to consider a different strategy....????
3) Is my retirement planning in place? Will my pension be enough? If not how much do I have to supplement?
4) What will happen if I die tomorrow? Do I have enough insurance to ensure my family is not hit by financial hardship? How much is enough?
5) Do I want to help my kids with the cost of post-secondary education? Are they thinking of going to school and staying home or are they planning to leave the family home to attend school?
6) Do I have elder care issues? What is going to happen to my aging parents/grandparents?
So how often is reflection required? I advise my clients to reflect upon these issues on an annual basis. Pick a birthday, end of the year, June 1st (half way through the year), anniversary or some other date that is going to trigger you to remember. All too often these questions get ignored and then when we are faced with issues we are often ill-prepared. After all, spending a few hours every year ensuring the wealth you have already created is well looked after is worth putting aside the potential for a few hours worth of potential future value, isn't it?
1) Is my Will still up-to-date? What about my Power's of Attorney, both financial and medical?
2) Is my portfolio working for me? If not, is it time to consider a different strategy....????
3) Is my retirement planning in place? Will my pension be enough? If not how much do I have to supplement?
4) What will happen if I die tomorrow? Do I have enough insurance to ensure my family is not hit by financial hardship? How much is enough?
5) Do I want to help my kids with the cost of post-secondary education? Are they thinking of going to school and staying home or are they planning to leave the family home to attend school?
6) Do I have elder care issues? What is going to happen to my aging parents/grandparents?
So how often is reflection required? I advise my clients to reflect upon these issues on an annual basis. Pick a birthday, end of the year, June 1st (half way through the year), anniversary or some other date that is going to trigger you to remember. All too often these questions get ignored and then when we are faced with issues we are often ill-prepared. After all, spending a few hours every year ensuring the wealth you have already created is well looked after is worth putting aside the potential for a few hours worth of potential future value, isn't it?
Friday, October 1, 2010
Teaching Kids About Money ~ I'm not kidding!!!
It's interesting that I have been hearing a lot about how to teach kids about money. I know that when I counsel couples about budgeting I usually begin with how they think about money and what it means to them. Most of the psychological issues with money stem from our up-bringing. Typically, one person in the couple is the 'perceived' spender. I say 'percieved' because they may spend more than their partners but they can also be good savers and have a very disciplined saving and spending philosophy.
So, as parents or grandparents what can we do to ensure that we are instilling the "good" philosophies about spending money. Keep in mind that money is just paper. What we want to teach our children is the work ethic, the sense of constraint and the freedom of enjoyment in a healthy balance. That's the real lessons to be learnt.
Typically, we can start our very young off with the piggy bank and teach them how to save and how the savings add up, if not spent. I think it is important to let children spend their money, if they wish, so that lessons can be learnt about how things cost money and how we can make conscious decisions as to whether we want to budget for the bigger ticket items or whether some smaller ones are justifiable along the way. Letting children make their own decisions is a good one...but some guidance along the way is also important. "You sure you want to spend that money on a new toy instead of saving a little more for that teddy bear that you saw at the store with Grandma?" Remember, kids have short memories, especially when something immediately gratifying can be right in front of them. Allowing them to make their own choices will also give them a certain amount of independence and neither choice should be deemed a 'good' versus a 'bad' choice. Children must learn on their own, within limits.
Generally, after the age of about 5, it would be a good idea to set up a spending and a savings plan. This shows kids that they can still make the independent choice to spend but saving money is also important. Perhaps, some small chores can be incorporated, just enough to ensure that they understand that money must be earned. Of course, light chores are recommended at this age. You don't want an over-stressed child..but rather, something that is befitting their age and capabilities.
Once children are in their mid-teens you may want to add a little 'credit' to the situation. Give them a leeway of about $50 to 'over spend' with the intention of paying it back within a reasonable time frame. This will teach them that they can have that immediate gratification but the work must follow and payments must be made. You can even have the payments in increments. It is important, however, that you child gets 'paid' even though they owe you money because they may chose to only repay half instead of the whole 'pay-check' and this also helps them to manage their funds in a responsible way. Perhaps minimum payments should be understood and a 'credit' document be written up for them so they know their limits and expectations.
Once your children have entered their 20's they may well be ahead of their peers and they will make financially healthy decisions with their childhood experiences and your guidance, behind them.
So, as parents or grandparents what can we do to ensure that we are instilling the "good" philosophies about spending money. Keep in mind that money is just paper. What we want to teach our children is the work ethic, the sense of constraint and the freedom of enjoyment in a healthy balance. That's the real lessons to be learnt.
Typically, we can start our very young off with the piggy bank and teach them how to save and how the savings add up, if not spent. I think it is important to let children spend their money, if they wish, so that lessons can be learnt about how things cost money and how we can make conscious decisions as to whether we want to budget for the bigger ticket items or whether some smaller ones are justifiable along the way. Letting children make their own decisions is a good one...but some guidance along the way is also important. "You sure you want to spend that money on a new toy instead of saving a little more for that teddy bear that you saw at the store with Grandma?" Remember, kids have short memories, especially when something immediately gratifying can be right in front of them. Allowing them to make their own choices will also give them a certain amount of independence and neither choice should be deemed a 'good' versus a 'bad' choice. Children must learn on their own, within limits.
Generally, after the age of about 5, it would be a good idea to set up a spending and a savings plan. This shows kids that they can still make the independent choice to spend but saving money is also important. Perhaps, some small chores can be incorporated, just enough to ensure that they understand that money must be earned. Of course, light chores are recommended at this age. You don't want an over-stressed child..but rather, something that is befitting their age and capabilities.
Once children are in their mid-teens you may want to add a little 'credit' to the situation. Give them a leeway of about $50 to 'over spend' with the intention of paying it back within a reasonable time frame. This will teach them that they can have that immediate gratification but the work must follow and payments must be made. You can even have the payments in increments. It is important, however, that you child gets 'paid' even though they owe you money because they may chose to only repay half instead of the whole 'pay-check' and this also helps them to manage their funds in a responsible way. Perhaps minimum payments should be understood and a 'credit' document be written up for them so they know their limits and expectations.
Once your children have entered their 20's they may well be ahead of their peers and they will make financially healthy decisions with their childhood experiences and your guidance, behind them.
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