Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Platinum Guide to Save for Online Shopping in Canada



Ebates.ca

This is a cash back website. ebates.ca has a wide selection of online retailers both in Canada and in US. Personally, I would rank this as the No. 1 cash back website and the most easy to use website for Canadians. All you have to do is to sign up on ebates.ca, search for the store you want to make your online purchase, click on the link, and the rest is the same as your normal online shopping experience. 

Some of my favourite stores I have used personally through ebates.ca are:

1.      Shop.ca – this store have regularly been giving 20%+ cash back on purchases made through ebates.ca. Right now, if you sign up on shop.ca, for the first $99+ purchase, you would also earn 8000 aeroplan points.

2.      Walmart.ca – most people are familiar with this large discount store. But have you ever shopped on Walmart.ca? By purchasing online through ebates.ca you are able to get at least 1% cash back, and if there is promotion, you can earn up to 2% cash back through ebates.ca

3.      Apple.ca – we all know Apple product is expensive. If you must, must purchase an apple product, why not get 1% cash back through ebates.ca?


Click on the following link to earn $5 to join ebates.ca:

Link

Monday, June 1, 2015

May's Budget Review




First things first, I have to confess I wasn't entirely up to date on my expenses in May for two reasons. First one, my boyfriend came back from China, so now it's a two person's budget. Second, I was in China to 9 days. This makes it hard to keep a real expense. Refer to my other post on my trip to China here. 

Overall, I do want to share a few accomplishments I achieved in May. 

  1.  I converted my 5 year fixed rate mortgage to a variable rate mortgage. This conversion lowers my weekly contribution by $40.
  2.  I applied for a BMO's credit card. Annual fee is waived, gives around $300 in travel credits as a welcome bonus, and 4 airport lounge passes.
  3. I do feel like I'm pretty resourceful in terms of my spending this month. I did not make any necessary purchases. Though, I do not have complete stats to support this. L
  4.  We resume our second car's insurance. This is an additional expense.

I will do a better job next month!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Guide for Female solo travelors in China 2015



For the past week I traveled to Xi'an, China as a solo female traveler. I have always imagined China to be a country of great chaos, robbery, and unsafe. I was so anxious to travel by myself for the second time (while the first time wouldn't count as much as traveling by myself because I was with a tour group) before my official trip started on May 16. 

In this post I will share with you my itinerary, cost, and tips to travel in China.

Itinerary:
Date
Description
Day 1
Flight from Toronto to Beijing
Day 2
Arrived in Beijing, stayed @ a relatives place
Day 3
Opened bank account and cell phone
Day 4
Early morning flight from Beijing to Xi'an. Visited Zhong Gu Lou and Hui Min Jie
Day 5
Visited Da Yan Ta and Li Shi Bo Wu Guan (Museum)
Day 6
Visited Terracotta Army and Hua Qing Chi
Day 7
Visited Cheng Qiang (wall)
Flight from Xi'an to Beijing
Day 8
Attended my cousin's wedding
Day 9
Flight from Beijing to Toronto

Cost:
Total cost in China = 3842.5 RMB  ~ 800 CAD
Flight from Canada to Beijing = 1000 CAD
Total Cost = 1800 CAD (this does not include gifts)

Date
Item
$
17-May
subway
5
17-May
bus
1
17-May
shipping
251
17-May
hotel
1008
17-May
airplan ticket
1328
18-May
subway
5
18-May
bus
30
18-May
food
17
18-May
taxi
9
18-May
cooler
3
18-May
drink
3
18-May
drink
5
18-May
food
23
18-May
cigar
50
18-May
food
15
19-May
Food
2.5
19-May
bus
1
19-May
Audio guide
30
19-May
Yogurt
10
19-May
Fa Men Si ticket
80
19-May
food
29
19-May
bus
3
19-May
Gu Lou ticket
35
19-May
Message
108
19-May
food
15
19-May
food
8
19-May
food
6
19-May
food
2.5
20-May
bus
1
20-May
Qing Hua Chi ticket
110
20-May
Bus
6
20-May
Tour guide
50
20-May
Spring water
50
20-May
Bus
3
20-May
Warriors
150
20-May
Audio guide
20
20-May
Noodle
15
20-May
Bus
7
20-May
Dumpling
16
20-May
Drink
10
20-May
Food
4
21-May
Food
4
21-May
Food
2
21-May
Food
2.5
21-May
Cheng Qiang ticket
65
21-May
Bicycle
45
21-May
LiangPi
17
21-May
Walmart
40
21-May
Cell Phone cover
20
21-May
Orange Juice
12
21-May
Bus
2
21-May
Bus
25
21-May
Food
53
21-May
Bus
30


3842.5

Tips:
1.       Keep track of your stuff at all times. The worst thing that could happen is to lose your wallet, passport, and etc.
2.       I would recommend open banks account using your passport. Just go to a local bank, and tell them you would like to open a bank account. They are very nice to foreigners. I would recommend doing this is Xi'an as the wait time is much shorter compared to Beijing. One more thing, this requires a phone number. (cell phone)
3.       Get a cell plan with data. I highly recommend a Chinese GPS, Gaode, similar to Google in North America. If you ever get lost, just open the map and quickly identify your location.
4.       Do lots of research on your hotel location before your trip. Know how to get around the town. This will save you lots of time while you are actually in the city.
5.       If you have a bank account, do keep some cash with you. I recommend at least around $600 and you could get more from the bank.

Ask me any questions on your trip to China. I could even help you to plan :)