Debt Consolidation Vancouver

It’s hard to save money for your credit payments, especially if it means severely cutting your social activities or family outings. There are other ways to make up the extra cash needed to pay your bills.

One place to start is your home. Simple energy saving tips can dramatically reduce your power bill. Here are a few that have been passed on to me.

1. Dirty Filters – Replace your furnace filters every couple of months. If they’re clogged, your furnace has to work harder to warm your house. A harder working furnace is dollars up in smoke.

2. Digital Readout – There is an obvious initial cost to a programmable thermostat, but some homeowners claim to have saved almost $200 the first year.

3. Cold Wash Clean – 85% of the energy used to do your laundry is spent warming the water. Switch the dial to cold and save money.

4. Don’t Let Your Crack Show – Make sure to weather strip all your windows and doors. Don’t forget the door that heads to the attic.

5. More of the Pink Stuff – Insulate all your walls, including the basement. This will keep the heat in. No sense warming the backyard.

Keeping Out the Cold

Here are three apps that could save you some serious coin:

1. Wifi Finder

Are you counting your change at the end of the month? Want to get rid of that expensive data plan? The Wifi Finder can help. Just start at your basic you-know-its-there hotspot. Your local Starbucks will do. Then use their signal to connect to the Internet and search for other hotspots in areas where you might need one, such as the neigbourhood you work in or the eight block radius you walk your dog in. Why pay for data when Wifi is faster and free.

2. Park ‘in’ Spot

This app locates free parking in your vicinity. This app is especially good for downtown. Given up on the free parking hunt? Use Parkopedia to locate a lot near your destination.

3. Save Benjis 1.1

The name refers to the American one hundred dollar bill, but the app works just as well in Canada. To use it, you scan an item in a store that you are interested in; let’s use the example of a new TV. After scanning your HD dream, the app will list all the stores in its database that carry that particular television. It will also tell you what each store is currently selling the TV for.

Isn’t technology great!

Part Two – Gym Memberships

With all the work I’m doing to pay off my debt, it is sometimes hard to find time to keep my body in the shape I like it to be.

(Ladies, we’re talking about the backside. Boys, we’re talking about your gut. And that joke about having a keg instead of a six-pack stopped being funny years ago.)

This week I considered joining a private gym. I confess my new infatuation with Vancouver’s adopted leader, Trevor Linden, lead me to ponder a membership to Club 16. Yes it’s in Coquitlam, but the chance to work out beside Linden had me looking past the drive.

Trevor Linden on the Treadmill

So I started doing some research and looked into the price. It cost $14.99 a month, but I would have to lock into a 12 month plan. I looked at my budget and even though I was spending almost right to the cap (Gillis style), I could just afford it.

But then a few days went by and I started to think about my idea with a little more clarity. How much would I honestly spend on gas? Would I use the gym for the five months of the year when Vancouver is truly amazing outside? What if I joined and decided three months down the road that it wasn’t for me?

Then I looked into Community Centre plans or lack thereof. The monthly price was a little higher, but there was no contract. The location was less than four blocks from my house. And the equipment was a little older, but the basics were all there.

Then I thought, what if I just used my home as a gym. I had stairs in my apartment for climbing, a park near by for running, a yoga mat for crunches and a old workout ball from an ex who thought he could tone his tummy by sitting in front of the TV.

Eureka! Julia’s private workout club was born.

I had enough bills already. A gym membership was silly, private or public.

And the best part. No gym monkeys posing in the mirror.

Try it. It’ll save you money.

-Worried about motivation. Find a friend and create a daily schedule. Push each other to increase your difficulty.

Good luck. See you in June!

“Boys, earmuffs!”

I had an interesting conversation with one of my girlfriends this weekend. We were talking about whether or not girls should pay for their half on the first date.

I’ve been paying my way for years, because that’s just who I am, but she had an enlightening story to share.

It involved her great aunt Jane. My friend had been talking to Jane about a date she had gone on over the holidays, when her aunt suddenly cut her off with a simple question: “What, you paid for dinner?”

This shocked her aunt Jane beyond belief. Her aunt proceeded to enlighten her about the unspoken social contract between a man and a woman. Apparently ladies, if you go on a date, the man should pay for the privilege of your company by picking up the tab. Jane proceeded to tell my friend that in her time, you ordered as much as you could at the restaurant and what you didn’t eat, you brought home to your sister.

Funny, but it sort of makes sense. Even today, times are tough and with bills adding up, a free meal is a free meal. So put the equality speech in your back pocket, order the lobster and enjoy the little perks that come with being a female. The money you save can go towards paying for that prestigious University you went to. If I’m not mistaken, I think your date went to Community College.

Let Him Cover the Cheque

Flash Forward… to the future. Isn’t it scary?

No, really it’s not. It’s actually a lot brighter. But even after finding Full Circle, my guardian angel, I still have to pay my daily bills. One of those is my cell phone bill. We all get it. Every month. And it’s always bigger than those lousy cell phone companies promised.

I’m with one of the big ones. It starts with ‘R’ and ends like tigers. Didn’t leave much to the imagination there did I? So this company has me on a basic plan of… I think it’s like 65. But like all those plans it ends up being in the high 70s or 80s each month. And, I know, it probably is my fault for going over my minutes and calling during the day. But sometimes its unavoidable.

So Rogers (whoops!) has me in a contractual trap. I’m stuck paying these ridiculous bills until my contract runs out in the spring.
WRONG.

There are ways out. The easiest being: a simple pay-off. A small fee for each of the months left on your contract.
But then what. I need a cell phone!

The answer is in the Wind. Wind Mobile has way better deals than Rogers. FACT! For forty dollars I got an unlimited Canada wide talk and text plan. Listen to me, I sound like an advertising talking head. But it’s true. Way cheaper, no contract, keep your old phone number. It’s awesome.

The Winds of Change

And no, I’m not on commission. Just wanted to pass along some advice from my own life.

Save money. Pay off your debt quicker. It feels good.

One of my favorite $aving tips of the day is, “Buy in bulk – and invest in a vacuum sealer”. It’s something my mother taught me, just from tagging along with her whenever she went shopping at my all-time favorite store, Costco. I would insist on sitting in the cart (despite my age and size) while my mom pushed me through the store. The smell of samples hot out of the toaster ovens, the garish fleece jackets piled in cardboard bins, and the seemingly endless array of candy lining the warehouse shelves were feast to all my senses. The experience was, at the same time, fascinating and intoxicating to my 8-year-old self. In that 6000 square metre concrete warehouse, the world was full of possibilities.

Needless to say, the addiction continued into adulthood. Whenever we need something in the house, whether it be toilet paper or some eggs, I jump at the opportunity. Not only because I love Costco, but also because we save a lot of money getting things like meat, seafood, and cheese there. Throw in a basic at-home vacuum sealer, and you’re looking at a packed freezer and a boatload of savings. And even though I don’t get to sit in the cart anymore when I go to Costco (I had to relinquish my seat to my son), I get to be a kid again.

With Full Circle on my side, I can’t help but feel really good about myself for facing my debt. I have to be careful though, because patting myself on the back sometimes turns into rewarding myself with expensive meals. This is especially the case when I’m clock-watching at work, waiting for my precious lunch break. I trick myself into thinking I deserve more than my boring packed lunch of ham on rye and sliced apples. The prize usually ends up being a full-course meal at my favorite sushi restaurant that just-so-happens to be right across from the office. Good news for my palette, not so good news for my wallet.

nom nom

So I really need to try harder and stay on track with my debt management plan – maybe I’ll pack a more appetizing lunch next time. I guess I can’t expect my debt management consultant, as good as he is, to do all the work…