Picture this scenario – you receive a phone call from your bank asking if you purchased something for $215.63 from an online retailer yesterday. You confirm that no, you did not. Your bank tells you that it appears as if you have been the victim of fraud and identity theft and that they will reverse…
THE JONES DON’T COUNT Far too often wants are driven by the desire to have what others have. This desire is referred to as keeping up with the Joneses. Whomever, the Joneses, are should have little or no influence on your spending. What others do and have should not control or even influence what you…
Before Shopping, Consider Stopping; SHOP TILL YOU DROP Shopping has become one of Canada’s favorite pastimes but is also a massive contributor to debt and financial difficulty. Fortunes are spent, unneeded items are bought, and cash registers continue to ring. Canadians seem to have an unquenchable desire for more things. When a charge card…
At Women and Money Inc. we recommend the following: Money is an emotional subject it either makes us happy, sad or fearful. Try to think about money as your friend, not your enemy. Track your spending every week make time to go over your finances and understand where your money is going. It will help you…
In Canada, you are innocent until you’re proven guilty. It would appear that our banking system has forgotten this simple fact. Lyndsay Passmore (http://www.theprovince.com/Woman+issues+warning+after+thieves+ring+thousands+credit+cards+bank+says/11333047/story.html) had 4 credit cards stolen. When she noticed them missing, she contacted the appropriate banks. In the interim between the cards being taken and her reporting them stolen, the thieves had…
A good friend of mine knows all about phishing and never to visit unknown websites – or to open unexpected attachments. Even so, last Friday night at 11:30pm he received a file he was expecting from a known colleague. The files were big and were sent through Sendspace. When he got it he clicked on…
By Courtney @ Women & Money Inc. The other night I received $20 worth of coupons to use at a local restaurant, with no restrictions. We had never been to this restaurant before so I checked out the website to read the menu, which had a variety of tasty sounding dishes as well as kid’s…
Are the credit card bills piling up from your holiday spending? If you won’t be able to pay them off for a while, you’re probably resigned to the fact that debt is just a part of life. Debt comes, and it may go, but more will come. Debt will always be a part of your…
Doing It My Way: How to Organize Your Affairs, Clarify your Wishes and Leave a Lasting Legacy By Margaret H. Johnson When my dad passed away very suddenly, his financial affairs were well organized, but we didn’t know what any of his last personal wishes were. My mom, siblings and I had to make difficult…
A fresh new year is a motivating time for change; you want to move closer to your financial goals, you want to gain new habits; you want things to be different this year. This is how most of us feel this time of year — it’s in our nature. But you’re not quite sure how…
By Margaret H. Johnson It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – now that I pulled myself away from the internet and escaped to Vancouver Island to pick up my mother. 2014 has been such a busy and fulfilling year for me, for my staff and all the programs we have worked so hard…
Do you remember the last piece of really good money advice that you got? Who did you get it from? Was it your parents, your co-worker, your neighbour? Was it from a magazine at the dentist’s office or an inspirational Pinterest board? Where ever you heard it, chances are you remember it because it resonated…
How much would you consider spending on a luxury item that you really, really coveted? How about a lavish designer purse, like a Louis Vuitton or a Chanel? We’ve all seen the gossip magazines – the ones that feature celebrities carrying expensive, outrageously priced handbags. How can one purse be worth $5, 000, or even…
You have big dreams, you know things need to change, but you just can’t seem to get out of the money rut you’re stuck in. You’re not sure what you’re doing wrong or how to fix it. Well you should know, your current financial position is the result of your “money relationship”. The deeply entrenched…
I often speak with individuals who claim that they’ve made money mistakes in the past. “Why didn’t I just do __________!” they tell me, often very regretfully. While some people are quick to learn from their money blunders, others repeat them without realizing where they went wrong in the first place. As you probably know,…
International Day of the Girl Child is October 11. Each year since it was declared by the United Nations in 2012, the day has been centered on a different theme of girls rights. In 2012 it was ending child marriage, in 2013 it was innovating for girls education, and this year 2014 the theme is…
Not everyone can afford to take a vacation every year, but many people don’t think they can when they actually can! If you love going on vacation and wish you could more often, read our strategies to find out how.
We all know the type: the cheque comes, and they are nowhere to be found. You invite her over for dinner, and she shows up empty handed – but leaves with leftovers and a bottle of wine. You carpool with him and he never offers you gas money. You constantly babysit their two children, and…
Mother’s Day is the sacred day of the year when we remember to honor our mothers, for all that they do for us and how much they mean to us.
Did you know there are 61 Banks operating in Canada? Banking is one of those life skills that nobody ever teaches you, and you’re left to sort through the barrage of banking propaganda and figure it out on your own, though most of us never really do. Of course it’s in our best financial interest…
