Are you freecyling? If you're not, you should be. Freecycling is a term that comes from the group freecycle.org which is a website that connects users to each other in their communities so that they can give away stuff instead of throwing it out.

"Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community." -freecycle.org

Sounds like a very noble cause but does it work? From the sounds of things freecycle.org is doing pretty well in fulfilling its purpose. With 4 million members strong, it is a power for change to be reckoned with.

The way the site works is that it connects you to your local freecycle group (usually these are on Yahoo groups or MySpace or something similar). Then you can go to the group and browse what people are giving away or post what you want to give away. If anything, it's really fun to see what stuff people are giving away and the fact that people are taking it.

An article in Fortune discusses freecycle.org and its success:

“The Freecycle Network is an amazing Internet phenomenon. In four years, it's become one of the most effective environmental groups around. It's also an example of how social networking can be used to address social and environmental problems.”

As a result of this success freecycle.org has won a variety of internet awards and has shown the world that internet activism can make a difference. After all, having 4 million people give and receive instead of buying and throwing out is a lot of saved trash.

“Freecycle's inventor, a man named Deron Beal, estimates that the network keeps the equivalent of 300 tons of stuff out of landfills every day.”

Offering a service like freecycle is still not easy though and Beal has struggled to keep the site alive. By accepting a very controversial sponsorship from Waste Management (the largest trash collector in North America and has a history of environmental abuse) the site lives on. This move however, caused some of Freecycle's “founding fathers” to create a split off site called freesharing.org which has a meager 350,000 members, but apparently better morals.

“One man's trash is another man's treasure.”

This mantra has new concrete meaning with the success of freecycle.org. According to treehugger.com the website is a success and is making a difference. In one of their blogs they share their story about using freecycle and they had people coming to pick up a huge variety of things that they had posted. All this exchanging of strange items makes me wonder what people do with the stuff or use it for anyways? What does it matter in the end though? As long as people are not throwing it out its better then the alternative and with 4 million people Freecycling its making a real difference. So next time you are throwing something out give Freecycling a chance.

Finally, confirmation that the iPhone is coming to Canada! Rogers announced yesterday morning that they would be releasing the iPhone later on this year. Although no date has been set as of yet for the exact release date, Rogers Chief Operating Officer has hinted that the price of data plans in Canada might be reduced in order to capitalize on iPhone sales. This announcement comes after months of speculation that Apple hates Canada.

Finally, Canada will be getting some of that higher technology we only see South of the border and some love from Apple!

I wanted to make a video about good investments and bad investments and what that meant to me, so here it is!

The who in The Partnership

Back in the day I talked about the importance of having a business partner to help you weather the storms of starting a business. There's a billion benefits to having someone with which to start the business, whether it's having another physical person to share the work load with or another brain to storm with.

There are also a billion things to think about when you find that special someone. Avi Pollock, the serial entrepreneur in RBC's Applied Innovation department, said that plain and simple that you better love whoever your starting a business with – you'll be spending more time with them than your spouse.

With Avi's help and doing some research of my own, I found a couple of guys with whom I'll be starting my business. These are some tidbits that Avi passed on to me and that I think were definitely worth looking for.

Trust – if you can't trust your potential business partner then you'll have huge issues. And it's not just a mater of "do I trust that they'll get this done" or "will they be a hard worker" but ask yourself, "do I trust their judgment, their ideas and their vision for this; are we on the same wavelength". Will they be there in good times and bad, in sickness and in health?

Diversity – If one brain is good, then two brains must be great - especially if they're the same. Not so much. Think about what you bring to the table and what they'll bring to the table; are they complementary? For example, if you're the risky, big picture, problem-solving guy, then maybe you want someone who is more logical, details oriented and meticulous.

And it should be mentioned too that diversity of skills is pretty essential too. Maybe you're a designer with a plan or an engineer or you're into politics. It might be wise to team up with someone who can work on the operations, like a business student or a web designer.

Balance – There's going to be some rocky times ahead, no doubt, and often you and your partner are going to come to a fork in the road where the decision isn't clear-cut. Have a partner that you can argue with. Look for someone that won't (and you can't) just back down when a problem comes up (otherwise, it's just like one person running the business!).

Arguing and shaky times don't have to put the business in jeopardy; if you can see yourself striking a balance and using arguments as productive stepping-stones to move things forward with your partner, then your good-to-go.

Values – You're values ought to be aligned; these are those irreconcilable differences. If the very thing that you value in your business is a large profit, but you're partner's aim is for quality (which costs more), and you're both unapologetically behind each, you'll have some issues. There needs to be an underlying common ground for which you're both working.

So what if you've found the right person? How do you get them on board; maybe they're interested in your plan and you're interested in having them as a business partner? If you're only starting up, then you're business isn't really worth anything more than the idea it is on paper; so can you really sell them a stake in the business. How do you come up with a value when you want to sell a 25, 30 or even 50% stake of a company that doesn't actually exist?

This is something I have to figure out; I don't have a freakin' clue what I'm going to do in order to "sell" some equity in this venture. Any ideas?

**This is a repost of an April 23rd entry, but with links included, as the previous blog entry did not contain any links**

I am. But maybe I’m the only one.

The past couple of days have been made up of a lot of looking back. Looking back on all I’ve accomplished. Looking back wondering whether I’ve learned enough. Looking back to make sure the roomies don’t mistakenly pack something of mine as their own. (The move is going well, if you’re wondering…)

I suppose my retrospection isn’t going unnoticed because my boss and friend passed along an interesting post. It comes from another blog run by an English prof south of the border. In her post, she suggests the idea of mandatory introductory finance classes for university students. In fact, she says that the class could be more beneficial than those introductory classes already in place:

But a personal finance course would benefit almost every student who took it. And it would benefit the society at large: widespread formal training in personal finance skills would reduce indebtedness and improve savings rates.

Keeping in mind that this is an American site, I tried to see whether any Canadian Universities offer a mandatory class such as that described. My search turned up empty. I know my University didn’t require that kind of class.

So, I tend to agree with her suggestion. I look back—or rather, try to look back—at many of my first year classes and remember just what it was I took away from them. The answer is: not much.

I turned to a friend to see what she thought of the idea. Her response surprised me: “I don’t think it’s my school’s job to provide that,” she said. “I go to get academic training and I don’t think that my personal finances have anything to do with that.”

Instead, she suggests voluntary workshops offered by student unions or within residence communities. I know my school offers a tax clinic during tax season and I imagine other schools offer similar programs, but what about something more?

I then asked her whether she thought that this type of course could work in a high school setting. In Ontario we have a mandatory class that sees every student gain an introduction to career options within Canadian society. She suggests that within the class, “Career Studies”, finance classes could be taught and would possibly be more beneficial than those lessons currently taught within that class. She remains hesitant, however, because personal finance is “not as relevant at this point in your life.”

An article appearing late last year in the Toronto Star, emphasizes the benefits of implementing mandatory classes earlier in life:

We should immediately establish a mandatory series of high school courses centered on money. After all what's the point of going out into the work force or on to college or university if you don't understand and can't manage your money.

Early on in the money curriculum students would keep a register of all their incomes and expenditures. What's important here is not the amount of money involved but how it is spent.

To test this idea, I went to someone who may know best: my 15-year-old niece. Initially she seemed opposed to the idea of a mandatory class. “I’d be angry she told me because I’m not very good at math,” she told me. But as we discussed whether or not she was sufficiently financially informed as is, her opposition seemed to ease up a little.

I think the important item to note is that there is a clear misrepresentation of adequate financial training for my generation. I didn’t know much about money until this year—and it’s a little late, if you ask me.

So, should money management classes be mandatory in post-secondary school?

A few weeks ago, Earth Hour had me sitting home alone in the dark on a Saturday night… again.

I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I decided to put in motion an experiment I’m trying out called: Operation Beach Bod… When I got back from my run, I was exhausted and still had 50 minutes to kill alone in the dark… (operation failed).

I started thinking about the summer ahead and getting psyched about all the fun I was going to have with friends back home. But I was also thinking about the huge amount of money that I somehow manage to blow every summer on ridiculous outings. I should be able to find a better balance…

I considered playing “Earth Hour” every Saturday night for the rest of summer, but instead I came up with this list of five small things that I can do this summer to cut costs.

1 - Brown Bag it! So what if even the IT interns make fun of me? If I bring my own lunch to work, it’ll give me an excuse to eat at my desk and finish reading my latest nerd book in private.

2 – Potluck Patio Parties. I spend a ton of money throughout the summer, hanging out with people after work, grabbing food and a couple drinks on pub patios downtown. This summer, I’m going the way of collaborative, backyard patio parties. Fire up that barbecue!

3 – Run, bike, exercise! This summer, I’m skipping the gym membership and getting in shape the old fashioned way. That’s right, outside. Operation Beach Bod… take 2!

4 – Carpool. – Dude, have you seen the price of gas? Take the carpool lane!

5 – Library. I’m a total bookworm and lately, my routine Chapters splurges have been running up an astronomical bill! Since summer is usually my time to get down to some of my own reading, I’m going to try and spend more time at the library and less time in book stores. (Unless you know of any good used book stores!)

Saving money and finding ways to cut costs as a student can be tough, but it doesn’t have to send you dumpster diving.These are just some of my goals, based on my own spending habits for cutting costs and having fun this summer. How are you going to save this summer?

Bankruptcy and Student Loans

Recently, a friend of mine said she was considering declaring bankruptcy and that removing her need to pay her student loans would be helpful. I was pretty sure that doing so would not absolve her of her duty to pay loans. Here’s something to consider from the StudentAid BC site:

“Even if you receive a discharge on your other debts involved with the bankruptcy, federal and provincial government authorities will continue to take collection action on your student loan debts.

Under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, students who declare bankruptcy after June 25, 1998, will not be able to receive a discharge on their student loan debts until 10 years after the date they last attended school.”

I also came across this interesting article from the Times and Transcript website. It discusses some proposed changes to the above-mentioned information. More specifically:

“The changes would reduce the period a borrower must wait before declaring bankruptcy from 10 years to two, including a provision that would allow an immediate application to declare insolvency for those facing long-term financial hardship.”

While declaring bankruptcy may seem like the only option for some students after accumulating mountains of student loan debt, there are many things a person has to consider before pursuing this as a serious option. It is likely that a great deal of you reading this are not considering this as an option, but the fact is that if one of my own friends mentioned it then there is a chance some of you may be thinking of it.

A great place to find answers to common bankruptcy questions is on the Industry Canada website. I sincerely hope that most of you are NOT in such a dire situation that bankruptcy is becoming an option, but there is no harm and learning a little more about the process. Better to be prepared, just in case, right?

To quote the famous British comedy sketch group Monty Python:
“NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!”

Student Loan Debt Reduction in Payments

There are many initiatives to assist students who enter repayment status for their student loans. One that I stumbled on today, that I had never seen before, can be found on the Human Resources and Social Development Canada website. Here’s a snippet:

“If you have a Canada Student Loan, you may be eligible for federal Debt Reduction in Repayment Reduction (DRR), a debt management measure designed to help you manage the repayment of your Student Loan(s) if you have long-term financial difficulties. DRR lowers the principal amount of your loan and reduces your monthly loan payment to an affordable level based on your family income.

You can receive up to three reductions on your Canada Student Loan principal in your lifetime, for a total of up to $26, 000, depending on your financial circumstances.”

Another avenue to examine is whether your provincial student assistance division has any debt reduction options. Not to be Nova Scotia-centric, but I know this exists because I have researched it before. I would encourage you to look into your own province’s debt reduction strategies, because you may surprised how much help is available.

Overawards

For anyone who has not experienced this, here’s something to keep in mind. If you estimated making a certain amount of money during the school year and for whatever reason you ended up making more than your estimate, you should be proactive and contact the appropriate student loans department to inform them. This is considered an overaward. I, myself, will be doing this and plan to write further blogs about my process throughout. I would rather have them know that I made more money and hopefully settle what I may owe them than find out when applying for new loans that my awarded amount will be reduced due to an overaward.

I realize student loans might not be on your mind, but it’s almost already timeto apply for fall loans in order to get things done in a timely manner. If there is anything else you’d like to mention in regards to these topics or others involving student loans feel free to comment.

The only thing that stands between me and my business is me...

I touched on an interesting article in my last blog about procrastination, and I really think its a huge barrier to starting a business (and huge barrier to 1000 other things). "I'll do it later" is always so much easier than "I'll do it now"; but what happens between now and later?

I have no idea.

To be perfectly honest, procrastination scares me. Here I am on the dawn of my summer with a list of things that I want to do. The only thing that stands between me and getting it done is - well, procrastination. Its not like I need to do anything on my list; there's no one grading me...

So I propose (on the recommendation of John Perry) that we embrace procrastination. Make use of it. Become good procrastinators. there's no reason why procrastination can't be a good thing - it's like a bunch of free time that you didn't schedule for. So what am I doing to get things done now?

First, I made a list of things that I like to do and that I would define as productive. They are things that do need to get done and that can be done in smaller chunks. So, things like:

- Writing this blog
- Some primary research concerning one of my summer jobs
- Packing my room up (in little bits) so when move out comes I'm not screwed
- Power napping
- Physical Activity
- Reading other blogs

When I do procrastinate, I make a careful note of what it is that's sucking my time up. Browsing the internet is probably number one on the list, but there are others too. In terms of the internet, I got this great tool, called Leech Block for Firefox, that allows you to put controls on when you can & can't access a web page.

Nothing works better than just unplugging my computer though.

I also have some GTD (Get Things Done) software that's actually very cool and working better than I expected. I'll talk more about that later.

With me on my side, the only thing that stands in my way is 1000 other things. But I'm ready to tackle them. What are your guys' thoughts on procrastination?

P.S.: Search "Procrastination" on the Google Blog search and see how many students are blogging about procrastination!

What you should have if you don’t already

From MoneyBlogNetwork:

This month’s writing project focuses on “emergency funds.” The participating bloggers will share tips, pointers, and opinions about the generally-accepted financial advice that dictates that individuals should be able to access cash for emergencies.

As the 30-something married mom from I’ve Paid For This Twice Already puts it:

…until we have a sufficient emergency fund that provides for an adequate cushion for the vast majority of potential emergencies, even if I am splitting up money into different “funds”, it is honestly all just an emergency fund

I’m sure you would agree that having money set aside in the event of a disaster, catastrophe or calamity just makes sense. Of course you knew that, right? But do YOU have an Emergency Fund (subsequently referred to as an EF)? If you don’t you’re not alone. If you think you just don’t have any money to put towards an EF, then Flexo from Consumerism Community has some tips you’ll want to read. 50 of them, to be precise. Sure, you may not agree with ALL of them, but it’s worth checking out.

One thing Flexo suggests is putting your raise aside, if you get one.Considering that this is the time of year where minimum wage tends to go up (if it does, as it will in Nova Scotia on May 1st), you could consider diverting the extra money to a separate account. If you’ve lived on the lower wage for a while, it wouldn’t be such a stretch to keep doing it for a bit. Another thing that’s coming up is the deadline to get your taxes done. If you get a refund, why not deposit THAT into an emergency fund, as Nickel from fivecentnickel.com suggests. After all, as a student you could easily end up with a hefty refund due to student loans you may have accumulated over the years. I know how tempting it is to buy things, but I personally put ALL of mine towards debt. ALL of it. Knowing I have that much less debt is a great feeling, and means I can put money elsewhere after the debt is gone. If you have no debt, then knowing you have an EF started should be fulfilling as well.

If you’re still not convinced that it’s wise to have an EF then Stephanie’s concise advice over at PoorerThanYou should help to drive the point home. Her 912 words are well worth reading, I assure you.

She says:

If you own any object that you have come to rely on, but would be costly to replace or repair, then you need an emergency fund.

Or perhaps an extended service plan, Stephanie? Hehe.

And also that rather than paying FOR spring break in Cancun, that:

…an emergency fund should be for if you end up stuck in the airport trying to come back from Cancun

Or any inconvenience that can spring from traveling, such as canceled flights for example.

I truly hope that by now you have at least considered looking into starting an EF. I know I definitely have. If you’ve had a decently long stretch of good luck with no emergencies (as I have been fortunate enough to) *knocks on wood* then it’s really only a matter of time, maybe? So be prepared.

J.D. from Get Rich Slowly has the perfect advice for all of you skeptics and nay-sayers, in his article entitled Learning to Love the Emergency Fund:

I used to live paycheck-to-paycheck: no matter how much money I earned, I could find ways to spend it. My outlook has changed. And though I sometimes wish I’d discovered the joy of saving when I was younger, I’m glad to be learning it now. I love watching my balance grow every month.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely the younger that J.D. mentions above. So take advantage of having read all the great advice from these bloggers and just start an emergency fund already, would ya?

As is the case with most other events which are not a holiday, Google reminded me this morning that today is Earth Day. Founded in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, a democrat from Wisconsin, Earth Day was meant to be a day of action around the environment and other issues which affected the health of the earth.

You might recall that a few weeks ago, I wrote about water in this blog entry. Well, today, on Earth Day, RBC has announced that they're committing a further 1.5 million dollars to a grant pool (no water pun intended!) that will protect watersheds and drinking water. With all the talk about the composition of and effects of bottled water on the environment lately, it's a good thing somebody's thinking about water supplies...

As a side note, one of my favorite young finance bloggers, Stephanie from "Poorer than You", made a really interesting video about a bottled water that you should check out!

On Thursday Morning, I'll be meeting with some folks from the RBC Foundation as well as our corporate social responsibility group to talk to them about what these donations really mean... Watch for more to come...

In the meantime, there are a whole number of things that you can do to reduce your impact on the environment. You might even save some money. And these things are simple too... Turn your lights off... Turn down the heat and put on that nifty (or not so nifty) sweater that grandma gave you for your birthday! (Or take off the nifty sweater for the summer, and turn the AC down...)

It’s called Freeconomics and it’s happening right now. Freeconomics, not to be confused with the book Freakonomics, is the phenomenon of the advancement in computer technology based on Moore’s law that is essentially making products “free”. Gordon E. Moore was Intel's co founder and he predicted that, as computer technology advances exponentially, it would become exponentially cheaper and eventually free. A recent article in The Economist claims that “What is getting too cheap to meter is processing power, storage, bandwidth and all the other enabling technologies of the digital revolution”.

On Chris Anderson’s blog, “The Long Tail”, he discusses the changes that have occurred in the computer industry and how it has affected consumers:

I remember my first 6 MHz 286 PC in 1982 that did 0.9 MIPS. I have no idea what the CPU cost then, but the PC it came in cost nearly $3,000 so it couldn't have been cheap. Say it was around $1,000/MIPS back then. Now it's $0.01/MIPS. I know I shouldn't be astounded by Moore's Law anymore, but that really is something.

The fact that computer hardware has become so cheap has made virtually everything it touches (which in our age is a lot) astronomically cheaper. Think Gmail and its “too big to fill in a lifetime” mailbox. Facebook and MySpace allow users to post their entire lives for free. The plummeting cost and increasing size of iPods proves that memory is becoming cheaper than gas. What this means for the consumer is that as hardware prices become practically free, the products that use them do too.

The Economist article discussed that Moore’s law is the reason that online products like Skype and YouTube and their free services are revolutionizing the internet and making “free” a reality. The idea of “free” isn't really that new and the motto of “Be the first to give away what others charge for” has existed for some time (remember the Microsoft Explorer drama). According to the Economist this phenomenon is possible because businesses use “free content to build audiences and selling them to advertisers”.

What is the cost of this revolution to us then if its not money? Well, first of all, anything free becomes something we humans tend to waste. I know that ever since I’ve had my Gmail account I have lived the slogan “never delete an email again”. Its also led to cheaper, faster computers that we consumers buy new almost every year. We do the same thing with our digital cameras and our cell phones. This wasteful attitude is costing us in the environmental realm as a study by the Government of Canada shows that “recycling and disposal of IT waste would increase to 91,000 tonnes in 2010”.

The bright side of this whole issue was brought up by one of the replies to Anderson’s blog: “When things in entertainment become free, the ‘cost’ I pay for consuming them is my time and attention. The question changes from ‘how do I want to spend my limited money?’ to ‘how do I want to spend my limited time?’” This made me think and although I know that I waste much more time using You Tube and Facebook then I did before they were in my life, many of my friends are much more selective of how they use their time and have that choice because of Freeconomics.

Although there is much debate about Moore’s law, its validity and whether or not really really cheap should be called free. In my mind however, Freeconomics is a trend that seems to be continuing and I’m concerned about anything that grows exponentially and will always try to remember that my mother used to say “nothing in this world is free”, so next time you see “Free!”, ask yourself what the cost really is.

A Reflection by Nick Simard

Life is a curious thing. It really is. We all think we know what to make of it, what we believe in and what's best for us (and some of us think we know what's best for EVERYONE, hehe). Something that has been on my mind lately is human relationships. I'm not just talking about intimate relationships, but all relationships. Friends come and go...sometimes the same friend comes and goes, and comes again. Hehe. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I guess, for this to happen.

Even if two people are close and get along really well, sometimes other things come before that. We all have our own lives to take care of, and paths to follow. If that path takes someone away from you, perhaps temporarily or indefinitely, it just means that something else will come along. I've been thinking about life as a river or stream. If you put a big rock into it, the water goes around it. I think we have to do the same. If life throws a rock in there (relationships changing with people) you just have to go around. Something else will be downstream. And who knows, it could be that person again at some point. Or, someone else who will be as positive an influence as the one with whom your relationship just changed.

I think of all the various people that have come in and out of my life, and I think it's true to an extent that the universe provides you with what you need at a given time. I have so many awesome friends that I just hardly even talk to or hang out with. It doesn't mean that I don't care about them. To the contrary, I care deeply about lots of them. But for whatever reason (and I'd like to change this) we just don't have much contact. People get busy and wrapped up in their own lives, right? Some of the things we get busy with are REAL and worth pursuing, and others are just nonsense and make-believe. I've vowed to have more actual contact with those in my life. Like (GASP) in-person. Live, real-life contact. Haha. I realize the irony, writing this online. But the sad truth is that the IMs and Facebooks of the world take up a lot of our time. That's one of the make-believe things I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose, but if you're chatting with someone online, why not pick up a phone or hang out if you're both really not that busy? I plan to.

So in essence, I think that human relationships are bound to change, progress, be put on hold, etc. It's nobody's fault. People, their feelings and their circumstances are constantly in flux. Here's my challenge to you though. If you reflect on this and realize that there are people in your life who deserve more of your attention or that you've lost touch with, contact them. And please try not to do it on Facebook walls, as comments to photos or notes. It's fine to do those things, but they can all be a little self-indulgent, no? If you want to say something genuine and meaningful, there's no reason the whole world should see it. Life flies by (as is evidenced by the fact that I will be attending my 10 year reunion but don't feel that it was that long ago) so enjoy the good people you've met. They're hard to find, so appreciate the ones you have before (GASP) they decide to pursue a path that takes them away from you.

So that's it. That's what I had to get out. I plan to invest time in connecting and re-connecting with people. With actual, honest-to-goodness people. In real-life. Spring and summer are on their way. Busy as we all are, it's important to set some time aside for people who matter. Cuz you never know where they could be in a month (as is evidenced by the sheer number of people I know who are both leaving here and coming back here). So to those of you reading this who are going, have gone (or are thinking about it)...I do (and will) miss you. To those of you coming back (or thinking about it) I look forward to seeing you again.

Don't let Forgetfulness get in the way

Running your own business takes a lot of time, focus and energy. It's tough to juggle readings, assignments, a job this summer AND try to start a business. If I'm like anyone else, I hardly have time to think about starting a business. Being organized will totally help you to be more efficient and combat all those ridiculous little roadblocks that take up so much time and stand in the way of you and what you want

There are some sweet programs out there that are definitely worth checking out and will help get your life in order. If you have a Mac then you ought to check out OmniFocus - It's this great program that lets you create and organize projects so you don't forget anything.

Have you ever had those moments where you're mind is racing (usually when you're lying in bed) and you say to yourself, "I'll remember in the morning". Typically, those moments are the best for envisioning your future business, maybe some ideas for a project... it could be anything; This program would totally combat that. You can just unload all of your ideas into the computer in 30 seconds and then arrange and organize them later.

If you're running Windows, there's a similar program called Thinking Rock; essentially the same premise but organized in a completely different way. Honestly, both of these are worth checking out. It lets you create a vision (start up business A, grow to size B, clean my room) and then encourages you (dare I say "forces you") to add a how to it (how will I set up the business, what needs to be done, how will I clean my room?).

Last week I finished something I’ve been looking forward to finishing for four years. The schedule said it would take me until 11 to finish the exam, but my eagerness and lack of knowledge pushed that estimation up a half hour. I put down my pen, picked up my paper and handed in that final test.

So, it was at 10:30 on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 that I completed my Undergraduate degree.

I’ve been asked a couple times lately if there was anything that I know now that I wish I had known before I started out at RyeHigh. I guess university acceptances are coming in and a whole new set of first years is anticipating next fall. Conveniently enough, all my suggestions have had to do with money:

Scholarships are out there waiting for you.

Bursaries are out there waiting for you.

Take advantage of them because I didn’t.

The biggest mistake that I made during my time in University was not applying for bursaries through my school. Firstly, I didn’t know how much they really existed until third year. In fourth, I was silly not to apply. So, I’ve picked three schools from across Canada to show you they’re out there. If your school wasn’t one of my picks, I apologize—but you should still go look for yourself!

University of Saskatchewan

Red River College in Manitoba

Dalhousie University

There are also many awards outside the walls of your school. Two websites that friends have told me they have used are studentawards.com and scholarshipscanada.com. The sites organize the scholarships and bursaries into categories making it easier to find what you’re looking for. You can even set up a personal profile and let the site provide you with bursary suggestions.

One of the sites offers a great page of tips on how to prepare your applications. I think the guy that wrote it may be a Ryerson Journalism grad, but that in no way influenced my decision to share this with you. It’s a helpful page, I swear.

Many corporations offer scholarships to students, as well. RBC has several bursaries for hard working students. They’ve got money for entrepreneurs and newcomers to the country, amongst others.

I don’t want to leave this post without informing you that I did apply for one bursary this year. Notice that the application deadline was after I got this job/when I started to get serious my money. I’ll update you when I hear back.

In the meantime, does anyone know of any other scholarship resources? I know, letting people in on your info increases the number of people trying to get at your money, BUT someone could end up helping you out, too…

Today’s entry is mainly inspired by this article that I read in The Onion, a hilarious and 100% trustworthy news source. This post goes to complement Nathan’s recent entry about the art of networking and the use of social networking sites to establish a legitimate network.
 
The article I read, was talking about a system failure that caused the social networking site, MySpace.com to crash. The article read: “An estimated 150 million people continued to be without social lives Tuesday as a massive system failure at MySpace.com entered its third day.”

If the MySpace crash can leave so many distraught, how many people will be left feeling hopeless and desperately alone if, god forbid, the match-making giant lavalife.com should experience a crash? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Side note: I’m thinking of replacing Globe and Mail for The Onion as my homepage.

I have a love hate relationship with April. Love it because its my birthday (the 28th, thank you very much). I hate it because its exam season.

So I’m a bit distracted these days, as are many (Kudos if you’re even reading this now. I only read what I absolutely need to nowadays), but I’m definitely learning some important, and maybe costly lessons. Don’t lose your dream (does that sound lame?).

I have so many exams in such a short period of time (some of them worth up to 50%) and I just can’t seem to think about anything, anyone or anywhere else but my textbooks. In the middle of all this, I’ve forgotten about the vision I had laid out for the business I’m planning to start up: the potential it has, the excitement it gives me, all of it. It’s kind of brutal, but its something that you ought to know about.

I even had a really dangerous thought the other day that could throw a wrench into things: “Maybe it would be better if I just didn’t do this. It would definitely be a lot easier.” Dang son. Sure it would be easier, but what does easy get you? Don’t let busy get in the way of what you want to get done.

One of my buddies, Dan, is starting a business up this summer. He has a solid business idea (details to come) and is planning on spending a couple of months on this idea alone. It’s going to be a time commitment, but I have to keep in mind that It’s a mental commitment too. In fact, I guess you could call it a mental investment; Dan is always talking about it (which is a good thing) and I’m sure he’s always thinking about it (well, not always).

So what are you supposed to stop this passion drain from happening. It’s called a pen and a piece of paper. Novel, I know. Write down your ideas, your vision (where do you want to take it - and think really big), and other things that will keep you on track. A piece of paper is way better than writing it on the computer, at least for the purpose of not losing the passion. A paper is more pervasive. You can’t just “file-save” it and hide it in some folder. You’ll cherish the paper and put it on your bulletin board, and then when its time to move for the summer you’ll have to look at it and pack it up.

Its in your face.

It’s a bandaid solution though. Ideas are like milk. They just don’t keep very well. You need to use them as you get them. Have you ever had a GREAT idea, and then a week and half later you thought about it and it just sucked? Well, it probably didn’t, it just got stale and you couldn’t hack it.

Study hard (for now) & write down your ideas. But get ready to hit the grindstone, because those ideas shouldn’t be on that piece of paper for long.

As part of my “day job” I have the duty of performing credit checks for customers who wish to get new cell phone service. Based on those checks, customers may have NO deposit required – clearly the best option – or upwards of $1000 in the some of the worse cases. So, what exactly goes into a credit check? What is a credit score, and how do you make sure it’s the best it can be? Do YOU know what types of factors affect your credit score? As a student, what can YOU do to improve and maintain a healthy credit score?

It is SO much more complex than I have space to explain, but here are some key points in understanding one of the most important things you own. In writing this blog post, I borrow and link to a couple of different sites that deal with credit scores and credit reports in much more detail.

Credit Bureaus – TransUnion and Equifax are two of the largest credit reporting agencies in Canada. Very simply put, they are responsible for collecting information about you, the various forms of credit you have and how long it takes you to pay back that borrowed money. You can acquire credit reports from each of them at no cost, and I would recommend having a look at yours to see what it's all about.

Credit Reports – Essentially, this is a snapshot of your credit history at any given time, and it is used by potential lenders to determine your credit worthiness. Oh, that term “credit worthiness”. I have told countless applicants who have required deposits that it had nothing to do with us, but rather their own credit worthiness. You can see some great examples of credit reports in this document located on the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website. It’s worth your while to check it out and see what information of yours is collected as you build up your credit worthiness.

Credit Scores – Both TransUnion and Equifax use a rating scale that ranges between 300 and 900, with the higher number equating to the better credit score.  This means there is less risk for the lender, as a higher score means you have managed to minimize your dependence on credit and have managed to keep your payments timely, among other things as we’ll see below. ThickenMyWallet has a great post about credit scores that I suggest reading.

I had a chance to speak with Paul Eichenbaum, Senior Manager of Portfolio Management & Credit Strategy with RBC. He said that with credit scores “there are no personal biases involved.”  I had never really thought it that way before.  Also, he assures me that upon performing a credit check, the score you receive is not always a final decider towards securing a loan, as every situation is looked at on an individual basis.  So fret not, if your credit score is not as high as you would like it. Something may be able to be worked out between yourself and the financial institution.

Factors Affecting Credit Scores – While not all factors carry the same weight, in terms of affecting your credit score, there are some basic points to consider (also found in the above-linked FCAC document, on page 7):

• Pay on time. I know, this sounds overly simplistic but carrying a balance from month to month and missing payments can really affect you negatively. Don’t let carelessness or procrastination impact your credit score.
• Pretty safe bet for MOST people reading this, but try not to declare bankruptcy. Had to be said. It’s a huge hit to your credit score. Avoid this if at all possible.
• Keep your total amount of outstanding credit balances as low as possible. This goes together with paying on time. If you have the means to do this, just make sure it happens.

Keep That Score Up – In crafting this section, I realized that many of the points I intended to cover are included in this blog post, again on ThickenMyWallet. I don’t intend to repeat them all, so I will just mention one thing from my own experience. Having finally managed to pay off (maybe just temporarily if the Student Loans folks want some money back, after I made more money this school-year than I had estimated) two of my credit cards and pay down the third, I have to say that it is a bad idea to get multiple credit cards. Having two cards can be useful in times of emergency (as can be seen in this post) but things can easily get out of hand, leading to a credit nightmare. I consider myself to be pretty level-headed and able to control spending and yet I somehow ended up (at one point) with three credit cards all near their limits (three different banks) a store credit card (this one I managed to pay regularly), a student line of credit, and student loans. Don’t do that. Once upon a time I had a decent credit score, and although it’s improving I doubt it’s anywhere near impressive.

Speaking to Mr.Eichenbaum, my suspicions were confirmed in this regard.  He says that although an established credit history is important, that having several credit cards – especially with balances close to their limits – can be detrimental to credit scores.  Surprisingly, having a few cards with small balances is considered to demonstrate that you don’t need your credit cards to sustain yourself.  I once thought that it appeared to lenders that at any given time you could max them out and run up quite a credit tab.  Apparently that’s not the case.

I hope this has helped you to better understand that elusive profile of you that exists for the purpose of determining your borrowing power. As always, any tips or experiences are welcome.

Just to let you know this is a continuation of the real estate saga that I have been going through here in Vancouver. Check out my first VIPBDS blog to get the background story.

Chapter 2 “The Work and the Glory”

I cannot emphasize enough how good it felt to finally have an agent working for me.  My agent would email me listings based on the criteria I had given him and then all I would have to do is reply and let him know which ones I wanted to see and when. After that, he would make all the calls and schedule an effective and efficient block of appointments in a row so that I could get the most out of my time. For more info about how having an agent helps check out: www.howrealtorshelp.ca

 When we visited units, the agents that were selling them didn't treat me like they were hawks anymore because my agent now served as a mediator. I was able to gain more reliable information as my agent asked the right questions and noticed problems with the unit, its location or the price that I would have had no idea about before.

This honeymoon of having an agent quickly dissipated as the agent began asking me questions like “how much do you really want to spend?”, “what location do you want?” and “when are you looking to buy?” Yes, I know that these are very basic questions but you have to understand that my parents called me and told me that they were “looking to buy” and while I had a general idea of what they wanted, it was never easy for me to answer these questions.

Rule  #3

Know what you want! I thought that by looking at lots of properties I would get to know what it was that we needed. This worked in the end because it gave me an idea for the market but it was frustrating when I realized that the four bedroom houses that I was looking at for a month weren’t the right choice for us. I do not recommend doing things backwards like I did.

Instead, talk to your parents and tell them you would be happy to help them find a place but that they need to sit down together and agree on price, general location, size and time period. Ask them to do some calculations in relation to finance so that you have a general idea of what your family can handle realistically. Also tell them to contact the bank and begin a pre-approval process for a mortgage in the price you have discussed. Trust me, if you know what you want it will make a world of difference in fighting off VIPBDS and save you hours!

Finally, two months after that first phone call with my parents, I started the real estate search. Can you imagine how frustrating it was for me to look back at two months and hundreds of hours that I had spent on places that didn’t even suit our family’s needs? Don’t let VIPBDS get the best of you like it did to me because for those months it consumed my mind, my time and my life. I even neglected the girlfriend I had at that time (forgive me babe).

Finally, I found a place that I liked and met our needs. It was the right size and had this “wow factor” view of the north shore mountains (oh how I love BC). So we decided to make an offer but it was rejected as there were many offers and the seller wanted an unreasonable amount of money. Despite this I was still tempted to buy the place at the higher price.

Rule #4

Don’t get emotionally attached! You must always remember that you are buying the place for investment and part of VIPBDS is getting distracted by emotions and buying without thinking. Although I say this, one must take into account that if I felt that way about the apartment and got emotionally attached, maybe someone else will too and it will be easy to sell or rent.

Despite all of this frustration that I was experiencing it was manageable because I knew I was closer to obtaining my goal. Eventually, we did find a place and I felt an enormous amount of relief. What I didn’t know was that perhaps the most trying part of VIPBDS would be the actual purchase of the property itself. The saga continues...

“Just Don’t Make Cents”

Nickel: Oh hey, Penny. I hear you might be leaving us soon. Is that true?

Penny: Hey, Nickel. Yeah. You know, I’ve been around for 100 years. Feel it might be time to move on.

Nickel: Wow. We’ve all become so accustomed to seeing you around, though. Ya know? Things just don’t make cents, like they used to.

Penny: Well, I feel like I may have worn out my welcome.

Nickel: Wait, if you leave that means I’ll be the new penny! That’s not even fair, I’m bigger than Dime. Never understood that one.

Penny: It’s not so bad, Nickel.

Dime: Hey guys, what’s up?

Nickel: Just talking about how Penny might be leaving, which will then make ME the lowest. You two are practically the same size. Doesn’t seem right.

Dime: Know your role, Nickel. If you want my two cents…

Nickel: Wait, that’s soon gonna be “two Nickels”…or technically Dime. Looks like someone’s gonna be busy, Dime.

Dime: Wait…no. That’s not right.

Nickel: Don’t worry, Dime. People will still be giving Nickels for thoughts. I’ll be just as busy.

Penny: Haha. It’ll be nice to have some time off. I think I’ll go on a cruise or something. I hear Florida is nice. I might find some other Centenarians there.

What do YOU think? Do you want the penny to go away, as has been suggested recently by Pat Martin?

Boxes littered the ground of my 17^th-floor apartment as I arrived home late one night last week. For several days, I’d been staying at school until the early morning hours trying to get a documentary finished.  As you might imagine, I wasn’t in the happiest of moods before I walked through the front door that night—and as I crossed the threshold, my sulky five a.m. mood sank even lower.

Truth is, I’ve never really moved before. I moved in and out of residence for two years, but I don’t count that because I always went back to my real home. When I “moved” into this apartment, it didn’t feel like moving at all because I’ve managed to keep root in both my rooms.

But this time is different. I really feel like I’m leaving somewhere. Seeing those big brown boxes in the middle of the room forced me to think about it.

I suppose I should consider myself lucky because I have two roommates who have been doing the work. I’m dreading all the upcoming cleaning, let alone all the packing.

The Cost of Cleaning

It’s easy to forget that moving can cost you. Tenants have to leave the place pretty much the way they found it. Our building requires us to fill in any holes that we’ve put in the wall and paint over it. They also want us to clean the carpet—and provide proof that we’ve done so.  We even have to put a deposit down on the elevator. They also offer cleaning services if we’re willing to pay for it.

Getting Rid of the Goods

My roommates are moving across the country, so they’re trying to sell a lot of their stuff. Posters have been put up in the lobby of our building and — to my surprise — they’ve worked. They’ve also posted things on craigslist and Facebook’s Marketplace. I’ve also heard some great things about kijiji, which is eBay’s answer to online classifieds sites.  It breaks up Canada into its different regions, making it easier to unload all your stuff.

I tried to find some classified sites that were strictly for college and university students, but I could only find American sites. Does anyone know if these exist for Canadians?

Canceling “Necessities”

My cable/internet company needed a month’s notice that we’d be moving. Check your provider’s policy because, even if you love TV as much as I do, you don’t want to have to pay for it if you’re not using it. If you’ve got a landline telephone number, you’re going to have to get that changed, too.

The boxes have been cleared to the side and you can once again maneuver your way around the place. Although, I can only imagine what kind of mess will be in my way in the coming weeks.

For now, I’ll just remember the place during better times…

3 years worth of bus tickets has got me thinking: Is it really worth it?

I’ve been living in Ottawa for the better part of 3 years now. Living in the nation’s capital is great, there are so many benefits to reap as a student in Ottawa. Great city, cool festivals, the best St Patty’s day celebrations and the OC Transpo. That’s right, Ottawa has one of the best public transportation systems around. This is particularly cool for student pedestrians (like me) and those of you who are looking to save on transportation costs!

So the other day while I was on the bus, I noticed some people jumping on the back of the bus – without paying. This got me thinking about something that might be of interest to those of you living on the tight student budget.

Now, before I continue, fair warning must be given: In NO way do I condone ripping off public transportation systems or any other kind of public service.

That said, I wanted to find out if it would be financially justifiable (if you’re willing to sacrifice your conscience) to try and cheat the system, seeing as there’s a $125 fine should you get caught.

Now, seeing as I’ve conducted this experiment taking into account approximately 3 cases, this experiment should undoubtedly be regarded as official and dependable for consultation. Since my research methods (interviewing a few friends) are totally legit and entirely reliable, the following quantitative, empirical analysis should be considered official and 100% accurate.

The Findings

Of 150 bus trips counted here in this experiment, riders’ tickets were checked 3 times.

Using probability theory, we can draw conclusions about the likelihood of getting ‘checked’ each time you ride the bus.

The Calculations

Bus trips observed: 150
Ticket checks: 3
Probability of having your ticket checked: 3/150= 0.02 or 2%

Bus tickets: $3
Fine for illegal riders: $125
Cost of 150 legal bus rides: $3 x 150 = $450
Cost of 150 illegal bus rides: (150 x 0.02) x $125 = $375

Amount of money that could potentially be saved by jumping on the back of the bus 150 times: $75
The amount of money that would have to be set aside each time you jumped on the back of the bus in order to break even if you got caught: $125 x 2% = $2.50

The Conclusion
Now, while I feel the necessity again to emphasize the validity of a survey conducted with such a vast research sample, there is one problem with my formula. It doesn’t take into account the value of the rider’s conscience. If the rider feels his or her conscience is worth less than $75, per 150 rides then this experiment proves that jumping on the back of the bus without paying is justified. However, for those moral citizens who aren’t quite willing to jeopardize their integrity (and bus record) for a mere $75, then bus tickets are the way to go.

How much is your conscience worth?

It'll never happen to me.  Well, at least that's what I thought until today!

Here's a timeline of my day to date:

7:47am:  I walk into work. Ahhh… Work.  Work doesn't feel like work when you love what you do!

7:48am: Turn my computer on… Update Twitter, check RSS reader (while you're at it, sign up for our RSS feed), check Facebook, check e-mail, respond to email.

9:15am: Obtain coffee…

9:18am: Caffeine levels return to normal. Oh, the addiction.

11:30am: Talk to bloggers. All of them. At the same time. Conference calls rock!

12pm: Mmm… Lunch.  I buy lunch on a daily basis. It's terrible. I know.  I'm so un-frugal.  Whoa. I have no money. Must visit nearest ATM!

12:02pm: I'm walking towards the ATM that is handily located in the lobby of my building.  My Blackberry vibrates. Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzz!  I whip it out like I'm on a mission.  A mission to read every email I get within 0.23 seconds. A mission that I often fail, but not today!!! It's Friday!

The email that I've just received pleasantly notifies me that I'm a victim. A VICTIM OF FRAUD!  Except that I haven't been victimized, and just to be certain that I won't be, the RBC anti-fraud department has disabled my debit card and I need to get a new card.

Inconvenient: Yeah, totally… I was freaken hungry!  The sandwich shop, also conveniently located in the lobby of the building in which I "work", frowns on paying in hugs, and I needed money!

The email said "You need to come into the branch to get a new client card as the one you have has been cancelled."  Straightforward. Easy. I like easy.

12:08pm: I walked myself over to the nearest branch, stood in line for a few minutes (Apparently everyone feels the need to bank instead of eat lunch at 12:08pm) and about as fast as I thought that it was inconvenient to have someone thieve my Debit Card information (really fast), I had a new card!

Moral of the story: Getting your bank card defrauded really sucks hardcore.  What sucks a whole lot less though is getting said card replaced within about 6 minutes of finding out that your information was stolen in the first place.

Luckily, the Feisty Fraudsters didn't take anything due to the really fast action that my bank's anti-fraud department took to disable my card!

Have a great weekend!!

This week, I wanted to look into one that might be of particular interest to students. It’s pretty controversial so I’m looking forward to hearing some different perspectives on the subject.

Tuition fees.

I’ll be graduating next year with a Bachelor of Social Science, and lately, I’ve been thinking about: (1) How I’ll ever be able to break into the workforce after graduation and (2) The protests to lower tuition fees. Despite the widely publicized rally to lower tuition fees last year, it’s a topic that I keep hearing about around campus. It appears that a lot of students are still really unhappy about their tuition fees. I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue…

I wanted to get a closer look at just who was behind the campaign to freeze tuition fees. What I found out, was that this social movement is being supported by the Canadian Federation of Students. The CFS boasts a student membership of over 500,000 post-secondary students across Canada. Pretty impressive. I read on about the Principles of the Federation and found that their “ultimate goal – [is] a system of post-secondary education that is accessible to all…” Pretty ambitious.

Stats Can found that between the 1990 and 2005, tuition fees increased at a pace that was 4 times faster than the average rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Here’s what that looks like:

The idea of lowering tuition costs is definitely an attractive one to myself and many other students. Granting greater access to education, by freezing tuition fees is an interesting idea that has a lot of people talking. But I’ve been thinking about what the success of this social movement will mean for the value of my degree in the market of undergrads and competition for jobs after graduation.

Will lower tuition fees reduce the value of the undergrad degree?

Instead of simply lowering tuition fees to make post-secondary education “accessible to all”, I’d be in favour of a more merit-based system for granting access to post-secondary institutions. This would give equal opportunity to all prospective students, while making the admission process more competitive.

Finland’s tuition-free universities are a great example of the success of a merit-based system. Finland boasts tuition-free universities that have been ranked by the World Economic Forum as one of the best education systems in the world, as found by the Global Competitiveness Index.

Should Canada be taking a page out of Finland’s book?

Just something on my mind...