Quite some time ago, Henry Gordon-Smith wrote a blog entry entitled “No Signature Required”, about not being required to give a signature when making purchases on his Visa card under 25$... Well, more changes have come along for Visa cards. Mainly…Not having to sign for any purchase!

The new technology, for which you may have received a new Visa card, is called “Chip and PIN”, and it will be rolling out to all cardholders in the next few months, regardless of which bank or financial institution you deal with. While some people have been told that they don’t have to worry about it for years to come, the future is closer than you might think.

What’s chip and PIN anyways?

Essentially, your Visa card ends up with a microchip (no, not the stuff left at the bottom of the chip bag!) and you end up with a PIN, much like you would have for your debit card. Instead of swiping the card and signing the slip, you would “dip” the card into the handheld portion of the PIN pad and leave it there as you enter your PIN… Voila! Transaction complete!

I went to a store, and there was no dipping happening.

Well, ok, so the future is not 100% right now… According to Tim McGaugh, RBC’s head of chip card payment innovation, working on the Chip and Pin project (I keep wanting to type chip’n’dip… Sure does taste better!), only about 25% of merchants have the Chip and Pin card readers. The remaining 75% still have a normal, old school card reader, where the card is swiped and a signature is still required - but that too is changing fast as more chip terminals are rolled out across this land .

For any store that doesn’t have dipping going on, carry on with the same old method.

I didn’t get a PIN, but my card has a chip

Chances are, if you have a chip in your credit card, you were sent a mail-out with info on what your PIN is. Now, if you’re like me, you probably stashed it away in the junkmail pile, or lost it, or didn’t read through the litany of documents that came with your card. (Hey, I forgive you, we all do it.)

To find out what your PIN is, go into your nearest branch, and ask them. Yep, that’s it.

Now I’ve tried dipping my chip, but waitresses/store clerks/(insert profession of choice here) get confused!

Yeah… Not everyone knows about it... But, armed with your superior chip and pin knowledge, you can educate them on the nuances of master chip usage…

1.Dip Chip into Pinpad
2.Upon being prompted for PIN, enter pin (tip: don’t pull your card out until the machine tells you to!)
3.Obtain receipt and walk away (with your awesome purchase, of course!)

Here’s the process with sweet picture goodness: Chip and Pin migration

Remember, as with any PIN technology, don’t give away your PIN!!!

Europe has been using this technology for many years, but here in North America, Chip and Pin will inevitably make credit card transactions safer, because it’s a whole lot tougher to copy information on a computer chip than it is to copy a magnetic stripe on any other sort of card… Cheers to the future of easy payments!

Keep an eye out for contactless payment in the near future too! (Where you wave your card past a reader and it automatically receives the info – no signature OR PIN required…for smaller purchases only.!) Oh wait, there’s one more -instead of waving your credit card, you wave your cellphone at the reader because your phone has been loaded with the Visa payment chip – that’s coming soon too!,

And so should everyone else

This year, I was able to watch some of my friends—and my friend’s siblings—head off to university for the very first time.

When I was making the leap, I had heard tales of laptop and stereo theft. To prepare I, naturally, didn’t bring my stereo and, instead I bought a PC (Now that I am a laptop owner, I realize what kind of a mistake I just may have made).

Perhaps I should have, instead, thought about whether I had adequate insurance to cover my belongings in that dorm room of mine.

On Mom and Dad’s Plan

I have since learned that, while I wasn’t too concerned, my parents had thought things over. They had checked with their insurance company and discovered that my property was protected even though I wasn’t at home.

From what I’ve been able to research, most insurance companies have a similar policy: insurance companies cover students’ property while they’re away from home. “Over-age student dependents” are students that are over 21 years old but less than 25 years old (26 in Quebec). They, too, are usually covered—but it’s important to check with your provider.

This policy works for both university residences and rental apartments.

On Your Own

If you don’t fall under your parent or guardian’s insurance policy, it’s still a good idea to have insurance.

If you’re lucky enough to be living in your own home, you should have home insurance.

But if you’re a renter, you can get content insurance to cover the items you have in your apartment. According to RBC’s website, no one is responsible for your items except you:

Your landlord's insurance will not cover your personal belongings. Your jewellery, artwork, furniture, entertainment equipment and other valuable belongings will not be protected.

Content insurance is relatively cheap and it covers almost all of your belongings. Like all insurance, your rate depends on what you have that needs to be covered. By visiting RBC website, you can get a quote without even having to visit a branch.

Of course, if you’re like me, you don’t have to worry about insurance right now because you’re back at home. In which case, thank your parents and buy up as much stuff as possible—why not, right? It’s protected.

The first week back at school is a budget nightmare. There seems to be so much stress and rush that everyones budget seems to slip a little. I know that for me in the past two weeks of catching up with old friends, eating out because I’m on the go and getting everything I need for my house and school has put me way over my monthly budget. That's okay though, because September is not an easy month for university students. If you and I however don’t get our budgets back on track we are gonna find our selves in a deficit and our families will be getting the lamest Christmas presents this year.

So, I decided to look online at some of the webs top budgeting sites for students in order to see what I could learn from them so that I could present them to you on rbcp2p.com, which is of course the best student finance site ever! Anyway, this is what I found:

The first site that I found interesting was the Visa USA student budgeting site . This site, like most of the sites mentions the importance of setting financial goals. I totally agree that you need to make a financial goal for the amount of money you are looking to save every month otherwise its unlikely you will save any.

Even more important than making the goal is having the desire to achieve it. You need to ask yourself “why do I want to save this money for later?” “What benefit will saving 20% of my money for the future instead of spending it on fun now give me?”. Once you have asked yourself these questions hopefully you will find your own motivation to make and keep financial goals. Since Visa is a credit card company however, they are experts with issues related to debt. The coolest thing that is really simple to understand that Visa has on their site is called the 20/10 rule. Here it is in their own words:

Follow the 20/10 rule to keep tabs on your debt. Never borrow more than twenty percent of your annual net income (after taxes). For example, if your annual net income is $6,000, your maximum safe debt load is $1,200. Also, your monthly debt payments should never be more than ten percent of your monthly net income. So if your net income is $500 a month, your monthly loan and bill payments shouldn’t be more than $50.

Is that not the easiest rule to understand ever? I think that they did a great job in making it clear for students and they also have a sweet budget worksheet to calculate your costs, savings and debts easily.

The next site that caught my eye was the SFU (my rival school but I will give credit where it is deserved) student creating a budget site. It focuses on setting goals too but offers university specific tips for saving money which I found useful. Here were some of my favorites:

“It's always better to overestimate your costs rather than underestimate them. You never know when prices for necessities will increase or when unexpected costs may arise.” -This is pretty much the story of my budgeting life!

“Grocery shop with a list and stick with it so you don't buy expensive impulse items that may throw off your budget. Whenever possible try to buy in bulk. Remember it's usually cheaper in the long run if you buy more in the short term.” - I don’t have a car so buying bulk is really hard sometimes but ever since I bought two of those big IKEA bags I have been able to buy big and save big and hopefully get big.

“Join a club! There are a wide range of clubs covering a variety of interests ranging from movies to sports to writing poetry. Clubs are usually a fairly inexpensive way for you to find things to do when you're not studying and a great way to make new friends.” -This is SO true! I joined a club and have found it to be so satisfying because its fun but productive and keeps me busy and when I’m busy I spend less money.

“Lastly, don't play around when it comes to your studies. Pass your course the first time around. Repeating a course is not only an academic burden, but a financial one. Remember how much your class costs per unit?” -Now I feel really bad about not studying harder in Econ, thanks SFU.

So there you go. Even more budgeting tips to help you and me get back on track. Don’t forget to check out the ones we already have on rbcp2p.com, just check out the money link on the side bar. Yeah that one right there. Click.

I’m used to hitting the books and heading to class when this time of year roles around. Or rather, I’m used to telling myself that I’m going to hit the books and head to class around this time of year. Today, I find myself wondering what’s next.

In the years leading up to my final year at university, I was always interested in how upcoming grads were feeling. Now, as a recent grad myself, I can tell you that your last year feels just like the rest.

The autumn afterwards—well, that’s a different story.

I have been fortunate to be employed right out of university. I’ve been able to pay off almost a third of my student loan and had the opportunity to visit Canada’s west coast for the very first time.

Thinking back to last year at this time, besides keeping up with school, I was worried about my finances for the rest of the year. With thoughts of school gone by, I still worry about finances. It used to be thoughts of textbooks, assignments and what might come of dinner. Now it’s loan payments and preparing for any opportunities that may one day come knocking on my door.

I recently visited with my newlywed cousin. A few years prior to her wedding, she and her now-husband visited a financial planner. They were able to map out the steps to affording their wedding, a new home and the years ahead. It’s made me think that it may be beneficial to visit a financial planner now that I’m finished one of the biggest steps of my life.

According to RBC’s financial planning focused website, financial planning is “ongoing process that takes into account the ‘whole you’”. They can help you minimize tax payments, increase savings and improve cash flow, among other things.

For those who may find themselves well passed the days of school and in an uncertain financial position, a financial planner may be your answer. While I was in B.C., I visited with my brother who has been in the working world for over ten years now. Like many at his age, he hasn’t been the best at keeping on top of his finances. During my visit, though, I learned that he had visited with a financial planner to help him map out his financial future. Not only was it great to hear he had taken these steps, but it was also kind of inspiring. It seems like a financial planner could be for anyone.

In the coming weeks, I plan on visiting with a financial planner. I’m not entirely sure what to expect and I hope that I learn a couple of things. I’m going to find out what options I have and what common pieces of advice new—and not so new—grads find most useful.

There I was, rushing from terminal three of Pearson international to terminal two in order to catch my flight back home to Vancouver when something caught my eye. On the escalator arm the advertisement words “earn money while others sleep” were rolling on next to me. The words fascinated me and I soon began to find out that they represented a company called GuestInvest and were part of a new trend of real estate investment in hotel rooms.

The concept behind GuestInvest is that instead of spending masses of money on an investment property, you spend less on a hotel room and reap faster returns and pay less taxes. GuestInvest is based in London where the real estate market has become astronomical. The hotel investment concept however only really works in popular tourist locations in order for your investment to bring some peace of mind. This of course means that you must be willing to pay the price for a small condo when your only buying a room.

One of the benefits of hotel room real estate is that because you don’t live in the property for much of the year you receive tax breaks on many of the expensive taxes that come with buying a home. Also since the hotel room is “yours” your able to stay in in for up to 52 nights a year (UK) or two weeks (US, Canada) without loosing the tax benefits. Hotels will charge you part of your income from the rental of the room for maintenance and marketing the room (50% UK) but besides that you will reap the profits of anyone that stays in your room, thus, “earning money while others sleep”.

The concept of hotel room real estate is still so new however that it is really recommended that you do your research before you jump in. Business weekly claims that there hasn’t been enough time to see whether or not the investment will yield the return it promises. Also, hotel room investment is in no means a primary investment and is mainly for investors who can afford a second mortgage. Business weekly in its article “Should you own a hotel room?”\ also warns of unexpected costs such as replacing broken furniture or upgrading the room every three years with better furniture or electronics.

Buying a hotel room as an investment which is still fairly new but with prices with GuestInvest starting at 400,000 pounds its not one to be taken lightly. It seems that its the type of investment which may be an addition to others you may have but that one of the primary reasons for the investment would be that your family and you can stay there for free.

For me, the concept of investing in real estate has seemed so beneficial because if things became financially difficult you could cut down your extra spending in your life and focus on your mortgage and always have a place to live. With a hotel room that comfort doesn't seem to be there. It certainly is an interesting concept that is picking up and who knows maybe on your next vacation you may be staying in a room that is owned by your neighbor or a friend.

Here's a video about how you too can get scholarships, not just based on academic achievements!

“Are you a member of our rewards program?”

My answer to that question is always a resounding, “No.”

Then there’s always the follow-up question: “Would you like to be a member?”

No. No, I wouldn’t.

But, for many of my friends their response couldn’t be a happier, “Yes.”

It seems like everyone has their own reward card: the grocery store, the coffee shop, the drugstore and every store in the mall.

I’ve been weary about joining loyalty reward programs because I’ve been told that they’re collecting information about me to market to my needs. The idea that my every purchase may be tracked makes me a little uneasy, but for others—many others—it seems to be no big deal. In fact, in a 2006 CBC Marketplace report, it was estimated that over 76% of Canadians belonged to a reward program. I imagine that number has only gone up since. Most of my friends are some sort of club member.

And for students, loyalty rewards couldn’t be more enticing because, after all, it usually means lower prices.

That CBC Marketplace report had a look at reward programs across the country. They compared the cost of the same groceries purchased at a store with the reward discount to another grocery store without a discount and they discovered that the store without the discount was actually cheaper. It was only beneficial to have the card because it saved a couple of dollars at that specific store.

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering advocates for the privacy rights of supermarket consumers. Their website has a global directory of grocery stores around the world that highlights which stores have reward cards and which ones don’t.

The organization has a strong focus on the manipulation of supermarkets over their customers regarding the perceived benefits of reward programs:

The markets claim that the opportunity to participate in the program is their way of "rewarding" you for your loyalty to the store. But a reward is a tangible benefit you wouldn't have had otherwise. There is no benefit in being recorded and tracked for the "privilege" of paying the same sale prices you'd always been able to pay in the past. (In fact, you often wind up paying prices that are even higer than they were before the card program was introduced.) -CASPIAN

I’ll admit that I recently began collecting points on my credit card. When I began university, I made all of my purchases on credit and paid off the balance on the due date in order to establish a good credit rating. When I realized that I could be earning “valuable points” on these thousands of dollars, I signed up.

As I write this, though, it makes me nervous thinking about the analytics that may be being run on the few months worth of information that have been collected about me. The other half of me is looking forward to the blender I may one day have as a result of my new point collecting habits. I am also somewhat reassured by the fact that the points I gain on my credit card are from a semi-outside source. I don’t have to keep all of my purchases loyal to just one store. I can shop wherever I wish and accumulate points.

So, do you worry about giving up your information or are you all for “earning” free kitchen supplies?

Making you buy two when you only wanted one

2 for $6. Buy one get one free. 2 for the price of 1. There are many variations on this idea of getting you to take 2 (or more) items when perhaps you only intended to buy one (or possibly NONE). Much of the time we’re mesmerized by the thought of a deal that will allow us to buy 2 items for less money than usual. We simply can not believe our luck when something that typically costs $3.30 for 2 all of a sudden has a BARGAIN price of $3.00 for 2.

Old price: $1.65 each
New price: $1.50 each

WOW! That’s amazing!

To be fair, 15 cents IS an amount worth raising heck over, as can be seen in the recent Bell/Telus “we will now charge anyone without a text messaging plan 15 cents for incoming text messages because we’re so poor and can hardly afford to keep our business afloat” heck-stravaganza. Let’s examine the two-for, shall we?

What you read: 2 for $6
What you should ask: how much does ONE of these usually cost? Is it worth it?
Why you should do this: if you’re not saving much on a per-item basis, then just buy 1 and not the 2.
Caution: Sometimes this is not an option, and the two have to be bought to get the lower price. Sneaky.
Example of a GOOD deal: fast food places that offer 2 burgers for $6 when they typically cost $3.79 ea.
How they get ya, though: you’ll probably buy fries and/or a drink.

What you read: Buy One Get One Free
What you should ask: is there a catch, or do I actually get a second one at no cost whatsoever to me?
Why you should do this: depending on the item, there may be special stipulations.
Caution: BOGO cell phones usually require the activation of the 2nd phone, sometimes on a 3-year contract.
Example of a GOOD deal: Buy one loaf of bread and get a second loaf free (pick two different kinds and freeze one loaf).
How they get ya, though: you might buy more of something that goes WITH the bread, since you have more of it now.

What you read: 2 for the price of 1
What you should ask: can I buy ONE and get if half-price?
Why you should do this: if it’s something like cheese that could go bad, just get ONE cheaper.
Caution: you can’t always get the single item at half price, so you should check on that.
Example of a GOOD deal: 2 for 1 admissions. Great for dates.
How they get ya, though: getting more people at an event leads to more food/drink sales and more word of mouth.

The bottom line is that behind every seemingly awesome deal there are questions you should ask yourself in order to make sure YOU actually got the deal and didn’t just walk right into the door that was opened for you.

There’s no harm if it’s a win-win situation, but a lot of the time the fact you won is a side effect of the company wanting to win, so make sure you don’t get sucked in to something you didn’t need to spend money on. Tell me about things YOU think are a good deal, when it comes to these two-fors.

Who knew being a miser had so many benefits?

Frugal [froo – guhl] adj.

1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful

In many ways, I would say I’m frugal. I tend not to like spending money if I don’t have to. Much of my wardrobe consists of pre-enjoyed clothing. My apartment is largely furnished with donated, found or inexpensive things. I’ll avoid cab rides at all costs. In essence, I go out of my way to make sure I get the best deal possible. If I could cut out those moments of splurging weakness I’d be all set. Wouldn’t we all. But being frugal doesn’t just save you money. I’ll show you how it is good for your body AND for the planet.

YOUR BODY

• Skateboarding, in-line skating, walking or busing all require more exercise than hopping in your car. And are cheaper.
• Buying less pre-packaged food (AKA the more expensive convenience food) will lead to healthier eating. It will give you a chance to get creative with cooking.
• Avoiding expensive fast food outings will also save you from these typically unhealthy treats. And again, you get to hone your culinary skills.
• Walking your groceries (less expensive than take-out) home – whether small trips frequently or larger trips infrequently – will develop your muscles and endurance. Especially if hills are involved.

Any of the options above can be considered better for the environment as well, reducing use of fossil fuels and unnecessary packaging. So they’re win-win (-win). In addition, the following frugal actions will help even more.

THE PLANET

• Not buying food and drink that is unnecessarily over-packaged. Things like 6 mini-cans of pop (1.42L for $3.29 is NOT a good deal), separate Pringles packs (just put them in reusable bags or containers) lead to packaging that often ends up (incorrectly) in our landfills. Also, the foods packaged this way tend to be less healthy.
• For products that come in tubes (hair styling products, lotions, toothpaste, etc) make sure you ACTUALLY empty them. If you can’t squeeze it out, cut it open and you’ll find there is often plenty left. Extending the life means less frequent buying and less garbage created.
• With shampoo, hand soap and dish soap make sure the bottles are actually empty. When you think there’s none left, you can put some water in them and get a few more uses. Again, less waste. BONUS: Buy the refills for hand soap pumps. For a dollar more you usually get twice as much.
• Create your own convenience foods by buying reusable bags and containers. These come in a multitude of shapes and sizes and can be rinsed out after use. It may be easier to buy the pre-portioned products but in the end it costs more, and for the most part can not be reused.

So there you have it. You may already do these, or think that they’re not particularly insightful. The point is that you can make simple changes to your lifestyle that benefit not only your pocketbook (who even has these anymore) but also your body and your planet, both of which you only have one. You may as well treat them right while you have them. If this helped you at all, share it with friends and everyone wins.

Don’t forget to comment with your own tips and tricks.

Back in high school, two friends and I decided to collect all the change we found in the hallways.

You can call me a loser, you can call me savvy or you can call me lame... All are true.
What’s truly undeniable, though, is the amount of money we saved up. Our less-than-seven-months of saving banked us around $20. You’re right, the amount isn’t all that impressive. But when you think that we made all that money doing pretty much nothing, well, I think it’s kind of amazing.

I recently read about a woman who saved every five-dollar bill she received. At the end of Marie Franklin’s third year of saving, she had pocketed $12,000.

She says there’s a trick to this money saving… trick:

This idea will only work if you are disciplined. When I decided to save my fives, I meant it, and I save every one. No exceptions. (OK, once on the Mass. Pike I gave the toll collector a 20 and he returned three fives and four ones. I panicked. This was my allowance for the week. I asked him to give me a ten and more ones instead.) Otherwise, if I get a five dollar bill back - at CVS, or Starbucks, or Marty's on Washington Street - I tuck it away, smiling.

Ms. Franklin’s frugality got me thinking about ways to save some up some money.

Moneyhacks recommends rounding up to the nearest dollar any purchase you make and pocketing the difference between that number and whatever you just paid out. For example, if you buy gum and it costs 1.13, the difference between that number and $2.00 is $0.87. You would store that money away as savings.

Moneyhack’s wife saved a remarkable amount this way:

As a result, she saves an average of 50 cents every time she performs a financial transaction. She’s made roughly 1000 transactions since she started this, and now has $500 more in the account than her checkbook register shows.

Spotya.com, a site with another blog suggests that you simply pay everything in cash. This way you comprehend just what you’re spending:

Believe me, when you pay in cash, you SEE that money goes through your hands. When you use that plastic card, it doesn’t hit as hard. You almost don’t feel like you’re spending. Cold hard cash is a rare commodity these days. It’s really sad. $20 doesn’t go far as it use to.

With many blogs, I get lured in by the comments that people make at the end of a post. They’re often suggestions on how that blogger’s ideas can be expanded upon. Well, here’s a response to Lifehacker’s Top Ten Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money that I had to share:

Play World of Warcraft.
I was going to the bar Tuesdays and Thursdays because they had $2 for any drink specials, I was dropping about $40 a week at the bar. Now I pay $15 a month and I don't go out. Sure, I don't have a social life but in return I now own a house, a car, two bikes and two level 70 characters.... and I'm a year out of college... .debt free.
Yeah, it sounds like a distorted way of saving money but really if you boil it down... all I'm doing is distracting myself from spending money, which can be applied to many other activities other than WoW.

To each his own, I suppose…

What works for you?

Recently, as a result of hours of lying on the beach, I have warmed up to the tunes of Mr. Kanye West. One song in particular has been stuck in my head for over a week now although certain events have transpired to make me see the song differently. In the song ¨Gold Digger¨ Kanye raps about the issue of women who only marry for money. At one point he states:

If you ain't no punk holla We Want Prenup!
WE WANT PRENUP!, Yeaah
It's something that you need to have
Cause when she leave she gonna leave with half

The passion that Kanye raps with makes me feel like I really need a prenuptial agreement (when I become a rich famous rapper). This week something happened to me that make the song play in my head a little differently. I got sick here in Spain and so did one of my friends and so we went to the hospital to get treated. It was then that I realized what I really needed was travel insurance.

We want travel insurance! We want travel insurance!
It’s something that you need to have
Cause when you leave you gonna have to pay in cash

When I’m sick, it’s never a good idea for me to go to the hospital alone because I never bring the papers I need with me and I am the worst patient. This meant that when they asked me if I had travel insurance I just told them (in my now perfect Spanish  ) that I was going to pay the 34 euros for the visit, get my medicine and be done with it. After the experience however I wondered what I could have done to better prepare and what if I had been more seriously sick.

Now, I am focusing on the health insurance aspect of travel insurance but travel insurance can be purchased to protect you from unplanned changes to your trip and can cover anything from bad weather, bankruptcy of airlines, death in the family and now even terrorism!

My friend who injured his foot however, had to pay much more than me for treatment and so I promised myself that in the future I would travel insured and find out what my options are. One look at the RBC "why do I need travel insurance?" page and it’s easy to see why it’s so important to get coverage. On the site they list the prices for treatment of certain injuries in Florida as an example. When Canadians travel outside of the country all of that wonderful state subsidized health care we have is stripped away and travel insurance helps lessen the damage a holiday injury could do. RBC quotes that a broken leg would cost you $11,000 to be treated. Man that would suck.

As a student I know that I often take risks and don’t paying for things like travel insurance, putting trust in my good luck and the fact that I’m young and think I’m invincible. After the experiences that I had with my friend I recommend that all students check out their options before jetting off somewhere. Gowander.com is this sweet website where people can post videos, photos and stories and share their passion for travel. They all have a blog on there about travel horror stories so if you need more motivation to get travel insurance check it out.

One last thing that especially students should check out is whether or not basic travel comes included in their tuition. I know that at UBC students are under an umbrella of UBC insurance but need to activate it when they leave. So remember that "Travel insurance is something that you gotta have" and let me know if you have any travel health horror stories.

Recently, I was on a top secret mission to discover some budgeting tips while travelling. Here are the results: