Retire Happy

Oct 20: Best from the blogosphere

October 20, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

What’s the buzz in the blogosphere this week? Here are some interesting articles that popped up in my inbox.

If you did any house or office cleaning over the Thanksgiving weekend you will be very impressed with what Cait Flanders has accomplished. In Post-Declutter: How Does My Condo Look Now? she notes that she removed a total of 377 items from her home! Not only are her before and after pictures inspiring, I love the view of the mountains from her desk.

With the market drops of the last few weeks, it’s good to know what elements of investing you can control. On the Tangerine Bank blog Forward Thinking, Joe Snyder writes about How to leave your (investing) worries behind.

Jim Yih on Retire Happy discusses a simple way to track your spending. He no longer has time to enter data in spreadsheets or phone apps. Instead, he and his wife put all their expenses on one credit card so the monthly credit card statement has become their tool to know how much money they spend in any given month.

After Thanksgiving excess eating, you may be interested in Sean Cooper’s blog on Million Dollar Journey about how survives on only a $100/month in groceries. Sean is single and has cut meat out of his diet.

Engineer Your Finances suggests that one way to make some extra money is to Make Some Extra Cash By Renting Out Things You Own. For example, rent your car, storage space in your garage or attic or tools and sports gear. There are suggestions for websites that facilitate short-term rentals.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


Loyalty programs: Which one is best?

October 16, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

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Canadians love loyalty programs. The 2013 Loyalty Census from the industry research group Colloquy reports that 120 million consumers in this country belong to at least one loyalty program and the average number of loyalty programs per household is 8.2. But the challenge you face is selecting the loyalty programs that will give you the best bang for their bucks.

Typically websites that evaluate loyalty programs either rank programs based on the stated preferences of survey participants or by weighting various features like points per dollar spent and the value you can get when you spend the points in different ways.

But the research company Environics recently developed a “time to reward” algorithm for Colloquy that ups the ante by predicting how many months it actually takes to earn $100 CAD in rewards.

The calculation not only takes into consideration the potential payback from a program, but factors like usage patterns, the ability to double-dip (i.e. get points for the dollar value of your travel purchase plus the number of miles you fly) and how much you buy from a particular retailer.

Initially, over 1000 Canadians surveyed online in March 2014 by Environics were asked to select which of 23 top loyalty programs (14 of which have a non-credit loyalty card only) they used to collect loyalty rewards or dollars in the past three months. The programs in the list had membership of at least one per cent of the Canadian population and multiple programs could be picked from the list provided.

The top 10 selected were:

  • 72%: Air Miles
  • 35%: Shopper’s Optimum
  • 29%: Canadian Tire Money
  • 28%: Aeroplan
  • 28%: PC Points
  • 23%: Petro-Points
  • 17%: Scene Rewards
  • 17%: HBC Rewards
  • 13%: Club Sobey
  • 12%: Sears Card

However, once all 23 programs were assessed by Environics applying “time to rewards” metrics, rankings in some categories changed. Not surprisingly, the Air Miles and Aeroplan programs took the first and second spots for long and short haul flight rewards. Both are “coalition” loyalty programs (members can earn points through hundreds of retail partners, as opposed to just one).

But Aeroplan dropped to the number three spot after the Shoppers Optimum card when it came to how quickly cash equivalent rewards can accumulate. The Shoppers Drug Mart program regularly runs promotions where a large number of points is awarded for spending specified amounts on certain days.

The research also revealed the credit cards that will get a program member to a cash equivalent or merchandise reward the quickest tend to be retailer-specific or bank-issued credit cards. The Canadian Tire Cash Advantage MasterCard, the Best Buy Reward Zone Visa and the RBC Shoppers Optimum Card ranked 1, 2 and 3 in this category.

The Environics Research contains many more “time to reward” comparisons for loyalty programs and loyalty credit cards you can check out here. There is also an interactive online tool where you can test which Canadian loyalty programs will get you to your desired reward faster (i.e. travel rewards, cash or merchandise) using either your own spending pattern or pre-programmed Statistics Canada data.

Of course your favourite loyalty program may not have sufficient market penetration to even have been considered in the Environics study.

When I polled several prominent personal finance bloggers to find out the loyalty programs they use the most, Tom Drake (Canadian Finance) said his number one choice is a Costco Executive Membership, which is notably absent from the Environics study. It pays back two per cent of most purchases throughout the year in cash. “I also pay using my True Earnings Card from Costco and American Express which gives me another one per cent cash back or two per cent when I fill up with gas,” he says.

Robb Engen (Boomer & Echo) identified Scene Rewards which allows you to earn points that can be spent on free movies, concession food and music downloads as probably one of the most under-rated loyalty programs in the country. He also subscribes to Amazon Prime for $79/year because it gives him free two-day shipping on most items that Amazon carries.

And even though he is an avid Air Miles fan, Jim Yee (Retire Happy) believes it’s important to take a balanced approach to racking up points vs other important cost-saving considerations. “Safeway gives Air Miles but sometimes it’s more convenient or less expensive to shop elsewhere for groceries,” he says.


Oct 13: Best from the blogosphere

October 13, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

It was dark when I got up this morning and it won’t be long before it will also be dark before the end of the work day. So let’s shine a light on some interesting topics tackled by personal finance bloggers last week.

For most of your working life you’ve saved for retirement. But as that date nears, your focus shifts to using your savings to pay for life after work. Take a look at my blog What happens to my pension when I retire? on Brighter Life to find out how the money can be paid out when you retire.

GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca has a quiz that will help you build your retirement lifestyle profile — an analysis combining the range of income you’ll need and the level of readiness you’re at today.

In July, on Million Dollar Journey, Frugal Trader published his Canadian Online Discount Stock Brokerage Comparison, 2014. He mentions a number of major (cheap) discount brokerages in Canada including: E-Trade (now i-trade), Virtual Brokers, Qtrade, Interactive Brokers, and Questrade (voted #1 by Million Dollar Journey Readers).

Retire Happy blogger Sarah Milton discusses how to deal with the challenges of dating when you are trying to pay down debt and get your financial house in order. She says miscommunication can create a great deal of stress and tension.

And Retired Syd (Retirement: A full time job) writes about Her Short Career as a Landlord when after extensive preparations to rent out her vacation property in Napa she decided the small amount of money she would net was not worth the aggravation.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


Oct 6: Best from the blogosphere

October 6, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

It’s October already! How time flies. Here are some interesting posts from some of our favourite, always prolific personal finance bloggers.

On Balance Junkie, Tom Drake discusses options for Banking on Your Mobile Phone. There are smartphone apps to run your business, create a budget, check your bank account and set up mobile payments.

How Behavioural Biases Kept Me From Becoming An Indexer is a confession from Boomer & Echo’s Robb Engen that it’s tough to sell a portfolio of high performing winning dividend stocks – his “babies” that he has nurtured through a five-year bull market. Nevertheless the more he reads about, writes about, and teaches others about investing, the more he is convinced that convinced that passive investing (indexing) is the right approach.

4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Mutual Fund by Our Big Fat Wallet’s Dan Wesley include how the fund has performed as compared to other funds and the costs of ownership. Like Engen, he concludes that if an actively managed fund can’t beat the index, you’re likely better off with a low-cost index Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

Whether you are a snowbird planning winter away from Canada’s cold climate or dreaming of a one week all inclusive getaway, take a look at Frequently Never Asked Questions for your Travel Medical Insurance on Bank Nerd. Did you know that in general, an emergency due to a pre-existing condition is not covered?

And finally, on Retire happy, Sarah Milton addresses the question Should New Canadians join a Group RRSP? She agrees that RRSP accounts are intended as a vehicle for retirement savings but says that doesn’t mean they only have value if you plan to retire in Canada.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


Sept 15: Best from the blogosphere

September 15, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

I’m back at my desk after a week in Orlando with my daughter’s family, including our two year old granddaughter. While Disney and pool time were lots of fun, I’m not sorry to return to late summer weather in Canada. In my book, clear skies and 20 degrees is as good as it gets.

As the new the business year kicks off,  Best from the Blogosphere gets back to some retirement basics. How much do you need to retire? When can you afford to retire? Where do you want to retire?

In How much you need to save for retirement,  GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca says how much you need to retire depends on your age, your lifestyle and the amounts you will receive from government benefits. There is a useful link to a calculator from Service Canada to estimate your income in retirement and seven tips for last minute savers.

While the best known vehicles for retirement savings are Registered Retirement Savings Plans and defined contribution plans like the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, for the last five years Canadians over18 have also been able to open tax free savings accounts.  My Own Advisor’s Mark Seed reminds us of some of the very best things about the TFSA.

Many people have been diligent about saving and accumulated significant amounts, but they are still apprehensive about retiring and dipping into their savings. Boomer & Echo’s Marie Engen answers the question Can I afford to retire? for one couple. She says their challenge is to shift from savings and asset gathering mode to spending mode  — something even the greatest savers have the most trouble doing.  As a result, they may needlessly deny themselves a pleasurable retirement.

Donna McCaw says on Retire Happy that delayed retirement is a retirement plan. In other words, larger numbers of Canadians are choosing to work longer because they like their jobs or they need the money. She quotes D. Banda of the American Association of Retired persons who claims, “Older workers are changing the workplace to an extent women did 30 years ago when they started entering the force in greater numbers.”

And finally, where you retire can have a significant impact on both your finances and quality of life. In his MoneySense blog Financial Independence, Jonathan Chevreau says you should test out the retirement lifestyle in your community to ensure it is a good fit. He concludes that where he lives in Long Branch, Ontario meant an hour commute each way when he worked in downtown Toronto, but it’s a perfect retirement haven.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


Tom Drake manages multiple blogs on the night shift

September 11, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

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Click here to listen

 

Hi, as part of the SavewithSPP.com continuing series of podcast interviews with personal finance bloggers, today, I’m talking to Tom Drake, author of the personal finance blogs Canadian Finance and Balance Junkie. He also partners on three other sites and writes guest posts on several others.

Tom lives with his wife and two boys in Edmonton. He’s a financial analyst for all of the Sobeys stores west of Ontario. He’s always looking for ways to reduce any expenses, while continuing to save money, in part because his wife is a full-time homemaker.

Welcome Tom.

Hi Sheryl, thanks for having me here.

Q. When did you start blogging Tom?
A. I started in early 2009. I hadn’t really thought about my personal finances too much prior to that. I was never totally terrible with money, but in about a six month span, we got married, and soon after that, we were expecting our first child, and we were also looking to buy a house when the market dipped in early 2009. So those three things kind of put personal finance right at the forefront in my mind.

Q. What were your goals for the blog when you started blogging, and have they changed over time?
A. Well, they have a little. When I first started, it was certainly more about the three major events that I’ve already mentioned. Nowadays, I try to cover as many personal finance topics as possible because through Google searches and even people emailing me directly I discover a lot of topics that I can kind of help them with their own personal finances, even if it’s not something that I’ve had to deal with myself.

Q. How frequently do you blog?
A. Lately it’s been about two or three times a week on the “Canadian Finance” blog. I have multiple blogs, so I’m probably doing something every day. I also post one to two times a month on “Balance Junkie,” and soon I’ll be writing on “Retire Happy” as well.

Q. What other blogs do you have?
A. Well, within Canada, it’s the Canadian Finance blog and Balance Junkie and I’m also a partner with Jim Yih on Retire Happy.

Q. To what extent is there an overlap between the topics that you would feature or write about on your own blog and that, for example, you or Jim or his other bloggers would post on his blog?
A. Well, Jim Yih is very dedicated to the retirement niche, which I honestly haven’t thought about it much. I save money in my RRSP and have savings in my TFSA as well, but I don’t have a huge retirement planning goal right now. So I don’t cover those topics as much. So I’d say my blog is about more general personal finance issues and his is very targeted on retirement issues.

Q. So what will you be writing about on Retire Happy?
A. On Canadian Finance, I cover a lot of tips on how to save money, reduce your utility bills and such. Most of the people who read Retire Happy are beyond that, and they’re looking for ways to use their money better. So I’ll probably be covering things like making sure that your credit card has a decent rewards plan and products like TurboTax. Just about anything that can help people use products that are out there and add something a little more than just retirement to that blog.

Q. Now, you say that retirement hasn’t been your focus as yet. May I ask how old you are?
A. Just about to turn 37 this week.

Q. I see, well, you know what, you’re getting closer to that break point. I think 40 is when the light goes on.
A. Yeah, exactly. I do save a decent amount. I just don’t have a full retirement plan. I don’t know if I’m going to retire at 50 or 70 at this point.

Q. Unlike Tim Stobbs who says he’s retiring at 45.
A. Oh, that would be nice, but I’ll say 50 at the earliest.

Q. There’s probably over a dozen well-known personal finance bloggers or more in Canada. What’s different about your blog? Why do you think it’s a must read?
A. Well, I think with any personal finance blog, readers are going to gravitate to someone that kind of fits their situation. So as a family man in my mid-30s, I get a lot of readers that sort of fit that same mold. Also, archived articles from other staff writers I have had from time to time add a different dimension.

Q. How many hits do you typically get for each blog?
A. I don’t really look at it per post. So much of it is search traffic. I get a few thousand in a day. But as a total network of all the sites that I own, or am in partner with, we get over 500,000 page views in a month.

Q. Wow. You said all the sites that you own or partner with. You’ve told me about two and about working with Jim. Are there others?
A. Yes, Jim Yih gets all the credit for this model, which is basically taking a 50/50 partnership where we focus on our strengths. I like writing personal finance posts, but I’m not as efficient at it as a lot of these other writers. So the people I partner with are really good writers.

Jim’s been writing for over a decade in newspapers and on his own site, even before we turned it into Retire Happy. I’ve also partnered up with Miranda Marquit down in the States. She can be found pretty much in any personal finance blog that you look at. She’s a big freelancer.

These people don’t want to deal with creating a site, working on things like search engine optimization, how to monetize the site, so they actually make some money from it. Those are more of my strengths actually than the actual writing. So it’s been a good partnership with both of them.

And the third person I’m partnering with is Kevin at Out of Your Rut which is another American blog. Again, he’s more of a freelancer. But he has a site and we work to make sure that site makes money as well and gets the traffic.

Q. One of the more popular blogs you’ve posted related to the Smith Maneuver, which allows you to deduct mortgage interest as an investment expense. Can you tell me how that works?
A. Basically what you need is a re-advanceable mortgage. And what that means is as you pay down your principle, you have a home equity line of credit that will increase. So if you pay $500 down on your principle, your L.O.C. increases by that amount. You can use that line of credit to invest in dividend bank stocks.

The goal is that the stocks you pick have a higher dividend percentage than the interest rate you’re paying on your mortgage. Then you can use those dividends to accelerate your mortgage pay down. So ultimately your debt level stays the same.

A lot of people don’t like that, because you’re not really reducing your debt, and you’re leveraging it for investing. But I’m comfortable with it. The dividends I have are certainly making a higher percentage than what I’m paying on a mortgage currently. Obviously, the risks are the way that the mortgage rates go in the future. But dividends have some preferential tax treatment as well, which also helps.

Q. So when did you implement a Smith Maneuver personally?
A. Probably about 2010. Buying my house in 2009, I got the Scotia STEP mortgage which includes a line of credit. But since I had exactly a 20% down payment, I couldn’t actually borrow anything yet because I hadn’t paid down any additional principle. So after about a year of that mortgage, I started out with the Smith Maneuver, and using that extra equity on the house to invest in stock.

Q. So you’ve got a day job. You’ve got two kids. You’ve got your work with your own blog and others. What advice would you give to busy people to fit it all in?
A. I don’t get a lot of sleep. So if you can do a 19-hour day, you can fit a lot. But otherwise, certainly prioritize family first. Obviously, I’ve got my day job. But as soon as I come home, I spend time with my family. Once the boys are in bed, then I go into business mode and write a blog post or deal with various technical issues and such, up until 1:00am or later.

Q. That’s amazing. I’m one of those people who needs my sleep. So you’ve mentioned a number of people you’ve worked with, but who are your favourite personal finance bloggers?
A. Well, some of the ones that originally got me into personal finances haven’t been blogging as much, like Mike at Money Smarts or Preet at Where does all my money go?

Million Dollar Journey is certainly the reason I started blogging. It’s what got me into the Smith Maneuver too actually, and so I still read that one quite a bit. And I read Jim Yih’s stuff a lot. But Robb at “Boomer & Echo” is certainly a great writer.

Q. So if you had to look at all the time you’re spending on this, are you doing it for love or are you doing it for money?
A. I do make a full-time income with my online business, but my wife is staying at home with our kids. So it’s her full time income basically. It’s worth it to juggle sort of both jobs right now, to allow her that time with the kids.

Q. If you had only one piece of advice to people who want to save money and optimize their savings, what would it be?
A. I think the biggest advice for me is basically to have a positive cash flow. I’m not a big fan of budgeting myself. It’s something I don’t think people always stick to. But the cash flow is just simple calculation to make sure that you’re bringing in more than you’re spending. So you want to make sure you’re saving and covering all your bills. And you certainly want to make sure that you’re not going into a negative cash flow. It’s the simplest way to improve your finances.

Thanks very much Tom. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

Thank you. It was great conversation.

This is an edited transcript of the podcast you can listen to by clicking on the graphic under the picture above. If you don’t already follow Tom’s blogs “Canadian Finance and Balance Junkie” you can find them here and here. Subscribe to receive blog posts by email as soon as they’re available.

 


July 14: Best from the blogosphere

July 14, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

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This week we have a mixed bag of posts for your summer reading from the world of the ever-prolific personal finance bloggers we track.

Brighter Life presents a series of both get your health and get your finances in shape tips from other bloggers. One of my favourites is from Jeremy Biberdorf, author of Modest Money. He says too many people think the path to financial freedom is to focus heavily on either frugality or earning more money. The trick is actually to find a healthy balance of both worlds. The more extra income you earn, the fewer sacrifices you have to make in your daily life.

Many of us are card-carrying members of the sandwich generation with responsibility for both elderly parents and young children. On Moneycrashers Michael Lewis discusses six must-have conversations you need to have when caring for elderly parents. If you have to tell a parent that it is time to stop driving or take over the finances of an aging relative, you will appreciate this information.

How much do you really need to retire? $1 million? $2 million? On Retire Happy Donna McCaw says your expectations may be too high.  Only about half of the Boomers polled by Scotiabank are doing any planning and most of that planning is only financial in nature, No one mentioned planning for their lifestyle, healthy living, building social networks outside of work or any of the other aspects this major transition brings.

Boomer & Echo blogger Robb Engen says  Investors Should Embrace Simple Solutions. He refers to a young investor seeking feedback on his investment portfolio. While he has wisely opted for low fees by investing in ETFs, seven funds are too many as it may require a lot of fine-tuning to keep the asset allocation in line with his original strategy.  

And finally, on the Canadian Finance Blog, Tom Drake exposes 5 Lies About Your Credit Report. Did you know that if you paid off your debt to a collection agency rather than paying the original vendor the information stays on your credit report?

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


June 16: Best from the blogosphere

June 16, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

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This week we have a potpourri of blogs dealing with a variety of money-related topics topics you can read on these long late spring evenings.

On Brighter Life, Dave Dineen brings us up to date on his travels in Slow money: A richer way to travel in retirement. He says renting from a local, not a corporation and adopting a local lifestyle means he and his wife can afford weeks instead of days on a beautiful Italian island.

Retire Happy’s Jim Yih reminds couples getting married this summer that they need to talk about money. You or someone you know can certainly benefit from his list of things to talk about to help build the foundation for a better relationship.

We usually post Robb Engen’s blogs from Boomer & Echo but he also writes about lots of interesting issues on his blog Earn Save Grow. For example, he recently shared How an annoying pop up saved his business. By adding a “pop up” form allowing readers to sign up to receive updates from Boomer & Echo, he increased the number of subscribers from 250 to 1,600 in under six months.

Avoiding and paying off debt is a recurrent theme in all personal finance blogs. In Payday Loans: Think Twice Before Entering This Cycle of Debt Tom Drake reminds us that these high interest, short term loans can turn into serious long-term term debt, because the interest payable is astronomical. For example, the fees for payday loans are between $51 to $72 on a $300 loan, which works out to annual percentage rate of 443% to 626%!

And last but not least, Tim Stobbs finally bit the bullet and accepted a work cell phone because he is more offsite more frequently and he needs it to communicate with the office. However, he has devised A Leash for the Beast and turns it off outside of business hours. He also uses an app that separates his work and personal email.

I’m off to cottage until after Canada Day, so the next Best from the Blogosphere will appear on July 7th. Until then, throw another steak on the barbecue, pour yourself a tall cold one and don’t forget the sun screen and mosquito repellant.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


May 19: Best from the blogosphere

May 19, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

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In our eternal quest to link you to the best in personal finance blogging, once again this week we combed the web looking for great stories that will incent you to watch your nickels and save more for retirement.

On Boomer & Echo, Robb Engen discusses his experience  Breaking Subconscious Money Habits. Something as simple as eating weekend breakfasts at home instead of at Tim Hortons saved his family over $500/year.

Sarah Milton writes on Retire Happy about how Impulsive spending can derail your finances. While it may be tempting to buy something on sale because it’s a bargain, it’s only a bargain if you need the item and will use it within a reasonable period of time.

Automated arrangements where money comes out of your account to pay bills or amounts are regularly charged to your credit card are a great idea until something goes wrong and you don’t catch the error. That’s why Mr. CBB on Canadian Budget Binder says it is essential to review automated bill payments every month. That way you can discover and rectify inadvertent overbilling, duplicate bills or amounts incorrectly charged to your account.

If you really want to decrease the amount of income tax you have to pay, Big Cajun Man, Alan Whitton tries the idea Work Less and Pay Less Tax on for size. He says he’d rather take an extra 10 weeks of vacation off than go down to a four or three day work week, because he probably would have to do the same amount of work in a shorter period of time. Nevertheless, rather than working less, he would be more inclined to try to earn more money, so the tax hike didn’t hurt as much

And finally, Dan on Our Big Fat Wallet discussed what everyone loves to hate – bank fees. In I Hate Bank Fees, So I Bought the Banks he admits being frustrated by all of the bank charges he pays each month. So he decided to buy bank stock. The big 5 Canadian banks have had stellar capital gains and paid great dividends over the last five years.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere. Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.


Mar 3: Best from the blogosphere

March 3, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

185936832 blog

If you haven’t started to think about filing your 2013 income tax return, this week is as good a time as any. You’ve made your 2013 Saskatchewan Pension Plan and RRSP contributions and T4s are in the mail.

Last April, on Million Dollar Journey, the Frugal Trader wrote a great blog to help readers prepare for filing their 2012 income taxes. It is equally relevant this year – a great checklist to get all your paperwork in order before you sit down to complete your return.

If this is the first year your home was your principal place of business, you’ll want to read what Canadian Finance Blog’s Tom Drake has to say about how you can reduce your taxes with business-use-of-home expenses.

On a similar note, in Canadian Living, blogger Krystal Yee offers income tax tips for freelancers so those of you in that category you can get all of the deductions that you qualify for. She also warns the self-employed to put money away for taxes on a regular basis so there are no surprises at the end of the year.

Media-savvy accountant and author Evelyn Jacks writes about claiming employment expenses. Even employees may claim certain specific expenses, depending on whether their employer will verify that this was a necessary condition of employment. Allowable expenses may include travel costs, the cost of using an automobile to earn income, supplies used up in the course of employment, the cost of an assistant, and home office costs.

Retire Happy blogger Jim Yih reminds us to take advantage of the Pension Income Tax Credit. He says if you are age 65 and do not receive a pension (other than a government benefit) you should open a Registered Retirement Income Fund and transfer $12,000 from your RRSP. If you draw down $2,000/year until age 71 you will be entitled to the pension tax credit and effectively receive the money tax-free. An unused pension tax credit can also be transferred to your spouse.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere. Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.