Give Me Back My Five Bucks

I feel a lot of relief about getting the new job, and I am a lot more at ease about spending the money on this trip, and the one to Vancouver next month. I'll also be able to contribute a lot more into my RRSPs, and I'm going to put $1000 into a GIC with Outlook Financial as soon as I can save that much up. I want to eventually have five 5-year escalator GICs on rotation, so one matures every year. The interest rates are amazing, so I'm excited to invest.

Anyway, at 5:30am tomorrow morning, I'm leaving to go to Seattle. I won't be back until Monday, but hopefully I'll get a chance to post during the weekend since the BF took my laptop down with him when he left yesterday morning (we're meeting down there).

If I don't get a chance to post, then I hope you all have a great Canada Day long weekend. :)

Note: the following post is sponsored

As most of you know, the reason why I started this blog was because I was trying to get rid of my student loan debt. I was shown a website recently called DebtHelp.com, where they offer simple consolidation solutions for both federal and private student loans.

I never took the loan consolidation road (mostly because I wasn't really aware such a thing existed), but sometimes I wish I had. It's important to know all of your options when it comes to debt management, and unfortunately I didn't. To be honest, I still don't really know that much about how the repayment process on student loans works - all I know is I wanted to pay them off as fast as possible.

For example, I had no idea that you should never combine your federal and private student loans together, because then you'd lose the great benefits associated with the federal loans, such as lower interest rates and tax-deductible interest. With private loans, since they tend to have a higher interest rate, the sooner you consolidate those loans, the better.

What's great about DebtHelp.com is you can apply for a new loan, as well as consolidate your existing loans, making it easy to manage just one payment a month. Their website is straight forward, and it's easy to get information on any sort of debt management you're looking for. It's not just about student loans ... you can get info on bankruptcy, taxes, credit repair, etc.

At DebtHelp.com, they also have great articles on student loans, such as a guide to no-cosigner student loans, student loans for minorities, and student credit cards in college.

THEY ACCEPTED MY SALARY MATCH!!! :)

I'm so excited and nervous about this change in my life. I'm a little scared to tell my boss, but I'm close with a few of my co-workers, and they said that I have every right to be looking for new jobs. Afterall, this is just a 12 month contract. They said I have to take care of myself, and I shouldn't let a fantastic opportunity like this one slip away.

My new job starts July 16th. There's no way my current boss will be able to hire and have me train someone in two weeks before I leave (especially with this being a long weekend) ... and the chances of someone picking up a 4 month contract is pretty slim. So I'm going to offer to stay on as a contractor, so I can still do most of the stuff ... but I will be working evenings, some weekends, and a lot from home. I don't want to hang them out to dry, plus it means more cash in my pocket at the end of the day. It would mean working 12 hour days, or 7 days a week for a while, but it's not for that long.

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. They really helped me stay calm in such a stressful situation! I know this blog suffered a bit what with me only talking about the job front for about two weeks straight. In fact, my RRS feed dropped from 33 subscribers down to 27, LOL! So all of you who unsubscribed, please come back! :)

Well, my interview for Job #3 was today, and it was honestly the best interview I've ever had. They loved me, and I loved them! And about three hours after that interview, they called me up and offered me the position. :)

Here's the thing: they offered me exactly the salary I was requesting - no negotiating needed ... and it's the same amount I'm currently making. However, Job #4 and Job #1 pay more. Granted I haven't been offered a position with either of those two organizations yet, but it's still up in the air. I could still get either of those jobs, but I would have to decline if I took the offer from #3. The difference between salary is only about $2500/year, but that's enough to make a difference to me in my budget.

So I asked Job #3 to do a salary match. I explained to the woman in HR that I do prefer the atmosphere of #3 better, but in order to make a sound financial decision for the next few years of my life, and in order to decline the other jobs, I would need to be sure I'm making the right choice. I don't want to appear greedy or that it's all about the money, but I do know that I would be disappointed if I took Job #3 and then was offered one of the other jobs next week for a higher salary.

I know the worst thing they can do is say no, and I'll still definitely want to consider taking the job ... but I can't help but think that I should just be happy with what I was offered.

Note: the following post is sponsored

I might be young, and The Police might have been before my time, but I'm definitely old enough to appreciate their music. They just released a 2 disc compilation CD on June 5th, and I had the pleasure of listening to it today when I was in a local music store picking up the new Ryan Adams CD.

Anyway, if you haven't heard this Police Cd before, you should definitely check it out. It's 28 awesome songs, and has great hits on it like "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Roxanne," and "Don't Stand So Close To Me." And if you decide to purchase the CD, if you buy now, your purchase will come with a vintage poster! I love freebies that come with buying music. If you're going to buy the disc anyway, then it's definitely a bonus. I always hate when you buy the CD, and then a few months later they re-release it with a bonus.

If you want to check out more information on the Police, you can click on the image below. It's kinda like a one-stop shop to know what the latest and greatest is on the band. You can watch videos, check out the track list of the two CDs (and hear a few of the songs too through the jukebox), check out the tour dates, send the banner to a friend, check out the ring tones they have to offer ... and also you can enter a contest to win a trip to NYC to see The Police live at MSG!!! There are also 10 runner-up prizes of signed Police CDs, and also 100 second place prizes of a DVD documentary on The Police!

Please click on this to go and view an awesome banner where you can watch The Police's videos, listen to tracks from The Police's new 2 cd hits collection, enter to win a trip to NYC to see The Police in concert and even view details about their current world tour.

Well, I had my 3 hr. long interview for Job #4 this morning. I did just okay. Not great, but okay. I don't think I'll get called back for another interview though. There are 4 other candidates, and I'm almost positive I'm not exactly what they're looking for. It's a great job and I definitely want it because it'd be good experience for me, and it's exactly what I want to be doing. But there's so much OT and weekend work involved with the position that I think it would interfere with my part-time job at the arena ... and I'm not sure if I'm willing to give that job up just yet. The great part about Job #4 is the salary is more than I was expecting, and would come with a guaranteed 2 - 5% raise each year for the next 3 years, depending on job performance. After the 3 years, it would become a max of 3%/year raise. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and they said they'll be in touch by next week.

On my way home from the interview, I got a call from Job #2, asking me to come back for a second interview on July 3rd!

I have yet to hear back from Job #1, but I don't expect to until the end of this week or early next week.

Tomorrow's my interview for Job #3!

I got my first PayPal payment from PPP today! :) I forgot about the exchange rate, so instead of making only $10 from one post, I actually made $10.43! It's not that much of a difference in exchange rates, but every penny counts. The only bad thing about being paid out by PayPal is in order to not get charged a $0.50 service fee (because I'm Canadian), I have to wait until I have a balance of $150 before I send it to my chequing account. Such a pain in the butt!

In other news (are you getting sick of all these job-related posts yet?), I just had an interview for Job #2. I know initially I wasn't that thrilled about it, but it actually doesn't seem like that bad of a job, and I think they liked me. I'd get to travel to the U.S. a lot, and possibly over to China because they have an office there too. They offer benefits and vacation, but I forgot to ask about tuition reimbursement. I also asked about a salary range, and they said they were still finalizing it, but it would be "in the 40's" ... and since they're a smallish sized business, that probably means the lower end of 40. But who knows! They're interviewing about 10 people and said they'd get back to me at the end of the week to let me know whether I get a second interview.

Tomorrow's my interview for Job #4! I'm so nervous for it, I might throw up. Honestly.

It's unfortunate that July doesn't really seem like a budget-friendly month. I'm blaming it on the summer.

July 2007 goals:

• Pay more attention at work. Have you ever noticed when you're looking for a new job, or you've found one and you're about to leave ... that you end up slacking a lot more at the office? I've noticed that about myself over the past few weeks, and that's totally not cool. Until I go out those doors for the last time, I have a job to do, and people are counting on me to get the job done.
  
• Find a permanent, full-time job in my career field. I've been going on so many darn interviews lately, I need to get my act together and really ace my interviews. As you know, my current contract is going to be up in just over FOUR months. Ideally, I'd be looking for full benefits, some form of tuition reimbursement, and a starting salary at or above what I'm making right now.
  
• Make $175 in PPP earnings. Every little bit counts!
  
• $100 towards RRSP.
• $500 towards Emergency Fund.
• $1000 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. Currently, I have $475 on auto-debit from my chequing account every pay cheque ($950/month). This money goes into my non-registered mutual fund account ... anything else I can scrounge up goes into my 4% savings account.
• $150 for my trip to Vancouver for the Ryan Adams concert. Since my accommodation and ticket is already paid for, I really don't see what else I need to spend money on. So I budgeted $50 for merch, $60 for travel costs ($30 each way), and $40 for food. Considering I'm only going for one night, I don't think it'll be a problem. Although, I do know someone going to the concert as well, and she's going alone too ... so we might end up going out before or after the concert.
  
• STOP SPENDING MONEY. Seriously. I'm spending money left and right. And it may not seem like that much to most people - a dinner out here or there, maybe a new shirt or pair of shoes I don't really need. Just because I'm out of debt doesn't mean I don't have financial goals I want to achieve. Granted, I know I'm not exactly being the most frugal person right now, but I don't want to fall back into my old habits. I must be strong! :) Which brings me to my next few goal ...
• Wait 48 hrs. before purchasing anything that is considered a want. Of course, that doesn't really apply to going out for tea, or whatnot ... it's more for clothing, impulse mall purchases, electronics, etc.
• Bring back the $30 dining out budget. Oh that's right baby, this budget is back on track! Of course, July 1-2 is excluded because I'll be in Seattle and that trip was already taken into account in my June budget. Also, July 28-29 is excluded because it's included in the $150 concert budget.
  

As you can tell, this monthly goals list is a lot more extensive than previous months. This is due to the fact that I'm mega stressed out right now about the job situation (and the chance that I could be unemployed come November), and because I've been too slack on myself lately. It's great to take time off from the constraints of a budget and enjoy myself, but I have goals that I want to achieve, and I'm not going to get there by spending money at Jacob all the livelong day.

Note: the following post is sponsored

I was just over at Hustlermoneyblog this morning, and I came across an article about the American Express Business Gold Rewards credit card bonus. As someone who runs a graphic design side business, I don't have a business credit card, so something like this might be a good fit for me once I get my business established enough. The BF already has a business credit card which he uses to track his write-offs like gas, computer parts, electronics, etc. It makes it a lot easier for him to track his spending that way.

Anyway, I'll post the article for you to read:

American Express Business Gold Rewards Credit Card is currently running a limited promotion for 25,000 Rewards points after first purchase. The 25,000 points can be exchanged for a free-round trip airline ticket anywhere in the U.S or $250 rewards gift certificate. You can choose the $250 gift certificate from stores such as Home Depot, Gap, Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, and so on.

Whether you have a home-based business or that you have sold something on Ebay, you can apply for a business credit card. You can put your name as the business name and your social security number as the tax id. Your business is called sole proprietorship and it's perfectly legal with the IRS.

There will be a hard pull, but business credit cards will not show on your personal credit report. Hence you can open and close accounts, open more new accounts, and max your credit limit without worrying about your credit report. The $250 bonus is worth a hard pull in my opinion.




The $125 annual fee is waived for the first year. If you don't find the card worth keeping, keep in mind that you can always cancel the credit card without paying any fees.

Here's the fine print from American Express:

Apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card and make a purchase by 12/31/07. Upon the Basic Cardmember's first purchase, a one time bonus of 25,000 points can be earned toward the Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmember's Membership Rewards® account and may appear as separate credits of 5,000 and 20,000 bonus points. The maximum 25,000 bonus points are available to first–time Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmembers only; they are not available if you transfer an existing account. Welcome bonus points will be credited to your Membershi Rewards account 6 to 8 weeks after your first purchase appears on your monthly billing statement. The bonus 25,000 Membership Rewards points may be redeemed for one domestic round–trip airline ticket.

The 25000 points bonus is a limited time offer. Just like the $250 Chase bonus, take advantage of this offer and apply right away.

June Goals (end of month review):

• Don't go into debt. Check! Although, I did have quite a large Visa bill this month.
  
• $100 towards RRSP. Done!
  
• $500 towards Emergency Fund. I was only able to put away $450, but that's still pretty good. Originally the dentist said my surgery was going to cost about $1300 (which would wipe out my EF completely), but when I was there today for my final appointment, she quoted me something like $800. Wouldn't that be nice!
  
• $500 towards Condo Down Payment Fund. I was able to save $1200!
  
• $300 - $350 budget for my trip to Seattle. Not. Bloody. Likely. My trip is in 5 days, and I can tell you right now, this budget ain't gonna happen. I'm probably looking at more the $400 - $450 range because we plan on buying good seats to at least one of the three ball games we're going to ... but I'm still hoping to keep costs down to a minimum. This budget doesn't even account for any clothing I plan on buying when I'm down there. Ugg.
  

Note: the following post is sponsored

I currently don't carry balances on my credit cards, and it would feel incredibly strange for me to not pay my balance in full every two weeks ... but that being said, my finance and credit history hasn't always been so clean. This time last year, I was living with one maxed out credit card (the only one I had), and collection agencies calling me nearly every day. It was an awful experience, and while I know my situation wasn't nearly as bad as some of the horror stories I've heard, it certainly helped me make up my mind to start caring about my personal finance. I grew up a lot last summer. I became more responsible, and I set goals for myself. It's interesting to see how far I've come in such a short period of time.

Back then, I didn't know what options I had available to me. There's a lot of information available to you at www.600.net if you're currently in a similar situation to me. They talk about everything from bad credit mortgage loans to auto loans to personal loans. Who knows, you might just find the information you're looking for to turn your situation around!

My post on different everyday things we can do to save money is being featured today on The Budget Fashionista as a part of the "Being Broke Ain't Cute Personal Finance Advice Series."

If you haven't visited The Budget Fashionista before, go check it out and read all the other articles that are a part of this great PF series! TBF is also a great site that shows how regular woman with a love for fashion can look fabulous while on a budget. It was (and still is) a great resource for me when I was trying to update my work wardrobe with classic pieces.

Thanks Kathryn for including me in this, and welcome to all the new visitors coming through! :)

Note: the following post is sponsored

Have you heard of Mint Credit Cards? Do you have one? I just heard about them today, and to be honest, it seems like a great credit card to have. When you apply for a credit card with them, some of their features include a 0% balance transfer until August 1st, 0% on purchases until January 1st, and is typically around 14.9% APR (which to me is quite reasonable - my lowest card is around 19% ... not that I keep a balance on them, but still ...).

I think the best part about Mint Credit Cards is they seem very user-friendly, and very web-savvy. They offer free online account management (where you can download statements and receive email and text alerts), online fraud protection, 24 hr. customer service, and MINT+ offers on wine, prize draws, travel and leisure services.

The interview with Job #1 went well today. Really well. I had a couple of hiccups, but overall I felt confident with my answers, and they made me feel really comfortable. They short-listed 6 people (out of 60 applicants) for initial interviews, and will be holding second interviews in the next two weeks or so. They said they'd let me know sometime next week.

As I was walking downtown after my interview (to go to my hair appointment - the Aveda student ended up doing a fab job!), I checked my voicemail and saw I was called for an interview for another job! I'm sure going to be working weird hours next week to accommodate taking so much time off work to go to these interviews.

Job #4: Communications Officer (interview on June 26) - My dream job right now. If I can't be working full-time with a professional sports team, this is the next best organization to work for. One of my very good friends also got short-listed for this job. I'm torn because I want to be happy for her, but on the other hand I want this job. A lot. The interview is 3 hours long, and includes a presentation I have to make, a written assignment, and 2 separate interview sessions. I've never had such an extensive interview before. Bonus is that one of the people on the interview panel just happens to be someone I've been speaking with lately about a design contract he wants me to do for him.

I gotta say, I'm going to be pretty bummed out if I don't get a job offer from at least one of these places.

Well, it was pay day today, so I was able to put $575 into my condo down payment fund, $100 into the EF, and my auto payment of $50 into my RRSP.

I also had to pay off what I spent on my credit cards ... $570 in total (YIKES!!). The big expenses I had this pay period were my new purse ($117), concert tickets ($65.73 after the exchange rate), dinner with the BF ($50) ... and I had to buy us bus tickets down to Seattle for next weekend's trip ($57.90 for 2 round trip tickets). The BF is going to reimburse me with his half, but hasn't yet. I'm not too worried about it; I know where he lives. :)

Speaking of the BF, he went off on a fishing trip to the mainland with his dad for 4 days. It's nice to have the place to myself for a long weekend, but at the same time it feels really weird not to have him around to talk to whenever I want. He left last night at around 7:30pm, and after celebrating my newfound alone time by eating ice cream straight out of the container (he hates that!) in bed while watching Sex in the City, I was bored out of my mind by about 11pm. I'm also going to have to brush off my culinary skills, because he cooks practically every day for us (hey, at least I do the dishes!).

Today's my interview for Job #1! Then after that, I'm going to the Aveda Institute to get my hair highlighted by a student. I don't know which appointment I'm more nervous about!

Okay, I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I need to find accommodation for when I'm in Vancouver for the concert. The family that I have over there is not going to work out, as they are out of town that weekend. I have friends, but I don't really feel comfortable asking to stay at their place when I really wouldn't be able to have a proper visit with them ... and it just seems weird (and kinda like I'd be using them) to go off to a concert by myself, and then expect the friend to wait up for me until I get back, only for me to crash and go home the next morning. I know I wouldn't really like it if a friend did that to me.

So, I've been looking at my options, and here's what I've come up with so far:

• Hostel - Private Room w/bathroom ($100): I've already booked this because they fill up fast and I didn't want to lose this as an option, but I can cancel my reservation at any time. I like that the hostel is down the block from the concert hall, so I wouldn't have to walk downtown Vancouver alone at night ... and I also like the fact that it's a private room because, well, it's private. But that comes at a cost.
• Hostel - 4-person room ($30): The cheapest option (at the same hostel as the above option), but I really hate the idea of not being able to have my quiet time to read a book or write, etc. Plus, people that usually stay at hostels like to go out to the bars and stuff, and I don't like the idea of being woken up in the middle of the night by a bunch of drunken girls. I mean, I suppose I could suck it up for just one night. There'd really only be 3 other people in the room with me, afterall.
• YWCA - Private room w/shared bathroom ($90): About 1KM from the concert hall. I've stayed at the Y a bunch of times with field hockey teams, and I like the location. That being said, for an extra $10, I could just stay at the hostel with my own private bathroom, and it'd be closer to the venue.
• Suck it up, and ask a friend if I can stay with them (free): I really really really don't want to have to do this ... unless the friend offered their place to me (without me having to resort to hinting about needing a place to stay or anything), and even then, I'd feel bad.

So, what would you do? Would you try another option that I haven't thought of before?

A few days ago I blogged about how I was given a design contract - well as it turns out, the Manager who asked me to bid on the job (as the only bidder) didn't realize that his colleague had also asked three other designers to bid on the job as well - so now I have competition!!

I submitted my quote today, and I think it's a fair price. It's hard to price out a job I've never done before, especially because they want a flat rate and I'm used to working hourly. Hopefully the fact that I came recommended by my boss has some pull and puts me above the other candidates, because I really want this contract.

Money spent today:

• $5.67 Petro-Canada - gas prices were the lowest I've seen in a while, which was nice ... although to be honest, I don't really care how high or low gas prices are, because I always pay between $5-6 to completely fill the tank.
• $60.10 Ryan Adams concert ticket - I'm not even going to justify this. Penny for penny, this might very well end up being the year's best purchase for me in terms of entertainment and enjoyment.
  
• $1.40 Tim Horton's - bought a tea and spent a few hours catching up with a good friend.
• $6.20 London Drugs - bought a bottle of Revlon nail polish. It wasn't on sale, and I didn't need to buy it. But, summer's here and I'll be spending the next few months in flip flops. And since I have never (and will never) pay for a pedicure, it's really like I'm saving money. At least that's what I told myself to justify the purchase. :)

TOTAL: $73.37 ... Whoops!

I just snagged a ticket in ROW 2 (dead centre) for the Ryan Adams concert!!! As a person who absolutely loves seeing live music (but doesn't get to see much of it anymore because it's darn expensive!), there's nothing better than being so close to the stage that the band is practically sweating on you.

None of my friends could confirm that they would want to go to the show for sure, so I ended up just buying a ticket for myself. I've never been to a concert by myself before, let alone one in Vancouver, but it won't be that bad. Whenever I go to concerts with friends, we see people there by themselves all the time. And it's not like I'm one of those people who needs friends to define who I am, but it's still weird planning a concert trip by myself.

The ticket was $60.10 US ($40.50 ticket, $15 shipping UPS, $4.60 service fee). That is some expensive shipping for a tiny little ticket! But there was nothing I could do about it - if I waited until they went on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster on Thursday, there's no way I would have gotten such a great seat. In fact, I just logged in to see what kind if seat I could have gotten if I bought the tickets now, and I'd be so far back I would barely be able to see the stage. So I'm glad I paid a little extra to get a great seat. It's going to be worth it.

Note: the following post is sponsored

When I was a kid, I LOVED going to Summer Camps. I was lucky because my parents would always let me choose what programs I enrolled in, so I often picked fun ones like pottery camp, camping adventures, extreme sports, etc ... but if I had my choice, I honestly would have loved to go to a Writing Camp, like the one offered at SCORE! Educational Centers. They say that it could help a child improve and practice writing skills in just four weeks - it would build confidence and helps to achieve success at school.

I know that writing isn't my strongest asset nowadays, but from when I was about 8 or 9 years old, up until my late teens, my dream was to become a writer. The only problem was, my writing skills just weren't developed enough. I know that nowadays, writing camps are offered to youth during the summer ... I only wish they had them back when I was growing up! It's definitely something I would want to enroll my future children in.

I don't remember the last time I felt so excited and so positive. Even when I finally got myself out of debt last month, I still didn't feel as good as I do now ... and it's not like anything has even happened for me yet. But at least there's the potential for good things to come.

I just got another interview, this time for a Marketing Coordinator position with a very well known company in the province. This is a big step! It really helps my confidence that a company as big and as corporate as them would even consider hiring me.

Maybe I don't get hired - maybe I don't even get passed the first round of interviews ... but I'm okay with that. Obviously I would be thrilled if I got the job, but I can't get my hopes up. I'm just going to go into it with the mentality that it's just going to be a great learning experience. Anything more would just be a bonus!

This is getting confusing even to me, so here are my interviews coming up:

• Job #1: Marketing Coordinator (interview TBD, but most likely June 22) - a huge company ... while I'm quite familiar with the duties of the position, I'd be working within a department I don't have that much experience in. I think I could be with this company for the long-term. It's a changing and evolving industry, and I think it would provide me with the necessary tools I would need to move up the corporate ladder. That being said, I believe this job will be the hardest for me to get.

• Job #2: PR & Event Coordinator (interview on June 25) - mid-sized business in an industry I'm completely unfamiliar with. I'm apprehensive about this job. It seems like it would be a step down from what I'm currently doing, and I think there would be a huge learning curve because of my lack of knowledge in that particular field.

• Job #3: Corporate Communications Coordinator (interview on June 27) - small, but fast-growing Canadian business. There would be a lot of room to grow with this organization, and they offer some sort of tuition reimbursement package, but I'm not exactly sure of the details. I would probably consider this a lateral move from the position I currently hold in terms of salary and experience.

When I came home, I wanted to share my good news about the new job interview, and the design contract with the BF ... but it turns out he didn't have as great a day as I had. :( He bicycles to/from work, and on his way home, a cop gave him a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. That cost him $187!!! It's not like he was bombing through the intersection either ... but I guess the law is the law. It was just such an expensive mistake.

Since deciding to write sponsored posts with PPP, in just 25 days I've made $869.14!!! Of course, that's a bloated number because I got the $700 opp, but still $169.14 isn't shabby either in less than a month! There have been some really dry spells of barely getting $5 opps, but lately it's been pretty darn good and I've been able to snag opps 4 or 5 ranging from $10-15 each.

I have another blog hosted at another site that got approved for PPP yesterday. I've been writing in that blog since 2004, and it used to be my main blog until I started this one up. Anyway, I figure I can basically double the amount of money I'm earning through PPP now that I've got 2 qualified blogs going ... or I can just spread out the opps so that I'm not cluttering up either blog too much. At least now there are options, and all this money is going to really help me fund my condo down payment.

I can't wait until Google updates their PR. Then I will be eligible for higher paying opps. According to iWeb Tool, this blog is predicted to have a PR of 4. Whether that happens is another story.

Speaking of money, I was just offered a contract with the University in my city to continue creating their quarterly brochure. My boss at my current job referred me to them, since he knows I run a design business on the side. Since their graphic designer just quit, they are offering a contract for 1 brochure, and then will decide after that whether they want to keep me on. Money wasn't discussed, but he will be e-mailing me over the contract rates to look over. I don't even know if this gig pays a flat fee, or if I have to bill them hourly ... I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Note: the following post is sponsored

As a graphic designer, I know how hard it is to come up with unique, quality website for clients. In fact, whenever I create a new site, I spend literally days perfecting and tweaking the layout until it's just right. It's a lot of work, but that's just the nature of the industry, I guess ... and it's maybe the reason why all of my designer friends refer their clients to me for web design! lol :)

Anyway, I just came across a pretty cool website called osCommerce Cafe. It seems like a really simple solution for a business to start up a website - especially if they don't want to pay for a designer to create one for them (which costs about $45/hr). Basically with osCommerce, all you have to do is add a logo, any images you'd like on the site, and text. For more advanced users, the designs can also be edited with most HTML editing applications.

When you register for membership with osCommerce Cafe, you will get exclusive downloading rights for every product in the member download area for as long as you hold your membership. This not only includes the website templates, but it also includes graphics and other features for free.

There are currently 70 templates to choose from, and they are actually very good. They are available in so many different categories as well, like animals, kids, music, sports, photography, etc. The possibilities are endless, and they will keep adding to their template database so you will get your pick of fresh options down the road.

I think this could be a great resource for a graphic designer as well as for a small to medium sized business. A 3-month membership is only $89, and a 1-year membership is $299. That alone would already be a huge cost savings, rather than paying for a graphic designer.

In the future I might consider referring clients to try out osCommerce Templates if I'm too bogged down with work, and they are on a timeline.

It seems like I'm finding more and more PF blogs these days, and also a lot of them are finding me! :) I've added a ton more links to the Blogroll, and here are just a few of them I've found over the past few weeks:

• Clawing our way to Financial Health - Mrs. Wooley and her husband Mr. Wooley were over $91,000 in debt, but they've already managed to pay off 9% of it! I admire Mrs. Wooley's determination to pay off her debt, and her gutsy moves to buy things when they are at a deep discount, and turn around to flip them on eBay. I've always wanted to do that, but really don't have the balls. I also love this blog because I feel a geographical connection with her, since we both live on the same beautiful island.

• My Journey to Eliminate Debt - A great new PF blog. Louise realized she had a problem with her spending when she calculated she spent nearly $2500 on products/subscriptions/programs in her quest to make money online. Now, she's looking to turn it all around and pay off her mortgage in 5 years! What a huge goal!

• Financial Jungle - Another Canadian blog! His posts are easy to understand, and he explains his topics in plain English, which I appreciate a great deal. I've already learned so much from reading his posts, and I know his blog is going to be a valuable resource for me going forward.

• Financial Security Quest - Another valuable Canadian PF blog. Mr. Cheap writes a lot about investing and real estate - two topics I'm quite interested in, but unfortunately know nothing about. I find a lot of blogs that write about investing are too hard to follow, but Mr. Cheap brings the "personal" aspect back into the picture. He writes a lot about his own personal experiences with investing, making him a lot easier to relate to, and it doesn't seem as intimidating as reading a blog that's just full of numbers.

• v.o.a.d (value of a dolla) - She's just starting her journey to becoming debt free, and is using her blog to keep herself accountable for her spending. I think she's being very realistic in her goals. She knows that it's not going to happen overnight, and it's going to take a lot of hard work and commitment. Go visit her blog and join her in her journey!

I also want to take the time to welcome any new readers I've gained through being listed on Credit Card Lowdown's 100 Most Inspirational PF Turnaround Stories. Thanks for stopping by! If you have a PF blog as well, please leave me a comment. I'm always on the hunt for new blogs to read. :)

Note: the following post is sponsored

When I was an admin assistant for the government, I definitely could have used software like NetSimplicity, especially their Meeting Room Manager. It's an Enterprise Asset Management Software that's easy to use, flexible, and it manages everything in a company's meeting environment - from rooms, catering, equipment and other resources and services.

The best part about Meeting Room Manager is that it enables users throughout the organization to find and book available rooms and meeting services like catering, audio/visual set-up, and other equipment directly from Microsoft Outlook®. That's a huge advantage because most people working in an office environment are already so familiar with how Outlook works.

I can see how software like Meeting Room Manager would be beneficial in any office setting, and since they offer a free personalized online trial, it might be worth it to check out!

I just got my statement for my cash-back Visa card. So far this year I've earned $36.99, which is pretty good considering it's free money. It's too bad I won't see that cash until the end of the year!

I currently have 5 credit cards:

• 1% cash-back Visa card ($4500 limit)
• Mastercard with grocery rewards ($2000 limit)
  
• Visa card ($1100 limit)
• Sears store card ($500 limit)
• A&B Sound store card ($7000 limit - co signed by my dad)

There was an interesting article on the internet that I read a few days ago. I can't recall which blog I read it on, but it was talking about why people need more than one credit card. Is it because the first few cards got maxed out? Is one strictly for emergencies? Did you get more to build up more credit?

My first credit card was my Sears store card. I got it all by myself when I was 19 and an employee of Sears. I wanted it because of the Sears Club points, but also just to see if I could get a credit card. There were a few years where I always carried a balance on it, but for the past 3 years, I haven't made a single purchase on it.

From there, my second credit card was my Visa with the $1100 credit limit. I only got it because my friend worked at the bank, and he called me to tell me I was pre-approved for it. We got to chatting, and I eventually signed up for it. Then I wanted to buy a new computer, so my dad co-signed a store credit card for me. That was a bad thing to do, because I ended up buying a TV, a stand to go with the TV, a DVD shelf, DVDs to go on my DVD shelf, etc ... it was ugly, and it came with a 28% interest rate. I paid it off and haven't charged anything to it in about 4 years.

Those were my only credit cards up until last year, when I applied for the Visa and MC that I'm currently using. I want to cancel the 3 cards that I never use, but I won't because it'll affect my credit history since I've had those accounts open the longest.

Which leads me to a question - how many credit cards to you have? How many do you use on a regular basis?

Note: the following post is sponsored

I was asked to answer a few questions today: what would I do if I was stranded in an unknown city with no money or resources? How would I eat? Where would I sleep? How would I survive?

It took me a while to think of my answer. What would I do? Well, the first thing I would do is try and assess my surroundings - what kind of city was I in? If it was a small town, chances are everyone would know I was an outsider, and I think it would be easier for me to ask around for a bed to sleep in, and a hot meal.

It'd be a lot harder in a bigger city like Toronto or L.A. or New York City. After assessing my surroundings, I would find a phone booth and visit the local homeless resource centres to figure out my options for shelter and food. Every city has the resources necessary to help people stay off the street, it's just a matter of space being available and having the street smarts to know what to do. If the shelter didn't offer food, I'd probably visit the local coffee shops near closing time and ask if there were any muffins or pastries they were going to throw away.

But other than that? I have no idea. I suppose I could hitchhike back to wherever it is I'm supposed to go ... but that's really dangerous. What would you do?

A new TV series, USA Network's Burn Notice, will show us out to deal with a similar situation. The series was created and written by Matt Nix, and combines the best of action & thriller elements with surprising humour. The series starts with a commercial-free premiere, and will run throughout the summer. Check out Burn Notice on the USA Network for more information.

If this concert announcement is true; ifRyan Adams (one of the greatest singer/songwriters in history) is actually coming back to play a concert in Vancouver (after he swore up and down he would never play here again after the debacle of 2005) ... then I must go. No questions asked. Regardless of cost.

Ticketmaster is saying the tickets are between $25-39.50, and that's more than reasonable. Plus, since it's in Vancouver, I have friends and relatives I can stay with, so I can't see this concert being too expensive. Luckily I'm going by myself (the price you have to pay when no one else has heard of him, or likes him enough to go to Vancouver), so it'll be much easier to snag a single ticket up near the front. However, if I'm not able to get in the first 5 rows, I'll be buying the best seat I can, and then scouring eBay and Craigslist for a better seat. I'm not afraid to pay a bloated price for a ticket.

I'll fully admit that this isn't very frugal of me, but I've been waiting two entire years for him to come back here, and I find it hard to justify letting this chance slip away. I will find a way to come up with the money, without sacrificing my financial situation.

So I'll leave you with 3 YouTube videos of him performing. I couldn't resist.

New York, New York - this video was shot in front of the NY skyline (with the towers in the background) on Sept. 7th, just a few days before Sept. 11th 2001. It became sort of like an anthem for Sept. 11th, and it's also one of his only music videos. While it's not his best work by far, it's probably his most famous song.


Let It Ride - live on Letterman. This song was off my favourite CD of his, Cold Roses. I like this side of him a lot better than the more mainstream songs he sang in his early solo days, like NY NY (song above).


Two - his newest single off his unreleased CD, Easy Tiger. Sheryl Crow is singing backup. (This isn't a music video, it's just the song). It's a beautiful song, and one of my favourites right now.

Note: the following post is sponsored

For a lot of us, we can only dream of one day having a book published. Well, lately I've been hearing more and more about companies like AuthorHouse. They are self-published Book Publishers, meaning anyone is able to have their book printed with them.

I think services like AuthorHouse are great, because the customer gets to determine how many copies are printed of the book, and when the book is finished, it will be available for order at retail outlets worldwide on the internet, including Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, as well as through the AuthorHouse website.

So if you've ever thought about seeing your book published, here's your chance. Authorhouse has over 25,000 self-published authors, and whether it's your fist book or your 10th, they'll guide you every step of the way.

The BF and I went to our favourite Mexican restaurant last night. It's a great little place that was created out of a beautiful character home. The entire second floor was made into a loft-style dining area, and the place itself has been decorated with traditional Mexican artwork and colours.

I treated him to dinner because he did all the labour on my scooter after I crashed it, plus he's going to help me do the 5,000km maintenance on it soon. His help alone saved me a few hundred dollars, easily. Dinner cost $50 including tip, which I think is quite reasonable.

Tonight for Father's Day, my sister and I are treating the family to dinner at a local restaurant. It shouldn't be that expensive, so I'm thinking it should cost just under $100 to feed 5 people (including tax and tip) ... and since my sister and I are splitting the cost, it won't hurt as much.

I forgot how much it costs to dine out ... it's so expensive! But the BF did deserve to be treated, and it is Father's Day afterall. It's not like I'm spending money for no reason ... but still. It hurts to spend so much on food!

I just did a long overdue purge of the links in my Blogroll ... there were a bunch of blogs that haven't been updated in a while, as well as some that no longer exist. I went a little click-happy, so if I deleted yours by accident, please let me know!

I just got a call to come in for an interview with another company for a PR/Event Coordinator position on the 25th.

I took a look at their website a few minutes ago, and I honestly think I'll be in way over my head. Their company is so technology-based, and so cutting-edge. It's actually quite intimidating, and its in an industry I absolutely know nothing about. I don't even know why I applied. But the job itself seems to be a little more entry-level than the job I have now, so I wonder what kind of salary they'd have in mind for this position. They say the offer a competitive salary, full benefit package and a bonus/incentive program, so that sounds promising!

I'm happy today, because the BF informed me that it'll cost me less than $50 to fix my scooter. Since I crashed last weekend, I've been worried about how much the damage is going to cost me ... but since he's going to be doing all the labour, the only thing I have to replace is the rear view mirrors. I saw a pair of mirrors on eBay that would fit my scooter, and they're only $22, including shipping. The most expensive ones I've seen are $36.

The front panel and a bunch of chrome stuff is all scuffed and scratched pretty deep, but I'm not going to replace any of it because it's not like it affects the performance of the scooter. And besides, if I did replace all that crap, it would cost me closer to $500. So, no thanks. I can live with an ugly scooter. :)

Eventually I'll need new tires, because he said I only have another thousand KMs or so on the stock tires I'm riding ... so that'll be around $120. I'll have to start looking on eBay sometime soon. Maybe I'll go old school and buy some hot white wall tires, lol!

To treat the BF for all his hard work (although I'm sure I'll be out in the garage helping him out too), I'm going to take him out for dinner tomorrow evening. Tonight I'm going out for sushi with my sister and a friend.

Note: the following post is sponsored

As a student who used to be a tutor, and also one who needed a tutor, I can say with certainty that having a tutoring service throughout my grade school experience was vital.

Throughout junior high, I tutored students in English, social studies, and a little bit of science when I had the time. It was a really satisfying experience to help kids just a few years younger than me achieve their educational goals.

What I wasn't good at was math. Oh no, I was terrible at it! In grade 10, I noticed in the peer tutoring room that Math Tutors were available, so I reluctantly signed up for one. It was a great experience because not only did I pass my math class, but I also made a few new friends along the way.

For almost 15 years, SCORE! Educational Centers have been providing kids ages 4 to 14 with personal academic coaching, positive reinforcement, and a customized curriculum based on each child's individual needs. This would be a great way to help a child grow and develop, especially if a tutoring program isn't available at the school they attend. I know that if we didn't have peer tutors on hand at school, my parents would have definitely looked at going through a program similar to SCORE! for me.

Okay, I have a confession to make, and you may not like it.

See that purse in the picture there? It's by matt&nat, and I don't know about you, but I personally think it's gorgeous.

Well I bought it today.

For $116.99 after tax.

I don't really even feel guilty about it either. Maybe I will when I see the transaction post to my credit card, or maybe when I get it in the mail. It's the second-most I've ever spent on a purse before (I spent $120 on a black matt&nat last summer around this time). But this is a great purse, and I know it'll last me for a long time because it's well-made. And it sure beats the $300 bags I was looking at yesterday while at Roots. Plus I don't even own a brown purse, if that makes any difference.

I wasn't even going to write about it, but I figured I should. I spent the money, so I should be held accountable for it. But even writing about it didn't make me feel guilty. :)

The post below is the $700 opp! :)

I can't believe I actually got it!!! What should I do with the money?

Note: the following post is sponsored

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS YET!? I am practically bursting to tell you that PayPerPost raised another $7 million! I've blogged about it before a few days ago, but this is just too good to pass up.

To celebrate PPP getting this funding, they are putting together an awesome 7-day promotion called Lucky 7's, where they pay posties to write blog ads for big amounts of money! The posts are from $10.77, $70, and $700!!

Here is the PayPerPost press release about the promotion:

The PayPerPost Revolution Accelerates, Sponsored
Blogging Marketplace Secures $7 Million

Series B Draper Fisher Jurvetson leads round and joins Board of Directors

ORLANDO, FL – (June 12, 2007) – PayPerPost, the leading marketplace for advertisers to reach bloggers and other consumer content creators, today announced it has completed a $7 million second round investment led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, an investor in the company's Series A and one of the world’s leading high-technology venture capital firms. The financing brings the total amount of capital raised by PayPerPost to over $10 million, giving the company considerable resources for further development as the industry’s leading Consumer Generated Advertising marketplace. Additional participants in the round include existing investors Inflexion Partners and Village Ventures as well as new investor DFJ Gotham. With this investment, DFJ Managing Director Josh Stein also joins PayPerPost’s Board of Directors.

“PayPerPost created this exciting new advertising space and has established itself as the industry leader,” said Ted Murphy, chief executive officer of PayPerPost. “Although we’ve only used a portion of our first round capital, this added support from investors unlocks significant growth potential. Our content creator and advertiser ROI metrics clearly demonstrate the upside for PayPerPost’s model. We intend to use this capital to build the infrastructure, visibility and professional expertise necessary to reach and retain a greater network of advertisers and content creators than ever before.”

Since its founding in June of 2006, PayPerPost has signed more than 6,500 advertisers to its groundbreaking service, which has enabled Consumer Content Creators to be compensated for their efforts discussing specific companies, products or services via blogs, videos or other media. The content creators are required to disclose relationships with advertisers on their blog, providing transparency for the end reader. Over 125,000 Internet postings, most in the form of blogs, have already earned money for their creators through PayPerPost’s innovative marketplace. PayPerPost recently released PayPerPost Direct, a disruptive new service that allows advertisers to contract and negotiate directly with individual bloggers they identify through a safe, managed system. “PayPerPost has laid a strong foundation for