Budgeting & Planning

With Mother's Day approaching, I find myself shamelessly
hinting to my husband and kids about what they can treat me to that will show their appreciation for me simply being the Mom of the family. I have to admit, Mother's Day is one of those occasions when I actually do feel like I deserve a bit of pampering or a thoughtful gift for the many sleep deprived nights I've experienced -- not to mention the many diapers I've changed and seemingly endless clean-up tasks I've endured. For anyone looking for gift ideas to appreciate all that Mom has done for you, here is some guidance on what Moms really want. In the under $50 range, you can actually go quite far with your money.

It's coming. Yes, really, summer is coming.

For many Canadians, the idyllic summer isn't just warm sunny days, its also days spent relaxing at a cottage, cabin or summer house.

Wouldn't summer be even better if all you had to do was decide on which bathing suit to put on as you hang out on your own dock or the deck of your summer retreat?

Last year, an article in the Toronto Sun reported a steady increase in cottage sales in 78 per cent of recreational areas across Canada according to REMAX.

With a buoyant economy, early indicators predict good sales for the upcoming season. For those who want to make the next step, what should be considered to buy a cottage?

Do you dream of having your own summer house?

For many of us the thought of spending the summer months in your own four walls is highly appealing. So how to make a dream reality?

Remember that investing in a cottage is just as important as when you bought your first home. Money, budget, taxes, insurance - all these things apply. In part two, here is the path to buying a cottage.

What to know when you start combing the listings for the cottage or cabin of your dreams?

Start with making a list of what you want, and then give yourself a dose of reality - do you have the money to do this?

Guess what? So Facebook isn't the be-all and end-all communications tool, after all. The good old telephone, even if some of its mobile incarnations, is still winning the battle for consumers' hearts and souls.

As the internationally known British marketing research company, Intersperience, found, we have come to view young consumers as "self-contained Facebook addicts who only communicate by text." If this were true, it should be very easy for companies to reach them with a few clever viral campaigns and self-service customer help desks – so why isn't it?

It's that time of year when no matter how busy we are, we get the
urge to exile every last stale winter dust specimen from our homes. Perhaps it's the extra light we're getting throughout the day that shows up the excess particles floating around. Or could it be with the arrival of spring comes the instinctual urge to renew and refresh? Whatever it is, a thorough clean is something that takes a lot of time, which most of us don't have. I spoke with Molly Maid franchise owner and cleaning expert Amelia Mackie to get some tips on how to be efficient and pick priorities during a spring clean.

1. Set goals and get organized
Being prepared and setting attainable goals are important to keeping your sanity. Make sure you have all the necessary cleaning tools before you start and make sure you have time to finish each task. Organize your work into smaller jobs, like cleaning level by level or room by room.This way, focusing on smaller areas can be less intimidating. Draw yourself a cleaning task map, so to speak, and your journey will be a smooth one.
Helpful tip before you start: Decluttering is probably one of the most important tasks to perform prior to spring cleaning -- it's the only way to clean efficiently and effectively.

Do you dream of winning the lottery to be able to live like the celebrities?

I remember watching the series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, wanting the chance to visit that lush island resort or being able to step foot in that expensive big city hotel.

For the one per cent, the red carpet is always rolled out to welcome them and their Louis Vuitton wallets. But what about the 99 per cent?

Luxury destinations don't have to be out of reach - and there's several tips to be able to make those dreams become reality.

Marc Springer used to sell Harley Davidson motorcycles, but then the economy took a dive and people didn't buy as many man toys as they used to. Springer's income was dwindling rapidly, so it was time for him to move on -- now what?

"I was a teamster truck driver back in my early 20s and I always had this burning desire to drive the big trucks. It was something I always wanted to do and it just never happened. So, when I began to strike out on my own I thought, 'Well, I've got zero income and zero working capital, how do I start a company?"

His wife reminded him that he had a leaf blower sitting in the garage and suggested he go clear the lawns in the neighbourhood. But Springer thinks big, so he began extrapolating how many employees he'd need to do all the surrounding neighbourhoods and quickly realized he'd need a trailer. But when he went on Craigslist looking for a trailer, he found a 1999 frieghtliner truck with a 20 foot flat-bed.

"They wanted $20,000 for the [trailer] and I thought, 'You know, I think I'm just going to buy a truck.'"

He booked a load the day he bought the truck and was just going to use his contacts in the scrap metal business to haul scrap metal in Seattle and the surrounding area, until he hit the internet and found a veritable trucker's Shangri-La.

"I was looking to fill the truck with scrap and I was doing pretty well at that, making decent money and one day, I was on the computer wondering, 'How do you find loads? There's got to be a better way to do this. How do these guys find the freight to get on their trucks?'"

That's when he stumbled onto uShip.com. It opened all the doors to all of the business opportunities he enjoys today, including becoming a reality TV star as the handlebar mustache sporting, big-rig driving, cast member of A&E's Shipping Wars.

Related Links:

• Free Shipping Day Comes to Canada
• Moving Day Scam - Busted!
• Gilt.com Now Ships to Canada

By Catherine New

Kim Gregson's moment of doubt came two weeks into her recovery. In pain, swollen, and aching with a sensation like a bad sunburn around her liposuction sites, she sat in her doctor's office bawling "What was I thinking? This is awful."

After shedding 70 pounds through weight loss, Kim spent $8,500 on a tummy tuck to remove excess skin. She also wanted to remove the negative self-image that lingered with her. In the end, the 5-foot-1 human resources manager went from a size 16 to a 4 petite.

Despite the pain and the cost -- her husband sold his Harley Davidson to help pay for the procedure -- Gregson, 47, says it has been worth it. Today, she calls herself a "new person" and "emotionally better" and has had significant health benefits from her weight loss, including lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

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David Letterman has an incredibly popular segment on his show called Top 10.

While not always shocking, it's always at least a perfectly surprising piece of comedy. Usually beautifully outrageous, too.

The Canada Revenue Agency, not to be outdone, has come out with its own Top 10 list. It's not as funny as anything David Letterman might produce. But what it lacks in humour, it more than makes up for in its usefulness.

So, without much further ado, and with a special drum roll, here are the Top 10 (LEGAL) ways to keep more money in your pocket while sending less money to the government coffers.

Many cities in Canada have placed their bets on casinos to help drive economic activity and stimulate development. With the economy continuing to sputter along, many places are looking to felt covered tables and one-armed bandits as saviours. Once thought of as 'Toronto The Good', Ontario's capital is the latest municipality thinking of going Vegas, but is the glitz and glamour all it's made out to be? Let's take a look at how a casino can help or hinder a city.

Tax Revenue
Gambling in Canada is big business. Last year, all legalized gambling contributed $13.7 billion in net revenue to governments. Casinos contributed 34% of that total. While this certainly sounds great, some research shows that governments that build casinos don't always spread their new wealth as expected. Instead of building roads and schools, for example, there is evidence that governments use gambling revenue on other priorities like debt reduction, which don't have the same immediate impacts on the people living in the shadow of the casino.