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Email this8:50 am
February 17, 2013
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Another reason I don't deal with the big 5...not that the little guys are exempt.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines.....-1.4044702
Another related story
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines.....47?cmp=rss
9:26 am
December 7, 2011
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The client always comes last!
Many peoples simple do not understand that common sense.
Also, a Nigerian Prince does not want to give you money. 
10:21 am
December 17, 2016
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That's what happens when individuals go with the first so-called financial advisor who promises them a grand-slam home run on their money - oh, were it so easy.
10:37 am
December 17, 2016
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"I definitely sold things that people didn't need — 95 per cent of the time,"
Never could understand why individuals need 4 or 5 credit cards (other than self-employed individuals and they should only need a 2nd card) ... holding that many cards is an obvious invitation to disaster.
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Apparently the latest strutting credit card in the US is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with an annual fee of $450 ... yup, just gotta' have it.
11:22 am
December 7, 2011
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Top It Up said
Never could understand why individuals need 4 or 5 credit cards (other than self-employed individuals and they should only need a 2nd card) ... holding that many cards is an obvious invitation to disaster.
I do have 4 credit cards, but my basic financial rules are:
1. No annual fees credit cards with rewards only.
2. Absolutely no banking fees, monthly accounts fees, or any other fees.
In fact, for the last 35 years in Canada, I never paid to any bank even $0.01 in fees.
Regarding credit cards, I still have Capital One MC, which actually pays me every year $7.50 (rewards points, which I redeem immediately for $7.50) anniversary bonus regardless if I'm using that card or not during the year.
12:59 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
Never could understand why individuals need 4 or 5 credit cards (other than self-employed individuals and they should only need a 2nd card) ... holding that many cards is an obvious invitation to disaster.
I disagree.
One can act stupidly while having only one CC. Some merchants only accept Visa or MasterCard, so having both will ensure you will never be in a situation where you can't go ahead with your purchase.
Also, for those who have a lot of US money (purchased in early 2007 when the $CAD reached $1.07US 
), having a US dollar credit card makes a lot of sense. BMO has the cheapest with a $35/year fee. It would cost me a great deal more than the fee if I had to use a CC denominated in $CAD when I make online purchases in America.
So 3 CC is a good number. I don't use American Express because of the excessive fee they charge the merchants.
1:13 pm
October 21, 2016
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Rick said
Another reason I don't deal with the big 5...not that the little guys are exempt.http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines.....-1.4044702
Another related story
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines.....mp=rss
Most banks, like stores, are in the business of scr****g people.
Like Carl Gustav Jung wrote more than 50 years ago; "the morality of a society is inversely proportional to its size". And with the population always increasing, morality can only be decreasing. A world with little, or no morality is quite a dangerous place to live.
1:43 pm
February 17, 2013
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Top It Up said
Never could understand why individuals need 4 or 5 credit cards (other than self-employed individuals and they should only need a 2nd card) ... holding that many cards is an obvious invitation to disaster.
I have 4 that I am the primary cardholder for:
Tang - only use for the 2% items
Amazon Visa - online and USA purchases (even more now that Tang is changing the rules)
Cash Back BoM M/C (formerly BoM Air Miles M/C): Back up card for occasional purchases and some online
AMEX - For Air Miles sponsor purchases (few and far between since the AM fiasco). They also offer occasional deals that are too good to pass up.
Wife has 2 I am secondary card holder on:
Scotiabank Scene Visa (she's a movie nut) - used for majority of purchases
BoM Air Miles M/C - Secondary card
Highly recommend each spouse has a card where they are the primary cardholder. Primary cardholder dies, surviving spouse is left high and dry to make arrangements with no credit cards or credit rating.
All cards are paid off every month. All are no fee rewards cards. Rotate the two cards we use the most according to billing date so I can keep my money in the bank as long as possible. I think Amex had a 1.99 APR special at one time so I did some renos and paid it off over some time period I can't remember.
2:16 pm
December 17, 2016
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This forum is pretty funny sometimes.
Canada has the highest consumer debt in the G7, half of the credit card users in Canada carry a balance - but this forum shows everyone carrying multiple cards, no balances, no debt and, taking their pop cans from Ontario to Quebec to get the recycle pennies.
What a savvy and wily crowd.
2:29 pm
December 17, 2016
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JustMe2016 said
Some merchants only accept Visa or MasterCard, so having both will ensure you will never be in a situation where you can't go ahead with your purchase.
There are places that don't take CCs, period i.e. cash is king. Outside of the higher-end places you'd be hard pressed to find any place in Europe that accepts Amex credit cards BUT In all my years of owning a Visa CC, I have never experienced someone only accepting a MC credit card and NOT accepting a Visa CC with the exception of the occasional bickering with Walmart, a store I never shop at anyway. My experience with Visa CCs includes 2-3 trips per year throughout Europe.
2:53 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
Walmart, a store I never shop at anyway.
You should try Walmart for some items if there is a SuperCentre near you, or on your way. Chips (Walmart brand made by a very high quality third-party) cost LESS THAN HALF compared to what you pay at Costco and all of last year up until a month ago butter was $3/lb, while a lb of butter at Costco was $4.
But maybe you are health conscious and do not eat chips and butter LOL!!!
P.S. I'm a professional chips eater, so I know what I'm talking about when I say that the Walmart chips (Great Value) are as good or better than what is sold elsewhere 
2:57 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
This forum is pretty funny sometimes.Canada has the highest consumer debt in the G7, half of the credit card users in Canada carry a balance - but this forum shows everyone carrying multiple cards, no balances, no debt and, taking their pop cans from Ontario to Quebec to get the recycle pennies.
What a savvy and wily crowd.
Only smart people visit highinterestsavings.ca. The others visit Costco.ca LOL!!!
P.S. You do not need to be a Costco member to shop online at Costco.ca.
3:10 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
My experience with Visa CCs includes 2-3 trips per year throughout Europe.
I always use traveler's cheques when I travel outside America. I'm old-fashioned... The only thing on a CC is hotel reservations.
P.S. When making 'large' purchases in Canada, I always ask the merchant if he is willing to take 3% off the price if I pay cash.
3:59 pm
December 17, 2016
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JustMe2016 said
I always use traveler's cheques when I travel outside America.
Sorry, BUT there ain't nothing MORE USELESS than travelling with traveller's cheques, NOTHING.
4:24 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
JustMe2016 said
I always use traveler's cheques when I travel outside America.
Sorry, BUT there ain't nothing MORE USELESS than travelling with traveller's cheques, NOTHING.
Could you please expand on why you think this way?
4:36 pm
December 17, 2016
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Truthfully, when and where was the last time you travelled with TCs?
The last time I used TC's, was on a trip to France in 1990 - I never had so much difficulty in cashing them at businesses and banks that I swore never again. In fact, after the first couple of days of frustration I put them away and withdrew cash from ATMs - the now standard for cash.
Virtually no one accepts TCs anymore, not even banks - I'm not even sure why banks, here in N. America, continue to sell them given the difficulty in cashing them abroad.
The world is set up for cash, credit cards and debit cards for cash withdrawals. And now, for added security, I'm using Apple Pay almost 100% of the time, both here and overseas.
On a preemptive note, before anyone chimes in and tells me they always travel with TCs and do so with ease - I say BS.
6:32 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
Truthfully, when and where was the last time you travelled with TCs?The last time I used TC's, was on a trip to France in 1990 - I never had so much difficulty in cashing them at businesses and banks that I swore never again. In fact, after the first couple of days of frustration I put them away and withdrew cash from ATMs - the now standard for cash.
Virtually no one accepts TCs anymore, not even banks - I'm not even sure why banks, here in N. America, continue to sell them given the difficulty in cashing them abroad.
The world is set up for cash, credit cards and debit cards for cash withdrawals. And now, for added security, I'm using Apple Pay almost 100% of the time, both here and overseas.
On a preemptive note, before anyone chimes in and tells me they always travel with TCs and do so with ease - I say BS.
6:42 pm
December 17, 2016
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Yeah, Good Luck with that.
9:40 pm
October 21, 2016
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The reason I like TC is that it gives me total control on how much I spend. Say I decide to go on a 2 months vacation and I wish to only spend $25K (outside hotel and airfare), so I get $25K in TC and as I use them, I know how much money I have left to spend for the weeks/days left of my vacation.
TC helps me to keep track, as well as staying within the allocated budget. Without TC my spending could be all over the map. I am surprised people can't appreciate them as a tool to help manage a budget. Last time I used TC was in Hong Kong.
9:47 pm
October 21, 2013
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The last time I used travellers' cheques was probably 25 or 30 years ago. I was in Britain. I had no difficulty cashing them at a bank, but the service charge levied by the bank in question was so ridiculous that I didn't try again. That's when I learned to use my ATM card.
However, if you are going to be near an outlet of the FI that issued them, it might still work out OK. They ought not to charge for redemptions, although they might.
Its quite an exaggeration to suggest they are useless, however. It's a good idea to carry some for times when your credit or debit cards don't work. Travellers must be prepared for the possibility that computer systems will be down for various reasons. Try to buy them where there is no commission (CAA used to sell them to members for free but I don't know if that is still the case; and cash in the remainder when you get home. There is, or used to be, one exception to this. In Communist countries, like Cuba, you didn't used to be able to use them at all because Cuba did not have financial arrangements with the issuing banks. This may still be the case. Check before you go.
Please write your comments in the forum.