My last vacation of 2012

Hello! Did you miss me?

I just came back from my little vacations in New Brunswick. It went pretty fast. I left on Friday evening (21th) and I left home it was about 2:30 pm today for Montreal and I just arrived. It was a fun time. I gave my gifts, saw my family and everyone was happy and I was happy too.

While back home, a Revenu Canada paper was waiting for me. I didn't really look at it, but its concerning the taxes for the small business I own. I mostly did freelance between April and October. It bring in extra cash during that period. I was looking at my credit cards statement and its actually not so bad. I have a $118.31 on a Visa that need to be paid only by the month of January. My latest BMO MasterCard statement is of $542.14.

And for now, the BMO MasterCard was a balance of $755.33. I have a $200 in cash with me and I have somewhere around $150 available on my line of credit somewhere. So I will just have a $192.14 to pay off from my pockets. I already have a $331.50 on my credit cards that need to be pay for January... 2013!

Already 2013. But good news is, I am waiting for a cheque of about that amount if not a little more from my freelance activities... am I going to watch my expenses in 2013? Oh yes. I need a full year of employment for 2013. For 2013, I will watch my expenses a lot more. We didn't have the Boxing Day today in the small town I come from in New Brunswick. All stores were closed, including the Wal-Mart. Isn't that boring? It may be boring, but at least, I didn't spend on anything. And truly, I don't need anything, but its always fun to have something new in the wardrobe or a new hair product or makeup. But I have all those. Instead of thinking of my next mascara or blush, for 2013, I would like to increase my freelance and online activities to bring in more cash.

If I could pay my rent with money earn on the side, it will be great. Don't ask why I haven't work harder - its just time had run out of me. And I worked hard too at work and I not even getting paid for all the extra hours put in so yeah, tell me about it. Work work work. Money money money. My life is all about money and a bunch of other things. But I guess you must know that my now. Enjoy the last days of 2012. Its time to plan for 2013 and like always, I have plenty of ideas.

So stay tune.

Getting ready for the end of the world

For the Maya civilization, tomorrow mark the beginning of a new cycle of life. For a reason or another, it been said that for the Mayas, the world end tomorrow. Well, it can end but if it does, tomorrow will just be another day. Since the world end tomorrow, I will try to leave work as early as possible. I am going to buy one or two lottery tickets you know, just in case. It may be the end of the world, but I still love gambling. Other than that, nothing much plan because I am leaving for New Brunswick tomorrow evening.

I completed my Christmas gifts and I blow another $160. I finally bought that gift from L'Occitane for my grandmother and I bought 2 Laura Secord gift sets. I got the idea at work after seeing one. What a nice gift idea! I found that giving a chocolate box was a boring gift but a chocolate gift set, that's much better!

As for my L'Occitane gift set, it was an expensive one but I couldn't buy anything else. I bought a cherry blossom gift set, body cream, perfume and hand cream. It smell SO good! I am tempted to keep the gift for myself ;) Now that I am happy, but broke, I am better win that 1 million bucks.... Broke, but not so broke. I just find $180 in cash in my shoulder bag. I am a bit of a maniac. I am always scared to get robbed so I always stick a bit of cash somewhere else than in my purse. And while packing my stuff for tomorrow, I find the money... Last time I went to New Brunswick, it wasn't too long ago, it was back in late October. Of 2012 of course. So I had a $180 since that time. And since I spend around that amount in gifts today, well you know, girl kinda of steal the show one more time, end of the world or not, nothing is about to change soon. Now, I must not forget my password if I want to go to the Maine and I also I MUST bring with me my gravol pills. Why is it already almost 11 pm? In less than 2 hours, we are all going to hell. :) Are you coming with me?

Gail Vaz-Oxlade to the rescue

We received some snow in Montreal today and the weather got a bit warmer. I went for a walk under the snow and I took some nice winter pictures. Montreal can turn real pretty under the snow. The pictures were mostly took at Lafontaine Park. I continue my walk downtown. I must admit, I cheat on my $100 food challenge by eating a Big Mac and a small fry. It was the most delicious Big Mac I ever tasted in my whole life.

I continue my walk downtown. I was cold so I stop by the Chapters.

And its when that I notice a new book by Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Or maybe its one of her book that been published a while ago. I don't know. I was happy to read Gail Vaz-Oxlade book because it was like a oh finally, someone with common sense! First of all, let's start with RRSP loan. I did pay off my RRSP loan not too long ago, remember?

Getting a RRSP loan was a complete mistake coming from my part. I did save massively on taxes on the year I took the loan, yes. It worth it because I was earning and I still earn today more than 40k a year, including dividend, salary and freelance. I earn a bit more than 40k a year, but because I do, I pay massive taxes, especially while living in Quebec province. Quebec government is only good at one thing: sucking the tax payers.

And I am seriously wondering why I am paying all those taxes for. I don't have access to a valuable health care system. Quebec education system is terribly poor. I mean, I completely understand the decision of Jacques Villeneuve for leaving Quebec province. Someone like Jacques Villeneuve, a so honorable personality, who always been true to himself, to is passion for the automobile sport, someone so loyal, authentic cannot be wrong. He needs to protect his fortune from Pauline Marois rats. I wish him all the best. A good education for his children and all the best in his projects. When come a time where taxation is too high and the quality of the services provided by the government is so low, individuals have to do what they need to do to protect themselves and their love ones. As a true Canadian, living in Montreal, in a Quebec province dominated by Pauline Marois et sa fameuse bande de caves.

Well you know, its no surprise that the good of the good ones wake up and have the courage to express themselves on a situation that is really not normal. The extreme arrogance of Pauline Marois is going to burn Quebec down on the long run. Its not normal to be living in the highest taxes place in North America. We are paying for what? For the future of a province who's selfish and hypocrite.

Ok, let's move on again on that RRSP loan thing. I was so extremely please to read in Gail book that she doesn't recommend to get enroll in a RRSP loan. The RRSP loan that I used to have represented a payment of $108 per month. This is quite some money! I am very glad to have it completely paid off. There's only one thing I found strange about Gail book, its when she talked about the interest of a student loan.

Gail said that the interest of a student loan is 2% + prime rate + 5%. Well, I may be lucky, but the interest of my student loan is less than 6%. So knowing its so low, I never care about owning money on my student loan. Especially knowing that I received a tax credit every year for it. Another interesting thing with Gail book is when she talked about the benefit of renting instead of owning. We share the exact same opinion on this one. Owning a house or a condo is ok when you are already a millionaire, but if not, if you cannot afford paying for your living out of your investment, how in the world are you going to be able to afford owning your own place. It make me laugh because the guy who laid off me in New Brunswick was the father of 2 young children, wasn't even married and had a house of his own with a mortgage on it. And the poor fool was having problem to make ends meet. Now that the organization is completely running out of money. I can only smile. First, you act like a fool, you have responsibilities, you take a big mortgage in a small town where the economy is at 0. Right there, I have my revenge.

My force is being able to understand more than you can even imagine. Getting a mortgage, paying the mortgage, the home insurance, the electricity and everything else that come with a home. I mean, you must understand me when I say that owning a home - and a fancy big one - is for people who are financially independent. Mortgage is a product that banks came with a long time ago so they could make money out of the middle class who are only living to own they very own place. BMO Bank of Montreal is making the big bucks on mortgages. Other banks too but it is particularly true with BMO Bank of Montreal. A mortgage won't bring any cash in to build the future of your portfolio. A mortgage = salvation and poverty.

The trick with the investment game is to come and elaborate the sexiest portfolio you can ever come with so little by little, the portfolio become a source of income and eventually, the income become more and more important. That way, you get in control of your life. Once you become financially independent, once you have enough to pay your minimum living expenses - no one else than you have control over your life. You can lose your job, get sick whatever else. No matter what happen, you are protected from everything bad that can come from the outside society.

Being independent financially is the key to an excessive and sexy freedom. With their reforms and new taxes, Quebec government of Pauline Marois is killing the dream. Individuals have become the milk cows of Quebec rich society. And not only the middle class, but also the millionaires like Jacques Villeneuve. No one should be paying the price. While facing oppression, the best thing to do is to fight back and leave. Personally, it wasn't a surprise for me when I read that Jacques Villeneuve was leaving Quebec. Quebeckers don't see clearly and don't have the judgement it take to build something good for themselves and their descendants. Quebec has become the land of perfect corruption. Just take my personal example. I am being insulted at work. I was giving a permanent status after spending 7 long months where I am.

Quebeckers are simply laughing in front of my pretty face. As a Canadian, I don't like Quebec province and I don't belong here. I will get revenge.

Tips and tricks on how to save money using the Air Miles program

After the cold weather of yesterday, it is now snowing. Once again, it’s the Holiday Season and who say Holiday Season mean traveling to go spend some time with families and friends. It’s seem like for a bunch of reason, families and friends are never really often where I am. Traveling by train can be very expensive. For years, I have been doing Quebec-New Brunswick, New Brunswick-Quebec, Ontario-New Brunswick and New Brunswick-Ontario I don’t know how many times. Thanks to Gravol pills, I am able to travel on the bus for long hours.

Traveling can get very expensive, even with the bus. A two way ticket Montreal to my XXX town in New Brunswick is like close to $200. And in a year, I can go to New Brunswick quite often, sometimes at least 2-3 times a year minimum if not even more. Calculate it, $200 x 3 times = $600. And that’s for the bus ticket only. It doesn’t include the cost for the Gravol pills !!!, food and beverage among the way. I always bring something to drink and eat on the bus and while I am on my Gravol, I feel sleepy, I am on drug and I am happy that way. I won’t ever feel very much hungry. Among the way, I usually always get a little treat like a piece of pie, ice cream and coffee (extremely delicious after spending a few hours on the bus). And it’s usually the only thing I buy when I travel.

As you can see, the most expensive part is the bus ticket. Thanks to Air Miles, I safe 40% on my bus ticket. With Air Miles, a travel certificate with Orleans Express cost 50 Air Miles.

I use BMO MasterCard that allows me to collect Air Miles. I have the card with no annual fee, so I collect 1 Air Mile per trench of $20 spend on the BMO MasterCard. I do not collect much Air Miles these days since I put a hold on my spending.

To collect the 50 Air Miles needed to get my 40% on my bus tickets, I need to spend $1 000 on my BMO MasterCard! While living frugally, it will take me about 2 and half months to earn my 50 Air Miles. Knowing that I go to New Brunswick 2-3 times a year, I am able to purchase my 40% travel certificate even with my current level of expenses.

Other than BMO MasterCard, other ways to collect Air Miles is to present your blue Air Miles card each time you make a purchase at a pharmacy Jean Coutu. You can also collect Air Miles at IGA (grocery store). However, I find IGA being expensive as grocery store. I don’t shop there very often. Provigo has much better deal. The trick is to earn Air Miles while staying frugal.

Another way to earn Air Miles is through the AIR MILES® Blue Tag Lounge. Ok, at first, you may be tempted to purchase whatever is there, but please don’t. What interests us is the AIR MILES® Blue Tag Lounge - Gift Card Zone. Even while trying to live frugally, I still go to the movies – I couldn’t live without going once in a while (this mean every single weeks!). I cannot live without having once in a while a delicious Second Cup coffee (that one is almost on every day). So knowing that I cannot live without going to the movies and without my Second Cup coffees, I can go to the AIR MILES® Blue Tag Lounge - Gift Card Zone and purchase a $50 Cineplex Entertainment Gift Card. A $50 Cineplex Entertainment Gift Card will provide you 20 Air Miles. You can even get a $25 one and you will get 10 Air Miles.

If you don’t have any original idea what to give to the birthday of your brother or sister, a $50 Cineplex Entertainment Gift Card could do the trick. While giving a nice gift away, you’ll also earn 20 Air Miles.

It is much easier to earn Air Miles through the AIR MILES® Blue Tag Lounge than on any other program. But the trick is, purchases on stuff that are to give as gifts or purchase on gift card for places you already go in your everyday life. I had order gift cards many times and I never have any problem receiving them.

With this strategy, there’s only one problem: it could take up to 120 days to receive the Air Miles points you earn through the AIR MILES® Blue Tag Lounge. So it might be a good idea to use a BMO MasterCard Air Miles on your everyday purchases. That way, you’ll be able to safe on bus ticket or anything else you need and can order from the Air Miles program.

My next best thing: Black Diamond Group Ltd (BDI)

I found it very cold today in Montreal. I went outside, was about to hit downtown, but I decided to go back home. Even with my boots, gloves, coat and my lovely little hat, I WAS COLD. It doesn’t really matter anyway because I have my night out yesterday. I saw the moving Anna Karenina. Keira Knightley is so great in that movie! More than just a sometime too skinny actress, she can be a really good actress. Jude Law fits right in his role of rigid husband too old for his wife. Go see Anna Karenina, and you’ll see the best movie of 2012. I have to say that Killing them softly with Brad Pitt was pretty good too. Not to forget Batman. And the latest James Bond...!!! All too good movies.

And yeah, you know what, I just pop up the 7k in dividend income for 2012! I am waiting for some valuable cash coming from Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX). I didn’t like the way the company the handle its special distribution. You cannot go announced this date as settlement date and a week or so after, announced another date. You cannot play like that. But Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX) did so. I am currently off something like $80 on that investment. However, I am waiting more than $200 with the special distribution. So I may be able to get on a $100 profit. Not much, but it begin like that. Small profit, and later on, someday, bigger profit. I might know too much about the stock market now because what I am in to is not big profit. But I am in whatever can generate cash for the long run. I don’t know yet what I will be doing with my Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX) stocks following December 19. I may set up an automatic sell order on that one. I haven’t decided yet.

I won’t recap on my investment moves of 2012, but I have to say, 2012 have been a great year. I have made some really great investment in AGU, CHR.B and I don’t know how many other lol. And now I doubt that my investment made in AGU was or was not made in 2012??? Totally LOST in time and space.

If the US can fix their budget, if Europeans can accept the austerity they’ll have to live in for the next decade, everything will be just fine. But of course, it won’t be simple and it’s going to be quite movyyy. Volatility is making it extremely hard. If I can generate a 5% income after dividend and after loses, it will be VERY good. I know, all this for 5%. And the excitement of reading ME and the excitement of the stock market. Is there really anything better than that. I mean you know, me and the stock market? 

I am having of course problem to remain on positive territory. Even the Jean-François Tardif, you know, the one we talk all the time about? Well, even Jean-François Tardif is having problem to generate super value to its JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN). The fund started at $10 per unit. And now, the units are at less than $10 and the fund doesn’t even pay any distribution at all. Kind of suck. If he continues that way, Jean-François Tardif will only be good for my bed.... L’invitation est donc lancée (you’ll have to use Google Translate to understand that part). Its basically an invitation to Jean-François Tardif.

I don’t like the idea of another year that is about to end too soon. Already? Is that really all of what my life is going to be for 2012? NOOOOOOOOOOO. It’s not going to end this way because you know what? We are about to welcome a new hot comer: Black Diamond Group Ltd (BDI). It’s not the first time we mention BDI on my sexy blog. The dividend payment is less than 4%, but no matter what, I feel my money will be well invested in Black Diamond Group Ltd (BDI). BDI could be my last investment of 2012. This is much much better now so enjoy.

Its 9 PM and I want to go home

You know that you life kind of sucks when its 9 PM and you already feel TIRED and just feel to do one thing: hit your bed. 

I have spent the whole summer replacing a bunch of people at the office who were going on vacations. Following the 5 months contract, I was giving a permanent job, but I still have to go through a 3 months probation, even after going through the HELL of a summer. So when the admin people begin to be foolish and act a bit crazy, I just have 2 words that come to mind: F@ck ya.

Problem being they have a bunch of vice president and admin staff costing them like crazy and now, the admin is going nut under the pressure. 

And I began to have a feeling of being at risk because I am receiving comments. It first began at the Christmas party at work. While hitting the dance floor like a bunch of others, I got that vice president who said to me: you are taking too much place (in French being: tu prends beaucoup de place). Well, a babe like me, almost 5’9 tall and of Acadian descendant with long hair and no tattoo you kna, YES IT DOES TAKE PLACE. I find her very disgusting of saying such thing to me and I began to wish her a terrible car accident.

And while she left work, she shooted me a: “Do you still love your job?”

When it comes to Quebeckers, I am very intolerant. I don’t and I will never accept any shit coming from them.

So I am very looking forward for a new situation so I can clear myself from there. I would like to hit back in the Maritimes and I hope to be back in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia for 2013.

I never loved being in Quebec, it’s a secret for no one. Pauline Marois and her bunch of f@ckers can go to hell. Those people have no integrity.

Thank you for the food allergy, Dr. Mehmet Oz

In case you are wondering, Dr. Mehmet Oz is a HOT cardiac surgeon host of The Dr. Oz show, an American TV show that I used to listen too while having cable in New Brunswick. I don’t know if you remember, but I recently started a $100 challenge (its going on well as I eat more vegetables and less junk and sugarrrrr argggggg lol), not to spend more than $100 until December 21 on food. Well, before enrolling to the challenge, I had bought a little bag of Brazil nuts. You can read the article right here. Its after reading that article that I started adding cucumbers to my water.

According to Dr. Oz, Brazil nuts are good to activate the brain and I REALLY need all my mental faculties right now. :) The stock market is going crazy like hell and I am overheating of work at my job. So I was in need of a little something extra to help me, see. So I bought myself a little bag of Brazil nuts. The deal was to eat one per day, as indicated in the article. But see, because of my $100 challenge, I ate more than one nut. I didn’t have anything for snack if not green apples, but I wasn’t feeling like eating a f apple. LOL.

So instead, I eat a couple of Brazil nuts. Maybe 10 of them. But it was too much. See the result. This is the second time is happening. The first time, I didn’t make any relation between the Brazil nuts and my rash. Why? Because I use to eat one every day without having any problem. But only ONE.

But the second time it happen – just today, I started making the relation. I remembered my dad having some kind of rash of his skins while eating too much nuts. I have the exact same food allergy as my father.

Don’t worry, however, it’s not hurting me that much. Only my delicate left wrist, my inside sexy left thigh and behind my other right thigh are being affected.  

Thank you for the food allergy Dr. Mehmet Oz.