Category Archives: Money Tips

How to Download Your Transaction History from a BMO Online Bank Account

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If you like to keep an eye on your budget or if you just want a simple electronic record of your banking transactions for future reference, you may want to download your information and save it on a disk or stick. You’ll notice I don’t recommend you keep the data on your hard drive or handheld and I’ll mention why in this article. Here’s how you can download what’s been going in and out of your BMO online bank account.

Downloading Your BMO Bank Account Data to Use in a Spreadsheet or Financial Program

You can download your data directly in the format needed for

  • Quickbooks
  • Quicken, or
  • Simply Accounting

You can also download it in comma separated values format to use in most spreadsheets including Excel.

  1. Sign in to your BMO online banking account.
  2. Under the My Accounts section on the list of links on the left side of the screen, click on the bank account for which you wish to download the transactions.
  3. Under the name of the account, click on the link: Download Account Details

The Download Your Bank Account Details Page

  1. Confirm that the box is checked beside the account for which you wish to download the transactions. If not, click to select the box.
  2. In the Download: section, click to select the radio button beside
    * Activity since last download
    * Transactions in the following date range
  3. If you select the date range option, you must also enter the From: and To: dates.
    You can click on the Calendar icon to select the From: and To: dates, or you can type them in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  4. In the Format: section from the drop-down select the software in which you intend to use the information. Choices include:
    * Quickbooks
    * Quicken
    * Simply Accounting
    * Spreadsheet (CSV format)
  5. NOTE CSV format means “comma separated values.” Each column of information will be separated from the next by a comma. This is the format that can be opened by Microsoft Office Excel and many other spreadsheet programs.
  6. Click on the Continue button.
  7. If you chose to download for a spreadsheet, the Opening statement.csv popup window will open.

The Opening Statment.CSV Page

  1. Click to select the radio button beside
    • Open with Microsoft Office Excel
      (or choose another program from the drop-down list); or
    • Save File

    then click on the OK button.

  2. If selected, a spreadsheet will open with your transaction history. You may need to widen some columns to see the values properly formatted.
  3. The data reported includes:
    • Your debit card number
    • The Transaction type;For example: Credit or Debit
    • the date posted
    • the transaction amount
    • a description
  4. So for example, it will show that you used your debit card on a certain date to make a purchase at Victoria’s Secret.
  5. If you are finished with online banking, sign out of your account.
  6. For increased security, clear your browser cache and close your browser session.

You can sort your spending by description which may be useful if you use Debit to pay for certain purchases regularly such as groceries

Drawbacks of the Transaction History for a BMO Bank Account

Unfortunately, the history does not differentiate between various types of transactions. For example, a pre-authorized bill payment is reported as a DEBIT just like an in-store purchase.

Keep Your Financial Information Safe and Secure

You may want to keep your downloaded banking transaction history on a separate device rather than on the hard drive of your computer, laptop or handheld.

For sure, I would recommend deleting your bank card number from the file. Why make it easier for someone to know how to sign in to your account?

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Have you found any quirks when downloading your BMO bank account history? Do you download it regularly or only when you’re hunting for some anomaly? Please share your views with a comment.

A Review of Great Canadian Rebates and SoftMoc Online Shopping

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The other day (in 2014) I realized one of my children needed boots again to cope with the long trudge to school in the pouring rain. (Yes, some kids DO still have to walk to school. They have rotten parents, from what I’m told.) The last pair were Cougars which had lasted well and had fit comfortably.  So while we were at “the Mall” we looked at Sears to see what they had this time. Unfortunately, it appears Sears no longer stocks Cougars (especially since now, in 2017 Sears is bankrupt). So when we were home, I went online to find out who sells Cougars. The result was that I ended up successfully using Great Canadian Rebates again and saving 5% off my purchase price from SoftMoc.

Who Sells Cougars In Canada?

I quickly discovered that SoftMoc sells Cougar boots in Canada. The only downside was that the boots we wanted to buy are not carried at the SoftMoc stores. Instead they have to be ordered online.

Always Check the Online Return Policy Before Buying

Children’s feet don’t stay the same size from year to year which makes it tricky to buy footwear without trying it on. So I was uneasy about ordering boots online from SoftMoc.

When I checked the details of their Return Policy, however, I calmed down. I could return boots ordered online that didn’t fit to any store location for a full refund.

Always Check the Details for Free Shipping Before Buying Online Too

The other qualm was the infamous shipping fees. Fortunately, SoftMoc offers free shipping to most of southern Canada on reasonably priced goods.

As a bonus, I could also get the order delivered to my nearest SoftMoc store. That meant I wouldn’t have to worry about being available when the courier arrived with the order. (Our workplaces do NOT like to receive personal mail or parcels.) It also meant that if the boots didn’t fit, they could be “returned” immediately at the store with no delay or dispute that they had been worn or damaged.

At that point, I nearly hit the Buy button. But then I thought: I wonder if I can get a discount or cash back on these?

Never Buy Online Before You Check If Great Canadian Rebates Has a Cash-back Reward for Your Order

So I signed in to my Great Canadian Rebates account.

Sure enough, they deal with SoftMoc! In fact, at that time they were offering a 5% rebate on any online purchases made there. All I had to do was start shopping by selecting SoftMoc from the drop-down list of stores under the Merchant heading at the top of the page.

UPDATE: Unfortunately in November 2017, SoftMoc doesn’t currently have a relationship with Great Canadian Rebates. Keep checking though as things often change.

(If you’d like to join Great Canadian Rebates, please consider using my referral link. https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
You’ll be enrolled the same as if you join any other way, but I will get a reward if you shop using their website. It won’t cost you anything and it would be greatly appreciated by me. Thanks to some other kind readers who joined this way, one of my children got the new Vet Volunteers book for free using my rewards.)

So I went to the SoftMoc website from the link on my Great Canadian Rebates page (after signing in) and placed my order.

The order was shipped, as promised within one business day.

I received a phone call from the SoftMoc store telling me my order was in even before I received the confirmation emails that my order had shipped.

We went to the store after school and to my amazement, the boots fit.

That was almost too easy. (I’m sure any parent who has driven their child from store to store desperately trying to find foot wear that fits, and that the child can stand the colours of, will agree this was a major win.)

How Would I Rate the SoftMoc Online Shopping Experience

For my test, the entire process went very well. I will shop from their website again in the future.

Did I Get My Money from Great Canadian Rebates?

Well, I will. They have a policy of paying out after 45 days. This avoids (most) problems with people returning goods after they have paid out the cash back reward.

I can see the correct amount is waiting in my GCR account. I have received other payments correctly.

Will I Use Great Canadian Rebates Again?

Yes.

I have used them in the past and it works. For one extra step for online shopping, I have often saved 2-5% off my bill. Given that my savings account (except for the promotional rate money at Tangerine and PC Financial) is usually only earning 1.3%, this seems like a good saving.

In fact, I just signed in to Great Canadian Rebates and used their link to go to Walmart.ca to buy some Hallowe’en handouts, laundry soap, and cornstarch. All of these were on sale and the bonus is that I won’t have to waste any gasoline driving to buy them in person. Plus they have a promotional reward rate of 4% this week (mid-October 2014.)

UPDATE: In July 2016, Walmart is not a store I can shop at through Great Canadian Rebates but I’m hoping they will return again in the future.

If You Want to Sign Up for Great Canadian Rebates

I wrote an earlier article about how to sign up for Great Canadian Rebates. Whether you choose to use my link and also earn me some rewards is up to you. (Thank you if you do, though!) Even if you don’t, though, consider using this method to save a bit of money on a purchase. If you receive your rebates as amazon.ca certificates you can get paid quickly.

The link that lets you join and gives me a bonus is:
https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/
then click on the Not a Member Join Up Here link at the top right side of the screen.

Otherwise, just type the greatcanadianrebates address in your browser to get there with no connection to me.

NOTE:  I am never told who used my link, so I won’t be able to thank you personally. They want to keep your identity 100% private.

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Do you shop through any websites that give you a rebate or reward in addition to that offered by the store itself? Please share your insights with a comment.