freebies | Financial Crooks

Who Is The Wealthy Barber and From Where Is He Returning?

Way back when it was fairly new, I read a library book called The Wealthy Barber. It was written before discount brokerage accounts were easily available, before the internet was widely used and before ETFs existed. In the book, the author pointed out that saving first, automatically so you wouldn’t really notice the money getting taken, into a very diverse number of stocks could help you become modestly rich by retirement. I liked the diversity idea, and bought some units in a relatively low-fee mutual fund that mimicked the Toronto Stock exchange from a Big Canadian bank which was a reasonably good choice in those days.

Now the financial landscape has changed significantly. If you have $10 000 to $15 000 you can open a discount online brokerage account with no annual fees or charges. In your account, you can buy units of Exchange Traded Funds, ETFs, where you can see exactly what price you will be paying because the sale takes place immediately, not at the close of the day. You can find ETFs which have extremely low fees, such as some of the Vanguard and Blackrock funds. And you can find ETFs that hold a very diverse number of stocks, for example a fund that mimics the S&P TSX-Composite Index, or similar indices in New York or in stock exchanges around the world.

So the author of The Wealthy Barber decided to write an updated book. He or his publisher coined the name “The Wealthy Barber Returns.” I guess he’s returned to the book shelves at your local library. And to the cloud called the internet, in e-book form.

The Wealthy Barber himself is a fictional character. He’s an every day person with a modest-income job who manages to save his way to a nice retirement lifestyle.

Why I Keep an Eye on the RedFlagDeals Personal Finance Forum

I check the posts on the RedFlagDeals personal finance discussion website as a hobby. I cringe reading confessions of over-spending and bad credit. I wince reading the cynicism some commenters exhibit when discussing matrimony and common law relationships. And I get interested when I read about good high interest rate promotions at banks or good new information about pensions and cutting costs.

Last week, I noticed a post there which included a link to the Tangerine website. Apparently Tangerine is offering free electronic copies of the e-Book “The Wealthy Barber Returns.” Although I have already borrowed the book from the library and read it, I went and downloaded a copy. It’s a book for which I don’t mind using a few KB of storage.

I don’t know when Tangerine will take down the offer. The book was available on Monday September 26, 2016. It might be gone at any time. The deadline on their website says “By December 31 2016.” If I notice it’s been removed, I will update this post, but I don’t intend to keep a careful watch on the site. (Perhaps if you notice it’s gone you could add a comment here to warn me? If so, you’d have my thanks and that of other readers!)

Now I’m going to make a cup of tea and re-read it.

Related Reading

Join In
Do you follow the advice of The Wealthy Barber and automatically save part of each and every pay cheque? Please share your savings strategy with a comment.

My 2008 laptop is still working fine. I use it for email, with MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel; I edit photos with Photoshop Elements; my kids do homework and play dubious computer games. Still, my husband would never be able to run *his* games on such an antique which resulted in him eventually upgrading his boat anchor. We decided to load it with MS Office 2016 because so much of the homework our children get encumbered with requires them to use it. I shopped around for a reasonable price and found it at Staples on sale for $99. Of course, I immediately tried to get an even better price: this is how I saved $10 more and got $2 back in amazon.ca gift cards although I decided to blow some of that $10 on a roll of designer duct tape adorned with comical cartoon owls.

Always Check Great Canadian Rebates Before You Make an Online Purchase

I wasn’t sure if Staples was one of the stores available through Great Canadian Rebates so I visited the website and checked. Yes. And even better, it offered rebate of up to 4% on purchases. Admittedly the rebate on computer-related stuff like this software is only 1% but still, not bad.

What really caught my eye, though, was the click through coupon to save $10 on an order of $100 or more. That’s significant considering it applies to items that are already on sale!

Of course, the software I wanted was $99.00. I thought about buying something that cost very close to $1, like paperclips at $1.68 a box. But then I thought what we need more of is duct tape. There were many colours and styles to choose from: I went with the sophisticated neon cartoon owls that should add a certain j’n sais quois to patching that hole in the yard waste tub.

(This image leads to my amazon.ca kickback page to buy the tape. It’s cheaper at Staples right now so shop around.)

Buying from Staples Through Great Canadian Rebates Also Gets Free Shipping on Lower Orders

Another perk that is available when buying from Staples through Great Canadian Rebates is the minimum order for free shipping is lower. Shipping is free on most orders of $45 or more. (This offer will change from time to time, so check before making a decision.)

How Did I Get $2 In Amazon.ca Certificates If I Bought from Staples?

The kickback Canadians get from buying stuff through Great Canadian Rebates is paid in amazon.ca gift certificates. They nicely round up to the next $ if your monthly total rebate is even $0.01 above a dollar. Since I didn’t buy anything else last month, and since my eligible rebate is $1.04, I’ll be getting a $2 certificate for Amazon.

UPDATE: As of June or July 2016 it appears they no longer “round up” the Amazon certificates. They seem to be issuing them now right down to the penny you’ve earned.

What Did I Save In Total For Clicking Through from Great Canadian Rebates?

So by
signing in to my GCR account (e.g. typing my email and password), and then
typing Staples in the Merchant text box, then
clicking on the Save Now button beside “Save $10 on Your Next Purchase of $100 or more” and then
shopping at staples.ca as usual, I saved or was rebated

$10 – $5.60 the cost of the duct tape that I would have bought elsewhere possibly for less
$2 – $1 rebate from GCR in Amazon certificates (It would have been $1 if I had not bought the tape.)
Plus the cost of gas driving to staples

On software that was already on at a reasonable sale price of $99.

For a total saving of
$5.40 (or
$12
if you don’t adjust for the duct tape)

Cool.

Blatant Sales Pitch for Great Canadian Rebates

If you don’t belong and you join GCR by clicking on my link, you will get the same rewards as if you just join GCR by searching for it on the internet. I, however, will be very happy you used my link because I will get a small percentage rebate if you ever buy anything using GCR, even though it will not reduce or affect your reward. (I don’t get any info about who joined, what they spent, or what they spent it on, though, so I won’t know how to thank you personally.)

To join Great Canadian Rebates and help me earn a few more dollars in amazon.ca certificates, please join using my

http://www.GreatCanadianRebates.ca/register/171462/

Code, which is automatically entered if you click on this above link.

Either way, consider joining as it could save you a few bucks and get you a free roll of duct tape, too!

Related Reading

Join In
Do you use an online rebate program like GCR or RedFlagDeals to save a few $$ on your online purchases? Please share your experiences with a comment.

Financial Crooks

An Honest Crooks Shares Financial Tips and Investing Experiences

Tag Archives: freebies

Tangerine Bank Offers a Free e-Book Copy of the Wealthy Barber Returns