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How I Move Money Internationally
There was one point where I had an active bank account in 4 different countries. Moving money internationally was something that I had to do a lot, and as a student you are very aware of all the fees involved. Luckily I am now very happy with the methods I currently use! Note: This post applies more for people who are moving abroad to work or study and will have a bank account in that country. For information about spending or using money in another country, see this post. I started moving money with the… BANK TRANSFER When I moved to France in 2012 I started with one lump transfer…
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Why do I need a credit card?
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So you are 18 and want to go TRAVELLING
Amazing! Great! Let’s go! But how? Here are the steps that I would take 3-6 months before you want to go away. If you are turning 18 in this period of time, this is a great time to get some of that “adult stuff” taken care of. These points may not be the most exciting part, but trust me, they are much easier to get done in your home country and maybe in your home town where you know how, and where, to get things done. You will be very glad that you did these things once you are in the middle of the Amazon Jungle and need $1000 transferred…
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Why do I need a credit card?
Last week I posted about my credit cards that I am going to keep going into the Summer 2019. I have also written about my AMEX Platinum which I found to be very useful and worth the fee last year! Do you have to pay a $700 annual fee to have a useful credit card? Definitely NOT! There are many options for credit cards with different points or cash back schemes. We will leave those options out right now, and just focus on the reasons that you need a credit card in the first place. Reasons for having a credit card in your daily life Credit cards are necessary to…
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My Credit Cards of 2019
Many people have a love/hate relationship with credit cards. They seem to have either maxed them all out, or too afraid to apply for one. A healthy relationship with your credit cards can be a beautiful thing for your financial security, maximizing spending power and overall financial awareness. I have re-assessed the credit cards that I need in my wallet for 2019 and have come to the following conclusions: I am excluding my AMEX Platinum from this comparison, because it has its own considerations. Even if any AMEX card becomes your main card, you should still have either a VISA or MC as backup since AMEX isn’t accepted in many…
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Why do I need a credit card?
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Life Lists
Glad to be back! Took some time away after being in Asia for 3 weeks and then returning and getting severe frostbite on my knees (not a fun experience), things got pushed to the wayside. But spring is around the corner (pretend it isn’t snowing in Winnipeg tomorrow) and time to start fresh again. I have so much to post about between Asia details, AMEX coming up for renewal and much more! Thought I would start us back with a little look at my Google Keep this week: I didn’t know how busy we were going to be at work since the seeds would be arriving for springtime planting but…
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My Travel Staples
I know there are a million lists like this about, but I wanted to share mine. I went through a phase in the past few years where I toddled along to Bentley’s before a trip to see what they had that was new and useful. You can get some really reasonable stuff, like simple card holders, which are still really useful. I have now come to a point where I am content with my “travel things” and know what I have and what I want to take where. PacSafe backpack– I bought this in 2017 and it has been such a great purchase! PacSafe is an excellent brand and I…
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Life Lists
In these posts I want to start sharing a bit more from my “professional life”. I work in agricultural research and while I don’t want to get into any pro and con debates here, I want to share interesting things that I learn. Plants and travelling? In my head they go together perfectly. I am interested in how the world works. Everything from food, the atmosphere, medicines, to rope, furniture and buildings, and everything in between rely on plants. The world works because plants work. Travelling gives you so many opportunities to appreciate the world, its systems, its history, and see something different outside your bubble. I think they match…
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Life Lists
I am a little bit well-known (famous?) for making lists. I guess my brain is wired that way that I need to see things grouped, yet separated. A list makes tasks and items bit-sized; do them one-by-one and you will finish the list- easy right? Because of this, Google Keep is now my best friend and has been for a few years. I really like the sync feature so that I can type random, often unintelligible, things into my phone and later organize and follow through with them on the computer. I put everything into these lists, like groceries, to-do items, packing items, and movies I want to watch. I…
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Welcome to 2019!
Welcome back! I had to take a break from the blog in the last half of 2018, but hopefully in 2019 I will get to share some exciting and useful things here! Even though I wasn’t writing, I was still busy on the travel front: went to Ontario in August 2018 for a wedding went to Victoria and Vancouver for a long weekend in October 2018 went to the UK for 3 weeks in November 2018 started figuring out this miles and points thing!! In May 2018 I had applied for the Amex Platinum card, and I (hoped) but wasn’t sure if it was worth the steep annual fee ($700!).…
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Why do I need a credit card?
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To Carry on, or not to Carry on?
On my last trip to Europe I took the following 8 flights in just under 3 weeks (actually 10 since we had to stop in Toronto on the Winnipeg-London route). In February 2017 I had gone to Europe for 3 weeks with a carry-on so I knew I could do it. 1/ Carry-on used in February 2017. 2/ Carry-on used November 2017. Money The difference this time was that I chose to bring a backpack instead of a rolling suitcase. I knew that going with only a carry-on I would save money, but I was curious about how much money. I checked all the airlines’ websites and came up with…
