TD Canada Trust Value Plus/Value Account

Early 2008, I graduated from school and TD started to charge me $8.95 per month to maintain the Value Plus Account. If you keep $2,000 in the account, the fee is waived but I’m currently in debt repayment mode so I’m not in the position to leave that much just sitting idle in the account.

A better setup I thought, was to keep the TD Chequing account and downgrade to the Value account, which only charges a monthly fee of $3.95. The Value account is cheaper because it is much more limited with only 10 transactions allowed per month versus the 25 for a Value Plus account. Other differences are outlined in the table below. Now if you don’t have much chequing activity, you can just leave your account as is. For myself however, I perform a lot of cash withdrawals, online payments, and transfers with my chequing account so I had to find a cheaper equivalent of an Infinity account.

TD Canada Trust Chequing Account Pros

• More TD Green Machines
• In-branch teller service for deposits, money orders, etc.
• Good web user interface for online banking
• Maintain banking relationships with local branch

TD Canada Trust Chequing Account Cons

• Limited chequing activity or transactions allowed
• High fees for going over the transaction limit
• Expensive cheques

President’s Choice No Fee Bank Account

In comes the No Fee Bank Account from President’s Choice Financial (PCF). This account is free from monthly fees and provides unlimited chequing activity for withdrawals, online payments, transfers, and even free cheques!

At first glance, it seems like this is all the chequing account you’ll need for everyday banking so why do I keep my TD Canada Trust account you ask? Simple. I keep it to maintain a close relationship with my bank, and for the people service they provide with their in-branch tellers. Plus, there are more Green Machine ABMs out there than CIBC or Amicus machines.

Here’s a quick pros and cons list for holding the PC No Fee Account.

President’s Choice Financial Chequing Account Pros

• Unlimited free cheques (TD Canada Trust charges $25 per book)
• Unlimited chequing activity such as withdrawals, payments, and transfers
• No fee ABMs if you use an Amicus or CIBC bank machine

President’s Choice Financial Chequing Account Cons

• Amicus or CIBC bank machines are not as common as TD Green Machines
• No branches
• No teller service
• Strictly phone or web-based banking services
• No real bank relationship

First Chequing Account: Royal Bank

My first ever chequing account was opened during the summer of 2003 when I started a part-time job at Toys R’ Us. It was the summer before the first year of University and the account was opened with Royal Bank (RBC) by my mom’s recommendation. It was also the closest branch to my home at the time.

Second Chequing Account: CIBC

Now Royal Bank wasn’t bad, but when I started attending the University of Waterloo, the most convenient bank located around campus was CIBC. Penny pinching was the norm as a student so I opened a student account there to save on ABM withdrawal fees and for convenience and decided to close the account with RBC. CIBC even gave me my very first Visa credit card with a $700 limit. I hold this very same card to this day, despite opening and cancelling a few other cards in the last couple of years.

Third Chequing Account: Bank of Montreal

Fast forward to my first co-op job with BMO Capital Markets. I was forced to open a chequing account with them to get paid so I opened an account and held both the CIBC and BMO chequing accounts concurrently for a few years. Now I don’t recommend holding more than one chequing account as I see no immediate benefit for splitting the cash between two accounts and shuffling them back and forth. Plus, you’ll be hit with twice the monthly and maintenance fees.

Fourth Chequing Account: TD Canada Trust

Shortly after came temptation with TD Canada Trust‘s iPod Shuffle promotion. TD offered a free iPod Shuffle if you completely switched over your chequing account and set up at least three direct deposits. This iPod was worth $129 I thought, so without hesitation, I signed up, transferred my BMO account, cancelled my CIBC account, and a month later, received my Shuffle in a white plastic, bubble wrapped envelope. At this point, I kept only the TD account and because I was a student, I had the Value Plus account for no monthly fee.

Sweet. Life was good, I thought.

The ill effects of the recent recession can be felt throughout the world and consequently, people are increasingly turning to brown bagging their lunch to save money. Think about it. It makes sense. It’s rational — it’s healthier and it’s cheaper.

Now, there used to be a time when I went out each and every day for lunch when I started work. Food around my work area would cost at least $7 and could go up to about $17. That’s monthly spending of roughly $140-$350 just on lunch alone! Even spending as little as $5 per day for lunch would mean monthly spending of $100. Put it in perspective. That’s quite a hefty amount and that’s not even counting your morning and afternoon coffee and muffin breaks.

I’m an avid bodybuilder and like many others in the gym, I try to watch what I eat. That’s not to say I don’t indulge in comfort foods like chicken wings, brownies, or cake once in a while but I try to watch my portions and cut out sugar and fat whenever I can. In fact, I’ve completely substituted my normal Pepsi or Coke with its diet equivalent. It’s an acquired taste, I always say.

So, here’s a simple lunch idea that’s high in protein, low in fat, cheap, and super easy to prepare. It takes less than ten minutes of your time to prepare at night or even the morning of.

The Money Monkey’s Super Simple Tuna Salad Sandwich

Basic Ingredients

• One whole can of chunk light tuna (not flaked) @ $0.75 per can
• Two cups of light mayonnaise @ $2.99 per jar
• Two teaspoons of relish @ $1.50 per jar
• Four slices of whole wheat bread @ $1.89 per loaf
• Splenda sweetener, or sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Open can of tuna and make sure to drain the water out
2. Once water is drained, mix all ingredients in a bowl
3. Add a pack of Splenda or sugar, and salt and pepper to taste
4. Spread tuna salad mix on bread, and pack

It can’t get any simpler than that. If you get tired of the same old taste day in and day out, try substituting the tuna with hardboiled eggs for a good egg salad sandwich. Also, don’t be scared to play around with the ingredients. Add some lettuce, sliced tomatoes, or onions for color and texture. I also found out that adding sliced apples in the mix adds a good amount of sweetness and crisp.

So there you go. Tuna salad sandwiches are cheap, gym-approved, and an easy way to save money and your gut. Make your body and your bank account happy! You’ve got no excuses.