Questrade IQ Mobile

So I just got an email the other day, the usual updates from Questrade and guess what? They’re finally introducing the mobile app for the iPhone, Blackberry and Android!

Now I wonder, will they be releasing an iPad app soon too? I remember impatiently waiting for Mint.com to release their iPad app, which I personally think was worth the wait. Beautiful, clean interface.

Here’s what the email had to say:

This summer, Questrade will introduce IQ Mobile, a trading app for iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. IQ Mobile will allow you to securely access your trading tools and perform all your regular trading activities using the same username and password you’ll use for IQ. Further details will be made available closer to launch. In the meantime, visit the Exchange for the latest news about our IQ trading platforms.

Anyway, not only can we find the best prices online but we even get to use online coupons to save even more money! I recently stumbled on this site CouponChief.com which hosts deals and coupons for a wide selection of online shops. I really like the clean design of the site, their use of light fresh colors, and how easy it is to search for a store. I would usually use this site to search if there is an ongoing promotion for a site that I already intend to buy something from. If I’m in the market for a new pair of loafers for example, I would usually hit up some online stores like Aldo Shoes and search this site for promotional codes or offers.

CouponChief.com

How much do I really save, Mr. Monkey?

Usually deals would be atleast 10% off to free shipping on your entire order. So if you do a lot of online shopping (who doesn’t?), you get to save dollars and dollars of your hard earned cash. And remember, a dollar saved is about $1.50 earned pretax.

Now I’ve held my investment accounts with both TD Waterhouse and E*Trade (now Scotia iTrade) before and the only reason I’ve switched is to save on commissions. Back at TD Waterhouse for instance, each side of my trade would cost $29.99. That’s almost $60 to open and close a position. That would totally eat in to your profits especially when the size of your trades are in the four to five figures.

However, not everything comes for free. If you can live with the downsides I’ll be mentioning on the cons section, then Questrade may be for you. Otherwise, you should consider exploring other options out there (Interactive Brokers, Scotia iTrade etc.).

Advantages

• Ultra cheap commissions! This really is the deal maker with Questrade. Equity trades start at $4.95 up to a maximum of $9.95. Option trades pricing are very competitive as well.
• Easy to move money into. You set it up as a payee from your chequing account online and pay it like any other bill. Funds usually come in in less than a week.
• No monthly fees. It costs you nothing to keep your account.
• Low minimum amounts required. It’s really easy to get started since they only require a minimum of $1000 to initially fund the account and atleast $250 at any given time for it to be in good standing.
• Online live help is great. Questrade is notorious for having bad customer service. I personally haven’t had to call for support on the phone so I can’t comment on that. Instead, I use their MSN like live support and I usually get a helpful representative.

Disadvantages

• Silverlight interface This means you can’t open it from a mobile browser or iOS and place orders from your iPhone or iPad.
• No mobile app As of this writing, they don’t have a mobile app for convenient order placing from a phone.
• No interest on cash balances! If there was ever a reason why I’d leave Questrade, it’s because they don’t pay interest on your idle cash balances. This is especially a concern if you have a lot of idle cash just sitting and waiting for opportunities in the market.

If you can live with these setbacks, Questrade is an awesome online broker. However, it would be wise to compare them with other discount brokerages before signing up. As with anything, always remember to do your due diligence!

So, what do you like and dislike with Questrade?

Please share this article if you liked it!

Money under your finger tips

We all know that there are lots of ways we can do to earn money through the internet. From the previous article, we discuss about making money through article writing. But aside from the article writing, there is also another effective way, it is through blogging.

Blogging is one of the most popular way of making money online. Though, perhaps, is the toughest way to earning money because it takes more time before your blog can attract traffic as well as to being recognized by the search engines. It is usual that for the first few months of blogging, you will get less traffic, but eventually after some regular updates, you will notice the increase in the volume of traffic you are getting. Hence, the start of making money with your blog.

Blogging takes patience

In reality, blogging can’t provide enough amount of money you can earn unless you know different strategies and techniques on how you can make your blog popular that can be reached out by many people all over the globe. To help you with these, here are some useful tips you need to consider when creating a money making blog.

It is very important to choose the right niche to make it a profitable blog. It can be about sports, technology, business or even about making money at home. Blogging has several various niches for you so all you have to do is to choose a profitable one so that you can earn money, you can use these to advertise products and services and earn a part from every sale you made out of your blog.

Since blogging is time consuming, you will need a lot of patience, and of course, updating your blog through creating interesting and informative articles according to your niche regularly. Once you lost your patience, you will also lost the successful of earning money online.

Find a niche

Another useful strategy that you can consider is to operate several smaller blogs in several niches. This way you can have more chances of earning bucks in several products that you will recommend to your readers. It can be possible for you to draw ten to a hundred visitors per day to a small blog base on the amount of competition in each niche which you create blog.

Once you know the secrets of a successful blogging, you will surely proved to yourself that this is a great way to get new money at home. Nonetheless, it is very easy to set up a blog nowadays that there are also platforms that allow you to create for free. And unlike other work which is tedious and boring, blogging is something that is really interesting and fun.

Car Insurance and Your Age

That’s because age is one of the factors that influence the premiums charged by the insurance company. So let’s take a closer look at the link between insurance rates and the driver’s age.

Insurance companies are all fixed on risk and use different methods and statistical data to determine the risk of insuring different drivers. It was observed that insurance claims tend to fluctuate in frequency among different age groups and insurance companies have instantly adopted the driver’s age as one of the things that can influence their rates. Nowadays, by simply belonging to a certain age group you will get different rates no matter what driving skills and claim history you have. Of course, these things will also influence your rates too but this will be an addition to the age-related rate fluctuation.

Early Years

Things start a bit bad because the youngest drivers usually get the highest car insurance quotes. That’s because this group of drivers lacks the necessary experience and skill but also tends to drive more aggressively, especially younger males. Drivers aged less than 25 tend to get in serious accidents far more often than all other age groups, that’s why they get the highest rates.

Mid-20s to Early 30s

Once you get closer to the age of 25 the car insurance quotes you’ll get will start to decrease and there will be a drastic slope after you turn 25. That’s because with age young drivers tend to accumulate more skills and learn how to drive correctly. This effectively reduces the number of insurance claims filed by this age group and respectively lowers the cost of auto insurance.

Middle Years

The downward slope of car insurance quotes continues onward up to the age of 55-50. During this period other factors have more importance when determining a driver’s rates. Moreover, there are usually serious changes in a person’s life like marriage, moving to another place of residence, buying a different vehicle and so on. So the age won’t be playing an important role here.

Later Years

However, once the driver reaches the age of 60-65 the rates starts going back up. The increase isn’t very serious at first, but as the person gets older and reaches the age of 75 car insurance quotes usually get really expensive. This is mainly due to the health condition senior citizens are known for. The speed of reaction in an older body decreases yet the risk of having an accident due to inaccuracy or health complication increases. Older drivers tend to file claims often because they end up in accidents caused by their health condition more often. And that’s why the insurance companies charge them with much higher rates.

 
Credits to Aidan for this article.

Eating healthy can be done on a budget too!

Doesn’t it seem that healthy food is more expensive? To stretch your dollars while eating healthy, always keep the following tips in mind…

1. Cook at Home
We all know that eating out is not only more expensive, but also much less healthy. The portions are typically larger than necessary and you truly don’t know what’s in your dinner. Hitting that drive-thru might seem fast and easy, but we pay for it both in cost and health.

2. Plan Your Meals in Advance
One way to avoid the temptation of last-minute drive-thrus and processed, pre-prepared meals in our constantly busy schedules is to create a weekly menu plan. Sticking with simple, healthy meals along with cooking ahead and freezing meals works wonders in this area.

3. Eat Less Meat
Many times, the most expensive item on your grocery list is… (yep, you guessed it!)… meat. Although fresh meat is part of a healthy diet, don’t forget about other healthy sources of protein such as beans, eggs, fish, and even canned tuna or chicken, which is usually less expensive and just as nutritious. Toss these on a salad or whole-grain pasta dish – and there’s your healthy dinner!

4. Buy Locally
Farmer’s Markets are an excellent resource for discounts on fresh fruits, and vegetables. Many communities also have small businesses that focus on gathering fresh produce from local, organic farmers each week.

5. Save on Canned & Frozen Vegetables and Focus on Healthy Sale Items
In planning your grocery trip, focus on the healthy sale items each week. When canned or frozen vegetables go on sale, stock up… and keep in mind that just because that sugary snack is on sale, it doesn’t mean that you need to buy it!

6. Focus on Whole Grains
Stock up on whole grains when they go on sale. Cereals pasta, and oatmeal have a long shelf-life, and you can get excellent deals on these products when combining Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sales and coupons!

7. Avoid Processed Foods
Processed and pre-packaged foods are often a source of unidentifiable and unhealthy ingredients. If you focus on whole foods, you’ll avoid these unknowns all together.

8. Keep a Stocked, Healthy Pantry
We try to keep our pantry stocked with healthy choices, such as whole-grain pasta, canned vegetables, whole-grain crackers, nuts, canned healthy meats and more. Use those 6-week sales cycles and stock up at that rock-bottom price on those healthy choices! Plus, knowing that I can throw together a quick meal for my family that is both healthy and frugal gives me a small sense of peace in our hectic, busy 4-kids-in-lots-of-activities everyday lifestyle!

 
Credits to Valerie Reed for this article.

How does a mortgage refinancing work?

A home loan is a long term commitment. For most people, signing on the dotted line is a 30-year contract. In this amount of time, many things can change. Many people will outgrow their home and sell their house. Sometimes, people also outgrow their mortgage. In this instance, mortgage refinancing can be useful.

Benefits of a Mortgage Refinance

There are many reasons why people decide to refinance their home. As you pay off your home loan, the principle of your loan reduces while the value of your property increases. The difference between these two figures is known as equity. When you refinance your home, the bank may give you a home equity loan. You can use this money to improve or enlarge your home, pay for tuition, or even take a holiday.

Sometimes, as a home loan decreases, home owners decide to refinance in order to lower their monthly repayments. This is a good option if you are struggling with difficult financial times or are just looking to free up cash flow for other projects.

Refinancing your home also gives you a chance to renegotiate your loan terms with your bank or lender. This means that you may be able to achieve a lower interest rate and also lessen the fees and charges which are attached to your home loan.

The Refinancing Process

When you refinance your loan, you can stay with your current lender or shop around for a new one. The refinancing process is similar to the one when you originally bought your house and applied for a mortgage, although sticking with the same lender will require less paperwork.

The bank or lender will most likely go ahead with the usual checks, such as employment and identity checks. They will also require a valuation of your home, which they will arrange. Once this has all been finalized, your old mortgage will be discharged and your new loan will come into effect.

There are usually some fees attached to a refinance loan. These can include a loan establishment fee, a valuation fee, and the possibility of ongoing fees. There is a chance that there may be a fee from your lender for the early discharge of your loan.

Home Loan Research

Finding out as much mortgage information as possible before you sign up for any loan is a good idea. Being aware of not only the interest rate, but the fees and charges attached to the loan product, is essential. Reading the small print now can save a lot of heartache later.

 
Credits to Paul Dabb for this article.

Clipping coupons are not limited to physical coupons at the grocery store any more. Coupons are available for redemption at many online retailers!

If you think about cutting back on your expenses when you are shopping, you should avail from the online coupons that help you save a considerable amount of money. Online coupons help you get discount on various items at online as well as actual stores.

Upon hearing of free coupons, I thought of the good old days when we used to cut them out of the newspapers or magazines and take them to the stores to cut back a few bucks. But in the recent times, free coupons are usually addressed to the Internet coupon codes that are to be used while shopping at online stores. Online coupons work the same way as the traditional paper ones. The coupons offered by websites are codes that help you get discount on many items such as groceries, clothes, shoes, gadgets, jewelery and many other products. Some of these codes are numeric or alphabetic whereas others are alphanumeric.

You can purchase many items online and get good discounts with the help of these coupons. All you have to do is search for a website that offers free coupons to get discount on a varied range of items. When you find such website, you can get all the great discounts offered by numerous online stores. You can choose the ones that give you the most suitable deals. Many of the discounts expire unexpectedly, so you should ensure that you are entering a coupon code that is valid at the time. You can find coupons at these websites along with the relevant information such as the actual discount available on products, the store where it can be redeemed and the date it expires.

Most of the websites directly link you to the website of the store when you click on the coupon. When you visit the online store through these websites, you automatically get a discount on the product you wish to purchase. You can click on as many coupons you like and check out the product on the website. The other kinds of coupons are printable coupons that you can get printed from the computer and avail the discount at an actual store, not the virtual one. You can take the coupon print to the store of the given company and save a considerable amount of money on each purchase.

Many online stores also give away free coupons as part of their brand marketing campaign. They want more and more people to visit their stores. Discount coupons, free coupons, freebies and giveaways are the incentives used by manufacturers to attract consumers towards their products. This way, they get consumers to try out their products and beat the competition with their counterparts. Some companies give discounts on services as well.

In order to mark their presence over the Internet, all the major companies use many tactics to attract new costumers as well as hold on to the existing ones. The online printable coupons and free coupons are the easiest way to achieve this. The discounts offered by the companies draw people towards the free coupons that let them purchase many products at low prices. If you really want to avail from the great discounts that are offered by many online stores, you should visit these websites regularly to get free coupons and save some bucks on each purchase.

To save money on various purchase over the Internet, you can search the Internet for websites that offer printable free coupons to get discounts on numerous products.

 
Credits to Gagan Singh for this article.

Same day cash loans are a source of cash for urgency when you need it in the same day without any hassles. These types of cash loans are usually approved for employed people and the loan amount is wired within 24 hours in your bank chequing account.

These loans are typically provided in the same day as its approval comes without credit checks and other hassles for the borrowers. This loan makes for a hassle free approach as you are not required to fax any documents to the money-lender. This saves time, energy and effort. However, while filling an online loan application form you have to provide necessary details such as employment status and bank account details.

Same day cash loans are quickly provided within 24 hours in your bank checking account that you should be having for past three months. You can borrow the loan amount ranging from $100 to $1500 for a short duration of two weeks, until your next payday. Money-lenders sanction the loan amount depending upon your repaying ability and current income.

Do I qualify?

In case you are carrying a bad credit history with late payments, defaults and county court judgments, individual voluntary arrangements and missed payments, you can still borrow from the lenders without credit checks. Even your very low credit rating is not a hurdle.

So what’s the catch?

Same day cash loans are highly expensive. This is due to the high APR that goes many times higher than any other loans. Consequently, you should be prepared to make high interest payments to the lenders.

You should borrow the cash only when other options cannot be explored. Make sure you avail this facility only when in dire need of money because these loans carry a high interest rate. You should make comparisons of several lenders online so that you can search competitive offers of same day cash loans.

 
Credits to Angela Alderton for this article.

The Big Mac Index and Purchase Power Parity (PPP)

The Big Mac Index can be used as an informal analytic tool to compare if a currency is over- or undervalued just based on Big Mac PPP. In essence really, a basket of goods and services is generally used to compare year over year inflation for a particular country, or to compare purchasing power between identical basket of goods and services in different countries. In the case of the Big Mac Index, it’s the Big Mac as the one and only item in the basket. Interesting concept and a very basic one that everyone should understand from their Economics 101. This is economics simplified. It’s Burgernomics.

I’m getting me some McDonald’s tonight.