Always ask someone you love before you put anything in your mouth

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Financial micromanagement might not be for everyone, but sometimes it really helps to see where every penny is going.  You’d be amazed at how much you might spend on coffee or snacks.

In the past I’d used Excel to track my spending.  It might not have been the most simple form of tracking, but it was the most flexible in that (so long as you’re fairly competent with Excel) I could chart that data any way I wanted.

Still, there’s something to be said for simplicity.  Recently my family has tried to use the web-based MoneyTrackin.com.  It provided a good set of features, but still didn’t work exactly as I’d wanted.  Up next we’re probably going to take a look at Wesabe or Yodlee MoneyCenter.

What about you?  How do you track your spending?

Have you been enjoying your time in the garden this year?  You weren’t using any pesticides or herbicides, were you?

If not, David Suzuki wants to take a peek at how things are growing this year!  Take a photo/write a story about your garden for you chance to win any number of prizes from this years David Suzuki Digs My Garden program.

I could care less about the prizes — I just want a visit from the David Gnome.

Thanks bdnjdsmom for posting this freebie on the forum 😀

$25 Gift coupon no strings attached. I got this from my Brecks catalogue, however there is a fee for shipping ($7.95&up depending on how much you order), so if you spend say $16 worth of bulbs your order will be absolutely free.On the order page in Key no enter 901243.

Click here to order your free flowers now

Another great offering from Estee Lauder. The minimum amount you need to spend is a little higher than usual, but that’s pretty normal for Holt Renfrew.  

Retailer: Holt Renfrew
Minimum amount you need to spend: $55 CAD (before taxes)
Duration: ends August 10, 2008

What you get:
– Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme, 7-day supply
– Re-Nutriv Intensive Hydrating Creme Cleanser
– Golden Fluted Compact
– Sumptious Bold Volume Lifting Mascara, 10-day supply
– Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick
– a stylish deluxe tote with companion cosmetic bag

If you’re like most Canadians, there’s a good chance you’re swimming in credit card debt.  If you’re coming here, chances are you’d like to get out of it.  The Snowball Calculator on WhatstheCost.com can help.

Just punch in all of your individual debts, their minimum payments, interest rates, and the total amount of money you can commit monthly to paying off your debts.  The Snowball Calculator will map out the best payment plan and let you know just how long it will take you to be completely debt free.

Check it out and start getting out from under that mountain!

Pay with your Visa card and you can save 15% off any purchase (excluding taxes) when you present this coupon at any Banana Republic location in Canada.

Click here to print your Banana Republic Coupon

Just a heads up, and YMMV, but reports are pouring in to CheapAssGamer that EB Games Canada has lowered it’s retail price on PuzzleQuest DS to $4.99, with used copies going for $2.99.  This is an amazing deal on one of the best games of the past few years.

PuzzleQuest is one of those games that appeals to just about everybody.  It takes the simple match-3 gameplay of Bejeweled and adds in a story, RPG-elements, and combat.  It truly is the best of both worlds.

Reports are also coming in that since the price drop it’s become nearly impossible to find.  I’d suggest calling to see if they have any in before hitting the road.  No word on whether or not the price has dropped  PuzzleQuest for other systems (it’s on every platform known to man).

Not too sure how this one flew under my radar for so long.  This past Canada Day Microsoft decided to treat Canadian gamers to some free gamerpics and themes to celebrate the holiday.  They’re pretty sharp, and who can disagree with the price of free?

Not too sure how long they’ll be available for, but they were still there at the time of this writing.  I’d hop on and grab them as soon as you get home.

Buy one movie admission ticket, get the second for free at Cineplex or Empire theatres.

To get this coupon you need:

• 2 PIN CODES. Pin codes are inside the on-pack sticker found on specially marked Sanford packages: Sharpie, Liquid Paper, Laurentien, Expo or Papermate.
• UPC CODE. Your UPC Code can be found on the back of your package

Once you have your 2 PIN Codes and a UPC code go to the Take a Friend website and fill out the form then print your coupon 😀

Coupon is valid Sunday through Thursday from August 3, 2008 to November 13, 2008 at all participating Cineplex Entertainment theatres or Empire Theatre locations.

Coupon Expires November 13, 2008

Click here for more details on this Free Movie offer from Sanford Canada

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It’s only six weeks until this years Terry Fox Run kicks off, so I thought it was a good time to get Terry and his cause back in peoples minds.

Terry’s considered a national hero by most every Canadian.  If by some chance you’re not familiar with his story take a peek at the above video.  It’s a great retrospective put together by the fine folks at ESPN.

This years run will take place on Sunday, September 14th.  If there’s not an event in your area get in touch with the Terry Fox Foundation to see about organizing one.  You’d be hard pressed to find someone in this country whose lives haven’t been touched by cancer.  It’s a killer that affects all of us, and every dollar helps. Click here to visit the Run’s official site and find out what you can do to help.

The Canon A590 Digital Camera is on sale at Future Shop for $149.99 (regular price $199.99).

If you don’t mind a bit of a hassle you can also price match at Staples to get it for a lower price. At Staples it is currently on sale for $198.86. If you price match you’ll get 10% on the difference. That is 10% of $50 which is $5 i.e. $149.99 – $5 = $144.99. If you have a $20 off $150 Staples coupon you can buy any item for $5+ then use that coupon too for an additional $20 in savings!

I personally just bought a Canon A590 a couple of weeks ago. I find it’s a fabulous camera. If you’re always taking quick pics while on the move and never attempt to stand still and not move while taking pics this camera is for you. Although some reviews claim that this camera’s new “Image Stabilizer” feature is useless I found it very helpful in my case. Most of the pictures I took were sharp (although they were shot quickly). The camera also takes awesome night pictures.

You can see some of the amateur pictures that I took using this Camera here

Click here for Canon A590 Digital Camera at Future Shop

Click here for Canon A590 Digital Camera at Staples Canada

Earlier this year, MC over at Culture Kills amazed me with a little tidbit: bagged milk is a uniquely Canadian product!  Who would have imagined?

Outside of our borders, jugs of milk are the customary choice of many dairy consumers.   Otherwise the typical cardboard box that we also have available will usually make do.

Milk bags have several advantages over their jug-filled cousins:  smaller packages means less spoiled milk, the bags are recyclable, they use significantly less plastic than jugs, etc..  Outside of Canada, a few other countries that randomly dot the globe use milk bags as well: India, Poland, and Israel all prefer the milk bag.

For more on the subject, visit the post that enlightened me over at Culture Kills.

Looking for something fun to bring the kids to this weekend?  Every Saturday and Sunday this summer they’ll be hosting ROMkids weekends at the Royal Ontario Museum.  There’s a special theme, artifact, and tons of activities aimed at the younger visitors courtesy of the ROM.  ROMkids is included in the regular cost of admission, so there’s no extra cost.

Visit their official site for the full list of themes and their corresponding weekends.

Photolab has a new promo this week only. Get up to 80% off enlargements. Get 5×7 or 8×10 digital prints for 49 cents each. This is a magnificant deal. I’ve rarely if ever seen 8×10 prints go on sale for that low.

Click here for details on this Photolab promo