Book Review & Giveaway!
on Nov 20, 2009 in Book Reviews Giveaways TGIF! With that being said, there's no better way to finish off the week before the weekend hits than a Book Review & Giveaway. This Giveaway is The Rat's first of many to come. Before getting into the details of the review, the following are the...

My RRSPs: Selling My Funds for GIAs
on Nov 19, 2009 in Early Retirement Funds GICs Investing Portfolio RRSPs Several weeks ago, I published a thread titled, "My RRSPs: Should I Change My Fund Selection?" and listed all of the funds I owned at the time and asked readers whether or not I should entertain changing my fund selection. In that same article, I als...

Deals & Promotions: TravelZoo!
on Nov 18, 2009 in Deals & Promotions Rewards & Savings Thrifty Tips Have you ever heard of Travelzoo? If the answer is no, now is probably a good time to find out about how you can possibly save some real cash when traveling in and out of the country. http://ca.travelzoo.com/: With over 18 million travelers following...

Do You Have Any Gold In Your Portfolio? Part II
on Nov 17, 2009 in Early Retirement Investing Portfolio In a previous post published on November 6, 2009, I reviewed a bunch of ways in which an interested investor can get exposure to gold in one's portfolio. I also asked those visiting my site if they had any gold in their respective portfolios. After l...

Home Insurance For Under $50/month
on Nov 16, 2009 in Deals & Promotions Insurance Rewards & Savings Thrifty Tips Last week I sat down with a local insurance agent to purchase a better Homeowners Insurance policy for our home, and I was very pleased with the results; essentially, I walked out of their offices knowing that I will be paying $45.70 per month. The f...

Rat Ramblings
on Nov 14, 2009 in Rat News Rat Ramblings It's been a busy week for The Rat; like any week, some things go well while other things just don't. Perhaps the most uplifting part of the week for me was the realization of an increase in readers on my site. It's great to see that there are people...

The Autonomy of our Economy
on Nov 13, 2009 in Economy Foreign Plays Investing Portfolio Where is the global economy heading? Being one investor in a sea of millions across the globe, I often feel that it seems to have a life of its own. Millions were unable to predict the catastrophe and the way in which things unfolded during the marke...

Great GIC Rates
on Nov 12, 2009 in Early Retirement GICs Investing Portfolio Last week, I noticed a full-page ad in the Globe & Mail's Report on Business of an organization called Ally, and noticed the going rate for a 1-year, no penalty GIC. I didn't think much of it, as I was looking for more interesting topics for this...

5 Thrifty Tips From The Rat's Lair
on Nov 11, 2009 in Deals & Promotions Health, Life & Happiness Rewards & Savings Thrifty Tips Over the past week or so, The Rat has come across a few Thrifty Tips for personal finance, shopping, and life and entertainment purposes that you may be able to avail of; hopefully, you may be able to take advantage of at least one of the following:...

Deals & Promotions!
on Nov 10, 2009 in Deals & Promotions Health, Life & Happiness Rewards & Savings The Rat has been keeping his ears out for some current deals and promotions; fortunately, there are some crazy deals that are worthy of mention: Auction Travel Deals: If time is on your side and you have some flexibility in terms of being able to sq...