Puleen Patel

Smart Saving Tips

Note: These tips apply to Canadian residents only.

A few times I have had conversations with close friends about ways in which they can save money. During these conversations my suggestions have always been based on experiences and ways in which I do whatever I can to save money. So having been into this situation a few times, I decided to write a little bit about the steps that I take to save money.

Readers must note that these are my opinions and while they might not make sense, but they work best for me.

In order to save money, I deal mainly with three financial institutions namely: CIBC, Presidents Choice Financial, and ING Direct Canada. I also deal with ICICI Bank of Canada, but not on a regular basis.

CIBC

• Visa
• Checking account
• Student loan account

President’s Choice Financial

• Mastercard
• Checking account
• Savings account

ING Direct

• Canadian Savings account
• USD Savings account
• RRSP
• GIC
• Line of credit
• Mortgage

ICICI Bank of Canada

• Savings account

This is how I have my banking setup. ING Direct is my primary savings account, which is linked to both the CIBC and PCFinancial checking accounts. My pay cheque gets deposited to ING Direct, and from there I can transfer money to either CIBC or PCFinancial as need arises. What this allows me to do is earn maximum interest on all my savings at ING, and still be within reach to use the money wherever and whenever I need it by transferring to CIBC/PCFinancial. The good thing about PC Financial, is there are no service charges and no minimum balances to keep. What this means is I can have $5 or $5000 in the account and I do not have to pay any service fee. On top of that, they provide free cheques, which is great. Who uses cheques these days, well no one really does, but it is always good to have something like that to rely on in case of emergency.

Both CIBC and PC Financial have credit card offerings, and I chose to deal with both since I already have an account with them. CIBC Visa gives me a higher credit limit and Aeroplan points, which I use for business expenses. On the other hand, the PC Financial Mastercard is what I use as a backup. The mastercard also allows for accumulation of PC Points that can be used towards groceries at local Nofrills stores, which is really great.

As for RRSP, Mortgage and LOC it was just easier to deal with one institution that offers all. And in searching for lowest mortgage rate (through a mortgage broker) it was settled that ING was the only bank offering lower rate at the time. And because I’ve been dealing with (and loving) ING Direct, I decided to get a mortgage with them. Works out for the best, they deduct the regular payments from the savings account, and I can see all this happening on one screen (online) or one statement (on paper). The other good thing about ING Direct that I really like is, every month they will cover the service charges for using their Interac card at a non-ING machine. None of the other institutions offer this. This tells you how confident ING is in their service offering to you as a individual who wants to save your money. After all their tag line “Save your money”, isn’t just for marketing purposes! They mean what they say, and I like doing business with people/companies that say what they mean and mean what they say.

Last but not the least we have ICICI Bank of Canada. I’ve only had an account with them for the past 5-6 months, I do not deal with them on a regular basis. They are only there for me to put aside some money in a high-interest savings account similar to (but not as comparable) that of ING Direct. I have not explored other services that they offer which might be of interest to me, for now the combination of CIBC, PC Financial and ING Direct works best for me.

Hopefully to those reading this, it has been of some help. Questions and feedback is always good, so feel free to ask/comment.

Cheers!