The Mogo Blog

Save $10 in 10 Min: Cut $10 From Your Next Sports Night

At the end of any given month, a few extra bucks always help out – so here is another quick tip from Mogo that will only use 10 minutes of your time to save you at least $10. We all know that staying home to watch the game can save big bucks over hitting the arena or sports bar, but here are 4 more ways to save $10 with your butt on the couch! Cook for the crew instead of ordering in Making a pot of chili or lighting up the BBQ is a great, cheap way to feed the fellas. Canned ingredients for chili or hot dogs are a great way to fill up on Sunday afternoons and are much easier on your wallet than calling your favorite delivery company. Get rid of the channels you don’t need So you feel like you have a million channels without anything on? Cut a few channels. I made sure to get extra channels on my cable package because I’m a big sports fan – but I was also able to cut a few that I don’t watch to make up for it. There’s no sense paying for what you

School Zone Rules: Drive Safely To Save Cash

Kids across the country are back to school – and even if you don’t have a rug rat in the education system, there are some costs that flare up each and every September: extra traffic fines. During the summer months, rules can change near schools and school zones. In the best interest of keeping the kids safe, speed limits are lowered, no parking/stopping rules are in effect and more people are out on the road (particularly at the start and end of school days!). The speed limit in school zones is 30km/hour from 8am to 5pm. This isn’t a place where ‘a little extra speed is ok’. Police are quick to ticket – so skip the expense and stay under 30! Keep yourself and the kids safe by observing posted school zone signs, watching out for busses (and their flashing lights) and excitedly crossing children. As you’re driving your kids to school and dropping them off, remember that there can be severe restrictions on U-turns and stopping in certain areas of school zones. Keep the schools (and your wallets) happy by observing the rules, leaving with enough time to get there easily and keeping your eyes peeled.

St. Patrick’s Day is Coming: Save Some Green

Whether you’re going to celebrate with green oatmeal, green beer or green salad, you’ve definitely got a chance to save some cash this St. Patrick’s Day – or any day of the year. If you’re anything like me, St. Patrick’s Day is a good excuse to meet up with a few friends for a few pints*. This can definitely be an expensive exercise if you don’t do a bit of pre-planning. Here’s a few tips to cut down on those expenses while still having a good time out: Have a Budget I know when I go out, my budget gets a little looser after I’ve had a seasonal beverage or two. To combat this, I will only bring a few things with me: my ID, the cash I’m comfortable spending and my bus pass. That way, when I’m out of cash, I’m out of luck and it’s time to go home. The temptation of the credit or debit card can be easy to succumb to, so avoid it by not bringing it! Eat Before You Go In addition to having a hearty base in your stomach, a good meal

What To Do When You Lose Your Wallet

Ok – nobody likes to plan ahead for a worst case scenario situation. But if you do, you’ll certainly be glad. You know that sinking feeling in your stomach when you pat your pocket or reach into your purse… and you can’t find your wallet? Chances are, we’ve all been there and dreaded the outcome. Here are a few easy steps, and a helpful reminder on some techniques that will make sure losing your wallet isn’t the end of the world. Get an Inventory You can write it down, take pictures, or just keep a low number of items in there – but knowing what’s in your wallet on a day-to-day basis is important in case of loss or theft. There’s even an iPhone app for it. This gets tougher when you’ve got a fully-loaded Costanza wallet that’s bursting at the seems. So do a little spring cleaning in your cash-holder and keep things streamlined. Know Where to Go Once you know what’s in your wallet, you’ll know what to do if it goes missing. You need to keep track of the credit cards, bank cards and personal identification so you can

LifeHacker Tells Us The Best Times to Buy

Here is a great article from the good people at LifeHacker about optimizing your calendar of shopping. I’m not saying you should be spending your way through the entire year, but if you’ve got some purchases planned, you should definitely check out this link and the info in it: http://lifehacker.com/5736625/the-best-times-to-buy-anything-in-2011 They profiled a lot of customer data, sales trends and major chain discount cycles to come up with the best times of year for buying… well… pretty much anything you can think of. Their market research can really turn into some savings when you’re out to make purchases. My Favorite Monthly Highlight: -       January: Sporting Goods -       February: Digital Cameras -       March: Frozen Foods -       April: Boots & Winter Wear -       May: Patio Furniture -       June: Gym Memberships -       July: Grills -       August: Laptops -       September: Wines -       October: Toys & Games -       November: Aluminum Foil & Plastic Wrap… seriously -       December: HDTV and home theater equipment As you can see, there’s stuff on there for everyone, and some pretty strange items, too. We’ve all got stuff to buy, so check out the full list and see the trends in yearly