Reviews Archive

I share honest opinions about products and services. If a review is sponsored, I disclose the information. I also disclose including referral links in my posts.

Key topics: credit cards, tax software, books, reward programs

The Snowman’s Guide to Personal Finance: a review

February 23, 2021

Around this time last year, I won a copy of the Snowman’s Guide to Personal Finance by Steven Arnott (thanks Kari!).

This little book popped up on a couple Canadian personal finance blogs I enjoy in early 2020. I enjoyed Kari’s Q&A with the author and the other reviews I read, so I threw my name in the hat…and actually won!

The book arrived just as the snow melted and spring began. And even it’s a personal finance book, not a seasonal read, I couldn’t bring myself to pick up a book with snowman in the title after an east coast winter.

If you’re from here, you know what I’m saying.

Several months later, winter has come back around and it finally felt like the right time to pick up this book. A quick read, I finished it in a couple sittings and today, I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

Disclaimer: As mentioned right off the top, I won a copy of this book, so I didn’t pay for it. That being said, the decision to read and review the book here was my choice. A review was not requested and I’m not being compensated for writing one.

How to use credit card extended warranty

December 8, 2020

Some credit cards offer extended warranty perks. Here is how to use the Tangerine Money Back Mastercard warranty to replace a broken FitBit.

I filed my first credit card extended warranty claim in June 2020.

I’ve been using credit cards regularly for years. It’s my preferred way to spend money. I’ve tried a few different spending methods and nothing works for me the way credit cards do.

Worth noting: I treat the credit card like debit, meaning I only use it to spend money we already have. In most cases, we make a purchase on the credit card then immediately transfer the money from our debit. There are exceptions to this (like December Christmas spending) but they are just that: the exception, not the rule.

Despite my years of credit card use, I’ve barely scratched the surface on using features associated with my cards. This includes the extended warranty. In a way, this is a good thing — it means the items I have purchased have held up well, right?

That said, it did result in a bit of a learning curve when it was time to actually use the benefit. Here’s what I learned through the process of using my credit card extended warranty.

My favourite affordable curly hair products

June 16, 2020

Finding affordable curly hair products in Atlantic Canada has not always been an easy task.

In June 2018, I shared this post about my hair routine and the cost of embracing my natural hair.

At that time, I had been working on my curls for about a year after a lifetime of struggling against them. What worked for me: DevaCurl. For the first time in my life, my hair was, for the most part, behaving.

Fast-forward to 2019-2020. There has been a great deal of controversy about DevaCurl. While I have not been affected, the whole situation did get me thinking: what would I do if I started having trouble with DevaCurl? Or if the products disappeared from the shelves?

That started me on the path of doing something scary: trying new products.

That might sound silly but after years of searching for products that work, the idea of messing up a good thing didn’t sound appealing. Still, I knew I wanted to have more options.

More specifically, I wanted more affordable options.

So I set out to try some new products. Here’s a look at some of the products I’ve tried.

Why PC Optimum is Canada’s best loyalty program

May 21, 2020

This is a review of my hands-down favourite loyalty program: PC Optimum.

The merger of the Shoppers Optimum program with PC Plus was a source of anxiety for some, but not me. I didn’t shop a lot at Shoppers Drug Mart, which meant I didn’t see much benefit from the Optimum program.

But I loved PC Plus. So the idea of adding even more ways to earn points was exciting to me.

I really can’t say enough good things about this program. In this review, I’ll share why I love PC Optimum so much and share some tips to help you get more out of this program.

My SimpleTax review: Is this Canada’s most user-friendly tax software?

March 12, 2019

SimpleTax is Canada's most user-friendly tax software. In this review, I share the things I think make SimpleTax so great.

This is my review of SimpleTax. Or, as I like to call it, Canada’s most user-friendly tax software.

No joke.

Learning to do my own taxes felt like a major “adult” milestone. I’ve been working since I was 15 years old, but for many years, I relied on others to take care of this for me.

There’s nothing wrong with this approach. You don’t have to do your taxes yourself if you don’t want to — and if you don’t feel comfortable doing them yourself, you shouldn’t.

But I wanted to learn.

The first time I filed my taxes myself, I used TurboTax. It went OK. The program was a little glitchy on my computer, but it got the job done.

It did make me wonder if there were other options, though. So I did what any millennial in my situation would do.

I Googled it.

That’s how I found SimpleTax. After reading a few reviews, I decided to give it a try.

Spoiler alert: it totally lives up to the name.

Disclaimer: not sponsored. I mean, I wish, but this is just my opinion based on my experience using SimpleTax. I’m not being compensated to write this. I really just love the software.