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Deal of the day. Yes you read that right. Red Flag Deals is jumping on the new social media craze like the ones below: See if you can find out how Red Flag Deal of the Day differs from its competitors. To me it looks exactly like the livingsocial.com site.
How to fix it? Go to the wp-config.php file in your WordPress installation directory and add the following code:
You might also get the same error when trying to upgrade plugins, and it can be fixed by the same code. Let me know if you have questions about this. Internet juggernauts are wrong about blocking crawler access to duplicate content on a site via robots.txt file. Do not follow their advice as it is outdated! This is my story of how I came to realize this fact. Background: I started my blog on mid Feb and only a few days later started seeing consistent search engine traffic to my site (I saw about one hit every other day). Being new to SEO concepts, I did my due diligence and started to research, learn and implement. I figured it made sense to take SEO advice from the best bloggers of the blogosphere. After all they have made it to the top of search engine results. Duplicate Content: The idea behind duplicate content is the following. A crawler bot crawls through your site and find duplicate content. It takes the content and puts it in a supplemental index, and prevents it from showing up in the main search results. To avoid this problem the recommendation is to stop the bot from finding the duplicate content. This is done through the robots.txt file. I updated my robots.txt on April 5th to this:
Result: About a week after making the change search engine traffic flat lined! It died! You can see this impact in the google analytics screenshot below.
I find this very concerning and it has two weeks since I saw any search engine traffic. It makes no sense as I have more content on my site now (which keeps expanding) compared to when I first started out. There is also some growth in the number of visitors coming to my site through referral and direct traffic. I decided to do a sanity check: I did case study where I created sample set of new bloggers (few months to a year old blog) who were reporting increase in search engine traffic over time. I looked at their robots.txt file and realized that none of them were blocking crawler access through the use of robots.txt file. I needed to find a subject expert for advice on the duplicate content issue: After searching for a few hours I hit gold. A recent article from Google that says the following:
Next Steps: I edited my robots.txt file on 26th April to its pre-change state. I understand that it can take google some time to crawl through my site and find all the duplicate content and make the necessary adjustments. Hopefully, this will resolve the search engine traffic issue I have seen at my site. I will be posting a status update on my search engine traffic in a few weeks. Are you blocking crawler from accessing duplicate content? What are some of the best practices that you use to get organic traffic?
Various costs associated with the move are deductible as moving expenses, including:
Notes:
What you will need to file taxes using NetFile: You will need to obtain an access code from CRA in order to NetFile. If you don’t have one the access code, you can obtain one by either calling their e-service Help Desk, or get an access code online. See the CRA web page on Access Codes for more information. Top reasons for using NetFile:
You cannot use Net File to file your return if:
For detailed information on NetFile visit the Canada Revenue Agency web page on NetFile. If you are smartphone nut like me, and Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 announcement hype left you with mixed feelings (due to lack of flash support) than the following news should cheer you up some. PlanetBeing from the Dev-Team was secretly working on porting Android OS over on to the iPhone. I always hoped that someone would be able to port it over, but never got the wind of anything material. The whole porting business was a hush hush affair. PlanetBeing succeeded in the port and released the news on April 21st, I repeat, he took the Google Android OS and made it run on the iPhone. Watch the video PlanetBeing posted demonstrating the Android OS in action on the iPhone. This development is still in the very early stages for use by an average consumer like myself. Never the less, I am thrilled by the prospect of a more user friendly release over the next few months. For me this will be a great opportunity to try out Android without shelling out hundreds of dollars, which agrees perfectly with my financial plans. I can just imagine using both the platforms depending on the need. E.g. Apple does not allow flash still, perhaps Android does. Apple does not allow certain apps, well Android likely does. Finally, we are seeing a shift of technology towards being hardware independent. First we were able to run Microsoft Windows on Apple computers, and now we will be able to run different Phone OS on iPhones. At the end of the day its all about consumers having more choices without the extra costs of the hardware. If you have an iPhone, would you dual boot your iPhone with Android? If you were on the fence between buying an iPhone and an Android device, are you more likely to buy the iPhone now?
This free service is available to people with low income and a simple tax situation, who are not able to prepare their own tax returns. There are numerous volunteer tax clinics throughout many communities. These clinic usually operate during the months of March and April. You can locate a clinic near you by visiting the CRA web site Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinics. However, volunteers will not prepare returns for deceased persons, bankrupt individuals, or for people with capital gains/losses, business income or rental income and expenses. If you do not qualify for the free tax preparation service, you can always use a free tax software and file taxes using NetFile.
The problem stems from the products being extremely complicated, which in turn make it very difficult for the common man to recognize the risks associated with the financial product. The US government is introducing Financial Regulatory reform to protect consumers from the rapacious practices of various financial institutions. What would the functions of the new agency be?
It will set rules for the entire financial market. It will also be responsible for enforcing compliance by the financial services providers, prevent disparaging practices by the credit card companies, bank etc.
A. Mortgages: generally lots of paper work is needed to file for a regular mortgage loan. Many brokers take advantage of the complicated and confusing nature of the paper work and give borrowers loans contrary to their or what they could reasonably afford. The new agency would combine the overlapping Federal mortgage forms while protecting the borrower from unfair and deceptive mortgage lending practices. B. Auto loans: there is a widespread practice amongst auto dealers to arrange auto loans for consumers and packaging it with expensive and unnecessary add ons. The agency will protect the consumer against this unfair practice by ensure the consumer receives clearer disclosures, and by limiting unfair payments, and in the process (taking undue advantage of their customers by) adding expensive and unnecessary add ons with the auto loan. The dealers cheat on the consumers because, they are not aware of the fact that the dealers are paid more to sell expensive loans. The new agency would ensure clearer disclosures and limit any unfair payments. C. Credit cards: credit card agreements have numerous terms and conditions in the fine print written in very technical language, which makes it difficult for a lay people to fully understand what they have agreed to. The new agency will enforce new credit card laws which will simplify the language in order to facilitate the understanding of the terms and conditions. D. Overdraft fees: the widespread problem of automatically enrolling consumers in overdraft programs will be overseen by the agency. The agency will give consumers a real choice of choosing in whether they want to join an overdraft program or not. E. Other financial services: The new agency will oversee the alternative financial service companies (such as payday lenders, check cashers etc) to protect the consumer against hidden feeds and other deceptive practices. F. Financial Literacy: The new agency will promote consumer financial literacy. It will raise awareness, educate and empower consumers so that they can make smarter financial choices. Thus, the finance regulatory reforms will bring in some fresh, consumer friendly changes with itself, which will take care of the consumer grievances to a great extent. This is a guest post contributed by Sharon Smith over at Oak View Law Group. If you read my earlier post, you may have realized that I have an abusive boss. Abusive bosses usually are not interested in your career development, and generally use to you advance their own career ambitions. Since the performance objectives were being set last week, I decided to strategically make my boss responsible for my career development through the performance objective document. I am going to outline two strategies that I used to hold my boss responsible for my career development. In fact, these strategies can be used by anyone to advance their own careers.
1. Take managers words from previous review and pivot them into positive actionable items. Pivot: Propose to develop a new skill that would address any underlying issues that were discussed in the previous review. Action: Stipulate in the performance document how taking XYZ course is going to resolve the business problem at hand. The idea is to take a course that will essentially improve your own skill set. Benefit: This step records in an official HR document your commitment to improving your skill set to the benefit of the company and the steps required to complete this objective. The upside for you obviously is gaining a transferable skill for your resume at zero dollar cost to you. Note: Avoid online corporate courses hosted through a third party vendor like skill soft by noting in the performance document that course should provide instructor support to answer specific questions. 2) Changing your job description more to your liking. It is natural that people do not want to be doing the same grunt work a year from now that they are doing today. The challenge is in setting the objective very strategically, as long as the change falls under context of your current job. This means steering your role towards areas of your job where you currently have no control. Recognize Opportunity: With every job there are problems that are out of your control and you find yourself saying if I had control over it then this is what I would do. If you can identify those things and feel that you can make a change than you are well on the way of changing your role. Action: At this point you know what needs to be changed in your role; you are going to be moving from tactical (reactive) to strategic (proactive) experience in your role. This might involve you being in charge of setting your own priorities and projects to fix the business issues. So outline exactly the support you will need to get to the strategic side. Will you need to be introduced to key people who currently make decisions without your input? Will you need time commitment for attending meetings with these people? What will your key success measures/milestones be? Benefit: You get to create your own job description and you end up being more in control of your job and the work you have to do and you are able to mitigate issues that were earlier created due to someone else. How do you turn tables in your favor at work? Lately, I have immersed myself in readings on personal finance and the found a common theme of achieving your dreams through frugal living. I am all for minimalist, waste free and green lifestyle, and truly believe that living in accordance with those values can better ones life. But I doubt that by being a penny pincher you will get very far in fulfilling your dreams. There is nothing wrong with being money conscious, in fact I encourage it as you will see throughout the personal finance section of my blog. However, I have a problem with saving 50 cents here and 50 cents there strategy. But before I explain my problem with that strategy, watch a comedians take on the 50 cents strategy. What is wrong with the 50 cents strategy? Walk into the personal finance section of a bookstore and you will find books ranging from how to retire early by cutting coupons to getting your dream vacation by purchasing no-brand-name products. These strategies require constant vigilance and take precious time out of your life that could be spent doing something more rewarding. There is something very wrong with putting hours into planning a grocery trip. Typical grocery journey: Buy cheaper milk at Store 1, drive to Store 2 find parking and buy cheaper bread, then drive to Store 3 for laundry detergent. But small savings add up at the end of the year! Yes, but the time spent to create savings, could actually be utilized to create more money! For instance, you could increase your income by applying for higher paying jobs. If you have a speciality like filling taxes, than you could put an ad on Craigslist and make money filling out tax returns. You could take a part-time job and earn a few extra dollars and learn something new while you are at it. On fulfilling dreams… Saving a few extra cents here and there might help you pay of your debt faster, or take a short trip, but at the end of the day you will find yourself picking and choosing between your dreams. As important as it is to keep savings to a healthy level, it is equally or greatly important to increase income. Because at the end of the day money defines us. Summary: Effort required = High, Money Saved = Low The effort it takes to always be “on” to save a few cents at every opportunity is too high. 80-20 rule approach to savings is much better. Reducing spending on the monthly big ticket items once requires way less effort and savings are likely to be bigger. Read quick ways to start saving this week. What are your thoughts on my take on being penny wise and pound foolish?
I am not judging, rather attempting to express an observation. When you think of Joe, what do you know? That’s right Joe who? Ok how about when you think of Jay Z, what do you know? You know that he is a male, african-american, with Beyonce. You know all this simply because he is rich. Do you know whether he is a good person, or altruistic, or a total jerk? No. You do not know any of those things about him. What comes to mind is that he is RICH! Still not convinced? Here are a few ways that money impacts us:
Money always matters, but it won’t do the following:
Then what does money do? Money magnifies everything, and money does so regardless or whether its good or bad. An average women goes and shaves her head, no one knows or cares. But if the woman is rich and goes and shaves her head and the whole word talks about it. Realize how I never named this woman, but you probably know who I am talking about? If you say that it is because she is famous. It does not take money to be famous, think of a nun who lived in India and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, or a Buddhist monk who is banished from his own land or birth and travels the world preaching about peace. Regardless of what money does, having money makes you financially secure, which in turn lets you spend money when you want to, give it away when you want to. Thats it! Money is an instrument, and it is up to you on how to use it and how to let it define you. In my last post Credit cards are just about as evil as girls, I showed you how to make money from credit card by delaying credit card payments as much as possible without hurting your credit score. The strategy involved setting up an online high interest savings account to allow your money to earn interest by not paying your credit card bill till just before the expiry of the credit card grace period. Currently, I am using a no fee Canadian ING Direct account (that provides 3% interest). You can sign up for a free ING Direct account and in the process get a $25 bonus by using the following Orange Key 17426652S1. The downside to the strategy… The pitfall of that strategy is missing the bill due date and incurring penalties. In the past I used to create a paper to-do lists and in the process did miss a deadlines a few times (I was able to get away scotch free though, but that is a topic for another post). Fixing the downside – A better way to remember to pay your bills… I started using Google Calendar not only for to keep all my appointments, but also to set up monthly reminders to pay all my recurring monthly bills, including credit card bills. Most of my bills are due around the same time every month, which effectively allowed me to set up a recurring reminder for an indefinite period to pay my bills. My 2-4 strategy based on bill payment type…
Why Google Calendar? Because…
Here is a quick video on setting up reminders in Google Calendar Here is a quick video on syncing Google Calendar with an iPhone How do you stay on top of your bills? Credit Cards have a reputation for being evil instruments designed by bankers to gauge your money. Personal finance gurus unanimously advice people to cut their cards in half and use cash. That maybe true for irresponsible people who spend beyond their means and sabotage their lives. But if you are the responsible type who pays their balance in full at the end of each month, then you should only be using a credit card for all your spending!
Basics: Using a credit card means you are taking a loan during the month, which needs to be paid off 21 days (this grace period can be different based on the credit card) after payment is due. Essentially, you pay no interest for 21 days on the amount charged to you credit card. Caution: After the grace period a higher interest rate (generally 19% or higher) applies to the amount. It is imperative that you pay of you credit loan before the grace period. If you use gmail, you can use Google calendar to remind you about payments. However, the following strategy is not for you if you do not think you can pay in full by the grace period. Maximize return through interest free periods on credit cards As mentioned above, credit cards come with a interest free (grace) period during which you pay no interest on the amount charged to your credit card. If you were to charge $100 on your credit card on first day of your monthly credit period, you would have 50 days (29 days till month end + 21 days in grace) of interest free loan of $100. Likewise, if you charged $100 on the last day of your monthly period you would have 21 days of interest free loan on $100. The strategy is to make use of this interest free loan period. For simplicity lets assume that you charge $2000 on your credit card with 30 days left till end of interest free period. If on that day you moved $2000 to an online high interest savings account @ 3%, you would have earned $30 in interest by the time you pay of the credit card loan. That example was a simple demonstration for proof of concept. The reality is that your money stays in the bank earning interest daily (Hint: think a high interest savings account), while you charge your purchases to your credit card. Currently, I am using a no fee Canadian ING Direct account (that provides 3% interest). You can sign up for a free ING Direct account and in the process get a $25 bonus by using the following Orange Key 17426652S1. Choosing the right credit card There are numerous credit cards out there tailored to meet various needs. Generally credit cards come with rewards points, cash back, or discounts on purchases, and these rewards can be used towards products or services. You will have to decide which credit card and rewards combination meets your needs. However, here is a brief guideline for choosing a credit card.
Build a strong credit history If you are using your credit card responsibly (i.e. making full payments at end of month), you are also building a strong credit history and a positive credit report. A good credit history is important if you want to apply for a mortgage, business or personal loan and in some cases even for a job. If you know you know you can control your spending, then I suggest that you increase your credit limit. This shows that you are using a small percentage of your credit card balance towards your spending (i.e. you are responsible). I hope I have convinced you that Credit Cards are not Evil, which would mean that girls are not evil. How do you manage your Credit Card spending?
What you say you want is not important at all, your actions always tell the truth. If you didn’t want to be broke you wouldn’t be! It is as simple as that. Put another way, if you really didn’t want to be broke, you would be doing something about not being broke. Correct me if I am wrong You spend money on things you want, and there is nothing wrong with that. But spending money does lead to a depleting bank account. Your want to spend on “things” is greater than your want for not being broke, and therefore you are broke or close enough to it! You do not want to be be rich either… I not about to tell you that you will be rich if you really wanted to be to be rich. I already used that statement on being broke. Instead let’s assume that you were to win a $1 million draw today. Do you know exactly what you would do? If your answer has anything to do with quitting your job and starting up a business or investing the money to secure a comfortable future then I can tell you that you do not want to be rich. Why? Because you are already comfortable in your current situation. Remember the $1 million was an example only and you are not about to win a draw of $1 million. Being comfortable robs us of the motivation to improve our situation. Comfort is bad Comfortable people don’t feel band enough to change, and yet they will never enjoy their lives fully. Another problem with being comfortable is that it does not into account your future needs. As your needs start to change (slow change), you will be forced to adjust your spending (slowly) to maintain a state of comfort, or you will risk being broke! Fulfilling deeper desires Another problem with comfortable living is that it does not leave room to truly pursue your deeper desires. I recognize desires are unique to every person, and so I will draw on my own desires for this section. I have the desire to travel for an extended period of time without having to worry about my finances or career. But instead, every year I use up all my vacation to take a three week trip and in the process substantially deplete my savings. Don’t get me wrong, I truly feel its money well spent. This brings me to the first point of the post; we are broke or close to it because we want to be. The second point is that I live comfortably and get to take my trips and then I have a year to save up again for another trip. As you may suspect, this does nothing towards realizing my desire of extended travel without financial worry. How do you distribute your money between spending and not being broke? What are some of your desires that you recognize that may not be met by your current situation.
Vancouver is like London, it rains there all the time, why would you want to move there? Dude Vancouver is always gloomy and depressing! Using historical weather data I will prove in finality to all doubters that Vancouver’s has better climate/weather compared to Toronto; and that Torontonians are in denial of this fact. Backdrop for comparison I have lived in Toronto for almost eight years and finally had the opportunity to visit Vancouver for a couple weeks last September. Ever since I moved to Canada I knew I wanted to at the least visit Vancouver once. I do not know why I had this urge, but something inside me desperately wanted to. Whenever I expressed my desire for Vancouver or suggest a vacation there, Torontonians always played the Vancouver “bad weather” card. Before long a trend started to emerge! These Torontonians fell under two camps: the first (minority) who had vacationed in Vancouver and experienced “bad weather” and the second (majority) who had never visited Vancouver but believed the horror stories from the first camp and propagated those stories. It was not until I visited Vancouver that I met the third camp of Torontonians. The Torontonians who went to Vancouver for a short term and fell in love with the city and migrated permanently. Since they had moved to Vancouver, I never heard from them! Higher level insight into weather between Toronto and Vancouver
So realistically, Vancouver gets 52 (32+19+1) extra days of rain, while Toronto gets 72 (43+23+6) days of extra snow. So what tips me in favour Vancouver here? The Temperature! Remember Toronto has 102 extra days below zero C. Further, rain implies that that the temperature is warmer compared to compared to snow. A deeper look into mean monthly temperature between Toronto and Vancouver
Vancouver min average temp over 30 years has not fallen below 0 C; while Toronto has 4 months below zero. The temperature in Vancouver does fall below 0 C on some days; but we are looking at monthly temperature averages (for 30 years of historical data) and in this view the temperature in Vancouver has not been below 0 C. But Toronto does seem to have higher temperature during the summer months, so that maybe in favour of Toronto, but lets take a look at the precipitation factor during summer months. A deeper dive into mean monthly rain and snow between Toronto and Vancouver
What is that? My eyes must be betraying me! Vancouver has significantly less rain in the summer compared to Toronto! This is an earth shattering realization. Ok gloating aside, I don’t think I need to drill this point any further. It is fair to say that we all love summers to be rain free. Vancouver has less rain during the summer months. Conclusion You know what the conclusion is, it is right in front of you. Personally during the winter I am willing to trade extra snow with a topping of extra cold for more rain with a side of slightly warmer weather. One point I left out of the analysis is the wind speed – Toronto is about 27% more windy compared to Vancouver, which in the winter influences the wind-chill factor. As for the summer, I will take non rainy days of rainy days and once again Vancouver comes out on top. Is there anything that I have missed out on? Weather Data Source for Vancouver and Toronto The Weather Network maintains historical weather records, and the Vancouver and Toronto weather data points were obtained from: Vancouver – http://www.theweathernetwork.com/statistics/C02096/cabc0308  |
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