I have been using Tangerine bank's (former ING Direct) services for a couple of months now and I have to say that the experience so far is good. I signed up with it, primarily because a friend of mine invited me to open one, and we both got a $50 bonus. I also was convenient it was a good bank since it was acquired by Scotiabank and is operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary. You don't need to physically go to their "cafe" (branch) to enroll. What I did was just sign up on their website, took … [Read more...]
Money-Saving Apps That Every Canadian Should Use
Before we moved to Canada, a very good friend of mine jokingly said "I bet you'll be a great coupon lady when you get there". I immediately said "Oh, yes. Definitely." I remember a few weeks after landing, I was scouring the internet for tips on budgeting and penny-pinching (my son always say that it's so funny that it's called penny-pinching which in fact, Canada already phased out their penny, haha), and I was so happy to find out that, in addition to physical coupons, there are digital … [Read more...]
Earn Rewards Through Legit Surveys
Back in Manila, I've signed up for a couple of surveys since 2010. Most of the time, I was screened out, maybe because I was in the Philippines and most surveys are for North America, Australia or the UK. When we migrated to Vancouver, I edited my profile and updated my address to my Canadian address. I am getting more survey invitations in my inbox now and 3 out of 5 times, I am qualified to answer the surveys. Since we landed, I have gotten 3 checks already and more than a dozen gift … [Read more...]
Scotiabank StartRight Program Experience
We applied online 6-7 weeks before we were scheduled to leave for Canada. (To apply, go to the ScotiaBank StartRight Program site) The branch that we chose mailed us our "Welcome Package", consisting of some brochures and also our account information. You have an option to either wire your money (up to CAD 50,000, one time only) or deposit it when you arrive at Canada. We opted to just get a CAD bank draft in BPI and deposit it when we arrive. (We were told by someone, I forgot who, that if you … [Read more...]
Registering for School for New Immigrants and Our Personal Experience
I just want to share my experience with registering for school at the Richmond BC school board (note: I am not sure if it would be the same for each city/province though). The Richmond BC school board (District no. 38) is located along Granville Ave. We gave the following documents to them: ORIGINAL Report Card (we brought the Form 137/transcript, just in case) ORIGINAL Birth Certificate ORIGINAL Certificate Of Permanent Residence (we haven't received our PR card that … [Read more...]