You heard it here (nearly) first!

1. Local uber-success story John Chow is running a contest on his blog for a bag full of great loot (great equates to things like a flip phone, for example) sponsored by market leverage. I’m in, and so can you be. Just pop on by his blog and leave a comment (and if you’re new to the blogosphere, we don’t spam! So don’t worry about entering).

2. If you need some art (I know I do) this is a must for Vancouverites:

The Cheaper Art Show
All art for $200

Free admission
Saturday, June 21, 2008
7pm–Midnight
142 Waterstreet (old Storyeum building)
Vancouver BC

note: 75% of the sales go directly to the artist.

3. And if you use a mac, or are thinking of switching, here’s a deal that got me and the local AppleStore in 24hours, thanks to Buzz Bishop:

Apple give 52 1-hour one-on-one tutorials for $100. For real. Conditions are you go max once/week. They have a series of topics and tutorial plans, but you can also ask for whatever help you need. For example, I now can use ichat to visit mom in the nwt via video. My most recent sessions and the next ones are helping me create a podcast.

The genius of this great deal struck me: if I only go a couple times, they make money. If I go a lot of times, I become deeply embedded into mac = my loyalty, plus, I can help others with their macs.

Now, how can I figure out something similar for the bank I work for …

photo credit: lucke.justin

Photo Credit: Madaboutasia

Maclean’s Magazine recently published an issue with the headline:

LIFE AT $200 A BARREL.
You won’t be able to eat, travel or live as you do now.
Say goodbye to the age of plenty.

And it occurred to me: I don’t really believe it.

It hasn’t

sunk

in.

I have the luxury of walking to work, and I gave up my car a number of years ago, so I’m not as in touch with rising oil/gas prices as those of you who commute.

But this goes a lot further than simply convincing us to use public transit instead of our cars.

Shipping costs have increased by 72%.  What are the ramifications?

Consider your bananas. Your sugar. Your coffee.

I don’t know the micro-economics, but I’m guessing a big part of that cost is the transportation. Are you prepared to pay nearly double, soon, for these goods?

Consider your getaways and vacation/christmas travel to friends and family. Westjet now charges an additional $20 – $45 each way to cover their rising costs. AirCanada charges between $40 – $120. What will it be by next December?

The council of a suburb in Melbourne, Australia, is already planning how they will handle the lifestyle changes -

• kids moving out of the ‘burbs back into mom and dad’s downtown home, to avoid the commute
• increased demand for bike and pedestrian paths
• increased mental health issues caused by isolation

Yikes.

Readers, what’s your opinion: Do you believe oil prices will continue to skyrocket? Do you foresee that it will cause dramatic lifestyle/consumption changes for all of us? Have you personally experienced any impact yet?

Despite the fact that I work for Canada’s best-kept-secret bank that usually gives the highest interest in Canada, each paycheque I carve off a chunk and send it over to that big orange-coloured online bank.

Why do I do it? Because my day-to-day banking is at Citizens, and if I keep my savings at the same financial institution I know me: I’ll spend it.

Something crucial will come up -

The Fleuvog shoe sale

The Apple store opening

An unexpected expense (read: daschund trip to the vet emerg, or my demonic dishwasher)

and my savings for christmas, vacation will be plundered.

And yet I know that those expenses, if not planned for and funded, will kaibosh me when the time comes, so I am committed to protecting them from, well, myself and the daschunds.

By keeping them in the “other bank”, it puts a brake on high-pressure temptation. They don’t get plundered.  The hassle factor of finding my online access code, going to the site to transfer the funds and knowing it will take three business days – meh. Not worth it anymore.

Christmas, vacations and a handful of other priorities are accounted for.

Readers: do you have any tricks or tips that help you protect your money from seemingly impossible-to-ignore opportunities to spend?

ps: don’t tell my employer about this.

photo credit: evilangela

1. Hockey Fans. Some inside scoop: you must join this contest. Inside scoop: odds are really quite nice. So just enter. Enough already. And congrats Detroit and our own Newfoundland!

2. Vancouverites – know anyone with kids looking for an eco-camp for the summer?

What could be more fun than FUN?? FUN Camps is Friends Uniting for Nature – a new and exciting environmental leadership program that is piloting this summer at UBC campus. If you have kids aged 11-15, you don’t want to miss out on the chance to offer them fun hands on learning in the area of sustainable living.

They’ll learn all about how to create a healthier life and planet for themselves AND they’ll have a fantastic time, meeting new friends, doing workshops, making solar powered cars and heading off on FUN field trips. This is the first year that a program like this is being offered and space is limited. So sign up fast - it’s time to make our world a better place. Where better to start than with our kids? Registration has just begun, and space is limited. (Also exciting is that we got a $10,000.00 grant from the Climate Action Secretariat of BC, and $3000.00 of that is going towards scholarships for low-income youth. )

INFO SESSION: interactive information session at lululemon (2113 West 4th) on June 9th. 6 – 7pm

3. And for this 50th offering, check out www.10onWednesday.com My friend is a source of all kinds of treasures at garage-sale pricing.