Student debt-free after just 2 years + MORE May 2nd

Photograph by Ben Nelms
The current situation
Ales Eisner, 40, is an IT contractor making $150,000 annually in Surrey, B.C. He’s single and has been an aggressive investor, mainly because he wants to retire at age 50. “I like high growth as well as dividend-paying stocks,” says Eisner. “I try to keep my portfolio Canadian and I’ve had an average annual return of 10% gross.” Three years ago, he also purchased four investment properties in the U.S.: two in Nevada and two in Arizona, all sight unseen for less than $100,000 each. To buy them, he had to put $280,000 on a line of credit, but each U.S. house has since doubled in price.
Today, his income properties net $20,000 annually but he plans to sell one in three years to help pay off the debt on his other homes and to get rid of any business-related debt on a second line of credit. At age 50, he will then sell all but one of his houses. “The cash from those sales would go to my investment portfolio,” says Eisner, who currently contributes a combined $1,450 per month to his various accounts…

The week comes to a close with the return of the famous IHG Stay X Get Y bonus offers! News, Tips & Tricks You can earn up to 10x the Air Miles at Rona until May 7th with this coupon. The offer is for 4x the Air Miles is you just use your Air Miles Card, 10x if you pay with a Rona card.The IHG Rewards Club ‘Stay X Get Y’ bonuses have returned for the Summer! Although they are not called “Stay X Get Y” as that was a moniker given to them by the frequent traveller community, the “Reel Summer” promotion as it is called is just that. Technically these are targeted promotion codes but IHG keeps them very loosely targeted as most if not all members should be able to register for one of the offers. The list was compiled from the Flyer Talk thread discussing these promo codes. Definitely partake in these offers if you can!Earn up to 15,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for a certain amount of nights or completing a certain amount of stays at participating InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo™, Holiday Inn®, Express by Holiday Inn™ and Holiday Inn Express® hotels worldwide, …

Before you make the final click on your next online purchase, pause for a moment to consider the site’s return policy. Many online retailers don’t offer the same warranty and return policies as their brick-and-mortar counterparts. For example, Kitchen Stuff Plus’s return policy for online purchases—whether the item is defective or you simply don’t like it—is 30 days from the date you receive the product. But for items bought in its walk-in stores, return times are more generous.
A growing number of Canadian online retailers offer no returns whatsoever, meaning new products are basically sold “as is.” This type of practice is largely without legal consequence, due to hazy federal and provincial legislation that is highly ineffective at protecting consumers, says Fiona Dunbar of the Better Business Bureau. “As a result, it’s crucial for consumers to review each retailer’s policy regarding refunds, exchanges and deposits prior to making a purchase,” she advises.
To get around any limitations, buy with credit…

American Express is offering limited time increased sign bonuses for their AIR MILES Platinum Cards of 1,500 Rewards Miles.  This is the highest offer yet for The Platinum card beating the 1,200 seen when the card got revamped last year. This is a pretty decent sign up offer, for example if you live in Ontario it can pretty much get you a round trip ticket (excluding taxes & fees) to anywhere on this map with some miles leftover (zones 4,5,6,7,9,10):** Please note that this offer is not live yet **The American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card• Limited Time Offer: Earn a bonus of 1,500 AIR MILES reward miles when you charge a total of $500 in purchases to your Card within your first three months of Cardmembership. Offer expires June 30, 2014!• Enjoy your first year free• Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at AIR MILES®* Sponsors• Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at other eligible grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores in Canada• Plus, earn 1 reward mile for every $15 in Card purchases everywhere else• Shop at participating AIR MILES Sponsors across Canada with your Card and show your AIR MILES®* Collector Card, and you can earn reward miles twice • More than 1000 rewards to choose from! Redeem for a wide range of rewards – everything from movie tickets to electronics, travel and more• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website…

Photograph by Evaan Kheraj
In June 2011, I found myself completely maxed out. I had $100 to my name, plus $100 of wiggle room on my credit card, and it had to last me six weeks. It had finally happened. After years of swiping my credit card for anything I dreamed of owning or doing, my bad spending habits finally caught up with me and I was left with $28,000 of debt. I was 26, just a year away from graduating with a B.A. But it was also the year I moved back in with Mom and Dad. It had been a long time coming.
How did I get here? I earned a two-year college diploma in communications in 2007, then landed a desktop publishing job with the B.C. public service. I earned $50,000 a year but in 2010 decided to complete a bachelor’s degree as well. I spent two years doing that online.
Initially I moved out of my parents’ place at 22, right after getting my diploma. I was so excited but also carelessly started accumulating debt. I bought new furniture, but never searched for used items. If I got an invitation from anyone, I always said yes, whether for brunch, the movies, dinner and drinks, or a weekend in Seattle…