How to Spend Thousands on a Mobile Phone

 Many people who have used iPhones exclusively  don't realize the limitations of the device.  iPhones are media darlings and Apple's profits resulting from the loyalty of its customer base are all we hear about.   Here are few sobering points to consider.
-Apple actually has a minor position in the mobile market place....despite its profits.   Over 70% of the world uses an Android device!
.....for good reasons.....
You cannot save files in an iPhone......incredible as it seems.  On my LG Optimus I save different types of files in "my documents" just like any normal computer but as far as I can figure out the only files saved on iPhones are iTunes. 
IPhones use proprietary chargers where as my Android device will charge with any USB cord....not only that but iPhones have hard wired battery packs...no charger?.......no call ......I carry a spare battery and just change it if I run low on power in my Android device....try that with your Iphone.
IPhones have no expandable memory.....no card slot! You cannot take pictures of your holidays and transport them on an SD card......unlike my android device........oh and here's the kicker.....the retail price of my LG 2X Optimus was $299.........compare that to an iPhone which is MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PRICE.
more techy details...my LG has a larger screen than an iPhone 4 and a dual core processor as well.....and my device is nearly 2 years old......the new one is a quadcore!........the iPhone 5 is still just a dual core device.
So why do most people buy iPhones?......well actually most people don't.
Something that I went through during my last mobile device upgrade was trying to integrate the 3 things that are essential when shopping.  I needed a device, a service provider and software....meaning apps and an operating system.  Everyone wants these components to connect seamlessly.  I found that getting there is easy.....as long as I was willing to pay....up front....every month.....and for YEARS IN TO THE FUTURE.  I hated that choice.  I paid dearly to the big providers for years like most Canadians because the the fed...meaning the CRTC created a oligopoly that crushed competition and led to decades of price gouging by Rogers, Telus and Bell.   One cannot blame these corporations for taking advantage of protected market conditions created by government policy.
Recently, the fed sold some band width..frequency licenses....by auction to create some competition and lower prices for consumers. It has been fairly successful but the fact remains that unless we shop very carefully for our hardware and services we as Canadians still end up paying more than a  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  A YEAR!.
 A mobile phone these days is essentially a micro computer that is commonly referred to as a "smart phone".  The industry works on a obsolescence rate of about 18 months.  The biggest trap that the "RoBelUs" (Rogers, Telus and Bell) set is the 3 year contract that includes all 3 components...service, hardware and software.  My research led me to estimate that these contracts cost about 4 thousand dollars plus add ons that vary from an additional few hundred dollars up to a couple of thousand, depending on how often people lose or break their phones and how much roaming and other crap that the companies gouge people for.  Basically a hundred a month for three years includes a new device with an upgrade every 18 months, Canada wide calling, text messaging and data (email and web browsing) and taxes.  It is possible to pay less but it's not a level playing field.
 The first thing that I tried to avoid was signing a 3 year year contract. I absolutely hated getting that bill every month automatically charging my Visa for more money than it should be and then having to phone the company to whine about it and try to claw back some of the money!  Once you sign and hand over your card, it doesn't matter whether you lose your phone, leave the country or die...you will be charged for the next three years!....don't do it. 
So my best move of all is DON'T GIVE THE COMPANY YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER)  unless you don't care how much you'll be charged.
 Second, don't sign a service contract. 
And third don't buy a device...a phone that is locked to the provider.  If you do and then you lose or break your phone you will have buy another phone while you are still paying for the one you lost!  Plus, if you do manage to change providers you will have to pay to get your phone unlocked.
Here's how I currently do it.  I bought a new LG smartphone....UNLOCKED.....

from an ebay seller.  That was two hundred dollars.  Then I purchased a month to month service agreement from Wind Mobile that has no limits and no contract,  plus a 15 dollar SIM card.  This means that I can phone anywhere in N. America, text anywhere in the world and surf the net endlessly ..not only on my device ...BUT ON MY HOME COMPUTER AS WELL.  I DON'T PAY FOR A SECOND INTERNET CONNECTION AT HOME. I tether my phone. The cost is 46 dollars a month including tax paid in advance,,,no post service billing.  The only time I've had to pay more is when roaming but it's still BY FAR the cheapest way to go.
Most people don't do it this way and they all mostly either get less service or they pay a lot more.   The reason is that the big companies HATE CUSTOMERS LIKE ME because they can't lock me into a big contract and then use it to borrow more money to buy arenas and waterfront condos all the while charging my credit card. I'm only thinking of our hard earned money. It sounds simple but I didn't find it so.  I tried to pay cash for a "pay as you go" phone with a data package from Rogers this summer...it was so expensive and complicated and time consuming that I gave up and used my Wind phone and ate the roaming charges.  The website states that the service is available but to get advertised price you have to pay with a credit card!  To pay cash I went to the retail store and I had to buy a voucher that cost more than the price of the service.. People who live in rural areas suffer the most from the high prices of service.   I bought out my Telus contract to the tune of 400 bucks because of my frustration with being charged long distance fees on what I thought were local calls,  I left Koodo for the same reason.  And I left Roger's because I was lied to about the system access fee.  I was told it was a government radio license fee....I paid that fee for 9 long years.  Wind has been great so far.  The drawback is that its only available to urbanites.   Crazy world huh?

CANUCKS BITE THE DUST EARLY......SO LUONGO WILL BE TRADED RIGHT?....NOT SO FAST MY FAITHFUL SCHNEIDER FAN!

 The cherry blossoms drifted  in the warm, April breeze around a silent Roger's Arena on the Monday morning after the unthinkable happened on the ice the night before.   The Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round.   Anyone who has watched the Canucks for the last few months has seen that in some strange way the Canucks were able to pile up points and win the President's trophy, while watching the parts of their game that took them to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup last June dwindle to a fraction of their former strengths. 
Since the Canucks entered the NHL in 1970 they have made the playoffs 25 times during those 42 years.  They have been eliminated from the playoffs every single one of those times, usually in April....occasionally in May and  June.  So why is the Canucks' exit in April of this year so bitterly disappointing?  Why? Because of expectations that's why.  In the first 2 times that the Canucks were eliminated in the final in June the team was not well placed in the regular season and not really expected to win the cup.  Last year the team was expected to win the cup and nearly did...finally being eliminated in June.   This year the Canucks got soundly beaten in the first round after finishing first overall again. No one saw this coming.   Which is strange because the Canucks didn't really play badly...they got beaten by a better Los Angeles Kings team.  It was not about the play of Roberto Luongo who was on the bench for the goal by Stoll that was the final nail driven into the coffin that was the Canucks 2012 season.   Cory Schneider played well, very well and Luongo proved once again that he is a very, very good goalie.

So as the chatter in the bars and around the water cooler changes from talk about the Canucks on the ice to Canucks off the ice, the main issue that is always in the fore front is goaltending.
With the emergence this year of Cory Schneider as a capable starter instead of a capable backup the Canucks management has put itself in a difficult position.  Two years ago GM Mike Gillis signed Roberto Loungo to 12 year 64 million dollar contract effectively eliminating the chance for a major change in the Canucks' net for as far into the future as any of us can look.  Its easy to be critical of the contract but it's not actually, completely, crippling to the Canucks as long as Luongo stays on the ice and plays well.   When it becomes crippling is when the Canucks try to dump his contract on another team and sign Cory Schneider who is an RFA this summer.

 First of all, Cory is going to sign for significant money this summer and the Canucks do not have enough room under the cap to keep both goalies because none of their other players' big contracts are up for renewal this year.  It would be great to keep both goalies but it isn't possible under the cap.  The Canucks are already at the limit.
In a Luongo trade scenario the player(s) that the Canucks would have to take back would have a big contract so the Canucks would have to release several of  the players that are unrestricted this summer in order to fit under the cap.  Those players include, Salo, Pahlsson, Raymond and several other players.   Roberto Luongo is going to continue to be the Canucks' top goalie next season and for a long time to come.   With a no trade clause and making 6.7 million  for the next six years, as good as Luongo is, few teams would want or be able to take on that contract without significant concessions from the Canucks.  It might be tempting to try to move to the calmer, more technically sound and younger Cory Schneider as the number one puck stopper this summer but from a business and hockey standpoint it doesn't make any sense.

 The next reason why the Canucks will trade Cory this summer is because of what the Canucks can get in return for him.   The Canucks can get another good goalie to be the backup, a very very good roster player and likely a 1st round draft pick as well in return for the RFA goalie.  That is a package that will keep the Canucks contending for years to come, it will fit under the cap......and Mike Gillis doesn't have to ask Luongo's permission... all they need to do is keep on paying Roberto Luongo 6.7 a year.  Two years ago Canucks GM Mike Gillis thought that making Luongo the highest paid goalie in the game was proof that upgrading the goaltending would neither be necessary nor possible.  It will be very, very costly for him to change his mind now.  It would be disastrous to try to dump Roberto's salary just to sign Cory Schneider because the Canucks will likely have to take back just one high salaried player in order for the other team to be able to fit Roberto's salary under its cap thus missing out on the chance to secure the team's future by moving the much more trad-able Schneider.   So, Canuck fans, get used to the idea that Roberto Luongo is the Canucks' number one goalie now and look forward to the trade this summer that will send Cory Schneider away and bring some fine fresh faces to the Canuck's roster. 

CAN'T AFFORD A $500,000.00 CONDO DOWNTOWN?.....CONSIDER RAW RURAL REAL ESTATE IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

 Buying raw,  undeveloped land as opposed to houses and apartments is a very different type of real estate purchase.  There are several drawbacks and also some real advantages. In the long run, mortgage free land that has been used and enjoyed for decades can be a valuable part of one's retirement plan.   It can be especially important for people who never did manage to get into the urban real estate market while needing a city job and then, at retirement age, finding the cabin on peaceful rural acres to be a mortgage free domicile to kick start retirement years.

The good news on buying raw land is that it's cheap.  The bad news is that financing is more difficult to arrange.  Although Canada is huge and mostly undeveloped and unpopulated, very little land in Canada, as a percentage of the overall land mass, is available for private ownership and land remains an expensive proposition for most.  Raw, rural land is of course the cheapest, but one usually has to pay cash to get the very lowest price and that still entails many thousands of dollars.
So why would someone buy raw, rural land without the plan to inhabit it or develop it.  Well one reason is to build equity.  Once again, the problem of developing equity in raw land is that the banks don't like it as collateral to any large degree.  Most banks will loan in excess of 75% of the value of developed property because if foreclosure is required, the property will produce cash flow from the rent.  Raw land will likely only attract 20% of its value in the form of a loan.  This means for example that if you buy your land....build lots of equity over the years and then approach the bank for a mortgage to build your house, you have to jump through a lot of hoops and still may not get all the money you want. But for people who don't need or want to build a house or those who want to build for themselves over time, land outside city zones can be a very satisfying way to own real estate.

The reason of course that raw, rural land is cheap is that most folks want to live in urban centers where jobs, services and entertainment are plentiful. In addition, despite the relatively low cost of raw, rural land, if one decides to buy such land, the cost of acquisition combined with the carrying costs may inhibit other savings and disposable income to the point where buying urban real estate, i.e. a place to live, may be impossible.

Despite all this negativity the idea warrants merit and I did it!  Like many things that aren't mainstream it requires a need for a slightly alternative perspective on things. One of the best things about buying raw, rural real estate is that it's possible.  Even po folks like ourselves can afford to buy land in Canada and maybe even some land with some desirability, such as waterfront, proximity to home, large tracts, merchantable timber, arability etc.  Land is available in every province in Canada and in most provinces large acreages can be had for about $500 an acre.  Yes!  FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AN ACRE.  So what about all these condos and suburban houses across the GWN that cost hundreds of thousands for just an old house on a little lot?   Well there's a vast disparity in all kinds of Canadian real estate.   This blog isn't for those who are shopping on Vancouver's west side nor for those looking at family houses in Fort McMurray and other high priced neighbourhoods.  These ideas are for those who either dream of owning a place in the country or for those who see that as a way into the real estate market and who don't have the financial resources to carry a big mortgage or don't want to be saddled with one.

 These low priced, rural lands have the potential for providing useability, building materials, equity building and maybe even a little cash flow...all good things for someone on a tight budget.  Enjoying the privacy, the wide open spaces and flora and fauna of the countryside may be enough for many.  For those desperate for some sort of ROI. There are a many different ways to take some money and materials out of your rural acreage.   In most cases, you'll be doing well to get enough cash out of your land to pay the taxes if you don't actually work the land.  Of course, hard working folks can do better.
 It may be possible to rent arable land in whole or in part to a farmer.  Simply accepting some of the crop as rent maybe a good way to fill your freezer and offset your city food bill.

 If your land has merchantable timber, some of the acquisition cost could be offset by either logging it yourself or allowing a logging company to do it for you.  Or if the timber is of lower quality the land may still be a good wood lot for firewood sales, heating your cabin or sawing timber for lumber yourself which can be air dried and sold by the board foot and/or used to build your cabin which can then be rented out to others.
 By clearing the land as an improvement you might not only increase the value but also make other ways to develop cash flow.   You could own your own blue berry patch, grape vines for your own wine or plant fruit trees for examples.
By planting walnut trees that develop valuable timber over decades and provide nuts in the meantime, while not demanding daily maintenance, your land could be quite affordable in the short term and very valuable in the long term.

Land that has poor growing soil but is in an area of livestock farms maybe a candidate for composting to improve the arability.  Chicken, hog and other sale barns often have surplus manure that can be used for composting that will significantly improve the soil.   So cheap land with poor soil becomes more valuable land with good soil over time.  Good compost will be available from raw materials within a couple of years....a fairly short time to wait for great garden harvests.

These ways of using rural lands are well known to people who live in the country and can be used by city dwellers on weekends and vacations.  Exchanging that trip to Mexico for a two week trip to rural Ontario for clearing bush and bucking firewood might not excite the kids too much but when the weekends later on are spent berry picking, or harvesting honey from your hives or tapping your maple trees for syrup and candy, perhaps the road less traveled can be rewarding....and profitable after all.
I bought my land firstly to enjoy the use of it and I also I expected to achieve long term equity growth.  Both have occurred.
Lastly there is another reason that owning land is important......prestige, pride of ownership...you're the owner!  Private property rights are almost impossible to extinguish in Canada.  Once you own the land...you own it.  You can use it and will it to your descendants who will then not have to work those long hours to make all those mortgage payments.
But with your land you will most likely own it outright within 5 to 10 years.  You can farm it, rent it,  build a cabin, camp on it, do projects that require space like wood and rock work, have storage space and a myriad of other uses.
Sometimes, land that seems remote can become less so over the years because of growth in the area, improved roads or other transportation links.  Then, developments such as subdivision becomes a possibility.

Here's a great link because this a real estate company that provides uncomplicated financing for it's lands....all you have to do is make the payments and in five years you own it!
http://www.dignam.com/category/western-provinces/

Here's another good resource
http://www.niho.com/
Here's the most important link for shopping for land in Canada
http://www.realtor.ca/index.aspx

 The first five years after acquisition is always the most difficult.  After that, because of inflation the payments are smaller, the land is worth more, you're making more etc.  So it seems daunting at first but I've never met anyone who regrets buying land. 
Buying my land was a pivotal decision and remains one of the most important things I've ever done so I have no problem recommending it to friends.  But like the buying of silver....almost no one does it.  All you need is either a few thousand dollars or a bit of credit or both is nice of course.  In some cases the seller may take payments in order to make the sale possible..... Then you could buy land like this for example.
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=8834770&PidKey=-1083420418
or this
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=11534826&PidKey=1554220469
feeling adventurous?  How about 155 acres for $20,000
http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=11493914&PidKey=-1380278859