Like a lot of you probably reading this, I absolutely hate paying too much for what you’d view as a commodity service.

Throwing away good money on bank fees, credit card annual fees, and brokerage commissions feels almost criminal to me. I just can’t do it. I couldn’t sleep at night.

Naysayers scoff at how little the savings amount to be, but you know what? Screw the naysayers. Even saving $10 or $20 per month ends up putting thousands back into your pocket over time. All those little wins add up.

And what I’ve discovered over the years is most folks could use a win or two sometimes.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the products I use in my day-to-day financial life, excellent choices that will save you money, improve your experience, and, as an added bonus, help me keep the lights on around here.

(Yes, these are affiliate links, but these are not like most affiliate links on the web. These are products, services, and accounts I personally use.)

Let’s get right to it.

Online brokerage

For decades I was a Qtrade man. I first opened up an account in 2003 and was pretty happy with the experience. Service was good, fees were reasonable, and I thought the interface was pretty user friendly.

I watched Wealthsimple gain market share over the years and sort of scoffed at the whole thing. I was a serious investor, and WS didn’t hold a candle to what more traditional online brokerages had to offer.

But two things started to happen. Qtrade’s service started to degrade (at least my service did) and WS really started to up their game. WS went from being a serious step down compared to traditional online brokerages to a legitimate player. It seemed like it was adding major features on pretty much a weekly basis for a while there.

And so, in early 2025, I switched. I bid au revoir to Qtrade and moved my money over to Wealthsimple.

And it’s been wonderful. I should’ve done this years ago.

Wealthsimple offers too many things to list, but here are a few of the things I really enjoy about the platform:

• Commission-free trades

• Wealthsimple Cash, which gives competitive interest rates and cash back on any spending

• Perks, which include things like a free Globe and Mail subscription, free airport lounge passes, Uber One memberships, and more

• Free tax filing software

• The best transfer bonuses in the marketplace, period

To open your Wealthsimple account, click here.

Banking

Like my relationship with Qtrade, I used my local credit union for decades before realizing just how much the relationship was costing me.

I started out with a Fat Cat account, which gave me unlimited transactions for $0 and a small amount of interest on my savings. Then I turned 18 and suddenly had to pay for those transactions. So I did what any logical person would do — I only used my debit card when it was absolutely necessary, choosing instead to swipe my credit card.

It translated into reasonable fees every month (in the $10 range), which was fine for a while. But it wasn’t quite enough, and so I went searching for a better option.

I found it with Simplii, the former PC Financial assets that were purchased by CIBC in 2018.

Simplii offers everything that I’m looking for in a bank account, including:

• A true no-free chequing account

• A savings account that offers surprisingly good promo interest rates

• The ability to move money to other accounts

• Use of CIBC bank machines and, if worse comes to worse, I can go into a branch if needed

I’ve had a Simplii account for 5+ years now, and I continue to be a fan. I don’t think I’ll ever switch.

To open your own Simplii account, click here.

Credit card

I left out the big reason to open up a Simplii bank account, and a main motivator for me to do so.

I opened an account because Simplii has what I view as the best no-fee cash back credit card on the market.

I personally use the Simplii Financial Visa card for virtually all my purchases. I do have more than one credit card in my wallet, but this is the one that gets cracked out time and time again.

The reason why I love this card so much is because you can get a ton of rewards even if you’re not a huge spender. And you’re getting those rewards while not paying a nickel in annual fees.

Here’s how it works. The Simplii Cash Back Visa offers:

• 4% cash back on restaurant spending (up to $5,000 per year, or $200 of rewards)

• 1.5% cash back on grocery store, gas station, drugstore, and pre-authorized payments (up to $15,000 per year, or $225 in rewards)

• 0.5% cash back on everything else (no limit)

As you can see, the rewards really start to add up, even at fairly modest spending levels.

Plus, you get 10% cash back in your first three months, up to a limit of $100 cash back. Not bad, right?

To apply for this credit card, click here.

Bonus tip!

Probably the biggest reason why I retired from conventional work in 2022 was because it simply didn’t afford me enough time to travel.

I think travel is a massively positive experience. It teaches resilience, gives perspective, and introduces us to different cultures. There’s nothing better than stumbling upon a little hole in the wall restaurant in some exotic land, trying the fare, and immediately falling in love.

There’s just one problem. Travel is expensive, and more important bills often get in the way.

There are plenty of things one can do to make travel more affordable. You can:

• Search for airfare deals

• Get credit cards that offer airline points or hotel deals

• Go to cheaper parts of the world

There are a million others, but I won’t go into too much detail. Instead, I’ll let you guys know a neat little trick I use to save money every time I fly.

I pick up discounted airline gift cards at the Costco. You can buy a $500 gift card for Westjet, Air Canada, and Porter for just $450.

You can’t use multiple gift cards on the same flight, so here’s what I do. I’ll book a one-way flight with one airline to my destination, and then I’ll book another one-way flight with another airline back home.

This doesn’t work with all locations, obviously. So do your research beforehand. But it works often enough, and it’s an easy way to save $100.