A credit card being used at a store in Calgary on May 5, 2015.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
The best of the web on money, markets and all things financial, as chosen daily by Globe and Mail personal finance columnist Rob Carrick.
How to avoid foreign exchange fees on your credit card
The RewardsCanada website lists three credit cards that don't charge the usual foreign exchange fee of 2 to 3 per cent when you buy things outside Canada.
What you need to know about new reward cards
I'm including this infographic on the new Scotiabank GM Visa card to teach you two lessons about new credit cards. The chart suggests you'd rack up enough points to buy a GM vehicle – the tiny Chevy Spark – after 9.4 years of using the card. If you like this pitch, keep in mind that new credit cards are sometimes introduced with aggressive rewards payouts that can be dialed down in later years. Second, programs like this can sometimes be pulled after a while. A Ford card offered in the 1990s by CIBC ended after five years.
Yup, the rich are happier
A self-made millionaire studied more than 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people and found them willing to admit something about money that makes many of us uncomfortable: It can solve most problems.
Economists have predicted 10 of the last five recessions
A business writer quotes this joke in making the point that investors should buy and hold, and not react to short-term market events like the downturn last month.
More money
Join the people who are part of my Facebook personal finance community for talk about investing, retirement, real estate, banking and other financial matters. I'm also on Twitter.
Rob Carrick