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What I’ve learned from freelancing

April 3, 2011 by renee 1 Comment
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“Freelancing. You spend half your time working and the other half looking for work.” – My neighbour

I’ve always freelanced in some form or another. Sometimes I was paid and sometimes I did it for free (friends, favours, bylines). I’ve always had a job though. There was the protection of a steady paycheque to cushion me against the quirks of freelancing.

Then last August I lost my job. I got a decent severance and I had savings but those never last as long as one would like so I had to do something quickly. [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: freelance, freelance writing, freelancing, money, saving

How Much for the Stuff in my Basement: Comics and Collectibles

September 27, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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DareDevil / Peter Dixon

So you’re in the basement one day and you see an unlabelled box sitting quietly in a corner. Curious, you open it and you see stuff that might have been your ex’s, your parents’ or even yours from years ago. Your first instinct is to throw it out. After all, you don’t need it but before you do that, have you thought about selling it and pocketing the cash? [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: AOL, collectibles, comic, comics, finance, freelance, trading cards, work, writing

Smart Savings with Coupons

September 20, 2010 by renee 3 Comments
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Groceries / Michael Costas, Creative Commons

Shopping with coupons has become a competitive sport. It’s all about how much you get for your coupons and even better, how much you’ve saved while shopping. [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: AOL, freelance, walletpop

Latest blog from Walletpop.ca: Save money when grocery shopping

September 17, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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Grocery store / jemrocks / Creative Commons

Is here.

Save Money When Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is one of the best ways to practice saving skills. With a little effort, you can shave 10 to 20 per cent off your grocery bill. It just takes a little thinking outside the big box stores to shop and eat well.

The best part is that eating on the cheap doesn’t mean eating poorly. You can find great prices on food. [Read more...]

Filed Under: blog, Clippings, featured Tagged With: AOL, freelance, walletpop, work, writing

HGTV’s Scott McGillivray Talks Income Property and Becoming a Landlord

September 13, 2010 by renee 3 Comments
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Scott McGillivray / HGTV.ca

Buying a house with an income property is one way to get into the property market. However, just buying a house and expecting to find tenants isn’t as easy as it seems. Scott McGillivray, host of HGTV’s Income Property shares his expert advice with Walletpop and potential landlords. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clippings, featured Tagged With: AOL, freelance, HGTV, income property, real estate, Scott McGillivray, walletpop

Blogging for Walletpop.ca

September 3, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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I’ve started writing for Walletpop.ca. My latest blogs are:

How to Have a Fun and Frugal Long Weekend

Five Ways to Stay Cool and Save Money

Filed Under: blog, Clippings, featured Tagged With: finance, freelance, walletpop, work, writing

The new basic black pants

August 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment
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Gap "Black Magic" Premium Pants

Gap wants you to think of them when you think of pants. The company recently debuted their Premium Pants collection for men and women. Their goal is to be the staple in everyone’s closet.
The new line, featuring seven styles for women and five for men, is based on Gap’s relaunched denim line which means there’s something for everyone whether you like a skinny fit or the classic trouser. The company sees the new pants line as one that will fit all body shapes and be appropriate for every occasion from work to play.

Best of all, the pants range from $59.50 to $69.50. Not bad for a wardrobe workhorse.


Women’s Fits:

  • Really Skinny
  • Boyfit
  • Slim Cropped
  • Perfect Trouser
  • Modern Boot
  • Curvy
  • True Straight

Men’s fit

  • Tailored Khaki
  • Classic Khaki
  • Vintage Khaki
  • Classic Trouser
  • Relaxed Trouser

The Gap Premium Pant collection is available at Gap stores.

Filed Under: blog, Clippings, featured Tagged With: freelance, GAP, work, writing, Yahoo

TOPSHOP In Toronto

August 3, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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TOPSHOP is one of those stores that’s on the list of many a fashion-lover. If you’re going to Britain or even to New York, it’s the store to get trendy, affordable pieces and maybe even a little of that Kate Moss magic.

So there was excitement when TOPSHOP announced earlier this year they would start shipping to Canada. It got even better with the news that TOPSHOP was setting up shop at Jonathan+Olivia in Toronto. The store within a store will carry the TOPSHOP main line, Unique+Boutique and the Kate Moss collection.

I got the chance to talk with owner Jackie O’Brien who told me that she and the TOPSHOP team starting talking in December 2009 about bringing the brand to Canada. Once the decision was made, it then became a matter of paring down the massive selection.

“I spent time at the Oxford store [TOPSHOP's flagship store in the UK] looking at the merchandize,” says O’Brien. “I’d look at a wall and go, “that one” or “Not that wall.” Then it was a matter of choosing what would work for Jonathan + Olivia.”

The capsule store is 800-square feet of carefully-chosen clothing and shoes. O’Brien plans on having new items every two weeks and will have new lines on the same schedule as TOPSHOP in the UK. In fact, if you can’t make it out this week, there will be new clothes in next week. Yes, the turnaround is that fast. If you like something, buy it since I predict that stock isn’t going to last long. On a personal note, the jackets are amazing.

Whether this is the first step to a free-standing store is yet to be determined, but when TOPSHOP was feeling out the U.S. market, it set up shop in Opening Ceremony in New York before expanding to its own store.

Keep your fingers crossed for the same result here.

You can get your style fix from Saturday June 19th. Jonathan + Olivia is located at 49 Ossington Street.

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: freelance, TOPSHOP, work, writing, Yahoo

Home ownership means living within your means

May 3, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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I was in one of my favourite consignment stores the other weekend and was trying on some designer label dresses (Dolce and Gabbana! Cynthia Rowley!) when I slipped on a gorgeous maxi-dress. It was beautiful, it would be perfect for the stinking hot summer months; it would be great on a patio.

It was also $300. Not bad for a silk designer dress but the first thought that popped into my head after, “Oh my God, I love this dress!” was “That’s a property tax payment.” Welcome to the world of first-time homeownership.

A friend of mine bought her home two years before I did and once told me that it takes a few month to get used to the rhythm of home expenditures and she was right. For the first three months I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough money in my account to cover my bills and I’d be hit with an in-sufficient funds charge. Suddenly $25 becomes a large sum of money when you own a place. Prior to buying my home I had a decent disposable income. I contributed to my RRSPs and I could also drop $300 on a dress I didn’t need and not feel the pinch.

These days I can do that once in a rare while but even when I can, I find myself thinking, “This could go towards my mortgage payment.” I have to remind myself that owning a home means many things but it shouldn’t mean being unable to enjoy yourself – just being careful to live within your new means.

Renee Sylvestre-Williams is a writer, new homeowner and savvy consumer who hates paying full price for anything. You can email her at renee.sylvestrewilliams@gmail.com and also follow her on Twitter @reneeswilliams.

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: allinthehome.com, finance, freelance, house and home, work, writing

Star Wars Chopsticks and Star Trek Cuff Links

March 3, 2010 by renee Leave a Comment
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Like sushi? Like Star Wars? Then combine the two with Star Wars chopsticks. You can use the Force (or just eat) with a choice between the Darth Vader/Yoda chopsticks or the Luke Skywalker/Yoda pair.

Note:  Not to be used while wearing your Adidas Star Wars shoes.

To add even more geek cred, there are Star Trek cuff links. You can show your love for the show with the Starship Enterprise or the Star Trek Delta shield. The Delta Shield cuff links will run you $65.

Filed Under: blog, Clippings Tagged With: digital trends, freelance, men's fashion, quirky, star wars, work, writing

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