Adventures in Debt

Something I read over at My Money Blog today reminded me that I should remind y’all about: free entertainment at your local library. They’ve got DVDs to rent for free, books a plenty and sometimes even storytime for the little ones.

As a teenager I was an avid reader, but after university, where I studied French & Italian literature, I was a bit book-ed out. I often had to read 5-7 novels per course I was taking, so there wasn’t much time for pleasure reading.

But moving to the big, expensive city after graduation, I was reminded that there were many free things at the library. So I renewed my acquaintance & library card and was off to the races.

One of the newest things I’ve been enjoying is the Internet reservation system, where you can simply browse for the books online, click a few radio buttons, and voila! You’ve got yourself a book. Speaking of, I’ve actually got to go pick one up at the library today. I got a voicemail from the nice lady at the library (actually, it’s an automated system), telling me my book arrived. So I’ll head on over after work and see what it is. (That’s another part of the fun, especially if you’ve got a list of things on your waiting list…you’re never quite sure what’s arrived till you get there. )

I just scored and extra $5 in free gas by doing a rewards points exchange! Yes. I am currently collecting RBC rewards points, as well as Esso Extra points. RBC has Esso gift certificates for free gas at Esso, and I was at the point level where I could get a $25 gas certificate. I thought about it for a moment, then decided to check out their point exchange rates. Was that ever a good move!

By converting the same amount of RBC rewards points, I got an extra $5 in free gas at Esso! So instead of just $25 in free gas, I could get $30 in free gas, which is a total bonus.

I’m also a member of Points.com, which helps link up some reward programs that aren’t normally linked, but being in Canada, my choices there are a bit limited. If you’re in the US though, I highly recommend taking advantage of it.

While looking at my latest credit card bill, I just realized that my cash advance interest rate is only 1.9%. That got me thinking.

• Could I use a cash advance from this card to pay down some of my other debt?
• Should I do that?

What do y’all think? I’m tempted to do it, as it would definitely be a cheaper option for me, as the lowest interest rate I’ve got somewhere is 3.9%. Hmm…