“Will work for food.” We’re all familiar with that saying. In fact, I saw it written on a sign last week. Working for food, I get. But how about dating for food? This is a new concept. 

It’s not unheard of for a woman – or even a man – to score a free meal on a date. If conversation is lacking and the chemistry is just not there, a good meal can seem like a consolation prize. I get that, I’ve been there, and the food was pretty good. To be fair, I consider all free food to be pretty good.

One woman has completely flipped the free meal idea on its head. She’s made it feel like a devious scheme rather than a benefit of dating that sometimes occurs. I’m not sure whether I admire her or judge her. I think both. 

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Can’t afford that pricey new lawnmower from Canadian Tire? Start saving their signature paper money, and in 15 years, you might just be able to pay for it.

At least that’s what Brian McPherson did.

The 29-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta recently cashed in his collection of Canadian Tire paper bills for a lawnmower he’s had his eye on since he was 14 (it all started with his purchase of a hockey stick when he was in his early teens).

"I put the case down and opened it up and she kind of had a look of ‘Oh my' on her face," McPherson explained to CTV News.

Though it seems like buying the priciest item in a store is just a fantasy a kid might have when given "money" for free, McPherson actually committed to his statement. Since then, he’s been a regular at the Canadian retail store, purchasing everything from gas to repair items in an attempt to reach his original goal.

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It's tough being a Canadian when it comes to the world of free personal finance tools. Many of the biggest offerings only support American bucks, leaving us Canucks with few options to count our loonies. But no worries, I've searched far and wide, O Canada, to find you five free money tools that tally toonies, track spending, and help you get out of debt, eh!

When Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint, quietly announced in early July that "Mint.com now supports almost all major Canadian banks for aggregation," the internet went abuzz. Canadians have waited a long time for access to this free #1 online personal finance service, boasting over a million users. Acquired by Intuit -- the makers of Quicken -- in 2009, Mint now offers Canadian banking integration, easy budgeting, ways to track investments, and tools to reduce debt.

Mint is still rolling out changes for the Canadian market though. Patzer says, "It's not truly Canada ready -- no Toronto stock feeds, cheque is spelled check, and you might get 401k and 529 suggestions which apply only to the United States."

When I tried to use Mint, the online application still requested an American ZIP code, with no place to specify a Canadian postal code. Hopefully these final Canadian changes are coming soon. Before sharing your banking data with any online site or service, be sure to stay safe with these 7 Ways to bank online safely.

GnuCash has features that go beyond simple personal finance and budgeting -- it’s free accounting software. This popular open source application lets you track bank accounts, investments, income, and expenses in a way similar to a classic chequebook register. Multiple currencies are supported and currency movements between accounts are fully balanced when double entry accounting is enabled. If you're concerned about sharing your banking information online, downloading a personal finance tool like GnuCash straight to your desktop may help you keep your data safe.

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