...Number Crunching...

There is one thing I dislike living up here in the north..well other than being chase by polar bears in winter and chase by beavers in the summer is the fact that most of the stuff I buy from the internet is ship from the states. When it crosses the border, I have to pay 5 dollar customs PLUS tax. I thought there was free trade. Lastly, some of the good deals like shipping free from amazon.com, they won't ship it up here. We ain't that far away. I ain't. Well what can I do?

I don't enjoy hunting for deals and what not. I do, however, do it b/c of necessities. I realize buying from performancebike.com, they don't charge me custom nor tax. Up here, we pay 15% tax. That's a lot (we must be using that money to raise an army of beavers or something).

When I got my Clif Bars, I didn't got charge customs or tax. After converting the cost, breaking down the shipping and what not, it comes to $1.20 (CDN) total for each bar. This is compare to some stores here that sell $1.80 before tax (so after 15%, it is about $2.00). That's saves about 80 cents for a bar.

I am thinking a way around this customs and tax bit. If the package is ship as a gift, then it is not taxed. I have an aunt that works down in Texas. I figured I can buy from amazon.com, ship it to her for free and have her USPS up here as a gift. I will pay for the shipping. Ship with USPS it shouldn't be too expensive. I need to get another pair of runners (Asics Gel-1100). Amazon.com sells them for $59.99 US (about $71.98 Canadian with a 1.20 conversion). At a runner room store, it sells for $129.99 + 15% = $149.49 CDN. I could get two pairs for the same price.

Even if I ship it straight up from amazon.com, i am sure one pair will be cheaper after customs, taxes and shipping fee. This is probably the only one reason I want to live down the states (and of course the warm weather).

This morning I woke up 30 min late and didn't have time to do my long run. I will do it tomorrow morning. I woke up and start data entry all my food intake and my exercise for the week. I am enjoying how much I have consume everyday. :) Tonight after work, bike drills and swim drills before I hit the church for a prayer meeting.