Welcome To Our HUGE Five-Year Anniversary Contest

I can’t believe it’s been five years! What started out as a mom-and-son blogging duo back in 2010 has turned into more than just our personal finance diary. Boomer & Echo has changed our lives, and we’re thrilled to know that the stories and advice we’ve shared over the years has made a positive impact on many of your lives as well. We know this because you’ve told us over and over again.

In a strange coincidence, this article also happens to be our 1,000th post. Many of you have been with us for the vast majority of these articles. We may be biased, but we think we have the smartest and most thoughtful community of readers online today. For that, we’d like to reward you with the biggest giveaway in Canadian personal finance blog history!

Boomer & Echo’s HUGE Five-Year Anniversary Contest

Let me begin by saying that we have an amazing group of partners who have generously supported this giveaway contest with some fantastic prizes. Our sponsors include banks, investment firms, rate comparison websites, PR agencies, plus books from 19 incredible personal finance authors.

Altogether we are giving away a whopping 63 prizes worth a total value of more than $5,000!

How To Enter

We’re using a service called Rafflecopter to help us coordinate such a massive giveaway. Here’s how it works:

  • There are six ways to enter the contest, and you can receive a maximum of 20 entries.
  • The first, and only mandatory, way to enter is by answering a question: “What personal finance topics do you want to read more about on Boomer & Echo?” Nice and simple, right? Answer the question in the Rafflecopter widget and receive one entry into the contest.
  • The second way to enter is by joining the Boomer & Echo mailing list. While not mandatory, completing this option will give you an additional five entries into the contest.
  • The third and fourth options are simple: visit us on Facebook to get one additional entry, and follow us on Twitter for one additional entry.
  • The fifth way to enter is to tweet about this contest – this option will give you two additional entries.
  • Finally, we’ve enabled a “Bring Your Friends!” entry option that will allow you to share the contest with your friends. For each friend that enters the giveaway through your unique URL, you will receive one entry into the giveaway. Each entrant can refer up to 10 people for the giveaway.

The contest will run from August 10th through to August 31st, and the winners will be drawn and notified September 1st and 2nd.

We’re Giving Away $5,000 In Prizes!

As I mentioned, we have a fantastic line-up of prizes to give away, including:

  1. One free-year at Nest Wealth, the online wealth management firm, plus a selection of the best personal finance books from Amazon (prize value of $1,000).
  2. One $500 credit when you open an investment account at ModernAdvisor.
  3. 10 $50 Staples gift card prizes to help your back-to-school budget, courtesy of ATB Financial.
  4. 15 Scotiabank SCENE PIN cards. Each one can be redeemed for a free movie at Cineplex, courtesy of Scotiabank (prize split into one package of 10 PIN cards, and one package of 5 PIN cards).
  5. Three $100 savings account deposits from Tangerine.
  6. One $250 Home Depot gift card to help with your home renovation, courtesy of LowestRates.ca.
  7. One $250 prepaid MasterCard from BMO.
  8. One $250 prepaid Visa card from Rate Supermarket.
  9. One $250 prepaid Visa card from ShareOwner.
  10. One $250 Amazon gift card from WealthSimple.
  11. One-year subscription to 5iResearch – conflict free investment research (prize value of $139.95).
  12. One $100 President’s Choice gift card from PC Financial.
  13. One $100 Canadian Tire gift card from Calador Communications.
  14. One $100 prepaid Visa card from RateHub.ca, which compares the best credit cards in Canada.
  15. Two athletic running shirts (value of $35 each), plus two copies of It’s Still Not Rocket Science, from Steadyhand Investment Funds.
  16. $75 worth of Purdy’s Chocolate from Life Insurance Canada.
  17. One $50 Amazon gift card from Great Canadian Rebates.
  18. Your choice of $50 cold hard cash, the Grouplend concierge activity package, or THE MYSTERY BOX!
  19. Two personal finance books of your choice, courtesy of WealthBar.
  20. Four digital subscriptions to Canadian Money Saver magazine (value of $24.95 each)
  21. Five subscriptions to The Mindful Budgeting Program, courtesy of LSM Insurance.
  22. Four copies of The Wealthy Barber Returns, by David Chilton.
  23. One copy of The Incredible Shrinking Alpha, by Larry Swedroe.
  24. One copy of The One-Page Financial Plan, by Carl Richards.
  25. One copy of Findependence Day, by Jonathan Chevreau.
  26. One copy of Millionaire Teacher, by Andrew Hallam.
  27. One copy of Pound Foolish, by Helaine Olen.
  28. One copy of Stop Over-thinking Your Money!, by Preet Banerjee.
  29. One copy of Wealthing Like Rabbits, by Robert Brown.
  30. One copy of The Value of Simple, by John Robertson.
  31. One copy of Rob Carrick’s Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today.
  32. One copy of How Not to Move Back in With Your Parents, by Rob Carrick.
  33. One copy of More Money for Beer and Textbooks, by Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard.
  34. One copy of The RESP Book, by Mike Holman.
  35. One copy of The Smart Debt Coach, by Talbot Stevens.
  36. One copy of Financial Freedom Without Sacrifice, by Talbot Stevens.
  37. One copy of Enough Bull, by David Trahair.
  38. One copy of Fight Back: 81 Ways to Save Money and Protect Yourself From Corporate Trickery, by Ellen Roseman.
  39. One copy of Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs, by Mark Goodfield (soon to be released).
  40. One copy of Pensionize Your Nest Egg, by Moshe Milevsky and Alexandra Macqueen.

Once again, every single one of these amazing prizes has been generously donated by the companies and authors listed above. We’re blown away by the support that we’ve received from the personal finance community, and we’re so excited to be able to reward our loyal readers with this HUGE giveaway!

Good luck, and thanks for reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

50 Comments

  1. Potato on August 10, 2015 at 12:18 am

    Wow, that is a lot of prizes you guys have rustled up. Congrats!

  2. Tom Beaney on August 10, 2015 at 4:52 am

    Congratulations….many sites give up over a few years or slow down their postings…keep up the good work!

  3. Big Cajun Man (AW) on August 10, 2015 at 5:36 am

    Congratulations!!! Wow, PRIZES!!! ME WANTS PRIZES!!! OK, I think I do not qualify, but great stuff!

  4. Gary on August 10, 2015 at 6:04 am

    Congratulations Robb and Marie. Maybe a book is next??

  5. Keith Anderson on August 10, 2015 at 6:17 am

    Congrats!! I look forward to your daily advice.

  6. My Own Advisor on August 10, 2015 at 6:20 am

    Congrats on your blogiversary!!

    It’s very impressive what you have done via the site over the years – I can appreciate it has triggered many changes in your lives in many (positive) ways. Great stuff.

    Impressive giveaway and I’ll certainly promote it 🙂

    All the best in the years ahead.
    Mark

  7. Jane on August 10, 2015 at 7:21 am

    Congrats! I am a huge fan. Personally, I’d love to see more info on strategies for withdrawing funds in retirement, from savings vehicles, RRSP’s, etc.

  8. Jane on August 10, 2015 at 7:23 am

    On the echo side of things, I’d love to see more articles providing advice to young people just starting out regarding how to set up simple financial plans, staying out of debt, etc.

  9. John Ryan on August 10, 2015 at 7:33 am

    Congrats on 5 years!

    I always wonder about these contests with multiple ways to enter and many entries per person. How do you manage it all? Is there an automated solution that automatically tallies entries for everyone, or do you do it manually?

    • Stephen @ How To Save Money on August 12, 2015 at 1:37 pm

      The Rafflecopter form does it all. It keeps track of all the different entries and tries to prevent the same person from entering too many times. Then, when it comes to picking a winner you just press a button and it selects someone randomly for each prize that you have listed.

      You do then have to verify manually if the selected winner has indeed done the action you have requested of them to make sure their entry is valid before you award the prize.

      Even with Rafflecopter taking care of so much of these things, running a giveaway like this is very time consuming. I have done it myself and it takes a lot of work. I don’t envy Robb and Marie having to coordinate and reward all of those prizes! Kudos to them for doing it!

      • Echo on August 12, 2015 at 2:49 pm

        Rewarding all the prizes is definitely the biggest job. Luckily I’ve asked the sponsors to handle the delivery of prizes, so I just have to notify them of the winner and their contact info. The sponsor will deal directly with the winner.

  10. Steve B. on August 10, 2015 at 7:54 am

    Congrats on 5 great years. I’ve been a fan from the beginning. Thanks & keep up the good work.

  11. Tawcan on August 10, 2015 at 8:22 am

    Congrats on the 5 year anniversary, very impressive considering I’ve just had my 1st anniversary. 🙂

    I’d love to see more articles on RRSP withdraw strategies for early retirees.

  12. Steve Boyko on August 10, 2015 at 8:26 am

    Congratulations on five years! I just passed 10 years on my blog and I know it takes a lot of dedication to keep going past the first year or two. Looking forward to more.

  13. Justin on August 10, 2015 at 8:27 am

    Holy smokes! You sure know how to celebrate 5 years!

  14. Lori on August 10, 2015 at 8:42 am

    Congratulations on a successful 5 years.
    I would love to see more articles on retirement. From wealth accumulation to spending in retirement.

  15. Kathy Your Net Worth Manager on August 10, 2015 at 9:41 am

    Congratulations on your success and longevity. Keep up the good work and your sense of humour!

  16. John on August 10, 2015 at 11:03 am

    Congratulations on five years of providing us with excellent and interesting articles to read. Someone mentioned maybe a book would be next. I think that would be an excellent idea. David Chilton and others have done it. Food for thought.

  17. Ron M on August 10, 2015 at 11:03 am

    5 great years. Here’s to 5 more.

    I would like to see more about Retirement Income Planning.

  18. Syed Raza on August 10, 2015 at 11:34 am

    Congrats on the 5 year anniversary!

    Good luck to all the entrants 🙂

  19. Tim on August 10, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    Awesome prizes!

  20. Paul N on August 10, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    Congrats on 5 years!

    I would like to see a series of ways of minimizing taxes paid upon retirement. How a single, a couple, low income, middle income, high income should prepare just before retiring. Converting RRSP’s to RRIF’s and their in and outs. (legal strategies so you maximize your hard earned savings and pay only what you have to) Explain how “T” funds work for example. Pro’s and cons.

  21. The Blunt Bean Counter on August 10, 2015 at 5:47 pm

    Congrats Robb and Marie. Robb, I feel like a proud hockey scout. I told you early on you were a future blogging and writing star and I was correct in my assessment.

  22. Carly on August 10, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    I have loved reading your blog posts! I would be interested in learning more about the investing world, and the Canadian economy in general.

  23. Kurt on August 10, 2015 at 7:18 pm

    Keep up the good work! I’d never read a blog regularly before yours… Now I’m subscribed to several. Mostly beer… But the rest are finance…

  24. Bryan on August 10, 2015 at 7:39 pm

    Congrats! You open by saying B&E has changed your life. I can honestly say it has changed mine too. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying you have inspired me to take control of my own finances, to educate myself and to feel empowered with my money. Thank you. Keep up the great writing. It is greatly appreciated!

  25. Dan @ Our Big Fat Wallet on August 10, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    Congrats on 5 years Robb, all the best in the future!

  26. Sharon C on August 11, 2015 at 7:09 am

    I am interested in any articles related to retirement.

  27. Dennis on August 11, 2015 at 7:13 am

    I would like more discussion regarding the potential impact of how the Baby Boomer Cohort will affect financial assets (stocks, housing etc.) even the vehicles we will drive as we move into our senior years.

  28. Jim on August 11, 2015 at 7:31 am

    Congratulations on your achievement and best wishes in the future.

  29. DivGuy on August 11, 2015 at 8:57 am

    Congrats! That’s an awesome contest, will share with my readers as well!

    Cheers,

    Mike

  30. canadianbudgetbinder on August 11, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    Congratulations on 5 years. You have one heck of a great blog and I’m sure you will make PF blogging history with this amazing giveaway!!!

  31. Richard on August 11, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    Huge congratulations on everything you’ve done in the past 5 years!

  32. Andrew @ AvrexMoney on August 11, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    A great website.
    Congrats, and keep up the good work, Robb and Marie!

  33. Stephen @ How To Save Money on August 12, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    I’ve been along for most of this ride because I launched my blog right around the same time you did and found yours soon afterwards.

    Your consistency and dedication has always amazed me. Well done and keep up the good work. I will enter the giveaway and promote it myself.

    I think this is definitely the biggest Canadian personal finance giveaway to date for sure. I had paid close attention to giveaways before I launched my yearly $1000+ Christmas giveaway and I think mine was the largest until now 🙂

  34. Echo on August 12, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    Thank you all for the kind feedback. We love this community and couldn’t be happier to reward you with this awesome giveaway.

  35. Elizabeth R on August 12, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    I am interested in seeing articles on saving for retirement.

  36. Carolyn on August 13, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    Happy Anniversary!! Thank you for 5 years of great advice & sharing so much!

    I would love to read more articles on RDSPS and how to maximize savings for anyone with a disability…Also advice on creating a passive-income or additional income streams for individuals who do not have very much to invest!

  37. Suz on August 15, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    Congratulations on your first five! I come here often to get inspired to go higher, but at the same time, grounded in common sense. Thanks for adeptly negotiating aspirations vs. the everyday.

  38. Jon on August 17, 2015 at 9:20 am

    Not sure if this is the rafflecopter widget…

    But I’d like to see more articles on case studies or success stories. It’s always nice to read about people who have overcome difficult circumstances.

  39. Sherry K on August 17, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    I would like information about how to invest in my TFSA. Right now the money if just sitting there.

  40. Alex on August 17, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    Congratulations on an amazing 5 years.

  41. Shawn on August 21, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    Congratulations and looking forward to another 5 + years

  42. Heidi Pawluk on August 22, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    ♥ A BIG congrats on 5 years & counting.
    Financial Freedom at any age is welcome but more so in the upcoming soon to be retired age. Wanting to gain financial independence slowly & investing wisely

  43. May on August 23, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    The “post on Facebook” bit doesn’t seem to be working – at least it’s not showing up on my FB despite my trying twice.

    I would love to see articles addressing retirement planning for singles and for those who never owned a home. (I’m *so* tired of all the retirement planning advice boiling down to 1) pay off your mortgage and 2) split you income with your spouse!)

    And something on investing for someone who is planning to hit the “post paycheque” phase in about 10-15 years.

  44. Peter B. on August 28, 2015 at 6:37 am

    Congratulations on the 5 year anniversary!
    Good luck to all!

  45. Cathy Kenny on August 28, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    Congratulations on 5 Years and Many More to Come!

  46. Belinda McNabb on August 28, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Congrats! I would love info on RESP’s, tips on saving and how to handle it when your kids go to college

  47. barb derick on August 29, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    i am on disability – poor will not be able to save for retirement how can i do retirement make 792.00 month my health issues make it hard to sustain working NOT LAZY
    what can I do

  48. Joan Brown on August 29, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    I would like more information on RIF retirement income options.

Leave a Comment





Join More Than 10,000 Subscribers!

Sign up now and get our free e-Book- Financial Management by the Decade - plus new financial tips and money stories delivered to your inbox every week.