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Canajun Finances Home » RRSP Time, Winners, Tax Time, Short Weeks and Friday #Shoutouts

RRSP Time, Winners, Tax Time, Short Weeks and Friday #Shoutouts

Yes, it’s that magical RRSP time when your Savings Institution pressures you to top up your RRSP account so you can take full advantage of the savings on your taxes. When folks ask me, “Have you bought an RRSP yet?”, I throw up a little in my mouth, get the terms right folks, the RRSP is the program, you buy investment vehicles to put in the RRSP account you have created. Feel free to roll your eyes when any of your friends say that, you have my permission.

The winners for the Online TurboTax have all been informed and are hopefully off enjoying their free tax software. Me I went out and bought my own copy, with a disk and everything, because I am paranoid about “Cloud Computing” in general (30 years in High Tech has made me very distrustful of all shared computing systems). In the same vein the “Theo B. CajunMan” Facebook account (my pseudo Facebook account) was hacked yesterday too, so if you see that ID on line, it ain’t me, I have shut the account down (however my “THE Canadian Personal Finance” page still exists, just under different management).

Tax Time is here too! Hope you are collecting all of your receipts and remember all of your deductions too. I have created a Spreadsheet with as many of the important tax receipts I can remember. I may publish it next week in case there are other folks who forget as much crap as I do every tax year. Here is a quick tip, don’t forget your Safety Deposit Box costs, if you have one!

A fun shorter week for most of Ontario and Alberta (not for me), and for all those who were happy to hear I was working on Monday, call me on Remembrance Day, we’ll compare notes then!

My Weekly Recap

It might have been a long weekend for some, but I managed to soldier on and put out some quality work this week:

My Writings for Week Ending February 22nd
Lent Continues How Are Your Lenten Financial Plans?

Family Day in Ontario

Mostly me bitching about the fact that I didn’t get the day off, but still fun!

In Defense of Pay Day Loans?

How does anyone defend this modern day loan sharkery? Evidently the Globe and Mail thinks it’s just fine.

Borrow to Max Out Contributions? (RDSP)

It is actually obvious that I should do this, however I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing a subtle point.

Financial Finger Wagging

If a 7 foot tall man came over and slapped the credit card out of your hand, would you stop using it?

Some very weird stories about meteors in Russia, Oscar predictions (no not the guy in South Africa), and another pending Financial Cliff experience in the U.S., but we’ll shy away from those for now:

Top Stories of the Week of February 22nd
Ottawa is the Aritificial Insemination Capital of Canada? #Whodathunkit?

Real Wealth is Built Through Innovation

Michael James quotes Mark Carney’s view that innovation is the way to build the economy, not simply more work, but smarter work (or even less work for the same money?).

Less is More When it Comes to the CRA

The BBC says that while it is important to be complete in your explanations to the CRA, don’t over do it either. Tell them what they need to do in a precise but concise fashion.

The RRSP season is here. Know your options.

Mark @ My Own Advisor gives us a run down of some important information you should be keeping in mind if you are looking at topping up your RRSP’s before March 1st.

Why Index Mutual Funds Still Have a Place

The Canadian Couch Potato takes exception at Rob Carrick’s statement that ETF’s are eating the Mutual Fund industry’s lunch. TD E-series index funds are mentioned, and I still use them in my investment vehicles.

RRSP Myth Retirement Income Has To Be Lower For RRSP Benefit

Mike Holman points out that RRSPs are not necessarily bad if you make more money in your retirement, or find yourself in a higher tax bracket. This is a message for we in the Shrinking Middle Classâ„¢

IF YOU HAVE/HAD/WANT MONEY, READ POUND FOOLISH

Riscario Insider was pleasantly surprised with a book that he figured would just be another cliche filled book, but it was not.

How to Calculate Pension Maximum Transfer Value (MTV)

Surprisingly I knew what this was, but only because when I left Nortel I had a defined benefit pension plan and I needed to figure out how much I could transfer into an LIRA, thanks Million Dollar Journey.

The Pawn Shop Debacle

Mr. Money Mustache brings us an interesting if twisted tail about attempting to fix a broken air compressor, while doing some DIY projects at home. How does a Pawn Shop fit in this? You’ll have to read to figure that one out.

Save The Fees

Gail Vaz-Oxlade goes after a favorite subject of mine, namely fees for services. Why in the heck should I pay a cancellation fee? I ask that rhetorically, since I try not to get in that situation if I can help it.

Who Supplies Apple With All Those Parts?

Where do the parts for your latest iFruit actually come from? Popular Science helps shed some light on where Apple’s parts come from (useful thing to know, if you want to “Buy American”).

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