Skip to content
Canajun Finances Home » Budgets, Dark Side of the Moon, Eight Years Later, Palm Sunday and Friday #ShoutOuts

Budgets, Dark Side of the Moon, Eight Years Later, Palm Sunday and Friday #ShoutOuts

Minister Flaherty gave us a very vague budget (2013) yesterday. For Hockey Moms, reasons to rejoice, given tariffs on Hockey equipment, Golf Clubs, Baby Clothes and a few other things are now gone. In terms of taxes, no new taxes, but no new tax cuts. However, for you “tax cheats” who use “tax loopholes” to pay less tax, the CRA is looking for you (what a load of codswallop that is, how is someone who uses a tax loophole, a tax cheat?). It has been proposed to allocate more funds towards training, aboriginal education, and infrastructure to prevent further incidents like sinkholes appearing on major roads. However, there are still some uncertainties regarding budget cuts. Is the government still committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2015? Apparently, yes.

Cuts to the Civil Service? Yes, but it is not evident where or how this might happen, or by what measures either. When will this become evident? Wait for the OMNIbus bill that will bring this budget to life, and that is where a lot of the nitty gritty parts of this budget will become evident (if previous Tory budgets are any measure).

What will the Harper Government want to cut? My guess is there will be “cuts” in terms of jobs, however, they have not finished their cutting from last year, and, they will rely heavily on the aging baby boomers retiring to take care of a lot of the cuts in that sense. The BIG fight will be the “Banking of Sick Days” (which teachers in Ontario used to be able to do but it was abolished and the slate was wiped clean (i.e. all banked days were lost)) which is in the current PSAC contract. Ottawa is abuzz with what might be proposed, but this will make for an interesting battle, and we may only know when the Budget Omnibus bill is proposed.


So 40 years ago this year, Pink Floyd put out one of my favourite “Dessert Island Albums,” Dark Side of the Moon. The album is one of the biggest-selling albums ever, but I enjoy all the intricate weavings of sound and music. You don’t have this album? What are you some musical Luddite? Please go out and buy it! Any album that has the line “Grab that cash with both hands, and make a stash” is a must have for Financially Minded folks.

Speaking of old things, you might have missed the huge celebration last Sunday for my Eighth anniversary on line (some people thought it was for St. Patty’s day, but no, all that green beer was in celebration of my writings, trust me).

This Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week for Christians. Lent finishes on Good Friday (or is it Easter Sunday?) so your Lenten financial journey is almost over (for those attempting to make some changes over this time of year). At least the Catholic Church got a new Pope in place before Holy Week (it would be embarrassing not to have one for the biggest week in the Church’s year).

My Weekly Recap

You’d think after eight years I might get tired of this, but for some reason I just keep going not sure why, I just does:

My Writings for Week Ending March 22nd

Still Crazy After All These Years…

Eight Years Later (and a Happy St. Patty’s Too)

Seriously St. Patty’s was the first time I wrote on the original version of this blog, wild times!

How to Save $100 in Service Fees

Seriously folks, you don’t have to pay those crazy fees, just ask to have them refunded and you might be surprised at the results.

Tax Tip: Family Caregiver Amount

For those of us with disabled loved ones, it is important to take all the financial breaks the government is willing to give us.

Investing Mistake: Too Many Eggs in One Basket

OK I kind of borrowed this idea from Larry Swedroe, but it is important you don’t over invest in your employer or you might get badly singed.

The Free Market and Mortgages (in Canada)

Free for all Thursday I figured I’d open the whole cut rate mortgage discussion. Lots of interesting comments to read here.

Spring Sprang this week, however, all that means (in Ottawa) is that the snow will be turning brown soon, no birdies or grass to be found  :

Why Not Raise CMHC Mortgage Premiums?

Michael James points out that another way to control cut rate mortgages might be to up the CMHC premiums in hot real estate areas, and that might control things better than Mr. Flaherty calling up lenders telling them to stop offering cheap loans?

Stress Testing Your Finances and Your Death - The Comprehensive Test

The BBC gives us a neat  test to ensure that your finances can withstand a major stress. (like a sudden death or the like). Can your finances take the stress test? You better go try it, could save you or your loved ones a lot of stress later on in life.

How to calculate your CPP retirement pension

Jim Yih gives us some help figuring out how much CPP we might receive if we retire. This is not a simple calculation, and you may not get an exact number, but you will get a good estimation with this calculation.

Three Investing Enemies

Mark from My Own Advisor discusses the enemies of your investing strategies.  He makes a good point about the money you lose to management fees is money you'll never get back (or ever had in the first place).

Teksavvys fly in the ointment

The Canadian Capitalist  wonders if Teksavvy is worth the headaches, or whether he should just have stayed with Bell for his internet supplier. My family has had similar issues with Teksavvy, but I still recommend them over Rogers and Bell (even with their service shortcomings).

How to calculate your CPP retirement pension

Jim Yih, gives us a little help figuring out how much CPP we might receive if we retired. This is not a simple calculation, and you may not get an exact number, but you will get a good estimation with this calculation.

Can lifestyle inflation be avoided?

Krystal wonders if it's possible to keep from buying ourselves into a financial bind? She seems to have a good handle on it.

What is a Money Coach? (Podcast)

Preet brings us a new podcast with an interview of an actual Money Coach. What is a money coach? Better listen to this and get an actual Money Coach's explanation of her role(s).

An Interesting Video with LEGO

When I was a kid, I was lucky if I could build a house with my LEGO, but nothing as fancy as this!

Best of 2013

Some of the best of posts from 2013

Feel Free to Comment

  1. My Own Advisor
    Reply

    Thanks for the mention man!

    That is going to be a battle for sure, over banking those sick days! #getreadytorumble

    I suspect I was conceived just after that Floyd album came out. Need to erase that thought now…

    Enjoy the w/e,
    Mark

  3. Michael James
    Reply

    The battle over sick leave should be interesting. I figure I’ve averaged taking about 2 days off per year because I was sick. If I got to bank the remaining sick days, I’d have quite a pile of money built up. Thanks for the mention.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Verified by MonsterInsights