Yes the Bank of Canada held their key overnight rate, which kept the Canadian Dollar rising against its US Counterpart (a nice plus for all those folks going South for March Break). In their monthly statement, the bank sort of pushed things back into the lap of the new Government with the interesting statement:
An assessment of the impact of the upcoming federal budget’s fiscal measures will be incorporated into the Bank’s April projection.
Seems to imply, they will wait to see what the Government might do before they decide on April’s economic projections.
For now the Bank seems to think things are progressing (with Oil prices rebounding) well and with inflation within their limits, they don’t feel a need to add more stimulus, nor a need to decrease it (yet) either.
Are we all ready with our taxes. I believe you are supposed to have all relevant documentation from all of your sources like:
- Your T-4 from your work
- All of your investment income data from your bank
- RRSP receipts
- Tuition receipts
And many more. Maybe make a checklist of what you think you need, so you can figure out whether you can file your taxes (the sooner you file, the sooner you get your rebate, but remember you only have to pay any taxes owing on the deadline (so that can wait)).
Remember: Saturday night your clocks go ahead (i.e. Spring Forward) so remember to reset your clocks or you might be very late for your Sunday (and maybe Monday) appointments. You are also losing a night’s sleep, but you can’t blame that one on the CRA.
My Writings for Week Ending March 11th
Winter seems to be over here in Ottawa, at least for now, with the shortest skating season on the Rideau Canal (ever) unfortunately. Most assuredly the oddest winter in a while.
Sometimes the title seems to write the entire article and Is Your Toilet Flushing Hot Water ? really did write itself, all I needed to add were the fees that will slowly sap all your money away (much like a toilet that flushed with hot water).
I do read many other personal finance sites, and Gail Vaz-Oxlade has some great advice (and yes you should read her stuff (as well)), and Debt Cash Grabs and Your Bank came from a Facebook comment that she made, that taught me something I didn’t know as well.
A Friday Thought
Not asking, is rejection, by default
March Breaking?
One of the most petrifying things I receive in the mail is the occasional notice from the CRA that they are not auditing me, but they would like to see my receipts. Evidently there are other letters you can get as outlined by Mark at the Blunt Bean Counter in The CRA’s 2016 Compliance Letter Campaign. This is the CRA simply asking, have you followed all the tax laws? In my opinion a little intimidating, but well within their rights to remind folks to toe the line and behave (tax wise). I should ask the Canadian Capitalist the next time I see him if he still agrees with his statement Investing in Taxable Accounts Can be Worthwhile, now that we have TFSAs as well? Are you ready for your Taxes? Frugal Trader from Million Dollar Journey wants to help you out with Preparing for the Income Tax Deadline (2015-2016): Personal Taxes.
With all fees based system it is important to understand all of the charges and why you are paying them and Barry from Money We Have talks about a particularly ticklish investing charge you will incur (if you use Mutual Funds or similar investing vehicles), Understanding Your Management Expense Ratio (MER). You know a good place to look up information about personal finance is? The Library, I love the Library (all libraries) and the Guardian has a great article that sums things up nicely, ‘The price of libraries is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation’.
Are you hoping that your Lottery Ticket or Roll Up The Rim cup will help build your Emergency fund? Are you insane? Marie from Boomer and Echo writes about this topic with Why An Emergency Fund Is Still A Necessity, and I agree yes it is.
With the Canadian Dollar slowly recovering from the Oil Slapdown it received over the past year, Mark from My Own Advisor asks, Does buying U.S. real estate still make any sense for Canadians? I think it depends on whether you are buying it for pleasure (i.e. vacations or immigration) or for profits. It seems like the hackers aren’t trying very hard with their Phishing attempts lately, but they still get victims, as we see in The Bank of “We Have No Idea What We’re Doingâ€
If you are an American, and still thinking of moving to Canada due to some political slight that you are feeling, please read over Michael James’ uniquely Canadian article on The Economics of Fixing a Furnace. Unless you are moving to Vancouver or Windsor (and even there you will need some kind of heating system) a furnace is a very important part of Canadian life.
Preet’s New Podcast
Yes Preet has returned with his Podcast (although he continues with his videos too), you had better subscribe to it soon.
For You Bombardier Investors
Rick Mercer pokes some fun at the company that can never seem to stop asking for more money.
2016 Random Thoughts
- January 7th, Market Meltdown, TFSA, WildCard Weekend and #MoneyStories
- January 14th, Cheap Oil, Cheap Dollar, Dead Folk, and #MoneyStories
- January 21st, Loose Money, High Household Debt, Weak Loons and #MoneyStories
- January 29th, Doomsday Clocks, Rogue RRSP Receipts, Cash Crops and #MoneyStories
- February 4th Bouncing Loonies, RRSP Season, Superb Owls and #MoneyStories
- February 12th Lent is Here, Bricked iPhones, Love Day and #MoneyStories
- February 19th Digging Out, Ransomware, RRSP Time and #MoneyStories
- February 26th RRSP Time and #MoneyStories
- March 4th Welcome Americans and #MoneyStories
My Twitter feed is where I re-tweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off color commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)). I am also on reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest , Flipboard, Instagram and other Social Media sites (look for the BigCajunMan userid) as well. If you have social media accounts, don’t forget to vote for my posts (see the nifty dashboard on the bottom of each article, where you can cast your votes).As they say in Quebec, vote early and vote often!
Thanks for the mention!
“Not asking, is rejection, by default.” Makes sense 🙂
Enjoy the warmer weather!
Mark
The water will be running this weekend….
I’m still waiting for a T3 slip. My tax refund will be fairly small this year, so I’m not as anxious about getting the last of my tax information. Thanks for the mention.
A small rebate is the ideal thing, that means you have only paid a little too much for your taxes. 🙂