Tax Time, Spring Delayed, Panama Papers and #MoneyStories

Remember that Tax Season is in full swing, so it might be time to file your return (primarily if you are owed money). Don’t loan the Government money. Make sure you neither owe nor get a huge rebate.

You can call the CRA if you have questions about your taxes, but remember, many folks are panicking working on their taxes right now as well, so be patient with the wait and with the folks trying to help.

This week, a big snowfall should remind folks who live in Ottawa that Spring may be in the air, but that does not mean there won’t be any more snow. Most of the snow is gone, but does that mean we are finished with the white stuff? Not until after your taxes have been filed!

The Panama Papers leak seems to be causing a great deal of consternation for many of the 1% and many politicians. I guess my question is, would you rather be mentioned in the Panama Papers or the Ashley Madison leak? (maybe both?). RBC was mentioned in the Panama Papers, and they don’t think there is anything wrong with it.

It was Autism Awareness day on April 2nd, or as we call it around our house, Saturday (or my Daughter’s birthday). Autism awareness has a noble goal, but frankly, more services and support would be great as well (and the new Ontario Autism services model isn’t going to help). We are fortunate my son is higher on the spectrum, but that does not mean I deserve little (or no) services because he is older (and I am evidently rich).

My Writings for Week Ending April 8th

A busy week meant I really only got 1 article written, but I continue to put up my best on my Twitter feed (along with a lot of other great stuff).

Given that we are getting close to Tax time, Tax Reflections for 2016 points out what I keep forgetting for my taxes.

I have Said This Before

Not asking, is rejection by default

Or better still, the Answer is Always No, unless you ask.

No More Half Measures (financially)

Some view the completion of your taxes as the ultimate zugzwang, but if you have a good accountant, you might not feel that way. The Blunt Bean Counter (who is busier than a beaver these days) wants to help make sure that isn’t the case for you, with his helpful Reporting of the Capital Gains on Your 2015 U.S. Stock Sales. Are you investing down south because Mark from My Own Advisor also has some words for you with Reading this if you are investing in U.S. stocks or ETFs. What are The Best Canadian Tax Software Options? Tom Drake tries to help us out with that from Canadian Personal Finance.

The Freakonomics Podcast asks a fascinating question, Should Tipping Be Banned? I come down with a solid yes and no answer (or better still, it depends). If you don’t want to tip, is it OK for you to get a bonus at work?

Here is an interesting tech question, did you realize that you can run the latest Quicken on your mac? Don’t believe me, InvestorJunkie tells us (and I tried it out, and it works just fine) How to Run Quicken for Windows on a Mac. More tech ideas, Most Americans spend two full workdays a month on Facebook. Let us hope they don’t do it all at work. Do you know what Ransomware is? Better learn, by reading the U.S., Canada issue joint alert on ‘ransomware’ after hospital attacks (oh and backup your data too).

I am a firm believer in the importance of local libraries (where I grew up in the Town of Mount Royal, I spent many an hour at the Reg Dawson Library). Still, Marie from Boomer and Echo repeats this sentiment with A Salute To Your Local Library: Save Money With A Library Membership. In Ottawa, if you are not using the Ottawa Public Library, you should!

I am always astounded at how frank some folks can be online, and Frugal Trader bares it all with Breakdown of Our Expenses in 2015. I don’t think I will ever do this. I am ashamed of my spending patterns and don’t want to advertise my crass spending habits (but dammit, I love my Condor Eggs). I don’t think you get to brag. My dividend portfolio keeps churning out cash. If you are only using “virtual money,” do it with real money and tell me. It would like me boasting how I won my Fantasy Football League and thus should be a GM in the NFL (yes, I did win it, pick up Tom Brady, that is my advice).

The first of The Rules of Personal Finance is nobody talks about Personal Finance, no wait, that is Fight Club, but Barry Choi at Money We Have does write about this. That is the same rule as for Teenage Sex, too, surprisingly. As I have said, Investing is like Golf, but Steadyhand has a better statement, “…The real planning for the last 1/3 of your life season is now (RLTLP)….”

Michael James must have a copious library of books arriving on his doorstep as he writes about two books this week, and he tackles a topic he has written about before Revisiting the 4 Percent Rule. Are the 4% rules still valid? Good question. If you plan on dropping dead at age 67 after retiring at 65, then maybe this isn’t the right idea for you. Of course, maybe you should think about heading to the gym sometime soon too? I am researching some info on the topics for those of my readers who are Civil Servants and who feel safe with their pensions. Still, as a former Nortel employee who has seen that pension take massive hits, that is really not an isolated incident, as we see with the Mid-West Teamsters pension short-comings (and cuts).

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Political Fund Raising

Yes, this is an American point of view. However, still an entertaining view from John Oliver.

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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
• March 11th Bank Rate Stays Put, Spring Forward and #MoneyStories
• March 18th Financial March Madness, Budgets and #MoneyStories
• March 25th, Easter is Here and some #MoneyStories
• April 1, Money Fools, Ronnie, 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-colour commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)).