Holy cow, interest rates went up another ¼ point this week, and the media is wetting itself. Indeed it is time to panic? Not yet, but a single jump could have been an isolated event. Two could signify a trend. Was this not expected? This is the only question to ask. The Canadian economy seems to have gone off the rails in terms of growth, and the Bank of Canada feels it needs to put the brakes on things, so this looks like a trend.
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The Canadian Dollar has jumped in reaction to this rate rise. Your Canadian Dollar can buy more, but your Canadian products are now more expensive on the open market too.
My vacation didn’t go that well, but I did have a friendly conversation with Doug Hoyes. Doug will attempt to make it sound coherent, and there will be a podcast about a few things soon. Doug is an engaging chap to chat with, given he is a Bankruptcy trustee. Before you claim bankruptcy, I learned that you need to show your spending habits and all your assets to the trustee. Maybe folks should do that now, so they can figure out where the problems are before you call Doug?
Gasoline is back to over $1.20 a litre in Ottawa, and it is not likely to drop any time soon is the predictions from Gas Buddy and such. I guess I am glad I drive a Corolla. It might be time to look at electric cars, or better still, go back to a single vehicle for the family.
The NFL season has begun, and I wonder how long this sport will continue? I have loved football my entire life, especially the NFL, but given the concussion findings coming out, I wonder how much longer the sport can continue? Some have suggested that better equipment might change things, but I am not optimistic. I guess that football has about 10-15 years until it will fade away. Economically, what will the economic impact of this multi-billion dollar industry disappearing have?
Recent Writings
No, I am not getting into the travel blogging world. Far too competitive. The Big Cajun family went on vacation, so we figured we’d publish some Big Cajun Vacation Tips. The vacation didn’t go as expected with my son getting nasty strep throat, but it was still enjoyable. I also did a bit of work, chatting with Doug Hoyes, there is a Podcast planned out of those sessions.
What is the Importance of Financial Reports? Do you put together IKEA furniture without reading the instructions? Why don’t you read your financial reports? You need to be at least able to understand your Credit Card Bills and Bank statements, or you will be in trouble.
I tip my hat to David Letterman with Stupid Bank Tricks, showing some of the things I have done to make my bank help my financial plan.
Farewell Summer of 2017
The summer of 2017 hasn’t been a summer in terms of heat. It has been very wet and cool in Ottawa, which may foreshadow a snowy winter, but I would rather have it than a cold winter. Just remember, Winter is coming.
- FCAC has a very good page about Protecting Yourself if Interest Rates Rise A little elementary but still worth having a look at things.
- Do you use Equifax? You might be hosed then, read about it here, Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Hit 143 Million Customers . That is ironic, and imprudent all at once. If anyone should have great Cybersecurity you would think Equifax might be the place, but I believe I have been proven, incorrect.
- Jason Zweig brings us The 19 Questions to Ask Your Financial Adviser , and all I can think is, how is this profession so complicated that I need to ask 19 questions about it? This isn’t nuclear science, or is it?
- I did learn that it looks like RDSP funds cannot be seized as part of a bankruptcy settlement, with this case from the BC Supreme Court. The bankruptcy laws do not mention the RDSP by name, so there may be more challenges in the future.
- The business of Gift Cards is huge especially with Christmas coming, but you might want to read the Wired article, Hacking Retail Gift Cards Remains Scarily Easy . So many folks use these cards as legal tender, but are they safe and reliable? No!
- Doug Hoyes has a good article with the title When Getting Another Loan Isn’t a Good Idea, where the keyword is Another. How many loans do you need in your life?
- Michael James wrote an interesting article about the new tax regulations proposed by the Feds, and in Small Business he got some very spirited discussion My urologist told me he will be moving to the USA if these rules are put into action, hope he reconsiders.
This Quarter Random Thoughts
- Farewell PC Financial, Summer Holidays, Bat Guano and #MoneyTalk (August 18th)
- Paying Children to Move out, Sears, and #MoneyTalk (July 28th)
- Rate Reactions, Mortgage Double Ups, Bad Cycling and #MoneyTalk (July 21st)
- Keep Calm and Pay Off Your Debt and #MoneyTalk (July 14th)
2nd Quarter Random Thoughts
- #Canada150, B of C Rates, and #MoneyTalk (June 30th)
- Donuts, Graduations, Summertime and #MoneyTalk #Canada150 (June 23rd)
- Bank Profits, Loose Money, Used House Salesfolk and #MoneyTalk (May 26th)
- Avocado Toast, Victoria Day, Ransomware and #Moneytalk (May 19th)
- RDSP, DTCs, Mother’s Day and #MoneyTalk (May 12th)
- Thanks Prince Phil, More Old Than Young and #MoneyTalk (May 5th)
- MLM, Balanced Budgets, and #Moneytalk (April 28th)
- Overheated Housing Market, Rent Controls and #MoneyTalk (April 21st)
- Ladies on Panels, Good Friday, Friendly Skies, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (April 14th)
- Tax Time, Housing Bubbles, Financial Easter and #MoneyTalk (April 7th)
1st Quarter 2017 Random Thoughts
- April Fools, High on Life and #MoneyTalk (March 31st)
- Ho Hum Budget, Brackets Busted and #MoneyTalk (March 24th)
- Naughty Banks, March Madness, Big Snow and #MoneyTalk (March 17th)
- Teller Upselling, Auto-filling Taxes, Spring Forward and #MoneyTalk, (March 10th )
- Lent Begins, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (March 3rd )
- RRSP Season, Tax Time, and #MoneyTalk (February 24th )
- Farewell Vinyl Café, Snow, Monopoly and #MoneyTalk (February 17th )
- RRSP , Tax , TFSA , RESP, and RDSP Time and #MoneyTalk (February 10th )
- Year of the Fire Rooster, Financial Groundhog Day and #MoneyTalk (February 3rd )
- Alternate Financial Facts, 1984 and #Moneytalk (January 27th)
- Bungled Mortgages, Friday the 13th and #Moneytalk (January 13th)
- Merry New Year, CPP, EI and #MoneyTalk (January 6th)
